Cards & Boards

The expansions just keep coming for Fantasy Flight Games boardgame titles.

And the latest to check in, is for Cadwallon: City of Thieves. King of Ashes. The add-on will have new adventures, characters, equipment, Arcana, and a new catacombs board for the guilds to explore and loot!

In case you missed out, Cadwallon: City of Thieves is a fast-paced game of cunning thievery and ruthless skullduggery in a fantasy city steeped in magic and intrigue.

Two to four players each control their own gang of four thieves, competing to amass the greatest haul of loot from the many carefully locked chests scattered around the board.

The most successful players are as likely to claim their loot from the other gangs as they are to do the time-consuming legwork themselves.

Adding to the randomness and fun are the Guild, who direct the thieves from the shadows, as well as the lawmen themselves (the militia), who will sound the alarm and stop you – eventually!

Anyway, the gist is that the King of Ashes expansion will feature four new adventures, four new mercenaries, the monstrous Cyclops of Mid-Nor, and dozens of new Arcana, equipment, and intrigue cards. Release date is the third quarter of this year, so buckle up!

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Settlers of Catan is an incredibly fun and popular boardgame. A pioneering Euro-boardgame (so-called, due to its origins from there) hit, the game is pretty much a staple in shops and boardgame cafes the world over, including Malaysia as well.

So, if you’ve played it, do you think you’ve got what it takes to be a Settlers of Catan world champion? That’s right, the road to the “finals” in the United States later this, kicks off now!

The official Malaysian Qualifiers for the 2012 Settlers of Catan World Championships kicked-off on April 1 with 14 official stores and 10 tournament centers across five states here.

In a unique format, the “qualifiers” will take place every weekend for three months (April till June) so Catan fans can just pop by to learn the game, observe others, or play in as many official matches as they wish. Of course, do bring friends and family, as the more the merrier!

After the three months of competition, the top eight highest average scores plus the top eight best scoring finishers will qualify for the National Finals in July, with the grand champion winning an all-expenses paid trip for two to USA for the World Championships this September!

According to Imagine Games, the official organizer, the decision to use this open format aims to turn the cold, formal nature usually associated with tournaments into a fun, friendly celebration of this great game.

More info is available by emailing the organizers at imagine.games@mac.com.

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Each one of us have a favorite hangout. My playgroup for instance, always play Blood Bowl: Team Manager – The Card Game in a shopping mall that’s near for everyone in the gang (Tropicana City Mall).

When we played Magic: the Gathering and then the World of Warcraft TCG, we alternated between the local gaming shop and the nearby coffee place. We went with which ever place that had the easiest parking, lightest traffic and occasionally, the most decent snacks and drinks.

So how do game shops here keep up? What do each of them have as USPs (unique selling propositions)? In a hyperconnected era when the variety of leisurely pursuits are so diverse (people can easily spend their free time doing lots of other equally interesting hobbies), how do shops keep customers, fans and gamers, coming back?

I’ll be finding out more about these in the upcoming print issue of Cards & Boards. If you have two cents to contribute to my article, I’ll still be taking in your comments to the above questions, in the coming week – fire away why don’t you?

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Picture by Boardgamegeek.com

Some time ago, I wrote about an all-new version of Risk, named Risk Legacy. (Check out Boardgamegeek.com’s full review here, for the full download on what it is.)

Well, lo and behold, the game is now in stock, in better places such as Boardgame Depot, in Bangsar. If you’re keen on a set, it’s going for RM200.

This version of Risk is unique in a sense that you can permanently alter parts of the game, depending on game outcomes. For example, you can get rid of certain components, such as game cards, and even alter parts of the map, forever!

The victors get most say of course, meaning, the biggest winners can make the more impactful decisions and changes to the game components and even rules. These “edits” are locked in, so each box is quite literally most unique!

If you’re looking to own a copy, check out Boardgame Depot’s Facebook page for more info.

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Well what do you know, looks like Talisman, the dungeoneering boardgame that’s now made by Fantasy Flight Games might turn out to be one of those boardgames that might have the most number of expansions ever!

It’s time to go howling, as the next expansion, The Blood Moon, has just been announced at the FFG website. Adding over 100 new cards to the classic boardgame, the new expansion will also see a new “Day” and “Night” mechanic that will see certain creatures become better or worse, depending on their ultraviolet tolerances. Hmm, seems like a fairly logical gameplay add-on!

And of course, you’ll also get a cool new Werewolf character to player with – he looks beautiful! The sneak previews to this special expansion should be kicking in, during the coming weeks, as it’s slated for a Q2 2012 release date.

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Now, while I’ve never covered role-playing games (RPGs) such as Dungeons and Dragons (D&D), save for several special boxed introductory products that resemble boardgames that use miniatures and other special, cool-looking game aids, I think the next iteration of the iconic Wizards of the Coast product is worth a special mention.

After all, many game veterans will agree with me in saying that RPGs have largely inspired many fantasy games, including genres and subgenres. One can easily see that TCGs (trading card games) to boardgames, such as Heroquest, Talisman and the like, and even computer games, all take a cue from RPGs.

 
Wizards of the Coast’s latest announcement indicated that they’re doing a yet-to-be-officially named all-new edition to replace the existing 4th Edition. Everyone’s calling it 5th Edition in the meantime, or 5E in short.

