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.

Journey to the Center of the Earth (a preview of Rockwell)

The Rockwell conglomerate is on a buying spree, consolidating other mining companies into its sprawling monolith. And like all giant mining conglomerates, it has decided to get its kicks and giggles by pitting the new acquisitions against themselves in heated competition. The new companies must prove themselves by drilling to the earth's core, earning valuable resources along the way, fulfilling orders, upgrading their equipment, and making savvy trades for cold, hard cash. They can cooperate, bribe one another, and hire subcontractors to accomplish their goals. What's at stake? Future contracts, of course, as well as the prestige of showing those corporate fat cats who's the greatest.

[Note: While Rockwell releases at Essen this weekend, the components in this preview are all prototype quality. They reflect the final artwork of the game, but not the final materials. For a look at the final components, here is a nice unboxing video.]

A Hard Rain's A-Gonna Fall (a review of Bruges)

Lots of things are going wrong in the town of Bruges. Money is tight, even the king and queen are hiring their services out to wealthy merchants, and threats of plague, flooding, fire, and raid loom on the horizon.

There's no better time to be an entrepreneurial mover-and-shaker in Bruges. Now's your chance to build canals, bolster your reputation, and erect houses for your helpers, all while flaunting what little wealth you've got in a bid for prestige.

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.

Feel the Burn (A Review of Cavemen: The Quest for Fire)

In the land before time – because early man hadn't yet invented swatch watches – our knuckle-dragging ancestors lacked many things like bows, baskets, and trapper-keepers.  Indeed, you may wonder how the species survived without Tupperware, pedometers and koozies, but times were even darker than that - literally.  Until, that is, one momentous, undocumented moment.  Now, Rio Grande sends you back in time – way back – to be a part of arguably the greatest achievement in human history: the discovery of fire!  Can you lead your small tribe of cavemen to grow and prosper, being the first to patent the roaring flame?  Can you do better than our distant cousins?  Well, let’s hope so, considering that their IQ was smaller than the number of fingers you have on one hand.  And s'mores-eaters and Kumbaya-singers throughout history will memorialize you forever more!

3:10 to Euro (a Review of Dark Horse)

You may be familiar with the famous words of American Manifest Destiny, “Go West, young man!”  I’m pretty sure Horace Greely had this game in mind when he wrote that.  A limitless frontier lay open for hard-working, honest, and romantic pioneers, just like in Dark Horse.  Vast tracts of fertile land lay free for claiming, teeming with a wealth of resources ripe for the picking, just like in Dark Horse.  Only the resolute and determined will stamp their industrious legacy upon the virgin wilderness, just like in Dark Horse.  Are you up to the task of taming the Wild West?  Harness the land’s resources to found cities and towns, while building a network of railroads to link them all together.  Rewarding toil, adventure, liberty, and victory points can all be yours!

All Roads Lead to Victory Points (A Review of Milestones)

Roads and houses and markets, oh my! The Lord of the Manor has tasked you with developing his lands. But you’re not the only one with a fat government contract. As you all work to blaze trails, build settlements, and supply them with food, can you reach the choicest spots before your opponents? Gather material to build, but don’t get too greedy lest your liege decide to tax your excess. Because in this game, all roads lead to a non-descript medieval castle.