Dude! Take Your Turn!
A Gaming Life
Stronghold Games Announces 3 Terraforming Mars: Ares Expedition Expansions
(Edit 4/29/22) – The Late Pledge Manager is open. If you missed it, go to the Kickstarter page and back it now!
(Edit 3/22/22) – It’s live! Go back this now. Doesn’t look like you can buy any of the expansions individually
I was innocently reading Twitter yesterday, basking in the warm glow of having done two posts in a day when I’ve been struggling to do that in two weeks, when I saw something that made my eyes boggle.
https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.jsPublisher @StrongholdGames has announced a trio of expansions for Terraforming Mars: Ares Expedition — Discovery, Foundations, and Crisis — with a Kickstarter campaign coming in late March 2022.
— BoardGameGeek (@BoardGameGeek) March 9, 2022
Links to all three titles: https://t.co/2EAP2g8xoD —WEM pic.twitter.com/lbyScxDxVW
First reaction:
Second reaction: Why does all the news come out at once? Oh well, I’ll post this tomorrow.
This is amazing news!!
It’s no secret that Terraforming Mars: Ares Expedition is one of my favourite games. Hell, it made it into my Top 25 of all time.
Let’s go a bit more in depth into what these expansions offer (in other words, let’s showcase the boxes and do a blurb from BGG).
Read MoreSmash Up: Disney Edition Coming Soon
Why does all of the interesting news happen on days where I’ve already done a post?
On the heels of last year’s (was it only last year? COVID has made time kind of wonky) Smash Up: Marvel Edition, The OP and Alderac Entertainment Group have announced the next collaboration between the two game companies: Smash Up: Disney Edition.
Designed by Paul Peterson, this is another edition co-published by AEG & The Op that looks…very interesting, based on the cover.
Hell, they’ve already stated what factions are going to be in it (I think that’s what the product description shows):
“In Smash Up: Disney Edition, players will choose two decks of fan favorite Disney factions and combine their powers to take over Bases, earn the most Victory Points, and win! Choose from Frozen, Big Hero 6, Wreck-It Ralph, The Lion King, Mulan, Aladdin, The Nightmare Before Christmas, and Beauty & the Beast to create the most exciting team-ups imaginable!”
I’m not as familiar with the Disney stuff as I am with Marvel, so it will be interesting to see how these characters (not minions!) and factions work.
Colour me intrigued, though.
The rulebook’s already available (PDF), so hopefully this means this will be coming soon.
And the rulebook does reveal some interesting stuff!
It even mentions “Base Mats” to help you keep track of power on the base and showing what sides players should play their cards on.
Will that be in the set as well? I assume so, and this is so cool! How long did it take to get stuff like this?
No word on when this is going to be coming out, but rest assured I will be letting you know when it does.
(Edit: here’s a picture from the OP official release that shows how it will all look on the table!)
Storm Above the Reich – After Action Report – Mission #14
After a long break (sorry about that), it’s time to get back to the Staffel Roy campaign for Storm Above the Reich, the solo game from GMT Games where you are in charge of a “Staffel” (essentially a squadron) of German fighters tasked with defending the homeland from the Allied bombing campaign in World War II.
To recap, since it’s been a little while, I am currently in Season 2, a 10-mission season (#7-16) in mid-1943. In order to “not lose” the season, I have to score 30 victory points. To win it, I need 40 victory points.
With three missions left in the season, I’m sitting at 23 VP. I’ve been gaining 6 VP a mission for the last 2-3 missions, so maybe I might actually win this one?
I don’t think I’m going to lose it at this point, though the dice (and card) gods can be fickle.
Did I just jinx things?
Hopefully not.
It’s time for Mission #14 and let’s see what happened! I don’t even remember at this point.
(Reminder, you can always click on a picture to see it full size. Also, for the specific rules of what I’m talking about, see the Mission #1 & #2 report and the Pursuit rules are detailed in Mission #7)
Read MoreNew to Me – February 2022
February is the shortest month of the year, but I still managed to not only get a bunch of new to me games in, but they were all good!
