We’re talking ’bout black gold, Texas tea.

And we’re talking about Catan Scenarios Oil Springs. If you’re looking for a simple add-on to liven up your Settlers of Catan game, then the new Oil Springs expansion is that add-on. Adding oil to the mix of resources, players can use it to create any of the standard resources (wood, iron, etc.) as well as building up your cities into Metropolises. However, do this at your own (or other players’ peril) as drilling for the oiling and producing it can cause dramatic shifts in the weather while also polluting the region. Oil Springs is easily the cheapest way to freshen up your Catan game, so if you’ve got the need, do like the Beverly Hillbillies and dig for that bubbling crude.

Speaking of Catan, the two-player card game version, Rivals of Catan, received an expansion this week. Age of Darkness supplies three different theme decks to be incorporated into the base game. Focusing on battles between churches and temples, commercial harbors and merchant’s residences, and barbarians, each deck pits opponent versus opponent, with each receiving and playing different sets of cards.

I know you’ll be filling up on turkey, dressing, or whatever it may be you eat for the holidays, but get ready for a heaping helping of Pathfinder for your bellies.

First up are the shiny goodies. Packed full of the vibrant treasures of the Jade Regent, this new item deck for the setting contains fifty-four illustrated cards representing the sought after artifacts that may appear in a campaign. Game masters looking to add a bit of flare to their game pay heed.

Hailing from the same section of the Pathfinder world as the Jade Regent is the new Dragon Empires Gazetteer. This volume explores the Tian Xia continent, exploring its various regions, offering rule sets for five new character races, detailing the deities worshipped by the region’s residents, as well as countless other information that can add color and detail to a campaign.

In a similar vain, Mysthical Monsters Revisited supplies vast amounts of detail on classic mythical creatures like medusas, hydras, and harpies for game master’s to incorporate into their games.

And if you pick up the new Bestiary 3 along with it, you’ll have more monsters at your command than cans of Mountain Dew drank in the history of roleplaying. As with the previous Bestiary editions, this third volume includes 300 monsters as well as options for familiars, companions, races, and other varied methods of incorporating these legendary beings into your party’s adventure.

If you want to be a pirate, there’s no better pirate to be than a future space pirate! In an effort to aid you with that endeavor, the new Rogue Trader: Hostile Acquisitions hardcover lays out all the minute detail gamers will desire to build and background a crime-based character in the system. These include new career rankings, like swashbuckler and reaver, sections on arming and equipping your ships and yourself, as well as a nemesis orign path generator that can build a formidable foe for your party. Shiver your steampunk timbers, maties, it’s a Hostile Acquisition!

In the course of your skullduggary, maybe you will break into the king’s palace in an effort to storm his treasury. And if you’re going to do that, wouldn’t it be better to have a map to indicate where you’re stealing what? Well, Game Mastery comes to the rescue again with their newest Palace Map Pack. The pack including eighteen tiles that link together to form a throne room, reception chamber, and treasury.

Around this jolly time of year, with the weather crisp and the gifts flowing, there’s one thing you should be thinking about…the horrible tentacled grasp of the Eldar Gods. In that effort, give the give of a new Call of Cthulhu Asylum Pack this year with Into Tartarus. The 60 cards in this deck focus on the global influences of the Ancient Ones.

 

If you find yourself needing to sprinkle a little Munchkin cheer into the stocking of your special someone, then the new Fairy Dust Dice are your best option. Other than its general glitteriness, this special dice set is sprinkle-worthy for the four exclusive promo cards it contains alongside its two D6′s. And like most other Munchkin expansion stuff, you can combine these cards with the base set, the previous Fairy Deck, or any other Munchkin game you are so inclined to play with. Now that’s some holiday cheer!

If that sounds a bit too effeminate for your grizzled uncle (or aunt; no judgement here), then maybe the new Memoir ’44 Campaign Book Volume 2 will light all the right fires. Picking up where the previous volume left off, volume 2 continues to create scenarios (forty six, in fact) that build off of each other, effecting the game during your next play. Along with the new scenarios the collection also includes 50 punchboard tokens, advanced campaign rules, and new special events that contain information for battles across the Pacific all the way to the frontlines of Germany. So, if you’ve got that wargame loving relative in your clan, put a big smile on their face this season with a new Campaign Book.

