Dead Leaves, Movie Review, Screened at FilmQuest Film Festival 2017

I saw the French-Canadian film Dead Leaves at the 2017 FilmQuest Film Festival.

Dead Leaves is three stories taking place at the same time in the Canadian woods five years after an economic collapse. Even though there is this overarching setting for the story the three individual stories make it a little harder to give a rundown of the plot.

At the beginning there is a brief moment that shows the stories are taking place in the same area, and hints that they are intertwined. Then each goes on their separate ways, until the closing scene of the movie. So, this felt like three stories in an anthology where there is a known starting point and ending point.

Each of the three stories in Dead Leaves had a different feel to it. There were three directors listed for the movie and who were also listed as the writers. This makes me feel that each created and directed their own storyline.

This gives the movie a rough start. The storylines are very disparate, heading off in their own directions with hints that they are going to be linking back together. With the definite differences in character and feel to each story it was easy enough to tell when the story shifted from one to another. It was almost too much of a difference to give the acceptance that they were all happening close to each other.

After settling in and giving over to the style, I was able to find that each was looking at a different aspect of how life could turn for individuals in the rural setting. Each story told of an individual dealing with the situation in their way. Because of the choices they made, each was having to deal with their own set of individual circumstances.

As the stories continue to unfold we are given the opportunity to see how through their differences they are each dealing with very much the same theme of man's inhumanity to man. And, how they are struggling to rise above the situation, but being dragged into the circumstances of the overarching situation.

The movie builds, creating a more solidified story than what we start with. The final scene gives the culmination that as long as there are people like the three protagonists we can have hope for our continuation.

The film is set in the French-Canadian forests and the setting is used to great affect in telling the story. The locations become elements helping build the story and the impact the collapse has had on the people. And, at the same time, you are given how resilient the land has been in how the impact has been limited to humanity.

There are times we see the tropes used in post-apocalyptic settings. It is hard to say if Dead Leaves was paying homage to earlier works from years past or if there was a deeper meaning. When I first saw the scenes I felt a little pushed out of the story, thinking they were just rehashing. But, they were just scenes and not the rehashing of the story. This led me to think about what the movie was saying at the deeper level and how people fall back on what they known in dealing with the unknown. For many of us the known way of dealing with this type of situation are those stories we have read and seen.

The look of the actors was used just as well, if not better than the settings in telling the story. The look gave an authentic feel to what it would be like just a few years after. It wasn't over-the-top. It looked like people who had dug into their closets, traded, or did with what they could find. It spoke of the hardship of some, and the established luxury of others. Their look even gave hints about what they were willing to do.

The portrayal of the characters never took me out of the movie. I was watching people who were dealing with their life as they now know it. I never felt like anything that was done pulled me back into the present and away from the hardships and decisions they were being faced with.

The strength of having the three storylines is it gives every person seeing this film someone to identify with. Once I did that, and noticed those around me were doing the same, we were drawn in. I could see people leaning forward then back at different times, corresponding to the storyline that had their interest.

It didn't mean the other stories weren't as compelling, they just had different hooks. I listened to people talking about the film afterwards and how they related to different characters, and why.

Overall, Dead Leaves has a slower start and a great finish. The use of the setting provides additional character to the story and to the theme. The acting is wonderful and I could feel what the characters were going through. The movie is in French.

I give Dead Leaves 4 out of 5.

Dead Leaves is currently on the film festival circuit.

Dead Leaves was nominated for eight awards at FilmQuest: Best Feature Film; Best Director; Best Actor, Roy Dupuis; Best Supporting Actress, Audrey Rancourt-Lessard; Best Costumes; Best Sound; Best Score; and Best Makeup.

The Director/Writers were listed as Thierry Bouffard, Steve Landry, and Edouard A. Tremblay. With the cast of Roy Dupuis, Noemie O'Farrell, Audrey Rancourt-Lessard, and Philippe Racine. The movie runs for 103 minutes.

This article is also published with Utah Geek Magazine.

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H.I.D.E. (Hidden Identity Dice Espionage), Game Review

Originally published by Utah Geek Magazine.

Secret agents keep secrets. The better you are at hiding who you are and your mission, the better the rewards. While working to stay in the shadows, you also work at revealing those trying to force you out.

H.I.D.E. (Hidden Identity Dice Espionage), designed by Keewoong Kim and distributed by Mayday Games, puts each player in the role of a secret agent. You're working to keep your identity and agenda secret while exposing other players.

H.I.D.E. uses a pool of dice that are four different colors and marked with the four different missions. Players randomly select a die from the pool and stash it in their hideout. The color is random, but players select their mission. Missions are given a random monetary value. You can earn more money by outing other agents.

After selecting your mission, four dice are randomly selected and rolled. These dice will provide information about your hidden die. In order, players select one of the rolled dice and place it in one of two locations in front of them. One location lets everyone know the color and mission do not match your hidden die. Thus, the other location must match some piece of information about your die. This gives away more information, but it gives an additional advantage.

By revealing more about yourself, you can attempt to expose another player. You make a call about their hidden die. If you are right about both the color and the mission, they’re removed from the rest of this round (not the game)—and you earn a rank and any available reward.

After four phases of dice rolling, those players still in the round complete their missions and collect the reward. If multiple players are going after the same mission, there’s a shootout. This goes back to how players selected and placed the dice in front of them earlier in the phase. Dice previously placed to reveal more information are used in the shootout. This is an added advantage of where you place the die you select.

