I have been back from Indianapolis for a day and it still seems hard to believe that I went to such an amazing event like Gencon. Four days of gaming, sitting in on some great discussions, eating great food and of course, getting to see the new games that will be hitting your local game stores soon! One of the highlights that you WON'T find on any store shelves though are some of the displays and models on the floor of Gencon that I was fortunate enough to capture on my phone.
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Gencon not only is going to have tons of new releases (the best listed below), but Gencon this year is also the home of some amazing expansions. Here are Just some (of many) expansions coming out that will make your old games play like new. (from Fantasy Flight webpage) As the fleet begins to crumble, human and Cylon alike are driven to desperation. For some, this means risking everything. For others, this means mutiny. The Daybreak expansion for Battlestar Galactica: The Board Game brings humanity’s plight to its gripping climax! With two supplemental game boards and hundreds of cards and tokens, Daybreakinvites players to undertake desperate missions, struggle under the constant threat of mutiny, and bargain with Cylon Leaders driven by motives of their own. Daybreak includes:
(from PlaidHat games website) Evil stirs Within the CastlePrince Collin and his friends defeated Vanestra, and thought evil had been banashed from the castle forever. But deep withing those scorched and shadow-haunted halls, something is moving that should not be. A malicious presence has taken root, and it has hatched a scheme that will ensare the Prince and his friends, and forever change the course of history for the mouse-town of Barksburg. A New Storybook For Mice and Mystics!The Heart of Glorm storybook picks up right after the events of Sorrow and Remembrance, letting you and your friends continue the story of Prince Collin, Maginos, Tilda, Nez, Filch and Lily. Included in this expansion are new plastic figures, cards and counters, as well as a new series of chapters sure to test your mettle! And joining the heroes is Neré, a wild mystic who brings her powerful magic and knowledge of alchemy to the battle. This expansion set requires Mice and Mystics: Sorrow and Remembrance to play. (from Fantasy Flight Games) In The Black Rider's Saga Expansion for The Lord of the Rings: The Card Game, you and your friends gain the opportunity to accompany Frodo Baggins on his momentous journey out of the Shire. Can you help him carry the One Ring to safety? Or will you fall prey to the Dark Lord’s servants?In earlier previews, lead developer Caleb Grace introduced us to the Saga Expansion’s new Campaign mode and three of its Hobbits Heroes. Today, he turns our attention to the task at hand – your flight from Bag End… (from Z-man Games) Behind sealed biohazard doors, scientists race against time to sequence diseases and test cures. • Take samples and develop cures in the Lab challenge • Play on your own or as rival teams (for 4 or 6 players) Extend the On the Brink challenges with new Virulent Strain Events or the Worldwide Panic Mutation scenario. CAN YOUR TEAM WORK TOGETHER IN THE LAB TO SAVE HUMANITY Included are: 4 new Role cards, with matching pawns, 3 new Event Cards, 1 Lab Board, 5 cure vials, 14 Sequence cards, 2 revised cards with Lab abilities, 5 Lab actions reference cards, 1 CDC card, 3 wooden team research stations, 14 awards, 8 Goal cards, 10 Bonus cards, 2 Virulent Strain Epidemic cards, 12 purple disease cubes, 2 Mutations Worldwide panic cards. (From AEG) Smash Up: The Obligatory Cthulhu Set features crazy Cthulhu cultists, fishy Innsmouth locals, horrifying Elder Things, and good old Miskatonic University members (the Fightin’ Cephalopods). To be certain we got it right, this set also includes a new card type fittingly known as “Madness”, that each of these groups use to various effects. But remember that Madness brings you power but at a price (joking!). If you’re ready to embrace the creatures beyond the understanding of mortal men, then shuffle up these guys with your pirates, bear cavalry, and others for the most awesome fit of crazed insanity you’ve had in a long time! (from Plaid Hat Games) Game description from the publisher:Sturdy and versatile fortifications not seen before in the Summoner Wars tower over the opposition, seemingly impossible to overtake. Bolvi joins the Summoner Wars as the Guild Dwarves' Second Summoner. Summoner Wars: Guild Dwarves - Second Summoner is a full faction deck with its own Summoner, set-up card, Champions, Commons, Walls and Event Cards, and it requires a Summoner Wars Master Set or