New Game Round-up: IELLO Presents Speedy Zombies, Amusement Park Business Dynamics & Hot Death on the Beaches of Normandy

New Game Round-up: IELLO Presents Speedy Zombies, Amusement Park Business Dynamics & Hot Death on the Beaches of Normandy
Board Game: Steam Park
• In addition to demoing and selling Titanium Wars, The Phantom Society and The Three Little Pigs at Gen Con 2013, French publisher IELLO will show off four releases due out in Q4 2013: superhero co-op Guardians' Chronicles, with designer Frédérick Condette on hand to demo his creation; Steam Park, a co-publication with Italian publisher Cranio Creations; Zombie 15'; and Heroes of Normandie, a co-publication with Devil Pig Games. I've included Guardians' Chronicles in a past crowdfunding round-up, so let's take a brief look at the other three titles.

Steam Park features artwork from Dixit artist Marie Cardouat and sounds like it has a toy factor in addition to the game. Here's a description:

Quote:
As owners of a fantastic steam park, you're to build gigantic, coal-powered rides to attract as many visitors as you can – but building attractions won't be enough. You'll also need to manage your employees, invest in advertising in order to attract and please the different kinds of guests visiting your park, and, above all, keep the dirt that your park produces under strict control!

Steam Park is an easy-to-learn game with two difficulty levels: one for the less experienced gamers and a more strategic one for those who want a more exciting challenge. In this management game, you'll have to build your own amusement park and make it the largest and most profitable in the region. By constructing the three-dimensional, wonderful rides designed by Marie Cardouat, you will see your park grow right before your eyes. Choose your strategy! Build Stands to attract more Visitors, or Toilets to keep the Dirt under control. Whatever decision you take, take it quickly: The less time you spend planning, the more time you'll have to maintain your park. Thanks to a clever, original action-choosing mechanism, winning in Steam Park is as much a matter of being the best as of being the fastest!
Board Game: Zombie 15'
• Zombie games are everywhere these days. Is it possible to find a take on the genre that hasn't been done previously? Zombie 15', with the apostrophe indicating minutes, from designers Guillaume Lémery and Nicolas Schlewitz gives it a go:

Quote:
In an apocalyptic world in which everyone over the age of 18 has turned into a bloodthirsty, flesh-hungry zombie and most youngsters have been served as meat to quell their elders' appetite, a small team of kids and teenagers tries to survive on their own. As part of that small group of survivors, you must unite to escape the relentless horde of undead. Run across town to find shelter or food, hold a strategic position, meet with new survivors, and discover the truth about this terrible and mysterious disease!

Zombie 15' is a frantic, scenario-based survival game in which time is scarce and cooperation is key. The game features easy rules but real choices to be made as quickly as possible if you don't want to get overwhelmed by zombies!

Zombie 15' features a team of 15-year-old teenagers; a 15-minute soundtrack to give each game its tempo; a 15-scenario, progressive campaign; and much more than just 15 zombies...
Board Game: Heroes of Normandie
Heroes of Normandie from designers Yann and Clem went through a hugely successful Kickstarter campaign in early 2013, raising £150k on a £30k goal, and now IELLO is bringing this winking, seemingly parodic yet still straight-up wargame to North America. Here's an overview that's more setting than gameplay:

Quote:
The time is summer 1944. The Sun shines on Normandie hedgerows. Gentle wind, fields of bright flowers, and in the background, the romantic staccato of machine gun fire in the morning. In these typical French countryside landscapes, thousands of men are about to fight. And die. Bravely like heroes, or cowardly like wussies. But only heroes really matters. Those you see in Hollywood Golden Age war movies. Here lies the inspiration for Heroes of Normandie; here is what the game has to offer: explosive and fast-paced battles; the pleasure of butchering your enemies through MG42 walls of lead; and the ability to crush Nazi bastards under tons of shells – basically, blood and guts.

A miniatures game without miniatures, Heroes of Normandie is a fast-paced WW2 strategy wargame inspired by Hollywood war movies. A tactical scale board-game opposing two players and two armies, with the Germans on one side and the Americans on the other. Players use order tokens to determine initiative and to bluff. While a single six-sided die determines combat, action cards are played to spice things up. Secretly plan your attacks and outwit your opponent. Block the opposing strategy and surprise the enemies. Deploy your units and don't turn back!

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