Dale Yu: What I’m looking forward to at Essen 2011 (Part One of ???)

Posted on August 17, 2011 by Dale Yu

Now that GenCon has come and gone, the gaming summer is mostly behind us.  There are still many new games to play from the recent releases, but more importantly, the “preseason” starts this week for me.  And… no, I am not talking about football.  I’m talking about Essen!  As I start writing this piece, my handy Delta travel reminder tells me that I only have 60 days until my flight leaves for Europe!  So, I only have about 2 months left to try to learn as much as I can about the new games that I’ll be playing (and acquiring) in Essen.

There are a few stages to my information gathering.  First, I try to figure out which games are even going to be available.  I usually start following the Boardgame News Essen preview (which I hear will still done this year!), the Spielbox.de forums, and the Essen canonical geeklist on BGG.  Trictrac is a good source for French information, and there are a couple of other places I might hit once or twice to make sure I haven’t missed anything.  Then, I try to read as many rulesets as I can find to learn about the games.

I have really not yet started in earnest with my research, but there are already a few things which I need to investigate further.  Over the course of the next two months, I will try to periodically post columns to the blog outlining the sorts of things that I’ve been reading about.   My goal is to do this on a weekly basis, but we’ll see how well real-life cooperates with that schedule. Continue reading →

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Review of Lancaster: It’s Not Just for Roses Anymore

Posted on August 15, 2011 by huzonfirst

Designer: Matthias Cramer
 Publisher: Queen
 Players: 2-5
 Ages: 10+
 Time: 60-90 minutes
 Times Played: 3

When an unknown designer bursts onto the scene with a popular game, one of two things usually happens. Sometimes, the newcomer had spent all their time creating and refining that one game, which becomes apparent when there’s a long gap before you see anything more from them. However, there are also cases in which the individual had a sizeable backlog of designs and was just waiting for that first breakthrough. In instances like this, there can be a flood of games coming from this neophyte.

Clearly, Matthias Cramer falls into the second category. After gaining both critical and popular acclaim with his maiden design (Glen More, published in the spring of 2010 by Alea), he’s been a busy boy. Each succeeding Essen has seen a new game of his from Kosmos (Mieses Karma from last year and Helvetia, which is slated to appear this fall). And this spring, Queen published another of his games, Lancaster. I haven’t sampled either of the Kosmos titles, but to me, Lancaster proves that Cramer is anything but a one-hit wonder: it’s just as good as Glen More and is probably better. Continue reading →

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Summer Reruns #5 — The Bulls & Bears of Gaming

Posted on August 12, 2011 by Talia Rosen

Almost three years later, sadly this piece is still fairly apropos.  So I thought it would make a good fifth entry in this Summer Reruns series.  Many of these columns have discussed selections from a category of games as examples of strengths of the genre, whether those be survival games, team games, or three-player games.  This week we take a tour of a few stock market or investment games, including both the highs and the lows of the games on the market.  It’s a huge genre though, so what other stock market games do you think exemplify the best and the worst that this type of game has to offer?

Continue reading →

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Matt Carlson: GenCon 2011 Photo Report

Posted on August 10, 2011 by Matt J Carlson

I love my family, but really, did they need to schedule a family reunion the weekend of GenCon?  Ah, well, I managed to squeak in a single day at this year’s GenCon down in Indianapolis before I had to hop into my car and drive my family to meet the rest of them.  On the plus side, I even got to try out a new game purchase or two while at the reunion.  But enough about my family burdens, lets take a look at what I could find in a single day’s searching of the convention.  What follows is pretty much a list of games (alphabetical by publisher) I was able to observe at the convention.  As usual, I hope to write up a bit longer exposition over at GamingWithChildren.com some time in the next week or so.  I promise to post a link in the comments below when that appears.  It will cover a subset of some of these games, but with just a bit more substance.  For now, sit back and enjoy the photo tour where you don’t even have to do any walking or bump into anyone carrying a Styrofoam sword.

Academy Games

Academy Games.Strike of the Eagle.GenCon.2011 2011-08-03 053 (Small)

As always, Uwe Eickert was near the Mayfair booth showing off his high production wargames.  His newest game on the “block” is Strike of the Eagle, a reworking of The Eagle and the Star – a wargame that uses blocks to preserve a bit of fog of war.  There was a great little contest/demo of the game on BGG that showed off the gameplay that is a mix of hidden orders, hidden unit information, and non-random battle resolution.  I think it will be quite a hit.  Uwe was also showing off some of his redone maps for his Conflict of Heroes line of wargames, and the new more-realistic design is quite pleasing.  I’m only sad I missed Uwe’s musical debut, captured on camera by Dale Yu on his earlier post of photos. Continue reading →

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Key Market – Review

Posted on August 9, 2011 by gschloesser

Design by:  David Brain
Published by:  R&D Games
3 – 4 Players, 1 ½ – 2 ½ hours
Review by:  Greg J. Schloesser

 

 

Richard Breese has designed some very unique and creative games, most of which have at least initially been released under his own R&D Games label.  He has become well known for his “Key” series of games, all of which are themed around the mythical and medieval “Keydom” kingdom.  While sharing a similar theme, each game in the series has been quite different, and a few of them have even been re-printed by larger publishers.

The latest game in the series is Key Market, which marks the first time in the series that a game has not been designed by Breese.  The game is designed by David Brain, but if one did not know this, it would be difficult to tell as it has the same feel as other games in the series.  It seems to be a bit more complex than others in the series, with a thorough and verbose rule book that is a bit of a chore to digest.  Don’t let this deter you, though, as it is one of the most challenging games in the series.

As with all games in the Key series, the box overflows with cardboard – boards, counters, player aids, etc.  The central board is formed by aligning four square boards, each depicting various farm fields in a 3×3 grid.  Players will place their farmers on these fields in an effort to reap bountiful harvests.  The resulting harvest will be used to promote workers into various guilds, construct a manor house, secure more workers, provide for workers’ retirement and simply sell for a profit. Continue reading →

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POSTCARD FROM BERLIN #50: License to Sell

Posted on August 9, 2011 by jeffinberlin

By Jeffrey D. Allers

There’s something funny about watching oversized toys lay waste to Chicago as they battle it out on the big screen, while the actors who probably grew up playing with them are reduced to the supporting cast.  It’s a telling sign that we’ve come full circle with license tie-ins:  as films once helped sell toys, now the toys themselves are starring in their own motion pictures.  Perhaps the next Star Wars trilogy will feature animated Lego figures.

We actually owe Star Wars creator George Lucas credit for the beginnings of this marketing cross-pollination.  As he was struggling to complete the first (and, it appeared at the time, the only) chapter in his cutting-edge space opera, he had enough foresight to reserve the rights to all license tie-ins for the film.  It proved to be a financial windfall for Lucas, and, just as he invented the modern summer blockbuster film, he can also be credited as the father of the lucrative toy tie-in market.

In the decades since, Hollywood studios and toy companies have continued to capitalize on the mass appeal of movie tie-ins, and they’ve even formed stronger business partnerships to maximize sales. In the July 11 issue of Time, Allie Townsend writes that “Toy companies have become Hollywood’s new auteurs.” In her article, “State of Play”, she writes that savvy studios are even including toy manufacturers in their screenwriting teams and art departments to “keep us on the right track creatively,” says Adam Goodman of Paramount.

Townsend also interviews Hasbro CEO Brian Goldner, who claims that the part of the toy market with tie-ins to movies and other entertainment is growing faster than traditional stand-alone toys—and games. Continue reading →

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