KotZ

Agree on the specialized pieces but absolutely disagree on the colors. All the new colors make great builds pop and ultimately were necesssry with all the licenses to make more accurate sets. That doesn’t mean we need all the specialized pieces. But even then, a piece is a piece and I think even with all the specialized parts, you probably can use 90% of pieces made in different ways than their original intended use. As for building collections, it’s way easier to build up large collections now with pieces. People are selling sets all over Facebook marketplace, Craigslist, bricklink, etc. LEGO has PaB both on store and on their site. If you want to find something (or things) to bulk up a collection for MOCs it’s way easier now due to accessibility.

CITY feels like a TV show or soap opera. It's semi-realistic in the sense like those shows and movies in that things can and do happen, but not as frequently as they do in real life.

Not sure about PyBricks, but spike and MINDSTORMS don’t play well with the hubs depending on which version you have updated. Whatever software update changed it will have where anything after that only spike will work and before that I think only MINDSTORMS. For me Spike wasn’t laid out well and I never really learned it and just stuck to MINDSTORMS.

From my experience, I prefer SPIKE and it's coding with the Mindstorms app (rather than the SPIKE app) over PU, but SPIKE is absolutely awful when it comes to trains due to the hub being so massive and the ports on the side. They do have smaller battery hubs, but they don't work with the Mindstorms app, only the SPIKE one, I believe, depending on what software version you are using. It's a shame because the Mindstorms app with SPIKE is incredibly powerful and fairly easy to use once you learn it.

It's adorable! Great work, that stern is superb.

Maybe they're banking on people already having the Lion Knights' Castle or just a castle in general, or the parts to build one? And while the set does have a lot of widely available PAB parts, do a lot of people have parts to make good looking siege engines? Cities/walls are probably more feasible, at least for the general public. But then, BDP seems to be more for people and AFOLs like us rather than a parent buying a set for their kid or someone just getting back into LEGO; BDP is pretty niche. But I agree, the price is way too high for this, the figs are nothing special, and neither are the pieces. Personally, I don't mind if a set has more widely available parts, but the build at least for this, and no offense to the designer, it's very... basic? Sure it uses SNOT techniques and does look good and coherent (and let's be honest, lot's of LEGO's siege sets are just one vehicle and a small wall) and nice to have a variety of equipment and a camp, but the design is a bit more basic than I would hope from the BDP.

Also if you did want to do the raised baseplate out of pieces, the newer Eldorado Fortress set from Pirates is a great starting point.

I think Aurosaurus is meaning the titles, like how yours is "Root Admin" or similar?

Stunning work! The building variety is just fantastic.

Yeah, links will be broken everywhere that links back there, etc. I know I have some photos on there that I don't have on my personal drives and should probably download them soon.

Ok, finally got a chance to write down my thoughts, travel and family stuff and all. I'm lucky the game ended when it did; I would have had to take a lot of photos before I traveled for a variety of scenarios depending on how Day 3 went if there was no lynch. Once again, thank you all for playing. This was a fun one to watch and run, and it's been too long since we had a game on here. Overall, I think everyone played a very solid game, especially Bob. That was a masterclass game. I felt so bad for Classic_Spaceman, especially when you looped me in on the PMs with Bob. Don't get me wrong, I liked seeing that from a gamerunning perspective, but oh boy I felt so bad seeing Bob get you like that. I don't think you even did anything wrong, your logic was sound throughout. The no lynches for the first two days really helped the scum this go around, imo. With a game that small, it definitely can swing the game early on. With how quiet Day 1 is, I wonder if in any future games, if we need something to kick the game off. Not necessarily a random reveal, but something. Thak you, Tariq J for chatting on the deadboard and not ghosting, it was great seeing it play out with you. As for Trekkie, you did a good job as well, but as Tariq and I said in the deadboard, you admitting here, and I think on previous games, your experience with MafiaScum games hurt you here. There's certainly an EB meta, even after all this time and less players than back in the heyday. It's kind of funny seeing how that happens. You're a solid player and have a style when you play, it's always fun when you're in!

