Essen 2016 - kicking off the research

I have just started to cast thoughts ahead to the annual pilgrimage to the Ruhr and have started listing the games I hope to bring back from Germany in October. The list will grow over the conning months and as I am able to confirm stock will turn into pre-orders,

Two games have caught my eye already

'Sola Fide : The Reformation in Europe' is a 2 player Catolic v Protestant reformation battle from Jason Matthews and Christian Leonhard

and

'Fabled Fruit' (Friedemann Friese) has a mechanic akin to the Legacy system but without the game parts being altered. Both of these games are being published by Stronghold who have a most impressive 2nd half line up of games including 'Great Western Trail', 'Fuji Flush', 'Fog of War', 'Jorvik' and 'The Pursuit of Happiness'

Is it really in stock?

I am often asked - Is it really in stock?

The short answer is yes. If you can add it to cart (i.e. purchase it) then it is either in the warehouse or is a confirmed pre-release. If it’s a pre-release it will be clearly noted at the top of the long and short descriptions. This note will tell you when we expect the game to arrive.

If it is not in stock (or a pre-order) then you can not purchase the game. 

The long answer is that I feel very strongly that if a customer purchases a game from me then they can do it on the basis of having confidence that they will receive it. The idea that you receive something you paid for is not unreasonable, however it is not uncommon in board game retailing for shops to sell games they do not have in stock and can not supply.  When I started boardgameguru in 2008, two recent shopping experiences had made an impression on me – the first was seeing a game I had wanted for ages in stock at shop 'x' (now closed) and being just under the threshold for a discount I ordered another game to get over the £50 threshold. The next day the game I had ordered to get me over the threshold turned up but the game I really wanted was out of stock and refunded (and so I lost my discount). The second was another game that I ordered from shop 'y' only to receive a refund a few days later with an email saying ‘this has been unavailable for ages’ – to which my reply was ‘why waste my time by showing as in stock’? .

New release highlights 140616

Lots of great games this week

One of each of these will not make it as far the stock room shelves

 'Animals on Board' (smash hit for Pegasus at UKGames Expo) , 'Nina & Pinta' (which received a glowing report from The Opinionated Gamers ) and 'Broom Service : The Card Game' (The game seems to have come full circle being the card game of a board game which was the board game of a a card game....). I just need to arrange some game nights...

31st May New Release highlight

A 2 player co-operative game from Japan - 'The Ravens of Thri Sahashri' is probably the most unusual release of the week (if not the year...). One player is a girl who has lost her memory and the other a detective who is trying to help her restore her memory.  I have to confess to owning this since its Essen 2014 release but not played it yet. The original release was only a few hundred copies and it has been republished to a wider audience by British publishing house Osprey.  Osprey have quickly created themselves a reputation as astute game publishers having re packaged Peer Sylvesters King of Siam into (the excellent) 'The King is Dead' and the submarine wargame 'They Come Unseen'.

New releases sparking my interest - May 20th

'Tin Goose' is my most anticipated game for some time - a transport economic and risk management game from the designer of the superb 'Sekigahara' (Matt Calkins). I also like the theme of the pioneer age of commercial air travel. I am wondering how it compares to Martin Wallace's 'Aeroplanes' - maligned by some because of the dice rolling (and random turn order). I like 'Aeroplanes precisely because it created the risk management that might be required a new economic endeavor, you need a Plan B, C and D to survive. However, 'Tin Goose' promises No Luck and lots of the external economic shocks that plagued the industry. The difference is that the players control these events and it adds a layer of deduction and bluffing to the route building and airline management. 

Also 

'Imhotep' - From Phil Walker-Harding ('Cacao', 'Sushi Go' and 'Archaeology'),  'Imhotep'  is a cut throat game of pyramid building that has been mentioned as a  candidate for this years Spiel Des Jahres award.

BoardGameGuru Interview : Bevan Clatworthy (Ghostel; Tinkerbot Games)

BoardGameGuru Interview : Bevan Clatworthy (Ghostel; Tinkerbot Games)

Interview by Angus Abranson

For our first BoardGameGuru interview I contacted Bevan Clatworthy, an old friend and gaming buddy whose first boardgame, ‘Ghostel’, is currently on Kickstarter through Tinkerbot Games.

