Board Games
March 12, 2010
The Napoleonic Battles of the The Eagle and the Lion
Alright you history buffs. The scenarios that will be part of the upcoming first installment of the Battles of Napoleon board game have been announced and await for your perusal. We should note that the entire system will follow a timeline of Napoleon's battles, but The Eagle and the Lion release will depict a set of specific major battles between Le Petit Dude Mort against the forces of the English.
Other minor powers will be involved, too, but you know... as minor players. Interestingly is that the larger battles are broken up into a few scenarios, with the fateful Waterloo getting three installments. Talk about a long day of fighting.
Here are the scenarios:
- Maida (Battle of Maida - Italy, July 4, 1806)
- Cerro De Medellin (Battle of Talavera - Spain, July 28, 1809)
- Miranda De Azan (Battle of Salamanca - Spain, July 22, 1812)
- Los Arapiles (Battle of Salamanca - Spain, July 22, 1812)
- Garcia Hernandez (Battle of Garcia Hernandez - Spain, July 23, 1812)
- The Road to Namur (Battle of Quatre Bras - Belgium, June 16, 1815)
- The Woods of Bossu (Battle of Quatre Bras - Belgium, June 16, 1815)
- Jerome (Battle of Waterloo - Belgium, June 18, 1815)
- The Attack of the 1st Corps (Battle of Waterloo - Belgium, June 18, 1815)
- The Miserables (Battle of Waterloo - Belgium, June 18, 1815)
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March 10, 2010
Catan Histories: Settlers of America Details Released
Board Game News has reported that the official product description of the upcoming Catan Histories series of games Settlers of America have been released. Summed up as the Catan Train Game, Settlers of America puts players in the control of creating the idustrial railways that expand America west into their frontier.
Here's the official Spiel
The 19th Century has arrived and Americans are heading west. Wagon trains are forming up and heading out to settle new lands and build new cities. These new cities will need railroad lines to bring in new people and necessary goods. Some head west for the adventure, some to start a new life, still others to find work.
Look west to make your fortune. As the population grows, resources will dwindle and the smart money seeks new sources and new markets. Finance your settlers as they head west to build the cities of tomorrow. Link these cities with rails of steel and operate your railroad to supply the townsfolk with goods. To the west lie lands to settle and fortunes to be made!
Settlers of America: Trails to Rails utilizes the familiar Catan hex-tile grid to present a map of the United States. Players collect and trade resources, in order to purchase, migrate and build settlements, forge railroads and acquire locomotives. Railroads are used to distribute goods to the interconnected cities. As westward locations are settled, old sources of resources deplete. The addition of gold adds to the depth of play and increases options for the players.
Expect a June release for this title, with the default out of the box configuration supporting 2-4 players.
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March 8, 2010
The Ballad of Catan
The name says it all.
It's funny... the Settlers of Catan had fallen off our game table a few years ago, but now it's back in our psyche in style. First lifted by the iPhone Settlers of Catan game, and now news of the upcoming Catan Histories: America.
Just when we thought we were out, Catan pulls us back in. Its like Lost meets the Godfather.
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March 4, 2010
Battles of Napoleon Series Announced by FFG
Napoleon has surface in our lives in a big way. Last week we say the release of the strategic and tactical wargame Napoleon Total War for the PC. Now we have word that Fantasy Flight Games plans to release a series of tactical board games based on the Napoleonic Age.
And sweet mamma pajama it looks awesome.
The first edition of Battles of Napoleon series is dubbed The Eagle and the Lion and incorporates 10 historic battles from the Napoleonic Wars with the major players being that of England and France. Fans of the other empires of the time should know that other powers will play some minor roles in the varying scenarios of this release. Hopefully we'll see a stronger showing of Austria, Prussia, and Russia in future expansions, too.
We're not entirely sure what the list of scenarios are at this point, and if the first edition will contain the finale at Waterloo against England and Prussia, or if the series will iteratively work its way through Italy, and on into Russia before tackling that fateful battle. What we do know is the product information page has a battle image that seemingly takes place on sandy terrain, so it seems that the we're heading to Spain or Egypt. There will be 4 game boards in all, each double sided, and with terrain tiles to boot, so we fully expect to be all over Europe, too.
The initial announcement also hints to an interesting command and control scheme where orders will be divvied out to sub commanders who in turn lead divisions of troops. These orders might be confused or misinterpreted based on the battle situation, event cards, and the morale of the troops involved. Adapting to your foes moves, artillery, and calvary checks is only part of the game, the general chaos of the battle is another major player. Very interesting.
