(Part 2) Best toys & games according to redditors

That's the most expensive way to get dice I've ever heard. Just buy a Bag of Holding, brah.

I made this list for /r/NintendoSwitchDeals since someone asked about games. Figured I'd share here. Most of the games I've played, I've indicated where I haven't. Bolded prices indicate lowest price on CCC according to the plug-in.

• 7 Wonders | $28.99 | 3-7 players | ~30-45 Minutes | 7.8 on BGG - This is a fantastic game to introduce people to "tableau building" and "card drafting." If you're not familiar, a tableau is the cards in front of you that are part of your "engine" going forward, usually you will add cards to it that add synergy to your strategy. Card drafting is when players have a hand of cards, choose one, and then pass to the person next to them. This game can fit up to 7 and it doesn't really bog the game down. I'm not in love with this game, but at this price I think it's a very fair offering for a game that once taught and played once, flows really nicely and makes for a great game to drink and talk while playing rather than being buried in thought about what to do.
  
  
• 7 Wonders: Duel | $17.81 | 2 Players | 20-30 Minutes | 8.1 on BGG - This is a 2 player adaptation of 7 Wonders and it's quite a great version. Instead of card drafting by passing hands, there is a "market" that opens up further as more cards are chosen in which players take turns choosing from. It offers an intense 2 player back and forth of "chicken" in a way that flows nicely and culminates in a satisfying, even if sometimes mean, ending. Often credited as one of the best 2 player games out there, especially with expansions.
  
  
  * Agricola | $32.89 | 1-4 Players | 30-150 Minutes | 8.0 on BGG - I have never played this but you can find lots of excellent discussion about this on BGG and /r/boardgames. Ultimately it's a beefier board game about managing your farm to take care of your family. Sounds thrilling right? Well apparently it really is. It's currently rated the 25th bestboard game of all-time, and is often mentioned among some of the great games out there. This is an excellent price for this game new, so if there's any interest, go watch a review of two. Deal is done.
  
  
• Carcassonne | $19.99 | 2-4 Players | ~30 Minutes | 7.4 on BGG - This is an excellent tile laying game for gamers and non-gamers alike. It's simple to teach, takes almost no time to set-up, and can easily be expanded to fit 5 players. If you end up loving this, there are many expansions for it to add depth, or silliness, whichever you prefer. This has become a staple in my circle of friends who don't really play board games because it's so approachable.
  
  
• Isle of Skye | $24.35 | 2-5 Players | 30-50 Minutes | 7.5 on BGG - I've never played this, but it's been on my list for a while as a tile laying game with more complexity than Carcassonne. I don't know much about it, but this is a great price and those with Irish heritage might love the theme. Edit: Well this is embarrassing, Isle of Skye is in Scotland, sorry for that.
  
  * Pandemic: Fall of Rome | $27.99 | 1-5 Players | 30-60 Minutes | 7.8 on BGG - This is a variation of the much beloved game Pandemic. In this variation, you and up to 4 other players are taking control of Roman armies to defend against the oncoming tribes attempting to take over a weakened Rome. You will use your unique powers and randomly drawn cards to work together with the other players in this cooperative game. If you've played base Pandemic you will know what to expect, but this version has some cool thematic changes that have many reviewers calling it the second best iteration of the Pandemic series. Dead deal.
  
  
• Patchwork | $17.84 | 2 Players | ~20 Minutes | 7.7 on BGG - This is an excellent 2 player game using spacial skills to build out your quilt in a sort of "Tetris" way. You need to manage buttons (currency) and time to efficiently build your quilt with as little empty spots as possible. It's a darling of the community and designed by the great Uwe Rosenberg. People meme about it because it's often recommended, but there's a reason why it is.
  
  
• Photosynthesis | $21.11 | 2-4 Players | 30-60 Minutes | 7.2 on BGG - I've never played this, but it's quite a nice looking game on the table. It's about growing trees while using a limited amount of sunlight - or that's how it's been described to me anyway. I've heard that this game can get pretty cutthroat, especially at higher player counts, because of how limited the board space gets.
  
  
• The Castles of Burgundy | $19.20 | 2-4 Players | 45-90 Minutes | 8.1 on BGG - One of the finest board games I've ever played in spite of the ugly art and theme of it. Visually, I find nothing about this appealing, but the gameplay is so fantastic that I fell in love with it immediately. You have 25 turns in which you are using two dice each turn which are used to make decisions on how to build out your board to gain victory points. The actions are mostly easy to understand, and you're never screwed over by a bad roll because bad rolls can be mitigated via worker resources. There is a good amount of strategic depth to it, minor "meanness" in "screwing over" opponents, and I mostly feel happy with every round - it's a rare game of satisfaction each turn. My only complaint is that the yellow tiles are all unique which turns into a lot of, "What does that one do?" which is mitigated with player aides you can find on BGG. Warning, new print coming out this year that may or may not make the art look better, but the new print will have all expansions. With that said, for $19.20 this is a no-brainer if you want something more complex than something like Catan.
  
  
• The Quest for El Dorado | $19.99 | 2-4 Players | ~45 Minutes| 7.6 on BGG - This is a great deck-building racing game to get to El Dorado first. It's simple to learn and honestly my only complaint is that the game takes up a lot of space. The map is completely variable and there are some official variants in the book, as well as many others on BGG on the files section. If you enjoy the concept of building a deck to race through the treacherous lands to get to El Dorado, this is a great game. Warning, there is a new edition coming out with new artwork, so you may want to hold off.

Here is the regular version of Love Letter

It's a great game for 3-4 people. Very portable, easy to learn.

its a solder sucker.

I recently bought this

http://www.amazon.com/MEGA-MEMORY-CARD-Game-Boy-Color/dp/B00002R108/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1342999969&sr=8-1&keywords=gameboy+memory

Here is a memory card that you can save your file and even start a new one if you wanted to.

I own all of these (plus quite a few more), and enjoy playing them regularly. Prices are approximately accurate at places like Target, walmart, Amazon, etc. Most games below can be played by up to 4-6 players (some more), but all support a minimum of two. (An important distinction, as many games require 3 or more players.)

$5-10:

• Scrabble/Monopoly are fun if you're both into the classics. For some reason, these are both almost $20 on Amazon, but I've seen them for under/around $10 each at Target/Walmart.
  
• Scrabble Slam (card game) - sets Scrabble on it's ear and adds some adrenaline.
  
• A copy of Hoyle's Rules of Games and a deck of cards.
  
• Uno - One of my favorites - An absolute staple, and works with as many people as you want, though you might want to add a second deck for more than 4-5.
  
• Phase 10 - kind of like a cross between Uno and Rummy.
  
  $10-20:
  
  Here, we start getting into some really interesting ones...
  
  
• Munchkin - One of my favorites - Like pen & paper RPGs? This makes fun of them ALL in a way only a true gamer would get. Plenty of expansions if you get bored.
  
• Guillotine - You're each executioners during the French Revolution, trying to collect the most prestigious heads.
  
• Gloom - You're each one of up to four tragedy-ridden families. Play misery-inducing cards on your family to make them as unhappy as possible before you shove them off into the hereafter, and play happy puppies and fluffy bunnies on your opponent to do the opposite.
  
• Fluxx - The rules are the cards you play. Start with 3 cards, then draw 1 and play 1 each turn. Oh, but now it's draw 3 and play 1, so you'll need to draw 2 more to catch up. Now it's draw 3 and play 5, so play 4 to catch up, except that someone played inflation, so it's draw 4 and play 6... etc.
  
• Citadels Out of the hundreds of games I've played over the years, this is the only one I've seen that claims to have "intrigue"... and really does. Play the role of various nobles, each with different abilities, to gain gold, build cities, and steal from/assassinate your opponents to prevent them from doing the same. The catch? You each play different roles each turn, and the roles are chosen part randomly, and part secretly, so that no one knows who is who until it's too late.
  
  $20-30
  
  
• Carcassone - One of my favorites - Lay down tiles to build cities, roads and farmland, and place your followers to claim them for points. Just because you lay something down doesn't mean someone else won't claim it instead, and claiming it doesn't ensure that you keep it. Lots of strategy involved, and plenty of expansions if you want to change gameplay. Good for up to 5 players, or more with expansions. Has some similarities with Settlers of Catan, to be mentioned shortly.
  
• Chez Geek, House Party Edition - You're all college kids in a dorm, trying to get the most slack points with fun/cool things to do, while reducing slack points in your opponents with annoying cards like car alarms (no sleep), the drunk friend (drinks all your slack-gaining booze), etc. The basic game is under $20, but it's worth it to buy the House Party Edition for $25, as it includes some expansions and extras.
  
• Illuminati - I haven't played this yet, but from what I've read, it's a blast. By Steve Jackson Games, the makers of Munchkin.
  
• Kill Dr. Lucky - Here's a quote from the rules: "You have hated Dr. Lucky for as long as you can remember, and you've been secretly awaiting this perfect chance to do the old man in. Maybe he destroyed your dry cleaning business; maybe you think he's the leader of the vampires. Perhaps he's the only person standing between you and the family fortune. Or maybe his cat just keeps peeing in your shrubs. Whatever your reason, its good enough to push you over the edge, and now you absolutely can't wait to take the lying old bastard down!"
  
  
  $30-50
  A bit pricier here, but some very interesting gameplay is to be found.
  
  
• Settlers of Catan - One of my favorites - no game shelf is complete without it - Build roads and settlements using the tradable resources provided by the areas around your settlements, and the roll of the dice. Note: This is not a two player game. I made an exception here because it rocks, but unfortunately you'll need a third wheel to play.
  
• Dominion - One of my favorites - I grew up with Magic: The Gathering, but disliked always having to buy new cards to be competitive. Gameplay is somewhat similar to Magic, though instead of plinking away at your opponent's health, you are gaining victory points. Also, Dominion includes all of the cards you will need for up to 4 players, and you "build" your deck (similar to Magic), by buying new cards every turn.
  
• Ticket to Ride - Build your train routes across the US (or Europe, if you get that edition) without revealing your destination, because your opponents might cut you off!
  
• Small World - Kind of like a cross between Risk and... something else. Control territory to gain gold, using various races with special abilities. Send your races into decline (continuing to own the territory until it is taken), while expanding out with your new race. Knowing when to send a race into decline makes all the difference.
  
• Red November - You're a bunch of drunken gnomes on a doomed submarine. Put out the fire by shunting the flooded compartment to the burning one, but now there are two flooded compartments and you have to pump them out while the engine has a problem and oh my god it's the kraken. INSANE gameplay, but can be stressful. This has skyrocketed in price (from $30 to $50), probably because they're about to release a revised edition, so the old one is out of print. You might want to wait a month for the new version to come out before you buy this.

That's right. Here's some price data taken from /r/lowestprice. Its more like a 20 to 30% discount witch is still pretty great

|Name|Price|Usual Price|
|----|----|----|----|
|Forbidden Island|$10.19|$14.50
|Resistance The 2nd Edition|$12|$15.50
|7 Wonders|$28|$33
|Pound-O-Dice|$16|$21
|Dixit|$20|$25
|Say Anything|$15|$19
|Dominion|$59|$74
|Flash Point Fire Rescue 2nd Edition|$24|$30
|The Walking Dead Board Game|$21|$27
|DC Comics Deck Building Game|$23|$30
|Zombicide Base Game|$54|$74
|The Castles Of Burgundy|$22|$29
|Summoner Wars Master Set|$30|$39
|Formula D|$32|41
|The Big Bang Theory: The Party Game|$17|$22
|Axis and Allies 1914 World War I Board Game|$59.39|$75
|Risk Godstorm Game|$30|$36.50
|Saint Malo Strategy Game|$20|$27

Went and bought myself a bag of holding so no one has an excuse

Uhhhh. Pandemic is a good game if you want to lose horribly. I'd recommend Forbidden Desert instead. Many similar mechanics. A lot faster. Fewer "Welp, we lose in 5 turns and there is nothing we can do to stop it" issues. And it doesn't suffer as badly from the "Table Captain" problems. It still HAS them but not as badly.

My personal recommendation for a fun competitive game that's relatively easy to learn and doesn't suffer "You fucked me over!" annoyances? 7 Wonders. Another good choice in this theme would be Ticket to Ride. This also has the benefit of actually being available at Target or Walmart, so you don't have to try and find a hobbyist store or order it online. King of Tokyo and Tsuro are both fun, easy-to-learn games as well. I've seen all of these at Barnes and Noble, so depending on what you have locally, they can be easily found.

Also for those who think the battery might be clocking out soon, or just want to make sure you don't lose anything do to corrupt files.

http://www.amazon.com/MEGA-MEMORY-CARD-Game-Boy-Color/dp/B00002R108

I'm excited to see your post, because I was going to write something similar. In particular, I wanted to link to the five geek social fallacies which is all about why nerdy gamers feel obligated to include socially awkward friends at the table, even when they're disruptive. And then, I wanted to suggest that OP transition this high-anxiety friend over to a different social event, and your suggestion of board games is perfect. Board games do not require role play in which a socially awkward person bungles the social interactions. Here are some of my favorites that seem to work well with socially difficult people:

• Dominion (a deck building game -- start with 10 cards, mostly cards to buy stuff, and spend the game buying up more cards that give you extra actions or cash -- what's extremely cool is that the cards you buy are varied, so one game might feel very different from the next game).
  
• Rummikub (you gain 14 tiles and must put them down in runs of color or number -- this is great for aspergers types, because it goes at your own pace, and someone who can envision adjusting all the numbered tiles on the board/table can sometimes on a single turn get rid of tons & tons of tiles in an epic reconfiguring of... everything).
  
• Sequence (team-based card game that involves putting down cards on a game board to form lines, sorta like Connect 4, but involving teamwork, so if someone nervous doesn't want all the pressure on himself or herself, there will be teammates to help in this game).
  
• Munchkin (a joke game based upon D&D but without the social interactions... perfect).
  
• Carcassonne (a slower game that involves making "kingdoms" by placing tiles, pretty good for someone looking for low-pressure).
  
  Good luck OP!

This was the best thing my parents ever got me when I was playing Gen 1 & 2 non-stop. All of my favorite pokemon still survive thanks to Mega Memory Card and its superior saving mechanism.

Dominion

Ticket to Ride

Settlers of Catan

Some that standout to me:

Feast for Odin: $67 Now $80

Queen Domino: $15

Forbidden Island: $12

Where is this 6 sets of dice for $9 you speak of? The closest I've found are these:

https://www.amazon.com/6x-Sets-10-Polyhedral-Dice/dp/B00JNV7QG8

EDIT: Oh, and actually these look okay: https://www.amazon.com/SmartDealsPro-Colors-Dungeons-Dragons-Pouches/dp/B01ABST9S4/ref=pd_day0_21_1?_encoding=UTF8&pd_rd_i=B01ABST9S4&pd_rd_r=6J3Y84Q3BG935JH4XYAH&pd_rd_w=stSf0&pd_rd_wg=cDK0I&psc=1&refRID=6J3Y84Q3BG935JH4XYAH&dpID=51TLq9O7vtL&preST=_SY300_QL70_&dpSrc=detail

2nd EDIT: Aha! These are actually pretty good! 6 sets for less than $10.50, and better ratings than the previous two links. Also, you get precisely the colors shown (which could be a negative for some people, I suppose):

https://www.amazon.com/iFergoo-Polyhedral-Polyhhedral-Dungeons-Dragons/dp/B0719X9SQZ/ref=pd_day0_21_11?_encoding=UTF8&pd_rd_i=B0719X9SQZ&pd_rd_r=6J3Y84Q3BG935JH4XYAH&pd_rd_w=stSf0&pd_rd_wg=cDK0I&psc=1&refRID=6J3Y84Q3BG935JH4XYAH

I highly recommend the Hakko 936 soldering iron Hakko 888 soldering iron, which is still actually available. It's hard to fathom how a $100 soldering iron could be that much better than a $20 one, but once you start doing anything more serious than just sticking some wires together, it's worth it.

As for other tools,

• Standard needle nose, dikes, and pliers set
  
• Tweezers - Additionally plastic ones if you're going to do PCB etching.
  
• Dental Picks - for positioning surface mount parts and pushing wires into molten solder.
  
• Wire strippers - You'll often see people using the combo wire stripper / crimpers. They're not as nice as a real pair of strippers.
  
• +/-12V power supply for basic analog electronics, 5V for digital work
  
• Breadboard
  
• Solder sucker - Copper braid is useful for the same thing, but given the choice of the two, I prefer the sucker to undo soldered joints.
  
• 30x Jewelers Loupe - Mostly useful for surface mount work, but pretty much all soldering is easier when you're able to look at it.
  
  As for components, I've been buying them piece-meal for years, so other's will probably be able to yield you a better recommendation for kits than anything I can find just from a quick search. I do mostly digital work, so as far as passives, my main stock is:
  
  
• 0.1uF and 100uF capacitors, 25V
  
• 100, 330, 1k, 4.7k, 10k, 100k, 1M resistors
  
  If I need any other resistor for a specific project, I'll tend to just buy an extra 10 and keep them in labeled coin envelopes.
  
  Random other pieces:
  
  
• Precut Breadboard jumper wires
  
• 7805 - 1A 5V linear regulators
  
• 1N4007 diodes
  
• 1N4148 small signal diodes
  
• 3V linear regulators if you do low power work (MSP430, etc)
  
• An Arduino - If not for real projects, I use this a lot to hack together crude digital signal generators to test other chips.
  
• LEDs - I found a good deal on bright red ones, but any will do
  
• push buttons, power switches, DIP switches (4 in a tiny package that fits in breadboards)
  
• Copper clad perf board - To make through-hole projects permanent. Be careful because this also comes without the copper pads, which is just more of a pain in the ass to use.
  
• Copper Solder braid
  
  Edit: Fixed the soldering iron model.
  
  Disclaimer: I'm using my Amazon Associate links for all of these, which always feel a little amoral and a conflict of interest, but really, if my apartment were to go up in flames and I could afford it, I'd buy every link on this list right now. Does anyone have strong opinions one way or the other on using them?

Forbidden Desert $20.00: http://www.amazon.com/Gamewright-415-Forbidden-Desert-Board/dp/B00B4ECHJI/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1395249427&sr=8-1&keywords=forbidden+desert

Hanabi $10.00: http://www.amazon.com/R-Games-RR-869-Hanabi/dp/B00CYQ9Q76/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1395249451&sr=8-1&keywords=hanabi

Love Letter $10.00: http://www.amazon.com/Alderac-Entertainment-Group-5104AEG-Letter/dp/B00AGJ4HC2/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1395249479&sr=8-1&keywords=love+letter

I couldn't be happier with these purchases at these prices, but there's plenty of $30+$10, $20+$20, or 4x$10 configurations you can purchase as well.

See:

http://www.reddit.com/r/boardgames/wiki/wsig/cheap

https://www.amazon.com/Smartdealspro-Colors-Dungeons-Dragons-Pouches/dp/B01ABST9S4/ref=zg_bs_1265808011_1?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1&refRID=D1Y99S8YTAQSHR3Y5XWC Here's 5 sets of dice for $10.

Alternatively, there are a ton of free apps - though I do find apps to not be as satisfying and very easy for people to cheat with, especially with younger players.

First off WELCOME TO THE TIME/MONEY BLACKHOLE !!
As a fellow Tau player I just have to correct something, they arent robots. Theres little fish face alien fuckers in those suits.
Yes they are fantastically awesome !
If you hit your local shop on weekends you will very likely find people who will be incredibly nice to you and will be very happy to help you learn to paint. This is usually a great bunch of fanboys and we love talking to newbies :) My son will talk for hours on how awesome orks are and his buddie will tell me how amazing Chaos is. I play Tau, Space Marines, Eldar & Necrons. oh i'm 47 so the habit will last your lifetime.
As for what equipment, I suggest an exacto knife for removing tiny bits of plastic. A task light with a magnifying glass is awesome. A good set of brushes & an Army painter kit. Links are below. Paint scheme... dude they are all awesome. What do YOU want ? Dont go crazy at first. start simple, 3 colors and basic bases. As you get better you can add details. Please post photos of your progress and never be afraid to ask questions
For the greater good !

Light - https://www.amazon.com/Spectrum-Daylight-Magnifier-3-Diopter-VS01222B/dp/B00DJG9DFA/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1493865330&sr=8-2&keywords=task+light+magnifier

Paint - https://www.amazon.com/Army-Painter-Warpaints-Mega-Paint/dp/B01MTXRUUT/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1493865371&sr=8-1&keywords=army+painter+set

Brushes - https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01M7UFLP5/ref=oh_aui_search_detailpage?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Forbidden Island game because it's so fun to play! £12.99

Not to try and change your mind, but for those who are curious, here are some great boardgames at or around the $20 price point:

Forbidden Island

Race for the Galaxy

The Resistance

Innovation

For Sale

Roll Through the Ages

Glory to Rome

Citadels

Acquire

Qwirkle

Bohnanza

~rings doorbell wearing a bright, over-enthusiastic smile~ Oh, hello friend. I hear you and your friends might be interested in getting started on the road towards board gaming! This is excellent news! There are many excellent resources to help guide you and yours towards many fun-filled experiences with friends and family. ^Please, ^don't ^be ^afraid!

~Whips out a bunch of pamphlets, waving them at you~ I would recommend checking out the /r/boardgames community here on reddit, especially this wiki post on what games you should try if you're new to modern board games. It's got a ton of great suggestions with descriptions to help you figure out if you might actually enjoy the game. That wiki and the subreddit itself also have tons of easily accessed info for you, if you need. They can even help you find your nearest FLGS (Friendly Local Game Store)!

Also you might check out some reviewers like Shut Up & Sit Down, who are my favourites and have a ton of articles and video reviews, or The Dice Tower, who have lots of videos of lists and reviews like the one I linked that can give you some ideas of what to get. (Sometimes way too many ideas... ~waggles her overly long games-to-buy list~) SUSD even has a great Intro to Board Games video for people who are hesitant or starting into the hobby and don't quite know what it's all about or where to start - it's a few years old, but still very relevant, and I recommend any of their videos. I find them hilarious.

And if you decide you're really getting into the hobby, you might start visiting the marvellous, dank morass that is BoardGameGeek, aka BGG or 'the Geek'...

As for recommendations straight from me... The hardest and best thing with board games is everyone likes something different? But I find one can't go wrong most of the time with these:

• Pandemic
  
• Survive! Escape from Atlantis
  
• Takenoko
  
• Forbidden Island
  
• Colt Express
  
• Jamaica
  
  Most of these are fairly simple and relatively short, but they're all fun starter games that are easy to pick up and play, and I've never known anyone to not enjoy themselves when I've brought out any of these. I often do game nights with different mixes of friends, to which I will usually bring an Ikea bag full of games, and there's almost always at least one or two of these particular games in that bag. I'm pretty sure they're all in print, too, so they shouldn't be too expensive!
  
  Also, if you guys are looking into tabletop RPGs but don't know where to start with that, and you don't have anyone who knows how to DM/GM handy, the newest edition of D&D has a Starter Set out - it's a pack that includes dice, pre-rolled characters, a starter rule book and a pre-written starting adventure. I will always recommend Red Boxes/Starter Sets, D&D does a great job with these and makes it really easy for you to get into it, even if no one in the group is familiar with rpgs to begin with.
  
  tl;dr - Board/card games are amazing, there's lots of resources out there for you, I hope I didn't scare you off with my enthusiasm. Welcome to tabletop gaming!
  
  ^Edit: ^Now ^with ^more ^links!!

Forbidden Island is great for kids and cooperative. Castle Panic might be a bit advanced for him at 6, but, again, it's a co-op game, so you can help him out. He could probably play King of Tokyo. There's always Hey, That's My Fish!. Also, pretty much any board game by HABA

https://www.amazon.com/SCS-Direct-Monster-Action-Figure/dp/B00W5WSN5A?ref_=fsclp_pl_dp_6

https://www.amazon.com/SCS-Direct-Fantasy-Creatures-Playset/dp/B0746TKNSL/ref=pd_aw_fbt_21_img_2/134-2850793-6105410?_encoding=UTF8&pd_rd_i=B0746TKNSL&pd_rd_r=6799ca22-7e0c-11e9-aef3-91e0c1ba0bc6&pd_rd_w=IiMxG&pd_rd_wg=CySu9&pf_rd_p=3ecc74bd-d08f-44bd-96f3-d0c2b89f563a&pf_rd_r=6RKB88GN4DJ7TSQZZDGZ&psc=1&refRID=6RKB88GN4DJ7TSQZZDGZ

I got these two sets and don’t regret it. Multiples of each in two colors, they can be painted but it’s not the best material for it.

How come they don't make tools like a caulk sucker similar to a solder sucker? https://www.amazon.ca/Steren-WM-SP4-Solder-Sucker-desoldering/dp/B0002KRAAG

Is too much caulk usually not a problem?

https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B01ABST9S4?psc=1&ref=yo_pop_mb_pd_title

AEG Love Letter

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00AGJ4HC2/ref=s9_acsd_simh_hd_bw_bBFRPv_c_x_w?pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_s=merchandised-search-8&pf_rd_r=AG7M3KEDD1STZAXRT93C&pf_rd_t=101&pf_rd_p=33bc4941-0e87-5475-a860-d04e0b540aca&pf_rd_i=166220011

Ok, don't laugh too hard at me, but I got this "bucket of monsters" really cheap, and you'd be surprised at how many will work for D&D, especially if you paint them. It's 100 monsters for, like $18 bucks American.

Edit: This is a "fantasy creatures" bucket for $23.

The Resistance. Good for larger groups (Plays 5-10).

It's not the wrong sub at all! It's just the right sub for us to tell you to pick up The Resistance instead! Perfect for that size group

Love Letter (http://www.amazon.com/Alderac-Entertainment-Group-5104AEG-Letter/dp/B00AGJ4HC2) + Dominion (http://www.amazon.com/Rio-Grande-Games-RGG370-Dominion/dp/B001JQY6K4/ref=sr_1_1?s=toys-and-games&ie=UTF8&qid=1395249359&sr=1-1&keywords=dominion) = just under $40.

Most of your prices are way too high. They're still used games, you can't sell them at new prices.

Dungeons & Dragons: Wrath of Ashardalon

• Your price - $40
  
  
• Amazon - $41
  
  Chronicle of the Godslayer - Storm of Souls -
  Rise of Vigil - Immortal Heroes
  
  
• Your price - $20/$20/$20/$15
  
• Amazon - $29/$30/$30/$22
  
  Munchkin
  
  
• Your price - $9
  
• Amazon - $17
  
  Munchkin Impossible
  
  
• Your price - $9
  
• Amazon - $24
  
  Battlestar Galactica
  
  
• Your price - $25
  
• Amazon - $37
  
  Dungeon Twister
  
  
• Your price - $40
  
• Amazon - A lot
  
  I'm getting tired of this so I'm going to skip ones that are good deals...
  
  Carcassonne: The Catapult
  
  
• Your price - $10
  
• Amazon - $15
  
  Van Helsing
  
  
• Your price - $20
  
• Amazon - $19
  
  Zombie Fluxx
  
  
• Your price - $9
  
• Amazon - $12
  
  Dresden Files
  
  
• Your price - $30/$30
  
• Amazon - $37/$28
  
  There are a few games that would be good deals, but most of them need to be re-priced. To make it worth people's time to buy from you then you should really price $20 under Amazon (for bigger games) if you want them to pay shipping. Then it'll even out to only $10-ish less than Amazon for them.
  
  

That's what they tend to cost. I've recently been buying Vallejo acrylics because they're cheaper and they seem to do the job just as well (for my purposes anyway).

Here are a couple of options on Amazon that are a much better value than single pot Citadel purchases.

https://www.amazon.com/Vallejo-Basic-Colors-Paint-17ml/dp/B009162PWU

https://www.amazon.com/Army-Painter-Miniature-Painting-Warpaints/dp/B01MTXRUUT/ref=sr_1_1_sspa?s=toys-and-games&ie=UTF8&qid=1510174105&sr=1-1-spons&keywords=citadel+paint&psc=1&smid=AU2FNATHSFHNB

Plus, I actually like the squeeze bottles more than the pots because I don't have to dedicate a brush to getting paint out and I also tend to use less from the squeeze bottles.

Here are some Bloodbowl minis I painted using Vallejo paint.

https://imgur.com/a/svAco

Boom. RX-78-2 Revive. <$11.

>Hey guys noob here trying to get into the hobby. I've just been adding up some prices and it's getting ridiculous... am I doing something wrong or is this the entry fee we're talking about? Here is my math.
>
>TOTAL
>$29 - Chaos Black Spray
>$11 - Agrax Earthshade
>$6 - Lamenters Yellow
>$6 - Flash Gitz Yellow
>$6 - Yriel Yellow
>$6 - Ardcoat
>$11 - Agrellan Earth (x3)
>SUBTOTAL $97
>
>$6 - Kantor Blue
>$11 - Coelia Greenshade
>$6 - Lothern Blue
>$6 - Sotek Green
>$6 - Temple Guard Blue
>$6 - Ushabti Bone
>$6 - Screaming Skull
>$6 - Balthasar Gold
>$6 - Gehenna's Gold
>$6 - Khorne Red
>$11 - Carroburg Crimson
>$6 - Wazdakka Red
>SUBTOTAL $82
>
>Paints $179
>Start Collecting! Seraphon $140
>Essential Citadel Brush Selection $87
>Mouldline Remover $19
>TOTAL: $425
>
>^ This paint is for bases and Saurus Warriors only, haven't even calculated the cost of paints for the Cold One Knights and the Carnosaur yet because it was already getting out of control and this is supposed to be my intro into the hobby...

It hurts my pocket book to see people pay $11 for black primer and clear coat when you can buy the same quality of spray for ~$3-4 each.

