Monopoly Deal – Like Landing on Free Parking
Say the word “Monopoly” to most die-hard gamers and they are likely to run screaming from the room as if their face is engulfed in flames. To some gamers, that very flaming fate would be preferable to the tedious, near-death experience of another game of Monopoly. To those of you who cringe at the thought of Passing Go; to those who abhor little metal Scotties; to the dear few who pray you Go to Jail so you don’t have to sweat bullets trying to get past your... Read More
Chrononauts Giveaway Results – Clover Leaf Strikes!
Greetings dear readers, I promised at the beginning of last week that I was giving away a free copy of Chrononauts to one lucky reader who entered into the contest by midnight this past Saturday. Early Sunday morning, I entered into a random list generator all of the names of those who “liked” the Dice Hate Me page on Facebook or spread some love through Twitter, and double entered those whose names were on the Dice Hate Me subscription list. For the sake of adequate... Read More
Chrononauts – Fourth-Dimensional Fun
What would you do if you had access to a time machine? Would you use it for the (supposed) betterment of mankind, preventing the assassination of a national hero, or guaranteeing the demise of a horrible dictator? Or would you travel to the future, steal a sports almanac, and return to the past to put a bet down on the Red Sox in the World Series? You can do all those things and more in Chrononauts – provided other time-travelling mischief-makers mucking about the timeline... Read More
Monty Python Fluxx – What a Silly Game
Fluxx is the very first card game from Andrew Looney, and it is fair to say that it is the main reason that Looney Labs has grown into the company that it is today. Ever since its introduction in 1996, people have been going absolutely bonkers over Fluxx because Fluxx is absolutely bonkers. At almost every convention, you’ll catch large groups of people gathered together, throwing down cards, laughing uproariously and generally having no clue as to what’s going on... Read More
Aquarius – The Rainbow Connection
Andrew Looney – the founder of Looney Labs and creator of Aquarius – makes no qualms about being a card-carrying hippie; I know because it says so right on the company website. Even if the website didn’t state as such, one look at the far-out kaleidoscope of colors and images on the Aquarius box would convince anyone that the sensibilities of the 60s were alive and well. What then makes Aquarius such a quirky conundrum is that the actual gameplay – as light... Read More
It’s a Looney Week!
Attention, game geeks and card crazies, this week at Dice Hate Me, I’m going Looney! Starting Wednesday, I’ll be doing back-to-back-to-back reviews of three of Looney Labs‘ greatest hits: Aquarius, Chrononauts and Monty Python Fluxx. These card games use several of the same insane mechanics, but manage to create three very different and unique game experiences. I found two to be absolute gems and one to mildly resemble fools’ gold. Which is which? Check... Read More
The Game Crafter – Personal Boardgame Production Made Possible
Gather around, youngsters, as I craft you a tale of days of legend. Many, many eons ago – about 30 years, give or take – if an adventurer wandered into a hobby establishment, they might find strange and wondrous treasures locked inside small, plastic bags or unmarked cardboard receptacles. As it turns out, these treasures were board and card games from small, independent publishers, often printed on inexpensive stock, heavy in theme and playability, and low on cost.... Read More
Alien Frontiers: The First Transport is Away!
Last month on Dice Hate Me, I published an interview with Clever Mojo Games‘ owner and publisher W. David MacKenzie and board game designer Tory Niemann about their upcoming strategy game Alien Frontiers. I recently spoke with MacKenzie about the status of production, availability schedule and advanced buzz for the game. Clever Mojo Games expects to receive the full shipment of Alien Frontiers from the printer by October 12th. Kickstarter backers and customers who have pre-ordered... Read More
Playing in Public: Winning Friends with a Fireball to the Face
PiP campaign Facebook page. Click to view and "like" “When you want to watch your favorite sport, or go out to a bar/restaurant, do you have trouble finding friends that want to go with you? Probably not. So why is it so hard to find people to play our favorite board games with us? Wouldn’t it be better if we could find someone to game with whenever we wanted instead of having to game on the limited schedule of our game group or local board game store? ... Read More