Tuesday, April 13, 2021

From Curt: Commonwealth Figures for 'Moonstone'


I'm getting my first vaccination soon, so I thought I'd blitz along and get a few more submissions in before I have to bow out. 

While muddling around online this winter, I came across this wonderful boutique game called Moonstone. Being instantly charmed, I duly pulled out my credit card to snap up the base set (and well, perhaps, a few additional figures 'fell into' the order to give a nice round number).

The basic premise of the game has 2-4 competing factions battling each other over a 3' x 3' playing surface to dig up valuable moonstones which, true to their name, can only be found at night. The factions, or 'Troupes', are 3-6 figures strong, and are composed of humans, faeries, goblins, fauns, giants, etc. The scenarios last only 4 turns, which makes for a rollicking, fast-paced game.

The figures for the game are cast in very fine resin and are amazing in their over-the-top character. Charming, silly and sometimes grotesque, the figures definitely tap into the visual style of Brian Froud, Arthur Rackham and Jim Henson. When you look at them you can't help but think of creatures featured in Labyrinth, The Dark Crystal and Legend.

That being said, being a bit of a mutton-head, I'm debuting this project with the rather boring human faction first, whereas I should have kicked off with the much more whacky goblins. Oh well, you should be able to get a visual sense of what the figures have to offer, and hopefully it sparks you to visit me again over the next few weeks to see some of the other factions.

The humans largely compose the Commonwealth faction. They have a very Grimm's Fairy Tale, Renaissance German look about them. The four characters I present here are: 

Baron Von Fancyhat


Eric the Squire



Friar Flavius


Each figure has various abilities and a signature move during combat situations. Most of these are very much in-spirit of the character and often hilarious. For example, Friar Flavius' signature move is 'Spank'. It does no damage to the opponent, but he gets 'healed' for his efforts. It fits perfectly for this fellow in his S&M gear and spiked paddle (the pink 'combat slippers' were an inspired afterthought).



Flintlock



So there you go, four 'heroes' from the Commonwealth, ready to battle it out for some precious moonstones. I'm working on the Goblins next, so please feel free to drop by my blog to see how I'm getting on with this project over the coming weeks.

-Curt