And $6 for single colors is ridiculous. But then I don't use GW paints. I prefer army painter shade washes, and Vallejo model color or game color for regular colors. I use Rustoleum black, grey, and white primer and always have great experiences with it as long as you follow the use instructions (like don't spray when too hot or too cold or rainy). And I thought my Testors Dull clear coat was expensive at ~$8.

[Vallejo basic model color] (https://www.amazon.com/dp/B009162PWU/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_7xLcAbSVVT1V1) 16 basic colors for $42, which is a ton better than $6 per color.

Army Painter Quickshades 11 washes for $27.50

And if you like army painter paints which they are great paints there is the starter set: Mega Paint Set by Army Painter 50 paints includingbasic colors, shade washes, and a few metallics for $90.

Don't buy into GW's propaganda, their regular paints aren't any better than other common brands like Army Painter and Vallejo, and they are a fraction of the price, usually about half the cost.

Personally I used to use exclusively GW paints and wish someone would have told me this stuff early, I would have saved a lot of money. When I started using other products I realized I didn't even like the GW method for most things. Base paints are too thick, and layer paints are the exact same as army painter or model color paints. Then you get things like acrylic medium, airbrush medium, and glaze medium which you can buy in big bottles from other companies, like Golden, which is the same gunk that GW sells for $6 per pot that you can buy from Liquitex or Golden 8 oz bottlrs for ~$10-$15.

If you're worried about getting studio colors without using GW paints then the community has you covered with the paint conversion chart.

Save yourself some money if you're worried about cost and don't overpay for GW materials when it's the same stuff across the board.

This kit specifically is the RG (real grade) version of the RX 78-2.

If you’re new, I recommend the HG (high grade) revive version. https://www.amazon.com/Bandai-Hobby-RX-78-2-Gundam-Revive/dp/B00WW4F8YA

This one is much easier to build AND cheaper AND the articulation is amazing. You really get the most bang for your buck on this one.

That's pretty much regular price on Amazon

http://camelcamelcamel.com/Asmodee-SEV-EN01ASM-7-Wonders/product/B0043KJW5M?context=browse

I've bought a number of cheap non-D&D mini sets, like these. They're certainly not great, but sometimes you need quantity, rather than quality. They're about $0.18 USD apiece.

Get some collection like that, and go to town painting them. Make mistakes. Try stuff. It almost certainly won't be the same as painting a good plastic miniature, but you'll probably still learn from it. You may feel better approaching that fetching young lady with a brush when you're done.

(I do not work for the Big Bucket of Monsters people, and was not compensated for this post!) ;-)

I'd rather have to deal with nickels than having an iPhone. My solution would be to remove the tray from my optical drive so there is no front. Then I would just slide the optical drive out the front of my case so it hangs over a 10 gallon bucket. I would precede to buy something that mimics the action of one of these(but battery/USB powered) and have it set up to hit my enter key all day. If i set it to complete a rotation (up and down) once a second, that's around 3 dollars a minute which made $180 an hour which would make a $4320 dollars a day. After the first day I would have a few buckets worth of nickels so I would stop the pressing of the button. I would then go to separate banks to change the nickles into cash. I would then keep everything in cash while continuing my normal job. I would now be able to buy almost anything I wanted with the one stipulation that it would have to be able to bought in cash. If I ever ran out all I would need to do is find a bank which takes coins or a coinstar and start up my little money printer again. One of my first purchases would be to build a new computer that doesn't have the nickel problem.


EDIT: I would also buy copious amounts of lottery tickets to make my money more "legit" with investments and money laundering.

To give people an idea, Dominion is 11.8 x 11.8 x 2.9 inches (according to Amazon, and the internal box size listed on USPS's site is 23.69 x 11.75 x 3 inches.

So, two Dominion-sized boxes should just fit side by side, but it will be a tight fit, and not allow for any additional packing.

Amazon:

Game|Sale $|Reg $|Sale %|BGG Rating
-|-|-|-|-
COH Guadalcanal|43.3|73.95|41%|8.2
Star Trek Panic|21|41.95|50%|7.1
Santorini|24.99|39.95|37%|7.7
Coal Baron|24.89|38.95|36%|7.3
Kingdomino|18.71|25.99|28%|7.4
Dragon Island|27.53|43.95|37%|6.3
Monopoly Gamer|19.79|29.99|34%|6.5
Wits and Wagers Party|22.46|29.99|25%|6.9
Dungeon Lords|73.92|91.95|20%|7.4
Forbidden Island|16.98|21.95|23%|6.8
Scythe|59.99|69.95|14%|8.2
Deception: Murder in Hong Kong|29.16|33.95|14%|7.5
Mangrovia|34.73|40.95|15%|7.2
Boss Monster|18|21.95|18%|6.3
Anomia|12.71|14.95|15%|6.6

\^Credit to jrahhali on bgg for most of these.

Well, how about a Dice Bag of Holding?

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01476QV14/

The starter set for the current edition is $25: https://smile.amazon.com/Dungeons-Dragons-Starter-Set-Roleplaying/dp/B00SI774U6/

Everything you need to run a game when everyone is new. Dice, pre-built characters for players to choose from, and a story for the Dungeon Master to run them through.

Alternatively you can buy the player's handbook and the dungeon master's guide individually:

https://smile.amazon.com/Players-Handbook-Dungeons-Dragons-Wizards/dp/0786965606/


https://smile.amazon.com/Dungeon-Masters-Guide-Core-Rulebook/dp/0786965622/

and some dice

https://smile.amazon.com/SmartDealsPro-Colors-Dungeons-Dragons-Pouches/dp/B01ABST9S4/

With those you can do the same thing as the starter set but there's a whole lot more information available about all the different classes, races, weapons, combat rules, spells, etc. I'd recommend the starter set and if y'all are interested in going further getting the rest.

Set aside a few hours one evening to play a session. A lot of groups will do a shorter session 0 where they discuss what characters they're going to play and make sure they've got a decent grasp of the mechanics and rules.

In the course of about 2-3 hours you'll probably get through one combat encounter and one non-combat encounter (talking to townspeople, investigating something, dicking around at the tavern) but it all depends on the choices the players make based on the options presented by the DM.

You can buy the starter set it’s a good base point for little money to start at. It will give you a taste of the game. It comes with pre-set characters you guys can choose from and an adventure book for any one that wants to DM in your party. I would recommend it before you spend money on any of the core books. All pitch in about 5 bucks and get started. Have any other questions?

Dungeons & Dragons Starter Set: Fantasy D&D Roleplaying Game 5th Edition (RPG Boxed Game) Plus Additional Bonus Set of 7 Dice https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07CNF823R/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_Blg8Bb5V31EWV

Also you are going to need dice luckily they sell it in a set of 5:
Smartdealspro 5 x 7-Die Series Two Colors Dungeons and Dragons DND RPG MTG Table Games Dice with Free Pouches https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01ABST9S4/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_pmg8BbNCJBS3G

Everyone needs a little Munchkin

Does anyone know if these are any good? I'm planning on blowing my next paycheck on one because I feel an unyielding need to back up my Pokemon data.

http://www.amazon.com/Mega-Memory-Card/dp/B00002R108/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1410190094&sr=8-1&keywords=mega+memory+backup+cart

They made backup carts like these that you could transfer your games to. I've come across them at garage sales for a lot cheaper. But eBay might be another option. This one specifically says that it backs up to flash memory so you never have to worry about the battery running out and deleting your saved games off of it.

Everyone's talking about ways to keep the voltage on the volatile memory, but when I was a kid I had one of these:

http://www.amazon.com/Mega-Memory-Card/dp/B00002R108


You would just plug in your game, backup the save, change the battery, and restore the save. Worked great.

This is extraordinarily thorough. So thorough in fact, that you should also consider board gaming. Reading this, it just makes a lot of sense for you. I think board gaming would fit you like a glove.

1. Video games have moved away from couch co-op. You've made a great list here with a lot of solid points, but I doubt you would have ever reached your conclusion, had you considered board games. Keep Talking is certainly a good entertaining game, nothing against it. It's just, that game feels plucked like a needle out of a haystack. Like you've biopsied out a very small node from inside a large mass.

You don't really have this problem with board games. Literally every single board game in existence is designed to be played with people immediately around you. I hesitate to use the phrase "played co-operatively" simply because most board games are NOT co-operative - though there are notable exceptions like Pandemic or Ghost Stories. Both great games.

Board games use human beings as the engine the game runs on. That's not to say board games pit intellects against each other in some sort of valid competition of "who's the most smartest", but to say: humans are social machines and will surprise you with their grasp of system thinking. If I have five or six people in the room with me, I'd prefer the game that we're playing to exist in the head-space between us rather than on some electronic device.

People have come over to my house in the real world. Why not play a game with them that also exists in the real world? I can play videogames over online multiplayer until I'm blue in the face. Just last night I reinstalled Bad Company 2 and played with a few old college roommates. If I had those old friends over to my house, we'd play a board game. It seems crazy to me that someone has taken the time to drive over to your place and you set them down in front of a computer.

2. Because boardgames have always been designed around a social experience taking place in the real world, they're just better at it. This is definitely subjective. You can feel free to disagree with me all you want, but there are mechanics that I just don't see in videogames. Sure, I could load up Gremlin's Inc and replicate what is probably the best roll n' move game I've ever played, but roll n' move is a Monopoly era game genre. Board games can move past this.

You can't play Two Room's and a Boom on a machine. You can't play Bid n' Bluff games like Liar's Dice, Sheriff of Nottingham, or social deduction games like Coup or Love Letter. You can't play physical dexterity games like Jenga (still great fun btw), Flick em' Up, or Catacombs.

There are just games that play better with groups of people because they exist in the real world and make use of humans as the operating system.

3. Board games are much more open to much more people. I don't know about you, but in my experience board games are just more accessible to a wider range of people. I'm maybe going to get a round of Mario Kart out of the adults in my life that love me, but I've sat down with people over 50 and had a great time with Ticket to Ride. At family reunions I've enjoyed Dominion with young children and grandparents alike. Settlers of Catan, Blockus, and Carcassonne are all genuinely fun games I played to death with my family.

How crazy is that? I would really look forward to playing one of those games with my whole family. I can't think of even one videogame that fits that criteria.

4. Perhaps most simply, there are incredible games that just don't exist in videogame form - even though they could. Is the total conversion mod for Crusader Kings II not giving you that full heady Game of Thrones experience? Why not just play Game of Thrones. This is probably my favorite game and it's just not on computers. I can imagine a version of Cosmic Encounter played over online multiplayer, but why? It already exists in perfect form. If I want to play El Grande, or Arctic Scavengers, or Lords of Vegas - well . . . those games just don't exist as videogames.

5. Just honorable mentions. Seven Wonders. Splendor. Blueprints.


TL;DR. There are a ton of great board games out there and if you actually are struggling to think of something that you and your friends can enjoy together in the same room - maybe give it a shot rather than lament the lack of couch co-op in videogames.

Here's a Psylock I did recently. I used the Ms. Marvel body, which I think it's the same as Capt. Marvel. The open hand and head I got from a Mariah Hill from the TRU Shield 3-Pack.

I used Green Stuff for the hair, it hardens to a plastic like toughness but still retains a little flex, so I like using it for hair.

Sword I just got from Casting Cave I think, and painted purple. ClayorNotCustoms also sells a clear purple sword.

Sand down all the joints as best you can, anywhere where plastic rubs plastic. You can prime the figure, then work all the joints and see where problem areas are.

For energy effects I'd try hot glue before melting plastic. Wrap your figure's fist in aluminum foil, then cover it in hot glue in whatever shape you want (like a psychic knife), let it cool. Then take it, and the foil off and your hardened glue shape should pop back over the fist. Water down some purple paint real good and paint it and it should keep it's transparency.

If you have any more questions go ahead and ask.

I'm a full-throated advocate of never buying anything that GW rebrands (clippers, greenstuff, brushes, primer, etc.)

For the cost of a small GW ribbon of greenstuff, you can buy more kneadatite (the manufacturer!) than you'll ever use. Unless, of course, you're a sculptor.

I love supporting my FLGS, but Amazon has a log of it for $13:

Green Stuff Sculpting Putty

7 Wonders · $30

Azul · $21

Crypt · $14

Great Western Trail · $55

Lords of Waterdeep · $30

Mysterium · $40

Photosynthesis · $35

Root · $50

Scythe · $40

Secret Hitler · $35

Terraforming Mars · $49

Viticulture Essential Edition · $46

Wingspan · $55

​

Total: $500

​

Didn't really think this through lol, had to remove Skullport because I had gone over by $25. I obviously couldn't include some classics, but I tried to make it somewhat varied and accessible for everyone.

Deals almost always come back. Amazon intentionally creates a sense of urgency with deals to encourage people to buy. Check out this graph of pricing on 7 Wonders. Every time the price drops suddenly is probably a sale. In fact, that first dip to $30 probably seemed like a great deal - lowest price it had ever been! Then the price drops into that region or lower every three months or so.

So don't stress. Just be patient, there are always more deals.

These tubes of minis are probably the best value: 90-100 minis for ~$20. They can give you a good base, and then you can purchase specific minis for more important characters (PCs, important NPCs, BBEGs, etc.)

Dwarves, Elves, Wizards, Orcs, Dragons, Unicorns, Skeletons, Fairies and Centaurs

Fiends, Flesh Golems (Frankenstein), Lizardfolk/Dragonborn (Godzilla), Mummies, Cyclops, Werewolves, Vampires, Zombies, Giant Spider, Giant Moths, Sahaugin (Creature from the Black Lagoon), gravestones

These dice are about 20 cents each. These are probably about whats in the machine.

I agree with the others that have commented on here. You lose the concept at that level. You need to break it up into smaller groups. And 8 - 10 groups could work. You could teach people how to DM, and then run a bigger campaign for all of them to be involved in.

Here is where it could get interesting.

You could have all the campaigns involved in a single battle. Have them interact then. And then swap into other groups as they get jostled around during the battle.

They can get lost along their journey. Or left behind because of an injury. Or their player character can die, and they would have to start over. And have all of the parties discovering different aspects of the adventure, so they have to share information to figure out the bigger picture.

IT WILL REQUIRE MAPS!!! HUGE MAPS!!!! IT WOULD BE AMAZING!!

I used to be a science teacher, and a swim coach. My wife is a professor at a university. We could do this. We could figure it out. You would need a lot of dice. And you would need books. I can give you some digital ones that I found online.

What if it were like this. They all have to knock down an evil force. And they have to work together, so they would have to meet up at the local inn and find out from each other what they learned. Then they get a map, or some piece of information. So there are watch towers all around. And they would each have to disable a watch tower at the same time. So they would have to coordinate.

Back it up even farther than that. Have them all start in other towns, have them meet each other and decide they want adventure. Then have them find a flier that says 'Looking for Mercenaries'.

Then they can hunt and travel to the place that is hiring mercenaries. They have to hunt to make money, they can come across bridge trolls and werewolves and other things. But they need to up their levels during this trip, get magic items that they will need, and buy armor and weapons. They will also need to develop skills such as metal work for fixing armor, and making arrows.

We could do this. We could even build it into a lesson plan. You could have some of them team up to build trebuchets and have them build them out of popsicle sticks. We could include the Periodic Table of Elements if we got really creative.

You could have the find information that was in the library. Identify artifacts. You could blend it really well.

Yeah, as others have said, for beginners do try out the D&D 5e Starter Set.

It has enough rules for the small premade adventure they give you to start up, the small adventure itself (which is no small thing for a beginner Dungeon Master), a few pregenerated characters and a set of dice.

You could add to that a few miniatures (or just use paper tokens) and an extra set of dice.


The Starter Set goes to level 5 only (out of 20 max). If you like it, then go ahead and buy the Holy Trinity of D&D Books:

• the Player's Manual, which is a complete* set of all official possibilities about character creation and playing. You don't all need one for playing, but it's easier that way. Sharing is also good, that said.
  
• The Dungeon Master's Guide, which is a book made to help the Dungeon Master create his adventures and make the game enjoyable. Only one is required, really.
  
• The Monster Manual, which containes a lot of premade monsters which are very helpful for DMs.
  
  
  The other books, such as Curse of Strahd, Out of the Abyss or Tales from the Yawning Portal, are simply adventures that you can buy if you don't want to make your own. They are fun to play and way less of a hassle to DMs... but after a while most will like to make their own stories.
  
  On another note... While obviously I can't recommend that both because supporting creators is important and because of subreddit rules, you can find pdfs of all those books online, if you don't want to spend the money. Or simply because Ctrl-F is better than manually searching.
  
  
  *They have added a few more options is some adventures or the Sword Coast Adventure Guide, and there are some unofficial elements that are being tested in the Unearthed Arcana, but trust me with the core books you have enough to play with for a while.

if you can afford it my vote goes to the mega paintset 2017 serval shades of the msot used colors, a brush, different metallics and washes and some kind of intro sheet how to drybrush and wash etc. you know basic beginner stuff. also it´s the biggest discount you get per bottle unless you get the complete pack which was limited and had all paints they ever produced!

advice because this is a little more work with this brand: shake the bottle like a maniac, if you think your arm starts to hurt and it´s enough, shake some more. also get mixers for the paint, dependign on materials if you use metal balls tey will rust inside the paint so i advice getting glass balls ~6mm and drop two in each paint

1. If both of you are interested in either army then yes, it's a good value and starting point especially with the rulebook
   
   
2. Yes there are cheaper alternatives like Army Painter that could get you started or even this set just to get you started with some paints. All you need is some cheap brushes to get started tbh
   
   
3. You get a lot of use from them, I started almost 11 months ago and I still have a lot of the paint I first bought and I try to paint daily
   
   
4. Get started and read the rules a bit, ask questions, have fun. It's easier to get in the swing by playing it and asking questions to clarify things for future games

The lans I go to are too small to really bear much advice to you on the questions you listed.

Where I can provide some insight is in the types of table top games you should consider. Lots of folks (in the lan community) have been exposed to traditional pen/paper stuff like DnD. If you're looking to spice things up a bit, consider trying out some of the modern board games that are out. I'm sure some of your attendees will have already been exposed to these, but for the rest that haven't, they'll probably strike at least an interest or a few questions. BoardGameGeek has a list of the top board games out right now, some of which you might not have heard of. Settlers of Catan, Dominion, Race for the Galaxy, Carcassonne are some of the most popular. They're flashy, they're interesting, and they're usually under an hour (if not usually under 45 min) to play. They're an up and coming type of gaming that's spreading fast among the table-top/CCG/comics folks.

Edit: In retrospect, I kinda seem like a fanboy for this post, but holy shit they're really awesome games.

Im a big fan of Ascension personally. Had the app forever and am finally getting a physical copy in the mail next week. Its not incredibly interactive though, only occasionaly forcing players to discard cards and such. Its all about getting points by killing monsters from the center deck (which also holds extra cards for your deck).

I cant speak to the other games you listed but if you want to pick up Dominion its super cheap right now. Amazon has it for $20 on sale. And if you have prime and live somewhere that is serviced by prime now you can get it for $10. Use the promo code PRIMENOW10 which gives you $10 off of a $20 order. I just ordered a copy for myself last night. A friend of mine already had it but its hard to turn down a $45 game for $10.

The D&D Castle Ravenloft (original inspiration for CoS as noted in the Introduction) Board Game is my answer as well. Almost all ~40 miniatures can be used at one point in the CoS campaign, which works out to a fantastic price per mini ratio (a little over a dollar per).

The only downside is that the Strahd mini isn't EPIC enough, so I purchased a separate mini just for him.

Amazon Link

Painted Castle Ravenloft Minis

Hey, so I don't know what your budget is, but I'm going to make a few recommendations.

Those are: Any of the D&D Board games from this list:

The Legend of Drizzt $50

Castle Ravenloft $50

Temple of Elemental Evil $45

Wrath of Ashardalon $50

Tomb of Annihilation

May seem pricey, but lemme tell you why I recommend these: they come with a shitton of minis, the minis are high quality, they come with DUNGEON TILES, they come with loot cards, they come with tokens for HP and stuff, and they can be used to play a game that has different scenarios if you're into that, though the game isn't D&D proper (though it is D&D flavored).

So here's a picture of all the minis that Wrath of Ashardalon comes with

ALL of that. That's 42 minis right there. If the box only came with minis, that would be about $1.20 a mini. You're not going to find minis of that quality that cheap pretty much anywhere else. It is an insanely good deal.

So then we have the tiles. They interlock with each other, and are compatible with tiles from all the other games I listed. [Here's a pile] (https://spalanz.files.wordpress.com/2015/07/imag3329.jpg) , here's some assembled, and that's 12 tiles. The box comes with 40.

Lemme give you a breakdown of what WoA comes with in terms of minis:

Ashardalon, Red Dragon

Bellax, Gauth

Cave Bear x3

Duergar Guard x3

Gibbering Mouther x3

Grell x3

Heskan, Dragonborn Wizard

Human Cultist x3

Keyleth, Elf Paladin

Kobold Dragonshield x3

Kraash, Orc Storm Shaman

Legion Devil x3

Margraath, Duergar Captain

Meerak, Kobold Dragonlord

Orc Archer x3

Orc Smasher x3

Otyugh

Quinn, Human Cleric

Rage Drake

Snake x3

Tarak, Half-Orc Rogue

Vistra, Dwarf Fighter

Not technically on a big sale (but usually ~$20 on Amazon than retail), but the Dungeons & Dragons board game series (example: Wrath of Ashardalon) have a great D&D feel to them but are far easier to play (an adventure is typically 1 - 2 hours).

You can play through most adventures with just 2 people, and you can also write up your own stories if you wanna get nerdy about it. Even better, the various sets are cross-compatible, so if you get into it and get several sets going, you can mix/match tilesets, heroes, monsters, etc for a pretty much endless combination of scenarios.

Maybe a desolder vacuum hand pump tool. Like
Wemake Solder Sucker- Desoldering Vacuum Pump https://www.amazon.ca/dp/B0002KRAAG/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_d9luDb9E68W8N

To mention some other homebrewing supplies and tools that haven't come up here:

• Copper Clad PCB Board for Manhattan or Dead Bug or Island Pad circuit construction.
  
• Perf Board for circuits involving many IC's or other 0.1"-spaced leads.
  
• A Solder Sucker, for clearing solder from perf-board
  
• Solder Wick, for removing solder from things that aren't plated holes.
  
• A cheapie Rotary Tool, for making isolation pads, cutting boards, rounding off edges.
  
• A decent multimeter - decent used to mean something in that $30-$50 range, but now even down in the sub-$20 range you're looking at plus/minus 0.5% accuracy for voltage measurements, which is good enough for most homebrew purposes. Whatever you do, get one with a continuity alarm! A $6 meter without one is a $6 waste of your money.
  
• A decent Soldering Iron. I spent years thinking I was bad at soldering, turns out I was bad at buying soldering irons. A 15W radioshack fixed iron with a fat tip will do you no good. The 50W adjustable pencil linked here it solid, though many people (myself included) prefer a soldering station
  
• A pair of fine need nose pliers and a flush cutter. Xuron is the name brand, but excelite or hakko or most others are fine.
  
  

7 Wonders is great from 3-7 players (scales really well).

It's $30usd on Amazon.com right now (cheaper than Cool stuff Inc which is $40)

Isn't theme heavy, easy to learn, and everyone is active all the time because turns are done at the same time.

7 Wonders for sure, you need more than 2 to play but it is tons of fun.

My suggestions for fun two player games that have a small footprint are below. I haven't tried playing these in a pub, but I think they should work.

Love Letter - I played this at a party recently and enjoyed it. There are various themes, including a munchkins variant.

Pass the Pigs - I used to bring this game with me on plane trips because it is compact and playable on a tray table.

Toss Up - Fun dice game, simple rules, could be turned into a drinking game if you are so inclined.

Timeline - Lots of different versions of this game, all have to do with history, but you can pick different topics, and even combine packs.

Exploding Kittens - random fun, there is also a NSFW version that is full of boob/penis/poop/etc jokes.

Hanabi - I have the tile version of this, which is a little bulkier, but is much more drink and food resistant.

Cheaper minis

Monsters

Skeleton Warriors

Zombies

How about something like this? These guys are basically like army men, but they're all monsters.

A few games I like that would probably fit the bill:

Spot It. Super fun game, easy to learn and quick to play. Not the deepest game but it's lots of fun for all ages and a nice quick game to play when you want something short or as a break between longer games. Good for any number of players.

Dixit. A storytelling game. Each turn one of you is the "storyteller" and tells a short story (one word to a sentence) about it. Everyone else picks a card from their hand that they think fits the story. The cards are mixed up and everyone guesses which one the Storyteller had. The interesting scoring mechanic is the storyteller only gets points if some people don't guess right. If everyone or no one guesses right, the storyteller gets no points and everyone else gets points. Plus, if it's not your turn but someone votes for your card, you get points. The cards can be somewhat crazy and surreal but are definitely safe for a 9 year old. The game is a fun casual game.

Ticket to Ride. Fun game where you lay out train routes. You can block people's routes and you will be angry at whoever does that to you. Only takes 5 people though.

Tsuro. Another somewhat shorter game. You take turns laying tiles and moving your Dragon along the path they create trying to stay on the board. Near the end of the game it gets hectic and you might end up knocking each other off.

TransAmerica. A train game like Ticket to Ride but faster and a little less complex. Rounds go quickly and it has an interesting scoring mechanic. Each round you lose points if you don't connect to your cities and the game ends when someone is at zero. The winner is whoever lost the least points.

7 Wonders. A fun game that involves playing cards that you draw from a hand you pass around. Takes up to 7 people but might be slightly too complex for the 9 year old.

Shadow Hunters. A hidden roles game where you will be on teams but you won't know who's on your team. Throughout the game you try to figure that out and it can get very competitive. Again might be slightly too complex for the 9 year old but maybe not.

Castle Panic. This game is slightly different because it is a cooperative game. All of you play against the game itself to try and defend your castle and defeat all the monsters. It's a pretty fun game.

There are a ton of other good games but I'll stop for now since I've probably listed too many as it is. Two things I'd recommend to try to find new games that your family might like beyond these. First, see if there's a board game store near you. A lot of them will have board game libraries where you can go in and try out the games at no charge. Most (in my experience) are pretty friendly to newer players. Second, check out TableTop. It's a show hosted by Wil Wheaton where he explains games and then plays through them. My wife and I used it as a good way to see new games that we might be interested in without having to buy them sight unseen, since boardgames can be expensive. The demo part of the show has sold us on a bunch of games (several of which are listed above). Hope this helps and enjoy the family game nights.

7 Wonders is on a great sale and it's a relatively short, easy to play game. I've taught it to my family at Thanksgiving and many of my friends and they all love it!

Edit: here is the link

Technically no board involved, but Cards Against Humanity is a lot of fun.

And they have an expansion pack now!

The "frequently bought together" link was cool also: http://www.amazon.com/Monster-Action-Figure-Bucket-Frankenstein/dp/B00W5WSN5A

Welcome to the hobby, friend! Here's a few useful tidbits of info for you.

None of the Gundam kits from the last 20 or so years need glue. That's a standard feature across pretty much every Gundam model kit. So in that regard, feel free to pick any design you like. Not all kits are created equally, but a quick search across this subreddit will help you figure out if the kit you're looking at happens to be hot garbage (and there are a few that are).

To more directly answer your question, the starter set uses an older model of the classic RX-78-02 Gundam. The Revive version is a much, much better model. You can find it here on Amazon.

A panel lining pen (or pens) are not required, but certainly make for a better final product. They're pretty cheap on their own, and generally you'll want at least grey and black, and possibly also brown. Alternatively, you can get a pack of all 3. You'll also want so basic q-tips/cotton swabs to clean up your panel looking.

You're also going to need some nippers. Nippers come in a range of types, qualities, and styles. The best nippers are single sided (that is, one side is a blade and the other is flat). These, the infamous Godhands are hands down the best nippers on the market. They're expensive as shit, but worth every penny. If you're on a medium budget, Tamiya's nippers are the next best option. There are cheaper nippers out there, but they're gonna come with significantly inferior results. That said, a lot of that can be addressed with...

A good hobby knife. You'll be just fine with a simple, cheap X-Acto knife, but there is (in my opinion) a better option. My personal favorite, the Tamiya Design Knife. It's got a slightly smaller blade, which will let you get into tighter spaces with it. It also comes with a metric crapton of replacement blades. You'll want to replace the blade every couple kits, but there's a bunch of them in there. There same container that holds the replacement blades even has a second chamber to dispose of your old blades into.

Finally, you may want some fine pointed (possibly angled) tweezers for decal application. Finger oils can screw up the adhesive on the stickers. You can pass on this starting off most likely, but you'll want to get some eventually.

TL;DR, the starter pack isn't the best option. If you're after the granddaddy Gundam, get the Revive. Otherwise, pick your favorite design. The newer the kit, the better, generally speaking. Look at the copyright date on the box cover to see. Bottom left corner.

You're going to need nippers, which can get pricey, but the cost is worth it. Start with a mediocre pair, and upgrade to the Godhands once you're committed to the hobby. You'll need a knife, too. You can cheap out on this one, but there are better options IMO.

Optionally, get tweezers, panel lining pens, and cotton swabs.

Edit: other good starter kits

HG Barbatos is a great kit. The build process for IBO models is a bit different than other gunpla, though, as they have a quasi-inner frame.

HG 00 Gundam is another great starter. It's also the first kit I ever panel lined, and it was a great starter for that.

If you're wanting a Zaku, the HG The Origin Zaku II Type C is probably the best Zaku kit released to date in 1/144 scale.

Finally, I'd feel bad for not suggesting my all time favorite HG build. It was just a fun, fun kit to make and to pose. The HG 1.5 Gundam. It's got some really cool gimmicks and, unique colors, and an awesome design.

I'm assuming you're talking about maintaining a speedcube.

