News Bits: 12/31/2012

The news will be a bit scarce this week, as I've been enjoying time with family and haven't had as much time for research. Nevertheless, here are this week's news bits.

El Grande debuts on Yucata [Link] My favorite board game is now available for online play. Let the backstabbery and secrecy begin! (Also, if you'd like to read our review of it, you can do so here.)



Board games by the numbers [Link] Penny Arcade talks with James Mathe from Minion Games about the costs involved in producing a board game, specifically a Kickstarter-funded one. Sobering is only scratching the surface. What was most surprising to me was this: "Mathe said that his fulfillment company stated that out of 80 new products in 2012, only 22 of them sold over 500 units at retail." Wow.

CoolStuffInc's year-end blowout sale [Link] This sale is making me wish I had some cash to spare. Oh well. You can tell me about all the treasures you get in the comments. Oh, and I guess Barnes & Noble is having their annual after Christmas red-dot clearance, but my wife and I went the other day, and ours, at least, was bogus. You might have better luck.

Eagle/Gryphon Games' 12 Days of Christmas sale continues [Link] But only through today! There were some great games here, all 50% off. Definitely worth a look.

Week in review [Crazy Creatures of Doctor Gloom review, Crokinole review] You might have been busy, too. Here are the reviews we posted last week. And stay tuned for this week! Lots of great stuff coming up.

Kickstarters of Note

• Candle Quest: This retheme of the game It's Alive! has players seeking to fill their menorahs with candles. I've not played either game, but it involves auctions, and I've heard good things about It's Alive! $25 gets you the game.
• Pirates vs. Dinosaurs: I don't know how I missed this one before (maybe it's because genre mash-ups don't excite me much), but this game looks kind of cool. The art, at any rate, looks well done. $55 gets you the game.
• Hegemonic: Another epic space game. This one looks pretty good, and I've liked Minion's track record in the past. The buy-in is high at $69, but this includes the print-and-play files early. This is already on its way to success.

Unrelated Awesomeness of the Week

What, Christmas wasn't good enough for you? (Translation: Sorry, I've been spending more time in analog interactions and didn't scour the Internet for something to put here.)