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Monday, May 26, 2008
Catching up with Asmodeé
Fresh from last month’s release of Cash ‘n Guns: Yakuza (which we mentioned in our GTS ‘08 wrap-up podcast recently), Asmodée is preparing to ship the strategic diplomacy boardgame Senji this July. I just looked over the game at KublaCon today - it was one of the few titles I failed to get a closer look at in Vegas - and liked what I saw. As a Daimyo in feudal Japan, each player attempts to reach 60 honor points and become Shogun. Alliances will be crucial for survival, as players must rely on neighbors to defend their borders. With tricky bits like that, diplomatic negotiations could take quite a while, if it weren’t for the hourglass that limits your pleading time - something I’ve wished for in Settlers games, at times. Expect Senji to clock in at a price of about $70.
I was also pleasantly surprised by the other bit of Asmodée news I missed at GTS: the return of Formula De in time for Essen in October. This version will have rules for street racing while avoiding police pursuers. The game will also have prepainted figures and as few rules changes as possible. In all, great news for folks like me, who only just tried the previous sold-out version for the first time a few weeks ago.
Other tantalizing Asmodée news:
- Dungeon Twister may see an enhanced edition with larger boards and prepainted character miniatures. This would be next year, though, well after the Mercenaries and Fire & Water expansions (the former being at the show in limited supply).
- The card game Hero: Immortal King should be along next month, for 1-2 players right out of the box.
- Bringing back the murder-mystery-in-a-box, Death Wears White has been scheduled for later this year. The one-shot party game will sell for $29.99.
It was great to catch up with Asmodée at KublaCon, and get some time to make up for the hectic nature of GTS.
Tuesday, May 20, 2008
Yog-Sothoth opens Casting Call of Cthulhu
Our buddies over at Yog-Sothoth.com recently presented a funny little flick to the interweb world at large, Casting Call of Cthulhu. This short film on the perils of casting a Lovecraftian film first showed up at the Riofan Film Festival. Even if you’re just a casual Cthulhu fan, this is worth taking a look - ’tis very well done.
Thursday, May 15, 2008
New sourcebook targeted for Delta Green
Delta Green fans already know - Arc Dream Publishing and Pagan Publishing are doing the fundraising round for the next Delta Green sourcebook, Delta Green: Targets of Opportunity. Written by such notables as Dennis Detwiller, Greg Stolze, Kenneth Hite, and Shane Ivey, the book will touch on a number of unknowable evils, lurking in regions from Alaska to New Orleans. This sourcebook follows on the heels of Delta Green: Eyes Only, which is a finalist for this year’s Origins Awards. For as little as a $50 pledge, fans can help make Targets of Opportunity a reality - the Fundable.com pledge drive is rapidly closing in on its $20k goal.
Monday, May 12, 2008
Audio Report - Once more unto the GTS 2008
We had a couple of summary posts up from this year’s GAMA Trade Show (see part 1 and part 2 if you missed ‘em), but for a slightly more detailed account of the show’s announcements, we recorded this episode of the OgreCave Audio Report. Steve and I go over the products that caught our attention, while Mike asks questions and tries to maintain order. Have a listen, and hear what game goodies to expect over the coming year.
Sunday, May 11, 2008
Gen Con bankruptcy filing unearthed
It had to happen eventually: the actual Gencon bankruptcy filing PDF is online for all to see. Wondering why Wizards still hasn’t committed to being at this year’s Gen Con Indy? Well, it might have to do with the debt of just over $431K owed to Hasbro - quite a bit more than Gen Con owes Lucasfilm. That, and Hasbro has a policy of not dealing with companies undergoing bankruptcy. This seems like a list of all creditors, even long outstanding debts. When did Gen Con LLC have time to rack up a $29K bill with the Walt Disney company?
Friday, May 9, 2008
Layoffs at Upper Deck
Though details are sketchy still, we’ve learned that Upper Deck has just had a significant company-wide layoff, affecting most divisions. This comes after the big showing at GTS ‘08 just a couple weeks ago, where Upper Deck held a special luncheon to preview its World of Warcraft Miniatures Game and generally get retailers excited about the products to come. If anyone’s out there with details, post here and let us know how things are going. The staff of OgreCave.com wishes the best of luck to everyone affected by this layoff.
