HotT AAR: Space Invaders vs. Tyranids

My inaugural game for my Space Invaders army for Hordes of the Things was against a brand-new HotT player last week.  He brought a case full of Tyranids he uses for Warhammer 40,000, and I provided some stands for him to base his army. 

I ended up defending, so I got to use my stronghold.  I get a kick out of that little model of the arcade game.

I helped him come up with a force that included a Magician General (Hive Tyrant), Artillery (some kind of big, shooty 'Nid), two Knights (big critters with long claws), six Blades (Genestealers) and one Horde (Tyranids).

The game took quite awhile to finish, as his knights tore through my hordes of Space Invaders, and they reappeared at my stronghold.  The knights eventually made it to my base, but the Invaders kept repelling the onslaughts.

I tried to get my Airboat General (the saucer) to take on the enemy Magician General (with a little help from my Sneakers), but I was unable to defeat it. Eventually, my stronghold fell to an unsupported element of Knights.

The game went down to the wire, ensuring a good time for both the veteran and the rookie.  I gave him the spare bases he was using, so he could permanently, affix his minis to the stands.  I think we have a new HotT convert!

My day at GuadaComaCon

As I mentioned over the weekend, turnout for the convention was better than ever.  I got to play in a couple of games and ran a session of the game I co-wrote, 5150: Star Navy.  And there was plenty going on all day.  I hope to come back with some more detailed posts regarding the games I participated in or ran, but for now here's my overview of GuadaComaCon:

The morning started out with a couple of roleplaying games.  Game designer Dennis Sustare ran a game of Swords & Wizardry, a retroclone of the original D&D rules.

Meanwhile, author/illustrator Jeff Dee refereed Béthorm: The Plane of Tékumel, an RPG based on the setting from the famous Empire of the Petal Throne.

At the same time, Chip was conducting a game of Axles & Alloys, a vehicle combat game using mechanics from Full Thrust.  I played in the first round, getting my driver killed at the end of the game.

In addition, Kerstan and Tom, a couple of New Braunfels locals, put on a 2000-point game of Warhammer 40,0000--Tyranids versus Space Marines.  Several other NB gamers stopped by to watch and chat.

For the afternoon session, my game of 5150: Star Navy drew a half-dozen players.  I think one person had played it before; but the rest of the group easily picked up the rules.

Blake had brought enough armies (repurposed Warhammer figures) and terrain to host an entire Hordes of the Things tournament for 12 players, but unfortunately he ended up just having three or four gamers actually play some HotT.

In addition that afternoon, Joe put on a Flames of War scenario.  The battle was Germans against Soviets in Budapest, 1945.

Also during this time slot Jeff's wife, Talzhemir, ran Cavemaster, the role-playing game that cavemen played.

After that, only one evening game took place: the Battle of Hoth using FUBAR rules.  Coach K and his son drove an hour-and-a-half, bringing their large, illuminated setup that drew onlookers from a charity event in the convention center's ballroom.  I'm glad I got to play this scenario, as they're retiring it in favor of Helm's Deep for the next convention.

I was a little disappointed that we didn't have more evening games; I guess everyone was tired after two sessions of rolling dice and moving miniatures.  Still, my thanks to everyone who ran a game, as well as those who came out to play.  See you next August!