Late in the night, Santa tried to determine Eloise's stance on the Naughty or Nice list due to her being lynched. When he got his answer, unfortunately, the child had expired. So he did as any good person would do, and buried the orphan, right in the graveyard attached to the Home of Misfit Children. Scott had been laid to rest there, too, as had others over the years. When morning came, Santa gathered the three children left. He looked at each, a twinkle in his eye and said. "Well, you all picked wrong, Eloise was on the Nice List!" Gasps! Had they been bamboozled? Had they been grinched and hoodwinked? But if Eloise was not evil, then, well, Cindy-Lou-Who was? "Hands up, old man," Susan ordered. Santa, surprised looked to the others. "I told you she was bad and she wasn't lynched? What the-" "Ah put a sock in it," Susan said. "Now let's not be too hasty, Susan," the old man replied. "Besides, you'll shoot your eye out with that thing!" "I've been practicing!" But Santa, the magical man he was, was not out of tricks yet. "Well, Susan, you got me. But there's one problem... there's only one of you!" "Not so fast!" someone shouted with glee. And there it was, the second person on the Naughty List team. It was Clark, with an axe that gleamed. "There's no way out," Clark said. "We've got the toys, the list, and it was sealed with the lynch on Day 3!" "Wait, were you recruited?" asked George. "No," Clark answered, "I've been Naughty the whole time." So off Santa went, with little George in tow. Maybe a new town game would be good for this child to grow. So Susan and Clark gathered their toys, no longer sharing with the other girls and boys. And now Santa knew when he came to this town, only these two would get gifts due to this shakedown. Congrats to the Naughty List team, Clark (Bob) and Susan (mostlytechnic!) Scum Writeboard: Scum Board: https://123.writeboard.com/it0w4e0kv4saqn5ad3gy4lqa/v/new PW: Naughtiest Deadboard: Deadboard: https://123.writeboard.com/jeo05uiuuhbec7rw3bvb02rm PW: SlaybellsRing Thank you everyone for playing this game, it was fun to run another Mafia game after so long. I hope you all had fun! This was a really exciting game to manage and watch play out, and I think everyone had some really good moments. I'll have full thoughts up later on everything, but great game everyone!

"Well looks like you finally came to a lynch!" Santa bellowed, his round belly jiggling. He grabbed Eloise and dragged her off like the sack of presents he carried.

Vote Count Susan (mostlytechnic) - 1 (Trekkie99) Eloise (Trekkie99) - 3 (mostlytechnic, Classic_Spaceman, Bob) With four players, a majority of three is required to lynch. Eloise (Trekkie99) has been lynched. The day is over. Get those night actions in. An end of day thread will be up late tonight/tomorrow morning (I promise!).

Vote Count Susan (mostlytechnic) - 1 (Trekkie99) Eloise (Trekkie99) - 3 (mostlytechnic, Classic_Spaceman, Bob) With four players, a majority of three is required to lynch. There is 1 hour left in the day.

Thank you! And I agree, Creator and larger sets definitely give a good variety to build with, definitely want to challenge myself with another category as well. for the side builds, I really wanted to have them feel like they would be part of a set from that time, so for you to say they don’t look like an afterthought is very welcome!

Vote Count Susan (mostlytechnic) - 3 (Bob, Classic_Spaceman, Trekkie99) Eloise (Trekkie99) - 1 (mostlytechnic) With four players, a majority of three is required to lynch. There are 24 hours left in the day.

Entry for Eurobricks' Alt Build contest: Large Category (original set, 31132 Viking Ship and the Midgard Serpent, RRP: $119.99 USD) Quick overview, I turned a viking ship and serpent into some podracers, start/finish line, and some... ahem "extra helpers" for the racers.

