Balloon Project

Yes I have taken the leap and following suggestions I have starting making a Balloon for the Fun Fair. using paper mache.

The theory is to link the Fun House and the Ferris Wheel by having a high level Balloon Port in between. This will provide a reason to use the Ferris Wheel (get quickly to the top) and well as providing an excellent viewing / shooting platform. I must ensure that the full height is within the 30cm limit for Batman so that he can fly up and down.

I started with a balloon, strips of newspaper, plain flour and salt. An equal mix of flour and water is generated and brought to a smooth consistency. Salt is added to stop the whole thing going mouldy. Then the strips of paper are coated with the mixture and applied to the balloon. The aim is to cover the surface a total of three times going horizontal, vertical and horizontal again. My application was - well - messy to say the least but at least I have something.

Now I have to leave it to dry before I can move on to the next stage - the 'burst the balloon' stage. I am looking forward to that and hopefully it will all hold together. Then I need to make it look like a balloon with a basket suspended underneath.

The high level Balloon Port with dual access should also be a challenge - but one thing at a time.

Should be fun.

$150 Dollar Question - Q&A

An interesting discovery last evening. I was going through Google search looking for Batman Miniature Game related topics and came across an old discussion concerning the number of $ available to spend in the game.

The rule states that for every 150 points of rep you receive $500. We had interpreted this to mean that a 200 point game would receive $500 and only at 300 rep would you receive $1000.

The discussion sent me to this page which showed that there were two ways to read the rule.

$150 Dollar Question

I then decided to go to the new rulebook and see what I could find. It seems that the rules have changed to reflect the above thinking such that page 45 now gives complete clarity.

"For every 150 points or part thereof, you receive $500 of funding." 

It goes on to give several examples including....

"In a 400 point game you have $1500."

In our case a 200 rep game will have $1000 to spend. $500 more then we had been planning. Looks like we need to revisit our crews to invest the additional dollars. I think is will be a good thing as it will bring in potential 'Clown Painting' and 'Neurotoxic Drugs' even to the smaller games.

I have also noticed that all the Joker Clowns now have Distract on the latest Bat Builder

How have you guys been playing the dollars rule? And any advice on expenditure?

Urban Furniture progress

Got lots of little projects on the go in the lead up to our first game and obviously some fairly major ones as well with the Fun House, Power Plant, Ferris Wheel and Carousel. I will also need to do something with the board to give some texture.

However some essentials to play the game are the Lampposts and Sewer markers. I had fun making the Lampposts and the Sewers were just bits of vehicle from the Bitz Box.

I finally managed to get them all ready and added to the pile of playing scenery.

I have ordered some Batman Miniature Game Boxes

and Containers

which should be in the post. I figured that they would be good for lots of different game types, so worthwhile. There is benefit being higher than the opposition so standing on boxes or seats will be a tactic.

I have even ordered some Blood and Stun damage markers. I am going to need a couple of extra boxes in the garage to house all this stuff when its not in use but the production line is flying along.

200 Rep Joker Crew - more thoughts

I have been doing a bit of play testing and am beginning to realise that the Batman Miniature Game is going to be very different to what we are used to playing. Its got the mental juices flowing.

Victory Points are amassed on a round by round basis and there are many ways to acquire them. You can kill the opposition, hold Objectives, solve Riddles or meet the criteria associated with Scenarios. I am beginning to realise that the total number of VP's could, in fact, be quite high. This game will not be about just killing the opposition - having said that, if the opposition is dead they can't hold objectives ;-)

I have also been looking at the way the Objectives and Urban Furniture etc are placed. The order is interesting because it forces a 'spreading out' effect.

First off, each player is allocated D3 Sewer Markers. These can be placed anywhere on the board but must be 5cm's from an edge and at least 20cm's from each other. Using the Sewers will be a great way to get up the board fast. Place one marker in a deployment zone, enter the Sewer at the start of the game and exit at another marker in turn 2. Pick up a piece of Loot or solve and Riddle and move on. Only one character from each crew can be in the Sewers at any time but it will be interesting especially if there are a lot markers in use.

Next come the Lampposts and again each player has D3 to deploy. The game is fought in darkness so these are going to be important as they cast a 10cm disk of light. Anyone standing in the light can be seen and targeted.

