Board Game Madness 12/20, closing out 2011

Last post for 2011. Have a happy holidays!

Fun:

• Perhaps the most dangerous die in the world. The entire set. 
• Someone’s trying to get this interesting set of dice made on Kickstarter – it’s a dungeon randomizer.
• More beautiful dice 
• Who says that a hospital stay can’t be fun – bring Dominion! 
• Umm… er… ahh… yeah, I got nothing. (NSFW)
• Eh… well… oy… still got nothing. (Even more NSFW) 
• If you are interested in what goes into making a Ticket to Ride map, here’s a designer diary by the winner of the $10,000 contest from Days of Wonder who made the India board now for sale.
• Help support the Creative Play Project, a non-profit that encourages kids to play games and stay off the streets, by purchasing a board gaming t-shirt.

New Games:

• Quarmageddon: Second expansion for the dice pool builder craze from 2011. 40 new dice, 6 new creatures and 2 new spells. New “immunity” ability too. And they have gone the way of Thunderstone and gotten a box to include all previous editions. Release June 2012.
• Descent: Journeys in the Dark 2^nd Edition: Talked about this one a while ago, but now they have announced a release date of 2012. The conversion kit will be released at the same time.
• Rockband Manager: This Fantasy Flight game was created by the same designer as 7 Wonders. It’s a card game where you assemble a band, record albums, play concerts, buy gear, etc. All the fun of putting together a band without the car chases and singing cops (ok, that would make it more fun – can you name the movie?) It’s an auction game that’s due out in March.
• Recent releases: Siberia, Bios Megafauna, Core Worlds, Flash Point: Fire Rescue, Friday, Octopus’ Garden, Malta Besieged, Memoir Campaign Book Vol 2, Principato, Bazaar, Cyclades: Hades, Eclipse, Mansions of Madness: Forbidden Alchemy, Plutocracy

iOS

• If you’re looking to get something last minute for an iPad owner, BGG has an iOS 2011 gift guide
• Carcassonne River and Inns and Cathedrals is now available however it seems that there are some crashes
• Sid Meier’s Civilization Revolution was updated and I can tell you first hand that there are crashes :-(
• Looking for an iPad wargame? Hex Empire has been released. It was apparently a very popular Flash game and has now been released to iOS.
• FITS is now out for $3.99! Only 1-2 players though, but that’s because it’s not pass and play. A look at the pics of the game show that you play on the same pad across from each other.

News:

• Seven Scrabble bingos (7-letter words) in one game! Joel Sherman of the Bronx scored a whopping 803 points to set a world tournament record.
• Fantasy Flight is rereleasing Fortress America, a political/war game from the 80s from Milton Bradley. They apparently had to update it though because it’s causing a bit of a furor with people who felt that it was casting America as a villain in this scenario.
• Merging mediums: A band from Kentucky called Big Fresh has released a new album called Moneychasers that is also a satirical board game. Don’t see where you can get the board game though…
• Interesting debate about whether to give real board games for the holidays or apps of board games

Commentary:

• I have internally been very suspicious of Kickstarter, the invest before it exists web site. Board games have been really proliferating on there as small publishers look to decrease their risk by getting people to invest in their initial run and getting little free bits along with the game. Fact of the matter is, most of these games aren’t very good. Only one of the games, Alien Frontiers, is in the top 100 and only 4 in the top 1000. I recognize the value of a site like this, but I’m a bit more critical of where I invest my money. I’ll save it for the 169^th expansion of Dominion.

References: Board Game Geek, GameSalute, Purple Pawn, Google News

Happy holidays and happy gaming!

Board Game Madness 12/13

Fun:

• Early holiday greetings from your favorite meeples
• Ominous Dungeon Lords shot 
• Can you count the number of gaming bits in the jar?

New Games:

• Race for the Galaxy: Alien Artifacts: Next expansion for the RftG universe, this presents a whole new way of playing the game. It is completely incompatible with earlier expansions and gives you a new exploration mechanic where you visit the Alien Orb and search for powers and victory points. Release likely next year 
• Briefcase: Newest in the deck building crase, this one has a financial industry focus. Build a business by acquisition and then have the abilities of that new division to help you with the rest of your game. Release sometime in 2012

iOS:

• Ascension: Return of the Fallen has been released (and if you ask me is an awesome expansion to the original) 
• Starving Gator – the iPad version of Hungry Hungry Hippos, for those with small children – available now

News:

• Apparently board gaming made NPR’s Morning Edition. They interviewed the designer of Risk: Legacy who talked about his game and how it’s different by permanently changing the board game based on previous plays 
• According to retailers, classic simple board games like Monopoly, Stratego and Sorry are all coming back. Parcheesi is making a comeback too according to a store in Mamaroneck.

Happy gaming!

Board Game Madness 12/6

Fun:

• Blast from the past: Nice 1953 picture of a family playing Monopoly.
• What happens when you mix alcohol, bad tempers and a party game? OK, at the very least alcohol and a party game...
• Gamer "threads" – a dress made of magic cards
• Exotic gaming locales: Playing way high up in the mountains
• Pimp my game: Someone created a kraken for Merchants and Marauders. Even if it isn't in the rules, that would be so cool!
• In case you are looking for a consolidated holiday shopping guide, BGG has released their 2011 Gift Guide for the holidays
• Another one by scrippsnews that also mentions a family favorite: Haggis (killer price of $9.99!)
• According to Magic: The Gathering designer Mark Rosewater, there's Ten Things Every Game Needs: Goals, rules, interaction, catch-up capabilities, inertia, surprise, strategy, fun, flavor and a hook
• I mentioned Risk: Legacy a while back. This is the game where you alter the board as you play it. Permanently. Well, someone made a really funny geeklist on what other games would look like if you applied the same theory to them.
• Very interesting analysis from blogger Richard Gottlieb about the 10 most important moments for games and toys in history

New Games:

• 1st & Goal: Football fans! Just in time for the playoffs. No NFL license here, so no real players, but this is two teams that can play against each other, calling plays and executing your game plan. Dice heavy with 120 play cards. They are going to expand it with six division packs (4 teams each) in the future. Should be available this week.

iOS:

• In case you are interested in how the iOS board games are doing, take a look at a report that BGGer Brad Cummings has posted. In summary, approximately 60% of the table-top gaming apps being released are "board games" (as opposed to dice or card). About 73% offer AIs and 68% offer online multiplayer. The average price of all paid apps is $3.63, although board games seem to be pushing that envelope on the higher end. The number of app purchases are up, but revenues are down 20%. This could be pre-holiday lull. Interesting report, I'd recommend it.
• CNET's best 30 games included Carcassonne, Great Little War Game, Monopoly, Puerto Rico, Scrabble and Ticket to Ride
• iPawn is a set of playing pieces that interact with the iPad to play games such as Snakes and Ladders and Air Hockey. This is now available.
• Titan coming soon
• Hive likely next year
• Caylus coming in January
• Assassin's Creed Recollection released ($2.99) – story mode and multiplayer
• Carcassonne expansions Inns & Cathedrals and The River II will be available before Christmas
• Summoner Wars postponed into January
• iThunderstone was updated. Why not Dominion KD?
• Ascension: Return of the Fallen will hopefully be ready pre-holidays
• Did I mention that Forbidden Island is now out on the iPad?

News:

• BGG is going through their annual supporter drive. If you use BGG and value their content, throw 'em a bone if you can
• According to DiscoveryNews, board games were originated for the elite in society to pass time. Now? We're just pariahs on society (oh wait, that's role players... lol) (BEFORE I get hate mail, I'm a role player also!)

Happy gaming!