Meople News: Legendary Brawls

Clash of Cultures (Image by Z-Man Games)
Clash of Cultures (Image by Z-Man Games)

Z-Man Games

Games with cards, tokens and wooden discs are nice, I love them. But there is something to be said for molded plastic components. Like the cities from Clash of Cultures, for example. Sure, you could put wooden disks on a tableau to display which city has which addons, but the plastic settlement with fortress, academy temple and port is just so much more awesome. The armies, settlers and ships on the same page look just as awesome, by the way.

Upper Deck

I have a confession to make: to this day, I have trouble knowing which comics are Marvel and which are DC. I know, I just seriously damaged my geek cred. But they don’t make it easy, they’re doing so many of the same things. For example, Cryptozoic is making the DC Comics Deck-Building Game and now the Legendary Marvel Deck-Building Game (working title) is coming from Upper Deck. Unlike most other deck-builders, Legendary will be somewhat cooperative, with the Marvel villains fighting against all the players while they compete with each other. (via ICv2)

Lautapelit / Asmodee

The first expansion for the very successful – and notoriously sold out – Eclipse is named Rise of the Ancients, and that’s just what happens: the Ancients rise. These old and powerful species, with technology far beyond any player’s, have come back to the galaxy and force the player species, including four new ones, to ally against them if they wish to survive.

Fremde Federn (Image by Friedemann Friese / 2F-Spiele)
Fremde Federn (Image by Friedemann Friese / 2F-Spiele)

2F-Spiele

The teasing for Friedemann Friese’s Fremde Federn has started with the start deck you’ll receive: 3 Victory Points and 7 Moneys. The money all comes from Fatherly Friends, makes me wonder what we’ll do with the cash. Also, that IS the USS Enterprise as the hood ornament on that guy’s car. And if you click through to see them all, you’ll find that each Fatherly Friend has a different, famous science fiction starship on the hood. I can’t remember the last time I discovered a small illustration detail in a game with that level of awesomeness.

Fantasy Flight Games

As I understand it, this is one of the differences between Android: Netrunner and the original Netrunner: Character Cards, or in this case Corporation Cards. The 4 Megacorps cover every business from cloning and genetic engineering to operating the space elevator, and they have different advantages reflecting that.

We already know how to fight with our X-Wings and TIE Fighters in X-Wing Miniature Game, but not so much about the game preparation and squad building. This week, we find out how different two squads with the same point value can turn out, and it sounds exciting.

Fryx Games

The Swedish publisher is bringing Brawling Barons to Essen, a new strategic card game that sounds like it has potential to seriously annoy your opponents. Your peasants and squires, the cards you get to play initially, can be upgraded into buildings in your barony and military units, respectively. They all are worth victory points, but your military can also attack other players’ fiefdoms. It’s not a long game, but it sounds fun.

Alderac Entertainment

Smash Up, Paul Peterson’s card game struggle of zombie ninjas against pirate dinosaurs and robot wizards, will not quite make the shops in August. It won’t be a long wait though, the new date is early September. I’m looking at a copy right now, and I tell you it’s worth the wait. And if you’re going to Gen Con you still have a chance to buy a copy there. If you’re going to Gen Con, I’m also jealous.

Pirate's Cove (Image by Days of Wonder)
Pirate’s Cove (Image by Days of Wonder)

Days of Wonder

Another classic by Days of Wonder is about to make a return, at least in the US. Pirate’s Cove, originally released in 2002, will be back for Talk Like a Pirate Day this year, that is 19th of September for the uninitiated.

Indie Boards and Cards

We already talked about The Resistance: Avalon last week, the Arthurian new version of the hidden identity The Resistance. Now there is a Kickstarter project for it.

The photo of the week is from the Royal Hill of Ambohimanga, a historical site on Madagascar. The photo was taken by Olivier Lejade and shared with a CC-BY-SA license.

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