Hobby Stops

I never really know what to write when I sit down to put a post up on this site. I promised myself when I created it that I'd avoid just putting up summaries of my days. I find writing such entries tedious and banal. I'd much rather write about things that really spark my interest in writing about them. On the other hand, so many things that go on in my life feel very personal and private to me, and I don't feel comfortable putting them up for public review. Those are the sorts of things that I converse about in person. I suppose I could write a bit about some of the hobbies I've been pursuing lately. Warhammer So I've been conned into letting myself get interested in Warhammer 40k. That Warhammer recruiting event I planned was way too successful. I picked up a codex for the Tau race, and got a Tau XV8 Crisis Battlesuit. Someone please come console my poor wallet. I've been patiently cutting, filing, gluing, filling, sanding, puttying, and spraying the little bits of plastic. I had a fair number of the tools and supplies I've needed from previous modelling projects, but needed some more to be effective. Fortunately, I found a great hobby shop named Hobby Stop up by University Mall in Orem. They're focused more on things like military models and model trains, but the supplies and prices are great. The more I read online about how most people put these things together, the more I realise how differently I'm going about it. But then, I think all of the Tau color schemes I've seen are horrendous. Some people have no taste, I suppose. Or maybe it's me with no taste, seeing as I'm going for a purple-and-green mecha scheme. I'm feeling kind of inspired by the Vanu Sovereignty, I guess. Shadow of the Colossus I rented this game the other day, and have been playing it on various borrowed PS2s. It's been a while since I've done any real console gaming, and I'm very glad that I checked this one out. This game is gorgeous, atmospheric, deep, and thoughtful. The controls are spot-on. They're simple to understand, but harbor a depth that allows for pulling off amazing stunts without thinking about them. Hmm. I think I want to go over this game in more detail soon. So I'll just say that if you've been wondering if you should try this game, the answer is yes. Twilight Imperium, 3rd. Ed. This was the board game that I picked out for myself for my birthday this October. I've not had time to play a full game yet, but that will happen this Saturday, hopefully. From what I've seen so far though, it seems to be the kind of game I've always wanted to play. The game bits are gorgeous and huge - it takes some serious table space to play. You've got all of the races from 1st and 2nd edition, as well as some newcomers, I believe. The game has had a serious rules overhaul as well. It's borrowed some of the elegant mechanics from the new-style German games like Puerto Rico. The game also has much less downtime for players. Instead of huge monolithic turns, things are split up into short actions that move very quickly among players. I look forward to seeing how it plays out in a full game.