Articles by Sean Finch
OriginalSultan, also known as Red Leader, is part Dwarf and part Christian. A descendant of Irish immigrants, he makes a living by going on ‘Attack Runs’. He also reviews board games, tabletop miniatures games, and whatever else strikes his fancy.
Warhammer the Smart Way: How to Play the Game Without Emptying Your Wallet
The most common complaint associated with Games Workshop games is that they are too expensive. Warhammer and its futuristic cousin Warhammer 40,000 are wonderful games for many reasons, but their ability to drain money from bank accounts is legendary. But fear not friends! This is an expensive hobby, but there are ways to stretch your money and keep some of it in your wallet.
That’s what this article is about. My 12-years of experience with Games Workshop games has taught me a lot about ways to save money (and ways to not save money!) while still getting a lot of enjoyment out of the games. Hopefully this article will provide some helpful advice that will allow you – a Warhammer player (or Warhammer 40k player) – to get the most bang for your buck and keep your wallet fat. [Read the rest of this article]
Review: Lord of the Rings Risk – Trilogy Edition
Overview
Lord of the Rings Risk: Trilogy Edition, a board game by Hasbro and Parker Brothers released in 2003, takes the classic game of Risk and transports it into Tolkien’s Middle Earth. In addition to the change of theme, the game builds on the classic Risk mold by adding several new elements – presenting new strategic and tactical choices – yet still feeling like a light war game. But a lack of polish and an overwhelming ‘mass-market’ feel dampen what otherwise could have been a good game. [Read the rest of this article]
Report Card: Space Marine Units (Part 3)
And now for the third and final installment of my analysis of every unit in Codex: Space Marines. The first part contains the overview and my grades for HQ, Troops and Transports. The second part contains my grades for Elites and Fast Attack. This final part contains my grades for Heavy Support and Ultramarines Special Units and Special Characters.
I have also included a summary at the end, which lists the complete report card, but without the details.
Heavy Support
Devastator Squad: B
The weapons upgrades seem like they are overpriced, and other armies’ heavy weapons units seem like they are better (e.g. Chaos Havocs), but I just can’t seem to make a shooty army without this unit. Maybe its because they are one of the best firepower units in the space marine codex. They are more durable than a predator: more models = more enemy firepower necessary to take them out AND you have to kill 2-6 models (depending on unit size) before there is any loss of firepower. Unlike a predator, which can be destroyed in one hit, or even if not destroyed, will be unable to fire for a complete turn if even damaged (which is almost as bad!). Not to mention that this unit typically has cover saves, whereas the predator might have cover, which might grant it hull down…you see what I mean. Devastators are simply more durable than other heavy firepower units. Plus you can transport them, or, in a pinch, assault with them. And finally, this unit is good because of the excellent variety of weapons configurations. Players will argue all day as to the best way to arm them. The reason is because there are many different weapon configurations that work well. [Read the rest of this article]
Report Card: Space Marine Units (Part 2)
This is part 2 of my examination into the units in the 4th edition Codex Space Marines. This part features the Elites and Fast Attack sections of the force organization chart. For the overview of what all of this means, see the original article. Therein you will find my analysis of the HQ, Troops and Transports. For Heavy Support and Special Characters, stay tuned for Part 3.
Elites
Terminator Squad: B+
Great armor, great firepower, good in close combat, the ability to deep strike or drop pod, and take veteran skills. Make no bones about it, terminators are very good. Sure they cost a good bit. But there’s a reason that your opponent tries as best as he can to aim every low AP weapon at them or to avoid them like the plague. The trick with Terminators is that you have to deploy them and move them very carefully. If you go with the strategy of advancing them down the center, in the open, then they will die very quickly. But if you use terrain to your advantage and bring them into sight of one or two enemy units at a time, you can wreak havoc on those units and expect to survive any return fire. This unit, like the dreadnought, is best used (in my experience) as a counter-attack unit – hiding behind cover and poking out to eradicate an enemy unit that gets too close. Of course, you must take 2 assault cannons if you use this unit. If you don’t, they are much less effective, maybe only average considering their point cost.
Report Card: Space Marine Units (Part 1)
With Warhammer 40k entering its 5th edition as of this past Friday, one chapter of the game’s history comes to an end, while another begins. As I thought about the past edition I decided it would be good to take one last look at all of the units in the Space Marine Codex. There are always numerous assessments of a unit’s abilities during the course of an edition, but it is rare that a unit is examined and assessed after an edition ends. And yet the end of an edition seems to be the best time to make an assessment, because that is the time when all of the other codexes have been released, all of the games have been played, and all of the ‘data’ has been collected.
