Pictures of the play-by-play:

The arena of battle!

The board at the start of the battle. The players are: L1Z1X (Chris) at top in black, Hacan (Dan) in yellow, Yssaril (Shawn) in purple, Xxcha (Paul) in green, Sardakk N’orr (Michael) in red, and Federation of Sol (Daniel Solis) in blue.

First conquest for the L1Z1X!

The Yssaril take control of Mecatol Rex at the end of Round 2!

End of round 2.

First blood! Michael’s Sardakk N’orr beat up on Paul’s Xxcha turtles in Round 3.

And now witness the full operational power of the L1Z1Z battlestation! War Sun on Round 3. Awww yeah.

Round 4 – The move for Mecatol Rex.

Mecatol Rex falls to the cyborgs.

And Mecatol Rex is fully assimilated.

Round 6.

The L1Z1X/Sol stand-off.

The massive Sol fleet at the end of the game – possibly the biggest I’ve ever seen.

The Final Score.

The galaxy after the dust had settled.

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AND DON’T FORGET!

Mark your calendars for June 12-16 – that’s Origins Game Fair in Columbus, Ohio. Dice Hate Me Games will be there in full force, with designers TC Petty III, Darrell Louder and Jason Kotarski! Come on by booth #809, say hello, and be sure to pick up a copy of VivaJava: The Coffee Game, The Great Heartland Hauling Co. or Carnival (the last remaining copies of the first printing!) - each game comes with their limited expansion, only available at Origins! We’ll also be offering demos of Compounded, Belle of the Ball and Brew Crafters, so plan on having a great time at booth #809. We’ll see you there!

ALSO, OUR KICKSTARTER ALL STARS:

The Great Heartland Hauling Co. (The shipment is here! Order now!)

VivaJava: The Coffee Game (Get your summer orders in!)

Carnival (It’s here, and ready for you to enjoy!)

And, finally:

The Dice Hate Me Games Newsletter! Sign up for the best in behind-the-scenes goodness from our hearts to yours.

Like what you hear? Subscribe to the State of Games podcast RSS feed!

But before we can get started, we need your help! We all want this to be an interactive event, so we’d like some input into what Twilight Imperium race is best suited for each player. Below you’ll find a brief breakdown of each opponent and their playstyles. Beneath that, you’ll see the poll; fill that out and you’ll help decide who gets to play what – and possibly decide the fate of the galaxy! If any of you are unfamiliar with Twilight Imperium and need a good summary of the races, you’re in luck – I happen to have one right here on Dice Hate Me!

Meet the Players

Chris “Dice Hate Me” Kirkman

Bio: Before the bastions of cardboard Euros came into Chris’s life, he was all pewter minis and plastic Ameritrash – and loving every minute of it with classics like Axis & Allies and Fortress America. When he discovered Twilight Imperium, it was love at first play – TI:3 combines tons of plastic, galaxy-spanning strategy, and lively social politics into one gigantic – and beautiful – box. Chris won the last TI:3 showdown (involving current players Michael Harrison and Shawn Purtell) playing the Big Blue Swarm (Federation of Sol), so the odds are stacked slightly in his favor in this six-player slugfest.

Playstyle: All social, all the time. Can turn the driest Euro into an opportunity for table talk – and use player psychology to rattle some cages.

Dan “Geek Jock” Patriss

Bio: Founder of the Geek All-Stars podcast, Dan is the resident deck-builder rock star. His Ascension skills are nearly unmatched, and he uses that prowess to formulate combo strategies in board games. Twilight Imperium may not have a deck-building element, but Dan may well be able to assess the optimum use for the coveted Action cards – knowing when to hold ‘em, when to fold ‘em and when to chain them together for a battle fleet beatdown.

Playstyle: Gregarious and diplomatic. Dan is always laughing and cutting up during a game, which typically lulls his opponents into an inevitable trap.

Paul “Redheaded Pharmacist” Hetrick

Bio: Paul is a staple member of the Geek All-Stars, and founder of one of the most widely-read pharmacy blogs on the internet. He’s also one of the nicest guys you’ll ever meet. But behind that  inviting, baby-faced grin lies a brain filled with mischief and mayhem. Paul’s the kind of gamer that flies under the radar for a good long while, just hanging back and watching the leaders scrap it out, and then, when you least expect it, he’s totally ruining something you’ve been planning for half the game – or stealing your turtles.

