Gaming Community & Stores in and around Luxembourg!

In the last month I have been researching the local Luxembourg Gaming Community and what it has to offer. I have found a few stores of interest with active gaming days and genres. The predominate gaming genre here in the area is Games Workshops, Warhammer.  There is very little other gaming in the area that I have been able to find out. However my wife and I did do visit several gaming stores in Luxembourg, Trier, Metz, and Saarbrucken. Each has its own pros and cons as well as my own opinion on them.

First up is the gaming stores in and around Luxembourg City.

Spielbar Luxembourg

30 rue Felix de Blochausen 

Luxembourg, Luxembourg L-1243

This gaming store is the only one that I could find in Luxembourg City and it is very new. It was opened in the fall of 2017 and offers the predominate game of the area Warhammer.  The owners are quite nice and their facebook is updated regularly. It is a small space for gaming and has a good selection of retail merchandise. If I need to pick up some painting supplies in a pinch this is the place for me.

Games Tower

33, rue de la Gare Mersch 

Mersch, Luxembourg L-7535

Games Tower is located about 20 mins north of Luxembourg City in a little town called Mersch. This gaming store is also predominately Warhammer. It does have a large selection of card sleeves/card protection systems and a very small selection of X-Wing merchandise. The coolest part about this gaming store is that is has a huge playing space. There are several rows of tables and you could theoretically have about 10-12 tabletop games going at one time. Next up on the list of gaming stores are those in Trier, Germany. Spielbar Trier Walramsneustr. 2b 54290 Trier, Germany This gaming store in Trier is well rounded in terms of mercandise and gaming space. I was not overwhelmed by the Warhammer game here. It has several other games such Infinity, X-Wing, and Star Wars Armada, etc. It also has a large selection of board games, however they were all in German. In the basement there was a medium size area for gaming that could host about 6-7 games at once. The store had a huge selection of terrain for many game genres. Games Workshop Moselstr. 6, Treviris Passage, shop 1a  54290 Trier, Germany What can I say about this store, it is the bread and butter games store for Warhammer. The guys here are awesome and if you are into Warhammer this is the place to be in Trier. Interesting enough it is right around the corner from Spielbar Trier. Moving on to our visit to Metz France and Saarbrucken, Germany. La Caverne Du Gobelin 11 Rue des Clercs 57000 Metz, France When researching the local gaming community I noticed that this store has 2 open locations. One in Metz and a second one in Nancy. They previously had a location in Luxembourg, but is has sense permanently closed its doors. This store does carry X-Wing and Armada, but none of the games are in English. They have a good selection of painting and modeling supplies. This store is very unique as it has a very large selection of Board Games.  They also feature a large gaming area in the back of the store. Dragonlord Games Mainzer Str. 39 66111 Saarbrucken, Germany This store by far is the best of all of them that I visited in the area. It had some English language games vs French or German. The carry X-Wing, Armada, Infinity, Warhammer, Magic, etc. They did carry the Spartan Games lines of Firestorm Armada and Dystopian Wars. After talking with them I found out they intend on stocking them again plus Dropzone & DropFleet Commander games from TTCombat in the near future. I did end up buying the new Star Wars X-Wing Starter set for my wife and I to play while all of my furniture and models are being shipped from the United States to Luxembourg. I have mixed feelings about all of them and none suit my needs even though Dragonlord Games has more of what I play. However, to get what I am looking for I will more than likely have to stick to ordering online and trying to build a gaming community around the games that I like to play. Happy Wargaming!

ASSAULT:19XX - A team based game of epic 1930s proportion!!

While at the Phoenix Comicon last year my daughter and I saw this pretty cool game and decided to give it a shot. That was almost a year ago and it has never been played.  It is now time to fix that situation.  Now I am glad we did because I was very impressed by what this game brings to the table.

Even though I bought this game at the Comicon I am happy to report this was another successful Kickstarter. According to the Kickstarter material: "Assault: 19XX is based on characters appearing in the Adventures of the 19XX webcomic and graphic novel series. If you haven’t read the books, don’t worry; this game stands on its own! If you have read the books or would like to, then this game adds a lot to the experience. You play as characters directly from the book using some familiar weapons and a lot of new ones as well! The Chapter Deck allows you to play through the first graphic novel, “Rise of the Black Faun.” You can relive the story through the game or experience it for the first time."

Assault:19XX is a semi-cooperative tabletop game for 2-6 players designed and illustrated by Paul Roman Martinez! Two factions fight through the 1930s to control the fate of humanity. One group, the organization known as the 19XX, has gathered together talented and brave individuals from all over the globe to fight against evil elements wherever they arise. The other group, The Order of the Black Faun, can trace its roots to many ancient groups whose hands were often found guiding society for their own nefarious goals. Here, in the 1930s, they seek to start the next World War. Take on the role of one of these characters and, with the help of your team, win the battle for the 1900s! Includes 16 Character Cards, 58 Item cards, 47 Luck cards and 21 Chapter cards from The Rise of the Black Faun.

Also includes the Book Two expansion based on Montezuma: 1934! Comes with 8 additional
playable characters, 17 new Item & luck cards and 27 additional Chapter Cards.

Our test play was overall enjoyable. The rules are easy to learn and game play was fluid which kept up the excitement. My daughter in the end defeated me, but barely.  So how is the game played?

Two factions battle to find a victor using one of two conditions:

1. Finish a round with the entire opposing team knocked out.
2. Be the first to score thirteen hits on the enemy faction.

Character cards are laid face up on the table with all stats showing. A marker is used to show the player’s current health out of a maximum possible five. Each player has a Luck, Defense, and Attack value. Every Character Card has a brief background description for those who have not read the graphic novels.

Over 100 Item and Luck cards with unique illustrations created just for this game are drawn each turn and equipped to increase your character’s attributes. The Item deck contains weapons and other helpful cards such as the Thompson Gun, Experimental Gas Launcher, and bandages. The luck deck contains esoteric items such as curses, lucky helmets, spells, and more. Using these cards you and your faction attack opposing players each round and attempt to get to thirteen on the scorecard. Each damage you inflict on an opposing player gets them closer to being knocked out and moves your team up one point on the scorecard.

The game also comes with 21 Chapter Cards. These cards are drawn each time you score a point and allow you to play through the plot of various Adventures of the 19XX books. These cards come right from the book series using the original page art.

Unfortunately I do not have a BATREP as I forgot to charge my camera and take a lot of notes. That means there will be a rematch.

If you are interested the website for the game is located here: http://adventuresofthe19xx.storenvy.com/collections/22382-all-products/products/2084918-assault-19xx-the-game.