Warhammer Quest

I play a lot of games on my iPhone.  As much as I love my Xbox and my computer, I don’t always have the time it takes to sit down and play the games I want to on them.  It’s easy to grab a quick game on my lunch break or something similar.  Yesterday was the release of Rodeo Games Warhammer Quest.  I’m going to say this right now; it is the best game I’ve played on my phone.  

Warhammer Quest is based on an out of print board game of the same name that was produced between 1995 and1998.  It’s a dungeon crawl game.  Adventures go into randomly generated areas, defeat monsters, and collect loot.  When they return to town they sell their treasure, level up their skills, and pick up the next quest.  The board game is beloved and there are petitions to get it back in print.  The video game translates all of this perfectly.

 The purchase of the game gives you a Wood Elf Waywatcher, a Dwarf Ironbreaker, a human Grey Wizard, and a human Marauder to start with.  That’s a great starting party but there are three additional characters that can be purchased an Elven Wizard, a Dwarf Slayer, and a human War Priest.  I think 3 bucks for each character might be a little steep, but I’ve already bought the Slayer and will probably end up buying the others.  There is also a second region of the game to purchase that unlocks new cities and Skaven as enemies. 

The actual gameplay is turn based, which I prefer when playing on the phone.  It’s a challenging game, especially at the lower levels.  The inventory screen is a thing of genius.  You play the game with the game horizontal but when you flip the screen to the vertical position it switches to your inventory.  I don’t know why I like it so much, but it’s a nice touch.  If you like dungeon crawls I really can’t recommend this game enough.  At this time I believe it is only available for iOS devices.

Thank you Detroit Red Wings

And the rollercoaster ride is over.  Last night the Detroit Red Wings were eliminated from the NHL playoffs by the Chicago Blackhawks.  For a team that almost didn’t even qualify that is pretty impressive.  We have a lot of young talent on the team and it has been a long time since a Detroit fan could say that.  While I will watch the rest of the Cup games because they are great hockey, I’m excited to see how Detroit does next year.

The NHL are making this loss easier on me by making a completely bullshit call in last night’s game.  They disallowed a Chicago goal right before the end of the third period and the game went to overtime.  That goal should have ended the game.  A part of me is actually glad the Hawks won because I would feel horrible if the Red Wings were victorious after that call. I'm still going to spend the rest of the day grouchy though.


Chicago will go on to play the LA Kings.  The Bruins will be playing the Penguins.  

3 F’ing Years

Today marks the third anniversary of That F’ing Monkey.  It’s become such a part of my everyday life that I have a hard time remember when I wasn’t writing for it.   I wanted to thank everyone who checks the site daily, weekly, or monthly.  To the people I harassed to start reading to the people who stumbled upon it for themselves; thank you.  Thanks to the people who like us on Facebook or have started following the Twitter account.

I think we did some pretty good things this past year.  We took some chances and I’m already planning for the next year.  Running a site like this is always filled with highs and lows.  I think our first webcomic only amused about 5 people (that’s including Brandon and myself).  I doubt it will be back.  I think our Podcasts showed a lot of potential.  They were also a lot of work for Brandon.  I believe they will be back.  I’m currently working on something else; it’s not like anything else we’ve done.  It’ll be a few more months before we’re ready for that reveal though.

Again, thanks to everyone who visits That F’ing Monkey.  It means a lot to us to know that someone is reading what we put out there.  

Wyatt Family

While I watch a lot of wrestling, I don’t usually talk about it here.  Wrestling is like a dirty secret.  Millions of people watch it in the comfort of their own home, but a lot of people don’t like to admit it.  I’m very lucky that I live near the WWE’s development program.  It’s where they train people not only to physically compete but how to cut interview promos and things like that.  The show is called NXT and airs on Hulu in the United States.  It’s perfect.  At the max you have five minutes of talking before the matches.  There are no drawn out 30 minutes speeches or any of that nonsense.  It’s far better than any other show the WWE produces.