Still not dark and grizzled enough for you? Okay, then I’m afraid I’m going to have to pull out the big guns.

That’s right, the new Mansions of Madness: Forbidden Alchemy expansion. Adding on to the Lovecraftian exploration game that’s half-RPG, half-board game, Forbidden Alchemy expands on the dark twisted adventure with loads of new gruesome swag. Included within that heading are not just cards and tokens and things, but all new monster and investigator miniatures. As with the base game, they are beautifully detailed. But don’t let them take away from the over 150 new cards and tokens. That’s new mythos, trauma, and combat cards, folks, along with map tiles, horror tokens, and puzzle pieces. If you’ve survived the slithery, slimy things of the first Mansions of Madness and are ready for round two, Forbidden Alchemy shouldn’t stay forbidden for long.

More of a restock than a new item, but, by golly, it just needs mentioning. From the creator of Dominion (if you don’t know what that is, for shame!), Kingdom Builder brings a similar satisfaction as games like Carcassonne, Samarkand, and Small World, in that it’s a middle skill level game that the whole family can learn and master. Players compete against each other through the strategic building of settlements across a large, hex-filled board. Building adjacent to certain locations (i.e. lakes) gains a player more points. But the rub comes in that building is controlled by sets of cards that players hold in their hands and place on their turn. Each game is different, though, as players select random board pieces and cards at the start of a session. If you’ve played Ticket to Ride or Carcassonne to the breaking point, give Kingdom Builder a try.

 

If there’s one thing board gamers are required to like, it’s reading.  Like may be better replaced with “tolerate”, but, either way, you’re going to have a tough time getting through the rules of a board game without some interest in reading.  At least the new Settlers of Catan novelization offers more than, “Roll dice.  Count results.  Play your piece.”

Originally written in German (the headquarters of all things board game), The Settlers of Catan by Rebecca Gable takes the general premise of the game and expands it to a Lord of the Flies-style epic that follows Candamir and Osmund as they attempt to construct a society amid conflict with the locals on the island of Catan.

Heroclix has been branching out from the superhero genre this year, the newest edition of which just happens to be Lord of the Rings.  Making it simple to drop into the game, Heroclix has released an Epic Campaign Starter Set that gives prospective players everything they need to get into the game.  That means eight miniatures, maps, rules, tokens, dice, and character cards.  But if you want to continue on from there, you can expand your miniature forces by picking up individual blind booster boxes.  With 21 possibilities in all, you can find yourself being Lord of the Rings…cause Heroclix have ring bases…get it…huh?

Get your space jam on with Star Hero, the newest everything sci-fi edition of Hero System.  Within this volume you’ll find all the rules and structural elements to create the very best space, sci-fi, futuristic game you’ve ever taken part in.  That includes (as they say on the back) sections on creating characters, fleshing out your universe based off the latest real world discoveries, technology and weapons, and psionics and time travel.  You’ll be hunting down intergalactic smugglers in your Mark V star cruiser in no time.

It’s that time again.  Time for another Resident Evil Deck Building Game expansion.  This time Bandai has dubbed it Resident Evil: Nightmare.  Like previous expansions, Nightmare needs to be combined with the base game or Alliance for it to be played.  What it adds to either version of the game are new actions, characters, weapons, and infected cards.  This time around these include the Mine Thrower, Luis Serra, and the infected boss Osmund Saddler.  Along with the new cards, this expansion is contained within a box big enough to fit every previous edition of the game while also including dividers to separate your cards.

If you’re one of those Pathfinder players who wishes the GM would skip over all those boring story beats and, instead, get to the fighty fighty, then Conflict Games has granted your wish.  Completely compatible with the Pathfinder Core Rulebook and any 3.5 system, Conflict Roleplaying is a battle game that allows single players or teams to face off against each other in vicious combat.  This base edition includes maps pre-generated characters, maps, and rules for play.  Combine with the recently released Pathfinder miniature set for the complete package.

The trains are running on time thanks to the new expansion for SteamSteam Barons adds two new maps to the base game along with the ability to expand the game for five or six players.  More than that, the expansion adds a complete new set of rules that add a stock market element to the game where players can buy or sell shares in the railway companies.  On top of all this, the expansion also includes a mass of train miniatures.