Bevan Clatworthy, Tinkerbot Games and designer of 'Ghostel'

Spending his early life bouncing around Europe as a member of the Army Brat Brigade his love affair with gaming blossomed when he returned to his native Cornwall and further cemented itself when he moved to Cardiff with a heady mix of new friends, funds and no bedtime.

Natural progression led Bevan to turn his hand and imagination to designing his own games and following success in the UK Games EXPO Redesign Competition he teamed up with Gino and Tony to form Tinkerbot Games. Ghostel, both Bevan and Tinkerbots first game, is currently on Kickstarter until Thursday 25^th February 2016 and is well worth checking out.

1) When did you first become interested in card and board games?

I think I first became interested in 'proper' board gaming when I was about 12 or 13, when I got copies of HeroQuest, Space Crusade and the AD&D board game. I loved how different these games were to the usual games of Monopoly, and these led me into the more collectible games like Magic and Games Workshop miniatures. 

2) What where your favourite games when you started, and what are your favourite now?

I was always a big fan on wargaming and collectible card games, but when I encountered Arkham Horror, well that was the end of that! The concept of constantly needing to keep up with new models or new cards was replaced by the wonderful 'it's all in one box' with the occasional expansion to pick up later down the line. Plus the barrier to play was removed, as I could find board and card games that suited everyone in my playgroup. Now my favourites are worker placement games like Lords of Waterdeep and Blood Rage, and the clever dice games like Elder Sign and Ninja Dice.

3) Do you feel your taste in games has changed since you began designing games?

I reckon my taste hasn't changed a great deal, as they're pretty varied! I'm happy to play anything (that's the designer in me trying to learn as much as possible) and it's rare I find a game I can't see something I enjoy, either in the theme or mechanics.

4) Different designers have various methods of designing their games. Some start with a theme, others with a mechanic. What is your process like?

I'm definitely a thematic designer at heart, but I'm tending to find these days I'll have an idea for a mechanic and a theme will present itself as it mulls around my brain. Once the two are married up, the theme definitely informs all the ancillary mechanics that turn it from an exercise to a game.

5) What is your favourite part about designing games?

I think it's the buzz you get when several playtesters have sat down to your fourth or fifth iteration of a game you've been working on, and everyone is engaged by what you've designed. When the players are showing true enjoyment of your game, that's what I really love about designing.

6) What is the most difficult part in the design process?

For me, it's getting up the courage to present that first prototype. It's invariably a mess with tons of head scratching and sighing from bored and frustrated play testers. It's necessary but it takes me quite a bit to subject myself to it. 

Ghostel by Tinkerbot Games (2016)

7) Now I’ve been lucky enough to playtest Ghostel quite a bit over the last few years. How would you describe the game in a paragraph to those who have not heard of it?

Ghostel is a dice rolling worker placement game for 2-4 players that plays in roughly 45-60 minutes. You play as ghosts scaring visitors away from a hotel that used to be YOUR haunted house! Are you the scariest ghost of the night?

8) How did the idea behind Ghostel develop?

It was after an evening playing a game called Pirates of Nassau. I loved how this game rook the roll'n'move mechanic and made it work as you used dice to navigate straits. It was this idea of dropping off dice that was noodling around my brain when I was on a drive back from Cardiff. It was Halloween and after driving past the umpteenth window display of monsters and vampires the idea of ghosts using their dice to 'scare people' just materialised. Once I got home I quickly knocked up a basic prototype, and all the little extra bits like the phobias and Spookie favours just grew organically. I love that kind of design, where the theme just gives extra little nuggets that tie the whole concept together.

Ghostel by Tinkerbot Games (2016)

9) You’re using Kickstarter to raise the money for the publication of Ghostel. The campaign is currently running as we conduct this interview but how have you found the experience so far?

Tiring! It's been very exciting to get all the comments from backers, plus keeping up a presence on the internet through social media and all the wonderful people making content for the hobby gaming industry. It's also been very nerve-wracking, especially watching the money counter tick up at varying paces during the campaign.