Which brings us to the video above.   The video is of the Wyatt Family, a stable of wrestlers from NXT and it ran last night during Raw.  It can only mean that all three men are going to be called up to the big leagues soon.  I’m extremely happy for all of them.  They are amazing in the ring and on the microphone.  I’m selfish though, so I’m a little sad this probably means their days at the NXT tapings are limited.  

Flash Friday: Flash Chess

Happy Flash Friday everyone!  Flash Friday is the semi-regular feature here at That F’ing Monkey that looks at upcoming merchandise or otherwise shines a spotlight on my favorite superhero.  Today we have a couple of items that you should be able to find for pre-order at your favorite online retailer or in Previews at your friendly local shop.

If you look through the Flash Friday archives it will become obvious that I was a big fan of the Eaglemoss line of DC lead figures.  They weren’t expensive, they looked good, and they didn’t take up much space.  For me, they were the perfect collectable.  Well they’ve decided the pieces work better in chess sets.  In September they will be releasing their first Flash themed chess pieces. The pieces below are part of the Justice League chess set.  Eaglemoss started their chess sets with a Batman one but it must have been popular enough that they are doing it again with a less batty theme.

 We’ve gotten an Eaglemoss Flash before but this one is definitely representing the New 52 version of the costume.  So it has all the required extra lines the costume needs sculpted into the piece.  While I might not be a fan of the new costume, I love the pose of this one.  The last pose had his arms crossed and looked pretty cocky; this new one is practically taunting his foes to come attack him.

Available that same month is the Captain Cold chess piece.  I won't go into the old Captain Cold vs. new Captain Cold argument  I figure we've probably done that enough here.  The Flash piece counts as a Bishop but Captain Cold only ranks as a Pawn.  I would have thought in the Justice League chess set that each hero and their villain would hold the same rank.  Maybe we’ll see a new Reverse Flash as a Bishop later in the line. 

While not related to Eaglemoss or chess I did want to point out that there are sets of 4 inch pvc figures coming out soon too.  I only saw two sets currently listed.  The first set is all bat related with Batman, Robin, and Bane.  The second set is a little stranger; it contains Superman, Wonder Woman, and the Reverse Flash.  I don’t normally question Flash merchandise when we get it, but I do think it’s an odd villain choice considering the heroes in the pack.

Hangover Thursday: An Irish Pub

It’s Hangover Thursday, how’s your head?  Today for Hangover Thursday we’re serving up a song by the band the Rumjacks.  While it sounds like a happy Irish punk song it has a lot to say about some of the so called “Irish bars” that are out there.  You know the bar; they put an Irish flag on their sign, changed the name, and hope the cash comes rolling in.

The Rumjacks are an interesting group.  The Australian band is currently on an indefinite break after their lead singer was sentenced to 16 months in prison due to an assault charge.  Horrible luck for a band who was just signed to ABC Music’s imprint FOUR.   Regardless of their personal background the song is amazing and needs to be heard.

Lego Lone Ranger

There are a lot of things that worry me about the new Lone Ranger movie.  I dislike Depp as Tonto, I’m worried that Tonot is going to be the main character and the Ranger becomes the sidekick, and I’m very worried that the movie is going to be a live action Bugs Bunny cartoon like Pirates of the Caribbean.  I take my Lone Ranger pretty seriously; I really don’t want it to involve him in tons of slapstick wackiness. 

What I am excited for is the Lego Lone Ranger.  Lego has done Western themed sets in the past, but it has been a long time since any of them were on the shelves.  Four or five years ago I was running the Western roleplaying game Deadlands.  We used Lego for all the miniatures.  I was all over Lego bit sellers and third party sites when putting together mini-figs for the party and their adversaries.  The picture above is of the Deadland's characters.  At the time I was just dying for more Western sets.  It took a while but it finally happened.

The real star of the lineup is the train set.  But trains and tracks take up a lot of space.  They set also costs about 100 dollars.  What really excited me was a much cheaper set, the stagecoach.  During that Deadlands game I was planning out what pieces I’d need for stagecoach, this one looks perfect.  30 bucks gets you the coach, an extra horse, and 5 mini-figures.  I let myself get one Lego set a year.  If I didn’t restrict myself I’d be broke and drowning in Lego bricks.  So expect to see better pictures of this set in a month or two when I finally break down and buy it.

