The Academy of Adventure Gaming Arts and Design has announced their 2018 Origins Award nominees. There will also be Fan Favorite categories, voted on by attendees of the Origins Game Fair (as usual). Let’s peruse the list, shall we? Then, hurry and play all of them so you can make your predictions.
Let us know how that goes.
Board Games
The Captain is Deadby Alderac Entertainment Group (designed by Joe Price and JT Smith)
Dice Forge by Libellud (designed by Régis Bonnessée)
Gloomhaven by Cephalofair Games (designed by Isaac Childres)
Cardfight Vanguard Demonic Advent Booster by Bushiroad
Dungeons & Dragons Miniatures Icons of the Realms: Monster Menagerie II by WizKids
DC Comics Dice Masters: Batman Foil Packs by WizKids
Dragon Ball Super Card Game – Galactic Battles Booster by Bandai
Final Fantasy TCG: Opus I Collection Booster by Square Enix
Marvel HeroClix: The Mighty Thor by WizKids
MTG Ixalan Booster by Wizards of the Coast (designed by Mark Rosewater and Ken Nagle)
Pokémon TCG: Sun & Moon Booster by The Pokémon Company International
Star Wars Destiny: Awakenings Booster by Fantasy Flight Games
Yu-Gi-Oh! 2017 Mega Tin by Konami
Family Games
Azul by Plan B Games (designed by Michael Kiesling)
Bunny Kingdom by IELLO (designed by Richard Garfield)
Codenames: Disney by USAopoly (designed by Vlaada Chvátil)
Codenames: Duet by Czech Games Edition (designed by Vlaada Chvátil)
Downforce by Restoration Games (designed by Wolfgang Kramer)
Dropmix by Hasbro Gaming (designed by Harmonix)
Hotshots by Fireside Games (designed by Justin De Witt)
Mountains of Madness by IELLO (designed by Rob Daviau)
Sagrada by Floodgate Games (designed Daryl Andrews and Adrian Adamescu)
Viral by Arcane Wonders (designed by Gil d’Orey and Antonio Sousa Lara)
Miniatures
Blood & Plunder by Firelock Games (designed by Michael Tuñez)
Runewars Miniatures Game by Fantasy Flight Games (designed by Andrew Fischer)
The Walking Dead Miniatures Game by Mantic Games (designed by Mark Latham)
Warhammer 40,000 8th Edition by Games Workshop
Roleplaying Game
Adventures in Middle Earth Player’s Handbook by Cubicle 7 Entertainment (designed by James Brown, Paul Alexander Butler, Walt Ciechanowski, Steve Emmott, Gareth Ryder-Hanrahan, Jon Hodgson, Shane Ivey, Andrew Kenrick, T.S. Luikart, Dominic McDowall, Francesco Nepitello, James Spahn, and Ken Spencer)
Blades in the Dark by Evil Hat Productions (designed by John Harper)
Blue Rose (2nd Edition) by Green Ronin Publishing (designed by Steve Kenson, Jack Norris, Richard Bellingham, Jeb Boyt, Crystal Frasier, Steven Jones (III), Shoshana Kessock, Anna Kreider, Kira Magrann, Alejandro Melchor, Andrew Peregrine, F. Wesley Schneider, Elsa Sjunneson-Henry, John Snead)
Cthulhu Confidential by Pelgrane Press (designed by Robin D. Laws, Ruth Tillman, Chris Spivey)
The Dark Eye Core Rules by Ulisses Spiel (designed by Alex Spohr, Markus Plötz and Jens Ulrich)
The Extraordinary Adventures of Baron Munchausen (3rd Edition) by Fantasy Flight Games (designed by James Wallis)
My Little Pony: Tails of Equestria by River Horse Ltd. (designed by Alessio Cavatore, Jack Caesar, Dylan Owen)
Monsterhearts 2 by Buried Without Ceremony (designed by Avery Adler)
Puppetland by Arc Dream Publishing (designed by Arnold Cassell, Arinn Dembo, Matt Forbeck, Gareth Hanrahan, Fred Hicks, Kenneth Hite, Jason Morningstar, Ross Payton, John Tynes, James Wallis)
Starfinder by Paizo (designed by Robert G. McCreary and Owen K.C.)