Players have a gadget card to help them out during each of the rounds. Timing the use of the card can make a difference in the round. You can use it to change the icon on one of the rolled dice, or possibly during a shootout.

There are two ways to win. First, the player with the most money wins after three rounds. You can also win if, at any time, a player gains a fifth rank. Ranks are gained by taking another player out of a round, so this can end a game early. In our games this didn't happen because a player's reward for taking out another player is collecting the removed player's rank cards as their reward. Players re-enter the game with no rank.

We played several games back-to-back and had a good evening of gaming.

H.I.D.E. is designed for 2–5 players, ages 10+, for 30 minutes per game.

Thanks to Mayday Games.

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The Gateway, Movie Review screened at FilmQuest 2017

Originally published by Utah Geek Magazine.

A particle physicist, Jane Chandler (Jacqueline McKenzie—The Water Diviner and Deep Blue Sea) has been working with her assistant Regg (Ben Mortley—Pale Blue Eyes and The Woodcutter) on making teleportation a reality. They are close to a breakthrough in their research as they've been able to dematerialize items, but, they haven't been able to get anything to materialize in the receiving chamber. A further complication is thrown into her research when her husband is killed in an accident.

While still grieving, she starts reviewing her research to bring her back to reality and her two children. At which point she comes up with an idea that might explain why the objects they've been teleporting are not rematerializing—they are being sent to a parallel universe. With a little ingenuity Jane is able to prove it.

But, Jane is still working through the grief of losing her husband, Matt (Myles Pollard—X-Men Origins: Wolverine and Tucker and Dale vs Evil). With what she has been able to prove, she comes up with a plan to travel to the other universe and find the man she's lost.

If it wasn't for the fact of the title and the marketing quote, the initial setup of the two teleportation chambers brings to mind the plot of a teleportation gone wrong story. Instead, it is a solid story bringing information from current research taking place around the world to heighten and deliver on the theme of being grateful for what you have.

What sets this movie apart are the subtle details used to illustrate the differences between the parallel universes. These are shown in the characters portrayed and the details added to the alternate universe to give it a different feel.

Wonderful acting brings each of the characters to life. The story is centered on Jane and Matt, and the writing of the characters really reflects that. The additional characters may not be as developed but they are what is needed to build the story.

I'm not saying the actors did poorly in portraying the characters, or even a breakdown in the storyline. They weren't the focus of the story. The additional characters, especially the children played by Ryan Panizza and Shannon Berry gave some pungent points to the scenes, rounding out the story being told. They brought another level of emotional involvement, and a viewpoint of the differences in the alternate character that otherwise would not have been visible.

Myles Pollard as Matt and Ben Mortley as Regg had the opportunity of playing the same characters in two different "roles" (Jacqueline McKenzie, had scenes as her alternate also). The two actors created two distinct characters fitting to the setting they were from. Pollard gives us the Matt of this world and the Matt of the other world in great contrast to each other. He accomplishes the differences without having to be blunt.

To help set the mood of the alternate universe there were touches in the settings that set the tone. The lighting and coloration of the alternate universe immediately gave the feeling there is something different. There were also little touches added to the look of the characters and backgrounds to further the feel.

None of this would have worked if the science wasn't done right.

I've followed science and have worked with a number of scientist, albeit not particle physicists, and The Gateway does a good job of representing the science. There was enough of the theory and practical activity being presented to give a sense of plausibility.

Teleportation has been getting more attention lately with the some of the research that has been coming out of places like Australia where The Gateway was made. I could tell consideration was given to current activity in the field. But don't be worried if you aren't a science geek. The information is delivered so that you don't need to be caught up on the peer reviewed articles coming out of the journals. I felt the amount they touched on, and how they did it kept with the pace of what they wanted to achieve. Personally, I wasn't thrown out of the story because they tried to get too much science involved, or skimmed over it too lightly.

I had the opportunity of seeing The Gateway at this year's (2017) FilmQuest Film Festival. At the festival it was nominated for best screenplay, best actor (Myles Pollard), best actress (Jacqueline McKenzie), best VFX, where it was up for several awards including the screenplay and the two lead actors.

During the question and answers after the screening it was noted that the script for The Gatewaystarted out as a time travel story. As they were working on it they felt there were a number of time travel movies already on the market and they wanted to do something different. They did.

Changing the story to dealing with a parallel universe works.

The other point brought up about the movie was they were looking at obtaining distribution in North America and Australia.

Overall

I liked The Gateway. A solid story maintaining a theme to give it cohesion from beginning to end. Enough detail to the research going on without being overbearing.

The story was compelling and there were twists that fit into the subtlety of the rest of the movie. We are given a promise at the beginning, and the promise is delivered. Even though, it may not be in just the way we thought it was going to happen.

The acting, directing, and cinematography were all well done. The feelings and mood of the movie were portrayed well.

I give The Gateway4 out of 5. It is worth seeing.

Director: John V. Soto (The Reckoning and Needle)

Writers: John V. Soto, Michael White (a large list of science related books since 1992)

Time: 90 minutes

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Samurai Dice, Game Review

Hikaru

Hikaru stood alone with his weapon poised on the field of honor. Ayako was making his way carefully to where the two would meet. Hikaru was prepared, he knew this place. He knew where there was sure footing and where not to be allowed to be pushed back towards. He watched Ayako moving closer, searching with his eyes the ground and the other surroundings. Ayako would be a formidable opponent, which was never a question.

