Review: Doctor Who Fluxx

Not being a gamer, I'd never heard of the game Fluxx, which seems incredibly popular and which has expanded to cover all sorts of licensed properties ...  Well that was sorted out when the company behind it, the well named Looney Labs, kindly sent me a review copy of the new Doctor Who version of the game ... and we had a pre-Christmas go at it!

First of all, the game itself.  It's a simple set of 100 cards ... there are different sorts of cards contained in the pack:

NEW RULE - which change the rules of the game as you play
ACTIONS - things that you have to do when you play the card
CREEPERS - a bit hard to explain, but these stop you winning
KEEPERS - these are character cards, and to win you have to have in front of you (ie have to have played) the cards which are stated on the ...
GOAL - the circumstances by which you win

The game involves players taking turns to play the cards in their hands, according to the rules currently in force, to try and reach the goal which is currently in force... and the Rules and Goal change as players change them, add to them, remove them ... and generally do what the cards tell them to.

Got that?

The shorthand version is that you start with the initial Rule: Take One Card. Play One Card ... and you go on from there by simply following what is said on the cards as they are played.

So we set up a game with myself, my wife Sam, and my sons James and Andrew ...  While it starts simply enough, after a few rounds, the Rules changed to Take Three Cards. Play Four Cards ... so you run out quickly ... then Actions came into play like: Discard all  your hand and Draw them again ... or Swap your hand with another player of your choice ... and so on ...

It got confusing very quickly, but the basic litany of 'read what it says on the cards' was what was needed to make it all work!

There's also a degree of strategy in remembering what other players have (some Actions mean that you get to know what cards others have in their hands) and also remembering what is in the Discard pile (as some Actions allow you to choose cards from there to play yourself).  You can block other players by giving them Creeper Cards, and other Actions allow you to take other players' cards, Discard them, or keep them yourself, or even to give them to other players ...

It soon gets hideously fun as you need to work out what Keepers you need to have, against a possible Goal card you have ... so that on your turn, you can play them in the right order to win!! You can't rely on the Goal card on the table as it might change!

BUT be warned there are Reverse The Last Turn Action cards which will stop you ... So it's really not that easy.

What I liked was the simple gameplay - once you get the hang of reading cards, then it's fairly straightforward - and it doesn't take hours and hours for a game ... maybe 15-20 minutes ... Obviously the more people are playing, the longer it might take ... but also the harder it gets to follow what is happening as some Action cards can reverse the order of play, allow players to interrupt and take over play ... and generally to mess everything about ...

At £14.99 for the little pack of cards, it seems quite expensive as there are no other elements - no board and no playing pieces or dice. Maybe this is the going rate for card games these days ...

One word on the cards themselves, and I really liked that they all have little drawings of the characters on them rather than standard BBC Photographs. This makes them stand out from the rest and become something unique. The images are by an artist called Derek Ring, and include all 12 Doctors and most of the Companions from the new series.

New from Warlord Games

Fans of metal miniature figures will be delighted to hear that several new three-packs have been released by Warlord Miniatures in recent months ... their range is building really nicely, and there's promise of all sorts of goodies to come!

Meanwhile, here's pics of the recent issues:

Finally, there's a free FISHER KING figure for anyone who spends more than £75 at their online shop - https://doctorwhotimevortex.com/ ... so check them out!

Warlord Games

This week I was lucky enough to be invited along to Warlord Games' premises and factory in Nottingham for a sneak peak at some of the Doctor Who line which they have coming up, and also to have a look at how the figures are actually created!

Warlord launched their first Doctor Who game, called Exterminate! the other week, and this is a 'Dungeons and Dragons' type skirmish game, where your imagination is the only limit, and which can be played with all their various metal miniatures as 'inspiration' pieces. There was a launch day for this as well, and I was there, watching the game being played, and seeing how it all worked.

One of the most incredible things about the metal miniatures is the amount of detail that they get into the figures. They really do look like the actors and creatures they are supposed to be. This is because each figure starts life as a little model, and for current series characters, they also have a 3D computer model of the actor, so sculpting tends to be limited to the costumes - but even there there are 3D Models available of some things, so on occasion, no human intervention is needed!