Pop out an edge, once in a while (every few hundred solves, maybe) clean out the cube dust that accumulates. Use a wet cloth (or a tissue, if you're lazy)

Re-lube (try traxxas 50k for lube. It'll last you for years) with a few drops of lube. Put a drop on the edge, and a drop on the base of a corner. If you're up for it, unscrew and lube the core (a small drop on each of the screws/springs), but you don't really NEED this.

If you want to lube it use this guide:
http://youtu.be/s4paID_54lQ

Best (for the price) lube:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B000BOLVFI/ref=mp_s_a_1?qid=1367526514&sr=8-1&pi=SL75

Also do a bunch of solves, then try and take out the torpedoes and see if you like that feeling better (I do but some don't)!

Now go play! :)

http://www.amazon.com/American-Science-Surplus-Famous-Drinking/dp/B000JSGLBK

https://www.amazon.com/American-Science-Surplus-4975-Drinking/dp/B000JSGLBK

/r/boardgames

But I'll third the recommendation for Ticket to Ride. It's easy to pick up and pretty fun compared to standard board games you'd find at Wal-Mart or Target (e.g., Monopoly).

I'll also recommend Dominion. My wife hates board games and I hesitated to introduce this game to her, but she caught on really quickly and became quite obsessed with the game for quite a while.

Also check out this thread on board game geek for the top 100 gateway games

Things I've learned starting out:

Wash the miniatures. I found the easiest way was those little ziploc plastic containers. Warm dishsoapy water in them, throw a few minis in, scrub them with an old toothbrush, rinse them off and toss them into a second ziploc container filled with plain water. Then drain and refill that a few times to get all the soap out. Be careful you don't dump them down a drain.

Take them out of the warm fresh water and put em onto a plate with a paper towel or something to dry. I like to organize them into which model belongs to what at this point.

I invested on a sprue cutter and it has been WONDERFUL for me to remove pesky mold lines and the bigger tags sticking out of models. Also an xacto knife helps.

I got some cheap needle files from Harbor Freight and they've helped get the flash lines flush without any weirdness.

After your stuffs all pretty and moldline free I tend to toss it into a sonic cleaner because I work at a lab. It might be placebo but the industrial strength badass one at work seems to get clean and I mean... why not? But you can do the water and rinse again. Or even just do it once, after the mold line removal. (Side note: sonic cleaners are PRETTY RADICAL for removing paint from miniatures with some simple green. I love it. Saves me a lot of scrubbing.)

Anyway once its dry I personally use this glue and some stuff called green stuff to fill in gaps. Heres a tut showing the basic idea

Once they're assembled I use some good ol elmer's white glue on the bases and dip em in sand and shake them off. Tutorial that shows that

Then prime your stuff. Tons of tutorials about it and tons of everyone saying which is their favorite primer, spray or brush on, different types of primer, different brands. Some stand by Army Painter or Citadel. I've had good results with Rustoleum Ultra Cover 2x White primer. I've recently picked up some TAMIYA WHITE which I hear good things about. Trying them on some Morats tomorrow.

Lots of other good info has been posted too! I also just started probably, shit, 6 months ago, so this is stuff I've had to pick up and learn as I go.

Board games.

Start with Ticket To Ride for $40, or with Patchwork for $22 and Forbidden Island for $14.

Interactive, challenging without being too mentally taxing, and good for boring family visits, too. $40-$60 can be a large initial investment, but in terms of hours of enjoyment, a good game can be very frugal.

Forbidden Island is exactly what you need.

May I suggest this instead? WizDice Bag of Holding :) It's the equivalent to Chessex POD, but you know what you get and the Bag of Holding looks awesome.
There will be a second BOH from WizDice soon with the new colors (and, from what I've heard, a different bag). The new colors look awesome.
The reason I suggest this is because WizDice are known to be pretty fair dice (unlike Chessex) and their Customer Support is awesome.

This!

A good way for everyone to get their own set of dice cheap and quick if you don't have good game shops locally is:

https://www.amazon.com/Wiz-Dice-Bag-Holding-Polyhedral/dp/B01476QV14


They are not as nice as chessex dice and are a tad bit smaller but they are nice for a DM to have on hand (to loan new players or player that forgets theirs) or a group to split up.

For the massive amount you need for a decent price, I'd recommend you to get the pound of dice online. I personally ordered 140 dice (20 complete sets). That'll give you like a set of dice for a pair of players if all will be playing at the same time. Otherwise, it'll cover two groups of 5 or so occurring at the same time (much more likely). If you wanted, you could either have players order their own dice or buy two bags so everybody has a set and have them pitch in a few bucks. If you had everybody pitch in $5, you could order about 6 bags so that everybody gets three sets.
https://www.amazon.com/Wiz-Dice-Bag-Holding-Polyhedral/dp/B01476QV14

I got the Wiz Dice Bag of Holding. Twenty complete sets of dice (140, compared to the pound-o-dice ~100), which aren't factory seconds like the pound-o-dice. Plus it was like $4 cheaper than the pound-o-dice when I bought it.

Munchkin might be a bit much if your friends aren't 'board game people,' its bit more involved compared to a party game like CaH.

I've been having a lot fun playing Codenames at parties. It's easy to learn and it's flexible with regard to the number of people that can play.

Telestrations is another good party game, it usually degrades into raunchy territory quickly.

EDIT: And I just saw there is an adult version of Telestrations. I may have to get that.

EDIT 2: Completely forgot Codenames, which is easily the biggest hit in my collection with non-gamers. Amazon link

I would recommend, in this order:

Splendor- Portable (just take the stuff out of a box and put it into a much smaller box), very small learning curve, 30-45 minute play time tops.

Dominion- again, it's just a bunch of cards, so you don't need the whole box. Pretty much the same specs as above.

Both of the above are "Engine builders" where the objective is to accumulate parts (metaphorically) early in the game that will be able to generate a lot of points later in the game. Then you need to time your transition into point-grabbing appropriately in order to win. Splendor is little less black-and-white, since you can start point grabbing right away, but it's all about finding that sweet spot.

Forbidden Desert is a nice cooperative game that comes in a pretty small metal tin.

Sushi Go is very portable, as portable as it gets. But it's also exceedingly simplistic. Still fun though.

Coup is a top notch bluffing game. Also very small natively.

Love Letter is a bluffing game as well, but not as good as Coup (IMO)...Coup is meaner which I like.

Citadels was one of the games that got me into the hobby, but I don't care for it much anymore.

/u/r2d8 getinfo

EDIT: Forbidden Desert: r2 is going to keep my spelling error up for all to see...little bastard.

Also same price at Amazon wioth Prime shipping.

lottery tickets, remote control plugs, DropStop seat gap filler, glass tupperware set, squatty potty, Code Names (or any board game), Yeti colster, hydroflask bottle, packit freezable cooler, a set ofoutdoor globe lights, gift wrap organizer

< Am a teacher:

First go to your principal and see what the school needs. Normally there is a process to get a new club started but since this was already a club it shouldn't be as hard. A lot of schools need a supervising teacher etc, etc, etc. If you ask the principal to send out an email there's a chance that one of the teachers in your building is already into dnd and can help you out.

​

to answer your specific questions:

​

1. it really depends on how well you advertise/the specific kids at your school. If you can get 1-3 5 player campaigns to start that would be awesome. On that note, try and introduce them to some of your favorite dnd stuff. Critical roll highlights can hook a lot of people for example. And make sure to advertise for your club really well the first week; posters, announcements, fb(or w/e social media you're using), the whole schebang.
   
   ​
   
   

2. a lot of dnd can be run without the books. There are free downloadable and legal pdfs available online that cover phb basic rules. its enough to get newbies started at the very least. In addition to this, monster and item stats are pretty reliably found by typing "5e dnd [monster]" into google. I would have 1 actual phb,mhm,and dmg available for reference. The school or possibly the supervising teacher might be able to help you front some of the $. The big one that would be helpful to have would be a couple preplanned adventures if your dm's don't want to homebrew. again the internet can be a great resource, or buy a couple of them if you have a way to get some start up $.
   
   ​
   
   
3. The most important thing (imo) is to be realistic about what you can do each session. i imagine after school clubs run like 1.5 hours? If that is the case then you need to have a specific goal for each of your first few meetings. In addition to this, make sure you give people something to do, even if only for a couple minutes, in your beginning sessions. let them roll up a character (or start to). If you are teaching rules, have a mock battle set up and let people control a pre-made basic charecters, etc.
   
   ​
   
   sorry for the long post, but i really hope you can set this up and have some luck doing it.
   
   i linked cheap dice(10$ for 5 sets) and the downloadable phb
   
   https://www.amazon.com/d/Role-Playing-Dice/Smartdealspro-Colors-Dungeons-Dragons-Pouches/B01ABST9S4/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1541318360&sr=8-1&keywords=dnd+dive
   
   ​
   
   https://media.wizards.com/2014/downloads/dnd/PlayerDnDBasicRules_v0.2_PrintFriendly.pdf

Depends on what you mean by "best" and "beginner" ...

Are you looking for the best in bang for the $$ as someone beginning in the hobby?

Best as in "easy" for a beginner to use?

OR best as in the best quality paints/colors regardless of price or difficulty?

--------------

Here's a quick rundown:

• Games Workshop / Citadel Paints - These are easy to use for a beginner because all of the Games workshop guides, the paint app, and Warhammer TV videos use these paints in an almost paint by numbers fashion. This helps a beginner easily match the classic paint schemes on the box. Due to these detailed guides, you can buy exactly the paint pots you need. And they are readily available to pickup individual paint pots at your local GW store. Downside is the price and paint pots vs paint droppers.
  
• Army Painter - Arguably the value winner as the boxed sets let you get colors for a bit under $2 a dropper bottle. Though you need to spend a little upfront to grab a while boxed set. Paints are solid mini paints, but require LOTS of shaking before use to make sure the medium and pigments blend well. Metallics leave a bit to be desired, but are plenty good for a beginner. Washes/shade are excellent. Army painter also has a nice line of colored spray primers that match the brushed sets. Allowing you to get a very smooth and quick first layer down along with the primer..
  
• Vallejo - Quality paint dropper that for the most part, is cheaper than GW paints. Lots of 3rd Party painting guides use Vallejo. Available in kits or individual bottles. My problem is that I have trouble getting them locally or via my prefered online vendors. They are frequently out of stock or have stopped carrying them.
  
• Reaper - I don't have personal experience with these paints but have a friend that loves them and the ability to inexpensively order exactly what colors you want directly from the reaper website.
  
• Scale75 - Expensive high end paints that are likely more than a beginner needs. I'm just starting to get into them. Don't have enough experience to recommend them, yet.
  
  
  -----
  
  Suggested starting kits:
  
  
• Games Workshop - 40k - https://www.miniaturemarket.com/gw-60-12-13.html or AoS - https://www.amazon.com/Warhammer-Age-Sigmar-Paints-Tools/dp/B07FNS1Z8P/
  
• Army Painter - https://smile.amazon.com/Miniature-Painting-Bonus-Wargamer-Regiment/dp/B01MTXRUUT/ + to make shaking them easier https://www.amazon.com/Stainless-Steel-Shakers-250-balls/dp/B01GEN9MK0/
  
• Vallejo - https://www.amazon.com/Game-Color-Intro-Set-16/dp/B000PHCTRK/
  
  Don't forget spray primers first.

Reaper makes Learn to Paint kits. I've used them to reinforce some of what I've learned at local painting meetups and I've liked them. I ended up grabbing a large Army Painter paint set and then had a wet palette and a Winsor & Newton brush recommended to me from a Zombicide painting group. They also pointed me to a head-mounted light/magnifying glass and some brush soap.

You can grab one of the D&D boardgames; if you find one for under $50 it comes out to just over $1/mini (including usually 2-3 "big" ones) and includes some easy-to-use dungeon tiles.

https://www.amazon.com/Dungeons-Dragons-Castle-Ravenloft-Board/dp/0786955570/

There's been five released so far (ordered below oldest to newest):

• Wrath of Ashardalon
  
• Castle Ravenloft
  
• Legend of Drizzt
  
• Temple of Elemental Evil
  
• Tomb of Annihilation
  
  They are each designed to be cooperative adventures where there is no DM but instead all of the monsters are designed to run themselves according to a set of rules outlined on monster cards corresponding to each creature (Note if you buy one, keep the two decks of cards separate until told to combine them in the adventure book -- this is not clear in the rules). The players face off against different scenarios in an adventure book which prescribes what monsters and tiles to use or set-aside and then they generate a random dungeon through drawing dungeon tiles from the stack as they explore.
  
  They can of course be played on their own and are a moderately enjoyable (some even have one of their adventures that is suitable as single-player). Though I own all of them I've only played Elemental Evil, but I hear that they experience improves with each one released.
  
  They can also be lots of use for a budding DM; there lots of useful stuff in them that can be borrowed or raided.
  
  

  Useful D&D Elements
  

  
  

• Dungeon Tiles that interlock allowing for quick and easy custom dungeons. Ashardalon, Ravenloft, and Elemental Evil have pretty standard stonework dungeons, but Drizzt has nice cavern tiles, and Annihilation has jungle and vine choked corridors. EE also has 6 or so tiles with a micro-scale town on one side of each, making a quick and dirty town map super easy.
  
• Lots of figures, about 40-45 in each set, ranging from 'Small' to (in some sets) 'Huge.' All of them are sized correctly to match other official D&D figures, the plastic is pretty durable. They are highly detailed and quite suitable for painting. They're also rather useful if you are running the official 5e campaign that corresponds to the setting/theme for each game (e.g. Tyranny of Dragons = Ashardalon, etc. [SKT has no Adventure System game]).
  
• A ton of cardboard tokens, varying by set, for doors, treasure, chests, traps, additional NPCs or creatures
  
  But there's also downsides:
  
  
• Many tiles have an assortment of icons or the occasional words on them, Elemental Evil is the worst offender here with lots of random icons that might make your players scratch their heads at the normal D&D table.
  
• Many more tokens than you will have use for. I have started to use the hard cardboard tokens as bases for off-brand figures that need things to stand on, just glue it on, paint black over the cardboard printing -- voila!
  
• Several of the figures may be bent from being packaged and packed in there -- curved spears, flaccid swords, leaning creatures. I have not found a good way to rectify this.
  
• The scenario book and monster cards are mostly useless if you are getting one only for parts and pieces useful in your normal D&D game.
  
• The tiles do not promote the building of many really large rooms or corridors, there is no "inside corner" to make L-shaped rooms or wide hallways. Furthermore, the fully open 4x4 tiles are extremely rare (with tiles from 6 complete games I have less than a half-dozen), making really large rooms difficult -- they usually just become really long rooms.

Look up board games like Dungeons and Dragons: Castle Ravenloft Board Game https://www.amazon.com/dp/0786955570/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_ZnL1DbHF1BRN7 which comes with
3 Zombies
3 Wolves
3 Skeletons
3 Flaming Skeletons
3 Ghouls
3 Rat swarms
3 Spiders
3 Kobolds
3 Wraiths
3 Gargoyles
1 Flesh Golem (2x2)
1 Zombie Dragon (2x2)
1 Dracolich (3x3)
1 Kobold Sorcerer
1 Vampire
1 Werewolf
1 Hag
and 5 hero characters
1 Dragonborn fighter (male)
1 Human Ranger (female)
1 Human Rogue (female)
1 High Elf Wizard (male)
1 Dwarf Cleric (male)
There are other similar games thar have different minis. You can usually find them for $35-50 and with three number of minis you get it works out to like $1 or less per mini.

I don't have any suggestions on soldering irons, but I do recommend a brass wire sponge over a regular sponge for tip cleaning.

They work great and don't require any water. I personally feel they are better for your iron tip and don't get nasty like a sponge can.

Something like this http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B000PDQORU/ref=mp_s_a_1_3?qid=1373850851&sr=8-3&pi=AC_SX112_SY192


Edit: that weller above that you listed is a good iron. Because you are doing SMD as well I would also recommend a solder sucker, as I call them ha.

This here http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B0002KRAAG/ref=mp_s_a_1_1?qid=1373851104&sr=8-1&pi=AC_SX112_SY192

Helps a ton if you get solder is the wrong place or need to take some off or out of a through hole.

Lastly, these third hands can be a life saver at times if you will be working alone often. http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B000RB38X8/ref=pd_aw_sim_indust_2?pi=SL500_SY115

Good luck!

You can not like it, but to say it isn't a roleplaying game is disingenuous. It's fine if your opinion is that it should have been a board game. it isn't fine if you're stating for a fact that it was not a roleplaying game and is really a board game.

Saying D&D 4e is not a roleplaying game is not acting in good faith. Lots of people act in bad faith. That doesn't make it right.

Have you played the D&D board games from the 4e era? Castle Ravenloft, for example. That is what a 4e board game looks like. It's almost nothing like the 4e D&D rolepaying game. By calling D&D 4e a board game you're saying it's basically Castle Ravenloft.

Come on. Nobody can believe that.

Do you mean the board game Castle Ravenloft or the campaign setting? I think people may be suggesting campaign setting ideas while I feel you mean this.

If you are considering unpainted at all then I recommend you look at the official board games. I will spell these horibly wrong:

• wrath of ashardalon
  
• ravenloft
  
• drizt
  
• elemental evil
  
  I paid $65 CDN for ashardalon. you get 42 or so unpainted minis per board game, 5 of which are heroes. So if you bought all of them you get 20 heroes and 140 or so monsters. For reference a full brick is $280 for me, so this is way cheaper.
  
  Edit: link
  
  https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/0786955708/ref=pd_aw_lpo_21_bs_img_1?ie=UTF8&psc=1&refRID=P0B2CESWQAES8CEWZBTS

• Bohnanza
  
• Munchkins
  
• Set
  
• Fluxx
  
• Guillotine
  
• Bang
  
• Dixit (maybe takes up a bit more space?)
  
  And y'know. Cards Against Humanity, or maybe the more PC Apples to Apples...

This is the base Munchkin game. Expansions are sold separately, but they're in numerical order.

Might be worth getting a solder wick for when you inevitably screw up. Solder vacuum isn't a terrible idea either. I have both, I use them for different things. A third hand is also useful. I find myself using the glass more than the arms but it's all useful. If the iron you buy doesn't come with one a brass ball is great for keeping your tip clean without cooling it off like a sponge will. Micro-cutter is useful, not sure if angled or straight is better, up to you I guess. Last but not least a pair of angled tweezers. You can get those anywhere.

These are all the things I have within arm's reach when I'm doing a project. Have fun!

My advice is to pick up a soldering heat sink to clip onto the board so you don't damage other components while desoldering, and pick up a desoldering tool and some solder wick. I suggest trying to wick the solder first - I find it easier to work with than a solder sucker.

De-solder each through-hole individually and you should be able to get it out without damaging the rest of the board.

I sincerely doubt you'll be able to salvage the broken piece and TBH it isn't worth the trouble - parts are so cheap that you would be better off replacing it. Check out Mouser and Digikey. The laptop's user guide/literature should have the exact specifications for power-in. In my experience, Mouser is faster to ship. Also worth mentioning that both places sell soldering/desoldering tools.

Good luck!

If you can buy this Traxxas 50k from amazon

If you only want to buy one tube of lube, buy 50k. It's the same as weight 5 on SCS but you get more for the price.

If your just trying to find a lubricant for your speed cube. I think your better off with [traxxas 50k] (http://www.amazon.ca/Traxxas-5137-Differential-Oil-Weight/dp/B000BOLVFI). Traxxas is good and plus its 10$.

If your settle on getting silicone spray. I heard you should get CRC silcone spray.

Fear no more. There is a non macroing solution.

http://www.amazon.com/Drinking-Bird-4975-The-Famous/dp/B000JSGLBK/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1405527734&sr=8-1&keywords=drinking+bird

"Dipping birds" or more colloquially, "drinking birds". I found some on Amazon for reference.

http://www.amazon.com/Drinking-Bird-4975-The-Famous/dp/B000JSGLBK/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1416067852&sr=8-1&keywords=bird+water+drinker+mercury

https://www.amazon.ca/Westminster-4975-Famous-Drinking-Bird/dp/B000JSGLBK

​

/s

Probably Green Stuff.

https://www.amazon.com/Green-Stuff-Yellow-Epoxy-Putty/dp/B002MB61RQ

As far as I know, Reaper Miniatures.

Also, he uses "Green Stuff" Epoxy Putty to sculpt additions to miniatures.

My list would include a variation of games

Code Names - $16

Sushi Go - $10

7 Wonders - $26

Tsuro - $19

Castles of Burgundy - $27

Total: $98

Explanations:

First, I want to preface these selections: our play group varies in size from week to week with anywhere from 4-10 players averaging 5-6. So, we often get caught "splitting the party." That's fine at times, but sometimes, we all want to jump in on one game together because splitting up feels bad man^TM since we're all there to socialize in addition to playing games.

As such, I wanted to include games that ran the gamut and for the most part games that scaled well from 2-X players.

First, Code Names. Now, we've played this game so many times, we actually purchased the expansion Code Names Deep Cover which is a fun variant which adds tons of more playability. This is the go-to "party" game as, for our group, Cards Against Humanity has grown a bit stale. At least it hits the table much less frequently than in years past. Code Names is easy to teach, easy to understand and difficult enough for some of your more entrenched board gamers. In general, I find this a great starter to transition from your Milton Bradley games everyone knows (and hates) into board games that offer sustenance.

Secondly, I offer Sushi Go (cheating a bit here as you'll probably have to buy a couple copies for larger groups or just get Sushi Go Party). Sushi Go is our groups go-to game to introduce games that use a drafting mechanic and to teach that board games can be cute, fun, and delightful while also requiring strategy, maths, and a bit of hope (our group tends to dislike dice-rolling games so for the most part, we stick to games where we can mostly "control" our own fates - YMMV). This game is super quick, so you don't get bogged down at the table for hours. I feel for new board gamers, quicker games are a MUST as many people may not be able to handle the length many of our Beloveds require.

7 Wonders comes next. We tend to introduce this game right after Sushi Go as the mechanics are super similar and the newer players feel like they already know what's going on for the most part. There will be questions, there will be some confusion and oversight, but this game follows easily and feels like a natural step up from Sushi Go and gets players right into the mix of heartier board games. Oh, and I could personally play 7 Wonders every week, especially with all the options offered through the expansions Cities, Leaders, and Tower. The interchangeability of these expansions has kept this game on our table long past many others and continues to bring it back. Again though, YMMV as we all have different tastes.

Tsuro, our board game palatte cleanser. This is another quick game which offers a lot of replayabiliity with minimal rules learning. Aside from those positives, the artwork is what sent this board game over the top for me. I am mesmerized by the board, the tiles, and the pieces each time we open this. This game offers a quick break between your heavier meeple-laiden board games so even after we've surpassed "newb" status, we often come back to this.

Castles of Burgundy I included as a final game because ultimately, we need a game with a strong theme and wonderful mechanics which offer replayability from a more traditional Euro point of view. This game really surprised me. I loved it the first time we played it, and though it may not hit the table but once every other month due to time constraints, it always feels like reuniting with an old friend. It offers a setup for further Euro games and sets the scene on what's really out there in weightier board games. I know there could be other games that fit this description, but at the price, this game is amazing for what it offers.

And that's the list. I know there are many criticisms of these games and I don't devalue those. All my favorites have points in them where they fall a little flat at times, or don't elicit the enjoyment I thought they might, but many times, it's usually my perception and frame of mind. I can often come back months later with renewed enjoyment for them, so trust me, I know there are imperfections; I just choose to ignore them for the post. These games, while some may take a bit longer to learn, offer a great springboard into board games and offer the new player a slow wade into the pool without feeling too slow or drab as one might feel with something like Settlers of Catan. Will I stand by this opinion in 5 or 10 years? We'll see.

Use camelcamelcamel to set up e-mail notification for when the price drops again.

Yesterday, Amazon had boardgame deals. OP's link today was probably a regular price drop, which shot back up as people bought the game because the price was low.

On the e-mail notifications, you have to be quick because the price can shoot back up in minutes, because a lot of gamers user camelcamelcamel.

Buy whatever games you want, I own CAH and Munchkin too and I do not care if anyone hates a game I enjoy.

Recommended Essential Games:

• $28 Carcassonne
  
  
• $34 King of Tokyo
  
• $35 Las Vegas
  
• $39 Ticket to Ride
  
  Recommended Social Deduction Games:
  
  
• $14 Bang! The Dice Game
  
• $17 The Resistance
  
• $22 Sheriff of Notingham
  

I'm also gonna throw in on a boardgame, politics/pre-law is making me lean towards Secret Hitler even though I think The Resistance is a slightly better game. Or Werewolf is an excellent party game if you get more than 10 people together. All three are social deduction games which will let him practise his arguing and cross-examination skills :p

Oooh, I looooove board games. From what you're describing I feel like Ticket to Ride could work really well; there are a good amount of instructions but they're pretty easy to follow along with (it's mostly for scoring purposes).

For something way more light/fun, there's also Sushi Go! or Love Letter -- they're both card-based games that look deceptively simple but are never played the same way twice. My wildcard choice would be Carcassonne, which is definitely more of a hard sell -- you build a Medieval French town with picture tiles -- but I promise is really, really fun. Again, the scoring is where it gets slightly more complicated, and it can be intimidating-looking, but the game is really fantastic. Lots of strategy and luck needed, and it's a really unique experience.

Whatever this is for sounds like it'll be a lot of fun!

Did you know Amazon will donate a portion of every purchase if you shop by going to smile.amazon.com instead? Over $50,000,000 has been raised for charity - all you need to do is change the URL!

Here are your smile-ified links:

Love Letter

---

^^i'm ^^a ^^friendly bot

>Where is the best place to get them?

Amazon. Especially if you have Prime. For SOME kits. Obviously there can be better deals on other sites and in person, but for some kits they can be pretty good.

For instance, and although you didnt ask, my recommendation for the perfect beginer's kit - The HGUC RX-78-2 Revive

From the new series, the Barbados and Graze both have nice kits in 1/100 NG and 1/144 HG.

If you want the original Rx-78, this is a recent HG kit of it that ought to be good.

I am brand new to ball of this so I apologize for my ignorance. Just stumbled upon these and would really like to try my hand at this. Which would be a good model to start with? I kind of want to start with the original one but am open to options. I have never built any models before ever.

Also are there anything I need besides side clippers?

And if there are no hobby stores near by that sell them what are some good places online. Amazon seems to have some. Anywhere else with a bigger selection?

Thank you all in advance.

Edit: was looking at this one

> 1) what do you recomend to do?

I'd personally start with 5e, because it is a much more simplified system that allows for more aspects of role-playing, which is great for everyone - especially new players.

A nice start for new groups to DnD is a starter set. Here is a link to buy a starter set which comes with a 64-page adventure pre-made module book, a 32-page rule-book for playing characters level 1–5, 5 pregenerated characters, each with a character sheet and supporting reference material, and 6 dice. If you are playing 5e, you need the 5e books - the 3.5 books won't work for 5e, they are completely different games due to additional information added over each new edition.

I'd also recommend that you all sit down together in the same room, hook up a computer to a TV in the room, and watch some good DnD games to figure out what role-playing means, how DM's look in action, and how the game runs overall. Shows such as Critical-Role, or Acquisitions Incorporated are amazing.

Here is the playlsit for Critical Role on Youtube:

• Critical Role
  
  Here are the Acquisitions Incorporated games on Youtube:
  
  
• PAX East 2015
  
  
• PAX East 2014
  
  
• PAX Prime 2015
  
  
• PAX Prime 2014
  
  
• PAX Prime 2013
  
  
• PAX Penny Arcade Celebrity Game 2012
  
  
• PAX Penny Arcade Celebrity Game 2011
  
  
• PAX Penny Arcade Celebrity Game 2010
  
  > 2) what dices do we need to get either way?
  
  You each need a 7 set of DnD dice, and DM's do well to have some extra dice for faster group monster rolls. Plenty of bulk dice sellers on Amazon:
  
  
• Wiz Dice
  
  
• Dave's Dice
  
  
• Easy Roller Dice
  
  > 3) do we need to get board/minutures?
  
  You can if you want, it's a nice visual aid. I'd recommend to use a large table to play around, and then buy some battle mats which can be written on with wet erase markers. Mineratures are all over the place for sale, so just google them. Or if you don't want to spend a ton of money on physical maps, you could use a virutal set-up in an IRL game, like my party does. You can use Roll20 which hosts privtae game rooms with virtual tabletops on which you draw maps into and insert images. Plug a laptop into a huge TV, and boom, you have a giant virtual battle-mat to use during the game!
  
  Tons of other info on the sidebar of this subreddit, or just search the subreddit for other "starting DnD" posts, because there are a ton of them with good info.
  
  

This is an excellent deal on quality dice to get you started.

Here's a nice metal set at a good price, but need a rolling tray when using metal dice.

In addition to what others are saying about the SRD and basic rules versions being free to use, next month a gift set containing the core three books (Dungeon Master's Guide, Monster Manual, and Player's Handbook) along with some other goodies is coming out. It's a decent chunk of change, but if you guys decide you like the free version enough it might be something to save towards https://smile.amazon.com/Core-Rulebook-Gift-Wizards-Team/dp/0786966629 (or if you have a local gaming store sometimes they're cheaper there, and some are getting an exclusive version with some pretty sweet alt cover art). You can get a decent starter set of dice sets for pretty cheap, https://smile.amazon.com/Wiz-Dice-Bag-Devouring-Role-playing/dp/B01KP4T6TQ (20 complete 7 die sets for ~30 USD, might be a bit overkill for starting out) https://smile.amazon.com/Smartdealspro-Colors-Dungeons-Dragons-Pouches/dp/B01ABST9S4/ (5 complete 7 die sets for ~10 USD, might be a bit more reasonable)

The only Thing a player needs of their own to keep things "smooth" is a set of dice.