(Angus : You can find the Ghostel Kickstarter here!)

10) What are the biggest dangers in running a Kickstarter project and how do you plan to combat these?

The biggest so far has been the budget. It's so easy to put something up there without fully pricing everything up, only to find out you're way over budget and can't fulfil everything you've promised the backers.

The other is keeping up engagement. If a Kickstarter is put up and left to run alone, it'll die on the vine as pledgers just don't feel connected or confident the project creators are even there. Keeping up good content and listening to our pledgers has been key to our initial success.

11) Ghostel is being published by Tinkerbot Games. How did you meet the other guys behind Tinkerbot and where did the idea to form the company and publish yourselves come from?

We (myself, Gino and Tony) have known each other for years, but it was only after we were all selected as finalists for the UK Games EXPO redesign competition in 2014 that we thought 'maybe we can work together in this'. We had plenty of ideas to go with, and the success we had in the competition gave us the confidence to think seriously about taking the next step and becoming a company.

We then assessed everything we had, and Ghostel came top of the list. This left us with two options, find a publisher or give it a go on our own. Now, we love a challenge, and Kickstarter presented a great opportunity to learn about the hobby industry from the inside, plus we would have more control over the content and timelines for getting the game produced. It sounded like just what we were looking for.

12) What other games do Tinkerbot have planned post-Ghostel?

At the moment it's all about Ghostel, however we do have some plans for a series of micro-games that could be put together as a compilation.

13) Most designers have a few ideas, or fleshed out designs, waiting in the wings. What do you think we may see from you as your next project?

We have a couple of others at later stages of development, including a dragon farming deck building game, and a dice drafting game about moving goats up and down rock mesas. The decision will be which to look at first!

14) You’ve attended a few playtest and ‘Unpub’ events here in the UK. How important do you feel these events are for designers (both published and unpublished ones)?

These are incredibly important, and not just for the opportunity to play test your games. You get the chance to talk to fellow designers and to publishers and just soak up the accumulated knowledge these people have. It gets you noticed, you become a face in the industry and you get to build relationships in an industry that is close knit and welcoming.

15) What are your tips for budding game designers? Anything to pay particular attention or to try and avoid?

Play test like crazy, and don't be afraid of change as you may find your earlier designs aren't the best. 

That said, always remember the original vision for a design and be discerning of the feedback you receive; if it means completely compromising what you intended with a design, you may end up with something you don't actually like or wouldn't play yourself. Extracting and interpreting the best information from your play testing is a vital skill.

Bevan as one of the characters from 'Ghostel'

16) You’ve been to Spiel in Essen as an attendee in the past. How did you find the experience? How important do you feel it was to attend the show as a budding designer? Will we be seeing Tinkerbot Games there in the future?

Essen was amazing! To see the wealth of designs out there, I was like the kid in the proverbial candy store, bouncing from demos to shopping and even some of the peripheral things like cosplay items and comics. It was under your advice Angus that I experienced these larger shows as a member of public first, as I now know that working at such events is an entirely different experience, one that doesn't lend itself to just being able to wander off and enjoy all the amazing games.

For a designer, I think you should definitely experience something like Essen as soon as possible. Not only will it act as an inspiration to keep at those long nights of cutting up prototypes and reading through game reports for updates,  it acts as a cracking barometer of what is in vogue in terms of the types of games that are popular. This can help inform which direction or which design you want to focus on if your plan is to get published. It's also a brilliant opportunity to meet these publishers face to face and show your wares.

As for Tinkerbot Games being there one year who knows?! That would be amazing, even if it was part of a joint stall or something, we'll just have to see how we do with Ghostel and take it from there.

17) Do you have a favourite designer? What attracts you to their games and do you have a particular title which is your 'standout game' by them?

My favourite designer would have to be Antoine Bauza, although it's close! I just love the variety in his games and the way they always evoke the theme through the strong mechanics. My favourite of his designs would be Takenoko, those gorgeous bamboo pieces and the little panda just make the simple mechanics pop! 