Playing Exterminate!

For these figures, they will then print a 3D model in the right scale for initial checks. This is then used to create molds and then these to create masters, everything being approved along the way. Then finally the master is used to create casting molds, and the metal is then poured into these and spun, the centrifugal force pushing the metal into the mold and creating the figures.  They are then removed from the mold and checked.  Any which are not correct are discarded and the metal reused.

If a 3D model isn't available, then one is created. But other figures start life as a hand sculpted figure, which are then cast to create a master, and then it follows the same process as before. It's involved and time consuming, and is by far the most expensive element in the process.

Mold for metal Davros figurines.

There are also plastic models, and these are outsourced for creation.

For the 'sets' - houses and bridges and vehicles - these tend to be cast in resin, and so there's a similar process, except that the master mold is in silicone, and the resin is poured into each mold to create the pieces needed.  Before this happens though, the kit needs to be broken down into moldable pieces and it is figured out where the resin will be poured in.

There's also consideration for air holes and just how the air will escape when the resin or metal is poured. There is a lot of knowhow and technical skill involved - far more than you might think!

Resin components in there molds, setting.

Out of these processes come the figures and kits ... everything you need to build vast armies of Doctor Who monsters and characters.

At the factory we also saw the packing process where the boxes are hand-packed with the right figures, all of which have passed several points of approval and inspection before they reach this point.

Warlord have a licence to produce the Doctor Who figures, and they have an impressive selection of items waiting in the wings.  On display we saw some of the items coming up ... including Ogrons, Missy and Davros ... and a set of every design of Cybermen, including an amazing Tomb set, created as a prototype for the moment, but intended for production.

Prototype Tomb of the Cybermen scenario

They would like to see more of this sort of set created in the future, building the history of Doctor Who into an all-encompassing gaming system which allows free reign in time and space, and which can take in places the Doctor has visited ...

Frazer Hines was with us, and here he
looks at something of interest ...

The painted figures are most impressive. Given that they are such a small size (25mm), the detail that the painters get into them is nothing short of mind-blowing.

Warlord have plans for a great many more figures and sets and games ...and Doctor Who provides an almost unending source of figures and ideas!  It's a perfect match!

Warlord's figures and the Exterminate! game can be purchased direct from Warlord at http://www.warlordgames.com or https://doctorwhotimevortex.com/



Here's a selection of the painted figures.  Remember that these are just 25mm tall!

Missy and Davros

Cybermen!

More Cybermen!

Even more Cybermen!

Running Cyberman!

Clockwork Droids

Clara, Strax and Madame Vastra

12th Doctor and Clara

Vashta Nerada

Zygons!

Rose and 10th Doctor

Wilf, Donna and Martha

Ogrons!

The Ghost and Mr Syn

Judoon!

And of course, a Dalek!

The DOCTOR WHO Merchandise Museum

I've loved Doctor Who and its associated merchandise for many, many years. In the 80s my dream was to get a guide published to all the amazing things which had been released ... that failed, and so in the 90s I did it myself along with a brilliant pal and designer called Arnold T Blumberg ... And for as long as I can remember I've loved displaying my collection, in my bedroom, or in the spare room, and latterly in the 'collection room' at home!  But as the collection grew and grew I needed more and more space ...

So two years ago, we moved house, mainly to try and acheive the space we needed, and now own a lovely home, and also a business unit in which I can finally host the Doctor Who collection ... so that it's all available to see and appreciate, and we can also allow others to come and see it too and not have people stomping through our house to do so!

But there's an issue ... as explained in more detail in the fundraiser, in part because of a heart attack I suffered in 2016, we don't now have the money to complete the works, and so are running a fundraiser to try and get this, to make this museum a reality!!


There are some smashing perks for those who donate, and more perks are due to come online soon ... So please have a look and see what we're trying to do :)

Standing in the Unit with all the boxed up merchandise waiting
for the Unit works to be completed.

Any and all help is appreciated ... so please share the fundraiser, tell your friends, try and get word out to as many people as you can ... It's all really appreciated.

