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Return To Ravnica's 'Rakdos Charm' Is A Versatile New 'Magic: The Gathering' Card

Posted 9/14/12 7:00 am EST by in Hobby Gaming, Magic: The Gathering, Wizards of the Coast


Earlier this week, took a look at what players should expect from Magic: The Gathering's new Return to Ravnica set. With five of the ten guilds of Ravnica returning, and the other five set to appear in an upcoming set, it's an exciting time for Magic players. The Ravnica setting hasn't been seen since 2006, and its signature hybrid card strategies are going to get a shot in the arm with what looks to be three large sets in the upcoming block.

Today, we'll be revealed a new card from the Return to Ravnica set: Rakdos Charm.

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'Doctor Who' Celebrates 50 With A Collector's Edition Monopoly Game!

Posted 9/13/12 9:26 am EST by in Hobby Gaming, TV


Bow ties are cool. But this Doctor Who 50th Anniversary Collector's Edition Monopoly set from the fine folks over at USAopoly, is way cooler. Not only does the game board span the entire "Doctor Who" universe, including properties based on 22 different episodes, it also features all 11 Doctors! Head past the break for all the details!

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'Settlers of Catan' World Championships To Stream Live This Weekend

Posted 9/12/12 10:30 am EST by in Hobby Gaming, Mayfair Games


Photo: Flickr user ginnerobot, used under Creative Commons license

Some people like to play a wide variety of games. Others like to focus on one game and play it as much as possible. The more you play, the better you get, and this weekend, 44 "Settlers of Catan" players will be traveling from around the world to prove they've put in their gaming hours.

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Exclusive Card Preview: Magic: The Gathering's Return to Ravnica

Posted 9/11/12 12:00 pm EST by in Hobby Gaming, Magic: The Gathering, Wizards of the Coast


With the October 5th launch date for "Magic: The Gathering's" "Return to Ravnica" just around the corner, Wizards of the Coast has begun shedding light on what fans can expect from this 274-card set. Today, we'll be showing off "Cryptborn Horror," a red/black creature that is sure to whet your appetite, and send your opponents running in fear.

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Post-Dungeons And Dragons, Monte Cook Turns to 'Numenera'

Posted 9/10/12 11:02 am EST by in Hobby Gaming


Monte Cook has been designing RPGs for a long time. Possibly longer than you've been alive, although now you're making us all feel old. Over the past 24 years, Cook's biggest claim to fame has been his involvement with "Dungeons & Dragons 3rd Edition" back in 2000, so when it was announced that he'd be joining the Wizards of the Coast team creating "D&D Next", it felt as though the dream team was being assembled.

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Review: 'Small World Realms' Keeps A Modern Classic Fresh

Posted 9/7/12 11:35 am EST by in Hobby Gaming, Reviews


"Small World Realms" is an expansion that can be used with the original "Small World" or its 2011 follow-up "Small World Underground" (or both sets combined). If you haven't played "Small World" before, stop reading this review right now and go play it. If you're skeptical, you can read my original review of "Small World," one of the first I ever wrote. Since that time, and 50+ other games reviewed, "Small World" has grown to become one of my favorites.

"Small World Realms" uses the same basic rules as the games it expands, but offers up plenty of gameplay twists to keep things fresh.

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HeroClix Publisher Sues to Prevent Sale of Marvel 'Heroics' Figurines

Posted 9/5/12 12:02 pm EST by in Hobby Gaming


WizKids has been making big moves in the board game scene by cranking out Star Trek and Lord of the Rings titles as well as spectacularly reviving their original MageKnight property. But the company is best known for its HeroClix collectible miniatures games, with which they've been making waves in the courtroom. There, the HeroClix publisher and its parent company NECA have recently won an injunction against Tree House Kids, Inc.

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The Bizarre World of the Top 10 Strangest Celebrity Board Games

Posted 9/5/12 10:13 am EST by in Hobby Gaming


Every now and then, it's worth taking a stroll down board game memory lane. Turn your clocks back to a simpler time when rules were printed inside lids instead of 30-page manuals. Remind yourself of the days where you gave it your all, but all that mattered was how well you rolled dice.  And most of all, recall the bizarre faces that adorned your game boxes.

This was the heyday of the celebrity board game. After all, reality shows wouldn't hit big for another twenty years, so how else were celebrities supposed to prove they had truly "made it;" Every avenue into your living room had to be explored. If you're brave enough, read on and step into this flea market of horrors as we explore the top ten oddest celebrity board games. Just don't blame me if you wind up on eBay looking for a copy of the Vanilla Ice Electronic Rap Game so you can hold a tournament next week. Actually, if you do, call me.

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Review: 'Thunderstone' Makes Big Advances, But Still Comes Up Short

Posted 8/31/12 12:53 pm EST by in Hobby Gaming, Reviews


Grab a sword, rush into the dungeon, kill some monsters. It's a tried and true formula to be sure, but the Thunderstone series put its own spin on the genre when it arrived on the gaming scene back in 2009. It used a then-new game mechanic called deckbuilding, which had just been pioneered by Donald X. Vaccarino and his Dominion card game. Thunderstone was the first competitor off the block to also use this mechanic, attempting to best Dominion in its weakest area: the use of theme.

Thunderstone aimed to earn its keep by simply being cooler than Dominion. Would you rather kill monsters or play house in medieval times? It worked, and Thunderstone undeniably succeeded in making a name for itself. It cracked the BoardGameGeek.com Top 100, was nominated for an Origins Award, and spawned several expansion sets. However, as you may recall from last year's Thunderstone: Dragonspire review, the series never really took hold with my personal tastes.

