Game Nite Magazine Issue 30

Game Nite

Free

the magazine of tabletop gaming

November 2018

Top 10

games of essen

v

Issue # 30

Darwin kastle - Game Designer

game reviews

In this issue: Interview 26

Darwin Kastle Game Designer

mobile Review 06

Onitama For Android and iOS

abstract games 24

Ingenious by Tom M Franklin

book Review index 62

game Reviews 10

Wish You Were Here

14

Onitama: Way of the Wind

18

Master of the Galaxy

36

Hero Realms: The Ruin of Thandar

40

Shifting Realms

48

Hero’s Crossing

Reviewed Books Index

Reviewed Apps Index

Past Interviews Index

Game Review index 68

Game Review Index

Timely 4X Game.

Campaign Deckbuilder

Dragon, Pirates and more.

Wily Wizards.

04 Top 10 Anticipated Games of Essen

Interview Gallery 58

Essential Expansion.

Top 10

Mobile Review index 64

Puzzling Postcards.

Calendar 78

November 2018

Contributors 67

Game Nite Contributors

Š Game Nite 2018. All rights reserved. No part of this magazine may be used or reproduced without the written permission of the publisher.

All information contained in this magazine is for educational purposes only and is, as far as we are aware, correct at the time of release. Readers are advised to contact manufacturers and retailers with regard to the price of their products. All material remains the property of its respective creators. Opinions expressed by the writers are their opinions alone and may not reflect the opinions of Game Nite. Disclaimer: Game Nite receives review copies of games, but does not accept payment for reviews.

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Game Nite Issue #30

From across the table

Game Nite ISSUE # 30

T

he 2018 Essen Spiel show in Germany has just ended and with it comes the release of literally hundreds of games. In my Top 10 feature I list the 10 games that I am most looking forward to playing and this issue we feature one of them, an interesting 4X game by Ares Games, “Master of the Galaxy”. We hope to gain access to some of the others on the list, and if we do, you can expect to see our reviews of them in upcoming issues. With all of the interesting games released this year, there are no indications that the creativity within the industry is going to dry up anytime soon. As a matter of fact, this issue we feature a narrative puzzle game, “Wish You Were Here” by The Enigma Emporium that captures the excitement of puzzle solving and intellectual curiosity of the burgeoning Escape Room genre.

In this issue:

Cover Photograph by Serge Pierro.

Shifting Realms © Soaring Rhino

Editor in Chief/Publisher: Serge Pierro

We have added a “Book Review Index” to the magazine so that readers can have easier access to our past book reviews.

Editor:

Eric Devlin

Tom M Franklin’s Abstract Games column takes a look at “Ingenious”.

Tom also reviews, “Hero’s Crossing”.

Special thanks to Darwin Kastle for taking time from his busy schedule to share his thoughts with our readers.

The December calendar features “Shifting Realms” and provides the release date for issue #31.

If you are interested in contributing to Game Nite, feel free to contact us, as we’d love to hear from you!

Serge Pierro

Editor in Chief/Publisher editor@gamenitemagazine.com

Writers:

Photographers:

Tom Franklin Serge Pierro Tom Franklin Jeff Rhind Jeff Rhind

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www.gamenitemagazine.com Follow us on Instagram:

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@GameNiteMag

Game Nite Issue #30

03

Top 10 -

1

Anticipated Games of Essen

Forum Trajanum HUCH!

2

Concordia Venus PD-Verlag

3

Gugong Game Brewer

4

Dice Settlers NSKN Games

5

Monolith Arena Portal Games

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By Serge Pierro

6 Master of the Galaxy Ares Games

7

Architects of the West Kingdom Renegade Game Studios

8

Symphony No. 9 Moaideas Game Design

9 Blackout: Hong Kong Eggertspiele

10

Catalyst dv Giochi

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Mobile Review

By Serge Pierro

Onitama

W

hen I first heard that Onitama was going to made into an app, I was quite excited.

After all, it is a brilliant two player game that has depth, simple rules and appeals to a wide audience. Even people who have little interest in the board game hobby have enjoyed playing it. So when I saw that Asmodee Digital was producing it, I knew that there was potential for it to be a quality app. Let’s see if they succeeded.

The rules for Onitama are quite simple, nevertheless I felt it necessary to take a quick look at the tutorial to see how effective it was. I’m happy to say that it is a decent tutorial. It uses the same UI as the game itself, with an overlaid banner stating the instruction. Players are able to take their time absorbing the instruction, as there is a “Tap to continue” link that takes the student to the next part. Due to the simple rule set, the tutorial is quick and to the point and you are given the option to continue the game at the end of the tutorial.

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There is a section for Options. The sound setting includes adjustments for the sounds and music.

There is also a language selector and a Select a Skin.

The game comes with one set of pieces, but there are optional skins that you can purchase to customize the look of the game. I prefer the skin that ships with the app. There are also buttons for: Tutorial, Rules, Support and Legal.

The game uses an overhead UI that shows both players cards and a slightly angled perspective of the pawns. The cards that are available for use are displayed normally, while the unavailable cards are darkened. When you click on a card and a piece it will display the available moves on the board and you can switch between the cards and each time it will show the new set of legal moves.

It’s always a pleasure when the app plays like the actual board game and the app nails it. You select a card and one of the pawns, and then you move

the pawn to the legal destination. If you land on a square with an opponent’s Student pawn, the pawn is captured and removed from the game. If you land on a square occupied by the opponent’s Master, you win the game. The victory conditions are the same as the base game: Capture the opponent’s Master or have your Master occupy your opponent’s Temple.

The graphics/animation are fine for the game and fortunately there are no excessive bells and whistles to detract from the gameplay.

The AI for the game is “okay”. As a tournament chess player I always opt for the most difficult settings in games such as this. I did find that the “Tough to Beat” setting was easier than expected,

which is surprising considering the small amount of data available when compared to programing a chess engine. In a couple of games I purposely made an inferior move to see what the AI would do and it did a decent job of refuting my play, however, when I’m playing seriously I always seem to come out of the opening at least 2 pawns up and a strong positional advantage. The game itself is ideal for a competitive online rating system, however, we’ll have to see if this type of community will emerge.

The fact that this is a free app should aid in that quest. The difficulty section also includes “For Beginners” and “A Little Challenging” for those who are interested in working their way up to the “Tough to Beat” setting.

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07

Mobile Review

Overall I was happy that this app is now available, as the first thing that I do when I purchase a new computer or mobile device is to purchase a strong Chess program, so it should come as no surprise that a free version of Onitama would find its way onto my Android tablet. However, for me to get more involved with it I would need a stronger AI or a decent tournament/rating system. Having said that, I love the fact that I have the game available to play against even without an internet connection.

Asmodee Digital has done a wonderful job of implementing the game and creating an atmosphere in which to play it. I enjoyed the music and the UI,

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(Cont.)

as both didn’t distract from the playing experience.

Though I’m sure at some point I will be shutting off the music, due mainly to its repetitive nature.

Asmodee Digital will be monetizing the app via in game purchases. You can buy optional skins for the game, as well as the expansion, Sensei’s Path. They are available separately or as a package. Oddly enough, the package deal for costs the same as Sensei’s Path ($1.99), so you might as well get the package and receive the two skins for “free”. I’m looking forward to the possibility of having the expansion Way of the Wind (reviewed this issue) added, as it would be something that I would certainly be interested in purchasing.

I will be keeping an eye on this app and hope to see a more difficult AI emerge and see if Way of the Wind is offered at some point. Even without a truly difficult AI, I will still play a quick game when the mood strikes me. And if they improve the AI, I can then see myself investing the time and money to go “all in”, as this is a quality implementation of the board game. And for those who haven’t played the actual board game, this is an excellent opportunity to give it a try!

Version # Price: Devices:

1.1 Free Android and iOS Developer: Asmodee Digital

Recommended www.asmodee-digital.com

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Wish You Were Here

By Serge Pierro

Puzzling Postcards

W

ith all of the excitement surrounding the proliferation of Escape Rooms throughout the world, it should come as no surprise that others would want to tap into the enthusiasm. The board game industry has noted this growing trend and have released games that attempt to capture the fun and excitement of this new genre. The Enigma Emporium is offering a low cost/high value entry into the marketplace with Wish You Were Here. Let’s delve into the mystery and see what it reveals.

listing the Ages, Player Count and Time. Since my copy arrived by mail, there was a stamp over the “Time” box in the upper right corner of the envelope. The front of the envelope has a film noir feel to it. However, it is the back of the envelope that sparks our initial interest in the game, as it has a cipher with letters and numbers on it. Needless to say, you shouldn’t throw the envelope away - just in case you might need it during the course of the game.

