Wings of War WWI: Famous Aces recreates World War 1 aerial combat by using card and board game mechanics. Famous Aces features five exciting airplane types: the Spad XIII, Albatros D Va, Sopwith Camel, Fokker Dr1 and the Sopwith Triplane. Each one was flown by an ace: Baracca, von Richtofen, Rickenbecker, Fonck, Olieslagers and Baker. Released in 2004 by Nexus Games International, it was brought to the US in 2008 by Fantasy Flight Games and has taken its hold on the wargaming and miniatures fans alike. With multiple expansions, miniatures, and booster packs, there is plenty of content to get into.
So what does Olivia Munn choking a chicken have to do with board and card game news you ask? Well, nothing really, I just wanted to get your attention and until I come up with a nice Critical Gamers news picture, randomness will have to do for now. It's been a few weeks since we have done a Newsapalooza post, so there is some catching up to do. Let's do this!
Having fought the deciding battle and finding out that it led to my team's victory in my absence, I now had time to think about my experience with Warparty. First and foremost, it was fun! It was balanced, extremely well-polished, and fast paced. I had enjoyed a two hour game session and left wanting to play longer. There were multiple strategies and races that I had yet to experience. The inflation component of the resource and purchase structure was a great way to force action and strategic thinking. I would have liked to experience another one of the races like the Dwarves and tried out the research component or gone dungeon diving with my heroes to see what kinds of treasure I could uncover. Even better, I would have had a massive battle in the middle of the map for the precious +3 resources as the rest of the map is occupied. I left wanting more and now I understood why the guys came back to play again.
The showdown was about to begin. Man's forces were split into two armies, as were mine. I was not in a good spot as Man was able to collect more resources per turn and would soon have a stronger army if we continued the standoff. All that stood in the way of a massive clash was a mountain range, but a move had to be made and I had to make it soon.
Designer Chris Taylor has busted down the walls here at VPG yet again, and has brought forth the solitaire, fantasy States of SiegeTM game, Legions of Darkness. Until reinforcements can arrive, you must survive the relentless attacks from ghastly creatures and monsters for three days and two nights.
Besieged on all sides by dark legions, with limited supplies and even fewer defenders to man the walls of Highmoor Castle, you must make many wise decisions. Strategize how to marshal your heroes, where to plan your attacks, what spells to cast, and which deadly traps to build at your castle.
Pitted against hordes of undead skeletal riders, giant armored orcs, and even the fearsome dragons, can you withstand the siege? Defend your castle and survive the Legions of Darkness!
For all the details and to order Legions of Darkness -
At Victory Point Games
Last episode (found here), I had shown up at the Holiday Inn hotel in Mansfield, MA where Total Confusion XXV was being held. There were a lot of people playing a lot of games all over the place, from pen & paper RPGs, to all out mini Wargames, to popular Euro and Ameritrash. Everyone was having a great time, myself included. While perusing the scene, I came across an unmanned table with what appeared to be a prototype map. I read the flyer and check out the map as Larry Bogucki approached and began to explain the game of Warparty. He explained to me that it is a combination of RTS, RPG, and Wargame that pits teams of opposing armies against each other in order to capture the enemy capital. I signed myself up for a demonstration play and continued to examine the convention while I waited for the assigned play time.
Mansions of Madness is an all-new board game designed by Corey Konieczka (Battlestar Galactica and Runewars), based on the beloved Cthulhu Mythos of H.P. Lovecraft. Every game tells an engrossing new story and presents a deep mystery to solve. The game contains 32 detailed plastic figures, over 300 cards, over 200 tokens, nearly 70 puzzle tiles and much more. Check out the trailer video from Fantasy Flight Games and order your copy today!
Editor's note - This game is in high demand so expect to see a lot of stores with back orders.
In a tucked away little corner of Mansfield, Massachusetts stands a modest looking Holiday Inn hotel. However, from Thursday February 24th to Sunday the 27th, the inside of the hotel was anything but modest. It was at this hotel and at this time that the Total Confusion XXV convention was held. Unfortunately, I was unable to attend the entire duration, but was fortunate enough to get to spend my Saturday there. The convention was great, with about a couple hundred gamers coming together for friendship and for a weekend of RPGs, miniatures, eurogames, ameritrash, war games, panels and tourneys. Unless you were in the bathroom, then a game session was taking place with intensely focused faces. Also, for a industry that thrives on competition, there really couldn't be a friendlier group of people.
Mojang, the company founded from the massive indie success of Minecraft, has announced, at GDC this week, that they are working on a new game called Scrolls. John Walker over at Rock, Paper, Shotgun was fortunate enough to get to visit the Mojang headquarters in Stockholm, Sweden, and get a sneak peak of the game and interview with the guys. According to interview, the game will be a mix of a collectible card game and board game, but played on a PC or Mac. The player will take their set of cards and play them against what is happening on a board. This seems like an interesting meld of three different genres/industry and will have to see what Mojang is able to come up with considering the current state of the online CCG market. Head over to Rock, Paper, Shotgun and check out the interview with Mojang and find out for yourself about Scrolls.
It seems like this might be turning into a somewhat consistent thing here at Critical Gamers. We are getting so much awesome news that if we don't post multiple times a day, we would never get it all out there. Why not just grab a bunch of the best articles and toss them together into a massive news update?
Wings of War WWI: Famous Aces will Fly its way into your Heart
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