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2018 Spiel des Jahres nominees announced

Tuesday, May 15th, 2018

This year’s nominees for the Spiel des Jahres – Germany’s Game of the Year, a highly regarded title in tabletop gaming – have been announced, along with nominees for the Kennerspiel des Jahres (“Expert Game of the Year”, intended for game connoisseurs) and the Kinderspiel des Jahres (“Children’s Game of the Year”). Three titles were nominated for the main Spiel des Jahres award, with the winner to be announced soon:

The Spiel des Jahres jury also recommended the six titles – honorable mentions, as it were: 5-Minute Dungeon, Facecards, Majesty: For the Realm, Memoarrr!, Santorini, and Woodlands.

The Kennerspiel des Jahres also has three nominations for 2018, and a pair of recommendations:

  • Heaven & Ale, by Michael Kiesling and Andreas Schmidt (eggertspiele)
  • Pretty clever, by Wolfgang Warsch (Schmidt Spiele)
  • The Quackers of Quedlinburg, by Wolfgang Warsch (Schmidt Spiele)
  • Other recommendations: Clank! and Pioneers

The Kinderspiel des Jahres had three nominations as well, and five recommendations:

  • Emojito!, by Urtis Šulinskas (HUCH!)
  • Funkelschatz (Dragon’s Breath), by Lena and Günter Burkhardt (HABA)
  • Panic Mansion (Shaky Manor), by Asger Harding Granerud and Daniel Skjold Pedersen (Blue Orange Games)
  • Other recommendations: Dino World, The Legend of the Wendigo, Rhino Hero Super Battle, SOS Dino, and Speed Colors.

Finally, a special prize was awarded to Pandemic: Legacy – Season 2, by Matt Leacock and Rob Daviau (Z-Man Games). The award was to acknowledge the “ingenious gameplay” against which “all future legacy games will have to be measured”.

Posted in Board Games, Card Games, Game Design, Industry | No Comments »

Gen Con game convention wins 2017 Diana Jones Award

Thursday, August 17th, 2017

At Gen Con 50, the winner of this year’s Diana Jones Award for excellence in gaming has been announced as… Gen Con itself! First organized in Lake Geneva, Wisconsin by Gary Gygax himself, Gen Con has grown to become an annual gaming mecca and affirmation of the gaming hobby, currently raging onward in Indianapolis. Other nominees this year were The Beast, a single-player card & journaling game; End of the Line, a hybrid LARP combining Camarilla-style Vampire and Nordic LARP; the fantasy board game Gloomhaven, which was a huge hit on Kickstarter; The Romance Trilogy, a group of relationship-themed RPGs by Emily Care Boss (the first of which, Breaking the Ice, made it onto OgreCave’s 2005 Christmas Gift Guide); and Terraforming Mars, a resource management board game. As always, OgreCave congratulates all the nominees, and Gen Con, “The Best Four Days in Gaming,” for its win this year.

Posted in Board Games, Card Games, Conventions, Game Design, Geek Culture, Industry, LARP, Roleplaying Games | No Comments »

KublaCon 2017 photo gallery – complete!

Wednesday, June 7th, 2017

Cthulhu demands you view the galleryOkay, 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.

Posted in Board Games, Card Games, Conventions, Dungeons & Dragons, Geek Culture, Industry, Miniatures Games, Pathfinder, Roleplaying Games | No Comments »

KublaCon 2017 photo gallery

Friday, June 2nd, 2017

KublaCon 2017 logoThose 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.

Posted in Board Games, Card Games, Conventions, D20, Dungeons & Dragons, Geek Culture, Industry, Miniatures Games, Pathfinder, Roleplaying Games | No Comments »

Game Designer Eric Lang wins 2016 Diana Jones Award

Saturday, August 6th, 2016

At Gen Con 2016, the winner of this year’s Diana Jones Award for excellence in gaming has been announced as prolific and impressive game designer Eric M. Lang. Lang is known as the man behind Chaos in the Old World, the Living Card Game versions of A Game of Thrones and Star Wars, and more recently for the elegant Ragnarok-themed board game Blood Rage. Other nominees this year were ConTessa, an organization; Fall of Magic, a story-game by Ross Cowman, published by Heart of the Deernicorn; Larpwriter Summer School; and Pandemic Legacy published by Z-man Games. OgreCave congratulates all the nominees, and Eric Lang for his award this year.

