January, 2013 | Through Gamer Goggles

Pathfinder Miniatures Reign of Winter boosters

Paizo Publishing, WizKids Comments Off

Jan 102013

Pathfinder Miniature Battles Reign of Winter Booster (32)

$511.68 SRP

It has been a century since the immortal witch Baba Yaga last visited the world, and the hour draws nigh for her return. But when she fails to appear in the frozen realm of Irrisen to usher in its newest ruler, pockets of winter begin to grow throughout the Inner Sea region. After 1,400 years of perpetual winter, the icy curse of Irrisen is spreading! Will the Reign of Winter engulf the world?

Reign of Winter is the latest 55-figure set release in the award-winning Pathfinder Battles line of miniatures from Paizo Publishing and WizKids Games! Reign of Winter features friends and foes from the Pathfinder Adventure Path of the same name, and is sure to please Pathfinder fans new and veteran alike!

Pathfinder Battles: Reign of Winter Boosters contain 1 Large figure and 3 Medium or Small figures.

Pathfinder Battles: Reign of Winter Bricks contain 8 Standard Boosters (32 figures total).

Pathfinder Battles: Reign of Winter Standard Cases contain 4 Standard Bricks (32 Standard Boosters, 128 figures total).

Goblinworks Licenses Unity Engine for Developing the Pathfinder Online MMO

Goblinworks, Paizo Publishing, Pathfinder 1 Response »

Jan 102013

GOBLINWORKS LICENSES UNITY ENGINE FOR DEVELOPING THE PATHFINDER ONLINE MMO

Studio Announces Sneak Peek Online Environment Experience and Pit Fight Battles Preview

Unity Engine Enables Highly Anticipated Mac OSX Version of the Game

REDMOND, WA (January 9, 2012): Goblinworks, Inc. is thrilled to announce today a licensing agreement with Unity Technologies that secures Unity as the engine behind the massively multiplayer online roleplaying game (MMORPG) Pathfinder Online.

To celebrate the partnership with Unity, Goblinworks today launches a demo Environment Experience of the first level of Pathfinder Online’s Thornkeep dungeon, which lets players view the environment originally constructed for the Technology Demo, now run through the Unity Engine. The demo is viewable through a Unity web app in your browser at https://goblinworks.com/experience.html.

“We have been evaluating solutions in this space for more than a year,” says Ryan Dancey, CEO of Goblinworks. “For performance, code quality, reliability and flexibility, Unity rose to the top of our list. Unity also enables us to develop both a Windows and an OSX version in tandem. We couldn’t be happier to make this announcement today.”

Goblinworks also announces the first playable test-environment, a version of Pathfinder Online’s combat-testing software called Pit Fight, which will be available to players in Fall of 2013. Through Pit Fight, players will help the development team cull a wide range of combat data while getting a preview of combat in Pathfinder Online. Pit Fight will be a stand-alone, single-player experience.

Pit Fight will put the player through a number of gladiatorial battles, fought in the Bonepit Arena in Thornkeep, under the watchful eyes of the Hellknights. Players will be able to get a sneak preview of the Pathfinder Online combat design, and will help to shape its development through PVE conflict against various NPC opponents.

Initially, players will be using a limited number of prebuilt characters and specific scenarios but expanding over time to include other classes, customization and combat styles. Players will be able to test which aspects of combat they most enjoy, and plan their advancement path once Pathfinder Online launches.

The Pathfinder Roleplaying Game builds on more than 10 years of system development and the largest open playtest in the history of tabletop gaming to create an unparalleled fantasy roleplaying experience. Players need only the Pathfinder RPG Core Rulebook to play, but Paizo Publishing produces a wide range of books and accessories to enhance your Pathfinder experience, from hardcover rules compendiums to complete campaigns to packets of beautiful full-color maps. For more information, please visit paizo.com.

Pathfinder Online is a hybrid sandbox/theme park-style massively multiplayer, online roleplaying game (MMORPG) where characters explore, develop, find adventure and dominate a wilderness frontier in a land of sword and sorcery. Pathfinder Online is currently being “crowd-forged” through Kickstarter, with 5 days left in the million-dollar pledge drive. Please visit http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1675907842/pathfinder-online-a-fantasy-sandbox-mmo and Goblinworks.com for more information.