The fundraiser page is here:

https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/the-doctor-who-merchandise-museum

And there's some lovely pieces about it all here:

http://www.markwho42.net/2016/11/06/lets-indiegogo-to-the-doctor-who-merchandise-museum/

http://www.doctorwhonews.net/2016/11/the-doctor-who-merchandise-museum.html

http://thedoctorwhocompanion.com/2016/11/03/doctor-who-in-an-exciting-adventure-with-merchandise-new-doctor-who-museum-needs-your-help/

http://www.starburstmagazine.com/tv-news/16709-dr-who-merch-museum-news

https://scifibulletin.com/2016/11/02/help-support-a-doctor-who-memorabilia-museum/

http://merchandise.thedoctorwhosite.co.uk/david-j-howe-merchandise-museum-project/

http://news.drwho-online.co.uk/Help-Fund-The-Doctor-Who-Merchandise-Museum!.aspx

Review: Warlord Games' Doctor Who Miniatures

I've always had a soft spot for little metal miniatures. Ever since Fine Art Castings first started rolling them off their production line (in truth a casting machine in their garage!) in 1984, there have probably been more little metal figures of Doctor Who characters produced than most other items of merchandise (excluding, probably, trading cards if you count the cards individually!)

Now Warlord Games has picked up the license, and their initial release are two boxes, each containing five little figures.  Each box costs £19.99 which makes them £4 each, which is about the same price as other 35mm figures these days, so overall not too bad a price.

The figures tie into something called 'Into The Time Vortex: The Miniatures Game' but I have no idea what this is, and there's no clues on the boxes of figures ...

So ... we have one box which is 'Tenth Doctor and Companions' - this contains, as you might expect, the tenth Doctor, plus Rose, Martha, Donna, and Wilf (a surprising addition to be honest ... but then who else might they have chosen? Maybe Sarah Jane Smith?)

The figures are approximately 35mm so quite small, and come unpainted. Each also has a little plastic stand which you have to glue yourself to the base of each figure.  It's a nice set!

The second box contains 'Twelfth Doctor and Companions' and here we have Doctor 12 of course, and also Clara, Vastra, Jenny and Strax. Again, a good selection.

If you like the little miniatures, then these are a good addition to the collection. The packaging is a card box containing a plastic inner containing 6 little 'trays' and in each is a figure, and in the sixth are the bases. There's also a card wrap around the plastic inner with character details and so on printed on it.

I'm looking forward to seeing what the actual game is too ...I'm guessing some sort of 'Dungeons and Dragons' type scenario, or it could be a 'Monopoly'-type board game ... we shall see!

The Warlord Figures are available direct from the manufacturers: https://store.warlordgames.com/collections/doctor-who/

12th Doctor's 2nd Sonic Screwdriver

It's been a long time since I was sent one of Character Options' Doctor Who products to review ... but at last they come through with the 12th Doctor's second Sonic Screwdriver ...

This first appeared in the last episode of season 9, 'Hell Bent', and was something of a surprise when the Doctor produced it from his pocket.

The main immediate difference from its predecessors is that there is no 'focussing' element at the end, instead there is a crystal-like structure which on screen reminded me a little of a Metebelis crystal. Otherwise it's the usual tube-like device with various bits and bobs on it - though different bits and bobs here to previous screwdrivers.

The operation here is a single push/pull switch on the side. Pushing it once and holding it activates a green light and a buzz, while pushing it twice and holding it makes it flash green with a whine sound. Pulling it once and holding it activates a blue light and a different buzz, while pulling it twice and holding it makes it flash blue 'chasing' around in a circle with yet another whining sound.

It's pretty cool, though it is quite hard to activate the 'two push/pull' functions. My thumb was hurting from the effort of holding the switch in place to make them work. It's also not obvious that there even is a 'two pull/push' element - I had to actually read the packaging to find out what it did! Perhaps the activation contacts could have been bigger and easier to connect to, or maybe just having four little buttons to press would have been a lot easier to navigate.

It might also have been nice if there were a couple of other manual functions to the toy - like the way that the old ones had an extending shaft and so on. However I guess that this would have pushed the manufacturing costs up.

