Looking to the Future....

The IOGre has been away for awhile, but now he has returned from his travels re-energized and brimming with information about some exciting games that will be appearing in your local game stores in the not-so-distant future!

No reviews this time out, but fear not faithful ones, there will be reviews aplenty coming in the next few weeks.  Instead The IOGre wants to talk about expansions, companion games and just some other cool stuff.  This info is top-secret*, so its just between the IOGre and you, ok?  After all... many Bothans died to get us this information**

And with that reference.... How many of you play Star Wars X-Wing Miniatures Game from Fantasy Flight Games?  The IOGre's review is forthcoming, but he has seen the spin off... Star Trek Attack Wing from Wizkids, who have licensed the mechanics.   Having seen gameplay, The IOGre can assure you that The Enterprise will not be dogfighting the way a TIE interceptor does!  Attack Wing is more focused on individual ships than on squadron tactics.  You will be customizing the ship...

adding crewmembers, customizing and upgrading components....  Attack Wing will also feature ships and crew from all eras of Star Trek canon... so toss Kirk and Picard in equivalent ships and finally hash out the all-important "Who is better?" argument.   A well-placed Romulan spy that the IOGre maintains in Wizkids' Headquarters even says one captain choice in an expansion will be... KHAN!

The IOGre is pretty sure he will be grabbing the Enterprise/Reliant pack when it comes out!

Fortune and Glory from Flying Frog Productions is also one of the IOGre's top picks from last year... ( How has the IOGre failed to review this?  Abject apologies....  This oversight will be rectified post-haste, IOGre's honor! )  This game is a favorite for many reasons, not the least of which is the ability to play in a cooperative mode, a competitive mode, and even solo.  You are a Globe-Trotting Aventurer facing off against the might of the '30s Mob or the vile villainy of the Nazis.  Well in September you can add the evil mysticism of the Order of the Crimson Hand to the growing list of foes! This expansion, entitled Rise of the Crimson Hand,  will not only add new Villains, but new cards for all decks, a new type of challenge, and Major Cities Events to add unique flavor to spots on the map!

This will be followed by Treasure Hunters in November.  This expansion will 4 new heroes, new cards for all decks, 2 new Mob Villains, and a new game mechanic: Personal Missions.

Ok, who here is a Bat-fan?  Yes yes, you can put your hand down Bob, we know.....  well the IOGre has some news for you.  There are 2 new games coming.  One is from Wizkids... Batman Gotham City Strategy Game, where you take on the role of one of Gotham's iconic villains, be it Killer Croc, the Penguin, Two-Face or The Joker!  You will vie for control of Gotham against your opponents, but you all have to worry about attracting the attention of the Dark Knight.

  The IOGre isn't very fond of the name... finding it kind of plain, maybe Conquest of Gotham or Gotham City Mob Wars... but as long as the play is engaging, whats in a name?  As an added bonus, the figures in this one are set in slotted bases, and come with interchangeable Hero Clix bases, allowing the figures to do double duty.... bet Two-Face loves that!  This should be out by the time you read this!
And of course, new expansions for Hero Clix are coming as well....

Batman Arkham City Escape is from Cryptozoic and is due out in May.  In this one, One player is Batman, the other player controls the Villains.  the goals are simple... the Villains want to escape Arkham and leave the city.  Batman, naturally has other ideas for them.  The Villains are random, so each game will play out differently, and Batman customizes his equipment each game by choosing what to put in his utility belt.  The IOGre didn't see any Bat-Shark Repellant, but isn't giving up hope.   This one will set you back $45.00 well spent dollars.



Recently Cryptozoic also released the excellent DC Comics Deck Building Game, and plans an expansion for it in the Fall....  no real news on this other than that it is coming.

Marvel Comics also has a popular Deck Building Game out, Legendary from Upper Deck and it too will have an expansion: Dark City due in late June.

These are just a few of the highlights coming to your friendly local game store in the coming months...  Robotech is making a comeback....  yes Battletech fans, your unseen are once again there if not officially....

There's Roller Derby.....

 

Malifaux is getting an RPG, Mayfair Games will be rolling out Aeroplanes, a boardgame set at the dawn of commercial aviation, Catalyst Game Labs will be producing advanced rules for Leviathans ( another game the IOGre cant believe he has not reviewed yet.... ) as well as 2 new Fleets.  They will also be unveiling a new edition of the beloved Shadowrun RPG, as well as a card game, with more news to come for next year.....  and thats just the tip of the iceberg....

