Archive for the ‘Featured Author’ Category
A countdown to PAX East 2014 – 56 days, 19 hours, 14 minutes, and 03 seconds
Thursday, February 13th, 2014
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It’s the final countdown…
Can you believe that PAX East 2014 is less than 60-days away?
I’m really looking forward to it this year. Once again I’ll be doing media coverage. Even though it’s only a freelance gig, I have to consider myself extremely lucky to be given such an opportunity. Last year, I was able to cover and gain insight on some of the biggest games to come out. Some of these games included: “Saints Row IV,” “The Elder Scrolls Online,” and “Diablo III” for the console. It’s funny. As I think back on things, I remember when they announced “Hearthstone.” Needless to say, I was initially unimpressed with the game. As it turns out, I was very wrong.
While it was really great that I got the chance to cover some of these high profile games, one thing I missed out on was the tabletop gaming side of PAX East. This year, I’m looking to find the right balance between video games and tabletop games.
I’ve been doing this media thing for, roughly, a year now. PAX East 2013 was my first time covering a convention. I literally threw myself into the fire as far as a learning curve goes. In the fall, I covered the Boston Festival of Indie Games. When I initially signed up to cover the festival I didn’t think much of it. In fact, I was rather hesitant, thinking it wasn’t going to be anything close to what PAX East was, and that I shouldn’t waste my time with it. I was wrong about that too. I seem to be wrong about a lot of things.
The Boston Festival of Indie Games (also known as the “BFIG”) taught me a lot, I think. In 2013, that was the second year for the festival. They had to run a Kickstarter campaign earlier in the year to cover some of the festival’s expenses because they had outgrown their original base of operations. They had gone from the classrooms of M.I.T. to taking over the athletic center and student center of campus. Based on what I saw, I’m sure they’re looking to move to somewhere bigger next year.
The festival was a huge success. There was a ton of people, and it caught me off guard. I think it caught me off guard because I seemed to take the festival for granted. I didn’t realize how much people were so into independent games and developers. The best part of the festival was that it covered video games and tabletop games. It was essentially a mini PAX East.
At PAX East, last year, remember, I said I was able to cover some of the higher profiled games that year. Well, it should also be mentioned that by working with these big named studios I also had to work with some serious PR people. Now, for someone like me, who was new to the industry, those people are scary. I had only been doing the journalism thing since December of 2012.
(I know I’m jumping around a bit, but I’ll get to my point soon.)
Back to the BFIG. Basically, when it was all said and done, I walked away from the festival with a greater sense of confidence in what I do as a journalist. I realized that these folks want to talk to me as much as I want to talk to them. Media outlets are a great opportunity for them to get the word out about their product to a larger audience, and, even though I am not as well established as some out there, that any help counts.
All this brings us to PAX East 2014. I’m hoping to bring this new found confidence and better my PAX East experience. I didn’t have a full schedule of meetings with many companies. It was partly because I didn’t want to have a full schedule and partly because I didn’t get contacted by many companies I wanted to talk to. This year it will be different. I’m looking to make a fuller schedule and open up to companies even if they’re not working on a triple “A” title. In fact, a couple of the best places to be at PAX is the Indie Megabooth and the Indie Showcase which highlights some of the best independent games to be showcased at PAX East for that year.
I also want to cover more tabletop games this year. I spent a lot of my downtime in the tabletop gaming area instead.
This area had it all. There was a section to paint miniatures and learn how to pain miniatures. You could rent one of the many board games donated by attendees and play with your friends. There was a huge area to play “Magic: The Gathering” and there were tables slotted for official “Dungeons & Dragons” campaigns held by Wizards of the Coast employees. There were also tons of vendors.
I, of course, could be found by the Battleground Games & Hobbies booth. They will be there again this year; hopefully, bigger and better than last year. I joke with them every year saying that they should aim to be a bigger booth each year with the eventual goal of looking like one of the video game exhibits like Wizards of the Coast or “Wildstar” had last year. Maybe they should just get a mech suit that people can jump in and take photos of.
Who’s coming to the party?
According to the forums, there are only a few confirmed exhibitors as of right now. As the event draws near, we’ll have a better idea as to who will be there. With all this in mind, what are you looking forward to at PAX East 2014? Is there anything you hope will be there? Let me know.
One thing I’m looking forward to are the Stephen Riley master-class game demos. “Zombiecide” anyone?
I’ll be there all weekend long, and I was also able to snag a stay in Boston during the convention. So if anyone wants to meet up the night before. I’m available. People in the forums are planning the second annual board game night the Thursday night before the event. I plan on being there for a bit. Maybe we can play a game or two.
That’s it for now. If you’ve got a comment or question, then leave something below in the comment section. If you like what you’re reading then don’t forget to like me on Facebook and follow me on Twitter.