About Unity Technologies

Unity Technologies is the creator of Unity, an intuitive and flexible development platform used to make wildly creative and intelligently interactive 3D and 2D content. The “author once, deploy everywhere” capability ensures developers can publish to all of the most popular platforms. Unity Technologies boasts a thriving community of 1,000,000 registered developers including large publishers, indie studios, students and hobbyists. Unity Technologies aggressively re-invests in its award-winning 3D development tools and democratization initiatives, such as the Asset Store digital content marketplace and Union game distribution service, in order to remain at the forefront of innovation. Unity Technologies is headquartered in San Francisco and has offices in Canada, Denmark, Lithuania, Sweden, the United Kingdom, Japan and Korea. For more information, visit: http://unity3d.com.

About Paizo Publishing

Paizo Publishing®, LLC is a leading publisher of fantasy roleplaying games, accessories, board games, and novels. Paizo’s Pathfinder® Roleplaying Game, the result of the largest open playtest in the history of tabletop gaming, is currently the best-selling tabletop roleplaying game in hobby stores. Pathfinder Adventure Path is the most popular and best-selling monthly product in the tabletop RPG industry. Paizo.com is the leading online hobby retail store, offering tens of thousands of products from a variety of publishers to customers all over the world. In the ten years since its founding, Paizo Publishing has received more than 50 major awards and has grown to become one of the most influential companies in the hobby games industry.

About Goblinworks

Goblinworks is the developer and publisher of Pathfinder Online, a next-generation fantasy sandbox MMO. The company is located in the Seattle suburb of Redmond. It was founded in 2011 by a dedicated group of creative professionals with backgrounds in tabletop hobby gaming and online videogame development. Goblinworks is dedicated to creating a fun, immersive online gaming experience for the fantasy roleplaying enthusiast. Its goal is to deliver the best sword & sorcery massively multiplayer game on the market by starting with a carefully designed core of features and iterating on the content continuously after launch, with the input and feedback of the player community.

Kaiju Kaos Mini fig

Bailey Records, Kaiju Kaos 2 Responses »

Jan 102013

BAILEY RECORDS ANNOUNCES KAIJU KAOS: SMACKDOWN SERIES 1, SET 1 MINIFIGS!

Grove City, OH, January 9, 2013 – Bailey Records today announces the upcoming release of KAIJU KAOS: SMACKDOWN and our first set of limited edition minifigures designed for collectors and gamers alike.

“Since it’s conception, I’ve dreamed big with KAIJU KAOS and have wanted to tear down traditional barriers within the industry,” said Bryan Borgman, Bailey Records’ owner and KAIJU KAOS miniatures game designer. “Besides making a miniatures game using colossal monster miniatures, we have a full-length soundtrack, and now collectable, designer toys that are fully compatible with KAIJU KAOS in addition to highlighting their own special version of the game called SMACKDOWN.”

“When I decided I wanted to try and break into the designer toy market with original ideas, I sought out the talented Steven Patt (aka oOMoSOo) at Papagrim Toys to be my collaborator and primary sculptor. In early 2012, Steven released his own limited edition minifigures in a series called Nuked! and he has a familiarity with tabletop gaming. Over the past several months we have been working behind-the-scenes in preparation for this launch. On Friday you will see the first fruits of our collaboration when we release:

Orcco the Everfolk, the Martial Artist Orchid Titan champion
Earwig the Insectien, the Scout Specialist Battler Beetle
Atticus the Wicked Werewolf, the vicious Saboteur!

“Each set of minifigures will contain one of each character sculpt and the initial release will be limited to 40 sets cast in black resin. In addition to sculpting, Steven is handling all the production of the initial release. The sets will be released online this Friday evening at 8pm EST at baileyrecords.storenvy.com for $25.00 a set. Once the limited edition black sets sell, regular production of each figure will resume at Acheson Creations in our standard gray color. More limited edition colors may appear from time to time if demand warrants. More sets will be released quarterly throughout 2013.”

About KAIJU KAOS: SMACKDOWN

KAIJU KAOS is a tabletop miniatures game where two or more players pit their hand-painted metal and resin armies against one another. KAIJU KAOS is a strategic skirmish game. It’s not just a matter of lining up models on the table and the person who goes first is the winner. KAIJU KAOS requires cunning and adaptability because at any time an opponent can drastically alter the current situation with an unexpected action or a lucky roll of the dice. A solid strategy and good implementation combined with a little luck will enable the weakest troopers to bring down the mightiest monster. There are various unnamed troopers and specialists to build armies with, but the true heart of KAIJU KAOS is in the characters – whether they’re human, Kaijin, or colossal Kaiju bent on destroying everything in their path.

