The good folks over at TCGPlayer.com have posted some video coverage from the recent GAMA Trade Show. This video covers the upcoming World of Warcraft Miniatures Game that a bunch of us here at Alley Cat are really looking forward to.
Check it out!
The first game of Fantasy Flight Games‘ long-awaited and much anticipated Mutant Chronicles Collectible Miniatures Game was played today at Alley Cat!
The game is not quite out yet (expected in May), but FFG was giving away copies to retailers at the GAMA (Game Manufacturers of America) tradeshow going on right now in Vegas. I wasn’t able to attend the show, but the fine folks at FFG sent us a starter anyway. It arrived today and was promptly cracked open and played.
Kennedy and Matt, two Alley Cat regulars, test drove the game while I finished checking in the shipment we received today and helped customers. They read through the rules, and got in two games.
After such a long wait for this game I’m happy to report that the guys had a lot of fun, and are excited about the game. The game play was quick, and things like command cards and victory zones helped set the game apart from other collectible minis games.
Keep an eye on the Alley Cat calendar. We’ll be scheduling some Mutant Chronicles demos very soon so you can check the game out in person.
Back in February Upper Deck announced they would be producing a collectible, pre-painted miniatures game based upon the World of Warcraft property. I was pretty excited about this announcement, even though I haven’t played either the online game nor the trading card game.
However, I have played the old Warcraft 1 & 2 games and loved them, and loved the world of Azeroth and the Warcraft universe. Based upon the annoucement alone I was prepared to plunge headlong into the upcoming miniatures game.
So, I’ve been following the development of the game, gobbling up every little morsel of news I could find. Well, yesterday UDE dropped a big one in their presentation at the annual GAMA Trade Show (going on right now in Las Vegas). Feast your peepers upon the dragon Onyxia!
This big beauty is said to be 26″ long from nose to tail, with a wingspan of over 24″! It’s massive! Onyxia will be part of an upcoming Raid Deck expansion for the game later in the year. This thing looks like it could take on Wizkid’s Scarab (from Halo ActionClix) and WoTC’s Colossal Red Dragon (from D&D Miniatures) at the same time!
The World of Warcraft Miniatures Game will be launching this October, and you’ll be able to check it out, and play it, right here at Alley Cat!
For more information be sure to check out the official WoW Minis Website, and the WoW Minis Message Board.
And, of course you can chat it up on our own Alley Cat Games Misc Miniatures Game forum!
This post is a bit overdue, but last Friday night we held an Opening Party for the latest set of Star Wars Miniatures, Legacy of the Force.
We’ve got a pretty dedicated group of Star Wars Minis players here at Alley Cat. They ordered seven cases just amongst themselves, so we set aside Friday evening to rip open those 84 boosters, eat some pizza (mmmm….Rotolos) and do some trading.
Everyone had a great time, and got most of the minis they wanted.
Yesterday I came across a brochure for Studio 2 Publishing that I must have had since Origins or Gen Con from last summer. I was flipping through it and came across a page for a new game called Slaughter Gulch. I had never heard of it before, but as I was reading the description I started getting pretty excited about it.
Slaughter Gulch was announced in January 2007. Here’s a brief description of the game from that initial press release:
Pinnacle Entertainment, the producers of the Origins Award-winning Deadlands and Savage Worlds, and miniature game hits, The Great Rail Wars and Fields of Honor, announces the arrival of Slaughter Gulch in 2007. The game features quick gunplay in the Deadlands universe and multiple, non-collectible, faction sets each with five pre-painted figures and Western terrain.
A pre-painted creepy western miniatures game? Dang! That sounds awesome! I love pre-painted games, and this one sounds really cool.
So, as soon as I got to my computer I looked it up. Obviously, it wasn’t out yet. But, hey, it’s the game industry. Delays happen all the time, right?
Well, much to my disappointment, I found out that the plug has been pulled and the game shelved.
Here’s the announcement on the PEG Forums:
Hi all,
The printer we had originally worked with to create the game gave us fantastic prices that allowed us to make the game we wanted. Unfortunately, that printer seems to have vanished, and none of the other companies we’ve talked to can come anywhere close.
We still want to do Slaughter Gulch, but at this point it will have to be deemed a noble experiment that didn’t work out. Maybe down the road this will change, but for now it’s “Dry Gulched.”
No one is more disappointed than me, but the good news is with that work off our plates we’ll refocus on some of the books you’ve all been patiently waiting for.
