Tonight’s New Game Stuff will start in traditional card game territory but slowly descend into madness.

You’ve been warned.

For players of traditional card games like Spades and Hearts, Clubs makes an appearance at the store this weekend.  For those who’ve never played these classic card games or are looking for a simple game for the whole family to play, here’s brief, brief, short, limited, minimal, tiny rundown.  Clubs is all about getting rid of cards as fast as possible.  Like how you’d want to get rid of a bag of wet weasels dosed on speed.  This must be balanced with a trick taking (but only on clubs) in order to score points before the end of the game.  It’s simple as simple does.

As Wizards of the Coast continues to reprint its entire library of Dungeons and Dragons 3.5 hardcovers, they have made it to the tome of all wizardry might, the Spell Compendium.  Say you wish to melt off the face of your guild’s resident Baird.  SPELL COMPENDIUM!  Or maybe turn an owl-bear into a poodle.  SPELL COMPENDIUM!  Or maybe just warm up a pot of tea.  Probably use a fire pit for that last one, but otherwise SPELL COMPENDIUM!!  Ultimately, the point here is that the Spell Compendium has every important magic whatzamahoozit in all of D&D, now wrapped in an errata’d hardcover edition.

All seemed peaceful in the world of Vigil.  The villains were dispersed.  War had ended.  And crystals rained from the sky.  But it was only when it was too late that these seemingly ordained gifts turned out to be omens of danger.  Such is the state of Ascension‘s newest edition, Rise of Vigil.  Continuing to make it easy for new players to get into the popular deck building card game designed by Magic the Gathering players, Rise of Vigil is another standalone version of the game.  If you do have any of the previous editions, however, you can combine them with Rise of Vigil for up to six player combat.  This new edition includes nearly 260 cards, a fair portion of which are new heroes and constructs.

Now for the insanity.

First off, look at the picture to the right.  Apologies for the racier content, but that’s seriously the art for the game.  And, yes, the, um, “proportions” are bit unrealistic.

Oh, by the way, the game is called Kanzume Goddess.  Created by the Japanese, in the fashion of every awkward anime you’ve ever seen, Kanzume Goddess is a tin can containing all the most famous Greek and Norse gods.  As you might imagine, having that many gods stuck in a cramped space leads to some fisticuffs.  That’s where you come in.  Each player takes on a specific god in order to battle against their legendary opponents, building their decks by calling upon other warriors and disciples to aid in the fight.  So, do as the game suggests and “Release them from the can!”

 

Far over the misty mountains cold lies The Hobbit Heroclix Starter Set and individual boosters.

First, the new Epic Campaign starter set applies the same stand-alone adventure format that was featured in the previous Lord of the Rings starter set, including an individual campaign, maps, dice, and eight miniatures of core characters like Bilbo, Gandalf, and Thorin Oakenshield.  Pick up this set for a complete adventure in a box!  And anyone who does pick up a copy will receive a promo Golem miniature!  Or pick up a single figure booster to add other extra characters to your party.  So says Smaug!

Start prepping your hand/eye coordination, because Dixit Jinx is going to take it to push it to the limit.  Combining the wild fun of the popular Jungle Speed party game with the visual intensity of Dixit, this new version of the original game.  Players take turns giving a verbal cue of an image, then laying down (at various speeds) nine cards, each decorated with beautifully designed pictures, one of which will be the image the player described.  Everyone else attempts to grab that card as fast as they can, laying waste to any hand in their way!  If you’ve got three to six people (inebriated or not) hanging around, Dixit Jinx is just about the best way to kill some time and have fun doing it.

Wizards of the Coast is already getting into the holiday spirit by releasing their first ever Magic the Gathering Holiday Gift  Box.  Inside this magical box are tons of wonderful contents for a low price.  There are four Return to Ravnica booster packs, full-art card dividers, stickers to personalize these dividers any way you like, a stack of land, a special promo art version of Dreg Mangler, and all of these goodies come stocked within a giant card box capable of holding 2,000 cards.  I don’t think it’ll fit in a stocking, but don’t let that stop you from buying it for you favorite Magic player.

