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Game News

Financial Times: Why we still love board games

Posted in by Kenneth Newquist on Sat, 07/17/2010 - 1:50pm

The Financial Times is running an article about German/euro-style board games such as Settlers of Catan and Carcassone that covers why the games are so popular in German, how they've expanded beyond its borders to the UK and America, and the sustainability of this niche market.

It's a good read; I think there's a real concern here that the market is being over-saturated with board games, as the Germans pump out more and more new games. There's all the makings of a bubble there (and if we're talking bubbles, then it's already happened). But while the German market may be coming supersaturated, I think there's still plenty of room to grow in the United States. Heck, I think they've only barely touched on what's possible here -- sure my gaming group has been playing these kinds of board games for years, but the larger population still things board game equals Monopoly or Sorry.

The Old Republic trailer: "Hope"

Posted in by Kenneth Newquist on Wed, 06/16/2010 - 6:06am

I don't want to turn Nuketown into all game trailers, all the time, but there have been some really impressive Star Wars trailers out. The latest is "Hope", Bioware's follow-up to "Deceived".

Looking for Geek Holidays

Posted in by Kenneth Newquist on Tue, 06/15/2010 - 5:30am

One of my upcoming "Summon WebScryer" columns for Knights of the Dinner Table is going to be on geek holidays, those annual events of keen interest to (and usually created by) geeks. Knowledge of these events is usually spread online, and they're frequently the subject of Facebook updates, Twitter tweets, and blog posts, not to mention more than a few podcasts. Here's my preliminary list ... what am I missing?

Force Unleashed 2 Trailer: The Apprentice Betrayed

Posted in by Kenneth Newquist on Mon, 06/14/2010 - 5:30am

I enjoyed the The Force Unleashed (both the video game and the rpg campaign guide even though I didn't get very far in it. I'm playing the Wii version, which has some very cool interactive controls, which I promptly forget everything I stop playing for more than a week. The purist in me finds the raw power of Vader's Apprentice disconcerting -- he far outstrips the other Jedi and Sith we've seen -- but at the same time there's an undeniable thrill to carving your way through a battalion of storm troopers.

The trailer for The Force Unleashed 2 ups the power level considerably, with the Apprentice hacking and slashing his way through Imperial troops and droids alike. It also reveals the answer as to why the Apprentice is still in the land of the living (and provides fodder for near-endless sequels...)

Resurrected WizKids plans Star Trek-based Minis Game

Posted in by Kenneth Newquist on Thu, 06/10/2010 - 5:31am

The days of my gaming group going in together on a case of HeroClix are long gone, but if anything were to pique our interest in collectible miniatures again, I think it would WizKids new Star Trek-based miniatures game. Details are sparse, but according to this press release the game will use the Clix mechanic (in which the game stats are on the miniature's dial, and change as the figure takes damage) and will be released in Christmas 2010.

This could be very cool. If you think about how starship battles unfold in Star Trek, they're often slugfests between capital ships, with the capabilities of the ships changing as the ships take damage (shields fall, phasers fail, a jury-rigged particle weapon funneled through the deflector array comes on line , etc.) That matches nicely with the HeroClix mechanic, and can imagine a fleet of Star Trek-inspired ships would look amazing spread out across the dining room table. The Star Trek universe already has built in factions as well (Federation, Klingon, Romulan, Borg) with a wide array of ship designs.

Cosmographer 3: A Thing of Beauty

Posted in by Kenneth Newquist on Tue, 06/08/2010 - 5:51am

ProFantasy has posted some more preview artwork and maps from their upcoming Cosmographer 3 release for Campaign Cartographer 3. They've been working on this release for the last few years -- in fact, it's the reason why I upgraded to CC3 originally -- and I've been waiting for it patiently ever since.

It looks great -- the preview page includes a Traveller-style galactic map, deckplans, and a false-3D map of a star sector. It's all stuff I can use in my weekly Star Wars campaign ... assuming it's released before we move on to something else...

Star Wars RPG Round Up: End of the Line, Author Blogs, Unknown Regions review

Posted in by Kenneth Newquist on Mon, 06/07/2010 - 5:57am

It's a sad time for Star Wars: Saga Edition -- Wizards of the Coast has killed its official web site for the role-playing and the miniatures games and is redirecting visitors to their home page. Fortunately, Rebel Alliance fans have managed to secure hidden caches of PDFs while Wizards has announced plans to restore some of the lost material to their forums.

In other semi-official news Unknown Regions authors Dan Wallace and Sterling Hershey have posted their end notes for the book to their respective blogs. In non-Wotc news there's new material for the d6 and d20 editions of Star Wars, Order 66 has a number of new shows out, a review of Unknown Regions is up at Robot Viking and Bioware has preview of the new Sith Warrior class for its upcoming The Old Republic MMORPG.

Into the Storm supplement announced for Rogue Trader

Posted in by Kenneth Newquist on Thu, 05/27/2010 - 5:30am

Fantasy Flight Games has announced the Into the Storm supplement for Warhammer 40K: Rogue Trader. From their web site:

Fantasy Flight Games is pleased to announce the upcoming release of Into the Storm, a supplement for Rogue Trader! You and your fellow Explorers have mustered the courage to claim the vast riches of the galaxy, but as the obstacles before you grow more formidable and your enemies more cunning, you’ll need a powerful arsenal to defend what’s yours. Arm yourself with the knowledge, equipment, and firepower to rise to dominance!

Arriving this summer, Into the Storm offers a host of new character options, allowing for increased personalization with the new expanded Origin Path and Alternate Career Ranks. Plus, play as a character from beyond the Imperium with two all-new xenos Careers. Keep watching, and over the coming weeks we'll reveal details of these exciting new options.

Superhero RPGs soar into print

Posted in by Kenneth Newquist on Tue, 05/25/2010 - 5:30am

There's been a bunch of good news on the superhero role-playing front lately. Green Ronin has announced Mutants & Masterminds 3rd Edition and DC Adventures, which is a DC Comics-based superhero RPG.

The first DC Comics book, DC ADVENTURES drops in August 2010. Three subsequent books detailing heroes and villains will be released later this year and in 2011. Mutants & Masterminds 3rd Edition will use the same ruleset, and be released in Fall 2011.

At the same time Savage Worlds Super Powers Companion is now available in print (it had been out in PDF earlier this year).

Space Hulk ... the Card Game?

Posted in by Kenneth Newquist on Sat, 05/22/2010 - 5:30am

Fantasy Flight Games has announced Space Hulk: The Card Game. It's a co-operative (and apparently, non-collectible) card game for 1-6 players. Each player controls a combat team, and must work together to explore a ruined starship (or other locations) and defeat the Genestealer alien horrors within.

The product description page gives an overview of how the game will be played, but honestly I think this is one that you just have to experience in order to judge. Overall, I'm not opposed to the idea, but I can't say it really grabs me either. A big part of the fun of Space Hulk is the strategy board gaming aspect, as you're maneuvering your space marines through this wreck and hoping against hope that you can survive long enough to escape. Can Space Hulk be as compelling without the miniatures?

I'm not sure ... but at $24.95, it won't break the bank to find out.