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The Very Professonal Gen Con Special!

In August 2014 we traveled to the magical realm of Indianapolis, for the lake Geneva Gen Con Convention of games. Sporadically, between the games, beef dinners and amazing people we’d remember to turn our camera on. PRESENTING: The Very Professonal Gen Con Special!

Watch us try our luck in a True Dungeon! Hear what Risk Legacy creator Rob Daviau has to say for himself in a hungover interview! See the hottest games sweat under our studio lighting! And make sure your nan’s not around for the Hot Cosplay segment. Enjoy, everybody.

Matt: I don’t know if this is by far the silliest thing we’ve ever reviewed…

Paul: …and I don’t even know if that matters or not. Is PitchCar silly? Is it also possibly the simplest game to ever grace our (web)pages? Is it even a board game?

Matt: Do we even care?

Paul: Will we ever stop using the word “even”?

Adrift in uncharted waters, six people share a tiny lifeboat. As the supplies run low, they discover that some barrels are filled with jewels and art treasures instead of water or hardtack. Greed mixes with love and hatred as the passengers take sides…

Lifeboat is a fast-paced card game of intrigue and survival. Players vie for the highest score when the boat reaches land – a seemingly simple matter of surviving with the most treasure. But each player has a secret love and a secret enemy among the passengers, and no one knows when landfall will occur.

Will you help row, and thus have a hand in guiding the boat’s course? Try to shove your way into the quartermaster’s seat? Start a fight to grab some loot? Or just bide your time until you can nudge your enemy overboard into shark-infested waters?

Designed by Seiji Kanai, the game is about valiant heroes, called vanquishers, who stand up to protect good people from evil villains beyond the reach of the law. Vanquishers work in the shadows, cutting down evil wherever it can be found, but they must be quick to discover the villains’ secrets and constantly hone their martial skills in order to succeed.

Each player takes on the role of a vanquisher, punishing villains the law cannot reach. But each villain holds several secrets. Some are guarded by many followers. Others threaten to kill hostages. And still others are perhaps not as evil as they appear. The vanquishers themselves are not invincible; ambushing a villain in a dark alley with no preparation could result in defeat as easily as victory. Each vanquisher holds a hand of cards representing that vanquisher’s special abilities and preparations for battle. Players must use these cards to learn the villains’ secrets, and to strengthen their own blades of justice. But using abilities takes time, and time is precious when so much evil is about. You must cooperate with your fellow vanquishers lest you yourselves become the vanquished! Will the vanquishers defeat all of the villains, or will evil prevail?

Pandante is a gambling game that’s all about lying.

It’s the Panda’s version of poker that brings joy to all.

And it has a Gold Fairy.

You should see how the Pandas gamble. Everything about it is familiar, yet different. The cards are oversized to fit their paws. It’s sort of like Texas Hold ‘Em poker, but you don’t have to know anything about that to play it. The whole game centers around constantly lying, which makes it a lot of fun. While they have a way of playing it for real money, they also have a way that makes for a great social or family game for 2 – 6 players.

You and your small Samurai crew are the only obstacles between a frightened village and a horde of bloodthirsty brigands!

The confrontation seems very uneven while you are standing in front of dozens of enemies ready to cut you to pieces, but that is without counting on your combat skills and the strong solidarity keeping your group united in adversity.

Above all, and when the cause will seem hopeless, your enemies will discover the beast inside you: a fearsome warrior ready to unleash his true strength!

Internal unrest brews among the court of the Abyss. The warlike Crabs bring chaos against the wise mages of the Jellyfish while the merchant Shellfish wage trade wars against the insidious Squid politicians. Can you recruit the allies you need to master the lords of the Abyss?

Venture to Abyss, where players must battle monsters, recruit allies, and sway the great lords of the deep. The right hand of ally cards will let you control the lords who will help you seize the kingdoms of the Abyss. Be careful of your foes, though, because treachery abounds in the lands under the sea!

Our very 21st podcast is a magical journey into the realm of card games. We start in our Lifeboat, fall into Bruno Cathala’s undersea Abyss, and wash up in the exotic Eastern home of Samurai Spirit, Panda Poker and Seiji Kanai’s Say Bye to the Villains. Matt, Quinns and Paul have played all of these … Read more

Have you ever considered that our minds are positively brimming with all sorts of random information? Soap brands, pop songs, sports teams…the list is endless! Normally, it’s easy to give an example of a dog breed, a frozen food, or a fairy tale character – but be warned; you’ll find that your brain works a little differently under pressure!

Anomia is simple. Players flip cards in turn until the symbols on two players’ cards match. Matching players must race to give an example of the category on their opponent’s card. Whoever blurts out a correct answer first wins their opponent’s card, and drawing continues. Sounds easy, right? Think again! Wild cards create unexpected matches, and face-offs can cascade when you lose a card, revealing a new match. Pay attention – it could be your turn at any time!

Fast moving and hilarious, Anomia will have everyone roaring with laughter as they try to beat each other to the punch! Winner of multiple awards, including the Mensa Select Seal, ASTRA’s Best Toys for Kids, Major Fun’s Party and Word Games Awards, Dr. Toys Best Vacation Products, and the National Parenting Seal of Approval.

Quinns: Morning, everybody! I’m not 100% sure what happened to me this weekend, but this vine exists so I suppose it was pretty awesome.

Once again our top story is the one with the prettiest image, again proving that SU&SD is as shallow and corrupt as a dwarven bidet. What you see above is Realm of Wonder, an upcoming Finnish game that’s caught the attention of indefatigable outlet BoardGameGeek News. Each player controls a fantasy character trying to complete a secret objective, then return to the king’s castle.

But there are problems! The two innermost continents of the board can be physically rotated, locking new paths in place and (hopefully) leaving your friends stranded in some faerie bog. And while Realm of Wonder can be played with young children, advanced rules add bluffing, the claiming of resource pools, magic spells, monstrous combat and the fantasy equivalent of road blocks.

The Very Professonal Gen Con Special!

Review: PitchCar

Lifeboat

Say Bye to the Villains

Pandánte

Samurai Spirit

Abyss

Podcast #21: The Cardcast

Anomia

Games News! 25/08/14

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