Entry for Eurobricks' Alt Build contest: Large Category (original set, 31132 Viking Ship and the Midgard Serpent, RRP: $119.99 USD) For my entry, I decided to take Creator's 31132, which itself is a re-imagining of an old Vikings set (7018). Creator 3-in-1s are fantastic sets for parts, imagination, and interesting builds, and this one is tied for #2 on price at $119.99 USD. Since the three builds for this set originally are a ship and monster, a building, and another monster, I really wanted to challenge myself with something different from those and outside of a medieval theme. So, what's more different than Star Wars, specifically podracing? One of my building philosophies is if it's not a statue or microbuild, I want to include play features and serve a story and such, and a lot of alt builds back in the day had those to varying degrees, so it was important to me to include that and use the pieces provided in the set in varying ways, which allowed me to create these alt builds. In addition, I think adding in the small builds helps serve the Star Wars lore regarding podracing. It's very fast, very dangerous, and humans really aren't adept at it. Also in The Phantom Menace, we see Tusken Raiders trying to ruin the race by shooting at contestants, so I figured this would be a fun way to include these builds and pieces along with some story. So let's dive in! Let's start with our first racer. Let's name him Harold Skywalker. He's got a tiny little podracer that didn't cost much, but it got it where it counts, kid. He's gone for a primarily blue/teal and yellow color scheme. On a closer look, you can see the twin engines and the energy binder connecting them. The side shot can show the pod itself is built using SNOT (and the engines) and actually upside down. A closer shot of Harald trying to steer his racer as best he can. Our second racer is Helga Secura. She decided to spend a lot more money on her racer with a more earth tone look. It's beefier and meaner, needing four cables to connect her pod to the engines. Helga's energy binder is actually covered by a metal shaft to protect it from any disruption or debris on the track. Unfortunately, they aren't secured well and can swing wildly, so she better be careful! As her engines are a bit bigger, so too his her pod, which even has a small jet boost on the back for some extra speed. Side-by-side comparison shots of the two racers, showing how they differ in size. Next up is the starting/finish line. It's wide enough for one racer to cross at a time. Next up are the two side builds to help the racers. It's boys vs girls today, so helping Harald is his friend Odin Nido, a sharpshooter. While Harald spent less on his racer, they decided to spend some money on a blaster and some protection for Odin to use to take potshots at the competition. But Harald isn't the only one with some extra help! Helga has enlisted her friend Brunhilda-wan to distract and lodge some stones at the other racer! Helga spent a lot of her money on that racer, so she had to settle for an old-fashioned catapult. And here is a final photo, comparing the original set with the alt build. While the alt build didn't use everything, I would like to think I used the pieces in a good amount of ways that are different from the original set, and I'm happy with how this one turned out! Enjoy, and as always, comments and criticism more than welcome! I can't wait to see everyone else's builds, too!

Voting is open. With four players, a majority of three is required to lynch. There are 47 hours left in the day.

That's insane. Nice work!

