Greetings, Gamers!
I have been a game-playing machine the last few weeks, recording videos and trying out new games. I’ve found some new ones I like… and some I’ll probably not play again but it was worth looking at them. The summer is close to wrapping up, and my boys are prepping for another year of school, but I look back and realize that I’ve had a good game-playing summer and can’t complain.
I’m still hoping to hit 1000 subscribers by end of 2024, so I could sure use your help to spread the word. And definitely let me know about any conventions you have coming up in your area and I’m happy to give a shout out. Gen Con is starting soon, but I’m really interested in the smaller cons… so let me know!
Alright… enough of that… on to the fun stuff!
*** Disclaimer: some product links in the newsletter are Amazon affiliate links ***
RPGs
This one is HUGE… Modiphius has announced Space: 1999 The Tabletop Roleplaying Game! WOO! I loved this show, and I’ve wondered for a while why it didn’t exist as an RPG. It looks like the game will be released next year, 2025, which marks the 50th anniversary of the show that started in 1975. In addition to the core rulebook, they’ll also be releasing a companion book, the Space: 1999 Moonbase Alpha Technical Operations Manual.
Sign up here for more details as they are released.
WARGAMING
In a recent newsletter, I shared my love for the Ooh Rah sci-fi miniature set from Wargames Atlantic. I’ve made a bunch of them for my new Bug Hunt campaign, and I like how they come with so many arms and weapons and heads to mix and match the minis. Well, subscriber Carson L. put me onto another of the Wargames Atlantic sets called Eisenkern Stormtroopers. I hadn’t seen these before, but yes… they are cool! Thank you, Carson, for letting me know. I’d like to have a larger variety of troopers for Bug Hunt, and these look like they will do perfectly. The price is perfect, too! ($36 for 20 minis.)
TERRAIN
This isn’t a paid advertisement (I will ALWAYS label those as such IF I ever start getting any), but it is a strong personal recommendation for a series of 3D printed terrain. For some time now, I’ve been 3D printing a bunch of terrain from a creator named Adrian on MyMiniFactory. His structures (both normal and ruins) just really appeal to me, and I’ve got about a dozen printed… and about half that many painted. I just finished up my most recent one in a new Deth Wizards video (see below) called The Cobalt Dragon - it’s one of Adrian’s largest structures and I’m pleased with how it looks on the table as shown below (although I do plan on hitting it with a dark wash soon to bring out the details).
SOLO GAMING
I just started playing a small roll-and-write solo-play game called Dangerous Space. It’s awesome! Four maps, four soldiers (and you can mix and match them). It’s got the right amount of luck and dice rolling with a mix of strategy. Simple and fast to play, so I cannot recommend it enough. You can print out on a single sheet the game area and the stats of your soldier and all you need are some d6 dice (3 white, 3 black). Link to the game here (only $4), and I’m seriously considering investing in the Year-Long-Adventure-Set ($20) that adds a new map each Friday in 2024. A very portable game - I play it on my iPad with the digital pencil and it works great!
CUSTOM CONTENT
This week, I’ve got a new
scenario to share - it’s called Old Man Keedop’s Farm. The old farmer has a family secret - he eliminates the competition by actually ELIMINATING them and burying them on his farm land. Perfect source of material for my Necromancer.
You can download the scenario for FREE right here. And the first half of the playthrough is LIVE here or watch below.
LOVECRAFT/MYTHOS
I just got the Volume 2 graphic novel from CMON for the Death May Die game - WHOOP! It also came with the matching miniatures and scenarios for the game. If you’re a Cthulhu fan and you haven’t played Cthulhu: Death May Die, you’re really missing out. My local gaming group is starting to play it, and I couldn’t be happier - I usually play solo, but it’ll be nice to have some other players. You can get more info on the basic game here, and the graphic novel and expansion information can still be preordered here.
GASLANDS VEHICLE OF THE WEEK
This week’s Gaslands vehicle comes from Michał Lisiecki - nothing like a beat up and battle-ready 57 Chevy!
YOUTUBE
I got a copy of One-Hour Skirmish Wargames by John Lambshead a year or so back based on a recommendation from a friend… it uses a diceless system (playing cards) and while I liked the sound of it, the system didn’t really grab me. My friend has kept asking, and finally sent me this video. And I will admit… it has me interested now. I’ll let you know how/if we get a game together with these rules, but I’m going to now give them another read-through. If any of my subscribers have played with these rules (or are currently doing so), I’d love to know which games you are playing with them.
LIFE GAMIFICATION
I finally got back into the walking thing after taking a hit from COVID. I’m back ahead in the game, at 71% completed for the Mines of Moria. This is the third scenario in the Lord of the Rings Challenge I’ve been doing for a few months now. It’s an app that tracks your walking and exercising. When you reach the end, you get sent (in the mail) an actual medal. I know… it’s not like a real Marathon medal, but it does keep me engaged and inspired to keep moving. I’ve lost over 10 pounds since I started and I feel better. You can get more info on the Challenge here. I’ve got 21 days to walk 11 more miles… I got this.
TABLETOP ENGINEER’S GAMING WORKSHOP
I’d like to invite you to come over and check out my new Patreon, The Tabletop Engineer’s Gaming Workshop. For a few years now, I’ve posted my solo gameplay videos (and random stuff like the occasional crafting video) over on The Tabletop Engineer Plays YouTube channel, and that’s not going to stop. Instead, I’m using the Patreon as a way to play more games and upload them for my Patrons. Patrons will also get early access to the videos I post to YouTube for free as well as private playthrough videos for games like D100 Space, HeroQuest, Core Space, and more. Private videos start up on August 1, 2024 but I’ve already uploaded some stuff for Patreons.
You can get more info here, and the Patron tiers are kept intentionally low in price.
You can find my zines and laser-cut terrain at thetabletopengineer.bigcartel.com - 10% off to newsletter readers with code RPGWGNEWS.
Digital copies of all my zines can be found on DrivethruRPG.
My game play-through videos can be found here.
The YouTube Channel name is The Tabletop Engineer Plays
My Patreon - The Tabletop Engineer’s Gaming Workshop can be found here.
Those Eisenkern stormtroopers pulled up some old-school memories (well, not old-old, but 10-15 years old 😉) - they come from a whole line (dreamforge games) that was out in the past, which had vehicles and "leviathans", which were used by people as alternative knights for 40k. You can see some of the line on their "instructions" page, but the their webstore seems to boil down to an ebay link at this point.
https://dreamforge-games.com/pages/instructions