Finally come the Objectives which are interestingly placed after are the Crews have deployed. This time each player chooses three Objectives (out of the 4 types available) - so there will be a minimum of six in play. Objectives markers cannot be placed within 10cm's of a players own deployment area, they must be 5cm's from the board edge and importantly a minimum of 5 cm's from any others marker i.e. Lampposts, Sewers and other Objectives. They can be placed within the disk of light cast by the Lampposts though. This is going to really spread out the Objectives.

Loot (if any are taken) must be placed on neutral ground unto 20cm's from the enemy deployment zone.

Riddles (if any are taken) are deployed in pairs (I only recently spotted this) and like Loot must be placed on neutral ground unto 20cm's from the enemy deployment zone.

So there is a lot of Objective counters to be in control of. VP's are awarded at the end of each round and to be in control of the Objective you must be the only character in base contact.

I believe that the impact of all this will be force each Crew to start at the edge of its Deployment Zone and then to move forward onto the Objectives as quickly as possible. It might be interesting to place an Objective or two at the back of the opponents deployment zone. Cause a little confusion by effectively taking someone out of the game although this could give away a lot VP's.

The thing is that you will need to have a lot of characters, quite spread out, to be in control of the counters and therefore gathering VP's.

With this in mind and taking account of some of the comments received from my first thoughts I have reviewed my options to improve the number of guys in the crew. This option brings the total to 7 but does dilute the Joker influence a bit.

The Crew

Joker - 90 rep
August - 25 rep - comes with a Handy, Heavy Axe doing 2 blood damage and he can Run
Turk - 25 rep - has two hand guns, firing twice a round
Contra-Auguste - 21 rep armed with a Handy, Heavy bat
Clown Knife - 15 rep
Clown Tube - 14 rep
Prisoner Tube - 10 rep

The cash could be spent Neurotoxic Drugs giving a couple of the crew both Fast and Dodge, probably Turk and Contra-Auguste. Alternatively a couple of Clown Paint guys to gain Distract and a spare Ammo Magazine for the Turk.

The thinking here is to fan out and own some of the Objectives while the Joker sets up to take pot shots at any advancing force.

I don't have all the models for this list and both the Turk and the Prisoner will not benefit from Trickster but an interesting option none the less.

The Joker in the mood

I just couldn't resist and so I have spent a couple of days hacking and drilling and gluing and 'green stuffing' until finally I can field my very own 'Joker with Attitude'.

The gun is a bit big really and I had real problems getting it stay in position. In the end I pinned the gun to the hand and even managed to keep four of the fingers which was a result. I then increased the size of the pin in the shoulder joint and added some green stuff and straightened the arm into a firing pose. I next pinned his head. I had to lift it a bit to get the chin over the shoulder.

He looks a bit daft really but hell, it was a bit of fun and I can't wait to field him against The Batman. You just know that he will pull off the famous One Shot critical hit that will result in a Casualty. Now that he has the gun in plain view - surely he can't miss?

He, he!

Game Counters - Objectives

In order to play the Batman Miniature Game you need to have a fair number of counters on the board.    These include a variety of Objective markers. Each player is allowed to place three objectives on the board, that is a total of six. There are four different kinds of Objectives. Titan Dose, Ammo Crates, Loot and Riddles and each player can only take one of each type.

I have been to the 'great Bitz Boxes' in the garage and pulled out a variety of items to make up the required counters.

It is always fun to visit the 'great Bitz Boxes'. You just never know what may be found. As usual I am able to pull out various bits and bobs to let me do whats needed. I have started to paint them up and am keeping them very different so that there can be no doubt what each one is. I will enjoy picking out some detail over the next few days.

Its another big step towards our first game.

I need 6 Lampposts (which I have started) and 6 Sewers entrances next.

A present for the Joker

As luck would have it Harley has been out trying to find something that the Joker will enjoy. Something big and powerful. Something unique. Something that will bring a smile to his face.

Could that be a One Shot Gun?

I was in my Bitz box looking for stuff to make objective counters and came across this old Necromunda metal pistol. I instantly knew that I had to drop everything and have a play.

I drilled out the muzzle. It was so small that I literally created an open sided groove. Then I fitted a length of paperclip and used glue and green stuff to fix it place. Once dried I then added a very thin layer of green stuff to the barrel and squeezed the end to create a little gun sight.

An ideal present for the Joker.

The Batman is going down!