Just the Facts: Richard Launius Spills About Ace Detective

All of you dear readers are probably familiar with my zest for zeppelins and my love of all things Lovecraft, but I also have another vice – pulp, gritty noir, and the darker the better. Luckily for me, my favorite purveyor of prized Lovecraftian gameplay, Richard Launius, has thrown a touch of Howard Philips in with a truckload of pulp private investigators in Ace Detective, currently on Kickstarter. Curious to know more – and knowing quite a few of you would be, as well – Richard was gracious enough to give us some clues about his newest caper. ———— Dice Hate Me: So, Ace Detective is a storytelling... Read More

Rome Is Beautiful – A Glory To Rome Unboxing

You won’t often find many unboxing posts around Dice Hate Me, but every now and then a game comes along that warrants a little more attention to component detail. Glory to Rome is definitely one of those games. Since most of us have waited a cesar’s lifespan to get the game, and because I’ve received several questions about the game’s components, I now present a pictorial overview of the innards of one unbelievably beautiful black box.   Read More  Read More

Origins 2012 Photo Recap – A Publisher’s Perspective

Hello dear readers! Monkey238 and I have returned from Origins 2012 a bit weary, but incredibly happy as we met many of you and made lots of new friends along the way. We worked hard from 10 to 6 every day in the Exhibition Hall running demos of Carnival, VivaJava and Compounded, teaching the joys of Lucky Dice (and awarding awesome prizes!), and just generally spreading the Dice Hate Me Games love around the con. After the Exhibition Hall closed for the day, we also got a chance to do quite a bit of after-hours gaming with a great group of people in Cartrunk Entertainment’s Unpub area in open gaming. The easiest way to share our adventures... Read More

The Hunt Is On – A Kickstarter Quick-look at The Legend of the Lost Dutchman

We live in an age of the reborn gold rush. It’s happened many times through the course of history; whether it’s the search for spices in the Orient, the great American gold rush of the 1840s, or the race to build the best and brightest dot com in the 1990s. Now we have Kickstarter. And just like in those days of yore, many enterprising individuals have been frantically strapping on their digital boots and wading into the crowdfunding flood in search of the newest treasures. I mention this analogy to make note of the meta when I talk of the theme of Legend of the Lost Dutchman. In the mid-1800s, Jacob Waltz is rumored to have discovered... Read More

Reason to Rhyme – A Kickstarter Quick-look at Goblins Drool, Fairies Rule!

Dear readers, I’m here to report, On a game of mysterious sort, It’s more magical than strange, Fairies, goblins may change, The way you lay cards down for sport! Yes, yes, my poetry may be atrocious, but I choose to rhyme without reason simply to express how Goblins Drool, Fairies Rule is far superior to my lame limerick. Goblins Drool, Fairies Rule (hereby to be known as GDFR), is a game by David Sanhueza of Game-O-Gami, recently released on Kickstarter. I was lucky enough to be involved in the development of the Kickstarter campaign and, so, have been privy to a lot of the hard work that David has put into bringing GDFR to gaming... Read More

The State of Games, Episode 28 – The One About Spies Like Us

When you’ve been in the information game as long as we have you start to wonder if you’ve seen and heard it all. We’re here to tell you now: We haven’t. From all our intel we can safely say that the boardgaming hobby is on the cusp of a revolution, and these next few months are going to be an exciting time for enthusiasts! For now, though, sit back and listen up as we share a small piece of history from the shadows. Read More  Read More

Harvesting Fun – A Kickstarter Quick-look at Garden Dice

In the world of board games – particularly those with a certain European flair – there is seemingly no theme more rich, more explored, more involved, more epic than… farming. It’s true. Enter a hobby store anywhere and you’ll find more vegetables – albeit tiny wooden ones – than at your local supermarket. This does not mean, however, that there cannot and, indeed, should not be more rich and engaging games that allow players to get their inner gardener involved. With that said, let me introduce all of you dear readers to Garden Dice, a game about vegetables, vermin and my favorite vexing vice – dice. I... Read More

PAX East in Pictures: A Publisher’s View

The past couple of weeks have been a whirlwind at Dice Hate Me HQ, as Monkey238 and I made some last-minute arrangements to work the Game Salute booth at PAX East. This was to be Monkey’s first big con, and I wasn’t sure how much of it we would get to see as we met with gamers, introduced them to Carnival, VivaJava and many other great games. We did get to take a few breaks and wander the massive halls and if there’s one thing we learned – we’re sure glad we only had to set up for boardgaming because the electronic games displays were massive! Here’s a brief pictorial glimpse into our trip to PAX East –... Read More

The State of Games, Episode 26 – The One About Getting Lucky

There are many divisive subjects within the realm of the board game hobby, but none seem as bold nor more passionately discussed than luck. Luck defines genres, often determines the difference between abstract and Ameritrash, and, for some, can determine whether a game is fun or a flop. So come on in, listen to us ramble, and get lucky! Read More  Read More

A Fresh Catch – A Kickstarter Quick-Look at Fleet

At sea a fellow comes out. Salt water is like wine, in that respect. – Herman Melville I’m fairly certain that I was a sailor at some point in a previous life. I have always faintly heard the siren’s call of the open sea, and boats hold a particular fascination. As a matter of fact, monkey238 and I were married on a traditional three-masted schooner, and that made the day all the more special. And, so, I was filled with great glee when the opportunity arose to take an advanced look at Fleet, a game all about boats, the open sea and fishing. Well, that and daft cunning. And engine building. And bidding. But I’m putting the... Read More