Inside the envelope are the components of the game: the Postcards. Since this was the Kickstarter edition of the game there are six Postcards. The regular edition has only five. The sixth Postcard is considered an epilogue. Each of the Postcards measure 4” x 6”.

One of the things that makes this package so enticing is that all of the components fit inside an envelope. The Enigma Emporium could have produced a nice box, but that would have increased the final price on the product, while at the same time possibly adding nothing to There are no instructions. the experience. Instead the game arrives in a 7 1/2” x 4 3/4” black envelope. The front of the Each of the Postcards is a game in itself, a puzzle envelope has elements of a board game box, looking to be solved. With each solved puzzle

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the storyline of the game begins to unfold, On the back of the card is your standard postcard prompting you to continue to solve the puzzles layout. In this case there is a bit of a backstory for the reward of the unfolding story. on the left, whereas other cards will usually have additional puzzles here. The address area Without giving any spoilers let’s take a look at of the card has a series of numbers, which were the first card: “Wish You Were Here”. also fairly obvious as to what they represented.

I thought that this was a nice way to gently Besides the text “Wish You Were Here”, introduce the player to the game. There is also there is a word in a foreign language and four a postmarked stamp and a postmark itself. photographs against a backdrop of another photograph. I was able to solve this in a couple With the aforementioned information, you of seconds upon initially opening the envelope will start to solve the puzzles and accumulate - as it was fairly obvious to me what was the elements of the story. represented.

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Wish You Were Here

And while the first card was easy to solve, there was a problem with it. One of the clues wasn’t “real” and cost me a couple of hours of frustration trying to figure out what was wrong.

Without giving away the solution, I will just say that if you get stuck like I did, do a search on the company’s site itself, as the solution will not be revealed via Google. Which brings us to…

(Cont.)

As I progressed through the game the puzzles grew in difficulty and I was surprised and delighted at some of the cleverness of the puzzle/ solutions. It’s tough to believe that the game will be solved without needing a hint or two at site’s Clue section.

Overall this is an Excellent value for your money.

The game starts off fairly easy and becomes more difficult as it progresses. Even when you get stumped (and you will!) after seeing the solution you will be impressed by the time and effort that was put into it. Experienced Escape Room fans will inevitably be wanting to accept the challenges presented within the game and novice puzzle solvers will learn many of the techniques and solutions used in the genre which will aid them in the future.

One of the nice things about the game is that on the company site there is a Clues section.

Each of the cards are listed and then further broken down into the individual puzzles on the card. When you choose a specific puzzle you are greeted with a screen that lists Clue #1, Clue #2 and Solution. The first clue is usually pretty straight forward and the second clue prods you on a little further. The Solution allows you to continue the game and learn from the experience. Without the “Solution” to the The puzzle has been solved… this is an excellent solution I had already solved, I would have never game! been able to move past the first card. This was a bit disappointing. It should also be noted that even after you are given any of the solutions, Designers: Logan Giannini and Khiara Foss you may still have to do some “work” in order Publisher: The Enigma Emporium to get your answer.

And that brings up the only downside to the game. You will in all likelihood need to explore/ Google some of the information, even if only to confirm your deductions. So, internet access is probably a must - unless you have access to all of the methodologies referenced.

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Players: Mechanic: Ages: Length:

1-5

Puzzle

14+ 60-120 Mins.

Highly Recommended www.theenigmaemporium.com

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Onitama: Way of the Wind

By Serge Pierro

Essential Onitama Expansion

I

’ve probably mentioned it more than once, but Chess is my all-time favorite game, and when I first saw Onitama, I was intrigued, as the chess-like feel and the card usage really caught my eye. I liked the fact that it only used five cards out of the available pool of cards, which would lead to great replayability, as well as a wide variety of opening and middle game strategies. And while the base game is very enjoyable, after all we gave it an “Editor’s Choice Award” in issue #9, I couldn’t help but think what the game would be like with more cards. Not only does Way of the Wind contain more cards, but it also includes a new pawn, the Wind Spirit. Let’s take a look at what this expansion brings to the game.

The small 8 page rulebook has 4 pages devoted to learning the expansion and has several examples of gameplay. One nice feature is the inclusion of an “Alternate Setup” section that ranges from “Greater Wind Spirit” to “Lesser Wind Spirit”. Each of these variants are determined by the number of included Wind Spirits cards.

Example: one variant uses 3 Wind Spirit cards and 2 Move cards.

The expansion comes with 10 cards - 8 Wind Spirit cards and 2 Move cards. The two Move cards have no Wind Spirit elements on them and they can easily be added to the base game.

The 8 Wind Spirit cards have two diagrams on them, one for your regular move and the other for moving the Wind Spirit pawn.

The box for Way of the Wind is like a miniature version of the base game. Measuring c.5 1/2” The “eye candy” of the expansion is the inclusion x 2 1/2” x 2 1/2” the box features the same of a translucent blue Wind Spirit pawn. The magnetic flap as the original game, however, pawn is approximately 2” tall. And while it does there is no insert included in this one. look nice on the board, most players felt that it

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Game Nite Issue #30

was a “strange” piece, as it was hard to discern exactly what it was from a distance. I think this viewpoint was exasperated due in part to its translucent nature which further “blurred” the nature of the pawn.

Master or the Wind Spirit pawn as indicated by the movement on the card’s grid. However, if the player chooses to use the Wind Spirit card, then they use the top grid of the card to move either their Student or Master pawn and then use the bottom grid of the card to move the Essentially the game is played in the same Wind Spirit pawn. manner as the original. Of course the main difference being the use of the Wind Spirit and As far as the Wind Spirit itself goes, if it lands the Wind Spirit cards. on a square containing either a friendly or enemy Student pawn, it switches locations with On a player’s turn they will play one of their it. The Wind Spirit does not capture pieces. two cards as normal. If they choose to play a This proved to be one of the more interesting Move card, they may move either their Student, elements of the gameplay and one that appealed to many of the veteran players.

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Onitama: Way of the Wind

(Cont.)

The Wind Spirit cannot move into a square of fact, the additional depth that is added to the that contains a Master pawn. game is enough for me to want to only play with the expansion from now on. The depth of play Neither a Master or Student pawn may move of the “Greater Wind Spirit” variants is going to into the square containing the Wind Spirit. This appeal to veteran Onitama players. allows for some interesting blocking maneuvers.

And while the “Greater Wind Spirit” variants The Wind Spirit essentially acts as either a provided for a deeper strategic gaming experience, blocking piece or a swapping piece. the “Lesser Wind Spirit” variants were quite useful as an introduction to the expansion, as The Way of the Wind is an excellent addition to well as providing a little “spice” for those looking the base game. It really brings a lot to the table to play a slightly more interesting version of the strategically, yet at the same time doesn’t bog the base game. However, most players immediately game down with a plethora of rule changes. The wanted to add more Wind Spirit cards after simple rules and the dynamic card play allow for playing one of the “Lesser Wind Spirit” variants. the creativity and strategic implementations of I loved Onitama when it was first published the player’s to really shine. The more games that we played, the more we were able to develop by Arcane Wonders and with the introduction of interesting strategies, both offensive and Way of the Wind, that love is rekindled. defensive, using the Wind Spirit and the related cards. One of my favorite strategies was when I had cards that tended to move my pawns to the Designers: Shimpei Sato & John Rogers right side of the board, and I would then Wind Publisher: Arcane Wonders Spirit one of my pieces to the left side of the Players: 2 board and then start attacking using the cards Mechanic: Grid Movement, Hand Management that were previously “useless”.

The “Greater Wind Spirit” variants tended to last longer, as the influx of more Wind Spirit cards provided for deeper strategies. These were the variants that I actually preferred. As a matter

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Ages: Length:

14+ 15 Mins.

Highly Recommended www.arcanewonders.com

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Master of the Galaxy

By Serge Pierro

4X Experience in an Hour!

