There’s a certain chill in the air at Dice Hate Me HQ, and a bit more hustle to the bustle out in the big city. That’s right, the holidays are upon us and that means it’s time for our grand holiday tradition – the Dice Hate Me Holiday Gift Guide! We love board games and so do you, so what better way to say happy holidays to friends and family than through the gift of cardboard? Remember, all those games that you give will give right back to you because you get to play them!

There are a lot of games out there to choose from, many which you’ve heard us mention on The State of Games or here on Dice Hate Me. This gift guide is meant to give you a few ideas for the gamer and non-gamer alike on your list, and after you check it out you can get even more ideas from the 2010 and 2011 Gift Guides! May you always roll sixes, may your resource cubes be plentiful and may your holidays be merry and bright!

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The phrase “Winter Is Coming” can mean many things to many people, but around Dice Hate Me HQ that most commonly means that Monkey238 is up to her eyeballs in ballet duties. During this special time, she is typically holed up in a ballet studio somewhere teaching the best and brightest on how to be the premiere snow queen or sugarplum fairy. For poor old Dice, however, that typically means “fend for yourself” when it comes to games. Luckily, I had a November back-up plan to get in as much gaming as possible – and the gaming was superb. Lucky for all of you, however, is that Monkey still has enough time to play – and lend her opinions on – one of the best games of the year.

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It’s been a busy November for gaming here at Dice Hate Me HQ, even though most of that gaming has occurred outside of the primary HQ. This past weekend while Monkey238 was hip-deep in ballet duties (it’s Nutcracker season, after all), I attended the 24-hour gaming marathon at The Gamer’s Armory in Cary, N.C. The 24-hour marathon is held each year to benefit Gamers for Cures, a charity organization dedicated to helping gamers give back to the community and to increase awareness for Turner Syndrome. My gaming buddy Dan Patriss spearheads this effort every year, and the guest of honor is his daughter, Lauren, who has Turner Syndrome. It was a great turnout this year, and a fantastic time was had by all, with over $8,000 being raised through donations, raffles and the delicious bake sale. Below is just a small sample of the gaming goodness that was going on – enjoy the pictures, and if you’re in the area next year, consider coming out and having some fun for a great cause!

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Every year around this time, it’s been a tradition to head to MACE, a North Carolina gaming convention that used to be held in High Point. This year they decided to expand, but also switched venues, moving the festivities to Charlotte. Instead of making the trek west, five local gaming friends and I gathered together at a Springhill Suites in a grand experiment we called SAGCon – SAG standing for Stay And Game. Although we didn’t have all the grand spectacle and amenities offered at MACE, it was still a great time, and we played 17 games over two days. Here’s a look at some of the more memorable experiences and my thoughts on the games that were a part of them.

Castle Dice

This recently-Kickstarted game was sent to me late in its crowdfunding campaign by Luke Peterschmidt of Fun to 11 Games. The challenge: See if I could get it reviewed in less than a week. The solution: A video impressions session, filmed and produced while at SAGCon! Many of our thoughts can be seen in the video, but what I will say about Castle Dice here is that our brief experience has definitely left me wanting more. Combining 63 custom dice (63!), a resource management/ worker tableau (tableau!) and three separate stacks of special resource, worker and effects cards (some with words!) proved to be a very potent, fun and satisfying play experience. I only wish the Kickstarter campaign had been a bit longer so many of you could get your hands on this intriguing title.

Cosmic Encounter

After many years of attending many cons, I have to say that it almost doesn’t feel like a con without at least one good, rowdy game of Cosmic Encounter. No game has stood the test of time with so many game groups quite like CE, and this weekend’s epic six-player showdown was one of the best I’ve experienced since the legendary punk fest at PrezCon in February. Playing the card-raiding Barbarians, I managed to nab the first go, pulling out an immediate Negotiate with Dave and his annoying Tick-Tocks to give us both colonies and the shared lead. From there, I just held on tight, got in on the best deals and helped convince the Tick-Tocks that it would be in their best interest to parlay a three-way win with me included. Score! I love this game.

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Today on Dice Hate Me, we are lucky to have another guest review from the multi-tasking master, Marc Specter.This time, Marc takes a look at a storytelling game, currently on Kickstarter, that is great for families and gamers alike. Enjoy!

A few weeks ago Robert Burke put out the call offering the opportunity to give his newest game Gnomes: The Great Sweeping of Ammowan (on Kickstarter now: http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/478379924/gnomes-the-great-sweeping-of-ammowan?ref=live), a try.  Always eager to be an early adopter, I replied and said I would love to give it a go.  By the next day I had received the file.  And it sat.  And it sat.  So in addition to a review, this is my apology to you, Robert, that it too me so long to put this out there.

Even though I did not immediately take action–despite the gnomes’ impending doom–I did think about how I was going to execute this experiential game.  This was no mere sit down at a table to roll dice, flip cards, and smack talk.  “Gnomes” was about the experience, getting the family together as a group to save the kingdom that had make its home in our yard.  Allow me to explain…

Gnomes are tiny creatures who live in the Kingdom of Ammowan, aka our backyard (or your backyard, or local park, you get the idea).  Every year the Great Sweeping takes place, where the trolls come through trying to capture the gnomes.  Gnomes are typically very careful to clean up after themselves, especially at this time of year.  But it seems this year a few young’uns forgot and left some things around.  If the trolls find these items, the gig is up, and the gnomes are in trouble.  And so with much debate and a council vote, the gnomes have contacted us, the Giant-folk,  to help save their kingdom.

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Hello, dear readers – feast your eyes on the very first Dice Hate Me video impression! Why the sudden introduction of video on your favorite written reviews site? Just hit play and everything will become clear. Enjoy, and let me know your thoughts on this grand experiment.

Happy gaming!
Chris

It’s no secret – we love spooky games at Dice Hate Me. There’s just something rich and engaging about a dark setting done well. We don’t play scary games as often as those with other themes, but when we do, we like to do it right – and we like to share our experiences. And, so, in the spirit of this most bewitched month, here’s a look back at some of those spooky games we’ve played and shared – and a fresh look at a new addition to the library!

If I’m Going Down

In the boardgaming world of late, and much like the shambling undead upon which they are based, zombie games just keep coming, wave after wave, until you often feel as though you’ll never see daylight again. Quite often in these games, you’re doing your darndest to stretch your cursed existence as long as possible, hoping upon hope that your story is written by Robert Kirkman and you get to issue 100 without losing a limb. If I’m Going Down, however, does things a little differently; in this game, it’s not a matter of survival – you know you’re a goner – it’s simply a matter of taking as many of the cannibalistic freaks down with you as you can before you bite the big one. And that, dear readers, is just enough of a fresh twist to make the game intriguing.

At its core, If I’m Going Down is a fairly straightforward card game where you and up to one other hapless survivor are holed up after the apocalypse, fighting off hordes of the undead. Initial set-up is guided by a graphical layout depending on the scenario you choose, and it’s pretty simple to get the fight going. The gameplay, however, can be a far bit trickier, with lots of “cards with words” that create variable occurrences, weapons and items that require a bit of mental inventory, and an attack system that requires you to apply your weapon’s attack rating plus or minus any modifiers in Kill Points that must be equal to or greater than the zombies “Z Rating” plus Range (did you get all that?). Despite some of the math and a couple of rules quirks, once you get a couple of zombie kills under your belt, the whole system falls neatly into place and the game takes on a comfortable, albeit tensely atmospheric, rhythm.

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