Starter Set to play. While Guild Dwarves - Second Summoner is a stand-alone faction deck, the Commons and Champions from this deck can be switched in and out with Guild Dwarf cards from the Guild Dwarf vs. Cave Goblins starter set and from the Grungor's Charge reinforcement pack. GenCon 2013 is only 3 full days away. On Thursday, the "Best four days in gaming" will begin in Indianapolis and so will the madness. It will be four days of new games being sold to rabid connoisseurs of gaming, four days of coming soon hits (and flops) being demonstrated by publishers for avid gamers and four days of beer, food, con-flu and laughs. I can not wait to be 1 of the 45,000 plus people there. I have my list ready and it has been shorted down to less than a page after 2 weeks of edits. So without further ado, here is my Gencon 2013 most anticipated. Bruges - Designer: Stefan Feld Publisher: Z-Man I am a huge lover of Feld's designs. He just finds a way to mash mechanics together that do not seem to fit but he makes it work. After taking a break from dice in Rialto, Feld returns to dice in Bruges. This time around, the dice are not used for taking actions but to determine how hard the game will punish you in the form of threat or reward you in the form of cost for prestige. In an article with Spielbox, Feld had the following to say about dice when asked about his love for the little luck bringers, "... They lie well in your hand, are colorful and twirl across the table with loud clattering, and they generate emotions like hardly anything else." Well said sir, well said. Trains - Designer: Hisashi Hayashi Publisher: AEG This gem is finally being released in North America thanks to AEG updated graphics, artwork, and streamlined card abilities. This one has already received glowing recommendations from several reviewers and all it has done is boost my acquisition disorder for this one even higher. In Trains, you will lay track and build stations but instead of the stock mechanic that Steam or any 18xx game would provide this one uses a deck building mechanic. AEG had me at Deck building!! ... or was it trains? Either way, this is an insta-buy. Pathfinder Adventure Card Game - Designer: Mike Selinker Publisher: Paizo Another deck builder because honestly a person can never have too many deck builders. This one uses the deck building mechanic to replace the role of the Dungeon Master in Paizo's popular Pathfinder RPG to bring gamers an RPG like experience without the rules slog that an RPG would bring. Simply acquire a core set, and begin the campaign beating baddies, leveling your parties characters and achieving awesomeness. A few quick hits to finish up with.
- Spyrium by William Attia. - Prosperity by Reiner Knizia & Sebastian Bleasdale. - The Little Prince: Make me a planet by Antoine Bauza & Bruno Cathala. - Lewis & Clark by Cedrick Chabboussit - Suburbia Inc. by Ted Alspach - Relic Runners by Matthew Dunstan Cory Pathfinder Adventure Card Game from Paizo Publishing --This is on top of a lot of people's list, and it is on top of mine. The nice thing is that its an adventure game for 1-4 players, the expansions come out bi-monthy, it plays like an rpg and I can play with friends, take my character, beef them up on my own, and come back to my friends and still play with them with my beefed up character, in a grand adventure. You are not as detached from your character as in other Deck building games. I like that. For me story and theme are very important, and this may be the one deck-building game that I will WANT to play ...even on my own. Here's the low-down from Paizo's site: Enter a world of adventure with the Pathfinder Adventure Card Game, a cooperative game for 1 to 4 players. Each player has a unique character composed of a deck of cards and a set of stats. Roleplayers will find the stats very familiar—characters have classes such as fighter, wizard, and rogue, as well as numbers that define strength, dexterity, intelligence, etc. You'll improve your character by acquiring new items, allies, spells, and weapons as you explore and overcome challenges; over time, you'll be able to customize your deck to better suit your own individual vision of your character. Star Wars X-Wing expansion from Fantasy Flight Games It's been awhile since I got into miniatures, but with X-wing .. Man this is such a great fun game. With this expansion, and the inclusion of the B-Wing and Tie-Bomber (Seismic Charges anyone?) I will probably need 2 of each, to make a really grand game, and perhaps one copy of the Also I am hoping to pick up the map pack for this game there (hopefully it will be available), and lots of the plastic bases. Also on deck is the HWK-290 