If I were you I'd go on amazon and buy a bulk set of dice

Both of these are cheap (even though they're not sexy) options for having enough dice at the table for everyone to share and everyone can have their own d20 instead of having to pass around 1 or two.

The PHB is less of an issue because you can turn the act of character creation into a group activity and for first time players that can be fun and efficient since everyone is learning at the same time.

Army painter is likely your best bet, and they have a relatively large kit (link below) and you're not going to get better than $2 per pot. Really as far as I know, the big names are really what you're looking at, and probably expect to pay between $2.50 and $5 a color. You can by other brands, but miniature paint is made for miniatures, and will turn out better than a store bought acrylic at michaels. P3, Vallejo, Citadel, Army painter, those are you big names.

https://www.amazon.com/Miniature-Painting-Wargamer-Regiment-Miniatures/dp/B01MTXRUUT/ref=sr_1_1_sspa?ie=UTF8&qid=1517982587&sr=8-1-spons&keywords=army+painter&psc=1&smid=AU2FNATHSFHNB

There's an updated version of that set with a few more paints that would look good for BB. https://www.amazon.com/Army-Painter-Warpaints-Mega-Paint/dp/B01MTXRUUT/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1488210258&sr=8-1&keywords=army+painter+set+iii

The Army Painter Miniature Painting Kit with Bonus Wargamer Regiment Miniature Paint Brush - Acrylic Model Paint Set with 50 Bottles of Non Toxic Model Paints - Mega Paint Set 3 https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01MTXRUUT/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_A9jWCbSM25CCW

Is a great set that I purchased when I got into 40k. It has a great selection of colors and washes so you’ll have everything you need to get started. Plus with all the options the set will grow with you as a painter. As you get more comfortable you can use what’s in there to expand into adding more advanced shades and highlights. As long as you remember to “thin your paints” it should last you awhile. If you want to get the most out of these or any paints I’d also recommend looking up how to make a wet pallet. It’s easy and makes a little paint go along way. Hope this helps.

Maximum bang for buck would be an Army Painter Mega Set. You can achieve basically anything with this selection. For varnish/mediums skip Amazon, just use the half-off daily coupon for a bottle of artist's medium/varnish (Liquitex, Golden, W&N, whatever) at Michael's/AC Moore/Hobby Lobby/whatever is local to you.

It's amazing what you can find on Amazon Prime. From rubber bands to advanced robotics, there's a vast plethora of items that you can have dumped on your doorstep the next day, all for absolutely free - Well, not really, there's a monthly subscription fee. But anyway, is Gunpla available on Prime? Well, not much, but yeah. The cheapest of which is the old HGUC RGM-79, the original GM from Mobile Suit Gundam, which you can swipe for a little over a tenner. However, this kit is not only classic in its design, but also as a kit - This comes from 2001, just ten years after High Grade was announced. It's certainly leaps ahead of its predecessors, but how does it stack up today?

In short: Reasonably well.

There's no skipping and dancing around the fact that this is a fairly dated model. But even so, it still looks alright, if quite simplistic. But you know what? It's anime accurate in that sense - MSG didn't have the high amount of detail found in IBO or Thunderbolt's linart, nor the slick CGI of The Origin. So the RGM-79 being such a slick and simple kit is very fitting for what it is. The overall shaping is very recogniseable, seeing as this GM model was based on the original Gundam, the RX-78-9. It differs however with much blockier arms and flatter kneepads, and of course a much more robotic head with that visor. As for the colours, the minty green blends unusually well with the bright Bandai red. Not so sure about the black sticker on the tummy though, or the fact that the ankle mechanics are also minty green.

In terms of construction, the RGM-79 is very simplistic, which is evident when you see just how small the kit's box is! You get two runners of plastic parts - one in multiple colours, another in the minty green - a runner of polycaps, and one lone sticker. These parts go together relatively easily, resulting in a figure which has just enough mobility;

• The head can rotate and tilt on a balljoint, but cannot look up and down that much at all.
  
• The shoulders can rotate forward, back and out on fixed dowels attached to the back upper torso piece - No swing-out polycap.
  
• There's a bicep cut, a single jointed elbow with a 90° bend, and balljoint wrists.
  
• The torso can pop upwards slightly to allow for tilting from side to side. It can also swivel at the waist.
  
• The side skirts and front skirt (yes, singular) can all swing out. The front skirt is quite limited, but you can get more range by popping the torso upwards.
  
• There is no thigh cut, but the hip joint is a balljoint with a decent range of motion.
  
• The double jointed knee provides a little over 90°.
  
• The ankles are on balljoints, with a fair amount of motion in all the required directions.
  
• The ankle guards can swivel up and down.
  
• The shield attaches to the arm via a dowel, but has a balljoint for positioning.
  
  Due to its simple construction, the model feels both lightweight but also very solid. While the mobility leaves a lot to be desired, it's still good enough for what this MS is - You can still attain some decent action poses if you so desire.
  
  One surprising aspect of the construction is the head - Two parts sandwich together, with one translucent part snapped onto the front part to provide the visor and camera. This means that the head is entirely hollow! This however is fine, as it's not too obvious. The lower legs are also ridiculously simplistic, simply consisting of two parts that sandwhich around a single polycap for the knee joint. The mechanism for the waist section is interesting, although it would've been nice to get an ab-crunch of some description too. Honestly the only really disappointing thing about this kit in terms of mobility is those shoulders. While the upper arm can move about as much as you'd like it to, the shoulders themselves feel very static. But honestly that's fine, as this isn't exactly an MS you're going to be putting into zany karate poses.
  
  One big thing I'll warn about with this kit is the beam saber - It's a toothpick. If you have a spare beam saber effect part however, you can easily mod a peg hole into the removable hilt from the GM's backpack, and give him some proper sharps.
  
  All in all, for its time this kit is pretty nice. It looks the business, and is honestly as poseable as it needs to be. Some may find it disappointing, but as it's a cheap, massable grunt suit, you can't really knock it. I'd certainly recommend the RGM-79 for anybody looking for a simple kit to pass the time with, but if you're looking for mobility I'd go for something newer - the HG Revive RX-78-2 perhaps?
  
  EDIT: Full disclosure - I am neither endoresed nor sponsored by Amazon. I just enjoy next-day delivery a bit too much, much to the dismay of my wallet.

Yep that's the one. Take a look at the bottom left corner for the production year. It's a classic, but they've since done an update. You'd love the following kits:

https://www.amazon.com/Bandai-Hobby-RX-78-2-Gundam-Revive/dp/B00WW4F8YA/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1486826778&sr=8-1&keywords=revive+gundam

https://www.amazon.com/Bandai-Hobby-RX-78-Gundam-Origin/dp/B014SCW9DQ/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1486826751&sr=8-1&keywords=origin+mg

I just finished up the HG RX-78-2 Revive and I think it's the perfect introductory build. Not too many parts and they fit together well. It was my second build and I had a lot of fun with it.

I bought the Bag of Holding with 20 complete sets when I started DM'ing again.

Gave the bag of devouring to one of my players for her birthday.

https://www.amazon.com/Wiz-Dice-Bag-Holding-Polyhedral/dp/B01476QV14/ref=sr_1_5?ie=UTF8&qid=1520722403&sr=8-5&keywords=bag+of+holding

https://www.amazon.com/Wiz-Dice-Bag-Devouring-Polyhedral/dp/B01KP4T6TQ/ref=pd_bxgy_21_2?_encoding=UTF8&pd_rd_i=B01KP4T6TQ&pd_rd_r=CPW9QQNV8BM67GYA17F5&pd_rd_w=kWJtV&pd_rd_wg=GIb1t&psc=1&refRID=CPW9QQNV8BM67GYA17F5

https://www.amazon.com/Wiz-Dice-Bag-Tricks-Role-playing/dp/B079DY4FKL/ref=pd_sim_21_1?_encoding=UTF8&pd_rd_i=B079DY4FKL&pd_rd_r=QZCFND2YDJC6SPXQ0JTW&pd_rd_w=g2esz&pd_rd_wg=nhf38&psc=1&refRID=QZCFND2YDJC6SPXQ0JTW

How do you not have enough dice?!?! Are you new to this?

Here, this will help. https://www.amazon.com/Wiz-Dice-Bag-Holding-Polyhedral/dp/B01476QV14

Wiz Dice actually has a "never" bag of holding, which contains 140 dice in 20 guaranteed complete sets.
amazon link

I saw some board games that are must haves for your shelf but it was cheaper at Amazon even after the discount:

• Codenames - $16.99 @ Target
  
• Codenames - $14.88 @ Amazon

Your two links will work. You're correct, it does seem very confusing. There's so many printings of Catan at this point, but the only major differences between 4th and 5th editions of the game is the artwork. Everything else is the same.

If you want a game that can include pretty much everybody at a lower price point, I would recommend Codenames. It plays from 4 up to pretty much unlimited and is a great casual game where people can chill and play as they see fit.

Heres a copy and paste of a previous comment I made

> I'm about to show you something amazing. You want to hang out with your friends and family and just have a great time playing games?

> Try board games! I know what you're thinking, "Monopoly is for kids!" That's ok we hate monopoly too!

> The world of board games has come so far since then.

> Give some of these games a try

> Ticket to Ride: A classic gateway game where you are trying to lay down tracks between cities.

> Pandemic: A co-op game where you and are friends are working together to fight diseases as they break out world wide!

> Resistance: If you like lying to your friends this game is for you! The resistance movement aims to overthrow the government, but there are spies among you aiming to sabotage your movement.

> Codenames: This game won the biggest board game award this year. It's a hilariously fun word relation game.

>These are all "gateway games" they are easy to play and understand. But most importantly they are fun! You can even get Ticket to Ride and Pandemic at some Walmarts!

I would add Cosmic Encounter as an amazing game too. Not too complicated but it is incredibly fun

$15 - Codenames is a great party game where you have to use one-word clues to communicate to your teammates which words you must guess in order to win. It's a race against time because both teams are trying to find all of their words first, but one word is an assassin, and by choosing it, your team loses immediately. It's creative and stressful. Really fun, for $15.

$33 - Ticket to Ride is a classic that lots of people love. It's relatively simple, and has up to five friends placing trains on tracks, trying to complete their routes around the US. It teaches quickly, has some opportunities to mess over other players, and is pretty and plays fast.

$30 - Splendor is a fast, strategic, card-buying game. Players take turns grabbing gems to eventually purchase cards, that act both as points and gems. It's great and hilarious in hindsight, because you realize everyone sat in utter silence for a half hour, because for some reason, Splendor makes people quietly brood and think and be silent. Occasionally, you might take the last gem someone else needed, and they burn inside, sometimes letting out a long, long sigh. It's a wonderful, pretty, well-produced game.

$22 - Sheriff of Nottingham is a 3-5 player, bluffing, negotiation game. Players try to get chickens and apples into town, while smuggling extra goods and contraband. Player rotate as the sheriff, and must be bribed with goods or coins, because if the sheriff decides to check their bag, and they lied about the contents, that player loses what they lied about. It's sweat-inducing, and makes for lots of riotous laughter and shouting. Also beautiful and easy to learn. Great game.

Join us over on /r/boardgames because that's where I learned a lot about modern board gaming. It's an amazing hobby that's growing quickly.

Amazon has it for 6.99 as well:

https://www.amazon.com/Czech-Games-00031CGE-Codenames/dp/B014Q1XX9S

Have you heard about Codenames?

It's a pretty new game but has become very popular in a very short time. The fact that BGG (which is not known for appreciating casual games) has it as the #20 board game overall, and #1 party game, is a testament to how good the game is. Or you can check out the Amazon page for more reviews (4.8 out of 5 stars with 800 reviews) and answers to some questions.

Even if the 5 year old can't read yet, they can join in the discussion about whether a word would fit or not, so I think it's something everyone can enjoy.

> Let's have some holiday tips!

My plan is to focus on the people and not food. I'm hoping to get a lot of visiting in and play some family games. I bought a game called Codenames, which is supposed to be really fun according to reviews. A few other fun games we play are Phase 10, Farkle, and Bananagrams.

Have a great day!

Hi there! I just introduced my family to D&D over the weekend as well. Let me answer your questions.

Truthfully, everything you need can be found online. The D&D starter rules (for both playing and DMing) can both be found on Wizard's website. Others will recommend the Starter Edition, which is great place to start mind you, but the adventure is definitely not a one-shot. It can take up to 3-4 sessions to complete it.

Because of this, I opted to create my own one-shot adventure and I watched Matthew Colville's wonderful intro to DMing guide on Youtube. It's actually a lot easier than you think. For a one-shot all you need are at least 5 encounters; puzzle, trap, combat, dialogue/story, final boss. Put it in a dungeon; keep it simple. Dungeonographer is a wonderful program to help you maps and interior locations.

If you keep your adventure simple, DMing is very straightforward. Set the story and the adventure hook (why is your party going on a quest/adventure), lay down some breadcrumbs that lead them onward, and manage the experience. Remember that players roll the D20 for just about everything, but feel free to throw your own flair as well. For instance, I often had my family roll "luck" to see how fortunate they were in certain circumstances. Specifically, the party was fleeing from town and my father was like, "There's gotta be boats at the dock, let's go!" And I tell him to roll a D20 to see how fortunate they were to find one (or if one was actually there). I made up the chances (based on the story) and the outcome was up to the roll.

The guides obviously will break everything down in very good detail, but what helped me feel more comfortable DMing was to prepare some additional materials.

• Printed out documentation of the adventure script (what's going on, what's happening) and things that you will say at key moments (location description, etc.). I included different kinds of checks that players can do at certain areas (e.g., Investigation, History, or Intelligence checks).
  
  
• Create a Bestiary that contains all of the monsters and npcs players will encounter. Include all information about stats, attacks, etc. This will save you time so you don't have to look into a book for this information.
  
  
• Create simple maps in dungeonographer to help your players feel a sense of presence.
  
  Check out the video link I posted earlier. It really helped.
  
  Oh, and I ordered 5 sets of dice from here. $9.99 for the lot. Great price!

Here dude I'll get a link from Amazon and edit this comment for you to get some good cheap dice

Here you are: https://www.amazon.com/Smartdealspro-Colors-Dungeons-Dragons-Pouches/dp/B01ABST9S4/ref=mp_s_a_1_8?keywords=dice&qid=1569179055&s=gateway&sr=8-8

And here's another: https://www.amazon.com/Assorted-Polyhedral-Drawstring-Complete-Dungeons/dp/B074WPY4ZM/ref=mp_s_a_1_12?keywords=dice&qid=1569179055&s=gateway&sr=8-12

I love playing tabletop RPGs! I got hooked when I was around 8 or 9 years old when my dad took me over to his friend's house, handed me a character sheet, a pencil, and a set of dice and we continued a game that had been going on since the 80's. It was my dad, his friend (dm'ing), my uncle, another adult, my dad's friend's son, and myself. Been playing ever since. I have a little bit of a problem when it comes to dice and can never have enough!

u/fairypants Get your Trekkie Self in here!

amazon has 5 sets of dice for $10

This set is five sets for $10. It even comes with five dice bags. They look really nice and I can personally attest to their quality because I use them all the time.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B01ABST9S4/ref=mp_s_a_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1524512869&sr=1-1&pi=AC_SX236_SY340_QL65&dpPl=1&dpID=51TLq9O7vtL&ref=plSrch

This is what I went with. The dice are fine quality and they come with individual baggies if you want to play with friends and loan out some dice to them. Maybe they chip in a buck or two and it only costs you like $5 or less for your set. Though I don't know the shipping rates to you.

If price is an issue, don't go with chessex. It's not worth it.

Amazon has a bulk buy of polyhedral dice for like 10 bucks I think. I believe it comes with like 5 color coded sets

​

https://www.amazon.com/d/Role-Playing-Dice/Smartdealspro-Colors-Dungeons-Dragons-Pouches/B01ABST9S4/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1551029473&sr=8-3&keywords=dice+set+d%26d

If you’re looking to get a lot of quality paints quickly at a good price, I cannot recommend Army Painter’s Mega Bundle enough.

https://www.amazon.com/Miniature-Painting-Wargamer-Regiment-Miniatures/dp/B01MTXRUUT

you can do a lot with very few paints. until last week i used only paints from this set: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B007SQ3C18/ref=dp_cerb_2

but now i've indulged a bit and got this one: https://www.amazon.com/Miniature-Painting-Bonus-Wargamer-Regiment/dp/B01MTXRUUT/ref=pd_day0_hl_21_1?_encoding=UTF8&pd_rd_i=B01MTXRUUT&pd_rd_r=d61c3069-2acb-11e9-b05b-55823f4364c8&pd_rd_w=FkZNS&pd_rd_wg=VymzG&pf_rd_p=ad07871c-e646-4161-82c7-5ed0d4c85b07&pf_rd_r=MZSV80GDBD3S4TVVGN2K&psc=1&refRID=MZSV80GDBD3S4TVVGN2K

If you’re planning on painting becoming something you do, I think the best value is this set of 50 paints for $94: https://www.amazon.com/Miniature-Painting-Bonus-Wargamer-Regiment/dp/B01MTXRUUT . The paint quality is similar to GW’s paints but you get a LOT more for your money (the dropper bottles hold almost twice as much paint as a GW paint pot, and cost about 1/3 as much). And it’s half the price of Vallejo’s mega paint set.

For a cheaper option, https://www.amazon.com/Miniatures-Highlighting-Miniature-Army-Painter/dp/B01MTXRU2L is less than $30, but you only get 10 paints. But again, a better deal than GW’s paints - GW has a deal for $40 for 11 small paint pots versus $28 for 10 larger dropper bottles from army painter.

But if you can afford to get the 50 paint set from Army Painter, I’d spring for that - the paints cover a wide variety of colors and options (including washes and metallics) and will last you for years.

A few things are going sideways here.

​

First of all, you don't need every paint. You just don't. Even if you want all the colors, there are other paint companies, I'll link a few. Everyone has their own opinons, of course, on the quality of the various paints. These still range from 1-200 dollars for the paints, but still, a far cry less then you must be paying GW.

​

https://www.amazon.com/Miniature-Painting-Bonus-Wargamer-Regiment/dp/B01MTXRUUT?ref_=bl_dp_s_web_7513501011

​

https://www.amazon.com/Reaper-Master-Bones-Paint-Complete/dp/B01NAEA1YC/ref=sr_1_5?ie=UTF8&qid=1540331060&sr=8-5&keywords=reaper+paint+set&dpID=51wdGAzIDyL&preST=_SX300_QL70_&dpSrc=srch

​

https://www.amazon.com/Vallejo-Game-Color-Basic-Paint/dp/B009LH0YTA/ref=sr_1_8?ie=UTF8&qid=1540331110&sr=8-8&keywords=reaper+paint+set

​

In addition, you can get all the brushes you'll need, in good quality, here

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00HC8H4EI/ref=sxts_kp_tr_2?pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_p=8778bc68-27e7-403f-8460-de48b6e788fb&pd_rd_wg=hHPTk&pf_rd_r=0GT4KSMPYRA7JT2FMDYE&pf_rd_s=desktop-sx-top-slot&pf_rd_t=301&pd_rd_i=B00HC8H4EI&pd_rd_w=fbRI0&pf_rd_i=army+painter+brush+set&pd_rd_r=52c35bd8-add2-476d-9143-b6dcc068755e&ie=UTF8&qid=1540331250&sr=2

​

If you go for the Army Painter large Paint set, the Army Painter Brush Set, and get Dark Imperium for around 135.00 on Ebay or Amazon, you are looking at 270.00. You can find pretty much every tool that Citadel sells much cheaper elsewhere in the off brand. I don't even use a scraper for example, I use files and cheap craft knife.

Welcome to the hobby and this great game!


As for beginner painting resources, I highly recommend Mike Meeple's "Painting Poorly" series:
https://mikemeeple.blogspot.com/p/blog-page_16.html

He does a great job of breaking down the steps and his guides are very easy to follow. As an added bonus, he focuses on painting using less expensive materials and showing that you can get quality results without needing to spend a ton of money on paints, brushes, etc.


As for "best starting paint set" - there are a lot of different answers depending on the specific of your situation. For example, what colors do you plan on using? Do you already have brushes, or do you need brushes? Some paint sets include brushes (although they usually aren't very high quality).
When I first started, I was gifted this set from The Army Painter:
https://www.amazon.com/Miniature-Painting-Bonus-Wargamer-Regiment/dp/B01MTXRUUT
I've been very happy with it. But I've used maybe half of the paints in the set, so that's probably overkill.
It really depends on your goals, and how much you're comfortable spending. You can certainly make a ton of progress without nearly as much investment as that set.


The biggest beginner mistake I would caution against is not thinning your paints. If you use paints straight from the pot, it will be very thick and you'll end up obscuring a lot of the finer details on your models. So thin your paints (I just use water, but there are specialty thinning mediums that some people like to use). And take your time! Try to enjoy the process. Not everyone enjoys painting their models, but I find that it's a great way to relax at the end of the day. Don't put too much pressure on yourself to make your models look perfect. Take a slow, and as you practice you'll become more confident and you'll be able to paint more models more quickly.


Disclaimer - I am by no means an "expert" painter. But hopefully my comment is helpful.
Side note - I recommend joining the "A Song of Ice and Fire: Tabletop Wargamers" Discord server. There are a lot of really helpful people on there who are great at answering rules questions, giving painting tips, and discussing game tactics.

Thanks! I was overwhelmed too, so I started by watching some videos on YouTube and whatnot. I ended up getting this set:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01MTXRUUT/

​

This feels like pretty good value to me, and has a ton of colors to pick from. It also has premade washes for shading, metallic paint, and blood/dirt effect paint so it has worked super well for Gloomhaven stuff.

If you don't wanna buy the Traxxas 50k at a hobby store you can get a 2oz bottle (60cc) for about $7 which is cheap.

https://www.amazon.com/Traxxas-5137-Differential-Oil-Weight/dp/B000BOLVFI

Since you have all the different "weights" I can tell you will need to test them to see which one matches your style, then after that naturally you will be narrowed down to a few lubricants maybe even 2-3, as you will see what fits or doesn't. Traxxas lubricants are cheap and the standard bottle is 60cc for about $7 on Amazon and $5 to a online hobby store I use. However cubicle lubricants are still useful but if you need a wallet friendly alternative then Traxxas is the way to go. However I always recommend a bottle of 50k around you it's pretty much universal. Alot of people just lube the core of their cube with 50k, lube 4x4's with 50k (when you break it in it feels amazing), and 2x2's.

30k, and 50k and some thin weights is all you ever honestly need and since your getting Lubicle Speedy, you won't need 10k, but yea. Goodluck

That's my 2 cents.

Traxxas 50k is one of the most common differential oils that is used on cubes. Lubix is a differential oil with a huge markup. You don't need much lube at all to get one properly lubed. CBC did a video on how to lube a cube, it's a Zhanchi but you can apply the same thing to all cubes.

No, this is what many people use for cubes. It works great and it is a lot less expensive than other lubes. It is meant for plastic parts on RC cars, so it is completely silicone based. This weight is not reasonable for cubes, so many people use 50k weight. You can get some here.

Edit: Also, the 500k is going to be extremely viscous, don't use it for cubes. This person is doing it for fun, not to improve their cube.

Both can be great cubes. What is your preference? The Shuang Ren is a much dryer, faster feeling cube, while the AoLong is a smooth, clicky feeling puzzle. Performance wise, the AoLong is a better cube, but a Shuang Ren is better for people who prefer a cube that feels slightly more stable.

Oh, and for lube, Traxxas 50k weight Differential oil. Buy a syringe like this one and use it to apply the lube. Hope I helped!



Edit: You may want to visit this page to consider other possible options. There's a world of cubes out there.

I personally only use Traxxas 50k, I got a medium sized bottle a couple years ago, and haven't even used half of it. Really good, makes cubes smooth, and was great on my GTS2M
https://www.amazon.com/Traxxas-5137-Differential-Oil-Weight/dp/B000BOLVFI/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1504210494&sr=8-1&keywords=traxxas+50k

Would this be a loophole https://www.amazon.com/American-Science-Surplus-4975-Drinking/dp/B000JSGLBK ?

Your're welcome...

You might want to put a tiny thruster mod on his head to speed refreshes.

Yep. I think I need one of these to handle the deleting for me.

Think it's still missing a cartoon one of these... http://www.amazon.com/Drinking-Bird-4975-The-Famous/dp/B000JSGLBK

Hmm, had no idea it was worth banning. Luckily my reddit account isn't linked to my Eve account!

I'll upgrade to one of these.

http://www.amazon.com/Drinking-Bird-4975-The-Famous/dp/B000JSGLBK

Rock it Homer Simpson style.

http://www.amazon.com/Drinking-Bird-4975-The-Famous/dp/B000JSGLBK/ref=sr_1_1?s=toys-and-games&ie=UTF8&qid=1451418641&sr=1-1&keywords=drinking+bird

https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B008J5551M/

https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B000JSGLBK/

https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B000239E6Q/

There are entire websites/blogs devoted to science toys.

Sometimes something as simple as a pair of large superstrong magnets makes a lovely Christmas gift for a responsible boy or girl. http://unitednuclear.com/index.php

You should try Dominion too (if you want more tabletops to consider). It's really fun, and it's easy to get new people into it.

Also, what cider?

Hahaha yeah. I discovered Dominion last year. I now own every expansion and have made my own custom wood-burned box to store everything. That's a whole different post, though. :-)

Edit: Just realized you might be referring to League of Legends, like /u/LeeeSin was - I was talking about the Dominion card game.

http://www.amazon.com/Rio-Grande-Games-RGG370-Dominion/dp/B001JQY6K4

http://www.amazon.com/Rio-Grande-Games-RGG422-Dominion/dp/B003YXZB22

There are a lot of good options. I enjoy all of these with 2 players, and all except 7 Wonders Duel scale well with more players. Just pick 3 that are close in price to maximize the deal.

Castles of Burgundy $29

Dominion $30

7 Wonders Duel $24

San Juan $26

Carcassonne $21

Here are a couple of options I have been enjoying:

Betrayal

Small World

Power Grid

Dominion

Most of these are slightly out of your price range, but you get what you pay for. If you are willing to spend slightly more, you open up a whole new world of possibilities.

If you do want to stick to cheaper options, Fluxx or Exploding Kittens is always a good, fun choice.

Dead of Winter is a great game, takes quite a while to set up though, and maybe not really a game that you can play casually.
Dominion is more of a card game, but there are many expansions.
Following the card game theme, you also have Legendary. Both Legendary and Dominion are deck building games, Legendary is Marvel themed and I believe have other versions/expansions.
Superfight is a debating game, I really enjoy playing this with a lot of people, I got into an hour debate with my dad over who would win in a fight, a samurai, or a 7 member boy band.

I have some more recommendations that just aren't coming to mind right now. If you want to know more about a particular game, feel free to PM me. I really love Board games.

This is what I use for my customs.



Example



It's really sturdy & you can even get long/thin/sharp details without worrying about them breaking off.



Look up some tutorials & be sure to play around with it.



Haven't used it but a lot of people say "Green Stuff" is good too.



Just whatever you do, stay away from any air/bake dry clays I've yet to see any custom using those turn out decent.

First of all anything I say here are not absolutes and do have substitutes. Each painter has their own way of doing things. This is just my take.

Prepare Your Mini for Painting

Before you do any paint first you need to sand/trim, assemble, fill gaps, and prime your miniature. When you sand/trim your mini you are removing mold lines and areas that don't mesh well with the minis surface, your trying to get everything even. You can use an exacto-knife and files for this. Once you have all the pieces so that they fit together well next you need to assemble your mini. Take the time to dry fit everything before gluing to make sure it all fits together. The type of glue you use depends on what the mini is made of and preference. For plastic, I tend to use super glue 90% of the time since plasti-weld (a chemical that melts the plastic together) doesnt seem to make the joint any stronger, though I could be using the wrong type. You can also pin the mini joints together for added strength. After your mini is assemble now we need to fill those gaps that can ruin a great paint job, I see it all the time and it makes me sad. There are many different types of putty that you can use but I go for green stuff. I mix 1:1, yellow to blue, and using a damp toothpick I wet my hands and smoosh it into gaps until it seems filled. This can be hard to tell sometimes since you cant get a sense of depth. If you want to make sure I will usually brush on some Gesso and check to see if it even. Finally we can prime our miniature. This is required or acrylic paint wont stick to the plastic. Application can be done via airbrush, rattle can, or brush. Since I haven't done much with a brush, but FYI you can use the Gesso above also for priming, and I cant assume everybody has an airbrush I will talk about the cheaper option, rattle can or spray paint. There are many available like those made for miniatures (though I don't think they have a real difference), and brands like Rustoleum and Krylon. Make sure you get a can that is for just priming and not the "prime and paint" type and is for indoor/outdoor use, sometimes the outdoor only stuff can be a bit thick. The brand doesn't matter as much as when and how you apply it. Humidity and temperature are Very important when priming a miniature, if it is to hot and dry the paint will crack and to humid you can get dripping and that terrible fuzzy look. Make sure you read and FOLLOW the directions on the can. When applying the paint do wide sweeps across the miniature with a constant spray. Keep the sprays short and the motion consistent.

Painting

Now you are at the fun part. Again, there are different mediums to paint in, oil, acrylic, pigment. Acrylic is a good place to start. The brand of paint you use is really up to you. You can go to a hobby or art store to get these paints. Don't get the paints that are to cheap the results are not good. Blick is a good store to visit because mini painting is an art that uses artistic mediums. That is what Blick is all about and you will get a wide range of brands there, you don't have to use the mini makers brands. Brushes are very important and if you get the cheapest kind you'll find that they tend to fray and leave little bits of bristles on your mini. For starters stick with the mid range synthetic ones and take care of them, theyll last awhile if you do. Make sure you wash them in your water pot (just a jar of water) often so that the paint doesn't dry on them and clean them every so often. So when you sit done with your brush and begin make sure you thin your paints or they will end up thick and goopy. You can thin with distilled water or you can use an acrylic medium. There are many special mediums but the most useful ones are matte and glaze medium and are used for different painting techniques. Always give your paint time to dry before applying more or youll mess up the prior coat and things will look rough.