About the author
Simeon is an avid gamer who loves to play board games and video games. He graduated college with a degree in Political Science, and now serves the public by writing about games. You can check that out here. Don’t forget to “like” him on Facebook as well. It’ll update you on all of his newest content. Best of all, you can follow Simeon on Twitter (@SimeonCortezano) for some real time hilarity. Thanks for reading!
Join the Battleground Games & Hobbies community forums!
Please don’t forget to check us out on Facebook and follow us on Twitter @battleground_gh!
Tags: Dungeons & Dragons, Magic the Gathering, PAX East 2014, TableTop, zombiecide
Posted in Blog, Board Games, Card Games, Dungeons & Dragons, Events, Featured Author, Featured Post, Magic: The Gathering, Miniature Games, Role-Playing Games, Store Related | 3 Comments »
WizKids and Wizards of the Coast team up to make new miniatures
Friday, February 7th, 2014
In case you missed it, there was a rather big announcement today, February 7, in the world of tabletop gaming. WidKids ( “HeroClix,” “Quarriors”) and Wizards of the Coast (“D&D,” “Magic: The Gathering”) have come to terms on a licensing agreement to produce a new line of pre-painted miniatures. These miniatures are scheduled to coincide with the release of the highly anticipated next edition of the “Dungeons & Dragons” role playing game slated for this summer of 2014.
According to the press-release, “The new line of Dungeons & Dragons miniatures will feature creatures and characters that players have come to know and love, allowing them to wage their battles and experience their adventures with a greater level of immersion and tactical interplay.”
If you remember in 2003, Wizards of the Coast originally produced these caltrops and unfortunately stopped production in 2011. Even weirder was that they let a group known as the “DDM Guild” take over the development of the skirmish game in 2008. No matter, though, the game was really fun to play, and the “DDM Guild” did a good job of maintaining the game. It’s a shame that it stopped getting the love it deserved in its later years.
Battleground Games & Hobbies was very involved in the “Dungeons & Dragons” miniatures scene back in the day. If I remember correctly, they held booster drafts, sealed events, and constructed tournaments, and one of the game’s premier players played and ran the organized play at the store. Now you may be wondering, how do you hold booster drafts with miniatures? Well, it’s pretty easy. Each participant purchased one booster and within that booster you had to make a skirmish group using a limited number of points. Each miniature had a certain point value. The more powerful the figure, the more points it was to run in your skirmish. Constructed tournaments raised the point value of armies allowing for more powerful characters.
We played on these laminated maps which provided for a lot of critical and tactical thinking.
My first time playing in one of the booster drafts was a little intimidating. I had played Dungeons & Dragons with my friends, but from what I observed of other groups that played, we had some unorthodox playing styles, and it translated onto the skirmish scene once I started playing. Nevertheless, the important thing was that the group I played with, and the individual members were really welcoming and very friendly.
This is refreshing news. The “Dungeons & Dragons” miniatures player base was pretty big from what I remember. Since the game died out in 2011, I haven’t seen some of those players. With this announcement, maybe some of their faces will show back up at the new store.
There is something important I should mention though. It wasn’t clearly stated whether or not the new miniatures would be compatible with the old ones. Actually, I don’t even know if it will be a game. As far as the press-release goes, these miniatures are more of a supplement; something to help you visualize the scene as you and your friends role play. Hopefully, I’m getting worried over nothing. We are talking about WizKids, here. All they do is make miniature games.
Finally, if you’re ever in the Abington store, take a look at the display case. In the section facing the back of the store, you’ll notice a large supply of the original miniatures. It will be great if they end up being compatible with the new game. At least the store will be ready.
About the author
Simeon is an avid gamer who loves to play board games and video games. He graduated college with a degree in Political Science, and now serves the public by writing about games. You can check that out here. Don’t forget to “like” him on Facebook as well. It’ll update you on all of his newest content. Best of all, you can follow Simeon on Twitter (@SimeonCortezano) for some real time hilarity. Thanks for reading!
Join the Battleground Games & Hobbies community forums!
Please don’t forget to check us out on Facebook and follow us on Twitter @battleground_gh!
Tags: Dungeons & Dragons, Miniatures, Wizards of the Coast, WizKids
Posted in Blog, Dungeons & Dragons, Featured Author, Featured Post, Miniature Games, Role-Playing Games | 1 Comment »
‘Weiss Schwarz’ offers a promising alternative to ‘Magic: The Gathering’
Thursday, February 6th, 2014
I’ve been playing “Magic: The Gathering” for a long time. Since I’ve been playing for so long, I have the tendency to compare many other card games I try to “M:TG” and cause myself to dislike them. However, there have been a couple of games that managed to spark and keep my interest. There was the “World of Warcraft” TCG by Cryptozoic and “RAW Deal” by Comic Images. After this past weekend, I can gladly add another game to that list: “Weiss Schwarz.”
