Archive for board games

Review of Dominion by Rio Grande Games

Posted in Non-Collectable Card Game, Product Review with tags , , , , on July 15, 2011 by boccobsblog

This weekend I had a chance to play Dominion, a non-collectable card game from Rio Grande games.

Dominion is all about resource management with a dash of “screw your neighbor over” thrown in. The purpose is to amass the most victory points (which are represented by lands: Estate, Duchy, Provence, and Colony). There are also ten action cards that each affect the game in some way. Victory points, treasure and action cards are all purchased with money in the form of cards (copper, silver, gold, and platinum).

Each round a player will have an action phase in which they play an action card(s) and a buy phase when they can purchase treasure, victory points and more action cards.

What I really liked about the game is that it will be different each time, as you pick ten new action cards each game (the set we played had about 40 – 50 different action cards).

 The Breakdown:

  • Easy to learn (you’ll have the gist after one game)
  • Changes each time for high replay value
  • Fantasy-themed cards, but far enough removed from an RPG or fantasy board game that non-geeks will play and enjoy themselves.
  • Low attention game (you can chat and joke without messing up your turn)
  • Fast-paced 30-60 minutes a game

Check out the rules for free

Rio Grande Games’ Dominion site

Pictures:

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Conquest of Nerath Boardgame

Posted in Dungeons and Dragons, Product Review with tags , , on June 20, 2011 by boccobsblog

On June 21st Wizards will release its latest boardgame, Conquest of Nerath. The game, designed by Richard Baker, Mons Johnson, and Peter Lee looks like Risk meets D&D (which sounds like a badass pairing). While the last two games focused on party-sized combat, Conquest puts you in control of an entire army.

image via wizards.com

Here’s what the folks at Wizards ha to say about their latest game on their website:

War has come to the Dungeons & Dragons world! In the north, the undead legions of the Dark Empire of Karkoth march against the fragile League of Nerath, determined to sweep away the human kingdoms forever. To the south, the infernal Iron Circle launches its own goblin hordes in a campaign of conquest against the elves and corsairs of Vailin. From the snowy expanse of the Winterbole Forest to the sun-warmed coasts of ancient Vailin, four great powers struggle for survival.

Muster armies of footsoldiers, siege engines, monsters, and dragons to attack your enemies. Fight across the waves with fleets of warships and raging elementals. Plunder ancient dungeons with bands of mighty heroes, searching for magical artifacts and awesome treasures that might tip the scales of battle in your favor. The fate of empires is in your hands!

This game includes the following components:

  • Rulebook
  • Dice
  • Game board
  • 110 cards
  • 252 plastic playing pieces representing the champions and armies of Nerath, Karkoth, the Iron Circle, and Vailin

The game is set to retail for 79.99 USD.

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Publish Your Own Game

Posted in Gaming News, Product Review with tags , , on April 4, 2011 by boccobsblog

pic via TGC website

Have you ever had an idea for a game? I think we all have, but taking it from a cool idea around the game table to an actual product is a big leap, well at least it used to be. At Gen Con Indy last year I spoke with the owners of a company that will allow you to do just that. The Game Crafter takes your game concept, publishes it, and makes it available for purchase on their website. They will even help you advertise and promote your game.

According to the TGC website:

“The reality is that most games will never sell 10,000 units. Unfortunately, traditional production runs require you to buy 5,000 – 20,000 units to make production cheap enough to be profitable.

At TGC, even if your game only sells one copy, you’ll have made a profit! Try to beat that by negotiating with publishers, distributors, retailers, and manufacturers.”

TGC can make card games, board games, rpgs, just about any kind of game. I spent a while messing around on TGC’s cost estimator and it really is a reasonable option.

SO if you’ve ever wanted to see your game come to fruition, check out TGC.

thegamecrafter.com

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Board Game Geek.Con Vs. QuakeCon

Posted in Gaming News, Uncategorized with tags , , , , , , on March 14, 2011 by boccobsblog

As I sit idly and wait for Gen Con I thought I’d pass along this link, sent to us by a reader and fellow gaming enthusiast.

In the article, Chris draws parallels between BoardGameGeek.com’s convention- Board Game Geek. Con and Quake Con.

Enjoy

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