Board Game News

Links: Knizia on His Design Philosophy and Recent Releases, Counter Gets New Editors & Myrmes Wins Tric Trac d'Or

• Derek Thompson at MeepleTown has published a two-part interview with designer Reiner Knizia, with part one focusing on Indigo and Qin and part two covering Spectaculum, The Hobbit: An...

Links: Kevin Wilson Checks In, Raph Koster Checks for Errors & Cards Against Humanity Writes a Check

• Designer Kevin Wilson (Descent: Journeys in the Dark, Arkham Horror) left Fantasy Flight Games in late 2012 to try life on his own as a freelance designer, and he's posted two updates on...

New Game Round-up: Andor Expansion in the Offing, Downloads for Robinson Crusoe & Holiday Items for Coloretto and Ascension

• On German gaming site Reich der Spiele, artist/designer Michael Menzel writes about the replayability of Legends of Andor (likening the first two legends in the game to video game tutorials),...

More of Catan Awaits Discovery by Explorers and Pirates

U.S. publisher Mayfair Games has announced the fourth major expansion for Klaus Teuber's The Settlers of Catan – Catan: Explorers & Pirates, which consists of five scenarios and three missions...

New Game Round-up: Yahtzee Gets Carded, Funnybone Merges Art and Games & Rio Grande Ships Everything at Once!

• "Kniffel" is German publisher Schmidt Spiele's brand name for the Yahtzee dice game, and just as Yahtzee has seen a wide number of spin-off titles in the U.S., Kniffel has similarly...

Crowdfunding Round-up: Pirates vs. Dinosaurs, Tomorrow, Hegemonic, BattleCON: Devastation of Indines & 1775: Rebellion (Again!)

• Richard Launius' Pirates vs. Dinosaurs has been in the works for years from publisher Jolly Roger Games, with JRG owner Jim Dietz announcing the game in mid-2010 and opening preorders at that...

New Game Round-up: Di Meglio, Maggi and Nepitello Return to Middle-earth, Elephants Race in Formula E & Wizard's Brew in 2013?

• Clever Mojo Games and Game Salute plan to release the elephant racing game Formula E by designers Bruno Faidutti, Sérgio Halaban and André Zatz at Gen Con 2013. Here's an overview of the...

We Pause for Station Identification

My apologies for the absence of game news on BGG the past few days. My wife and I bought a new house on December 6, and I've now fallen behind on posts while painting rooms and moving in the...

Crowdfunding Round-up: Candles and Realms, Souls and Thieves

• U.S. publisher Cool Mini Or Not is branching out from the expansiveness of its first releases (Zombicide, Sedition Wars) to offer a smaller game, albeit one still packed with miniatures...

New Game Round-up: More Schools in Mage Wars, More Houses in Spartacus & Intrigo Returns as Masques

• In addition to releasing Mage Wars: Core Spell Tome 2, which contains "110 cards that feature additional copies of the more powerful spells in the Mage Wars base game, including higher level...

Designer Diary: Thunder Alley

So much goes through your head when you pitch a game to a prospective publisher. Did I do that right? What about that detail? Don't forget to mention that little thing – it's so cool!Well, I...

Links: Designing for Aztecs, Mayfair Goes Exclusive (Sort of) & IELLO Says Thanks

• In his Headless Hollow blog, illustrator/graphic designer Peter Gifford, a.k.a. Universal Head, details his design process for the Ares Games release Aztlán. An excerpt:Quote:The starting...

New Game Round-up: Mercury Games Picks Up Gettysburg, More Factions to Smash Up & Archipelago for One

• North American publisher Mercury Games, which announced its debut title – Quarantine – in late November 2012, has released info on the first wargame in its line: Bowen Simmons' The Guns...

Crowdfunding Round-up: Thunder Alley, Argosy, 1969 & A Quarter of Titles from Nestorbooster

• Jeff and Carla Horger's Thunder Alley has been listed on GMT Games' P500 preorder system since September 2011, and while the game has attracted decent support since then – with just over...

New Game Round-up: More Marvel Heroes for Legendary, Colovini Visits the Golden Horn & Multi-Colored Trick-Taking in Crazy Lab

• Grill Party designers Jordi Gené and Gregorio Morales have a pair of games coming out in the near future, one being the trick-taking game Crazy Lab from AMIGO Spiel, due out February 2013....

