Fast Train to Funville – A First Class Review
Unexpectedly discovering something precious among the mundane must be one of life’s universal joys. It can happen anywhere – wandering into an unknown restaurant and being served a delicious meal without once checking Yelp, randomly popping into a thrift store to find a complete mint set of Captain Carrot and his Amazing Zoo Crew comics, or, even more rare, strolling into your friendly local game store and buying a mystery game without once checking BoardGameGeek. The latter is what happened to me one Saturday this January in Atomic Empire. I spied a non-descript box spine that I didn’t recognize, pulled it from the shelf, and looked... Read More
The State of Games, Ep. 102 – The One About the Takeover
The State of Games has come a long way in its five years of existence, and I’ve enjoyed every last moment guiding it along with my co-hosts. But there comes a time when you just have to let go. No, we’re not canceling the podcast – just handing it over to some new blood! Jessica is taking over structure and editing and things are finally going to get organized around here. Read More Read More
From Apocalypse to a New Dawn: An Interview with Ignacy Trzewiczek
From time to time here on Dice Hate Me, I see or play a game that has a story that intrigues me. This time around it’s Portal Games’ upcoming release Imperial Settlers, designed by Ignacy Trzewiczek. Imperial Settlers is an empire game that reimplements ideas and concepts first introduced in another of Ignacy’s titles, 51st State. I loved the game so much when I played that I just had to get to the bottom of things. Luckily, Ignacy was all too happy to answer a few questions. DHM: Very briefly, in your own words, what is Imperial Settlers all about? Ignacy: It’s about building your very own little Empire. Each card in... Read More
Dino Delight: A video review of Triassic Terror
In this video review, I take a look at Triassic Terror – a current Kickstarter project from Eagle & Gryphon games that is chock full of dinosaurs! Is this tile-selecting area control monstrosity worth the somewhat-hefty price tag on Kickstarter? Come watch and find out! Happy gaming! Chris Read More
Make this Deal – A Little Devils Guest Review
Today on Dice Hate Me, we are lucky to have another guest review from the multi-tasking master, Marc Specter. On the last State of Games podcast, we talked to Stephen Buonocore from Stronghold Games about his plethora of fall releases, and Little Devils was mentioned. Since we love trick-taking card games, we were definitely interested in knowing more. Thankfully, Marc read our minds and now provides a sneak peek for all you little devils out there who love card games as much as we do. Enjoy! I am not really a card gamer. There is nothing that sounds less interesting to me than a night with friends + a deck of cards. And I live in Michigan,... Read More
Goggles Not Included – A Kickstarter Quick-Look at Mars Needs Mechanics
For the past couple of years, Dice Hate Me has covered the Kickstarter beat very closely. That means we’ve seen more than our fair share of prototypes, and been privy to the behind-the-scenes stories of many remarkable projects. Other than our own projects, none have been more familiar to us in details and development than the recently-launched Mars Needs Mechanics. We first met designer Benjamin Rosset at the 2011 World Boardgaming Championships in Lancaster, PA. While there, I had a chance to try out one of his more ambitious designs, the simultaneous turn selection/time management survival game, Stranded. Our friend Shawn, however, also... Read More
Everybody Shuffling – A Smash Up Review
From time to time in this great hobby, I come across a company that seems to be firing on all cylinders, cranking out hit after hit and yet I find it difficult to join the loving throng. AEG is, unfortunately, one of those companies. Don’t get me wrong, I love AEG and the people behind the scenes, but time after time I’ve given the big games a shot and time after time I just don’t seem to be part of their key demographic. For instance, Thunderstone was promised by many to be the game that brought me back around to appreciate deckbuilders; in the end – when every game lasted more than two hours or more – it couldn’t... Read More
Load Up and Let’s Ride!
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... Read More
One Hot Slice – A Kickstarter Quick-look at Top This!
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... Read More
A Groovy Gander at Swinging Jivecat
Hey-o all you hepcats and bouncing Betties – get ready to lay your peepers on some super jazzy card art! As most of you dear readers know, Clever Mojo Games’s Swinging Jivecat Voodoo Lounge is one of my most anticipated future releases. Having played it several times now – and loving every minute of it – I’m super excited to see and share some of artist Sergi Marcet’s art for the cards in SJVL. Read More Read More