Wednesday, May 7, 2008
Fantasy Flight schedules more 2008 boardgame releases
Fantasy Flight obviously doesn’t have enough to do. I mean, we’ve already declared FFG the overachiever of GTS ‘08 and gone down the list of planned releases. But the company obviously isn’t content to go ahead with its already impressive release schedule, and has added more to its plate: ICv2 reports an agreement with Italian game manufacturer Stratelibri to publish and distribute boardgame titles like Constantinople and recent Origins Award nominee Kingsburg. One begins to wonder how much of the increasingly ambitious schedule FFG can pull off - on time, at least.
Saturday, May 3, 2008
Audio Report - GTS, Goodman, and Paizo
Joseph Goodman of Goodman Games joins us for the latest episode of the OgreCave Audio Report. Having mostly recovered from last week’s GAMA Trade Show ‘08, we offer some initial thoughts on the event, mostly with an emphasis on the developing Game System License situation for D&D4e. We learn more about Joseph’s plans for the coming year, and also play our interview with Erik Mona of Paizo Publishing. Finally, we have an exclusive preview of the first three Dungeon Crawl Classics covers from when the line goes 4th Edition. Have a look, have a listen, share and enjoy.
Friday, May 2, 2008
34th Annual Origins Award nominees announced
Retailers attending GTS got to vote on the final set of nominees, and now the final list of Origins Award nominees is announced (see below). Several notable nominations made the list, including Classic Battletech (Catalyst Game Labs) for Best Miniatures Rules, Paizo’s Pathfinder: Rise of the Runelords for Best Roleplaying Supplement, and Battue going head-to-head against StarCraft for Best Boardgame. Since the winners are being determined by Origins attendees this summer, is there anyone that doesn’t believe Zombie Fluxx has its category all wrapped up? I mean, the Looney Lab rabbits are all over Origins. Read More…
Monday, April 28, 2008
Seen and heard at GAMA Trade Show 2008, part 2
Okay, I had to work this weekend, but I’ve finally had a chance to sit down again and really try to mention as many GTS ‘08 releases as I can recall. If you’re just joining us, start with my first GTS post, then head back here.
By the way, GAMA seems to be sticking with the just-after-Easter start, proceeding with the theory that starting Monday instead of Easter Sunday itself will solve the scheduling problem. Never mind that many retailers and exhibitors will be watching over their kids for spring break… In all, the Easter timeframe still seems like a very bad plan for GTS 2009 and 2010.
To the games:
- White Wolf is working away on Hunter: The Vigil for a Gen Con release, but I didn’t see any previews at the show. Meanwhile, WW’s other lines are going strong - Dogs of War for World of Darkness, some Exalted setting books (and an Exalted boardgame, Legacy of the Unconquered Sun, in June), Scion: Ragnarok this summer, and other RPG goodies. The Mwahahaha! boardgame of mad scientist mayhem looks fun as well.
- Mongoose is about to hit with Traveller any day now, and start powering the return of Starship Troopers, Judge Dredd and others with the same system.
- Though I mentioned this in the comments of my first show summary post, two of the biggest RPG releases on the horizon are Green Ronin’s George R.R. Martin licensed games. A Song of Ice and Fire comes out this summer, sporting a new game system and two support products in the fall. Wild Cards, a campaign setting for Mutants & Masterminds.
- Games Workshop will have a boxed set later this year with over $300 of Warhammer 40K figures for a mere $60. They’ll also have an awesome Hydra figure, with custom head/neck pieces available through direct ordering. After all, you want to see two heads growing back where one was chopped off, right? Ah, if only I could paint…
- The Indie Press Revolution booth had an assortment of new goodies on display: Spirit of the Season from Evil Hat Productions; the hardcover edition of Arc Dream’s Monsters and Other Childish Things; Greg Stolze’s Reign; and Profane Miracles for Pelgrane Press’ The Esoterrorists, among others. In the larger hall, roleplayers were also drooling over Mind Storm Labs’ Alpha Omega RPG, a 404-page full-color tome of dark futuristic beauty.
- Days of Wonder was showing off the Ticket to Ride Card Game, due out next month. The Merlin’s Company expansion for Shadows over Camelot, which comes with Merlin and Sir Bedevere figures, was also on display well ahead of its July release.
- Though I didn’t see them at the show, Smirk & Dagger’s flier announced plans for two more Cutthroat Caverns expansions - Relics & Ruin (around GenCon), and Tombs & Tomes (Oct).
- Ninja versus Ninja, baby. Out of the Box Games has a hit with this two player boardgame of positional strategy, due out in August. John Kovalic’s ninja and sensei figures, hand painted for the game (though probably not by Kovalic himself), are perfect.
