Quinns’ latest Kotaku column is up! Our boy’s talking about the joy of games-as-physical-objects, with nods to Netrunner, Tzolk’in, Memoir ’44, String Railway and SO much more. Look at him go!
Has anyone else noticed that there’s a power to this hobby? Quinns has, and he won’t rest until he knows what he’s talking about. Go read, people!
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(After the SU&SD primer on wargames earlier this month, Brendan’s refusing to go back to Matt Thrower’s house, which is strange. He seems very nice. This time we sent Paul to visit, for a closer look at an adorable little entry wargame.)
Thrower: Do come in. You may leave your shoes on if you wish. I lost a caltrop earlier.
Paul: Thank you so much for the dinner invite! It smells delicious.
Thrower: You’re welcome. Some of my oldest survival rations were beginning to moulder.
Paul: I… oh. What’s that box, there, buried under the camouflage netting? Wait, why is there camouflage netting in your kitchen?
Thrower: I’m glad you asked about the box. That’s my newest game, The Last King of Scotland. I was hoping we might play while dinner finished.
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The Cylons were created to make life easier on the Twelve Colonies. And then the day came when the Cylons decided to kill their masters. After a long and bloody struggle, an armistice was declared and the Cylons left for another world to call their own.
Forty years later, they returned, and brought humanity to the brink of extinction. The remaining humans, led by the crew of the Battlestar Galactica, fled in hope of finding a new home, one known by legend as Earth.
Humanity’s only hope lies in finding Earth’s location while fighting off the unrelenting Cylons. But as resources run low, it is discovered that the enemy can now appear human and has infiltrated the fleet from the inside.
Battlestar Galactica: The Board Game provides a unique gaming experience. Unlike most games where players win individually, Battlestar Galactica is a cooperative game, with the added complication that one or more of the players is a secret Cylon traitor – your entire side will win or lose, and you might not even be certain who is on your side until the game ends!
Each player is secretly assigned his or her loyalty at the start of the game. Players will either be loyal to the humans, or to the Cylons. Humans and Cylons have specific and conflicting winning objectives. The human players win by reaching Kobol, but the Galactica will be be threatened by a host of challenges along the way. Only through the cooperation of the humans will the ship (and fleet) survive. The Cylon player(s) wins by either destroying the Galactica with attacks from the Cylon fleet, or, through sabotage, by reducing one of the necessary resources (Food, Fuel, Population, or Morale) to zero.
Either all of the humans win together, or all of the Cylons win together…but both sides must figure out who they can trust in order to achieve victory.
Players’ identities are secret and no one will know for certain at the beginning of the game who they can trust. Keep your eyes open and watch how the other players play. Can you trust them to watch out for Humanity’s interests? Or are they Cylons bent on destroying Humanity?
If your gaming group enjoys highly-thematic political intrigue, and can handle some good-natured infighting and backstabbing, you’ll enjoy Battlestar Galactica.
If you like playing a game where there is a continuous challenge, and victory is always a very close call, Battlestar Galactica is for you.
If you’re a fan of the hit Sci Fi Channel show, and want to simulate the twists and turns on your game table, then Battlestar Galactica is the game you have been waiting for!
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Quinns: Goooood mooorning board gamers! How was your weekend? We did some filming, during which an exasperated Paul told his team-mate “It’s only a game.” It’s ONLY A GAME! As if. What a scandal.
News, though! Up above you’ll see Heroes of Normandie an absolutely gorgeous-looking tactics game that’s got just 5 days left on the Kickstarter, with 270% of its desired funding. Want to drive a cardboard tank through a bush? This could be your boy. And there’s more of a grounding that’ll it’ll be a good game than most Kickstartlets, since it’s based on the company’s 2007 release of Frontiers, which The Dice Tower called pretty fun.
But that’s not the most exciting news this week. Oh, no. A new expansion for Battlestar Galactica’s been announced, AND a new game in the world of The Resistance. Oh, baby!