Playstyle: Quiet and unassuming. A solid strategist that often uses an “oh, am I in your way?” method to bring mayhem to the table.

Michael “Oldbie” Harrison

Bio: Michael is cohost of The Dice Section podcast and a core contributor to the parenting and projects site GeekDad. Michael is a veteran Twilight Imperium player (and, yes, one play does make you a vet with this humongous game), taking on the role of the insectoid Sardakk N’orr in the last showdown. Although his bugs met a nasty fate when Chris convinced the Barony of Letnev player to crush them under his galactic boot heels, he was actually doing quite well keeping the peace with his space neighbor, Shawn, and plotting a buggy victory through superior firepower and technology.

Playstyle: Tactical and testing. Likely to make small jabs searching for opponents’ weak spots, much like a velociraptor checking on the electric fence.

Shawn “Hobo Pain” Purtell

Bio: Shawn is one of the developers of the lifestyle app, Lovebit. He is also the Dice Hate Me Games Ultimate Carnie – he gets every game and prototype for free, for life. He also happens to be one of the toughest Euro strategists ever to throw a meeple down on the table. Shawn often uses his Brainiac-like processing power to recognize the optimal strategy for any gaming situation, usually from the very first turn. In the last Twilight Imperium showdown, Shawn expertly commanded the Xxcha Kingdom, recognizing that the turtles are at their best when they’re, well… turtling. By the end of the game, his fleet and technology were unmatched and it’s likely he would have won if Chris hadn’t achieved his secret agenda.

Playstyle: Cool and calculating. Definitely not one to take a direct approach, preferring the scalpel over the sledgehammer.

Daniel “The Rookie” Solis

Bio: Daniel is creator of the future Dice Hate Me Games release, Belle of the Ball, and is a self-described “art director by day, game designer by night.” But, judging from his prolific game list (seriously, check out all of his ideas) he appears to be designing a little bit during the day, as well. Much like how he comes up with game ideas – about ten a minute – Daniel often tends to try out as many tactical avenues as possible. Since Twilight Imperium‘s epic game length and scope affords a lot of chances for technological tinkering, it’s probably safe to assume that Daniel  will be eyeballing that tech tree with delightful glee.

Playstyle: The ultimate wildcard. Will he play it safe and tinker in the background, or will he come out swinging?

Take the Poll!

Links to important things mentioned on the podcast:

Princes of the Dragon Throne

VivaJava: The Coffee Game: The Dice Game

Space Frak

Mercante

DC Deck-Building Game

Marvel Legendary

Keyflower

Divinare

X-Wing: Star Wars Miniatures Game

BiSikle

Tzolk’in: The Mayan Calendar

Slapshot

Modern Art

Elder Sign

The New Science

Fleet

AND DON’T FORGET!

Mark your calendars for June 12-16 – that’s Origins Game Fair in Columbus, Ohio. Dice Hate Me Games will be there in full force, with designers TC Petty III, Darrell Louder and Jason Kotarski! Come on by booth #809, say hello, and be sure to pick up a copy of VivaJava: The Coffee Game, The Great Heartland Hauling Co. or Carnival (the last remaining copies of the first printing!) - each game comes with their limited expansion, only available at Origins! We’ll also be offering demos of Compounded, Belle of the Ball and Brew Crafters, so plan on having a great time at booth #809. We’ll see you there!

ALSO, OUR KICKSTARTER ALL STARS:

The Great Heartland Hauling Co. (The shipment is here! Order now!)

VivaJava: The Coffee Game (Get your summer orders in!)

Carnival (It’s here, and ready for you to enjoy!)

And, finally:

The Dice Hate Me Games Newsletter! Sign up for the best in behind-the-scenes goodness from our hearts to yours.

Like what you hear? Subscribe to the State of Games podcast RSS feed!