For more information on The Battles of Napoleon: The Eagle and the Lion check out the Product Description Page on the FFG website. We'll keep you apprised of more details as they come to light, and rumor has it that they're looking for an Early Summer release. We're stoked!
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March 1, 2010
Critical Gamers' February 2010 Board Game Roundup
February might be the shortest month of the year but it was jam packed with excellent gaming news. For those Dominion Card Game fans we had news about another game that a similar vein with Thunderstone, and the news of not just one Dominion Expansion: Alchemy, but a hint of at least 2 years of the Dominion franchise expanding and evolving with more and more releases.
Board gamers got news of an epic Warhammer wargame with Horus Heresy, and announcements from Mayfair Games about their spring lineup. This includes another release in the Catan Histories series, which bridges Settlers of Catan mechanics with the American expansion west during the Industrial Revolution. We really liked Struggle for Rome, so we have high hopes for Catan Histories: Settlers of America which is slated for release later this year.
February also presented us the strategic board game and real time tactical battles of Napoleon Total War for the PC. We've been playing this over the last week and it's really an amazing step up for last year's 18th century based Empire Total War. And considering how much we loved that game, it's only testament of how much a beast Napoleon Total War really is. Anyone with a PC, an interest in history, and some mouse skills should definitely pick it up.
Here's to a dry March!
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February 25, 2010
A Song of Ice and Fire Wargaming System Announced!
In an unexpected move publisher Fantasy Flight Games has announced that an upcoming themed franchise of the BattleLore streamlined war game system is going to take place in the intriguing fantasy world of the G.R.R. Martin novels A Song of Ice and Fire. Dubbed the Battles of Westeros. The first core set will pit the two major protagonist and antagonist houses against each other on a configurable battle board with multiple scenarios and units lifted straight from the novels.
Here are the first details:
"In this epic board game of battlefield tactics, players control either House Stark, the wards of Winterfell who have called their hearty allies to defend their honor and lands, or House Lannister, an aggressive force funded by Casterly Rock's endless supply of gold.
Featuring over 138 detailed plastic figures and bases, 110 cards, a gorgeous double-sided six-panel board, over 32 map overlays, and much more, Battles of Westeros provides everything players need to relive the excitement and intrigue of the wars for the Iron Throne... and with their favorite Stark and Lannister characters."
Currently there isn't much meat and potatoes behind the details of this release, but that doesn't matter. The mix of the proven, customizable and extendable BattleLore wargame system with theme of G.R.R. Martin's novels had us at "hello."
For more information check out these two feature articles, and the official product description:
- A Guide To Westeros
- There Is No Middle Ground
We'll keep you apprised of the nitty gritty details as we get closer to release later this year.
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February 24, 2010
Catan Histories: Settlers of America Announced!
Well look at that. Just when we thought the Catan Histories series of games that mixed the Settlers of Catan mechanics with historical settings both began and died with Catan Histories: Struggle for Rome, publisher May Fair Games decides to make us look like idiots.
Catan Histories: Settlers of America has just been demoed at the New York Toy Fair, and is detailed as part of a larger fair coverage story by BoardGameNews. The game centers around the production of goods on the east coast of the United States in the 19th century. Players will parlay their goods into building railroad tracks to push further west, for both delivery points and for increasing their production areas. As players push west they will remove production points from the lands to the east and place them on the burgeoning frontier. At this point we're not quite sure if they'll be able to reduce the amount of production from their opponent's lands, or from only their own, but either way it's pretty intriguing mechanic.
For now the details are about that sparse. For all the information that's available today checkout the BoardGameNews article, and the Mayfair Games official story. We'll keep you posted of more details as we get closer to Settlers Of America's launch in June! Sweet!
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February 22, 2010
Mayfair Games Announces Forest Fires and Nuns for March
Mayfair Games has been the publisher of some fantastic Eurogames over the years. Unfortunately they haven't pushed a title with enough beef to make our must-purchase list lately, and we're hoping that 2010 is the year they turn things around.
So let's see how the year starts. First up for the end of winter are two new titles: Ablaze and Nuns on the Run.
Let's address Nuns on the Run first. We should note that title has nothing to do with the 1990's Eric Idle and Robbie Coltrane masterpiece. Instead of disguising yourself in drag to hide from fellow bank robbers, players on the board game will take on the roles of novices exploring the nunnery at night. Players will have their own secret agendas to achieve during the game, working together to sneak through the halls while remaining undetected. The trick is that another set of players will be controlling the Abbess and the elders of the nunnery, all of who are trying to catch anyone out of their beds at night. It's an "Us Versus Them" game of sneaking, spying and dark corridors which should be some light, interesting fun.
