Category Jake Combs

Deep Sky Derelicts from Snowhound Games is a game of salvage, mining and combat in space!

Assuming the role of a scavenger in Deep Sky Derelicts, you are looked down on by society but with a twist. Other than normal occupations society is split into two main factions- the haves and the have nots, or simply the Privleged and the Stateless. As a member of the Stateless group of humanity you must scavenge your way through not only your daily routine but as a means of survival. You have a single way out of this life though, one last salvage to end them all- an ancient alien spacecraft.

Gameplay is a throw back to the Final Fantasy 7 days of old where you take turns with each action and when winning the fight you are stuck watching a celebration to, well, celebrate your win. As  you progress through a map that looks like a cross between a tabletop game and a classic 80’s role playing game. Aesthetically the game looks like it would fit as an animated backdrop for another release in the Dead Space franchise, but much more tame and missing the spook factor. Controls are easy to learn but the game offers little in entertainment, but makes up for it in combat that looks like it belongs in a science fiction based comic.

Chicken Police is a Noir-styled detective story featuring the personification of many members of the animal kingdom.

Chicken Police, Handy Games, looks and plays like a classic point and click adventure using images of characters from a detective film that was released in the 20s or 30s. The biggest difference though is that the heads have been replaced with those of the animals they are meant to represent. You play form member of the Chicken Police, Sonny and are met by a doe who looks to hire a detective.

Forced to team up with your former partner Marty you must get to the bottom of this case as you dive deeper and deeper down the rabbit hole. Point and click adventures can be quite dull unless your bring the panache along with it. What on the outside looks like a silly concept ends up working quite well as you are thrust into the world of Clawville- basically Zootopia without the Disney touch. The character models are beautifully rendered with more detail than you would have expected from a game like this and dialogue that is full of wit.

Personally I enjoyed the world and visuals but would have preferred something other than the point and click stylings we received.

Welcome to the another installment of a our series where we will be focusing on one of the Chaos Warbands from Warcry. This time we will be discussing the Spire Tyrants!

The Spire Tyrants hail from the Varanspire, specifically the fighting pits. Those that excel in the pits are awarded a spot among the warbands. Comprising of more variations than nearly any other warband, the Tyrants is ideal for the player that doesn’t want every model to look the same, just as every successful pit fighter is varied.

The variation is both a blessing and a curse for this warband. Specifically the more options you have the more you can customize to your play style. The reason I say this is a curse is because if you are like me you are very indecisive when it comes to building your team. To find the right fit for you, don’t be surprised if you need to modify your roster multiple times before landing on the one that works for you. I still haven’t figured out my best line up and I’ve had my box since they were released!

When it comes to abilities they don’t have nearly as many attack options as I would have expected. They surprisingly have an excellent team buff option with a triple roll- Champion of the Warpits. This ability gives a bonus to attack rolls to nearby units if the attacker had downed an opponent on this turn.

This warband hits hard and has a decent range of movement, making them an improvement over the Iron Golems in my opinion. This increased range allows them to reach their enemies faster and get to the objectives in a more timely manner. When you reach your target, whichever type it may be, you will be able to take a beating and dish one out while you’re there.

To purchase your own box of this models head over to the Games Workshop store here! I personally would pick up two so you have can more options when assembling your warband.

Little Big Workshop is the builder that allows you to build a manufacturing business from the ground up with the appearance of it miniaturized.

This title from Handy Games is all about industry on a miniature scale. Little Big Workshop focuses on automation and planning ahead. Aimed at all ages it seems to miss it’s mark. Cute animations and characters do not make for a child friendly game. You start the game simple enough, build a workbench,  then make and ship a couple gnomes.

After this first task thinks get much more difficult as you find yourself not only trying to build a bench but pre-plan multiple tasks. Many of these tasks don’t even link properly and required rebooting the game several times to finally get it to complete. For a tutorial that is require to play the game you would think it would be a little easier to navigate and no require the finesse of multiple reboots to complete.

With Little Big Workshop I would have thought it would be right up my alley with the fact that everything is miniaturized but it feels more like a tedious snooze-fest than an exciting game even without the numerous glitches I encountered.