Diana Jones Award press release follows:

THE WINNER OF THE 2016 DIANA JONES AWARD IS ERIC M. LANG

To say that Eric Lang is a prolific game designer is the punchline of a joke hilarious in its understatement. This year’s Gen Con, for example, sees the release of no fewer than four new Lang designs or co-designs: Bloodborne: The Card Game, The Others: 7 Sins, Arcane Academy (with Kevin Wilson), and HMS Dolores (with Bruno Faidutti).

A small sampling of Lang’s past designs include Blood Rage, Dice Masters (with Mike Elliott), 2010 Diana Jones nominee Chaos in the Old World, and Living Card Game designs for A Game of Thrones, Star Wars, and Warhammer 40,000.

And these games are not sausage, vomited from an assembly line and rushed to market carelessly undercooked. Rather, Lang’s games are perennial inhabitants of lists that laud both evergreen sales and – in the parlance of BoardGameGeek – “Hotness.”

The variety and quality of Lang’s co-designers speak to the joy of collaborating with him. It’s telling that those who’ve worked with him in the past would not hesitate to do so again, whatever the project. The top-shelf media properties that Lang has adapted for the tabletop demonstrate the trust that publishers put in Lang’s insight, skill, and ability to deliver.

Lang’s ludography is worthy of celebration on its own, but Eric’s sincere love for games, gamers, the gaming hobby, and the art of game design are exemplars not only for his immediate peers, but for those who strive in literally any field of endeavor. If you ran marathons, or raised children, or played heavy metal music with the same spirit that Eric brings to game design, you would exemplify the best spirit of those callings, and the world would be better for it.

It is the opinion of the Diana Jones Award Committee that Eric Lang exemplifies excellence in gaming. We are proud to award him our trophy for this year.

Posted in Board Games, Card Games, Conventions, Game Design, Industry | No Comments »

OgreCave video: KublaCon 2015, Goodman Games, Cheapass Games

Friday, October 16th, 2015

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).

We’ll have more vids posted soon, so if you have the chance, subscribe to our YouTube channel, and stay tuned!

Posted in Board Games, Card Games, Conventions, D20, Dungeons & Dragons, Game Design, Geek Culture, Industry, Interviews, Roleplaying Games | No Comments »

OgreCave Audio Report 2.0 – March 2015

Sunday, March 15th, 2015

OCAR 2.0 logoWe’ve got a lot to say in the latest OgreCave Audio Report episode. First, we talk of DunDraCon 2015, wherein Allan describes some of the things he saw at the show. Then we hit Kickstarter hard, describing a variety of projects, both completed and upcoming, while voicing thoughts on what the crowdsourcing site should really be used for. Finally, one particular volunteer at PAX East is making the entire organization look bad, so they’d really better get a handle on the situation ASAP – and not by simply ignoring it.

Click here for show details and to listen to the new episode. Watch here soon for DunDraCon 2015 pictures, and everything else we’re up to as well.

Posted in Board Games, Card Games, Conventions, Industry, Podcast, Roleplaying Games | No Comments »

OgreCave video: DunDraCon promo

Friday, January 23rd, 2015

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.)

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Posted in Board Games, Card Games, Conventions, D20, Dungeons & Dragons, Geek Culture, Industry, LARP, Miniatures Games, OgreCave, Pathfinder, Roleplaying Games | No Comments »

OgreCave Audio Report 2.0 – December 2014

Monday, December 29th, 2014

OCAR 2.0 logoWe’re back, and ready to talk all things gaming. To wrap up the year and prepare for new things, we have a brand new episode of our long-dormant (hibernating?) podcast show, the OgreCave Audio Report. Now redubbed 2.0, the relaunch episode has Mike and Allan talking of the holidays, Kickstarter goodies, interpersonal issues in game groups, and GamerGate, among other things.

