Turbo Tina has invited your crew into the Carnival of Chaos! Players will smash, slam, and shoot their way to victory by collecting “scrap” that Turbo Tina awards each round. Carnival of Chaos is the fifth expansion for Thunder Road: Vendetta and can be played with the base game or the Maximum Chrome Edition.
Welcome to the Carnival
We’ve played a lot of Thunder Road: Vendetta in 2023 and 2024. This new expansion is essentially an arena battle that introduces new weapons and a reward system as you collect “scrap”. There are three roads that lead into the arena where the combat takes place. At the end of each round, a new Turbo Tina card is revealed.
This card will trigger Killer Pillars which will destroy any car that is parked on top of these tiles. It also adds a new immovable object that players have to avoid. Tina will award scrap to any vehicles that are on spotlight locations, and even give a new decree for the next round.
Just like in the base game, players will shoot and slam one another, with dice dictating the outcome of the combat. For players who already know Thunder Road: Vendetta, there’s not a ton of new concepts here. Movement in the arena spaces is slightly different and takes a minute to get used to. I’ve taught this game to multiple TRV veterans and the movement trips people up the first couple turns. Sprinkled around the board are Party Favor tiles and Super-Weapon tokens. These are going to give you the boost you need to win.
The selection of Super-Weapons are fantastic. These cards attach to the vehicle that picked it up, giving them a new way to eliminate their opponent. A player with a Super-Weapon attached is a force to be reckoned with. Players who can slam opponents into Killer Pillars and maneuver gracefully around the arena are going to have fun with this expansion.
Ready for Combat
Restoration Games carried through the dystopian, Mad Max feel of Thunder Road into every area of the game. The art style and board layout is excellent and even the packaging sticks with the grindhouse visuals of the base game. You can tell that this expansion is essentially Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome without the IP license.
Since players cannot leave the arena once they enter, the game keeps players in close quarters. It forces players to interact and unlike the base game, players cannot just try to outrun their opponents.
Slamming opponents at just the right time can launch an opponents vehicle out of the arena, into a Killer Pillar, or into position to get clobbered by the other players. While in the arena, rolling high numbers on the dice become less of a necessity. You’ll rely more on positioning and weapons each round.
Carnival of Chaos also adds a fifth player color to the mix. The new team comes with three purple cars, dice, chopper, and purple dashboards. This allows you to play with up to five players across all different game modes with a standard team of 3 vehicles.
The Queen of Chaos
Carnival of Chaos has a specific number of rounds. Each of the six Turbo Tina cards come out at the end of the round. The game ends when there are no more Turbo Tina cards to flip over in the deck OR when a single player has been eliminated from play. Having the Turbo Tina deck dictate the length of the game works really well. While six rounds is a great game length, it’s the start of the game that comes off a little dry.
In the first round of the game, players have to travel up the three roadways that lead into the arena. This is made up of the regular road pieces that come with the base game. In my head, I see these cars rumbling toward this arena, ready for combat. In reality, it might take you two full turns to get to the center. Bad die rolls could even put you in the role of “spectator” for a couple rounds.
It’s not uncommon for a player to have only two cars in the arena even into the start of the third round. That’s half-way through the game. In my first game, I felt like it had a pretty boring start. I felt validated when everyone else at the table mentioned it during clean up of the game.
For a game mode that is called Carnival of Chaos, this is a bit of a let down. Once players have there cars in the arena, the gameplay is smooth and fun. But it honestly doesn’t feel any crazier than the base game. I think being confined to the arena is really what sets this game apart from the base game.
While I rarely “house rule” games, we did make a slight change to the start of the game. When playing at the house, only start flipping Turbo Tina cards after at least two players have entered the arena. This is usually in the second round. This helps players to feel like they get a full six rounds of combat with their opponents.
We Don’t Need Another Hero
Carnival of Chaos adds a lot of cool items to one of my absolute favorite games. When it comes to reviewing expansions, the question I usually ask myself is “Does this make the original game better?”
This is a tough one, and it depends on what you’re looking for in the game. I honestly believe that everything that comes in the Maximum Chrome edition will keep me busy for years. Carnival of Chaos offers a slightly different play mode that is interesting, but not incredibly memorable. If you’ve played through all the content in the Maximum Chrome box (or the separate expansions), you may be looking for a new mode of play. Carnival of Chaos is probably what you’re looking for.
I love the system and world that Restoration Games has created with Thunder Road: Vendetta. At this point, this is easily one of my favorite games of all time. Carnival of Chaos is a nice addition to the game, but not a necessity in my opinion.
Introduction by Congress of Vienna Assistant Designer/Editor, Fred Schachter – For those unaware, to familiarize this InsideGMT audience of what designer Frank Esparrago created with his fun and exciting Congress of Vienna game, available via GMT Games; InsideGMT has presented articles including a “Strategies for” series… (think of the old Avalon Hill General magazine’s “Perfect Plan” articles for that legendary company’s “classics”), “Game as History”: An Historical Introduction to the Congress of Vienna Period” as well as a four-part series entitled: “Meet the Statesmen of Congress of Vienna” and a host of other material such as game “After Action Reports”.
Use this link to access these articles: https://www.gmtgames.com/p-850-congress-of-vienna.aspx. This site includes a copy of the game’s full Rulebook as well as its shorter Quick Start Rules Summary. As to the Congress of Vienna Vassal Module, it can be found using this link: Category:GMT Games – Vassal. Isn’t it wonderful how many GMT games can be computer played using Vassal?
For Vassal is a wonderful way to game since it electronically duplicates all a game’s physical components, which in the case of Congress of Vienna, includes gameboard, dice, cards, various counters, pieces, rules and player aids to enable a four-player contest: one for each of the game’s Major Powers: France, Britain, Russia and Austria.
Without Vassal, the CoV Team’s efforts could not have been as comprehensive as they were. Those aforementioned InsideGMT articles could not have been as impactful. For that, an eternal debt of gratitude is owed to the very talented Joel Toppen, who back in 2020 created the initial foundational Congress of Vienna Vassal Module. Designer Frank Esparrago, in turn, built and modified it through numerous iterations to ultimately reflect the game’s final Terry Leeds’ published graphics. Through Vassal, CoV Play Testers could enjoy and contribute to the game from across the United States, Spain, United Kingdom, France, Luxembourg, the Czech Republic and Asia (Manila, Philippines and Shenzhen, China). Fun stuff!
We now present a “walk through “of how Congress of Vienna was converted into its latest electronic form, specifically VASSAL for the physically published game to enable four players, without geographic constraint, to have a grand time experiencing all this wonderful game has to offer.
Furthermore, readers may note that due to the wonderful support of those ordering and hopefully now enjoying Congress of Vienna, the game is currently “OUT OF STOCK” (thank you! thank you! thank you!). GMT will reintroduce CoV as a P500 Reprint offering within the next few months. You folks know how that system works, eh? For now, the game IS available to learn and play via Vassal. Have fun!
Here is Congress of Vienna Goes Electric 2025 Edition: starting with its “Game Set-Up” of course… so take it away Frank!
Note: If you would like to view any of the following screen illustrations (Figures) in a larger size, you can click on the image.
The first screen of CoV’s Vassal Module allows the choice of whether the game is to be conducted with players connected on-line or for an off-line contest by a single player or group using Vassal in lieu of the physical Congress of Vienna game. During CoV’s on-line play testing, one of the team would unlock the game and the other players would connect with it using the team’s established Skype guidelines!
The next two screens, Figures 1 and 2 shown below, are mandatory to get a game underway (that is, they always appear and must be properly responded to before commencing play). The first screen allows you to choose the desired CoV Scenario. The first option is the Full Campaign Game 1813-1814 (for a maximum of 10 turns). The other menu-offered scenarios are shorter, with less turns and different historical set-ups, etc. (see Figure 1).
Figure 1.- Congress of Vienna Vassal Scenario Selection Setup: The screen above allows choice of a scenario to play. Details concerning each scenario, such as its victory conditions and any special rules, are within the game’s Playbook Section 17. An “Add Your Scenario?” is a “Sandbox” option still under development for subsequent release. It is not shown within the above Figure 1. The CoV Team has this feature bookmarked as a pending “work-in-progress”.
