The State of Games, Episode 12 – The One About Stronghold Games

Shhhh… someone out there is watching, and listening. We can’t give away too much about Episode 12 of The State of Games except to warn you that it seems as though someone is on the line. Who? We can’t say, but if you listen to the podcast, you’ll see what we mean. Just do yourself a favor – pretend it never happened. You’re safer that way. Read More  Read More

The State of Games, Episode 11 – The One About the Last Game On Earth

The State of Games, Episode 11 is fully stocked with bottled water, shotgun shells and plenty of spam and beans. There’s no apocalypse that we can’t handle as long as we can also bring along dice, cards, several hundred board games… wait, there’s not room for all of that? What’s a couple of well-prepared gamers to do? Read More  Read More

Alien Frontiers Factions and More!

Greetings, dear readers. I have a whole ton of Alien Frontiers news headed your way from Clever Mojo Games today. Enjoy! First up: Artist Mark Maxwell has officially signed with Clever Mojo to produce art for the first expansion to Alien Frontiers – Factions. The Factions expansion has an expected release date of March 1, 2012, and (as of this post) will include 8 Factions boards, representing various organizations with special powers vying for control of the surface of the alien planet. Also included will be 8 new Alien Tech cards, a deck of Agenda cards which will grant points depending on certain end-game scenarios, as well as dice and... Read More

Let’s Get This Party Started!

So. Six of your good friends are about to walk through the door, and all you’ve got is a plate full of Chex mix, five or six stale beers, and a half jar of salsa in the fridge. Pop quiz, hotshot – what do you do? No, they don’t all want to play Descent for 7 hours. Yes, some of them are girls. And, yes, all of them will be hungry and in need of a distraction before tearing your apartment asunder looking for leftover Doritos. Looks like it’s time to break out the party games. Lucky for you, Dice Hate Me has the lowdown on three of the latest to hit the shelves. Now put those skunky beers on ice and prepare to pick up what I’m putting... Read More

The State of Games, Episode 10 – The One About Origins

The State of Games, Episode 10 is geared up and ready for gaming – convention style! I’ll bet all you board gamers and grognards know what we’re talking about with the title of this one, and it ain’t about Darwin (although he was a clue in a game of Time’s Up this past week). So grab your dice bag and jump on board, because it’s convention time! Read More  Read More

Origins Game Fair 2011: Day 4

I’m sad to say that there was no great Banana Quest on Day 4 of Origins (in fact, we didn’t even eat until 4 p.m.), but there was plenty of good, old-fashioned boardgaming and spending quality time with some new friends. The day started late after some unexpected, but very nice sleep time, but we made the best of our last full day. And now, the day in pictures. Observing a demo of Engage, by Table Tactics. It was a fascinating diceless system that I'd like to take a closer look at soon. Marc Specter thought the prototype of Sunrise City could use more Godzilla attacks. After a long late lunch at Barley's (surprise), we hung... Read More

Origins Game Fair 2011: Day 3

I’m happy to report that on Day 3 of Origins, The Great Banana Quest was finally fulfilled. With my system unable to sustain another morning of breakfast sandwiches, I scoured the convention center for something remotely healthy. Thankfully, I was able to bribe a smoothie attendant out of a banana, no doubt depriving some poor convention-goer of some frozen fruit goodness later that day. But I digress. First order of business for the day: Leviathans. For those not in the know, Leviathans is a miniatures game of aerial combat between huge fleets of heavily armored airships – giant, floating flotillas held aloft by giant Tesla coils.... Read More

Origins Game Fair 2011: Day 2

It’s late. Very late. Like so late that it’s almost time to get up again. That’s convention life for you, though. And thus, day 2 in pictures (I’ll elaborate later!). The day began in the dealer exhibition room. I beelined straight to Stronghold Games‘ booth, met Stephen Buonocore, and promptly purchased Confusion: Espionage and Deception in the Cold War. Yes, it is mine. Yes, it is beautiful. Next up: Meeting Cristina Ramos at the Moosetache Games booth, and getting a look at their new game, Hike. We love Rowboat; it looks like we’ll love this one, too. I’ve been promised a demo game tomorrow, so I’ll... Read More

Origins Game Fair 2011: Day 1

Just like a game of Lords of Vegas, the day started out slowly, but drew to a lively finish. After missing an exit and turning our 7+ hour drive into an 8+ hour drive, my buddy Shawn and I arrived at our hotel, grabbed our gear and headed over to the big show. After some registration hiccups, we ambled over to the open gaming area, threw open the door… and saw that it was pretty darn dead at 3:30. So we walked across the street to Barley’s Brewing, had a beer and some brats, and looked over the encyclopedia-thick booklet of events for the next four days. We soon decided that those days would be decidedly less dead. The Origins Boardroom... Read More

Ahead in the Clouds – An Interview with Chris James of Stratus Games

Last year at Dice Hate Me headquarters, we received a review copy of a very unassuming little card game called Launch Pad. The box exterior seemed innocuous enough, but once we cracked the seal and started to play, we soon realized that this little card game was anything but innocent – this was filled with more punk factor than Monopoly Deal and Bang! combined. Of course, that meant that we liked it. As a result, I’ve kept a close eye on the developments at Stratus Games – the makers of Launch Pad, Gold Mine and the upcoming Eruption – and I figured it was just about time to talk to Chris James and share the full Dice Hate... Read More