- Atlas Games was proudly displaying Mad Scientist University (which we’ll have a review of soon). Michelle Nephew was kind enough to give me a look at Where the Deep Ones Are, Ken Hite’s “story of childhood terror”, illustrated in 32 pages of full color by Andy Hopp - creepy in all the right ways.
- Speaking of Andy Hopp, Mutha Oith Creations will continue to explore the Low Life setting this summer in a card game called Dementalism: The Low Life Memory Game. For 2-12 players, expect this one to sell for $19.99.
- Shadowcircle Press had one of the show’s little gems, the Adventurer Card Game. Special cards were designed by Gary Gygax, Tom Wham and James Ward, respectively. Gary’s card, a character named Shade the Trickster, is one powerful fellow. Expect to see this in distribution soon, with an expansion later this year.
- Miniature Building Authority, intentionally or not, is playing into the excitement surrounding the next Indiana Jones movie - models like the Rope Bridge, the Old Temple, and the River Trading Post look like they came straight out of the films.
- Catalyst Game Labs had the biggest tech manual Classic Battletech has ever seen, Technical Readout 3039. This baby is absolutely massive, and packed with every vehicle and mech you could need.
- Griddly Games brought Wise Alec to the show, a younger-players’ trivia boardgame that had a crisp, bright-looking board, questions in history, science, and spelling, as well as two difficulty levels. They weren’t in distribution yet when I spoke with them, but GTS is the place they could score a deal.
- I knew Dragonfire Lasercrafts had gone into creating laser-cut wooden ship templates for use with miniatures, but I had no idea things were so far along. The company has numerous ship designs now, and will have a Viking Longship in May, and a multi-deck Deluxe Galleon in June. This is in addition to all the useful wooden RPG tokens and medieval boardgames in the company’s collection.
- Midnight Syndicate, the masters of RPG soundtracks, had the recently-released soundtrack to The Dead Matter, a horror flick coming later this year. As with all Midnight Syndicate releases, many tracks on this CD can add cool, creepy feel to your game sessions.
- Bucephalus Games will have a metric ton of releases this year - 23 titles are listed on the handout for summer ‘08 releases - from a variety of designers, including Mike Selinker (as he mentioned here). Three different Mad Scientist games (Frankenbuilder, Lab Rats, and Final Exam) prove the theme’s a popular one this year. The inkblot game Rorschach sounds like it will have gameplay similar to Apples to Apples. The two party games Top Ten: The Bill of Rights and Top Ten: The Ten Commandments have Selinker influence, and each involve achieving individual goals for the final set of rules players vote on. None of these games were retail-ready yet, so packaging style and production quality remain to be seen.
- McNeill Designs for Brighter Minds had several themed expansion sets for You’ve been Sentenced, the only game officially endorsed by Miss Delaware (no, really - weird and unexpected, but any PR is good PR).
- Chessex will be importing some sweet dice pendants, made by a company in Italy. Each holds a Chessex-sized die of a certain type, which can be swapped out for another die of the same type. Customizable dice jewelry seems like a sure-seller.
- Darkson Designs was running demos of the AE-WWII Miniature Wargame, which stands for Alternate Events WWII. I nearly got crushed by some sort of cyber-gorilla, while undead soldiers charged my battle armored warrior. The figures for this look excellent.
- Gozer Games brought Collateral Damage: The Anime Board Game. Players each take the role of a gang boss trying to take over Neo Japan, all while fighting, falling in love, and accidentally causing - you guessed it - collateral damage to sections of the city, making them less valuable. If I remember correctly, over 50 characters were available in the game.
- Blue Orange Games had collector’s editions of Double Shutter and Bendomino (which we reviewed here), and a nifty penguin-themed kids game Pengoloo, as well as some new packaging for certain titles.
- Red Juggernaut was showing off Battue: Storm of the Horse Lords, which we recently posted a review of here.
- Chad at Your Move Games showed me the two-card Red Dragon, Hydra, and other beasts for Battleground, as well as the Rome versus Carthage historical sets (elephants!), and mentioned the fall release of the random mission deck for quickly creating campaigns. Good stuff.
In all, no earth shattering announcements this year, but a great time catching up with folks in the industry, and getting acquainted with the games we’ll be seeing throughout the coming year.
Tuesday, March 4, 2008
Gary Gygax dead at 69
Steve Chenault of Troll Lord Games has just given word on the Troll Lord forums that original D&D publisher and co-creator Gary Gygax has died in his home, last night or this morning. Details are still sketchy and the forum site is not loading so well at the moment, but here you are. We’ll get you more when we can.