Once this prompt is responded to, the following screen allows choosing sides (see Figure 2). It also facilitates selecting the option of a two or three player game. The final option is for playing Congress of Vienna solitaire (“Solo”), in which you manage all four Major Powers (per Playbook Sections 19-23). To fully experience the game’s solitaire offerings, you’ll need the large two-side printed Allied and French Bots which are included in the physical game.
Figure 2.- Congress of Vienna Vassal choosing side: This second screen of our CoV Module allows you to choose the number of players that will start the game. It is possible to play a game with a single player controlling two powers in a 3-players game, or a game with only two sides (e.g. the Allies of the Coalition against Napoleonic Imperial France). Finally, you can play a Solo game using either of the printed French or Allied Bots included with the physical Congress of Vienna game.
When Vassal remains open after a scenario and player(s) by their respective Major Powers are selected; the Module’s Main Window of the entire gameboard appears (see Figure 3)!
Figure 3.- Congress of Vienna Vassal Main Window: We used Terry Leeds’s beautiful, yet wonderfully functional, game board graphics, but had to adapt them to a computer screen. As Terry’s design is meant to be viewed from a four-player zenithal position when placed upon a gaming table, it was converted to a single-player front-facing image for a computer screen viewing. To accomplish this, we altered the direction of the Military Map’s facing by rotating it 90º. We also added an area, on the screen’s far right, for trading cards. This was needed since in games with physical boards and cards, cards are traded between players face down without passing them through the game board! A nice elegant solution, eh?
At this screen’s top are different buttons identifying CoV game components: two red and green buttons are located to its top left (surrounded with a dark blue rectangle). Both allow you to select an additional national card each turn to the player winning the Initial Environment Table’s turn start result (This is an achievement of creativity and Vassal programming virtuosity by the talented Joel Toppen! Bravo and thanks Joel!).
Thereafter, this button allows you to draw the Initial Event Card through which each turn begins and to its right is the Character & Event Card Deck (both surrounded by a red rectangle in Figure 3). This last button directs you to the main driver of this Vassal game. Immediately to the right of this button are four buttons that open the hand of cards for each Major Power Player (Austria, Britain, France, and Russia). Once a game is underway, these buttons can only be activated by the player who owns that Major Power. This requires privacy (except for a two/ three player contest or a Solo game). We put these four buttons inside an orange rectangle in Figure 3 above.
The Chart Folder buttoncontains different player aids such as Congress of Vienna’s Detailed Sequence of Play, Battle DRM, Campaign Game VP Chart, Rules, etc…. Further to the right are the two electronic dice (surrounded by a dark red rectangle) which keep the game “alive” and for which we never used for other Vassal games.
This is a true technological marvel it seems to us (although a player frustrated by bad luck can’t throw these dice out an open window or smash one with a hammer to teach the other[s] a lesson… yes, such reactions are within the actual experience of some CoV Team members: readers may have other bad die rolling stories to share)!
To their right are other less important buttons allowing receipt of optional Handicap Cards or to remove Characters who may die during a game (this surrounded by a light green rectangle). In between these are the buttons and charts that facilitate electronic play for 2-players (see the following Figure 4 below).
On the left side of the screen top is the Clean Button. This activates the Vassal screen’s clearing of game components at the end of each turn. It returns all markers and cards to their respective locations ready for use next turn. This is a clear, valuable, and appreciated advantage over physical face-to-face games as it eliminates potentially disastrous gameboard upset risk from pets and/or small children on the loose!
Finally, there’s the Help option located in the screen’s upper left corner (surrounded by a light green rectangle). This option opens a PDF file player aid (CoV Vassal Notes) which explains in detail the buttons and options of this Vassal Module for players through text and explanatory screen images. A new player is strongly encouraged to check out this PDF document once the Module is loaded, for it contains “How to” details beyond what this article encompasses.
The main window of the Congress of Vienna Vassal Module has components which do not fit on a screen without overly reducing their scale and legibility. Perhaps the most important feature is the Diplomacy Display (surrounded. by a red rectangle). This is where the game’s 30 Issue Markers (diplomatic, military, economic and political), intrinsic to the game’s Diplomacy and Government Phases; are located at the beginning of each turn if available for player selection by not being initially placed on a Major Power’s Track or the Negotiating Table.
Figure 4.- Congress of Vienna’s Vassal Handicap Cards & Dead Characters Window: You can see the Handicap cards deck on the left. In the screen’s center are discarded Handicap cards. Although optional, these cards allow you to add more variability to games and/or are used to achieve balance between players with less experience with the game versus one or more CoV knowledgeable opponents. It’s nice having this “balance the playing field” capability, eh? On the right is the last card permanently removed from the game. In this example, it is the aging Kutuzov who has just died at the end of turn 1 (through an unfortunate die roll of 2 which precipitated his early demise!).
At the bottom of Figure 3, flush left, there is a light brown Track (starting at 0 and ending at 80) to tabulate each Major Power’s VPs (indicated by a text box and light blue arrow). The Military Map (highlighted by a yellow rectangle) is where, during the War Phase, each army’s movement takes place and upon which battles are fought on the map’s different Fronts (A-G, including America’s War of 1812,depicted by a box rather than a Front of multiple spaces). The following Figure 7 features this map and explains some of its attributes. Congress of Vienna is certainly a game of diplomacy; but it is also a wargame!
On the bottom right of the Vassal screen is a vertical/horizontal scroll feature to block out the screen’s Diplomatic Section. This enables viewing, without distraction, solely the entire Military Map. This comes in handy when resolving the Congress of Vienna War Phase. Additionally, two adjacent horizontal Tracks (orange for the Allies and light blue for France) allow Major Powers to record Military unit losses (cubes) during a battle via the DRM Battle Tracks.
The screen’s right side is the Diplomacy Area (surrounded by a light blue rectangle). This is where the Diplomacy and Government Phases take place. There you’ll find the Negotiation Table, each Major Power’s National Track radiating from it, Diplomacy Round Tracker with the Turn Record and other game features. Also, each gameboard corner includes one of the four National Force Pools and other markers. Finally, the rightmost section of the Vassal screen contains the CardTrading Area where 2 players place cards to be traded between them during a Diplomacy Phase Round (this Card Trading Area does not exist on the physical board as players directly trade their cards without placing them on the board!).
We present in Figures 5 and6, two key windows within the main window. Figure 5 below shows the Initial Event Card Window (this opens by clicking the appropriate button). In that window you can see the front and back of these cards. On the upper left screen side, the magnifying glass icons allow you to enlarge or reduce the magnification of these cards per viewing preference. The Figure 5 screen’s label, outline, and arrow are red in color.
Figure 5.- Congress of Vienna Vassal’s Initial Event Cards Window: As an example, you can see how the menu’s “Execute” option is used to open Initial Situation card A-2 for May 1813. This card’s instructions referencing additional player cards, Issues, and other markers are appropriately and automatically placed with this instruction in the players’ hands and upon the gameboard. The preceding turn’s card A-1, for March-April 1813, is to the screen’s right.
In Figure 6, we show the Character & Event Game Cards Window. This window opens in the same manner as the previous one. Presented, as an example, are two cards: “Fouché” (#11) which is a CHARACTER CARD and a “Debating card” (#60) which is an Event card. Both are drawn from the same common deck for all players.
Figure 6.- Congress of Vienna’s Vassal Character & Event Game Cards Window: On the left is the Game Card Deck from which cards are drawn to constitute the players’ respective Card Hands. These cards are used and discarded during the Diplomacy and War Phases. This Draw Deck is to the left. In the middle are placed Debate Event card #60 as well as Character card #11, Fouche. Both are drawn from that deck as examples.
Returning to Figure 5, if you click an Initial Event Card’s “Execute” option (which opens through a right mouse button click), all the card’s instructions are automatically completed… as if accomplished by a player MANUALLY! Designated cards go into the players’ hands, Issues placed upon the appropriate National Tracks/ Negotiation Table, additional units and Resources placed in each Military Map capital space or in the correct National Resource Stacks. Neat, eh?
