» Board Games
Monday, October 15, 2007
Audio Report: Xcrawl Fiction Contest is go
We chat with Brendan LaSalle of Pandahead Productions, creators of XCrawl, about the new fiction contest they’ve put on with publisher Goodman Games. Yes, there are prizes, and yes, one of the judges tells you exactly how to curry favor. (It should not surprise you that the judge in question is me.) Also, Allan really likes Halo 3, Steve likes Halo ActionClix (though not nearly to the same degree), and a whole lot of other stuff too. The full version of our talk with Brendan is up on our Interviews page as a separate download. Enjoy, and please to share with us your thoughts.
Friday, September 21, 2007
Audio Report - Coming down after con season
We still have a bit of the shakes from all the convention news of the past month or so, so we let it all out in the latest OgreCave Audio Report episode. From how Gen Con developments reflected on our 2007 Ogre’s Choice Awards to the Penny Arcade Expo, and from Rackham’s recent issues to troubled local conventions, we manage to have a theme and be all over the map. Jump into the story already in progress, or check into previous episodes - it’s all good.
Friday, September 14, 2007
New Crossbows & Catapults: The art of flinging battle carroms
Since it didn’t have the same endless barrage of Saturday morning commercials that the original game had, the latest incarnation of Crossbows & Catapults, a joyous game of disk-flinging combat, managed to sneak into Target and other major stores unseen by my circle of gaming buddies. It was only while cruising through the store for other purposes that I spotted Battleground: Crossbows & Catapults from Australian company Moose Enterprise. Boasting Orcs and Knights instead of Vikings and Barbarians, this new version’s already beckoning to my gamer nostalgia with its War Chest base set and two expansions (with more on the way). Not that I don’t still have the original game that I crack open from time to time, mind you. But as this comparison gallery shows, the components got an upgrade. We don’t even have to use the word “carrom” anymore, as the kids these days prefer “Attack Disc”. Sometimes change is a good thing.
Thursday, September 13, 2007
Want a peek of the Gleemax online board gaming? Maybe you’ve already had it
So here was my little mystery story tonight: go by Cheapass’ news page, be surprised to find a press release from GameTable Online. In the press release, find this: “Instead of subscribers in thousands, we have yet to break the 200 subscriber mark.” Oh, wait, that’s pretty interesting but not what I’m talking about. Here it is: “The great news is that a recent sale of the license to use our game platform, now called Metagameâ„¢, and contract game work have provided us with the resources to [...]” Well, wait a minute; this release was posted in June, and who might have been shopping for a board game engine around then? Ohhhh. A trip to the Metagame website confirms it: the same engine that powers GTO will be powering the online board games on Gleemax. So if you’d like a preview, I guess subscribe to GTO.
But man… 200 subscribers? It makes a kind of terrible sense, given how many of those crappy free play-by-web games are out there that people put incredible amounts of work into for no compensation at all - not even players. GTO’s offering is pretty far from terrible; it’s well-executed, attractive and solid. And I happen to know how bloody much work it takes to code that. Hell, making the crappy kind is more work than I want to do. And it still only gets you 200 subscribers. I guess enough people are willing to make this kind of thing for free that the value just gets driven down. Well, okay, and the case for subscribing to a mildly random selection of board games is quite different from, say, the case for D&D Insider’s playtable (which will run on a completely different engine, just to be clear). But it doesn’t bode well, although the analogy is still not perfect, for the financial success of efforts like WotC’s upcoming Uncivilized, or that one game I was going to start a company and do someday, or of, um, the Gleemax online board games. *sigh* Glad I could cheer us all up!
Friday, August 17, 2007
Audio Report - 2007 Ogre’s Choice Awards
Despite my extra hours at work, the editing’s finally complete on our latest OgreCave Audio Report. Our first episode ever with all four regulars, we close out the Gen Con ‘06 - Gen Con ‘07 product year with our second annual Ogre’s Choice Awards. Now, keep in mind that we recorded this before all D&D 4th Edition announcement hoopla, so you can see how our predictions stack up against the info WotC has managed to get out to the world.
Thursday, August 9, 2007
Cthulhu dice coming from Q-workshop
Normally we don’t post about unusual dice, but these are just cool (and may provoke a SAN check). To quote the Q-workshop website: “Cthulhu Fhtagn ! The stars will be right in September, as Q-workshop and Chaosium Inc. unleash the Cthulhu Dice upon the mortal world. Available in all standard designs and color schemes, these dice will be a great asset to all servants of Great Old Ones.” The dice are pictured here if you think your mortal mind can withstand perceiving them. As with most announcements this time of year, these will be available at Gen Con Indy (booth 924).
Saturday, July 7, 2007
Audio Report: Roleplay free or die
Assuming you got to a participating store on Free RPG Day, of course. In this episode recorded last week, I met up with Free RPG Day founder Aldo Ghiozzi and Gary of Black Diamond Games to get their respective takes on the event. Our crew also gets into other recent events, such as Go Play NW and all its indie RPG goodness. Have a listen. We’ve got more where that came from.
Friday, June 29, 2007
Diana Jones Award shortlist announced
This year’s nominees for the Diana Jones Award are public info, and as usual, they’re interesting picks:
- The Great Pendragon Campaign by Greg Stafford (White Wolf)
- Pieces of Eight by Jeff Tidball (Atlas Games)
- Stefan Pokorny, creator, sculptor and painter of Dwarven Forge’s Master Maze terrain
As always, the committee will announce the winner the evening before Gen Con Indy begins. See the press release below for more details.
