Origins 2012 Photo Recap – A Publisher’s Perspective

Hello dear readers! Monkey238 and I have returned from Origins 2012 a bit weary, but incredibly happy as we met many of you and made lots of new friends along the way. We worked hard from 10 to 6 every day in the Exhibition Hall running demos of Carnival, VivaJava and Compounded, teaching the joys of Lucky Dice (and awarding awesome prizes!), and just generally spreading the Dice Hate Me Games love around the con. After the Exhibition Hall closed for the day, we also got a chance to do quite a bit of after-hours gaming with a great group of people in Cartrunk Entertainment’s Unpub area in open gaming. The easiest way to share our adventures... Read More

The State of Games, Episode 24 – The One About Farming

Have you ever been in the presence of a female gamer when a box of Agricola: The Goodies is first cracked open and all those adorable little pigs and cows come spilling out? Have you regained hearing in your ears from the squeal of delight? And why, exactly, is a tiny wooden pumpkin or squash so darn adorable? Honestly, we don’t know either but we’re going to talk about it for at least 15 minutes or so. Come on in! Read More  Read More

A Clever Conversation with David MacKenzie

Dice Hate Me and Go Forth and Game have joined forces to bring you some of the best gaming interviews on the web! That’s right, from time to time here on Dice Hate Me, Tom Gurganus will contribute one of his comprehensive conversations. In his Dice Hate Me debut, Tom sits down for a detailed chat with our good friend David MacKenzie of Clever Mojo Games, makers of Alien Frontiers. Enjoy the interview and be sure to let us know if there are other designers, artists or gaming insiders that you would like to know more about! ________________________________________________ Tom Gurganus: David, welcome. Tell us about yourself. David MacKenzie:... 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 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

Tequila Sunrise over Clever Mojo Games

Clever Mojo Games (makers of the Dice Hate Me 2010 Game of the Year Alien Frontiers) is on the move! As reported on Dice Hate Me earlier, Clever Mojo has several games in development: the draconian deck-builder Princes of the Dragon Throne, the tile-laying Sunrise City, and the rather quirky, but totally radical Swinging Jivecat Voodoo Lounge. I’ve recently gotten my hands on a prototype of Sunrise City, and some sneak peeks at rules and playtest photos of Swinging Jivecat Voodoo Lounge, so may I present to all you dear readers, a little preview of the mojo ahead. Read More  Read More

Enter the Fire Dragons!

A few weeks have gone by since there have been any dragons on Dice Hate Me, so here is a quick update on Princes of the Dragon Throne from Clever Mojo Games! First off, artist Don Aguillo has been working furiously on new concept sketches for dragons of Clan Vu’ur (the Fire Dragons), as well as finished art of a very familar-looking Dwarf Lord (patterned after designer W. David MacKenzie), and some preliminary mock-ups of a very gruff troll and some kobold workers. According to W. David MacKenzie, the “The Trolls are a rough and aggressive race but civilized and with just as much diversity as the humans, elves, and dwarves. The Kobolds... Read More