Prelude

In the beginning Creators created paper. Now the paper was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the paper, and the Spirit of the Creators was hovering over the paper.  And the Creators said, “Let there be games,” and there were games. The Creators saw that this
was good, and they separated the thick paper from the thin paper. The Creators called the thick paper “boards,” and the thin paper they called “cards.” And there was turns and a round–the first play.

And the Creators said, “Let there be a vault between the surfaces to separate floor from  ceiling. So the Creators made the vault and separated the floor under the vault from the ceiling above it. And it was so. The Creators called the vault “tabletop.” And there was turns, and there were rounds–the second play.

And the Creators said, “Let the paper under the ceiling be gathered to one place, and let dry ground appear.” And it was so. The Creators called the dry ground “the play area,” and the gathered pieces he called dice. And the Creators saw that it was good.
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People always seem to regard summer as that lackadaisical time when they can kick back in a hammock with a strong margarita and relax with a good, long book. I don’t know about the rest of you, but with my busy summers, all I want to do is kick those same people out of their hammocks and steal their margaritas just for a moment’s break. This summer is no exception, as we’ve been traveling to and fro constantly from conventions and special gaming events in what seems like an endless procession of mid-week road trips. And I’m about to embark on another of those long side jaunts as I’ll soon be off to Indianapolis to the biggest North American show of the year – GenCon! Before I head out, however, I wanted to share some brief impressions of some games that have graced our crowded table in the past month or so and that you might want to seek out if you’re going to be at the Big Show. And even if you’re not going to be in Indy, you’ll probably want to search your FLGS – or beg them for a pre-order – for several titles below!

Smash Up

What do you get when you combine some of the more subtle, brain-tickling mechanics of Magic: The Gathering with just a pinch of – god forbid – Lost Cities and a smattering of good, old-fashioned geekdom? If you’re AEG, you certainly hope you’ve got a hit. And as far as I can tell from my plays of Smash Up, they’d better prepare for the inevitable onslaught of fanboys because Smash Up seems to be that hit in the making. On the surface, Smash Up appears to be just another card game trying so vary hard to tap into the collective psyche of the average geek. But after the first play, you’ll soon realize – as I quickly did – that Smash Up doesn’t pander, it simply facilitates play, and the more you play the more you want to play. Somehow, Smash Up manages to rekindle a bit of that simple innocence we all had when we first picked up a collectible card game and generated our first killer combo. The only exception is that, with Smash Up, we don’t have to buy booster packs in bulk and battle Mr. Suitcase in order to maintain that high; all we have to do is crack open the box, shuffle two totally awesome factions together, and get down and dirty.
Look for this little beauty at the AEG booth and I almost guarantee you’ll walk away with the box. Luckily, there’s lots of space inside to organize expansions, which I can also guarantee are well on their way. Look for a more in-depth review of Smash Up on Dice Hate Me after GenCon.

Impression score:

5 out of 6

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We’ve attended many conventions over the years, but one of our recent favorites has become the World Boardgaming Championships in Lancaster, Pennsylvania. No other convention embodies the thrill of competition and the camaraderie and fellowship of tabletop gaming quite like the WBC. Although Monkey238 and I headed to Lancaster to playtest and promote Dice Hate Me Games, we also wanted to be able to relax and have a little gaming vacation before the madness of GenCon. We were definitely not disappointed, and had a wonderful time with friends, both old and new.

So settle back and take it all in through this picture book look at the WBC!

Our home away from home while in Lancaster – Open Gaming!

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Hello dear readers, it’s just about that time again – time when we proudly announce another Kickstarter campaign for a great release from Dice Hate Me Games. You’ve been there for the thrill of Carnival and the quirk of VivaJava, so now it’s time to load up and hit the open road with The Great Heartland Hauling Co.!

That’s right, The Great Heartland Hauling Co. is our love letter to the highways and byways of this great nation, and to all the men and women who keep on trucking to keep the country rolling. This game is an absolute breeze to play and teach, plus it comes in the same size box as Carnival, so it’s easy to take on the road!

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Alright, all you good buddies out there – we hope you’ve got your ears on. Or your eyes peeled. Or whatever will get your attention, because it’s time to load up and roll out another great Dice Hate Me Games release! Today is the big day – the opening day of pledging for The Great Heartland Hauling Co. Just before the clock strikes midnight on July 31, we thought it would be fitting to sit down with designer Jason Kotarski and figure out what makes him – and this great game – keep on trucking.

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Convincing some gamers to try games with certain mechanics is often like convincing a kid to try a slice of pizza with anchovies or pineapple with ham. Dexterity is one such mechanic of which more than a few turn their noses up. I’ll admit, until a little over a year ago, I was just as likely to turn away from a dexterity game as I was when finding raw tomatoes on my pizza pies. However, just like those little fish and that hawaiian flair, dexterity – once you’ve acquired the taste – is often hard to resist. And, so, it was with great relish that I dug into the latest serving from Uniforge Games – a delightful pizza flicking game called Top This!

In Top This! each player plays a particular pie pusher trying their best to complete certain orders – indicated on cards next to the game board – before the other chefs. In order to do this, the chefs will have to place, flip and flick toppings onto the pizza-shaped board divided into 8 equal slices. It all sounds pretty simple, but knowing what to place, when to flip and how best to flick can prove a mighty tall order.

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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 this interview, Tom talks with Crash Games founders Patrick Nickell and Michael Coe about Rise, The Legend of the Lost Dutchman and some future projects from the company. 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: Talk about Crash Game a little bit. How did it come about?

Patrick: Crash Games formed back in September of 2011. At the time I was managing a FLGS in Mesa, Arizona and Michael Coe and his wife came in to see about demoing a game they were working on in my store. I was incredibly busy and didn’t really have the time to work through facilitating their request. We were both going to be at GenCon 2011 so I said we should meet up there. We exchanged cell phone numbers and that was that. That Thursday of GenCon, with 35,000 people wandering around I bumped into Michael and his wife Brittany by total accident and we ended up spending the entire convention together. We really felt this great creative energy so we decided to do something when we both got back to Arizona. We ended up deciding to create a board game company called Crash Games.

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