Summer is gone; fall is here. The seasons change, but the NEWS stays the same:
Terra Mystica wins Deutscher Spiele Preis [Link] And surprises...no one. Other top winners are Tzolk'in, Bruges, and Bora Bora (yes, two Stefan Feld games in the top 4). Congratulations to the winners!
Showing posts with label days of wonder. Show all posts
Showing posts with label days of wonder. Show all posts
Monday, September 23, 2013
Monday, June 24, 2013
News Bits: 6/24/2013
Indeed, the Origins info poured in this week. Here's the NEWS:
Asmadi Games demos Impulse [Link] A new game from Carl Chudyk! It's a 4x space game... But it's Carl Chudyk, designer of Glory to Rome, FlowerFall, and Innovation! Okay, sign me up, especially since it plays in 30 minutes. I can't wait to find out more about this one.
Asmadi Games demos Impulse [Link] A new game from Carl Chudyk! It's a 4x space game... But it's Carl Chudyk, designer of Glory to Rome, FlowerFall, and Innovation! Okay, sign me up, especially since it plays in 30 minutes. I can't wait to find out more about this one.
Tuesday, April 2, 2013
Please Don't Take My Sunshine Away (A Review of Shadows over Camelot)
'Tis a dark time for Camelot. Lancelot has run off with Guinevere, hordes of Picts and Saxons are invading, and the evil works of Mordred and Morgana cannot be ignored. Knights of the Round Table must join together in quests to save the kingdom, recover the holy grail and Excalibur, and defeat all their enemies before it is too late.
As the shadows creep over the land, these brave Knights struggle valiantly onward; but a traitor may be hidden among them and bring desolation to them all!
Shadows over Camelot is a board game for three to seven players in which players take on the role of knights trying to save Camelot. It is a cooperative game; however, one player may be a traitor secretly working to sabotage everyone’s efforts.
Monday, March 18, 2013
News Bits: 3/18/2013
Ladies and gentlemen, the NEWS:
The National Post talks Diplomacy [Link] This is an interesting article on the man who made Diplomacy and the legacy of this game. I've avoided this one myself because of the hard feelings I've heard it engenders, but this was an interesting read nonetheless.
The National Post talks Diplomacy [Link] This is an interesting article on the man who made Diplomacy and the legacy of this game. I've avoided this one myself because of the hard feelings I've heard it engenders, but this was an interesting read nonetheless.
Monday, January 28, 2013
News Bits: 1/28/2013
Big news this week. Read on!
Toy Vault acquires Firefly license [Link] Geek worlds converged last week when Toy Vault announced that it had acquired the Firefly license to create tabletop games in Joss Whedon's 'verse. I'm not terribly excited about this news, but only because licensed games don't excite me much. (This is the themeless, soulless Euro part of me coming out.) And I'm especially not too excited when the tabletop games announcement came in the same breath as novelty plush figures and pillows based on the characters. Still, time will tell.
Toy Vault acquires Firefly license [Link] Geek worlds converged last week when Toy Vault announced that it had acquired the Firefly license to create tabletop games in Joss Whedon's 'verse. I'm not terribly excited about this news, but only because licensed games don't excite me much. (This is the themeless, soulless Euro part of me coming out.) And I'm especially not too excited when the tabletop games announcement came in the same breath as novelty plush figures and pillows based on the characters. Still, time will tell.
Monday, January 21, 2013
News Bits: 1/21/2013
Another week jam-packed with news. Here it is:
Z-Man Games announces new version of Pandemic [Link] Well, this video is Matt Leacock, the designer, doing the announcing, but it coincides with the release of a Pandemic Facebook page. Leacock mentioned two new roles and a new board with big pawns. I assume (or, rather, hope) that this means a bigger game board, reflective of how awesome Pandemic is. Z-Man Games reports that they are also overhauling the On the Brink expansion and will sell an upgrade kit to make the new version compatible with the old Pandemic. (The upgrade kit will also contain the two new roles. Huzzah!) There is a new expansion coming this year as well: In the Lab. The new edition of Pandemic will be available in February.
Z-Man Games announces new version of Pandemic [Link] Well, this video is Matt Leacock, the designer, doing the announcing, but it coincides with the release of a Pandemic Facebook page. Leacock mentioned two new roles and a new board with big pawns. I assume (or, rather, hope) that this means a bigger game board, reflective of how awesome Pandemic is. Z-Man Games reports that they are also overhauling the On the Brink expansion and will sell an upgrade kit to make the new version compatible with the old Pandemic. (The upgrade kit will also contain the two new roles. Huzzah!) There is a new expansion coming this year as well: In the Lab. The new edition of Pandemic will be available in February.
Monday, October 8, 2012
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.
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.
Tuesday, October 2, 2012
News Bits: 10/1/2012
Sorry about the tardiness of this week's news. But here it is--at last!
Deutscher Spiele Preis Winners Announced
It's award season, and the winners of the Deutscher Spiele Preis have been announced. No surprises here: Village by Markus and Inka Brand, which also won the Kennerspiel des Jahres, took top honors, followed by Trajan and Hawaii. Unfortunately I cannot comment on the worthiness of these winners, but a hearty congratulations nonetheless!
Deutscher Spiele Preis Winners Announced
It's award season, and the winners of the Deutscher Spiele Preis have been announced. No surprises here: Village by Markus and Inka Brand, which also won the Kennerspiel des Jahres, took top honors, followed by Trajan and Hawaii. Unfortunately I cannot comment on the worthiness of these winners, but a hearty congratulations nonetheless!
