Chapter 10 The Escape

            … How fearful

And dizzy 'tis to cast one's eyes so low!

   … I'll look no more

Lest my brain turn—Shakespeare

Pegasus Nautilus model - completed buildup!

I have been attempted, but I still do not see myself purchasing a copy of this model.

Zombie in my Pocket a Solitary Tile Laying Game

Zombie in my Pocket is a free, print and play, solitaire game.

Typical playing time is anywhere from 5 to 20 minutes. The download includes a four page PDF, which includes a Pocket Mod rule book, development cards, tiles, and folding instructions for the pocket mod. All that is needed is some sort of marker or token for the protagonist. The one page instruction sheet is straight forward and easy to decipher. There are eight full color indoor and outdoor tiles and nine development cards.

There are several other “In my Pocket” games, such as a Western in my Pocket, Predator in my Pocket,   and 10,000 in my Pocket that look rather interesting.

In my Queue

I have added two new games to those that need their components cut-out:

Cod Wars:

Cod Wars is a game for two players, one taking the side of Great Britain and the other Iceland. The Cod Wars were fought on and off for about twenty years between these two combatants for control of Cod fisheries.

An interesting back-story and game scenario can be downloaded from the Navel War Game Society.

Zombie in my Pocket:

Zombie in my Pocket is a solo variant of a game by the same name. The “In the Pocket” theme has gotten some additional attention through the creation of the Western and a Predator in my Pocket games.

Chapter 9 A Judgment

“Let them fight it out, friend. Things have gone too far,
God must judge the couple: leave them as they are.”—Browning

Games Listed in Hobby Games-100 Best

I will start by listing the 100 games listed in this book, to be followed by a brief summary of the game, whether the game can still is being published, where it can be found, and its current price. So far I have found the list to be a mix of RPG.s and board games,

1. Acquire 
2. Amber Diceless 
3. Amun-Re 
4. Ars Magica 
5. Axis & Allies 
6. Battle Cry 
7. BattleTech 
8. Blood Bowl 
9. Bohnanza 
10. Britannia 
11. Button Men 
12. Call of Cthulhu
13. Carcassonne 
14. Car Wars
15. Champions 
16. Circus Maximus 
17. Citadels 
18. Civilization 
19. Cosmic Encounter 
20. Cosmic Wimpout 
21. Dawn Patrol 
22. Descent 
23. Diplomacy 
24. Dungeons & Dragons 
25. Dynasty League Baseball 
26. El Grande 
27. Empires in Arms 
28. Empires of the Middle Ages 
29. The Extraordinary Adventures of Baron Munchausen 
30. Fire and Fury
31. Flames of War 
32. Fluxx 
33. Formula Dé 
34. The Fury of Dracula 
35. A Game of Thrones 
36. Gettysburg 
37. Ghostbusters 
38. The Great Khan Game 
39. Hammer of the Scots 
40. Here I Stand 
41. A House Divided 
42. Illuminati 
43. Johnny Reb 
44. Junta 
45. Kingmaker 
46. Kremlin 
47. Legend of the Five Rings 
48. Lensman 
49. London’s Burning 
50. Lord of the Rings 
51. Machiavelli 
52. Magic: The Gathering 
53. Marvel Super Heroes 
54. Metamorphosis Alpha 
55. My Life with Master 
56. Mythos 
57. Napoleon’s Last Battles 
58. Naval War 
59. Ogre 
60. Once Upon a Time 
61. PanzerBlitz 
62. Paranoia 
63. Pendragon 
64. Pirate’s Cove 
65. Plague! 
66. Power Grid 
67. Puerto Rico
68. Renaissance of Infantry 
69. RoboRally 
70. RuneQuest 
71. The Settlers of Catan 
72. Shadowfist 
73. Shadowrun 
74. Shadows over Camelot 
75. Silent Death: The Next Millennium 
76. Space Hulk 
77. Squad Leader 
78. Stalingrad 
79. Star Fleet Battles 
80. The Sword and the Flame 
81. Tales of the Arabian Nights 
82. Talisman 
83. Terrible Swift Sword 
84. Thurn and Taxis 
85. Ticket to Ride 
86. Tigris & Euphrates 
87. Tikal 
88. Cook on Toon 
89. Traveller 
90. Twilight Struggle 
91. Unknown Armies 
92. Up Front 
93. Vampire: The Eternal Struggle 
94. Vampire: The Masquerade 
95. Vinci 
96. War and Peace 
97. Warhammer 40,000 
98. The Warlock of Firetop Mountain 
99. The Warlord 
100. Wiz-War 

Hobby Games: The 100 Best

I downloaded a digital copy of Hobby Games: The 100 Best the other day and am looking forward to reading this E-book. The games mentioned in the book were picked by game authors and publishers through a polling system. It seems that, game publishers and authors are often game enthusiasts themselves. These games, are not your ordinary family game night titles, but are those that have a loyal and devoted following. It seems that playing games can be a hobby in itself. Although I only recognized about a dozen titles with this list of 100 I am excited to learn about these games.