Sealing

After you are done painting and have let your mini dry for a few days its now time to seal and protect it by giving it a few coats of finish. This will keep scratches away from your wonderful paint job. Application and selecting is similar to picking a primer but there are 2 options, gloss and matte. Think about what type of finish you want. Most go for matte and some use a mix but few do only a gloss finish.

Stripping

So you messed up. What now? Well you can strip the paint off and try again but you got to be careful here because this process can make the mini brittle. A common used item is Simple Green. Though it does a good job on the acrylic paint it will not remove the primer very easily. To do that I have found Super Clean to work best. But do note, only soak a mini 10 minutes at a time sink Super Clean works by sucking the moisture out of the paint, and the mini. So do a 10 minutes soak, then take a toothbrush and try to brush off the paint, then return to the solution and repeat.

Just shorten the link next time - just use [ ] ( )

Try green stuff:

http://www.amazon.com/Green-Stuff-Yellow-Epoxy-Putty/dp/B002MB61RQ

It's literally called Green Stuff!

Almost all of these are $15 and under (plus shipping):

Best value:

• Love Letter Factory Edition - recommend over aeg edition for the minister card
  
• Set and/or Swish - i might give swish the edge due to the ability to dial in the difficulty
  
• Coup
  
• Make your own Skull set with blank coasters and day of the dead temporary tattoos
  
• Forbidden Island - recommending over forbidden desert because scuffed tiles can spoil forbidden desert
  
  2 only:
  
  
• Cribbage
  
• What's My Word - you only need the refill pads, the rules can be read online
  
• Star Realms
  
  The 2-3 player weird spot (it's harder to find games good at this player count):
  
  
• Wurfel Bohnanza - dice! but no one will accuse you of gambling with bean dice
  
• Haggis
  
  Great with 4:
  
  
• Hanabi
  
• Sushi Go!
  
• No Thanks!
  
• Tichu - can be played with a standard deck plus four marked-up jokers
  
  Great for 5+:
  
  
• Bohnanza
  
• 6 nimmt!
  

• Forbidden Island for $15.29, co-op game
  
• We Didn't Playtest This At All for $12.79, funny filler game
  
• Bohnanza for $14.83, strategic trading game
  
• Bezzerwizzer for $11.00, fun trivia game
  
• Jungle Speed for $12.45, crazy pattern recognition dexterity game
  
  You're pretty wide open for recommendations, so I'm not sure how to steer you to any of these.

So ... there are a lot of different Dungeons and Dragons. There's the tabletop game which started it all (pen and paper and dice - you can read about its long and storied history here).

There's a ton of video games from various eras ranging from I think the late 80s, early 90s to present day, including Dungeons and Dragons Online (don't know if that's still up or not).

You can go to GOG.com and find a lot of D&D computer games (and there have been console releases of some of them); Neverwinter Nights and Baldur's Gate are a couple of the D&D computer games.

There also have been several D&D board games to choose from.

So ... as to what you need to start playing, it depends which one!

The D&D board games are actually really good for 1-5 players, it's short campaigns no DM needed.

If you think you might be willing to play something D&D-like that involves significantly less commitment, you could buy him one of the D&D board game products, such as the Legend of Drizzt or Castle Ravenloft. They're pretty easy to learn to play as you go, and a game can be completed in about an hour and a half.

An advantage to those products is that they come with a bunch of nice miniatures which are suitable for use in regular D&D. The interlocking tiles could also be used to build dungeon complexes which could be used in a real D&D game as well.

I buy video games and board games mostly. Since I have started I have bought

Guild Wars 2


Fall of Cybertron


Borderlands 2


Ravenloft Board Game


Lord of the Rings: the living card game


Wife is pregnant so I am using only beer money to buy the fun stuff right now. Putting my normal "fun shit" monthly portion of my pay check towards baby stuff now.

The board games, while based on 4th edition, are super basic and very easy. I sometimes use them to introduce people to the game since it feels less nerdy, as little set up time, looks great and is easy to learn.

Here they are:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0786955570/ref=ox_sc_act_image_1?ie=UTF8&psc=1&smid=AAE5SU76RYVA

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0786955708/ref=ox_sc_act_image_4?ie=UTF8&psc=1&smid=A1JIUYKA8QS5H6

There is also a Drizzt one of the same type, and a slightly newer but less cool looking imo temple of elemental evil one.

I would buy a D&D board game like Wrath of Ashardalon (there are a handful of others) which comes with pretty good quality miniatures, about 30ish that are all "useful" in D&D and are great to practice on. There are some 25-30mm ones that come in batches (like 3-4 goblins) that are identical, but there are also larger minis like drakes and of course, Ashardalon the dragon. Can't beat it for the money.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/0786955708/ref=cm_sw_r_other_apa_i_Nt2sDbZ4X21J0

This one is the actual Wrath of Ashardalon, but there's also a Ravenloft one, a Drizzt one and one based on the Tomb of Annihilation. Possibly others. Can't beat the mini selection for the price. You could probably find a used one on eBay for cheaper!

Good luck and have fun!

If you've got Amazon Prime you can get the Magic the Gathering board game for ten bucks. The minis aren't amazing and most aren't painted but you get a total of 35 figures for just $10. You can do the same thing with the official D&D board games. They are more expensive but are specifically geared for D&D. All of these minis are really only good for enemies to put on the board instead of being used as PC's though. Hope this helps and I hope your club is an amazing success!

The lost mines of phandelver that comes in the starter set is the best first adventure.

As for miniatures your best bet is places like eBay. My wife and i bought all the dnd board games such as

They are a bit pricy but include a ton of figures including large and mediums. They are unpainted, but a decent price per figure as well as some tokens, tiles, etc. they are stand alone games based on dnd, but the figures are to scale and the same models as many painted figures and there are like 4 or 5 themes so you can find one you like.

There's also the board game line, such as Wrath of Ashardalon.

The nice thing about those is that no one is the DM.

Very true. I recommend you try the Wrath of Ashardalon board game.

Okay, you asked for it. Please don't read this story if you're a vegetarian.

The first time I was an indentured worker, I was 17 and sometimes worked on a ranch in the deserts of Utah (long story, I won't bore you). The ranch at which I worked was very big; it was home to at least 350 horses, some tame, some wild; 40 or so chickens; 25 buffalo; and around 75 Texas Longhorn Cattle. Our task, this blazing hot, summer Utah day, was to "de-horn" the Texas Longhorn males so that they didn't accidentally wound or kill each other with their giant, sharp horns, when living together in close quarters.

We were told that cutting the horns was similar to clipping the nails of any other animal- it wouldn't hurt unless you reached the hyponychium (also known as the quick of the nail). Though it wouldn't hurt them, we had to shoot a decent amount of a tranquilizer into their hinds because we were pretty much taking a circular saw to the sides of their heads, causing scary vibrations and sound. No one who was with us, aside from the ranch owner, had ever dehorned cattle before.

The cattle were led into a holder/pen by use of a cattle prod (usually the threat of the prod was enough to get them to go where we wanted). After that, we'd give them the sedative, and wait for it to kick in by roping thier head into place and putting a bull ring into their nose to keep their heads steady. We then took the circular saw to their horns and cut them off. Easy right? Not exactly. What we weren't told is that if cut anywhere, even above the quick, the horn would spew blood everywhere-the sprays of blood sometimes reached up to 8 feet away. It wasn't long before we were covered. When the blood was shooting out we had to quickly put flour on our hands, pack it into the capilaries in the horn, and then once the bleeding stopped, cauderize the horn. By the end of the day, we were covered from head to toe in the blood of around 35 steer. Often, when we opened the pen to let them out, they'd just take a few steps and fall asleep, causing us to have to drag them out of the way of the others, some of whom, when sedated, ran around like Hunter S Thompson.


Cool story bro

I first have to say how beautiful you are! And also, thank you for the contest!

Gift One: I love the anime Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood and just got Collection One for my birthday so I would just love to get Collection Two to complete the series!

Gift Two: This gift is the game Munchkin by Steve Jackson Games. I've been wanting to play this game for a while now and would really appreciate getting it! :D

Thanks again for being amazing people!

1. This external hard drive my computer only has 250GB and most of it is filled up so this would go a long way.
   
   
2. I wanted to play Munchkin for a while now it looks like an awesome game C'mon...gimme.
   
   You both are awesome :)

Get a Mega Memory Card, it will let you save externally for when the time comes.
http://www.amazon.com/MEGA-MEMORY-CARD-Game-Boy-Color/dp/B00002R108/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1371872964&sr=8-1&keywords=Mega+Memory+Card+gameboy

Some games store their saves in non volatile ram so they will last forever. Pokémon Crystal, silver, and gold all store your game saves in ram and there is battery that powers the ram chip and the game clock. Peoples batteries have been dying for years now. Mine died about 2 years ago. Interestingly when your plying the game it doesn’t use any battery power because the cartridge is powered by you game boy. So people who played all the time had their battery last longer. The first sign that your battery is dying is that the game forgets what time it is when you turn it off.

The battery in the cartridge is fairly easy to replace but disconnecting the old battery will also delete your save. I would recommend buying this thing from Amazon that allows you to backup your saves into something that doesn’t have a stupid battery that will die. Don’t believe me? Google it.

Battery could still be good - and if it is, he can back up his original save with this:

https://www.amazon.com/Mega-Memory-Card/dp/B00002R108

Have a look at Mega Memory Card, that’s a device that can have 100 saves in it

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00002R108/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_awdb_t1_RkANDb10XW020

Here is an example, this is US example that works with everything, but pretty sure you ll find some in the EU

Mega Memory Card - https://www.amazon.com/Mega-Memory-Card/dp/B00002R108

there kind of expensive because there used in the chiptune scene, and by pokemon players

another option is the Monster Brain - https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000056HGE

seems to have solid reviews!

back up all your color game saves.

Here is one. I forgot how expensive it is, but you can have multiple files per game.

They sell things like this: Memory Card. Also BennVenns Joey Bags.

Well, if you can use the lab and it has a scope in it then you just scored big time.

As far as $100. I would get:

(amazon links for convenience, use any supplier you wish)

• DMM (digital multimeter) - must have diode check, DC volts, AC volts, Ohms, and continuity. Extech EX330 ($50) or Equus 3320 ($20)
  
  
• clip leads for the meter such as these - these are important because you will need to take values while the amp is on, and you don't want to be poking around a live amp
  
  
• variable power/temp soldering iron - cheap one good one better one
  
  
• 60/40 leaded solder - I like this kind
  
  
• desolder braid
  
  
• rosin flux
  
  
• contact cleaner
  
  
• (de-oxit d-5)[http://www.amazon.com/Hosa-D5S6-Deoxit-Contact-Cleaner/dp/B00006LVEU/]
  
  
• flush cutters
  
  
• solder sucker
  
  
• shrink tube of various diameters
  
  
• 92%+ isopropyl alcohol
  
  
• windex
  
  
• q-tips
  
  
• paper towels
  
  
• needle nose pliers
  
  
• nice set of phillips head screwdrivers
  
  
• standard screwdriver
  
  
• miner's headlamp
  
  
• digital camera for taking many many pictures before and during disassembly
  
  
• printer for printing service manuals
  
  
• heat gunor hair dryer
  
  
• canned air
  
  
  EDIT: Light bulb socket, 100W + 60W real light bulbs (not the hippy engery saving kind), electrical outlet - these are for making a dim bulb tester.
  
  All I can think of right now.

Maybe, maybe not. Get a solder sucker. Something like this:https://www.amazon.com/Elenco-060820-Solder-Sucker-desoldering/dp/B0002KRAAG?ie=UTF8&*Version*=1&*entries*=0 Heat up the blobbers and suck them off and redo them.

Simplest way to solder is to touch the tip so it contacts the PCB connection and the component lead for a couple seconds and then lightly touch the tip of the spool of solder to that point, it will flow right on to both points, or touch the solder to the tip of the iron right above that point and the solder will flow down onto the connection, leave the tip there for a second or two and then remove it. It should cool and leave a shiny solder joint. If it's kind of murky grey like a lot of those on your PCB, the solder wasn't hot enough when you removed the heat.

Getting a tip that has a small point is super helpful. A decent soldering iron makes everything so much easier as well. https://gokimco.com/weller-wlc100-40-watt-hobbyist-solder-station.html?gdffi=a2b2595eeb2e44a8bc2e332d298712bc&gdfms=EE997BA12347416BA1AEAC65CC33CFA0&gclid=CNXf4euHiM0CFUpZhgodW2kIkg This is a good cheap one. The ones that are like 25 bucks from Radioshack are garbage.

Well, first your going to need to get a Solder Sucker of some variety, there are many out there, some cheap ones all the way up to very expensive vacuum powered rework stations. Recovery is going to be little more difficult, can I ask why you're trying to recover the solder?

Do you mean your going to attempt to reuse it?

Even if you do collect all the solder you "suck" that solder will be "dead". It won't have any flux in it, and you really won't be able to work with it again. Even doing little bits of rework or repair I usually completely clean the connection and go with new fluxcore solder else dope the area with flux before attempting any work.

Try a solder sucker

Use a decent soldering iron and get one of these. Proceed carefully, don't rip up the pads, and keep the temperature as low as possible (while still melting the solder). Desoldering can be tedious, but you'll get there.

And no---no cool down necessary. So long as your iron isn't blazing hot, the PCB plastic can take it.

This is my go to list for what you need for soldering:


hakko soldering iron w/ diagonal cutters $91

hakko diagonal cutters $4.37

solder $7

solder sucker $6

solder flux $8 check digikey

solder wick $7 check digikey

wire strippers $10

helping hands $7 check harbor freight

check for lower price

One of the hakko clone stations paired with some genuine hakko tips is probably a good compromise on price/value. Maybe someone else that's from the UK could suggest something different that's also affordable there.

I'd recommend Traxxas 50k You can usually get it for pretty cheap at a local Hobby RC store or here on amazon

7 wonders plays to 7 players with a few expansions making it play to 8. It is a quick game to play and the time to play actually does not increase with more players. I'd say 45 minutes for 8 players is about right.

It is pretty easy to explain, with a lot of different strategies available, some of which aren't even obvious your first 5 times playing. You'll see one strategy dominate, then you'll all try that same strategy next game only to find the reason it dominated was because no one else was going for it.

It's a drafting game. You have a hand of, say, 10 cards. From that, you pick one of them that you can play, and pass the remaining 9 to your left (or right depending). Everyone reveals what card they picked and show they can actually play it, then you pick one from the 9 remaining...etc. You do this for 3 'ages'.

Setup consists of shuffling 3 decks of cards and dealing X to each player (depending on # of players). The longest part is taking out the cards that are for a certain number of players, but this usually only happens for the first game as the # players probably doesn't change between games. It really only takes about 5 minutes to start a new game.

Oh, bonus...you're looking at $31 with prime available.

There are a lot of expansions already that will make the game more interesting if it starts to get stale.

-----------------------------

Saboteur plays up to 10 and has basically no setup time. There are a majority of good guys and a minority of bad guys in each of 3 rounds. Good guys are trying to find gold. Bad guys are trying to stop this...and also trying to not get caught.

I don't think it's nearly as deep as 7 wonders...but it does have a traitor mechanic similar to resistance (except no one knows who is good/bad). I thought the game was OK...nothing great. I only played once, but I felt like there was just not enough strategy, mostly luck. If you want, you can try it out at BoardGameArena for free!

----------------------------------

Avalon as you said seems like a logical choice. It really is, based on what you like. I think it's a strict upgrade to base Resistance. I don't think you'll be upset picking that one up.

1. This board game I have board game nights with my friends and this is one of the ones that i have been wanting for a while
   
   
2. This movie because it is amazing and I am dissapointed in myself that I do not own it already. C'mon...gimme.
   
   Thanks for doing this contest.

Have you tried buying/using the blank cards? Half the fun I find in taking my CaH set anywhere is making sure people fill out at least one white or black card so new things are always popping up. But yes, having played enough CaH at cons for a life time I can understand just wanting to put it down and not touch it forever.

Werewolf is a fun giant group game. Also so is 7 Wonders.

As expected, most are pretty poor. Here are a few people might consider.

• Jumbo Bananagrams
  
• Formula D
  
• Bang!
  
• The Resistance
  
• Quirkle
  
• Settlers of Catan
  
• Bang! The Bullet

I was not planning on entering but was going to suggest Coup, that and The Resistance are both a lot of fun!

Alternativ kann ich Abenteuer-Brettspiele empfehlen. Es gibt eine ganze Welt von Brettspielen, die den Rollenspielgedanken aufgreifen und innerhalb eines Regelwerks Zugang zu einem Abenteuer ermöglichen. Natürlich bedeutet ein solches Regelwerk auch eine erhebliche Einschränkung hinsichtlich der möglichen Rollenspiels und der Geschichte, die man erleben kann, aber der große Vorteil ist, dass die Lernkurve sehr viel flacher ist und dass man sich entlang des Regelwerks und der Spielutensilien in den Rollenspielgedanken hinein tasten kann. Gute Brettspiele erzeugen sogar Spannungsmomente innerhalb der Gruppe und schaffen aus dem Regelwerk immer neue Spielsituationen, so dass man diese Spiele ohne viel Vorbereitung jederzeit spielen kann.

Der Einstieg in ein Pen&Paper ist grundsätzlich sehr einfach. Regelwerk kaufen, Charakterbögen ausdrucken, und mit einem der meist mitgelieferten Abenteuern die ersten Schritte wagen. Ihr werdet aber feststellen, dass die Hürden für richtig gutes Rollenspiel recht hoch sind und viel Erfahrung benötigen, und spätestens wenn euch die vorgefertigten Materialien ausgehen werdet ihr auch merken, dass Pen&Paper viel Arbeit und Vorbereitung bedeutet. Andere Leute hier haben es ja schon gesagt: Seht zu, dass ihr wenigstens einen erfahrenen Rollenspieler in der Truppe hat. Mit einem RPG-Brettspiel übernimmt das Regelwerk gewissermaßen die Funktion eines erfahrenen Rollenspielers, der euch in die höhere Kunst des Rollenspiels und der Spielleitung einführen kann.

Ich bin selber ein Fan Dead of Winter, einem kooperativen Zombie-Survival RPG-Brettspiel. Was ich an diesem Spiel sehr schätze sind zum einem die Spielmechaniken, die immer wieder für neue Spielsituationen sorgen (die andernfalls ein Autor oder eben erfahrene Rollenspieler/Spielleiter erschaffen müsste). Weiterhin hat das Spiel eine tolle Mechanik, die jedem Spieler versteckte Spielziele gibt, die nicht immer dem Interesse der Gruppe dienen. So ist es grundsätzlich ein kooperatives Rollenspiel, aber immer auch mit der Gefahr, dass ein oder mehr Verräter am Tisch sitzen (als Spielleiter habe ich ähnliche Mechaniken eingebaut, um mehr Rollenspiel zu erzeugen).

Davon mal ab eignen sich Spiele dieser Art auch sehr gut, um in den Spielfiguren mehr als nur Pappfiguren zu sehen, und den Spielfiguren mit Rollenspiel mehr Leben einzuhauchen.

Und für eine schnelle Spielrunde zwischendurch kann ich The Resistance empfehlen. Ein ganz simples Spiel, dass man in zwei Minuten beginnen kann, und auch kein echtes Rollenspiel, aber es trainiert Gruppendynamiken, die im richtigen Rollenspiel dazu beitragen können, aus dem stereotypen High-Fantasy-Rollenspiel auszubrechen.

Ich spiele übrigens nur noch Abenteuer-Rollenspiele, einfach weil diese weniger Arbeit "drumherum" bedeuten. Außerdem glaube ich auch, dass Gamer die visuelle Präsentation, die bei einem Brettspiel in der Regel besser ist, sehr zu schätzen wissen und das "Hineinversetzen" in die Spielwelt erleichtern.

Board games are essential to my wife and I not watching so much TV

I am totally a deadly assassin that travels the world taking down corrupt figures of authority!

And by take down, I mean tickle until they pee themselves. Just wanted to make that clear.

My husband and I did the redditgifts board games exchange and my gifter gave us two games and tonight we played both. So far the Love Letter game is awesome and my favorite!

Sorry for the unoriginal suggestions but they are unoriginal for a reason.

Tiny Epic Kingdoms. The game might have been over hyped just a bit but it's still an excellent portable game that has a lot to offer.

It's light enough for new boardgamers and is an excellent introduction to the 4X genre which most newcomers haven't played or even knew existed!

Citadels. The box it usually comes in is way too big for the game. It's a deck of cards, a bag of coins, and a starting player token. I love this game. It's simple to learn and yet really deep and strategic. Plays well from 2 to 5 players. Don't even try 6 or 7 even though it's possible. It drags the game down to a halt.

Hanabi. Excellent excellent strategic game. Very simple to learn, cheap, tiny package. A deck of cards and a handfull of tokens. Plays excellent with 2 to 5 players.

Jungle Speed. Really fun dexterity game. Bunch of cards and a wooden "totem". Most editions come with this small bag.

Hive Pocket. Such a great game you can play nearly anywhere. One of my very favorite games. Only 2 players though.

Most would tell you that Love Letter is a good choice. Personally I never liked it. Neither did my GF or my friends to be honest. But it's so widely recommended it's probably worth the risk.

But don't buy the Kanai Factory Limited Edition (the black and white box)! Most reviews will tell you the gameplay doesn't differ (a lot) but that one card that is different makes all the difference in the world. If you plan to buy Love Letter buy the Tempest edition. It's also a lot more compact.

Check out Love Letter. It is easily in my top ten favorite games. The mechanics are simple, and a full game can be played in less than five minutes. The best part? It's only sixteen cards. Very portable, very fun.

I got a few buckets of plastic toys off amazon that are cheap, are the right sized for a 1 inch grid and can cover a lot of ground.

Monsters:

https://www.amazon.com/Monster-Action-Figure-Bucket-Frankenstein/dp/B00W5WSN5A/ref=sr_1_6?ie=UTF8&qid=1469651031&sr=8-6&keywords=dnd+mini

Knights, solders, guards

https://www.amazon.com/Toysmith-36-Piece-Guardian-Knights-Action/dp/B000YA7FS6/ref=pd_bxgy_21_img_2?ie=UTF8&psc=1&refRID=JMBZKP2E432YT1YA7WX4

Zombies, skeletons


https://www.amazon.com/Zombie-Action-Figures-Bucket-Zombies/dp/B00KBHVSTY/ref=pd_sim_21_13?ie=UTF8&dpID=51OXKuC6MBL&dpSrc=sims&preST=_AC_UL160_SR160%2C160_&psc=1&refRID=P3JXHNFM1GDFBDY967CY

https://www.amazon.com/Monster-Action-Figure-Bucket-Frankenstein/dp/B00W5WSN5A

If you're looking for affordable, I've got a few suggestions.

It came from this set. SCS Direct Monster Action Figure Bucket - Big Bucket of 100 Horror Toy Figures - from Dracula to Frankenstein to Giant Spiders- Perfect for Cake Toppers, Halloween Party Favors, Decorations https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00W5WSN5A/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_pBILDbDG1DAP9

My FLGS has bins of heroclix minis and other random crap for between 10 for a dollar and a couple bucks a piece. You could keep an eye on eBay and occasionally find decent things there, but you're probably going to be spending $100 plus (but you can get a great deal of hundreds of minis).

If you don't really care about size, quality, or color, this tube on Amazon (along with several others like it) are great deals. Drop down some nail polish so you can say "I attack the green one!" and you're golden. My group is still working off a lot of these guys.

Citadel paint is good, but expensive. If you're starting out and just learning, I would suggest going to a craft and art supplies store rather than a hobby shop.


Personally, I use a mismatch of Liquitex Professional for bright colors, flow aid, and matte medium, Vallejo for darker colors for details and mixing, and Citadel washes.


I'd also recommend grabbing something like this bucket of monsters to experiment on while you're learning the basics. That way, you can get a lot of reps in without breaking the bank. Green army men are a pretty solid choice, too.

• "Bones" line miniatures look great and are rather cheap compared to metal but need painting.
  
• Toy stores - there are usually tubs of various animals and fantasy creatures/people that work well and come painted. Example from amazon
  
• Meeples - Buddy of mine started using them and really likes it. Despite the lack of exact replication of a critter you do have easily distinguishable characters
  
• Pathfinder Paws - lots of colored cardboard tokens with stands. Look decent, easy to carry, good price and though they may be for pathfinder they are just slightly different named/interpreted D&D monsters.
  
• bottle tops or cardboard tokens work fine. Lots of things online that let you print tokens and you can glue them to bits of cardboard or coins.
  
  I have crap tons of minis. TOO MANY to be honest, a couple hundred easily from the kickstarters I've backed. I also DM and really...they aren't helpful for anything other than tracking locations. When I'm really excited about one I just finished painting the biggest reaction I get is "ooo, nice job. Do I get to kill it?" so don't think that well made and painted minis are necessary. I paint them for my own enjoyment and to relax, not to make my games "better" because that doesn't happen.

Not D&D miniatures exactly, but really cool and fairly well-sculpted is the "Monster Action Figure Bucket" on Amazon.com. For $17.95 you get 100 figures, most of them 54mm scale and cast in a decent plastic. https://www.amazon.com/Monster-Action-Figure-Bucket-Frankenstein/dp/B00W5WSN5A/ref=sr_1_14?ie=UTF8&qid=1505817377&sr=8-14&keywords=monsters+toys There is a wolfman figure among them.

I'm sure most people would say RX-78-2 Revive and I agree with them.


Other kits from IBO are also great too. Quite easy to assemble, although some rely a bit too much on foil stickers.



Honestly, I think any HG should work. None of them is too complex for beginners.

One of us! One of us!

This kit has been recommended a lot to newbies since it came out. It's fairly new, well made, and simple. It's also the OG gundam, from the original series.

If you have any interest in anime or manga, the source material is great. If that's not your thing though, no worries, there are plenty of gunpla builders who've never watched the shows.

1. You NEED to get a board game collection when people come over to your house! My husband and I have an awesome collection of old-school video games and over the past year we've really gotten into board games. It wasn't until we got some really good board games that we had friends coming to visit more constantly! The Resistance is a great 5-10 player game and 7 Wonders is a beautiful 3-7 player game full of strategy. With the right group, Cards Against Humanity is hilarious.
   
   
2. DOES PIXAR COUNT?! I have so many Monsters Inc plushies! :) I also love Aladdin! Great movie, loved growing up with the tv show, and a prince with some personality! WOO!
   
   
3. A pug napping with a teacup pig <3
   
   
4. Happy early birthday! PIXELCHARKATTACK
   
   I also just caught up on all of the Adventure Time episodes recently. OMG SO GOOD! I like how it went from silly, incoherent adventures to a legit, interesting story line!

There's actually a good amount of fun games for under $40 on Amazon that I would suggest looking at.

• Pandemic | $28
  
• Catan | $30
  
• Dominion | $30
  
• 7 Wonders | $31
  
• Love Letter | $8
  
• Coup | $8
  
• Sushi Go | $10
  
• Lord of Waterdeep | $37
  
• Betrayal at House on the Hill | $34
  
• Ticket to Ride | $31
  
  These are all pretty popular games and I think they give you a good start into the different genre's of modern board games.

If they're also into board games (or seem like they might be), I'll suggest the seven wonders board game. I've played it recently with a few friends and it has a civ feel to it, lots of fun.

http://www.amazon.com/Asmodee-SEV-EN01ASM-7-Wonders/dp/B0043KJW5M

What's the money limit? Amazon shows $32 so it may be over that limit, depending on your budget and the suggested amount.

Many games (including 7 Wonders) are currently on a big sale on Amazon:
www.amazon.com/Asmodee-SEV-EN01ASM-7-Wonders/dp/B0043KJW5M/

30 bucks is a bit of an awkward number. Thematic games tend to be pricier as well. Here are some recommendations off the top of my head, some end up a couple bucks over 30:

Death Angel

[Red November] (http://www.amazon.com/Fantasy-Flight-Games-SL08-November/dp/1616610638/ref=pd_sim_t_60)

[Eminent Domain] (http://www.amazon.com/Tasty-Minstrel-Games-1005TTT-Eminent/dp/0984155856/ref=pd_sim_t_57)

[Infiltration] (http://www.amazon.com/Fantasy-Flight-Games-VA79-Infiltration/dp/1616613963/ref=pd_sim_t_17)

[Power Grid] (http://www.amazon.com/Rio-Grande-Games-RGG240-Power/dp/B0007YDBLE/ref=pd_sim_t_7)

[Flash Point] (http://www.amazon.com/Indie-Boards-Cards-PSI-IBCFPF1/dp/B005YXFW1U/ref=pd_sim_t_9)

[7 Wonders] (http://www.amazon.com/Asmodee-SEV-EN01ASM-7-Wonders-Game/dp/B0043KJW5M/ref=pd_sim_t_6)

I too recommend allocating a couple extra dollars if it means getting a game you really want. Anyway, hope this helps :)

Thanks for all the input, much appreciated. Just bought 7 Wonders on sale https://www.amazon.com/Asmodee-SEV-EN01ASM-7-Wonders/dp/B0043KJW5M

Looks like it's on the Marketplace. There are a couple new with Prime shipping for more like $24: https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/ol/B0043KJW5M/ref=olp_tab_new?ie=UTF8&condition=new

• I could bring fresh basil marinara pasta! It could be a main dish OR a side. :)
  
  
• It would take me about 8 hours and 40 minutes to get there if I drove, or a few seconds if I traveled by map.
  
  
• A song for the playlist :)
  
  
• As for a game, I can bring an expansion pack for CAH? Or a poker set?
  
