New Releases : 22nd April 2009

Hi,

New releases this week

Genoa – is a re-named traders of Genoa in a bigger box (and price unfortunately) . A 2001 classic from Rudiger Dorn

Zooloretto Exotic add’s new animals and mechanics to the 2007 Spiel de Jahres winner

Panzerblitz ; Hill of Death is a re-implementation of the 1970 classic that is seen as the granddaddy of tactical wargames

I'm rather excited about the following games - they are not on general release in the UK, however the guru has mamaged to secure a supply

Diamond’s Club – another game from Rudiger Dorn, and my tip for Spiel des Jahres 2009. It plays in an hour, is family friendly yet is equally rewarding for the experienced gamer. I have played this a lot since it arrived on Wednesday. I will provide English rules

Powerboats – a race game for 2 – 6 players that uses three dice to simulate the movement of the boats. The course is made up of 6 modular boards that you place randomly to ensure replay ability. It’s very easy to learn, takes half an hour to play and is a great family game or way to end the evening after more serious fare. It comes with English rules as standard

Space Alert – Vlaada Chavatil of Galaxy Trcker, Through the Ages and Talisman is the Renaissance man of board gaming – he can seemingly turn his hand to any genre and master it immediately. In Space Alert he has created a co-operative game quite like no other – players have to fight off alien attacks dictated by a sound track on a CD and to a time limit. Is this the future of Board Gaming? A lot of geeks think so. This is the English version of the game from Czech Games Edition

Agricola O (Austrian) deck. It’s in German – it has 12 new occupations and Minor improvements. And they are both tongue in cheek (the Ski Instructor has an effect on family growth) and more serious (Therapist). I will provide an English translation of the cards

Planet Steam Huge box, components are fabulous. This is a serious economic game set in the 25^th Century. Players are miners on Planet Steam. From reviews and a read through of the rules the market mechanism looks as good as, if not better, than that used in Power Grid. I can’t wait to get this to the table. I will provide English rules

Valdora –One of two 2009 releases from Michael Schacht of Zooloretto fame. This is a ‘pick up and deliver’ game that plays in less than 60 minutes. Gorgeous to look at too. Touted as an outsider for this years Spiel des Jahres

Next Week we should see the arrivals of 2 de Mayo and Mecanisburgo from Spanish games company Gen x games. I’ll post details when they arrive.

Other games that arrived with the Germany shipment are: -

· China , an area majority game (“8.5/10 - El Grand lite – perfect with 3 players” – Tom Vassel) by Michael Schacht

· Entdecker (“Carcassonne on steroids” – the Guru.). Both are in the Guru special offers section at half the price you would normally pay in the UK.

· Transamerica – Avery simple railroad connection game, this has been out of print in English for over six months. The game is language independent and I will provide English rules

This has been a great week for re-stocks as well.

Stone Age – the game that should have won the 2008 Spiel des Jahres is back in stock. This game has grown on me. My first impressions were that it did nothing new or original and that it was too short. Now I think it is a clever, distilled down Euro that is perfect for times when you don’t feel like committing hours to longer games. Plus how can you not like a game that has a Love Shack for two of your meeples?

Other restocks include Power Grid, Taluva, Descent : Road to Legend, Ice Flow, Arkham Horror, Marvel Heroes (now in the special offers), Hammer of the Scots, Silent War and Borneo

With rain forecast and so many new and exciting games I predict a rather wonderful weekend

Paul