Kickstarter Weekly - Feb. 27, 2014

What week here at TOG would be complete without us highlighting a handful of games just chomping at the bit to make it to market and your table! So we've scoured Kickstarter and come up with these games we feel might interest you.

Featured Campaign

Tower: A Board Game of Bullying and Building - Ben Haskett

In Tower you're attempting to help the king of your realm build, well, a tower. Essentially a resource-management game, with a small amount of worker-placement mixed in, Tower pits players against each other as they try to rush to market to get the resources they need to complete their section of the tower. The components, and illustrations shown on the campaign page, look rich and thematic. There are a lot of stretch goals--some of which are already unlocked--and the price point makes this one pretty easy to get in on. Tower has been in development through PnP on The Game Crafter for two years, so it's safe to say a lot of kinks have been worked out; this one looks truly market ready!

A pledge of $29 will get you a copy of the game. There's plenty of time for more stretch goals to be unlocked since the campaign doesn't end until March 24. You can get all the details and see all of the components: right here!

Shipwrights of the North Sea - Shem Phillips/Garphill Games

Remember when we said of Asgard's Chosen "Hey it's really cool they did a viking/norse theme; there aren't many games like that." Well apparently the gaming industry has taken note of that fact. Not that we said it, but that there is a mythology out there that lies untapped and ready for the exploiting.. errr taking... Anyway. Shipwrights is a game for 2-5 players in which the goal of the game is to construct the largest fleet of warships, which lets you make lots of money, which lets you win the game.

The campaign is packed with lots of videos and stretch goals--many of which have been unlocked already!

A pledge of $44 NZD (Approx. $37 USD) will score you a copy of the game shipped worldwide, and the campaign ends March 13. You can find out all the details: right here!

The Piratical Collection of Leather Pouch Games - Bibelot Games

This slick collection of rustic and authentic-looking games are all designed to fit within a suede leather pouch. The pouch holds all the game pieces--which are made of real marble and wood--and the pouch unfolds to become the playing area. The "board" is laser etched into the suede so it should be pretty darn durable. There are seven games to choose from with this campaign each having a different flavor of the pirate life. The down side of this campaign is the price: The components are very cool and authentic, but that makes them a bit pricey. Still, if you like pirate type games (and who doesn't!?), this one is definitely worth a good look!

One game is going to ring you up for $34, and for all 7 games you're going to fork over $217. The campaign ends on March 6. You can find all of the details: right here!

Kill Shakespeare - IDW Games

An area-control board game based on the comic book of the same name, Kill Shakespeare is a semi-coop game featuring some of the most historic characters from the works of Shakespeare. The game is semi-cooperative, so you'll work together but in the end you're jockeying for position to become protector of the realm.

This campaign is already funded and working toward stretch goals, including an upgraded map and custom meeples!

A pledge of $50 to get a copy - Ends on March 15, and you can find the details: right here!

Thanks so much for reading; we'd love to know if you're backing any of these campaigns, or if there are others we're missing! Let us know, in the comments below!

You can subscribe to TOG by filling in your email over on the right, we'd also love to connect with you on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, YouTube and of course there's more TOG where this came from on our Podcast!

Knizia is Back With A New Game from Fantasy Flight

Okay, Knizia's been working on some things--mostly iOS implementations of his games. But he used to come out with games all the time. And he's designed some absolute classics. So it's super exciting to hear about a new game from the Doctor!

Fantasy Flight has announced Age Of War, a dice game for 2 to 6 players set in feudal Japan.

According to the description:

"Each turn in Age of War, you must decide where to commit your armies against a castle. At the beginning of the game, fourteen castles are laid out, divided between six clans: Mori, Uesugi, Chosokabe, Shimazu, Tokugawa, and Oda. On your turn, you will attack one of these castles. Each castle card displays a number of battle lines showing different symbols. On your turn, you will attempt to conquer a castle by matching your dice results to the symbols in the battle lines of a chosen castle.

Your turn begins by mustering your troops – rolling seven custom dice to gather infantry, archers, cavalry, and loyal daimyos to your attack force. Once your troops are mustered, you may attack a castle by matching the results of your dice to one battle line on the besieged castle. If unfilled battle lines remain on the castle card, you must reroll the dice to muster your troops again and press the attack.