A more complete write-up will follow, but for now, enjoy the new episode, and happy holidays!

If you haven’t already heard our other podcast show, OgreCave’s Gaming News Update, click through and have a listen – we’ve cornered quite a few game industry luminaries over the years.

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Posted in Board Games, Card Games, Geek Culture, Industry, Miniatures Games, OgreCave, Pathfinder, Podcast, Roleplaying Games | No Comments »

Gaming News Update – Paranoia Reboot (James Wallis)

Thursday, November 27th, 2014

OgreCave newscasterWith the holiday season already upon us, roleplaying gamers are looking for quality RPGs to pick up, and some of us are planning ahead. In this Gaming News Update interview with James Wallis, notably of Spaaace: the Games Consultancy and the man behind the trailblazing company Hogshead Publishing, what was old is becoming new again via the Paranoia Reboot Kickstarter campaign. With less than a week left to accept pledges, James tells about his plans for the new Paranoia boxed set. He also talks about dark humor in roleplaying, why death in gaming isn’t nearly the handicap it used to be, and offers some excellent news for gamers who pledged to either his Alas, Vegas campaign or Gareth Michael Skarka’s Far West RPG campaign. Thanks to Friend Skype, James tells us all about Friend Computer, Alpha Complex, mutants, terrorists, and more – probably more than your clearance level will allow, so trust no one – in our latest podcast episode.

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Posted in Game Design, Geek Culture, Industry, Interviews, Roleplaying Games | No Comments »

OgreCave video: Japji Khalsa at KublaCon 2014

Tuesday, August 26th, 2014

In our final KublaCon 2014 video, we manage to grab a few minutes with Japji Khalsa, Executive Producer and founder of KublaCon. In this video, we learn about the CCG-derived origins of the convention, how game designers use the show for their own nefarious ends, and some of the latest improvements to the overall KublaCon experience. You’ll get a small tour of Hyatt amenities, a few words from this year’s exhibitors about the convention, and glimpses of other KublaCon activities, between segments. In all, if you haven’t figured out KublaCon is “The Khan of Cons” yet, you simply haven’t been paying attention!

Have a look at all six KublaCon videos, and be sure to subscribe on YouTube to get all our upcoming video coverage. We’ll have some new things soon. No, really.

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Posted in Board Games, Card Games, Conventions, Game Design, Geek Culture, Industry, Interviews, Miniatures Games, Roleplaying Games | No Comments »

OgreCave video: PERK, DiceShield, GameRustlers, and more

Friday, July 11th, 2014

We’re continuing to fill OgreCave’s new YouTube channel (which you should totally subscribe to) with great footage from KublaCon 2014. In the latest installment, we talk with Buddy Wagner of Dire Ninja Media about P.E.R.K. – the Pretty Easy Roleplaying Kit. Then we take a look at the DiceShield from Andy Rothfusz and Questo Gizmo LLC. Finally, Mac Senour tells us about GameRustlers and how it keeps the gaming flowing at conventions. You’ll catch glimpses of other KublaCon activities between each interview as well.

Have a look, and be sure to subscribe on YouTube to get all our upcoming video coverage.

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Posted in Board Games, Conventions, Geek Culture, Industry, Miniatures Games, Roleplaying Games | No Comments »

OgreCave video: Zombiesmith at KublaCon 2014

Thursday, July 3rd, 2014

As the long weekend looms on the horizon, OgreCave is continuing to celebrate the launch of our new YouTube channel with another great interview from KublaCon 2014. This time we talk with Josh Qualtieri of Zombiesmith, and learn all about a variety of projects: War of Ashes: Shieldbash; a still-unnamed War of Ashes novel; his partnership with Flytrap Factory, and multiple Flytrap/Zombiesmith joint ventures; the War of Ashes: Fate of Agaptus RPG coming late 2014 from Evil Hat Productions; and the figures for Camp Grizzly, a cool new board game from Ameritrash Games.

