At Gen Con I hooked up with Firelock Games to chat about Blood and Plunder. Blood and Plunder is a historical game set during the height of pirates plundering the coastline. All I have to say is beautiful models plus boarding rules has to make for a good time.
There frigates are amazing.
This one is a little bit unusual, the game will not be at Gen Con for sale. What! Whoa! Let’s back up. Dropfleet Commander was kickstarted by Hawk Wargames, the makers of Dropzone Commander, and it was a huge success. Of course it was, Dropzone Commander has a great community, one of the best, plus Hawk Wargames doesn’t seem to make mistakes. I mean they put out great models, have good rules and they love their community even if they did make mistakes major mistakes they’d be forgiven. With that kind of support they shouldn’t have been surprised by the success – they were.
If you are Holmes fan Beyond Baker Street might be the game you want to grab at Gen Con 2016. Beyond Baker Street is being brought to us by Z-Man Games. Again this is a game that I’m yet to play, but that’s what this is about – games I want to play. From What I can tell it will use one of my favorite mechanics ever, revealed hands.
In Beyond Baker Street you and your friends will work cooperatively to solve a case before Sherlock Holmes. The real twist to the game is that you play with your hand revealed only to other players, you can’t see them. If you have played Bomb Squad you know what I’m talking about. that is one of my favorite mechanics of all time.
This is another game by Mantic Games. I don’t know too much about it, in fact I even missed the Kickstarter. I know that it was a huge hit, like all the games they make. This is a bit different though it features the characters from the comic book.
Check out the kickstarter, “The team will be taking pre-orders ahead of the retail release and you will be able to have a look through a production copy of the game. If you swing by stand 833 you can also pick-up your own free Walker figure – but be quick, because numbers are limited. ” That’s from the Mantic Games news letter.
And please check out my Gen Con Go Fund Me. Just sharing will be a huge help.
“What’s that noise?”
All the warriors lifted there ear.
Run! Cried the Commander, “Gen Con is upon us!”
“Shall we crack open the Kegs Sir?” One Shouted with great Cheer.
“No, not until the die has been rolled,” he belched.
A cloud of dust rose over the land as they rushed to Indianapolis for great games and companionship.
MYTHIC BATTLES: PANTHEON TO MAKE ITS NORTH AMERICAN DEBUT AT GEN CON
Gen Con Attendees will be First in North America to Play a God in New Miniatures Board Game Based on Greek Mythology
PARIS, FRANCE (July 25, 2016): Mythic Games, the new game studio from co-creators of the Conan Board Game, announces today the company’s highly anticipated first release, miniatures board game Mythic Battles: Pantheon, will make its North American debut at Gen Con August 4 – 7, 2016 in Indianapolis, IN.
Gen Con attendees will be the first gamers in North America to play as a famous god of Greek mythology, assemble warriors, lead troops into battle, create their own Pantheon and become the new ruler of Olympus in Mythic Battles: Pantheon. Learn-to-play games of Mythic Battle: Pantheon are scheduled in the Event Hall from 10am – 8pm each day and tickets are available on gencon.com for $4 each. Players will also receive an exclusive set of four collectible buttons of iconic Olympic gods.
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Orc Warfare
By Chris Pramas
Publisher Osprey Publishing
Orc Warfare is an interpretation of how orcs live and war; the two are very closely related. Chris starts by taking a look at the social and racial structures. From there he moves to detailed descriptions of orc troops. The last section is an anthology on tales of historic orc victories.
Orc Warfare goes over the orc physique for each of the “sub types” – goblins, orcs, and great orcs. Without spoiling too much, goblins are about four feet tall and amount to roughly twenty-five percent of the population. Orcs are the dominant of the species and they fill more roles in society. The great orcs are effectively born for war. Being the largest of the species, you can imagine how they might be used, but you don’t have to because Chris gives us more than enough information on them.
Fantasy AGE: Basic Rulebook (Hardcover)
$29.95
The Fantasy AGE Basic Rulebook is your entry point to tabletop roleplaying. Now you can be the hero in your own sword and sorcery adventures! This is the game played on Wil Wheaton’s new tabletop RPG show, Titansgrave: The Ashes of Valkana.
The Adventure Game Engine (AGE) rules are easy to learn, and feature an innovative stunt system that keeps the action tense and exciting.
This Basic Rulebook includes full 20 level advancement for all three classes, a new magic system, advice for players and GMs, and an introductory adventure so you can get started right away. You can use Fantasy AGE to run adventures in the campaign setting of your choice or a world of your own creation. A new AGE is upon us!
Author: Chris Pramas
Cover Artist: Svetoslav Petrov
144 pages, Full Color, Hardback
Pathfinder Campaign Setting: Occult Bestiary
$19.99
The new Pathfinder Roleplaying Game: Occult Adventures hardcover grants heroes whole arsenals of incredible occult powers. Strike back against them with legions of new nightmares revealed in Occult Bestiary.
This must-have softcover guide presents more than 40 new or variant monsters with occult themes, from psychic liches and night hags to creatures from strange realms and the dark places beyond the stars.
Each monster includes Pathfinder Roleplaying Game statistics and flavor on how it fits within the Pathfinder campaign setting. No occult campaign, on Golarion or any other setting, is complete without Pathfinder Campaign Setting: Occult Bestiary.
Readers,
I suppose at the end of the day, tabletop board games are a form of entertainment. They allow us to exercise our minds. They make us smarter and more creative. They allow us to build cities and nations, participate in a revolution or explore the vastness of time and space. They even allow us to lie and cheat and win in grand moments of theater while your friends sit there in awe of your apparently new-found ability to bluff. It’s amazing what a few cards, some cardboard and a few plastic bits can achieve. That is what I love about games. The level of pure, unadulterated, personal interaction and immersion that is possible to achieve through games with relatively simple rules, beautiful artwork and clever mechanics is nowhere to be found in any other form of entertainment. So yes, at the end of the day, tabletop games are simply a form of entertainment, but I can not imagine a better form it could take.
I should introduce myself. My name is Andy and I am very excited to be part of Through Gamer Goggles as board game reviewer. I hope to do as much justice to gamer-goggles.com and the games that I review as I possibly can. I have a many obsessions in my life. This should allow me to effectively vent two of them; board games and writing. I truly hope you guys will enjoy my articles and if you do, you can look forward to hearing from me a lot more often in the future in both written and video form. Please look forward to my first review coming up very soon. The GenCon pre-release One Night Revolution by Indie Boards and Cards. Thanks guys, and go out there and play some games!
-Andy
