" " - Shut Up & Sit Down

The Great Fire of London 1666

You are no simple bystander to this tragedy; the future of London lies in your hands.

The players are men of wealth and standing who own property around London. The Lord Mayor has failed to act and it is down to these mighty men to lead trained bands of militia to fight the fire and save the city. To do so they must decide which districts to sacrifice to the fire and which to protect. Remember, these same men own much of London, thus such choices will shape their own future and greatly affect their wealth and standing.

Use the trained bands to suppress the fire and explosives to destroy blocks of housing to create fire breaks and prevent its spread. Do you choose to protect your own homes, turning a blind eye and allowing the fire to consume your rival’s property? Or will you stand as the hero of London, and choose to save as much of the city as possible?

Victory can belong to the player with the most property left after the ashes settle, but stopping the fire and saving London’s most famous landmarks may win a more altruistic land owner the hearts and minds of the people.

Save the city, or watch it burn.

Raise the sail and straight on ’til morning.

How else could the honorable Henry Morgan celebrate his 30 years of governing Jamaica than with a race around the island? Gathering every Pirate and Buccaneer around, the “Great Challenge” will be a memorable race. Not to mention – what’s better than a race where you can earn some booty and shoot at your opponents? The ”Great Challenge”, that’s what!

The goal is to sail around the island of Jamaica as fast as possible, while gathering the goods required: gold for port taxes, powder for naval battles and food to eat while out on the high seas. Each time the pirates meet, they will have to fight to try and steal the contents of each other’s holds (and maybe pawn off a chest full of cursed gold at the same time).

And so, hoist up the sails and head towards Port-Royal. May the fastest and richest win!

Oh my goodness it’s a PODCAST! Rarest of all the pods. Gather round and hear Quinns and Paul talk of the giggly Jamaica, the confusing Rivals for Catan, the tricksy Great Fire of London 1666, the long-awaited Race for the Galaxy: Alien Artifacts and lots more. But that’s not all! Paul’s back from GDC and … Read more

Quinns: What a weekend! Tabletop Day, then a Netrunner tournament. I feel a sense of… union with the cardboardverse. Hang on, I’m having the strangest thoughts… Could it be? Is the games news coming to me?

I see a man… I see Ted Alspach, designer of the incredible Suburbia and One Night Werewolf. He’s announcing his new game! Castles of Mad King Ludwig will still have players laying tiles, but now sleepy suburbs are swapped for the colourful castles for real-life king Ludwig II.

I can also see that this very second, Ted is eating a burger with a knife and fork. Really, dude? C’mon. Cut that out.

In the year 2097, the entire Earth was enveloped in a cataclysmic shift in climate, plunging the globe into another ice age. Nearly 90% of the world’s population was eliminated, driving the survivors to band together into loose communities and tribes.

In Arctic Scavengers, you are the leader of a small tribe of survivors. Resources, tools, medicine, and mercenaries are all in scarce supply. You and your tribe are pitted against up to four other tribes in a fight for survival. Build up your tribe, skirmish against other players head-to-head, or even bluff your way to victory.

The player with the largest tribe at the end of the game is declared the winner!

It’s the end of the world. Survivors huddle together, sheltering in rags and silence. There are bad men outside. And you’re one of them.

Arctic Scavengers is a card game for 2-5 players, and this week the updated edition first fell into our laps, then entered our hearts, like cardboard frostbite. Better yet, it’s Quinns’ favourite of all the games we’ve reviewed this year!

Oh dear. Wallets at the ready, people.

Quinns: As I understand it, America has three main locations. New York City, Dallas and Jasper, Missouri, setting of Patrick Swayze’s 1989 classic Road House.

Those of you in New York should know that our own Mike will be at Myriad Games from 2:00-6:00 PM. He says he’s keen to teach Neuroshima Hex! to everybody, which is an experience I recommend! I don’t recommend you actually take him on, though, as I still have the bruises from that particular beatdown.

Anyone around Dallas should know that SU&SD besties Board With Life will be at Common Ground Games. And if you live in Jasper, Missouri? You should take a moment to reflect on how god-damn lucky you are, you son of a bitch.

Tabletop Day is April 5th! Come meet Quinns!

Quinns: Of course, every day is International Tabletop Day here at SU&SD. But if you live in London and felt like dedicating a few hours hours to our giddy hobby, I’ll be spending all day at the inestimably awesome Leisure Games. Paul and Brendan might be making an appearance, too!

So come down! Meet us, play a game. make a hot new purchase and generally pay tribute to this city’s finest hobby shop. The above photo makes it look really small, but actually there are dark magicks present that let it sit upwards of 40 people. And for those of you looking for a beatdown, you’d better believe I’m bringing my Netrunner decks, if you wanted to bring yours along.

If you do live in the UK, Leisure Games are a fine online retailer too. Never be afraid to give them a call to ask when Such & Such is coming out, or if they can reserve you a copy of The New Hot Box.

And if you don’t live in the UK? Best of luck with everyone’s tabley endeavors!

[Following on from last month’s interview with Eric Zimmerman, we dispatched intergalactic bounty hunters to next track down Geoff Engelstein, the man behind SU&SD favourites Space Cadets and Space Cadets: Dice Duel. With two expansions and a new Space Cadets game on the horizon, we needed details on the future of this runaway brand, and how it came to be.]

Quinns: Wake up! Alright “Geoff”, you can earn your freedom by answering no less than eight questions.

Geoff: What? You wanted an interview? You could have just asked.

Quinns: Oh, you’d have liked that, wouldn’t you. NOW: The year of Space Cadets, eh? Does the prospect of continuing to work with the Space Cadets license exhaust you at all? No new and fair pastures for Mr. Engelstein?

Pictured above is what we sent to SU&SD Gold Club members three months ago. Limited edition, so now every one of those precious objects and download codes are gone. Lost, like… tears in rain.

If you like the sound of supporting this site and being mailed a goodie bag full of limited edition nonsense, our second ever pledge season ends TONIGHT, March 31st, at midnight EST. As before, the contents will be mostly secret, but the micro-reveal we did can still be found over on our donations page.

Thank you so much for your generosity, everybody.

— Team SU&SD

The Great Fire of London 1666

Jamaica

Podcast #15: Fleeing the City

Games News! 07/04/14

Arctic Scavengers

Review: Arctic Scavengers

U.S.A. Tabletop Day Update!

Tabletop Day is April 5th! Come meet Quinns!

An Actual Interview: Space Cadets

It’s the last day for Gold Club bag #2!

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