Star Wars Angry Birds II

As I come out of my GenCon coma, the sad realization begins to set in, the summer is almost over and it's time to go back to school.  I was going to skip this weeks Cool & Collected blog topic until yesterday.

Back to school is no different for us as we have two sons in college and a third son in middle school.  Our oldest son came home late Friday evening from his internship at NASA and Saturday evening was spent shopping at Walmart to outfit in new campus apartment.

"Hey Tammy I'm going to wander over to the game/toy section."  I try to run by the toy-section  about every other trip.  However, 90% plus of the time I rarely find anything new or that needs to be purchased. However  I was pleasantly surprised last winter by the Star Wars Angry Birds Jenga toys.

"Huh? Telepods? What the heck are telepods?"  A second series of star wars Angry Bird toys released a few weeks ago but these look different.  On the bottom of each figure is a micro chip.

I was 14 when Star Wars came to the big screen but I was a little old for the wave of toys that followed.  Major Matt Mason was a little more my speed.  However I did enjoy the fiction that followed each movie.  It was such a strange notion that the story began in the middle.

I've been immune to Skylanders and the latest launch of Disney's Infinity.  I not overly attracted to video games, but I can appreciate the design that goes into each game.  Hasborg (the nickname many gamers have given Hasbro) has been paying attention.  

In mid-September, a new iPad Star Wars Angry Bird game releases, and a gamer may unlock their figures by teleporting them into the game.  The promotional video shows that you can play the pigs as well.  Darth Maul Pig's red light saber will most likely be cool to wield. 

Aside from the IPad game, each pack supports the previous Jenga's toys.  The toys come in two packs, theme packs, and the huge Star Destroyer pack.

Who would have thought that back to school shopping would have been so fruitful!   The dark side is strong as I feel the pull of $$ from my wallet!

My fellow Cool & Collected bloggers are having the same summer blues I am having.  Please check out their posts.

Junk Fed

Diary of a Dorkette; Too Cool for School!

Team Hellions; Never say never!!

 

Gencon Day Three; The 3rd Annual Sid Sackson Fan Fest

Huh?? Who is Sid Sackson? Well he was a prolific American game designer from the early 1960's through the late 1990's. He designed my very favorite game Acquire. For the past three years I have ran my own event and I had 12 gamers attend this year to play games from my Sid Sackson collection.

A new toys/game based on the new movie "Planes."

A new Star Trek toy.

A retro bat car.

2 different photos of Rivet Wars!

A hot Thanos heroclix that I couldn't afford.

My favorite event on day three is Laura & Tracy Hickman's Killer Breakfast. Think the humor style of the genius Dick Van Dyke combined with a live role playing game where 60 or so heroes die in two hours........ It is the best. This year zombie Smurf Hobbits were killed in red tape that eventually knocked down Godzilla who was being attacked by Mothera ........ What a great time!   

Day Two; It's Time to Play All Those New Games

Dead Panic sold out the first day.

Rivet wars has some beautiful bits.

Klingon's that sing!

The land of dead card games.

Ballon art, can you name the character?

Day two was great. I played so many games I didn't have time for lunch!

Gencon Day One; Let the Madness Begin.......

It's hard to sleep the night before as its like being a child on the night before Christmas.  "What new games and toys will I see?" 

Every year I try something new and this year is no different as there are over 12,000 events to choose from. Gencon began as a gathering of friends (Gary Gygax) who shared a love of playing Dungeon and Dragons and it has grown into the largest gaming convention in North America. Needless to say, RPGs are at the heart of Gencon and while I enjoy them, I rarely have the time needed to invest in playing them. So this year I signed up for four sessions. Day one began with an 8am game called "Do, Pilgrims of the Flying Temple." Pilgrims are flying monks who like to help others but often get them selves into trouble. Our game was to same Melanie who's house was swallowed by a flying whale.  It is a family friendly story telling game that can be played in an hour.

The dealer hall which is my focal point of day one opens each year at 10 am after a ceremonial roll of a huge pair of d6s. Then a huge heard of people rush (not run) into an enormous hall where almost 400 dealers are waiting to take their money.  My first stop this year was the Privateer Press booth as I was anxious to purchase a new deck building card game set in the War Machine universe.

Gencon is a larger than life experience!

An interesting new game by Queen as it has a new game mechanic but I'm a little concerned about the replay ability. It was called "Via Appia."

The finally came to an end with back-to-back games of Fiasco, Our Best Hope (think Bruce Willis & the movie Apocalypse,) and Are you a Werewolf. I died in all three games! There is always Gencon day 2.

Gencon Wednesday; The Calm Before the Storm!

Arrival and check in was extremely smooth today.  For several years I have purchased my badge and event tickets as will call.  Apparently so has thousands of other gamers.  They are expecting over 41 thousands attendees this year.

After picking up my badge, I then got in line at the auction room as I brought 16 game to sell.  Previous years had long waits to check in your games, but they have stream-lined the process, and it took less than 30 minutes.  So far the gaming Gods have blessed my group with good karma.

Indy is a great city to visit. The architecture is beautiful and the city fully embraces the gaming culture. Many restaurants decorate for the occasion and offer specialized convention menus. I would highly recommend the Ram and Scotty's Brewhouse. This year Piazo and the game Pathfinder are sponsors at Scotty's. If you order off the special menu, you can get a customized Gencon d6. Who doesn't love free swag.

We did manage to play lots of new games today given its what Gencon is all about.

We played Dungeon Roll, Puppet Wars; Unstitched, and Eight Minute Empire. Dungeon Roll is a push your luck dice game with a Dungeon & Dragons theme. The goal is to have the most experience points by slaying dragons & looting treasure. Some of the art was done by a friend who works at Hallmark Cards, Ryan Johnson. 

Gencon; Travel Day

So as our group, the White Dragon packs up & heads out to Indy from Kansas City, we decided to add a new stop in our trip, the Miniature Market warehouse & retail location in St. Louis. Thus the internal-struggle of am I cheating my "brick & mortar" store by purchasing games from some other source adds a new chapter. It is hard to ignore the fact that I saved almost $60 which leaves more money to spend at Gencon! It's not rocket science. However loyalty is a trait I value.

If by chance you find yourself driving through St. Louis, then set aside at least an hour to visit the Miniature Market as they have a large selection of "dented & dinged" products at 50-80% off. Plus you  can order new games via their computer and a friendly staffer will go into the warehouse & pull your order.

It was an easy decision to pick up KrosMaster Arena & the first 3 expansions for 30% off retail! On to Gencon!!

More Than Just a Nightmare.......

My worst nightmare!

This week’s League of the Extraordinary Bloggers topic makes me shudder.  So before I share, I must make a stand against Murphy’s Law & self-fulfilling prophecies.  Please, please, please, please, please, please don’t happen………………

During the devastating tornado in Joplin, Missouri, a fellow board game collector lost his whole collection.  As it turns out, high winds and rain don’t mix well with cardboard games.  While many lost more including lives, the thought of suffering such tragedy is beyond comparison. 

As the story of my fellow collector spread through the BGG.com community, soon offers of support and game replacement were flowing in.  If I have not said it before, the gaming community are made up of many kind and caring people.  Please check out this Geeklist.  On a totally useless but true note, there are 35 board games with the word "nightmare" in the title. 

 

Please visit my fellow bloggers as they share their thoughts on "nightmares." However you might not want to read these posts just before bedtime..... you've been warned!

Goodwillhunting4geeks

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