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The dark side of this week’s news is represented by Hellboy, vampires and Admiral Thrawn. The light side by the Eurovision Song Contest....Get out the glitter!!
Hellboy Hits Kickstarter
Mike Mignola’s Hellboy comic pits the Bureau for Paranormal Research and Defence against a whole host of gribblies, led by the titular red skinned hero. Mantic have a license for the comics (as opposed to the two Hollywood movies), and their game has landed on Kickstarter… and funded in 20 minutes.
A cool £70 will get you over 100 figures, modular boards for them to move around and a co-op game where your four BPRD heroes fight Rasputin and Nazis (among others). The system is designed by James Hewitt, who was behind Warhammer Quest: Silver Tower and Dreadball.
Currently, Hellboy sits at just over £750,000 thanks to the pledges of over 8,500 people! This one looks set to reach well over a million!
Dice Forge: Expansion Coming
2017’s Dice Forge mixed ancient mythology with fun ways of using dice and there is going to be an expansion. Unfortunately for me, who has to write something here, that’s basically all the news we have because the ‘announcement’ was a picture (of a guy with a sword, some sort of star bear and flower creatures) with the phrase “We’re working on Dice Forge,” plus some cryptic replies.
So yeah, if you love Dice Forge put aside your pennies for… something.
Vampire: The Eternal Struggle is coming back
Like any good vampire, a stake through the heart isn’t going to stop Vampire: The Eternal Struggle for long. The critically acclaimed and popular card game is being resurrected by Black Chantry Productions, who are working with White Wolf and are composed of long time V:TES players from across the globe.
There are going to be reprints of the cards which made the system so well regarded, and then new territory will be broken.
Eurovision Song Contest: The Board Game
Crack out the cocktails and prepare for some acid commentary, it’s Eurovision time. No, not the televised contest, but a new board game that’s officially licensed and here to allow you to compete. Ok, we’re not really sure what it involves beyond this official description:
“Join the Eurovision Song Contest with your own entry and try to score as many points as possible in the Eurovison Song Contest board game! Test your knowledge, prepare your own performance, and participate in the most popular song contest! Will you get those 12 points first?”
We assume scoring will be quicker than real life, and it won’t take a good hour to work it out.
Most Wanted: Westerns and Poker
Chess gets a lot of reworking, and King of Tokyo revamped Yahtzee, so North Star Games are going to do the same to poker. Most Wanted is a western themed game lasting up to half an hour, in which you compete to become ever more notorious and amass ever more money for your bail.
It’s described officially as “poker style,” and the cards have the familiar King, Queen, Jack etc but with new, cartoony cowboy artwork.
The Russian Revolution comes to the table
I appreciate that most gamers won’t share my enthusiasm for Dual Power, the new game about the struggle between different factions in the Russian Revolutions of 1917, but hear me out. It’s by Brett Myers, he of the dice-building Lord of the Rings game, has some wonderful artwork, and launches one or two players into an area control game about a pivotal period of history.
Will the liberals or socialist take power? Will it reflect the fact it was vastly more complicated than that? It’s about halfway to its total on Kickstarter so clearly I’m not alone, and there is a print and play version!
Thrawn comes to Imperial Assault
The biggest recent news in the Star Wars expanded universe was the return of Grand Admiral Thrawn, a strategic genius of Imperial repute. Now he’s coming to Imperial Assault with the Tyrants of Lothal expansion and related stand alone packs, and we’re probably meant to be more excited by the appearance of the Star Wars Rebels heroes Ezra Bridger, Sabine Wren and others. Sorry rebels.
Race to the New Found Land
Z-Man Games are publishing Race to the New Found Land, a cross Atlantic game of trade and expansion. Use faster boats to find new lands, or slower, larger boats to carry more goods as you aim to match orders and gain territory. It’s for two to four players, with a good hour of play time, and will be out soon. The designers are Helios’ Martin Kallenborn, and Jochen Scherer.
Lucidity: Six Sided Nightmares in stores May
Renegade and Fox Tales’ Lucidity has made the successful journey from Kickstarter idea to being in your FLGS, or will have on May 16. In the game you compete to harness the power of dreams while avoiding taking too much and turning into a nightmare, who then has to hunt down the other players (although, to be fair, that sounds as much fun as stealing the good dreams).
It is, essentially, a dice powered press your luck game and it is a 30-minute affair.
Want to Holiday in America? Want to Play Games Too?
Ever fancied staying in an American ranch? Ever been put off because you want to play board games too? Step forward Gamers Ranch in Ozarks, Missouri, because they are here for you. Here’s the blurb: “We specialize in 3+ night board gaming vacations for groups of up to 20 people. Thousands of board games and various outdoor activities ensure you will have a memorable vacation. Enjoy a range of water sports from swimming, kayaking, and paddle boarding. Hike, bike, or ride around our many forest trails. Shoot some hoops and take on your friends on our indoor half court basketball area. You’ll find something for everyone at Gamers Ranch.”
High Society returns
Osprey are releasing a version of Reiner Knizia’s High Society. While the gameplay seems unchanged, (bid to become a feature of elite society while not going bankrupt etc.), the key change is opulent art nouveau illustrations from Medusa Dollmaker - which look wonderful. Release date is end of May.
All change to Lorenzo il Magnifico
Many expansions feel pasted on to an already working base game, but the Houses of Renaissance extension for Lorenzo il Magnifico feels like a total change. It alters the board (with overlaid tiles, not stickers,) revamps just about every other aspect and has been called a significant change by people familiar with both, with more ways to play and win.