What's new
  • Welcome to the Heroscapers 2.0 site! We've still got some dust to clear and adjustments to make, including launching a new front page, but we hope you enjoy the improvements to the site. Please post your feedback and any issues you encounter in this thread.

Colorado Events: Past Present and Future

E

Elginb

New member
Site Supporter
 
  • Like
Reactions: dok
Re: Next Colorado Event?

Sounds good to me. There's a chance I'll be out of town the weekend of the 23rd and 24th but it's not likely. Other than that, it's just ski season, knee permitting.

I guess if I were picking the date, I'd go with the 16th, since the slopes are annoyingly crowded on MLK weekend anyway.
 
Re: Next Colorado Event?

Yes, I would love to play again. January is just as good as any other time. I do have a request that we have a few four player maps to do team battles. Also the 520 point army is perfect, don't change that. Just rent the room out for more time. Thanks!
 
Re: Next Colorado Event?

I'm in. I'm planning to explore Enchanted Grounds sometime this week; it's a coffee shop/FLGS, so it might be a good place to meet.

I'd enjoy it if a game night/afternoon were structured in a way that promotes a variety of gaming styles, from competition to storytelling.
 
Re: Next Colorado Event?

What if each map had it's own set of winning conditions or different scenarios? Some could be traditional kill 'em all, some could be 4-player team games, some could be capture the flag, some could have more exotic rules.

Also, I think it would be nice if we could have a 1000 point pool to choose from so that we could draft specific armies for each map/scenario.
 
Re: Next Colorado Event?

Elginb said:
What if each map had it's own set of winning conditions or different scenarios? Some could be traditional kill 'em all, some could be 4-player team games, some could be capture the flag, some could have more exotic rules.
Click to expand...
I like extending the idea we had, from this event, of tying scenarios to maps. I thought both this and the rolling rumble format worked great. The Albuquerque NHSD provides several ideas for formats that could work really well with this event. If you have all five of those formats going, that's a lot of variety.

However, I'm not sure team games really work well with the rolling rumble format (or with 520 point levels). I'm not opposed to team games per se, but I think it's very different and doesn't mix well with the other scenarios.

Elginb said:
Also, I think it would be nice if we could have a 1000 point pool to choose from so that we could draft specific armies for each map/scenario.
Click to expand...
I have a couple thoughts/concerns about that:

  • Once we start considering variable armies, there's a whole ton of options. Scape-a-Palooza had each player bring two set armies, where you might play one or the other, or even your opponent's army. Dallas had an event where either player could draft from their opponent's figures, in addition to their own.
  • 1000 points might be a struggle for newer players, although as long as we allow Marvel I suppose anyone with Marvel can hit that number pretty easily.
  • While I like the idea of drafting to an opponent/scenario, one of the cool things about the format we ran is that I had to consider an army that could play well in a variety of scenarios. If you allow drafting or swapping out, then we're moving away from jack-of-all-trades armies and more towards specialist armies.
 
Re: Next Colorado Event?

dok said:
However, I'm not sure team games really work well either with the rolling rumble format (or with 520 point levels). I'm not opposed to team games per se, but I think it's very different and doesn't mix well with the other scenarios.
Click to expand...

I think you may be right about team games...

dok said:
Elginb said:
Also, I think it would be nice if we could have a 1000 point pool to choose from so that we could draft specific armies for each map/scenario.
Click to expand...
I have a couple thoughts/concerns about that:

  • Once we start considering variable armies, there's a whole ton of options. Scape-a-Palooza had each player bring two set armies, where you might play one or the other, or even your opponent's army. Dallas had an event where either player could draft from their opponent's figures, in addition to their own.
  • 1000 points might be a struggle for newer players, although as long as we allow Marvel I suppose anyone with Marvel can hit that number pretty easily.
  • While I like the idea of drafting to an opponent/scenario, one of the cool things about the format we ran is that I had to consider an army that could play well in a variety of scenarios. If you allow drafting or swapping out, then we're moving away from jack-of-all-trades armies and more towards specialist armies.
Click to expand...

All the master sets have 1000+ points worth of figures in it, so I imagine that most people would be able to swing that. If we're talking about choosing from the most variety, well, that's always going to be a limitation on new players.

