Theology of Games is a multimedia site filled with original content about the happenings in the tabletop gaming industry. We talk games via written reviews, podcasts, and video!
The gaming world appears -at least from an "outsiders" point of view- to revolve around a select few titles. You know the ones we're talking about, the "gateway" games, for the sake of conversation, let's say they are:
By Firestone Days of Wonder released Memoir '44 nearly 10 years ago--on the 60th anniversary of the D-Day invasion of WWII. On their 10th anniversary, and the 70th anniversary of D-Day, they're releasing a new expansion for their hit game.
Memoir '44: D-Day Landings is a set of six large battle maps that you'll use to recreate some of the pivotal battles of that fateful day. According to the News on Days Of Wonder's site:
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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:
Those trains and tins look really cool! It drops in June, but start saving your pennies now: it'll cost $100...
Here at Theology Of Games, we're big fans of the game Small World. And you can now get the iOS version of Small World 2 for a small-er price!
It's only $4.99, down from $9.99.We have no idea how long this will last, so go, go, go!
Just think: For the holidays maybe you travel west, to stay with your in-laws on their uncomfortable "antique"bed (which is code for uncomfortable), and you wake up ridiculously early because of the time change and the uncomfortable bed and because you drank three glasses of egg nog and you REALLY have to pee. Now you'll have something to do while you wait for other people to wake up! You're welcome.
News! Reviews! Poohs! We had a cram-packed week here on the blog.
First we brought you news that Z-Man Games is reprinting an old Alan Moon trick-taking game: Black Spy. And Z-Man also revealed that the anticipated game Terra Mystica will come out May 1.
We had two interviews: first was Jason Tagmire of Pixel Lincoln fame, sharing about upcoming projects. And then we interviewed Shane Steely and Jared Tinney, designers of Walk The Plank.
We also discussed some of the odd choices of the Origins Awards. And Tom Vasel gave us some behind-the-scenes info on the nomination process (in the comments).
We had a Double-Take Review of I'm The Boss: The Card Game—and we had wildly different experiences with it.
THEN, we talked about the newly announced deluxe expansion for Star Wars The Card Game—with wookies!
And finally (whew!) we talked about a bunch of new Kickstarter projects—including the new Gryphon Game Francis Drake.
Thanks for reading! We'll have more for you next week; have a great weekend!
There has been such an increasing amount of activity on Kickstarter over the past few weeks, that we've decided to put a newer spin on our Kickstarter Weekly features. You'll still get them on Thursdays, but instead of piecing them out we're going to feature several projects, and give some news about them as we go. So welcome to the new Kickstarter Weekly here at TOG!
Our first project this week is from Eagle Games: Francis Drake, a game designed by Peter Hawes, puts players in the heart of Spain's new world as they sail the Caribbean, buying, selling, trading, and raiding ports for goods to return home with and sell for profits! The gameplay looks well-thought-out, and there are some customized aspects, giving it a higher replayability factor. The board and components look gorgeous as well!
The campaign has 32 days left and they've already blown past the funding goal, so it shouldn't be long before the stretch goals start getting knocked off. The only downside is the game is a little pricey, but if you've got your eye on a few other titles from the Eagle/Gryphon catalog, they've thrown together some really nice bundle packages. Check out the campaign here, and consider getting in and helping them reach the stretch goals!
Our next campaign is Paradise Fallen from Crash Games, a card-management game game set in a modern post-apocalyptic island setting. Crash Games plans on setting up an entire series of games, using this title as a launching point, to create a deeper universe for games and expansions to live in. Players control tribes trying to survive while placing obstacles in the paths of the other tribes. You'll strive to survive, find food, and and explore the fallen paradise.
You can grab a copy of the game for a $25 pledge, and there are again some nice bundles available for higher price points. The campaign has 27 days left and is still $10,000 short of their funding goal, so they've got a ways to go before it funds—let alone hitting stretch goals. I'm loving the artwork so far, and they've come up with some great outrigger canoe meeples as well! (What meeples will they come up with next!?) If card management, and post-apocalyptic island survival are your thing(s) then head on over and check out the campaign here.
Up next is Teramyyd: Earthsphere a steam-punky, monster-fighting sky pirate, questing game. I (Jeremiah) am very intrigued by this game. The game appears to have multiple scenarios for players to embark on, and within those scenarios lie different quests to complete on their way to victory. Let's not forget the cool sky pirates flying machines that you can upgrade and add to while trying to defeat sky monsters!