It's a smashing looking toy though, and as the Sonic Screwdrivers have, over the years, become synonymous with the Doctor, it's nice that the newest one is available to buy in toy form.

The toy should be in the shops 'within weeks' Character say, but I'm sure there are some retailers around who will be taking pre-orders very soon.

More Merchandise from Tarco

Tarco, who produced a rather nice range of Vending Machine figures last year, have several more items now available, with more to come in 2015.

Available now is a Sticker Set collection, comprising 6 different boxes, each containing 20 stickers.

A Dalek box
A Tardis Box
A Mixed box with Tardis, Vastra, Sonic screw driver and Vastra / Strax
A Cyberman box
A Stax box
A Weeping Angel

Each box is tiny (it has to be in order to fit in the vending machine ball) and around 4cmx3cmx2cm. Thus the little stickers inside are also tiny. Each box contains 5 each of 4 different designs, and despite the teeny size, they are all very nice indeed.

Just released is a second set of figures:

Dalek
Adipose
Cyberman
Tardis
Weeping Angel
K9

Unlike the first set of figures, which were based on the more stylised characters from the animated game, this second set are screen-designs and thus more accurate.

They are all very nicely modelled and painted - again each is only around 4cm high! The Cyberman is a little stylised, with a large chest and tiny waist, and the Adipose is of course just cute!  I like that the TARDIS is slightly smaller at the base, giving it a sort of stretched look - but this just makes it unique!

And coming late December/early January is a set of little mini-viewers, each containing 8 screenshots from the shows transmitted during 2013:
The Time of the Doctor
The Day of the Doctor
Nightmare in Silver
The Angels take Manhattan
Cold war
Asylum of the Daleks

These items are rather lovely. Each is a little tiny viewer - and those with long memories will remember the old Viewmaster sets of years past. Again the viewers are minute - around the 4cmx3cmx2cm mark, and have a small viewing hole through which can be seen the slides which are moved on by pressing a button on the top - its a mechanical action though - no batteries!

All the episodes chosen were part of the 50th anniversary year, and take in all the current staples of Daleks, Cybermen, Angels, Ice Warrior and of course the Doctor.

For just £1 each, these are rather lovely, and a nice way to remember the episodes in question.

Cheers

David

More Merchandise

Continuing to catch up on some of the wonderful things I have been sent of late, and here's more goodies, from some USA exclusive items, to more books!

First off, I've been sent several items by the very lovely people at the wonderfully named Bif Bang Pow! in the USA. They have a large range of things available, and most can be obtained from their official outlet, Entertainment Earth.

Visit http://www.entertainmentearth.com/hitlist.asp?eeshop=80&company=Bif+Bang+Pow%21&SearchOrder=com to find details of all the items from this company.


TRAVEL MUG

Sometimes these can be really cheap and tacky affairs, but this Travel Mug comes boxed, and is a sturdy plastic and brushed stainless steel affair. In a lovely translucent TARDIS blue, the mug has white Doctor Who and TARDIS decals on the sides, and comes complete with a plastic lid to keep the contents hot. The lid can be twisted to open some sipping slots at either side as well.

This seems to be an exclusive for Entertainment Earth, so you won't find it for sale anywhere else (probably).


TARDIS MONITOR MATE

A slightly bizarre idea, this is a little TARDIS which is mounted on a wobbly base that can stick to the top of your computer monitor.

There seem to be a couple of variants available. The one I have been sent is in proper full colour, and has a 'Toyfair13 Exclusive' sticker on, which suggests it was created for a Toyfair this year. The Entertainment Earth site also shows a black and white version available, which is also cute.


500 YEAR DIARY

The Doctor uses this to jot down details of all his adventures, and this is a lovely little notepad with pages printed in an 'aged' manner. The cover has a reproduction of the title and copper clasp of the one we have seen on screen.

All in all, a lovely little item for collecting notes and thoughts in.


TARDIS COASTERS

We've all seen standard round (or square) coasters for drinks but here we have something slightly more unusual - TARDIS-shaped coasters!  These are really lovely items, and the box contains four of the coasters, cork-backed and with a colour TARDIS printed on the other side.  Ideal for putting your drinks on!