Thuderegg Productions is following up their samurai role-playing game (RPG), Kaigaku (link to review), with a Samurai Dice.

Samurai Dice is being described as a cross over between an RPG and a fast-paced dice game. It is a combat dice game where you ae using characters to help in the strategy and outcome of events. There are some other aspects that work as a crossover to the RPG Thunderegg has already published.

I was sent a link to try the introductory version of the game which has each player controlling a party of heroes. The goal is to defeat your enemies before the other players defeat their enemies.

You're not attacking the other players. I do see where house rules could be established to allow player versus player action. The rules are designed so enemy abilities activate randomly. This allows a certain element of "surprise" of not knowing what your enemy is going to do.

The heroes are controlled by the players and their abilities are decided on before the rolling of any dice. And, of course this gives an advantage to the heroes. This unbalancing is not a bad thing in this game because this is not about getting through the battle to see who wins, it is a race to see which player is the first to defeat all of the enemies.

The game can be played in rounds, or with everyone rolling their pool of five dice at the same time. The dice mechanic used is easily learned and makes the game easier to play with younger players.

In the promotion pack are a couple of cards depicting the artwork style being planned for Samurai Dice. It looks to be very similar to the artwork used in the RPG.

What sets this game apart is it is being designed as a compliment to Kaigaku, the developer's RPG. The characters not only fit into the genre and style, but use some of the same basic mechanics of building the dice game. This would allow the information on the cards to be complimentary to the RPG.

Ayako

The dice version also allows for hero advancement. This would allow for players to create a continuous game lasting between sessions if desired.

Samurai Dice also would make a good filler game while waiting for the gaming group to arrive. Setting the mood with the cards, even if they aren't being used in the role-playing.

The four on four version set into the promotional version only took 10–15 minutes. With the additional cards being considered and variants on rules a game could be easily adjusted to fit an available time slot. We also looked at the possibility that a game could be set up on a point system of tracking the number of opponents defeated. This would allow an open ended game that could be stopped at any point, be it a time limit or Samantha has arrived.

Samurai Dice is being developed by Jacob Ross and distributed by Thunderegg Productions. The version I looked at did not have estimates of time or number of players. However, I think both of these are adjustable. No age limit was given but I am thinking this would be a 10+ or 12+ game because of the decision making of which enemy to fight and when to use abilities.

Samurai Dice went up on Kickstarter the first of October 2017.

Hikaru stands alone, again. Now, his weapon was lowered and soiled. It was an honorable battle. Ayako laid on the ground while Hikaru paid his respect to the fallen warrior.

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Forbidden Island, Game Review

Time is quickly running out as the land beneath your feet is sinking into the ocean. Your team of stalwart professional adventurers must work quick and smart to recover the treasures of the island and get everyone to the helicopter in time. You have experts on your team that can help in different ways, but even with all of your skill the island is going to be lost and this is the last chance to recover the artifacts of a time gone by.

Forbidden Islandis a cooperative game designed by Matt Leacock, illustrated by C.B. Canga, and distributed by Gamewright for 2 to 4 players where everyone succeeds together, or not. There are six characters that are randomly dealt to the players to determine who is working to recover the four artifacts. While the island is sinking players must work together to shore flooded areas and do the treasure hunting.

On your turn you draw cards from a players' deck. The players' deck consists of treasure, action, and Water Rise!" cards. Each player can only hold five cards in their hand, which creates another level of needing to work together. To recover a treasure you need a set of four of the same treasure card and there are only five of each in the players' deck. You have to decide which cards to save. Then when the opportunity arises you can pass treasure cards to get one player holding a set so they can move to the right tile and collect the treasure. After you complete your action island cards are drawn to see which sections of the island flood.

Drawing cards from the island deck creates the timer for the game and increases the difficulty the longer the game goes on. Similar to other cooperative games the island cards reset during play by the random draw of a Waters Rise! card from the players' deck. When this happens the previously played island cards are shuffled and placed on top of the island deck, putting any tile that have become flooded at risk of sinking out of the game. A water level chart also rises which determines how many island cards are drawn each turn.

Twenty four island tiles are placed in the same pattern to create the shape of the island, but they are placed in random order. Every game the island is different. There are two locations for each treasure and the helicopter pad. If the both treasure tiles for an unclaimed treasure sink or the helicopter pad sinks, the treasure hunters fail in their mission.

Forbidden Islandis for ages 10 and up. We played it several times and found it to have a good balance for older and younger players. The game is designed to last 30 minutes and we found that really close.

If you are a fan of Pandemicand have some younger players who want to join into the game, Forbidden Island is a game you should check into.

Originally published by Utah Geek Magazine.

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Enjoyment of Short Films and FilmQuest

Attending FilmQuest this year (2017) brought back my enjoyment of short films. I didn't realize until sitting through a couple of blocks of films how much I liked them while I was growing up. As a disclaimer up front, I am going to pitch to you why you should be checking out short films at the independent theaters, film festivals, and other places you can find them.

I haven't seen a block of short films in years. This is my fault. I look at my schedule and would think I don't have time for such nonsense like a short film. This is an oddity because I like reading and writing short stories. Several of my favorite short story authors are H. P. Lovecraft, Roger Zelazny, and Philip Jose Farmer. Looking at who I enjoy, I'm not surprised the shorts at FilmQuest were so enjoyable to me.