Warhammer Orc Arachnarok Spider Trees

Like I had mentioned back in March these castings are rich in detail and I am having a dandy time of picking out the details with dabs of paint. Unless I take note of some overlooked detail within the castings this miniature is complete.

Chapter 8-The Landing

Let my lamp at midnight hour
Be seen in some high lonely tower—Milton

One Page Game Rules

I finely found game rules for my Splintered Light and other miniatures. The One Page Saga provides game rules that include the following attributes for the following conditions: activation, moving, shooting, melee, fatigue, terrain, army creation, weapons, and special rules.

A Meal Set before some Dignitaries while at the Why Not

A meal set before the honorable Mr. Baliliff and Clerk by Elzevir of the Why Not:

Hot rabbit pie

Cold round of brawn

Blue Vinny

Bottle of Ararat Milk

Falgon of ale

Moonfleet, Chapter 4

Chapter 7-An Auction

What if my house be troubled with a rat,

And I be pleased to give ten thousand ducats

To have it baned—Shakespeare

Chapter 6-An Assault

                   Surely after all,

The noblest answer unto such

Is perfect stillness when they brawl—Tennyson

More Images of Ristuls Market Halloween Basing Kit Castings

There are two closed casket castings included with this kit. I finished one as new and the other as an old casket.

New

Old

Chapter 5-The Rescue

Shades of the dead, have I not heard your voices

Rise on the night-rolling breath of the gale?

—Byron

More of those Ristuls Market Halloween Basing Kit Castings

 Here are few more of those resin castings from that RistulsMarket Halloween Basing Kit. These castings like the pumpkins will be worked into Halloween scenes  later on this year.

Attributes for my Bombshell Miniatures, Version 1

In hopes of using my miniatures in some sort of war-game or skirmish I have been adding attributes to all my new miniatures. Here are a few more attribute sets for my Bombshell sidekick miniatures.

Shrapnel

Shrapnel is a Gremlin Airplane Imp is often associated with sky pirates and rocket men. Shrapnel is the master gremlin and corporate troubleshooter, what I mean, is when the normal gremlins cannot seem to get things done, or should I say undone, Shrapnel is sent to make sure projects get accomplished effectively.

Intelligence: 5 (on a scale from 0 to 5)

Shrapnel gets a 3 in the way movement, 5 for innovation.

Shrapnel is put into play only after the failure of normal gremlins
Shrapnel shows up on a 1. A 6 rolled after he enters the scene indicates that he has successfully completed his task.

Tazjh Raptor Hatch-lings

Watch your nose and other protruding facial features; these little hatch-lings are just learning the ropes and will lunge at just about anything their own size. Which in most cases, this refers to a fully grown adult human of normal height.

Intelligence: 2

They get a 3 for movement.

On a roll of 1 the raptor has gotten hold of you and is munching away on anything protruding from your face.

Eye Slug:

The eye slug is one monstrous creature and just the sight of one of these creatures will make most want to run for the hills. If looks were not enough, the odor emitting from the eye slugs slime will nauseate even the most cast-ironed stomach. In its wake it leaves a thick, sticky, and evil smelling slime. When most smell the odor for the first time they naturally think of something putrid. The odor lingers with you for a while, even after you have taken leave of the affected area.

Eye Slugs are very unworldly in appearance and make up. They move quite slowly and always follow a straight line. Knowing this one can easily outwit this creature simply by hiding behind some object. All objects are obstacles to the Eye Slug for they only know one way-straight ahead.

The Eye Slug is not one of the most intelligent creatures and relies on the scent of his slime trail to retrace its way back. The slime at first is very sticky and has an adhesive quality to it and like fly paper traps any creatures unlucky enough to encounter it. Of course, by instinct, the Eye Slug knows this and will often encounters these poor unlucky creatures on its way back to its den.

Intelligence: 0

Movement: 1.5

On a roll of 1 the Eye Slug has somehow, probably by some misadventure has trapped you in some corner and unless you roll a 3 or better, the Eye slug is enjoying your soft spots immensely

Chapter 4-In the Vault

Let us hob and nob with Death—Tennyson

A Lost Treasure

The following inscription was found in a golden locket that was around the neck of Black Beard. Once the cipher was broken the instructions tell of the location of a fabulous diamond.

“ The paper was yellow, and showed a lattice of folds where it had been pressed into the locket; but the handwriting, though small, was clear and neat, and there was no mistaking a word of what was there set down. 'Twas so short, I could read it at once:

The days of our age are threescore years and ten;

And though men be so strong that they come

To fourscore years, yet is their strength then

But labour and sorrow, so soon passeth it

Away, and we are gone.

—Psalm 90, 21

And as for me, my feet are almost gone; My treadings are wellnigh slipped. —73, 6

But let not the waterflood drown me; neither let The deep swallow me up. —69, 11

So, going through the vale of misery, I shall

Use it for a well, till the pools are filled

With water.