I mean, none of them were 1960: The Making of a President good (well, maybe one?) but they were still really fun to play.
I do have to make one confession, though.
One of them was actually played in January.
The horror!
Please don’t punish me.
All of the games are from 2019 or more recent, so the Cult of the New to Me members were giving me the side-eye a little bit.
But I promised them I’d be better in March.
Just in case I’m not, I’ve readied my escape kit.
So without further ado (all of my ado was lost in a gravity well anyway), let’s get started!
Read MoreExpansion Review – Clank in Space Adventures: Pulsarcade
Say you’re a power-mad warlord who collects things and holds them in a massive section of your space ship as you roam around the galaxy.
And say that, as said warlord, you’re getting sick and tired of these thieves breaking onto your ship and stealing said artifacts.
They really are truly annoying, aren’t they?
I mean, you have to spend all of your time trying to come up with more and better defenses against thievery.
It gets tiring!
What do you do to try and relax?
No, you don’t take a nice hot bath with your dogs.
You play arcade games and turn your ship into a massive Aladdin’s Castle!
That’s what!
Thus, we get to the latest expansion for one of my favourite games, Clank! In! Space! (and once again, that will be the last time I put all of the exclamation marks in because I’m on a budget)
Clank in Space Adventures: Pulsarcade is the first in the “Adventures” expansion modules for this illustrious deckbuilder. (I”m just going to shorten it to Pulsarcade from now on)
I’m assuming that means there will be more?
Pulsarcade was designed by Paul Dennen and Evan Lorentz with art by Anika Burrell, Raul Ramos and Nate Storm. It has just been published in 2021 by Renegade Games Studios and Dire Wolf Digital.
In the game, Lord Eradikus showcases his massive collection of old arcade game consoles and players have to get high scores on them in order to steal an artifact!
Does this mean that anybody who wasn’t a kid or teenager in the 1980s can’t win the game?
Let’s take a look.
Read MoreUndaunted: Normandy coming to Steam Early Access
Two posts in one day after my drought?
Well, when I received this news in my inbox this morning, I knew I had to post today.
Bookmark Games (developer of the wonderful Pavlov’s House solo boardgame app) have announced that they will be bringing the deckbuilding wargame Undaunted: Normandy to Steam and iOS devices (no announcement about Android yet?)
Undaunted: Normandy uses deckbuilding mechanics but you are moving your units around a tiled map that varies each scenario.
The tabletop game was published in 2019 by Osprey Games and was designed by Trevor Benjamin and David Thompson. The artwork is by Roland MacDonald.
From the press release:
“Undaunted Normandy is the best-selling World War II deck-building game, placing you and your opponent in command of American or German forces fighting through a series of missions critical to the outcome of the war. Use your cards to seize the initiative, bolster your forces, or control your troops on the battlefield. Strong leadership can turn the tide of battle in your favour, but reckless decisions could prove catastrophic, as every casualty you take removes a card from your deck. Take charge amidst the chaos of battle, hold fast in the face of opposition, and remain undaunted.”
I admit I haven’t tried this one out yet. I do have Undaunted: North Africa but haven’t gotten it to the table yet.
I’m really psyched for this one.
The press release lists the key features in the app, so I’ll just post them here:
- A faithful recreation of the original board game.
- An original card and dice driven mechanic making the game highly replayable.
- All scenarios from the original boardgame plus two additional scenarios.
- Play individual scenarios or a full campaign (on Full Release).
- Play solo against three different levels of difficulty.
- Cross platform online multiplayer (play by email) or local hotseat.
- Learn the game through a quick and engaging tutorial.
- 1944 Normandy rendered in 3D maps with animated units.
- Original music compositions by Gabriel Berger.
And here are a couple of screen shots.
In this one below you can see the terrain tiles laid out almost like they were on your table.
Undaunted: Normandy will be available on Steam Early Access in Q3 of 2022 with the full release (which I assume will include iOS and (maybe) Android).