When you move the vertical and horizontal scroll and use the magnifying glass to expand the screen, you gain a complete single-screen view of the Military Map (see Figure 7). On this map are located the different Army Blocks that occupy their spaces. These spaces constitute Battle Fronts, also known as Tracks. These are identified by a capital letter from A to G. In the below image, Track C’s British Army of Portugal is portrayed by a red block (a red arrow whose tip is in the lower left corner of the screen). This British Army begins turn 1 of a Congress of Vienna Campaign Game in the space of Portugal.
Figure 7’s Military Map Features’ Examples: Military units (which are wooden cubes in the physical game are also simply referred to as “units”), belonging to the British Army of Portugal are indicated within the Army of PortugalBox through a red double arrow and rectangles at the screen’s lower left corner. This Box indicates this Army’s Campaign Game Turn 1 strength as four British (red), two Portuguese (dark red) and two Spanish (yellow) units: this is a respectable force of eight cubes representing approximately 160,000 soldiers! The number in the upper center of the Army Box is its maximum allowed size of ten units. Its adversary, Track C’s French Army of Spain, located in the Leon space, contains six.
Figure 7.- Congress of Vienna Vassal’s Main Military Map Window: The explanations of this figure’s contents are found in the preceding paragraphs. To avoid need to rotate the screen, which would have been unavoidable by fully duplicating the published Congress of Vienna gameboard, we had to rotate the Military Map 90º clockwise and horizontally place the two DRM Battle Tracks at the bottom of the screen. Note the DRM Battle Tracks’ two pawns, orange for the Allies and blue for France. These are placed in their respective “zero” spaces, poised for use in resolving a game’s next battle. This orientation altered Terry Leeds’ graphic design for physical game play functionality through enabling easier visual use of the Vassal Screen on a computer.
The BritishForce Pool portrays available British, Portuguese and Spanish units, as well as cylindrical British Fleets. It is located at the lower right corner of the Figure 7 screen (indicated by a light violet arrow, rectangle and text). Additionally, the British player’s markers, which include MilitarySupport, Resources, and Character Bonus Reminders, are displayed near this Force Pool Box. Furthermore, this Force Pool example contains an empty space where unbuilt Portuguese units are placed (as of turn 1, both are included in the Army of Portugal Box).
In Figure 8, we show an enlarged Window of the gameboard’s Diplomacy Area. At its center is the Negotiation Table (a square with rounded edges and yellow color border highlighting). This is where most Issues begin in CoV game and from which the negotiations and ensuing debates of a turn move them. This is the part of the board where, as a player, you will spend most of your time during the Diplomacy Phase’s negotiations and debates. It is also where, during the Government Phase, you’ll allocate your Resources on those Issues most vital to implementing your grand strategy for Congress of Vienna victory!
Figure 8.- Congress of Vienna Vassal Diplomacy Area’s Main Window: The explanation of this figure’s salient features is found in the paragraphs below. This image has been enlarged with Vassal’s magnifying glass function to show in greater detail the different elements of this key gameboard area.
At the upper mid-left of this Vassal screen image is the Turn Record Track (surrounded by an orange rectangle). This is where the Turn Marker is located. It is a black and orange marker with an hourglass symbol placed for a CoV Campaign Game’s first turn on its March-April 1813 space.
The Austrian National Track has been highlighted with a white rectangle in Figure 8. The nearby yellow pawn, which is a much larger gold pawn in the physical game, is used to designate the Major Power winner of an Initial Phase’s “Wager”. This pawn is subsequently shifted during a turn to designate its Diplomacy Phase winner. The winner goes last each Phase, so in this example, with the pawn by the Austrian Track, France would go first in clockwise order. The British Track is located beneath the Austrian Track.
Surrounded by colored rectangles are four important Record Tracks, each with a pawn to indicate its latest game status. On the right-side center of the Figure 8 is shown the Future Government of France Track, within has a dark blue pawn. This pawn is moved by its diplomatic Issue being won and financed with a Resource.
On the upper center of the image are the double Tracks (green and light red) of the Absolutism / Liberalism Record Tracks with their green and red pawns. A successful pawn movement, in addition to a Resource expenditure, requires a successful die roll result of 4 or more to trigger its Track space’s indicated VP effect(s). See Rulebook Section 12.4.5 for related details such as potential die roll result modifiers.
The Pax Britannica Track,with its red purple pawn at the bottom of screen, does not require a related Issue to be won for its pawn’s advancement, thereby winning Britain the entered space’s victory points. Instead, the pawn advances if the British player fulfills the next Track space’s prerequisite(s) and rolls a die result of 4 or more. That die roll may be modified per the Pax Britannica Track’s rule 12.4.11.
Finally, with Figure 9, we show a sample of the Allied side’s window used for Congress of Vienna’s Solitaire Game. Playbook Sections 19 through 23 describe the game’s solitaire play options. The Solitaire French side’s window is similar!
Figure 9.- Congress of Vienna Vassal’s Allied CDGSM (Card Driven Game Solitaire Method) Window: You can see the usual five cards in the standard CDGSM Playmat (A to E positions) at the top with four additional decks at screen’s the bottom. In this example, it includes the PUMC Deck (Potentially Usable Military Card) where only the #31 KUTUZOV card has been placed thus far. In the bottom row’s center is Draw Deck C with 17 cards remaining available and, to its right, is the Leader Deck, where the Coalition’s Leader Cards of Czar Alexander for Russia, Austria’s Metternich, and Britain’s Castlereagh are initially placed. Finally, in the bottom row’s upper right side, the Transitory Deck has the face up cards for placing as PUMC as face down in draw deck if not PUMC, just after the Wager.
Hopefully, the preceding encourages you to give Congress of Vienna’s Vassal Module a try with two, three, or a full roster of four players around a fun and friendly gaming table and/or versus its solitaire system.
Concluding Remarks by Congress of Vienna Assistant Designer/Editor, Fred Schachter – The preceding provides an overview, a “lay of the land” if you would, of how Congress of Vienna is electronically depicted using VASSAL. To reiterate, CoV’s Vassal Module may be downloaded via: Category:GMT Games – Vassal.
Others are here invited to provide CoV videos of their own regarding the game so we may all continue our Congress of Vienna journeys either directly or vicariously. Hopefully, CoV’s Vassal Module, as well as the physical game, facilitates such creativity.
Please feel free to pose questions and/or feedback via the space InsideGMT provides for this purpose at this article’s conclusion. Thanks for your interest!
Anime Rangers X is the hottest new Roblox tower defense game, and as usual, it’s more fun to talk about the Units than it is to actually play the game. Jokes aside, knowing which units to bring is extremely important, which is exactly why we made this Ultimate Anime Rangers X Unit Tier List.
Anime Rangers X Best Units Tier List
Image by TierMaker / Remix by The Escapist
We considered each unit for this tier list based on its cost, damage, and added ability. Most importantly, we asked ourselves which units we use more than others. We didn’t include every single unit in the game, so if you don’t see the one you like, it’s probably because we didn’t think they were worth adding. You’ll want to switch out every unit below Epic as soon as you can and focus on these best DPS, starter, and Ranged DPS units.
SS-Tier
Unit Name
Info
Limitless Sorcerer (Infinite)
Does amazing damage, can dodge attacks, and has overall great stats. A must-have!
King of Shadows (Monarch)
Its most impressive feat is its extremely quick basic attack, and that’s not even counting its abilities. The ultimate boss destroyer.
Molten Phantom
Amazing for crowd control, great stats, covers a wide area.
Solar Fist
The best DPSes in the game. If you make up for its shortcomings, this unit can carry you through everything in the game.
S-Tier
Unit Name
Info
Eclipse Sorcerer
Put him in the back and watch him snipe units from afar. Pretty handy to have.
Fire Fist
Many consider Fire Fist a meta unit. Pretty good damage and can soak up a good amount.
Legendary Saiyan (Super)
An absolute damage sponge. If you place five of these, you’ll create a wall between you and the enemies.
A-Tier
Unit Name
Info
Limitless Sorcerer (Basic)
Somewhat pricey, but very decent damage. Not as good as the Limitless version.
King Curses
Decent damage, decent stats, good ability, and only costs 800. Really great to have.
Shadow Knight
Does okay damage, but it’s a great unit at the very start of the battle due to how cheap it is to summon.
King of Shadows (Basic)
Almost the same as the Monarch version, but not as powerful. Still, a very decent unit.