Podcast segments, start times, and links to important things mentioned:

KICKSTARTER GAMES (starts at 3:15)

Guardians Chronicles

A Study in Emerald

Galaxy Defenders

Galactic Strike Force

Euphoria

Princes of the Dragon Throne

SUMMER BLOCKBUSTER DISCUSSION (starts at 55:50)

Iron Man 3

Man of Steel

The Wolverine

Pacific Rim

Lone Ranger

World War Z

Elysium

Kiss of the Damned

PLUS, Superhero movie speculation:

Hawk and Dove

The Wonder Twins

Ant Man (Comic-Con test footage)

Blue Beetle

X-Force

The Flash

Guardians of the Galaxy

Justice Society

Nexus

Nightwing

SUPERHERO CARD GAME SHOWDOWN (starts 112:44):

Sentinels of the Multiverse

DC: Deck-Building Game

Marvel Legendary

CLOSING NOTES, INCLUDING CONTEST WINNERS (145.19)

Send your name, your shipping address, and the Dice Hate Me Games title you would like to receive to chris@dicehateme.com!

Lisa Scodari

Eric Selander

Steve Behnke

AND DON’T FORGET!

Mark your calendars for June 12-16 – that’s Origins Game Fair in Columbus, Ohio. Dice Hate Me Games will be there in full force, with designers TC Petty III, Darrell Louder and Jason Kotarski! Come on by booth #809, say hello, and be sure to pick up a copy of VivaJava: The Coffee Game, The Great Heartland Hauling Co. or Carnival (the last remaining copies of the first printing!) - each game comes with their limited expansion, only available at Origins! We’ll also be offering demos of Compounded, Belle of the Ball and Brew Crafters, so plan on having a great time at booth #809. We’ll see you there!

ALSO, OUR KICKSTARTER ALL STARS:

The Great Heartland Hauling Co. (The shipment is here! Order now!)

VivaJava: The Coffee Game (Get your spring orders in!)

Carnival (It’s here, and ready for you to enjoy!)

And, finally:

The Dice Hate Me Games Newsletter! Sign up for the best in behind-the-scenes goodness from our hearts to yours.

Like what you hear? Subscribe to the State of Games podcast RSS feed!

Coup

Dedicated readers and listeners will immediately know that I am a social gaming junkie. If there’s a system to be gamed by gaming the other gamers through sly promises and double-talking, I’m all in. Since you know that I know what I’m talking about I’m here to tell all of you, definitively, that Coup is one of the best social games I have played in several years. In Coup, each player controls two secret cards that could be one of several different types of characters – each with a special ability to cancel the powers of another character. Each round, players take turns announcing what character they are using and activating that ability. It doesn’t matter if the player has that character, it just matters if the other players believe that they do. Otherwise, any other player can call the alleged bluff and attempt to cancel the action with one of their face-down characters. Of course, if the calling player is wrong (or are themselves bluffing), there’s usually a steep price – and lots of cackling around the table. The winning player is the one left with any face-down characters in front of them. It’s a simple system that does what any great social game aims for: Steps back and graciously lets the players transform the game around them. The original Coup design has been scooped up by Indie Boards & Cards and is currently on Kickstarter with a retheme from The Resistance universe. The production and art is top-notch, but I tend to prefer the quirky original to this new Hunger Games-like rendition. Still, if you don’t have it, you need it – particularly if your idea of a good time is to watch everyone around the table sweat while you’re bluffing your butt off.

Impression score: 6 out of 6

Manhattan Project

I may be a little slow on the take with this one since everyone and their brother has been raving about it since its release, but it was well worth the wait. This “worker takement” game with a unique theme is one of the best – and most atmospheric – Euros that I have experienced in recent years. In Manhattan Project, players take on the roles of different countries toward the end of WWII, all feverishly racing to develop the first atom bombs. As with most worker placement games, Manhattan Project has a slow burn at the start, but ramps up tremendously in the last few rounds, making many gamers break out in a cold sweat at the thought that they just might be one tiny step behind the leader. One advantage/drawback of Manhattan Project’s endgame is that it’s very sudden – once one player reaches the goal, the game ends immediately and there is no end score. After all, when someone achieves nuclear supremacy, it’s pretty much game over. Had I played Manhattan Project last year, it would have easily been in the running for my Game of the Year. Would it have beaten Fleet? Probably not, but it would have been a tight showing, and I would easily recommend the game to those who are looking for a solid, suspenseful addition to their stalwart worker placement library. I promise you that Manhattan Project promises to blow most worker placement games back to the Stone Age.