—84, 14

For thou hast made the North and the South: Tabor and Hermon shall rejoice in thy name. —89, 6”

Eight Minute Empire Cards and their Attributes

Six cards are placed and maintained above the game board. Cards are priced according to their placement above the game board. Each card contains a good, a good point value, and an action. Goods include Trees, Food, Iron, Coal, and Crystals.

The actions that are provided are as follows:

Place New Armies

You may place as many armies as indicated on the card. Armies may be placed either on Start or a region that you have a city.

Move Armies

You may move the number of armies indicated on the card to another region. You may move as many or as far you want to move your armies. For example, if you pick a card that allows for movement of three armies, you may move one army up to three places, or move three armies on place, or any other combination of moves to get your total indicated movements.

Move Over Land or Seas

As the title specifies to armies may be moved either to other regions or to other continents via the move lines to adjacent continents.

Build a City

You may add a city to any region that you have at least one army already posted. Cities are counted as armies and a region may contain more than one player’s cities. Cities are new starting points for your army placements.

Destroy an Army

Well, this one is self-explanatory; you may remove one of your opponent’s armies from a region of your choice. At the end of game you control whatever regions and continents you have more of a presence.

And / OR Actions

Basic logic here; an AND allows more than one action indicated on the card, while a OR give you a choice between two options.

Chapter 3-A Discovery

“Some bold adventurers disdain

The limits of their little reign,

  And unknown regions dare descry;

Still, as they run, they look behind,

They hear a voice in every wind

  And snatch a fearful joy—Gray”

Latin Inscription on Backgammon Board at the “Why Not?” Inn

Elzevir’s  backgammon board was generations old and held the following inscription inlaid in light wood:

“Ita in vita ut in lusu alae pessima jactura arte corrigenda est.

As in life, so in a game of hazard, skill will make something of the worst of throws.”

This quote first mentioned in the second chapter was later quoted toward the end of the novel, after the two protagonists endured the vigor’s of their adventures.

The Third of November

"Then banks came down with ruin and rout,
Then beaten spray flew round about,
Then all the mighty floods were out,
And all the world was in the sea"

Jean Ingelow

The Floods, Chapter 2, Moonfleet

Start of a Pumpkin Patch

A collection starts with one piece at a time. I never started out to collect pumpkin miniatures, but here I have a start of a collection. These three resin castings are from the Ristuls Market Halloween Basing Kit. I will be adding a few more pumpkins to my collection and hope to creating a haunted pumpkin patch scene later on this year.

Sacred To the Memory of David Block

Inscription found on a tombstone in Moonfleet churchyard for one David Block:  Aged 15, who was killed by a shot fired from the Elector Schooner, 21 June 1757.

"Of life bereft (by fell design),

  I mingle with my fellow clay.

On God's protection I recline

  To save me in the Judgement Day.

There too must you, cruel man, appear,

  Repent ere it be all too late;

Or else a dreadful sentence fear,

  For God will sure revenge my fate."

Chapter 1, Moonfleet

Projects for April

I am back logged and have not been as productive these past couple of months. I have projects from last month and beyond on my workbench. I have pictures for some of my projects and some of my ongoing projects well as, still on my camera that need to be posted. I will keep this month’s list short: New Projects Reaper’s walking fish thingy; Reaper #P03612A

Old Projects These projects are all at different stages of completion. Reaper Miniatures, dragon fish; this 25mm miniature came in the same package as the moray eel. This is Reapers #P02948B set. This is one of those miniatures that have been languishing on my workbench. Warhammer Orc Arachnarok Spider – Trees Ratio HO-Gauge Trackside Buildings 507 Grounded Van Body 524 Weighbridge and Hut

Completed Projects Reaper Miniatures #03608: Aquatic Familiars II Sea Monster (Aberration) Mermaid Octopus (Aberration) Warhammer Dreadfleet Graveyard - Leech Wyrm Bombshell Miniatures Pumpkin Buddy Other Ristuls Market Halloween Basing Kit (10 resin miniatures)

Prelude to J. Meade Falkner's Moonfleet

"Says the Cap'n to the Crew,

We have slipped the Revenue,

  I can see the cliffs of Dover on the lee:

Tip the signal to the Swan,

And anchor broadside on,

  And out with the kegs of Eau-de-Vie,

             Says the Cap'n:

  Out with the kegs of Eau-de-Vie.

Says the Lander to his men,

Get your grummets on the pin,

  There's a blue light burning out at sea.

The windward anchors creep,

And the Gauger's fast asleep,

  And the kegs are bobbing one, two, three,

               Says the Lander:

  The kegs are bobbing one, two, three.

But the bold Preventive man

Primes the powder in his pan

  And cries to the Posse, Follow me.

We will take this smuggling gang,

And those that fight shall hang

  Dingle dangle from the execution tree,

               Says the Gauger:

Dingle dangle with the weary moon to see."