Kev's Lounge: The Web Comic

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"Kev's Lounge - A place where games are played and Coca-Cola is consumed. Risk, Axis and Allies, Zombies, Mordheim, Settlers of Catan and Dungeons and Dragons are but a few of the games discussed." Those words have been in the header bar for about as long as Kev's Lounge has existed, but they've never really made a lot of sense.

The way it all started, is that I finished highschool back at the end of 1998. We all went off to different colleges and the group dynamic kinda fell apart. At the end of 1999, I bought a copy of Risk, the classic one, and started inviting the kids around once a week to play, and that kinda cemented the group back together, giving us all a reason to hang out on a regular basis. We used to play in the lounge, hence "Kev's Lounge".

After a while, we started playing other games too... We went back and dug out all the games we used to play in high school, like Magic: The Gathering and Dungeons and Dragons, and a whole bunch of interesting new games we discovered along the way like Settler's of Catan, Mordheim, Axis and Allies and Risk 2210. It didn't really matter much which game we were playing... It was just a great way to spend time with friends.

As for "Kev's Lounge" as a title, back in 2004 we were all young and thought we were really hilarious and that other people would laugh themselves silly watching us hang out in the lounge playing our silly games. Kev's Lounge was originally going to be an online streaming podcast... and the only thing that really stopped it was that not a single one of us was willing to watch and edit the video down to something that would actually be watchable. Of course, it was only a couple years before some blokes invented a thing called YouTube and we got to see just how awful that idea was in the first place!

A few years later, I then went on to start this blog, and I was going to use it to talk about the games we played. If you look at some of the very first posts, that's exactly what I was doing. I found that pretty boring, so I started sharing the stuff that I'd made for the games we played instead, and that turned out to be pretty popular, so i kept doing it.

The original idea of the podcast stuck with me the whole time though, and I still think that there's a story worth telling. Back in highschool I used to draw comics, which I'd photocopy and distribute to anyone who cared to read them. I still have the original artwork somewhere, but I'm slightly embarrassed looking at it now, because my 15 year old self had a very warped idea of what constituted "cool!" Earlier this year, i thought I'd give it another try, and I landed up drawing the comic you see above. I haven't really carried on with it, because there is so much else going on in my life right now, but I think I'd like to explore this a little further. Develop some proper characters and come up with a decent long term story line. What do you guys think?

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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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Game Tips: Risk 2210AD Majors Add-On

Shortly after Risk 2210 AD was released, these 5 extra cards were given away at a Convention to promote the game. Each card pays tribute to one of the creators of the game with a portrait, but I could not honestly say who is who. If anyone knows, please fill me in. These cards are beyond impossible to get your hands on now, so if you'd like to add them into your games you'll have to fudge it a bit. The easiest way is to use the blanks that came in the box. If you've already used them or lost them then the best solution I can offer is to make a brand new set of command decks, including these (and any other custom cards you may have made). I will go in to detail on how to do this nicely in a future post. If you are going to include these cards in your games, you should be aware that they are rather powerful and may be a little unbalancing.

Here are the cards, and a description of each.



Major Power: Diplomat Command Card
Cost: 4 Energy

Play on you turn before your first invasion is declared.

Draw 2 cards from each command deck that you are able to. (You must have that commander in play to draw from the deck.)




This card can really tip the balance in your favour. Who doesn't want a fist full of command cards to broaden their options? This card is especially good value if you happen to have most or all of your commanders in play, and if you are in a strong position with a lot of energy in hand then this card could possibly win the game for you. If you are in a bad spot though, and your energy is low, it might not be worth your while as those extra cards are not going to help a lot if you can't afford to play them.Of course if you're not going to spend that energy anyway it might net you a few valuable defensive cards or at least thin out the decks a bit to your opponents' detriment.



Major Flöwerz: Land Command Card
Cost: 4 Energy

Play on you turn before your first invasion is declared.

Remove a devastation marker. This territory is now passable.





Major Flöwerz has a very unfortunate name, and you better believe he's hardcore to have survived long enough to become a major in spite of his girly sounding name. Major Flöwerz is all about the environment, and he's quite active in his attempts to save the planet. Now, I generally find the devastation markers to be rather useful where they are and I take full advantage of them and don't want them going anywhere... chances are your opponents have a similar opinion and knowing that you can't sneak through that deadly radiation, they leave the areas behind the devastation marker pretty poorly defended. This is when Major Flöwerz unleashes a lifetime's worth of passive aggression and bottled rage from all the teasing he received as a kid and ruins your opponent's day by stripping him of his beneficial little wasteland barrier for good. Bear in mind however that you probably are pretty weak behind that devastation marker too, so you're gonna want to play this in combination with a few Assemble MODs to beef up your attacking force, and hopefully have a few Stealth MODs on hand to protect your new border because the devastation marker is not coming back to protect you after the fight. Another use for this card, though a rather expensive one, is to generously clean up the pollution in one of your opponent's continents. While this seems a very kind thing to do, he will likely swear at you rather than thank you as the now clean territory is unoccupied and deprives him of the bonus he'd normally get for occupying the whole continent.