Yesterday, after the vote, Santa gathered the little ones to see what they had decided. "YOU WHAT??" Santa bellowed. "You all did not lynch again? What in the world is this!?!" He then paused and took a breath, "Breathe, papa, breathe. Remember your cholesterol." Then Santa looked at each little child in the eye. "Fine. Good night." That night, Scott was on his way back to the orphanage, waiting at the tram station. But then... A mysterious figure arrived. "Say, shouldn't you be Christmas themed?" Scott asked the figure. "Look, the magic hand in the sky (Kotz) didn't have a snowman figure lying around to be me. And FABULAND had to be involved somehow. This is Eurobricks Christmastown after all." "Oh. Well I suppose that makes sense." Scott stared at the object in the figure's hand. "So is that how it's gonna go?" "Oh no," the figure said. "That will be Christmas themed." "How so?" "You remember that old trampoline in the backyard of the orphanage?" Scott nodded. "Well remove the 'poline' part and..." THUNK! was the sound Scott's body made as the figure pushed him in front of the oncoming tram. With that, poor little Scott passed on. Elsewhere in Christmastown... "Ho ho no that milk isn't sitting well with me..." Santa moaned. "Wait, what's' this? Some-" "BODY ONCE TOLD ME!" Shrek Santa shouted as he kicked open the door of the outhouse. As the day began, Santa gathered the children around the trampled body of Scott. "It is with a heavy heart, Scott is dead. After searching his personal affects, I have learned that he was on the Nice List." Murmurs spread through the four children still left. What was Santa holding? "Oh this? I found this this morning. Someone must have slipped it to me or left it in the outhouse. It's part of the Naughty and Nice list!" Even more whispers. Could this game nightmare be over? Of course not! "This here is only part of the list, sadly," Santa said. "It only has one name. It looks like is says... Susan (mostlytechnic) is on... after the break... the Naughty List." Santa paused. "Well, I'm going back to my sleigh..." Players (4) Clark (Bob) George (Classic_Spaceman) Susan (mostlytechnic) Eloise (Trekkie99) The Dead (1) Scott (Tariq J) - Nice List, killed Night 2 by an oncoming tram. The Rules 1. Each player will be given a character to play, who will be aligned with either the Nice List (Town) or the Naughty List (Scum). To win the game, the Town must kill off all the Scum, while the Scum needs to outnumber the Town. Third-party (neutral) characters have their own win conditions as outlined in their roles. 2. Each day you will be able to vote to lynch a player. Voting is mandatory. Voting should be done in the following format; Vote: Character (Player). Similarly, unvoting is to be done in the format; Unvote: Character (Player). No other format will be accepted. A majority vote is required to lynch a player. Failure to vote will incur a 2-vote penalty the following game day. 3. A game day will last a maximum of 72 hours. You may not vote in the first 24 hours. The day will end when a majority vote has been reached after 72 hours. After the day has been concluded, a night stage will commence, which will last 48 hours. Night actions must be sent to the host in the first 20 hours of the night stage. 3.5. Players may not target the same player two nights in a row, and may not target themselves. 4. The alignment of lynched players, as well as those that died during the night, will be revealed at the beginning of the next day. 5. You may not quote or pretend to quote anything sent to or from you in PM with the game host, or in PM with any other players. This includes all the details of your character and role, as well as any night action results. Role claims and reporting of night action results are acceptable, but in your own words only. Do not attempt to use the structure of your role PM to your advantage. 6. Do not play the game outside the thread. Similarly, do not post out of character inside the thread. Game tactics and roles may only be discussed in the game thread or via PM with other players. Private discussion is done at your own risk and should be treated as part of the game. 7. If you are dead, you may not post in thread or discuss the game with any of the players. Any information you had becomes void, and may not be passed on. 8. You may not edit your posts. 9. You must post in every day thread. 10. If you encounter a problem or have a question, please contact the host via PM. 11. Violation of any of the above rules will result in a 5 vote penalty for the first offence, and death on your second offence. 12. There are no hints or clues in the day/night images.

Hi all, Day 3 will be up in a few hours, need to run some errands first today but will be up by 4pm PST at the latest.

VOTE COUNT George (Classic_Spaceman) - 1 (penalty) Susan (mostlytechnic) - 2 (penalty, Tariq J) Scott (Tariq J) - 2 (penalty, mostlytechnic) Eloise (Trekkie99) - 2 (Bob, Classic_Spaceman) Clark (Bob) - 1 (Trekkie99) the day has ended with a no lynch. With five players, a majority of three (or more with penalty votes) is required to lynch. In the event of a tiedue to the penalty votes, there will be no lynch. End of Day photos will be up shortly.

VOTE COUNT George (Classic_Spaceman) - 1 (penalty) Susan (mostlytechnic) - 2 (penalty, Tariq J) Scott (Tariq J) - 2 (penalty, mostlytechnic) Eloise (Trekkie99) - 2 (Bob, Classic_Spaceman) Clark (Bob) - 1 (Trekkie99) There are 24 minutes left in the day. With five players, a majority of three (or more with penalty votes) is required to lynch. In the event of a tie due to the penalty votes, there will be no lynch.