Stronghold announces new expansion for Core Worlds!
reported by Eric Teo
Stronghold has announced on their webpage the release of the 1st expansion for Core Worlds called Galactic Orders.
Some interesting tidbits of information from the page are:
- The mysterious icons that have been mentioned in the rulebook as for future expansion will now be in play and they represent 6 galactic orders for the players to interact with.
- These orders can now provide powers depending on the number of faction tokens that a player spends.
- The tokens also represent points at the end of the game thus players will have to balance between using them and storing them.
- New Units and Tactics cards will be available.
- New card Type – Events.
- New card Type – Advancements.
- Reissuing of 5 new starting Home Worlds with new names.
- Hints at future expansions.
So click on the link above to read more details. Are you ready?
Chicago Toy & Game Fair’s 10th Anniversary!
reported by Eric Teo
As part of the fair’s 10th anniversary, here are some highlights:
- We’re expanding our Inventor Summit for Professional Inventors to four days of info-packed presentations and workshops, and have renamed it the International Summit for Professional Inventors (I-SPI).
- We are debuting our Come Out & Play monthly newsletter targeting consumers and further promoting play, inventors and products.
- We are debuting an inventor newsletter with useful inside-information on trends, new technologies, prototyping, resources, potential opportunities, success stories and all kinds of other goodies.
- Since our growth has attracted numerous inquiries from overseas companies about doing business in the States, we’ve added an international track to our T&GCon, now the International Toy and Game Inventor and Industry Conference, and we already have registrants from overseas.
- Since we quickly sold out of ChiTAG exhibit space last year, we will be nearly doubling our space as we are pleased to provide such a wonderful event for kids of all ages to shake off their worries and play play play! (BTW- reserve your space early, we’ve already had a record number of companies commit to be a part of the fun).
- We’ve named the group of events Chicago Toy and Game Week encompassing all events: T&GCon (International Toy & Game Inventor and Industry Conference), I-SPI (International Summit for Professional Inventors), SMAPCon (Social Media @ Play), Toy and Game Inventor of the Year Awards (TAGIE Awards), Chicago Toy & Game Fair (ChiTAG Fair), Young Inventor Challenge (YIC) and Play With Purpose Conference.
Sounds like an awesome birthday party. If you are in Chicago, do make it a point to check out the fair!
30 Millionth Days of Wonder online game winner announced!
reported by Eric Teo
If you were not aware, Days of Wonder had a contest to see who will be the 30,000,000th online player for the multitude of games that was available for play online on their website. The winner has been announced and user “spunky k” is the proud winner of a brand new ipad!
Click here to read more details (sorry for the booboo! 
)
Hmm luckily the nickname of the winner was not “inappropriate” huh?
Press Release: White Goblin Games
reported by Andy Wong
From a press release by White Goblin Games:
New expansions in the works, with new cards, new options and a deck building possibility:
Revolver-news from White Goblin Games
2e Exloërmond, The Netherlands – In the past year, Revolver designer Mark Chaplin has spent hours and hours watching Wild West movies and reading books on the Old West. Since his card game Revolver saw a release through the Dutch publisher White Goblin Games in October 2011 (with Stronghold Games and Rexhry picking up the licensing rights for respectively North America and Czech Republic), inspiration for new options and possibilities started to flow. The result? A game with an already very high replayability (partly due to the high tension), getting a tremendous impulse of even more options, without getting away too much from the original game idea.
Mark Chaplin’s Revolver is one of the best card games that saw the light of day in 2011. After its initial release through White Goblin Games in October 2011, raving reviews worldwide have appeared about the game, in which one player has just robbed the bank of Repentance Springs and the other player is sheriff Ned McReady hunting down the bandit and his crew. All the happenings as well as movie scenes from ‘For a Few Dollars More’ amongst others, inspired Chaplin to add new possibilities to the game through multiple expansions, to be released later this year. “We’ve had a lot of requests and got a lot of interest in new expansions”, states Chaplin. “Some people even have played the game over 150 times now! I’m glad that we can finally give these people some details now, as I’m at least as excited about the new possibilities as the Revolver-fans themselves!”