If, after any roll, you cannot fill a battle line on the besieged castle, your assault is thrown back. You must regroup your troops by setting one die aside, before mustering your troops again by rolling your remaining dice.

If you can conquer a castle by filling all of its battle lines, you take the castle card and add it to your play area as one of your castles, and the castle’s point value counts towards your total score. But just because you conquer a castle doesn’t mean that castle is safe! You can attack other players’ castles on your turn in the same way you attack unclaimed castles, with the addition of the red daimyo in the upper left hand corner of the castle card as another battle line that must be completed to conquer the castle."

The game is expected in the second quarter of the year. I don't know about you, but hearing about a new Knizia game fills me with joy. He was The Man when I got into this hobby, and it's good to see him coming back.

What's your favorite Knizia game? Or favorite Knizia memory?

Thanks for reading!

Contest Winner: Who's Going on a Relic Expedition?

We were given a few copies of Relic Expedition from Foxtrot Games so we could, 1) review it, and 2) give one away!We love giving games away to our readers, so it's with great excitement that we announce the winner of our Relic Expedition contest!

To enter the contest you simply had to subscribe to the blog or YouTube channel, follow us on Twitter or Instagram, or like us on Facebook. Doing all of the above would enter you a total of five times into our contest! We pulled up our lists of faithful devotees and gave them each a number, pulled up a random number generator, and "drew" a number for each of the five lists, and then randomly drew a winner from those five finalists.

AND THE WINNER IS: Rachel Skifstad!!

Congrats Rachel! We'll be contacting you via Facebook (which is how you won), and get your copy over to you ASAP!!

Thanks so much to everyone for being a part of our contest and a very special thanks to Foxtrot Games for providing us with this copy to give away!

If you didn't win this time, never fear: We have two more game-giveaway contests coming to you very soon!

Next up is a free copy of Island Siege from APE Games!

Thanks for reading!

Kickstarter Weekly--Feb 21, 2014

As another week of  posts here at TOG comes to a close, we bring you our weekly round-up of titles kicking their way into the gaming industry. As always, there are a ton of campaigns out there seeking your gaming dollar. Please let us know if there's something we've missed that you think is awesome!

Featured Campaign!

Character Meeples - Meeple Source

Not a game, but a really cool way to trick out your old games! What else is there to say!? No longer will your meeples be nameless, faceless worker drones without personality or character! These are cool-looking custom-painted meeples in all sort of races and classes for all of your gaming "needs." There are a TON of designs to choose from, so there's bound to be something you'll like.

You can get in on this until March 16, and $10 gets a complete set of 8 Meeples of a character of your choosing. Or $25 will get you 3 8-Meeple sets. Check out all of the designs and options: right here!

Kingdom Builder Big Box Kickstarter Edition - Queen Games

In the shocker of the century, we have a bit of a disagreement here at TOG! Firestone is calling into question the use of Kickstarter by a large publisher such as Queen Games, while I say let them do what they will--Kickstarter is but another tool in today's gaming industry!

Regardless, Queen Games has launched a big box edition of  Kingdom Builder, 2012's Spiel Des Jahres winner. It features the base game, as well as the Nomads, and Crossroads expansions, and two mini expansions: Capitol and Caves. They've also included, in this edition, newly shaped settlements: Each color now has its own distinct shape for a little more added flavor to your game play.

Already gained over $100k

The campaign ends March 8. A pledge of  $85 will get you the big box--there are still a few $79 early-bird pledges left but not many. You can find the full details: right here!

Migration - Joe Cannon

In Migration players set out to control a fantasy realm for their nation in a filler-sized area-control game for 2-4 players. With a modular board offering multiple setup configurations, there's bound to be a decent amount of replay value with this game. There's some fantastic artwork waiting to be injected into this game, although we are hoping the components take a significant leap from the "Game Crafter" version shown on the campaign -Particularly the stickered up tokens.

The campaign ends March 15. A pledge of $39 gets a copy mailed to your door, and you can see more images and get all the details: right here!