I can’t wait to get my (figurative) hands on this one!
Let me know what you think about this in the comments.
Top 25 Games Played of All Time – 2022 Edition (#5-1)
Wow.
I was not expecting to take a 2-week break from the blog.
I’m learning to listen to my heart and brain and just take breaks when I need to, and this last two weeks, I just haven’t felt like blogging.
Whenever I thought I should, I’d just load up Phoenix Point instead (what an amazing game on Steam!)
I hope none of you have been holding your breath for a post.
That would be bad.
I have so few readers anyway that I can’t afford to lose you!
In this day and age, when sometimes we wonder if we should even be thinking of doing frivolous things like posting about boardgames, we have to remember that we have to take care of ourselves.
Sometimes that’s trying to maintain a normality that we may not feel right now.
Other times it’s trying to help those people who really need it. But it’s ok if you can’t deal with it all.
Not all of us can. At least not all at once.
If you need it, though, I’m here to talk.
So it’s been 2 weeks since I did one of these posts and it just happened to come when the final one was due.
Yes, we are at the Top 5 games I’ve played of all time, and none of them will probably be a surprise to you if you’ve been reading this blog at all (ok, #1 may surprise you).
Keeping to the theme from the beginning of the other posts in this series, let’s talk about a game that took a tumultuous fall out of the Top 25 back in 2019.
Diamonds is one of my favourite trick-taking games and was in the Top 25 in 2019 (#24). This time, it fell to #69. I think part of that is because I haven’t played the game in a while, but also a big part of it is that there are so many games that aren’t short fillers that have taken its place. While there are some shorter games on my list, still, they are more of the tactical/strategic variety with lots of interesting decisions.
That doesn’t make Diamonds a bad game, but it does maybe make it fall out of the Top 25.
And that’s not a bad thing!
I hope you’ve enjoyed these 25 games and please let me know what you think of them in the comments (either of this post or the post where they are highlighted).
Keep in mind, though, that this is only the top 25 games that I’ve played. I have barely played 50% of the Top 100 games on Boardgame Geek, so it’s very possible that I haven’t played your favourite game.
So to you Agricola fans, go feed your people and leave me alone.
On that note, let’s take this train into the station.
Read MoreSpace Base – The Mysteries of Terra Proxima coming April 15
Sorry for the long delay on posting. Regular service will be returning soon.
Today I saw the announcement on Twitter that the next “saga” expansion for one of my favourite games, Space Base (designed by John D. Clair and published by Alderac Entertainment Group), is coming to your local game store on April 15. This would be The Mysteries of Terra Proxima.
The “saga” expansions (like The Emergence of Shy Pluto) can almost be considered “story” expansions where you unlock cards as you go along.
The cards can then be used in regular Space Base games, so it’s not like a legacy or campaign game where you are going to be destroying cards or anything like that.
In fact, assuming it’s like Shy Pluto, you could just unwrap all the cards and use them in your regular games without worrying about it.
I really enjoy that kind of expansion, though I haven’t had the chance to play Shy Pluto yet. One day soon, since it’s a lunch time game for work!
Let’s blurb this a bit just to pad my word count (because you know it’s all about the word count):
“Merging the power of Shy Plutonium with new starship technologies has allowed the U.E.S. Science Corps to reach the distant stars of Alpha Centauri, and discover the planet Terra Proxima. Strange ruins and vast fields of fungi cover much of the planet. Eager for knowledge, the U.E.S. authorizes colonization!”
I’m really looking forward to this one!
If you want to see what I think of the main Space Base game, check out my review.
Review – Gravwell 2nd Edition
Sometimes life really sucks.
I’m talking about Grade A disasters like missing the last bus of the night and having to find some place to stay because your stupid friend passed out right after you left and he’s not answering the door to let you back in.
(Not that I speak from experience…of being that friend)
Anyway, when things get you down, you can always bring yourself up a bit by thinking it could be worse.