Welcome to the another installment of a our series where we will be focusing on one of the exclusive Chaos Warbands from Warcry. This time we will be discussing the Unmade!

Originating from the island of Tzlid, near the Shyish Nadir, The Unmade enter Eightpoints from a land of death and decay. The realm was once ruled by the dread lord of the undead himself, Nagash. It’s no surprise that these guys look like nightmares made flesh. Their aesthetic alone is meant to be fearsome. Looking carefully at the models you will notice that they are mutilated in some way. This makes for a great opportunity for anyone that likes to kitbash. The art of kitbashing, for those that are unaware, is taking parts from more than one model it build a one of a kind model of your own.

In their lore The Unmade are essentially a pain cult that rejoices in their own agony and that of their enemies. Sent by dream from the Flayed King, the Blissful One leads this warband to eat and terrorize anyone they meet. These guys sound like fun to invite for a party.

The Blissfull One is an absolute powerhouse when it comes to this faction. To start he has an overwhelming 5 attacks that do critical damage on 6! He has a high movement as well. This means that he can travel around the table quickly murdering everyone. With him being so important to the faction he will also be the primary target of your opponent, so keeping him alive will be a priority. I would recommend using him to focus on anyone separated from the rest of their group before moving on, treating him like a melee sniper. The Joyous One can be quite deadly as well but it is too reliant on good rolls. With me behind the dice he will rarely be used to his potential. The Vessel of Torment ability should be well timed because it will only be truly beneficial if the Blissful One took down an enemy because it will give him an additional move and attack in the same activation.

Your priority should be centering your playing around the Blissful One. Trap opponents within range of the Blissful One so he can swoop in for the kill and line himself up for his next attack. This faction is meant for the more experienced players because to make them effective you must stay out of range of your enemy’s attacks and plan your attacks well. This team does not soak up damage well and will fall if they are being hit consistently.

Welcome to the another installment of a our series where we will be focusing on one of the exclusive Chaos Warbands from Warcry. This time we will be discussing the Splintered Fang!

The Splintered Fang come from the Realm of Life (Ghyran) in the jungles of Indvidia. They worship at the feet (they likely don’t really have feet) of the Coiling Ones.  Their goal is find remnants of their slain deity, Nagendra and primarily use poisons and serpents in battle.

Like the Untamed Beasts, the Splintered Fang is one of the more versatile factions. Some of their units have a decent defense. They generally move quickly and can even perform some strong attacks. Even better they THROW SNAKES!

Their most defining feature has to be their poisons. Their ability Paralyzing Venom can add up to 6 damage bonus to an attack and on occasion immobilize their enemies. One of the most surprising things they offer is that even their shields can stab and can be used to finish opponents. The biggest downside to this team is the fact that the box only comes with a single snake swarm and to be more dynamic you will need two or three.

On aesthetics alone this is my favorite of the Warcry factions. Here is a link to the Warhammer Community article about them as well!

Welcome to the another installment of our series where we will be focusing on one of the exclusive Chaos Warbands from Warcry. This time we will be discussing Cypher Lords!

Coming from Nochseed in the Realm of Light, the Cypher Lords practice their Chaos arts in secret. Being from Hysh they have a natural agility that they have paired with their dark gifts. Other than speed their primary focus is on their abilities and hitting harder than most. Surprisingly when you think of a faction with better movement they typically won’t have the hits to follow it up but these guys do. Their biggest weakness is the fact that they have a much lower threshold for wounds than almost any other warband.

For players that prefer more complex maneuvers the Cypher Lords will be a great faction to play with. Having to plan for better efficiency they become the closest to playing chess than the other bands. What really makes them stand out from the other factions is the fact that their lore has them stemming from the Realm of Light. A faction of darkness from one of the brightest realms.

The Luminate stands out as a unit because she can essentially act as a second leader for the warband and spread leadership abilities around the field of battler easier. With the ability to essentially teleport units all over the table between the Luminate and Thrallmaster you can keep the moving more to keep them out of harms way and allowing you to dish out a ton more damage.

