Mud, Blood, and the Golden Ticket to Mars-Some thoughts on Gaslands

 Mud, Blood, and the Golden Ticket to Mars

Some thoughts on Gaslands

It won’t have escaped the regular reader of this blog, if such a thing exists, that I’ve really got into Gaslands. I’m not sure how long this obsession will last; I can already hear the roar of an engine from Dark Future calling to me, but Gaslands has quickly become the most-played tabletop game for me in a long time. I’ve managed to get in fifteen games since February, all against other people, which is a bit of a record for me, as I spend most of my time playing solo.

Why has Gaslands taken such a hold on my gaming? I think there are a few reasons why I’m really enjoying it at the moment. The first has to be the social side of it: I’ve managed to get my gaming group into the game, and there’s nothing quite like a group of mates hanging out and getting excited about the roll of a die or the choice of a template.

The second reason is the game mechanics. It’s quick and intuitive, so I can get straight into the story unfolding on the table. Some of this may be because it shares mechanics with games like Wings of Glory and X-Wing. More than one game has hinged on a single bad choice of movement template—sending cars careering into walls or barriers. The look of horror on the face of the person who picked the wrong one is priceless.

The final reason has to be the building of the cars for the game.  Each car that I have made has drawn me into the game more and more.  It is hard to express the joy that I have found from taking toy cars apart and making them my own but there it is.  Gaslands got me using a power tool for the first time in decades.  Did I feel more like a real man for taking an electric drill to a Hot Wheels car?  Probably not, but it was fun.

Carnage on the raceways - My Gaslands obsession continues.

Carnage on the raceways 

My Gaslands obsession continues

I’ve taken advantage of the spring break to continue building cars and playing games of Gaslands. This has impinged on my blog post writing a little, but when push comes to shove, I’d rather push some figures around the table than write a blog post.  

I finished two more teams in the last month—one for myself and the other as a gift for a friend. The first team, the Westbury Warlords, came together really easily. I was given some 3D-printed pieces that hadn’t worked out for my friend, and once I saw the French Renault FT17, at least, I think that’s what it is, I knew I wanted to stick a car body on top of it. The turret didn’t really work with the other cars in the build, so I put it to one side to use in a later project.

The second car I built also uses some 3D-printed cast-offs, but in this case I removed the car’s wheels and replaced them with tracks. The front ram was made from pieces of an old broken toy, which I think gives it the right level of brutality—or orkishness. I’m sometimes drawn to the Orks of the Rogue Trader era for inspiration.

For the final car in the team, I wanted to make something a little more toned down and cheaper in cost. I found a buggy in my local toy store and thought it only needed a few adjustments to make it table-ready. I didn’t use any 3D-printed parts on it; instead, I raided my bits box for weapons and things to stick on the car. I chose to add a Lewis gun from a box of Wargames Atlantic WW1 Tommies fairly early on. I’ve always been a bit of a fan of the Lewis gun, and this buggy was the first vehicle where I felt it really worked.

So, that’s the Westbury Warlords complete. On the track, the team has had mixed results, as the tracks don’t seem to help that much. Still, I think they look pretty good—and the rule of cool always comes first.

The second team, the Semyonovsky Lifeguards, drew inspiration for its paint scheme from the Mod movement: blue, white, and red, along with my attempt at freehanding a roundel. It wasn’t the most successful, but if you don’t try, you’ll never improve. Volvo estates were always known as “tanks” when I was younger, so I thought the turret from the Renault would work on one. It just about fitted on the roof of the Volvo, so that was a win.

I wanted a more technological look for this team, so when I was hunting through my bits box, I pulled out any weapons that fit the bill. To help sell that more scientific feel on the second car, I bent some wire into cabling that runs into an engine at the back.

I experimented with the final car in the team, an Alfa Romeo. I wanted to add a smashed windscreen, so I took one of those protective film things for a smartphone, cut it to shape, and then hit it a few times with a bradawl. It took a few attempts to get the look right, but I’m pretty happy with how it turned out. The other experiment was my attempt at a roundel. I definitely need to work on my freehand skills a lot more.

I really enjoyed putting this team together for a friend, and I’m looking forward to racing against them on the track.