18) What new board or card game, that's due for release this year, are you most looking forward to and why?

My most looked forward to would be Scythe from Jamey Stegmaier. It got a lot of buzz on Kickstarter, with it's amazing looking artwork but it looks like a solid game is there to back it all up. Plus it has giant mecha, which is like an auto-back for me.

19) What are your current Top 10 Games?

This was a tough list to put together, and the order isn't really how I would rate these games as they have a lot of variety in there. Let's just say these are my ten favourite games.

1) Lords of Waterdeep

2) Rhino Hero

3) Blood Rage

4) Takenoko

5) Zombicide (any edition)

6) Five Tribes

7) Camel Up

8) Love Letter (the Batman version is my favourite implementation)

9) King of Tokyo (although King of New York is very close!)

10) Tiny Epic Galaxies

LINKS

Ghostel on Kickstarter

Tinkerbot Games Website 
Ghostel on Boardgamegeek

Osprey Games to Republish 'Escape From Colditz 75th Anniversary Edition'!

Osprey Games was set up last year as part of the Osprey Publishing Group - who have been producing fantastic historical military books for decades, Osprey Publishing had already produced several wargames rules for miniature gaming but decided they also wanted to start producing card and board games - using their reputation for quality to bring out new games as well as to bring back long out of print classics.

They have already released several board and card games and had a presence at Essen Spiel this year but the announcement they've just made that they are working on a bringing back the classic 'Escape From Colditz' will be met with a lot of interest and excitement.

'Escape From Colditz' was originally published by Gibson Games in 1973 who published it until 2000. Rumour had it, at the time, that the rights of the game had been brought by an American Movie studio who were planning on making an 'Escape From Colditz' movie and wanted the game rights as part of any future merchandising.

The game was designed by Pat Reid, a British officer who was held at the Colditz prisoner of war camp during World War Two and managed to successfully escape from it, and Brian Degas who write the 'Colditz' TV series (BBC; 1972-74) based upon Pat's escape.

The game had one player take the role of the German Officers and the other players taking the roles of various nationalities of prisoners held at Colditz - British, French, Dutch, American and Polish - who move round the board, evading the German Officers, and collecting various items to aid them in their eventual escape attempt.

The new edition, due for release in October 2016 to coincide with the 75th anniversary of Pat Reid's escape, will feature completely new artwork, wooden playing pieces, and also include replicas of prisoner-of-war artifacts from Brain Degas' extensive collection.

Escape From Colditz has long been heralded as an iconic game with innovative game design. With Osprey's background of excellence in the military arena all the signs are that this new edition should hit all the right spots.

By Angus Abranson

Boardgamegeek (and other) Secret Santas

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The last of the Treefrogs

New cardboard being handed over by the postie is usually an occasion of joy. Yesterday’s delivery was tinged with a little sadness. The game that arrived was ‘Ships' (the last of Martin Wallace’s 2014 Treefrog Subscription) I am huge fan of Martin’s game designs – theme led, idiosyncratic, risky, and cerebral. I had a long chat with Martin at Essen and he explained that he wanted to concentrate on design and not have to worry about the risks that come with publishing games.  I wish him well but I will miss my deliveries from Treefrog. ‘Ships’ (not played yet) looks to be a fitting finale to the subscription series – transport themed and a gamer’s game.  

5 DAYS OF HALLOWEEN - DAY 5 – FURY OF DRACULA

5 DAYS OF HALLOWEEN 

DAY 5 – FURY OF DRACULA

Even before they started to sparkle vampires were incredibly popular in literature, movies, games and other aspects of popular culture. I remember playing the old ‘I Vant To Bite Your Finger’(Hasbro, 1979) game as a child. Never knowing if Dracula would bite you as you possibly sacrificed your finger to his bloodthirsty teeth (the teeth left two red felt pen marks on your finger to show you had been bitten.

