Sunday, April 26, 2009

An interesting (unofficial) expansion for Risk 2210AD

While there will always be a purist desire in me to play games the way they were meant to be played, every now and then I do find something made by a fan that succeeds in making the game a little more interesting. This downloadable make-your-own Risk 2210 AD expansion seems to be a collection of all the better fan made add-ons, and it definitely seems capable of bringing the excitement back to Risk 2210 AD by changing the game for the better.

It includes:
Antarctica (Unofficial Expansion): An extra continent, changing the dynamics of the map in interesting ways, and subject to destruction by the Global Warming command card, much like Atlantis in Risk:Godstorm. Originally put together by Geoff Burbidge.
Tech Command Deck (Avalon Hill Official Expansion): The original Tech expansion, adding a 6th commander with a new set of command cards, changing the dynamics of the game in a way that'll make you never again want to play without it. It contains all of the cards from the original Avalon Hill Frontline Season 2, but someone has gone and created brand new artwork and it looks great. You'll still need to make a tech commander yourself though.
Factions (Semi official): The original 6 factions from Frontline Season 3 plus 3 fan made ones. The Faction rules give each player special unique advantages and drawbacks, shaking up strategies and adding a lot more variety to games. All artwork on these was re-done by Geoff Burbidge
Majors (Official Expansion): The original 5 add-on Majors Cards, plus a 6th for the Tech Deck. All featuring amazing new artwork.
Commanders 2.0 (Unofficial Expansion): Adds even more depth to the commanders by allowing you to upgrade them to 2.0 versions in-game. 2.0 Commanders can play 2.0 command cards which are slightly more powerful than the standard decks. These were originally created by Geoff Burbidge, but seem to have been updated somewhat by Anton Klink.
Advanced Tech Cards (Unofficial Expansion): Adds relics (similar to the relics from Risk:Godstorm) that give players certain advantages upon discovering them.

On the whole this set looks and plays great! The artwork has been done superbly, and the graphic design matches seamlessly with Avalon Hill's. Even if you choose not to play the unofficial expansions, the Tech cards and Faction cards in this set are by far the best looking versions I've come across and it's worth a look.

Download Here. Found on Board Game Geeks at this thread.
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Monday, April 20, 2009

Free Dungeon Room Tiles For Use With 25mm Miniatures-Bigger Rooms


This is the third set added to our growing collection of free dungeon tiles, following the corridors and small rooms. As you may have guessed, this set allows you to incorporate bigger rooms into your dungeons, and also includes some new hazard and obstacle markers. These should be useful to anyone who uses 25mm miniatures in their games of Dungeons and Dragons, or Warhammer. These would be perfect for a subterranean variation of Mordheim when you get bored of fighting in broken down buildings.

Below is a download link to a 5 page PDF. The intention with these is to quickly construct the immediate surrounds of a battle scene so you can position the various fighters in any given combat, so unless you are planning on building entire dungeons, you should be able to get by with 1 print out of each, but it's your ink, print as many as you want! If you have the space for it on your gaming table, you could print out whatever pieces you need and give them to the players as they explore, slowly building up a full size 1:60 map of your dungeon.

Contents:
Page 1: 1 x 25' x 15' Dungeon Room End Section Tile, 1 x 25' x 10' Dungeon Room Mid Section Tile, 1 x 25' x 10' Dungeon Room End Section Tile, 1 x 5' x 15' Caltrops Hazard, 1 x Wall of Flames Hazard, 1 x Dinner Table Obstacle, 2 x Barrels Obstacle Markers.

Page 2: 2 x 30' x 15' Dungeon Room End Section Tiles, 1 x 30' x 20' Dungeon Room Mid Section Tile
Page 3: 2 x 35' x 15' Dungeon Room End Section Tiles, 1 x 35' x 20' Dungeon Room Mid Section Tile
Page 4: 1 x 25' x 10' Dungeon Room Mid Section Tile, 1 x 30' x 10' Dungeon Room Mid Section Tile, 1 x 35' x 10' Dungeon Room Mid Section Tile, 2 x Stools Obstacle Markers, 1 x Crates and Barrels Obstacle Markers, 1 x Pot of Hot Stew Hazard.

