Ares Games | Through Gamer Goggles

Ares Games announces two new games for 2015: Jolly Roger and Odyssey

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Apr 112015

Ares Games announces two new games for 2015: Jolly Roger and Odyssey

At GAMA Trade Show, the publisher presented a preview of its first card game and a new Euro game, both expected to release in Summer 2015

Ares Games presented at GAMA Trade Show (Las Vegas, March 19^th-20^th) two novelties in the 2005 pipeline: Jolly Roger, its first card game, and Odyssey – Wrath of Poseidon, a new title in the Euro game line, both due to release next Summer.

Jolly Roger – The game of Piracy & Mutiny is a cardgame of pillage, plunder, and mutinies. Fun, rowdy, fast and easy to learn, the game can be played for 4 to 10 players. You and the other players are the crew of a pirate ship. As appropriate for a pirate, your greatest desire is gold, and you will do anything to reach your goal.

Every turn, the Captain chooses a destination for the ship. When the ship attacks, players will (more or less!) co-operate to win, playing Crew cards from their hands to win the battle and take the prize. Treasure gained is shared between all pirates, but your gold is never secure until you bury it at Treasure Island…

Unrest is always brewing, though – each time the Captain makes an important choice, it is possible for one of the other players to call “Mutiny!” to try to overthrow him and become the new Captain. And when the mutiny begins, you’ll need to decide how to use your cards during the Mutiny and the looming battle. How much will you co-operate when you assault an enemy, and what will you keep to yourself, to be ready when the next mutiny starts?

The players’ final goal is to collect the highest amount of gold and become the richest pirate in Tortuga!

With Jolly Roger, Ares Games debuts in the Card Game category. The game has been designed by Frederic Moyersoen, author of Saboteur and Nuns on the Run, and illustrated by the talented Loïc Billiau (Glen More,Cherokee, Auf die Nüsse).

The other novelty previewed at GAMA was Odyssey – Wrath of Poseidon, an Euro and deduction game for two to five players. The war is over, and the Greek ships are trying to sail back to their homeland after a long absence. They need to reach the Sacred Island to make offerings and prayers to the gods, but the irascible Poseidon will use all his powers to prevent them from getting there.

In Odyssey, one player takes the role of Poseidon, God of the Sea, while the others become Navigators in search of the Sacred Island. The game is played over two copies of the same board, separated using the box so that they are not visible to each other. The Poseidon player throw powerful storms against the Navigators, driving them off-course and confounding them, so they cannot reach the Sacred Island in time. Only Poseidon knows the real position of the ships, indicated on his copy of the game board.

The Navigator players sail through endless storms, blind to all around them, trying to gather clues to their whereabouts to stay on course. They also keep track of the position of the ships on the board, but the positions indicated there are only their best guess, and they can become very inaccurate as the game goes forward.

The Navigators must reach the Sacred Island before the end of the game to win, using their wits to stay on course, while Poseidon wins by preventing the other players to reach their destination.

The author of Odyssey – Wrath of Poseidon is Leo Colovini, the game designer of Cartagena, Clans, Aztlán and Inkognito (with Alex Randolph). The game is illustrated by Francesco Mattioli (Micro Monster, Sails of Glory and Dino Race).

Jolly Roger and Odyssey are due out at GenCon 2015.

About Ares Games

Ares Games is an Italian board game publisher established in 2011 to create quality hobby products for the international audience. Ares Games is the publisher of the award-winning “War of the Ring” board game, “Wings of Glory” range of airplane combat games and miniatures recreating aerial warfare in WW1 and WW2, and more recently, the tactical ship-to-ship miniature game “Sails of Glory,” and the cooperative tactical Sci-Fi miniatures game “Galaxy Defenders.” The Ares Games’ catalog also includes Family Games and Euro Games. For further information, visit the website www.aresgames.eu and the Facebook page – https://www.facebook.com/AresGames.

Galaxy Defenders: Extinction Protocol From Ares Games this May

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Apr 112015

Galaxy Defenders: Extinction Protocol

$84.90

Galaxy Defenders: Extinction Protocol is the second campaign expansion for Galaxy Defenders, and can be used with or without Operation Strikeback. The agents cross a portal to the invaders’ home planet to fight the final battle against the Aliens – The adventure begins after the Agents defeat the Aliens on the Moon in Operation Strikeback.

Wings of Glory WWI

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Jan 062015

The year 1917. All across Europe, while men face a last-ditch battle in the mud of the trenches, colorful biplanes fly in the foggy sky, gallantly fighting each other as true “knights of the air”. Take the commands of one of the early flying machines to shoot down your enemy, complete recon missions, and become an ace, following in the steps of men like Manfred von Richthofen, Eddie Rickenbacker, Georges Guynemer and Francesco Baracca!

The WW1 series of Wings of Glory is an easy, fun to play, fast and furious system which you will be able to start playing minutes after opening the box! Innovative game mechanics encompass planes with very different flight capabilities and firepower, while still keeping the flow of the combat simple and fun. With an original maneuver and combat system, Wings of Glory delivers fun and historical accuracy with no headaches to the players!

