When We Last Left Our Heroes...

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Well it certainly has been a busy week for us here at TOG! We've had lots of exciting news, an interview, and we've got a TON of stuff in the works behind the scenes! We started the week off with a few deep thoughts about the LARP community.

Stay on Target... Or at least go to Target to grab some new titles or a few clearance gems!

We also learned a little more about the wine making community in an interview with Viticulture designer Jamie Stegmiaer.

Thursday we kicked off a new weekly feature: Kickstarter Weekly with news about the Purge: Sins of Science Kickstarter campaign.

And we brought you a heads up of the Halloween Freighters add-on for Ticket to Ride.

We are always so glad to have your support, and thank you as always for joining us for another week here at TOG! The next few weeks will be chock full of game reviews, a TON of interviews, Kickstarter info, and of course up-to-the-minute news from around the gaming community!

Gourd On the Tracks—Ticket To Ride Adds Pumpkins...

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Just in time for Halloween, Days Of Wonder has announced a limited edition Halloween Freighter set for the ridiculously popular Ticket To Ride game. There will be 45 trains pieces with bright orange pumpkins, and three orange station markers. You can use these to replace any trains in any of the Ticket To Ride games. Not sure what makes it Halloween-y (Halloweenie?), since they aren't even Jack-O-Lanterns—just plain old pumpkins. Nevertheless, it should be out in time for Halloween, and will retail for $12.

Purge: Sins of Science--Kickstarter Weekly

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Nova Forge Enterprise has  spent years developing a "No draw" real time strategy card game. The product of this work is Purge: sins of science, and a few days ago they launched a Kickstarter campaign. The game looks amazing, the artwork is top notch and from what we can tell from the overviews of gameplay, it will be a gaming experience that is both unique and engaging! Here's the kicker with this campaign, the first 100 backers will receive DOUBLE incentives! That's right, if you back it and are part of the first 100 (There are currently 62 as I write this) you'll get 2x your incentive level. The down side is, you don't get a copy of the game until you back for $65. Unlike some games on Kickstarter, Purge looks amazingly refined, Nova Forge is basically just looking for funds to put it into production, so if you're into the type of game their describing, chances are you won't find many holes in the design and development, and at higher backing tiers you'll receive the first expansion so they're already upping the re-playability.

Check out Purge: sins of science on Kickstarter RIGHT HERE!

Or dig a little further into the game on their website RIGHT HERE!

We'll be featuring a Kickstarter campaign each week here on TOG! Please contact us if you know of one that we should write about, or if you're starting up your own! We'd love to know what you're in to! Thanks for reading!

An Interview with Jamey Stegmaier—Designer of Viticulture

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Thanks for taking the time to answer a few questions for us, Jamey. Could you tell us a little about yourself? I’m the co-founder of Stonemaier Games in St. Louis, along with my friend Alan Stone. I LOVE board games—I’ve been playing and designing board games since I was 8 years old (I’m a haggard, weather-worn 31 now). I’m an avid reader and writer; I play soccer, and I have two cats that keep me on my toes. They were not helpful in creating Viticulture.

What was your inspiration for creating your new game Viticulture?

A few factors played into the inspiration for creating Viticulture. I had a few key mechanics that I wanted to use in a game, and I was fascinated by both the romanticism and complexity of running a vineyard. So I combined the two into a vineyard in a box.

Would someone who didn’t like wine still find something to love about your game?

Oh, definitely. At heart, this is a worker-placement game with some hand management and production optimizing, so if you enjoy those mechanics... I also think that regardless of your interest in wine, people who enjoy the following elements of gaming will really enjoy Viticulture:

  1. Scalability: Viticulture is a 2-6 person game. Depending on the number of players, different numbers of worker placement spots on the game board are available. Thus the game feels the same whether you’re playing with 2 players or a larger group.
  2. Conflict Without Hostility: I designed the game so that people would walk away feeling elated, not frustrated. Thus you can’t block people in Viticulture unless you can actually take the action you’re claiming. There is conflict—after all, there are a limited number of spots on the board—but no hostility.
  3. Flow: Have you ever played a game where you have to wait 10 minutes with nothing to do before it’s your turn? Viticulture is not one of those games. Players place workers one at a time (not all workers for one player, then all for the next), so you have a constant stream of choices to make.

Not really a question, but I’ve never seen a money-back guarantee on a Kickstarter board game before. That’s a great idea!

Thanks! My backers are placing their trust in me to create a great game (and they’re pledging funds so that my game can be a reality), so I want to reciprocate their trust and generosity by offering their money back if they return the game within a month of receiving it. It’s my way of standing behind the Viticulture experience I’m creating.

I noticed that 3 of your top 5 games are worker placement games. Do you like any other type of games or game mechanisms? Which ones?

Sure, definitely. Dominion (deckbuilding) is high on that list, as is Ra (auctioning). I also enjoy games that feature drafting, and I love the idea behind tile-placement games (but have yet to find one that completely fulfills what I want—I might have to design it myself).

What was your gateway game?

There have been a number of gateway games in my life, each to a new level of gaming. I’d say that the biggest gateways were chess, then Risk, then Settlers of Catan, then Agricola. And lots in between. I feel like every innovative game opens a new gate.

One-Word Answers:

Buffy or Angel?

Buffy

Coffee: Iced, hot, or neither?

Neither (I drink the occasional Frappucino, but that’s it)

Favorite author?

I’m an avid reader in a variety of genres, so this question is near impossible to answer. I’ll say that my favorite author right now is Ernest Cline, author of Ready Player One.

Favorite place you’ve visited?