W

hile many 4X games take a couple hours or more to play, many companies have been trying to bring that experience down to a more “reasonable” amount of time. With Master of the Galaxy, Ares Games has brought an interesting offering to the table and it plays in approximately an hour. Is that enough time in order to Explore, Expand, Exploit and Exterminate? Let’s Exam and find out…

The rulebook is the size of the box and contains 20 pages. The rulebook contains the pertinent information necessary to learn the game, however, there are no “in game” examples which could have made the game a little easier to learn. One should keep in mind that this is a Russian design produced by an Italian company with the rules in English. There might have been a couple of things that were possibly lost in the translation.

The four panel board is linen finished and each Master of the Galaxy comes in an 11 3/4” x 11 panel shares the dimension of the box’s width.

3/4” x 2 3/4” linen finished box that includes a custom, black plastic insert that has nine The Supremacy Track and the tokens for the sections devoted to the game’s components. game are all of a sturdy linen finished cardboard.

The middle well is for the cards and is designed so that your fingers can reach down the sides and The four reference cards are made of a thin card remove the cards. The other wells interestingly stock and are double sided. have a recessed area for storing the tokens of the game, while the wells themselves serve as storage areas for the cubes and space bases.

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Since this is a Bag Building game, it should come as no surprise that there are four cloth bags included. The bags feature two drawstrings and the game’s logo and each faction’s icon silkscreened onto the bag. Each of the bag’s colors and faction logos match the color/design of the corresponding tokens used in the game.

The translucent plastic cubes come in five colors: blue, red, yellow, grey and clear. The yellow and clear were hard to tell apart at times.

The plastic Space Bases are molded in the color of the corresponding faction. Each of the

four factions has 9 bases: three copies of three different sculpts. The colors are: orange, purple, brown and grey.

The cards are made of a good card stock and are not shuffled during the game, as well as not being held in hand - they are placed on the play surface - so sleeving can be considered optional.

However, if you should decide to want to sleeve the cards, you will need to have clear sleeves, as the back of the cards are used to designate the deck type. There might also be an issue with the cubes sliding around on plastic sleeves. I plan to keep using them without sleeves.

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Master of the Galaxay (Cont.)

The rulebook does a good job of explaining how to set up the game. Of interest is the use of Black Hole tokens for games of less than four players. These are used to cover up areas of the board that are now inaccessible during the game. Players will also fill their bags with five of each type of Resource (cubes).

time. When the amount of Resources required is met, the Project is considered completed and you receive the pertinent reward. It should be noted that some Projects immediately “release” the Resources back into your back, while others need to stay on the card in order for the Project to be “active”.

Since this is a 4X game, it should come as no surprise that there are multiple paths to victory.

They are: have all 9 of your Bases on the board, reach level “5” on any of the Tech tracks and capture an opponent’s starting system by placing a Base on it.

Projects include: Settle a Planet, Establish a Route, Construct a Base, Placing a Base, Receive a Card, Implement a Development Card, Steal a Resource, Fulfill an Agenda and Take Part in a Conflict.

Player turns are very quick. On each player’s turn they will do the following: Gain Resources, Allocate Resources and Discard.

Players will Gain Resources phase by reaching into their bag and drawing 3 cubes.

The Allocate Resources phase is where most of the game play takes place, as there are several options available to the player. The main focus will be on placing the drawn Resources on Projects. At the start of the game you will have a Species card with 3 Projects on it. Each of these Projects are independent of each other and you may work on any/all of them at the same

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The Settle a Planet Project is the main means for adding specific Resources to your bag. The main requirement is that you need to have a Base in the System where you are going to Settle a Planet. You place a Resource on one of the Planets and receive the relevant reward. If you place a Resource that matches the color of the System, you may place 3 Resources of that type from the reserve into your bag. If you place a Resource that doesn’t match the color of the Planet, you receive only 2 of the Resource that matches the Planet’s color. Example: placing a red Resource on a Planet in a Red System will yield 3 red Resources, while a blue Resource will yield only 2. Any Resources placed on a Planet are kept there for the remainder of the game.

Establishing a Route is used to explore and expand your reach. To Establish a Route you place Resources on the spaces indicated between the two Systems that you are trying to connect.

The type of Resource used is determined by the color of the two Systems. You may choose either color, however, once you start the Route, you have to continue to use the same Resources as originally chosen. When a Route is completed it can be retained for future Base building or it can be removed with a Black Resource and all of the Resources used on the Route are returned to your bag.

you want to build a second or third Base in a System, it must still be connected via a Route.

The number of Bases that can be built in a System is indicated by the number of planets that it contains. One of the bonuses of Placing a Base is that you get to draw a card from a specific deck, depending on whether this is the first, second or third Base you’ve built in the System.

Constructing a Base is essential for trying to win the game by having all 9 of your bases on the board. The initial construction of the Base is done via the Species card that you start with. When the Project is completed, you place one of your Bases on the designated spot on the card. Some Government cards also have a Project to build Bases. Each of these cards may only contain 1 Base. However, you may start to build another one, even with a completed Base on the card, but you can’t place another Base on the card until the first one is placed on a System.

Implementing a Development Card allows you to activate the ability on the specific card.

Until it is activated, the card does nothing. It is important to note that if an opponent steals a Resource from one of your Development cards, or you choose to remove it yourself, the ability of the card is unactivated until the Resource(s) are replaced. Like the Placing of Bases, there are card rewards depending on the types and amounts of Developments that you have implemented.

To Place a Base you have to complete a Route to another System and then you may place an already constructed Base in the new System. If

Receiving Cards are one of the rewards of specific Projects. Once the Project is completed you get to take a card from the specified deck.

Fulfilling an Agenda on your Species card allows you to move the amount of spaces noted on the card on the Supremacy Track. This is one of the main means of gaining Supremacy for

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Master of the Galaxy (Cont.)

that victory type and like the Implementing of The third Phase of the turn is the Discarding a Development card, if a Resource is removed, of Cards and Placing Conflicts. The Discarding the Supremacy Track is adjusted accordingly. of Cards allows you to obtain Resources based on the amount of cards discarded. The placing As alluded to above, it is possible to Steal of Conflicts allows you to place a Conflict card.

Resources. This is done via the ability on a Note that the Conflict card is placed during this Leader card. When the Project on the card is phase, thus you can’t place any Resources on it completed, the Resources are removed from the on the turn that you bring it into play. card and place back in the bag and you then get to Steal the type of Resource indicated from The winner of the game is determined by who another player’s Project. reaches one of the victory conditions first.

The Taking Part in a Conflict action is one of the more interesting tactics in the game. Essentially a Conflict card is placed between two Systems and the player chooses what side is facing each player. This is important, as the rewards are received based on the side of the card that you are using. The Conflict is won by being the first to complete the Project on their side of the card.

There are various rewards, including, stealing Resources from the loser’s project(s), gaining Supremacy and obtaining Cards. There are two other interesting elements: when the Conflict is won you can place one of your unused Bases on the System, this does not have to be a previously constructed one, and the other is that you can target a Neutral System that is unopposed and automatically win it by completing the Project unopposed.

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Master of the Galaxy does an excellent job of distilling the 4X experience into a 60+ minute playing session. While each of the “X’s” are featured in the game, none of them are rendered deeply. Even a popular “X” such as Extermination is not a dominating feature, but a subtle piece of the puzzle. It makes for a nice introduction for those who haven’t had the opportunity to play a deeper version of the genre, as well as satisfying fans who might not want to invest several hours on a particular day and would prefer to satiate their 4X craving in an hour-plus session.

The key feature of the game is the cards.

Fortunately there is a limit of having 7 cards in play. Without this limitation the game could escalate out of control, due in large part to the power of many of the cards.

The Conflict cards were interesting, especially in a two player game, as they were often used to conquer a Neutral System in place of Establishing a Route. Everyone was also impressed with the ability to choose what side of the card you wanted to pursue and many times it was situational as to what the Rewards were and how quickly the Project could be completed.

The Black Resources were intriguing. We liked how they offered some flexibility in removing Resources from incomplete Projects/Routes, however, we hated how they would tend to clog up your bag as your Projects started to fill up with Resources. It is essential to get the Leaders that have multiple Black Resources on them and use them as a “storage facility� to thin your bag of them.

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Master of the Galaxy (Cont.)

