Tiles » Pulp Fiction Comics & Games

New Game Stuff (5/3/2013)

May 032013

Life is full of tough questions. Paper or plastic? With or without cheese? Red pill or blue pill?

Pig or dog?

The correct answer to the latter question is actually both. And, luckily, when you buy a copy of Pick-a-Dog and Pick-a-Pig you get both. When combined with each other, these games go from 2-5 players to 6-8 players, blending matching and dexterity games together no matter which version you play. A grid of cards sits in the center of the table, each with five attributes noted on them. Players also have a single card in their hand. Once the game has begun, everyone tries to grab a card with at least four similar attributes, adding it to their hand and continuing from there. The game stops when one player has no more cards to grab. As one can imagine this game plays well with family members or friends plus a bottle of scotch.

Is your tower protected?

Not exactly a new game, but one we’ve just gotten back in stock, Batt’l Kha’os is a tile laying game with some fighty bits thrown in. Players attempt to take control of various tower tiles laid across the table by placing their own army tiles around it. Each tile intersection point is then totaled up for the amount of humans vs. orcs and whoever has the most takes the corner. Once all four corners around a tower are calculated, whoever has the most corners (orcs or humans) takes control of the tower. Though it leaves some letters out of its title, Batt’l Kha’os combines the best of Carcassonne and Pocket Battles.

Nathan Fillion has charmed television, comics, and cinema, but now he’s setting his sights on the world of board gaming. Castle: The Detective Card Game transformers the comedy and mystery of the hit television series into a clue solving card game. Players take control of a key character from the show in order to piece together the clues and figure out who the murderer is. Players can choose to compete in episode mode, finding only one killer to win the game, or season mode, playing through a range of episodes and murderers to see who has solved the most by the end.

In the middle of all this complicated gaming hooha, let me throw in a quick shout-out to the newest Data Pack for the Netrunner LCG from Fantasy Flight. Humanity’s Shadow includes the standard assortment of sixty new cards to be incorporated into the base game. Download them into your hand right now.

Tear down your quarantine signs, put aside your rifles, and lay down your machetes, and come out of your reinforced basements because it’s time for the first Zombicide expansion to arrive. Although, as this expansion, Walk of the Dead (see what they did there?), contains twenty-four additional zombie miniatures, you may still want to guard your brain. There are also twelve spawn cards include so that these figures can be introduced into the game. Stay close, lock and load, and make sure to wear a helmet.

Ahoy, maties, it be Catan: Pirates and Explorers!

The newest expansion for the hit Catan game series, Pirates and Explorers, like Cities and Knights, Seafarers, and Traders and Barbarians before it, adds new mechanics to the already popular ones from Settlers of Catan. Bridging the gap between Catan and Seafarers, Pirates and Explorers starts players out on one island, searching for resources and settlers to build and pilot a sailing vessel to another island. Once there, players discover a range of new resources to continue building and growing. This version of the game comes packed with five original scenarios to keep the gameplay fresh and original.

And, because of time and all that stuff, the last three items tonight will be presented in image only. They do say pictures speak louder than words, right?

Okay, maybe a few words.

There’s Ugg-Tect, a cooperative game where players have to act like cavemen while instructing each other on how to build a prehistoric building. There are also inflatable clubs included.

Two RPG softcovers also release this weekend.

One, for Call of Cthulhu (Atomic-Age Cthulhu), providing a 50s era setting for Cthulhuian mystery and murder with a nuclear backdrop.

And, two, the newest addition to the Only War Warhammer 40K RPG, Hammer of the Emperor.

New Game Stuff (3/8/2013)

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Mar 082013

Buckle in, folks, because after a week off because of snow trouble, New Game Stuff is back! And tonight there is a long, long list of newness to discuss, so it’s just the facts.

FoxMind games delivers one of the most inventive train games in a long while with String Railway. Using bendable pieces of plastic rope, players both build the board and connect train depots. Two to five players take turns drawing depot tokens, placing them, and attempting to link them with the pieces of string at their disposal. Easy to learn and very tactile, String Railway is perfect for families or friends.

A tile laying game of the most serene nature, Zen Garden will put your soul at ease.

Mayfair Games, makers of fine family games, adds some enticing dimensions to the standard tile laying scenario. Up to four players compete against each other by constructing their zen gardens using tiles of trees, mountains, and streams. Each player, however, has a special pattern they must try and complete by moving their tiles around the board with special lantern tokens. The game also comes with various levels of play to increase the difficult the more you play.

The front says Gentlemen Thieves, but the back says Arsene Lupin. And, no, that is not an indication that this game has anything to do with mullets. Borrowing the world’s most famous thief, Lupin, Gentlemen Thieves has players taking on the role of a thief and joining forces with other thieves (as long as it serves them) to heist valuable items (represented by tokens) from famous locations across Paris. Just remember to put on your black gloves.

