#area-control

[gameosity]

http://gameosity.com/2016/10/31/preview-smash-up-on-steam-and-enter-to-win-an-expansion/

Smash Up is an area-control, shufflebuilding card game from Alderac Entertainment Group (AEG). Recently, AEG and Nomad Games released an early access digital version on Steam and we had a chance to check it out. Fair warning! The game is still being built. There are a few bugs, there are l...

[gameosity]

http://gameosity.com/2016/08/31/word-domination-spells-evil-on-kickstarter/

Strap on your jet pack and arm your sharks with lasers, because it is time to get villainous! It’s the 1970’s and super villains all around the world are stealing artifacts. Will you become the most notorious villain of them all? Word Domination, by Uproarious Games, is an...

[theboardingparty]

Review: World’s Fair 1893

Opinion

World’s Fair 1893 is a light area-control game, with aspects of card-drafting and set-collection.

Your goal is to collect sets of Approved Exhibits (coloured tokens) over three rounds. During each round you’ll be working to collect proposed Main Exhibits (coloured cards) whilst aiming to have the most supporters (player cubes) in one or more areas matching the colour of your proposed exhibits.

There are also Influential Figures allowing the placement of extra supporters, and sometimes moving any one supporter from one area to another.

The gameplay is very easy to pick up; non-gamers should be up and running in a couple of minutes.

The subtleties of the game mechanics start to surface after the first round of scoring: controlling areas leads to opportunities for Approved Exhibits; you need to collect the proposed Main Exhibits to be able to convert them.

It’s an interesting balancing act; trying to optimise the areas you control whilst actually having Main Exhibits for approval.

Gameplay

Each turn consists of the following steps:

place a supporter (player cube)

play influential figures

collect cards (from the area the cube was placed in step 1)

add new cards

During the round, you will also be collecting Midway Tickets. These move the Ferris wheel car one space on the central board.

The round ends when the Ferris wheel car reaches the start space.

End-of-round scoring takes place giving points for:

Midway Tickets

Area majority

It’s also an opportunity to exchange proposed Exhibits for Approved Exhibit tokens.

Components

The game comes with good quality card tokens and wooden cubes.

The artwork is very good, with plenty of themed content on the Main Exhibit cards.

The modular board looks fantastic. It’s cleverly designed to modify the round length by using a double sided board combined with a double sided top-wedge.

The theme isn’t crucial for gameplay but makes for a lovely experience, preventing the game from being completely abstract.

One small improvement would be to have meeples representing the supporters instead of plain cubes. (If you’re in Europe you can purchase small meeples for under €10 + p&p)

Rulebook

Thanks in part to the beautifully simple gameplay, the rulebook is easy to follow. It’s very well laid out, with clear instructions and examples throughout.

It’s well-spaced with excellent diagrams and artwork.

Conclusion

If you’re looking for a light area control game with no direct conflict and free from dice rolls this is a very strong contender.

It’s a good introductory game for new gamers while remaining interesting and challenging for more experienced players. (In the first session I lost two games to one with someone who’s had almost no exposure to tabletop games.)

It’s one that I’m happy to have added to my collection and once I’ve introduced it to a few colleagues it’s something I might suggest during lunchtime game sessions.

[gameosity]

http://gameosity.com/2016/02/25/yokai-battle-returns-to-kickstarter/

Last October, French publisher Moe Blaze started a Kickstarter project for Yokai Battle. Sadly, it didn’t get funded, but the creatiors didn’t let it get them down. They have re-worked a few things and are back in action on Kickstarter! With 12 days left to go on their campaign, they ...

[gameosity]

Yokai Battle is French publisher Moe Blaze’s first foray into publishing board games. The game lets players learn about Japanese folklore through a tactical, area-control card game. 2-4 Players use their summoned monsters to vie for control over five terrain cards. There are 22 monsters to play with and each has its own set of jutsu (powers). Each player will create a board from tiles based on the number of players. Then the terrain will be laid out randomly. Players must summon monsters to conquer a terrain a terrain tile and the first player to get five wins. Of course other monsters will attack to try to win the tile from its owner. Monsters have strong and weak sides, so how you position your monster is extremely important, lest you end up with a powerful opponent at your back!

The Kickstarter includes an exclusive 72 action card expansion, which breaks down to 4 decks of 18 action cards. The actions include traps, which stops your enemies from summoning their monsters or handing you control of their monster, spells that affect monsters, and equipment for your monsters that grant them extra abilities.

If you are really thrilled with the art of the game, Moe Blaze is offering an art book as an add-on.

Jess: I’m a fan of Japanese art and folklore, so this game hits a lot of the right buttons for me. Considering it is a 20-30 minute game it seems just right to bring along to a game night for in between larger games. For a pledge around $23 USD you’ll get 1 copy of Yokai Battle and all the unlocked stretch goals with free shipping for the US. Go check out the Yokai Battle Kickstarter now to get your own copy!