I wracked my memory to come up with the last time I saw a collection of short films. It was when I was attending the University of Utah and a group of us went to the Blue Mouse to see that year's award-winning shorts. That was the year Pixar introduced the lamps. Something we now see at the start of their movies and consider it to be so basic in animation. Back then, it was cutting edge.

My enjoyment of the shorts goes back further. Along with what I liked to read, it went along with what I liked to watch. I didn't always get to watch the programs I wanted to (I'm the youngest of five children), and if you missed an episode you had to find someone to tell you about it. Or, later, you hoped someone recorded it on their VCR. Growing up, I enjoyed watching the shows that were not episodic dramas or comedies. I enjoyed the shows that represented short film making.

Three of my favorites TV shows were The Twilight Zone (in rerun), The Outer Limits (also in rerun), and Night Gallery. Again, I see how the Filmquest films fit right in to what I like. These shows showcased the short format of film storytelling. Every week a new story would be presented with new settings, characters, and plots. Seldom did a story carry over into the next week's episode.

The Outer Limitsand The Twilight Zoneare still being watched regularly (unfortunately Night Gallery hasn't done as well). I've talked with people who enjoy watching these older shows and we've had discussions about which episode, which story, were our favorites (one of mine is Green Fingers from Night Gallery).

I have friends who haven't gone to see a short film in a long time, or at all, and realized how much we've been missing out on.

FilmQuest targets fantasy, science fiction, and horror. There are other festivals for other genres. Independent movie houses present short films in blocks so you get multiple stories for the price of a single ticket. At FilmQuest there are around 10 short films showing in a block.

If you enjoy reading short stories, or if enjoyed the TV shows that gave a different story, or several, every episode, I recommend checking out short films.

Originally published by Utah Geek Magazine.

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A Breath of Fresh Air by Janek Sielicki for the Cypher System, Adventure Review

I've talked before about the differences between strategic and narrative role-playing games (RPGs). Some systems lend themselves more to one than the other. Sometimes it comes down to the adventure being played.

There are adventures written to be a series of combats, emphasizing the strategic aspects of the characters being played. Others, like A Breath of Fresh Air by Janek Sielicki for the Cypher System has combat, but is designed to give the players an opportunity to dig into the characters' personalities.

A Breath of Fresh Airhas the party facing challenges that are more than just overcoming a number of combats to achieve their goals. Some of the ideas are familiar to what narrative players are used to, but with a nice twist.

The party is positioned to put themselves into the hands of fate. They're faced with overwhelming odds and an escape route presents itself (a standard play for one-shot convention style games). They just don't know what is in store for them by utilizing the opportunity.

This leads the party to be in an environment they cannot survive in for a long period of time. With the timer set, they have to figure out how to communicate with creatures they're not familiar with. Then, as they come to understand the position they are in, they must take actions which could have serious consequences.

Using this adventure as a one-shot or in a campaign has the potential of impacting players and characters in future play. A Breath of Fresh Air will have most players, and characters, questioning their choices as they start to learn about their predicament and the possible consequences of what they decide on doing.

For the standalone adventure, that is the part affecting the characters. In a campaign setting you now have characters who have faced a situation most people don't have to ever face. This gives the players the opportunity to role-play out the impact on their characters in future adventures. The characters will have something to look back on, see what they've done before, and use it as a significant part of their story.

For those who are familiar with ethical dilemmas, A Breath of Fresh Air establishes one nicely. It is well placed in the setting. The options are their within the framework of the game, which makes this a more acceptable location of delving into the underlying theme.

This has been a fun adventure leaving the players, and the game master, thinking afterwards.

A Breath of Fresh Airis written by Janek Sielicki for the tier two characters in the Cypher System and distributed through Cypher System Creator at DriveThruRPG (link to adventure on DriveThruRPG).

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FilmQuest, Upcoming Articles and Reviews

I have received an opportunity of covering Utah's second largest film festival, FilmQuest.

The festival is September 8^th through September 16^th. FilmQuest is an international film festival specializing in sci-fi, fantasy, and horror. They had over 1,000 submissions this year and will be screening over 200 full length and short movies.

I will be writing articles about the festival for Utah Geek Magazine. My goal is to cover as much as I can, which means I will be writing a lot of articles. First publication will be going to Utah Geek Magazine, then I will be adding them to Guild Master Gaming.

The articles I will be publishing will be extra articles, I plan on continuing to publish articles about table top gaming. However, because several of the outlets that allow me to share my articles are specialized to different types of gaming, I will only be publishing the articles on a limited number of locations, unless I hear from the site owners it is alright to share across their platform. Otherwise, if you are interested in getting all of the posts I please ask that you like or follow the blog, or one of the social media feeds I maintain.

I hope you will enjoy the information about FilmQuest and the movie reviews that will be forth coming.

Thanks,

Daniel Yocom

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True 20, RPG Review

There are a quite a few game systems developed from the open gaming license of Dungeons and Dragons. There are advantages for having these different systems. One is the ease of use. Being familiar with one rule set makes it easier to learn the new one. Another is the new game can utilize the system to make it specific to the style of game the variant wants to support.

True 20 Adventure Roleplaying, designed by Steve Kensonand published by Green Ronin Publishing, is a system that was developed because of the desire to support a specific genre, romantic fantasy, and game Blue Rose. However, the systems early popularity brought about a game system, based on the d20 model, which can be used for other genres. This works, in part, because romantic sub-plots are in storylines used in gaming—even adventures where is seems like romance is furthest away. And, True 20 is presented in a manner to help inexperienced players get involved quickly in a role-playing game (RPG).