IO Worlds has blown past their funding goal by $40,000 with 32 days remaining on the campaign. And have already unlocked a new baddie and a new ship as the first two stretch goals. And the 3rd one looks way cool too! The bad news is, all of the early bird pledge levels have been devoured! So it will take a pledge of $75 to snag a copy of the game, but as the stretch goals pile up, the box you get will be stuffed with more and more cool little miniatures! You can check the campaign out for yourself, right here.
If you haven't done so, your window of opportunity is closing to get in on the Pixel Lincoln: Bicycle Playing Card campaign! There are two inexpensive options for jumping on board, a $10 pledge will get you a 21-card expansion for Pixel Lincoln the deck building game. Or a $12 pledge will get you a deck of PL playing cards! There's just 5 days left, so best hurry on over!
And finally we want to extend a congratulations to Days of Wonder who CRUSHED their campaign to bring Small World 2 to the tablet realm (including PCs through Steam, android and iPad). They blew past their $150,000 goal, pulling in almost $400,000! This unlocked ALL of their stretch goals! Congrats to DoW, and the over 7,000 folks who backed the campaign!
Have you backed any of these projects? We'd love to hear what pushed you off the fence, and what you're excited about!
Thanks for reading TOG! Please tell your friends about us, and don't forget to check us out over on Facebook and Twitter, and don't forget to sign up on the right to receive TOG via email!
So it's New Year's Eve, and you and your spouse are having another couple over for "games." It's easy to pull out the old standbys—the games that everyone knows how to play. But you have a plan to foist some games on these unsuspecting people, but you don't know where to start. We're here to help. These are some games that are good introductions to the vast world of board games...we call them Gateway Games.
Ticket To Ride—I (Firestone) think this is the best gateway game out there. It's colorful. It has great production values. The rules are easy to explain. And there's just enough luck that the newcomers have a chance to win, too. Oh yeah, and it's fun! And if they like this, there are a number of expansions and maps you can slowly add in.
Cost:~$40
Available From: Amazon
Ages: 8 and up
Carcassonne—This tile-laying game is an excellent choice for newbies and nongamers. Draw a tile, place a tile, and decide whether to place a person down; that's it! It's also the very first review we did here at Theology of Games!
Cost: ~$30
Available From: Amazon
Ages: 8 and up.
Bohnanza—This card game sounds weird: You're bean farmers and you're trying to be a better bean farmer than your opponents. But you have to work with them to get your beans planted. I told you it sounds weird. But it's a fun card game that's cheap and portable.
Cost:~$20
Available From: Amazon
Ages: 10 and up
Lost Cities: The Board Game—Based on the two-player game Lost Cities, this is a terrific board game that has plenty of interesting choices to make but is simple enough for nongamer friends.
Cost:~$30
Available From: Amazon
Ages: 8 and up
Snow Tails—We talked about this game in our Family Games edition of the Holiday Gift Guide. And it's just as true here: Race games are a fun and easy genre.
Cost: ~$35
Available From: Amazon
Ages: 8 and up
Kingdom Builder—This may be a step up for newcomers. Maybe you've played Ticket To Ride a bunch of times, and the other couple is ready for the next step. Kingdom Builder is that game. It's still simple enough, so don't be afraid. Here's our review right here!
Cost:~$45
Available From: Amazon, some department stores, and your friendly local game store.
Ages: 8 and up
Mystery of the Abbey—Do your friends like Clue? Well Mystery is kind of like Clue but with fantastic production values, and much more interesting things to do. It's better than Clue in every way...
Cost:~$50
Available From: Amazon
Ages: 10 and up
Star Trek Catan—For lots of people, Settlers of Catan was their "gateway game"—the game that got them into the hobby. They now have a Star Trek-themed version, and it looks much more thematically fun than the original version.
Cost: ~$40
Available From: This is exclusively available at Target.
Ages: 10 and up
The next category in our Gift Guide is Family Games. This is kind of a tough one to land on, because the notion of "family" will vary depending on the makeup of your family, whether or not you have kids, how old your kids are, or if you even like playing game with your kids... (Kidding.) And some games from our Kids Games list could have gone here, too (like Sorry Sliders, for instance). But it's our list and our blog so we'll be coming at it from the viewpoint of people with two boys under the age of 10.
Castle Panic—All of our kids love this game. It's a cooperative game where you're trying to fight off hordes of baddies trying to attack your castle. You can adjust the difficulty up or down depending on how old your kids are; and there's an expansion that adds some more difficulty, options, and monsters. You can check out our review of the base game right here.