Our main complaint about the game is that there were several turns in which a player would draw their three Resources and have nothing to do, due in large part to drawing Black Resources/unneeded Resources. Fortunately turns go by very quickly, but when it was your turn and you got “skunked” again, it was a bit frustrating.

We found the placing of the 9 Space Bases to be perhaps the most popular method of winning the game, though the Supremacy method was also quite popular. Brute force didn’t win any of our games, as the player’s usually won by one of the previous methods before a successful attack could be launched against an opponent’s Starting System.

Overall this is a game that will be hitting the table quite often, since having a 4X experience in an hour’s time is to good to pass up. The components and look of the game are all top notch and players enjoyed it every time that

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we played. If you are a fan of 4X games, then this is a game that you might want to take a look at for times when you want the experience, but are not willing to invest the time in a larger/ deeper game. If you’ve been curious about 4X games, then this is a game that will provide a good introduction to the genre. This is another quality production from Ares Games and one you will most certainly want to try.

Designers: Konstantin Seleznev & Timofey Bokarev

Publisher: Players: Mechanic: Ages: Length:

Ares Games 2-4

Resource Management, Bag Builder

13+ 60+.

Recommended www.aresgames.eu

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Interview

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Game Nite Issue #30

By Serge Pierro

• Star Realms • Hero Realms • MTG Hall of Famer Darwin Kastle - Game Designer

Thank you for taking the time to share your What games over the years have you enjoyed thoughts with our readers, can you tell us a little most, from both the point of personal enjoyment, something about yourself? as well as those that influenced your growth as a designer?

Before I became a published game designer, I was best known for being a member of the Magic the Gathering Pro Tour Hall of Fame.

Since then, I’ve designed games such as Star Realms, Hero Realms, The Battle for Hill 218, and Space Station Assault. I’m currently creative director for White Wizard Games, which mainly involves being art director and lead game designer. In my free time I love working with dogs and visiting Disney World.

Growing up I enjoyed heavy strategy games like Chess, Stratego, Axis and Allies, Risk, and Titan.

The game that helped me develop the tools to be a game designer was Magic the Gathering.

The same skill set that helped me design killer Magic decks has really benefited me as a game designer.

When the opportunity presents itself, what games have you currently been playing?

Did you start designing games at an early age? If so, do you remember what your first game design Words with Friends, Tigris & Euphrates, Star Realms, Epic Card Game, and Code Names. was like?

When I was a child, I designed a card game that involved matching wild animals, but growing up I mainly focused on playing games.

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Interview

(Cont.)

Who are your favorite game designers?

Reiner Knizia, Justin Gary, and Richard Garfield.

Is there a particular designer that you would be interested in collaborating with? If so, what type of game would you be interested in making?

I would love to collaborate with Richard Garfield on a strategy card game.

What do you think defines your “style” as a game designer, is there a specific mechanic or rule set or… ?

I design games that are easy to learn and don’t take long to play, yet pack a ton of depth, strategy, and replay value.

Seeing as how you are both a publisher and designer, how does the business side influence your Which one of your games do you consider your game designs and how does your game design best design, and why? influence your business decisions?

Star Realms. In part because it’s the most popular.

One way to define good design is determined by what has the strongest appeal to players. I took a beloved game category and added a much larger degree of interactivity, which took deckbuilding games to an important new level.

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When I design games now, I pay close attention to how well they will translate into a digital app. I also swing for the fences more. I’m trying to design games that have the potential to be home runs for White Wizard Games, since my financial success is tied so closely to that of the company.

You have specialized in designing card games thus far. Do you plan to design any board games?

Card games are obviously right in my wheel house. I’ve also spent time on tile laying games and board games. I’ve even given thought to designs for miniature games. For now, I’m continuing to make card games my focus. But if I finish a design for another type of game that I think could be a home run, we’ll publish it.

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Interview

(Cont.)

“Sorcerer” is going to be White Wizard’s first “big box” game, what can you tell us about it at this point?

The game play feels like a cross between a cool trading card game and a good combat-oriented board game. It’s not a collectible game though, everything you need comes in the box. It’s also supported by some incredible horror themed visuals and top-quality components. Like all our games we’re going to deliver the highest level of replay value and quality per dollar.

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“The Ruin of Thandar” is the first Campaign deck that you have released for Hero Realms. Do you have a set amount of decks already planned for future release and if so, how many new decks can we expect in the current storyline?

We have planned a total of seven Campaign decks for the full Ruin of Thandar storyline. So there are six more to come, including part two: The Lost Village.

In November you are running a new Kickstarter for the sequel to Hero Realms: “The Ruin of Thandar”, called “The Lost Village”. What can you tell us about this new addition to the Campaign series?

In The Lost Village, the heroes must investigate what’s happened to the people of Heart’s End. Each player will take their upgraded character from the end of the Ruin of Thandar and fight through three new Encounters.

Along the way they’ll earn more character points to improve their skills and abilities, and they’ll discover treasures including the new Magic Armor card type. There are also a few new surprises in terms of permanent new cards for the party.

We don’t want to spoil too much about the gameplay, but the first Encounter introduces one of the new mechanics of the adventure: Masters that can enter a player’s area. When this happens, the Master keeps attacking the same player over and over regardless of whose turn it is, until the Master either moves again or another player lures it away. When the Master is in your area there’s this feeling of “Someone get him off me!”

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Interview

(Cont.)

The Star Realms app has a vibrant community.

I usually have 15-30 games going at a time and participate in each week’s Arena. Are there any plans to try and bring that same interest/excitement to a Hero Realms app?

Yes. We’re going to see if we can make an app that’s even cooler, though I agree that’s a pretty high bar! We have some interesting stuff in the works for that app, but the details are hush, hush, for now.

Star Realms Frontiers is very dynamic, it really accelerates things when compared to the base set.

Are you concerned that you may have to do a reset at some point to make sure that all of the cards remain balanced?

I’m not overly concerned with that. When we design new sets, we make a point to try mixing them with the base set. We also closely compare each card we make to existing cards of similar cost to make sure they’re within a reasonable range of each other.

One of the nice things about a deck building game like Star Realms is that each card in the Trade Deck can vary a bit power-wise, since

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both players usually have a shot at it. If it works against you one game, it will work for you in another game.

I think it’s a good thing for different sets to each have their own feel to them. If Frontiers feels more dynamic than other sets and thus has its own identity and feel to it, that’s great.

The Boss cards in Star Realms Frontiers are quite interesting. What was the design process like when you had to change certain features (example: Draw a card) and translate that into a certain amount of damage?

It’s mostly an iterative process. Based on our experience we estimate what we think is a good starting point and we start testing it. Depending on how the testing goes, we make changes until we think it’s just right.

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Interview

(Cont.)

adding the Frontiers set and that will take some serious time and work, so the Command Packs won’t reach the app for awhile yet.

Is there a timeline as to when we can expect the Frontiers set to become available for sale within the app?

No. Our process for things like this are we deliver them once they’re awesome and not before. We like to avoid the trap of game

The Star Realms Command Packs are a welcome and interesting/powerful addition to the game, as they add one of the best features of Hero Realms (Character Packs) to the Star Realms environment.

Can we expect to see more of these in the future and are there any plans to port them over to the app?

We don’t currently have plans to make more of them, but we do plan to add them to the app in time. Our next big project for the app will be

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companies that announce a date for something and then end up having to work 80-hour weeks to meet that date in order to get it right. Once it’s almost completed, we’ll announce a launch date, so people can start to get hyped for it.

In the meantime, we’ll keep doing cool Arena formats each week.

Are there any other upcoming projects that you are at liberty to discuss or announce?

We have several new projects lined up in our production queue, but unfortunately, none that I’m able to discuss at this time.

What advice would you have for would be game publishers?

You can’t do it alone. You need to start with a small team of dedicated, hard-working, talented people. It also really helps to develop relationships with distributors and gamers before you’ve even released your first game.

Finding/choosing a good leader for your team is key. I’m lucky my best friend Rob turned out to be a great CEO for White Wizard Games.

What advice would you have for aspiring game designers?

Make a game that you and your friends really want to play over and over. Make a game that you would be excited to have a polished professional copy of even if no one was going to buy it. Don’t settle for “good enough”. Find an angle that will make your game stand out in a market flooded with other games.