*  ok not so top secret... most of this was revealed at the GAMA Trade Show

** In fact, no bothans died to get this info... but one stubbed his toe really badly

What if Tarantino designed a game?

Imagine that you're a part of the IOGre's gang.  You're a gamer, you have the qualifications:  Ruthless, Driven, Clever....  maybe too clever.  Maybe it was a mistake to include you in this caper.....

Welcome to Cash & Gun$.

The idea behind the game is simple,  The players are a gang, and after a successful heist, they have rendezvoused back at the hideout to divvy up their ill-gotten gains.  There are just a few small problems: they're all greedy, they don't trust each other, and they're all armed.

Each player's ammo and willingness to kill their erstwhile partners is represented by 8 cards, which range through four "Click"s, (an empty threat, a bluff), to three "Bang!"s (exactly what it sounds like) to one "Bang! Bang! Bang!" ( a quick shot that trumps a Bang! card).  There are eight rounds, and every round a portion of the loot is placed in the center of the table.  The fun begins by picking one of your cards.... which one is a decision to be made carefully, as they can only be used once.  Once selected, it will be placed face down in front of you, and you pick up your gun.  (Six orange foam guns come with the game.... The IOGre does not condone the use of real guns while playing this game.)




 

*note: The IOGre is NOT at the table

Now we see how brave you are.  If no one is pointing a gun at you, no worries.  You will collect this round, and have no reason to drop out.

But if you have a gun trained on you, (or two, or five.... ) look into the eyes of the player who has the drop on you and consider.... what card did they play... are they bluffing... can I afford to take the chance?

You may stay in at this point, and accept the consequences, or you may choose to "wimp out" and not participate in this round of splitting the loot.  If you choose to sit this one out you get a token which will count against you at the end of the game, deducting $5000 per token from your haul.  In turn each remaining player will reveal their chosen card.  "Click"s will draw sighs of relief as no one will be wounded by that shot, and "Bang"s will cause a wound to the person staring down the barrel.  In the case where two players shoot each other with "Bang" cards, both will be wounded, unless one of the cards is "Bang! Bang! Bang!".  In that case the player gets their shot off first and will be unscathed.  Choose carefully whether to stay in or not, as 3 wounds will kill you and remove you from the game entirely.  If you survive to the end of the round you get your share of the loot.

This game isn't difficult.  It's fast, most importantly, it's FUN.

Once you have played the basic game described above, the rules do offer variants.... one gives each player a special ability, allowing them to change the rules for themselves in some way.  For instance, one ability allows a player to grab a second gun from an eliminated player and use it in addition to their own.  Another variant allows one player to be an undercover cop, who must be ferreted out by the other players, otherwise he could bring the whole caper down around their ears!

As for expansions, like all good games, this has them too. 
There is Cash & Gun$: Yakuza!  This expansion brings the maximum player total up from 6 to 9 and the ability to play as teams or allies. New Foam weapons are added as well.   The Katana can only menace other players who are unfortunate enough to be adjacent to the wielder, but the Shuriken are so accurate they allow the player to change his target before the cards are revealed.

Cash & Gun$: Live! should be noted here as well.  It is not an expansion, but a complete stand alone game designed for conventions, large parties, etc...  its an 8 to 20 player game a' la Are You the Werewolf?  Thankfully it was not what the IOGre feared, and does not feature live ammo.

Cash & Gun$ is available at your local game store, and is made by the fine folks at Asmodee Games: http://us.asmodee.com/ressources/jeux_versions/cash-n-guns_2.php

 The IOGre was asked what the point of all this was... why bother with a blog?  Why write reviews?  What else, if anything, was going to be here?  Would it be regular or as whim takes it?

Yes The IOGre knows a lot of this was covered in the first posting, but he has more thoughts.  Pesky things those thoughts, If the IOGre doesnt express them, they get jumbled up inside his noggin, give him a migrane, and the next thing you know he's eaten all the sheep from the Catan games.  As the IOGre has said, he is a game fan.  Maybe he likes Ameritrash boardgmes more than Eurostyle ones... (who comes up with these labels?) prefers Savage Worlds to D&D 4th ed... but none of that matters.

He remembers what brought him to the game store in the first place.  That magical first time he realized that there were a whole bunch of people (at least he's pretty sure some of them are people) who liked some of the stuff he liked. 