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Did you know that magical wizards are battling to the death … and beyond … right now!? “Why battle?” you might ask. “What have I got to prove, magic man?” Only who’s the most awesomely powerful battle wizard in the entire realm, that’s what! As a Battle Wizard, you’ll put together up to three spell components to craft millions* of spell combos. Your spells might kick ass, or they could totally blow — it’s up to you to master the magic. You will unleash massive damage on the faces of your wizard rivals in a no-holds-barred, all-out burn-down to be the last Battle Wizard standing. And it doesn’t stop there! Powerful magic items bring on a whole new level of bloody carnage as you and your mighty wizard opponents tear each other limb from limb in an orgy of killing! Do you have what it takes to use epic spells in a war at Mt. Skullzfyre? Will YOU be the Ultimate Battle Wizard!?!
*Not actually millions of combos … but like thousands or more, maybe.
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You hold in your hands the first semi-cooperative game involving exploration, development, optimization, negotiations, diplomacy … and treachery, for 2 to 5 players, featuring adjustable game length, and where no two games will ever feel alike.
You will compete with other great explorers who each have their own priorities and objectives. But you must work together to preserve the balance of the archipelago and avoid a war of independence… or do you?
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Splash! Splutter. Cough. You’ve just washed up on the shores of the best game we’ve looked at in ages.
Friends, newcomers, children of all ages, please enjoy this review of the ethically dubious Archipelago. It’s early days, this might end up being our game of 2013. Who knows? If Archipelago teaches us anything, it’s to plan for the future. The future, and also for what you’re going to do with all those sodding pineapples.
Enjoy, guys.
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[A feature we’ve always dreamed of providing is actual board game journalism. What might that look like?
Step forward Mark Wallace, board gamer, author and contributor to Wired and the New York Times. We let him off his news-leash to cover the economics of licensed board games. Are they good for the hobby, or crowding out our shelves?
These are his conclusions. If you like this sort of thing, please do drop a comment letting us know.]
Tabletop gaming may be touching new heights of innovation and engagement, but the industry is at pains to appeal to new customers. While bigger “independent” publishers like Fantasy Flight Games can make a strong showing of it, there are dozens more smaller publishers whose owner-managers must hold down day jobs while struggling to produce great games — games that are often ignored by retail outlets. In many stores, it can almost seem that tabletop board games are solely represented by TV and movie spinoffs.
Even if they’re lucky enough to find a well-stocked local game store, the potential audience for boardgames is at pains to tell one startlingly expensive game from another. And having been weaned on Candyland, Sorry, and the Game of Life, they are startled again at the different kind of effort that’s required to learn and play — much less enjoy — many contemporary games.
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ZULUS ON THE RAMPARTS! is the battle cry of those defending the Mission Station at Rorke’s Drift. It is 22 January 1879, and the British invasion column moving into Zululand was disastrously defeated that morning at nearby Isandlwana. Now, fresh troops from the victorious Zulu iMpi (army) are advancing on your position. With your 140 British soldiers and auxiliaries, you must survive the repeated attacks of 4000+ crack Zulu warriors.
This States of Siege™ game puts you squarely in command of a desperate defense. As events unfold and heroes emerge, can you build up the barricades and fill the breaches before the camp is overrun?
As the Zulus relentlessly charge wielding their deadly spears and as British rifles overheat, can you keep cool and make the command decisions necessary to hold your position and repel the onrush of fierce braves until the Relief Column arrives?
The Battle of Rorke’s Drift saw more Victoria Crosses awarded than any other before or since. Can you write an equally glorious page in history as you confront these ZULUS ON THE RAMPARTS! ?
Joseph Miranda
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Space Alert is a team survival game. Players take on the role of a crew of space explorers sent out through hyperspace to survey a dangerous sector of the Galaxy.The spaceship automatically maps the sector in 10 minutes. The crew’s task is to defend the ship until the mission is complete. Ifthey succeed, the ship brings back valuable data. If they fail… it is time to train a new crew.
Space Alert is not a typical board game. Players do not compete against each other. Instead, they work together against the challenge presented by the game. The difficulty of this challenge can be chosen by the players themselves. Completing the most difficult missions requires close teamwork. I have learned that the labels on some of the CDs have been switched. The information on the two discs is correct, just the labels are switched.
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