Hills and Hidden Tombs

I was looking forward to the South Florida Miniatures Gamers annual regatta today, but have been feeling under the weather. Since most of the members are old enough to be my father, I decided to spare them my spittle and stayed home.

I took a break from struggling to mesh together free-movement rules and hex boards (thanks for your patience, George!) when a bit of terrain I ordered from Amazon turned up. Ten hill pieces, ready made, painted and textured. I have never owned any proper hills and do not have the patience to make my own, so when I spotted these I bought them, despite the lead time (hand-made). They are smaller than I expected, but just fine for skirmish games or with the 18mm Wofuns and 20mm Colonials.

Three sizes and two heights...

... to make steep or shallow hills.

With Space Marines for scale...

... and Wofun Afghans.

Can be used as cover or to block LOS.

Gurkhas are ambushed by Pathans from a ridge.

There are too few for a proper NW Frontier game, but they're a fine start and I'll probably buy more.

Cliff edges, different scale.

The Space Marines, by the way, are playing pieces from a small boxed game I picked up at Barnes and Noble called Space Marine Adventures - a standalone to interest kids. It's a card-activated board game, easy to play, and with solo elements. The only problem is that the enemy Necrons (played by tokens) do not move or shoot - the only way so far for them to wound the Marines is with the placement mechanic. (I've only tried the first scenario.) If one appears in the same square as a Marine, he's injured. Each has different abilities and can be issued "wargear cards" for some basic customization. I think it would work well with the teens - IF I could get them to pay attention. I have one who asks me to play, but is nowhere to be found when I turn up in the tech lab.

A board, figures and tokens.

The boards, and game, are basically Space Hulk lite - another game I have stacked away in the closet - and could be used for a more generic "treasure-hunting" scenario. I'm also thinking of buying the 9th Edition 40K starter set, which has Necron figures in it. With their Egyptian death-cult theme, it could be a nice spooky sort of game for Halloween with simple rules.

As readers may have noted, I like compact games and "packs" that can be easily carried to stores or work:

My blogging has slowed significantly, but I still have plenty on the burner. Thanks for reading.