Welcome to the another installment of our series where we will be focusing on one of the exclusive Chaos Warbands from Warcry. This time we will be discussing Corvus Cabal.

These followers of the Great Gatherer stem from the Realm of Shadow and believe the legendary Chaos General Archaon is the embodiment of their god. This faction is the masters of movement and stealth. Some units have the ability to ignore height when moving around the board. This is huge as some models can be trapped by the terrain pieces themselves. The Shrike Talon has an ability that will exploit this fact- Swooping Attack. Essentially he gets to drop on his enemy from above and use it to get a free move and attack option. From some heights he can receive bonuses to improve on the deadliness of the attack.

When playing against foes that have a higher defense (and depending on your objectives) winning the game will require you win the first initiative. Having the first turn is hugely important because Corvus Cabal will win the day on speed alone if they secure objectives first. Otherwise you will be trying to steal the objectives from forces that will typically outlast your fighters. This is what I call the Smash and Grab.

Visually this is an amazing faction. Easily second favorite. I love the Native American aesthetic they have and will likely be one of the first I build for myself but due to their play style will get less usage as a force. My play style is more of a Hit ’em hard and hit ’em fast method that lacks the finesse Corvus Cabal requires.

Corvus Belli returns with the fourth edition of their hit skirmish tabletop game Infinity, aptly named Infinity N4.

This is the first time I’ve ever been able to play Infinity, and I can’t believe I haven’t sooner as the I also learned that the rules and model stats are available on their website for FREE! This means you can try the game out and various models to figure out if the game is for you AND if you have the right army. Now, assuming you’ve played and are ready to purchase your first army, where do you start? Simple. You purchase a faction pack and a rulebook, unless of course you prefer a digital copy and then the free one will more than do the job but without all the lore.

Having never played the game itself before, I did play the spinoff Aristeia game a couple years ago, I didn’t know what to expect. The models have always been fantastic, both fun to paint and looking great on the table but no idea how the game played. I’m told this edition is very much streamlined compared to N3 but I couldn’t confirm this was the case during my playing of the game. I did find it fast paced and much more dynamic than most games. It was quite a bit of fun too but I just wish that the models had assembly guides to make their assembly much easier without having to track down multiple angles of pictures to ensure proper assembly.

The fine folks at Games Workshop have brought one of my favorite IP’s to the pitch with the Second Season Edition of Blood Bowl!

Those that know me, even just a little, will know that I am not a fan of sports, watching or playing. For some reason though I’ve always had a soft spot for Blood Bowl. I have played every iteration of the video games on the Xbox and both of the previous releases of the tabletop game. I even read some of the older books. So how is that I love a sports themed game when I detest sports? It’s all about the conflict. A game where you can have an ork kill or maim a player outright is one I am more than willing to give a solid try. Each time I’ve played I’ve lost on the tabletop and still found it quite enjoyable. The Season 2 Edition seemed like the perfect chance to finally beat my son.

Not much has changed in terms of general gameplay, but at the same time EVERYTHING has changed. That’s a bit of an exaggeration but we are seriously talking about some big changes. First off is in value- the core box comes with enough models to play a full team! This is huge! Every iteration previously required you to purchase additional boxes to have enough on the pitch. I hope this is the trend going forward. Previous editions made an effort of using star players but they always felt like they were missing something. With Season 2 we get to see them offer a bit more panache on the field, no longer just cool looking models. The rulebook includes rules for a plethora of star players, each with their own special stats to make playing them more worth it. It even adds another layer to setting your roster. Additionally previous editions required you purchase your heavy hitters separately but you get one for each team.

As always when it comes to causing carnage on the field I’m no slouch but when it comes to planning through openings to score points there is still some sort of disconnect. Playing multiple games with my son he managed to win each time but not before losing several players along the way. We had a total blast with the game and hope to try out a few of the other teams as they release using the new ruleset. The rules are much easier to understand than in previous editions, leaving fewer questions regarding how to interpret them. If you enjoy sports, fantasy tabletop games or beating the crap out of your opponent you will enjoy this game.