Traveller Starter Set by Mongoose Publishing (designed by Martin Dougherty and Matthew Sprange)
Vurt by Ravendesk Games (designed by Alexander Lepera, Lee Pruit, Pete Stauber)
Roleplaying Supplement
Adventures in Middle Earth – Rhovanian Region Guide by Cubicle 7 Entertainment (designed by Gareth Ryder-Hanrahan, Francesco Nepitello, Jacob Rodgers)
Adventures in Middle Earth – Loremaster’s Guide by Cubicle 7 Entertainment (designed by Walt Ciechanowski, Steve Emmott, Gareth Hanrahan, Jon Hodgson, T.S. Luikart, Dominic McDowall, Franceso Nepitello, Ken Spencer)
Blue Rose – Narrator’s Kit by Green Ronin Publishing (designed by Josh Gutenberg, Jesse Hibbs, Steve Kenson)
Call of Cthulhu: The Grand Grimore of the Cthulhu Mythos by Chaosium (designed by Mike Mason and Matthew Sanderson)
Call of Cthulhu: The Two Headed Serpent by Chaosium (designed by Scott Dorward, Paul Fricker, Mike Mason, Matthew Sanderson)
Castles and Crusades Codex Germania by Troll Lord Games (designed by Brian Young)
Castles and Crusades Codex Slavorum by Troll Lord Games (designed by Brian Young)
Cypher System Expanded Worlds by Monte Cook Games (designed by Bruce R. Cordell)
Cypher System Predation by Monte Cook Games (designed by Shanna Germain)
Doctor Who RPG: Gamemaster’s Companion by Cubicle 7 Entertainment (designed by Morgan Davie, Gareth Hanrahan, Mark Lawford, Andrew Peregrine, Nathaniel Torson)
Dungeons & Dragons Xanathar’s Guide to Everything by Wizards of the Coast (designed by Jeremy Crawford and Mike Mearls – Lead Designers)
Mutants & Masterminds Atlas of Earth-Prime by Green Ronin Publishing (designed by Scott Bennie, Jason Brick, Darren Bulmar
Shadow of the Demon Lord: Demon Lord’s Companion by Schwalb Entertainment (designed by Robert J. Schwalb)
Game Accessories
Chaosium Call of Cthulhu Coloring Book by Chaosium
Sword & Sorcery Custom Dice Pack by Ares
The Broken Token Terraforming Mars Organizer by The Broken Token
Sails of Glory Series 4 Ship Packs by Ares Games
Smirking Dragon Tablecloths by Smirking Dragon
D&D: Icons of the Realms and Pathfinder Battles Pre-Painted Miniatures by WizKids
More than anything, watching the kids on Stranger Things obsess over their favorite games hits us with heavy nostalgia for those classic games of the 1980s. When you celebrate this modern classic of kids against the supernatural, whether you binge-watch entire seasons or savor each episode slowly, you’ll want an ideal activity to symbolize that you stand with the citizens of Hawkins, right? Don’t be a mouth-breather – grab your Eggos and your wrist-rocket, and check our picks for the best games to capture the feel of Stranger Things. (more…)
Okay, the flood of KublaCon photos has reached its peak, and all are now neatly contained in OgreCave’s KublaCon 2017 photo gallery (over at our Facebook page). Final attendee count was reportedly 3,321 – a good sized show! See if you can spot yourself in our gallery, or rather, see if you got spotted by our photo crew.
We’re working on a few things behind the scenes, but as soon as we have goodies to share, we’ll serve them up. In the meantime, enjoy the pics, and tell us what you loved about this year’s KublaCon.
Those of you who follow OgreCave’s Facebook page have already heard, but in case you missed it, the first half of OgreCave’s KublaCon 2017 photo gallery is up and running. Have a look, comment, like, and see if you got spotted at last weekend’s KublaCon Game Convention. We’ll have the other half added to the gallery in a couple of days, so check back early next week. Share and enjoy.
We’ll have more site news soon, so check back for that as well. Much to do.
Today, a friend of the Cave, Aaron Teixeira, offers up his thoughts on the ongoing Dungeons & Dragons discussion: can the original roleplaying game be used as an inspired, artful storytelling device? Or is it merely a game of “killing things and taking their stuff”? Aaron’s been playing and running RPGs of all sorts for decades, and has decided to weigh in on the debate, in Dungeons & Dragons as Story. See what Aaron had to say, and add your thoughts to the conversation in the comments below. […]
Because we got some great footage at KublaCon 2015, we’re doing our best to ambush you with some of it (Flashback Friday, anyone?). We’ve included a general look at parts of the convention, but also managed to talk with Joseph Goodman of Goodman Games, as well as James Ernest of Cheapass Games. Some of what we discussed has hit game stores by now, but Joe and James both reveal some plans for the future. In particular, Joe describes new features of Dungeon Crawl Classics and his plans for Fritz Leiber’s Lankhmar setting, while James tells us about the Kill Doctor Lucky Kickstarter campaign (which just started and runs until November 13th – check it out).
In our first show of the new year, we’re already covering a lot of ground. In just the first half of the podcast, we go from Allan’s first impressions of Dungeons & Dragons: Fifth Edition to Mike’s obsession with space games, and back around to enjoying Magic: The Gathering after many years of abstinence. Then we drag out a pair of surprise gaming artifacts, speak of upcoming conventions, and more.
Click here for show details and to listen to the new episode. As always, share and enjoy. We’ll have a report on the happenings at DunDraCon 2015 in our next episode.
