The page briefly describes what Tom and I will cover in the podcast. It also lists confirmed guests. The list of confirmed guests is subject to change, but we try to only list individuals that are confirmed guests and who will appear on the podcast.

We hope you are listening to and liking the podcast. We’d love to hear back from you. Please send all feedback via e-mail to cwfgamecast at wargamingforums dot com.

Raven's Avatar

I am delighted to announce his involvement with the podcast and with CWF Game Cast. I could tell you more about Tom but instead I’ll direct you to a Youtube video he made introducing himself to Noble Ape visitors.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7sjke67Eo_s[/youtube]

Raven's Avatar

Don’t forget that I will exclusively reveal a GIGANTIC secret on the Stone Ape Podcast. When Tom publishes the episode I will link to it so that all of you can have a listen.

P.S. In the recording I say I last casted 2 or 3 years ago. The last cast I released was CWF-2008-4-10 News, Server Move Complete, Getting Out of Axis & Allies Minis, and Musical Guest Black Crowes.

Raven's Avatar

On Sunday Tom and I will be chatting for over an hour about gaming, this blog, and who knows what else. One thing I do know is that I will be revealing a big secret. I hope that you will listen to the Stone Ape podcast to hear my conversation with Tom and that you listen to the other episodes of the Stone Ape podcast. They’re very laid back and informative.

Raven's Avatar

There’s some great news about us. We’re officially re-branding ourselves. We hired a graphic designer to craft a new logo, header, advertising artwork, and signature images. We’ve never been graphically talented and this will allow us to better project who we are and what we do. When the re-branding is complete we intend to create business cards, perhaps t-shirts, maybe bumper stickers, and of course new images to use when linking to us. This has been on our to do list for a long time and it will soon be finished.

We’re working to connect with more local game stores. Adler Hobby in New Hampshire has invited us to visit and review them. Adler has a good website and a strong focus on Flames of War. We’re eager to visit them in person but need to schedule the trip. Adler is in Hollis, NH, which is a a hike for us at an estimated 2 hour one way trip with traffic. A long-term goal is to visit every game store, game convention, and major game venue in New England where we will record and review them. That will take a long time to do but we plan to make it happen. Until we get to Adler Hobby please visit their website to learn more about them.

The last bit of in house news is I have been invited as a guest on the Stone Ape Podcast. Stone Ape was featured on iTunes New and Noteworthy list and stars Heron Stone, futurist linguist, and Tom Barbalet, artificial life simulator, gamer, and podcaster as they discuss a multitude of topics in range and depth. We’re working out the details but this will be my first guest appearance on another podcast. Tom is, I’m honored to say, a long-time fan of the CWF GameCast and a major driving force for our recent FoW coverage.

Enough about us. Time to get to the information you really want. How about some ZOMBIES!

Battleground Games & Hobbies Plainville will be hosting the 4th annual Zombie Crawl on Wednesday, October 27th at 6:30pm. Join the fun slaying zombies as you battle through a hive world using the Necromunda ruleset. John Caputo has organized this event every year since its inception and it is one of the most enjoyable gaming events I’ve ever played in. Please read the character building rules. If you don’t have a miniature, then John has some he is willing to lend for the event. This event ALWAYS brings a big crowd. If you can’t make the 6:30 start time still come by. John is happy to include you in the fun no matter the time you arrive. I will be playing in and live-blogging the event. You can follow the fun on Twitter with #zombiefightnight or #zombie.

The Whiz in Westborough has lots of goodies. They have the Das Book preview for Flames of War and the new Legion of Everblight book for Hordes. They held a Warmachine/Hordes Highlander event yesterday, which was a great success. Warhammer Fantasy players will love that High Elf Prince Althran and Skaven Warlord Spinetail are both in stock. The first expansion to Race for the Galaxy has been restocked too!

Finally, I played my first game of Flames of War this last Wednesday at Battleground Games in Abington. I played two 600 pt demo games and am starting to understand the rules. After all these years I’m getting to use my models. I began work tonight on the bases for my scout platoon. I have ordered the Eastern Front book, to replace my Ostfront book, along with a score of Vallejo paints to use on my Panzergrenadiers.

There will be more Flames of War coverage along with a possible review of two basing materials…wood filler and spackle.

Raven's Avatar

The event got off to a slow start with a handful of pre-teen regulars hanging out before I arrived. As the clock inched towards 10:30 and then 11am more people arrived. Sadly, a handful of events were canceled at the last minute. Privateer Press once again let down gamers when three Press Gangers could not attend to run demos of Warmachine/Hordes. The strong Warmachine/Hordes BG crowd also could not attend to run demos so those went the way of the dodo. A table was arranged with Island of Blood components for Warhammer Fantasy Battle but suffered from a lack of any knowledgeable WFBer to run the demo.

The highlight for demos belongs to Sam Pearson, BG Plainville employee, who ran a succession of highly enjoyable and well-attended 40k demos featuring the Black Reach box (with a few tweaks). I played in the second demo he ran, which was my first 40k game in several years. His greenskins trounced my Smurfs once they got into range. Heavy shooting in the beginning brought down all three of his dethkoptas and it went downhill from there.

Halo Reach tournaments ran throughout the day with the winner of each winning additional raffle tickets. Some of the later tournaments failed to max out participants after heavy play early on. With admission of $2/person it was a great and affordable way to get in a game of Reach when a standard hour of play costs $6.

