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SU&SD Play… Memoir ’44: Operation Overlord

August, 1942. The Germans begin their deadly assault of the Russian city of Stalingrad.

April, 2013. Team SU&SD assemble to recreate that fateful battle. But with more food. And arguably, more swearing.

The 2-8 player Overlord scenarios for featherweight wargame Memoir ’44 are unbelievable fun. To recreate them, you’ll need EITHER two copies of Memoir ’44, or, as seen here, ONE copy of Memoir ’44, ONE copy of the Operation Overlord expansion, and ONE of the official Battle Maps. Got that? Great.

WARNING: No amount of preparation will actually prepare you.

The galaxy is bursting with opportunities for savvy space traders to exploit, and the race to profit blasts off in Merchant of Venus. Discover new alien cultures and learn where you can get rich selling their goods in this board game of interstellar trade and exploration for 1-4 players. From your First Contact with alien cultures to the establishment of trade routes and spaceports, your quest for cash demands you keep on the move. Successful traders will quickly locate fast and reliable trade routes, timing their purchases and sales with the interest in the market.

Featuring a double-sided board, Merchant of Venus offers rules for both Richard Hamblen’s classic game and Rob Kouba’s reimagined version.

Space traders, get your ships ready for launch because it’s time to engage in some wild entrepreneurship!

[Since Mark Wallace’s Actual Board Game Journalism went down so well, we’ve decided he’s allowed to stick around. For now.

But he’s not out of the woods yet, with his fancy words and professionalism. He has to earn his porridge, potatoes and time above ground, so we dispatched him to review Merchant of Venus, a gorgeous-looking Fantasy Flight remake we’ve had our eye on for a while. How might he fare… with a review?]

Mark: If you think of yourself as a certain type of freewheeling gamer, you’ll like the sound of an interstellar commerce game that comes complete with spacelane pirates, racial technologies, first contact with far-off cultures, and an alien salesman who needs a lift to the Volois’ system after waking up hungover on the Zums’ delicious chicle liquor.

Yes, you say to yourself, I’m ready to blast off into space! I can’t wait to buy low and sell high! I’ve been searching for a game of “space exploration and interstellar trade for 1-4 players,” as it says on the Merchant of Venus box (which happens to be decorated with some really outstanding art from someone called Alex Aparin). Let’s go!

To begin A la carte, you receive a stove and pan with which to cook a range of delectable dishes. Each player then selects a meal and attempts to skillfully complete it by adjusting the heat level of their stoves to the perfect level, or pouring spices into the dish to get them just right. You can also take a coffee break in order to exchange stoves with another player, gain an extra turn, decrease the heat on rivals’ stoves, or even add spices to another player’s dish in an attempt to ruin it. It’s all fair game in A la carte.

To win, complete as many meals as possible, since each one adds to your score at the end of the game. Any time you lose a dish because it is overheated or overspiced, you’ll lose precious points. So, work quickly to get ahead, and do your best to avoid any catastrophes that could fork your chances of winning.

Oh, no. Having survived month one of the new site, the boys are trying to make their podcast more professional. The result? A regular feature they can’t decide on, musical stings they’re wielding like cattle prods, and a special guest! Of Brendan. On the plus side, we’re serving up HOT CHATTER about so many new … Read more

It”s your lifelong dream – to join the Star Patrol and be part of the crew of an interstellar Starship. You”ve worked hard, graduated from the Academy, and received your first assignment as part of a team of young recruits, confident in your training and ready to be put to the test.

Nothing can possibly go wrong…

You”ve been prepared for anything…

You are the Space Cadets.

Space Cadets is the highly-anticipated cooperative game from the famous Engelstein Design Family (Brian, Sydney, and Geoff Engelstein). It is your first voyage aboard one of the best starships in Star Patrol. Taking control of one of the bridge stations, you are sure that this mission will be an easy one…where nothing can go wrong… yeah… right…

Welcome to the Tokaido, the legendary East Sea Road connecting Kyoto to Edo. Here you will begin an extraordinary journey during which you will discover a thousand marvels for the first time.

Be sure to take the time to contemplate the sumptuous vistas before you: the majestic mountains, peaceful coastland, and vast rice paddies… Let the brushstrokes of nature be an anchor for your memories.

Appreciate the beneficial stopovers that punctuate your path, the restorative tranquility of the hot springs, and the countless culinary delicacies that will astonish your palate.

Bundle together with your belongings delightfully unexpected souvenirs, from the most modest to the most sophisticated, that you gather from surprising encounters that may change the course of your travels.

Time will be your best means to remain clear-sighted, methodical, and patient so that you don’t miss anything on this unique route but instead can fully savor the experience the Tokaido has to offer!

Wage open war on the streets of Gatorum.

Develop your territory with various criminal establishments.

Buy illegal weapons and tech on the black market.

Hire the finest killers, thieves, and scammers money can buy.

Avoid gaining the attention of Yugai security forces.

In City of Remnants, two to four players vie for power in a dystopian world. Many paths to victory lay before you. Bid for gang members who provide a variety of shady skills. Get an edge with weapons and other sundrys from the black market. Build districts that can provide you with advantages, production and income, but beware, because a greedy opponent might sweep in and take over the work of your own hands.

City of Remnants combines strong resource management, auction, and conversion mechanics with spatial tactics, assymetric player powers, area control and direct conflict. A variety of tools, different every game, are at your disposal to build up your gang and claim the city for yourself. But watch out for the Yugai police force, who will meddle with everyone’s plans! Create your own path to victory with this outstanding debut game from designer Isaac Vega.

Waterdeep, the City of Splendors—the most resplendent jewel in the Forgotten Realms, and a den of political intrigue and shady back-alley dealings.

In this game, the players are powerful lords vying for control of this great city. Its treasures and resources are ripe for the taking, and that which cannot be gained through trickery and negotiation must be taken by force!

Lords of Waterdeep is a strategy board game for 2-5 players. You take on the role of one of the masked Lords of Waterdeep, secret rulers of the city. Through your agents, you recruit adventurers to go on quests on your behalf, earning rewards and increasing your influence over the city.

Expand the city by purchasing new buildings that open up new actions on the board, and hinder—or help—the other lords by playing Intrigue cards to enact your carefully laid plans.

Quinns: It’s the games news! It can’t stop moving or it dies! It has 3000 teeth arranged in sequential rows! It– no, hang on, that’s the great white shark. I always get them mixed up.

Above you’ll see a photo of incredible team game Space Cadets, which Brendan and I took a look at back on our old site. Basically, you all control a different station, whether it’s engineering, weapons, the helm and so on, and then a farce commences at lightspeed with everyone blaming everybody else.

This week saw the announcement of standalone game Space Cadets: Dice Duel. All the fun of crashing into asteroids in space, but in a team combat game! Oh, baby! But that’s just to kick us off. We’ve also got the game of a Neil Gaiman short story, and the week’s most exciting Kickstarters. Ensign, take us forward.

SU&SD Play… Memoir ’44: Operation Overlord

Merchant of Venus

Review: Merchant of Venus

A La Carte

The Very Sixth SU&SD Podcast

Space Cadets

Tokaido

City of Remnants

Lords of Waterdeep

Games News! 29/04/13

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