The other title on the near horizon is the game themed with explosions and wild fire. Ablaze is actually three games in one, two of the games are proven titles under different names, and the third is a yet unseen game. The first variant Volcano! has players controlling air tankers competing to save as much land as they can from the firey embrace of a very active Volcano. The second variant Wildfire! involves players taking on the roles of firefighters on the ground who work from water sources outwards as they attempt to contain fires that spread through a tile flipping mechanic. The final title On the Run! challenges players to save slightly crisp forest critters running from a fire that's spreading by lightning strikes
More information about these two titles can be found at the Mayfair Games website. We'll keep you apprised of the game details when the titles launch in March.
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February 17, 2010
Settlers of Catan for the iPhone - A Definite Winner
A baby joined our group this last week so I had a lot of time to sink into something handheld and entertaining. I found myself bored pretty quickly after tinkering with some of Reiner Knizia's iPhone & iPod Touch games. In principal the games were fun, but I needed something that I could play, put down on a moment's notice, and quickly pickup where I left off. Also puzzle games require a level of coherency that my sleep deprived brain couldn't embrace.
I suddenly remembered the news of a Settlers of Catan game for the iPhone. I quickly installed it, fired it up, and I was greeted with a clean menu system and a level of familiarity that I wanted. I could easily pick up a numerous series of sessions of the game without a bother in the world, and a variety of game configurations left me with a bunch of cool things to try out. Random maps, victory point and robber options, and a generous amount of AI opponents to chose from were all features that made me satisfied the game would hold up well to repeat plays.
I should note that I haven't played Settlers in years. The game was my gateway game of choice for a long time - and remains to be in some circles - but I've since moved on to newer, more modern things. But something about the iPhone version fit me like a glove.
The immediate first impression starts with a UI that's clean and crisp to the eye. More importantly the level of usability is high -- you can easily offer trades, build roads, towns and cities, or buy and play cards with only a few gestures.. The presentation of the dice rolls and subsequent resource rewards are also both very clear and quick to vvisually process.
The game also does an excellent job of drawing your attention to the specific portions of the island that are being acted upon by other players. Construction projects clearly blink twice while the game quickly and smoothly snap-scrolls the screen to the portion of the map in question. And when it's your turn to build roads or cities, etc, the game visual prompts you with all of the potential positions for where you can spend your resources. Building out your small empire on Catan is as easy as tapping the screen.
Finally a nod to the AI. While tournament players might laugh at this, casual players like myself will find the AI characters quite capable. They're great at finding the best potential placements of their towns, and when you're ahead they do some nice moves to block you out of particular resources on the map, or block you out of trading, The game also has a very good trade offer and counter offer system that seems to work quite well.
I should also note that the game ships with a variety of AI personalities which you can play against, all having different values for things like Expansion, Aggression and Overall Skill. You can even hot seat with more than one human player in case your stuck on a bus or a long flight with a friend.
On the dark side: there haven't many things to complain about. I've noticed only one niggling 'feature' that rubs me the wrong way. Say you run out of settlements to place (the incarnate board game only ships with a certain number of houses after all). The game doesn't present you with an obvious error saying "sorry, no more houses for you! Next in Line!" Instead it greys out the possible construction project in the same way it does when you don't have the adequate resources to pay for it. So you may end up with nine out of ten victory points and yelling at your phone, telling it that you have the gosh darn resources to build a settlement and win the game, only after you've made an ass out of yourself do you notice the small fine print on the building screen "No more settlements available". They could have made this a bit more obvious, especially since you usually run out of settlements on the games with higher than 10 vicotry points.
Overall the Settlers of Catan for the iPhone and iPod Touch is a standup title. It's well produced, bug free, and easy to pickup and play. Most importantly it's a blast.
Our Rating: 5 out of 5 Stars
The Settlers of Catan for the iPhone and iPod Touch can be purchased in Apple's App Store, accessed from your iPod or iPhone.
- From the Editor
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February 15, 2010
Lego To Get Into The Board Game Business
We are all for getting kids into gaming at an early age, but the standard Parker Brothers and Milton Bradley suite of games is .. how should we say.. dated.
Heck one of the things that made board gaming so mundane in our youth was the lack of bridge into more interesting gaming after The Game of Life. Thankfully Eurogames started to fix that in the states in the 90s.