Page 5: A selection of Door Markers: 3 x Closed Double Dungeon Doors, 3 x Half Open Double Dungeon Doors, 3 x Open Double Dungeon Doors.

Instructions: A) Printing:
For best results turn off "shrink to fit page" when printing it out. This will keep each flagstone at an inch square. Inkjet printers use water-soluble inks so extra protection may be needed after assembly. Laser prints should be pretty durable but the toner may scratch off with extended use.

B) Making the Room Tiles:
Use spray glue to attach it to thickish mounting board (2mm in thickness should do the trick) and cut out using a steel ruler and craft knife. Always use a sharp blade and be careful. The Room Tiles' walls are designed to overlap the black borders on the edge of the Corridor tiles, so I'd recommend doing the following with each of the Room Tiles:

1) Mark out a 5mm border on the underside of each tile, ignoring any edge that doesn't have a wall. You can do this by measuring; using a Corridor Tile as a guide, or by gluing a second copy of the room tile to the underside.

2) Cut a piece of mounting board with the same dimensions as the marked out area. This should be the same thickness as the Dungeon Corridor Tiles

3) Glue it to the underside of the tile using the 5mm border as a guide. You want to use PVA glue or contact adhesive for this, and you'll want to let it cure under a pile of books to keep it from warping.

Interlocking Tiles (Optional):
The advantage of having each room being made up of smaller sections is that it becomes modular and gives a lot more flexibility, but the downside is that the individual sections may tend to slide around on the table during a battle which can get a little annoying. If you feel like putting a little extra effort in when making the tiles you can try this approach to get the tiles to interlock and stay connected.


1) Mark out a 5mm border on the underside of each tile. You can do this by measuring; using a Corridor Tile as a guide, or by gluing a second copy of the room tile to the underside.

2) On a separate piece of mounting board, mark out an area the same size as the marked out area on the under side of the tile.

3) Mark out squares as illustrated below:




4) Cut out the foundation piece with a sharp knife and steel ruler, and glue it to the underside of the tile using the 5mm border as a guide. You want to use PVA glue or contact adhesive for this, and you'll want to let it cure under a pile of books to keep it from warping.

C) Making the Dungeon Door Markers
Print the Door Marker page on a slightly thick card stock, or stick the page to card using spray glue. Using a steel ruler and an embossing tool, score along the dotted lines and fold the card along each score mark (Tip: If you do not have an embossing tool, then a dry ball point pen will do the trick!)

Flatten out the card again and cut out Each Door Marker with a steel ruler and sharp craft knife. Always use a sharp blade and be careful. Fold each door marker again, creasing it with a spoon. Trim the bottom flap down to 5mm. It should now wrap around the edge of the Room tile.

D) Finishing and using the Tiles
For added longevity you may want to cover the tile in a self-adhesive plastic wrap, or seal it down with decoupage paper varnish. Cut the self adhesive plastic about 5mm wider than the tile on all sides and trim the corners off at a 45ยบ angle. Slowly and carefully apply the plastic wrap pressing down firmly as you go to avoid the formation of air bubbles, and then wrap over each edge sealing it. Air bubbles can be dealt with by puncturing them with a needle and forcing any air out by rubbing firmly over the area.

Use the alongside the Dungeon Corridor tiles during your battles. Using the Dungeon Door Markers to indicate entrances. Upon discovering a trap (hopefully not the hard way!) place the appropriate Hazard Marker so that you know exactly where it is when planning your tactics in combat.

Download Kev's Lounge: Flagstone Dungeon Bigger Room Tiles From Papercraft Dungeon

This is only one set in a much bigger collection. If you haven't already, you're going to want to download the Free Dungeon Corridor Tiles, Free Dungeon Small Rooms Tiles and Free Dungeon Huge Room Tiles. Follow the link for the instructions and download.

I have a lot more sets on their way, including sewers, narrow alley ways, larger rooms, and rooms with unusual shapes. I'm also working on a Natural Cave set for those spelunking goblin hunters among you, and a 3 dimensional alternative to the Door Markers. If there is anything you'd like to see, please let us know!
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