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Welcome to todays main board game news hitting during the weekend, we look at the UK Games Expo, Renegade Game Studios release a new game based on maintaing a library and some updates from Kickstarter.
Zatu Team Hit The UK Games Expo
We start off today's board game news with this years UK Games Expo which took place over the weekend in Birmingham at the NEC Arena. The weekend pulled in a staggering 31 000 visitors (16 500 unique visitors) making it the 3rd biggest table top gaming event in the world, behind events like Essien - which remains the biggest tabletop event in the world with over 174 000 people visiting last year.
Zane and Mitch from the Zatu Team made the long journey from Norwich, Norfolk to be in attendence this weekend at the UK's biggest tabletop event. An Mitch had a lot of great things to say about his experience at UKGE 2017,
"Friday saw the commencement of the UKGE, Britain’s largest gaming convention and now the third largest in the world. Gamers from near and far congregated in the NEC in Birmingham not only to sample the finest board games but to empty their wallets on fantastic products too. This year marked a distinct difference for me though, as for the first time I was attending not only to play some cool games but also to represent Zatu Games which was such a blast! The NEC's exhibition hall was full of enthusiastic game designers and demo teams who worked tirelessly to give all attendees the very best experiences and gave time to talk to everyone about their games. The general public were abuzz with the vast quantity of game stands of designers, sellers, distributers and game producers - there was something for everyone.
This year's show was alot bigger than expected and it was great to see such a sheer number of fellow game lovers turn out to support a great event and indulge in as many games as possible. However, for me the best things about these conventions is that you get to chat with games designers personally and it doesn’t get much more personal than sitting down with a beer and discuss the future of their companies and a shared love for board games.
Whether you are new to the hobby or a seasoned veteran the UKGE has something to offer you. Seminars, play testing and of course plenty of games to buy and there is no better paradise for us gamers this side of the pond…. Well except from Spiel but we will get to that in a few months".
Pacific Rim Transferring to the Tabletop World
With the release of Pacific Rim: Uprising hitting the big screen early in 2018, River Horse Games have announced the aquisition of the license to produce board games based on the giant mecha anime style robotsprotecting the world from the kaiju. Teaming up with Legendary and Universal, the games company have not said much about how the games could specifically play like or any mechanics but the press release says they will “develop a line of collectible board games and role playing games, which will aim to bring the Jaeger vs. Kaiju battleground to life.”
I think it's safe to say we are all excited to see how River Horse Games transfer this blockbuster franchise to the tabletop world, we will be checking on their status often and can't wait to add these products to our collection. We expect some hot progress on their part to perhaps release a game or two by the film's release in February 2018.
Become The Best Librarian In The Ex Libris
Renegade Game Studios is releasing a new card drafting and worker placement game called Ex Libris. Players aim to create and maintain the best library and compete for the title of Grand Librarian. Ex Libris will have 2-4 players competing to impress the Mayor's Official Inspector so that you can claim the new seat in the Village Council, Grand Librarian. The prestigious and lucrative position will be awarded to the citizen with the most extraordinary library! As a player you are a collector of rare and valuable books in a thriving fantasy town and contends with fellow book collectors who also want the new position. To outshine your competition, you’ll need to expand your personal library by sending your trusty assistants out into the village to find the most impressive books. Sources for the finest books are scarce, so you’ll need to beat your opponents to them.
Each game will contain the following components:
- 1 Folding Town Board
- 1 Double-sided Dry-erase “Official Library Inspection Form” Board
- 1 Dry Erase Marker
- 12 Double-sided Library Tiles
- 18 Oversized Location Tiles
- 12 Standard Assistant Meeples
- 12 Special Assistant Meeples
- 1 “Crystal Ball” First Player Token
- 152 Book Cards (with 510 unique book titles)
- 6 Category Cards
- 1 Rulebook
Ex Libris is designed by Adam P. McIver and features art by Jacqui Davies and is looking to hit shelves in Autumn 2017.
Latest On Kickstarter Board Game News
Right now on Kickstarter it is safe to say the most talked about game is Zombicide: Green Horde that has already rasied over $1.5 millionand has 24 stretch goals knocked out the park with an entire month still to go. CMON's Green Horde works as a stand alone game in the flesh eating franchise or can easily be combined with Zombicide: Black Plague for added variability with an undead orc enemy. As a bonus for those backing the Kickstarter, you will also get a ballista and a feral dragon mini, because dragon bile has to come from somewhere, so get on to Kickstarter and get your copy now.
Meromorph Games have released the brand new expansion Norsaga: Odds and Endings and is now live on Kickstarter now. The new game is a 50 card expansion for the battle puzzle card game Norsaga released back in 2015. Players play viking poets competing to tell their story, their saga, by creating family trees of colourful heroes whilst using wild embelishments. Norsaga: Odds and Endings introduces 3 new decks of cards: Heirloom Deck, Immortals Deck and a Realms Deck. The new expansion has updated its basic embellishments that accelerate the flow of the game with additional base game cards. With the new expansion you can intergrate it with both Norsaga and Norsaga: Into the Myths to provide endless variety and replayability to your games.
That's our weekend board game news round up for today! Be sure to catch our next edition on Friday as we take a look at this week's latest board game news as the tabletop world continues to expand and grow while Zatu Games keeps you up to date with all the board game news that you need.