Peasant Buffet - Wargi Studios, LLC

A cutthroat, press-your-luck card game where players try to survive an all-out attack on their village by blood thirsty monsters. It's every person for themselves as players backstab, lie, and steal their way to victory. Players collect items to either defeat monsters as they show up from the deck, or use their own weapons to steal from other players. But if  a big bad monster shows up, they may have to join forces just to survive!

This campaign ends on March 17, and a pledge of $20 will score you a copy of the game. You can find out all the details: right here!

Quick Updates

Draco Magi - This campaign has been a HUGE success, funding over 500%. It closes at 1:10 EST, Feb 21! That's today, folks! They've unlocked EVERY stretch goal they've planned, and you'll be getting a great game for $15, if, of course, you backed it!

Zeppeldrome - We are baffled at this, but the funding was unsuccessful for Zeppeldrome--falling about $4,000 short of their goal of $24,000. Zeppeldrome is a legitimately fun game, and one of our most anticipated titles to hit Kickstarter in a while. We certainly hope 12SP Entertainment doesn't scrap the game, but will find another way to bring it to market! We'll keep you posted on any of those developments!

As always, we thank you for reading and subscribing to our blog, and YouTube Channel, liking us on Facebook, following us on Twitter and Instagram, and listening to our podcast!

Please let us know if there are any cool Kickstarter Campaigns out there that you're backing! We'd love to hear about them!

It's Your Last Chance for a Free Game!

This weekend we'll be giving away a copy of the fun family exploration game Relic Expedition, thanks to the fine folks at Foxtrot Games.

All you have to do is Follow us somewhere. And the more places you follow us, the more chances you have to win. We're going to choose one Twitter follower, one Facebook fan, one YouTube follower, one Instagram follower, and one blog follower ----->, and the winner of each of those categories will fight it out in a bloodless battle royale for total domination!! So the more places you follow us, the more chances yo have to be in that final battle.

Either way, thanks for reading our blog. We love doing this, and we hope it's helpful, honest, funny, and worthwhile. And check back for more giveaways. One is on it's way from Indonesia! Have a great weekend!

We Interview Nigel Pyne--Designer of oddball Aeronauts

Today we’re with Nigel Pyne, co-founder of Maverick Muse, the company behind the current Kickstarter game oddball Aeronauts. Thanks for joining us Nigel. First, will you tell us a little about yourself?

You’re welcome. Sure: I have a beard. There you go, will that do? Okay, wow, a little bit about myself. I guess this little intro says a bit about me on its own doesn’t it?

Anyway, I’m a game designer by night and as my alter ego I design, build and maintain computer networks. I love games, books, movies and comics in that order. I live with my wife, Debs, and two dogs--Mr Jones the Schnauzer and Lt. Ripley the Welsh Terrier. If I could survive off protein alone, I would, but I also love crumble puddings. Oh and coffee. I could go on?

You have a terrific little game on Kickstarter. Tell us about oddball Aeronauts.

Thanks guys! oddball Aeronauts is a light strategy, two-player card game that you can play without a surface and as such is incredibly portable. For anyone 9 years and older, the players go head-to-head in a dirigible duel in the skies of an oddball fantasy, steampunk-esque world. All I would add to that is don’t be fooled into thinking it has no depth of play.

Where did the in-the-hand idea come from?

I grew up playing Top Trumps but it really is just for young kids. A few years ago I thought it would be great if there was a game with more...game, that had the same features--no surface, play in the hand--that kids could get into once Top Trumps no longer did it for them and so started to design one.

Where’s the strangest place you’ve played a game of oddball Aeronauts?

Up a tree. Obviously a shameless stunt for promotional purposes, but still pretty strange.

So...I make my living as an editor, and I just have to know: Why don’t you capitalize “oddball”?!

Because it’s then just like the word itself - oddball.

The artist, Lloyd Ash Pyne, has a remarkably similar last name to you. Is he your brother?

That’s funny because you would think that was the case, wouldn’t you? And, in fact you’d be absolutely right. He’s one of my three brothers and we both got into D&D at the same time and have been playing games and designing worlds together every since.

Was there a watershed moment that drew you both into the gaming world?

Yeah, it was when my teacher at school introduced me to D&D. I had grown up playing games but D&D just kick-started my imagination and I’ve never looked back.