Have a look, and be sure to subscribe to get all our upcoming video coverage.

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OgreCave video: Crafty Games at KublaCon 2014

Thursday, July 3rd, 2014

We’re getting back into videos, and to make things go smoothly, we’re launching the OgreCaveDOTcom YouTube channel! We already have a few things there, starting with some coverage from KublaCon 2014. First up, an interview with Patrick Kapera of Crafty Games. He talks of the Mistborn RPG supplements Terris: Wrought of Copper and Alloy of Law, of the Little Wizards RPG, of Z-Corps, and more!

Be sure to like, subscribe, tell friends, and generally spread the OgreCave goodness.

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Posted in Conventions, Game Design, Geek Culture, Industry, Interviews, Roleplaying Games | No Comments »

2014 Origins Award winners announced

Monday, June 16th, 2014

Origins logoThe 40th annual Origins Awards were given out Saturday night. The details of said nominees and winners are a bit hard to find, so we thought we’d compile them for you here. Or all the ones we could find, at least.

2014 Origins Awards nominees and winners:

Best Roleplaying Game
13th Age – Pelgrane Press
FATE Core System – Evil Hat Productions, LLC
Mummy: the Curse – White Wolf Game Studio
Numenera – Monte Cook Games
Shadowrun: Core Rulebook – Catalyst Game Labs

WINNER: Numenera (Monte Cook Games)
FAN FAVORITE: Shadowrun: Core Rulebook (Catalyst Game Labs)

Best Roleplaying Supplement
DC Adventures Universe – Green Ronin Publishing
Heart of the Wild – Cubicle 7 Entertainment
Transhuman – Posthuman Studios
Night’s Watch – Green Ronin Publishing
Eternal Lies – Pelgrane Press

WINNER: Night’s Watch (Green Ronin Publishing)
FAN FAVORITE: DC Adventures Universe (Green Ronin Publishing)

Best Board Game
Trains – Alderac Entertainment Group
Time n Space – Stronghold Games
Space Cadet: Dice Duel – Stronghold Games
Krosmaster Arena – Japanime Games
City of Iron – Red Raven Games

WINNER: Trains (Alderac Entertainment Group)
FAN FAVORITE: Trains (Alderac Entertainment Group)

Best Collectible Card Game
Pokemon Black & White: Legendary Treasures – The Pokemon Company, Intl.
Pokemon Red Genesect Collection – The Pokemon Company, Intl.
Yu-Gi-Oh! Battle Pack 2 – Konami Digital Entertainment
Yu-Gi-Oh! Super Starter V for Victory – Konami Digital Entertainment
Yu-Gi-Oh! Legendary Collection 4: Joey’s World – Konami Digital Entertainment

WINNER: Pokemon Black & White: Legendary Treasures (The Pokemon Company, Intl.)
FAN FAVORITE: Pokemon Black & White: Legendary Treasures (The Pokemon Company, Intl.)

Best Traditional Card Game
Love Letter – Alderac Entertainment Group
DC Comics Deck-Building Game – Cryptozoic Entertainment
Boss Monster – Brotherwise Games
Clubs – North Star Games
Marvel Legendary: Dark City – Upper Deck

WINNER: Love Letter (Alderac Entertainment Group)
FAN FAVORITE: DC Comics Deck-Building Game (Cryptozoic Entertainment)

Best Children’s, Family, Party Game
Walk the Plank – Mayday Games
Three Little Pigs – Iello
My Happy Farm – 5th St. Games
ROFL – Cryptozoic Entertainment
Choose One! – Looney Labs

WINNER: Three Little Pigs (Iello)
FAN FAVORITE: Walk the Plank (Mayday Games)