Stoutheart Brewers Update 3

Today is another quick Blood Bowl update.  We are two weeks into the Spring Training league at my local Games Workshop and I’ve managed to get in three games.  Currently my record is 2-1 but I feel pretty good about that loss.  It was against a Chaos Dwarf team, they only scored once, and I didn’t take any casualties. 

I’m still working on all the miniatures for the team.  Last Friday I finished my Coach, apothecary, and a second runner.  It was good timing on the runner, because I had just won enough money to start fielding him.  You don’t actually need figures for your coach and support staff, but I think it is much more fun to have them on the sidelines.

Another miniature I finished is my beer pony.  There is no in game reason for me to have this, it just makes me happy.  The horse and cart came from an old Warhammer Fantasy box set.  I had to cut the mining cart off of it and then I added a third party stack of kegs. 

You’d think I’d be done, but I still have a long line of Dwarfs that need paint.  My turn and reroll trackers need to be finished.  I also have two score keepers, a cannon, a referee, and a bunch of musicians waiting for me on my painting table.

Gifted Volume 1

While I didn’t really mention it on That F’ing Monkey I recently ran into a bit of trouble with my truck.  It wasn’t just one little thing either, it was a combination of things that worked in unison to create a perfect storm of mechanical problems.  I was very lucky that Uncle Sam had recently given me my money back and I was somehow responsible enough that I didn’t instantly run out and spend it on new toys and video games.  Yale Stewart isn’t as lucky as I was, he actually needs a new car.

 Yale Stewart is the creator of the JL8 web comic that puts the Justice League in elementary school.  I’ve spoken about the comic before because at the moment it is my favorite iteration of the DC Universe.  I’ve been quite vocal saying the New 52 isn’t doing it for me.  JL8 gets the characters so much better than the comics currently in shops.  If you haven’t read the strip you can do so by clicking HERE. 

Well it’s pretty hard to make money off of characters you don’t own and Yale has stated that he is in some financial difficulties.  So how do you help someone who twice a week produces a fantastic web comic?  Luckily JL8 isn’t the first thing Yale has done.  There is also a 32 page comic called Gifted.  You can purchase the PDF of the comic by clicking HERE.  You pay what you want for the comic and Yale gets to build up a new car fund.  Check it out.

Rose Tattoo EP

The Dropkick Murphys have always been very vocal about their love for Boston.  They were out on tour when the bombings in Boston happened.  Even though they were across the United States at the time the band quickly reacted to the news and began selling shirts to help with the relief.  The news channels might have moved on from the bombing’s aftermath, but the Dropkick’s haven’t.  They just released an EP on iTunes that contains three songs from the excellent album Signed and Sealed in Blood. 

You get three songs for 1.29 and 100% of that money is going to the Claddagh Fund to help those affected.  The first of the songs is Rose Tattoo with Bruce Springsteen.  The other two songs are acoustic recordings of a show they played in Vegas just after the bombings.  It’s a fantastic EP, it’s 3 songs for under 2 dollars, and it goes to a great cause.  I can’t recommend you go to iTunes and download it for yourself. 
https://itunes.apple.com/us/album/rose-tattoo-for-boston-charity/id648685714   

Axe Cop Toys

Axe Cop is the franchise that won’t quit.  What started as a personal comic for friends and family became a popular webcomic, which was then published by Darkhorse comics, and is becoming a cartoon in July.  Now Axe Cop is getting its own toyline from Mezco toys.  It’s a genius move, because the Axe Cop stories are filled with crazy looking heroes and villains.  When a comic has vampire werewolf ninjas from the moon, you know you have a potential toy line. 

The action figure line will consist of three 4” figures and a bunch of accessories.  Obviously the first figure in the line is Axe Cop.  An Axe Cop figure really only needs to be packaged with one thing, an axe.  Mezco is being awesome though and Axe Cop comes with an axe, a poopsucker gun, Uni Baby, and a lemon grenade.  Avocado Soldier comes with a flute, machine gun, and a removable unicorn horn.  Dr Doo Doo comes with a Doo Doo soldier, stands, and a sword.

