The Village Square: July 11, 2016

This weekend I experienced the joys of writing on a game board, tearing up cards, and [no spoilers from me!], thanks to my first few plays of Pandemic Legacy. My group is one-third of the way through season one and I’m already fired up for season two. Yes, the game has lived up to the hype.

Expanding Kingdom
GTS Distribution announced that the third expansion for Kingdom Builder, Marshlands, will be released by Queen Games this August. Some of the new additions are “24 location tiles with 8 new abilities and 12 summary cards for the edges of the board. There are 4 new board quadrants with the Marshes land type on them. Castles have been replaced with Forts adding a different scoring possibility. To go along with this new land type, 5 Marsh terrain cards are added to the terrain deck.”
Source: http://www.gtsdistribution.com/pc_product_detail.asp?key=7BBA84A32FAD4098833D1E684584AA2F

4 Gods
Coming later this year is Asmodee’s 4 Gods, which will be demo-ed at Gen Con. The world building and tile placement game by Christophe Boelinger (creator of Archipelago) will be “played simultaneously. From the start of the game, you’ll be competing to quickly and correctly place tiles in the rapidly growing world, building vast seas, winding mountain ranges, thick forests, and arable plains.”
Source: http://drafts.asmodee.us/en/news/2016/7/6/4-gods/

Box of Fun
According to ACD Distribution, Mr. Meeseeks’ Box O’ Fun: The Rick and Morty Dice Dares Game will be in stores this August. The dice game will ask you not to disappoint Mr. Meeseeks. “He will make you do all sorts of embarrassing and foolish things. That is, if he doesn’t simply kill you off. The longer it takes for you to complete your Request, the more Mr. Meeseeks will appear. Soon, they may turn violent. So please, do try your hardest.”
Source: http://acddistribution.blogspot.com/2016/07/coming-in-august-from.html

Smoggy World
Just as the Kickstarter campaign ended for Massive Darkness, Cool Mini Or Not announced its next game, The World of Smog: Rise of Moloch, a “Victorian adventure board game, for 2 to 5 players, set in an alternate England, where magic and technology have taken an extraordinary turn. Playable as a campaign or solo adventures, Rise of Moloch puts one player in the position of the Nemesis, against the intrepid Gentlemen controlled by the other players trying to save the Crown.” It will hit Kickstarter in a few months.
Source: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/coolminiornot/massive-darkness/posts/1624433

Power Grid Card Game
W. Eric Martin reports that Power Grid: The Card Game will debut this October at Spiel 2016 and “offers all the tension and tactics well-known of its two big brothers — Power Grid and Power Grid deluxe — without using the different maps. You get the full Power Grid emotions in an intensive playing time of sixty minutes.”
Source: https://boardgamegeek.com/blogpost/55858/power-grid-gets-carded

Ashes Preview
Plaid Hat Games previews a few cards from the upcoming expansions to Ashes: Rise of the Phoenixborn, which can now be pre-ordered.
Source: http://www.plaidhatgames.com/news/721

Watch It Fund
The sixth season of Rodney Smith’s popular teaching videos, Watch It Played, is now being funded on IndieGoGo. Donation perks include a promotional cards for Dead of Winter (a character card based on Rodney himself), 51st State, Scythe, and Above and Below.
Source: https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/watch-it-played-season-6#/

My Little Championships
The My Little Pony CCG Store Championships are being held July 15-24th. “In addition to the Sweetie Belle token, Store Champs participants also receive a special foil Apple Bloom, Re-Markable, plus the special Napcakes card that the top eight players will receive.” The top two players will be invited to compete at Gen Con next month.
Source: https://www.facebook.com/Enterplayllc/photos/a.370057933089229.87672.357514917676864/1090316014396747/?type=3&theater

Dice Tower Award Winners
The Dice Award Winners were announced at last week’s Dice Tower Con. Some of the games honored included Stockpile, Codenames, T.I.M.E. Stories, and Pandemic Legacy: Season 1.
Source: http://www.dicetowernews.com/dice-tower-2015-awards-winners-announced/28885

Brainy
Playing games is good for the brain, the New York Times reports, and “a brain that is fully engaged socially, mentally and spiritually is more resilient.”
Source: http://www.nytimes.com/2016/07/09/your-money/for-effective-brain-fitness-do-more-than-play-simple-games.html


Upcoming Board Game Conventions
July 23-24. MegaMooseCon. Richburg, South Carolina.
July 30. VladdaCon. Holliston, Massachusetts.
August 4-7. Gen Con 2016. Indianapolis, Indiana.
August 19-21. Dragonflight XXXVII. Bellevue, Washington.
August 26-28. Coulee Con 2016. La Crosse, Wisconsin.
September 1-4. Tacticon 2016. Colorado Springs, Colorado.
September 2-5. Gateway 2016. Los Angeles, California.
September 10-11. WashingCon. Washington, D.C.
September 24-25. Congress of Gamers. Rockville, Maryland.
October 15-16. RetroWorld Expo 2016. Wallingford, Connecticut.
Visit casualgamerevolution.com for more convention listings.