The basis of the True D20 system is it is centered more on the characters and the stories they are creating instead of the combat. This focus allows it to be easily used for any setting or genre because RPGs are the characters and the stories they are creating. This is not to say the system doesn't support combat, but the style feels more character driven. To see how this works in different settings the book provides information in the back portion of the reading.

Roughly the last 50 pages of the 200-page book presents 4 setting game masters (GMs) (this system calls narrators) can use directly or as guidance to creating their own setting. These great examples show the breadth of settings the system support: Caliphate Nights, Lux Aetuernum, Mecha vs. Kaiju, and Borrowed Time. Each has enough information to get you started, even in the short space they are presented in.

The first three-fourths of the book provide information for players and GMs. The base rules have been slimmed down to create a system that is easy to step into and use. Some points requiring conversions in the parent system are removed. An example of this are the character's abilities. Instead of creating a score within a certain range and then determining the adjustment that score gives, the scores are listed as the adjustment. An average score is 0 (zero) and can start from -5 to +5. No conversion is needed to apply the ability.

Character classes, which they call roles, are another example of streamlining being done to make the system applicable to any genre. True 20 has 3 roles: adept, warrior, and specialist. Adepts are characters who have supernatural powers (spells). Warriors are experts in fighting. And, specialists cover characters who are experts in a skill set other than something supernatural or fighting. This method of characters works well. Skills and feats are tweaked to fit the system's roles.

Skills and feats are presented in an easy to read and understand format. Examples of common uses of skills is provided in a table format for quick reference. Feats are presented for general use and for each of the roles. Any character can gain a general feat, but only characters of the named role can gain feats in the specific list. Players can create characters of multiple roles giving them a broader base of skills and feats, but lose some of the higher specialization. This is something players of d20 systems have come to expect and understand.

Along with character creation section, there is information for a narrator to create and run a game. Again, the system has the feel of being designed for newer GMs, but if you are experienced don't let that make you feel it is overly simple.

In playing RPGs for many years, I have found most players like playing in different genres. In earlier games, it was always about learning a new system. With a game system like True 20 the ability to move from one genre to another is easier. No one at the table must learn a new system. You don't even have to learn what the new classes are. Just get your group together, decide the setting, create your characters, and start a story.

Rewritten from original article published by Utah Geek Magazine.

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Dark Web, Game Review

Getting the goods on the company, that is the goal. It's not the easiest task to do since companies are upping their security in this decade of the 1990s—getting prepared for Y2K. But you have the skill to get through the security, get the data, get out, and not get caught. You sit down at your computer and start making the connections to attack the firewall.

Dark Web is a card game of computer hacking set in the 1990s. The goal is for the hackers to get into the system and extract incriminating files on the company and get out without getting locked out. The twist in Dark Web is one of the players may be working for Corporate IT.

At the start of the game the players are randomly assigned a role of either a hacker or corporate IT. There can only be one company employee, but there isn't always going to be one. You know your role, but you don't know the roles of anyone else, for certain. There is always one extra role card that is not looked at when the roles are assigned. It is not until the end of the game, when it is time to score the game, which all the players find out if there was an IT employee in the game.

Dark Web is played in four rounds. Rounds have two phases. The first phase is to play a script. Scripts allow actions to be taken by the player. Some of them allow you to manipulate your hand by moving cards around with other players, others allow you to manipulate the draw pile. After playing scripts, you have a choice for the second phase.

The next phase is a decision to log out and save the data you have in your hand, or to draw a card. When you decide to save, you stop playing for the rest of the round. This can be advantageous if you are at a point of having data to score and it looks like the system may get locked down. Drawing can give you data, scripts, virus, or a lock. Locks are turned over when drawn and when five locks get turned over the system gets shut down. All the players who are still in the server are locked out and the data they have been collecting in their hand is discarded.

After four rounds scoring takes place and is based on the amount of data players have extracted. There is some strategy on how to decide to save your data. There are four types of data and you need to have more than one of the data type for it to score. Viruses lower the score for each one saved. Only the hackers score their data points. If there is an IT player in the game anything they have stored does not count. Again, this can be part of the strategy to lock out data from the hackers if they have a loaded hand.

The hackers total their scores to determine if they won. If they get a high enough score, they have overcome the system security and win. If their combined score is not enough, then the player working corporate IT or the game wins.

Dark Web was easy to learn and to get playing quickly. It is designed for ages 10+, which I think is because of the theme of breaking into a computer system. The strategy of the game, along with it written in the rules that you can do table talk (but don't have to tell the truth) would allow younger player with some gaming experience to join in. The cards use pictures instead of text so actions, once learned, are easily recognized.

Playing multiple games in a row reminded me of other card games. There is some variation in the hand you get and determining if there is an IT player. An advantage to this is the quick play. Although listed at being 30 minutes, games weren't taking that long. Dark Web is good to have on hand as a filler game while waiting because of its size.

Dark Web makes a good cabin game. It consists of a deck of 128, which can fit into a pocket or corner of a suitcase.

Overall Spider, Goat Games has another solid game.

You're working your keyboard as the data files are copying. You can tell someone is working the security as the firewall is closing the data access points. The files finish transferring as the system locks. You made it. You know you didn't get enough to stop the company. You bring up your notes from your fellow conspirators about other access points into the system and get ready to take another dive into the company's computer system.

Dark Web is designed and distributed by Spider Goat Games for 3–6 players ages 10+. A game is expected to take 30 minutes.