You don’t have to own a round table to play this next game, but it doesn’t hurt.  Shadows Over Camelot, the popular Days of Wonder cooperative game set in Arthurian times, now exists in a card game format.  Shadows Over Camelot: The Card Game brings the same cooperative gameplay of the original down to a easy-travel, quicker to play format.  Players band together to complete quests within a time limit, battling Morgan le Fay and looking to Merlin for assistance.  The fate of the round table is decided by the amount of white and black swords the valiant knights accumulate.  Of course, some knights might not be as trustworthy as others.

Munchkin Apocalypse now!

After all the worst events known to humankind descend upon the planet, you are a weary survivor, fighting for your life.  New disaster card types keep you on your feet while four new classes give you plenty of options to out last them.  As usual you can reach level 10 or, special to this version of Munchkin, you can choose to open seven seals and bring about the end of the world.  Plus, for a little extra insanity, Axe Cop‘s Ethan Nicolle provides a guest Monster for the game.  Don’t be an errand boy sent by grocery clerks by avoiding the newest Munchkin set, instead love the smell of napalm in the morning and pick a copy up.

Ascension:  Immortal Heroes brings the strategy and tactics of Magic the Gathering to a board game environment, thanks to Pro Tour creators Rob Dougherty and Brian Kibler.  Wield the power of the new Soul Gems to gain access to powerful heroes form the past.  You can play the game as either a two player stand-alone game or as an expansion to Ascension:  Storm of Souls.

 

Many of this week’s new game stuff has been displayed on the Face of Books throughout the week, so I’m just going to be lazy here and show off some pictures. Truthfully, most of these items are so cool that’s all you need to know.

First off, the newest Munchkin booster pack expansion gets a shot of Felicia Day as it focuses on the popular web series, The Guild.

Also Munchkin related, the new Munchkin Cthulhu Kill-o-Meter joins the previously released meters of death. As usual, the accessory comes with two exclusive promo cards, one for Munchkin Cthulhu and one for Munchkin Quest.

The final mention of the lightning round is the Pathfinder Buff Deck, a quick reference solution to keeping track of character’s bonuses. Easy to stack cards help to keep rulebook referencing down to a minimum.

Okay, into the actual listings. In case you haven’t been up to the store recently, we’ve started to carry so many sleeves that, at this point, we’ve got to be pulling them in from an inter-dimensional gateway or something. The newest acquisition in our quest to rule the world of card sleeves are a wide selection of Legion sleeves. These include such inventive designs as “Mmmm…Bacon”, “RTFC”, “Pure Jank”, the V for Vendetta mask, and sleeves with the Ascension logo on them. Basically, there’s a sleeve for every day of the year.

Not exactly new stuff, but we got a massive, massive, gigantic restock on Pathfinder materials. I’m just going to list a bunch of them because there’s too many to go into any detail. Council Thieves item cards, Weapons Locker item cards, Skull Shakles item cards, Crimson Throne item cards, Winter Witch, Master of Devils, The Final Wish, The Sixfold Trial, What Lies in Dust, Infernal Syndrome, Mother of Flies, Cities of Golarion, Adventurer’s Armory, Humans of Golarion, Twice-Damned Prince, Vaults of Madness, and a whole heck of a lot more. Come check it all out.

With Avacyn Restored Game Day on the horizon (tomorrow night’s horizon, in fact), player’s may be searching for strong constructed decks to wield. Well, as usual, Wizards has an answer: Event Decks. The two newest decks dropped today, one being a black deck (Death’s Encroach) and the other being a blue/white (Humanity’s Vengeance). Both, also as usual, contain some decent rares, including Glacial Fortress, Moorland Haunt, Mirran Crusader, Geralf’s Messenger, and Gravecrawler.

Possibly the #1 statement I hear from customers is, “This store is so much like The Big Bang Theory!” After this weekend we relate even further to the popular nerd-loving show, because we now carry The Big Bang Theory Party Game. Mechanically set-up like Apples to Apples, players submit cards attempting to match the keyword phrase card in the center of the table. But there’s an added spin, certain cards can alter the keyword in the middle of the turn. Bazinga!