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Hero Realms: The Ruin of Thandar

By Serge Pierro

Fantasy Campaign Deckbuilder

A

lthough it’s “older sibling” Star Realms gets most of the attention, Hero Realms has a lot to offer on its own. And now with the introduction of the Campaign package, “The Ruin of Thandaar”, it continues to show that it is an equally viable deckbuilding game. Hero Realms doesn’t seem to get the respect it deserves, but with this new package, that is about to change.

Owners of Hero Realms will be familiar with the size of the 6” x 4” x 1 3/4” box that “The Ruin of Thandar” comes in, as it is the same size as the Hero Realms box. And like the original, it comes with the same cardboard insert that divides the box in half, for storing cards on each side of the divider.

The box includes two books. A rulebook and an Adventure book.

spot illustrations of cards, but there are no examples of gameplay. The back of the book is devoted to clarifying the card’s abilities, as well as providing the layouts for the Skill Trees. And while 40 pages seems like a lot, the gist of the game is explained in far fewer pages than that.

The 36 page Adventure book is entirely devoted to the Adventure experience and is broken down into Chapters. At the start of each Chapter you are given setup instructions. Once set up, you are treated to a short story/setting for the encounter. These tend to run a paragraph or two and do a nice job of setting the mood. Some of the Chapters have additional information and at the end of the Chapter it tells you what Chapter to go to next, depending on the result of the current one. There are 16 Chapters and an Epilogue, however, you will not use all 16 Chapters in the course of the Campaign.

The 40 page rulebook does a decent job of The Campaign contains 8 oversized Master cards. explaining all of the concepts introduced in this These measure 3 1/8” x 4 3/4” and are double sided expansion, however, you are obviously expected to and linen finished. The second side of the card know how to play the base game. There are some features the upgraded version of the Master.

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The box includes a wide variety of cards that are going to be used in both this Campaign and future ones. This was a little surprising, as I had expected the set to only include cards for use in this Campaign, but there are many Rewards that can be obtained in future sets. The rulebook states that this was done so that you can plan your Skill Tree accordingly.

The rules for the Campaign are easy to implement.

Essentially the game is broken down into a Master/ Player phase. In a multiplayer game each player will first face the Master and resolve the Master’s turn and then they will take their turn. In a solo excursion, it is the same sequence, the Master goes first and then the player.

On the Master’s turn you flip the number of cards equal to the number in the upper right corner of the Master card. It should be noted that 14 out of the 16 card sides draw one card per turn and that it is easy to forget to check for the two sides that have a card draw of 2. After the card has been flipped, you check the color in the upper left corner of the card flipped and cross-reference it with the matching color on the Master card and resolve the effect. If the card drawn is a Mastery card, it is resolved as usual and then attached to the Master card. Once the number of attached Mastery cards equal the amount of Mastery icons in the left corner of the Master card, the Master card is flipped over to the other side, revealing the Level 2 version of the Master. The Master will then attack the player and their cards by according to the rules laid out in the rulebook.

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Hero Realms: The Ruin of Thandar (Cont.)

When the Master’s turn is completed, the player will take their turn. The player’s turn will follow the standard play of the base game where they buy cards and play cards from their current hand. After the player has taken their turn, play is repeated with each player having to first face the Master and then taking their turn.

experience, as it ends far quicker than expected. I was quite shocked when the game ended, as I had only used 4 of the 8 Master cards and had expected there to be more encounters and more chapters. It should be noted that even with the brevity of the Campaign, the game does offer a decent amount of replayability - if you decide to run through it as a solo game using all of the different characters. Of If the Chapter is successfully completed, the course if you play the game with a party of all of player(s) will be told which Chapter to go to next. the Characters, there is little to be had in the replay Play continues in this manner until they reach the value, unless you decide to just keep trying until end of the Campaign. you’ve faced all of the boss Masters.

Although I feel that “Star Realms” is a “better” game than “Hero Realms”, I feel that “Hero Realms” provides for a better play experience - especially when using the Player Packs - which are a must!

It is on account of the Player Packs that the game achieves its maximum potential and really provides for a thematic and captivating gaming experience, especially for those who like to role-play their characters.

The mechanics of “The Ruin of Thandar” are smooth and fluid, which provides for an environment in which players can become immersed into the storyline and not have to worry about a lot of detailed mechanisms. And the story will be the thing that will attract players to this expansion, as it is well written and draws you in. However, since the story is the game’s strength, the brevity of the Campaign throws a bucket of cold water on the

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Overall, this was a very enjoyable experience, one that I wish lasted longer. I’m looking forward to seeing what the next set brings, as I already have my upgraded Character ready to partake in the next adventure. For those interested in a solo adventure card game, you will most certainly want to take a look at Hero Realms: The Ruin of Thandar.

Designers: Darwin Castle & Rob Dougherty

Publisher: Players: Mechanic: Ages: Length:

White Wizard Games 1-5 Deck Builder 12+ 90 Mins.

Recommended http://herorealms.com

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Shifting Realms

By Serge Pierro

Dragon, Pirates, Troll King and More!

L

ike many of you, I play a lot of games. And after awhile you start to see many of the same ideas used over and over again, sometimes with minor tweaks and sometimes not. So, when a game is released and it has an interesting or innovative mechanism/concept, my eyes widen and need to know more about it. Such a game is “Shifting Realms”, which I ranked #3 in my Top 10 Anticipated Games from Gen Con in issue #27. Let’s take a look at what this game has to offer.

“Shifting Realms” comes in an 11 1/2” x 11 1/2” x 3” linen finished box that also features some spot varnishing on the logos on all the faces of the box top. There is a plastic insert, however, it is not designed for a tight fit of the components, it almost seems as though it was an “afterthought”. Each of the cavities are larger than the items stored in them, so you can expect movement if you are transporting the game.

The 8” x 11 1/4” rulebook is 8 pages long and does a decent job of explaining the game. However, there are a few sections that seemed a little unclear. Fortunately there is an online FAQ should you need further clarification. But, for the most part the rulebook should do the job. The inside cover does a nice job of giving an overview of each of the game boards and their objectives, as well as how to pronounce the names.

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There are five, linen finished, game boards.

Each of them are made of a very sturdy cardboard stock. They are double sided, with the second side displaying the “Shifting Realms” logo on the back. Before the game begins they are “shuffled” and three of them are randomly chosen to be used in the current game.

The scoring track for the game is made up of four sections that use a “jigsaw puzzle” connector to assemble them. These are made of the same cardboard as the game boards and are also linen finished.

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Shifting Realms (Cont.)

The 45 structure tiles measure 2 5/8” x 2 Setting up the game is quick and easy. The 5/8” and are made of a sturdy cardboard stock, most important element is that of choosing the though not as thick as the boards or scoring boards for the game. And while the suggestion track. They are double sided and linen finished. is for them to be randomly chosen, experienced players might want to choose the three boards The 74 cards are made of a decent card stock. for a specific experience.

Because they are not shuffled during the game, sleeving could be considered optional.

The game uses a bidding system for the player order at the start of each round. Players will There’s a ton of wooden components for bid from 0 to X gold in order to pick the card resources and scouts. These are made up of that they want. The player who chooses the “1” disks, cubes and cylinders. The Resource colors card goes first, the “2” card gets 1 Gold and goes are: yellow (Gold), grey (Stone), pink (Magic) second, the “3” card collects 2 Gold and goes and brown (Wood). Each of the player’s Scouts third, while the “4” card gets 1 Gold and 1 of are cylinders and match the plastic meeples in any Resource and goes fourth. The bidding was color: red, blue, green and black. an interesting dynamic throughout the game, as early turns benefitted from go later in the turn As mentioned above, the meeples for the game and grabbing additional resources, while late are custom designed and made of plastic, which turns the “1’ card was a priority as players were allowed them to be designed in a way that looking to implement their plan before their would’ve been harder to pull off with wood, due opponents could stop them. Not surprisingly, to potential breakage. Each of the player colors the later rounds featured higher bids. have their own unique meeple design. There are 10 meeples for each player.

A player’s turn is made up of two phases, an action phase and a resource collection phase.

The six Troll King tokens are of the same cardboard stock as the scoring track and are also During the action phase a player can take up to linen finished. three actions from a list of four. The actions are: Recruit Units, Move, Build Structures and Draw Perhaps the nicest component is that of the a Story Card.