  
• I don't know /u/Pinalope4Real very well :)
  
  
• I promise to be nice to your neighbor.
  
  

Here are some links for the product in the above comment for different countries:

Link: expansionpack


|Country|Link|
|:-----------|:------------|
|Japan|amazon.co.jp|
|Canada|amazon.ca|




This bot is currently in testing so let me know what you think by voting (or commenting).

1. When you wish upon a star
   
   
2. Lilo and Stitch and Up. Lilo and Stitch because it is mega cute and emotional. Up because it makes me laugh and cry and the same time.
   
   
3. I'll Make A Man Out Of You. Best Disney song ever.
   
   
4. Item.
   
   Thanks for the contest!

My favorite white card is from the Pax East 2013 Pack C, but that's not on Amazon anymore (I guess someone actually paid the ridiculous amount the seller was asking for, or the listing was removed), so my favorite card from an available expansion is from the First Expansion.

Insatiable bloodlust

1. Because I love the word 'insatiable' and Darren Hayes has a song called "Insatiable", which I love.
   
2. Because I have some bloodlust. I think classic vampires are sexy, I'm intrigued by weaponry and I like knives in a kinky way, I want to make my own blood jewelry, and I kinda sorta maybe wish I could just lose my shit on someone for a price. An extremely high price and in a very extreme circumstance and to a very willing volunteer.
   This card gets chosen by me almost every time someone plays it when I'm czar.
   
   I made this card as a nod to one of my favorite /r/firstworldproblems post. It's so true and everyone can relate!
   

• I should note that this is the first blank card I've filled out, because I'm not great at thinking of awesome things to write. It took me three years to write anything on any of the blank cards in my Apples to Apples games, and I just wrote things like "penis", "clitoris" and "shit" because I was drunk and just wanted something on there (plus A to A was getting tired with all it's innocence, lol).
  
  Thanks!
  :-)

its wayyyy to quiet in here

Did you kniw that the Pistol Shrimp uses its huge claw to stun prey with the air bubble it produces? It can travel up to 60 mph!

So, I'm just going to link you to a [Cards Against Humanity expansion pack] (http://www.amazon.com/dp/B005JFNE8G/ref=wl_it_dp_o_pC_nS_ttl?_encoding=UTF8&colid=H9Y6HYPJPYUX&coliid=I1IKI8V6V4B6GQ). I wanted to link you to a Munchkin Game but they're all more than ten dollars. If you haven't played Munchkin, you need to. It's amazing.

Cards against humanity are perfect for staying occupied on a rainy day! I hate going outside in the rain, so staying in and having a blast playing this game would be great!

The old man is snoring

Halloween! :D

Linky link

Thanks for the contest! <3

CAH

:]

Cards Against Humanity because nothing says "America" more than freedom of speech, no matter how vulgar that speech may be.

EDIT: grammar

So the other day I got kicked out of a casino because I was having a furious argument at the roulette table over what was considered an odd number CAH Please

1.) Something that is grey.

Silver is grey, right? ;)

2.) Something reminiscent of rain.

When I think of rain I think of cuddling up with a good cup of coffee.

3.) Something food related that is unusual.

Coffee chocolate Not that weird... but pretty amazing.

4.) Something on your list that is for someone other than yourself. Tell me who it's for and why. (Yes, pets count!)
Bones for my dog because he hates being alone!

5.) A book I should read! I am an avid reader, so take your best shot and tell me why I need to read it!

I haven't read this yet, but it's supposed to be amazing!

6.) An item that is less than a dollar, including shipping... that is not jewelry, nail polish, and or hair related!

This book

7.) Something related to cats. I love cats! (keep this SFW, you know who you are...)

meow.

8.) Something that is not useful, but so beautiful you must have it.

I don't think any nail polish is useful, but I love this color

9.) A movie everyone should watch at least once in their life. Why?

Shawshank Redemption Come on, it's amazing. And sad. And Stephen King.

10.) Something that would be useful when the zombies attack. Explain.

These would be particularly useful because I could keep my hair out of my face so I can see zombies better to kill them!

11.) Something that would have a profound impact on your life and help you to achieve your current goals.

skip for now

12.) One of those pesky Add-On items.
Apparently you can straighten your nose with this interesting little item Ohhhh, China.

13.) The most expensive thing on your list. Your dream item. Why?

This book is the most expensive item on my list. Dream item? Nah. A kindle would be my dream item, but not feasible to have on list right now.


14.) Something bigger than a bread box.

This big enough?

15.) Something smaller than a golf ball.

This ring is itty bitty!


16.) Something that smells wonderful.

This air freshener. Mmmm



17.) A (SFW) toy.

Amazon lists this as a toy, so I'm going to have to go with that!

18.) Something that would be helpful for going back to school.

These would be great to hang papers and reminders up on the fridge.

19.) Something related to your current obsession, whatever that may be.

I'm obsessed with books, so uh... most of my wish list. Or this bookmark that symbolizes all that is books.


20.) Something that is just so amazing and awe-inspiring that I simply must see it. Explain why it is so grand.

I'm sure you've seen this but come on! It's John Snuhhhh!

Bonus! Oregon Fruit

Fear cuts deeper thank swords! Thanks for the contest. =)

please let G0ATLY be safe this year

Halloween is my favorite holiday... But it hasn't always been my luckiest. One year I went all-out at a Boo & Brew party and spent hours with a friend wrapping myself up in gauze that I had specially stained the week before so I could be a mummy. It looked great! The only thing was that I couldn't do a trial-run with it, so about an hour or so into the party I started to unravel. I wasn't wearing much underneath, no one was in a position to drive, so I hopped the first bus back to my place to borrow a roommate's naughty baseball outfit. I didn't care what I looked like, I just wanted to get back and party.

So I get back to the party... and notice that I can't bend over. The dang thing is so short that if I bend over my booty will immediately show and I did not have on bloomer-style underwear. I guess when I first it on I was too rushed/tipsy to notice. Spent the party sitting at a bar table. Still had an awesome time.

What I wouldn't change about myself- I am constantly reflecting on myself to make sure that I am constantly improving as a person to be the ultimate person I want to become, and I am always looking to experience new things to broaden my horizons. I don't really know anybody else that spends so much time worrying about the person they're becoming, but each year my hard work causes me to love myself more and more :) (this coming from someone who spent a good decade being suicidal... I'm gonna toot my own horn and say I'm damn proud of my progress).

I'm dying to play this game everyone on Reddit talks about.

You have to buy it online (though I think there's one shop in Canada that actually stocks it. You can get it here, with expansions one, two, and three.

There's also a "crappy little third-party, unofficial, unauthorized" expansion called Crabs Adjust Humidity. They're currently out of stock but should be back soon.

I've never been gifted, but I'm super proud of myself for making it through the first term of my senior year in nursing school without having a [mental breakdown] (http://www.amazon.com/Cards-Against-Humanity-First-Expansion/dp/B005JFNE8G/ref=wl_it_dp_o_pC_nS_nC?ie=UTF8&colid=3BUYPKWBAKDBD&coliid=I15N9TAOLHBCE0);) It's harder than I thought it would be, and the worst is yet to come!

My facorite game is... this! It seems to be a neat game on the cheaper side of board games (who the heck prices these things, they are sometimes more expensive than video games!). 5 to 10 players is perfect, as we usually have about 5-7 people during our get togethers.

Thanks for the awesome contest, new, used, refurbed doesn't matter to me!

:)

The Resistance is always fun and plays up to 10 people really easily. Although, some people say Avalon is better

Zombie Dice is an option for lots of people and super easy to teach.

The Resistance won't be found in department stores like some games. Amazon is a great place to find this and many other games.

I upvoted so people could see this, not because I agree with what you are doing.

If you want a copy of the game, here you go.

> is there a rule set available online somewhere? So many questions!

Travis has asked people not to make such content available online. Why not do as he asks?

If you guys want to play something similar that involves bluffing and is fun check out the game The Resistance. It's a fun game if you have people that are good at lying and keeping a straight face.

http://www.amazon.com/Alderac-Entertainment-Group-5104AEG-Letter/dp/B00AGJ4HC2

I heard that Love Letter is a pretty decent game. I've never gotten the chance to play but would love to add it to my game collection! My BF and I are just starting to get into board games and we've been building a collection so we can start hosting game nights :) I can't wait to host our first one! :)

My favorite game is probably Pandemic, though the expansions are a little over your price limit :)

Yeah sure! Here's the link on Amazon and here's a video of Whil Wheaton and friends playing it on TableTop.

Maybe something from Mouth?. I've been thinking about getting the bourbon chocolate sauce for one of my exchanges.

Also, depending on the family there are a lot of about 15 dollar card games that are really good. I suggest Sushi Go! which can be found at target a lot, Love Letter or Coup.

Maybe look into "Love Letters". Its a Card Game that is fairly quickly played but also easy to learn and play. I usually take it with me when i go out with friends to lunch/dinner just so we have something to do instead of playing on our phones. Its quite fun too though. Check it Out here! $9.77 Amazon Prime.

Put that price point in CamelCamelCamel and wait for it to drop. That's how I found out about this price. This is the cheapest it has ever been on Amazon.

Minis get expensive quickly. Reaper is probably most popular mini store (although their website is atrocious). Depending on your campaign, you can get some stuff like skeletons or zombies minis in toy packs for much cheaper.

https://www.amazon.com/Piece-Army-Skeleton-Warriors-Ready/dp/B00IDBZPIU

https://www.amazon.com/Monster-Action-Figure-Bucket-Frankenstein/dp/B00W5WSN5A/

https://www.amazon.com/True-Heroes-Mythical-Warriors-Bucket/dp/B00MW7JH0I/

For specific heros or villians you might have to break down and buy a fancy custom mini just for it.

I would say to pick up a few things. Just starting out, and if you've got the money I would recommend this stuff if you want to do a full homebrew story:

[Minis](
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00W5WSN5A/ref=ox_sc_act_title_1?smid=A1B7M9EQGNCLQA&psc=1) - You need creatures for your game, and while minis can be expensive I see these as being a good start.


Of course the rulebook.


Monster Manuel. Just flipping through it will give you ideas for encounters.


Erasable Grid Tileset - great for anything, from dungeons to wilderness. I would predraw before your session.


[Dice!](
https://www.amazon.com/Kuuqa-Polyhedral-Complete-Dungeons-Dragons/dp/B01MF5G9DY/ref=sr_1_7?s=toys-and-games&ie=UTF8&qid=1517791222&sr=1-7&keywords=D%26D+dice) Enough for all your adventurers and yourself.


The books can be expensive, so if you're looking for a PDF version of anything really check here.

I just remembered Amazon also has bucket o' minis like this. Are they to 28mm scale? Usually not, but the kids can paint them to their hearts desire and after you seal the paint in they can take them home with them. Don't have to face wee little tykes running off with a 5$ mini or losing them in couch cushions.

I used these when I first started DMing, not really all to scale but close enough and super cheap for a bunch of minis.

Bucket of fantasy miniatures

Bucket of monsters

Bucket of mythical

Bucket of knights

Go dirt cheap.

Skeletons
Zombies
Monsters

Then just do some reaper bones or wizkids for "feature characters" and upgrade as you go along. Unfortunately good minis are almost always expensive. Finding an E-Bay score is always an option.

I wanted to mention the figure is from the Monster Action Figure Bucket I purchase on Amazon (https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00W5WSN5A/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1) for the sole purpose of having figures I could practice on cheaply. They are extremely cheap with mold lines all over but perfect for getting back into painting. If anyone has any tips on inexpensive minis which are perfect for practice, please let me know.

Barbatos is a nice, cheap little kit, but if you strive for anime accuracy, you should be aware that it misses quite a few color applications and requires a little paint for that 100% anime accurate look. HG Zaku is dated, it looks a bit derpy and articulation is limited, personally, i'd recommend starting with this kit instead.

HG: The Try Burning gundam has been recommended a lot, and for good reasons. The kit is inexpensive, the aesthetic is on point, and the articulation and range of motion does not leave you wanting more. The RX-78-2 Revive are great as well.

RG: MKII (Titans or AEUG colors, don't matter). Simple build for RG but rock solid and poses extremely well. Put a smile on you when you finish building it and the sticker decal blows it out of the park. 5/7 would build again. If RG is your thing after you tried one or two kits, the RG Unicorn is the best that this line has to offer.

MG: A lot of MGs are great to start out with. If you want something with great mechanical details and articulation, the Freedom 2.0 / Justice 2017 / Providence gundam all share that same inner frame and outstanding armor details that are difficult to beat. I have heard great things about any kits that have the Zaku 2.0 frame, and the Strike ver. RM and similar kits (Strike Rouge Ootori, I think?).

If you wanna get in on some Gunpla action yourself, you can get this figure here.

Make sure to like and subscribe if you haven't already, and consider supporting Jobby on Patreon. Every dollar helps!

Next Review: Dino Tyranno Dinozaurs

And as always,

HAPPY SWIVELS!!!

I started without watching too. Super hooked now. Please help.

My starter suggestions:

• HG Revive RX-78-2 - This is the "Granddaddy" Gundam, and this recent version of it is cheap, easy, and super fun to play with.
  
  
• HG Origin Char's Zaku II - The classic antagonist, another excellent model. Whereas the Revive goes for a sleek and simple look, this guy instead goes for extra detail while still being rock solid.
  
  
• HG 00 Raiser - Holds a special place in my heart as the second model I put together when I was in the same position as you. Also excellent model.
  
  
• HG Gundam Fenice - Representing the Build Fighters line, which are stylistic, modified versions of other kits. I recommend watching the anime (both seasons available on YouTube) as well.
  
  
• MG Ball ver. Ka - A gentle introduction to the MG 1/100 scale. Bigger, more details. Lots of decals. Everyone on this sub loves the Ball for some reason.
  
  
• RG Astray Red Frame - Real Grades are the same size as High Grades, but with hella more detail and lots of tiny parts. You get a lot in a small package, for a low price. Tackle this once you're confident in your building abilities because they do require more patience and precision. Red Frame is one of the better ones IMO.
  
  Right now all of these are available at pretty good prices with Prime shipping from Amazon.
  
  Happy building!

Your best bet is to order it online. It does depend on what lube you want, if you want the professional lube, get it from SCS or Cubicle, but if you just want some simple lube, get some Traxxas on Amazon. https://www.amazon.com/Traxxas-5137-Differential-Oil-Weight/dp/B000BOLVFI/ref=sr_1_5?keywords=silicone+lube+traxxas&qid=1563613705&s=gateway&sr=8-5

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Traxxas-TRA5137-Differential-Oil-Weight-x/dp/B000BOLVFI/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1495038082&sr=8-1&keywords=traxxas+50k is this the same 50k used with cubes? Just that differential oil sounds weird to me.

Firstly, I'd consider getting the GAN 356 X because money isn't a problem, as you said. Of course, if you have a reason for getting the 354 M (such as small hands), go ahead, but if you do not, then you should get the GAN 356 X.

Moreover, I simply do not believe that getting Cosmic or Supernova or whatever The Cubicle offers is ever worth it unless you do not have the time to set up the cube yourself. My reasoning is that all lube setups are temporary, and the lube will eventually dry out. With all of the money that you spend for someone else to set up your cube, you could easily buy lube for yourself that'll last you much, much longer. For example, check out this Traxxas 50K offer on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Traxxas-5137-Differential-Oil-Weight/dp/B000BOLVFI

50K is widely used as both a core lube and a piece lube (although, it's not that good of a piece lube imo), and this huge bottle costs less than $10. Adding this lube into your cube is extremely trivial as well, so I see no reason to let other people set up your cube, especially because it costs so much.

If you want a good piece lube, I'd recommend Angstrom Gravitas and Angstrom Dignitas ($10 as a bundle) from The Cubicle. Gravitas is a super long-lasting lube, and the combination of these two lubes in my Valk 3 M is the best lube setup I've ever tried on it.

TL;DR There is no need to pay so much for someone else to set up your cube (lube is temporary anyway) when you can just buy a whole bunch of lube and set up your cube yourself for however long you'll use it for.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Traxxas-5137-Oil-Differential-Weight/dp/B000BOLVFI/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1538679658&sr=8-1

If you don't have traxxas 50k, get that first just due to the versatility of it, being able to use 50k on both the core and sparingly on the pieces. You can get it over on amazon here.

If you still do have more budget, I would recommend lubes specifically for the pieces. Stuff such as TheCubicle's Silk, DNM-37, and Lubicle One, or Cosmic lube from SpeedcubeShop will do as well. These lubes are less viscous than 50k and are great for being used on the pieces.

50K differential oil is the lube of choice for the core. You may want to acquire a syringe as it is very easy to over lube without one. If you intend to lube the pieces you will need lighter lube, around 30K.

I did tons of research today and I found from many many YouTube videos, Traxxis 50k is the best. It's cheap, and there is a lot of lube inside the tube. It works great for all cubes. I actually bought a tube for myself today. Here's the link. [Traxxas 50k Lube](Traxxas 5137 Differential Oil, 50K Weight https://www.amazon.com/dp/B000BOLVFI/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_j.ItybSA4VN9D)

I hope this helps!

You're getting 5cc for $3.89.

A bottle of Traxxas, which is largely the same stuff, at 50cc (or 10x as much) for $7.99 or less in some places.

You're paying 77 cents per cc, whereas Traxxas is 16 cents per cc.

taking it apart and cleaning the pieces with a cloth might help if there's any dust/dirt buildup slowing your cube down

otherwise i recommend buying something like lubicle speedy to lube your cube with, i personally use traxxas 50k but some people don't like the feel it leaves on larger cubes compared to a thinner lube like lubicle speedy

Got my traxxas 50 early :D

Still breaking in my yuxin little magic since people reccomend not to lube until it's well broken in, so rn using my good ol' qiyi warrior that got lubed up. It's turning pretty darn well now (was kinda gummy before idk why, didnt lube it before), but how long does lube last?

I got this btw

if that changes anything (like different types of traxxas 50k? idk)

I'm a fan of the traxxas 50k (but I might try 30k) I've used it probably 30 or 40 times and only used about 1/3 of it so it will last you forever. It's longer lasting than silicone sprays so there is more consistency over time.
It also seems to spread itself throughout the cube better, so you don't really need to disassemble, spray, then reassemble to get an even coat.

Also, many of the silcone sprays can damage the plastics, slightly melting or eroding the surface. Some even say on the packaging they are not safe for use on plastic.

Then set up one of these instead if you're so worried about getting banned: https://www.amazon.com/American-Science-Surplus-4975-Drinking/dp/B000JSGLBK

Water bird

Stylus

Duct tape


Problem solved.

I have a stress ball that's fun to throw at the ceiling. I try to get it as close to the ceiling as possible without touching it. Also, Rubics cubes tend to wear down fast. Get a nice one like this: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00Q094SIU?psc=1. I have one at my home office and another at my office office. Also, a drinking bird is interesting for a few weeks: http://www.amazon.com/Drinking-Bird-4975-The-Famous/dp/B000JSGLBK

You could always get a couple of these water drinking birds ;) They can be seen in both Alien, and Alien: Isolation if you want an actual prop from the universe!

Save your nose https://www.amazon.com/Drinking-Bird-DRINK-BIRD-1-The-Famous/dp/B000JSGLBK

fuck you...you can't tell me THIS wasn't a great purchase

Couldn't you just buy something that moves around so that the sensor can detect movement?

Some kind of desk motion toy like this thing, this other thing, or that thing.

I personally don't want anything, but I want to get this for my wife because she's been in a gaming mood lately and we're running low on "new-ish" games to play with friends.

Congrats for getting trained like a boss!

Favorite game right now is probably Insurgency. I'm also really into Blade and Soul (my first MMO). Favorite game of all time is probably Europa Universalis IV, though Civilization IV and V are close behind. For "board" games, my current top game would be Dominion. My law school friends play this all the time. Personally, I would prefer to be playing Risk, but I like playing with my friends.

Bohnanza
$14.14 - 2-7 players

Codenames
$14.47 - 2-8+ players

Pandemic
$21.24 - 2-4 players

San Juan
$22.02 - 2-4 players

Dominion
$25.49 - 2-4 players

Ticket To Ride
$32.29 - 2-5 players

Agricola
$44.99 - 1-4 players

Race For The Galaxy
$22.90 - The base game, 2-4 players
Race For The Galaxy: The Gathering Storm
$18.95 - Expansion #1, adds a 5th player and solitaire play
Race For The Galaxy: Rebel Vs. Imperium
$17.99 - Expansion #2, adds a 6th player

http://www.amazon.com/Rio-Grande-Games-RGG370-Dominion/dp/B001JQY6K4/ref=sr_1_1?s=toys-and-games&ie=UTF8&qid=1449772210&sr=1-1&keywords=dominion <Enter> It isn't a bad price, was on sale last week for just $19.99. If you want a full review I did one on Episode 5 of my podcast and that will be up on Friday. www.soundcloud.com/twoboardguyspodcast

I new into board games and love playing them, right now Dominion is my favorite.

I'm sorry I have no good way to show my crappy handwriting. so here is a puppy

Based on what you've written, I would recommend Dominion, for 28 dollars here on Amazon.

Dominion is a great standalone game, but it also has a wealth of (mostly) excellent expansions, so it's a game she can play for a very long time. It's easy to learn and teach, and it scales decently well from 2-4 players.

If she doesn't have any deckbuilders, Dominion invented and, in my opinion, perfected the genre. It's an absolutely superb game, and I've logged at least 200 plays with my different sets and expansions. And if she does, Dominion is still the best one around.

https://www.amazon.com/Green-Stuff-Yellow-Epoxy-Putty/dp/B002MB61RQ

Welcome! Glad to hear you are interested in Malifaux and welcome to the hobby! As another user mentioned check out the "Pullmyfiger" wiki on tactics and how to play. Also take a look at r/minipainting on tips and tricks for painting and inspiration! So since you are brand spanking new and have a lot of questions I'll try to cover all I can. As for my background Malifaux is the only mini game I have ever played and when I first started I was new to the hobby as well.

Lets start with minis and gameplay. Glance over pullmyfinger to check out tactics and looks of models. See who you enjoy. When I first started I picked Resurrectionists because I really enjoyed the thought of having undead minions doing my bidding. Think about what type of tactics you want to play with. Do you want to shoot people from behind cover? Do you want to summon monsters? Do you want to be in an enemies face with melee? Do you enjoy trickery and movement based shenanigans? Each faction is balanced faction to faction and each one harbors a wide variety of gameplay. Some have their specialties, but each faction can do just about anything. For example say you like to summon. Ressurs are king of summons yet other masters can summon as well, like Ramos in the Arcanists (electrical creations and spiders), Leviticus in the Outcasts (undead techno horrors), and Somer Teeth Jones in the Gremlins. There are others but you get the idea. Pick a faction you think is cool or looks cool. Depending on what faction you go with depends on which master is good for beginners. Some of the beginner friendly masters for each faction are
{Faction}:{Masters};{Role in order of masters}

Guild: Lady Justice, Perdita, Sonnia; Melee, Ranged, Magic

Ressurs :Seamus, McMourning, Nicodem; Movement/range, Melee/poison, Summoning (expensive start up cost though)

Arcanists: Rasputina, Kaeris, Ramos; Ice Magic, Fire magic, Electric/summons

Neverborn (slightly more advanced): Lillith, Jacob Lynch; Melee, Card Manipulation

Outcasts: Victoria's, Von Schill; Melee, Ranged

Ten Thunders: Misaki, Jacob Lynch; Hit and run tactics, Card Manip.

Gremlins: not enough knowledge to comment :/ Sorry

To let you know I used to have two masters in each crew other than gremlins, until I sold off many of them to focus on three factions instead of all of them.
These masters listed themselves are pretty straightforward but may have advanced interactions with their crew that you will learn in time and with reading and lots of play and practice. This also just lists what the master does. Like Lady Justice herself is melee but the rest of the crew is versatile with melee or ranged attacks and interactions. The box sets always compliment the master well especially for the beginner crews. In all honesty though pick a faction and master you think is cool. The rest will come with time.

Next lets talk about construction and supplies
Each set of Minis comes in a padded cardboard box on a sprue like this.
This is a link to the instructions Wyrd has wonderfully provided. You can look up individual box sets instruction sheets to decide for yourself how complicated a project may be. Its hard to put a difficulty on construction of the minis because they all use small parts.

Each box set comes with the models on a sprue, simple round bases and character/upgrade cards for each model in the box.
The basic tools you will need are
Hobby Knife/Exacto Knife

Needle nose pliers

Miniature Plastic glue/welder

Gorilla Glue

Green Stuff

Table or work surface

These supplies are for construction only. The cement plastic glue stuff is very sensitive. Literally a drop is all you need to permanently fuse two parts together. It actually melts the plastic ever so slightly into each other. Do not get excess on fingers and use carefully. Do not smash the parts together. This is why I like the kind with a fine point applicator like the one I linked. Always do a dry test fit first when constructing even with instructions it can be difficult to see how they parts go together. The Gorilla glue and green stuff is what I use for basing. Needle nose pliers and knife to cut things out and help hold them. Basing can be as simple or as complicated as needed. Sometime I use a very thin layer of green stuff and paint to simulate earth. Sometime I go get tiny tiny pebble off the side of the road to make rock formations. I once bought clock parts off ebay and got scrap from a plumber friend and I glued them into some green stuff to make a techno junkyard. Get creative.

Next once your model is constructed and based now it is time to paint! You will need

Brushes of varying size and type

Primer either spray primer or paint on primer

Paint and washes

Water containers

Pallet, Wet or dry. I prefer a wet pallet

Light

Start off by priming your minis by either spraying with a spray primer or a paint on primer. I like spray primer because it is fast BUT it is more finicky. It can ruin a mini if you are not careful. Don't spray too close, don't spray in high humidity. Use nice even coats. Two to three thin coats is much better than one very thick coat. Wait for each coat to dry before doing the next. It doesn't take long if you use thin even coats. Then go ahead and paint!

I am always trying to do miniatures and save money. I cannot break the bank right now BUT one thing I do not skimp on is quality brushes. As long as you keep them clean a great brush will last you ages. Invest in some decent ones and they will treat you well. Miniature paint is not always required and can get very expensive. I actually got most of my acrylic paint from Wal-Mart. The paint from there though is very thick! You want to water it down to be like skim milk. Again many thin layers are better than 1 thick one. If the paint slicks right off the model it is too thin. The other kind of specific paint to pick up is called a wash. It can be put on in large amounts and will dry dark in crevices but not on raised parts of the model. It gets great shadows and detail. Anyways I know it is a lot of information for just starting out but shoot me a reply or a Pm and I would be glad to answer more questions or concerns!

Thanks!

Sure thing!

I started by mashing some aluminum foil into the general shape that I wanted it to be, and then hot glued that to a 40mm base. I then reinforced the foil with more hot glue with lengthwise bands of hot glue.

Once cooled, I covered the structure in a layer of Apoxie Sculpt, (AS) which essentially resulted in a smooth "tentacle" upon which I could add details.

My next step was sculpting the chitin plates along the back of the structure with AS. I started with the smallest one near the tip, and working one plate at a time, giving each one adequate time to set, worked my way to the largest one at the base. After each plate had set, I used heavy grit sandpaper to touch up the final shape and add some texture to them (think fingernail ridges), and these scraper tools to add the deeper cracks. This is an area where AS is superior to Green Stuff(GS); it cures rock-hard, so it can be filed, tapped, sanded, and drilled with very good results.

From this point on in the project, I used (roughly) 50/50 mix of GS and AS.

I then used a dremel tool with a tiny carving head to carve out space under the edge of each plate and sculpted in the connective tissue there. Looking back, I wish I'd left more of a "ledge" on the plates, so that that connective tissue was more recessed. Live and learn.

Next step was planning out the rest of the structure. I knew I wanted the inside of the tower to be 1) composed of different sections, 2) complex in texture, 3) "Squishier" than the outside, and 4) functional in appearance. I used pencil to draw sections on the model until it was broken up in a way that I liked, and then I planned a few of the details. (I settled on the vertebrae-like structures as a way to separate the sections, the defiler-like texture near the tip, and decided that I wanted structures at the base that looked like they were "rooted" into the ground--I didn't want it to look like it just sat on the surface.

I sculpted the vertebrae next, using this wonderful tutorial by Mr. Pink, one of my sculpting heroes. The defiler texture was added next, using a "Hydra tool"--a rounded off nail set into a handle. Just poke the tool in at an angle where you want a hole to be--I wish I'd done a better job of organizing the holes into a pattern of some sort.

the long lateral sections came next. I put putty down, and then used a large ball burnisher to make the large depression, a smaller ball burnisher to make a smaller depression in the middle of the large one, and a tiny ball burnisher to make the ring of tiny depressions around that second, medium sized depression. Once I had all of those in place, I went back to the medium burnisher for the depressions on the surface, between the large depressions. I can't think of a better way to describe this right now, but I can attempt to clarify if you like.

the tubes at the base were next. Fat cylinders of putty were rolled out and the ribs were sculpted with the back of the narrow scraper I used on the chitin plates. After they'd set, I blended them into the rest of the structure with the putty around it. the tiny spine structure was made similarly to the larger ones, and the concentric circles were made by making a hole, putting a ball of putty into it, and then turning the hole into a doughnut with a hydra tool, and then repeating.

The tiny spikes were shaped, and allowed to cure, and then glued to the model and blended in with texture and stuff.

If you want more general advice, I'll cut/paste an old comment below, or if you want further clarification or whatnot, let me know!

Happy sculpting!

Sorry, I could have given you a link.

Here are a couple of examples of green stuff:

https://www.games-workshop.com/en-FI/Green-Stuff

https://www.amazon.com/Green-Stuff-Yellow-Epoxy-Putty/dp/B002MB61RQ

​

At least with the first type, you mix two different clays together and they harden over time. That means you can form them just as you'd like in the meantime, while it's soft. Hope that answers your question :)

Green Stuff

Exactly this. They sell in a different package where the two epoxies are connected and it doesn't last as long. With these, keep each color in it's own Ziploc bag and it will last forever.

