Flash Point

Stop Drop and Roll

Last month, my son was invited to a good friends kids birthday party.  Not the usual crazy indoor playground or pool party or other similarly kid orientated party.  But in fact we went to have a tour of a local Fire Station.

You got to meet your local firefighters(Anyone in a Calendar?), see their gear, check out the trucks, and get a refresher in your homes fire safety plan.   The highlight was getting to climb around the different fire engines and take a look up at the hose tower. 

When you pass your firestation next time look for the tall tower thats in every fire hall.  After they go out to fight a fire the hoses are strung up there to drain and be cleaned before being rolled up and stored for next time.

Finally, the funniest thing was probably the hazing of the rookie as he came down the pole and was greeted with a bucket full of cold water. To be very honest I don't know who had more fun, me or my son.  Not going to lie I was jealous of his plastic fireman hat he got as a souvenir.

We've assembled the best crew!  The leader of the team he's escaped from LA, NY, fought an alien in the Antarctic and defeated Lo Pan.

One of my most favourite movies growing up was Backdraft, it was something that I thought I wanted to be.  Firefighter or a Cop.  But in true Asian parent fashion these vocations were just too dangerous and thus my dream was relegated to watching that movie.

Which funnily enough turned out to make me a life long fan of Kurt Russell.  It is one of the things my best friend and I share to the point that soon there will be a The Thing, Big Trouble in Little China Board and Card game night paired with a Kurt Russell movie marathon in the background.

Lo Pan approves!

Flash Point Fire Rescue is a co-operative game for 1-6 players.  In it you play the role of Fire Fighters responding to a fire.  The game's goal is for the team to rescue at least 7 of the 10 victims in the fire.  You cannot take too long though as the fire is constantly causing structural damage to the house and when enough structural damage happens the house collapses giving anyone left inside a horrible fate that should only be reserved for spiders.

There are two ways to play the game Basic and Expert.

Each player uses a certain number of action points that they can spend on their turn.  Dice are rolled to determine where the fire moves and if that grid point has a smoke token on it fire flares up! The major differences in the expert game are some added features such as vehicles, job roles, and more.

I thoroughly enjoy playing this game and its a great family game in basic mode.  Once you have finished playing a few times in basic you can then tackle the advanced mode and take turns playing specific firefighters such as: Paramedic, Hazmat, Imaging Specialist, Fire Captain, CAFS, and more!  Each role adds extra abilities that can potential make or break your win.

The game is a lot of fun and there are quite a few expansions to the game to keep it fresh.  If you get a chance, find a friend who has it and give it a go!

Flash Point Fire Rescue on BGG

The games minis are not ultra detailed but are at a level that is good for beginners to learn how to paint.  I like miniatures like these as they won't punish you for having poor brush control; like we all do as beginners, and can teach you how to properly thin your paints without anyone caring if your miniature is below table quality. 

In my upcoming posts on games called Infinity and Kingdom Death: Monster 1.5.  You will see the increase in details in these miniatures which add a ton more of the hobby aspect of building and take a lot of different painting techniques to get the most from the miniature.

I'm not saying that I will ever be able to match the ability of Angel Giraldez, but even if I can be 1/10th as good I will be proud to send those toy soldiers into combat.  As for my poor dice rolling skills that's another story all together.

As with the past two days of previews this game's minis will get the acrylic treatment for subject material for the blog.  Not sure where it will fall in my schedule but I do have a teaser for one of them that was nearly done before I got sidetracked with something else.  This mini was the second one I ever attempted.

Have a look and see you on the next post!

Hazmat Operator

Ack! Didn't clean up the Mould Lines!