B-Tier
C-Tier
Unit Name
Info
King Ant
We haven’t heard anyone say a single nice thing about this unit.
Knight King (Basic)
A very meh unit with meh stats and meh damage.
Cursed Fist
Everyone who used this unit says it’s awful, and we agree.
Green Tornado
Replace as soon as you can.
That’s all there is to it. We’ll update the tier list as the game gets new content and units. In the meantime, check out our Anime Rangers X codes for some cool in-game freebies.
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If you’ve spent any amount of time on the internet as of late, you’ll have seen the big game on everyone’s mind: Marathon. It’s Bungie‘s next big release, and last week, the whole world was able to sit down and gorge themselves on new gameplay footage. The game looks pretty darn good, if I say so myself. It looks as though we might be getting a new avenue for that Bungie quality that has kept fans loyal all these years. But, some are skeptical. There’s good reason why, but after weighing up both sides, I’m still moving forward with optimism when it comes to Marathon.
I was shocked to find myself excited at the gameplay trailer. I have struggled more with extraction shooters than I’d care to admit. I came too late to Escape from Tarkov, only dipping my toes in when cheating issues were at their problematic height, and what time un-murdered I did spend in the game felt largely unappealing. The Forever Winter nearly won me over, with its doomed future of a world in the midst of permanent robot holocaust, but once the aesthetics wore off I grew tired of scavenging for scraps. This happened over and over, and each time I just could feel the same hooks others had in me. It seemed to me that it wasn’t meant to be.
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Yet, for some reason, Marathon has caught my interest. I am not a diehard Destiny fan. I played a bit of the game for work, and have enjoyed the odd exotic quest here and there, but I’ve never dropped more than a month or so into the game at a time, with yearly chasms between my sessions. I have always admired the work Bungie has done from afar, though, and I think maybe it’s some of that Bungie magic that could make all the difference. I should clarify straight away, I’m not referring to the magic that execs seem to believe their staff can use to put out a growing game while slashing budgets. I refer – of course – to the talent of their artists, combat designers, and countless others.
What we saw from recent Marathon gameplay is exactly what I expected from Bungie. A game that’s visually stunning, and not just in a “look at all that raytracing” kind of stunning. I mean like a real distinct art direction. There’s no game really out there at the moment that gives off the same vibe, certainly not one with Bungie’s budget. When hopping into a new genre and taking on the big hitters that’ve already fostered a community, you can’t just push out something that’ll blend into the crowd.
I mean look at this. You can’t say it’s not unique, and intriguing to look at. | Image credit: Bungie
The weapons, environments, and the characters themselves all scream out “hey look, I’m something new”. It all blends together an obvious futuristic aesthetic with hints of retro tech here and there. It’s set in what looks to be this far-future space dystopia, sure. But it contrasts that with a vibrancy that pops out and drowns out the sort of dreary misery you’d see from other developers looking to make a game in a similar setting.
The artists at Bungie have, through the Destiny series, proven that when given freedom to push the boundaries in a new setting that they can really release some extraordinary work. From the small glimpse we have, I’m getting that same wanderlust I felt back when I saw The Hive for the first time.
Then there’s the action we see. Tight, fast, co-operative first person shooting that makes good use of the setting with interesting abilities and quirky takes on modern weaponry. The gameplay trailer is sure to emphasize that Bungie is bringing its “best-in-class first person multiplayer action to the forefront”, and yeah while that stuck me as a little self-congratulatory for my British sensibilities this pat on the back isn’t exactly undeserved. Destiny has had absolutely killer PvP for years upon years. Many players don’t care for the raids and narrative Destiny is better known for (instead sticking to the Crucible), and it’s hard to argue they’re in the wrong for doing so.
This will only help Marathon. The extraction shooters we have right now are predominantly military sims, or at least somewhat grounded in realistic gunplay. What Bungie has is decades of sci-fi FPS experience that it can use to make sure Marathon doesn’t just look like something fresh, but that it feels like something fresh too. That, I feel, will be the bigger reason folks will stick around rather than hop back into more senior titles in the genre.
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Bungie also has ample three player team experience too, which can only help with Marathon. | Image credit: Bungie
I think the game looks totally solid, I think Bungie has earned some trust when it comes to creating a FPS that feels good to play, especially in a futuristic setting. What I do concede may be the game’s biggest barrier is its price point. Look, it’s no secret that live service games have a hard time gaining a significant following. That’s been the case for years, as evidenced by an ever-growing graveyard of admirable attempts that have come out and wasted away.
It’s likely worse now than it’s ever been, with a potential recession coming on, consoles and PC parts potentially getting more expensive, and everyone pinching pennies. It’s not an easy thing to sell people on a multiplayer only game with no offline single player content whatsoever. Titanfall struggled to do it, and that was a game so good it should have defined a generation.
Here’s my counter argument. Bungie, through Destiny 2, certainly has had practice rolling out an engaging narrative through limited-time major updates. While many out there will jump into a major expansion, play the new raid and dip out, those who stick around know that the team can keep interesting threads going. These aren’t just for story nerds too, interesting new game modes come hot and ready from Bungie’s oven all the time. This, in spite of multiple waves of layoffs and a reduction in Destiny 2’s scope.
If there’s any FPS company out there who I believe has a good shot at actually making a live service extraction shooter with compelling enough updates to warrant a buy-in, it’s Bungie. Now, this is something the Marathon team will have to prove to people, and continue proving for months. I surely hope they’ve got staff working hard on post-launch plans as we speak. If they can walk the walk, with Marathon looking how it’s looking, I’ve got to say I’m officially excited for Marathon. Past experiences aside.
Clans of samurai cats are in a battle for dominance in this suitless trick-taking game from Shiny Pigeon Games. Be careful though, each season ends with a peace treaty, and showing too much force will bring disgrace to your clan. Let’s dig into this card game from designer Caner Cooperrider and see what sets it apart.
Managing Your Clan
Disgraced House feels familiar because it uses a standard trick-taking mechanic. What makes it unique is that there are no suits or trumps in the game and it’s solely based on numbers. Each envoy card, which makes up the majority of your hand, has two values on the card. The standard value is in black at the top of the card while the red value at the bottom of the card can be unlocked by using a fate token. With cards having two values, players have flexibility with each card as long as they have fate tokens that they can spend.
When a player leads, they can play a single card or pair with identical numbers. Followers have to play the same quantity of cards but there are rules on what numbers you can play. Followers have to play the same number or higher. If they cannot or choose not to beat the played cards, they have to play the lowest card(s) in their hand.
Playing a high card(s) means that followers are going to be forced to play their highest cards or flush away the low cards in their hand. The twist here is that players need low cards for the final trick of the round.
The Peace Treaty
The final trick of each round is a single card trick called the Peace Treaty. Players will play the final card left in their hand but there will only be one loser in this trick. The player who played the highest card has used too much force during the Peace Treaty and becomes the disgraced house. All other players score points based on half the value of the card they played during the Peace Treaty. The Disgraced House will miss out on this bonus but is given a +1/-1 modifier card that they can use in the next round of the game.
Players score a point for each trick they won during the round plus any bonus points they received during the Peace Treaty. This final trick of each round is really creative. Players who choose not to plan for the end of the round may miss out on a significant number of points.
You also don’t want to hang on to cards that that have too low of a value. By holding on to a 0 value card, you’re guaranteed not to be the disgraced house, but you also don’t score any bonus points during the end of the round.
Samurai Legends
Disgraced House has one more trick up its sleeve in the format of Ally and Advisor cards. At the start of each round, players get one of each. The Ally card will go into your hand and gives a unique ability you can play during the round. The Advisor gives you an additional ability or scoring opportunity and this card sits on the table in front of the player for everyone to see.
Either of these cards can be discarded before the round starts to take a fate token from the supply. These fate tokens allow you to flip your envoy card during the round to the red value at the bottom of the card. More fate tokens means more flexibility during the round. These tokens roll over to future rounds so saving up over a series of rounds isn’t a bad strategy.
Honor in Battle
Disgraced House has enough twists during a round to keep everyone engaged. Players are trying to be the first to earn thirteen points. There’s even a catch up mechanic that gives players a free fate token when they are more than three points behind the lead player.