(I Vant To Bite Your Finger photo courtesy of http://growinguplast.com/post/109394469671/i-vant-to-bite-your-finger-1979-what-are-some found via Google)

Almost a decade later an altogether much more involved and fun game came out from British publishers Games Workshop which featured our friend Dracula travelling around Europe giving those hunting him the slip and leaving an assortment of problems for the hunters to face if they started getting too close to his trail. The game, of course, was Fury of Dracula and it was the first board game I played where the players where playing as ‘a team’ against the person who controlled Dracula. It wasn’t the first game to introduce this idea (Scotland Yard had been published by Ravensburger in 1983 and won the Spiel des Jahres award that year) but was took the idea and added rules for combat, events and encounters – as well travel by a variety of means for Dracula.

Scotland Yard, by Ravensburger

Fury of Dracula 1st Edition, by Games Workshop

I loved Fury of Dracula and was lucky enough to get one of the early sets that contained metal miniatures.

Fury of Dracula sadly disappeared out of print as Games Workshop shifted their focus away from board and roleplaying games to concentrate on the miniatures market through their immensely popular Warhammer Fantasy battle and Warhammer 40,000 brands.

Fury of Dracula 2nd Edition, by Fantasy Flight Games

We had to wait until 2005 before Fury of Dracula returned to print, after years of inflated second hand prices, when Fantasy Flight Games entered a deal with Games Workshop to produce (and in some cases reprint) games based upon GW’s brands. Fantasy Flight revised the game and upped the production quality to bring us a fantastic new edition of the game which was, unsurprisingly, as popular as ever. A third edition of the game, with all new artwork, has recently been released by Fantasy Flight Games.

Fury of Dracula 3rd Edition, by Fantasy Flight Games

It’s a great game at any time but especially one for Halloween. It is quite a long game though, with all editions quoting about 3 hours of play, but if you’re hunters get very lucky and track down the Count early on the game can be played quicker… but make sure you have plenty of time just in case!

  

Buy Fury of Dracula : http://www.boardgameguru.co.uk/fury-of-dracula-3rd-edition-1278-p.asp

By Angus Abranson

5 DAYS OF HALLOWEEN - DAY 4 – OF GHOSTS AND GHOULS…

5 DAYS OF HALLOWEEN 

DAY 4 – OF GHOSTS AND GHOULS…

What’s Halloween without ghosts, spirits and other things that go ‘BUMP’ in the night. The old ‘child in white blanket’ was a firm favourite Halloween costume for kids all over growing up, much to many parents despair seeing their blankets get holes cut out so their little devils could see through them whilst roaming the neighbourhood in search of sweets.

So it’s only natural that Ghosts get a mention in our 5 DAYS OF HALLOWEEN blog series and I’ve chosen two games that are great ways to spend your Halloween Games Night.

Ghost Stories, by Repos Productions

First up is Repos Productions ‘Ghost Stories’.  Ghost Stories is a co-operative game where each player takes on the role of a Chinese Taoist Monk trying to defend the village from a variety of nasty ghosts that have taken advantage of the ‘longest night’ to break through the barriers separating the spirit and physical worlds. The Monks can either try and battle the ghosts directly or visit one of the locations scattered around the village to harness the locations special power (either for the benefit of the group as a whole or the individual Monk ). You are playing against the game itself and there are a variety of difficulty levels – but even at the beginning level the game can be quite challenging. The artwork is fantastic and the games components are really nicely done. It’s suitable for 1 to 4 players and takes about an hour to play – so ideal if you want to play several different games in an evening or even have several attempts to defeat Wu-Feng, the Lord of Hell, and save the village from being overrun by evil spirits!