A bounty of 40k games took over the store by mid-day with every table consumed by miniatures gaming. The card tables were well-attended with board game demos (i.e. Ascension) throughout the day but a dearth of Magic players was attributed to a major M: TG event elsewhere in the state. Players straggled in as they were eliminated from the other Magic event.

Every 15 minutes a drawing was held for “door prizes.” Everyone who entered the store received a blue raffle ticket that gave them a chance of winning a prize of their choice from two piles. The catch was having your number called and being in the store at the time. This caused some hilarity when customers lost their tickets or went next door to Piezoni’s for food. Many a reference to “Bueller…..Bueller…..Bueller….” was made eliciting laughter from the gathered crowd.

Customers also earned three red raffle tickets, for the big prizes, for every demo they ran/participated in or every tournament they won. This was expanded to include every game of anything that customers played. I earned tickets for my 40k demo and for learning Zombie Dice. Customers could deposit their tickets into envelopes for D&D, Magic, Games Workshop, Board Games, and Xbox. Winners were contacted and announced at the end of the night.

In a surprise result one individual won twice snagging both the 1st and 2nd prize in the same category. While I don’t begrudge the person for winning I can’t help but think this is very poor planning on behalf of BG. Once a person won they should not have been allowed to win again (at least in the same category if not in all of them) to allow others a chance to win.

The Grand Opening was great in showing a lot of support from the Plainville community. Unfortunately, there was a lack of familiar faces from Abington by the time I left at 6pm. Chase Laquidara, BG Plainville Manager, estimated a 50/50 split at most times with it adjusting to 40/60 old/new faces. As long as those new faces keep coming back BG Plainville should have a solid foundation.

The event also revealed some negatives with the location. Most of these pertain to BG Plainville itself inasmuch as the event. So, they will be saved for a future article reviewing BG Plainville.

It was an incredibly fun day. I got to meet new people who will hopefully become new friends, catch up with gamers I haven’t seen in a long time, and spend time with new faces from the soft opening. The long and short of it is the event was a big success and proves that BG Owner Derek Lloyd and his staff know how to plan and execute a community gathering as much as they know how to operate a successful game store.

We give the Grand Opening 4/5 stars. Please see the below pictures from the event. You can also see these on our Facebook page.

Raven's Avatar

In celebration there will be lots of fun and prizes. Demos of 40k, Fantasy, and Warmachine/Hordes will run all day long. There will be several tables available for open gaming. Demos of such fantastic games like Castle Ravenloft and Dominion (exact games to be determined) will entice board gamers. A scaled down Magic tournament is being held (each participant gets free booster packs).

Giveaways are ticked based. Every person who walks through the door will receive 1 ticket. You earn 1 ticket for every event you take part in. You can earn more tickets for spending money.

The prizes are divided into categories. A top-tier prize is a Magic booster box or a 40k/Fantasy army box or starter set. A lower tier prize would be a GW box up to X dollars in value. The bottom tier consists of paint and brushes, for example. BG Employee Sam said “there is no loser prize.”

All of the fun starts at 10am and ends when the store closes (probably midnight). Please call the store at 508-316-1195 with questions.

Raven's Avatar

Are you interested in Flames of War or Axis & Allies Minis? Do you like to write? If so please let me know. I’d love to have your help.

Requirements

Knowledge of the game system (FoW or AAM, both is a plus)
Enthusiasm
Dedication
WordPress Knowledge a Plus but NOT required (for uploading pictures, posting the posts)

Please contact cwfgamecast@wargamingforums.com if you are interested. Writing samples are not required but a plus.

Raven's Avatar

Tone is an avid gamer who bonds with his twin boys over games of Axis & Allies Minis and War at Sea. He lives across the pond in England and is a regular Axis & Allies ForuMINI member. The CWF Game Cast is proud and delighted to announce him as the winner of our first contest.

Thank you to everyone who entered this contest whether on our blog, on our Facebook Page, or our Twitter (@cwfgamecast) account. We also want to once again thank the Axis & Allies ForuMINI, Battleground Games & Hobbies, the Battlestar Galactica Wiki, and Frakmedia LLC for allowing us to promote the contest on their forums, websites, blogs, and Facebook pages.

This contest would not be possible without the generosity of 12-7-Games and its owner Bill. If you ever need historical gaming product please order from 12-7-Games. They are the first recipient of our Editor’s Choice Award and they provide the best customer service we’ve ever experienced from an online vendor.

Thank you again and please visit us again for more New England and gaming news.

Contest runs from 9/3/10-9/11-10

This is absolutely the LAST day to win your FREE Axis & Allies Minis or War at Sea Booster courtesy of our sponsor, 12-7-Games. Be sure to ENTER the contest by going to Win a FREE AXIS & ALLIES MINIS or WAR AT SEA BOOSTER.

Tell us “How gaming has impacted, positively or negatively, your life”

You have three ways to win:

• LIKE our Facebook page
• Leave a comment on Twitter (@cwfgamecast)
• Leave a comment on our Contest post

That’s it. One winner will be chosen and get to pick from the sets listed on the contest post.

Remember that TODAY is the last day to enter. Once the clock hits Midnight EST the contest ends and we will begin to pick the winner.