The artwork is striking and evocative. That’s not really a question; I just wanted to say that…

Thanks--Ash is a talented guy and has done a great job with the artwork and Debs’ design work and eye for detail complements it fantastically.

These characters seem to scream for a back-story, and then a quick look around your Web site makes me think that might, indeed, be the case. Is there already a world at work in the background? Or is that something you have planned?

Yes, there is. The world came first--the oddball Realms--and the story in that world influences the game and the game has influenced the world. This definitely comes from our role-playing days. Quite quickly after starting to play D&D, Ash and I started creating our own worlds and that’s a major part of what we do as a design studio. It’s surprising how much a game design can influence the world--for example, I work out a cool game effect and then we look at the world and realize nothing exists to match that effect so we go ahead and create something that does. The end result--we hope--is a world that blends with the game and a game that integrates with the world.

Are there any plans for expansions?

Absolutely, yes. We have 6 new factions being developed and have other ideas for expanding the game as well. Here’s an exclusive for you. In the full version of the game available this August, you’ll get Princess cards--and in the oddball Realms, Princesses have magic. Magic is a Trick that you can use even if the Princess card is your 2nd or 3rd card--but as you can only use 1 Trick a round you couldn’t then use the Trick on your Top Card. But, a third of each player’s faction cards will have a ‘magic’ symbol on them down in the bottom left hand corner. If you decide to use your Princess Trick and your opponent’s Top Card has the ‘magic’ symbol on, then the Trick fails and you don’t get to do any Trick that round--your Princess fails to control that extra surge of magic energy.

Magic is just one idea we’ve had for expanding gameplay. We’re not saving that for an expansion, but others we are.

We know you’re neck-deep in your campaign, but are there any on-the-horizon projects you can tell us about?

There’s the oddball Adventure game. Up to 6 players split into two teams and race in their dirigibles from air island to air island following a trail to fortune and glory. Then they sit down and play the board game :)

Here’s the rapid-fire section. We ask the questions, and you answer them with one word (or short phrase). GO!

No, I’m not ready. Ahhhhh.

Too bad! Favorite faction in oddball Aeronauts?

Um, er, um--The Pendragon Pirates--Pirates that have defected to the Pendragon or Pendragon who have turned Pirate?

Favorite steampunk novel?

Oh, I know this one! I actually haven’t read a lot of Steampunk but out of what I have read, it would have to be ‘Mortal Engines’ by Philip Reeve

Favorite Blood Bowl team?

Skaven.

Game you seem to like more than anyone else?

Ahhhh, now you’re asking. I don’t know. I don’t know. Just give me a minute. Stop pressuring me. Oh, I know...no, not that. Oh, why can’t you think of anything when you’re put on the spot? I actually don’t think this applies to me if I’m honest - sorry.

Favorite Pixar character?

Pixar? What’s Pixar? Just kidding - it would have to be that big blue, horned dude from Monsters Inc. What’s his name? Sulley, I think. Is that right?

Thanks for taking the time to talk with us, Nigel! Check out the Kickstarter campaign right here! And here’s our review of this fun game.

Choose One!--A Double-Take Review

chooseonecover

DONOVAN: What... is... happening...? (His skin turns brown and leathery and stretches across his bones until it splits. His skeletal hands reach for Elsa's throat, choking her. Indy rushes forward and pushes Donovan away. As he falls the BODY BREAKS INTO FLAMES, then SHATTERS AGAINST THE WALL.)

KNIGHT: He chose... poorly.

 - Indiana Jones, The Last Crusade

Today we take a look at Looney Labs' latest party game, Choose One! The decisions you make during this game will stir up conversation at your game night, party, or other social gathering.

Let's take a look!

The Components

chooseonebits

The box includes a small board that is really more of a score track, with a start space, 1-10 spaces and a finish space. It's a bi-fold board.

300 Choose One Cards--These are the main/only mechanism to the game; they all have two choices on them: One choice has a white background while the other is purple.

20 Voting Cards--10 white, and 10 purple,and each player receives one of each at the start of the game.

10 Pawns--These are random pieces, everything from a from a wooden car to a plastic hot dog.

1 Felt Bag - To store the pawns in.

chooseonecards

The Setup

Setup is quick and easy: Each player selects a pawn and takes 2 voting cards (one white, one purple). Players place their pawns on the "Start" space of the board and you select a beginning player.