KAIJU KAOS: SMACKDOWN is a “death match” variation of KAIJU KAOS where players quickly battle using one or more 45mm tall character models on a 2×2 foot tabletop. The object of the game is to be the last model standing by defeating your enemies. Every faction in KAIJU KAOS, along with a healthy dose of Mercenaries, will be represented in SMACKDOWN.

New character models will be released regularly through our webstore at Acheson Creations. Rules, stat sheets, and official game aides can be purchased at www.WargameVault.com.

About BAILEY RECORDS
Bailey Records is the home of KAIJU KAOS and a two-time award-nominated record label and composition house of roleplaying and miniatures game soundtracks, comic book soundtracks, independent film scores, and home to several recording artists. Known for its diverse catalog of licensed titles and music for any genre and setting, Bailey Records has published some of the most successful and popular companion soundtracks in the tabletop game industry including: Aberrant’s REZOLUTION & WARLANDS, Big Finger’s MECHA VS KAIJU, Mongoose Publishing’s CYBERNET, Pulp Monster’s PULP CITY, and White Silver’s THE CHRONICLES OF RAMLAR. Learn more at www.baileyrecords.com

Mage Wars Review – Critical

Arcane Wonders, Board Game Reviews, Board Games, Card Game Reviews, Featured 1 Response »

Jan 092013

This is long over due, but I wanted to make sure that I gave this game a proper play test. Mage Wars is a mutation of the board and card game genres that borrows a miniature game feel. That is, it combines elements from card and board games to create a unique play experience. In this article we will focus on mechanics, “deck construction”, combat and more.

But before going crazy on the game let’s talk about their history. The crew at Arcane Wonders started developing Mage Wars five years ago. In that time they have run several play tests and visited several convention; experiences that they used to further develop the game.

The basic idea behind Mage Wars is that you control a mage in the battle arena. Each mage casts spells to defeat the other in tactical combat of magic. When one mage has lost all their life the game ends. The basic game comes with everything for two mages four mage options.

At first Mage Wars is a little bit overwhelming to learn. But the support offered by Arcane Wonders makes the curve an easy burden. They have how to videos and a packaging disclaimer. They are doing a great job keeping in touch with the players, which is a great asset to the game.

Where do you start talking about a new game type. I think it would be easiest to start with the board. It is pretty basic. It establishes the arena where you will perform combat. The board also features the mana counters, quick reference chart and a life chart. Further the board is gridded into 12 zones for easy movement and combat. At the start of a game each mage is in an opposing corner diagonally. Since there is no diagonal movement in the game this pretty much safeguards the players from a cheap victory.

One of the most unique and fundamental aspects of Mage Wars is the “deck construction”, which isn’t deck construction at all. In Mage Wars there is no drawing. When you sit down to play Mage Wars you start by choosing a mage. The basic game comes with four mages. Once you have selected one you will build your spell book out of the cards you own. I should note that your choice in a mage will affect what spells you can choose. Each mage has schools of magic it can use. While playing you get to select your spells from the spellbook. You start the game with zero spells. During the planning phase each player selects 2 spells. As a big CCG player I find this to be the coolest element. There is no top deck, or bad luck. You are responsible for your choice, which means it is tactics and not luck of the draw. There is still some luck involved in combat, but for precombat mistakes only you are to blame.

Each round is broken into two stages, ready and action. In the ready stage you prepare by adding mana, picking spells, and applying upkeep effects. During the action stage mages take turns casting spells, summoning, placing enchantments, and attacking. The exchange of turns is based on initiative that is rolled at the start of the game. Action markers are used to designate what in play cards can and can’t be used.

Combat is where the awesome stuff happens. It is a pretty simple system. Mage Wars uses special d6’s for combat.

Blanks are misses.
Numbers are hits.
Exploding numbers are critical hits.
Some spells have special effects that only trigger if you roll the correct result.

Rather than listen to me stumble through combat with words you should watch these videos. They walk you through a few turns of the game.

Mage Wars is a unique gaming experience. It sets up an arena where mages collide. You can easily have a lot to command once the game gets rolling. The mechanic that puts Mage Wars over the top is the spellbook. By removing luck of the draw from the game it opens up so many doors to strategy. While it may look like other board games it is not. This is a game that you absolutely must try in order to judge it.

You can learn more about Mage Wars here.

1 2