Now, publisher AEG is back at it again with what is essentially a re-do of the Thunderstone base game in Thunderstone Advance: Towers of Ruin. Games deserve a second chance, so I sat down at the table with an open mind to see what changes and improvements had been made to the game. Will they be enough to convert me over to the legion of Thunderstone fans, or will I remain the grumpy gamer in the corner? Read on for the full review to find out.

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'FlowerFall' Delivers Fun as the Quirky Card Game Hit of Gen Con

Posted 8/30/12 10:42 am EST by in Hobby Gaming


Final cover art for FlowerFall by Asmadi Games

Over the past two weeks, we've looked back on the big splashes made at this year's Gen Con, and there was plenty of news to share. The expo hall was packed with new board, miniatures, and role-playing games, often sporting popular licenses such as Star Wars, Star Trek, Game of Thrones, and Doctor Who. But not every game needs to be a blockbuster, and no company drove that point home more than Asmadi Games when the publisher showed up with one of Gen Con's most unique titles: FlowerFall.

Compared to every other type of game, card games are the easiest and most affordable to produce. With that low barrier to entry, you are never quite sure what you are going to get, and Asmadi Games has a history of producing fun games that measure on the oddball scale. With that in mind, I decided to check out FlowerFall, and found myself immediately re-reading the game's description.

The entire game of FlowerFall is based around dropping cards onto the table, aiming your cards to earn points based on they land in relation to the rest of the deck. Somebody actually turned 52 Pickup into a real game.

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'Game of Thrones: The Card Game' Introductory Variant On the Way

Posted 8/29/12 11:00 am EST by in Game of Thrones, Hobby Gaming


Game of Thrones: The Card Game has been around since 2002. That should read: Game of Thrones: The Card Game existed well before the television series, and with a solid decade of fantasy gaming geeks picking up the strategy, there is something of an intimidation factor when non-gamers decide to dive in. Ready to put your first deck together? Excellent, just make your selection from this inventory of over 1,500 cards and you'll be one your way. See what I mean?

Publisher Fantasy Flight Games has done everything possible to provide an on-ramp for new players: they've packaged the game into a starter set (pictured above) and gone so far as to release a 10-part video that completely replaces the rulebook. But with the HBO show minting hordes of new Game of Thrones fans, there's the very real chance that the card game will be filled with concepts completely foreign to this crowd. A special touch is required, and Fantasy Flight has just the product:  a 2-player Game of Thrones introductory card game, separate from the existing card sets and with toned down rules.

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FanExpo Canada: Daniel Dranove Gets Depraved With 'Cards Against Humanity'

Posted 8/28/12 4:11 pm EST by in FanExpo Canada, Hobby Gaming


I'm no Matt Morgan, and I want to get that out of the way up front. Our resident Hobby Gaming expert knows the ins-and-outs of every game out there, while I don't really know my Magics from my Gatherings. See, I don't even know that's one game, that's how out of it I am. So when a card game manages to seep through into my consciousness, you know that it's moved far past "early adopter" stage. "Cards Against Humanity" is one of those games, and it's poised to break into the mainstream, big time. Read More...

New 'Star Wars' RPG Takes Players To 'Edge of the Empire'

Posted 8/28/12 3:14 pm EST by in Hobby Gaming, Star Wars


The "Star Wars" fan community might be busy talking about some new television show, announced at Star Wars Celebration VI this weekend, but the big surprise for gamers was Fantasy Flight's announcement of a brand new "Star Wars" roleplaying game.
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Doctor Who Card Game Debuts at Gen Con

Posted 8/27/12 11:30 am EST by in Hobby Gaming


"Daleks, Cybermen, Sontarans – The list of threats is endless and no place in the universe is ever truly safe from danger, but there is one man who has made it his mission to defend the defenseless, help the helpless, and save everyone he can: a mysterious stranger, a force of nature who has seen his own planet die, a madman with a box."

Given the popularity of Doctor Who, it comes as a surprise that the franchise hasn't yet had a standout board or card game adaptation. It's not for lack of trying though, as there are plenty of lackluster Who-themed games. At this year's Gen Con, publisher Cubicle 7 came armed with a serious one-two punch: the Doctor Who license and revered (and appropriately British) hobby game designer Martin Wallace.

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Last Call Kickstarter: Reaper Miniatures "Bones" Breaks $2M, Hobby Gaming Records

Posted 8/24/12 3:30 pm EST by in Hobby Gaming


During the "Bones" Kickstarter project video, a Reaper Miniatures employee begins to lay out all of the miniatures included in the set.

Something special is happening over at Kickstarter right now, as Reaper Miniatures has broken all previous hobby gaming crowdfunding records with time to spare. As of Friday morning, their Bones project still has 36 hours to go with a funding total of $2.1M, putting it in the #4 spot for all-time funded gaming projects behind such high-profile projects as the Ouya, Double Fine Adventure, and Wasteland 2.

So why are people yelling "take my money!" at Reaper Miniatures? Apparently, there is a very large pent up demand for inexpensive little plastic fantasy models. Games using miniatures have a bad reputation for being expensive, as in "break the bank" expensive, but a big part of the recipe for Kicktarter success is that Reaper Miniatures has continued to expand the scope of their project as new "stretch goals" are hit. What originally started out as a range of 67 plastic miniatures for $100, and was already a good deal at that price, has nearly tripled in size to include over 190 individual figures.

The image showing what you get at the $100 level is so large that I cannot even embed it here. You'll just have to check out the project page for yourself.

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