You could be stuck in a gravity well on a ship with no fuel and no prospects of getting out of this mess until you all run out of food.
Or somebody comes up with the bright idea of using repulsors and attractors with all of the other ships also stuck there to try and slingshot your way out.
Not the reaction you want to hear from your Chief Engineer.
However, it does work!
And that’s the premise behind Gravwell, the game where all of the players are trying to step on top of each other to get out of trouble first.
Cooperation is not a thing here.
This review is for Gravwell 2nd Edition, a game designed by Corey Young with artwork by Kwanchai Moriya. The game was published by Renegade Game Studios in 2021. It plays 2-6 players.
Players take control of ships (each one with special powers, though some are repeated on other ships) that are using various elements to use anything but their engines to get out of the warp gate and back to freedom.
The first one to do so wins.
No word on whether the others ever get out or are lost to time and space after you leave.
Wow, that’s cold, bro.
How does all this work?
Let’s take a look.
Read MoreEvil Genius Productions To Launch New Take on d20 RPG System
Dude Take Your Turn is not a role-playing game (RPG) blog, but I did receive a press release that I think is very important to highlight.
From what I understand, the d20 RPG system is coming upon its 20th anniversary this year and Evil Genius Productions is celebrating by releasing a “fresh take” on the venerable system.
From the Evil Genius press release:
“Evil Genius Productions LLC, a black-owned game publisher, today announced that it will launch a modern-day roleplaying game called “Everyday Heroes™” — based on the d20 Open Gaming License and the Fifth Edition System Reference Document to create a fresh take on the twenty-year-old game.”
The new system will be called “Everyday Heroes” and will be on Kickstarter later this year.
What’s really cool is that the revamp will include one of the original developers, Jeff Grubb.
““It’s exciting to revisit the d20 system I helped design 20 years ago,” said Grubb. “How we think about game design has evolved significantly so this is a great opportunity to bring concepts of the ‘d20 Modern’ game into the fifth edition era for today’s players.”
Like its spiritual successor, “EveryDay Heroes” starts with key “d20 Modern” elements such as the basic classes — the strong hero, the fast hero, the tough hero, the smart hero, the dedicated hero, and the charismatic hero — but builds on this convention by introducing several new subclasses, a new wealth system, and a fully revamped chase mechanic. Grubb continued, “Our goal is to use ‘d20 Modern’ as inspiration, not duplication.””
I do love the concept of RPGs and I wish I had the time (and the people around me) to play with them somewhat. Since I don’t, that’s why I don’t cover them.
However, this is important for two related reasons.
The first reason is in my first quote above.
Evil Genius Games is a black-owned company. In this day and age where racism and other social ills still permeate the board game and RPG industry, it’s important to highlight black creators. I’m glad Boardgame Geek is doing a spotlight of black board game industry people every day this month.
Which brings us to the second reason.
February is Black History Month. Yet another reason that it’s important to highlight the work that has been done by black creators.
I also encourage you to go to the Evil Genius Games site and find out more about what they’re doing with the revamped d20 system.
It definitely does sound exciting.
If I was playing RPGs, I would definitely be jumping on this to see what’s happening and check out what is new in the system.
It sounds intriguing, and I wish them all the best with the Kickstarter launch when it happens.
I’ll be sure to let you know when it’s coming (hint, hint, Dave!).
Evil Genius Games was formed in 2021 to produce modern RPG systems. I know this is a big endeavour for them but hopefully in the future they will be able to branch out to even further systems (or, since I really know nothing about RPGs, maybe there will be enough in the new d20 system to keep them going for years to come!).
Check them out, keep an eye on them, and if you’re into RPGs, go ahead and back Everyday Heroes when it comes out.
You can also follow them on Twitter like I do, and then you’ll always be updated when something new is announced.
Are you an RPG gamer? If so, let me know what I’m missing in the comments below.
And keep an eye on these Evil Geniuses.
I know you’ll be hearing a lot more from them in the future.
Dude! Take Your Turn! 