I'm using normal framing wire. It cost $3 for a million feet of it.

Yep that stuff exactly but that's the packaging you'd want to stay away from. The middle where it touches has to be cut away. Look for tubes like this:

https://www.amazon.com/Green-Stuff-Yellow-Epoxy-Putty/dp/B002MB61RQ/ref=pd_sim_21_4?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1&refRID=3VXACGJZ4E2YY0XY4JVB

Or two separate tubes.

With a 4x4 base you're probably looking for something that's 12"+ tall. I think you'll have more luck modeling that yourself than purchasing anything available. I think you'll have better luck buying this and this and testing your artistic ability.

Edit: These might make a nice touch: Melissa & Doug Rainbow Crystals Bead Set

For very large pieces it can get pricey, but it is amazing for detail. http://www.amazon.com/Green-Stuff-Yellow-Epoxy-Putty/dp/B002MB61RQ/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1425485701&sr=8-1&keywords=green+stuff

Oil/grease the male connector(s). Buy some green stuff: two part epoxy, yellow and blue, mix em to make green, mold them around the male connector. Remove gently and let dry. Will become as strong as PVC.

If you're interested in getting your wife to try games, try something you can both play together cooperatively. I've had good luck with Forbidden Island which is an amazing game for its price. Basically, you're all (or both) running around an island that is gradually sinking into the sea, trying to recover the four legendary treasures and meet up back at the helicopter before the entire island sinks. Maybe move on to Forbidden Desert after a while, which is a little more complicated, or its even more complicated older brother, Pandemic.

If you can find a local game store, I'd go and ask what their policy is on returns. You could just go with a gift card to the place, though I know that can be impersonal, but if they allow it on unopened games, I'd get him something small like Zombie Dice, Hive, Codenames, Forbidden Island, or Sushi Go (all between $5 and $20 generally). If he has the game he can return it for some dice, or something else he needs, but I think the thought of going out and researching what good games are out there is nice.

While cruising on my pet dolphins in the wide open ocean, I stumbled upon [this forbidden island.](http://www.amazon.com/dp/B003D7F4YY/ref=wl_it_dp_o_pC_nS_ttl?_encoding=UTF8&colid=2PJTIZ18O1UEU&coliid=I1QLGSPFV0PKZT](http://www.amazon.com/dp/B003D7F4YY/ref=wl_it_dp_o_pC_nS_ttl?_encoding=UTF8&colid=2PJTIZ18O1UEU&coliid=I1QLGSPFV0PKZT) It is imperative that I recover all the treasure before it is lost among the sinking island.

Some of the more popular choices on this thread are listed below for you.

Ticket to Ride

King of Tokyo

Forbiden Desert and Forbidden Island

Takenoko

Dixit

Most non-gamers prefer cooperative games.

Here are a couple of my favorites:
Pandemic - https://www.amazon.com/Z-Man-Games-7021ZMG-Pandemic/dp/B0013OBXG2
Forbidden Island - https://www.amazon.com/Gamewright-317-Forbidden-Island/dp/B003D7F4YY

Alternatively:
Descent is great for taking a step into rpgs/hack & slash - http://www.theboardgamefamily.com/2013/01/descent-journeys-in-the-dark-second-edition-board-game-review/
Or you my check out the other games reviewed here:
http://www.theboardgamefamily.com/all-game-reviews/cooperative-games/

Settlers of Catan is fantastic for people who like dice games and is a fun competitive game. Another great crowd game is SuperFight.

If you like more racy fun & games: Cards Against Humanity or Joking Hazard are awesome.

Edit: Formatting

• The Resistance
  
  
• Forbidden Island
  
  
• Carcassonne
  
  
• Gloom
  
  

And it's currently dirt cheap (< $11) on Amazon!

I had the opposite problem, where my players would sit and talk and strategize and talk about every move together like it was a co-op game and every turn would take 2+ minutes.

So I came down strict with the actual rules of the game which is that your character is allowed to speak for 6 seconds during your turn and only during your turn.

This made the game move a lot more quickly, and it still allowed them to communicate together as they'd shout out things to each other during battle.

Questions out of game like "would I know player X was just stabbed?" would not count, as this is out of character and is a general out of character question about the game world... asking what their character would know. Stuff like that is always fair, IMO.

I think if you see this as a problem that needs fixing, you should sit your players down and talk about it. I'd look into picking up a cheap/easy co-op game like Forbidden Island (https://smile.amazon.com/Gamewright-317-Forbidden-Island/dp/B003D7F4YY/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1506451508&sr=8-2&keywords=forbidden+island), (which is like the easy version of Pandemic, a pretty popular board game), and have them play that together to get used to working together and communicating a bit more.

However, if it's not actually a problem... meaning their fun is not being diminished by it... then I wouldn't worry too much about it and just think about folks like me who have the opposite problem and how the grass is always greener.

Or $12.59 on Amazon!

forbidden island is only $15: http://amzn.com/B003D7F4YY

it's pretty easy to understand, and is a simple intro into collaborative board games (everyone is on the same 'team'. you all play against the game).

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The best kit for anyone to get familiar with the hobby is the HGUC Revive RX-78-2.

Where I live there's hobby shops where I can buy in person but online I trust USA Gundam Store, Big Bad Toy Store, Amazon, and Gundam Planet.

As for beginner resources it depends on what I want to look up. Zakuaurelius, Jesse Clary, Lincoln Wright, rrobbert184, Mecha Gaikotsu, and Like Gunpla on YouTube were the biggest contributors to my improvement in modeling.

This is usually a good one to get him into it
https://www.amazon.ca/Bandai-Hobby-RX-78-2-Gundam-Revive/dp/B00WW4F8YA

like everyone else said, Get some good clippers! later on get a exacto knife to shave down the parts that need to be smoothed out!

i recommend this kit if you want a recommendation https://www.amazon.com/gp/offer-listing/B00WW4F8YA/ref=dp_olp_new?ie=UTF8&condition=new

Its well made, and fairly cheap, great looking for a high grade :)

My first ever kit: HG Barbatos ($13)
Other easy (and cheap) kits I'd recommend:
HGUC RX-78-2 ($11)
HG Gusion ($13)
HG Graze Kai ($11)

I'd start with those, and based on the suggested products, just go from there! Really, I just like to buy kits based on what I think looks coolest. The HG kits are all pretty beginner-friendly, so it's really up to you!! Hope this helps!! And if you haven't already, subscribe to r/gunpla. It can be a fickle-bitch-of-a-sub when it comes to upvotes (which can be discouraging for new posters), but more often than not people there are more than willing to offer helpful advice. And if you have any questions, feel free to PM me. That goes for anyone reading this who's interested in possibly getting into the hobby as well. Good luck and happy building!

Nice build. I have this in my backlog as well as the effect part set for it. Hopefully will get to it one day.

As for kit recommendations.

If going HG recommend the HG Revive RX 78-2 (amzn.com/B00WW4F8YA).

Very newcomer friendly. Also good if you wanna start panel lining. Articulation is also great and you can do many awesome poses.

As for MG, the RX 78-2 (Origin) (amzn.com/B014SCW9DQ) or Wing Proto Zero (amzn.com/B00EOEB908) are nice kits as straight builds. Although you can practice panel lining with those as well.

But feel free to branch out. Gunpla is freedom.

The IBO line is also good, both the HG's and NG's (No MG's exist for IBO as of yet).

> There's another company that does a pound o' dice who's name I can't remember

You're probably thinking of Wizdice. They have The Bag of Holding & The Bag of Devouring. Can attest to the dice in Bag of Devouring to be very nice!

1: You can get 5th edition for free, by googling the "Starter Set" (someone will surely link it in another comment)

1.5: The starter set, I believe, comes with an example adventure

2: If you write your own adventure or use the SS, read it more than once and understand it. Why does the bad guy want to do a bad thing, why does the party want to stop him.

3: I would recommend buying as many sets of dice as you can afford, because I don't like passing dice around between everyone. 1 set of dice between the DM and a bunch of players is a nightmare, especially if someone needs to remember what they rolled while waiting for someone else to collect the right dice and roll something else.

4: I bought this the other day. It has enough dice for 20 players, and will give you every type of dice you need (d4, d6, d8, d10, d12, d20, d100)

5: If you're on the fence and don't expect to enjoy D&D, I would invest as little money and time as possible. While I personally love it and wish more people played, it can be an expensive money sink and nothing stings more than buyer's remorse.

https://www.amazon.com/Wiz-Dice-Bag-Holding-Role-playing/dp/B01476QV14

20 sets at $1.50 each? Hard to argue with.

And this is what they cost in Germany... :D

I got 15 full sets in mine, plus 2d6, 2d4, 2d8 and a d10. For $10 more you can get 20 complete sets and a large dice bag:

http://www.amazon.com/Wiz-Dice-Bag-Holding-Polyhedral/dp/B01476QV14

Wiz Dice. https://www.amazon.com/Wiz-Dice-Bag-Holding-Role-playing/dp/B01476QV14

There are various collections. 30 bucks USD gets you a sack full of dice in matched sets.

If thats too much 13 bucks gets you a 5 set cup
https://www.amazon.com/Wiz-Dice-Cup-Plenty-Polyhedral/dp/B0771W4TX9

I keep all my non-game dice in the Bag of Holding that came with this: https://www.amazon.ca/dp/B01476QV14 Not very practical or pretty, but I like it.

For Dice Masters, I use Plano trays.

Definitely a dice-aholic then. I've bought like 8 sets individually, but that was too slow. I then went online and bought the Bag of Holding. 20 fairly nice sets all at once. And in a nice bag!

Sadly I still need more dice. I need things like d2's and d3's. Maybe some d32's. And an actual d100 would also be nice.

Been addicted for a decade, not going to stop now.

I got this from my wife and LOVE IT


Wiz Dice Bag of Holding: 140 Polyhedral Dice in 20 Guaranteed Complete Sets https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01476QV14/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_yZWUAbZ5K7XT1

I picked up these:

https://www.amazon.com/Wiz-Dice-Bag-Holding-Polyhedral/dp/B01476QV14/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1482648256&sr=8-2&keywords=bag+of+holding

https://www.amazon.com/Wiz-Dice-Bag-Devouring-Polyhedral/dp/B01KP4T6TQ/ref=sr_1_5?ie=UTF8&qid=1482648256&sr=8-5&keywords=bag+of+holding

And then gifted out the dice sets at random during the game, then the MVP of the game got the bag of holding, and the Bag of Devouring went to a player of my choice (ended up being the guy without a dice bag, long story).

I also went a little monty haul in-game as well, but nothing too ridiculous.

Oh, and we had a 5 lb hershey bar.... so there's that.

Just get two of these.

Unfortunately that'll mean you're not guaranteed to have uniquely-coloured sets. If you just want to roll 20 attacks you can roll the damage dice along with and pair them up by colour. If there are duplicate colours then you'd need some other mechanism to guarantee that you don't pair up misses and low-damage rolls preferentially.

This is what I am getting:https://www.amazon.ca/gp/product/B01476QV14/ref=ox_sc_act_title_1?ie=UTF8&psc=1&smid=A3DWYIK6Y9EEQB

I love CAH!

We’ve been really big into a game called Codenames lately. I always enjoy games like those where everyone gets to be involved more than the competitive/strategy types.

Note: I generally hate board games due to the time commitment and need to wait around. But this past summer I got coerced into playing a game called "Codenames" and it was very fun.

That's my pick - currently.

Oh god, look at all these dog whistles.

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11

Shit they are everywhere!

Even Amazon is in on it! Look here and here. I guess they're trying to get to our kids.

Dixit and Codenames are my two go-tos for that style of crowd. I also had an absolute blast playing a newer game called Werewords. It's an odd sounding mashup of 20 questions and One Night/werewolf. In which the players try to guess a secret word by asking yes and no questions while one secret player is the werewolf who tries to derail them. We played it for hours at my last party.

Dixit:
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00SXP5I5Q/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_p32FzbCP6274K

Codenames:
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B014Q1XX9S/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_YV2FzbTJ83V5T

Werewords:
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B06XWTTD2Y/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_7W2Fzb0X252XM

Unearth is a really great board game, linked here:

https://smile.amazon.com/dp/B06XHM4NZQ/_encoding=UTF8?coliid=I2VZY2ZOBDFT1U&colid=292XWXY7H8LOB&psc=0

Element is another good one:

https://smile.amazon.com/Rather-Dashing-Games-700001-Element/dp/B01M2C05PZ/ref=sr_1_1?s=toys-and-games&ie=UTF8&qid=1519960108&sr=1-1&keywords=elements+board+game

Finally, you should def look into Codenames!

https://smile.amazon.com/Czech-Games-00031CGE-Codenames/dp/B014Q1XX9S/ref=sr_1_3?s=toys-and-games&ie=UTF8&qid=1519960153&sr=1-3&keywords=codenames

Do you know what games they have? Three of my favorite inexpensive games (all under $20) are Love Letter (this one comes in different themes, too, like The Hobbit and Batman), Codenames, and Bang.

Merry Christmas All!

I ended up getting pretty sick, slept through a good portion of Rogue One because of the cold meds yesterday.

Today has been really nice so far, the Moscow Mules are keeping the coughing in check.

My son got his girlfriend a Yoga Trapeze and watching all of them try it out while it is hanging in the trees has been hilarious. Many face plants into the dead leaves.

One of my kids got Codenames and we have been playing all day.

A high quality coffee mug that won't spill as you take it all over campus and sit it on those stupid tiny chair-desk surfaces with all your notes/laptop. These are great, for example..

Party games are great for making friends and unwinding. I hear good things about Codenames.

If you know where they go, maybe a gift card to nearby cafes/restaurants or movie theater.

A good backpack.

Headphones.

Subscription boxes

A gift subscription to Audible. I'm in grad school, and during all my years of college I really missed reading for fun. But I always have so much academic reading that I feel super guilty reading anything optional. Audiobooks fixed that. I can now listen to books while I commute, do chores, etc, and I'm now getting to consume so much fiction guilt-free! It's been a game changer.

Just trying to help. You might want to reajust your prices.

Example: Your currently asking over MSRP (20$) for Codenames. Its normally free shipping for 15$ brand new. You are asking 25$ +S/H for a used copy.

This is the one I bought: https://www.amazon.com/Czech-Games-00031CGE-Codenames/dp/B014Q1XX9S

I'd get:

One of these:
https://www.amazon.com/Dragons-Play-Multipocket-Dice-Green/dp/B07DJ18RRB/

Or this which is less fancy but comes with dice:
https://www.amazon.com/Smartdealspro-Colors-Dungeons-Dragons-Pouches/dp/B01ABST9S4/

Maybe this:
https://www.amazon.com/Embossed-Leather-Stone-Unlined-Journal/dp/B006T92BTO/

Or this:
https://www.amazon.com/Leather-Refillable-Notebook-Handmade-Journals-Sketchbook/dp/B077B7KDY7/

This kinda cool:
https://www.amazon.com/Vintage-Hardback-Binder-Organizer-Planner/dp/B06XGQZY2D/

A copy of the Player's Handbook would be nice too but she may already have that.

Spell Cards are also super cool, but class dependent so find out what she's playing first:
https://www.amazon.com/s?k=D%26D+spell+cards&ref=nb_sb_noss_2

I just got 5 sets of 7 Dice for $10 on Amazon that are pretty nice. You could also go the pound of dice route if you want to share with the communal dice-bowl style of play.

https://www.amazon.com/SmartDealsPro-Colors-Dungeons-Dragons-Pouches/dp/B01ABST9S4/ref=sr_1_8?s=toys-and-games&ie=UTF8&qid=1509865091&sr=1-8&keywords=dice&dpID=51TLq9O7vtL&preST=_SY300_QL70_&dpSrc=srch

I like these, though im easy to satisfy so...
5 sets for $10 though you can give a set to your friends

If you buy local you may pay as much as $1 per die. If you’ve got amazon prime the link below is $10 but gives you five sets of dice. Especially if you are a caster it will be more convenient to have multiples, because situations may call for 6, 8, or even 10 dice. But if budget is king you can totally play with only one of each. Enjoy your adventures!

Smartdealspro 5 x 7-Die Series Two Colors Dungeons and Dragons DND RPG MTG Table Games Dice with FREE Pouches https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01ABST9S4/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_TNXLBbSX3JTJY

Buy the Starter Set. It literally has everything you need to get started and learn the game. Also download the Basic Rules PDFs, for things like spell effects. Then all you have to do is find four or five other people to play with, maybe a few sets of dice (The Starter Set only has one set, so it can be a bit tedious to pass them around every time someone wants to do something.) and you're all set.

NOTE: Make sure that you purchase the Starter Set that I've linked to. There's a different starter set out there, but it's from a previous edition of the game that wasn't very popular.

NOTE THE SECOND: If you decide you want to invest in any of the hardcover books, make sure that you only pick up stuff for the 5th Edition rules (5e for short). It's the most recent version of the game and the only one currently being supported. While there are certain unifying concepts across all versions of D&D, each edition is basically like it's own game in and of itself.

Just get this: or any comparable item from Amazon.

You get a ton of dice for like $10, and these ones in particular look pretty nice.

Plus, if you have friends who don't remember to bring theirs, or lose one from a set, or have an attack that requires 4d6, etc...

If you're going to get more than one set, might as well get five.

covering all dice you need, pretty, cheap, at your doorstep with prime asap: https://www.amazon.com/SmartDealsPro-Colors-Dungeons-Dragons-Pouches/dp/B01ABST9S4/ref=sr_1_4?s=toys-and-games&ie=UTF8&qid=1521667654&sr=1-4&keywords=dnd+dice+set

A pack of 5 full sets is like 10 bucks on Amazon. Probably not the best quality, but it'll get you started.

Amazon link

> For example, this box set contains almost all the colors you will ever need (other than specific ones). https://www.amazon.com/Miniature-Painting-Bonus-Wargamer-Regiment/dp/B01MTXRUUT/ref=sr_1_4?s=toys-and-games&ie=UTF8&qid=1524496671&sr=1-4&keywords=army+painter

These paints are great. I bought the same set and the dropper bottles are perfect for painting with a wet palette. I've grown to hate the GW paint pots. You can also use test tube holders to organize them at your painting station.

For example, this box set contains almost all the colors you will ever need (other than specific ones). https://www.amazon.com/Miniature-Painting-Bonus-Wargamer-Regiment/dp/B01MTXRUUT/ref=sr_1_4?s=toys-and-games&ie=UTF8&qid=1524496671&sr=1-4&keywords=army+painter

Obvious colors for these models - army green for the green armor, necrotic flesh for highlighting the armor, skeleton bone probably for the pants (may need to add a little brown depending on the color you like), and one of the flesh tones for the skin. They primarily used the dark tone (black) wash on the basically the entire model, I think we could do better. Recommend, flesh wash for skin, dark tone for weapon and armor crevices, and soft tone (brown) for the paints. Khaki pants and black detailing is just too much contrast for my taste.

Side note, Army painter's paint brushes are decent but there are other options. I recommend the Virtuoso paint brush set, that will give you every kind of brush you would need. https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01M3PSN8T/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o07_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

The Army Painter Miniature Painting Kit with Bonus Wargamer Regiment Miniature Paint Brush - Acrylic Model Paint Set with 50 Bottles of Non Toxic Model Paints - Mega Paint Set 3 https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01MTXRUUT/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_-mEwCb9WT1C4E
I also used a few citadel paints

I use gw paints, mainly because I just always have, and I'm used to them, but if you wanna use some better quality, most people recommend vallejo or army painter. You can get a pretty good start with a variety of colors for army painter on Amazon for a pretty good price.

https://www.amazon.ca/dp/B01MTXRUUT/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_B706BbA6TT14G


And I know you didn't, but I use their brushes, this set is a good starting point.

https://www.amazon.ca/dp/B00HC8H4EI/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_F806BbW819S9Q

Well, depending on the level of newbness the following might be helpful:

Use Tamiya Extra Thin Plastic Cement (green cap) instead of super glue for the grey plastic stuff. It won't work on Resin though. Buy it at a Hobbytown USA or off Amazon.

Use wire cutters to remove stuff from the sprues, don't twist. Even a cheap $4 pair of Hakko cutters works fine. I use a small Gerber pocket knife to scrape off mold lines.

Don't get caught caught up into magnetizing stuff. Just glue it and be done. Nobody is going to care if you say a Carnosaur counts as a Troglodon for a game, or if your Saurus Knights are not really using the lances they are modeled with.

Apparently massive amounts of Skinks are a good investment for current Seraphon. I'd not buy more than 2 boxes while waiting for a new battletome though.

If you REALLY screw up a model, you can fix it with green stuff 99% of the time.

Army Painter sells a 50 paint set that I fully endorse. Drip bottles that won't dry out quickly like GW paints.

Ebay is a good resource. You'll have to click worldwide on the left.

Sometimes you can get stuff you can't find on Amazon at your local independent hobbystores or official GW stores that keep old stock, like unsold copies of Carrion Empire. One example, Chaos Lord on foot is a website exclusive, but you can have it shipped to a store for free instead of $10 to your home. You have to place the order in person with the store staff for that specific shop to get credit for the sale though.

Check with your local game store(s) or Meetup to see if they have scheduled painting nights. You can get instant feedback/tips and most people are willing to share paints so you can get a better idea of what brands you prefer.

No single paint company is hands-down better than the others right now. You're starting the hobby at an excellent time - while you may seem overwhelmed by options right now, you'll soon realize that all that competition has led to some incredible paints and supplies at decent prices.

That said, the Reaper learning to paint kits that have already been mentioned are a great starting point. I still have paints from my first Reaper kit from over 10 years ago and almost all of them are still usable.
Another option is Army Painter's newer line of color sets. $100 will get you a very comprehensive range of colors, metallics, and washes.

I am currently using a box set I got off of Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Army-Painter-Miniature-Painting-Wargamer/dp/B01MTXRUUT?ref_=ast_bbp_dp

Good luck finding a group!
Emerald Tavern and Dragon's Lair both carry a couple of lines of paint (I'd personally avoid Games Workshop paints, they're overpriced and the pots will help your paint dry out).
King's Hobby has a great selection of paints from companies you won't find elsewhere in town.
If you're just starting, brushes from craft stores or great.

A great way to get all the paints you'd need to really get started is the Army Painter Set, which has 50 paints, a guide, and a brush to get started with:
https://www.amazon.com/Miniature-Painting-Bonus-Wargamer-Regiment/dp/B01MTXRUUT/ref=sr_1_3?keywords=army+painter+set&qid=1554409358&s=gateway&sr=8-3

I recently bought one of these sets. they're pretty good and fairly cheap compared to buying idividually. the brush it comes with is great for large areas but i wouldnt try doing any detail with it. you do have to shake the bottles like crazy though.

It was a joking description. I was talking about the D&D board games (Castle Ravenloft, Wrath of Ashardalon, and two others I can’t remember the names of, but have to do with frost giants and the underdark, respectively). The official D&D board games include full sets of miniatures for whatever campaign they’re based off of, but otherwise are regarded as sub-part board games. As a result, the majority of the sales of the game are from people buying the games for the purpose of cannibalizing the minis and using them for mini painting and actual D&D games.

If you read the amazon reviews you see that nearly everybody talks specifically about the minis.

Try the D&D board games (Castle Ravenloft, Wrath of Ashardalon, Legend of Drizzt). Mechanically, they aren't D&D, but they do mirror several aspects of it in abstract tones.

Arguably closer to D&D in terms of playstyle, though not there by any means, is Fantasy Flight's 2nd Edition Descent: Journeys in the Dark. It's exciting, offers campaign play, involves dungeon crawling of a sort, and offers a chance for one player to "Overlord" against "hero" players, the latter of which controls one or more characters who gain equipment, abilities and so forth as the campaign progresses. Great fun and probably your closest shot at getting her into a D&D boardgame without making the jump to D&D itself.

Have you checked out the Castle Ravenloft board game from WotC? I guess they have a new one out now: Wrath of Ashardalon

The gameplay is sort of like a simplified version of 4th edition D&D. The monsters move and attack based on procedural rules, so there's no need for a separate player to be the GM.

There are a few swarms like that in some of the older DnD lines. The Castle Ravenloft game has a rat swarm that's low and flat, and I think there's a spider swarm in one of the other DnD games. The older versions of those games have a really good $/figure ratio and everything in the box is designed for use in DnD so they're pretty good investments if you think you'll use about half the stuff in the box.

Now, keep in mind, that unless your swarm is taking up more than a single square, you don't want a mini that's bigger than 1", unless you're using a 1 1/4" grid because it will create conflicts between figures. You don't want to have a complicated combat situation fall apart because you had too many figures sitting crooked and slanty on top of irregularly sized figures and bases.

>co-operation between players

I want to piggy back this with the Castle Ravenloft board game.

It's a focused board game experience with D&D elements, mostly focused on skills and combat, less on RP and story. I feel like it's a good alternative in the current wave of YouTube D&D popularity focused on ridiculous stories, silly voices, and character stereotypes.

Turnkey miniatures has sets of townsfolk, animals, royals, etc. Pretty reasonable too. http://www.turnkeyminiatures.com/Sets_c_14.html

Ceasar Miniatures has packs of 30ish minis in 12 or so poses. They are a bit under sized (22mm v 28mm). But I think it looks good for smaller beings. Their website is awefull, and Amazon is pretty expensive for them but check eBay. They have ratmen, goblins, skeletons, orcs.

Always look at Reaper bones. Here is a six pack of goblins. https://www.miniaturemarket.com/rpr77024.html

Another thing to do is get the d&d board games. They come themed to the game and have around 40 minis each. The games are okay, but the minis are great. I would wait for sales too. A few times a year they drop below $40. Here is the ravenloft game. https://www.amazon.com/Wizards-Coast-Dungeons-Dragons-Ravenloft/dp/0786955570

Edit:added ravenloft

I think you should get this game to play with yourself, or others, and let me know how you like it. :)

Wizards of the Coast Dungeons and Dragons: Castle Ravenloft Board Game https://www.amazon.com/dp/0786955570/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_6uUKBbPWXXRDN

https://www.amazon.com/Dungeons-Dragons-Castle-Ravenloft-Board/dp/0786955570/ref=sr_1_7?keywords=strahd&qid=1570476970&sr=8-7

this one has 60.

Stand alone D&D board games like: https://www.amazon.com/Dungeons-Dragons-Castle-Ravenloft-Board/dp/0786955570/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1504049722&sr=8-2&keywords=ravenloft
are really solid and even if he hates it, he get some good minis out of it.
Or, Lords of Waterdeep is really good, but to deep for a 4 year old.

You can buy this:

https://www.amazon.com/Dungeons-Dragons-Castle-Ravenloft-Board/dp/0786955570/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1504115168&sr=8-2&keywords=ravenloft

It comes with 40-50 unpainted miniatures straight from the CoS campaign (and a whole separate board game) and will save you $$$. And I personally enjoy painting the miniatures!

We played a couple of one-shot scenarios at PAX Prime. To be honest, I felt like it was a dumbed-down version of Descent or Super Dungeon Explore. If you're looking for a DnD style game, I really don't think this is it. You would be better served by any of the Dungeons and Dragons boardgames. Castle Ravenloft, Legend of Drizzt or Wrath of Ashardalon

Since your deck is also your hitpoints, the better player you are, the less variety you will see. For example, we had one payer who was doing amazingly well, rolling high and never taking damage. For the entire game she only drew two cards, so her playable hand NEVER changed (or least not in any real significant manner).

The roleplaying opportunities are almost non-existent, and it really isn't breaking any new ground for mechanics-based combat. I honestly think the only reason a lot of people are enjoying it is because of the name tie-in with "Pathfinder". Without that logo on the box, it's really not that compelling of a game.

It does have an ongoing campaign, and that is pretty compelling. Character development and seeing your characters grow in skill and gain new abilities is always fun. (That's the "gateway drug" for MMOs, after all!) But there really isn't enough game here to make it worthwhile.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/0786955570/ref=ox_sc_act_image_1?smid=ALGFOCA5V1VAN&psc=1
this is correct seller . Seller has good reviews

Normally D&D is more about imagination, and less about boards and miniatures(these are great supplements that enhance the game).

BUT the board games are good starting points if you are 100% new. They will help you learn terms and ideas, before you move on to winging it.

Actual D&D books can be a bit confusing to a new player, as they have expansive contents.

If you want to stay on the board game route. Wrath of Ashardalon is a modern D&D board game. http://www.amazon.com/Wizards-Coast-5511558-Wrath-Ashardalon/dp/0786955708/ref=pd_bxgy_t_img_y

If you want to try actual D&D the 'Red Box' as many users have mentioned is a great starting point.
http://www.amazon.com/Dungeons-Dragons-Fantasy-Roleplaying-Game/dp/0786956291/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1395670764&sr=8-4&keywords=d%26d+red+box

You can find copies of this at your local nerd or book store for much less than 60 I think.

Wrath of Ashardalon $50
Miniature Market after-market D&D minis $20
Discounted Warhammer Skaven Clanrats box $25
Awesome gamer friends *priceless

http://www.amazon.com/Dungeons-Dragons-Wrath-Ashardalon-Board/dp/0786955708

Buy that it has everything you should need to get started.

D&D board games, such as Wrathof Ashardalon, come with roughly 40 unpainted plastic miniatures. Youcan get em on Amazon for around 40 bucks a pop, bringing your mini cost to around a buck apiece, whether you throw the entire rest of the game into the trash or keep it for game night fun.

