Pulp Fiction Comics & Games

Once upon a time there was a magical land known as Gen Con.  Inside its hallowed, carpeted halls were number upon number of games, both brilliant and beguiling.  It took two valiant, but nerdy kings to whisk away every last one of these playful treasures and deliver them back to their home kingdom of Pulpious Fictione.  It is now that we bring these gaming devices to you, kind folks.

In line with all this fairy tale speak is the impressively organized and designed new game called Chaostle.  Joining the family of dungeon crawl boardgames like Tailsman, Wrath of Ashardalon, and Descent, Chaostle is set-up like a classic Dungeons & Dragons adventure.  Everyone’s character (there’s, like, over 20 to choose from) attempts to fight their way around the dungeon/castle game board, battling off monsters, snake pits, and other nasty die-roll-induced evils.  For a game released by a smaller independent company, the level of detail and craftsmanship put into this game is astonishing.  Thick cardboard character cards, detailed miniatures, a numbered game board/piece layout that makes it easy to assemble the game, and many other nifty features make this a guaranteed bang for buck purchase.

Go, ninja!  Go, ninja!  Go!  At least a couple of people will be screaming this ancient, icy chant when playing Ninja:  Legend of the Scorpion Clan.  The rest of the players will be attempting to suppress the efforts of the black clad ninja as castle guards.  But beware, there is a traitor in their midst who will aid the ninjas at the most crucial moment.  Half boardgame, half card game, this Legend of the Five Rings spin-off plays as a tense game of cat and mouse as ninja players try to avoid any sound or action that will give them away, while guards work to track them down.  Both sides have their own special abilities (like poison sake, creaking boards, and climbing ropes) to aid them in their efforts.  If you enjoy Last Night on Earth or City of Thieves, this is an up-your-alley type of game.

In the new printing of Savage Worlds Deluxe, the titled worlds run the gamut from western bordello to deep space minefield to Amazonian jungles.  Any setting you can think of is playable in Savage Worlds.  More than that, this new deluxe edition contains all the information on rules, character creation, weapons, and game mastering you’ll ever need.  If you’re a young, inexperienced roleplayer, this would be a solid game to start out with as far as being able to play in whatever setting you desire.

Taking it to the streets this week, the new Street Fighter Heroclix.  Sold in a similar drop box to the Smurfs figures, these boosters come one figure to a box.  There are 23 figures to collect overall, some of which are super rares that are already jumping up in price.  The best thing, these little dudes are only $3 a pop!  And collecting isn’t the only thing you can do with them as they are completely usable, playable Heroclix figures.  So, fight’em alone or against any other Heroclix figure!

Dear Pilgrims of the Flying Temple,

Don’t call it a roleplaying game because Do, Pilgrims of the Flying Temple is a beautifully illustrated, endlessly repeatable multi-player storytelling game set in a world of high-flying adventure.  The three to five people playing will assume the role of a pilgrim of the flying temple, who begin their journey with a letter of distress from a neighboring planet.  It is this impetus that leads gamers into the story they will continue on their own.  The artwork in this book is seriously beyond gorgeous; very Disney-esque.  Also, for those lovers of Avatar, the Last Airbender out there (so, basically everyone ever) Do is about as close as you will ever get to owning a RPG version of that show.

Sincerely,

Jayson Quearry, Pulp Fiction Register Monkey