Thanks to Spider Goat Games for the opportunity of playing their game.

If you have a comment, suggestion, or critique please leave a comment here or send an email to guildmastergaming@gmail.com.

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Realm Warfare, Game Review

Chess is one of the original games of strategy. Two sides facing off against each other on a limited battlefield. Each piece has set abilities on how to move and how to capture enemy pieces. For some Chessis one of the, if not the only game, they play. There are those who see it as a purest game, and others who see it as a starting point.

Realm Warfaretakes Chess as the starting point. The basics have been taken and expanded to include additional players and features, allowing for new strategies.

A friend and I sat down and play a game of Realm Warfare with the developer, Kerry Murdock, at Salt Lake Gaming Conthis year (2017). We played the base game and by knowing the basics of Chess we started quickly get started into a game after a brief description of some of he added rules.

There are a couple of new pieces. The new pieces and their moves were easy to learn. These pieces were added to the board to be able to provide a balanced layout to the board design.

There are ranged attacks and hit points. Pieces can attack from a distance along with capturing by a standard Chess move. The distance attack is an automatic hit. Then the defending piece makes a d6 roll to defend. Roll above your defense and you take no damage to the piece. Some pieces can take more than one hit from a range based attack and you mark the piece with a hit marker to show the piece is injured, and by how many points. Injury doesn't change the capabilities of the piece until it has sustained enough damage to take it out of the game. However, the piece can heal.

At Salt Lake Gaming Con

After taking damage, that doesn't remove a piece, the player can opt to move the piece to one of the hunting locations on the board. Hunting allows the player to regain lost points for the piece on a successful d6 roll. This can allow a player to keep a piece in the game longer.

Each of the four colored kings have a special ability. This might be the way they deal damage or in the way they defend. This is means each player has a different personality with the army they choose to play. It also means you need to understand that your king's ability is different than your opponent's king and defend accordingly.

Realm Warfareinvolved taking the known of Chessand applying it to the unknown of the variants added. In playing only one game, I am sure I didn't get the full experience of what the game provides. This is partly because there are more options than a Chess player is used to, and, each color has a unique ability which makes the strategy for that color different. You need to take the abilities of the king into consideration.

Even with all this involving strategy, dice have been introduced. The use of a randomizer to determine if your piece takes damage can come into play in ways you might not be expecting. In our game, I moved my king out to use his ability, which was going well. I had strong defenses, which I was counting on. However, when I was attacked I rolled a one on the die and lost my king and removed me from the game.

For a person who enjoys only pure strategy games like Chess and Go, the addition of the dice isn't something they will appreciate. For those who are looking for something to expand the options of their game's strategy the addition of multiple players, range attacks, defense capabilities, and special powers, may be what you are looking for.

Getting ready to start a three player game

Along with the base game Realm Warfare also has an expansion taking it to an eight-player game.

Realm Warfare (link to website) (link to Facebook) was developed by Kerry Murdock and self-distributed for 2–4 players, ages 12+. A game is expected to take about an hour. In our conversation it was noted the time frame is very dependent on the players, however, the variants usually lead to quicker games.

If you have a comment, suggestion, or critique please leave a comment here or send an email to guildmastergaming@gmail.com.

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Planet Mercenary, RPG Review

If you are a fan of Schlock Mercenary by Howard Tayler, you can stop reading and go buy Planet Mercenary. The answer is, "Yes, it does the comic justice." For others, here is a science fiction role-playing game (RPG) based on a long running web comic that captures the fun people expect from reading about a group of space-based, future mercenaries.

Howard Tayler, Sandra Tayler, and Alan Bahr to capture the universe of Schlock Mercenary. Instead of me trying to tell you what this universe is like, go on-line and read through some of the history the mercenary company has gone through. (Here's a link to check it out.)

The Book

I reviewed Planet Mercenaryin PDF. I cannot address the binding or page print, but I can tell you about what I found.

The layout of the book made it easy to read and to find information. Clear references are provided if you have to go to another page, which made looking something up fast. The equipment sections are grouped nicely so I wasn't flipping back and forth trying figure out what I was needing.

The artwork was fun and precise (of course, when you have the game based on a comic and the artist is involved in the production). The placement of the art helped explain what was in the text.

There are a couple levels of text that demonstrate what this game is about. Throughout Planet Mercenary, you are reminded playing this RPG, and any RPG, is about having fun. Everyone is there to create an experience that everyone there is going to enjoy. Even when you are in sections that are loaded with information, they are presented in a lighter manner with ways of showing how to keep the experience of game play lighter and well-paced.

The second layer of text demonstrates this is a game for fun storytelling and the authors had fun putting it together (I'm sure they worked hard because I read their acknowledgements). Throughout the book there is a secondary story being told in the sidebars. It starts in the introduction where the CEO of the company Planet Mercenary makes a comment in the sidebar about what is in the text. This is followed by comments from others—and that sets the tone. The side bar comments tell a story all their own. At one point, I stopped and read just the comments from beginning to end because in those comments a story is presented that highlights how the game should really be considered, and played.

The front half of the book helps get the players started while the back is for the Game Chief (GC) to have information for running a game. This includes information about significant places, people, and events that can be used for adventure hooks. The information is provided in the same fun format making it something you can enjoy reading without it being just a travelogue.