Dragon miniature. Measuring 3 1/8” tall, the two piece mini comes already assembled and The Recruit Units action allows players to looks great. spend an action to recruit any combination of

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two units at any of the Town Hall spaces or any space that has a Structure that you control. This combination can consist of 2 Soldiers, 2 Scouts or 1 Soldier and 1 Scout.

The Move action allows you to take any number of your units at one location and move them to another location up to 3 spaces away. You can’t move diagonally and you can’t move the same units again on the same turn.

The Build Structures action is one of the main means of obtaining victory points throughout the game. Each board has an associated group of Structures. Each group contains 3 different Structures and there are 3 copies of each Structure. To build a Structure you must pay

the required resources and you must be, on or adjacent, to the type of terrain the Structure requires. Other Structures you control also count towards the adjacent factor. When the Structure is built, you receive the appropriate amount of victory points and they are tracked on the scoring track.

The Draw a Story Card action allows you to draw a Story Card from any of the stacks of Story Cards available. You are only allowed to draw 2 Story Cards per turn. These cards have four different “triggers” on them: Now, Now or Later, Later, or End of Game. Each of them are fairly straightforward, with “Now or Later” being able to be played when drawn or at a later time.

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Shifting Realms (Cont.)

Although it does not require an action, there is a Combat element to the game that uses a predetermined method of engagement and resolution. You can initiate Combat in any location in which you have Soldiers present.

When a Soldier attacks another Soldier, they are both immediately destroyed. Soldiers also protect Scouts, with one Soldier protecting two Scouts. Scouts can’t attack. There is a list in the rulebook that further clarifies each of the possible encounters and their resolution. It is a simple system to use once you are aware of the Soldier/Scout dynamic.

After a player has taken their three actions and resolved any Combat for that turn, they move onto the final part of their turn, Collect Resources. There are several places on each of the boards where players can place their Scouts for the collecting of resources. During this phase you collect the relevant Resources at locations where your Scouts are at Collecting spots or via other means, such as Troll King tokens that you have obtained.

Task cards are distributed at the start of the game to each player and are kept hidden. When the final scoring is tabulated, players will check to see if they met the demands and they will score accordingly.

Resource Scoring is simply, for every 5 Resources you score 1 point.

There are certain Story Cards that grant End of Game scoring bonuses, these are now triggered and added to the player’s score.

The person with the most points wins.

“Shifting Realms” has turned out to be a pleasant surprise. The customization of the initial game boards yields an interesting and varied playing experience. I love the fact that new game boards and the associated tiles and cards can be easily added to the game for further replayability. Even with the five boards that come with the game there is enough variety to keep players interested for quite a while. This is especially true when one factors in the starting Play continues in this manner until 2 of the location of the boards.

3 board Objectives have been met. Then the player who triggers the second met Objective While not as extreme a game as “Vast: Crystal finishes their turn, via the Collect Resource Caverns” or “Root”, there is a nice asymmetrical phase, and then the final scores are tabulated. feel to each of the boards and they each do play differently enough that there is not one strategy In addition to the scores accumulated that can be applied to all of the boards. The throughout the game, there are three endgame position and selection of the board is going to scoring categories: Tasks, Resource Scoring and influence the “game state” each time you sit Story Cards. down to play it.

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Each of the boards were interesting in their own way. It’s tough to say what the “best” and “worst” ones were, but overall we felt that the Libertatia/Pirate board was strong, especially if one player was able to dominate it, and while the Alfhelm/Elf and Anunna/Priest boards were a little less interesting than the others, that doesn’t mean they weren’t good, they just lacked the “flash” of the boards that had Dragons, Troll Kings and Pirate Ships. They all appeared to be fairly well balanced, their relative strengths had more to do with perception.

The inclusion of Combat was also interesting, as it is not an integral part of the game’s overall strategy. There were times where it was worth engaging in Combat, but since you were for the most part trading one for one, you were often not in a rush to take your units off the board.

However, there were games where Combat became an important strategy, especially if the Dragon was on the board, and yet there were games where there was only one or two instances of Combat as it wasn’t necessary for any of the player’s overall strategies.

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Shifting Realms (Cont.)

A subtle touch within in the game is the use of Scouts. At the start of the game you have a pool full of Scouts and you are looking to place them on the board to collect resources.

However, as the game progresses and you start to build Structures, you have to place a Scout on the Structure tile to indicate that you control that tile. So towards the end of the game it is not surprising to find yourself out of Scouts and somewhat hindered in a potential strategy, so the balancing of Scouts for resources and Scouts for Structures is something that has to be paid attention to throughout the game.

As with most games that feature a limited number of actions per turn, the choices become much tougher as the game progresses, as you are always wanting to do more than you are able to. This is especially true after the first game ending condition is met, knowing that the game could be ending soon.

My favorite part of the game is perhaps the triggering of the game’s end by meeting the conditions of two of the three boards. What made this most fascinating was that all of the players could be invested in one board and trigger its end and meanwhile none of the other boards were exploited, thus extending the end of the game. However, if two boards were equally concentrated upon, the end of the game can be triggered quickly after the first condition is met and the second follows suit. I enjoyed the tension of trying to figure

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out the timing of the game’s end, while at the same time trying to maximize my strategy. This was especially true in a four player game, as there are only three boards.

Overall I was quite impressed with “Shifting Realms”. It is a game that shows great potential for expansion by the addition of additional boards and cards. The only downside is that Soaring Rhino is a small company and isn’t privy to the discounts that a larger manufacturer would be able to command. Thus, the game is a bit expensive, but the production quality is quite high and there are a lot of components, so you probably wouldn’t mind paying a little extra to support a small company. But, the bottom line is “Shifting Realms” is an excellent game and is one that should hit your table numerous times and with the possibility of future expansions, it should prove to be worthy of your investment.

I’m looking forward to seeing what the future holds for the company and the game. As for now, this will be hitting the table quite often, as everyone who has played it has enjoyed it.

Designers: Craig Van Ness & Jeff Van Ness

Publisher: Players: Mechanic: Ages: Length:

Soaring Rhino 2-4

ResourceCollection, Modular Board

10+ 60 Mins.

Recommended www.soaringrhino.com

Game Nite Issue #30

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Hero’s Crossing

By Tom M Franklin

Wizards, Magicians and Wily Entrepreneurs

H

ero’s Crossing is game that combines tilelaying, dice rolling, auctions, resource management, variable character powers, and a touch of back-stabbing to even things out. It’s set in the exciting world of Wizards and Magicians and Fighters and Armories.

You, of course, are a Wily Entrepreneur, who safely supplies those daft adventurers with the things they need for their travels.

Hero cards are randomly chosen from the larger deck. Level One Heroes are laid out face up in the four spaces at the top of the common resource board, while the remaining Heroes are placed face down in the empty space to the left.

Five Level One land tiles are placed face up on the spaces below the Hero Cards. The remaining Level One land tiles placed in a pile, face down, to the left. All Level Two and Level Three land tiles are placed face down in their spots on the The game begins by shuffling the five Action board.

Cards and placing them near the common resource board where everyone can see them. Each player is then given four Level One land Players then select a color and take all of the tiles. The player chooses which of these tiles they meeple of that color, with one meeple being wish to keep, then pass the remaining three to placed on the zero on the victory point track. the person on their left. When all of the land Each player also takes one six-sided die of each tiles have been drafted, players then build their of the four colors (red, blue, white, and green) initial towns. These land tiles may be buildings, as well as two +1 Dice Modifier tokens. pasture land, or have special abilities. No two

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Photo: Tom M Franklin

buildings of any sort may ever be adjacent to to the sales buildings. And since Hero Cards one another -- they must always be separated by give you different abilities once you claim then at least one regular or special land tile. and victory points, you definitely want to attract Heroes.

There are four different resources Heroes want: Armor, Potions, Weapons, and Magic. Each of Remember, though, your opening city consists these resources have two separate buildings, one only of four tiles. This means you’ll need to grow for production and one for sales. To attract a your town quickly to beat out the competition.

Hero, you need to study the resources that appear on their card and then (a) build the appropriate At the start of each round, each player rolls their combination of production & sales buildings for four dice. The four colors of the dice correspond those resources, (b) produce the resources, then to the four resources the Heroes want, as well as (c) move them from the production buildings to the building types. (For instance, green is the

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Hero’s Crossing (Cont.)