Each WWII Wings of Glory Airplane Pack is a ready-to-play model, painted and assembled, and 100% compatible with any other WWI Wings of Glory game product. In each pack you will find all you need to play with the airplane: a special base with gaming stats, four altitude flying stands, and a specific deck of maneuver cards.

This is not a complete game. You must own a WWI Wings of Glory – Rules and Accessories Pack or WW1 Wings of Glory – Duel Pack to play.

Sails of Glory Napoleonic Wars From Ares Games

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Dec 172014

Sails of Glory Napoleonic Wars

In an age where the fleets of the French Emperor Napoleon I battled across the seas and the powerful Royal Navy of the British Empire clashed against the French from the Atlantic Ocean to the Mediterranean Sea, prepare your naval fleet for battle on an epic stage like no other in the Age of Sails!

In Sails of Glory, you will sail and fight with massive ships-of-the-line or swift frigates in dramatic naval battles, such as Trafalgar and the Battle of the Nile.

Designed to be used with the tactical ship-to ship game system created by Andrea Angiolino and Andrea Mainini, each Sails of Glory Ship Pack is a ready-to-play model, painted and assembled, 100% compatible with any other Sails of Glory game product. In each pack you will find all you need to play with the ship: a special base with gaming stats, a ship log and a specific deck of maneuver cards.

This is not a complete game. You must own a Sails of Glory Starter Set to play.

2+ players

Ages 13+

30+ minute play time

Ares Games acquires the license to publish the “Age of Conan” strategy board game

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Oct 012014

The Italian game publisher will relaunch the game by publishing an expansion, “Adventures in Hyboria”, to be launched on Kickstarter next month

September 2014 – Ares Games is proud to announce that a deal has been signed with Conan Properties International LLC to re-launch and expand the “Age of Conan” Strategy Board game.

“Conan is a classic property with great stories, and the Hyborian world is a wonderful setting for a board game”, commented Roberto Di Meglio, Director of R&D of Ares Games, and one of the game authors. “We think that Age of Conan will be a great addition to Ares’ catalog, and we have very exciting plan to develop the game.”

“We’re glad to see a re-launch of this game and that its fans are as excited about this expansion as we are,” said Jay Zetterberg of Conan Properties International LLC.

Box Breaking 126 Battle of Five Armies from Ares Games

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Sep 092014

Matt takes a look at the Battle of Five Armies from Ares Games. He shares with you the board, the minis and the cards. The Battle of Five Armies represents the final epic battle in the the Hobbit.

You can learn more at Ares Games.

Words With Roberto Di Meglio From Ares Games @ Gen Con 2014

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Aug 262014

Roberto briefly goes over the entire Ares Games line , Wings and Sails of Glory, War of the rings, and he shares with us a preview of Dino Race and the B-17’s for Wings of Glory.

I am certainly looking forward to Battle of Five Armies.

Thank you Roberto for taking the time out of a busy show.

7 Days Left To Gen Con Today We Talk About Five Armies From Ares Games

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Aug 052014

Only one week left and I’m really working my rear end off to be ready for the show. Today I’m including an announcement from Ares Games. It’s below.

Ares Games pre-releases The Battle of Five Armies
at Gen Con Indy 2014

The game publisher will also present the upcoming family game Dino Race and the 4-engine bombers coming in the WW2 Wings of Glory line, and promote with events the new games released earlier this year Sails of Glory and Galaxy Defenders

Ares Games will attend Gen Con 2014 (Booth #459 August 14-17, Indiana Convention Center, Indianapolis) presenting the awaited new game The Battle of Five Armies, with the first copies arriving for the show.

The Ares Games booth will also hold a preview of the upcoming family game Dino Race and of the WW2 Wings of Glory Special Packs featuring the 4-engine bombers B-17 and Avro Lancaster.

Demos and several events are planned for WW1 and WW2 Wings of Glory, Sails of Glory and Galaxy Defenders.

One of the authors of Galaxy Defenders, Nunzio Surace, will be present at the Ares booth through the show.

A special event is scheduled on August 14^th, at 10 am: the attempt to set the record for most players in a Sails of Glory game, with 50 people at the same table.

The Battle of Five Armies (releasing at the show) is a new game in the War of the Ring line. It’s a stand-alone board game for two players, which recreates the fierce struggle witnessed by Bilbo Baggins at the end of his quest for the Lonely Mountain, in “The Hobbit”, the world-renowned masterpiece by J.R.R. Tolkien.

Developed by the same designer team of the awarded War of the Ring board game (Francesco Nepitello, Marco Maggi and Roberto Di Meglio), The Battle of Five Armies is based on the mechanics first used in that game, merging action dice and event cards. The system has been further enhanced by the addition of the “Fate Track” mechanic, handling the arrival of the allies and the triggering of special events. All the key characters in the battle – Bilbo, Gandalf, Thorin, Dain, the Elven King, Bard, Beorn, Bolg – are featured with powerful special abilities and unique sculptures.

The first copies of the game will be available at the show, and it will be in distribution in the second half of August.