So it's great to hear that one of our favorite toy companies Lego is going to pump new blood into the ground floor with 10 new kid friendly titles in the next coming months. Here's a snippet of the official details via Rueters:
Priced between $9.99 and $34.99, the board games, which include "Ramses Pyramid" and "Minotaurus," will mostly hit store shelves in July. A few will be available online from late March.
The games promise to test memory and logical skills of children as they compete to reach a certain destination.
"We are pretty sure we are sitting on a formula that will be worthwhile for the retailers to support," Laursen said, citing the success of a test launch of the games in Britain and Germany.
- "Lego to market board games in U.S. in 2010", Reuters
We'll keep an eye out for how good these games appear to be when we get closer to their release.
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February 10, 2010
Horus Heresy Redux Coming Your Way Shorlty from FFG
Oh boy, yet another giant war board game with over 100 figurines is slated for release this winter. Akin a giant streamlined Tide of Iron battle, the new edition of the Warhammer classic Horus Heresy board game pits the sides of The Imperium and its Traitors in a giant space marine slugfest at pinnacle battle being fought for the control of Terra. The game is made up of 6 different scenarios, but the game itself centers around the single climatic last push from both sides to bring home victory.
You take one look at the board (which pays homage to the original title) and you'll see some 3D fortifications built into the board. First of all: they look pretty slick. We can see massive fort battles play out in our dreams already. But with such a static layout you might wonder how a game could have multiple scenarios?
Well one cool mechanic is this: the Imperial forces setup all hulled-up in the fortresses and generally outnumber the Traitorous invaders who stick out like sore thumb in killing fields. But a select set of Imperial troops will have their loyalty tested at the beginning of the game. Each scenario will have a different initial setup and will vary the number of potential turncoats. Determining loyalty is as easy as pulling up random cards form a deck and checking Imperial or Traitor symbols. Any Traitor symbol revealed will not only make the fight closer to numerical parity, but it'll also pace an enemy troop inside the fort with the rest of the defenders.
Elements like this will surely make the game extremely different on each play through . There also other interesting mechanics already revealed too, like diceless, card-driven combat, or ordering units with drawn cards (like Memoir). Interestingly you will be given the option of delaying your orders for a turn ('till the 'Strategic Phase') which allows you to pay less for the order, but because you've delayed, you won't quite know the state of the battlefield by the time your order goes through.
The Initiative system is also intriguing; where you pay an initiative cost to play cards, and the player with the smallest total initiative takes the next turn. In other words, one player could play some uber powerful cards that push him further down the initiative track, and subsequently the other player could followup with a lot of smaller jab actions.
For more information checkout the Horus Heresy game page at FFG. It includes an index to all of the feature articles thus far.
Currently the game is slated to ship at the end of Winter, which we take to believe sometime in March. We'll keep you apprised of any new cool details as they emerge, and we'll definitely keep you posted on when the game finally ships.
Here are the official details:
In the Horus Heresy board game, this legendary battle unfolds across the razed plains of Terra and in the frozen orbit above. Deadly fighting ranges from the Emperor's golden Inner Palace to Horus's flagship, the Vengeful Spirit. Taking the side of either traitor or loyalist, two players control either fearless Space Marine legions or deviant Chaos Space Marines, mighty Titans, Imperial Armies both loyal and traitorous, and a fearsome array of other units, including the Emperor and Horus themselves.
An innovative order and initiative system forces each side to carefully consider the commands they issue to their troops. A dramatic, card driven combat system incorporates escalating damage, gives players the opportunity to allocate resources between attack and defense, and brings to bear the unique special powers of each unit type, from fortification-destroying Titans to the perverse daemons of Chaos. Brother fights brother, and the universe hangs in the balance!
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February 1, 2010
Critical Gamers' January 2010 Board Game Roundup
January was more about playing games than hearing news about upcoming games. It is, after all, the time after Christmas where we all gorge ourselves on the tons of releases that came out last December.
Specifically January was the month of the Naxxramas Raid Deck. The ability to take on one or two wings in a sitting, easily pack up the game, and then resume where we left off is a huge deal with this latest raid deck. Kudos to Upper Deck to making this game far more sustainable without any overhead... it's become a 4 time event at our weekly gaming nights.
Also another shout out to the Warhammer Invasion Living Card Game and Warhammer Chaos in the Old World board game. Theses two remain to be top notch contenders for gaming time no matter where and when we play.
