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... 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... Read More

Dice On The Road

Greetings dear readers – and listeners! Below you’ll find a link to the nifty new audio player for the Dice Hate Me mini-cast. You’ll be seeing many more posts like this one starting on Wednesday as I head to Origins Game Fair to get some good gaming and plenty of interview time with a bevy of board game builders and heads of the biz. Listen to the mini-cast below to hear about everything I’ll be up to while at the big show, and be sure to comment or email... Read More

A New Springboard for Board Games

As all you dear readers know by now, Dice Hate Me fully supports the efforts of fledgling and independent board and card game designers. After the recent series on notable Kickstarter projects and our last State of Games podcast all about how to succeed on that platform, it felt prudent to take a closer look at an up-and-coming alternative for raising funds: Springboard, from GameSalute.com. And, so, Dan Yarrington – the CEO of Game Salute – was kind enough to answer... Read More

Kickstarter Profiles, Part 1: Dark Horse

Last summer, the name “Kickstarter” began to be whispered in awed, hushed tones after people like David MacKenzie and Daniel Solis had proven that self-publishing through crowd-funding was fresh and feasible. Last fall, Michael Mendes proved that Kickstarter was not just feasible – it was also lucrative as Eminent Domain went supernova, gaining over $48,000 in funds. Since then, board game projects have been popping up in that wild inter-frontier like rabid prairie dogs;... Read More

Space For More: An Interview With Empires of the Void Designer Ryan Laukat

Space… the well-trod frontier – at least in board games. There’s good reason for that, though: Space is awesome, as are many quality, space-based games. One space epic in particular has developed quite a buzz recently online – Empires of the Void, designed and illustrated by veteran board game artist Ryan Laukat. Ryan is responsible for quite a bit of art in Dominion, as well as Alf Seegert’s trollish masterpieces, Bridge Troll and Trollhalla. Ryan’s... Read More

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... 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,... 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

The State of Games, Episode 5 – The One About Mansions of Madness

The State of Games, Episode 5 is alive! And this may be our most controversial episode yet – at least amongst the rabid Cthulhu Mythos gamers amongst you. Bear with us, Lovecraftian fiends, we promise you the stars are right to talk of Things Man Was Not Meant to Know… About Mansions of Madness! Read More  Read More