Theres a certain stereotype that is applied to gamers, and comic book fans, and sci fi fans, etc... but heres the problem.  It may have had its roots in reality, but we have outgrown the cliche.  Off the top of his head the IOGre can think of  Ministers, a motorcycle-riding mechanic, police officers, teachers, women (good looking ones too), business owners, the list goes on and on.  Gaming does not define us, we define gaming. 

And that's only a portion of what we are passionate about.   Last week the IOGre covered an excellent Star Trek game, and within moments he was asked "where's the Star Wars game review?" (It's coming I promise)  Want to stir debate?  Ask these questions amongst people at your local game or comic store:

Who was the best Star Trek Captain?

Who is your favorite Doctor? (yes, yes he is...)

Marvel or DC?

How badly have the Cardinals broken your heart? *

* special bonus question for Arizona residents.

Notice no direct gaming questions were listed.  No matter what your fandom, it can still all be brought full circle.  The IOGre is as likely to discuss comics in the game shop as he is to discuss games on a mainly comics themed podcast.  One of his earliest and fondest memories is watching Star Trek in syndication with his dad, back before most of you were born.  His Grandmother buying him his first comics to read on the plane as they left for vacation.

He gets the same feelings today hanging out with his friends at the game shop, seeing movies with them, tearing open the plastic on a new game.

He got that feeling tonight when this Blog was mentioned on Nerd Nation, a popular podcast devoted to all things Nerd, be they comics, movies, games or just general geekdom.

Why does the IOGre do this?

The answer is simple really.  He does it to share that same feeling with you.

TO BOLDLY GO.....

• The IOGre is blessed with many friends who share his passion for games, some will even indulge him in 2 player games... One of those stalwarts is Pete Barton, who provides us with his views on another of the IOGre's favorites:

   

  Star Trek Fleet Captains

   

  

  There are a lot of licensed games out there.  Many of them slap the title on top and call it a day, but in other games, you're playing a game set in star trek.. in this game....It IS StarTrek 

  
  Even though combat is part of the game (Note the red cards in the bottom right hand corner of the photo....not to mention the Bortas and an assistant picking on the poor Reliant in the center) it's not the main focus of the game unless you tailor it to be that way.
  
  During this particular game, I went for a Science heavy mission list where my opponent went with a combat heavy mission list. This was our attempt to play the game around the 'fluff' of both the Federation and the Klingons, and it culminated into one of the greatest games based around a show like Star Trek.
  
  Like to be a more 'Diplomatic' Klingon commander? You can make your fleet and Mission Deck resemble that...though there will be more than enough diplomacy being dealt at the business end of Heavy Disruptor fire.
  
  Want to go out and stop the Klingons from pushing too far into the Neutral Zone as the Federation? Sure thing! Bring your Galaxy-class, and NCC-1701-E to the fight with the 'Defiant' flying support! Just remember you have all those labs on board your vessels so you may be redirected for some science mission and some negotiations with the hopefully friendly residents of this part of space.
  
  And with crazy encounters, like watching the Nexus tear a path through the sector, some curious life forms who can be helpful, and the ever expansive problems of Tribbles rendering a ship possibly dead in the water, you'll discover that every game is in its own right like watching a new episode/movie from Star Trek.
  
  The only derision I have heard from people watching us play is, "I wish the minis came painted/to proper scale/from the same era." My opinions are as follow: 'They are already pre-painted! Federation grey and Klingon green!' 'If they were proper scale you may rip the darn thing off its stand on accident breaking in the clix. (they can be a bit stiff right out of the box I admit)' and finally, 'I like having the Reliant able to fly along with the Venture (the Galaxy class they have in the box)." These are all trivial arguments that can and HAVE been levied against it. If that's the best you can do then you're just being nit-picky and you know who you are <glares through the computer at them>
  
  Personally I give this game a 9.5/10. The only thing I've seen that is kind of annoying is not being really clear on at least one of the mission cards, but that's a negligible complaint. The stiffness of the clix mechanism had me giving a few ships to the IOGre (since it was his copy we were playing with) so that if he broke a ship off its stand, I could be absolved of it.
  
  With high hopes I'm awaiting expansions for this game! Romulans, Kardassians...more ships for Klingons and the Federation...Even adding something that throws in some cooperative missions, like both players have to deal with the Borg! That would make the game complete!
  
  So like I said, as a game, I give it a 9.5/10. As an experience though this feels like it came right out of the 23rd century to give us a taste of what Gene Roddenberry had really created! 10/10 for all the fun that can be had and its wonderful experience!
  

  *          *         *

  
  

  Thanks Pete for that guest review!  