Thanks as always for your support, and if anything changes, I’ll let you all know.
Man. That stinks. From excitement to disappointment in less than two hours. Here’s hoping Slaughter Gulch sees the light of day someday.
I love a good book.
Honestly, I have little interest in literature. But, I love a good story.
For the past eight years I’ve been enjoying the engaging storytelling of Andrew Peterson. But, the thing is that Andrew’s stories have, up until now, been songs.
Andrew is a Nashville-based Christian singer/songwriter. I’ve been in love with his songs since first hearing “Nothing to Say” on the radio back in 2000. His lyrics tell a story, or make a point, without being cheesy, obvious or heavy-handed.
In 2004 Andrew, along with some friends, released Behold the Lamb of God: The True Tall Tale of the Coming of Christ. It is, for all intents and purposes a Christmas album. Yet, the album is somehow devoid of the umpteenth remake of God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen, et al. It’s an amazing album, and one my wife and I listen to year round. The strength is not only in the melodies, but in the lyrics. No one turns a phrase like Andrew Peterson.
Andrew has just released his first novel, On the Edge of the Dark Sea of Darkness. It is Book One in The Wingfeather Saga. I have the privilege of being part of the Andrew Peterson Blog Tour reviewing and promoting the novel. It’s like a book tour, but transverses the Interwebs rather than physical bookstores.
The book is a fantasy, but not in the vein of Tolkein, Lewis, et al. It takes place in a different world than ours, in the township of Glipwood and focuses of the adventures and misadventures of the Igiby children, Janner, Tink and Leeli (mere coincidence that Andrew has two young sons and a daughter? I think not).
The story is clever, without being cloying. It draws on familiar elements of many a story of the past of the young hero-to-be who longs for adventure beyond his small backwater existence (shades of characters from Luke Skywalker to Belle from Disney’s Beauty & the Beast to countless literary sources), yet never comes across as unoriginal or derivative.
One of my favorite lines from the book comes very early on when Oskar, proprietor of the Books & Crannies bookshoppe, tells Janner, “…there’s more to the world than just seeing it. If you can’t find peace here in Glipwood, you won’t find it anywhere.”
It one simple line of dialogue Andrew speaks to the human desire to seek peace or satisfaction in whatever lies beyond our present circumstances. The Grass is Always Greener Syndrome.
Oskar later quotes the great explorer Jinto Qweb when he says, “Reading is fun!” That sums up On the Edge of the Dark Sea of Darkness perfectly. Fun.
So, if you are looking for a good read, look no further.
In fact, I’ve got a deal for you, gentle Alley Cat Customer (and blog-reader). I have an extra copy of the book that I am going to give away (a $13.99 value!) free to the first person to come into the store and ask for it! That’s it. Just ask and it’s yours. First come, first serve.
UPDATED: The free book has been claimed! Congratulations, Dan!
For everyone else, the book is available at bookstores everywhere and can be ordered from Amazon.com here.
Summary:
In the quiet land of Skree, the Igiby children—Janner, his younger brother Tink, and their crippled sister Leeli—stumble upon the lost jewels of Anniera and determine to return them. Unfortunately, the scary-bad Gnag the Nameless seeks the jewels for his own evil ends… and so our band of friends, accompanied by their trust dog Nugget, must escape with the help of their mom and grandfather (who happens to be an ex-pirate).
Their journey takes them through an inventively fantastical world of wonders, complete with memorable characters (like Gnag’s evil minions the Fangs and Peet the Sock Man), fanciful creatures (like sea dragons, snickbuzzards, toothy cows, flabbits, and bomnubbles), and captivating places (like the Books & Crannies bookstore, Shaggy Tavern, the Dark Sea of Darkness that divides the land of Skree from Anniera, the Glipwood Forest, Ice Prairies, and the Stony Mountains).
Through fast-paced storytelling, little ditties, songs, and poems, side-splitting asides, sensory descriptions of time and place, and characters rich in heart, courage, and smarts, Andrew Peterson has created a wondrous tale you’ll enjoy and treasure—just like those lost jewels.
Andrew Peterson is a critically acclaimed singer-songwriter and recording artist best known for his Dove Award-winning songs of the year, “Nothing to Say” and “Family Man.” A natural-born storyteller (being a preacher’s kid from the south), he wrote and produced the popular Christmas play and musical, Behold the Lamb of God. He has recorded seven albums and tours every year. Andrew and his wife, Jamie, are the parents of two sons and a daughter and live in Nashville, Tennessee. His website is www.andrew-peterson.com.