New Game Round-up: Menzel on the Origins of Andor, Akrotiri Finds a Publisher & Castaways from Lookout and Others

• Vie is a new word game from designer Alfonzo Smith Jr. and Victory Point Games that was released in November 2012. Here's a summary of gameplay:Quote:At the start of the game, nine starting...

New Game Round-up: Zen Tiles, Crusoe Keeps Traveling & Another Take on Once Upon a Time

• U.S. publisher Mayfair Games has announced a new title for its FunFair line of family games, a tile-matching game from H. Jean Vanaise titled Zen Garden that bears a $15 price tag and a...

Designer Diary: The Evolution of Cavemen

When I was 8, my grandfather taught me to play chess. He patiently explained the moves and taught me the beginner's basic, v-shaped opening, then proceeded to mercilessly defeat me, game after...

Links: Asmodee Opens in China, Games of the Year in France & Interviews with Hisashi Hayashi and Michael R. Keller

• French site TricTrac.net has posted the ten nominees for its Tric Trac d'Or 2012 award, and aside from a couple of lighter titles, it's a hefty list of lengthy games:-----• Archipelago, by...

Links: Awards in Spain, Discounts at Spiel & Obsessions in Editors and Artists

• Michael Rieneck's Santiago de Cuba from eggertspiele has been named Juego del Año 2012 – board game of the year – by the jury of the Premio JdA, beating out Hanabi, Kingdoms, Survive:...

Designers and Publishers Speak at BGG.CON 2012 III – Nox, Noir, Master Plan, Pixel Tactics, Kill the Overlord & Legacy: Gears of Time

Designer/publisher Ben Harkins from Floodgate Games talks about an expansion he has in the works for Legacy: Gears of Time that he hopes to debut at Gen Con 2013 in August. Steffen Brückner's...

New Game Round-up: More Lords in Waterdeep, More Keyflowers in 2013 & Batman Faces His Enemies Yet Again

• Amazon.com has a listing for Lords of Waterdeep: Scoundrels of Skullport, an expansion for Peter Lee and Rodney Thompson's Lords of Waterdeep from Wizards of the Coast. According to Amazon,...

New Game Round-up: Bonus Scenarios for Memoir '44, Level 7 Returns & City of Remnants and BioShock Infinite from Plaid Hat Games

• Days of Wonder is releasing a pack of eight bonus scenarios for use with its Memoir '44: Equipment Pack in mid-December 2012. Here's a short description from the announcement: "The Equipment...

Designers and Publishers Speak at BGG.CON 2012 II – Guildhall, City Hall, Perilous Pyramids, Dash, Colonial & Kanzume Goddess

Time for more video coverage of new and forthcoming games from BGG.CON 2012, which took place in mid-November in Dallas, Texas. We'll start this time with Michael R. Keller's City Hall from his...

Crowdfunding Round-up: Sushi, Running, Rebellion, Robbers & Perfidy – Unfortunately, Not All in One Game...

• For the second title in its "Birth of America" series – 1775: Rebellion from designers Beau Beckett and Jeph Stahl – U.S. publisher Academy Games has taken to Kickstarter, blowing through...

New Game Round-up: Play Quarantine and Avoid Quarantine, Lonely Robinson & Most Expected Game Title Nominee: Mafia Casino

• Designer Mark Klassen has been working on Quarantine since 2009, and in 2012 it was one of four finalists for the Canadian Game Design Award. Now Quarantine will be the first title from new...

New Game Round-up: Pathfinder Adventure Card Game, Eleusis Gets Diced & Mysterious Future Releases!

• KaleidosGames is a new Italian publisher, born out of designer Spartaco Albertarelli's board game design studio of the same name, and one of the titles it has in development for a 2013...

Links: Interviews with Naïade and Dominic Crapuchettes, Why Black Friday Is Like Spiel & Khet Zaps Laser Battle

• Derek Thompson at MeepleTown has posted a two-part interview with designer/publisher Dominic Crapuchettes with the first part focusing on everything related to Wits & Wagers and its spinoff...

New Game Round-up: Late 2012/Early 2013 Releases from Asmodee, Rules for Star Wars & (Finally) Carcassonne Minis from Rio Grande

• Asmodee has announced a deal with Martin Wallace and Treefrog Games to publish the second edition of A Few Acres of Snow for the U.S. market starting in January 2013 (although Asmodee's...

Designer Diary: Core Worlds: Galactic Orders

BackgroundAs I mentioned in my November 2011 designer diary for Core Worlds, Stronghold Games agreed to publish that game about a year before its release – but even as we were signing the...