expansion, and the Lambda class shuttle, which will help bring to life some really neat Scenario's. This expansion will be a big reason people will crowd the FF booth, and I will be one of them. Freedom: The Underground Railroad - Now still on kickstarter, this one I am picking up at Gencon. It's made by the same people who did 1812 and more recently 1775: Rebellion. It is a cooperative game were you are setting the slaves free, by bringing them into Canada through the well... underground railroad. Here's a brief description from the website: During the game, players need to work together in an effort to achieve two victory conditions. First, the players need to raise the strength of the Abolitionist movement through the acquisition of Support Tokens. Next, the players also need to help Slaves escape from the plantations in the south, moving them north to freedom in Canada while avoiding the Slave Catchers that are roaming the board. If the players are able to achieve both conditions before the end of the game, they win. Of course this is not going to be easy, but through careful planning and strategy, the group can recreate history, helping to bring down the institution of slavery. As I've mentioned before, I'm big into theme and this is a very unique one. Academy Games seems to have a way to bring to life historical situations through a fun way. A must have in my collection. Dungeons and Dragons: Scoundrels of Skullport expansion for Lords of Waterdeep Is a must buy for any LoW fan, of which I am and I know I'm not alone. LoW was a great hit for Wizards of the Coast this is not just one expansion, but two bringing new Lords, Intrigue's, Quests and buildings and opens the game to SIX players. As I tweeted yesterday, we played with 4 and it went at a good pace. Having 6 players? Awesome. Hopefully we can get some shots of this being played when we're at Gencon. There are Many, Many more games that I would love to purchase, but for money, these are the ones I'm heading too. I think one of the things to remember whenever going to a con, especially this size: You are NOT getting a discount for the most part on any games, your game shop will probably be able to give you better deal, whenever the products go to wide distribution. For me, it's what my heart eagerly desires... and the rest, whatever money is left will go to stuff that I can't get back home, and what is going to be very unique to this Gencon experience. If your wishing you could be at Gencon too, well, stay tuned to this website as we hope to include some pictures and video's of our Gencon experience.
-Andrew A few weeks ago I entered a local museum just a short distance from where I live, and it was the first time that I had ever been through its doors. The place was filled with all sorts of historical pieces (being a museum... it excels at this) and thing-a-majigs. On display was a replica of what the city of Owen Sound, Ontario was like in the early days. Honestly the first thing I thought of was "What a cool terrain piece for my Mercs miniatures skirmish game!" I could picture in my mind my Kemvar troups moving around the buildings. The buildings were pretty close 28mm, so it would of been a perfect set-up. Maybe I just have an overactive mind, but I'm sure others, perhaps you yourself have come across something 'everyday' that only a gamer would find a particular use for. If you have, send us a photo/description of the place/object/thing and let us know (keeping it PG folks). We gamers are a strange breed, but a imaginative one was well :D -Andrew by: Andrew Scholl So last Saturday I came into the local gaming store and lo and behold there was a table set up for a massive X-Wing miniatures game and all that was missing was a fourth. This is were I step in and lay down my force, for what was assuredly going to be an epic game. 400pt game, the rebels on one side of the starfield (that included that Scum Han Solo), and the Empire on the other. I had Vader and an interceptor with some Tie's, my good friend had Slave 1, an interceptor and ties... we were going to be VICTORIOUS!! I even had on a special t-shirt denoting the awesomeness of the empire. We both looked at the rebels and pitied their rebellious ways. This was going to be an awesome match. So I set up my ships ... starting with Darth Vader at the far left, facing down an A-wing (the name of the pilot does not matter compared to might of the Empire!), next to him was my 2 tie fighters then interceptor and then my Compatriot in arms' ships. The game was going to begin. Victory was at hand. It was time to make our plans .. and so the planning phase began. The anticipation of victory was great, my mind swirled at the