2010 JanuaryEarlier today, Wizards of the Coast made an announcement on the company’s message board confirming what has been rumored for a while now: when the Star Wars license comes up for renewal this May, Wizards will not seek to renew it. In the announcement, Greg Yahn, WotC’s Director of Marketing, states “We had a long and fantastic run, but with the economic downturn, we have made the tough decision to discontinue our Star Wars lines.” WotC products for the Star Wars Miniatures Game and Star Wars Roleplaying Game will be available through August, with multiple new releases scheduled through April. Wizards had first taken over the Star Wars license from Decipher back in 2002, starting with WotC’s version of the Star Wars CCG.
Archive for January, 2010
Days of Wonder Uses Orient Express as One-Two Punch
Monday, January 25th, 2010Days of Wonder once again has trains on the brain. As we’ve noted here previously, Days of Wonder is holding a Ticket to Ride championship series where the World Champion will win a ticket for two on the Orient Express.
As its second powerful blow, Days of Wonder has announced Mystery Express, a train-themed game that doesn’t bear the Ticket to Ride brand. In this whodunit deducation game players take on the roles of would-be passenger-detectives on the Orient Express, investigating a murder that’s just occurred in transit. The project has some solid names attached to it, namely Antoine Bauza (Ghost Stories) and Serge Laget (Shadows over Camelot, Mystery of the Abbey, Ad Astra). The price is expected to be $50/€45. Look for a release in late March or early April.
If you haven’t done so already, check out our review of Ticket to Ride: Europa 1912.
Gamers Help Haiti at DriveThruRPG
Friday, January 22nd, 2010Gamers have shown again and again how they can rally to the aid of those in need, and right now there’s no one in greater need than the earthquake-stricken citizens of Haiti. DriveThruRPG is running one of the most successful gaming charities in a while, Gamers Help Haiti. The DriveThruRPG vendor community has banded together to contribute a staggeringly long list of donated product downloads to the fundraiser – valued at over $1,400 – which can all be yours for a small $20 donation benefitting Doctors Without Borders. Those who can only afford a $5 or $10 donation will be gratified to hear that DriveThruRPG has pledged to match their contributions. However, those who can afford twenty bucks and chip in during January will receive the gigantic list of downloadable products within a few days. As this is being posted, Gamers Help Haiti has already raised $82,650 since launching Wednesday. Convenient and rewarding in more ways than one, this is how to rack up big charity drive numbers – have you helped out yet?
[EDIT: The results are in. Click through for the details.]
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OgreCave review – Summoner Wars
Tuesday, January 5th, 2010Lee has provided us with another review to add to the Cave’s stockpile today. This time, we hear all about Summoner Wars, a card-based wargame from Plaid Hat Games. How does it compare to other wargame choices you’ve tried over the years? You won’t know until you read it.