Each of the expansions offers 2 new modules to play with. First, there’s ‘Revolver 1.1: Ambush on Gunshot Trail’. This one has been finished in the meantime and it will see the light of day sometime in August/September 2012. One of the new things this expansion adds to the game, are ambush cards. The sheriff now has the possibility to place ambush cards underneath the battlefield cards. When entering a new battlefield, the ambush card will be revealed. Will Colty find more opposition… or will it be an arrester? Besides the ambush cards – which add a complete new dimension to the game – the expansion also offers new cards for both decks, thus giving players the opportunity to build their own decks and to define their own play styles as well as offering new tactics. From May 21st to May 28th, each day, a brand new card from this expansion will be uploaded on the Facebook-page of White Goblin Games as some sort of ‘sneak preview’.
But more Revolver-expansions have been worked on for the past few months by Chaplin, his partner-in-Wild-West-crime Leigh Caple and the White Goblin crew. ‘Revolver 1.2: Hunt the Man down’ (release: 2012) adds a new way to kill Jack Colty, as well as a brand new battlefield, with its own set of rules: San Manzanillo Prison. It‘s up to the Colty-player to decide if there will be a firefight at San Manzanillo Prison. If Colty wins at San Manzanillo, he frees the imprisoned bandit Santiago and may add him to his crew. This expansion will also contain new cards for both decks, a new ambush card, new tokens and more.
In ‘Revolver 1.3: Where the River bends’ (stated for release in 2013) an interesting battle about getting people on your side will be added to the game. The players start the game with a pool of 6 silver Dollar tokens, and will be able to buy cards from a neutral ‘Frontier’ 22-card deck. These, and the other cards from this expansion, further develop strategies deployed in the first two expansions, with cards that affect the Prison and the Ambush cards. One of the exciting new cards is, ‘Old Three Toes’, a menacing grizzly bear that can harass both players!
All expansions can be combined with each other. None of them increase the length of the game, or heighten the complexity. Besides that, like stated earlier, the expansions offer players the possibility to build their own decks, including their favorite cards! Playing the game with the pre-constructed decks of course will give you the same tension.
Last but not least, are special Revolver sleeves, which will also see the light of day this year. Revolver-fans will be able to sleeve their cards with official Revolver sleeves, including images of both Colty and McReady.
With these new releases, the highly successful Revolver-brand will be strengthened further, offering players even more options to enjoy their daily wild west gunfight.
Friendly local experience at a friendly local game store
reported by Andy Wong
This post is a bit selfish, but it has a point…so stick with me. While this site focuses mainly on board game / card game news, and a few blog posts here and there, I don’t see any reason why I can’t occasionally write up a personal post, an editorial I suppose. Tonight’s post is mostly focused on why it’s great to support local. It’s a long post, but I’m sure you’ll enjoy it.
The Kansas City area [where I am] has a load of local establishments [most offing an odor of smoked meats...I love BBQ town]. But there are a few friendly local game stores around, too. Some not as friendly as others, but nevertheless, there are a few around town that are pretty decent. One called “The Basement” seems just like that. A few dusty overpriced board games, some beat up folding tables that take up most of the walking space, and a lot…A LOT…of Magic: The Gathering cards. The staff is friendly, knowledgable, and willing to help out on the few occasions that I’ve been there. Although cramped, it isn’t as musty as my own basement, and makes for a nice place to be. It’s across town from me, so I won’t visit it too often.
Another place, whose name escapes me for apparent reasons, is less than stellar altogether. It’s actually really close to where I live, and the two times I’ve been in, there were several guys hanging out, again on cramped space, and all of them ignored me. I had cash in hand to make some purchases on the reasonably priced board games in stock…even stuff that’s typically hard to find locally. I took it elsewhere [ended up buying online]. After visiting twice, I won’t go back.
But the crème de la crème? TableTop Game and Hobby, located in Overland Park, KS. Owned and operated by Phill Kilgore since sometime in the 90s, he has done an amazing job of creating a large local community. It seems to me that the store largely caters to war and miniature gamers, but I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention the incredible and extensive and always-up-to-date board game collection. I admittedly first discovered him in mid 2010, when I went to hunt down a place that sold board games in my area. As it was, I felt late to the board game scene anyway, but he didn’t make me feel this way. He answered a lot of questions, gave me a lot of information about games I might like to try. And his staff? Just as eager to help. Always a warm welcome when I walk into the store. At this point, Phill knows me by name, and it’s nice to be able to walk into his shop and be greeted by a friendly smile, and a hearty “Howdy Andy!” Incredible. Every Thursday night is open board game night in the massive game room, housing around 10 to 12 large tables, ready to seat 6 to 8 people, and most large games [keep in mind, these are also set up to host those miniature war games too. Not those cheap-o folding tables. Straight up hardwood heavy as heck tables.]. Such a great and friendly spot, that I’ve sent a lot of business his way because the experience is really great.