   

  Since this was written, an expansion for the game HAS been released, adding the threat of the Romulan Empire.  Now 3 player games are the preferred choice around here.  The Romulans add a new mechanic to the game, and boy is it ever flavorful... they can place infiltrators on opponents ships, giving those ships some nice advantages... until the Romulan player activates them causing various bits of mayhem.

  
  

  One thing Pete forgot to mention was the variety this game affords you.  Each faction comes with 10 strategy decks, of which you choose 4.  These decks may focus on combat bonuses, or adding skilled crew to your ships, or other advantages.  So even with the same ships, my fleet will play very differently than someone else's based on the decks I choose.

  
  

  I will close with these words of advice:  When playing the IOGre, be careful what crew you play onto your ships... Because if he manages to kill Wesley Crusher or Kathryn Janeway, he will consider it a victory no matter how the rest of the game goes.

  
  

  Star Trek Fleet Captains is from Wizkids games... http://wizkidsgames.com/startrek/star-trek-fleet-captains/

1st and Goal scores a TOUCHDOWN !

Even though Football Season is drawing to a close, the fun and excitement doesn't have to end.  Sports games are a tricky undertaking... they easily slip into a statistics fest, dry simulations.  1st and Goal avoids this pitfall by embracing the spirit of game of Football without the baggage that a sports game generally carries.  You are coaching the team, calling the plays.... there are no individual players to worry about.

R & R Games has produced a boardgame with simple, yet satisfying rules.  The mechanics are straightforward, the game components are high quality. There is a sturdy board, which is magnetized so your downs marker and ball can't be jostled out of place.  The cards are quality glossy cardstock.  The dice are nice and big, with inset sides to protect the numbered stickers on each side.  The rulebook is full of color examples and provides some optional rules to add to the flavor.  Recognizing that not all players will have the same grasp of the strategies involved, they even include a section explaining the Offensive and Defensive plays and their uses.

The easiest way to explain the game is to go through a sample play, so without further ado...

Player A has the ball, and is the Offense, Player B will be Defense.  Each will select a play from a hand of 8 cards.  Revealed simultaneously, the cards will be cross indexed to find what dice will be used for the play:

Here the Offense gets the Red and Green Die, plus the Play Die... Defense always gets the Black Defense Die.   Player A gains 18 yards, while Player B pushes him back 5... for a net gain of 13 yards... possible First Down!
But the Play Die indicates there may be a penalty on the play... this will either be confirmed or disregarded by the throw of a Referee Die... Player A better hope its not on him!




Time for the half is tracked by the amount of cards in the Offense Deck, with Running Plays causing an extra card to be burned off that deck to account for the clock running.  Once the Deck is gone, the half is over!

Selecting your play is as much a psychological exercise  as it is dependent upon real football strategy.  Reading your opponent, or faking them out is a part of that decision-making process.

The game comes with a generic team, which both players share, and it plays well enough right out of the box.  At about $30, its a worthy investment.  What brings out the true potential in this game is the expansions.  Each expansion provides 4 teams worth of dice and represents a division for about $15.  That works out to $3.50 a team!  These teams each have unique sets of numbers on their dice to represent strengths and weaknesses in their Running and Passing games as well as their Defense.

Ah, the dice...  each Die, including those in the base game, are blank six siders and a sticker sheet which must be applied to each side.  A steady hand and patience will serve you well here.  And take the IOGre's advice... don't do all the expansions at one sitting...

Especially with the expansions, this is one game with LOTS of replayability.  The IOGre has played with Football fans and people who didn't know Dick Butkus from a butt-kicking, and so far it has been unanimous. This game is flat out fun.

1st and Goal is from R&R games: http://www.rnrgames.com/

What is the IOGre's Lair?

The walls of the IOGre's cave are covered with shelves upon shelves of games.  Board Games, Miniatures Games, Role-Playing Games, Card Games... games of all shapes and sizes.  Like you, the IOGre loves games, and he wants to share them with you.   This blog will explore old favorites and brand new obsessions with reviews and discussions.  The IOGre will even share the spotlight with some of his non-monster buddies for their take on games and gaming in general.

Gaming is a hobby, and this blog will be more than just a collection of reviews.  The IOGre will look at what it takes to get involved with a Miniatures Game, what types of Board, Card and Role-Playing Games may appeal to different audiences, and occasionally offer his thoughts on other game-related topics*

So come on and venture into The IOGre's Lair... 




*The IOGre's thoughts are wholly his own and in no way reflect the thoughts, policies or preferences of anyone other than himself... so there.