Impression score: 6 out of 6

Glory to Rome

Continuing in the tradition of being behind the times in this Crowded Table, I finally got multiple chances to break out the Glory to Rome Black Box edition that I backed on Kickstarter eons ago. Again, it was well worth the wait. Never have I experienced a more madcap and yet satisfyingly-chaotic romp with random cards and rampant punk factor. For those not in the know, Glory to Rome centers on each player trying their darndest to build the greatest encampment/statuary/temple/monument to the great Roman throne in their personal real estate. They do this through the use of cards that can perform four different functions depending on when – and how – they are used in conjunction with other cards. It’s difficult to summarize the full extent of card play in Glory to Rome in a single paragraph, but if I was hard-pressed to express an analogy, it would be working toward the greatest single multiple-strike chaotic combo and Fatality string in Mortal Kombat history. With Cards. Glory to Rome is easily one of the best card games I’ve played in years and you’ll be hard pressed not to hear the chant “Finish Him” inside your head when you get that cardboard deathmobile purring.

Impression score: 5 out of 6

Keyflower

If I had to summarize Keyflower in a single word, it would be the word “unassuming.” From the packaging to the initial description, you don’t initially expect a whole lot from Keyflower. However, therein lies the strength of the design – once you play Keyflower, your expectations will be shattered in ways that just don’t happen with other games. At its core, Keyflower is a worker placement game. You have a ton of Meeples and you place those Meeples on your own turf – and others – to activate abilities that score you points. That’s all pretty familiar. What sets Keyflower apart is that you also have to decide when to use those same Meeples to bid on a select property instead of taking an action just so you can secure that action for future rounds (and points) in your settlement. Sometimes, that will result in you getting other Meeples back in another round for further placement, but quite often it means you’re sacrificing those Meeples to the stock, or other players. It’s this give and take of precious Meeple resources that really elevates Keyflower to another level of Euro – one in which I highly recommend for anyone who enjoys tossing little wooden people onto cardboard cutouts.

Impression score: 5 out of 6

DC Deckbuilding Game

With what could be the most boring game title of the past year or so, Cryptozoic has managed to create one of the most riveting card games in recent memory. Any dedicated reader of Dice Hate Me will know that I just don’t cotton to deckbuilders; I’d much rather poke my eyes out with sharp sticks than sit around and count how many actions I have left in a turn, or shuffle my deck for the umpteenth time. All that said, I will easily endorse the DC Deckbuilding Game as a Dice Hate Me Preferred Selection for 2013. Heck, had I played it back in 2012, it probably would have been in the running for Game of the Year. No hyperbole intended. The secret of the DC:DBG is not that it has a ton of revolutionary mechanics – after all, anyone who has even barely heard of Dominion or Ascension can pick it up in a heartbeat – it’s that Cryptozoic has managed to create a game that’s so easy to pick up, play, enjoy and almost master in a couple of plays that the design almost feels effortless. If there’s one drawback, it may very well be in theme integration, although even that seems to makes some sort of loose sense. Who knows, maybe that’s the comforting chaos of the DC Universe. Regardless, this is one deckbuilder you don’t want to miss – especially if you’re super burnt out of the genre like myself.

Impression score: 6 out of 6

Legendary

There are many battles in the geek kingdom. Apple vs. Microsoft. Tennant vs. Smith. Kirk vs. Picard. But quite often none are as heated as DC vs. Marvel. Myself, I am a Marvel Zombie. I am a card-carrying member of the M.M.M.S. (Google it, children) and proud to state it at every comic convention I attend. I must clarify all of that so that you’ll believe me when I make this statement: Legendary is nowhere near as good as the DC Deckuilding Game. There, I said it. Yes, I feel dirty. But I feel justified, nonetheless. It’s not that Legendary is a bad game – it’s not. There are a lot of great things going for it – a more coherent plot, an interesting semi-cooperative atmosphere, a seemingly-infinite amount of variable set-ups – but the entire affair just seems a bit clunky. Perhaps it’s only apparent after having played both systems, but I personally feel as though Legendary is a great big, lumbering bus and the DC Deckbuilding Game is carefully tuned like a sports car. Yes, you can certainly hold a plethora of colorful characters in that bus, but it’s going to take you a long time to get where you’re going, and you might just tire of the whole journey by the time you get there. In my opinion, try both – but save your money for DC… just this one time.

