GAMES NEWS! 06/01/20

Ava: Oh my word, would you look at that, a whole fresh new year, hot out of the oven, gently cooling on the windowsill. The year is 2020, and I’m still hungry for news. Let’s cut a slice off the still-warm year, and spread some tasty melted news all over it. Fort, coming soon from … Read more

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And that’s it for 2019!

Quinns: And with that donation video, Shut Up & Sit Down is closing its doors for the winter break. We’d like to offer a gigantic, Christmassy “Thank you!” to everyone who watched, supported and shared our content in 2019. But since we can’t do that, we’re going to settle down with our families to eat 9999 brussel sprouts.

I’ll just add that we’re going to be talking a lot about the future of SU&SD in the coming donor newsletter. So if you want to hear about the SU&SD internship program, the future of our board game streaming, the (ridiculous!) pile of games that we plan to shine a light on in the new year and a lot more besides, make a donation of any amount before Christmas day and we’ll slingshot that over-stuffed newsletter into your inbox.

What I will say publicly is that while it’s been a while since we’ve released a podcast, we’re be back to our regular schedule of “About two podcasts a month maybe?” as soon as the new year begins.

We wish you all the best, everybody. See you soon!

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GAMES NEWS! 16/12/19

<b>Ava</b>: Twas the news before Christmas, and all through the office,
Not a creature was newsworthy, not even the…..boffice????

I should’ve thought more carefully before I started that. But it’s the end of the year, the UK election last week was horrible, and I’m pretty sure British culture is entirely built up on the principle of phoning it in on the last day at work (and failing to own up to the horrors of our colonial past).

<b>Quinns</b>: Ava, don’t talk about phoning it in at work while I’m here! I didn’t get you a Christmas present, but if I *had* I would now pitch it out of my window, in anger.

<b>Ava</b>: Let’s get this news down this chimney, and hope someone’s left us a mince pie and a carrot.

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Review: Cthulhu Wars

Gawd bless us every one! Quinns has cracked the lid from Cthulhu Wars‘ enormous box, and he’s stunned at what he’s found.

This is the sort of game that SU&SD usually steers people away from. It’s too big, too expensive, and much too silly. And yet Quinns is here today to rave about it. It’s a Christmas miracle!

And don’t forget to help us out on our 2019 Christmas Donation Drive!

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Cthulhu Wars

Cthulhu Wars is a strategy boardgame in which the players take the part of alien races and gods taken from the Cthulhu mythos created by H. P. Lovecraft. The game is physically large, and includes sixty-four figurines of the cultists, monsters, aliens, and Great Old Ones that range in height from approximately 20 mm to nearly 180 mm.

The game takes place on a map of Earth. Each player takes the part of one of four factions included in the base game. At the start of a turn, players Gather Power, then, during a series of Action Rounds, they spend this Power to accomplish various tasks, such as recruiting Cultists, moving units, engaging in battle, summoning monsters, building Gates, casting spells, and Awakening their Great Old One. When all players run out of Power, the Action phase ends and the next turn begins. Victory is determined by accumulating points on the Doom Track. The first player to 30 is the lone victor *if* he has unlocked all six of spell books.

Driving the strategy are a player’s wish to expand his power base, and his need to accomplish six tasks to acquire his faction’s spell books. Each faction has a unique set of monsters, spell books, and special abilities, and has different requirements to acquire its spell books. All factions have multiple strategies open to them.

The base game supports 2-4 players (the map supports 5 players), but with new factions and maps released as expansions it can support up to 8 players.

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KLASK

The KLASK game board is shaped like a ball field with two deep holes functioning as goals in each end of the field. In the middle of the field, three white magnetic pieces serve as “obstacles” – do NOT attract them to your own gaming piece! Your gaming piece is a black magnet. You control it by holding a large magnet under the board. This magnet is connected to a small magnet placed on the field. The purpose of the game is to push the small, red ball around on the field with your magnet/gaming piece, shoot the ball past the obstacles and your opponent and into the goal hole (Klask). It’s so much fun when your opponent suddenly is covered in white obstacles or you drop your gaming piece into the goal – something which might happen if you get a little too eager!

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REVIEW: KLASK

KLASK. Earlier in the year Quintin reviewed the undeniably classic Crokinole, and now Matt is back with a look at KLASK: the whipper-snapper bad-boy of the dexterity scene.

What’s your favourite? Are all uncles cool/bad?

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GAMES NEWS! 09/12/19

<strong>Ava</strong>: The rest of the team is in something called ‘Philadelphia’, so they left me to sweep up the last crumbs of pre-Christmas news. Only it’s not crumbs at all, there’s big news, weird news, premature news, barely news, local news and even some bad news. Pull up a chair and settle yourself down, let’s tuck into a big old roast news, stuffed with newslings and with all the greasiest news-trimmings.

Oh my word would you look at that. The biggest game in games is getting a frosty full-fat follow-up. <a href=”https://boardgamegeek.com/blogpost/97777/isaac-childres-heads-north-gloom-prepare-frosthave”>Gloomhaven is heading north and getting a lot colder</a> (which I can relate to, as I moved to Yorkshire three years ago).

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GAMES NEWS! 02/12/19

Ava: Happy December, my beautiful news-children. It’s the season of barging around shops, loads of social obligations, wrapping up work and presents, slow news days, and it being really, really hard to stay sober. This week we’re focussing on what I optimistically like to call ‘presents for your future self’, but might more accurately be called ‘gambling on games that have limited incentive to actually be good because they’ve already sold out their stock before they started production’. Sorry about the cynicism, honestly. I have a finite amount of Christmas Cheer, so I have to be really grumpy for most of December in order to still have some in reserve for the actual festive period. It won’t last all month, I secretly love Christmas.

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