I Hate Quarantines!

I tried today to play the Quarantine scenario from the All Things Zombie: Haven scenario book. Basically, its cops trying to hold the line on the board against zombies, infected humans, and all sorts just trying to break quarantine. As such, the board doesn't start with either zombies or PEFs at the beginning. You only have events when you have encounters. The scenario ends when 16 activation turns go by, when the scenario assumes your relief arrives for the next watch shift.

Seems simple right? Well, it is. TOO simple. Encounters only occur when you roll doubles on the activation dice. This happened exactly TWICE during the game. Turn 1, when the streetlights went out (this is a night shift) and on Activation 14, when a sniper took a shot at one of the cops and missed.

That was it. The entire game. In four sentences. :P
I think its taking me longer to write this !@#$ post than the 'game' took.

So, I'm going to replay it tomorrow, but with the rule that encounters happen on either a 7 or doubles. Just to have some action going on! Otherwise, I spent a lot of time setting up my terrain and minis for (almost) nothing.

Have any of my readers played the Quarantine scenario? What was your experience with the scenario as written? Other than Vampifan that is. HIS BatRep had a lot of action! Wonder if its my dice....


Zombie Chow

Pardon my Geeking out, but...

I got an article of mine published in the UK wargames magazine Battlegames!

Its in issue 27, and is called "Wargaming Blind" and obviously covers how I play miniatures wargames. I also give Two Hour Wargames a shout out, especially All Things Zombie.

Details for issue 27 can be read at:

http://www.battlegames.co.uk/index.html

In other news, I'm currently setting up the police scenario _Quarantine_ from the ATZ: Haven book. This will be a flashback to day 6 when Sebastian (the policeman mentioned in Game 4: Dining Out) first runs into zombies. Depending on how it goes, it might also explain why he ended up as only a Rep 3 figure!

More later...

Zombie Chow

At last, fiction started on 'Those Who Remain Journal'

Hello all,

Apologies for the delay in starting to get fiction over to the TWR Journal site. I wanted to keep the fiction chronological so that left me actually having to write up the Day 1 scenario as fiction before posting other (already written) stuff.

The short story for Graveyard Shift: Day 1 is now up at:

http://thosewhoremainjournal.blogspot.com/2012/01/graveyard-shift-day-1.html

Enjoy!

Zombie Chow

First Post of the Year! The Smith Letter

Hello all,

As anyone who's read this blog can attest, I like All Things Zombie mostly for its solo campaign element. I play solo wargames in a variety of eras, and I read the Lone Warrior blog for the Solo Wargames Association at the link below.

http://lonewarriorswa.com

  

In their August 2011 section, Chris Hahn discusses a letter he read in the March 2011 Miniatures Wargaming magazine that discussed the overemphasis (in Mr. Smith's opinion) on detailed painting of figures and exquisite terrain over the basic idea of wargaming; that is getting together and playing games. He further considers that it promotes a brand of financial and painting skilled "elite" that intimidates and deters many people from entering the hobby.
 I'm still chewing on it, but I think he may have a point. Not that I think those who paint all their figs or create detailed terrain are elitists, they are simply exhibiting their love of the hobby and its modeling-painting aspect. Does this keep people from the hobby? I've been at conventions where I've overheard miniature wargamers sneering at a person's bad paint jobs on their figures, or turning their noses up at paper terrain. But is this just the normal level of appreciating greater effort? Or a sign of something worse, as Mr. Smith seems to imply?

Read the Lone Warrior article and please give me your opinions:

http://lonewarriorswa.com/the-smith-letter#content

Still chewing on it,

Zombie Chow