Inside the Big Top: An Interview with Artipia Games

I would bet that when most people think of board games, the circus is not exactly the first image that pops to mind. Artipia Games is setting out to change that with their upcoming fall release, Drum Roll. After watching the progression of game design and art direction on BoardGameGeek for several months, I felt that it was time to have a chat with game co-designer Konstantinos Kokkinis and find out the big deal under the big top. Just to give us all a better understanding of Drum Roll, can you provide a brief summary of gameplay and key mechanics? During the game, the players give 3 shows. For each of these shows they have 5-7 turns of preparation.... Read More

The Crowded Table: April/May Edition

So many games, so little time… to review them all! Yes, the past couple of months have seen a flurry of new games enter the Dice Hate Me library and, subsequently, our gaming table. I’ll be ramping up the review schedule a bit this summer, but cranking out two or three reviews a week right now is just not a practical goal. And, so, I offer up the next best thing: some brief impressions on a notable few that we’ve encountered, many of which will be getting the full Dice Hate Me treatment in the weeks ahead. Castle Panic Not too good... In this hybrid co-op, you and up to five other brave souls must defend the castle against a relentless,... Read More

A New Frontier for Alien Frontiers

Dice Hate Me has just received news from Clever Mojo Games regarding a new licensing agreement for future editions of Alien Frontiers. Here, directly from Clever Mojo Games owner W. David MacKenzie, is the full scoop: “Clever Mojo Games has signed licensing agreements to bring localized editions of Alien Frontiers to Eastern and Western Europe. Ystari Games will be producing French, German, Spanish, and Italian language versions of Alien Frontiers for distribution in Western Europe and LocWorks will be producing and distributing Polish and Eastern European language versions of Alien Frontiers. Both LocWorks and Ystari expect late 2011 release... Read More

Throwing Stars: An Interview with Ninjato Designers Adam West and Dan Schnake

In 2008, CrossCut Games – a company known previously for independently-producing computer games – introduced Galactic Emperor to the boardgaming world, and fans of epic tabletop star sagas fell in love. Not content with resting on success, the guys behind CrossCut Games – Adam West and Dan Schnake – are bringing the art of the silent death to tables everywhere with the summer release of Ninjato. After all, when you want to top epic star sagas in coolness, your best bet is to break out the ninjas. For those not familiar with the theme or concepts of Ninjato, can you provide a brief summary of gameplay and mechanics? Ninjato... Read More

The State of Games, Episode 6 – The One About Alf

The State of Games, Episode 6 has become self-aware! Oh, wait, maybe we’re getting ahead of ourselves. To call this episode a bit high-brow would be akin to calling the Grand Canyon a ditch – but believe us, this is a very good thing. So sit back, grab your pipe and smoking jacket, and make room in your brain for a whole lotta data. Read More  Read More

Kickstarting The Road to Canterbury

Attention all fans of 15th century Chaucerian poetry – and really cool games – the Kickstarter campaign for Alf Seegert’s The Road to Canterbury has been launched! The folks at Gryphon Games have 60 days to raise $10,000 to fund printing for this wickedly-intriguing new release. Be sure to check out the official Kickstarter campaign page, and watch the video for more information. Who knows, if you stick around to the very end of the video, you may recognize some familiar names in the production credits… And be sure to check back on Monday for the next episode of The State of Games, as  Monkey238 and I talk in-depth with... 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

The Quick and the Undead: A Nightfall Review

One thing about living in Santa Carla I never could stomach; all the damn vampires. For those gamers not in the know, Nightfall is the new horror-themed,“direct conflict” deck-building game from AEG that feels a bit like the love child of Dominion, Magic: The Gathering and the old, classic Killer Instinct video game. Just as in Dominion, each player starts the game with a small collection of cards in their personal decks and can later augment those decks by drafting cards from stacks of other cards during their turn. Unlike Dominion, players are able – through the use of carefully played orders and minions – to deal direct damage... Read More

MACE Convention Wrap-up

As many of you dear readers know, I attended a local gaming convention this weekend in Hickory, NC – MACE West, the sister convention to the somewhat-larger MACE held in High Point in November each year. Smaller in no way means that there was less fun to be had, as I and my gaming companions – Michael, Shawn, Scott and Matt – proceeded to play the holy heck out of 11 different games over two and a half days. I was also lucky enough to walk away from the convention with a smorgasboard of gaming goodness; after winning a silent auction, I got great deals on two tickets to Origins Game Fair, as well as the games Infinite City, Mystery... Read More

The State of Games, Episode 4 – The One About the 7 Deadly Sins

The State of Games, Episode 4 is good to go! We may be playing around a tiny bit with the format this week, but we’re still here to talk about some subtle controversies; only this time, we’re inviting all of you to look deep inside your gaming souls and seek out the sin within! Read More  Read More