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Games News! 28/04/14

Quinns: No question what story we’ve got to lead with. Esteemed French board game developer Bruno Faidutti, developer of such silly yet sharp games as Mascarade and Red November, has released the above image on his blog.

A prototype of a game he calls “Emotion”, we know absolutely nothing about it, but look at it! Note the stopwatch around Bruno’s neck. The anguish he’s conveying. The disdain on the woman’s face. It’s either the game we were born to review, or the one that’ll kill us.

The same post informs us that Formula E, his gorgeous-looking elephant racing game, is almost upon us. How could we not love Monsieur Faidutti? You want emotions, he’s got ’em. You want elephants, he can provide. You want something else? Stop being so picky c’mon elephants are good and so are emotions

Pandemic: On the Brink is an expansion to our popular cooperative game, Pandemic, where players take on roles to work together to find cures to 4 diseases.

In this expansion you will find seven new roles; eight new special events; and several challenge kits to be added to the basic game play.

Virulent Strain Challenge: makes one disease become particularly deadly in unpredictable ways.

Mutation Challenge: adds a fifth (purple) disease that behaves differently than the original four.

Bio-Terrorist Challenge: one player plays against the others!

You may also play with 5 players and play on Legendary level!

This is an all-new expansion for the popular game Pandemic. You need to own Pandemic and Pandemic: On The Brink to play this expansion.

Behind sealed biohazard doors, scientists race against time to sequence diseases and test cures.

Take samples and develop cures in the Lab challenge

Play on your own or as rival teams (for 4 or 6 players)

Extend the On the Brink challenges with new Virulent Strain Events or the Worldwide

Panic Mutation scenario.

CAN YOUR TEAM WORK TOGETHER IN THE LAB TO SAVE HUMANITY?

The Opener is back with another perfect game to start your board game night, your collection, or set your friends down the Cardboard Path. It’s Pandemic and penicillin! Meaning a whiskey cocktail called a penicillin. Going to your friends’ house and eating their mold colonies is not only unpalatable, it’s quite rude.

It might sound less attractive than Skull & Roses with fresh pizza, but you haven’t lived until you’ve had a great game of Pandemic. Catching that redeye flight to Seoul, praying you can prevent an outbreak? Driving around Africa, crates of your precious cure rattling around in the back of your jeep? That’s the good stuff, and it gets even better with Pandemic: On the Brink, and even more nightmarish with Pandemic: In the Lab.

G’wan! Treat yourself and pick up a copy. No other game is this tense and rich, and yet this accessible.

Dobble (called Spot It! in North America) is truly amazing. There is always one, and only one, matching symbol between any two cards! A sharp eye and quick reflexes is all it takes to play the 5 quick party games in this grab-n-go tin. The fast action and brilliant game mechanics will have you hooked. Quick to learn, fun for all ages, and including up to 8 players, Dobble is the best matching card game to use as an ice breaker.

Normally, calm reigns supreme amongst the animals of the jungle. But when the time comes to eat, the animals gather round the forest of totems and their wild instincts take over. The hungriest animals race to catch their prey first. Others become angry and shout, whilst the chameleon hides. When the hunter appears, there is panic! The animals must protect themselves.

In turns, players flip the first card from their draw pile onto their score pile. Every card that is drawn eventually triggers an action. For example, if a player turns a hungry animal card, all players must race to grab the appropriate totem to satisfy the animal, the player that grabs the totem will add the hungry animal card to their score pile.

Quinns: What I love most about Jungle Speed Safari is your friends’ fear when you set it up. If there’s a rule the manual’s missing, it’s that you’ve got to play this up. “OK,” you announce, dealing out the game’s cards. “If you’re wearing rings, take them off. It’s impossible to get blood out of cards.”

“Funny joke,” says one of your friends. “That was a joke, right?”

“What?” you say, and then: “Can everybody see something purple in this room?”

Your friends look around, assess the room, their chairs. They start to panic. “What do you mean?” someone says. “What are the wooden things in the middle of the table? And what do these pictures on the cards mean? WHAT ARE WE PLAYING?”

“Shhh,” you say, pressing a finger to their lips. “Don’t be scared. It’ll all be over soon.”

Paul: Hey Matt! Sorry to call unannounced. How are you? You’re looking well!

Thrower: What do you want?

Paul: Oh. I did kind of stop by to ask you a .. favour?

Thrower: I told you I could attach the beaks, I couldn’t take them off again.

Paul: NO! It’s that, well, you and I have been playing a lot of these wargames, and I …

Thrower: You’re enjoying them?

Paul: Is that it? Yes! I’m enjoying them. The strategy’s so absorbing, the theme so transporting. I was hoping you might be able to perhaps suggest a few I could try with people who aren’t … you?

Quinns: Are you enjoying your Easter break? Did you have an egg hunt? I’m doing an egg hunt right now! Except instead of eggs it’s news, and instead of chocolate there are no eggs. I mean, no news.

But like Jesus, I’ve got a plan! This week we’ll look at the top six games on BoardGameGeek’s “hotness” sidebar, which shows the games that users have been clicking on the most. Like Easter chocolate, this will be initially exciting, slightly tasteless, and maybe just a bit sickening.

What’s the ultimate test of any board game night? No, it’s not your friend getting their arm trapped down the back of a radiator while recovering a lost meeple. That had us scared, but a little olive oil sorted Brendan right out. We’re talking about rules explanations.

We get a ton of questions about the best way to teach rules, so we’ve put together the above video. Teaching rules is going to be most people’s first ever exposure to this hobby. And exposing your friends is, of course, serious business.

What are your best tips to teach games, readers?

Games News! 28/04/14

Pandemic: On the Brink

Pandemic: In the Lab

The Opener: Pandemic, Expansions & Penicillin

Dobble

Jungle Speed Safari

Review: Jungle Speed Safari

The Very Best Introductory Wargames!

Hot Games! 21/04/14

Some Tips for Rules Explanations!

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