To keep it short and sweet on the front page, click the read-more button to…well…read more.
Get By official video by Delta Heavy
reported by Andy Wong
Do you like electronic pop music? Board games? Watching board games get destroyed? Stop-motion video? All of the above? Then by golly, this video is for you.
Scallywags from Gamewright
reported by Andy Wong
Got a cool email from Chevee Dodd regarding his upcoming release of Scallywags! Read on:
Scallywags coming soon from Gamewright
Preview Tournament at Origins Game Fair
From the publisher’s website:
Avast, me hearties! Yer band o’ buccaneers just hauled in a bounty o’ booty and now it be time to divvy up! Spill out the gold and then play cards to claim valuable coins or give the dregs to yer no good opponents. Grab yer fair share, but don’t get too greedy pirate or else ye may end up taking quarters in Davy Jones’s Locker!
Scallywags aims to be a fast, fun, family-friendly game with high player interaction and a bit of goofy take-that. I released the game as a print and play title in 2008 on boardgamegeek.com where it garnered some minor traffic. I designed the game and drew the “art” on that first version. I will admit that I submitted it a bit early and there were some things that still needed worked on. Some rules felt clunky and I was never truly happy with the end-game as it was originally written. Encouraged by a few fans, I submitted it to Gamewright anyway and waited patiently. A few years later, we are on the brink of releasing to retail! Gamewright has done an excellent job of polishing the game play and finding an outstanding artist to re-imagine my original characters.
I am excited to announce that I will be previewing Scallywags on June 2nd at Origins Game Fair in Columbus, Ohio! I have scheduled a single event on Saturday at 2:00pm in the form of a Learn To Play Tournament. This will be a multiple-round event with a 4 player final. Prizes will be awarded, including copies of the game! You’ll have the chance to win your own copy before it hits store shelves!
There are limited seats available so register early. If you don’t get to play in the tournament, I’ll be doing demos throughout the day, so seek me out and I’ll gladly show you the game. If you can’t find me, you can Tweet me @cheveedodd. Updates on the event can be found at my website: http://www.cheveedodd.com/scallywags.html
-Chevee Dodd
Got a few pics to show off too:
For some more information, check out the links recommended by Chevee:
Gamewright: http://www.gamewright.com/gamewright/index.php?section=games&page=game&show=268
cheveedodd.com: http://www.cheveedodd.com/scallywags.html
BGG entry: http://www.boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/37755/scallywags
Axis & Allies 1941
reported by Andy Wong
An announcement from Wizards of the Coast, via GameSalute:
Wizards of the Coast announces the upcoming release of Axis & Allies 1941! Axis & Allies 1941 will have quicker gameplay (1.5-2 hours) than previous Axis & Allies games while still introducing players to the Axis & Allies game mechanics and play style.
Conquest Tactics to Rerelease at Origins | The Gaming Gang
reported by Andy Wong
From the Gaming Gang:
Making a return appearance is the strategy card game Conquest Tactics, from Zeitgeyser, and it will be available to the public at this coming Origins Game Fair!
From Zeitgeyser:
Zeitgeyser will re-release their strategy card game, Conquest Tactics, at Origins Game Fair on May 31 in Columbus, OH after a recently successful Kickstarter campaign. The game will be available to the public via Amazon.com beginning on June 4.
Conquest Tactics is a card-based strategy board game that simulates a battle between two of three factions currently available in the world of Yen Sen. The game features the strategic depth of a miniatures game that is streamlined into a card game format, fully customizable cross-faction deck building, a resource system that rapidly shifts control between players, spells and skills that can be reused at every turn by different troops in a player’s army, and troops that level up to gain stronger statistics and new abilities in the midst of battle. Conquest Tactics, which has no dice rolling and boasts player selected starting line-ups, relies on skill as opposed to fortune.
