Stronghold Games
After the recent torrent of announcements from the Space Cadets universe, Stronghold Games are now talking about the future of Core Worlds. It is, lets say, diverse. First, there will be a new expansion, Core Worlds: Revolution. It will include new heroes and Heroic Tactics cards for them and the existing heroes. There will also be advancements you can build on conquered worlds. Revolution will be out near the end of this year. Around the same time, Core Worlds Digitial will bring the game to iOS, other platforms may or may not follow. And also around the same time, a new Core Worlds web comic will start, making Stronghold Games the first publisher I am aware of to launch an online comic based on their games. (via BGG News)
Underground Games
The first project by new publisher Underground Games is a fantasy battle card game. Currently on Kickstarter, Allegiance: A Realm Divided lets you step into the armored shoes of ten different fantasy archetypes, from righteous Paladin to sinister Vampire or Necromancer, and compete for control of the realm. Each hero has their own, unique abilities that you unlock during the game by leveling up and buying new skills for money. But powerful as your hero may be, the battle rages between your units. Those are cards you draw from two different decks, one for common units and one for elite troops. A third deck of cards contains special actions. All three decks are shared between the players, so the luck of the draw does apply and your challenge is to use the cards you get, together with your hero abilities, to the best effect.
Alderac Entertainment
After the recent announcement of Weird West card game Doomtown: Reloaded, based on an older TCG, we already get to see card previews from Alderac. The “B&B Attorneys” card reveals some fun basics about the game: there will be bounties placed on characters, and where there are bounties, there are ways to hunt them. The attorneys might be a criminals best friend for getting him off the hook, but I can see the bounty being raised as a very profitable ability for the long arm of the law as well.
Days of Wonder
Bruno Cathala has posted the first in a series of designer diary posts about his coming game Five Tribes on BoardGameGeek. The game comes from humble beginnings, it started out as a modern take on Awélé/Oware/Mancala/many other names, so a game where you pick up pieces from one place and then distribute them across the neighboring pits or tiles. It should play on a grid of tiles instead of the traditional circle of pits, and the tile you end your move on should trigger an action. So far, so light, but from that simple start, the resulting game is now described as “the first Gamer’s Game from Days of Wonder” on it’s BGG page. I really can’t wait for the next parts that explain how that happened.
This week’s peaceful and idyllic photo was taken by Marin Nikolov at Muratovo Lake in Pirin National Park, Bulgaria. Thank you, Marin. (CC-BY License)