• In addition to illustrating Jungle Speed Safari, Thomas Vuarchex has provided the artwork for another September 2013 release: a new version of Hervé Marly's Skull & Roses from Lui-même, now titled simply Skull. Gameplay remains the same as in the original game:
• Okay, while not specifically Spiel 2013 releases, both of those titles will likely be available in Essen. Let's look now at a title that definitely won't be there: Patrick Leder's Trick or Treat, which he funded via Kickstarter in late 2012, shipped to backers in mid-2013, and is now selling on his own while trying to get distribution. Here's a summary of the gameplay:
• As I do every so often, let's dip into the mainstream game category for a moment to examine What Would You Do for a Klondike Bar? from U.S. publisher All Things Equal, Inc. Here's a summary of the gameplay:
On a turn, the active player rolls the challenge cube, then chooses one other player to participate in this challenge, which is a theatrical challenge (e.g., ask someone on a date while grunting like a caveman), a creativity challenge (e.g. think of a new use for bacon), or a speed challenge (e.g. write down three TV shows that start with your first initial). In the first case, the opponent acts, then the active player follows; in the other cases, players have thirty seconds to complete the challenge. In the speed challenges, the first player to complete the challenge wins, while in the others the remaining players vote on who completed the challenge in the best way. Ties are possible.
The player or players who win the challenge roll the flavor die once or twice, winning one of the six flavors of Klondike bars if they're lucky or stealing a flavor from someone else who is unlucky. The first player to collect all six types of bars wins.
Eric Poses, president of All Things Equal won't truck with any such nonsense, elevating the question to Buddhic levels of contemplation by way of Don Draper: "A Klondike bar is the ultimate symbol for everything we crave, but which we can only obtain through sheer will and determination." Or, you know, by spending eight bucks for a 24-pack at Sam's Club.