Man, you want a one-word answer for this? So many amazing places out there! I’m trying to decide between Stonehenge or Frank Lloyd Wright’s Fallingwater. Stonehenge has been around for thousands of years, so it’s not going anywhere. Thus I’ll say Fallingwater, because it probably won’t last nearly as long.

The judges have decided to deduct 5 points for not keeping your answers to only one word. Nevertheless, thanks again for answering our questions!

Thank you! Your blog is one of the first gaming blogs I started reading, so it’s an honor to participate in an interview as a designer here.

 

Make sure you hit up Jamey's Kickstarter campaign for Viticulture. There are only four days left! And thanks for reading!

Star Trek Catan & X-Wing Sightings at Target—Plus Clearance Games!

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I was in my local Target this weekend, and I noticed both Star Wars: X-Wing Miniatures Game and Star Trek Catan on the shelves. The cost was $39.99 and $49.99 respectively, which seems like a LOT of money for a casual Target shopper to drop on a board game, with no prior knowledge of the games. But I certainly hope they sell well. While I was there, I did find two good games—Jungle Speed and Sorry Sliders—on clearance for $10 each. Jungle Speed is a game of matching patterns on cards, and when that happens you have to grab a "totem" in the middle of the table. It's a fun group game. Sorry Sliders is a dexterity game that's 1,000,000 better than regular, boring Sorry. Your mileage may vary, but if you find yourself in Target, be on the lookout for these games for a terrific price!

Thanks for reading!

LARP - A Tale of Two Realities

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by Jeremiah

Having mostly kept my gaming habits to those that are confined to the table top—with the exception of the occasional video game and a very short stint as a force adept Trandoshan smuggler in the Star Wars Role Playing game—I'm writing about LARPers from a place of non-experience. However, because I have never taken part in this over the top form of gaming, it also doesn't mean I'm here to bash it. I personally find it fascinating.

What is a LARP? LARP is gamer speak for Live Action Role Playing; it is exactly what it sounds like. Players enter into gameplay and play the role of a character who has certain skills, abilities, allegiances, etc. etc.

Why do people LARP? That is a great question. The more I've peered into the world of LARPing the more I've found this question has no easy answer. There seem to be a few common threads that tie all LARPers together.

  • Acceptance—Folks who just haven't fit into most social circles in the "real" world can find friends and "family" within the context of LARP
  • Creative Outlet—For some it's painting, and others it's songwriting or sculpture. And for some it's the creation of a character or navigating through campaigns as a character in their LARP of choice.
  • Escape—For many it's a way to escape the daily grind of the rat race—a way to escape it all.

What do I think of LARP? The initial knee-jerk reaction, even around most hardcore gamers is, "Wow, those people are nerds!" I then have to remind folks that we're sitting at a table intently a) building fictitious empires, b) battling fictitious monsters, or c) competing for control of a fictitious land that's represented by a small piece of cardboard. Mr. Pot, it's time to put down the phone, Mr. Kettle knows full well what color he is. When I look at LARP as a whole, I think of it as a deeply intense Paintball battle scenario (something which is much more "socially acceptable" these days) or something akin to a civil war re-enactment without the tedious binds of historical accuracy, combined with improv theatre.

Would I ever participate in a LARP? My answer is a qualified: no. Every element of LARP I find extremely enjoyable: intense competition, immersive gaming scenarios, all things theatrical, and so on. There are two main factors as to why I will most likely never get involved with a LARP. Time and money. From everything I've seen, heard, and read about LARP it's pretty time consuming— taking up entire weekends at a time, and the cost of the gear can be a huge deterrent. Personally I have enough things in my life draining time and money from me, and my family and I simply cannot afford to entertain the thought of investing more into a gaming situation than I already do. Perhaps when my children are older, and my wife agrees to join in on a quest, the Isley family will take the LARP community by storm.  Until such time I say: LARP community, you have my support, but not my sword!

The Nerdist channel on YouTube has just wrapped up their first season of the new series called "Realm of LARP", a documentary, or as they call it a "Reality" series, that follows a group of 5 LARPers—one of whom is a Seventh Day Adventist—through a full campaign, giving a behind-the scenes glimpse along the way.

Also the independent film Darkon is an intriguing look at a LARP community in New England that battles for control of the "DARKON" realm...

So where do you land on LARP? Have you experienced it first hand? We'd love to hear your stories! Leave 'em in the comments! Thanks so much for reading!

When We Last Left Our Heroes...

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Well, we said it at the beginning of the week... This will be a very light week, and in terms of posts this week has been fairly light. We did give you a heads up about the new expansion of King of Tokyo called Power Up! We unfortunately did not have opportunity to shoot any video during the week, but it doesn't mean we haven't been working hard behind the scenes! Stay tuned in the weeks to come as we are currently working on no less than 4 great interviews with game designers, of some games that we are pretty excited about!

Thanks as always for reading, and of course you can expect more gaming news, reviews and general mayhem, here at Theology of Games!

Power Up! King of Tokyo Expands!

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The hit dice roller King of Tokyo, created by Magic the Gathering designer Richard Garfield is slated for an expansion titled Power Up! There aren't a lot of details about the expansion except the contents. It looks like they are adding another monster Pandakai, and over 50 evolution cards to give your monsters more options to power up and become King of Tokyo! See our review of King of Tokyo by Firestone - Right here!

A Lighter Week

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This week is crazy for both Jeremiah and Firestone, so we won't be posting with our usual frequency. On the upside, we'll actually be in the same state—in the same room!—for a couple of days, so we're hoping to put together a video review or a playthrough, or something. (And we're also planning to introduce some youth pastors to The Resistance...Thanks for understanding, and thanks for reading!