I'm not as enamoured with the jack-of-all trades armies, myself-- I think it takes away from the counter-drafting element of the game-- but if we made it a smaller pool to choose from (say 750 pts), that would force you to have a core that's a jack-of-all-trades but with some counter-drafting options. Though, of course, I like having more options to choose from rather than less... but that's something we should all discuss.
 
Re: Next Colorado Event?

I still actually work weekends so to take a weekend off for a Heroscape game means use of vacation time. That won't change as long as I'm in the position I'm in now, and I don't expect to be in any other position for at least another year. I'm also in the middle of moving right now so until I get settled in, all my free time is taken up.

I did talk to Spider about a game at her house on a Monday in November, she says she can have about 8 people over, and I agree, she does have a nice house and dedicated gaming room. If anyone can make it back to Boulder on that day then that would be good.

Once I get settled into my new house I will also have plenty of room for gaming. I plan on Tuesday nights and Friday nights as game nights at my house. It won't always be Heroscape, but at least 1/4 the time it will.

In Feburary I plan to take a day off work to go to an Epica concert in Denver. I could get together with someone for gaming then. I probably would want to stay the night in Denver before or after the concert anyway. I will have to double check the date of that once I get settled into my new home also.
 
Re: Next Colorado Event?

Elginb said:
dok said:
While I like the idea of drafting to an opponent/scenario, one of the cool things about the format we ran is that I had to consider an army that could play well in a variety of scenarios. If you allow drafting or swapping out, then we're moving away from jack-of-all-trades armies and more towards specialist armies.
Click to expand...
I'm not as enamoured with the jack-of-all trades armies, myself-- I think it takes away from the counter-drafting element of the game-- but if we made it a smaller pool to choose from (say 750 pts), that would force you to have a core that's a jack-of-all-trades but with some counter-drafting options. Though, of course, I like having more options to choose from rather than less... but that's something we should all discuss.
Click to expand...
Point taken. The mixed format with one static army really narrowed down the options I was willing to consider. There's nice things about that, but variety is a good thing as well. I like both formats for different reasons, I guess.

lafleurhero said:
I still actually work weekends so to take a weekend off for a Heroscape game means use of vacation time. That won't change as long as I'm in the position I'm in now, and I don't expect to be in any other position for at least another year. I'm also in the middle of moving right now so until I get settled in, all my free time is taken up.

I did talk to Spider about a game at her house on a Monday in November, she says she can have about 8 people over, and I agree, she does have a nice house and dedicated gaming room. If anyone can make it back to Boulder on that day then that would be good.
Click to expand...
Yeah, I'm in sort of the opposite situation - weekend days are much easier for me. I've got to drive for probably an hour and a quarter to get to Boulder during rush hour, plus 45 minutes to get home, plus I'm working the next day, plus that means I can't help put my son to bed... I guess maybe once in a while I'd do it if it meant 3 hours of solid gaming, but it's a struggle.
 
Re: Next Colorado Event?

I figure we all have our time limitations, which is why we'd only want to do a big event once in a while... every 3 months seems like a special occasion to me.

I'm willing to get together on a weekday sometime, but if we want to block out 7 hours for a tournament, it's pretty much going to have to be on the weekend (or maybe a holiday). I don't see any way around that if we want the largest group to come.

I plan on having friends over more often to play Heroscape-- maybe even on some weeknights. If I do, I'll post on here to let you guys know and I can e-mail my address to anyone who wants to come.
 
Re: Next Colorado Event?

dok said:
I like extending the idea we had, from this event, of tying scenarios to maps. I thought both this and the rolling rumble format worked great. The Albuquerque NHSD provides several ideas for formats that could work really well with this event. If you have all five of those formats going, that's a lot of variety.
Click to expand...

BTW, I love the Albuquerque format! I'd be up for stealing it wholesale for our next event...
 
Re: Next Colorado Event?

Elginb said:
dok said:
I like extending the idea we had, from this event, of tying scenarios to maps. I thought both this and the rolling rumble format worked great. The Albuquerque NHSD provides several ideas for formats that could work really well with this event. If you have all five of those formats going, that's a lot of variety.
Click to expand...

