Session Report - BSG Exodus - Party in Sickbay with Anders

This 7 player game was played on 3 March 2012. From the Pegasus Expansion we used Pegasus and had one Cylon Leader but did not use New Caprica. From the Exodus Expansion, we used the Conflicted Loyalties and the Cylon Pursuit board, but not the Ionian Nebula. We played without a Cylon Sympathizer.

The players, in turn order:

Cain (Admiral) – Jeff

Starbuck (CAG) – Brandon (again)

Tori (President) – Matt

Cally – Geoff

Anders – Me

Tigh – George

Six (Cylon Leader) – Will

I am not a Cylon.

This is the first game I have played a pilot. I am really looking forward to getting out there and blasting some Cylons. Brandon, who always plays Starbuck, seems to get a kick out of blasting them, so I am keen to give it a try.

Mass Effect 3 Release Day

The big day is finally here! 

Strap on the adult diaper and send the kids to Grandma, 'cause their gonna be neglected.

Mass Effect 3 is copying into the XBox HD right now (since the dog knocked over the XBox and ruined a disk, I copy all my games to the HD).

I have been looking forward to this game for some time now. So far all the previews seem to support the hype. In a way, I am a bit sad, as this is probably the end of this storyline, even if they seem to have plans for the Mass Effect Universe.

Look for my Mass Effect 3 review in the days to come.

Settlers of Catan - Impressions

When I first got back into board gaming, over a year ago, this was one of the first games I bought. Love it or hate it, Catan is one of the most well known board games of recent memory. I would even argue that Catan revived mainstream board gaming in the late 1990's and early 2000's similar to Trivial Pursuit in the 1980's.

That said, I was disappointed. I bought the game without trying it, and found it one dimensional. I like my games a bit more complicated, and Catan seemed too dependant on lucky die rolls.

However, yesterday at our FLGS gaming day, I got roped into trying it again, but this time with the Seafarers and the Cities & Knights expansions. I was pleasantly surprised.

End Of Nations - Preview and Info

World in Conflict is still my favourite game of all time (my post about WiC is here). Although WiC is still going, it is not what it used to be and most of my friends and clanmates have moved on. I have been looking for a replacement for WiC. Is End of Nations that game?

While End of Nations seems to have some of the same elements of WiC (Command Points, several different game types), it actually seems to be more similar to a game I played before WiC called Shattered Galaxy, which is still going on.

Mass Effect 3 Countdown

Less than a week before the release of Mass Effect 3. There is a lot of anticipation for this game, I hope it doesn't disappoint.

Good things are being said so far. Here are two reviews/previews so far.

SEVER SPOILERS WARNING

Summary of a German Magazine Review
PC Gamer Preview for Mass Effect 3

Update: 

Mass Effect 3 Preview from Gaming Nexus - Minimal spoilers in this one, but it does list the planets you will be visiting.

Another update: Launch Trailer just released

Good PC Game Reviews - Out Of Eight

Whenever I read video game reviews on the big gaming sites, I never know if I should trust them. The video game review industry is rife with examples of the big game sites writing reviews the benefit their big advertisers, and not their customers. 

If you are looking for a site with good game reviews, I recommend Out Of Eight.


He has been posting reviews since 2005 and he has no ads on his site. I read a few reviews of some games that I have, and he is spot on. Also, he appears to have much of the same taste in games as I do.


So check him out.

Session Report - BSG Pegasus - Despair and Executions in Deep Space

This 7 player game was played on 25 February 2012. We used New Caprica and Pegasus, with one Cylon Leader and no sympathizer.

In turn order

Admiral Adama (Admiral)– Fiona

Caprica Six – Matt

Tom Zarek (President) – Me

Saul Tigh – Glenn

Chief Tyrol – Garrett (BSG Virgin)

Apollo – Will

Helo – Jonroy

Choices for characters were a bit questionable. We had 3 military leaders with only one of each other type. Adama offered to switch to a pilot. She chose first, so she should be the last person to have to change. We let it go. The humans may regret it.

I am not a Cylon

Adama plays first. With Cylon ships on the board, Adama elects to go to the research lab to draw cards. I immediately suspect him of being a Cylon. His crisis is Build Cylon Detector and Adama decides to give up a nuke. Neither choice is good, but as this is not Exodus, there is no opportunity to get back nukes, so this may be another indicator of Cylonhood. Not a good start. Caprica Six is next, and I am quite curious to see what she will do. Knowing the player, I figure Six will indicate if she is for us or against us right off the bat. If she tries to infiltrate and claims she is for the humans, she is either has human win conditions or is sneaky. If she stays with the Cylon fleet, she is likely against the humans. She stays with the Cylon fleet and draws a crisis card, Food Shortage. I choose to lose 1 food and skill cards.

Mass Effect 3 Updates and Demo

I promised myself that I would not download the demo for Mass Effect 3. I am anticipating a great ending to the series and did not want to spoil the story. I lasted about 8 hours.

This post will give you some information about the demo and updates about Mass Effect 3. No spoilers will be in this post, but links to information off of this blog may contain spoilers. I will warn you in the link so you can decide if you want that information.

Firstly, the demo: it contains two levels of the game.The first level is very basic, teaching you some of the controls (but by no means all of them). If you watched the Fall of Earth trailer, the first level of the demo will not provide significant spoilers. There are a few character revels, but this info has been previously released through the Voice Cast Revel video. If you are really jonesing for a fix of Mass Effect, playing this level will not ruin the game.

Why the Star Wars Prequel Movies Suck

I always knew that the Star Wars prequel movies sucked, especially the first one.

It took Red Letter Media to show me just how bad they really are. Plinkett is a genius and funny. 

If you thought the prequels sucked, but have trouble articulating their suckiness, these videos will help. And give you a good laugh.

If you want a pizza roll leave your name in the comments and I'll mail you one.

Session Report - BSG Exodus Expansion - Fate Favours the Cylons

This game was played on Saturday, 4 February 2012. This was our first game using the Exodus Expansion. We used all the Pegasus rules except New Caprica, and used the Exodus final five cards (no personal goals) and the Cylon Basestar board (no Ionian Nebula). Six players were present, most having experience with the game. 

Cally - Matt

Dee- Mike

Boomer - Charles (BSG Virgin)

Baltar - Nate

Starbuck - Brandon

Gaeta - Me

I am not a Cylon.

We are pretty keen to give Exodus a try. Most of us have about 10 plays of BSG but it has been off our game radar for a few session (due to fatigue). We stick with only a few rules from Exodus for our first game.

Nate is Baltar (again) and I inwardly groan. He has never been a Cylon in any game he has played (statistically unlikely for a guy who plays Baltar a lot) but he tends to make wild, unfounded accusations, making me think he is a Cylon trying to sow paranoia. It can be dangerous for him to be president. However, the games are always interesting.