Incorporating elements from video games, Risk Legacy introduces new elements to the game as you complete objectives, not over the course of one game, but every game you ever play.  That’s right, each time to play a game of Risk Legacy the rules alter, factions are removed or added, and the map is reshaped.  What you choose to do in one game may effect a future game.  Primarily, this comes into play with the LOCKED rules cards that stay sealed until you complete the objective written on the front.  A Risk game unlike any other, Risk Legacy gives the power to not just conquer the world, but reshape it.

Asara lets players explore their inner architect as everyone races to create the most awe inspiring towers in the  city.  Pull your building blocks from various rare materials in an effort to build the most embellished structure, thus gain prestige and the favor of the ruling class.  But construction isn’t your only concern as you can also thwart your fellow architects from completing their masterpieces.  A family game at heart, Asara should fall in with the likes of Samarkand, Settlers of Catan, and Carcassonne.

How about a little restock blurb to mix things up?  The first expansion to the base game, Okko Yakuza Hazu Akai offers nine new playable characters (mostly Yakuza mercenaries) to be played in the base game as well as their matching player stat cards.  Five new equipment cards are also included.

Wealth of Nations: Clouds of War is yet another expansion (kinda the trend tonight), this time for the original Wealth of Nations game.  Running off the second edition rule set, Clouds of War introduces a slew of new tiles among various rule options for faster play, two player games, and optional game alterations.

Want to know your fortune?  That’s what the new Harrow Deck for Pathfinder Chronicles will tell you.  Both a deck of cards for telling fortunes in any roleplaying setting as well as a gambling-based card game, the Harrow Deck includes 54 harrow cards and 5 divination reference cards.

The most recent deck expansion for the Legend of the Five Rings card game, Second City features three new clan decks.  These three include decks for the Scorpion, Dragon, and Mantis clans.

 

Pathfinder SocietyStarting December 8th Pulp Fiction Comics & Games will be hosting Pathfinder Society Events every other Thursday!

The Pathfinder Society will be braving the dangers of Golarion for fortune and glory!

Pathfinder Society is the worldwide orginized play program for the Pathfinder Roleplaying Game. Visit paizo.com/pathfindersociety to register your character and click the link “Join the PathfinderSociety!” in the sidebar on the right. You’re going to want a copy of the Guide to Pathfinder Society Organized Play (which is a free download from Paizo’s website). It will explain everything you need to know to put together a character for organized play. While you’re at it you’re going to want a copy of the Pathfinder Core Rulebook (which we have for sale in the store.)

The GM running the events for us is Seth and you can contact him by email at sbrummond@gmail.com if you have any questions.

Space for the first game is limited, so sign up ASAP!

Dec 022011
 

It is, right now, as I start this, 9:38 pm.  Can I get this posted before 10:30?  We shall see.

Okay, fast and loose!

Sid Meier’s Civilization is not only a highly popular computer game, but a successful board game, as well.  For that reason, most will be rolling across the floors in fits and spells because of the new Civilization: Fame and Fortune expansion.  As usual the question becomes “What does it add?”.  How about new Great Person cards (like Hannibal and Joan of Arc) which can come to your assistance during the game?  How about culture event cards, tech cards, map tiles, and investment deck cards, all brand new?  How about the ability to add a fifth player?  Yup, it’s got all that!

Going boldly where few board game expansions have gone before, Space Alert: The New Frontier includes five separate expansion pieces that can be incorporated simultaneously or independently into the base game.  New foes pose new threats.  New red threat cards introduce intimidating obstacles for you to defeat.  New CD with new missions.  And much, much more.  Space rockets are in flight people, latch on!

The first chapter of the Lord of the Rings LCG comes to a close with the newest Adventure Pack, Return to Mirkwood.

As is the usual case, this booster includes sixty new cards to be added to the base game, continuing, and in this case finishing, the story.

A new edition to the respected line war games in the Fog of War series, Strike of the Eagle revolves around the Polish-Soviet War of 1920 between Lenin and Trotsky.  If you are looking for a strategic battle game that actually doesn’t take forever and a day to learn, the Fog of War series delivers.  Players face off in a game of deception where each opponent lays down their moves and actions secretly until they finally cross paths with their adversary.  The great part is a new player can learn the game in around ten minutes.  What war game do you know that can claim that?

Oh, look at that 11:30.  Only an hour late!

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