I've Got My Samurais On You (A Review of Shitennō )

Japan has been unified.  After years of turmoil and uncertainty, a new Shogun has brought the warring provinces under his control through cunning diplomacy and ruthless conquest.  But that doesn’t mean all the fun has to stop!  Now the emperor’s conniving court officials, governors, and generals squabble behind the scene – or rather in plain sight – for the Shogun’s favor.  Peace is such an illusory concept.

Naval Gazing (A Review of The Battle of Red Cliffs)

The formidable, crimson cliffs tower over the Yangtze River.  As you gaze downstream, you see hundreds of ships floating peacefully like paper lanterns on the glistening water.  The serene calm is soon broken as captains bark orders, sails belch forth, and sailors scramble amidships.  The fate of the Empire is in your hands, so hopefully you brought your…um…cards?  Yes, that’s right.  Because the enemy has a full deck and is playing for keeps – and he just might have something up his sleeve.

Sow Low, Reap High (A Review of Fill the Barn)

Ah, a farmer’s life. There’s never a shortage of work? You have fields to plow and hay to put up. It’s a time demanding career, so don’t dally. I mean, there’s only so much room in the barn and you don’t want the competition squeezing you out. But farm smartly – not only do you want to be quick, but you want good prices, too. There are no government subsidies to bail you out in this game!

Four Score (A Review of Pixel Lincoln)

Apparently, Booth has stolen Mr. Lincoln's hat.  Somehow, this has upset the balance of Space and Time and only a pixelated Lincoln can recover all the "pieces" needed to restore that balance.

I'm not exactly sure why the hat holds the key to space/time, or what pieces you are collecting, or why an army of Luchadors is in your way.  But, the story of Pixel Lincoln is no more wild than many of the old 2-D sidescrolling action adventure games this deckbuilder takes its thematic inspiration from.

Time to get your beards into gear, friends.  This is no laughing matter.  The high score itself is at stake.

You Need Me on That Wall (A Review of Island Fortress)

Have you ever dreamed of being a courageous, colonial pioneer building a mighty fortress amidst a harsh, cruel, and barren landscape?  Island Fortress dares proclaim to be that game.  However, the only cruelty is that inflicted upon the poor saps who perish during its construction whilst limitless resources and labor are within your reach.  Still, your nondescript king must have his nondescript power projected into this nondescript area – so your task is to help build him a nondescript fort!

If I Only Had a Brain (A Review of Zombie State: Diplomacy of the Dead)

Zombies!  Relentlessly, they sweep over the globe in wave after wave of evil hordes.  Rising in all corners of the earth, the unremitting infection grows and spreads like a plague from Hell.  Armies are overwhelmed.  Cities fall.  Civilization crumbles.  Humanity sits precariously on the precipice of extinction.  Bands of survivors fallback to dwindling strongholds and vulnerable safe havens in desperate efforts to stem the dark, rotten apocalypse…or simply to survive.

Sounds like the new World War Z flick opening this Friday?  Alas, there’s no Brad Pitt to be seen here.  Instead, you will take charge of a world region reeling against an inexhaustive onslaught of walking corpses in the board game Zombie State: Diplomacy of the Dead.

Home on the Range (A Review of Western Town)

The Wild West!  Full of romance, beauty, new starts, and those really cool swinging doors!  Also full of bushwhackers, hostile natives, unforgiving weather, and people who don’t bathe but once a month!  Now, with Game Salute bringing a new western themed Euro from all the way across the Pond, you can you carve your name into the vast American wilderness.  Will you bring peace and civilization by constructing general stores, banks, and the railroad?  Or will your rustic, frontier community squalor in crime and vice by bringing in the saloon, gallows, and outlaw’s hideout?  Of course, we all know which one is more fun, nudge, nudge.  Well, find out – because victory points and anachronisms abound in Western Town.

Zoneplex! (A Review of Zoneplex)

In the game of Zoneplex, players take on the role of monks exploring the Zoneplex, which is some sort of spaceship that is apparently made up of zones.  It may or may not be from Earth, because apparently nobody knows where that is any more, but apparently humans might have come from there and also built a Zoneplex.

There's something about  a cataclysm of some sort, and facing Fears--oh, and something about a Zoneplex.

News Bits: 10/8/2012

Lots of stuff happened last week. Here's a rundown:

Mayfair Games Licenses Official Catan Board
Mayfair Games "leaked" pictures last week of an appealing tile-lock board for Settlers of Catan, and it was officially released on Kickstarter a few days later. The project has already blown past its initial funding goal and some stretch goals. It sits at $65k and counting.