The key differentiator for 5E this time around is the crowdsourcing method that Wizards will use, in order to tweak and finetune the game. This looks like Wizards attempt to get the once-great title to its former number one status.

Gawker Media’s io9 blog has a great article, that gives you the lowdown on all the past D&D editions, as well as their take on whether it’s possible for Wizards to “unify” all the editions under a single, “one-system-to-rule-them-all” game system. Nice one!

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If you like a hard-hitting, deep and strategic treatment of the First World War (often dubbed “The Great War”), why don’t you dig into GMT Games’ 2010 release Paths of Glory?

For those too young to remember, the cardboard-counters-on-mapboards sort of games were de rigeur back in the 1970s and 1980s. GMT Games is known for making boardgames using this classic approach, and Paths of Glory is one of the latest in its line of hit games.

The game’s army- and corps-level, which is represented by over 300 counters. Action Cards add a random level of play to the game.

The Central Powers – the German, Austro-Hungarian and Ottoman Empires – do have the advantage of “interior lines”, meaning they can reinforce each other easily. The Allies on the other hand, Great Britain, France, Italy and the Russian Empire have the advantage numbers-wise, but are a little disparate and removed geographically.

Local uber games suppliers Boardgamecafe.net has the latest edition in stock now, check it out here.

And oh by the way, merry Christmas and happy holidays! Happy gaming!

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Who hasn’t played or at least heard of Risk? The classic boardgame of world domination is one that still thrills yours truly, as many school holidays were spent battling and tussling for territories using wooden blocks and plenty of dice.

Fast forward to today: Risk seems like an expired, tired cliche that seems sordidly out-of-place in today’s world of video games, collectible and trading card games, and shiny new, exciting boardgames.

Well, I’m hoping that next year’s Risk Legacy, will change all that.

The basic premise in this latest redesign is, what if you could forever alter the game components, after each session?

Imagine tossing out a few components, and even crafting and inserting your own ones, after different games.

And, what if you could “rename” territories on the mapboard, using stickers?

Ah – now that I’ve gotten your interest, will you please help me appeal to Hasbro Malaysia, to bring this in already?

I found plenty of game info at Risk Legacy’s Boardgamegeek.com entry. Can’t wait to take the “world” (at least the living room version) by the storm again!

It’s not very often that you get to enjoy designer boardgames in a competitive manner, so you’ll be stoked to know that this weekend gives you that unique opportunity.

Settlers of Catan is the designer boardgame in question, and Bangsar is where the action’s at. Boardgames Depot will be holding qualifier matches for the popular boardgame in its premises, with the finals scheduled to be held in MAGACON 2011 games event, which itself will happen next month.

Full details on this exciting event are available at its Facebook page. You’ll be pumped to know that apart from bragging rights, the winner will also net himself a limited edition 15^th Anniversary Edition boxed set of Settlers of Catan.

So what you waiting for – here’s your chance to show off your Catan moves, and earn a shot at the big leagues by mixing it with the rest!

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No, I have not suddenly developed an urge for something that’s seriously macabre.

I’m talking about my game group’s latest obsession, Fantasy Flight Games’ (FFG’s) Blood Bowl Team Manager Card Game.

If a non-collectible card game that depicts no-holds barred, violent football strikes your fancy, then this game is it.

Players assume the role of team managers, leading different Warhammer Fantasy-themed teams out to contest in various “match-ups.” You have Orcs, Skaven (giant rat-men), Chaos, Human, Dwarfs and Wood Elves. The object of the game is to win the highest number of fans – you’ve got a cool scoreboard tracker component to track this too (left)!

The two to four player game lets you win match-ups and take home prizes – Team Upgrades (which give the various races different cool abilities), Staff Upgrades (all teams have access to this; more team-based boons) and Star Players (the “meat” of the game IMHO, with these guys being the crème de le crème of the game).

The more you win, the more boons in the form of Team and Staff Upgrades, as well as Star Players. The Star Players is really where the game excels, since your starting line-up of a dozen players can definitely use some hotshots in the team. Most give an extra dimension to you, but the downside is, just like the other upgrades, they are drawn randomly, so you will never know who you’ll end up getting.

Match-ups are fast and furious as players go back and forth, tackling, sprinting, seizing the ball and event cheating. Love how they kept the core of the original miniatures game’s spirit, ie, cheating is mandatory! But careful, sometimes, your player might get the referee’s whistle, and sent off! Other times, cheaters win extra fans, and points. Highest number of points win match-ups.

First impressions for me and my group? Mighty impressive I must say: this is FFG’s most addictive non-collectible game this year so far. It’s stand-alone and all that, but my bunch have decided to run a league with this. We might even spice things up with our own dream cards and what not. It’s worth noting that the video game adaptation last year already gave fans 20 races: with only six here, can FFG please make expansions like now?

The game components are a dream too. Great looking art, especially on the cards, and sturdy components, especially the scoreboard tracker and the tokens. The cards need sleeving though – go with the FFG-made ones, you can’t go wrong with those.

Older gaming enthusiasts would recall a similar miniatures game, also known as Blood Bowl. Yeah, this is one and the same, with FFG giving the old classic a new revamp, turning it into a fast-paced hour-long (give or take 15 minutes) game.

For now, check out the Boardgamegeek.com entry, and the official FFG home page with downloadable rules and tutorial videos, if you haven’t already. Then buy the game – best RM135 you’ll ever spend I daresay.

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