 

Tonight you’re all getting a two-fer, the chocolate and peanut butter, the Bert and Ernie, the Penn and Teller of Comic List Highlights. Because not only are you receiving highlights of comics, but games, too (mostly because we didn’t have time to write a post last night).

To start things off, lets recite the oath: In brightest day, in blackest night… Yup, the first hardcover collection of the New 52 Green Lantern comes out Wednesday. Easily one of the best ongoing series of the relaunch, Green Lantern has focused more on Sinestro than regular protagonist Hal Jordan, which has enlivened the book. And the reason for the shift in hero is due to Sinestro being allowed to wield the ring again, while Hal cools his jets on Earth. Until, that is, Sinestro comes a’knockin’. Geoff Johns has been writing some of the best Green Lantern stories ever since he got on the book around eight years ago, but this new volume offers a perfect jumping on point for anyone who’s wanted to read up on the character.

Keeping the superhero/comic base at a boil, but mixing in a smidge of gaming, next up is the second volume of Mutants and Masterminds DC Adventures: Heroes & Villains. As the first volume contained all characters ranging from A to K, this second edition picks up with L and runs it all the way to Z. That means you’re going to get classic characters like Lex Luthor, Superman, and Plastic Man, plus icon teams like the Justice League and the Secret Six. Offering gamers a shortcut into the DC Universe, these volumes contain all the stats, histories, and information you’ll need to BAM BIFF POW your way through the DCU.

Re-releasing in a new swanky graphic novel collection is BOOM Studio‘s 7 Psychopaths. A greater hook has never been created: what do you do when you want to kill Hitler and end WWII? Send in seven of the worst human beings ever to hunt down and murder the bastich. Of course, not everything always goes as planned. A grim, gritty spy series with artwork from exceptional Criminal and Incognito artist, Sean Phillips, 7 Psychopaths makes for a great, moody read.

As deck building games boldly go where no game has gone before they reach the Star Trek the Next Generation game. Using the base premise of deck building developed in games like Ascension, Dominion, and Resident Evil, Star Trek puts players into the role of a star ship captain, commanding their meager crew toward victory. Do you recruit further crewmen? Develop your ship’s equipment? Conquer worlds or make peace with them? These are the choices you will need to make in either the base version of the game or its Next Phase expansion. Both are stand alone and both go boldly yadda yadda blah blah.

 

Not sure about you, but there’s nothing better to do on a New Years Eve than venture across fantasty landscape, battle creatures, overtake towers, and become the most powerful warrior in the land. Or maybe drink a lot. Or you can always combine both.

In that effort, we present the new Mage Knight board game from WizKids. Expanding on the original Mage Knight miniature game, this board game offering forms the adventure around the player as they choose what to attack, what spells to develop, and what dungeons to raid. Based on these actions players gain or lose fame, loot, and acclaim as the most praised Mage Knight in the land. Taking place over three rounds of night and day, players adventure with one of four knights, balancing their action deck with their adventure choices.

And what would that night be without a dragon or two?

The new Dungeon Petz (a stand alone spin-off of Dungeon Lords) can supply just those kind of creatures. At heart a worker placement game, Dungeon Petz involves opponents strategically positioning workers in hopes of breeding, feeding, and selling the most exotic assortment of fantasy beasties know to imp kind. Supplied with humorously cartoony artwork and finely crafted pieces from Z-Man games, Dungeon Petz should make every happy. Except PETA, those guys are never happy about anything involving animals.

If you’re one of the folks who favor Ascension over Dominion (or if you like both) you might prick your ears up to hear about the new Ascension: Storm of Souls expansion/game. That / is in the previous sentence because this bad boy does not need to be combined with the base game. So, when you pick up Storm of Souls (as I’m sure you all will), you’ll be getting a completlely stand-alone game filled with new mechnics previously unavailable in the other Ascension editions. Namely, these come in the form of new Event Cards which alter the rules of the game as you play. And if you’ve got up to six players, you may as well combine it with base Ascension for more god fighting action.

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