Articles of Note
The State of Games, Ep. 188 – The One About Milk
Chris sits down with Josh Mills, designer of Milkman
The State of Games, Ep. 187: The One About Unpub 2023
Chris, Darrell, and TC talk highlights from the Unpub con.
The State of Games, Ep. 186: The One About Our Robot Overlords
Chris, Darrell, and TC talk the impact of AI on gaming
The State of Games, Ep. 185: The One About Crossing the Line
Chris and TC talk about games and bad behavior
The State of Games, Ep. 184: The One About Catching Up
Chris, Darrell, and TC catch up after a long hiatus
The State of Games, Ep. 183: The One About Works in Progress
Talk of upcoming projects; importance of adapting
The State of Games, Ep. 182: The One About Getting the Brand Back Together
Darrell, TC, and Chris talk the separation of DHMG and GTG
The holidays are upon us, and what signifies the holidays better than family? Gathering around the table, nibbling on turkey, ham, potatoes and pie – all while trying our darndest to best each other in a great game. Yes, we feel that gaming brings the family closer and makes great memories for the holidays and anytime, really. And we’re betting all of you feel the same way as we do.
The boardgaming world is a lot like Hollywood, sometimes: months can go by with nothing in the theaters but subtitled snorefests or the latest McConaughey/Hudson romantic comedy, and then, suddenly, we get The Avengers vs. JLA, Son of Jaws, and Massive End of the World Movie, Part 3 all in the same weekend. Autumn has been a bit like that for boardgames, with ships heading into port loaded with cardboard goodies on what has seemed like a daily basis. Monkey238 and I have been playing as much and as quickly as possible, but in times like these it’s great to break out this handy standard feature with brief impressions on a notable few, many of which will be getting the full Dice Hate Me treatment in the weeks ahead.
Eminent Domain
Deck-builder. For many gamers, that particular nomenclature conjures up waves of joy and delight; at Dice Hate Me HQ, however, it’s almost akin to a four-letter word. Yes, Monkey238 and I have become a bit infamous for our distaste of the latest multiplayer-solitaire du jour, but we endeavor to always keep an open mind. And, so, it was with honest and mounting curiosity that made us look forward to the arrival of Eminent Domain – the only nervous question after opening the box was whether this touted title would help redeem the genre for us. To make a short review even shorter: Yes. Within ten minutes of carefully working our way through the first few turns of EmDo, we looked up at each other and instantly agreed that this was no Dominion, and that’s a very good thing. If anything, the role selection and empire-building aspects of the game reminded us of the much-beloved San Juan. With varied tactical decisions to make each game and a seemingly-endless supply of strategic start-game paths to choose from (not to mention a healthy technology tree!), Eminent Domain not only redeems the deck-builder – for us, it serves to redefine it.
Impression score:
6 out of 6
The blessing and curse of giving games as gifts is variety. There are a lot of games out there to choose from, and pairing the right box with the correct beloved can sometimes be trying. Worry not, dear readers – use the Dice Hate Me Holiday Game Guide to aid you in your shopping the next few weeks. Each one of these has been hand-selected and personally-tested to guarantee goodness. May you always roll sixes and may your resource cubes be plentiful. Happy Holidays!
From time to time, one geek-centric genre trend becomes fashionable; subsequently, the masses yearn and, thus, the creators provide – often in bulk. The latest genre du jour seems to be steampunk – that mixture of wild, cog-driven contraptions and Victorian sensibilities. Of this genre I am not only a fan, but a bit of a connoisseur; I spent many a youthful day glued to the TV watching James West foil the bad guys’ plans with the use of one of Artemus Gordon’s goofy gadgets long before anyone had ever coined the term steampunk. All you dear readers also know by now that I am a sucker for zeppelins, as well. And, so, it was with great enthusiasm that I accepted the honor of reviewing the prototype of Tasty Minstrel Games’ newest Kickstarter project, Kings of Air & Steam. After playing a few times, I only wish that I could say that the enthusiasm remained.
MACE 2011 Convention Wrap-up
11.15.11
Greetings, dear readers, ’tis the season for gaming! No, not because of the impending holidays (although that’s wonderful, as well), but because it’s the time of the year when we can load up the party wagon and head west – an hour west to our local con, MACE, in High Point. Last year, only three of us made the trek. This year, however, we had a veritable gang of geeky gamers – seven of us in total. The resulting maelstrom of gaming and imbibing manly liquids left me with some fuzzy accounts, but I shall endeavor to do my best to summarize all the geeky goodness. And although there was no bear rape nor freezer incidents to speak of (see my MACE West roundup for that bit of insanity), a fun time was had by all.Friday
We soon abandoned all hope of a competitive race, but luckily our rooms were ready. All of us but Scott (being an MIB, he was demoing Revolution), headed up for libations. Eager to game, but not yet ready to brave the game rooms, it seemed a likely time for some monster brawling – so we broke out King of Tokyo on our 12 inch by 12 inch cocktail table. Amazingly, it fit, and the several players who were new to the Tokyo experience were enthralled.
Kickstarter is getting kinda big. Like, really really big. Huge, even. And since we put Carnival up there it seems like everybody has a project. There are a lot of Chicken Littles running about, saying that the sky is falling. Are the rumors true? Should we all be selling great big digital umbrellas instead of board games?
As Linus van Pelt once so aptly conveyed: “Happiness is a warm blanket.” There’s a lot of subtle, yet strong subtext in that sentiment; we humans often have a base desire to be wrapped tightly in comforting familiarity, and while so wrapped, have no wish to do much more than remain so, content and without need or care of the slipping of time. In certain gaming circles – and, indeed, in the Dice Hate Me household – that emotional conveyance could often be repurposed, with no loss of power or sentiment, to “happiness is a long Euro.” And, so, this is how the latest release from Tasty Minstrel Games – Belfort – has a lot in common with a hand-drawn, grade-school philosopher’s best friend.
Make no mistake – despite the whimsy of elves, dwarves and gnomes amidst a fantasy city setting on the front of the box, within Belfort beats the heart of one beast of a Euro game. This is not an untamed beast, mind you (I did mention that bit about a warm, fuzzy blanket) but it is a beast, nonetheless, and one that requires – nay, demands – commitment and attention. The benefit of this beast (and, some elite gamers might say, drawback) is that Belfort is comprised mostly of several standard Euro conventions and gaming mechanisms that only those that have never even looked sideways at a German boardgame might not recognize.
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