Conquest Tactics’ Kickstarter success exceeded expectations, reaching 143 percent of the original goal. The boost allowed Zeitgeyser to package the game in premium boxes with updated box art, include custom tactical point counters and attend Origins Game Fair.
The “Zeitguys,” including Conquest Tactics creator Andy Niggles, will be at Origins from May 31 to June 3 in booth 307 with copies of the game for sale. Attendees can play the game for themselves at the demo table in the Open Gaming Hall each of the four days.
via Conquest Tactics to Rerelease at Origins | The Gaming Gang.
Kerala IT firm to lure youths to intelligent gaming | newKerala.com
reported by Andy Wong
A pretty interesting article, hot on the heels of a rather engaging game of Reiner Knizia’s Ingenious tonight with my wife. And having recently played a game of Khet with my father in law, I’m all about playing brainy games. Don’t get me wrong here…I love deep strategy…even shallow strategy, pasted on themes, ameritrash, or big ol’ euros. But something about any of these games, for me anyway, has a better drive for my brain power than a console does [which, by the way, hasn't been played in over a year and a half]. Any video games I play nowadays are primarily on my iPhone/iPad. And even then, they’re going to be ports of board games. Ha! Anyway, read the snippet, and enjoy the rest of the article with the link at the bottom.
Thiruvananthapuram, May 12 : Schogini Systems, a Technopark IT firm, is trying to wean young minds from blood-thirsty computer games to intelligent gaming.
Schogini Systems has charted out this strategy of intelligent gaming as a commitment towards the teenagers and young people who are reading less and spending more time before computers or on mobile phones.
As part of the firm’s strategy, FIDE (World Chess Federation) ranked chess player Mohammed Salih, Schogini’s brand ambassador, will challenge laser game Khet’s inventor Luke Hooper to a game at the Technopark campus here.
Khet is an abstract strategy board game using lasers, where players take turns to move Egyptian-themed pieces around the playing field, and fire their low-powered laser diode after each move. Most of the pieces are mirrored on one or more sides, allowing the players to alter the path of the laser through the playing field.
The laser game Khet 2.0 was a Toy of the Year finalist, Mensa Select award winner and was featured in Wired magazine in 2011.
via Kerala IT firm to lure youths to intelligent gaming | newKerala.com, 19493.
Giant Fire Breathing Robot vs. Kickstarter
reported by Andy Wong
The GFBR has a stellar post on some recent Kickstarter campaigns, including Sentinels of the Multiverse, Tammany Hall, etc. Head to their site:
New Podcast!
reported by Andy Wong
While it’s not a part of the Dice Tower Network, we’re still all about making sure folks know about podcasts. This one is called “The Cardboard Jungle“. Be sure to check them out! Plus, they have a give away running right now. From their site:
The Cardboard Jungle is a podcast all about tabletop gaming hosted by a couple of gaming friends, Anthony Racano and Paul Leoncavallo. We hope to give our own spin on board and card games along with some input from our bullpen of contributors. Our goal is to promote the hobby and those individuals who make it up, including designers, publishers, retailers, conventions and other podcasters and bloggers. We love gaming because of all of you and we want give you your proper credit.
Spore Con 2012 (Singapore)
reported by Eric Teo
If you happen to be in my neck of the woods (Singapore), the annual Spore Con will be held on May 26th and 27th. There will be BIG versions of Angry Birds, Monopoly and a whole lot of boardgame events and activities for experienced boardgamers, comic fans and cosplay artists!
Click on the link to find more details.
Can you be the best gatherer in Tahiti ?
reported by Eric Teo
Tahiti Gameplay
From the campaign:
A simple family friendly gateway pickup and deliver game for 2-4 players ages 10+ Your small island is peaceful and prosperous; so prosperous that your tribe has grown beyond its ability to sustain you! Fortunately, being a peaceful people you have chosen not to fight over what little there is. Instead, you set out in your seagoing Wa’a (canoe) to fish and gather crops from the many nearby islands. The fertility goddess Haumea has blessed these islands, and they are rich with fruits, vegetables, and spices. It is a matter of pride to collect the finest harvest for the village. Can you win the race against time and the sea, and prove that you are the best gatherer of all?
Oooo I love the plastic molded Canoes and Tikis! I wonder if they are stable enough and will not Topple easily. *Cheeky grin*
Do check it out at the Kickstarter page for more information!