BTW, I love the Albuquerque format! I'd be up for stealing it wholesale for our next event...
Click to expand...
Yeah, it's pretty neat.

How about melding that format with our NHSD approach? So, maybe 5 kill 'em all maps, 2 capture the flag, 3 HoB, and one each of "There Can Be Only One!" and "Escape!"; then run the rumble schedule.
 
Re: Next Colorado Event?

I'm not opposed to that, but why favor the kill 'em all scenarios so much? Why do 5, 3, 2, 1, 1 instead of 3, 3, 2, 2, 2?
 
Re: Next Colorado Event?

I guess I just see the kill 'em all scenario as the core game, and everything else as a variant of that. Since I'm not playing a ton of competitive 'scape, my inclination is to play not much less than 50% kill 'em all.

I'm also showing my preferences among the other scenarios, I guess. HoB has a pretty strong following and I'm looking forward to playing it more. Capture the flag is really not so different from regular play, although it's a bit more positional, which I think is kind of neat. "There can be only one" seems like it would play sort of like capture the flag, only a bit swingier. "Escape" seems like it would play really, really, really differently from a normal scenario, and I'm not sure I like the idea of it when combined with Marvel heroes that can take 300+ points off the board almost immediately.

So, I've got a pretty set Kill>HoB>CTF>TCBOO>Escape preference order. I can probably be convinced to push things more toward balance, though.

We're really getting ahead of ourselves here, though. We agree on a basic concept for how we will structure things, and the rest can get hammered out in map selection. While I freely admit that it's more fun to talk about points, maps, and formats, we should probably focus on getting a date, time, and location.
 
Re: Next Colorado Event?

one thing to keep in mind is that for other events there won't be prize support, so the style of play and a definitive winner is not so important. It isn't even important to have balanced maps or a schedual, start time or end time, keeping everyone playing, or anything. It can be truely all about having fun.
 
Re: Next Colorado Event?

Im good with any date you guys come up with and as for location no preference. As for game type I really dont care I just want to play and have fun.
 
Re: Next Colorado Event?

lafleurhero said:
one thing to keep in mind is that for other events there won't be prize support, so the style of play and a definitive winner is not so important. It isn't even important to have balanced maps or a schedual, start time or end time, keeping everyone playing, or anything. It can be truely all about having fun.
Click to expand...

I think that's good to keep in mind. I noticed that one of the tournaments played "Scaperdy"... a Heroscape Trivia game! That sounded fun. You had also suggested a map building contest; I was thinking about that last night, and it wouldn't have to take that long: we could say that each participant would have 15 minutes to build a free-hand map out of 1 Master Set and 1 Terrain Set, then have everybody vote at the end. I'm totally open to fun things like that.

Originally posted by dok
While I freely admit that it's more fun to talk about points, maps, and formats, we should probably focus on getting a date, time, and location.
Click to expand...

I'll call the library when it opens today, just to see if I can reserve the room in January. I don't think getting a room will be a problem, though getting a 6 or 7 hour block might take a little maneuvering, but I'll get it worked out (and, of course, it's an easy to cancel reservation, if someone wants to use another location). Anyway, I don't think it's too early to talk about points, maps and formats-- why delay the fun part?

Here's a suggested set-up, assuming we'll have the room from 10 to 6:00 (which I believe are the Library's Hours on Saturdays):

10:00 to 10:10 - Get in and arrange tables, chairs, etc.
10:10 to 10:40 - Map Building Contest: each contestant has 15 minutes to build a map from 1 Master Set and 1 Terrain Expansion; all game day attendees vote for best map.
10:40 to 11:00 - Complete rest of maps for tournament.
11:00 to 5:00 - Rolling Rumble Tournament - 520 pt Armies (drafted from a 750 pt pool); Maps: 3 Kill 'em all, 3 HOB, 3 Capture the Flag, 2 There Can Be Only One, and 1 Escape!
5:00 to 5:30 - Scaper Trivia Bowl, Tournament Results, and prizes (if any) handed out for Map Winners, Trivia Winners, Tournament Winners, and maybe some miscellaneous prizes for, say, person who drove the furthest, player who smelled the least bad, etc.
5:30 to 6:00 - Clean-up
 
Re: Next Colorado Event?

