Before Nightfall: An Interview with Todd Rowland of AEG

We play a lot of games here at Dice Hate Me, and, therefore, become accustomed to the styles and practices of many different game companies. Recently, one company has risen to the forefront of our attention because of their promising new ventures and their tireless efforts at community outreach – Alderac Entertainment Group. Wanting to know more, we talked with Todd Rowland of AEG and asked him about his role in the company, their upcoming projects – including the horror-themed deck-building game Nightfall – and some of those community outreach programs in which the company strives to participate. Todd Rowland What is your specific... Read More

The State of Games, Episode 1 – The One About the Chinese

Welcome to the inaugural podcast of The State of Games! In this episode, Monkey238 and I get racy when we talk about Chinese stereotypes in board games, how Monkey is truly down with the Pandemic sickness, and answer the question “what’s bigger than a tulip but smaller than Holland?” We also offer up the first Riddle of the Sphinx – a random trivia question about board games that, if answered correctly, could get you a custom shoutout on the next podcast. If you think you have the answer, email us at podcast [at] dicehateme.com or comment on this post. Read More  Read More

There Be Dragons at Clever Mojo Games

Hear ye, hear ye… there be dragons on the horizon!  Everyone can relax, though – these dragons are coming to us from our friends at Clever Mojo Games, the creators and publishers of Alien Frontiers. Clever Mojo has officially announced their newest release, The Princes of the Dragon Throne, due out by the end of 2011. The game seems pretty nifty, and promises a new twist in deck building as well as some unique card styling that highlights the art from Don Aguillo really well. The official game description, direct from Clever Mojo Games: “The Kingdom of Loen is vast. Its duchies and counties are populated by humans, elves, dwarves,... Read More

Alien Frontiers Second Printing Delayed

The bad news: The second printing of Alien Frontiers will be delayed by at least two weeks, missing the March 31st shipping date originally announced. The good news: the pre-order period has been extended! Here is the note posted today by Clever Mojo Games head W. David MacKenzie: “Panda Games Mfg just emailed to say that their dice subcontractor has failed to meet their delivery deadline and will not be able to get the dice to Panda’s assembly team before the plant closes down on Jan 29th for the two-week Lunar New Year. This means that Alien Frontiers will not get shipped out of China until late February. We had expected the shipment... Read More

Clever Mojo Games Gets Steamy

It’s been a long time coming, but it looks like Steampunk fans will finally get a meaty boardgame they can call their own. Clever Mojo Games – the makers of Alien Frontiers – is currently working with New Zealand game designer Anthony Henning to produce Arkopolis Engines. No details are available for a specific release date, but the teaser art is looking pretty nifty. I’m a huge fan of Steampunk, so rest assured that there will be plenty more news and previews of Arkopolis Engines over the next year at Dice Hate Me. In other news from Clever Mojo Games, two other projects are currently in production and playtesting. The... Read More

The Table Ahead – Dice Hate Me in 2011

A new year is upon us, dear readers, and with it the promise of a slew of new gaming goodness to grace our tables! 2010 was a fantastic year for gaming – and, indeed, for Dice Hate Me – but 2011 is shaping up to be even better. In this column, I wanted to share a few things with all of you about the upcoming year – the games I’m most looking forward to, those already out that are planned to become part of the Dice Hate Me games library, and some of the things you all can look forward to on the site in the coming months. Think of this less of a “state of the union” and more of a “state of things to come.”... Read More

Alien Frontiers News: All Systems Go for Second Printing

Well, gentle readers, official news has trickled down from Clever Mojo Games – the second printing of the wildly-popular and woefully-understocked Alien Frontiers is a go! Not only will giddy gamers soon be able to grab a copy of this wonderful game, but the second printing promises to be super-deluxe, with rules clarifications and a brand new Alien Tech card available for gamers who pre-order the game! On Wednesday, December 1, Alien Frontiers will be available for pre-order on the Clever Mojo Games website for $39.99. After the pre-order phase is complete, Alien Frontiers will retail for $49.99. Retailers will also be able to pre-order... 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 shuffling, I decided to hit “randomize” on the list generator six times (like a six-sided die) and after the dust settled the winner turned out to be… Christine... 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 back each day this week to find out! The reviews aren’t all that’s going on this week – I’m also giving away a brand spanking new copy of Chrononauts.... 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 the game should begin receiving their copies by the end of October. Although it is too late to contribute to the Alien Frontiers‘ Kickstarter campaign and... Read More