Author: Matt S.

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Game Night Report #20

Game Night Report

During the last few weeks I’ve had the opportunity to play some great games! Some of them are classics that I’ve played many times like Tokaido, Stone Age and Say Anything, while some were new to me. As always I will focus on the new gaming experiences here.

Tides of Infamy

Photo from kickstarter.com

Photo from kickstarter.com

Wow! I back Tides of Infamy during its Kickstarter Campaign last year based solely on its aesthetic appeal, but I had no idea just how beautiful and well-crafted the game would be when it arrived. Tides of Infamy has some of the highest quality components I’ve ever seen: a sturdy, full art deck box simply for holding the game’s cards when not playing, plastic ships that hold game components during play, incredibly thick game tiles, and linen cards.
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Sushi Go Party!

Photo from gamewright.com

Photo from gamewright.com

Good news for fans of the wonderful, card drafting game Sushi Go! Sushi Go Party boasts 181 cards versus the 108 cards in the original game, and new menu tiles that allow each game to be unique. It will also include a game board and pawns. Read more about Sushi Go Party by visiting the Gamewright website here.

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In My Crosshairs #8

In My Crosshairs
So many great new games… so many great upcoming games… so many great games that aren’t even new but that I haven’t had a chance to play yet! Here’s some of the games I’m most looking forward to playing!

Tokaido: Matsuri

Photo from miniaturemarket.com

Photo from miniaturemarket.com

Tokaido is one of my favorite board games of all time. It could be argued that the game doesn’t need any expansions and is perfect the way it is; the zen-like experience of playing Tokaido has yet to be surpassed by any other game I’ve played. The second expansion to this wonderful game looks very promising!
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Kickstarter Preview – Small Star Empires

Photo from archonagames.com

Photo from archonagames.com

Just a reminder that Small Star Empires is launching today! I’ll update this post with a direct link to the Kickstarter Campaign page, but this link will do as well; click here to jump over to the Archona Games website where there will be a direct link in the meantime. I recently reviewed this great little strategy game so here’s the video in case you missed it.

*****The Small Star Empires Kickstarter Campaign has launched! Click here to check it out!

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Kickstarter Preview – Make a Mess

Photo from kickstarter.com

Photo from kickstarter.com

With the popularity of games like Exploding Kittens and Kittens in a Blender lately, I thought this might appeal to some out there. According to the Kickstarter Campaign:

“‘Make a Mess’ is a highly convivial and mischievous board game to play with family and friends, based on the original comic character ‘Catsass’. Created by French illustrator Claude Combacau, Catsass won a Golden Blog Awards 2015 in the “Best Comic” category.” “Developed by board game designer Delphin Druelle at Eclosion Games, ‘Make a Mess’ features the comic’s perfectly irreverent cat making an uncontrollable mess in the house – while trying not to get caught.”

Click here to jump over to the Make a Mess Kickstarter page!

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Awesome DIY Gaming Table

This video by Youtube user, Gaminggeek, made the rounds on the internet a while back but I just got around to watching it. It is an inspiring video, because even if you do not want/need the nested layer like it has, it shows how simple the construction can be with only basic tools that a lot of us have access to. It’s a long video but super interesting, and the gaming imagination runs wild when you watch it!

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Game Night Report #19

Game Night Report

Even though I missed by FLGS’s board game night this week, I still managed to get a few games in! Trudi, Blake and I found the time to try one cooperative game that got a lot of buzz and one competitive game that just hit the shelves late last month.

The Grizzled

Photo from cmon.com

Photo from cmon.com

The Grizzled is a cooperative game that supports 2-5 players who take on the roles of WWI soldiers in the trenches of Europe. Through the careful balance of playing Threat cards from their hands the players attempt to navigate the horrors of the war without exposing themselves to too much of any single threat. The deck of cards in the game contains Trials Cards that are divided into Threat Cards and Hard Knock Cards. First, the Threat Cards:

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Small Star Empires Review

Small Star Empires is going to be launching on Kickstarter on March 12th, 2016. Visit the Archona Games website for more information!

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Game Night Report #18

Game Night Report

I’ve actually had a little time to play some great games lately; trust me, no one is more surprised than me! To make up for a little lost time I’m including 4 games in this posting rather than the usual 2 or 3. All four of these games were a big hit with me and worthy of your time. Enjoy!

Small Star Empires

Photo from archonagames.com

Photo from archonagames.com

Archona Games was kind enough to send me a prototype copy of Small Star Empires to review and I recently had a chance to play it. In fact, I meant to play it only once at my FLGS’s board game night, but we enjoyed it so much that we played it twice! SSE is going to be launching on Kickstarter in just a few short weeks and I’ll post a link to the campaign when it does. I’ll also be shooting and uploading a video review of the game soon!

Trudi, Tim and I sat down to play SSE and instantly this eruo-style, space-themed game drew us in and we turned into cutthroat, scheming space barons, plotting against each other. We set up the modular board and began to expand our empires.

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2016 Board Game Links Votes

BoardGameLinks

We need your help! If you have literally 15 seconds to spare then please click on the image above or here to give us a vote of Board Game Links! The link will open in a new tab, and all you have to do is click the little ‘heart’ icon when the page opens. No sign up, nothing, just a single click! Even if you’ve voted before, the clicks restarted at the beginning of 2016 so you can vote again! We sure would appreciate it!