I think the only thing that I’m lukewarm on is the cat theme of the game. The samurai cat artwork from Parker Simpson is gorgeous in every way. But, it’s not a theme that really drew me into the game. I’ve taught this game to dozens of people and the theme wasn’t a huge selling factor for them. Players really loved how rounds shifted as players utilize Ally and Advisor abilities and force cards from their opponents hands.
As each game advances, the hand sizes of the players decrease based on how close a player is to thirteen points. Rounds become faster with less cards in hand. Leading with a pair of cards will also limit the number of tricks that can be won which is another satisfying strategy.
My very first game was at just 2-players and my expectations were low. Trick-taking games at just two is usually a bust. Disgraced House played really well at 2-players and can be played with up to six.
At the five and six player counts, you play a variant of the game called “Crowded Court”. Players always receive six cards in the round and have a new option to “bow out” during the trick. The first player to do this can play any card(s) they want, intentionally losing the trick and playing their card(s) facedown, ignoring the high/low rules. Bowing out locks other players who play after you from doing this which can be really strategic. There’s even a team play variant in the game that we’ve not played yet, but I’m sure that we’ll dig into that one soon.
Final Thoughts
Disgraced House does just enough to set itself apart from other trick-taking games in our collection. With each card having two values, fate tokens are incredibly important if you want options in your card play. This makes for dynamic gameplay and fun surprises during the game. In a year that was filled with trick-taking games, this one has flown under the radar because of its small print run. Thankfully, Shiny Pigeon Games is bringing this game to a broader audience with a larger print run through Kickstarter.
I really enjoy Disgraced House and it’s a game that I love to teach. It hits the table more often because of how smooth it plays at just two players which has been a huge plus. Don’t miss out on this card game has it hits a broader audience in 2025!
As our play testing of “Infernal Machine” continues apace, it is interesting to see how our teaching scenarios can be tinkered with to make sure they are providing much-needed information on game play and hints on strategy, as well as have some fun with the game system.
Scenario Ten has the Player fill the shoes of the Inventor, the “Man with the Dream”, who wants to design, build and then sail an Underwater Marvel of the Industrial Revolution, something that the newspapers have called a “fishboat.”
In the original Scenario Ten, the Player is a citizen of the Confederacy, who sees his fishboat as the means to drive off the Union Navy from the mouth of the Mississippi River.
I decided to see if we could work the scenario in reverse, and have the Union Navy under Admiral David G. Farragut send a ‘fishboat’ of their own up the Mississippi River to blow a hole in the obstructions that the Rebels had built to block the Yankee fleet in front of two fortifications protecting the lower River: Forts Jackson & St. Philip.
Here is what happened:
This time we are on the USA side at start, with our Machine Shop located in Boston, MA.
(Our fishboat is to be constructed at said Machine Shop in Boston, then assigned and shipped to the US Navy’s West Gulf Squadron. They are currently anchored at the mouth of the Mississippi River known as Head of Passes, south of New Orleans. Once there, our fishboat will be ordered to conduct raids (via Towed Launch) on the Rebel defenses centered around “Big Muddy’s” forts “Jackson” & “Saint Philip.”
The Union Player’s time factor is the same as that of the Confederate’s.
Union Adm. Farragut wants to see if “this new-fangled fishboat thingie” can help by raiding ships, clearing obstructions, destroying wharves and generally raising hell near the two forts.
Failure means Farragut’s plan to take New Orleans will hit a snag.
This won’t do Union General Benjamin “Beast” Butler’s short-fuse temper any good either The first image (see below) is at the end of Summer 1861, with hull built and Magnetic Engine installed, and an Air Lock next up for inclusion. This looks promising, with 2nd Mechanic converting a Journeyman to (Oh joy!) Sam Eakins of “Alligator” fame! Investments made on both Spring & Summer were middling. Autumn 1861 will have action beginning on Contract to keep funds flowing. Yep, Autumn ’61 is looking very interesting.
As I was running a previous playtest, I surmised that, if the Union Admiralty was less sold on traditional sailing warship practices and kept up with the advances being made through nautical engineering, they could have gotten out of the fishboat starting gate at the same time as Horace Hunley, James McClintock & Baxter Watson did in New Orleans.
If so, then the best place in Yankee-dom for a civilian contractor wanting the most up-to-date technology, along with the mechanics and engineers to wield it would be Boston, Massachusetts.
There were the Sciences and Engineering Departments at Harvard University, and also to the newly-founded (1861) Massachusetts Institute of Technology just next door to Harvard in the Cambridge suburb.
MIT’s engineering wizards of the era were a marvelously rich source; the Inventor’s team would be up-to-date on all the latest technical advancements, and just might be able to get their educated hands on a real engineering marvel: British physicist & inventor Michael Faraday’s battery-powered Magnetic Engine.
The choice of an Air Lock as the fishboat’s primary weapons delivery system would be easy to obtain from any competent steamship chandlery down at Boston Harbor, and a reputable salvage operation would be a source for a salvage and demolition Diver with the proper credentials.
Two guidelines to follow when starting this scenario:
1) Get a good Investor to start with. Mine is French émigré Brutus de Villeroi, a wealthy ex-French aristocrat, who is a naval designer, engineer and a self-described “Natural Genius.”
(At least that is what he told the Immigration folks his occupation was upon his arrival in New York City.)
2) Make sure you are hiring a capable multi-Expertise gang of Mechanics. You will need at least 12 Expertise total between your Shop and your crew so you can install the Magnetic Engine as soon as possible.
My plan is to finish building and training by Winter, 1862.
The fishboat and team will then deploy to the Gulf in Spring of 1862 where training missions and final tinkering occurs.
This will leave the Summer of 1862 is the only season for any additional training, plus the all-important attack mission.
“Fish Boat” under construction at Boston, Summer 1861
One more thing: you’ve got to make sure of your money.
Once you’ve got that key Mechanism in hand, (Mine will be the Magnetic Engine), you are looking at adding the Prow and Stern, plus one or two Boat Sections, a Steering Linkage, Ballast Tank, Propeller and Hatch.
Autumn 1861 is coming up. To scare up some ready cash, I plan to shift some Journeymen over to Contract work at that time, plus make another run at the Investment Table.
Hey, if it was easy being an Inventor of Fishboats, everybody would be one!
So here’s Autumn, 1861 where the “Spectre” (cool name, huh?) is being fitted out in Boston, MA.
Of course, I hadn’t paid attention to the weather.
In game terms, Boston in Autumn is little different from Boston in Winter, the only difference is that you still have a relatively active Machine Shop that brings in $7. In Winter, that Shop income plummets to $3.
Autumn is also the season our Boston machine shop will “promote” a Journeyman to Mechanic. This got me Mechanic Lodner Philips who can, once per game, promote a Journeyman to Mechanic all on his own, which he will do in Winter of 1862.
Praise the Autumn 1861 “Fortunes of War” table.
I rolled a 7 and got another Investor (instead of a Black Cube), one Professor Eben Horsford, currently on sabbatical from MIT who is Investing his grant money in our little fishboat project here.
His initial stipend plus that of Prof. de Villeroi’s funded the purchase of two hatches, a set of keel weights, plus a propeller and its shroud.
Fingers crossed, I should have enough for a steering linkage plus a snorkel and maybe a ballast/level tank pair.
With Winter 1862 coming up, Horsford and de Villeroi should “invest” a total of $15 as their “Holiday Gift” to the shop to bolster that meager $3 shop intake for the season. Despite there being only one Action this season, it has been a productive one for Project Spectre.
(Incidentally, I decided to drop the one season transfer cost for moving the completed fishboat from Boston to Head of Passes. Per the American Enterprise Institute, travel by steamship in 1857 between New York & New Orleans took just six days, with Boston to New York adding a half day steaming time.)
Thus, I have Spring, 1862 to complete building “Spectre” and deploy her to Head of Passes in Louisiana, leaving one Training mission and one Attack mission for Summer, 1862.
This is a tight schedule.
Each season’s Fortunes of War/Event could easily mess things up.
“Spectre” shown in final stages of construction. Note Magnetic Engine and improved propeller.
Winter 1862 turn finds Mechanic Sam Eakins exercising his Special Ability to add a second Action for the season. He’s quite the motivator, that one!
True to form Brutus de Villeroi & Professor Eben Horsford together add their $15 yearly benefit.
