So I finally took the plunge and played my first game of Mage Knight (with two other players). Even though multi-hour brain burners aren’t normally my type of game, it was an amazing experience and it may find its way into my collection someday, if only so I can solo it a few times before my next play with my gaming group. Tweet me with your brain-burning game stories and tell me how well you did on your second attempt of a heavier game.
Stronghold Preorders
Three titles from Stronghold Games can now be preordered: City of Spies: Estoril 1942, Kraftwagen: V6 Edition, and The Pursuit of Happiness.
Source: http://strongholdgames.com/store/currently-on-preorder/
Space Talk
Francois Doucet talks about the new Space Buddies imprint from Space Cowboys. “We created Space Buddies to release party games and simpler family games.”
Source: http://drafts.asmodee.us/en/news/2016/6/26/meet-your-space-buddies/
Twilight Struggle Now on iOS
According to Pocket Tactics, Twilight Struggle is now available on iOS for Kickstarter backers.
Source: http://www.pockettactics.com/news/one-more-thing/
Agricola: All Creatures Big and Small App
Digidiced announced its next app, the Uwe Rosenberg’s Agricola: All Creatures Big and Small.
Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nNV_y9DXbQ0
Team Spirit
Team Spirit, an expansion for Cash ‘N Guns, is due at Gen Con in August. The expansion will feature “new guns, Powers and Surprises, as well as a lineup of greedy Mercenaries with loose morals and no loyalties that your team can recruit.”
Source: http://drafts.asmodee.us/en/news/2016/6/22/flash-bang-boom/
Chasing Monsters
Iello’s Monster Chase “is a cooperative memory game where players must unite their forces to find the toys that will frighten the monsters and lock them into the closet.” It’s due on shelves July 14.
Source: http://iellogames.com/Monster_Chase.html
Combined Forces
Bryan Young discusses ways to combine the Star Wars: Age of Rebellion RPG with the X-Wing Miniatures game. “You’ll need to balance the skill level of your players against the non-player character pilots they’ll be facing off against, and you’ll have to give them some sort of acknowledgement for the skills they already have on their character sheet. In X-Wing, the Empire is on even ground with Rebellion, but you will need to tweak things a bit to give your player characters a chance to shine.”
Source: https://www.fantasyflightgames.com/en/news/2016/6/24/were-going-in-full-throttle/
Origins Videos
W. Eric Martin previews a few new games from Origins: Dominion: Empires, Clout (and other titles from Crash of Games), Morocco, Heir to the Pharaoh, and Mystic Vale. Be sure to search for his other videos from Origins, as well as the designer notes on Dominion: Empires.
Source: https://boardgamegeek.com/blogpost/55426/origins-game-fair-2016-iv-mystic-vale-dominion-emp
Seven Seas and Ninja Division
Seven Seas Entertainment and Ninja Division Publishing have formed a tabletop game company called Shinobi 7. The new company will “focus on creating games based on anime, manga, and other pop culture brands.”
Source: http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/news/2016-06-23/seven-seas-teams-with-ninja-division-to-launch-tabletop-game-company-shinobi-7/.103552
Offbeat Board Games
Nice to see an article in the Wall Street Journal about lesser-known games like Kolejka (“Queue”), Lab Wars, Freedom: The Underground Railroad, and The Grizzled. “Games about standing in line may never be as popular as games about building a real-estate empire, and wars between labs may pale next to wars between nations, but games with offbeat themes can be just as good.”
Source: http://www.wsj.com/articles/the-fun-of-offbeat-board-games-1466717441
Othello Creator Dies
Goro Hasegawa, the creator of Othello, passed away June 20 in Japan. “The game struck a chord in Japan when it was first mass-produced there by the Tsukuda Corporation in 1973. Mr. Hasegawa promoted it by organizing tournaments, serving as the head of the Japan Othello Association and helping to broker a licensing deal with Anjar Corporation, an American company that assisted in making the game global.”
Source: http://www.nytimes.com/2016/06/26/world/asia/goro-hasegawa-creator-of-othello-board-game-dies-at-83.html
Upcoming Board Game Conventions
July 6-10. Dice Tower Gaming Con V. Orlando, Florida.
July 8-9. MichiCon 2016. Rochester, Michigan.
July 23-24. MegaMooseCon. Richburg, South Carolina.
July 30. VladdaCon. Holliston, Massachusetts.
August 4-7. Gen Con 2016. Indianapolis, Indiana.
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.