Just throwing this out there: what if we had a single-elimination tournament? That would allow those who come to be competitive to be competitive, but allow some flexibility for those who are more just getting together. Once you're eliminated from the tournament, you can play any variety of side-games (including 4-player games or whatever).

Obviously, there are downsides-- if you're interested in the competition, but you lose in the first round, you might be disappointed. Still, it might be a good trade off between a serious tournament and a casual game day...
 
Re: Next Colorado Event?

Okay, just called the library-- we have the Community Room reserved from 10 to 6 on Saturday, January 16th. Unless somebody comes up with a better place or day, let's shoot for that...
 
Re: Next Colorado Event?

Elginb said:
Okay, just called the library-- we have the Community Room reserved from 10 to 6 on Saturday, January 16th. Unless somebody comes up with a better place or day, let's shoot for that...
Click to expand...
Sweet. Great work, that sounds perfect to me.

Elginb said:
Here's a suggested set-up, assuming we'll have the room from 10 to 6:00 (which I believe are the Library's Hours on Saturdays):

10:00 to 10:10 - Get in and arrange tables, chairs, etc.
10:10 to 10:40 - Map Building Contest: each contestant has 15 minutes to build a map from 1 Master Set and 1 Terrain Expansion; all game day attendees vote for best map.
10:40 to 11:00 - Complete rest of maps for tournament.
11:00 to 5:00 - Rolling Rumble Tournament - 520 pt Armies (drafted from a 750 pt pool); Maps: 3 Kill 'em all, 3 HOB, 3 Capture the Flag, 2 There Can Be Only One, and 1 Escape!
5:00 to 5:30 - Scaper Trivia Bowl, Tournament Results, and prizes (if any) handed out for Map Winners, Trivia Winners, Tournament Winners, and maybe some miscellaneous prizes for, say, person who drove the furthest, player who smelled the least bad, etc.
5:30 to 6:00 - Clean-up
Click to expand...
Pretty much fine by me. I'm not particularly into the impromptu map-building contest (My map building is done almost exclusively in virtualscape, and it's more science than art, for me), but with that much time to work with, far be it for me to stand in the way of others' fun. We could even use the winner as a HoB map.

As for the tournament itself - the 3/3/2/2/1 HoB/CTF/TCBOO/Escape breakdown sounds fine, but I'd still like a little more kill 'em all. If I'm the only one, though, we can set that aside. And of course, exactly how many maps are needed is really a function of how many players we have... so while we can and should start this discussion at this point, the final breakdown is necessarily going to be up in the air for a while.

As long as we're running with our "tie scenarios to maps" concept (which I really like), then, if we are also going to use drafting pools, then how about using different point totals for different maps? I'm not saying we have to do this, but it would further encourage diversity in army builds.

Elginb said:
Just throwing this out there: what if we had a single-elimination tournament? That would allow those who come to be competitive to be competitive, but allow some flexibility for those who are more just getting together. Once you're eliminated from the tournament, you can play any variety of side-games (including 4-player games or whatever).

Obviously, there are downsides-- if you're interested in the competition, but you lose in the first round, you might be disappointed. Still, it might be a good trade off between a serious tournament and a casual game day...
Click to expand...

I don't like the "start with single-elim" structure, as part of a longer day. You don't really have any seeding data to work with, so you could end up with the strongest players playing round 1. Secondly, it makes the remainder of the day after the elim rounds a bit anticlimactic from a competitive standpoint. It also gets away from some of the beauty of the rumble format.

I have two alternative ideas for ways to build something more competitive into the rumble structure, if people are interested in that:

  1. Have the normal rumble format run from, say, 11-3. At that point, the top four play single elimination for the last two hours to crown a champion. The rest of the players just keep going with the rumble (or break out into team games, or whatever they like). This way, we're using the rumble to set up the single-elimination brackets.

  2. Simply add a rule to the rumble format that you can't play anyone who is more than 2 wins away from you in win difference. So, if you get to 4-1, you can only play someone with a winning record. This will slightly increase wait times later in the day, but it keeps the games more balanced, which is both more competitive and more fun.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top