Cost: ~$27
Available From: Amazon
Ages: 6 and up
Forbidden Island—A great game of adventure, treasure hunting and team work! Players in this co-op are a group of treasure hunters searching for 4 different treasures on an island that's sinking into the sea! A great bonding experience as players have to work together to accomplish the task of defeating the game—all of the players win or lose together! If you have kids who are a little older, check out Pandemic. It's very similar to Forbidden Island, but you're trying to stop diseases from spreading across the planet. It's more complicated, has some more things going on, and is harder to win.
Cost: ~$14
Available From: Amazon
Ages: 8 and up (10 and up for Pandemic)
Hike—A fun card game that simulates a hike in the woods. Players take turns playing cards representing a segment of the hike. It's great for young kids because all cards (except the special cards) are icon/art-driven, but fun for the family because of the special ability cards, which add another layer of strategy. It plays like a thematic Uno game, with less luck involved.
Cost: ~12
Available From: Amazon
Ages: 6 and up
Zooloretto—You're a zookeeper, trying to create the best zoo by buying truckloads of animals and putting them in your pens in the most efficient way possible. It's bright and colorful, and kids love animals. There's also a slightly more complicated sequel called Aquaretto that has you running an animal water park.
Cost: ~$30
Available From: Amazon
Ages: 7 and up
Snow Tails—Race games make for good family games. They're usually not too complicated, they usually have some randomness, and races are just fun! (And parents, it'll force your kids to do some simple arithmetic, but they won't even realize they're doing it!)
Cost: ~$35
Available From: Amazon
Ages: 8 and up
King of Tokyo—In this game, you're one of a group of monsters who are trying to become the King of Tokyo by beating up on your opponents. There lots of randomness and crazy special powers, so it's just the sort of game that works well for families. Check out our review right here!
Cost: ~$35
Available From: Amazon
Ages: 8 and up
Memoir '44—This is a 2-player very, very light wargame that my (Firestone) 8-year-old LOVES. You'll be able to re-create battles from World War II, with each person playing a side of the conflict. There are LOTS of expansions, so you can play in Normandy, Russia, and the Pacific. If you have a kid who loves WWII history, consider this gem.
Cost: ~$40
Available From: Amazon
Ages: 7 and up
Pirate's Cove—In this game, each player is a pirate, who travels to different island to grab some treasure. But if you end up at the same island as another pirate, you fight! And there are some Legendary Pirates floating around, looking to challenge you for your treasure. The production values on this one are fantastic.
Cost: ~$45
Available From: Amazon
Ages: 8 and up
The immensely popular Ticket To Ride is getting a new map pack—The Heart of Africa. This one will only have one side (which seems like a wasted opportunity to me), and you'll have to have a copy of either Ticket To Ride or Ticket To Ride: Europe to play it.
From the publisher:
This expansion introduces 45 new terrain cards, divided into three different terrain types. Each type is associated with different route colors: Desert/Savanna cards for yellow, orange and red routes; Jungle/Forest cards for green, blue and purple routes; and Mountain/Cliff cards for black, white and grey Routes. Players can draw terrain cards just like train cards and they may use these to double the value of the routes they claim, under certain conditions.
Days Of Wonder expects this to be available in early December—so in plenty of time for Christmas presents. The game retails for $25, and you can preorder directly from Days Of Wonder here. Thanks for reading!
Well it certainly has been a busy week for us here at TOG! We've had lots of exciting news, an interview, and we've got a TON of stuff in the works behind the scenes!
We started the week off with a few deep thoughts about the LARP community.
Stay on Target... Or at least go to Target to grab some new titles or a few clearance gems!
We also learned a little more about the wine making community in an interview with Viticulture designer Jamie Stegmiaer.
Thursday we kicked off a new weekly feature: Kickstarter Weekly with news about the Purge: Sins of Science Kickstarter campaign.
And we brought you a heads up of the Halloween Freighters add-on for Ticket to Ride.
We are always so glad to have your support, and thank you as always for joining us for another week here at TOG! The next few weeks will be chock full of game reviews, a TON of interviews, Kickstarter info, and of course up-to-the-minute news from around the gaming community!
Two Geeks, Hundreds of Games, One God. We bring you the best in board game talk, tabletop news and compelling interviews with those in the boardgame industry! Stay tuned for all things gaming, here on Theology of Games!