In Ground Floor the building is already built, now you’ve just got to populate it, employee it, advertise your product, cut down on costs, challenge your rivals, and grow your business. Then, maybe, you get to rest. Detailed in its level of strategy, Ground Floor involves bartering, resource management, organization, and any number of other mechanics. If you’re an Agricola or Puerto Rico fan, get in on the Ground Floor.

The game is a foot, Watson!

Lady Alice is a recently released Sherlock Holmes themed board game allowing players to take on the rolls of kids studying under the tutelage of Holmes himself. During the game players make deductions about evidence, placing their guesses in a folder. When the round is over, each guess is revealed to either be true or false, with every player marking down the results in order to solve the mystery. If you picked up the recently released Sherlock Holmes Consulting Detective, this game is a perfect companion piece.

The reprint steamroller continues to roll from Dungeons & Dragons with the brand new hardcover edition of Dungeons of Dread. This classic AD&D tome collects the original “S” series of adventure models, three of which were written by Gary Gygax himself. For those out there who know the history, these are some of the most well known dungeons in D&D history, perfect for players learning the system by playing these reprint copies. As usual all the original material is reprinted in its original format.

It’s going to be Easter soon and that means bunnies. And bunnies mean violent murder of bunnies.

Wait, what?!! Steve Jackson changes the meaning of Easter with the newest Munchkin booster pack, Easter Eggs. Evil rabbits are running around all over the place and its your duty to smack’em down while wearing a Sundae Dress and Bunny Slippers. But watch out for Peter Cottonmouth and Little Bunny ‘Thulhu.

There are four doors, but no exits.

That’s the premise of Room-25. One to six players are locked in rooms, running from room to room, trying to find the one and only door which leads to rumored exit that is Room-25. In gaming formats ranging from solo to group cooperative, players attempt to coordinate actions in order to find the mythic room and escape. But beware, because some students may turn out to be undercover guards, ready to stop the players at the most inopportune moment.

Me matey, there be Pirate Dice off the coast of Pulp Fiction Isle!

By rolling and strategically placing customized D6′s, players sail the seven seas, doing battle with their rivals and searching for sunken and lost treasure. Each die controls attacks and movement as players sail across the provided map. Control the direction and speed of your ship carefully, though, as you don’t want to overshoot or undershoot that last hooray!

The recently released Archipelago pirate game receives a rare Solo Player Expansion this week. Unlike any other expansion, this one allows players to convert the game into a one-player mode. The pack contains 27 scenarios, each with a different time limit and win condition. You are also allowed to choose whatever character you wish in order to play.

A game of ancient Egypt, Kemet has players competing over a succession of rounds, divided into categories of night and day. Within the day phase, players enact their magical abilities in order to defeat your opponent, while at night your regroup and build up your mystical energies. Wizards can even spend special Prayer Points to bring additional creatures into their armies.

New Game Stuff (8/17/2012)

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Aug 172012

Scholars have studied the necronomicon for years, scouring its contents for the deepest, darkest secrets of the Eldar Gods. They then went insane. Then they created Cthulhu Fluxx. After years of happy, bright versions of the game, Looney Labs has delved into the horror of Lovecraft for this inevitable version of the game. Like each of the other Fluxx versions, the rules alter as you play, with the the draw a card, play a card instruction as the base. And if you act before the Eldar ones devour them, Pulp has a special promo card for anyone who purchases a copy.

I hope everyone out there is a jazz fan, because the other promo card Pulp received this week comes with the new 7 Wonders Cities expansion and that is the Louis Armstrong card. Oh, and there’s also 7 Wonders Cities. This new expansion for the massively popular drafting game adds a team mechanic that pushes the maximum number of players to eight. The titled city cards are another addition which offer a plethora of effects and advantages for single or team play. And, as I mentioned at the start, anyone who purchases a copy will receive the Louis Armstrong promo.

Queen Games continues its sequence of games based in various countries and time periods (including Samarkand, Fresco, Edo, and Kairo) with Maharani: Mosaic Palace. As with other Queen Games, Maharani incorporates intelligent game mechanics with beautiful design and inventive board construction. With this game, players are constructing the Taj Mahal tile by tile. In the middle of the board sits a Lazy Susan-esque device which rotates four tiles around the board for players to choose from. But pick and place carefully, because each piece must line up with the perimeter and pillars of the temple. If you’ve been looking for a solid family game with a medium amount of complexity, try Maharani. Or come up to board game night on Sunday or Thursday (both starting at 6pm) and try out our demo copy.

New Game Stuff (12/23/2011)

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Dec 232011

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.

New Game Stuff (12/9/2011)

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Dec 092011

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 Steam. Steam 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.

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