Category: BG Bling Up

BG Bling Up

BG Bling Up: Lockup – A Roll Player Tale

Luiz Gustavo Mendes
Lockup Upgraded Resources

Even though I am a big fan of Roll Player, Lockup was not a game I was expecting to like. But as I am a completionist, I decided to give it a go to see if that was an universe I wanted to complete. Well, this game is awesome. Simple, tense play and counter play with an AI that mimics that in a very unique way.

But this is not a review, it’s a Bling Up. Lockup is a game based on cubes. Power cubes, suspicion cubes, resources cubes. But this is a game with a great theme, and I wanted to bring that out. Even to the cost of a bit of function.

The symbology is clear and very functional. So even though I wanted custom pieces, it had to work. I found on Game Crafter good premium quality resources that not only matched the objects depicted, but the color on the icons. Iron, gold and Potions was easy, and the two metals specially are wonderful tactile addition. Scraps were harder, and it’s a bit of an abstract concept in a tough color, but I like the gems.

Power and Suspicion

And I was going to stop there until I stumbled upon the red fists. They are perfect to depict power, and in the right color. So I had to get something for suspicion. I found nothing on black, but the grey exclamation marks were close enough and it evoked the classic “!” from Metal Gear Solid.

Cards and tokens

Of course, it also got the old capsule and sleeve treatment. It’s not a rough game on the pieces, but I do prefer to handle protected pieces.

That’s it for today. I would love to hear about your experience with custom pieces for your games.

BG Bling Up

BG Bling Up: Dungeon Pages

Luiz Gustavo Mendes

I love roll and writes, and Dungeon Pages is my most played of them this year. In this project by Jason Greeno, every week there is a new hero and dungeon to explore, but every single hero is compatible with every single dungeon. So I had to make it work.

Laminating

First, my trusty laminator gets to work. This thing was the best gift my wife given me, it works like crazy!!

Guillotine

Now, I wait for every second week so I print two pairs of hero/dungeons back to back. Then, with the guillotine, I split them so I can make them independent.

To the folder

Next, I add the holes and put it on a 3 ring binder I had laying around. Even though they are in order, at any point I can flip the top or bottom portions to have any combination and just play it out.

Dungeon Pages

Yes, sometimes the hero and the dungeon will be in opposite ends of the binder, but I decided that this was worth it to save in pages and laminating. And, honestly, it’s not a big deal.

BG Bling Up

BG Bling Up: Pulp Invasion

Luiz Gustavo Mendes

The Pulp series by Todd Sanders is, so far, a duo of 1-2 player game that is pretty tough, uses unique dice and very cool pulp era illustrations.

The second one, Pulp Invasion, brings that to space in a very brutal bag builder where you are trying to survive all sorts of space adventures whole trying to find and understand marvelous weapons.

I’ll leave the actual game review for now, as today I’m talking about little things I did to help the game’s components.

Pulp Invasion Organizer

First, I created a little foam core organizer. It’s not that it needed terribly, but it was an easy one to try my hand on DIY stuff. Hence, the shoddy craftsmanship. But it does the trick, and fits everything sleeved. Hopefully it’ll fit X3 (the last expansion) as well.

Pulp Invasion Bag

Second was replacing the bag. It is a known problem that the first edition bag is faulty, and mine had a hole quite early. Luckily, I did not have to do anything immediately as I had this bag from Tapestry lying around. X3 will come with its own cool and personalized bag, so I’ll replace it then.

Pulp Invasion Cubes

Finally, I replaced the cubes. The original cubes perfectly functional except for one flaw : the orange and yellow cubes. Orange is one of your attributes, and yellow is for the weapons to win the game. The problem is that they are too similar, and I’m not even color blind.

My solution was getting plastic cubes, with the yellow ones replaced by gold. Fits the aesthetic, the golden ones look even more special, and no more confusion. I got them cheap at Game Crafter.

However, there was a snag. I by mistake got the 10mm instead of the 8mm ones. They are much nicer to manipulate, yes, but the space on the insert got TIGHT.

Overall, I’m happy with the improvements. So it all fits, I did remove the 2 player specific one like the traitor on X2, but it should fit everything from X3 when it arrives.

BG Bling Up

BG Bling Up: Mageling

Luiz Gustavo Mendes

Today I’m starting a new series here on the site and on the ‘Gram: Board Game Bling Ups. These are little things I do to improve my games in any way.

One thing to consider that, in my case, I am a gamer on a budget. So most of these will not be fancy upgrades from renowned suppliers, but things I find in discounts, dollar stores, and other cheap places.

Mageling

Mageling is a game that I absolutely adore. I love small box big games, and I also love unique and memorable art and components. Even though this is a fantasy game, the art is different, a little abstract and very dream like at times. It’s FANTASTIC!

The components are also great, and very fitting for the small box. Everything fits well and it’s easy to store without too much hassle, which I appreciate. Even sleeved cards fit no problem. Does this game really need sleeves? No. Not that much shuffling, and the quality is great. But I am a serial sleever.

But there is one component I thought could use some upgrades. The little mana marker. Don’t get me wrong, it’s small and does the trick, and even though it covers the number, it works well. And it even flips when you go above 20.

Still, I wanted something cooler, and if you could actually see the number that would be great. Well folks…

I have a box of left over crafts stuff from the kids projects, and I had these glass beads. It was used to convey water drops, and they are very similar to the ones used in Petrichor. That was exactly what I needed. They did the trick, looked great, felt great, and fit the box with absolutely no issue.

Yes, felt great. A HUGE part of my enjoyment of board games is the tactile nature. I guess it tickles my neurodivergent brain in the right spot. So the little clink it does when placed and the nice little swish when you move, it brought so much joy to that part of the game. And yes, it doesn’t mark when you go above 20. So how did I solve that?

I didn’t. BUT, then again, I’m not good enough in the game to hit that 20 consistently. So does it really matter?

I hope you enjoy this series, and I’ll bring something a little bigger next time!