The following article, therefore, is an assessment of every unit in the Space Marine Codex, as they operated under the 4th edition rules. Mind you, this is no hard-tested, quantitatively analyzed assessment; rather, it is my personal opinion of each unit, based on my experiences – and the experiences of many others – in countless battles with and against these units. You may agree with my opinions; you may not. If you don’t agree, feel free to comment with your own opinions. [Read the rest of this article]
Warhammer 40k 5th Edition Released Today
The 5th edition of Warhammer 40k was officially released today, according to the Games Workshop website. I wrote a preview of 5th edition a while back, for those who are interested in my thoughts on the new system. As I haven’t bought the new rules yet, I will reserve judgement on it until a later date.
I have also been informed that several Games Workshop branches, including the one in the Town Mall of Westminster, will be open ALL NIGHT, as in, they will not close until tomorrow night. The idea is to get gamers into the store and have a night filled with gaming and fun.
How much fun everyone has might be determined by the new rules. Hopefully they will turn out for the best.
Warhammer 40k: 5th Edition Preview
It appears that Games Workshop’s futuristic tabletop miniatures game is due for a new edition sometime this year, likely in the fall. Thanks to Warseer and The Bolter and Chainsword for this information.
As with the release of 4th edition, all existing codexes will remain valid, and new codexes that are more ‘in line’ with the new edition will be released over the course of (probably) several years. Thus, this edition uses the same basic system as 4th (and 3rd) and does not represent a complete re-write of the whole system (as was the case when the transition from 2nd to 3rd was made).
A new boxed set featuring Space Marines and Orks is due for release along with the new edition. The boxed set supposedly includes far more models than have been included in recent 40k starter boxes: 10 tactical space marines, 5 terminators, 1 commander, 1 dreadnought, 20 ork boyz, 5 ork nobz, 1 warboss, and 3 deathkoptas.
I will highlight a few of the many rumored rules changes. [Read the rest of this article]
Review: The Classic Dungeon
The Big Picture: The Classic Dungeon is a board game with a simple premise: venture into a dungeon, kill the monsters, take their treasure, and escape. The game is based on a D&D style fantasy theme, and the players take the role of adventurers. But unlike in D&D, where the adventurers work together, in this game the adventurers work against each other to kill as many monsters and acquire as much treasure as quickly as they can, and then get out before the other players. For those who like the feel of a dungeon hack without all the complex rules, plus a little dice-chucking and some push-your-luck, this game is for you.
The Details: TSR’s The Classic Dungeon is a 1992 re-release of the original TSR game Dungeon, which debuted in 1975. This version retains the simple dungeon hack feel, but adds a few twists that give players more options and strategic choices.
The first thing a person will notice when opening the very long and wide box is that the size of the box is due to the large board, which measures 36 x 21 when fully unfolded. The board consists of about 90 rooms connected by various twisting corridors. The corridors are segmented into spaces. The players move their character along the spaced corridors and into the rooms where they fight monsters. [Read the rest of this article]
Review: Incan Gold
The Big Picture: Incan Gold is a light push-your-luck game with an Indiana Jones-esque theme that is suitable as a nice filler for serious gamers and as a mainstay for family gamers. Essentially, you and the other players search through ancient Incan ruins for treasure, trying to avoid all manner of traps and dangers along the way. Incan Gold, designed by Alan R. Moon and Bruno Faidutti, is an American remake of the game Diamant. The game supports up to 8 players, and plays in about 20 minutes. Its short length allows for multiple rounds to be played back-to-back, and given how fun the game is, you will be hard pressed to resist doing so.
The Details: Each turn, every player is forced to make a choice: “Do I stay or do I go?” While that might sound a bit simple (and it is), the decision is oftentimes agonizing, and hence the brilliance of the game. [Read the rest of this article]
Jurassic Park 3 Island Survival Game: A Review
The Big Picture: Jurrasic Park 3 Island Survival Game is a board game produced by Hasbro based on the movie of the same name. Many board games based off of movies tend to be poorly designed, with the intent to sell copies based off of the title and not from the game-play. Hence, many board games based off of movies are worse than the movies they are based off of. And this game is no exception. Trouble is, Jurassic Park 3 the movie was terrible! But somehow, some way, Jurassic Park 3 Island Survival Game is worse.
The Details: The first sign of trouble came when I saw the layout of the board. It looked like a classic ‘roll and move’ type board. Then a batch of dice with numbers on them. Uh-oh. A cursory glance through the rule-book later and…yep…roll and move. Nice. Ok, so, it’s a…WAIT! Are those plastic dinosaur pieces?! Yes they are! As it turns out, all of the dinosaur pieces (and there are a dozen of them) are sculpted to look like the dinosaurs they represent. Cool. Too bad that was the best part about the game. The rest of the components are average at best. The human characters are cardboard stand-up things, the life tokens are simple cardboard chips, and the event cards are nothing special. [Read the rest of this article]
