Social Experiments: Saboteur, The Resistance, and Lifeboat

To be perfectly transparent – and to save some of you a bit of time – I’m placing a disclaimer at the beginning of this article. If your idea of a perfect game is sitting in silence – with or without other gamers present – shuffling through cards, chits, wooden blocks and such, all in an effort to outwit not another opponent but the game itself, it’s probably best just to check out the Dice Hate Me reviews of Onirim or Red November. But if you’re the type of gamer who relishes heated debates, paranoia-stricken glances at the whites of the eyes of every player seated around the table, or hearing the phrase “I’m... Read More

In Space, No One Can Hear You Whimper – A Launch Pad Review

From now until August 25, you have a chance to win a free copy of Launch Pad from Stratus Games – a game we reviewed last year and have found gets better -and punkier- with age. To enter, just click on this link and fill in a simple quiz. There are 10 questions, and for every correct answer, you’ll get one contest entry! In honor of the giveaway, here is the official Dice Hate Me review of Launch Pad from October 2010, including an updated rating reflecting our seasoned play since the review. From 1957 until the early 70s, the national super powers of the United States and the Soviet Union were pitted together in a heated head-to-head race... Read More

Step right up. Enjoy your ride.

It’s that time. You’ve heard the rumblings over the past couple of months… you’ve (hopefully) seen bits and pieces of the art… and you’ve (even more hopefully) heard the buzz. Our first game release, Carnival, is now on Kickstarter and ready for your perusal! For those not in the know, Carnival is a game of set collection for 2-4 players that utilizes dice rolls to determine actions. During the game, players may use Tickets to influence dice rolls or cancel other players’ actions. Wild cards can act as card substitutes or be discarded to draw more cards from the deck. It’s just like bumper cars in... Read More

Epic Update for Princes of the Dragon Throne

It’s been a few months since dragons have graced the pages at Dice Hate Me, but that doesn’t mean that they have been dormant. I’ve recently received a slew of new art for Clever Mojo Games‘ Princes of the Dragon Throne, and been privy to some designer notes that clear up the new direction for the game. But first – pretty stuff! Read More  Read More

The State of Games, Episode 13 – The One About GenCon and the WBC

Phew. Gaming can sometimes be hard. Like when there are tons of cool conventions going on all summer long and you just can’t seem to get to all of them. Lucky for us, we have clones. That’s right, clones. Right now, there are hundreds of little Monkey238s running amok, possibly in your neighborhood. It’s true! Don’t be alarmed, though – they’re mostly harmless. Just have some Doritos and ice cream at the ready. You may need it. Read More  Read More

Guest Impressions: GenCon 2011

Although we weren’t able to make it to GenCon this year, we were lucky enough that a friend of Dice Hate Me was there – Marc Specter. Marc attended GenCon on Saturday and was kind enough to volunteer his impressions of the big show. We’d like to thank Marc for running the gauntlet for us! Also, look for a special episode of The State of Games on Thursday when Patrick Nickell will share his experiences (including interviews with some industry giants) and Monkey238 and I will share our thoughts and experiences at the World Boardgaming Championships in Lancaster, PA! Running the gauntlet of aisle 800 As the grandaddy of all gaming... Read More

WBC Bound!

It’s convention time once again at Dice Hate Me HQ, so time for some road trip preliminaries. I know that a vast majority of you are either not reading this at GenCon, or not reading this because you’re reading someone else’s blog about being at GenCon, but for the other 3% of you out there – welcome to the WBC party! As many of you already know, we have opted out of the big show in Indy this year, and are instead headed to the land of milk and honey – Lancaster, PA, home of delicious pretzels and shoo-fly pie. Lancaster is the home of the World Boardgaming Championships, and we figured that the closer drive, cheaper... Read More

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

A Sweet Science: An Interview with JAB Designer Gavan Brown

For generations, “the sweet science” has always referred to the manly art of fisticuffs; you know, boxing. When I was but a wee lad, I heard the term and immediately imagined a man in a big, white lab coat mixing up ice cream flavors in the lab – such are the machinations of the five-year-old mind. Regardless, for many years of my youth, whenever I would draw I would draw ice cream. Lots and lots of ice cream. Looking back now on all those drawings of ice cream cones, I guess I truly associated art with my personal “sweet science.” All of this is to say that I now have the perfect storm of interpersonal connections*... Read More

Kickstarter Quick-Look: White Elephant

Kickstarter perusers have definitely seen their fair share of offbeat projects lately – the Freaker, that floating pool in New York City’s East River, this thing – and I have been loving every bit of it. So when designer Brian Kelley mentioned that he had a game heading the Kickstarter way all about the White Elephant holiday party game (in card form, no less), you can bet my offbeat-o-meter redlined. Naturally, I wanted. Thankfully, I received. Yup, I actually own that album. On vinyl, no less. White Elephant, as mentioned previously, is based all around that joyous holiday tradition of giving really crappy presents. It is known... Read More