Ghost Stories Board

Mysterium, by Libellud

Next up is a game that I would be very surprised isn’t a contender for the 2016 Speil des Jahres next year. It’s the recently released ‘Mysterium’ by Libellud. The game is set in the 1920’s when astrologist Mr MacDowell invites a number of his friends (all gifted mediums) to his new house to try and communicate with a ghost that seems to be haunting it. The ghost was murdered several decades before and will remain restless until their murderer is identified. Unfortunately the ghost is unable to ‘talk’ to any of the mediums but can ‘communicate’ through visions. Using these ‘visions’ the players have to decipher their meaning and identify possible suspects, locations and the murder weapons involved. One player takes the roll of the ‘ghost’ and is given a hand of seven cards which contain dreamlike images. The ghost then passes the first player one, or more, cards that they think will help the player identify the suspect. The Ghost then refills the hand and proceeds to hand out cards to each medium. As soon as the last medium received their cards the timer is flipped and the mediums have until it runs out to not only identify the suspect (or location or weapon) they are looking for but also help the other mediums too (thus possibly scoring some bonus ‘time’ in the final round). Those who have identified their suspect correctly move along to try their luck at determining the location, whilst those who failed spend another round trying to locate their suspect. The game lasts seven rounds at which point if any medium has failed to guess their suspect/location/weapon the ghost has failed and disappears leaving the mystery unsolved until another attempt can be trued the following year. If all the mediums have guessed correctly then the ghost has a final chance to let the mediums know ‘which’ of them has correctly identified the culprit, etc. This is done with a final three card ‘vision’ which depending on the bonus ‘clairvoyancy’ each medium has gathered during the game means they will have one, two or three cards shown before they have to make their final decisions. If the majority of the mediums identify the suspect correctly then the ghost can ‘move on’ and rest peacefully forever more. If not, then there is always next year…

Mysterium has been getting rave reviews and is a dead cert for our own Halloween Games Night this year. It plays for 2-7 players and takes 42 minutes (or thereabouts).

Mysterium Components, by Libellud

Buy Ghost Stories : http://www.boardgameguru.co.uk/ghost-stories-387-p.asp

Buy Mysterium : http://www.boardgameguru.co.uk/mysterium-33502-p.asp

By Angus Abranson

5 DAYS OF HALLOWEEN - DAY 3 – DEAD OF WINTER : A CROSSROADS GAME

5 DAYS OF HALLOWEEN 

DAY 3 – DEAD OF WINTER : A CROSSROADS GAME

Once zombies were rarely seen outside of b-movies but, for whatever reason, they’ve broken out of the scientific research stations, clawed their way out of the graves, and have become a mainstay in popular culture over the last 10-15 years. Best selling books and comics are written about them, Hollywood aswell as the small screen have made them stars and many game designers have been lured into creating games about them. And we, the players, have largely lapped them up.

Last Night On Earth, by Flying Frog Productions

I’ve played my fair share of them over the years from the low production qualities of ‘Maul of America’ (which was a fun game even if the components were pretty basic) to the more recent high end production of games such as Zombicide. I think my favourite has, so far, been Last Night on Earth but that’s not the game I’ve chosen for todays ‘5 Days of Halloween’.

Zombicide, by Cool Mini Or Not/Guillotine Games

I have, in fact, chosen a game which we are hoping to play for the first time on our own Halloween Games Night. One I’ve been wanting to play since it came out in 2014 and I’ve heard people raving about. The game? Dead of Winter : A Crossroads Game by Plaid Hat Games.

Dead of Winter : A Crossroads Game, by Plaid Hat Games

It’s a co-operative story-centric survival game for 2 – 5 players. Taking place in one of the last human colonies during a harsh winter the players have to work together to find food, fuel and other supplies, fight off the ever present zombie menace (as well as other outside threats), resolve a variety of crises that occur, all whilst trying to keep the colony’s morale up.

Added on top of the already troubling survival chances is that one of the players *may* be a traitor – working to destroy the colony. This mechanic has been seen in a number of other games (such as ‘Shadows Over Camelot’ and ‘Battlestar Galactica The Board Game’) and can be very fun to play with. Making all the players work together but never entirely trusting one another. Each player will also have their own secret objectives which can give them an additional victory on top of just managing to survive.

As I’ve not actually managed to play Dead of Winter yet (only a few more days….) I’ll let Wil Wheaton show you a play through from Tabletop Season 3.

Geek & Sundry have also created a very good parody video for Dead of Winter starring Felicia Day and Brandon Routh.

Enjoy!