Major Death: Naval Command Card
Cost: 4 Energy

Play on you turn before your first invasion is declared.

Destroy all opponents' naval commanders that are in play.




Major Death doesn't seem to much like competition, and wants the water to himself. Use this card when you are planning a major water offensive, to quickly and efficiently eliminate the risk of pesky and nasty defensive cards being played on you while you conquer the oceans. If timed well, this card could really work in your favour, but at the very least it will cause a fair bit of inconvenience to your enemies by forcing them to replace their Naval Commander should they wish to continue in the waters of the world.


Major Pain: Nuclear Command Card
Cost: 4 Energy

Play on you turn before your first invasion is declared.

During this turn, all units attacking from the same territory as your nuclear commander use 8-sided dice.




This card is only as effective as the brain in the head of the person who plays it. You want to play it at the critical moment, when your Nuke Commander has lots of buddies to support him on his rampage. Definitely worth it to lay down some army building cards like Assemble MODs in combination with this one. You might also want to use Decoys Revelealed to get your Nuke Commander into the best position if he isn't already. It's probably not worth paying for this card if your Nuke Commander already has other commanders to back him up, since 3 d8's are only a tiny improvement over 2 d8's and a d6.


Major Destruction: Space Command Card
Cost: 4 Energy

Play on you turn before your first invasion is declared.

Roll a 6-sided die. Destroy this many enemy space stations.





This card can just be plain nasty. Space Stations are hard to replace because you can't buy one unless you have all of your Commanders in play, and then they cost 5 energy each. This card can effectively remove the threat of being attacked on the moon if you roll high. Apart from that the card can weaken your opponents defense considerably. Without the Space Station the MODs on a border will only get to defend with d6's, making it slightly easier to penetrate, and each Space Station provides a free bonus MOD every turn which your enemy is going to have to live without until he gets a new one.

For more on Risk 2210 AD have a look at this interesting unofficial expansion.

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Game Tips: Official Risk 2210AD Expansions

Risk 2210 AD is a pretty rich game in itself, even though it is dramatically more simple than a game like Axis and Allies. Never the less it is the kind of game that is just begging to be expanded upon, in both story and tactics. Avalon Hill/Wizards of the Coast realised this and created more than a few expansion packs for the game over the course of a few years but, in a move that can either be called pure genius or utter stupidity, they never released any of them commercially at all. Instead they arranged a tournament circuit called Frontline, and each season organized the tournaments around a new themed expansion. The expansion paraphernalia were produced in very small quantities and the tournament centres were issued just enough to run their tournaments, with the expansion pieces being awarded as prizes.

Season 1: Mars
The familiar Earth map, was ignored this season and the entire campaign took place on the Martian Landscape of 2210AD. As with the Earth map in the box, the Martian map was based on modifed satellite photographs of the landscape which I presume they bartered off of NASA. Mars has been occupied and terraformed and the entire Northern section is one big ocean, with the southern portion consisting of a large land mass divided into colonies, rather than a multitude of separated continents that most risk players would be familiar with. The resulting lack of bottle necks meant that the strategy was dramatically different, requiring a blanket defensive strategy rather than the traditional "strong at the borders, weak in the middle" approach. I personally have never played this variation, but I intend to in the near future if I can get my hands on a map again.

Season 2: Tech Commander
This expansion was dramatically more significant than the Mars one that preceeded it. It consisted of a deck of Tech Command Cards with original art and a Tech Commander for each army. I was a little disappointed to learn that the actual commander piece was a piece of cardboard with a stand, and not an actual plastic figure to match the existing commander pieces, but this news made me less sad about having not been in a position to actually participate in any of the Frontline Tournaments. The Tech Commander is not unlike the Nuke Commander in terms of game mechanics, and uses a d8 for all his attacks and defense rolls, but the Tech Command deck is a true asset and adds a whole lot of new options to old strategies while creating a brand new set of new ones. Most significantly there are now cards that allow you to negate the effects of an opponents card, like a Counterspell in Magic: The Gathering. There are also cards that allow you to move your troops around more efficiently and that bypass the Devastation Marker rules to your strategic advantage. Most significantly there is a most powerful card that allows you to swap turn order with someone else, which can be as much to their detriment as it is to your advantage. You can find a great fan-made recreation of the cards in part of this interesting unofficial expansion.

Season 3: Factions
The Factions expansion consisted of 6 playmats, that had space for cards and energy marked out on them. The mats themselves were pretty inconsequential, but each mat was themed to a different faction with its own advantages and disadvantages. Each faction was dramatically different from the others and required a different style of play to achieve victory. It incorporated the previous season's Tech Commander and really improved the game. I will discuss this one in greater detail in a future post. You can find a great fan-made set of Factions cards in part of this interesting unofficial expansion.

