Zombicide… ToxiCity

Saturday saw our second game day in a fortnight, this time Bull was hosting and Zombicide was the game of choice. To add a twist we moved on from the original box to include the Toxic City Mall expansion.

We decided on a 'simple' 4 square mission to start with. 60 minutes it said, but we managed to burn nearly 3 hours getting through it. The zombies were coming thick and fast and many a time we were on the verge of being overwhelmed.

Eventually the dam of resistance broke and we had our first casualties. Even Ned coming back to life as a Zombivor wasn't enough to take down the horde that had emerged from the spawn points. As we edged closer to our objective, the survivors were starting to drop and returning as helpful undead. As the zombivor Wanda burst in on the Toxic Abomination, tossing him a molotov to end his days and the game, only one survivor remained in their original red-blooded state… Phil the cop was hiding in the toilets!

After a brief break we were back into the fray, on a massive board set up and lots of cars. This second game turned out to be filled with the most carnage ever, and the first time we've had a survivor get to the red experience level!

Just as the body count was reaching epic proportions, the gasoline card we'd been searching for appeared and the game ended.

Great fun – Thank you to Bull and Michael – and I almost feel motivated enough to paint up some of my own Zombicide models… almost.

Batman vs The Penguin

Batman pulled up on a deserted street, littered with barricades, boxes and traffic lights(?). There was something decidedly fishy going on here and it wasn't the Gotham Zoo.

He worked his way down the street, taking out lamp posts as he went (in order to keep things dark), ably supported by Gotham's finest albeit hanging back quite a bit.

He spotted a henchman trying to move a rather large, heavy safe across the street. Time to step in – out came the Batarang, clocking the henchman on the head. But there was a sniper on the roof that also needed dealing with.

The Gotham Police found themselves in trouble when Mr Scythe made an appearance – Agent Ron taking the worst of it.

Meanwhile Batman went after the sniper (who hadn't actually managed to hit anything) but his fighting skills were left wanting and the henchman was given a reprieve.

Meanwhile the Penguin's crew were racking up victory points with the 'safe' loot counter that was slowly making its way across the table.

Batman stepped in to put an end to that but time had run out. Despite Bravo taking out the sniper, the Penguin had accumulated enough VPs to sneak a win.

Mr Cobblepot claimed it was a hollow victory but there was a definite smile on his face ;)

Great game, albeit slow and full of mistakes. We had a lot of fun (re)learning the rules and things ebbed and flowed throughout. The final turn was on an absolute knife edge.

There might be something to this game after all…

Scotney Castle

Today's post was meant to be about the Batman model painting progress… but there hasn't been any. After a cracking start to the week, my last three evening have been tied up and nothing more has been achieved. It's looking very monotone for tomorrow's game.

Instead I thought I'd show you Scotney Castle (or rather fortified manor house) near Lamberhurst in Kent. Another National Trust property (got get some use out of the membership before it runs out!), this one (the Old Castle – we didn't go round the new Manor House) was built around 1378.

The gardens were amazing and we saw quite a few people just sitting quietly and reading. We ended up spending all afternoon there and would definitely go back – highly recommended.

Batman game tomorrow so stay tuned for some reports!

Bodiam Castle

My week's holiday started well with a trip across Kent on Tuesday to Bodiam Castle, a National Trust property that I'd been looking forward to visiting for some time. A little later, historically, than my recent medieval studies towards my Normans vs Outlaws game – the castle was built in 1385.

We were lucky that our visit coincided with a group of travelling artisans being there. There was an armourer and a carpenter, as well as a tailor and a guy minting pewter coins. All fascinating stuff.

The site also had archery which would have been excellent except for a very long queue and waiting time – not an option when you have an 8 month old in tow. One day perhaps.

A good day out to be sure. The site was smaller than I had thought but it was a nice trip only being an hour away.

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With Batman due to take to the table this weekend vs The Penguin, there has been some significant action on the painting tray – I'll tell you all about it later this week!