Characters and Mercenary Companies

Some of the art

Planet Mercenaryis designed to be played in a campaign setting. Each player starts with a main character who is part of the team of officers of a mercenary company. This means the players need to start out working together to determine who is going to take on the distinct roles (not everyone can be the captain, then again, not everyone wants to be the captain). There are many races to choose from and there is good balance between them so the role-playing aspects of the characters can come to the forefront during play.

Along with creating a character, the players can create their company. Of course, it could be built by the GC and given to the players, but it is recommended that the players combine their creative talents. Part of the company is the ship, which has an artificial intelligence (AI), which will be played as a player character and non-player character. This is done by shared play during things like space combat by the players, or by the GC when the action is slow and if being done by a player they would probably be surfing the internet in this era, instead of participating in the future.

After the creating the characters and the company the players need to equip. This isn't done by giving each player an amount of money to buy guns, ammo, etc. Players are making a company and because of that many items have to be shared (that is party how they have a ship). There will also be some characters that need to have supplies for the company, because no one want the medic to say, "Sorry, I'm out of bandages." The monetary system is broken into resources and supplies. Resources are there to be able to gain larger items and to convert into supplies. Supplies are what are used for gaining the smaller items everyone needs. This system works well without having to have a player be the company bookkeeper who spends game night on a calculator and spreadsheet.

Game Mechanics

Dice and Mayhem

A couple of Mayhem Cards

The base mechanic is using 3d6 when determining success or failure when needed. Simply put, roll 3d6 and add to the character's modifier, the bigger the better. The mechanic is elegant in simplicity with the added element of adding mayhem to the event.

When dice are rolled to determine success or failure a side effect may be mayhem. One of the three dice rolled is marked in some way to make it different than the other two—the mayhem die. When the roll results in a success and the mayhem die is greater than either of the other two dice, a Mayhem Card is draw. Mayhem isn't always undesirable. They are designed to add additional color and consideration to the role-playing taking place at the table. These unexpected events may alter how events are unfolding in the moment, or later, depending on the card. Additionally, they may not occur at all if a player decides to spend a Role-Playing Point (RiPP).

RiPPs are used by players to make minor adjustments during game play. They don't always work, because the GC may decide the event is important enough, or fun enough to have happen. But, the players can try.

Initiative and Playing the AI

Planet Mercenary favors the mercenary with quick thoughts. Many games have initiative diced by a die roll, or the quickness of the character. In Planet Mercenary, initiative is won by the bold player. The first person to speak up with an action is the first to go in the round.

After the first player takes their action the next action is determined in the same fashion. After all the players have gone then the GC determines the actions of the forces under their control.

It sounds confusing. And, in minor ways it is. And, it plays up to the setting of the game to create the level of uncertainty during the battles taking place, or even the activities happening between battles.

Ship to ship battles are handled by the AI. At this point in the game the players take on the role of the AI in the battle. Initiative is the same. The difference is the players take actions as though they are the AI running the ship.

This initiative system and group play of the NPC AI leads to some interesting role-playing.

Fireteams and Grunts

More art

Mercenaries get killed. And, as pointed out by the comments in the sidebar this can be funny. However, players don't like characters dying if that means they miss out on playing.

Each player is a command officer. Officers need to command somebody. So, each officer commands a fireteam of three. These are specialists chosen from the number of grunts the company is employing. They have some extra abilities that complement the officer they work with (this is chosen by the player creating the officer). In the event of a character death, a fireteam member may get a field promotion.

For players, this means they have backup, partially created characters—no one sits out the rest of the night, or take on the role of the company bookkeeper.

There are more nameless grunts also in the fight. A player who loses a fireteam member, through promotion of death, is able to replace the fallen, or risen, member from the collection of grunts.

Overall

Planet Mercenarywas a fun book to read and a fun game to play.

The longest point we had was the creation of the company as players decided how to apply their resources and supplies.

Mechanics of the game were easily learned and easy to follow. The Mayhem Cards provide a sense of the unknown, both dread and hope.

For those who don't know about the comic, I think there will be new fans.

Thanks to Hypernode Press for the opportunity of reading and reviewing Planet Mercenary.

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Dunkirk, Movie Review

The evacuation of hundreds of thousands of men from Dunkirk during World War II was a heroic undertaking by the British civilians. It was a harrowing experience for the men who were trapped on the beach. Being able to portray the events is an undertaking that requires a balance of showing the gamut of emotions involved for all those who were there.

Dunkirk, written and directed by Christopher Nolan (The Dark Knight, Inception, The Martian), succeeded.

The events are told from three different perspectives, one from the beach, one from the water, and one from the air. The three stories intertwine around a set of events to tell a greater story. The audience eventually sees the main events that tie the stories together from different points of view. Because the set points tie the stories together at the end there is a little bit of time-jumping when the story goes from what has been happening on the beach over the previous day to what is happening on the day of the evacuation.

Dunkirk plunges you into the story without the now traditional scrolling of titles of who made or is it. This sets the emotion from the beginning. This is not an action-packed movie. Here you have the steady build in tension. It builds and then there is a minor release of pressure and then back into building the tension of the situation. When you get to the end of the movie the release of the tension in the film is reflected by the audience. The build in tension was almost overwhelming at times. The points where you can catch your breath are short.

Recently the trend has been to show the gore of war. The direction in Dunkirk is towards the emotional impact and the horrors of war are not portrayed by showing the splattering of men, but by the weight on their spirits. This doesn't mean death is not shown, it is about WWII. The randomness and confusion of war is shown throughout. The audience is drawn in by the connection on the emotional level to the characters.

