There’s been a veritable deluge of Heroscape over the past month and a half. The follow-up to the successful appearance of GI Joe (Go, Joe!) and Cobra in the realm of Valhalla is a wealth of new common squads and units as well as the long awaited appearance of the original Valkryie (Thormun) and his “friend”, the Kraken. Add in two brand new terrain sets, a return to a classic terrain set, and two promo figures that are fan service for us old skool Heroscape players… and then top it off with a really gorgeous sourcebook about all of the Age of Annihilation releases and lore. That leads to me writing a very long series of mini-reviews of all of this stuff – buckle in, kids!
So, while at the most recent Gathering of Friends, Deck Hand Games offered each invitee one of their small format games as a welcome gift. I managed to get a full set of the four games on offer, and I’ll go through each of them. The game format is tiny – a small cardboard folder containing 18 cards and a small rulebook. Be warned that a super helpful setup diagram is found on the inside of the unfolded cardboard cover!
In addition to the small packet of cards, you’ll also need a standard 54-card deck (most of the games also require the Jokers). Each of the games plays 2-4 players in 20-30 minutes.
Dive into First Giants, a race to create the most prestigious prehistorical animal exhibit! Build your engine by collecting cards with powerful effects OR score points by playing your cards in the exhibit area. But beware! Once displayed, you’ll lose their beneficial effects. Timing is crucial to win! First Giants is a game of set collecting and combinations in which players recruit cards representing dinosaurs, flying reptiles, giant mammals… of various size. These cards have many different powers and you can create powerful combination to earn amber, victory points and the ability to exhibit your fossils.
Your path of vengeance has led you to Sweet Haven, Arizona. You know that the necromancer who has ruined your life has taken over the cemetery as his base of operations and you are going to finish him off at all costs. You face Lord Overkill, a supernatural being, but your prowess as a gambler goes beyond sleight of hand. Channel your magic through poker plays to take out Lord Overkill’s minions one by one and descend into Hell itself to duel the monster who ruined your life. Ace of Spades is a single-player game, or a two-player game if you prefer to play it in co-op mode, that uses poker mechanics to resolve dangerous duels against the worst spawns from Hell.
Ever since you were a kid, your mama told you that you’re destined for grand things! So you’re pretty certain that things can only be better with more “you” in it! Well, it’s finally time for more YOU …in the name of democracy! It just so happens there is an election in the city of Dicetopia coming up! As one of the promising stop-for-nothing candidates, you call for change and aim to enlighten the public of your magnificence… and you know, also make some stuff… better! It’s only one teeny tiny little ”problem” – Democracy is kind of up to the people, and the people are in this particular case… well, DICE!
In Diceocracy, you will use your political skills to attract voters from different districts and introduce them to your jaw-dropping politics by ”any means necessary”, you know, as long as you can get away with it anyway. The goal of the game is to get the most votes by just being YOU, with a fair bit of stern persuasion and political tricks. Throughout the game, players will send out their representatives to recruit followers and influence the political landscape with different clever actions. Players will manipulate dice values and positions, take control over districts and shift representatives around. They will fundraise, advertise and use their dice followers to achieve populistic goals for increased popularity. By the end of the game, votes are counted from successfully pulled off political stunts, secret agendas, controlled districts and popularity among the different demographic groups!
The Spiel des Jahres (SdJ) jury announced the nominated games for the SdJ, Kennerspiel (“connoisseur” games), and Kinderspiel (children’s games) awards earlier today and I think it’s safe to say that nobody had these titles on their Bingo cards. For each award, here are the nominated games and the recommended games, together with their designers and their publishers.
SdJ Nominated Games
Cozy Stickerville (Corey Konieczka) – Unexpected Games
