Critical Gamers' Board Game Roundup August 2010

August was an interesting month. It was a mix of upcoming and new releases. First up the game announcements which we're few but pretty big. Civilization the Board Game was released to the public for scrutiny. The title looks pretty complicated, lots of bits and dynamically randomized setup, but if it captures the feeling of the Civilization line of PC games then we're all aboard.

Also filed under major preview news is the new Dominion expansion Prosperity. This installment is a large format box of 20+ cards and turns the series' theme toward the bean counters of yesteryear. Cards will be focus on snowballing your personal wealth, which, of course, allows you to buy more and more powerful cards. It would be interesting to see how this balances with the traditional sets when random cards are selected across the full breadth of Dominion, especially since some of the Prosperity cards cost an arm and a leaper to purchase.

As for the releases? Oh boy. We've pined over the idea of shoving Axis & Allies Europe 1940 into Axis & Allies Pacific 1940 and then blacking out for a weekend-long WWII fest -- and now we can. Europe came out just over a week ago. Also hitting the shelves is a cooperative board game that's one part Pandemic and one part Fantasy. Shake vigorously and hold on because Defenders of the Realm is a swank title in a big box. Finally, after delays and misleading promises, the deck building game Thunderstone got its first expansion Wrath of the Elements. We'll put putting it through its paces on Tuesday. Can't wait.

Here are all the stories for September, in neat order:

Board Games

Card Games

Gaming News

September 1, 2010

Critical Gamers' Board Game Roundup August 2010