Meople News: The Hobbit Wars of Andor

Cryptozoic

Well, what do you know, apparently the criticism that Cryptozoic’s deck-builders (like Penny Arcade: Gamers vs. Evil) were lacking deck management options has been heard. At least the latest preview post for the DC Comics Deck-building Game makes a point of mentioning card-destroying abilities, together with more information about heroes, villains and super powers.

Fantasy Flight Games

Have you wondered how the new quests from Descent: Journeys in the Dark – Lair of the Wyrm would be played? So far, I assumed the expansion would feature a completely separate campaign and that’s it. But the designers were not happy with just that option – you can play like that, but with Rumor Cards that open quests you can also work the Lair of the Wyrm quests into the Shadow Runes campaign from the base game. And obviously you can use the new Heroes and the new Overlord Cards in that campaign as well.

Speaking of heroes, we already know they are also at the center of Legends of Andor, but what do they actually do? Their strength and willpower decides about defeat or victory in battle, but any hero worth the name also needs some equipment. Merchants scattered throughout the lands are happy to oblige, and next to old favourites like weapons they sell speciality items like falcons that carry items to your fellow fighters.

The combat system in Star Wars: The Card Game has some very interesting ideas for a card-based combat system: not only does every card have different action icons to resolve, including blocking or destroying enemy cards, but you also use the same cards to basically bid for initiative before the fight. The cards you use to bid here can not be used in combat, but when you win the bid you go first and some of your cards may grow more powerful. The point of the whole exercise is to destroy enemy objectives (or protect your own) to either prevent or advance the construction of the Death Star, depending which side you play.

Fantasy Flight has really opened the news hose wide this week, here’s news on another game. Now, FFG are not the only company worldwide to publish Martin Wallace’s The Hobbit Card Game, but they posted the full rules. We knew already that The Hobbit Card Game would be a trick-taking game, but still I’m disappointed by just how light it’s going to be: trick-taking with an unchanging trump colour, you give cards that you won to the other players who either get healed or hurt by them. That’s it. To do something fresh with trick-taking, The Dwarf King excited me a lot more.

Plaid Hat Games

Even in a City of Remnants, members for your gang are not everything. They also need the gear to kill people, and as a good gang boss, you supply. Now you could take all the Black Friday offers at Wal-Mart, but somehow their selection of advanced weaponry and war drones is not all that … wait, strike that, I guess some U.S. Wal-Mart have a bigger arsenal than some European armies. Anyway, in City of Remnants you buy the good stuff at the Black Market. And that stuff is pretty good, the War Drone works as a fully functional gang member.

This week’s featured photo shows Kronborg Castle in Denmark – that’s the castle where Hamlet is set, although it goes by a different name in the play. This photo was taken by Martin L and shared with a CC-BY license.

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