Buy Dead of Winter - A Crossroads Game : http://www.boardgameguru.co.uk/dead-of-winter--a-crossroads-game-22157-p.asp

Buy Last Night on Earth : http://www.boardgameguru.co.uk/last-night-on-earth-648-p.asp

Buy Zombicide : http://www.boardgameguru.co.uk/zombicide-12847-p.asp

By Angus Abranson

5 DAYS OF HALLOWEEN - DAY 2 – ALL THINGS CTHULHU…

5 DAYS OF HALLOWEEN 

DAY 2 – ALL THINGS CTHULHU…

H. P. Lovecraft, the creator of the Cthulhu Mythos back in 1917, would never have believed how popular his creations would become – spawning hundreds of ‘Cthulhu Mythos’ stories, films, video games, toys, household décor, games and, even slippers, to name but a few things. He is, quite possibly, the most influential horror writers of the twentieth century. His initial creation has expanded through generations of other writers exploring the Mythos, adding to it and in some cases carving out their own versions of the Cthulhu Mythos universe (such as Charles Stross’ excellent ‘Laundry Files’ series which deals with Bob Howard, an ex-IT consultant turned British government agent).

The Mythos has influenced and inspired dozens of board and card games over the last few decades. Some serious and heavy, others whimsical and light, but all pay homage to his dark tales of cultists and Elder Gods from Beyond the Stars…

Arkham Horror, Chaosium, 1987 Edition

My first experience with H. P. Lovecraft was, appropriately, one Halloween as an early teen when I started reading his ‘At the Mountains of Madness’ novella. I was hooked and the ‘Call of Cthulhu’ Roleplaying Game soon became my favourite RPG (and still is today) and we played the original Arkham Horror (published by Chaosium, 1987) as often as we could.

Cthulhu gaming has come a long way since then and, today, we have dozens of Cthulhu-themed games available to while away the hours this Halloween.

Here are just a few to choose from:

Arkham Horror (Fantasy Flight Games)

Call of Cthulhu : Living Card Game (Fantasy Flight Games)

Chez Cthulhu (Steve Jackson Games)

Cthulhu 500 (Atlas Games)

Cthulhu Dice (Steve Jackson Games)

Cthulhu Gloom (Atlas Games)

Elder Sign (Fantasy Flight Games)

Cults Across America (Atlas Games)

The Hills Rise Wild! (Pagan Publishing)

Mansions of Madness (Fantasy Flight Games)

Munchkin Cthulhu (Steve Jackson Games)

The Stars Are Right (Steve Jackson Games)

Unspeakable Words (Playroom Entertainment)

The Cards of Cthulhu (DVG)

Cthulhu Fluxx (Looney Labs)

Cthulhu Wars (Green Eyed Games

Do You Worship Cthulhu (Toy Vault Inc)

Cthulhu Rising (Twilight Creations)

Building An Elder God (Signal Fire Studios)

Arkham Horror, Fantasy Flight Games

Whilst Arkham Horror has a very special place in my heart, and is great if you have plenty of time to play (games can easily last 2 to 4 + hours) the two which I play the most, and are thus more likely to reside on my Halloween Gaming Table, are Elder Sign and The Stars Are Right.

Elder Sign, Fantasy Flight Games

Elder Sign (Fantasy Flight Games) is a fantastic co-operative dice rolling game by the designers of Arkham Horror. It can play between 1 to 8 players and can last 90+ minutes. Each player takes on the role of an investigator who, armed with occult knowledge, allies and various tools, have to locate Elder Signs within the museum, and surrounding areas, and stop the gates from opening and letting in all manner of monsters. The game has a countdown mechanic and, if your investigators are unlikely and not quick-enough, they are faced with a final showdown with one of the Ancient Ones.

The Stars Are Right, Steve Jackson Games

The Stars Are Right (Steve Jackson Games) is unlike many of Steve Jacksons other games and has a much more involved and thought provoking game mechanic – which I guess can be expected as the game is originally a German designed and published one. You have a hand of cards which will influence the 5 x 5 card board grid which represents the night sky. Each ‘night sky’ card is double sided with a symbol on and through ‘summoning’ various Mythos creatures to do your bidding you can modify the night sky to create the correct pattern to summon more powerful entities until you are able to attempt to summon a Great Old One itself. The game is surprisingly clever and can really make you think as you try and plot the best constellations for your creature summonings. The game is for 2 to 4 players, lasts about an hour or so and, I feel, is an under-rated Cthulhu-inspired game so well worth checking out if you like hand management pattern-recognition puzzle games.

