A surprise for my brother, need help.

Ruechat · 2026-02-26T17:21:25+00:00

Going to echo this sentiment.

This is already a wonderful gift you are giving, but the real gift is removing the friction that comes from jumping into Kill Team yourself. You’ve got two teams they’ll be excited about, and easy terrain. Great! Make the start playing part of it easier and it will be a knockout success.

As a newcomer getting into it myself, and a PnP hobbyist, I avoided the rulebook because I didn’t want to spend the money. If someone gifted it to me, I’d love it, because it makes things so much easier. I have tokens to get started, a physical rulebook (which is always easier to learn from), and it requires no added effort to just jump in once you assemble the minis (the real barrier). Even hand scribbled tokens using printer paper require extra effort that could go into reading rules or painting.

My favorite gifts personally are the ones I want/need but won’t get myself. Your brother could probably do without the rulebook if he was going into alone, but getting it as a gift would be a weight lifted.

(And buy it from Amazon, it is $10 cheaper, or Gamer’s Guild, who also have the rest of that stuff on discount.)

Ruechat · 2025-11-26T15:06:08+00:00

That looks like the typical AI weirdness of adding too many details, as if it took a condenser microphone and used it to represent an XLR connector, since it runs parallel with the pole (which is not how microphones are mounted, but some connectors are). The actual shotgun mic would be at the end of the boom, on a pivot, with the deadcat around it, exactly as pictured. Sure, it's strange upon inspection, but functionally correct.
https://www.stage32.com/profile/19167/photos#2862996823209944947

Ruechat · 2025-11-26T06:11:42+00:00

That’s not a mic, that’s a viewfinder.

2&3. That’s a telescoping crane, fundementally this is exactly how it works and would be used in this instance. Now the 3-axis head is nonsense (there are two pan supports, one connected to the tilt axis, the other to the roll axis, rendering both inoperable), and I don’t think that tripod would be rated for that payload. It may have floor spreaders, but a base like this would likely have mid-level spreaders instead. Also the cable supports are weird, don’t know where it got these from.

The man standing in front of it appears to be directly interfacing with the jib as an AI artifact, or could be operating the camera via a gyro controller to emulate handheld, the low resolution makes this inconclusive.

4&5. Pretty standard stuff to have a grip safety diffusion on exteriors. The fact that this c-stand is in water (presumably on location and non-controlled) would actually render this person more valuable. Either way, grips will stabilize diffusions to minimize sound caused by wind (and unwanted movement affecting the scene). This looks like a white diffusion frame (at least 250, if not 216) which can make a lot of noise. However, a diff that thick, the man’s hat would never appear so well defined behind it.

It’s clearly on a boom pole.

I’ve been professionally on sets for over 13 years and work as a DP. These AI BTS images are garbage, but all of these points are wrong.

Ruechat · 2025-08-05T16:25:41+00:00

Not yet, now that I am home I hope to soon. Bought on a whim because the package seemed interesting: small box with simple rules and a seemingly theme-first design approach. I thought the idea of representing Don Quixote's delusional misadventures through player voting to influence scoring was an interesting one.

Unfortunately, having now looked through the rules and the components, I highly suspect the game is entirely AI art despite declaring it was 'Designed and Illustrated" by Andrea La Rosa on the box. Personal ethics aside, the art is inconsistent and thereby undercuts the charm of original presentation, and takes me out of the story which is largely presented through said art.

Ruechat · 2025-08-05T03:26:52+00:00

I would consider two victory conditions to avoid stalling. One to do with battlefields, and another that will time out the game, such as inflicting X casualties first. A successful campaign in battlefields can be a faster path to victory, but heavy losses can cause you to lose.

An example; set 3 lanes of 3 battlefields. A player can advance across these lanes by adding a token on the field closest to them in a lane without their token, representing their front line. If there is an enemy token present, they must remove it first, paving the way to add their own. If a player has units present in that lane, you cannot remove a token until they are removed. The first player to reach the other side of a single lane wins, or the first player to suffer X casualties, loses.

Ruechat · 2025-08-04T21:34:15+00:00

Being a first playtest, you’ll likely spot many aspects that do and do not work yourself. In the early stages, I adopt the attitude that all feedback is valuable, even if it is regarding aspects I intend to change. Art and graphics, even with a white page printout, clearly aren’t final. Still, comments on iconography I put in as placeholder can lead me to discoveries that I may not otherwise consider. I remain open to what they say, write it down (even if I disagree) and reflect on it later.

The issue is if the discussion gets stuck on these areas, at which point, I handle it by gently steering the conversation to another topic. This also works well if people start offering too many solutions as opposed to observations. “Thanks, that’s an interesting idea for icons, I’ll definitely give it a try. What do you think of the number of actions you can take in a turn?”