Impression score: 4 out of 6

Links to important people and things mentioned on the podcast:

GrandCon

Origins

Myrmes

Fleet (and the Dice Hate Me Game of the Year Awards)

Medici

X-Wing

VivaJava

Kemet

Trajan

Manhattan Project

Glory to Rome

Compounded

AND DON’T FORGET THE CONTEST!

That’s right, dear listeners – toward the beginning of the podcast, there are instructions to enter for a chance to win ANY Dice Hate Me Games title and exclusive expansion. You can choose from Carnival and The Sideshow (all sold out, and only available from DHMG), VivaJava and the Geekspansion, or The Great Heartland Hauling Co. with the 5-player Badlands expansion. And all you have to do is leave a comment on this post! Be sure to do it before 11:59 p.m. on Saturday, April 20 and you could win the game and exclusive expansion of your choice!

ALSO, OUR KICKSTARTER ALL STARS:

The Great Heartland Hauling Co. (The shipment is here! Order now!)

VivaJava: The Coffee Game (Get your spring orders in!)

Carnival (It’s here, and ready for you to enjoy!)

And, finally:

The Dice Hate Me Games Newsletter! Sign up for the best in behind-the-scenes goodness from our hearts to yours.

Like what you hear? Subscribe to the State of Games podcast RSS feed!

Jeremiah Lee is probably a werewolf. Or maybe a spy. Or a zombie. Or maybe he’s just a really nice guy. This stay-at-home dad/game designer may play a lot of different roles but deep down, he’s just a normal guy who loves his family and friends and likes to play a good game every now and then. After the success of his solitaire print-and-play game, Zombie in my Pocket, it wasn’t long before Jeremiah found himself signing a publishing deal for a multi-player version of the game with Cambridge Games Factory. When not “unschooling” kids (look it up, it’s a thing), he serves in a marketing capacity for Indie Boards and Cards. He’s also developing a new game based on the original ZimP for Valley Games and running a Kickstarter project (Check it out now! There’s only a few days left! ) for a new company called Stupid Awesome Games, which he started with friend, Donn Stroud. We were able to spend some time chatting about game design, his favorite games, and his current project Zombie House Blitz.

Jason Kotarski: Let’s start with the standards. Tell me a little bit about who you are and how you got into hobby gaming?

Jeremiah Lee: I’m a full-time father of four young children, I’m a gamer, I’m a distracted designer (most of my ideas don’t make it to the prototype stage), and I’m always doing more things than I should be doing at one time. I got into gaming many years ago, as a kid, but I didn’t really get into the designer board game “life” until late 2007, when I happened upon some board gamers at a local game convention. I didn’t even really know what someone would do at a game convention (I didn’t know you had to buy tickets, sign up for events, or anything like that). I sat down, played Detroit Cleveland Grand Prix, and was hooked. I looked it up on BoardGameGeek the next day, and now I have less money but more fun. I had played some games in college, but it wasn’t until this event that I really got into gaming.

Lee teaching Zombie House Blitz at GameSpace

Jason: You have a game published through Cambridge Games Factory and another game that is on Kickstarter now called Zombie House Blitz. Can you share a little about your journey into game design? What moved you from gamer to designer?

Jeremiah: I think I really became a game designer when I picked up the Dungeon Master’s Guide, from the D&D Basic RedBox, back in 1988 or so. Ever since then I’ve been working to create stories for people to enjoy in a game format. That said, I didn’t work seriously as a designer until 2007, when I came up with Zombie in my Pocket, which went on to be an amazingly successful print and play game. I knew right away, once I got into playing these games, that I wanted to design. There really wasn’t any time where I was just playing games and not designing. The gaming convention that sparked my entry into games was in late November of 2007, and my first game was released as a print and play game on Boardgamegeek.com in early December of 2007.

Jason: I know your first games were published as print-and-play games and given away for free to anyone who was willing to put in the time and effort to build them. You even won the Golden Geek Award for best Print-and-Play Game for your solitaire version of Zombie In My Pocket. I haven’t really spent a ton of time in the print-and-play community so I wonder how working with print-and-play games has helped you grow as a designer.

Jeremiah: The PnP community has been an amazing resource for me as a designer. Without it, I wouldn’t get the chance to watch as many other games grow as I get to. The PnP community is amazingly free with their games, and their design processes. We help each other, we play each other’s games, and we encourage other gamers to join us. It’s such a great way to get into game design, and it’s lead to many games moving from PnP to full productions.