Friday, May 11, 2012
FDQ: Do You Add Bling to Your Games?
*Our weekly FDQ is your chance to share your stories or thoughts on
various boardgame topics. We love to hear your comments! And, if you
have a question or an idea for an FDQ let us know on Twitter, in a
comment below, or just e-mail us!*
When scrolling through the pictures on Board Game Geek, it doesn't take long to find gamers taking matters into their own hands. Custom Crokinole boards. More evocative minis. Carved, knitted, painted: whatever a person's other hobby, it is combined into the hobby of gaming to create something of beauty. So that's today's question: do you add custom bling to your games? Answer in the comments! Feel free to share pictures.
@FarmerLenny holds forth:
I'm not very good with my hands, so often custom bling is beyond me. However, I do like to make my games special where I can. I sometimes follow my sister's lead in Canasta Caliente, allowing the winner of the previous round to wear the coveted chili pepper necklace. I had great plans to pimp my copy of the 1962 version of Acquire...until I found the 1999 one at a reasonable price. How do you improve upon those skyscrapers?
It's not exactly a case of adding bling, but I did create a new storage solution for Dominion to make all of my expansions fit in one box (just like everyone else). And if a game is complex, I'll usually make (or find) an aid so players know what options are available to them. (Though I eschew aids for something like 7 Wonders because the aid can easily become a crutch; the iconography is easy enough to master after one game.)
I do have two bling dreams for my games: a custom draw bag for Ra and a new carved king for El Grande. If these projects ever come to fruition, you can be sure you'll see them here.
@Futurewolfie mutters:
When most of the games you buy are from Days of Wonder and Fantasy Flight, everything is pretty blinged out already. Most of the "bling" I've considered adding is in the way of storage solutions - trying to find good plastic storage for SmallWorld tokens, or card boxes to keep Twilight Imperium organized (neither of which has been successful or completed in any fashion...).
However, I do have lots of minis, and the best way to bling out minis is to paint them. I'm no minis painter - I have neither the patience, nor the dexterity. Fortunately, a good friend and fellow gamer has invested some time into minis painting. I hope to get my Battlestar Galactica minis painted next week, and eventually my Star Trek: Fleet Captains minis detailed. Unfortunately none of this has been done yet, so I have no pictures to share.
When scrolling through the pictures on Board Game Geek, it doesn't take long to find gamers taking matters into their own hands. Custom Crokinole boards. More evocative minis. Carved, knitted, painted: whatever a person's other hobby, it is combined into the hobby of gaming to create something of beauty. So that's today's question: do you add custom bling to your games? Answer in the comments! Feel free to share pictures.
@FarmerLenny holds forth:
I'm not very good with my hands, so often custom bling is beyond me. However, I do like to make my games special where I can. I sometimes follow my sister's lead in Canasta Caliente, allowing the winner of the previous round to wear the coveted chili pepper necklace. I had great plans to pimp my copy of the 1962 version of Acquire...until I found the 1999 one at a reasonable price. How do you improve upon those skyscrapers?
It's not exactly a case of adding bling, but I did create a new storage solution for Dominion to make all of my expansions fit in one box (just like everyone else). And if a game is complex, I'll usually make (or find) an aid so players know what options are available to them. (Though I eschew aids for something like 7 Wonders because the aid can easily become a crutch; the iconography is easy enough to master after one game.)
I do have two bling dreams for my games: a custom draw bag for Ra and a new carved king for El Grande. If these projects ever come to fruition, you can be sure you'll see them here.
@Futurewolfie mutters:
When most of the games you buy are from Days of Wonder and Fantasy Flight, everything is pretty blinged out already. Most of the "bling" I've considered adding is in the way of storage solutions - trying to find good plastic storage for SmallWorld tokens, or card boxes to keep Twilight Imperium organized (neither of which has been successful or completed in any fashion...).
However, I do have lots of minis, and the best way to bling out minis is to paint them. I'm no minis painter - I have neither the patience, nor the dexterity. Fortunately, a good friend and fellow gamer has invested some time into minis painting. I hope to get my Battlestar Galactica minis painted next week, and eventually my Star Trek: Fleet Captains minis detailed. Unfortunately none of this has been done yet, so I have no pictures to share.
Tuesday, February 7, 2012
It's a Small World After All (a review of Small World)
[Editors note: The following is a Nemesis Review, featuring opinions from our in-house thematic-loving @futurewolfie and his ferocious opponent, the stodgy euro-loving @Farmerlenny. Make sure to read both opinions to get a better overall picture of the game!]
RISK is fairly popular among gamers who have not yet been introduced to the larger world of hobby gaming. And it makes sense: compared to the veritable montage of trivia games and Monopoly rethemes available at your local Target, RISK offers more strategic choices, more interest, and of course global domination. However, when you look closer, it doesn't offer much depth; the winning "strategy" involves building up your armies more quickly than everyone else so as to overwhelm your opponents with an unending supply of dice to roll. Earlier versions of the game required complete global domination, thereby requiring the elimination of other players one at a time and resulting in an hours-long game. Newer versions mitigate this by offering mission cards (usually "eliminate red player" or "conquer North America"), but the basic dice-rolling and attrition mechanics are still in place.
I bring up RISK because for people unfamiliar with hobby games, this is the best comparison I can give to Small World. In RISK, you spread out your armies by conquering various regions on a board; the same is true of Small World.
However, I make these connections to decrease the intimidation factor when introducing or explaining a game to new players. Small World offers significantly greater depth and a whole lot more fun, while cleverly eliminating player elimination. Read on to find out how we feel about this game.
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