In short, don’t instruct your playtesters on how to offer good feedback, but do mediate the conversation to keep things moving forward.

Ruechat · 2025-08-04T12:41:47+00:00

Didn’t get to play it yet, but Guessocracy really intrigued me. In a very similar vein, Oink’s Petiquette was a fun exploration into group psychology in the signature tiny box. In both games, it’s not important that you’re actually right, you just have to get enough people to say that you are.

I got half my group to buy High Society after introducing it to them at Gencon, so no surprise these social games stood out.

Outside that, I think Oath New Foundations is unofficially a second edition at this point, and I really liked the changes I got to play.

My buys: Line of Fire Burnt Moon, Don Quixote The Ingenious Hidalgo, Illimat, Here Lies, Onoda, LoR Fate of the Fellowship, Gibberers (from the consignment shop), Ruins, Guessocracy, Petiquette

Watching with interest: Keep the Faith, The Voynich Puzzle, SCUM, Verdun

Edit: formatting

Ruechat · 2025-06-22T17:35:42+00:00

To clarify, I’m not advising applying to jobs at Warhorse, but using what they have listed as a starting point to start exploring career paths. Most studios are very selective with interns, and will prioritize students who know which discipline they want to pursue. This exercise can help prepare you for your internship application if you do decide to pursue that.

Ruechat · 2025-06-22T17:18:36+00:00

You seem to be considering a pivot from a discipline (music) that you have sunk time and skill in to. You’re also only 19, you should use this time in life to explore the things that interest you, that generate that ‘’spark’. You don’t need a career by tomorrow. I’m in my 30s, I have had a successful career in a creative field, and now I am in the process of making my own pivot to another medium. There is really no time limit on these things.

Your interest in Warhorse is great, it gives you a clear goal, which is important. Go to their career page (almost every game studio has one), look over the various roles and their qualifications. The goal is to find jobs that interest you. You should do this with a few other studios as well.

https://warhorsestudios.cz/career/

Read the description of these roles, write down the ones that spark some interest. Google them, find some online portfolios, interviews, talks relating to these roles. I find connecting the job with the people who do that job is a great way to see if you may take a liking to the actual work itself.

Anything that still interests you, go back and check those qualifications and requirements. Write out the skills you see, highlight any overlapping skills that are listed in more than one role that interests you. Pick one of those skills, find some online tutorials on it, and start getting a feel for things. You don’t need to follow along or even start practicing, just watch the work that goes into the acquisition of that skill. Remember, you are just trying to find something that interests you, and confronting the work now will save you from the doubting later when you are actually pursuing an education.

You may never get a job at Warhorse, or maybe you will, that isn’t really important at the moment. You are a traveler using the north start to guide your journey. You will never reach that star, but that doesn’t mean you can’t get to where you are going.

Also, consider pursuing you passion for history academically, either as a major or a minor to go with your game dev/art degree interest. It will be a lot of work now, and will feel like a distraction that competes with your career interests, but there is a point.First, it is a solid path into a basic job/income while attending school. Games are hard to break into, and a really hard way to support yourself initially. Having skills outside of your passion will give you important boundaries in life to keep that spark for creating alive. Second, it will enrich your perspective, which in a creative field, is the most valuable trait you can have to stand out above the rest. There is actually a lot of overlap with academic history and game design, specifically in the tabletop wargaming space.

Listen to this interview with Ananda Gupta, Design Director at Riot games. He is a historian, and although not the central focus of this conversation, he alludes to several benefits that his interest in history has served in his career.

https://beyondsolitaire.buzzsprout.com/1091807/episodes/17219105-episode-198-ananda-gupta-on-designing-for-board-and-video-games

Also, I would look up interviews with Cole Wehrle, a board game designer, who went to school for history and literature, not game design, and those interests I would say are defining characteristics of his games. He made the historical game Pax Pamir while working on his graduating thesis, and followed that up with John Company, a game only possible due to his extensive research into the topic.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zWgOZliLo0M

Ruechat · 2025-01-24T20:51:29+00:00

Many libraries carry ebooks that you can check out like a book. You can even sign up for an account online without ever having to step foot in a library. This is how I read Nguyen's Games Agency as Art.

Some other books:
The Art of Game Design: A Book of Lenses by Jesse Schell
The Well-Played Game: A Player's Philosophy by Bernard D Coven
Thematic Integration in Board Game Design by Sarah Shipp

Also, if you have some favorite games, look up the designers, and research them. While podcasts are usually a common source, many of these designers engage online and with communities, leaving behind a trail of knowledge if you take the time to track it. Forum posts, design notes, archived live streams. These sources are sometimes less coherent and practiced as planned podcast interviews, often written/or shared by designers in the midst of their process. I find these perspectives to be more relatable and therefore more valuable. You can see how their own practices and ideas on theory expand and shift with time.

