I've been making significant progress in the development of a new game based on Ancient Israel and surrounding nations. I have narrowed the scope (for now at least) to a two player game that will cover the time between the division of the Kingdoms (Israel & Judah) during the reigns of Jeroboam and Rehoboam and ending with the final Assyrian invasion that resulted in the fall of Samaria and the exile of the Northern Kingdom of Israel in 722 BC.

After much research I've pretty much finished the game map, which uses a point to point movement system and is a slightly abstracted, yet fairly accurate map of Israel, Judah, and the surrounding nations of Philistia, Phoenicia, Moab, Edom, Ammon, and Aram (Syria).

Time is marked by the drawing of King Cards, one for Israel and one for Judah. These cards list the name of the King, the dates of his reign, and the game impact of his reign. For example, some Kings fought specific campaigns against certain nations, some...

I originally posted the content in this thread (in case you find it rep-worthy).

To the tune "American Pie", first verse, chorus, and last verse.

A long, long time ago
I can still remember how Valhalla used to make me smile
And I knew if I had my way
I could get my kids to play
And maybe we’d be happy for a while
But November gave me quavers
When I logged on Heroscapers
Bad new on the front page
The fans were in an outrage
Well I don’t remember if I cried when I
Read what Wizards did decide
But something touched me deep inside
The day the Heroscape died

So bye-bye Tagawa Samurai,
I’ll miss the Snipers and the Vipers and the old 4th Mass Line
And good old Orcs with Krug and Grimnak beside
Shouting “This’ll be the day that I die.”
“This’ll be the day that I die.”


I met a guy who Screamed the Truth
And I asked him for...

Like most people who have played board games for quite some time, every once in a while a get the urge to design a new game. My first attempt was way back in 8th grade (1978!!) and I developed some pretty basic rules for revolutionary war miniatures. Later I adapted them to WWII. Nothing especially realistic or innovative, but I had fun.

There were a few others in the span of the many intervening years since; mostly war games for a specific battle, but there was also a game based on running a chemical plant. (This was way before the relatively recent rash of games that simulate farming, or city development, or a power plant, or other resource management games, so that makes me a freaking genius! ) Nothing really ever came of them. They were just brief periods of inspiration followed by lapses of follow through and eventual disinterest.

But there has been an idea for a game that has been in the back of my mind for a long time. A military/economic/political...

So, it's been snowing like crazy here in the Maryland region, the kids have been off from school for what seems like forever, I had to cancel church services this past Sunday, and my War of the Ring Collector's Edition will not be arriving until some time in May.

This afternoon I was at Walmart buying supplies for our church's Valentine's Dinner. My two sons were with me, so I let them take a stroll through the toy section. And there it was: Master Set 3.

I think it is well documented that I've not been a huge fan, and that I had pretty much resolved that my Heroscape buying days were over. I had seen MS3 on the self before and easily passed it by.

But today something snapped. I picked it up. I showed it to my boys. I looked it over again. Suddenly, somehow, it was in the cart! I watched, having a sort of out of body experience as the cashier swiped the box over the scanner and put it in a bag. Hmmm...what just happened?!

So I get...

With the recent news that the next Heroscape master set will feature D&D minis, there is no shortage of debate, as was predicted. Some are very happy about this, some are upset, and some are still trying to sort things out.

For me, this is a sad day.

I knew that one day there would be an end to new product for this game. And although that would be a sad occasion, Heroscape would easily remain a favorite game of mine for years and years to come.

But there is a good possibility that the announcement of a D&D master set may mark the end of new Heroscape product. Although we still do not know if WotC will continue to produce new "classic" Heroscape figures along with the introduction of D&D miniature conversions, the fact that WotC has decided to integrate D&D into the "classic" framework leaves me with many misgivings.

The main issue for me is that the two games use very different looking miniatures....