While at Eakins’ party, Mechanic Lodner Phillips uses his Special Ability to convince de Villeroi’s wife Eulalie to replace a departing Journeyman, which results in Eulalie de Villeroi joining both the project and the crew!
Remember, these are Mechanics, not superstitious Sailors.
Being French, de Villeroi is very proficient with pistol and saber.
As is Eulalie!
Winter, 1862’s first Action is an Investment Check of $5
A dr of 8 yields not only a $10 return but adds Investor Augusta Price, who adds $40 more to the project’s treasury.
This allows the crew to use the remaining Action to complete the “Spectre’s” mechanism manifest by adding a ballast tank combination, snorkel, periscope and gearbox.
A cold February Saturday finds all hands present on the wharf at Boston Harbor as the “Spectre” is loaded onto the deck of the USS “Varuna.”
With Investors Horsford and Price waving goodbye, “Spectre” and crew set out for Head of Passes, Louisiana and warmer climes.
Spectre construction completed
[Caption: “Spectre’s” Gauges Board at the close of Winter 1862. The crew positions assigned by de Villeroi have him Steering, with Eakins & Lodner Phillips in reserve if needed.
Log entry:
Acting Master Samuel V. Eakins, USS “Spectre.”
17 February 1862 – Aboard U.S.S. “Varuna” – at Sea, off coast of Long Island, NY.
(At this point I will let excerpts from Master Eakins’ personal log book tell the story of the “Spectre” and her crew on their journey from Boston to the mouth of the Mississippi River.)
-X-
We left Boston Harbor this morning about 10 o’clock. All passengers affiliated with the “Spectre” were assigned bunk space in officer’s quarters and had their gear stowed. The “Spectre” itself is currently tied down atop the central hold access gratings, lashed fore and aft between fore and mainmasts to prevent pitching during rough seas.
Which we’ve had plenty of, as the ship’s captain, Commander Charles S. Boggs, is determined to set a record for the fastest passage between Boston and the Gulf. To that end, “Varuna” was bouncing off a heavy snow squall in Long Island Sound that forced Boggs to tack continuously across the wind, with only the foretop sails set to assist “Varuna’s” remarkably noisy steam engine.
I’ve offered Boggs our mechanical assistance to help speed “Varuna” along.
Boggs sniffed at me, stole a glance at “Spectre” gently rocking in her stays on the main deck, and spat a large brown stream of tobacco juice over the side. Apparently, Captain Boggs enjoys his tobacco in its natural state.
The storm is really kicking up a fuss, with winds in excess of 20 knots and seas of 10 to 15 feet and increasing the further south we go, which is bad news for my crew of landlubbers.
Most of them are seasick, as is Madame de Villeroi who is being ministered to by the ship’s surgeon and de Villeroi himself.
I’ve avoided the effects of “mal de mer” by placing a sliver of fresh-cut ginger root under my tongue.
The “Varuna’s” helmsman, a garrulous Irishman named Reagan says we should be sailing out of the storm by the time we reach Cape May off New Jersey,
” – an’ that be some-toyme ter-night, Lord willing yore worship, sorr.”
We will see.
Log entry 18 February 1862 – Aboard USS “Varuna” – at sea off Cape Hatteras, North Carolina.
It is late afternoon (“Six Bells of the Afternoon Watch.”)
We’ve sailed out of yesterday’s snow storm and into a steady rain that has soaked through just about everything on board “Varuna”.
Thankfully, we’ve not encountered the usual gales found here above the “Graveyard of the Atlantic,” but that may just be “Sailors Luck,” as the “Varuna’s” crew have it. Commander Boggs’ men are about as taciturn a gang of bluejackets as their skipper.
Though they are professional seamen, to a man they do have a sailor’s curiosity about “new-fangled equipment” and were very curious about “Jus’ whut be thet thang lashed down on th’ Main be, sorr?”
I’ve told my team to be friendly but not informative to the sailors about “Spectre.” The ship’s officers are another matter, and de Villeroi and I will be discussing where we are heading exactly, and when will we get there?
Before we left, the telegraph had brought news of Admiral Farragut’s West Gulf Squadron departing Pensacola for Head of Passes, which means he and the Squadron should be there by tomorrow afternoon.
The clock is ticking on our little venture.
Log entry, 19 February 1862 – USS “Varuna” – at Sea off St. Augustine, Florida.
We are making good time on our journey to Head of Passes. As we sailed past Flag Officer DuPont’s South Atlantic Blockade Squadron off Savannah, a US Navy cutter hailed us, then came along side “Varuna” and delivered the mail and a communique from Flag Officer DuPont, who wished us “…good luck in your endeavor, and death to the Rebels, every one!”
Commander Boggs read the communique to the ship’s crew, and to our crew as well. It got the usual response of sniffs, coughs and suppressed chuckling from the swabbies at the back of the gathering. Boggs glared back at those assembled but said nothing, then pulled his hat down in front and stalked off to his cabin.
Seems our crew of jolly tars have several among them “from Maryland,” which means they are Southern by birth; not necessarily “from Maryland” but still loyal to the Union, as far as that goes.
Serving on “Varuna” is Master’s Mate Henrik Schenderhans, a likeable Dutchman from Hoorn in Holland.
Henrik (he prefers this “familiarity” over my stumbling over his last name all the time) says that “Dis regionalz grumblin’ vill schtop!” as soon as “Varuna” joins Farragut on the Mississippi.
The meeting with Boggs’ officers over dinner last night was a frost.
None of them saw any advantage in sneaking up on the Rebels, blowing things up, then sneaking away again.
If sneaking means you get home with an undamaged fishboat and an uninjured crew, then I’ll have a double-helping of “Sneaking” and keep it coming, thank you very much.
Log entry, 20 February 1862 – USS “Varuna” – at Sea off Tampa, Florida.
We entered the Gulf of Mexico sometime last night, leaving cold, rainy and snowy weather behind for the balmy sun-soaked breezes of the Caribbean at about Six Bells in the Forenoon Watch (10:30 am).
Because of high winds in the Straits of Florida, we had to hug the coast, which brought us past Fort Jefferson to starboard. If there is any place more remote and forlorn than the Dry Tortugas islands, I don’t know of it.
God help the men who are building this monster way out here in the middle of the ocean, and it being all brick and masonry for the most part.
The February sun beating down was hot enough on board to have sailor and crew stripped to the waist for comfort.
Poor Eulalie, being a lady, could not partake, though she did strip down to her chemise and a skirt and sported a parasol while on deck.
We should be off Mobile, Alabama soon, perhaps by tomorrow.
The next day should find us at Head of Passes, where our work really begins.
Log entry, 21 February 1862 – USS “Varuna” – at Sea off Mobile, Alabama.
Early this morning at Six Bells in the Morning Watch (6:30 am), we joined the Navy’s West Gulf Squadron off Ship Island, Mississippi.
Commander Boggs went ashore to report.
The harbor master at Ship Island promptly told Commander Boggs to get back on “Varuna” and “report to Admiral Farragut at Head of Passes. Now, Commander!”
Boggs did just that, and has driven his crew like John Paul Jones with a wasp in his pants; telling his engineers and stokers to make all steam possible and the navigation officer to plot the fastest course to the mouth of the Mississippi, “Because I mean to beat Farragut there or know the reason why!”
de Villeroi and the rest of us are busy attending to “Spectre,” getting her ready for her debut tomorrow on “Big Muddy.”
Log entry, 22 February 1862 – Head of Passes, Louisiana.
This will have to be short, as we are casting off on our first training mission.
A while ago, Commander Boggs mustered the Spectre” crew on the aft deck and addressed us.
In his gruff manner, Boggs complimented us on our skills, our perseverance and our bravery, and said “that we could ship with him anytime we asked to.”
There’s been some argument between de Villeroi, Philips and myself over who will be at the helm of “Spectre”.
de Villeroi won the toss, darn his luck…
… and there’s Philips blowing his bosun’s whistle, which means we are about to get underway.
Faraday’s Engine has been tuned up, and that gearbox we got from Robert Stephenson has been quietly whirring away in its machine oil coating in anticipation of the trip we will be making.
I’ve also had a word with our Diver. Signor Stefano Rojas knows the Air Lock’s operation, both out and in.
