What a Cowboy game July 12th

 

The attackers advanced along the top of the table from left to right

So, our regularly scheduled game day was cancelled as the venue was still drying out from the Canada Day floods. As a result I decided to try and get a What a Cowboy game played at my place. While four people initially said yes, by game day we were down to 2 players and me as ref. Thankfully the players were from different factions so that part of it worked out.

The game was set up and prepped for the ambush scenario. The attackers had to get a mule across the table, the defenders had to stop them. A note about all our games, I tend to set a time limit of six turns on the games. At the end of six turns we roll a die, if a six is rolled the game ends if not then another turn is played. At the end of this 'extra' turn we roll again and the game ends if a  five or six is rolled. We keep rolling and keep increasing the result range. The idea is that it inspires players not to waste time but to get on with the mission. The variable nature of the last turn adds some tension.

The defenders made certain to place a sniper high up guarding the 'north' passage.

The attackers move in force along the northern edge the defenders have a henchmen gang and one other defender on the ground

Tuco pushed past a fellow gang member to try and stop the attackers

Meanwhile one of the deployed defenders desperately tried to get across town to join the fight

Things do not look good for the attackers as the defenders move to cut off their escape route

But good shooting by the attackers pin a number of defenders and drop one of their number

The sniper failed to halt the attackers, and they manage to advance the mule almost off the table 

More defenders fall

In the end it was a very near run thing. The mule was left untended but the defenders failed their morale test

It was a very good game that went right down to the wire. The defenders were whittled down and forced to flee, but had they stood they may yet have prevailed as they had more men around the mule.

The next couple of games are going tough for the gang that were the defenders. The attacking gang has managed to gain enough experience to raise most of not all of their members to Gunslinger status. I see a lot of henchmen in the defenders future.

Boardgame night, Dragons Down

 

So, we finally got this off the shelf and onto the table. It is a reworking of the old Avalon Hill game, Magic Realm. This edition is very shiny, lots of large tiles, poker chip size tokens and fancy accessories.

For our first game we decided to play the introductory scenario using just the mountain tiles. I bought the fancy edition that comes with metal coins, fancy character boards and weighted chips. 

I was the Human barbarian, while the other player chose a Dwarf knight.

As for the game it was a mixed bag. The game was fun to play but we had some issues with the rulebook. Nothing so serious that it ruined the game, just sometimes a challenge to locate information. We started late so by 1 Am we decided to call it and we both retired our characters after about 18 turns. We both had fun and will definitely try this game again, soon.

What a Cowboy gaming weekend part 2

 

The old mission was the scene of our second game. These are Crescent Root buildings that I bought some time ago. We used the rescue scenario for this game, the defenders had a hostage hidden in the small building near the church the attackers/rescuers game in from the right side.

One of the attackers has made it into the building and has the hostage in hand

The battle to free the hostage was very intense with much exchange of gunfire. while the attackers made it into the building the defenders took position at the window looking into the building and shot any and all who dared enter.

There was also a running gun fight on the elevated walkway, with Doc managing to eliminate two of the defenders. In the end, the defenders were able to hold on to their captive. 

Our third game took place on Sunday and featured a mountain! The scenario saw the attackers trying to burn out the defenders. 

So, my Viking/Neanderthal heritage comes back to bite me!

 

So, for awhile now I have had a weird growth in my right hand that sort of resembled a swelling but was not a swelling. It was/is a tight blister looking but rather solid mass that was beginning to impact my ring finger. It was making the finger curve inwards, somewhat, but was also making my hand start to contort. In fact I now do the 'Vulcan' live long and prosper hand sign  while my hand is resting.

On Monday this week I received a call from the plastic surgeons office at the General Hospital to book me an appointment for Wednesday. Having been referred to them for a while now, I lept at the chance.

It never occurred to me to take a before picture of my hand gut I did take one after the visit, as it worked out that it was not just a consult but turned into an action appointment. So my hand was numbed (surprisingly the needles somewhat hurt) Then the doctor stabbed my hand repeatedly with 3 or 4 other needles. 

You can see the stab marks!

It seems that what I have is, I kid you not, Viking Disease (formally known as Dupuytren's contracture) It is a condition where the connective tissue under your palm's skin thickens. It causes nodules and tight cords that permanently bend your fingers—most commonly the ring and pinky fingers—toward the palm. The condition is genetic, primarily affecting people of Northern European descent over 50. It causes nodules and tight cords that permanently bend your fingers—most commonly the ring and pinky fingers—toward the palm. The condition is genetic, primarily affecting people of Northern European descent over 50. Apparently it has been studied a bit more and it seems to go back beyond Vikings to Neanderthal days! 

The puffy bits have gone down a bit, but the hand was not that nice looking even before the procedure.

There is no cure as such, all they can do is break up the fibrous growths/hardening or in extreme circumstances remove them through surgery. My procedure was the breaking up one, quite amusing as you could hear and feel the popping  as he plunged the needles into my hand again and again. So much fun. Happily the injection kept the pain away, unhappily by the evening the injection had worn off. 

So this whole thing put a bit of a crimp in my hobby plans as I had planned to do quite a bit of work on my wild west stuff. Fortunately by Thursday night the pain had receded  enough to allow me to tackle some projects, so in the end, not much time was lost.

For now the problem has been abated but it will return. Apparently, some of my hobby activities can cause this to return quicker as can my diabetes, oh joy. Guess maybe I should do something about that last thing...