I’ll be at the third and final Strategicon of the year this weekend in Los Angeles. Follow me on Twitter to find out where I’ll be at the con and let’s play games!
Stone Age Anniversary
Z-Man Games is celebrating 10 years of its worker placement classic Stone Age with a new edition available later this year. “This limited edition features a beautiful double-sided board, upgraded components, and new options for playing in the bitter cold of winter.”
Source: https://www.zmangames.com/en/news/2018/8/24/announcing-stone-age-anniversary/
Epic Spell Wars Continue
Board Game Babylon reports that Cryptozoic announced a September 5th release date for Epic Spell Wars of the Battle Wizards: Panic at the Pleasure Palace. From the press release: “All aspects of the game, including the cards and rulebook, feature the trademark mature humor and illustrations that fans have come to expect.” It’s compatible with the three previous Epic Spell Wars titles.
Source: http://boardgamebabylon.com/2018/08/25/press-release-cryptozoic-announces-release-of-epic-spell-wars-of-the-battle-wizards-panic-at-the-pleasure-palace/
Magnastorm
Over on the BGG blog, W. Eric Martin wrote that Magnastorm from Feuerland Spiele will be available at Essen in October. “Magnastorm is a big, tactical board game with very little luck. Choose the right moment to perform actions or buy influence over helpful commanders. You will reap success through resource management, clever logistics, good timing, and a shrewd eye on the actions of your opponents.”
Source: https://boardgamegeek.com/blogpost/80150/new-game-round-mine-master-escape-macgyver-and-tre
Caverna Expansion
According to Dice Tower News, the expansion Caverna: The Forgotten Folk will hit North American shelves before Christmas this year. The game features eight new races and “[e]ach of these races have their own special abilities and sometimes special rules that require changes in strategy.”
Source: http://www.dicetowernews.com/new-races-for-caverna-in-caverna-the-forgotten-folk/54168
More Starship Samurai
Also from Dice Tower News: the Starship Samurai expansion is available for pre-order from the Plaid Hat Games website. “The first expansion for Starship Samurai includes two all-new samurai mechs and a full deck of 40 action cards! Unleash the power of Hanzo’s signature fighter ship or amass a fortune with Ishida’s infinite wealth. Each mech can be added as a choice when drafting samurai at the start of each game.”
Source: https://www.plaidhatgames.com/news/927
Noch mal
On David Neumann’s BGG blog he noted the release of the roll-and-write Noch mal! for iOS and Android. “This is a game where you roll dice, check off boxes and score points.”
Source: https://boardgamegeek.com/blogpost/80163/app-news-noch-mal-lands-mobile-digidiced-info-dump
Cooperative Problems
There’s a good read on Mechanics & Meeples about solving the Alpha Gamer problem in cooperative titles. “Sometimes you’ll really dig in because you’re certain you’re right, or at the least that your idea is addressing a more likely problem than those put forth by your fellows. But those fellows might be fighting like hell for those ideas. If so, you sometimes need to just step back.”
Source: http://www.mechanics-and-meeples.com/2018/08/13/the-alpha-player-problem-or-how-to-avoid-controlling-co-ops-without-even-trying/
Upcoming Board Game Conventions
August 31-September 3. Gateway 2018. Los Angeles, California.
September 8-9. WashingCon. Washington, D.C.
September 13-16. Buckeye Game Fest. Columbus, Ohio.
September 14-16. GrandCon. Grand Rapids, Michigan.
September 21-23. Protospiel Chicago. Chicago, Illinois.
September 27-30. Hurricon. Kissimmee, Florida.
October 5-7. Council of Five Nations. Schenectady, New York.
October 5-7. Great Falls Gaming Rendezvous. Great Falls, Montana.
October 5-7. TsunamiCon. Wichita, Kansas.
October 12-14. CinCityCon. Cincinnati, Ohio.
October 12-14. FlatCon. Bloomington, Illinois.
October 13-14. Congress of Gamers. Rockville, Maryland.
November 1-4. Midwest GameFest. Independence, Missouri.
November 8-11. Gamehole Con. Madison, Wisconsin.
November 9-11. ConQuest Avalon. Sacramento, California.
November 9-11. U-Con. Ann Arbor, Michigan.
November 15-18. Chicago Toy & Game Fair. Chicago, Illinois.
December 27-30. CAP-Con. Atlanta, Georgia.
Visit casualgamerevolution.com for more convention listings.