About “Weiss Schwarz”
“Weiss Schwarz” is a Japanese collectible card game that is published by Bushiroad. If you’ve been to the Abington store, you’ve probably notice a few of the regulars playing it. They’re the cards with the cartoon-looking girls with big eyes, big smiles, and bright personalities. Some people also call this animation style: Anime. A lot of the art is based off of popular Japanese anime shows such as “Sword Art Online,” “Fairy Tail,” and “Fate/Zero” to name a few.
The rules and mechanics of the game are not hard to understand. In fact, I was able to pick it up in about 15 minutes. However, if you’re completely new to the world of collectible card games, it may take a little longer to pick up. You can rest assured, though, that it’s nothing complicated like learning how to play “Magic: The Gathering.”
Your deck is the source of all life
So why does “Weiss Schwarz” make my short list of playable CCGs? A mechanic that “RAW Deal” and this game have in common is that your deck is your life total…essentially. There are slight differences though. In “RAW Deal,” as you took damage from your opponent, you would flip cards from your deck (also known as your “Arsenal”) and placed them into your graveyard. A winner would be declared when someone couldn’t “overturn cards from his or her Arsenal when required to, or when [someone] has no cards at the end of any turn.”
When players take damage in “Weiss Schwarz,” the top card of their deck gets placed into an area known as the “clock.” These cards represent the amount of “time you have left to play the game.” Every time your clock reaches seven cards, you “go up one level.” When a player hits level four, they lose the game.
In “Magic: The Gathering,” players have five things to worry about: their hand, their deck, their graveyard, the battlefield, and their life total. In “Weiss Schwarz,” you have eight: your hand, your deck, the “waiting room,” the “clock,” the “center stage/back stage” area, the “stock” area, “climax” area when they are played, and your “memory.”
Since your deck is your life total and its contents are split into eight different areas, the dynamics of the game are changed drastically as opposed to when you’re playing “Magic: The Gathering.”
When I play “M:TG,” my life total, along with my opponent’s, is recorded on a separate sheet of paper. It goes up and it goes down. Whoever forces their opponent to zero life wins. By making your deck become your life source, I feel, makes for a more interactive game experience.
A break for your wallet
Let’s face it. the constructed side of “Magic: The Gathering” is a really expensive game to play and get into. I guess the same can be said about almost any game a person plays for a hobby, but just to stay competitive…well, let’s just say that it feels like you spend more to sometimes win less, at least at the local stage of the game. This is also not the fault of local game stores. You can blame the secondary market for some of the single prices, but if you’re good enough to make the Pro Tour and win, then kudos to you.
When I was learning to play “Weiss Schwarz” over the weekend, I was using a trial deck with a few additions made to it, and I did well against a “constructed” deck. These trial decks are the equivalent to intro packs for “M:TG.” However, trial decks are competitive right out of the box.
MTGGoldfish.com is a “Magic: The Gathering” financial website. It keeps track of prices and trends of online and paper “M:TG” cards. According to that site, the cheapest standard format deck will cost you almost $150. You don’t even want to know how much some of the top tier decks will cost.
“Weiss Schwarz” is significantly cheaper. Battleground Games & Hobbies sells the trial decks for $24.99 and booster packs for $5.99. Each trial deck comes with a 50 card pre-constructed deck, rule sheet, manual, play book, and playmat. The boosters may be a little more expensive than “M:TG” boosters, but you don’t need to add a lot to your deck right away. So it makes having to buy boosters a little more manageable.
Some final thoughts
I know I’ve made a lot of comparisons to “Magic: The Gathering” and, in some cases, I’ve made it sound like I enjoy this game more. However, that’s not the case. I’ve sold my collection twice and quit about four times. How does that make sense? I don’t know, but it’s the truth. I’ll always be a “M:TG” player, but it’s nice to find another game you can play and actually enjoy every now and then.
As of right now, Battleground Games & Hobbies has tournaments on Saturday afternoon. The format is rather loose until they establish a more solid player base and players get their hands on more cards.
When I was learning to play, I know that there were at least two or three other people learning as well, and a bit of a crowd watching. I’d like this game to pick up. It would be great to see more games being played at the store.
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Tags: Anime, Bushiroad, Fairy Tail, Featured Author, Hatsune Miku, Magic the Gathering, Simeon Cortezano, Sword Art Online, Weiss Schwarz
Posted in Blog, Card Games, Featured Author, Featured Post, Magic: The Gathering, Weis Schwartz | No Comments »
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