Season 4: Invasion of the Giant Amoebas
This simple expansion was designed to shake up the mechanics by adding in a new level of randomness and a non-player invasion force. It consisted of a pile of glass beads (the amoebas), a deck of Amoeba Event Cards that controlled the Amoeba's attacks and fortification, and 3 additional Diplomat cards. I haven't played this one either, but it's on my list of things to do.

After Season 4 they turned their backs on Risk 2210AD, but there are a lot of unofficial expansions out there. I may explore some of them down the line, and I will definitely be adding some of my own in future.

For more on Risk 2210 AD have a look at this interesting unofficial expansion which includes DIY versions of some of the official expansions described above. If you enjoy board games, you might also enjoy Zombies!!!

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Strategy Board Game Review: Risk 2210 AD by Avalon Hill

For those already familiar with Risk, I would say that Risk 2210 AD is the definitive version of the game. For those not, this is a good medium level strategy board game that is guaranteed to give an evening's worth of entertainment with some old friends! There is a slight learning curve, even for those who have played other versions of Risk because a lot of the game mechanics work slightly differently from versions that have gone before, but once you've gotten the hang of it it's pretty straight forward and relatively easy to get around.



Inside the box you will find:

• A large fold-away rectangular game board, representing the Earth as they imagine it would appear in 2210 AD, divided into 42 land territories split over 6 continents, like "Classic" Risk, and 13 underwater territories split over 5 water colonies which are new.
• A map of the moon, divided into 14 lunar territories split over 3 lunar colonies. This is an extension of the gameboard
  
• 5 sets of plastic army pieces in red, green, blue, black and yellow ochre. Each army has a number of MODs (Machines of Destruction) representing either 1, 3 or 5 military units depending on its size, as well as 4 space station markers and 5 Commander figures. One each for Land, Navy, Space, Nuclear and Diplomacy.
• 3 decks of Territory Cards, covering every Land, Water and Lunar territory. The Land cards include type markers in the fashion of "Classic" Risk, and a pair of wild cards, but only to allow you to play in the classic style, where you trade cards in for bonus armies. In Risk 2210 these cards are used only for randomly picking territories for certain Command card effects.
• 5 decks of Command Cards, each tied to the 5 Commanders mentioned above.
• A pile of Energy Tokens, which are used as currency in the game. They are traded for Commanders and Command Cards.
  
• A score board and year counter. Just to keep track.
  
• 4 Devastation markers. These are part of the new mechanics and are used to change the board from game to game.
• 5 Turn Order markers. Another new mechanic.
• A pile of dice.

If you have already played Risk, then you'll already be familiar with the combat mechanics. They haven't changed at all. A lot has changed tho:

• The additional Water and Lunar Terrritories. These change the dynamics quite dramatically by adding in new avenues of attack as well as providing alternate positions to gain continent bonuses. For example, North America traditionally only had 3 borders with other continents, it now has 5 as 2 territories now connect with Water Colonies.
  
• The Commanders and Space Stations. In certain circumstances a Commander is allowed to attack using an 8-sided die rather than a 6-sided one. A Commander will always defend with an 8-sided die, making him more likely to win. The Space Stations also allow every MOD in the occupied territory to defend with an 8-sided die.
• The Command Cards and Energy Tokens replace the old-fashioned card trade-ins. In "Classic" Risk you would trade in a set of 3 cards in return for bonus armies every few turns, that is now gone. Each turn you get an amount of Energy equal to the amount of armies you receive from your territory count and continent bonuses. You use this Energy to buy additional Commanders and Space Stations, and to buy Command Cards. You can only buy Command Cards respective to the Commanders you control, so you need a Naval Commander to buy Naval Command Cards, for example. You also use energy to pay the costs of playing cards. Cards have various effects from giving you reinforcements, through imposing restrictions on other players, to destroying enemy units before or during combat.
• Turn order is not guaranteed. Traditionally play would just proceed clockwise around the table. In Risk 2210 AD, you start off every round by bidding for your right to choose turn order. The highest bidder gets to choose his position first, whether it be First or Last turn. The position you take has different strategic importance at different stages of the game.
• The game isn't about eliminating your opponents. "Classic" Risk went on til their was only one player left on the board, having wiped out all opposition. Risk 2210 has a limit of 5 rounds, and whoever is in the best position at the end of that wins the game.
• Devastation markers mean you'll probably never play the same game twice. When setting up at the beginning of the game you randomly choose 4 Land territories from the land deck. Those territories are considered obliterated by nuclear war and can't be entered or travelled through. This can change the dynamic of the game considerably by closing off borders, giving a significant defensive advantage to the owner of the continent.

To close off, Risk 2210 AD is a neat little game. The dynamics are the best I've come across in this series of games to date. and it's thoroughly enjoyable. It has a learning curve, but not one so dramatic as say Axis and Allies or some of the other more realistic strategy board games. Definitely worth getting! Have a look at the manufacturer's site. Over there they have an online playable demo as well as a downloadable copy of the rule book.

If you enjoy board games, you might also enjoy Zombies!!!. For more on Risk 2210 AD have a look at this interesting unofficial expansion.

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