If it seems a little intimidating to jump in at the deep end, the starter set is around £16 and can be found in game shops and even waterstones. Also there are the D&D boardgames (which are a little more expensive, but you get a ton of miniatures) and games like it which are a big step up from monopoly and games like it. These can be found on the D&D website under boardgames. These games such as Castle Ravenloft, Wrath of Ashardalon and The Legend of Drizzt can be a great middle ground between boardgame and D&D (they are often referred to as D&D lite)

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Wrath-of-Ashardalon-Board-Game/dp/0786955708/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1498141205&sr=8-1&keywords=Wrath+of+Ashardalon

As others have said if you have the time whilst in hospital then perhaps get a few other children involved, the games are always better with a few more players and are a great way of developing social skills.

$20 map making
Map - draw them yourselves on graph paper

https://www.amazon.com/School-Smart-Grid-Chart-Tablet/dp/B003U6KWAY

Get pencil crayons from the dollar store. For color, use the black to deepen outlines.

Roll them up with an elastic or two for storage.

Tilesets are very limited for the cost and premade maps tend to focus on dungeons.

$80 miniatures or tokens.

Tokens for monster n enemies with pcs being minis is a cheaper way to start.

Token sets are not my thing, but you can find some on ebay or usually with starting box sets.

As for minis my average price is $5 a mini. With 2-3 being a good price (CAD) some stores have buck a mini bins where you can get peoples old minis or armies for cheeper.

Bones minis fall into that grouping

http://www.reapermini.com/Miniatures/Bones

Some of games workshop troops fall into that as well

https://www.games-workshop.com/en-CA/Goblin-Warriors

Even board games can sometimes have have decent cost per units.

https://www.amazon.com/Wizards-Coast-Dungeons-Dragons-Ashardalon/dp/0786955708/ref=pd_aw_fbt_21_img_2?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1&refRID=W96KFH6R06XCE19JE79S

And the dnd HD collection by wizkids (unpainted) though a bit small are around 2 minis for $6.

As for paint, if your worried about cost you can go to your local dollar store and get acrylic painta for $1 each. Water them down and layer them when painting for best use.

To better keep the paintjob if you want a primer will do the trick. Or fuck it for your first batch. And use all purpose cleaner to rip the paint off them later.

Protip if your going in the more expensive direction or future use. A black primer hides your mistakes a white lets colors show. Use both to create shadows n color pops.

----- so now we're 100 in and have our minis where do we store the 30ish guys we got?

Usually on a shelf. You cannput them in a display case or cabnet if you have one but shoving them in a box for the time being wont hurt much.

As far as pre-painted minis most are sold in randomized booster packs of 4. If you need specific ones you can search http://www.miniaturemarket.com

There are also official bundles of specific minis:
http://dnd.wizards.com/products/tabletop-games/miniatures/icons-realms-starter-set

Wizards also has a (discontinued?) miniature based game called Attack Wing that uses pre-painted minis. There are bundles of some enemies like goblins: http://www.miniaturemarket.com/searchresults?q=dungeons+%26+dragons+attack+wing#/?page=1

You can get unpainted minis from Reaper or from some D&D board games (best value) https://www.amazon.com/Wizards-Coast-5511558-Dungeons-Dragons/dp/0786955708

I asked this same question in April for my RL cake day. I ended up getting this. It's pretty fun for 2 people but kind of challenging. It's totally worth it if you have someone who won't troll you 'til the end of your days for playing D&D.

I picked up the Wrath of Ashardalon game before we started this adventure to fill out my mini selection - http://www.amazon.com/Dungeons-Dragons-Wrath-Ashardalon-Board/dp/0786955708

There's a good variety of minis in there and they all look pretty solid.

I see that you're into video games, so maybe you're interested in dungeons and dragons. These are the board games that I've played with just my husband, as well as a group of 4-5 people.

Temple of Elemental Evil

Wrath of Ashardalon

The way it works, is you have a stack of dungeon tiles. On each person's turn they place a new tile if they explore the edge of the one they're currently on. On each tile there are monster symbols, which you then draw a monster card and place the corresponding monster on the tile. You control the monster. I'll explain that in a minute. Each tile has a white or black arrow. Black arrow means you draw an encounter card. Encounter cards can be anything from "An Earthquake happens on your tile, roll a d20 (included in the game box), +10 to hit," to "You lose 100 gold or take 2 damage".

Each player picks their damage skills (there are cards that have the skills written out). Each player also has a MAX HP and an AC (armor class, mostly around 14-16).

There are a lot of rules, little things to understand, but once you go through it and read it it becomes second nature. As far as I'm aware there are a lot of youtube videos explaining, as well as I'd be able to help if you needed it.

The gist of this game is you and buddies go through a dungeon following a story but the dungeon is different every time.

For 4-5 (No DM) players I would look into this:
http://www.amazon.com/Dungeons-Dragons-Wrath-Ashardalon-Board/dp/0786955708
It has premade characters with some customization and doesn't require a DM.
or for 4 players (No DM) this:
http://www.amazon.com/Mice-and-Mystics-Board-Game/dp/B009TNOF9G/ref=sr_1_1?s=toys-and-games&ie=UTF8&qid=1427499846&sr=1-1&keywords=Mice+and+Mystics
(I don't know too much about this one except it's got some hype).

Or, if you're inclined for non-fantasy roleplaying, this:
http://www.amazon.com/Bully-Pulpit-Games-BPG-005/dp/1934859397/ref=sr_1_1?s=toys-and-games&ie=UTF8&qid=1427499923&sr=1-1&keywords=Fiasco

This game is amazing with the right group - but does better with 3-4ish, doable with 5 definitely but it gets kind of cluttered.

Other than that, I would just suggest home-brewing a D&D 5th edition campaign. Character generation is easy, or you can find some premades (I think someone made levels 1-20 for each class). It can be as combat heavy or as political as you want. It would be a lot of work, but you can always steal ideas from the various D&D reddits. You can do a new theme each time you play with new characters - horror, politics, war, ect. It takes a lot of work and flexibility as a GM, but it's completely worth it if your players are invested.

There are long lasting non-rpg board games as well... Diplomacy, Twilight Emperium are the ones I think of off the top of my head, but if you are looking for a fantasy D&D 5th edition is your best bet in my opinion.

There are several of those, sort of.

Wrath of Ashardalon is the most popular.

this one - 45 pounds, I am offering 10 of my premades

• book - 25 pounds - 5 premade
  
  
• book - 20 pounds - 5 premades
  
  
• I will also include 10 pics for each item, selfies, for you eyes only.
  
  payment: amazon.co.uk gc, giftrocket, many vids tip or crypto
  
  premades lists here!

Yes ma'am

Happy Birthday!

Everyone should like this.

You should listen to this on your birthday.

Munchkins (original). It's more of a 'make fun of' fantasy theme game. But it is a dungeon crawler and super simple to learn.

Betrayal at House on the Hill. Great game and a group favorite of ours.

Pssssst, rainy day exchange people. If your person is really into card games and has Munchkin on their list, it's on sale from $24.99 down to $10.99. This is an awesome game for rainy days, and it rarely ever goes on sale. Just sayin, with such a good deal you can really spoil your person ;)

For PC games, there's Minecraft and any of the three Borderlands games. You can get Borderlands 1&2 for pretty cheap during Steam sales. There's also Portal 1&2, which are puzzle games with an awesomely horrifying AI leading you along the way.

For tabletop/card games, Fluxx is awesome for the whole family and doesn't take forever. It also has different themed versions like Zombie, Pirate, Space, and Monty Python. Ticket to Ride is a bunch of fun and fairly easy to play. You can get it on Amazon too. My nine year old loves both of these games and she's been playing them for a while, so your six year old shouldn't have a huge problem as long as they have a little help the first time or two. Munchkin is another awesome card game, but can take a while to play. Even so, my daughter dominates at it and has an evil laugh just for when she does something to screw other players over...

If you check out Tabletop they play a lot of games so you can see the gameplay before deciding to buy. Ticket to Ride, Star Fluxx, Munchkin, and Betrayal at House on the Hill are all games we bought after viewing a Tabletop episode.

apples to apples?

mine Munchkin

I have never found anyone that didn't like Settlers of Catan. It takes more thinking than your basic Monopoly or Clue game, but is by no means dry or full of intense strategising. It's ultra fun. Carcassone and Munchkin as well. Yes, they look nerdy, but I have many friends from various walks of life (from the jock to the hipster to the nerd) and they all love these games.

Maybe... but what you get in this package is a mystery. You could get one of several base games. I'd say buy this and if you don't get a base game; head over to Amazon where you can get the original base game for under $15
munchkin at amazon

Edit: fixed link

Get the game Munchkin

It's nearly D&D like.

I feel it's a good starting point to what table top games are like.

Zombies.

(edit) And I almost forgot Fluxx and Munchkin.

I love that board game.

Come over to my place tonight we'll be playing cards against humanity

Fave card game Munchkin

Handwriting sample

This card game is awesome!

I am cool with PMing you my address.

Edit: handwriting!

Mega memory plus, saves progress of old gameboy games. Great for those pesky game with no save function.

Note: Make sure it has a working battery :)

http://www.amazon.com/Mega-Memory-Card/dp/B00002R108

Gen I AND II cartridges lose their saves when the batteries die out. I recommend you buy new batteries and follow this to stop the inevitable http://youtu.be/RsROHA7RUCQ

Trust me, I lost my Yellow and Blue save files two years ago because my battery tanked.

Also buying this for even more insurance is recommended, makes you sleep better at night! It'll back up and restore any Gameboy Save File http://www.amazon.com/Mega-Memory-Card/dp/B00002R108

Amazon will gladly take it.

check this out http://www.amazon.com/MEGA-MEMORY-CARD-Game-Boy-Color/dp/B00002R108

review http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kKJsnpqzdE4

or you can built your own reader/writer :D http://www.reinerziegler.de/readplus.htm#Home%20made%20programming%20systems

It's really easy to change the battery (I've done it for all my Gen II/Gen III games) and you need to invest in the Mega Memory Card! It's a life saver! :)

http://www.amazon.com/MEGA-MEMORY-CARD-Game-Boy-Color/dp/B00002R108

There are tools that can store your save data (they use Solid State Memory, like a flashdrive), and then put it back, so if you obtain one, you could replace the battery while you still have your save. Here is one: http://www.amazon.com/MEGA-MEMORY-CARD-Game-Boy-Color/dp/B00002R108 I never used one, but it has some good reviews!

Also, here is a new battery for your game: http://www.amazon.com/Replacement-Battery-Pokemon-Game-Boy-Color/dp/B004IXQISS/ref=pd_bxgy_vg_text_y/188-0775787-4049954

Forgot to say, you can also use something like this: http://www.amazon.com/MEGA-MEMORY-CARD-Game-Boy-Color/dp/B00002R108

If I had nothing and wanted to purchase decent quality stuff but still being affordable, I'd do the following.

Multimeter $45

Soldering Station $38

Solder $25

Desoldering Pump $6

If this is the only time you ever plan on soldering, then you can get away with the cheap stuff. You could probably source some of it locally for cheaper. None of this is great quality, but it will do the job for a 1 time project. While I wouldn't enjoy it, I could build an Ergodox with the following setup.

Desoldering Pump $6

Multimeter $13

Solder $9

Soldering Iron $8

Iron Holder $6

I know lead is bad for us, but is that why or does lead-free heat up/bond better?

I've got a solder sucker. I'm sure it's the same thing.

Be interesting to see if a spring-loaded solder sucker would work.

You should also buy a "solder sucker" (
http://www.amazon.com/Parts-Express-Solder-Sucker-desoldering/dp/B0002KRAAG ) which is a vacuum pump, to remove the solder when you heat it up.

That will help prevent damage to the circuit board foil 'traces' which can break or lift off the board if you just heat the solder and wiggle/pull the cap. Also some components are soldered to traces on both sides of the board.

Many Dell and HP pcs had the problem for several years, our company had many models replaced under warranty. They would typically fail after 2 or 3 years. Tops of the caps were bulged or had white or yellow powder coming out of the top.

In addition to this, a solder sucker is both helpful and fun. In all seriousness, it makes the part pull so much easier when all of the old solder is completely removed. Makes for a cleaner re-application of the replacement part as well.

this works fine

https://www.amazon.com/WEmake-WM-SP4-Solder-Sucker-desoldering/dp/B0002KRAAG

https://www.amazon.com/WEmake-WM-SP4-Solder-Sucker-desoldering/dp/B0002KRAAG

Five bucks

I would heavily suggest getting one of these https://www.amazon.com/WEmake-WM-SP4-Solder-Sucker-desoldering/dp/B0002KRAAG

As far as the solder goes as long as the 5v pad isn't connected to that center pad you will be fine, the solder can remain on the pads as long as the pads aren't connected

On a another note if they are connected put your solder gun on a low heat setting (Just barely melting the solder) And using your solder gun to carry some of the excess away

a) yes, it seems pretty much the same. For the most uses, most DMMs (Digital Multi Meter) will work just fine. Your basic needs are to have a couple of different ranges for both voltage and ampacity readings (i'm refering to the accuracy of the readings here... a DVM generally has 3 or 4 characters on the screen to describe the charactieristic. one range will cover, let's say up to 2 millivolts, and the next will cover up to 2 volts, the next up to 20... you'll figure it out). another major tool on the DVM is an audible continuity tester. these just make a tone when you have a clean circuit path between points a and b. Big help. That one you linked up seems pretty decent.... when you start wiring houses or something, then you can think about upgradign into a fluke handheld or a benchtop if you're doing big fancy circuits, but that'd be fine for quite a while.

I'll tell you, my Iron Experience is pretty dang limited. but this is what i know. As far as a soldering iron goes, one of the major considerations is the power rating, i.e. the wattage ratings... i think mine is about 30W, and it works just fine. If i had my druthers I'd go to one of those variable ones that can get up to ~800 degrees. I'd also definitely consider one that comes with a proper resting stand. An operating soldering iron is a pretty big safety issue, in that it is a burning hot iron tip hanging around on a surface that may or may not be covered in flammable material or human flesh.

As far as de-soldering irons go, at school i have access to those fancy powered vacuum ones... I just take any desoldering tasks i have over there because they are the cats meow. I've used those l'il non-powered vacuum tubes and i think they are going to take a lot of skill and training to get to use efficiently. i didn't like them. I've never used or seen this type

https://www.amazon.com/WEmake-WM-SP4-Solder-Sucker-desoldering/dp/B0002KRAAG

Here are some useful links: Link; Link; Link. The Marantz cost about $58 using good quality replacements. I did a H/K 330B for $9.58. The Marantz 2285 I am working on cost about $90 for parts.

 

You will need a decent soldering iron; solder sucker; desoldering braid; lead solder; flux; and most importantly a multimeter. Here is another gear thread. Most of the manuals are available on Hifiengine. What you can't find there you can check the forums or Sams. Manuals on Fleabay should be an absolute last resort.

 

I would recommend going to a local thrift store and getting some practice junker units. It will take you some time to good at it and you certainly don't want to screw up your good unit. I still don't know anywhere near enough to do more than replace the parts and do basic troubleshooting. Fortunately for people like us, there are a lot of very helpful and knowledgeable persons on the forums who are always willing to lend a hand. Edit: Forgot about the Dim Bulb Tester.

Soldering iron: https://www.amazon.com/Hakko-FX888D-23BY-Digital-Soldering-FX-888D/dp/B00ANZRT4M

Edit: most people recommend getting a chisel tip for the soldering iron. Big tips for big jobs, small tips for small jobs. Just having the pencil tip and one chisel will get you by for a long time.

Desoldering braid: https://www.amazon.com/Aven-17542-Desoldering-2-5mm-Length/dp/B003E48ERU/

Desoldering pump: https://www.amazon.com/WEmake-WM-SP4-Solder-Sucker-desoldering/dp/B0002KRAAG

You want both the pump and the braid. Get thin solder for electronics. You should probably use lead-free, but I like good old 60/40.

There are a ton of suggestions on multimeters. The exact right one for you depends on what you eventually want to do. Dave Jone's EEVBlog has some good suggestions. As does Adafruit. Anything Adafruit recommends isn't too far off the mark. If you just want a suggestion: Extech EX330 for $45 https://www.amazon.com/Extech-EX330-Autoranging-Multimeter-Thermometer/dp/B000EX0AE4 Cheaper ones will do the job, but this is a better one. The next step up are True RMS meters for about $100.

You can remove most of the solder by heating the solder and using a solder sucker. I feel like the clasp would probably go between the two pieces and not on top but am really not sure by looking at it.

I'd probably take it a jeweler and just ask them. If it can't be repaired and it doesn't have too much sentimental value then you could purchase her one.

I started off playing the tabletop Dungeons and Dragons board games like The Legend of Drizzt, Castle Ravenloft, and Wrath of Ashardalon. These games are great because you can play with anywhere between 2-5 people and you don't need a dungeon master. They come with around 40 plastic miniatures, board pieces, premade adventures, and everything else you need to get started, and they're great because you can mix the pieces between the games if you buy more than one.



These games are great because they can get you into D&D without all the set up and keeping track that you have to do with a regular game.

Once you've played one of those a few times you should move on to real D&D. I suggest doing this by trying to finding a starter set for the edition you want to play, or, even better, by finding a friend who plays.

Now this is only really if you want to play D&D and that's just what I'm suggesting because that's what I have experience with and I know it's a lot of fun. If you, or anyone, chooses to start playing D&D or any game I would suggest buying your materials from a local game shop instead of online. If you can afford it (prices will probably be a little higher) and you can find one near you it's a great investment. Not only can you ask the employees for advice, but often there will be a ton of great people willing to play with you, as long as you sort through the neckbeards of course. Also you'll be supporting those local shops, and you'll help keep them in business, which helps paper and pen RPG's survive, and helps everyone have just a little more fun.

Good luck and happy dragon slaying!

DnD board game

http://www.amazon.com/Dungeons-Dragons-Castle-Ravenloft-Board/dp/0786955570

Hey! Im sorry if im late to the party, but you could totally check into getting the Castle Ravenloft boardgame. Comes with like 40 minis or something like that, including zombies, skeletons, a vampire, a werewolf, a huge flesh golem and even a dracolich (which is not included in the Curse of Strahd storyline but its still a badass mini).


They are not painted, and made out of somewhat cheap plastic tho. But the boardgames are an amazing way to build up a mini army real fast. Look into it!

No. But I've played this game before and it's like D&D Lite. http://www.amazon.com/Dungeons-Dragons-Castle-Ravenloft-Board/dp/0786955570

I was skeptical at first but it ended up being pretty fun.

But $54 seems a bit much.

> So me and some friends started playing ravenloft. we like it and the system, but we know it is different from classic dnd. We unjust don't know to what extent.

Ravenloft was actually released for 1e/2e, meaning it's very classic. Things are quite lethal, and upgraded compared to a more conventional D&D campaign - setting a tone that the game is very dark compared to other D&D campaigns. Perhaps making Dark Sun look like a paradise. In a group of friends, I mentioned plans to host a Ravenloft campaign - and one veteran D&D player simply said that any characters going in might as well be considered one-shots.

If you're referring to the board game, that's somewhat different as you aren't going through the full character creation process that you do in any other edition. While it doesn't match either classic D&D or 4.0 (can tell by the rules despite not having played it), it still seems enjoyable enough.

> What are the main differences betweent classic and 4.0 campaigns?

Classic D&D refers to AD&D, although you can include 3e. Prior to 3e, things were much more lethal, and you were expected to engage enemies in larger groups (party sizes of 6-9). 3e/3.5e shifted to slightly smaller groups, made slightly less lethal but still chance of being downed, and make everything as standard as possible.

4.0 shifted focus to having the player characters being heroic when they start, which is a major paradigm shift in D&D - no need for an early campaign.

> I don't think we have so much time as for long battles every battle.

There's a few ways to speed things up, but it best works if there's no table distractions (one of my group has enough non-game talk that it slows down a quickly-resolvable 5v1 battle) and if the group is skilled enough to plan things ahead of time.

If you're worried about combat taking a while, it's best to go for systems that are much lighter on combat math. As you noticed, 5e seems to be the common recommendation.

Dungeons and Dragons: Castle Ravenloft Board game https://www.amazon.com/dp/0786955570/ref=cm_sw_r_other_apa_i_spe3DbRS1A8XD

Amazon uk seems to have good prices on the D&D board games. Here's castle ravenloft: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Dungeons-Dragons-Castle-Ravenloft-Board/dp/0786955570/ref=sr_1_sc_1?s=kids&ie=UTF8&qid=1481603994&sr=1-1-spell&keywords=Castle+racenloft

You are aiming for a little over 40 pounds with those, which seems to be the current prices. Ravenloft is where I would start, after that, temple of elemental evil, then wrath of ashlardon and legend of drizzt. There are 4 such board games in total.

Eh, kind of surprising board games are the most cost effective way to get miniatures, but that seems to be the case. You will get something like 42 minis per game, a mix of heroes, monsters, and a couple large guys.

Checking on amazon uk, Descent seems way overpriced compared to in the US. May be a christmas thing, but I would aim to pay about 40 pounds for the base game, (they currently have it for 60 pounds, far too much), and about 25 pounds for hero and monster packs, to count as a good deal. Maybe watch amazon uk and see if they get some reasonable prices after christmas.

I know the UK has some great ebay sellers offering the Caesar's miniatures and the dark alliance sets, so you shouldn't have a problem finding them on ebay by searching for the names. My personal favorites are the Caesar's undead set, the Caesar's adventurers set, and the Dark Alliance orcs set.

Anyway, that's where I would start building the collection in the UK. Let me know if I can help further. :)

I've heard good things about Castle Ravenloft, although I've not played it.

I believe it uses the 4th Edition rules (maybe a subset), and contains everything you need in the box, ready to go.

I buy painted so I just get singles from ebay. The Dungeon Command boxes from amazon are also pretty good value too.

If you want unpainted then Otherworld Miniatures look good to me. You can also get the big boxed D&D board games like the base one, Ravenloft, Legend of Drizzt...etc which are relatively cheap for how many minis you get.

The best way to get into any table top game is to join an existing group, if that group you saw playing looked fun you could always ask to join them. You can also look up groups that might be looking for members via a local gaming store or on a website like meetup.com.

If you really want to start your own game then Pathfinder or D&D 4e have the best options for beginner boxes. You should pick one based on what sounds better. It seems to me what you describe might be 4e, but it might not be so you should make sure you know what they were playing before you buy something that is not what you want to play.

EDIT: your description reminds me of the D&D board game like: http://www.amazon.com/Dungeons-Dragons-Castle-Ravenloft-Board/dp/0786955570

While it bears the D&D logo it is not a traditional table top RPG like Pathfinder but actually a (very fun) board game.

I think you need this shirt!

EDIT: MORE STUFF These dice are pretty rad

Do you DM?

Mind Flayers?

Everyone needs a pound of Dice

Drizzit

Ravenloft



Edit: I was so excited to show you the shirt I forgot to link this super cute bento box on my default list!

Hm... I'm not sure what to do about transitioning into a Fallout RPG system. I'll share with you what's worked for me to acquaint new-comers to tabletop games:

• Buy one of these: One, Two, Three, maybe Four
  
  
• Schedule a "game night" where your group just picks up and plays one of those games. Work together to understand the rules and the process and gauge the how much fun everyone has doing these sort of games.
  
  
• After a few games nights, ask your friends if they're interested in trying something a little less pre-made. Buy this and upgrade your game night.
  
  
• After a few sessions of that, if all goes well and the general consensus is positive, expand your game night to your desired game system.

This right here:

www.amazon.com/Wizards-Coast-5511558-Dungeons-Dragons/dp/0786955708#

The Wrath of Asharadlon is a DnD board game that comes with a ton of really great minis. You can get a used copy for like $50 (which may feel like a lot but check out pics of the minis first) the actual game is just ok but for the minis and for the hex tiles you won't be able to beat the price. They're unpainted but made from high quality colored plastic.

You get:
1 red dragon
1 otyugh (big tentacle guy in back)
1 rage drake
1 gauth (like a small beholder)
3 bears
3 gibbering mouthers (blob monsters)
3 grell (brain monsters)
3 kobold warriors
1 larger kobold warrior
3 devil warriors
3 cultists
3 orc archers
3 orc warriors
1 orc shaman
3 duergar (dark dwarf) guards
1 duergar captain
3 snakes
1 female dwarf fighter
1 female elf paladin
1 male human cleric
1 male dragonborn wizard
1 male half-Orc Rouge


There are also, Ravenloft (Eastern European Vampire Style) and Drizzt in the Underdark (Dark Elves journey to the center of the earth, giant mushrooms style) box sets like this if you are into those settings. There was a more recently released Temple of Elemental Evil box set but apparently the minis aren't half as good.

I looked into a couple of options.
First are the DnD Board games. These are about the cheapest pre-made minis I found. Here

The second option was 3D printing. You can definitely get more bang for your buck, but there's a larger up front cost. You can get a low end 3D printer for something like $200-$300.

Third option was the Pathfinder Pawns. Not great, but they're cheap for a lot of them. Someone linked some printables elsewhere in the thread. These are nice because it's good art and a fairly high quality print. Downside is you're probably going to want two boxes. There's not quite enough of anything to cover large groups of mooks. Here

Fourth option I've seen is LEGO. Check out /r/legodnd for more ideas. If you have a bunch of stuff laying around, that can give you some ideas for stuff to do.

Overall, I think 3D printing is the way to go in the long run. It just requires a larger initial investment. It's also dependant on you finding or making your own patterns. The upside is it's fairly cheap and it's the most flexible option. You can 3D print pretty much anything you want. You also have the benefit of making scenery in addition to minis.

You could buy Wrath of Ashardalon. It has all sorts of other minis with 3 kobolds and a kobold lieutenant.

I would suggest take a different route. Buy another game, but specifically somthing with minis in it. I have seen CMON games go for as little as $8 new at places like Marshall’s and T J Maxx. WOTC’s wrath of ashardalon is pretty cheap right now but is usually between $40-60. That’s around $1 a pop and you get some nice ones and some big ones. Also I’ve seen arena of the planes walkers pretty cheap many times when a local store had it for $5 I bought 10 boxes and now I use them as armies and mobs. Look around and be patient and be ready to buy when you see deals but dont be afraid to walk away if something is too much. At the end of they day you could have lots of minis and several new games to play. Also for cheap battlemats you may be a little late but lots of wrapping paper has 1 inch grid on the inside. Picked up several 3’ by 50yard rolls for 50 cent a pop in mid January

I'm a fairly budget DM (but I had an edge as you'll see). Here is what my solution for minis was:

Via BGG I was able to for a few of the Dungeon and Dragon Board Games ex: Wrath of Ashardalon. This gave me a decent enough set of minis but most importantly: multiples of many of them as many of them come in groups of 2-4. This is kind of a cheat as I have a large collection of board games and was looking to swap some out anyway.

Then I purchased Pathfinder Beginner Box. Its a good price and you get a playmat, mini adventure, dice and a bunch of Pathfinder Pawns. These pawns are great and come with bases which lead me to my next purchases.

I was very happy with the way the Pathfinder Pawns worked out for me to "fill in the blanks" where I didn't have any minis. Pathfinder offers a lot of sets for their different adventure paths for between $15-20 via amazon. They don't come with bases but the beginner box solved that for me. Best part of these sets, in my opinion, is they come with plenty of multiples.

My players use a mix of minis from the board games and their own painted ones they bring. I pick a mix of minis and pawns with a preference towards all of one if I can help it. The pawns are fantastic and if I didn't have the option of the board game I would be totally happy just using those. The only thing I might do in that situation would be to pick up individual minis for "bosses". While the art on the Pathfinder Pawns are generally good to excellent quality scale is really lost on the larger creatures imo.

As for actually running combat, I'm style finding my DM style but I've settled on a mix of 4 similar yet different methods depending on what I want the encounter to emphasize.

For quick, "uncomplicated" encounters or ones that I may want to not emphasize combat I use theater of the mind. In my experience the second a grid comes out players think combat. The speed of theater of the mind is appealing to me. As for technique: with theater of the mind I tend to narrate everything except killing blows and run turn order by starting with the characters name and a description of the state of the battle every turn.

If TotM seems a bit too imprecise I break out the minis/pawns and run what I call Table of the Mind. We put the minis/pawns on the table and use them without a grid. Keeps things quick and snappy but gives the players something to reference. For this method and all others below I assign initiative to one of my PCs.

If environmental effects are more of a factor I use "zones". I stole this from Sly Flourish. I tend to use it less often than any other method but I like having it in my bag of tricks so I'll mention it here. Essentially I place the pawns/minis on index cards with each card representing a vague location in the battle and features within that location.

For complicated encounters or for those I get DM Crafty with nothing beats a good ol grid map. The flipmat from the beginner box is always in my bag but I have a larger Chessex map for bigger battles. I like to supplement it with either interesting mechanics or bling. I'm working on a one shot right now for my friend's birthday where two of the battles will take place on gridded maps one of which involves me placing cardboard "trees" on it and the other a complex series of teleportation doors. PCs love bling and I love blinging out. It's amazing what you can do with cardboard and paper; it's equally amazing how a description of a battle changes my awful craft skills into an epic fight!. I do not think I could run my teleporting door encounter without a map to ground my players. It would be too confusing and demand too much memory from all involved.

Sorry this got so long O.o

https://www.amazon.ca/Distribution-Solutions-Wrath-Ashardalon-Boardgame/dp/0786955708.

This is one of them; the other two are in its suggestions

https://www.amazon.com/Dungeons-Dragons-Temple-Elemental-Evil/dp/B00TLRT3YC


https://www.amazon.com/Wizards-Coast-5511558-Dungeons-Dragons/dp/0786955708/ref=pd_bxgy_21_img_2?_encoding=UTF8&pd_rd_i=0786955708&pd_rd_r=V24WQ1M5WNJ1NA7GWS1W&pd_rd_w=Cjh8S&pd_rd_wg=1wB1P&psc=1&refRID=V24WQ1M5WNJ1NA7GWS1W
games like these