Pre-production prototype of Zombie House Blitz

Jason: You are working with Donn Stroud on a new company called Stupid Awesome Games. Can you tell us a little bit about the company and your current project Zombie House Blitz?

Jeremiah: Stupid Awesome Games came together because we wanted to step out and do something exciting and risky. Donn and I wanted to put ourselves out into the world and say, “Hey, this is something fun and we’d love to give it to you. Can you help?” Asking for money is always tricky, but we were ready to do that, and people have responded.

Jason: What’s the heart behind the game?

Jeremiah: The heart behind the game is my love of speed games, and my love of zombies. I really wanted to make a game that combined these loves, and would be easy enough for people to play that aren’t hardcore gamers already.

Jason: I have had the privilege of sharing a game table with you on several occasions so I know that at heart, you are an intensely social gamer. So I know that social games would probably be your genre of choice but are there any specific designers that inspire you? Any games that have inspired you to be a better designer?

Jeremiah: Designers that do things I wouldn’t ever think of doing inspire me to keep making games. Games like Flowerfall, Citadels, Glory to Rome, Mage Knight, and The Resistance inspire me. I’ll often find game design ideas by reading the first couple of lines of a game’s description on Boardgamegeek. I’ll read just that bit, write down my idea, and then go back to see if it matches the game I was reading about. If it is, I throw “my” idea away, though it isn’t often the same.

Jason: What, in your opinion, makes a great game?

Jeremiah: A great game, for me, makes me smile. I want a game to facilitate interesting interactions between players. That’s my big reason for playing games. If a game leaves me feeling like I’ve just “played the game” and not “played the people”, then I won’t want to return to it.

Jason: What would you say is the most important advice you’d offer to other designers who want to design and publish games?

Jeremiah: First, design games. Spend time making games, and really put effort into finishing games. Don’t just come up with a bunch of ideas and then never get to playing them. Designers, real designers, make playable games. People that come up with design ideas and don’t follow through aren’t designers.

Second, get involved in the gaming community. This doesn’t mean you have to go to gaming conventions across the nation (though that certainly helps). You can get involved through the designer forums on Boardgamegeek.com, on BGDF.com, or by getting involved on Twitter and Facebook. There are some fantastic groups of designers out there that are happy to have others join the conversation.

Jeremiah tries his hand at Jason’s new mini-game, FrogFlip

Favorite game to play with your kids:

Jeremiah: Right now it’s A Touch of Evil, though I really wish it had less pieces for me to set up and put away.

Favorite game to play with your wife (2-players only):

Jeremiah: Plato 3000 or Glory to Rome. We’ve played both of these games over and over, and while about 200 plays is wearing on me for Plato 3000, Glory to Rome hitting about 100 plays is still exciting.

Favorite game to play with a large group:

Jeremiah: The Resistance or Werewolf.

Favorite game to play with me:

Jeremiah: My favorite game to play with you, Jason, might have to be Skull & Roses. I had a lot of fun the last time we played. Though, FrogFlip is pretty high on my list, too.

Favorite band to listen to while designing zombie games:

Jeremiah: Break of Reality.

Jason: Do you want to share anything more about your current or future projects with us?

Jeremiah: I’m always working on new games. I actually just had the chance to alpha-test a new game this past weekend with the Boardgamers of Greater Akron (BOGA), and had a great time with it. It’s a kid’s game, called Kitty Corral, and on the very first play of the game there was swearing and drinks were spilled. That’s a win for me.

Jason: Where can people find more about you and your games on the web?

Jeremiah: On twitter @Jeremiah042, where I talk almost exclusively about games/gaming.
On boardgamegeek.com: http://www.boardgamegeek.com/boardgamedesigner/9817/jeremiah-lee

Jason: I really appreciate you taking time to share some of your story and your experience with me. Good luck with your Kickstarter, I really hope you guys make your goal.

Happy gaming!
Chris

VIVAJAVA: THE COFFEE GAME: THE DICE GAME

VivaJava: The Coffee Game: The Dice Game, or, more simply, VivaJava Dice, is the successor to the well-received 2012 release of VivaJava: The Coffee Game. Just as in its predecessor, players of VivaJava Dice take on the roles of employees at the VivaJava CoffeeCo., scouring the globe for the best beans to keep the company on top while keeping themselves one step ahead of the rest of the executives.

