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!

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!

Ashes: Rise of the Phoenixborn Expansions

Photo from plaidhatgames.com

Photo from plaidhatgames.com

Fans of Ashes: Rise of the Phoenixborn rejoice! You might already be aware of the two mini expansions coming out in the next couple of months, but if not, prepare to be excited! These expansions, The Frostdale Giants and The Children of Blackcloud, will be available soon, and are already able to be pre-ordered on the Plaid Hat Games website. Here’s a little about the two new decks from the PHG website:
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Kickstarter Report #12

Kickstarter Report

Check out these great-looking Kickstarter games just waiting for our support! As always click on the title at the beginning of each entry, or the link at the end of each, to visit the respective game’s Kickstarter page!

JYNX

Photo from kickstarter.com

Photo from kickstarter.com

Jynx is a hilarious new card game, inspired by games like Contract Rummy, Cards Against Humanity, and Secret Hitler. Players have to perform silly acts to prevent each other from winning the game. The 154 card deck, that encompasses a minimalist aesthetic, is made for 2-6 players, ages seven and older. The game is made up of seven card combinations called “chapters” each with a unique set of rules. The first to complete all seven chapters wins, or if two people complete them at the same time, the player with the least amount of points wins.
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The Remains Playtesting

The Remains Playtest 1

Trudi, one of the owners of The Jester’s Court, gives the game a whirl and rolls to kill a zombie!

Our own game that is currently in heavy playtesting, The Remains, was given 5 or 6 play throughs at The Jester’s Court, our FLGS here in Grand Junction, CO. The Remains is a zombie-themed, fully cooperative game in which players try to kill the zombies, gather other survivors to their cause, and achieve their objective for the scenario. Everybody had a great time and the game was undefeated. Much like Pandemic when one first starts playing it or Ghost Stories, it’s a hard game that requires a lot of strategy and risk taking! Here’s some pics from the Fall Tabletop Day, an event we made up because board games!!!

The Remains Playtest 2

Two games of the Remains being played at the same time. The group on the right came really close to winning!

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Board Game Artwork Call Out (Potentially be in a Board Game)

Hello everybody! This is a very special announcement that I hope others are as excited about as we are! As we have mentioned several times recently, we are currently developing a board game and we need your help. This is an open call for all of you board gamers out there to submit photos and have a chance (a very good chance) to be in said game. Click to read more about this opportunity and be sure to read the important information at the end of the post!
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Scythe by Stonemaier Games

Photo from stonemaiergames.com

Photo from stonemaiergames.com

Sergo and I will be shooting an Essen video this week in honor of the biggest convention in the board game industry, and Scythe by Stonemaier Games is one of the games we mutually decided to include in the video. As such I thought it would be a good time to mention Scythe on the site! I’ve been following Scythe for a long time now and am always excited to hear updates. For anyone unaware of this alternate history, steampunk, strategy game click to read more! It looks like a game that a lot of people are going to enjoy!
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Evolution: Flight Expansion

Photo from kickstarter.com

Photo from kickstarter.com

The Flight expansion for Evolution, the FDR Editor’s Choice Award winner, is available now! If it isn’t already in your FLGS it will be very soon! Take to the skies with new traits that allow players to make avian species. The expansion comes with exciting new traits, new species boards for flying creatures, and even a new watering-hole-type board called The Cliffs. The expansion adds a lot more strategy to Evolution, and somehow managed to make a fantastic game even better!

For more information about Evolution: Flight you can visit the North Star Games website by clicking here.

Game Night Report #10

Game Night Report

Between trying to keep up with the website, organizing and preparing for the Board Game Giveaway and everything else, my opportunities to play games recently has been temporarily diminished. I managed to sneak in a few games! Over the past week I got a chance to try 2 games I had never played before!

Codenames

Photo from boardgamegeek.com

Photo from boardgamegeek.com

Codenames is a team game where players divide into field operatives and a spymaster. The spymaster attempts to give clues to the field operatives about the available 25 word cards on the table; the words on said cards are representative of undercover agents, known only by their codenames.
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Trove: The Crystal Caverns

Recently I have become obsessed with Android: Netrunner due to its asymmetrical game play. After Matt introduced me to it I thought it was amazingly refreshing to play a game with someone but have completely different tools and paths to victory. Immediately I began to wonder why more games don’t take this asymmetrical approach? Enter Trove: The Crystal Caverns!

Image from kickstarter.com

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Blood Rage

Blood Rage

Photo from kickstarter.com

Photo from kickstarter.com

Cool Mini or Not stands at the pinnacle of miniature manufacturing in the game world, and their creation with Guillotine Games, Blood Rage, looks spectacular! A Viking board game where players get to do battle with one another is good enough, but one with top-notch miniatures? Forget about it!
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In My Crosshairs #5

In My Crosshairs

Too many great looking games, too little time… and money! Still, one must make an effort to purchase/play/obsess over them all!

Firefly: Shiny Dice

Shiny Dice

Photo from upperdeckblog.com

It’s really amazing (and probably a little bit creepy) how much I love Firefly, and I tend to purchase almost anything that has Mal’s face on it. The Browncoats’ obsessive desire to purchase Firefly merchandise and/or games, and this has led to some fairly crappy games based in the ‘Verse. Shiny Dice, however,  looks like a promising, Zombie Dice-style, push your luck dice game.
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Carcassonne: Star Wars

 

Carcassonne: Star Wars

star wars carcassonne

Picture from http://www.geeknative.com

 

You may or may not be aware that the super popular, classic staple of tabletop gaming, Carcassonne, is attempting to release a Star Wars version of the game! I think that some people might believe that Carcassonne is past its prime, but the game is still going strong with recent releases like Carcassonne: Gold Mine, Carcassonne: South Seas, and the expansion to the base game, Hills & Sheep in recent years. Adding a Star Wars re-theme would almost certainly garner a lot of attention and bring a refreshing change of scenery to the franchise! I hope that the negotiations for the game are a success! It would certainly be a game I would add to my shelf!

Kickstarter Report #6

Kickstarter Report

While the pickings have seemed to be a little slimmer for board games on Kickstarter since summer started, there’s still some great games and gaming accessories out there! I have found them, and as always, am posting them here. Click on the title for each entry or on the link at the end of each to visit the game’s Kickstarter page.

2016 Gaming Calendar

2016 Gaming Calendar

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