We are as ready as we will ever be!
-End of excerpt-
-X-
Turn 5 – Spring 1862 –
After settling an argument on the merits of Union General Hunter’s emancipating the Carolina Sea Island slaves, (-$1 to the Pilot Town Tavern’s keeper for breakage) “Spectre’s” crew began its first training mission, sailing up the Mississippi past Tripod, then past Alligator Station and Northeast Point, then returned to Head of Passes, both “Spectre” and crew passing their first sea trial.
In the process they repaired a snag-clogged propeller shroud at send-off.
Next, “Spectre” passed Alligator Station while surfaced.
de Villeroi then ordered “Spectre” to be crash-dived thru Awash depth to Below Shallow on her first dive to show that the Ballast/Level system worked as he had designed it to. He then ordered “Spectre” back to the surface and sailed home to Head of Passes.
With a total of four black cubes against one red cube earned on this mission, “Spectre’s” success attracted a new Investor (per Rule Book p. 43), and Russell Sturgis joins the team, adding $15 to the treasury (that is now at $52).
Sturgis’ Special Ability is to bring another Investor on once per game.
On being informed by de Villeroi of the success of this first training mission, Admiral Farragut ordered another training mission forthwith.
“Spectre’s” second training mission had Northeast Point as its goal.
Almost from the start, equipment began to malfunction.
First, the Gearbox began acting up.
Next the Steering Linkage locked, but Eulalie de Villeroi was there with her toolbox and repaired it while dodging her husband’s feet at the helm.
At Alligator Station, a seal in the forward Ballast tank ruptured which submerged “Spectre” to Awash depth (and caused Lodner Philips to Panic), before Eulalie got that Malfunction repaired.
Entering Northeast Point, de Villeroi ordered a descent to Below Shallow. At that point the gearbox began to Malfunction again, this time dropping the Power Grade from “A” to “B”. de Villeroi immediately surfaced the boat, reversed course and headed back downriver to Head of Passes.
Arriving there, the “Spectre” got caught in a current drift and sprung a leak in an aft hull seam. Recovery was uneventful, with repairs being needed on the gearbox and an aft hull seam.
Back alongside USS “Varuna” that was now serving as tender for “Spectre,” de Villeroi and Eakins determined that the aft-section Leak was caused by an impact to the Shroud’s support framing that had cracked through into the lower propeller mount, and then carried along the lower hull seam for about a foot and a half. Fortunately, de Villeroi had requested that the “Varuna” be fitted with a forge and metalworking shop, whose machinists and shipwrights joined “Spectre’s” crew in lifting and positioning “Spectre” on “Varuna’s” main deck to repair the aft hull leak. As for the jammed gearbox, mechanic J.B. Morrell discovered that the clutch mechanism responsible for changing gear speed had broken a tooth in its cog, which caused the jam. Morrell and Lodner Philips got busy fashioning a new clutch gear for the mechanism.
Spring slowly changing to Summer found that repairs to “Spectre” had been completed satisfactorily.
An examination by de Villeroi, Eakins and the assembled mechanics declared the “Spectre” fit for duty.
As the “Varuna’s” launch carried de Villeroi and Eakins and their good news to USS “Hartford,” (Admiral Farragut’s flagship) the West Gulf Squadron’s mortar schooner fleet opened a thunderous barrage upon the Rebel forts ”Jackson” and “St. Philip.”
In the din, Eakins leaned over, tapped de Villeroi on the leg and pointed back towards “Varuna.”
de Villeroi turned just in time to see the “Spectre” being swung over “Varuna’s” starboard side and lowered into the Mississippi.
Turning to look back at Eakins, de Villeroi realized that “Spectre’s” and their time to act had just gotten significantly shorter.
Union Gauges sheet shows “Spectre” with 2 Training Levels at the start of her Attack mission. Note that Brutus de Villeroi and wife Eulalie occupy the steering helm under the forward hatch. The Faraday (Magnetic) Engine occupies the whole of the next tile aft, with the rest of the crew occupying the stern. Also note that the second successful training mission netted another Investor.
And so, to war.
“Spectre” departed the fleet anchorage to the cheers of the sailors on board USS “Varuna.”
de Villeroi, standing in the fore and aft hatches took the cheers, doffing his hat as “Spectre” passed under “Old Glory” on the stern of USS “Hartford.”
His hat tip was returned by both Admiral Farragut, Commander Boggs.
“Spectre” leaves Head of Passes heading up the Mississippi River.
Steering for the westernmost bank of the “Big Muddy,” de Villeroi ordered half speed on the Faraday Engine, to which Mechanic Lodner Philips complied. de Villeroi chose his course well, staying in the calmer shore current as “Spectre” passed the old semaphore “Tripod” on the eastern river bank. Alligator Station also proved to be a calm passage, the Faraday humming along as fresh air whistled through the open hatches. A solid blanket of clouds kept Ol’ Man Moon from an unwanted appearance, while the wind gusts tested de Villeroi’s steering ability. Northeast Point saw the first malfunction, being a ballast pump valve stuck open, diving the “Spectre” from Surface to Awash. Eulalie de Villeroi assisted Acting Master Sam Eakins in freeing up, replacing the defective ballast pump valve and then surfacing the “Spectre” once more. Rounding the bend just south of The Jump, Lodner Philips spotted some watch fires ahead, whereupon de Villeroi had Eakins crash dive the boat to Below Shallow to avoid detection.
“Spectre” passes The Jump.
de Villeroi kept the “Spectre’s” bow pointed into the river’s current as it slowly passed the old Salt Works factory.
At this point the Faraday Engine decided to kick up a fuss.
Though making a racket (and panicking Lodner Philips) it was still capable of forward motion at the current Easy pace, but needed fixing should de Villeroi need flank speed at any point in the journey.
With Lodner cowering behind the Leveling Tank it was up to J.B. Morrell and Eulalie de Villeroi teaming up to effect repairs.
After several tentative crackles and a whiff of ozone, the Faraday recovered its comfortable hum. As they approached Beaver Station, de Villeroi told the rest of the crew that “Spectre’s” mission was to blow a hole in the submerged river obstructions near the eastern shore of the river.
Raising the boat from Below Shallow to Awash enabled de Villeroi to use the periscope to confirm that “Spectre” had arrived in the right place.
de Villeroi ordered Eakins to dive the boat back to Below Shallow, and to get Diver Stefano Rojas ready for duty.
Diver Rojas prepares to disembark with his demolition charge.
Lugging his demolition torpedo, Diver Rojas exited “Spectre’s” Air Lock.
J.B. Morrell and Eulalie both kept an eye on the Faraday Engine at this crucial moment of the mission.
Rojas’ journey to his target was slowed by the inevitable silting up that the Mississippi had “dusted” the fascines and “dragon’s teeth.”
Diver Rojas plants the demolition charge on target
Uncovering a pre-existing Rebel-made passage through the line of Obstructions, Rojas placed the Large Charge on the left side base of the obstructions.
Upon detonation, the charge would widen the Rebel’s current passage, and the stronger river current would carry additional debris of the explosion downstream, making the breach even wider.
Once set, Diver Rojas carefully returned to the “Spectre’s” Air Lock and climbed inside, cycling the water-filled Air Lock and replacing it with air.
Rojas hooked the charge’s insulated electrical wires to a bank of Leyden Jar batteries, then climbed through the Air Lock access hatch and into the main cabin. At a nod from Rojas, Eakins threw a nearby switch.
A most satisfying “THUMP!” resulted, that was not only heard but felt through the hull. Success!
Image 9: (Tactical Board)[caption: The demolition charge destroys the Obstructions.]
The demolition charge destroys the Obstructions.
“Let’s get out of here,” bellowed Eakins, as de Villeroi executed a classic pirouette that reversed “Spectre’s” course heading to downstream and home.
Instead of skulking along in the shallows to avoid the worst of the Mississippi’s current, de Villeroi now swung “Spectre” into the main channel, letting Big Muddy take the strain of travel while the Faraday engine was recharging the Leyden Jars. Double the number of watch fires now burned on both banks of the Mississippi, while picket boats swarmed like angry hornets on the river’s surface.
But “Spectre” lived up to her name, ghosting along safe in the rivers depths.