possibilities. My plan of attack was simple.. go straight ahead with my other ships and Darth Vader would cut across to the right and be the bulwark for which the rebel scum would dash their hopes and dreams upon. Until nothing would remain but a puddle of tears swirling aimlessly in the void of space. As the Activation Phase began, all was going according to how my friend and I had foreseen. Then it was time for me to help assure the victory and I turned over Darth Vader's maneuver dial ... and I gasped. Instead of making a right turn, somehow I had gotten the direction mixed up and made a LEFT turn instead. Effectively placing Darth Vader OUTSIDE of the starfield!! He was OUT of the game! Needless to say, because of this HUGE blunder, we lost the game (indeed the last of our ships remaining was a lone academy pilot, who, if he survived, we would of certainly been given a medal). This was a really silly mistake that I made in this game. but we all have those times were we make d'oh moments. Some we forget over time, some like this one, I will remember for a long time. More so because my teammate was now faced with a horrible realization that I gave the game (unless REALLY good roles happened .. which didn't) to the Rebels. We still did have a great time, but it will always be the 'game that could of been'. If you have had a similar experience in gaming, share below.
By: Andrew Scholl I remember when I first saw a Youtube video on 3D printing. This huge machine making a working tool (wrench) and thought of how cool it was that we have something that brings us a step closer to the replicator-type invention from Star Trek. But the question that we should be asking is: to what extent will 3D printing affect our beloved hobby? 3D printing is very close to being affordable to be in every home. Recently there was a successful kickstarter for a 3D printer, were you are able to pick one up at around the $300 mark. This was very closely followed by the Xia: legends of a drift system, who offered certain backers the information to make their own 3D ship models and pieces. With 3D printers becoming more affordable and accessible, these new tools are a thing of possibility for both the industry at large, and for us gamers.
For miniature gamers, 3D printing does not necessarily mean that you will be able to make FREE warhammer, malifaux, or what ever else figure (hello copyright laws), but it will mean that you could make your own realistic terrain, or enhancements to your figures (like making that big freaking cannon to replace that arm on your Orc). For companies, it could mean lower cost, and avail consumers to the ability to create their own army using 3D printing (Xia anybody?). Can you imagine going to a game store, and buying the code to print your own tanks for 'Flames of War'? Or replacing pieces from a board game on demand? As 3D printing becomes more and more accessible to creative minds in the gaming industry, the easier it will be for them to see their vision become reality, without wasted man-power, money and time. I don't have a magic mirror to see into the future (stolen by gnomes, long story) but its easy enough to think and dream of what the possibilities this technology will have for designers and us, as gamers. Trailer for Essen ... the Shangri la of gaming cons. I am so looking forward to Gencon this year ... but one day, I will be in Essen ... oh yes... one day. -Andrew Scholl Cryptozoic saves the geekdom empire from entire destruction, gnashing of teeth and general mayhem by saving the board game 'Doom that came to the Atlantic'. The game itself was a kickstarter that got cancelled after one of the creators lost all the money raised to make his game company. There's a lesson here folks!! Here's a little blurb from the Cryptozoic website: “For Lee and I, the worst part of this is that people who put their faith in our game have been hurt by it,” said Baker. “After the Kickstarter was cancelled, many people came forward with ideas to keep the game alive. But we didn’t want to pursue an option that would save Doom unless it would also get the game into the hands of the people who first supported it.” Now the game itself is sort of a cross between Cthulhu and monopoly .. from what I gather, so this will be a big boon for those who are big Cthulhu fans and more importantly for all those who thought that their hard earned cash was going to be lost in the great depths of emptiness within the ugly bowls of Kickstarter. This gesture by Cryptozoic is VERY amazing, and I hope that their good will be rewarded by selling tons of these games. Something like this reminds me why I love about the board gaming community. -Andrew Scholl |