Dino Race(in preview, releasing Q4 this year) is a fun, simple and fast game, for two to four players, age 6 and up. In a crazy race, each player controls a couple of dinosaurs, running away from a raging volcano and a river of lava, toward safety. A precious dino egg must be carried out – and as precious as it is, it’s quite a burden to carry while you are running!

The dinos run through plains, swamps, woods and deserts, playing tricks upon his opponents and avoiding the nasty tricks of them. Players must bring their dinosaur duo to the end of the race track, scoring points when one of their dinos finishes the race. They also score points bringing the dino egg to safety. The player with the highest score wins the game.

Dino Race game includes 8 beautiful figures of pretty dinosaurs (two for each species) and one dino egg, sculpted by Michelangelo Ricci– a sculptor with a great experience of dinosaurs and prehistory. Dino Race is scheduled to pre-release at the Spiel 2014 show, in Essen.

The long-awaited WW2 4-engine bombers (releasing Q4 this year) in Wings of Glory will be also previewed at the show. In the Ares Games’ booth, attendees will see the four bombers to be featured in the Special Packs: B-17F “Memphis Belle,” B-17G “A Bit of Lace,” Avro Lancaster B.III “Grog’s the Shot,” and Mk.III Dambuster “Popsie”. Each pack will include a 1-200 scale miniature, a special base with gaming stats, a variable altitude flying stand, and a specific deck of maneuver cards, as well as specific rules and components necessary to use the airplane. These Special Packs will also include the Industrial Complex card and rules, and in the case of the Dambuster, a paper play mat representing a dam and the surrounding area, additional counters and specific rules.

More information about these games are available at Ares Games website – www.aresgames.eu. At Gen Con 2014, visit Ares Games at booth 459.

About Ares Games

Ares Games is an Italian board game publisher established in 2011 to create quality hobby products for the international audience. Ares Games is the publisher of the award-winning “War of the Ring” board game, of “Wings of Glory” range of airplane combat games and miniatures, recreating aerial warfare in WW1 and WW2, and more recently, of the tactical ship-to-ship miniature game “Sails of Glory” and the cooperative tactical Sci-Fi miniatures game “Galaxy Defenders”. Ares Games’ catalog also includes Family Games and Euro Games. For further information, visit the website www.aresgames.eu and the Facebook page – https://www.facebook.com/AresGames.

It’s clear that Ares has it going on at Gen Con. I am super interested in the Battle of Five Armies. I have wanted to learn more about the game ever since I saw the pictures of th emini’s in Meeple magazine. I really don’t know much more than that … but I will.

See you at Gen Con!

Battle of Five Armies from Ares Games in June

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May 152014

Battle of Five Armies

$89.90 SRP

The fierce struggle, witnessed by Bilbo Baggins at the end of his quest, is about to begin!

The stalwart warriors of the Free Peoples; Elves, Dwarves and Men, formed an uneasy alliance to defend the Lonely Mountain and the treasure of Smaug. Now, they are facing the endless horde of minions of the Necromancer. The Shadow Armies, led by Bolg, son of Azog, are going to sweep the ruins of Dale and the Front Gate with an unstoppable onslaught.

Will the Goblins come through the mountain soon enough to overwhelm the Free Peoples with a two-pronged attack? Can the arrival of Beorn, the skin-changer, turn the tide in favor of the Free Peoples? Will the coming of the Eagles stop the Goblins from crossing the mountain?

The Battle of Five Armies is a two-players game that allows you to re-create the epic conclusion of The Hobbit, the world-renowned masterpiece by J.R.R. Tolkien.

The Shadow player commands the armies of Bolg, son of Azog, the King of the Goblins of Mount Gundabad, while the Free Peoples player is in control of Men, Dwarves and Elves, led by Gandalf to fend off the goblin army.

Based on the acclaimed mechanics first used in the War of the Ring boardgame, The Battle of Five Armies merges action dice and event cards, to make each game a unique experience. The system has been further enhanced by the addition of the “Fate Track” mechanic, handling the arrival of the allies and the triggering of special events. All the key characters in the battle; Bilbo, Gandalf, Thorin, Dain, the Elven King, Bard, Beorn, Bolg, are featured with powerful special abilities and unique sculptures.

The Battle of Five Armies includes 125 plastic figures and many more top-quality components.

2 player

Ages 13+

90 minute play time

Wings of Glory from Ares Games

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Jun 072013

Year 1917. All across Europe, while men face a last-ditch battle in the mud of the trenches, colorful biplanes fly in the foggy sky, gallantly fighting each other as true “knights of the air”.

Take the commands of one of the early flying machines to shoot down your enemy, complete recon missions, and become an ace, following in the steps of men like Manfred von Richthofen, Eddie Rickenbacker, Georges Guyneer and Francesco Baracca!

These miniatures are designed to be used with the popular air combat game system created by Andrea Angiolino and Pier Giorgio Paglia, each WW1 Wings of Glory Airplane Pack is a ready-to-play model, painted and assembled, 100% compatible with any other WW1 Wings of Glory game product. In each pack you will find all you need to play with the airplane: a special base with gaming stats, a variable altitude flying stand, and a specific deck of maneuver cards.

You must own a WW1 Wings of Glory – Rules and Accessories Pack to play.

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