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Thursday, June 21, 2007
Paizo’s Stonehenge begins world takeover
Stonehenge: An Anthology Board Game, one of the boardgames I still have to look at, is expanding the number of games the pieces can be used to play. Already sporting five games by popular designers, Paizo Publishing’s Stonehenge set will support play of three new game designs with the release of Stonehenge: Nocturne this fall. For a mere $19.99, gamers will have new Stonehenge goodness from Serge Laget and Bruno Cathala (Shadows Over Camelot), Klaus-Jürgen Wrede (Carcassonne), and Andrew Looney (Fluxx and all things Looney Labs). The expansion will also provide game pieces for a sixth and seventh player, usable in all Stonehenge games.
Not content with the expansion announcement, Paizo has launched the Stonehenge Library to encourage fans to submit their own rulesets for Stonehenge. Known game designers will also contribute rules to the fledgling community, which will be available for a fee. Seems a worthwhile approach for Paizo to keep their game vital and add replay value. OgreCave approves.
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Tuesday, June 19, 2007
WizKids releases Star Wars PocketModel TCG
WizKids has let slip the dogs of Star Wars with their release of the Star Wars PocketModel Trading Card Game. The company is definitely pushing the multigenerational angle, as the press release (below) quotes WizKids president Lax Chandra (which was a character in Episode 1, wasn’t it?) as saying it’s “easy enough for children but with layers of strategy for adults”. So, rule the tabletop as father and son, yeah? Got it. A coupon for free samples is available through the WizKids site, StarWars.com, or CartoonNetwork.com, so now you have no excuse not to get your force on.
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Saturday, May 12, 2007
Audio Report: one GTS 2007 wrapup, partial
OgreCave lackey Steve Kani got himself out to GTS ‘07… for one day. What jumped out at him while doing his rounds as a retailer? Listen to our GTS post-show show and find out. Also, a question for roleplayers: how has party unity been a factor (or not) in your games? Let us know in the comments, folks.
Sunday, April 29, 2007
Origins Awards nominees announced for 2007
Though underannounced and hard to find (as usual), the 2007 Origins Awards top nominees are decided. ‘Tis an interesting batch this year, with many expected titles (Ptolus was a no-brainer), and some surprises as well (Shear Panic? Really? Huh). The list also contains a few endangered or extinct products, such as Paizo’s Dragon Magazine and the defunct MSM publication Games Quarterly Magazine. Click below for the full list of nominees.
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Wednesday, April 25, 2007
Fantasy Flight announces 2007 releases at GTS
Timed to reflect news from GTS, Fantasy Flight has announced (most of) the rest of its planned releases for 2007. Note the Mutant Chronicles CMG teaser predicting a September release, the StarCraft boardgame due in August (big GenCon title, no doubt), and Descent: The Road to Legend which will add campaign rules to the game.
Monday, April 16, 2007
Talisman making the leap to consoles, PC
The classic Games Workshop fantasy boardgameTalisman, for which countless gamers are quite willing to shell out for each new edition, is headed for the Xbox 360, PS3 and PCs. From the Capcom announcement (also copied below), it looks like additional adventure cards, characters, and alternate endings (achieved by cards in the original boardgame) will be offered as downloadable extras. I still say GW nailed Talisman with the second edition way back in 1985 (and ebay prices seem to agree). However, if uninitiated gamers of the electronic era can get a taste of the “magical quest” boardgame that so many game designers still try to imitate, I’m all for it. The Capcom version is scheduled for a Winter ‘07 release. As for the completists out there, or the curious newbies, GW has 4th edition slated for release this October, guys.
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Monday, March 5, 2007
BattleLore gets epic, then flexible
Okay, so, we slept on this a little - in part because the first portion, the Epic BattleLore expansion that’ll open the game up to 6 players at a time, was expected. But this Call to Arms business is entirely intriguing, offering an alternate card-based army deployment system. It’ll hit in April for $20, whereas the Epic stuff will hit this month online, so register those back-of-the-booklet codes if you haven’t.
Sunday, December 10, 2006
Nothing’s as Christmasey as biting the heads off Meeples
Ladies and gentlemen, Gingerbread Carcassonne.
Tuesday, September 12, 2006
Gamers online go freakin’ nuts for BattleLore
I found out about it on story-games.com, for crying out loud - that’s how widespread the anticipation is for Memoir ‘44 designer Richard Borg’s new fantasy take on his classic system (which is of course also available in two Command and Colors flavors). And it looks hot indeed. That post about how the banners play into the game’s customizability (no, not collectibility - relax!) is great stuff. Looks like I will have a big-box board-gamey toy to look forward to this Christmas after all.
Tuesday, August 15, 2006
Perplex City board game in September
Finally found the info on this: Perplex City: The Board Game will feature fairly simple puzzles by PPC standards, Trivial Pursuit-esque gameplay (here’s hoping that play on the board gets a little more fun than that), and a $40-esque price tag according to Funagain. Neat-looking product, but it isn’t clear how it’ll key into the story given that Season 1 is in its final stages. I suppose it doesn’t have to.
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