Transformers Combiner Wars Ultra Magnus

I have an original Ultra Magnus and am looking forward to getting this new version of him.

Combiner Wars Ultra Magnus

I have my original one displayed in front of my Transformer's the Movie poster.

Failed dreams of Kickstarter

Washington Post - FTC goes after board game campaign gone wrong in first crowdfunding case

I've been wondering when this would finally happen.  I have read about a few campaigns that have ended up in court, but it has always been a backer going after them.  It will be interesting to see if this happens to other Kickstarter campaigns that fail to deliver.

Tomorrowland

We just came home from seeing the movie Tomorrowland.  It was a well paced adventure story with a lot of spectacle to see, but the one thing that I will remember most is the reference to this story:

One evening, an elderly Cherokee brave told his grandson about a battle that goes on inside people.

He said "my son, the battle is between two 'wolves' inside us all.  One is evil. It is anger, envy, jealousy, sorrow, regret, greed, arrogance, self-pity, guilt, resentment, inferiority, lies, false pride, superiority, and ego.

The other is good.  It is joy, peace love, hope serenity, humility, kindness, benevolence, empathy, generosity, truth, compassion and faith."

The grandson though about it for a minute and then asked his grandfather:

"Which wolf wins?..."

The old Cherokee simply replied, "the one that you feed"


So which wolf will you feed?

First look at Star Wars The Force Awakens toys

Entertainment Weekly - First look at new Star Wars toys

As Darth Vader said, "Impressive."  I'm not sure which figure is cooler, the Black Edition Stormtrooper, or the Lego one.

Star Realms

My son and I love Star Realms.  We own a few deck building games, and this is our favorite one for two player games.

What sets Star Realms apart from most deck building games is the player interaction and win conditions.  Many deck building games use some form of victory points to determine a winner.  Star Realms involves combat and a life total (Authority).  This makes the game feel more like you are playing against someone and not just focusing on gaining victory points and disrupting your opponents.

I also like the artwork and theme.  It reminds me of the SciFi novels I read in the 80's.  The cards also fit the mechanics of the game.  For example, I don't think the DC deck building game has a good theme.  Why does Aquaman draw extra cards?  It doesn't fit.

Star Realms is also available to play on PC, iOS, and Android.  It is free to download and play against the AI.

I highly recommend Star Realms.

A few cards from the game

Modern Masters 2015

Ian and I went out last night so Ian could draft Modern Masters 2015.  I don't see any Tarmagoyf's in this deck.  Don't you need four of them in every deck?

Pokemon Trading Card Game

2014 Pokemon World Championships - Washington D.C.

Since the summer of 2010, my family has been making a trip every year to Indianapolis to attend the Pokémon National Championships.  This year will be the second year that my son will be competing in the TCG senior division.

The Pokémon TCG is a family friendly game that anyone can play.  Many kids collect the cards but never realize there are other people playing the game casually and competitively in their area.  The best way to find other people is to find a league.  Leagues are a casual environment where everyone plays for fun and earns promotional items (cards, patches, etc) just for playing.  

Pokémon Event Locator to find local leagues and tournaments

Another great way to learn how to play the game and play with others is using the new online version of the game. It is free to play, and you can redeem codes from booster packs you purchase in stores to get more cards online.

Pokémon TCG Online

Playing the Pokémon TCG has been a wonderful experience for us.  We have played at leagues and in tournaments all over the country, and made many friends along the way.

For more information on the Pokemon US National Championships, check out this link.

Pokémon US National Championships FAQ

The main event hall - 2012 National Championships

Someone I know earned this trophy

The Visitor (1979)

The Visitor (1979) on IMDb

on Amazon Instant Video

I finished watching this movie on Amazon Prime last night, and it's one of those things that is so bizarre that you can't stop watching.  If you like strange SciFi movies like The Man Who Fell to Earth, or Silent Running, then you will get a kick out of this one.

Smartwatches

I wasn't am extreme early adopter of the Pebble Smartwatch, but I have owned one for over a year now.

