Pulp Fiction Comics & Games

Tell me, oh Magic D20 of Destiny, where do we begin?

With you?  Well, that’s rather biased.

Nonetheless, who can deny a Magic D20 of Destiny?  ”Not Valid in 4th Edition”?  Wait, no, did you think I was asking another question?  What do you mean, “Roll for Initiative”?  No, wait, stop answering my questions!

Okay.  As you might be able to tell from that ridiculous little skit, the Magic D20 of Destiny is just like a Magic 8 Ball, but D20 shaped.  That and the answers are roleplaying related.  Let it be your gaming conscience.

Speaking of Magic (that transition never gets old), there’s this new Duel Deck out on the town this weekend.  Though the Duel Decks are always a great bet for anyone looking to jump into Magic and have two immediately playable decks, this one is especially noteworthy because of its two heavy hitting planeswalkers.  Those being Ajani Vengeant and Nicol Bolas, the original planeswalker.  Both stand at the forefront of separate 60 card decks that’ll pose a challenge to any opponent.  Word to the wise, grab a copy of this guy before they disappear, because when they do, they are gone.

One thing you should never be in denial about is how addictive Nile can be.  It’s not just a river in Egypt, people.  But that begs the question, what is Nile?  At base a card game, Nile has players drawing and playing cards, each labeled with a particular crop, in an attempt to collect the highest number of complete sets out of all the players.  But that’s the base game, what we’re here to discuss tonight is the new expansion for the game, Nile Deluxor!  If you played the original game until your cards became ragged and worn, then this is the what the doctor prescribed.  Not only does the game contain all the original cards (now made of better stock), come in a bigger box that can hold all the cards (even sleeved), and expands the game for up to six players, but it also includes new expansion cards called Monuments.  If you love card games like Guillotine, Gloom, or Archaeology, don’t deny Nile Deluxor.

If it’s going to be your birthday, then better make it a Crappy Birthday!  Think about all the horrible gifts you’ve been given in your life, multiply them by a hundred and you’ve got the contents of Crappy Brithday.  If you’ve ever played Apples to Apples, then you know the drill:  every player starts with five cards, when it’s your turn/birthday everyone gives you the present they think you’ll hate the most.  As you might imagine, this makes for a superb party game.  So, make your birthday a crappy one.

Hail to the king, baby.  Hail to The Dwarf King.  You can only say this with any kind of confidence, though, after you’ve played the new game from Bruno Faidutti with the same name.  A new version of the classic trick taking game, three to five players start and follow tricks with suits of dwarf, goblin, and knight cards.  Certain special cards, hidden in the deck, allow players to play lay down cards they normally wouldn’t be able to.  If you’re a fantasy fan and avid lover of Tichu, then you’ve found the chocolate and peanut butter of the gaming world.

Another Apples to Apples style game, Dixit expands on its first two wonderful releases.  Dixit Odyssey is both a standalone game and an expansion to the original Dixit.  Duel nature of that sort is the basis for the game as players take turns laying down beautifully illustrated cards in an effort to adequately match the phrase, sound, or word given to them.  As you might imagine, new cards are a necessity in this game, so it’s lucky that Odyssey contains 84 gorgeously illustrated ones.  The new, larger, box also is big enough to hold ever card released for the game thus far.  On top of all that, the game is a Spiel des Jahres winner, so it’s got that going for it.

We began with dice and we end with them.  If there was a roleplaying bible, I’m sure that would be in there somewhere.  And this LED Critical Hit D20 would definitely considered the holy light.  Never be unsure about a critical hit ever again!