Eeeeeeeeeee! Super Dungeon Explore is here, yippie!! Well I have been downright giddy today since receiving my set of miniatures for Super Dungeon Explore, a game still in development by Soda Pop Miniatures. This release represents what they say is only the beginning for their new dungeon-crawl miniatures strategy game. Supposedly inspired by old school video game classics like The Legend of Zelda and Gauntlet among others, it promises to be a quick, easy to play, and light-hearted gaming experience. And yes, I am indeed quite excited about this one. :)To challenge the initial batch of five heroes, the first set of monsters made available are the Kobolds and they are absolutely adorable! I would have bought these miniatures just to paint such cute little critters so the fact that there is a game to go along with them is an awesome bonus for me. The last few nights I've studied the downloadable rules pdf for the demo version of Super Dungeon Explore and am now even more excited as it seems like it will be a genuinely enjoyable game with a lot of room for future development. It sort of reminds me of the old Milton Bradley HeroQuest game, another staple of my gaming adolescence. The full version of the game hasn't even been released yet and already I have lots of ideas for what I'd like to do with it so I think that is all rather encouraging.
I currently have a lot on my hobby plate but that's not going to prevent me from putting in some time this weekend with my new toys. They're simply too tempting for me to resist. Right away upon seeing the basic 25mm slotta-bases that come packaged in the Super Dungeon Explore blister packs I realized that I want to mount them instead on some fancy resin bases. As luck would have it I even have leftover from another project an ideal set of bases to use, the Sanctuary style round bases from Dragon Forge Design. I think they work quite nicely representing the cold stone floor of a dank, gloomy dungeon. Woohoo!
You can see in the following photos the quick progress I've made on them with only a short amount of time sitting at my desk tonight. So far I've assembled the Human Paladin and the two Kobold Flingers and prepared all the necessary pins I will use for securing the miniatures to their resin bases. I plan on mounting the treasure chests that come with the heroes on bases as well so I also drilled and pinned the first of these this evening too.
I'm really looking forward to diving into this game as quickly as I can and will no doubt try to sneak in some brush time for these Super Dungeon Explore miniatures in the coming weeks. I know that it was only a couple days ago in my previous post that I talked about focusing in on the Dark Elves in preparation for Adepticon but it would be unrealistic for me to expect that degree of exclusivity from my hobby. Nonetheless I do seem to have an inordinate amount of distractions.... that is something I never have in short supply. No worries though as it's all just for fun. It would be really cool to have them painted in time to go with me to Adepticon for some after hours gaming silliness. Therefore in addition to all the other projects and games covered here, tonight marks the beginning of what will hopefully be an amusing and perhaps somewhat different type of hobby adventure.
Wait... what am I saying? It's going to be SUPER HAPPY FUN of course. Happy gaming, everyone!
They look really exciting! Why can't GW rerelease Hero Quest?!!!!!
ReplyDelete@ Bartender - Be careful! That 'why can't GW re-release x' Pandora's box is pretty deep. Hero Quest yes, but what about Warhammer Quest, Mordheim, Necromunda, GorkaMorka, Epic as a major supported system, even the real oldies - Von reminded me of Trolls in the Pantry the other day for example, and there are plenty of others. How about Space Crusade and Battle Masters? Hero Quest would be a good start though, then they could go through the rest in order of original release date..!
ReplyDelete@ Papa - Why not Super Dungeon Explore? It's probably a very good way to get some players onboard that wouldn't usually think of playing something like D&D. The minis look better than I thought they might, and now you've made the Zelda connection in my mind, I'm looking it differently again. You've got them looking great already and I'm keen to see how you tackle it.
@ Bartender - That was such a fantastic game, I too would love to see GW put out an updated version of it! Back when it was still around I probably ended up spending more time playing HeroQuest than almost any other game. Now those were some fun times indeed. Ah, memories... :) I actually think it would be fairly easy to adapt Super Dungeon Explore to make it feel even more like HeroQuest and is something I want to work on in the future. Thanks, Bartender!
ReplyDelete@ Porky - Hahaha, that is very true about all those classic games... wow, looking at all those titles reminds me just how different that era was for our beloved Games Workshop. I admit to not knowing the business side of things at all for this industry but it does surprise me they would let all of that simply fade away into memories. If for no other reason they at least could serve as a good vehicles for introducing their primary games (WFB, 40k, LoTR) to a much wider audience. But as I remember them they were genuinely enjoyable games to play which makes their disappearance even more confusing to me. Oh well... one more thing to work on once I've been made the new studio Jervis. :)
I agree too about the potential here for introducing to the world of gaming people who might otherwise be reluctant to roll some dice. I've talked to many people over the years who were simply not interested in the traditional aesthetic found in your more typical fantasy miniatures. I think these are different enough to really make one pause and appreciate their more unusual qualities, even if ultimately they are not to your liking. So far I'm at least really enjoying the novelty of it all and am very curious to see how this game develops. Also I'll be sure to write a review once I've had time to play the game and really get a sense for how things work.
Thank you very much, Porky!
I Wish i was in the US as I could run Deathwatch with you guys.
ReplyDeleteDE Update Has been shipped MR J.
In Midnight Clad.
We still break out WHQuest from time to time but it'd be nice to have a fun Descent-alternative to newer players who aren't lucky enough to have the old stuff. Thanks for the heads up.
ReplyDelete@ Derina - That would be fun, I still haven't played Deathwatch yet but I'm sure it is awesome. I really like Rogue Trader, too. Thanks, Derina!
ReplyDelete@ Gyro - No problem, I'm sure I'l write about my experience with the game once I've gotten to play a few times. I do like what I see so far with the rules and this is just the incomplete intro version for demonstration games. I'm excited to find out what more will be included when the full game is released. Warhammer Quest is another that I miss, that's cool that you're still able to play. Thank you, Gyro!
Deep One Knights arrived this morning.
ReplyDeleteNice! I tracked down some additional DE female torsos for you to use with the knights and will mail them out as soon as I receive them myself. Thanks, Derina!
ReplyDeleteWhat a great find! I never heard of the game before. Brings back memories of the fun older days. I just spent a half an hour going over the site. I love the Dwarf fighter and the Kobold Knucklehead. Thanks for posting.
ReplyDeleteI love the rouge mini she looks so cool.
ReplyDelete"Mr J" got the Dino's together and am Priming greenskin.
@ Night Runner - That's great news, I'm glad to help out! I also really like the Dwarf and the Kunklehead Kobold, those are my favorites too. I'll be sure to let you know how the game goes once I get a chance to play some. Thank you very much, Night Runner!
ReplyDelete@ Derina - That is a nice one but I'm a little worried about trying to pin it to a base because her feet are so teeny tiny... oh my! Have fun with the Deep One Knights, hopefully you'll have the last bits you need soon. Thanks, Derina!
Hey, Papa. This is off-topic. Could I ask you to check the most recent comments under the D1 post at the Expanse?
ReplyDeletehttp://theporkster.blogspot.com/2011/01/d1.html
GDMNW has set up a wiki and we'd like to copy your comment across.
Fantastic, Porky! I'd be happy to help out any way I can, I'm pleased to see your discussion of the D1 has truly taken off and developed a life of its own. Well done, sir! In case I haven't said so to you before, I think you've got one of the most fascinating perspectives on our hobby. It's always a joy to visit the Expanse! to find out what's been on your mind and to participate in the ensuing conversation. Thank you for sharing with us!
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