The Gameplay

The first player assumes the role of the "Chooser" (yes, that's what they call it in the rules), and the Chooser chooses a card, looks at the two choices on the card, and places a voting card that indicates their choice face-down. All the other players reveal their vote (we always did it on a count of three, so that players wouldn't have an advantage if someone knew the Chooser better than others). After the votes are revealed, scores will be tallied and pawns will be moved. If no one guesses the correct (matching) choice, the Chooser scores 2 points. If at least one player guesses correctly, each player who chose correctly gets 1 point (including the Chooser), but if everybody guesses correctly, then no one scores.

Once a player moves into the Finish space, he or she wins. If there's a tie, play enough extra rounds to declare a winner.

The Verdict

Jeremiah--The components for this are really quite simple: The cards are a little thin, but the design is colorful and the colors for your choices are quite easily distinguished. I like the hodge-podge of items that are used for the pawns and the little felt bag is a nice touch. If I had one small complaint about the components, is that typically games of this type also come with a smaller box within the larger box to hold the cards. This does not. So you find yourself passing the game box around or leaving it on the table, it was a little clumsy at times, but definitely did not ruin the experience for me.

Firestone--I agree. The different pawns are fun, and certainly in keeping with Looney Labs' aesthetic. And I agree about the box, too. Even a functional divider would have been helpful, but this was just "Here's a box full of cards. Good luck keeping them organized!" Not a deal-breaker at all, though.

chooseonecards2

Jeremiah--The concept of this game isn't terribly original, but it's still fun. This game makes for a perfect ice breaker for social gatherings. I don't know that it's all that great for a gamers' group, unless it's used as a filler for a group of gamers who don't know each other all that well.

Firestone--This didn't work with gamers at all. We ran through a round, realized it was an ice-breaker game and not really a how-well-do-you-know-your-friends game, and quit. The problem is that the questions aren't equal. I know...I know... I'm overthinking the cards in a party game. Maybe. Some of the questions create genuine unknowns, where even friends wouldn't know which you'd choose. "Flower Garden or Vegetable Garden?" or "Butterflies or Fireflies?" Those are choices most of my friends won't know. But then there are ones such as "Mac or PC?" or "Rock or Country?" Well anyone who knows me is going to know the answer to those.

So overthinking? Sure. But I don't think this is a good game for people who already know each other. It would be a fine icebreaker game.

Jeremiah--This game actually came at the perfect time for me: It showed up right about the time I took my new position in youth ministry. I've used it to get to know students a little better, strike up conversation and had some good laughs around the table with it. I've even pulled random cards from the box and used them during a youth service as an ice breaker to get everyone talking.

Firestone--I can see it working well for that type of situation, but not many others.

Firestone's Final Verdict--This game is just too niche for me to recommend it. As a game where you're supposed to gauge how well you know people you already know, it doesn't work for me. In an ice-breaker situation, it would work fine. But it's just not my favorite party game. Unless you just took over a youth group, I have to recommend leave this one on the shelf...

Jeremiah's Final Verdict--This is a fun game for the right settings. It's definitely a light party game, but at the same time it's pretty flexible so those settings are easier to find than you may think. Overall It's a fun little party game that will strike up great conversation and shared laughter with both strangers and friends! Put this on the table!

We'd like to thank Looney Labs for supplying us with review copies of Choose One! This in no way influenced our opinions.

Have you played Choose One!? Do you agree with us? Let us know in the comments!

We'd love it if you subscribed to our little blog over on the right!

Also don't forget to look for us all over the internet, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Youtube, and our Podcast!

Eldritch Horror is Getting an Expansion

Fantasy Flight has announced a small expansion for their co-op Lovecraftian game Eldritch Horror, called Forsaken Lore. 

The deck of cards adds over 100 new Encounter cards, 20 Condition cards, and 14 new Mysteries. 

According to the press release: 

"Yig’s cultists and the Serpent People make their way across the world, determined to conquer for their master. Savage and sly, these venomous cultists and the serpents under their control unleash a new horror on investigators – a condition called Poisoned. Yig enters the game with six unique mysteries, and your Investigators will need to gather all of their strength and cunning to keep Yig from entering our world. Break the power of the Serpent Crown over the will of the people, and defeat the Winged Serpent Epic Monster in order to world safe once more."

