Outlaw Ned the Bed gets the wrong end of a Sonic Screwdriver

Continuing our foray into In Her Majesty's Name, Arabianknight and I played another casual experimental game using the same Companies we used previously for the scenario set in the Old west town of Obsession. This time I was over at Arabianknight's fine gaming establishment, where once again he'd set up a suitably enticing table using his ever expanding range of DaveGraffam models. 

There were Romans at the door. Lots of them!

Today, I took delivery of the 'Legions of Rome' army deal from Warlord Games for my anticpated  foray into Hail Caesar.

This set arrived very quickly from the initial order, so quick it caught me out and I had to arrange an alternative delivery date with the postal service. So why the Romans? Wasn't I thinking of a Carthaginian army? Yup, but after a lot of deliberation it came down to a head and heart kind of' thing - the possibilities for a Carthaginian army ticked all the boxes, possibly utilising some of my Saga miniatures, but at the back of my mind I just fancied having a Roman force.

Liquid Courage, a Buxom Barmaid, a drink spilled...

Bayaz, First of the Magi, suspecting mutinous thoughts amongst his weary warband, leads them to an infamous drinking establishment hoping to re-tie the bonds that have led them thus far on their adventure. As he enters the forecourt and sights the huge Ogre bouncer brooding next to the entrance, with snatches of laughter, pipe music and a curious mix of odours emanating from inside, he halts the warriors. "The Blue Oyster Bar: You will never find a more wretched hive of scum and villainy. We must be cautious."  With that warning, the warriors gleefully head inside...

The Wild West Show and Crazy Europeans in a town called Obsession

Surreal goings-on in the town called Obsession. The talk in Rogan's Bar was all about strangers in the town, questioning many of the local traders. Some said they were scouts from an unknown outlaw gang. Others heard rumours they were from Wild Bill Hickok's Wild West Show. Indeed the MacDoogle brothers were staunchly sticking to their story about 'Europeans' slinking about the outskirts of the town. But the brothers were usually jaked anyway.

The Great Recession in the Verse

Still in then throws of a lean gaming period (for me), I really appreciated the opportunity of another game of Firefly, the board game,  over at Livingston Battleground today. A two-player game against an experienced player, 'J',  with all the current expansions in play. It was a challenging game for both pilots, as life in the 'verse often is!

The scenario, 'The Great Recession', somewhat appropriate considering my recent gaming activity, had us competing for a drastically reduced number of jobs with the winner being the pilot with the most cash, less costs, after four of the contacts had no more jobs to offer. I managed (don't ask!) to get no less than five outstanding Warrants making any dealings in Alliance space, um, difficult!  J got the win, having the most cash as per the triggered victory condition (see photo), although it was reasonably close; if I wasn't delayed with a tricky entanglement dodging and scrapping with those bloody Reaver ships, I could've been me! 

Apart from the usual challenges navigating the 'verse, the pilots had to deal with an angry fleet of Reaver ships, somewhat ruthlessly provoked by me early on, hoping to steal a lead on my competitor!

If you're a fan of Firefly (me, me!) then I can highly recommend Firefly the board game. Its relatively easy to learn and goes a long way to simulating life in the 'verse. As with many of the GF9 games, it does contain a lot of tokens and cards and needs quite a bit of 'space' to play. It isn't a quick game, with the two-hour to play estimate for most scenarios being very optimistic! However, there is an excellent set of solo scenarios included and what with the expansions and online support its worth the effort. 

I came across and excellent tutorial on YouTube recently by GrumshBGG, which I recommend to anyone interested in this game.