Rezolution: A Dark Tomorrow from Aberrant Games launched a few years back. Rez (as it’s affectionately known) Rezolution is a fast paced, cinematic miniature battles game set in a universe teetering on the brink of destruction, with revolutionary simultaneous play mechanics and story based missions. The minis are metal and come unpainted and unassembled. The gameplay is fast and fun.
The game has struggled somewhat to find it’s audience and really become the breakout game it deserves to be, but it definitely has a loyal, and growing, following.
Alley Cat’s #1 Employee, Bryan, also serves as the Organized Play and Event Co-Ordinator for Aberrant. He’s been a huge fan of the game since it’s release, and does everything he can to support and promote it. And there’s a solid gang of players here fighting it out on a regular basis. They’ve been doing League Play, Campaigns, Bring & Battle and even playtesting. Best of all, they’re having fun doing it!
Looking for a new miniatures game to try? You may want to check out Rezolution. I know Bryan would love to demo the game for you. You can always reach him in the store on Mondays, as well as via the Alley Cat Message Boards.
Fantasy Flight Games has officially unveiled the site for their upcoming Mutant Chronicles Collectible Miniatures Game. This game has been a long time coming (you can check out a previous blog entry from last November to see what I mean), but it looks like it is finally almost here.
I think the game looks pretty darn cool.
Just click on the image below to check out the official Mutant Chronicles website.
One of the areas we’ve slowing been expanding lately is the action figure category.
This should come as no surprise to anyone who knows me. To say that I’m an action figure collector is putting it mildly. Ask anyone who’s seen my basement. 3-1/2 years ago, when we were house shopping, my wife graciously told me that the basement of whatever house we found would be mine.
I’ve been writing about action figures, in some capacity, since around 1992 when I had an article printed in Tomarts Action Figure Digest magazine. I went on to write for (and eventually take the helm of) Raving Toy Maniac. I currently hang my hat at Julius Marx’s Action Figure Insider, but am an active poster on a variety of toy-based message boards (hey Fwoosh!).
Yeah, I love action figures.
We’ve been carrying some product from DC Direct pretty much since we opened, but have recently expanded into things like Diamond Select Toys‘ Star Trek lines. We currently have some Next Generation, Deep Space Nine and Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan figures.
In the coming months we’ll be offering Mezco’s Heroes action figures, based upon the mega-hit NBC series, and NECA’s Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles figure, which are based upon how the heroes in a half-shell originally looked in their first comic incarnation.
Also in stock right now are McFarlane Toys’ amazing Halo 3 figures. The first series consists of Master Chief, Brute Chieftan, a Grunt, a Jackal, Cortana and umpteen variations on the Spartan armor as seen in the multiplayer game. Beautifully done and lots of articulation for all sorts of posing fun!
Of course we have a nice selection of Minimates, the cute little block figures of characters from Marvel, DC, 24, Star Trek, and more!
Brick and mortar sources for specialty figures are drying up. It used to be you could walk into Media Play, Suncoast, Hot Topic, GameStop, etc and have a pretty nice selection of specialty action figures (i.e. not available in mass market retailers like Toys R Us, Target, Wal-Mart, etc). But, those stores have either closed (Media Play, most Suncoast locations…) or drastically reduced the amount of action figures they carry or eliminated the category altogether.
So, with figures getting harder to come by, we wanted to offer more in this category. Let your voice be heard and let us know what you want!
News is just starting to come in that Dungeons & Dragons co-creator Gary Gygax has passed away.
Gary Gygax, along with Dave Arneson, co-wrote the original Dungeons & Dragons role-playing game which first saw publication in 1974. To say the game made a cultural impact would be something of an understanding. It changed the face of gaming, certainly, and ingrained itself into popular cultural to the point it was even adapted into a Saturday morning cartoon in the 1980s.
It’s ironic that Gary would pass away today. March 4th is recognized in the gaming community as GM’s (GameMaster’s) Day, a time to show appreciation for the efforts of those who take players on tours of adventure on a regular basis. Gary was certainly the grand-master of GMs.
I had the opportunity to meet Gary this past summer at Gen Con. I was able to speak briefly with him, and thank him for creating the game that has brought so much enjoyment to so many for so long. I’m sure when he started out he never, ever dreamed that that little fantasy game would still be going strong almost 35 years later.
