At Origins 2016 I had a chance to catch up with my good friend Bryan Poe from Arcane Wonders. We talked about Mage Wars Paladin and Siren. Bryan may have leaked a few other things as well.
I do believe if you listen closely a couple of allusions can be heard.
In this interview Scott and I get to talk about Mage Wars Domination (battlegrounds), City of Gears and Onitara – this game looks great.
As usual I’m super excited about The Mage Wars line up
Copyright secured by Digiprove © 2015 
Our relaunched Kickstarter has been funded largely because of what our first attempt taught us. Even though our first project was a complete bomb it has been a great ride. Gosh, I really don’t know how much to bore you here with our experience, so I’m just going to jump into the current project that is much more exciting. I may touch upon some of the lessons we experienced.
Our current project was funded in just under 24 hours. Why? Because we discarded all of the promotional items that inflated the funding goal. This was the secret to our success. We still have a T-shirt, but we felt the backers who were major contributors needed something more than just the media coverage. All of our backers are major supporters, by the way, the average daily contribution has been about $70. We can’t thank you enough for that!
For those of you that have backed this project, I’m not sure if you can see what you’re a part of. The effort you’ve put forth has opened so many doors and taught me so many things it’s not funny. Our blog and social media has increased nearly 30% in the last fourteen days, and that is because you have motivated me. My eyes have been opened, because of you, to what the essence of Through Gamer Goggles media truly is. Back to that in a minute.
I believe I will have published 300 videos before Gen Con 2015. That’s over 100 a year, plus reviews, radio shows, and release information. Through Gamer Goggles is a happening place. We offer a tremendous amount of content, but I have failed you. I have failed because the vision or essence of what is Through Gamer Goggles wasn’t realized until we attempted to fund this successful project. Through Gamer Goggles (TGG) was born with the vision of blending or balancing our gaming worlds with our real lives. Not only is that a monumental task but it has proven to be a very difficult one. Especially since very early on, I became nearly overwhelmed with the processing of game reviews. But this project has made me realize that I have failed at reflecting my personality in the content. I mean, I’m one of the most passionate gamers you’ll ever meet. I go out of my way for the gaming community as a whole by organizing events, judging, and blogging. I probably know hundreds if not thousands of gamers from such experiences. So where am I going with all this? The Gen Con Media project has kind of brought all of this to a head. I have realized that I want to take a very different approach to media. We have always been a part of the community and have run events for manufacturers (since 2000), but I don’t think it was enough to make me happy. Now, you are a part of what we do! That is the change that I was missing before. More than ever Through Gamer Goggles is about blending our lives with our gaming world. Which really means connecting with the gaming community in a unique way. We’re committed to bridging the gap from manufacturer to gamer by being involved with you! One of the results will be more of my super stunning personality as we continue to grow. This will include everything we have done in the past plus more demonstration content and regular radio shows. I might be rambling so onward to excitement!
The Project is all about going to Gen Con and having a blast with you. There are some really cool concepts we are trying to do.
The Photo Tier – every backer gets their picture taken and more.
The Coupon Book – Every backer of $20 or more will receive a coupon book (similar to the convention book but smaller). Currently we’re working with these great companies:
This is easily worth the $20.
Coffee with the crew – just as it sounds.
The coolest goal is a backer party. Basically this will be a dinner where all are invited to have a meal at a yet to be determined location. I have my eyes set on a steak house. But we will see what happens. It would be great for all of us to be in the same place at the same time to share our experiences and just get to know each other.
To celebrate our last hours I have come up with some unique ideas.
The first is a backer give away. For every ten new backers we get from now until the end of the campaign we will give out prizes to a randomly chosen backer. We are currently at 17 backers, so the prize thresholds are 27, 37, and 47. I currently have 3 prizes to give away: Combat Barbarossa 1941 German Infantryman Versus Soviet Rifleman from Osprey Publishing, Scoundrels of Skullport from GF9, and a signed copy of Forged in Fire for Mage Wars.
Second, I have decided to add another stretch goal – a scavenger hunt. This will be a simple game. It will involve backers of any pledge level to run around the exhibitors hall and do things like play games and other neat things. How dumb is that? At the end of the day we will meet up and have a drawing to award a daily prize. So far we have two Mage Wars Core Set and a copy of Forged in Fire from Arcane Wonders. That is two days of dashing from game to game. Who knows, we may create some other wacky ideas beyond game hunting. In either case it will be a lot of fun.
Like I said the Kickstarter is a door opener. It has started several new friendships, given us new direction and realization. While we’ve focused on Box Breakings, Figure Forges, Flip Throughs, and written reviews, you’re going to see more engagement from us. Beyond that we are going to strive to connect the manufacturers with you in an engaging way, while we continue to push the pace into news and media in exciting ways. Will we be perfect? No, but we have already proven that we learn from our mistakes, and that result means we will see you at Gen Con 2014 AND at Gen Con 2015! My only question is will you be part of our future?
Thanks,
Matt Lemke
Warning the exhibit hall is quite loud. Bryan Pope , producer and creator of the smash hit Mage Wars, from Arcane Wonders shows his support to Through Gamer Goggles by signing Copies of Forged in Fire. These copies are available as a pledge on Through Gamer Goggles Kickstarter you can find it here. I have to put a special thanks out to Arcane Wonders for making this happen – especially Bryan Pope.
In this Box Breaking Matt takes a look at the new warlock and warlord for Mage Wars. He discusses the strategy a little as well as his favorites from the expansion. I do believe my favorite card is Conquer it offers so much strategy to an already strategic game.
Thanks for watching you can get one of 4 signed copies of Forged in Fire as a pledge in our Kickstarter The Convention Experience. It is about us bringing you into a great experience from Gen Con this year. One dollar will go a very long way with this project.
In this Box Breaking Matt takes a good look at the newest expansion for Mage Wars; Druid vs Necromancer. He spends some time examining the new spells as well as the art. He even gives a pretty in depth overview of the new mage abilities. As usual this expansion looks to be a promising addition to the Mage Wars Universe.
Mage Wars is produced by Arcane Wonders.
Watch as Matt walks you through the Contents of the newest Mage Wars expansion; Conquest of Kumanjaro. This expansion features an alternate Beastmaster and an alternate Priest (Priestess).
Thanks for Watching.
If you would like to learn more about Mage Wars Arcane Wonders has a wonderful community of gamers. You can also learn more about them over at Board Game Geek.
At Origins 2013 we sat down and chatted with Patrick Connor from Arcane Wonders about Mage Wars. Patrick brings us up to date Mage Wars by sharing information about the Conquest of Kumanjaro. We even geat a greater treat when he spills information on the Druid and Necromancer coming up in the next expansion. He also discusses the Ambassador Program.
You can learn more about Mage Wars at Magewars.com and follow them on facebook.
Watch as Matt explores the new box set from Arcane Wonders for Mage Wars.
This expansion for Mage Wars pits a 2 mages against each other. One is a master of Telekinesis and mind magic. While the other is a great commander of summoned soldiers.
You can learn more about the Expansion at Arcane Wonders
If you are new to Mage Wars check out the two player game.
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.
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.