Also as in VivaJava, VivaJava Dice has players making the crucial decision between blending beans and research, but with a quick, new twist. Players must now use the dice in their pool to blend – using the beans to create a best-seller for quick points, and then whether to press their luck in subsequent rounds for bigger points but less dice as the blends degrade – or to research, and use their valuable beans to gain an ever-changing variety of dice-manipulating abilities, new ways to score, and paths that lead to aiding a competitor for a later payoff or hindering that competitor for immediate gratification. VivaJava Dice also offers a unique system of cooperative dice-rolling that can help you rise to the top, but at the price of someone else riding your coattails

With an astounding mix of plug-and-play research abilities, subtle social play in semi-cooperative mode, and the chance to hog all the glory and blend the best for yourself, VivaJava Dice is all about choice, making each game fast and furiously different.

VivaJava: The Coffee Game: The Dice Game is a game for 2 to 4 players, ages 10 and up, and designed by TC Petty III. It is set for a late-Spring Kickstarter campaign with a Q4 release from Dice Hate Me Games.

BELLE OF THE BALL

It is the eve of Carnivale on the magical Victorian isle of Ludobel, and you are all invited to the fantastical festivities!

In the card game Belle of the Ball, players take on the roles of party hosts, seeking the best mix of guests to make their gala the greatest by the end of the night. In order to ensure that they stay one step ahead of the other hosts, players will have to carefully watch the growing line of guests at the door, inviting those in that seem to share passions with party-goers already inside, all the while handing out their precious stash of Regrets to those who should seek refuge elsewhere. Of course, other hosts may find it advantageous to invite a rejected guest inside just to collect their accumulated Regrets for later use.

Hosts may also choose to ignore the competition for guests and instead try to earn the favor of the Belle of the Ball herself, whose charms can make or break any party.

Belle of the Ball is a card game for 2 to 5 players, ages 8 and up, and designed by the award-winning Daniel Solis, creator of Happy Birthday, Robot and Do: Pilgrims of the Flying Temple. Belle of the Ball will feature art from fantastic character illustrator Jacqui Davis, veteran artist of titles such as Formula E, Viticulture and Warhammer. The game is slated for a late-summer Kickstarter campaign with a Q1 2014 release from Dice Hate Me Games.

BREW CRAFTERS

It’s a time of regrowth in the old urban center, and the hippest and best beer crafters have gathered both hops and hopes in building the best brewery in the city. It won’t be an easy task, as players compete for precious resources such as malt, yeast, fruit and spices in the local markets, all while managing and optimizing their growing bottling empires.

In Brew Crafters, players assume management of a local craft brewery, working hard to manage resources, use their workers wisely, and develop their brewing line to create the best local brews. Brew Crafters honors the tradition of classic Euro games such as Agricola and Puerto Rico, but at its heart beats a unique brewery processing system that must be constantly improved, monitored and manned in order to keep the beloved beverages rolling off the line. Each brewery has access to a variety of equipment upgrades, local farms, markets, and a plethora of specialty workers, ensuring a high level of replayability and strategic avenues. In addition, each player is studiously working to be first to develop several rotating gold-label specialty recipes that will earn them extra points and prestige at the end of year three when the best local brewer will be honored.

Brew Crafters is a unique blend of Euro gaming sensibilities and American brewing pride, developed by Ben Rosset, creator of Mars Needs Mechanics. It is a game for 2 to 5 players, ages 12 and up, and is slated for an October Kickstarter campaign with a Q2 2014 release from Dice Hate Me Games.

Links to important people and things mentioned on the podcast:

TC Petty III’s open beta test of VivaJava: The Coffee Game: The Dice Game (you can help playtest openly!)

Triassic Terror

Pitchcar

Space Cadets

Glory to Rome

Skyline

Belle of the Ball

Coup

Roll Through the Ages

Fleet

Compounded

ALSO, OUR KICKSTARTER ALL STARS:

The Great Heartland Hauling Co. (The shipment is here! Get your pre-orders in!)

VivaJava: The Coffee Game (Get your spring orders in!)

Carnival (It’s here, and ready for you to enjoy!)

And, finally:

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