Best Game Accessory
Krosmaster: Fire & Ice – Japanime Games
Shadowrun GM Screen – Catalyst Game Labs
Fate Dice – Evil Hat Productions, LLC
Space Gaming Mat – HC+D Supplies
Pathfinder Battles: Skull and Shackles – WizKids Games

WINNER: Space Gaming Mat (HC+D Supplies)
FAN FAVORITE: Pathfinder Battles: Skull and Shackles (WizKids Games)

Best Miniature Figure Rules
Marvel HeroClix: Avengers Vs X-men Starters – WizKids Games
Battletech Alpha Strike – Catalyst Game Labs
Judge Dredd – Warlord Games

WINNER: Marvel HeroClix: Avengers Vs X-men Starters (WizKids Games)
FAN FAVORITE: Marvel HeroClix: Avengers Vs X-men Starters (WizKids Games)

Best Historical Miniature Figure/Line
Fife & Drum: Revolutionary War – Fife & Drum
Highlander Force – North Star Military Figures
Fate of a Nation: Arab Israeli Wars – Battlefront Miniatures
Red Army: 28mm Russian Infantry – Wargames Factory
Devil Dogs and Dragons – Empress Miniatures

WINNER: Fate of a Nation: Arab Israeli Wars (Battlefront Miniatures)
FAN FAVORITE: ? – still looking for this info

Best Historical Board Game
SOS Titanic – Ludonaute
Navajo Wars – GMT, designed by: Joel Toppen
Freedom: The Underground Railroad – Academy Games
1775: Rebellion – Academy Games
Francis Drake – Eagle Games

WINNER: 1775: Rebellion (Academy Games)
FAN FAVORITE: 1775: Rebellion (Academy Games)

Best Historical Miniature Rules Supplements
SAGA: Varjazi & Basileus – Gripping Beast
Flames of War: Fate of a Nation – Battlefront Miniatures
Force on Force: Classified – Osprey Publishing

WINNER: ? – still looking for this info
FAN FAVORITE: ? – still looking for this info

Best Historical Miniature Rules
Fields of Fire 2nd Edition – Proving Ground Games
Fire and Sword – Wargamer
Chain of Command – Too Fat Lardies

WINNER: Fields of Fire 2nd Edition (Proving Ground Games)
FAN FAVORITE: Fire and Sword (Wargamer)

Best Miniature Figure Line
Malifaux: The Guild’s Judgement – Wyrd Miniatures
HeroClix: Wolverine and the X-men – WizKids Games
MERCs Mini’s (Shock Trooper, Spy, Eagle, Beacher) – MegaCon Games

WINNER: Malifaux: The Guild’s Judgement (Wyrd Miniatures)
FAN FAVORITE: HeroClix: Wolverine and the X-men (WizKids Games)

Best Game Related Publication
Khan of Mars – Evil Hat Books
Fire for Effect – Catalyst Game Labs
ICv2 – Editor: Milton Griepp
Dork Tower – Editor: John Kovalic
TableTop – Wil Wheaton, Felicia Day/Geek & Sundry

WINNER: TableTop (Geek & Sundry)
FAN FAVORITE: TableTop (Geek & Sundry)

As usual, it’s a great list of game products, and OgreCave extends hearty congratulations to all the nominees and winners.

As you can see, a few details are missing (and if you’ve got them, please, let us know in the comments). Why? Mainly because this is cobbled together from a variety of sources, but not from GAMA’s Origins Award page. As of this post, the GAMA site had neither the nominees nor winners listed. Now, GAMA has been quoted before as not wanting to become the Oscars of tabletop gaming (funny, since it’s an academy that puts forth the nominees), but not advertising your awards on your own site? That’s just shooting yourself in the foot.

I say, if fans and publishers want to build up your brand for you, give them the tools to do so – or at the very least, don’t sabotage the process. But maybe that’s just me.

Posted in Board Games, Card Games, Conventions, Game Design, Geek Culture, Industry, Miniatures Games, Pathfinder, Roleplaying Games | 1 Comment »

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