Pulp Fiction Comics & Games

Recruits has kept us on our feet constantly this weekend as we shift games back and forth between the store and Lee’s Summit High School.  Its been both fun and nuts!

Speaking of nuts, allow me to introduce this weekend’s first topic:  Nuts.  Have you got yours?

Usually, we’d throw up a description of the game in our own words, but the text on the back of the box is so perfect, we’re just going to go with that.

Grab your nuts!

Squirrels.  They love their nuts.  They’d do anything to get their paws on nuts.  They sometimes mess with each other to get their paws on each others’ nuts.  In the end, for a squirrel, it really is all about the nuts.

Get ready to protect your nuts in this fast and furious card game!  Try to gather and steal the best nuts for yourself, while doing everything you can to leave the other squirrels out in the cold!

Play with your nuts with cards like:

Keep your nuts safe.           Share your nuts.

Your nuts with both hands!     It’s tough to lose a nut.

Whose got the biggest nuts?     Polish your nuts.

Yup, that pretty much says it all.

Get excited if you love deck building games like Thunderstone, Dominion, and Ascension, because there’s a new kid on the block.  Nightfall is that kid.  Personally, this game sounds phenomenal!  Taking elements from Dominion and amplifying them, Nightfall revolves around purchasing cards from a pool and using them to attack opponents.  Not only is it more aggressive and interactive than Dominion, the game also adds a new chaining mechanic that allows players to build combos off of other player’s cards.  And remember those accursed curse cards from Dominion, here they are named “wounds” and are what you do not want to have an abundance of at the end of the game.  On the plus side, if your deck contains a number of wounds it runs faster.  On top of all those swanky confrontational additions, the game is horror themed, so vampires, werewolves, and other monstrous baddies abound.

Tannhäuser, the alternate reality Nazi-filled war game, adds three new expansion sets to the mix.  First up, a character mini named Hoss Harbinger.  This dude lives up the first part of his name.  As a descendant of Atlas, Hoss has incredible powerand abilities.  The pack contains the pre-painted figure, a character sheet, 24 game tokens, a rulebook for using the character, and a new scenario.  The second Tannhäuser expansion is Equipment Cards set.  These are invaluable for anyone who owns the base game and/or a number of the expansions!  All 200 of the cards included in the box detail each weapon and piece of equipment in the first thirteen releases.  Finally, there is Asteros.  Part man, part bull, all smashing and basing creature of doom.  Because he is so massive, Asteros is able to replace a trooper and a hero,while also being allowed to side with any faction.

Square Shooters is basically a game factory in a box.  Inside the full size box is a set of 9 square shooter dice which have numbers and suites on them so that you can play rummy, poker, and, obviously, the base Square Shooters game, a 52 card deck, rules for the main game plus six more, and a dice cup.  As for the base game, you attempt to roll dice to match the card that you pulled out of the deck.  Certain, special, cards called shootout cards can be used to assist you.  There is also a smaller version of the game that does not include the cup.

The Battle of Westeros rages on as House Tully gains a new expansion set in Lords of the River.  Like previous House Stark and House Lannister expansions, Lords of the River includes a brand spanking new Rules and Battle Plans book (w/ 3 new scenarios), 32 plastic figures, 12 banner poles (they come with stickers!  Yippee!), 30 cards, 12 terrain overlays, and 16 tokens.  The miniatures included within are available to use as supplements to aid other Houses in the game.  Three new commanders are included (BryndenTully, Edmure Tully, Marq Piper) to lead your troops.

After the world has been destroyed games apparently become super easy to play and learn.  They also become crazy cool.  51st State is set in a time when the world has been decimated and only four factions are left to fight for control.  They include:  traders, Appalachians, mutants, and New Yorkers.  Okay, let me explain the game:  location cards get turned over (radio stations, grocery stores, diesel trucks, etc.) and players choose to A) pillage it B) collaborate with it C) annex it.  That’s it, folks.  Violent, fight-y, and awesome.  Choose your faction and check it out.

The Commands and Colors series of games puts players in the role of strategist as they command the battle, deciding where, how, and when to move troops.  Napoleonics is the newest addition to this historical set of games.  Based around being able to choose which historical battle you want to reenact (Here there are 15, including Waterloo, Redinha, Salamanca, and more).  Offering extreme depth and versatility, Napoleonics will make giddy historical gamers giddier.