If you’d prefer your Avocado Soldier in plush form, you can do that too.  The 8” plush doesn’t come with as many extras as the action figure version but is probably much nicer to hug.  That’s if you want to hug a flute playing cop who briefly was a dinosaur before being transformed into a giant avocado.

 The real star of the toy line is going to be Wexer.  This 12” plush T-Rex is wearing sunglasses and has machineguns for hands.  I can see people who have no idea who Axe Cop is still buying this just because of how awesome it is.  The 4” Axe Cop would look pretty good riding on it too.  I can already see him stomping on Doo Doo Soldiers.

American Craft Beer Week

I know we usually save all the beer talk for Hangover Thursday, but I can’t wait for this one.  Yesterday kicked off American Craft Beer Week.  That means from the 13-19 there are going to be a lot of very cool specials and giveaways at bars all over the country.  We’re pretty happy here at That F’ing Monkey if we can help you get cool beer stuff or introduce you to a new craft beer, so we’re pretty excited about this week.

The website CraftBeer.com will have a ton of information on the event itself.  Clicking around there you can read about how American Craft beer Week started in 2006.  Before that there was an American Beer month.  You can also find things on their site like the awesome craft beer map I posted above.  To find out what your beer events are going on in your you’ll have to go to news & events, then down to American Craft Beer Week, and then to ACBW Events.  From there you can pick your home state and check out what is happening around you.

I made a quick stop into my local yesterday and came home with a free pint glass from Breckenridge Brewery.  Not every event is going to be handing out free pint glasses but it is still worth checking out.  Let us know if discover any new craft beers this week and what you thought about them.

Vulture Brains

I’m fascinated by animals, I always have been.  I think Safari Cards might have had something to do with it.  It might have been all those Tarzan movies, or the stacks of Zoo Books, or trips to the Detroit Zoo.  As I’ve grown up my animal interests have gravitated to the stranger.  Monitor lizards, hammerhead sharks, Tasmanian devils, and Tsavo lions are just some of my favorite things.  Because of my passion for animals that don’t fall into the traditionally cute category I’ve really come to admire zoologist Lucy Cooke.

Cooke recently wrote about a disturbing trend in South Africa involving vulture brains.  There is a belief that if you take a vulture’s brain, dry it out, mix it with mud, and smoke it you will receive a vision.  It’s a pretty specific vision too, because the people smoking it are trying to get winning lottery numbers.  In case the lunacy of this hasn’t fully sunk in yet, let me say it again.  People are smoking vulture brains because they think it will help them win the lottery. 

The way people are harvesting vultures is especially harmful.  One “hunter” will put out a poisoned cow carcass; this will attract vultures from all over.  This method can harvest hundreds of birds at once.  No population can continue with losses like that.  Seven of the nine South African vulture species are now endangered.  Despite their appearance vultures play a vital role in their eco-system.  Living in Florida I’ve seen firsthand how efficient our own Turkey Vultures are at removing carrion.  Check out Lucy’s page over at takepart.com by clicking HERE and seeing how you can help.

Hangover Thursday: Case Opener

It’s Hangover Thursday, how’s your head?  My local bar has had a pretty good selection of stouts and porters lately which is always a good thing for me.  It’s odd because that isn’t what you normally see in May, but I’m not complaining.  I’ve been drinking a lot of Session Black at the house, it’s one of my favorites as the temperature here starts to climb. 

Take a close look at the amazing bottle opening in the video above.  Seriously, watch that device and remember it because we will see it again.  I mean I don’t usually have the need to open a case of beer all at once, but some people do.  As the video spreads across the internet you know someone is going to try to capitalize on it. A version of this device will be on sale soon.  Hell it might be on Kickstarter already. 

 I said that my local bar was stocking a lot of stouts lately.  I was happy to see Langunitas’ Espresso Stout; honestly I wish I had one of those in front of me right now.  Despite being weary of the name I also tried Dogfish Head’s Chicory Stout.  The licorice taste wasn’t too strong, but it isn’t something I will order again.  I like a lot of Dogfish Head’s beers but I wasn’t a fan of this one.