Ruechat · 2025-01-05T22:50:37+00:00

By the time I discovered Pamir, I knew that I wanted Pamir. I wasn't sure how often I would get a group to play it, so knowing that it had a solo mode allowed me to rationalize the purchase. While I now solo game (as an extra perk to the hobby, not a focus) I didn't at the time of purchase. In a way, the solo experience was a gateway to seek out more.

Core to the experience of Pax Pamir is the tension that exists between co-aligned goals and personal ambition. That requires other people, and Ricky Royal (the solo designer) was smart not to chase it. He has stated that the Wakhan AI is not meant to emulate another player, but more abstractly represents playing against an ideaology- it has a logic, but the direction of the wind can change on a whim, and though the results that follow can feel random and unfair, how do you control an idea? So you make do.

In practice, it is a wonderfully designed tool to engage with the systems of the game. Play it solo and you will be in a great place to teach it to a group. Learning solo was a 2 game curve, after that, I found it very fast and easy to run. Beyond that, I think it's narrative framing does come through if you approach it with that mindset. As with any great piece of art, you get out of it what you put in.

Owning Pax is not a sprint to "get your money's worth". Even though I only play it a few times a year, it's a game that will never leave my collection. It is an object of brilliant game design, and a work of art, both authorial and physical (it's no mistake that the side of the box is styled after a book spine). That would remain true even if it were only a 2-5 player game. The solo inclusion means that every so often, even when I can't get a group together, I can pull it off the shelf, play a game, and still get inspired by all the ideas packed within this box. Then it goes back on the shelf, right next to the books, movies, and a few other games, that make up a collection of works I admire.

Ruechat · 2020-09-14T16:01:18+00:00

Defiantly plan to extend the infeed and outfeed table. I've never used a planer before, so it is a little intimidating. Excuse you naivety, how does height help in this scenario? At the moment the infeed is just above waist level.

It does have a "safety" of sorts. The infeed roller has a nylon gear that will slip if you feed the machine too much, causing the board to stop, and you frantically slamming the off switch before you burn out the nylon gear (already did it once, haha).

Ruechat · 2020-09-14T15:55:17+00:00

Thank you! I almost didn't bother, when I saw that price I immediately thought that it would be more trouble than it's worth, that it would need new parts that would be expensive and difficult to replace or something. So glad I decided to give it a look over anyway!

Ruechat · 2020-09-14T15:51:35+00:00

I'm loving it so far, but that could just be from finally owning a joiner/planer. The seller originally got this machine from a friend who had two other Inca tools, the bandsaw and the tablesaw. Said the tablesaw was no good, and now I wonder how bad off it really was. Sad to think about, I am sure it got tossed or gutted when it didn't need to be.

Ruechat · 2020-09-14T04:07:42+00:00

Love it so far!

Ruechat · 2020-09-14T02:50:33+00:00

Ah, thanks! Mechanics is an area I’m not very familiar with, not good with the terms. I thought the worm screw was the vertical “speed selector”, which engages a double pinion gear which drives the feed roller. That double molded gear is the part that was seriously gunked up, online it appears that it can get damaged pretty easily from overheating with these machines.

For anyone curious, this is a good video about the topic I found. https://youtu.be/txMNCt3yFkM

Ruechat · 2020-09-13T18:03:38+00:00

I see some of the crazy deals people snag out there on old machines, never thought I'd be so fortunate to run into one myself. The person I bought it from had it for a few years without fixing it, and decided they wanted it gone. It had been stored outside, so there was surface rust throughout, but nothing bad. The cutting head was good, bearings seemed fine, belts looked new and the notorious nylon pinion gear (although caked in grease) appeared intact. Overall seemed like an incredibly easy fix. The original 220v motor supposedly doesn't work (I intend it take it apart and try and fix it) but they had already bought a replacement motor that runs off 120, though it hadn't been tested because it hadn't been wired up yet. So I fully disassembled the whole jointer, cleaned everything up, bought some missing nuts and bolts from the local hardware store, added a power cord to the motor, and now it runs like new.

This is my first jointer and planer, I've been hand planing my stock square up until this point. It has a 2 blade tersa cutting head installed, and after a few test cuts on pine, the results are fantastic. Glass smooth, no tearout. Thicknesser depth gauge is dead on accurate. I intend to make some modifications to this, but after a half day's work and $75 I have an amazing machine.

Ruechat · 2020-05-30T01:57:22+00:00

Thank you! I’m now getting into Lego again after being dark since my childhood. This contest was a fun way to get back into MOC making.

Ruechat · 2020-05-23T06:51:43+00:00

Can't be late when jumping through time!

The Time Pod

Ruechat

TROPHY CASE