And Fantasy Flight Games is on a roll because they just released the epic emipre building and fantasy adventure game Runewars. This is a beast of a release with more layers of depth than a spanish onion. Could it be true that we already have a strong game of the year contender in January? Wow. Can't say we're sad about that.
Here are our stories for January:
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January 28, 2010
"Runewars" the Empire Adventure Board Game Hits Shelves
The newest epic board game experience from Fantasy Flight Games is now in stores. Runewars [Amazon, Funagain] is a full-fledged fantasy empire simulation and an adventure game with heroes all rolled into one. The game board is setup in a random tile draw like fashion, with a strategic placement phase for that each player. These tiles include terrain elements that effect movement and resource collection, so the implications of each tile's placement will have an impact throughout the entire game.
The has four factions each with their own flavor making up a full spectrum of classic fantasy elements. There's the human sword and board human faction, a slow acting undead faction with elements of regrowth, an elf faction that's quick and fast but paper thin, and a brutal magic wielding faction that don't believe in shirts. Not quite sure why.
The game sports a whole bunch of other interesting mechanics, like four seasons seasons to the year. This doesn't only just effect when and where you can move (rivers freeze over and become passable in the winter) but it's coupled with different playable cards for each season. You'll have to plan out your year of conquest ahead of time given the hand you've been delt. The board, itself, also has 3D mountains for that extra flair. Interestingly hero units are more about special tactics than leading armies to victory. Neutral monsters are on the board and be can be tamed and brought o your side. There's just tons of cool stuff going on here.
For a good discussion and for more details of the game checkout this user review and its subsequent comments. For more product information check out the Runewars Preview Trailer and this lengthy product description article on the official Rune War website.
Here's the official product description:
RuneWars is an epic board game of diplomacy, combat, and quests for two to four players. Designed by Corey Konieczka, RuneWars pits players against each other in a strategic game of battles and area control, where they must gather resources, raise armies, and lay siege to heavily fortified cities.
RuneWars includes over two hundred beautifully rendered cards and as many tokens, as well as nearly two hundred finely-detailed plastic miniatures, but perhaps most exciting are the modular hexagonal map pieces. Featuring stunning three-dimensional mountain terrain, these map pieces ensure that no two games are ever the same!
RuneWars takes place in the same popular fantasy universe as the best-selling board games Runebound and Descent: Journeys in the Dark, and dozens of fan-favorite heroes and monsters play their part. The wars for the dragon runes are beginning, and only one faction will emerge victorious. What would you do to claim the ultimate power?
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January 25, 2010
Mystery Express Announced, Rekindles the Classic Clue
Days of Wonder, makers of fine board games like our favorites Ticket to Ride, Shadows of Camelot and Small World, have announced their first title of the year. Mystery Express has players traveling along the Orient Express, racing to correctly accuse a murderer among the passengers before the rail terminates in Istanbul Hungry.
The game has been designed in part by Serge Laget who worked on Shadows Over Camelot, and at first thought we dreamed that perhaps one of the players would take on the hidden role of the murder (aka Shadow's Traitor) who would use social misdirection to ensure that he or she isn't caught. However, from the breakdwon of the press release, this just seems like a classic Who Done It clue gathering game with a time table. That is: the game ends after a series of turns, and the player with the most uncovered clues is the winner. However, unlike the actual title Clue, you won't have to put all of your eggs in one basket at the end, just get the most clues correctly guessed.
Overall, the game sounds great, and the newly launched Mini Website sports some great artwork. Here are the details from the official press release:
"Players board the famous Orient Express in Paris just as a murder occurs. The rest of the trip - through Strasbourg, Munich, Vienna, Budapest and their final destination of Istanbul - is consumed with determining the who, what, when, where and why of the crime. Players use their special powers of deduction; information gleaned from others in various train cars; and investigative actions to determine the exact circumstances of the murder. The one who correctly identifies the most elements of the crime by the time the train reaches Istanbul wins the game.
Mystery Express is a classic Days of Wonder design made up of top-notch components and unique, period-perfect illustrations. Along with the Mystery Express board map detailing its itinerary from Paris to Istanbul the game features: 5 resin character figures and matching character tokens; 5 Ticket wallets that include a description of each character's special power; 100 Deduction sheets that players use to keep track of their deductions; 72 Crime cards; a Mystery Express miniature train to track the Mystery Express's journey on the map; a Conductor figure; 2 small passenger tokens, a miniature travel bag, a train whistle and rules booklet. Mystery Express is for 3-5 players and will be available worldwide in April 2010. Price is $50/€45."
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