RIP Ray Harryhausen

Visual effect legend Ray Harryhausen passed away yesterday at the age of 92.  Known for his use of stop motion animation Harryhausen worked in movies for over 40 years.  Inspired by the effects on King Kong Ray went on to work on all sorts of amazing creatures from skeletons to giant sea monsters.  In 1949 he got to work on a great ape of his own with the film Mighty Joe Young.  Mighty Joe Young is one of my favorite movies; I even prefer it over King Kong.

Turner Classic Movies created a small “Remembering Harryhausen” video, you can see that above.  Thank you Ray.  Thank you for every sea monster, for every giant scorpion, for everything (even that clockwork owl that drove me into insane nerd rage as a child).  

Stoutheart Brewers Update 2

I’ve been hard at work on by Bloodbowl team.  The good news is that the first 11 players are actually finished.  I’ve still got a ton of work to do, but at least my starting lineup is all painted.  That’s a good thing since the league I’m going to be playing in starts this Sunday.

 The numbers are 2mm plastic numbers from a model railroad company.  The number is repeated on the back of the base so it is easy to see what player it is regardless of your facing. 

 The bases are resin bases from Secret Weapon miniatures.  I’ve talked about Secret Weapon before; I use their lava bases on my Salamanders.  I also use their urban rubble bases on my Necormunda enforcers.  I like the company so much that when I plan a new army/team/gang I immediately look to Secret Weapon to find a suitable base.

 I still have a lot of painting to do.  I’m currently working on my coach, an extra runner, an apothecary, a turn counter, a reroll counter, and my beer wagon.  That group has already been primed and I’ve started to get some base coats down.  If I had a couple of hours I could probably get them finished too.

My pitch is still on hold.  Enough of it is finished that you can play a game on it, in fact I should be using it this Sunday.  Unfortunately I wasn’t able to get the insulation foam boards that I need.  I had some truck issues and then it rained for a week straight.  Now that is all out of the way I should be able to get the supplies I need to start creating the dugouts and the mountain scoreboard.

RIP Jeff Hanneman

It’s been reported that Jeff Hanneman of Slayer died yesterday due to liver failure.  He was 49.  Hanneman was a founding member of the band.  The guitarist co-wrote “Raining Blood”, the song the band is most famous for.  Hanneman stopped touring with Slayer when he became sick in 2011.

It's a sad day for music.  Our thoughts go out to his friends and family.

Hangover Thursday: Game Changer

It’s Hangover Thursday, how’s your head?  I’m still on the Session Black train lately. With the NHL playoffs in full swing I’m planning on when I can plant myself on a barstool more often and watch some hockey.  Sure I can watch the games at home, but it’s more fun to watch them with other people.  It doesn’t even have to be my favorite team playing; the intensity of the playoffs makes almost any game fun to watch.

One of the larger chains of sports bars just made a pretty interesting announcement. Buffalo Wild Wings and Red Hook brewing are creating their very own beer.  Game Changer is described as “a premium craft beer that is designed to go perfectly with our flavorful wings while watching a game.”  Isn’t that descriptive?  It throws out a bunch of words without giving any actual information.  Luckily Redhook isn’t filled with corporate doublespeak and was kind enough to let people know that it will be a Pale Ale with an abv of 4.6%.

I’m not a fan of Pale Ales but I wish them the best.  If it is successful it raises a few questions.  Will Game Changer only be available at Buffalo Wild Wings?  Will bottles be available at other liquor stores?  Could you buy a six pack from the restaurant to take home?  BW3 already sells their sauces to take home, why not their own beer?  Will other restaurants follow suit and have their own craft brews?

Counting Song

This isn’t exactly new; I believe it first ran on Sky back in July of 2012.  I’m especially feeling it’s meaning today.   The song is less than two minutes, so if after the first 30 seconds you think you’re finished you’ll want to keep watching.  It’s worth it.

This video is up there with the “We’re Not Young” song as being extremely funny and uncomfortably true.  As a wise man once said, “Remember, I’m pulling for you.  We’re all in this together.”