I bought it just before Android Wear was announced.  The announcement of Wear initially caused me to question my purchase, but the Pebble team kept adding features to stay competitive with the Google options.

My overall opinion is that it is definitely an optional accessory, and not a necessity.  Getting a smartwatch will not vastly improve your life and free you from the control your smartphone has over you.  You will still mostly pick up your phone to do the same things you use it for now just as frequently as you already do.

I've found the best feature of the Pebble is not missing calls or important messages when your phone is on silent or vibrate during the day.  This had been a problem for me for as long as I have carried a phone in my pocket.  I used to use a belt clip, and I would have phantom vibration all of the time from it.

One of the hottest topics with smartwatches is battery life.  I never worry about charging the Pebble anymore.  When it says it is low, I plug it in and then go back to not worrying about it.  I don't need another device that I have to worry about charging everyday or it will be useless.

Read Ruler - sort your Pocket articles by length

I love using Pocket to store the articles that I read, but I have so many items saved that I rarely go back more than a few days to read items.  I even made the top 15 percent of users this past year as far as saved content goes.

I'm going to check this out to see if it can help me filter through my saved articles.

Read Ruler - organize Pocket articles by length

X-Wing miniatures

I had recently been looking for a miniatures strategy game that was quick to set up, fast placed, and not overly expensive.  I eventually decided on trying out X-Wing miniatures.

One game I considered was Robotech RPG tactics.  For the price, you get a lot of miniatures, and the theme is awesome, but one reviewer said that he spent so much time putting the miniatures together, that he hasn't even played the game.  The new Star Wars Armada also seemed to be a lot of value for the price, but reviews said that it took longer to play than X-Wing.

The core mechanic of the game is that each player chooses a maneuver in secret for each of their ships.  Movement is revealed and then weapons are used if ships are in range of each other.

So I purchased the starter set at an FLGS (friendly local game store), and my son and I played it using the introductory rules.  His opinion was that the rules were too simple and there weren't enough moving parts (the starter set only comes with one X-Wing, and two Tie Fighters). Our second play session used the full rules.  He still had the same opinion though, not enough moving parts.  I agreed and purchased more ships.

So we now have an A-wing, B-wing, and Tie Advance in addition to the core set.  Now there are enough moving parts, but the teams are not balanced.  The B-wing  has more shields and armament than any other ship we have.  It can single handedly take down all of our imperial ships. 
It also takes longer to play.  My friend Bryan and I were unable to finish a battle between the two teams in under 40 minutes.

I'm going to experiment with different teams and game structure to see if we can get a battle down to twenty minutes or less.  Overall, I do enjoy the game the theme and game play.  You feel like you are in a dogfight.

Our Imperial Squad

People playing at our local FLGS

Speculation in collectibles

I was in a conversation recently about speculation on Magic cards.  An argument was being made that no one can predict the potential price of a card long term, and that they are a good investment.

I agree that you can usually make a profit in the short term, but people forget how bad things have gotten for many collectibles.

My comic book collection has almost no resale value.  People my age across the country have the same collections, and no one wants them.  There was a boom in collecting in the 90s after some high profile comics sold for significant amounts.  But that was for old comics that are now rare.  Nothing is rare anymore.  I looked on eBay, and you can get a black bagged copy of the Death of Superman for under $10.  I found my copy in a bargain bin for $1.

So I don't think 4 copies of Tarmagoyf today is going to pay for my sons college education.  On the other hand, a couple of  Black Lotuses might...

a Tarmagoyf for sale on eBay

a Black Lotus for sale on eBay

The Death of Superman, new unopened

New blog - Cup of Dice

There are many blogs out there, and here is mine.  I'm a dad who's day job is project management.  My hobbies include all forms of gaming ( board, card, video, etc), enjoying sci-fi, and keeping up to date on current technology trends.  My son is a competitive player of the Pokémon trading card game, and we both play Magic the Gathering.

I plan on talking about card games, boardgames, video games, and software development.

Thanks for reading
- Cameron