COLOUR CHANGING SHOT GLASSES

Bif Bang Pow! have a lot of glasses available, and this pack contains four colour (or color, if you're in America) changing shot glasses. Each is printed with a TARDIS which appears in white. But when you fill the glass with a cold liquid, the TARDIS appears in all it's glory.

I love the way the pack says on the front: 'Just add cold water' ... because of course we all know that water is what you put in shot glasses :) Each glass holds 2oz of liquid, and would be ideal for a Who-themed party, serving, of course, cold water.


DOCTOR WHO: THE SILURIAN GIFT

I picked up this latest Quick Reads from the local bookshop, and herein Mike Tucker presents a tale of Silurians. This is another very basic novella-length tale in the Quick Reads series, which is designed to encourage children to read.  I'm not sure that the simplistic style totally appeals to me, but then this is not aimed at me, and I'm sure that it bridges a gap between the readers of Doctor Who Adventures and the more complex novels which the BBC is releasing.


BBC NOVELS

Speaking of the Novels, and I got hold of the three new additions to the range recently.

These have yet another design applied to them, and a part of me wishes that the BBC could make their minds up what the Doctor Who branding actually is. These look totally different from anything else in the range, different again from the recent paperback reprints for the anniversary, and different from any of the other licensed fare.

The three titles in the range are: The Dalek Generation by Nick Briggs, Plague of the Cybermen by Justin Richards and Shroud of Sorrow by a new writer to the range, kids' favourite (check out his Scream Street books!) Tommy Donbavand. I've not read them as yet, so can't comment on the content, but it's interesting that they have chosen Daleks and Cybermen to headline this set of titles.

More interesting to me, perhaps, is the lovely conceit in Donbavand's book that it opens with PC Reg Cranfield patrolling in Totter's lane in 1963. Cranfield was the name of the actor who played the Policeman on-screen in in the first ever episode of the show.


WHO-OLOGY

Just arrived is the new hardback non-fiction title from the BBC. This is Who-Ology by Cavan Scott and Mark Wright and appears to be an almost random collection of facts and figures associated with the show.  It's subtitled 'The Official Miscellany' and so that explains it ... it really is a random selection of facts and figures, along the lines of titles like Schott's Miscellany.

I dipped in and quickly checked the entry for Frazer Hines, who played Jamie in the show. Unfortunately his current location and occupation are incorrect: he doesn't live in Nottingham (he's near Newark), his Stud Farm is located at Newmarket, not where he lives, and he is still acting and performing rather than just breeding racehorses. In the entry for The Abominable Snowmen, it mentions that the creatures were actually robot servants of the Great Intelligence, but misses that Travers sees a real creature at the conclusion of the story: so they did actually exist in their own right. In the entry for Nom-de-Plumes, it misses that Jamie named the Doctor 'John Smith' in 'The Wheel in Space' because it was a name seen by Jamie on a piece of equipment in the sick bay where the Doctor was being treated. These are just three random spots (and may be the only things in the book which might be lacking), but I have to say that I remain impressed at the sheer content and scope of this book.

It covers so much ground, and so much is totally spot on! It's one of those books which would perhaps find an ideal place in the smallest room of the house, as it's dip-into-ability is somewhat addictive. It's also going to be invaluable for anyone who sets pub quizzes in the future, expanding the ability to ask impossible questions about Doctor Who a millionfold.

The book is very nicely illustrated by Ben Morris, but is sadly printed on a standard bookwove paper stock, which makes the whole thing look slightly cheap. It would have looked much better on a white bond, something which would make the images appear crisper, and the whole thing more substantial.

So overall, something of a curate's egg I feel. I'm not sure who it's really aimed at. Perhaps the kids who love Who today will enjoy seeing the plethora of facts and figures ... but given that they have been raised on a diet of Doctor Who Adventures and somewhat text-lite photo-heavy presentations, I wonder if this might fall flat. I hope not, as it's actually a marvellous piece of work, absorbing and fascinating and answering just about any random question about Doctor Who that you could hope to ask! One final observation: I have no idea how you would actually find anything in it ... it's not in any order that I could see, and by its very nature it is unindexable!