This will hit second quarter of 2014. What are your thoughts on this expansion? Is it too soon after the regular release for your tastes? Should FF have included this in the original box, rather than going for more $? Do you not care about that at all, and JUST WANT MORE EXPANSION GOODNESS? Let us know in the comments. 

 Thanks for reading!

Kickstarter Weekly - Feb. 15, 2014

Well we're a day late--but hopefully not a dollar short--bringing you this installment of Kickstarter Weekly, we've got some great campaigns for you to look at including a featured campaign that we reviewed earlier this week. You really should jump on this one, what are we talking about? Let's get started!

Featured Campaign

oddball Aeronauts - Maverick Muse Games

No, we didn't mistype--the o isn't capitalized. oA is a 2-player card game that requires no playing surface, but still offers great game-play, lots of strategic decision-making, and oh yeah, it's really fun too! We're both big fans of this one, and they're well on their way to hitting their funding goal, so we hope to see some nifty stretch goals unlocked soon!

It's only 15 European pounds, or whatever they spend in England, which is 25 USD, and the campaign ends on March 3. You can find all of the details - Right HERE! You can also read our full written review - Right HERE!

Heroes Wanted - Action Phase Games

Create your own super hero by selecting cards and mix-matching cards that give you special abilities, as you attempt to gain enough fame to make it onto the city's Super Hero Team. You do that by saving the day! Heroes Wanted is a tactical board game for 1-5 players, and has funded in 48 hours, so every backer at this point is just racking up stretch goals/rewards!

A pledge of $55 will get you the base game and stretch goals, and the campaign ends on March 9. You can get all the details- Right HERE!

Lineage: The Martial Arts Strategy Game - Gray Wolf Games

An asymmetrical strategy game for 2-6 players, in which certain players are playing the roles of a Master and a Student, and another role is playing the Emperor and General. Each role have different win conditions. The game has a lofty funding goal, but the components look really nice, and they are hoping to keep that quality in the production run.

A pledge of $39 earns you a copy of the game, and the campaign is a long one, ending on April 1. You can get the full details - Right HERE!

Province - Laboratory

Province is a Euro-style micro-game. Yep, there's yet another micro game hitting Kickstarter, and since they've cruised past their funding goal it will soon hit the market. The game looks to be a resource management/worker and area-control game that apparently takes 25 minutes to play and fits in a 4" x 4" bag.

Like most micro games it takes a very small investment of time and money to get into Province, so it might be worth taking a look a this one.

Province will only cost you $5 for a copy shipped to your door. The campaign ends on March 2, and you can find all the details - Right HERE!

Thanks so much for taking the time to take a look at this week's Kickstarter Weekly! Are you backing any of these games? We'd love to hear your thoughts on them, and if there are any sweet games we've missed that are funding right now!

Thanks for reading and we'll see you next week with more gaming, news, reviews and interviews here at TOG!

We'd love it if you subscribed to the blog, followed us on Instagram and Twitter, and liked us on Facebook! We also have a YouTube Channel and a Podcast!

Days Of Wonder Announces Ticket To Ride: 10th Anniversary Edition

By Firestone It's the perfect gateway game. It's the game my Mom wants me to bring to every holiday get-together. It's often mistakenly called "The train game"--also by my Mom. And it's turning 10 years old...with a shiny new edition.

Days Of Wonder has announced the 10th Anniversary Edition of their blockbuster bestseller.

The game will come with in an oversized box, with new cover design and graphics. And the new and redesigned board will be 50% larger than the original.

The box will also include:

• 5 Tin Boxes, each with 48 finely sculpted trains
• 5 Wooden Scoring Markers
• 1 Multilingual Rules Booklet
• 110 Train Cards with all new illustrations
• 30 Classic Destination Tickets
• 35 Destination Tickets from USA 1910
• 4 Destination Tickets from Mystery Train
• 1 Longest Route/Globetrotter Bonus card

Those trains and tins look really cool! It drops in June, but start saving your pennies now: it'll cost $100...