Photo: Tom M Franklin

color of the Potions resource. It’s also the color of the building tiles for Apothecary and Potion Shop.) If you want one of these tiles and it is face up on the common resource board, you may bid on it. You must bid, however, with a green die.

Let’s say you rolled a green 3 and your other two opponents rolled a 2 and a 6. You could take your green 3 die and place it on the green building and hope no one outbids you. Or you

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could take your two starting +1 Die Modifiers and place them alongside the green 3 die for a total bid of 5 on the tile.

But what about that player with the green 6?

She could still outbid you.

One of the best mechanics in Hero’s Crossing is that the dice you roll aren’t necessarily the dice you must or will play with. If it’s your turn

Photo: Tom M Franklin

and another player has rolled a higher die for a color you want, you can trade them your lowerrolled die along with a +1 Die Modifier token, for that higher die. And they can’t do anything about it.

In each round, your turns will consist of two paired actions. These two actions will change from round to round as indicated by the faceup Action Card. In some cases, you’ll be able

to Bid on a tile and Claim a +1 Modifier for free. Or you might Produce some of a product (represented by small wooden cubes) and Get an empty Land Tile for free. Or Move products and place a Spy on an opponent’s land tile that keeps them from being able to Move their products through that tile.

At the start of each round the first player also rolls a six-sided Zoning Restriction die. This Continued on next page>

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51

Hero’s Crossing (Cont.) consists of the four cardinal directions, an “X” indicating no restrictions, and a star indicating it’s the player’s choice of direction. For the rest of the round, land and building tiles may only be built off of existing tiles in that direction.

I am not a fan of most games that involve dice.

However, with the rolled dice in Hero’s Crossing being a de facto common pool of dice (provided you have enough +1 Modifier Tokens) the dice you roll become less important than the dice everyone else rolls. (Unless you’re the last As the game progresses, Level Two land tiles will player in that round, of course.) This gives become available. These tiles can only be built Hero’s Crossing a very different feel. over an existing Level One building of the same type (or a special Foundation land tile) and allow Given the number of mechanics at work in for greater production/sales. Later still, Level Hero’s Crossing it could easily have become Three tiles will be exposed. weighed down in confusion and stilted game play. Instead, the game flows smoothly and, Hero’s Crossing requires some artful planning as aside from having that one die stolen from you you lay out your town, timing your building at just the wrong moment, is a game I have phase with agreeable Zoning Restrictions and enjoyed each time we’ve played it. trying to create the shortest paths between two like buildings. Acquiring the right combination It’s rare for a dice game to meet my “Happy of Hero Cards can allow you to do several actions to Play Anytime” standards, but Hero’s Crossing in a single turn, moving yourself forward at the has done just that. expense of your opponents.

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Designer: Publisher: Players: Mechanic: Ages: Length:

Brian Sowers

One Method Monkey 2-4 Tile Management, Auction 14+ 60-120 Mins.

Highly Recommended www.heroscrossinggame.com

Photo: Tom M Franklin

Special mention must be made of the artwork in Hero’s Crossing. Rafael Ventura, Fred Ström, and Amber Reinke have created special, pixelated artwork for each of Hero’s Crossing’s three levels.

For the Level One building tiles and Hero Cards, the artwork is all in 8-bit video gamestyle graphics. (Your meeple are also cut in 8-bit graphic style.) Level Two’s artwork goes up to 16-bit, and Level Three to 32-bit art. It really is quite impressive.

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Abstract Games

By Tom M Franklin

Ingenious

I

ngenious is a game of hexagonal dominoes played out on a large hexagonal shaped board. It is both simple to teach and learn, and yet artful enough to require your attention to win.

For each player’s first move they must place a tile against one of the six matching corner spots, with each player taking a different color. This allows for a more evenly scored first turn for each player. After that first turn, players may place their tiles against any other tile on the board or There are 120 dominoes to the game, with each on an open corner spot. After a tile is placed, a end consisting of a hexagon with five open replacement is drawn blindly from the bag. sides. (The sixth, closed side, is the side that adjoins the two halves.) Each hexagonal end Players keep track of the points scored for each has one of six colored shapes – a green circle, a of the six different colors on a track kept in front purple ring, a yellow starburst, a blue six-sided of them and in plain view of all players. Points star, an orange hex, and a red sun. All of these are scored for each corresponding color/shape ‘hexominoes’ start the game in a black bag that that matches the colors/shapes of the tile you is shaken so as to distribute the tiles. put into play.

At the start of the game each player draws six tiles, and places them on a tilted, plastic rack that the players keep in front of them. This way you can see their tiles but your opponents cannot.

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Say you place a tile with a yellow starburst and a purple ring on the board. You set the yellow starburst so two of its sides are touching other yellow starbursts. On the one side, the adjacent

Photo: Tom M Franklin

tile is a lone yellow starburst; the other side’s yellow starburst is one of a three such starbursts in a straight line from the tile you placed. This would score you four (1+3=4) on your Yellow track.

If the tiles just aren’t going your way, at the end of your turn you can choose to Dump them. This entails tipping your tile holder over, exposing all of your pieces to the other players. You then blindly choose six new pieces from the bag before putting your Dumped five pieces back into the If the purple ring side of that same tile was bag. Deciding when/if to do this can be a bit adjacent to three other purple rings, you would tricky, but it can come in handy towards the end also score points for each of the purple rings in of the game. a straight line from that purple ring tile you just placed.

Continued on next page>

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Abstract Games (Cont.)

This makes Ingenious a puzzling strategy game instead of a simple race game. There will be times when you join in the feeding frenzy over a single color that’s quickly mounting up points on the board, but you always have to balance the bigger point grabs with those lowest scoring colors on your track. The game starts off leisurely enough, but before you’re ready the available spaces start filling up and the opportunities to add to those If these were the only rules to the game, lower scoring colors start disappearing.

Ingenious would be better named Indifferent.

It would be little more than a race game played The other aspect that makes Ingenious worthy of with colorful hexominoes. However, since this your consideration is that of scalability. While is a game designed by Dr. Reiner Knizia, you some abstract strategy games claim they can know there’s going to be a delightful twist to accommodate three or four players, they rarely do so well. A fine two-player game becomes the rules. unsatisfyingly dull with more players. Ingenious, With Ingenious, that twist is that your final score however, scales equally well with two, three, or has nothing to do with your highest scoring four players. The board increases in size by one colors. Your final score is the lowest score of all additional outer hex border for each additional of your six colors. This means you could have player, and that’s the only difference. The game 17 and 18 points for five of the six colors, but is just as clever, just as brilliant, just as difficult to master with extra players. that 9 you have for blue is your final score.

Your scoring track goes up to 18. If on any turn you reach 18 on any color you call out, “Ingenious” and may take an additional turn.

However, you may not draw replacement tiles until you have completed your Ingenious turn.

(Players can make multiple Ingenious turns on a single turn if their subsequent Ingenious moves creates an Ingenious for another color).

Photo: Tom M Franklin

HIGHLY RECOMMENDED

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Interview Gallery

Steve Jackson #1

Dan Verssen #1

Paul Herbert #1

Reiner Knizia #2

Franz Vohwinkel #2

James Ernest #2

Mark Copplestone #2

Reiner Knizia #3

Peter Adkison #3

Brom #3

Chenier La Salle #4

Ryan Dancey #4

Brian Snoddy #4

Beth Sobel #5

Bruno Faidutti #5

Tom Jolly #6

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Antoine Bauza #7

Dennis Lohausen #7

Ryan Laukat #8

Chad Hoverter #9

Matt Leacock #9

Greg Isabelli #9

Ignacy Trzewiczek #10

Jacqui Davis #10

Johan Koitka #10

Jamey Stegmaier #11

Michael Menzel #11

Kay Wilke #11

Vincent Dutrait #12

Mike Fitzgerald #12

Sandy Petersen #13

Mihajlo Dimitrievski #13

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Interview Gallery (Cont.)