As “Spectre” passed opposite Northeast Point, a mid-evening fog bank rolled in which further hampered Confederate pursuit –
Image 10: (Mission Board) [caption: “Spectre” passes Northeast Point as the Fog rolls in.]
“Spectre” passes Northeast Point as the Fog rolls in.
When “Spectre” arrived back at Head of Passes, the Faraday Engine conked out again just as “Spectre” pulled alongside USS “Varuna.”
As de Villeroi opened the forward hatch, a sailor on “Varuna’s” fo’csle hollered “How was yer huntin,’ boys?”
Standing in the aft hatch, Lodner Philips reached down, pulled a broom out and waved it energetically over his head: a “clean sweep!”
The “Varuna’s” crew erupted in cheers, and Commander Boggs ordering a signal gun fired to alert Admiral Farragut of “Spectre’s” safe arrival.
Sighing, de Villeroi pulled a cigar from his vest pocket.
Lighting it up, he took a long drag of Havana tobacco smoke and permitted himself a rare smile.
Looking down through the hatch he saw his wife Eulalie looking up at him.
Eulalie was smiling, too.
May, 1862.
Having visited the White House and been feted by President Lincoln and Washington society, the de Villeroi’s were taking the train back to their Machine Shop in Boston, Massachusetts.
The destruction of the Confederate river barriers below Forts Jackson & St. Philip allowed Farragut’s fleet to sail virtually unchecked past those two old piles of now-smoldering masonry.
The massive Confederate ironclad CSS “Louisiana” took a close-in pounding from the West Gulf Squadron and was last seen, adrift and on fire from stem to stern, floating downriver to the Gulf of Mexico, together with the wrecked remnants of the Rebel river fleet.
Upon a unanimous vote by the city council, New Orleans was declared an “Open City.” The councilmen then fled upriver to the state capital at Baton Rouge.
Union General Benjamin Butler and his soldiers were received by the now-leaderless Crescent City with something less than open arms.
Though there were still a number of firebrands calling for guerilla and urban warfare, most of the populace shrugged their collective shoulders and got on with life.
On de Villeroi’s recommendation, Acting Master Samuel Eakins was inducted into the US Navy and promoted to the rank of Lieutenant.
Lithograph image showing the Washington Navy Yard during the Civil War {source: history.navy.mil}
de Villeroi’s crew all returned to the Washington Navy Yard as contracted civilian Mechanics in the Navy’s newly-created Bureau for Underwater Research.
And they all lived (those that survived the war, at least) happily ever after.
I’ve been thinking about building a Slicer, Hired Muscle commander deck where I load it up with equipment/auras and have it reap the “on attack/combat” benefits multiple times a turn cycle. The only problem: is this how it actually works?
I know that if, for example, an equipment you control grants hexproof to an opponent’s creature, you still can’t target it since the creature has the keyword and you don’t control the creature (explained here). But is the general rule, therefore, that if an equipment/aura controlled by you grants a keyword or ability (i.e. “creature gains/has ‘X’”), it benefits the opponent, whereas if it doesn’t grant the keyword or ability it benefits you?
Equipped creature gets +1/+1 and has “Whenever this creature attacks, create a Treasure token.”
So when an opponent attacks with my Slicer equipped with Diamond Pickaxe, who creates the treasure token? I assume the opponent, in this case, since the treasure creation is an ability given to the creature, which my opponent controls. On the other hand, I assume that if Slicer was instead equipped with a Bitterthorn, Nissa’s Animus, which says, in part:
Whenever equipped creature attacks, you may search your library for a basic land card, put it onto the battlefield tapped, then shuffle.
then when Slicer attacks on my opponent’s turn, it’s still me that gets to search for a land, since the ability is on the equipment, which I control. Have I got the right understanding in both cases, and in either case, where is this addressed in the rules?
You can get an array of powerful Traits and Sub-Traits in Anime Rangers X to boost your favorite unit’s damage, range, HP, cooldowns, etc. That said, if you’re starting out it can be confusing how to actually get Traits since the Trait NPC doesn’t tell you that. Here’s how to farm Trait Rerolls in Anime Rangers X.
How to Get Trait Rerolls in Anime Rangers X
Screenshot by The Escapist
Screenshot by The Escapist
Screenshot by The Escapist
You can get Trait Rerolls in Anime Rangers X in various ways and here are all of them:
Quests: Open the Quests menu on the right and scroll through the list of All quests. Some of them will offer Trait Rerolls as a reward. It’s going to be ones that are like “Defeat X enemies”, “Summon X units”, “Earn X Yen”, etc.
Challenges: Once you unlock Challenges at Level 15, most of them will offer Trait Rerolls as rewards.
Shiny Normalize: In the Summon building where you roll for units there is a Shiny Normalize NPC at the entrance. He’ll turn your Shiny units to Normal ones and give you Trait Rerolls as a reward.
Level Milestones: At each milestone like Level 5, Level 10, etc. you’ll get a Trait Reroll.
Codes: Once you unlock Codes at Level 5, check out our Anime Realms X codes to get free Trait Rerolls as well as Gems, Gold, and various other rewards.
Robux Purchase: You can buy 3x Trait Rerolls for 300 Robux or 10x for 500 Robux at the Trait Reroll NPC or the Store on the left.
You’ll need a lot of Trait Rerolls since there are a lot of mid or trash Traits so you’ll be rerolling a lot.
How to Farm Trait Rerolls in Anime Ranger X
Here are some tips for farming Trait Rerolls in Anime Ranger X:
Farm Challenges: You need to reach Level 15 ASAP in order to unlock Challenges for farming Trait Rerolls in the most efficient way. A lot of challenges offer them as both guaranteed or random rewards. Bring your best and highest level units, turn on Autoplay, and sit back.
Farm Story: You can get a decent amount of Trait Rerolls from Quests and the fastest way to complete Quests is to farm Story missions. Do it on Nightmare for the best results.
Stay Tuned to Our Codes Page: Bookmark our ARX Codes page above since we update it regularly with the latest Trait Reroll codes.
How to Get Traits in Anime Rangers X
To get Traits on a unit you need to:
Be in the Lobby.
Click on Areas on the left and select Traits or walk to the Trait Reroll NPC.
Select the unit you want to give traits to.
At the bottom, click Reroll which will use a Trait Reroll shard to give your unit a unique trait.
Check out our ARX Trait tier list to know the best ones. That’s it for my guide on farming Trait Rerolls in Anime Rangers X. Stay tuned for more ARX guides.
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Guest characters are increasingly common in gaming, but we wouldn’t in a million years have guessed the nature of Diablo 4’s upcoming crossover. Blizzard has announced its dungeon crawler is teaming up with Berserk, the long-running fantasy manga that inspired the Dark Souls series.
As unlikely as this crossover might seem, it could be just what Diablo 4 needs. Blizzard has already confirmed that this action RPG’snext expansion won’t arrive until 2026, so we welcome anything that helps things fresh.
Blizzard’s Diablo 4 2025 roadmap did tease a tie-in with a well-known IP, but our money was on Doom: The Dark Ages, not least because Microsoft owns both properties. But the more we think about this crossover, the more it makes sense.
Like Diablo 4, Berserk doesn’t shy away from blood and guts. Its central character is, in fact, called Guts, which gives you an idea of what to expect. Known for its gore, this dark fantasy manga follows the violent exploits of a mercenary who battles humans, monsters and demons. And while Guts’ initial instinct is to simply survive, he wouldn’t think twice about ramming Diablo’s Soulstone into his forehead. The manga is currently ongoing and it’s been adapted into an anime several times.
Blizzard has released an animated teaser, which you can watch above, but it has yet to reveal the exact nature of this crossover. That’s not Guts in the teaser, so it’s unlikely he’ll figure heavily into things. But we’d expect there to be cosmetics, the odd event or two and maybe some ridiculously oversized swords.
In the meantime, if you’re battling your way through Diablo 4 and need a little help, we’ve got you covered. To give you a head start, we’ve rounded up the best Diablo 4 builds and the best Diablo 4 classes.
You can follow us on Google News for daily PC games news, reviews, and guides. We’ve also got a vibrant community Discord server, where you can chat about this story with members of the team and fellow readers.
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Published: Apr 17, 2025 08:27 am