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Kickstarter Preview – Twisted

Photo from kickstarter.com

Photo from kickstarter.com

Twisted is a Steampunk miniatures game currently on Kickstarter. The game is set at a 32mm scale and the models look fantastic! From the campaign:

“Set in an uniquely interesting steampunk universe, Twisted’s absorbing gameplay and linked story-driven missions create a real emotional connection between you and your characters on the tabletop. Every character has an original backstory and distinctive role within the Twisted universe: guiding them through our richly-developed environments and exciting encounters will have you on the edge of your seat and wanting more!”

Photo from kickstarter.com

Photo from kickstarter.com

“But beware the power of the Engine! The ever-present influence of the mysterious steampunk Engine pervades the world of Twisted. What makes playing Twisted excitingly unique is that the Engine itself brings a new and intriguing element to every encounter: the Eye of the Engine card deck and the unique ‘Favour of the Engine’ game mechanic give the Engine an active role in the actual gameplay.”

Click here to jump over to the Twisted Kickstarter Campaign page! It’ll even open in a new window like magic!

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Zombicide: Black Plague Available Now

Photo from cmon.com/zc-bp/

Photo from cmon.com/zc-bp/

In case you haven’t heard (but who are we kidding, you have) Black Plague, the medieval fantasy-themed Zombicide game, is out now! It’s been mentioned in various articles and posts on this website in the past, but now it’s up for grabs. It was one of the most successful Kickstarter projects of last year and of all time. I for one and very much looking forward to broadsword slashing and spell casting my way through the newest edition of Zombicide! From the Cool Mini or Not website:

“Zombicide: Black Plague is a standalone cooperative board game for 1 to 6 players that brings the relentless zombie-killing action of Zombicide into a brand new fantasy setting! Players control a party of survivors as they fight to rid the land of an invasion of zombies controlled by the game itself. Survivors find weapons, learn spells, battle zombies, and gain experience. The more experience they get, the more powerful they become, but the more zombies rise to face them!”

Click here to jump over to Cool Mini or Not’s website and learn more about the game!

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Board Game Giveaway #7 – Sneaky Cards

Photo from Gamewright.com

Photo from Gamewright.com

If you’re not familiar with Sneaky Cards here’s a brief introduction. It’s less of a game and more of crazy, super interactive scavenger hunt. The owner of Sneaky Cards has access to a deck of 54 cards, each with a different task. Unlike most games where owners do their best to NOT lose components, Sneaky Cards is designed to be given away piece by piece.

Sneaky Cards 3

Card #19 in the Sneaky Cards deck. This one is simply left somewhere to be easily found by someone else!

Each deck is identified by a unique serial number, in these photo it is deck B-******-19. The identifier has been blacked out (in red) so as not to skew the final results. What results, you ask? Well in Sneaky Cards, as people track the cards they find/have been given, the information on sneakycards.com is updated and everyone can track the cards’ progress all over the world. The decks to be given away are registered to Flaming Dice Reviews, but anyone who gets these cards can track their progress. It’s a fun way to share our hobby! Keep reading for details on the giveaway and how to enter!

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Earth Elemental Painting Guide

Earth Elemental 1

The “Earth Elemental” Reaper Bones miniature primed and ready to be painted.

Painting miniatures is a great way to relax, and there’s so many great games that come unpainted. Bones miniatures are well made and inexpensive, and that’s why they’re a great way to practice painting. Now, I’m not what I would call an expert painter by any means, but I’ve been learning a lot of techniques from far more talented painters that I used on the Earth Elemental. I thought other beginner miniatures painters might be able to find the information useful, and so I’m sharing.

Earth Elemental 2

The miniature painted with a metallic base coat.

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Sea of Clouds

Sea of Clouds

Sea of Clouds is an upcoming game by Iello that pits players against one another as air pirates. The artwork that has been revealed so far is sparse but gorgeous. From the Sea of Clouds website you can visit the BGG page which features more pictures of this beautiful-looking board game. From the Iello Games website:

“Sea of Clouds is a game that brings you above the clouds to become an infamous air pirate. Face the other pirates aboard your flying ship and show them who’s the best! To do this, board enemy ships, plunder treasure, collect relics, and unearth the best rum.”

Click here to jump to the Iello Games website and more specifically the Sea of Clouds page!

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Ranged Weapons in our Upcoming Game

ammunition

One of the players’ starter hand cards; Ammunition. More ammo means more shots!

We released the first pictures of our upcoming deck-building game, previously going by the name ‘The Remains’. We hope you enjoy this update featuring some of the ranged weapons in the game. Ranged attacks are safer than melee, but they can vary in strength. Here’s two of the ranged weapons in the game:
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Kickstarter Preview – Evolution: CLIMATE

Photo from kickstarter.com

Photo from kickstarter.com

Evolution is one of the most fun, innovative and strategic games I have ever played, and the Evolution: Flight expansion multiplied the number of options and blew the strategic value through the roof. Now the Evolution: CLIMATE expansion is on Kickstarter and I couldn’t be more excited! There’s a couple of different purchasing options too, just like there was for Flight. From the Evolution: CLIMATE Kickstarter Campaign page:
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