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https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/mbz/yokai-battle

Moe Blaze Brings Their Fist Gamem, Yokai Battle, to Kickstarter! @MoeBlaze Yokai Battle is French publisher Moe Blaze's first foray into publishing board games. The game lets players learn about Japanese folklore through a tactical, area-control card game. 

[gameosity]

It is the 1920’s and the armored mechs of the first Great War stand idle. All the world is watching as five factions ready themselves to vie for control of Eastern Europa.

Scythe, by Stonemaier Games, is an area control game for 2-5 players set in an alternative history. It uses an asymmetrical play style that gives each player control of a unique faction (Nordic, Saxony, Polania, Crimea, & Rusviet) with differing starting areas, abilities, and goals. The goal of the game is to become the most powerful faction and wrest control of the empire from your adversaries.

According to the Kickstarter, Scythe has engine-building system inspired by Terra Mystica with a deterministic combat system influenced by Kemet (You can check out the rules online here). It also uses a system which allows for player conflict without player elimination. Units cannot be killed or destroyed.

Jess: For a player like me, having my units safe from destruction is a huge bonus. I hate having spent turn after turn building my resources, only to have them destroyed by another players actions.

The game has some amazing minis. The faction leaders alone, make me want to play. Check out Olga and Changa! So cool!

Each one comes with an elaborate backstory so you can really get into the story of the game. The art, by Jakub Rozalski, is also mind-numbingly beautiful.

Jess: This game is made by the same company that was behind Euphoria, Viticulture, Tuscany, and the Treasure Chest of tokens. Their stuff is high quality and fun to play. Having played many of their other games, I can’t wait to get my hands on Scythe.

You can get a copy for a pledge of $59. The game comes with 25 minis, 1 Factory promo pack, all stretch goals, and money-back guarantee (not something you see very often with Kickstarters). The game is looking to ship in August of 2016. Go pledge now FOR THE GLORY OF THE EMPIRE!

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/jameystegmaier/scythe

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Mechs, Bears, and Toiling Workers in Stonemaier Games' Scythe! Now on Kickstarter! @jameystegmaier It is the 1920's and the armored mechs of the first Great War stand idle. All the world is watching as five factions ready themselves to vie for control of Eastern Europa.

[gameosity]

Jess: Ohaiyo gozahiimas everybody!

There’s exciting news on the feudal Japan board game front! Fantasy Flight is reprinting Reiner Knizia’s Samurai. The area control game for 2-4 players has everyone competing as daimyo to control Japan through lesser lords, peasants, religious leaders, and of course, Samurai.

Samurai is part of the Knizia tile-laying trilogy that includes  Tigris & Euphrates and Through the Desert. In the game you will try to control the most helmet, rice paddy, and Buddha tokens. Once all the symbols of one type have been removed from the board or four tokens have been removed from play in the case of ties, the game ends and players tally their tokens. The one with the most wins!

Jess: I am a total sucker for Japanese based games and I just finished reading James Clavell’s Shogun, so I’ve got my strategy set. I just have to kidnap some Dutch pirates…

Andrew: There are no pirates in the…sigh…never mind.

The new reprint comes with sculpted game pieces, new leader tokens, and updated art. Fantasy Flight says the game will be released in the fourth quarter of 2015 and CoolStuff Inc. is already accepting pre-orders at $34.49 (31% off).

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Samurai is Making a Comeback! @FFGames Jess: Ohaiyo gozahiimas everybody! There's exciting news on the feudal Japan board game front! Fantasy Flight is reprinting Reiner Knizia's…

[gameosity]

Game-O-Gami, makers of Goblins Drool, Fairies Rule!, has a new project on Kickstarter called Immortal. This strategy board game for 2 to 4 Players was developed by David Sanhueza, a professional animator and artist turned designer. In the game you will take control of the gods, battling your opponents for control of their cards and defending your own.

There are four factions Norse, Greek, Japanese, and Native American and two factions (Egyptian and Celtic) that will be unlockable through stretch goals. Each faction has their own asymmetrical play style making for fun strategy building.

Jess: The art for this game is gorgeous and I love the idea of stealing your opponents gods so you can create interesting team ups like Hachiman and Brother Bear. There is a print-and-play version in case you want to check it out before pledging.

You can get the Master Set of Immortal and the Digital Art Book for a pledge of $40 or more and if you live in the US you get free shipping. Keen Beans! The game is set to ship March 2016 so check out Immortal on Kickstarter from now until July 23rd.

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/game-o-gami/immortal-mythology-board-game

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The Japanese Pantheon

The Greek Pantheon

The Norse Pantheon

The American Pantheon

Take Control of the Gods in Immortal, Now on Kickstarter @gameogami Game-O-Gami, makers of Goblins Drool, Fairies Rule!, has a new project on Kickstarter called…