The acting, directing, editing in Dunkirk were outstanding in developing the emotion. There is little dialogue, but the expressions and scene development tell the story in a stronger way. Expressions captured tell more in the scenes than the words spoken. At a few points, there was enough background noise, from the war, that made dialogue hard to hear.

Overall, I expect to see Dunkirk recognized when the award ceremonies roll around. This is not a movie I would take younger viewers because of the subject matter, and sudden explosions. The film brings the feeling of being there, in the situation with the men on the beach, and not just watching it from the comfort of a seat.

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Eschaton, Cult Strategy Deck Building Game, Game Review

The time of the Dark One's rising is getting closer. As Armageddon looms, the factions are striving to gain the glory of being the true followers. Building the cult by gaining worldly and other worldly followers. Looking for artifacts. Battling other cults. Preparing for the day of reckoning where one cult will be raised above the others to be the chosen of the Dark One.

Eschaton is a deck building game, from Archon Games, pitting the players against each other in a dark fantasy world. Each player starts with a deck of seven cards and play a hand of five cards. Unlike some deck building games Eschaton does not rely on building connections between the cards. Instead, there are four attributes that different cult members represent. The hand is built, the scores for each attribute being played out in order.

Zeal allows the player to add more cards to their hand. No one starts with zeal. And certain cultist inspires more zeal in followers bring them out, in turn, making a player's hand bigger and adding to the scores of the attributes, if more zeal is added in the draw, then more cards are added.

Divination allows draws on the Arcana deck. This additional deck includes artifacts and other worldly followers that can be added to your deck. These build on your attributes, count for victory points, and affect play in other ways. In our game, my friend was able to add a card that every time it came into his hand he was able to curse another player, giving them a penalty.

Me taking some notes at the start of the game

Influence brings in more followers to your cult. The greater your influence the stronger the followers you can attract. This allows you to gain greater ability scores from a single card.

Aggression brings in the game board. The cults share the known world and it is through a player's aggression score that they are able to manipulate events on the board by adding and moving their own forces, or removing another person's markers from play.

Since the cards are score keeping your abilities, we found there is no reason to hide your cards when it becomes your turn. We started drawing the five and turning them over. This allowed for some quicker play because you weren't needing to look at the combinations that could be created. This was a great advantage also for learning the game.

A player can also shrink their deck. Along with building your deck you can sacrifice cultist and remove them from your deck. This is an interesting strategy that allows players to manipulate their deck to bring the stronger cultists into play more often by sacrificing the weaker ones needed earlier in the game. You don't have to sacrifice them and doing so doesn't count for or against any final scoring. It is a strategy move a player has to decide on doing to manage their deck.

The final deck used, the Event Deck, is the time keeper for the game. This is a semi-random deck that is built with Event and Omen cards. At the start of each round a card is turned over. Event cards effect play for that round. These can be random twists causing adjustments in strategy to cope with the event. Omen cards are longer term strategy changes that earns favor with the Dark One, victory points. Those stay in play until the next omen card, or Armageddon. Near the bottom of the deck, the Armageddon card announces the return of the Dark One, at the end of the round points are tallied and main cult is raised to glory while the rest are cast down.

Our game in progress

Two of us were able to sit down with one of the developers, Adam, to play Eschaton at Salt Lake Gaming Con this year (2017). The game was quick to learn and we were quickly into the full swing in the first round. Our event deck hit Armageddon on the seventh round, with two Omens going into play earlier. Our Seven round game went a few minutes over one hour. Our final scores were within seven points from high to low. And my friend came out on top of the developer.

Strategies

In our initial game three different strategies were being used. I was building world forces (aggression), my friend was building on divination, and the developer started out with zeal. As the game progressed I could tell there are other strategies that could be used. Strategies would also work differently with the number of players.

We had three players and there was limited contact on the game board. Eschaton is designed for up to 6 players, and the more there are the great the contact, and therefore, the aggression level. Strategy must take into consideration the number of people in the game.

Replay-ability

The variation in the artifacts deck and the event deck means that every game is going to have something different players have to deal with. Competition for the scoring from the Omen Cards will increase with more players. Personal decks will vary as different cards are added to reflect different strategies.

By changing the size of the Event Deck the length of the game can be varied, which will also impact strategy choices. We played 7 rounds, and the game definitely would have played out differently if we played with a deck that allowed for twice that number of turns.

Artwork

Some of the cards

The majority of art is done to match the theme of evil cultists. Most everything is done in black and white. However, the stronger cultists are done with more color, making it easier for them to be identified and advancing the feel of the theme presented. The art on the cards provides eye appeal during game play.

Overall

Eschaton is a good strategy game. It provides replay-ability and variations to the strategies used and how those strategies develop.

The setup and cleanup of Eschatonwas easy. The only constructed decks are the Event Deck and player decks. Cultist and markers are set out and the Divination Deck is shuffled.

The game is designed for ages 14+. I am sure this is because of the theme of the game. The rules were easy to learn and because you can play with an open hand on your turn, younger players can be helped without worry of over influencing their choices.

Eschaton is designed and produced by Archon Games (Web Page) (Facebook page)for 2–6 players, ages 14+. A game is designed to last 1–3 hours (and this is in controlled by how big you make the Event Deck).

Armageddon has arrived. Each cult bares themselves to the Dark One to see which one will be raised up. Fire blazes out consuming those judged unworthy while you and your fellow followers look on.

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