Update: CNet has more. It confirms heart problems as the cause of death; Gygax mentioned an inoperable heart condition in a 2006 interview. He is survived by his wife, six children, and seven grandchildren, as well as by all of us whose lives have been shaped in some way by his creation. He will be missed.
Friday, February 1, 2008
Judges Guild founder struggling with cancer
We heard yesterday, but waited for the official announcement:
Dear Guildmembers and Fellow Gamers,
It is with deepest regret that I announce that the Judges Guild’s President, Bob Bledsaw has been struggling against terminal cancer, and has but a short time left with us. He is in good spirits, with house in order, and is ready to begin “the Great Adventure,” as he calls it.
For those of you who have been awaiting new products; it may take some time. The Guild will go through some changes as it is passed to his three sons. They have only begun to go through his writings and unfinished works, which there is much of. They do not plan to close or reduce the Guild, and will do their best to honor any existing contracts, and persue new product ventures, as time allows.
Calls, cards and flowers are not needed, but prayers for Bob, or a pause for reflection on a time when the Guild brought you some joy, is very much appreciated. Bob loved to see happy faces around the game-table, and doesn’t wish to sadden anyone with his passing. His family and friends wish to thank everyone for all the support offered, but nothing can help this situation.
As Bob would say, “Sometimes even the Dungeon Master could use a Saving Throw.”
With Regards,
Maed Makistakator
Bob Bledsaw Jr.
As the first company to publish third-party RPG support products, as well as the first RPG setting product, Judges Guild led the way for future generations of game publishers. The staff of OgreCave wish Bob Bledsaw, his family and friends the best during these difficult times, and thank Bob for all the great times and high adventure.
Tuesday, October 9, 2007
Serenity keeps flying at MWP in 2008
Fans of the Serenity RPG, take heart: Margaret Weis Productions has just announced its agreement with Universal Studios to bring more RPG support to the table. To that end, three new products are planned for sale in 2008: a collection of short adventures; Six-Shooters and Spaceships, which is exactly what it sounds like; and the Big Damn Heroes Handbook, a sourcebook full of “Character traits, campaign options, adventure ideas, new characters” and more. Check out the PR yourself below.
Read More…
Friday, October 5, 2007
James Wallis getting ARGy with Perplex City creator
Now and again, and it seems like lately it’s a little more often, I stumble across some neat little bit of info, and it may have been known to others already or by some much more obvious means, but it still makes me go “holy crap” and get all bouncy with anticipation of what could result. Take yesterday: I was reading James Wallis’ blog (Mr. Wallis, former Hogshead guy and doughty game designer, will not be unfamiliar to longtime Cave readers), specifically a post about a neat thing I’d seen a few days prior but hadn’t gotten off my ass to post for some reason, and… hey. Wait a minute. “My colleague, Adrian Hon”??? At a firm called Six to Start, that comes right out with “we make alternate reality games”? Well, damn if that’s not a glimmer of hope for a genre I was starting to lose faith in. Very interesting news for Wallis’ career as well.
So I’m all into that, but I shouldn’t keep burying the equally-interesting news that Hon and Wallis are trumpeting to begin with: Let’s Change The Game, a design contest to create a fundraising ARG for Cancer Research UK. Stories are the best motivating force on the planet as far as I’m concerned, and they seem particularly potent when juiced up with the particular energy of alternate-reality gaming - this is a smart and heartening project.
Tuesday, August 14, 2007
Halo ActionClix ties into videogame preorders
According to this ICv2 story, Sunday marked the start of a Halo ActionClix promotion at Target stores. Target customers who preorder Halo 3 will receive an exclusive pair of figures, Master Chief and Elite, though it’s unclear if these will be uniquely marked/powered. The Halo ActionClix game launches a week before Halo 3, which might be enough time to lure in some fanatical videogamers that need some sort of Halo fix to tide them over… if they were made available ahead of the Xbox 360 title’s September 25th release, which it doesn’t seem they will. In related news, WizKids just posted the Halo ActionClix rules PDF for anyone that’s chomping at the bit.
Saturday, August 4, 2007
BSG RPG, Dragonlance trailer at GenCon ‘07
Gen Con announcements have started rolling in, and Margaret Weis Productions sent a pair of good ones. First, a reaffirmation that the Battlestar Galactica RPG will make its debut at Gen Con, as will a Quickstart Guide which contains a full adventure. Second, the animated movie trailer for Dragonlance: Dragons of Autumn Twilight will be shown Thursday night at the show, along with behind the scenes footage from Margaret Weis and Tracy Hickman. More details in the press releases below.
Read More…
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