For the Cave dwellers, the start of convention season is heralded by DunDraCon. Now that the annual gaming event and its impending awesomeness are nearly here, this seems like the time to premiere our DunDraCon promo video. Take it away, Sparky! (Be sure to subscribe on YouTube to see all of OgreCave’s video goodness.)
The KublaCon 2014 coverage is continuing on OgreCave’s new YouTube channel with three more interviews. This time we sit down with Jason Topolski of Ameritrash Games to hear about Camp Grizzly, the ’70s horror movie board game. Then we speak with referee Brian Denmark about the Star Wars: X-Wing tournament he’s running to see what’s involved in running a competitive convention event. We eventually find Vern Roberts, a member of KublaCon’s staff, preparing to oversee the carnage of the Megadungeon crawl, a massive player-versus-player Pathfinder tournament which uses over $10,000 of Dwarven ForgeMasterMaze miniature scenery. You’ll catch glimpses of other KublaCon activities between these interviews.
Have a look, and be sure to subscribe on YouTube to get all our upcoming video coverage, including some new things we’re working on.
Sometimes the whole roleplaying group just can’t meet up, but you still need some roleplaying time. Many games have tried to capture the essence of RPGs in another format, with varying degrees of success. Due to a lack of other roleplaying activity, Demian has been playing the Pathfinder Adventure Card Game from Paizo Publishing, Mike Selinker’s game design that translates the Pathfinder RPG into card game form. The Pathfinder card game has become popular enough to prompt plans for an Organized Play program starting next month. But what did Demian think of it? Read today’s new review to find out.
This year’s nominees for the Diana Jones Award have just been announced, and as always, the selections are thoughtful and varied. Two publishers and three games made the list. The nominees are:
Evil Hat Productions, the folks behind FATE, Dresden Files, Don’t Rest Your Head, and more.
Hillfolk by Robin Laws (Pelgrane Press), which had a tremendous Kickstarter drive.
Paizo Publishing, the Pathfinder folks, long confirmed to be outselling D&D.
ROFL! a party word game with illustrations by John Kovalic (Cryptozoic Entertainment).
Terra Mystica, a strategy board game of terraforming (Feuerland Spiele/Z-Man Games).
Check out the full press release below for details of why each deserves the nomination, and let us know what you think. Who would you give the lucite pyramid to? (more…)
Arguably the most interesting and best informed award in the game industry, the Diana Jones Award for Excellence in Gaming has just announced its nominees for the 2013 winner. Now, remember: Ms. Jones doesn’t limit herself to just published game items – everything from designers to companies to concepts are fair game. Here’s the rundown:
Tabletop, a webcast by Wil Wheaton (Geek & Sundry)
As you can see, that’s an RPG, a card game, a game convention, an RPG history book, and a YouTube channel show. Diana, you never disappoint us. As always, the winner will be decided by the Diana Jones Award committee, and announced the first day of Gen Con Indy at the end of this summer.
Paizo Publishing has enlisted the help of Mike Selinker and Lone Shark Games to create the Pathfinder Adventure Card Game. Based on the roleplaying game’s first adventure path, Rise of the Runelords, it will be a cooperative card game for 1-6 players. As the card game will attempt to capture the Pathfinder experience, Paizo says “As you explore and overcome challenges, you’ll improve and customize your character deck by acquiring new items, allies, weapons, and more.” The new card game will release at Gen Con 2013 at $59.99 for the Rise of the Runelords Base Set – nearly 500 cards. The base set will be followed bi-monthly by 110-card Adventure Decks at $19.99 apiece. This product line strategy seems similar to Fantasy Flight’s “Living Card Games” which continue to infuse their card games with new releases/expansions while shedding the frustrations of a collectible card game. The full press release is after the click. (more…)
Today OgreCave has a new interview with James Wallis for you, formerly of Hogshead Publishing. You know him and his games, like Once Upon a Time and The Extraordinary Adventures of Baron Munchausen, and you’ve heard about the Diana Jones Awards he started. Wait, you say – didn’t he leave the game publishing business? Well, yes, but he’s back to Kickstart Alas Vegas, a new roleplaying game he’s designed. Just read the interview and all will become clear. Wait, you say – isn’t it Valentine’s Day? Yes. Don’t be weird about it.
Dungeons & Dragons
Best Board Game, Fan Favorite, and Game of the Year:
More than anything, watching the kids on Stranger Things obsess over their favorite games hits us with heavy nostalgia for those classic games of the 1980s. When you celebrate this modern classic of kids against the supernatural, whether you binge-watch entire seasons or savor each episode slowly, you’ll want an ideal activity to symbolize that you stand with the citizens of Hawkins, right? Don’t be a mouth-breather – grab your Eggos and your wrist-rocket, and check our picks for the best games to capture the feel of Stranger Things.
Those of you who follow 
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Paizo Publishing has enlisted the help of Mike Selinker and 