Bruno Cathala #14

John Ariosa #14

Friedemann Friese #15

Joshua Cappel #15

Eric Vogel #15

Mac Gerdts #16

Keldon Jones #16

Steve Finn #17

J. Alex Kevern #18

Richard Ham #18

Ludovic Roudy #19

Bruno Sautter #19

Phil Walker-Harding #20

Luke Peterschmidt #21

Mike Richie #22

Grant Wilson #22

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Curt Covert #23

Daryl Andrews #24

Rob Dougherty #25

Nestor Romeral Andres #26

Leonard Koh #27

Rui Alipio Monteiro #28

Luke Laurie #29

Darwin Kastle #30

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Book Review Index

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Issue #1

Issue #2

Issue #3

Issue #4

Issue #5

Issue #6

Issue #7

Issue #8

Issue #9

Issue #10

Issue #11

Issue #12

Issue #13

Issue #14

Issue #14

Issue #14

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Issue #15

Issue #15

Issue #15

Issue #16

Issue #16

Issue #17

Issue #17

Issue #18

Issue #19

Issue #20

Issue #22

Issue #24

Issue #26

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Mobile Review Index

Issue #12

Issue #13

Issue #14

Issue #15

Issue #16

Issue #17

Issue #18

Issue #19

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Issue #20

Issue #21

Issue #21

Issue #22

Issue #23

Issue #24

Issue #25

Issue #26

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Mobile Review Index (Cont.)

Issue #27

Issue #28

Issue #29

Issue #29

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Issue #29

Contributors Serge Pierro Serge has playtested numerous games for several companies, including

Wizards of the Coast and AEG. He has also written for Duelist, Inquest and Gamer print magazines. His award winning photography has appeared in both newspapers and magazines. He has self published a game, and has several other designs ready... but, currently finds his free time devoted to doing Game Nite.

Eric Devlin Eric has been the North East Regional Representative for Wizards

of the Coast, the brand manager of Legends of the Five Rings, as well as working with Sabretooth and Third World Games. He has an extensive background in playtesting for top companies. He has also written for Games Quarterly, Duelist, Inquest and others.

Jeff Rhind Jeff is a single father raising a 19 year-old son and a 8 year-old daughter, and slowly coaxing them into the world of tabletop gaming. He has been gaming for many years and shares his love and appreciation for the hobby by reviewing and talking about games on his web site: completelyboard. com as well as his You Tube channel at youtube.com/completelyboard.

You can also follow him on twitter @jeffrhind

Tom M Franklin Tom lives in North Carolina where he and his wife are staff to their five cats.

His writing has appeared in his agent’s Inbox and the occasional hand-written letter to friends. He grew up playing Abstract Strategy Games (back when they were simply called games) and still regards dice of all kinds with suspicion. His Board Gaming Claim to Fame is having taught over 300 kids how to play Chess. Considering he’s been playing board games for over 50 years he really should be much better at them than he is.

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Game Review Index (Isuues 1-6)

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• • • • • •

This Town Ain’t Big Enough for the 2-4 of Us Small World Stella Nova Shoot-Out Postcard Cthulhu Postcard Empire

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Tile Chess Cards of Cthulhu Samurai Spirit Golem Arcana Pairs Sutakku Timeline

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Baseball Highlights 2045 Samurai Sword Paperback For the Crown Trench Firefly Cutthroat Caverns Rise of the Zombies Shadow Throne

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Rhino Hero Attila Spurs and Sprockets Chaosmos March of the Ants AquaSphere Fidelitas Rise of Cthulhu Maha Yodah

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Animal Upon Animal Sushi Draft Stones of Fate WWII: Stalingrad Stockpile The Magnates Sentinel Tactics Flip City Space Movers 2201 Dark Tales

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Nevermore Gold West Arcadia Quest

Dragon Flame

New York 1901

Lift Off! Tesla vs. Edison

Yashima Targi

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Outer Earth 1944: Race to the Rhine Runecast Cycling Tour Witkacy Firefly: Fistful of Credits Dozen Doubloons King Down

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Game Review Index (Issues 7-12)

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• • • • • • • • • • • •

Steam Works Web of Spies Cartography Xia: Legends of a Drift System Orleans Raiders of the North Sea Hoyuk Wizards of the Wild Myths at War Ring It! Hogg Wild for Wealth The Martian Investigations

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Cosmic Run Imperial Harvest Under the Pyramids (Eldritch Horror Expansion) Bomb Squad Through the Ages: A New Story of Civilization Luna Biblios Dice Trekking the National Parks Fuse Skulldug!

Horrible Hex

• • • • • • • • • • • •

Cuisine a la Cart Foragers The Shadow Over Westminster Scoville Valeria: Card Kingdom Onitama Knit Wit Worlds Fair: 1893 Flip City: Reuse Gruff The Walled City Empires at Sea

• • • • • • • • • • • •

JurassAttack!

Oh My Gods!

Looting Atlantis 13 Days Apotheca Tiny Epic Galaxies Automobiles Daxu Slaughterville Kheops Scoville: Labs Ancient Conflict Treasure Chest

• • • • • • • • • • • •

Dr. Eureka Stockpile: Continuing Corruption Sugar Gliders Dawn of the Zeds: Third Edition Vast: The Crystal Caverns The Networks Grifters Trajan Conspiracy!

Secrets of the Last Tomb Best Treehouse Ever Matryoshka

• • • • • • • • • • • • •

Imhotep In the Name of Odin Centauri Saga Draconis Invasion Dastardly Dirigibles Flamme Rouge Haspelknecht Hansa Teutonica Star Trek Panic Theomachy Commissioned San Ni Ichi Small City Game Nite Issue #30

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Game Review Index (Issues 13-18)

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• • • • • • • • • • • • •

Kanagawa Lunarchitects Hero Realms Santorini Vinhos: Deluxe Colony Sun Tzu Bermuda Crisis Tavarua Explorers of the North Sea America San Allies Crisis

• • • • • • • • • •

Hanamikoji Element Villages of Valeria Mansions of Madness 2nd Edition 7 Wonders Duel Oceanos Herbaceous A Feast For Odin Schotten Totten This Belongs in a Museum

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Ninja Taisen Space Invaders Dice!

The Dresden Files Card Game Pyramids Quests of Valeria Amun-Re Cultists of Cthulhu Magic Maze Knot Dice The Cohort Crazier Eights Pandemic: Reign of Cthulhu

• • • • • • • • • • • •

7&7 March of the Ants: Minions of the Meadow Honshu Web of Spies Saga of the Northmen Tournament at Camelot Haspelknecht: The Ruhr Valley Plague Inc. Zephyr Terrible Monster 5ive Duress

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Fantasy Realms Space Race Isle of Skye Unearth ION Escape from 100 Million BC Battle for Souls COG Near and Far Terraforming Mars Caverna: Cave vs. Cave Pocket Mars Terra Mystica Hafid’s Grand Bazaar

• • • • • • • •

The Climbers Whistle Stop The 7th Continent Witches of the Revolution Viral Sentient Road Hog PeltaPeeps

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Game Review Index (Issues 19-24)

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Game Nite Issue #30

• • • • • • •

Mini Rails Nightmare Forest: Alien Invasion The Ruhr Summit Seikatsu Tulip Bubble Covalence

• • • • • •

Joraku Michael Strogoff Minute Realms Castle Dukes Rajas of the Ganges Cytosis

• • • • •

Ancestree Exodus Fleet Tak Mistborn: House War Expedition: RPG Card Game

• • • •

ShutterBug Divinity Derby Wakening Lair Planet of the Apes

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Vast: The Fearsome Foes Vast Miniatures Expansion Vast Bonus Cards Wildcatters Alexandria Tzolk’in

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Gretchinz!

Button Men The Flow of History The Game of Nines

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Game Review Index (Issues 25-30)

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•

•

• •

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Dicey Peaks Coldwater Crown Thanos Rising Peak Oil Wordoku

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Zombie Dice: Horde Edition Codenames: Marvel Fog of Love Cthulhu Dice

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Gearworks Grackles Maiden’s Quest The Veil

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Outpost: Siberia Outpost: Amazon Root Planetarium

• • • • •

Shards of Infinity Blood Rage Mistfall: Chronicles of Frost

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•

•

•

• •

Wish You Were Here Onitama: Way of the Wind Master of the Galaxy

The Manhattan Project: Energy Empire

Barker’s Row

Hero Realms: The Ruin of Thandar

Shifting Realms Hero’s Crossing

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