Yes, Cthulhu Slippers do really exist (Manufactured by Toy Vault, Inc)

Buy Arkham Horror : http://www.boardgameguru.co.uk/arkham--horror-126-p.asp

Buy Elder Sign : http://www.boardgameguru.co.uk/elder-sign-10163-p.asp

Buy The Stars Are Right : http://www.boardgameguru.co.uk/the-stars-are-right-3724-p.asp

By Angus Abranson

5 DAYS OF HALLOWEEN - DAY 1 – GEISTESBLITZ

5 DAYS OF HALLOWEEN

Halloween is fast approaching and all across the land gamers are gathering together in lighted rooms to keep the darkness outside at bay. Armed with sweets to keep any trick or treat gremlins (as well as their own stomachs)  happy, the gamers gather together a selection of suitably spooky games to kill the hours until daylight breaks and the ghosts and ghouls retreat for another year…

With that in our minds we thought we’d share some suitably themed Halloween games that you might be playing this coming Saturday in ‘5 Days of Halloween’…

DAY 1 – GEISTESBLITZ

Geistesblitz is a quick, fun, activity game for ages 8+ by German publishers Zoch. Zoch have a reputation for making good quality games with lots of very nice wooden components and Geistesblitz is no different.

In this pocket-sized box you get five different wooden objects – a Green Bottle, a Red Chair, a Blue Book, a Grey Mouse and a White Ghost and a deck of cards. Each card will show two objects – with one, or both, of the objects coloured differently to the actual physical object sitting on the table in front of you. If both objects are the wrong colour – say a green book and a red ghost – then you’re looking for the object and colour not shown on the card and be the quickest player to grab that object from the table. In this case it would be the Grey Mouse. If you were the first player to grab the Grey Mouse then you get to keep the card as a Victory Point. If you, however, grabbed the wrong object (say the Blue Book) then you have to pay a forfeit of a card in your stash (if you have one) which gets discarded and placed at the bottom of the card deck. Everyone can only make one ‘grab’ a turn so if the first person gets it wrong they can’t then grab the correct item – they have to just watch agonizingly as someone else makes the correct choice and scores the point.

The other possible combination on a card would show one correct item (for instance a White Ghost) and one incorrect item (for instance a Blue Bottle). In this instance you will want to be the first to grab the White Ghost to win the point.

Geistesblitz is a fast and furiously paced game, not to be played with any witches (or anyone else who may have long fingernails…) which is a great Halloween filler.

Two versions of the game are currently available – Geistesblitz and Geistesblitz 2.0. Each are completely stand alone games although Geistesblitz 2.0 does have rules for a ‘mega’ game you can play combining both sets. Geistesblitz 2.0 comes with a Green frog, Red Towel, White Ghostess, Grey Tub and a Blue Brush. Each individual game can usually comfortably be played in under 30 minutes so makes a perfect Halloween filler…

Buy Geistesbltiz : http://www.boardgameguru.co.uk/geistesblitz-11922-p.asp

Buy Geistesblitz 2.0 : http://www.boardgameguru.co.uk/geistesblitz-20-12053-p.asp

By Angus Abranson

'Dungeon of Mandom' or 'Welcome to the Dungeon'

Absolutely delighted to see  Oink's Japanese hipster game get a wider audience in the form of  Iellos 'Welcome to the Dungeon'  .

Its superb -  A 10 minute game of filling a dungeon with monsters and either being brave enough to go in and fight the beasties, or even better bluff you opponents to go and face certain death!

Pick of this week's releases

A step up in complexity for the Brit design team Dunstan and Gilbert, however given how good 'Empire Engine'and 'Divinare' are it's an easy choice for new release of the week - Elysium!

The theme is Greek god hocus pocus, however the card play sounds fascinating (read this review)