Archive for the ‘Popular Posts’ Category
‘Ghostbusters: The Board Game’ Is Coming From Cryptozoic Entertainment
Friday, October 30th, 2015
Growing up as a kid, The Real Ghostbusters was my favorite show. I even dressed up as Egon for Halloween one year. I had all the toys – the firehouse, Ecto-1, a proton pack, and a ghost trap that glowed in the dark. Of course I had the games for the NES, both 1 & 2, and I never beat both because they were hard to beat. The one thing I never had was a Ghostbusters board game because there really has never been one…until now. From Cryptozoic Entertainment (DC Deckbuilding Game) comes Ghostbusters: The Board Game.
According to the Cryptozoic website,
“Ghostbusters: The Board Game is an episodic adventure game for 1-4 players where they take on the roles of the four main characters from the original movie. It is the first officially licensed board game for the popular comedy in almost thirty years, and features artwork from Dan Schoening, artist of IDW’s Ghostbusters comic books.”
The game was actually originally a Kickstarter project from February. The goal for the campaign was set at $250K and destroyed it by raising $1.5 million with 8,396 people backing the game. In fact, that amount made the game one of the most funded board games as of February 2015. Backers should have already received their copies, but the retail version should be hitting shelves soon.
The game will also contain “47 custom (32-50mm) plastic minis, 10 double-sided game board tiles, 6 dice (5 D6 & 1 D8), 43 Tokens (Streams, Slimes, Gates, XP Trackers), a PKE Meter, 4 player cards, 6 ghost cards, and a Ghostbusters Operations & Field Manual.”
It does look very similar to Zombicide and, from the sound of things, plays a lot like the game. The biggest thing the game has going for it is that it’s the first officially licensed game based on the show. So if you don’t own Zombicide and are a fan of Ghostbusters, then this might be worth getting. If you do get, the rest will be up to you. Do you open it? Or do you put display it with the rest of your collection? You could always get two copies to do both!
Well, whatever you decide to do, you’re bound to have lots of fun proudly displaying it or playing it with your friends.
Ghostbusters: The Board Game is scheduled for release on November 11, 2015.
Source: ICv2
Tags: Cryptozoic Entertainment, Ghostbusters: The Board Game
Posted in Blog, Board Games, Featured Author, Featured Post, Popular Posts | No Comments »
Kickstarter Spotlight: ‘Blackout: Journey Into Darkness’
Wednesday, October 28th, 2015
If you want to get something done, you have to go out and do it yourself. And thanks to crowdfunding, almost anything is possible. Check out this wonderful game that we’re featuring today. It’s called Blackout: Journey Into Darkness. Imagine taking the elements of Betrayal At House On The Hill and combining it with Zombicide and an epic RPG campaign. That, in a gist, is what Blackout: Journey Into Darkness is all about.
Here is a more detailed desciption of the game:
“Blackout has players take control of one or more characters (Tracker, Engineer, Recon, Slayer) as they venture into the Northern Wastes in search of riches and glory. The game has a mission-based system which rewards exploration and combat, allowing players to level up as they progress. The base game includes enough adventures for 15-20 hours of play”
The game currently has 16 days to go in it’s Kickstarter campaign, but has blown away its goal of $39K by raising a little over $95K from over 1,000 backers. Needless to say, this game is going to be popular, and rightfully so. Blackout was designed by Richard T. Broadwater, a former action figure designer and Bethesda vet who worked on games such as Oblivion and Fallout 3. Talk about the perfect combination.
Interestingly enough, the game had been on Kickstarter two previous times. Each time, the campaign was cancelled. The first time was due to distribution issues for the European market, and the second time was due to an overwhelming response which prompted Broadwater to want to include more content into the game. Now on it’s third run, the game looks like it will finally finish a campaign with delivery expected sometime in December of 2016. However, the wait should be totally worth it. Just take a look at the game.
According to the report, the box will contain:
“…32 high quality plastic miniatures, a 48-page rule book, a 20-page campaign book, double-sided room and hall sections (representing alleyways/abandoned buildings and underground tunnel/maintenance chambers), debris markers, objectives, status counters, player cards, enemy cards, item cards, event cards, and six ten-sided dice.”
The game is for 1 – 4 players. MSRP has not been determined. FYI, the campaign has currently raised $94,828 from 1,028 backers ($92.25 /backer average). So don’t be surprised if this game ranges in the $90-$100 market.
For a more detailed look at the game as well as pledge to it’s campaign, check out the Kickstarter page here.
Source: ICv2
Tags: Blackout: Journey Into Darkness, Kickstarter
Posted in Blog, Board Games, Featured Author, Featured Post, Popular Posts | No Comments »
‘Pathfinder’ to release two new books in April 2016
Monday, October 26th, 2015
With the release of the new Dungeons and Dragons rule set, a lot of other RPGs probably found themselves taking a back seat. However, many of those systems are still alive and kicking. One such system is Pathfinder. And today, it was announced that Pathfinder has plans to release two new source books in April. These two new books will be called Ultimate Intrigue and Heaven Unleashed.
According to the report, Ultimate Intrigue was created from tons of input from the Pathfinder fan base. Pathfinder even had an “open playtesting cycle” to help make the book.
“The 256-page full-color hardcover book delves into the types of challenges that cannot be resolved through brute force or magic, but relies instead on social skills and clever plotting.”
In addition clearing things up, the book will also introduce a new core character class known as the Vigilante.
“[The Vigilatne] spends days as a respected member of society and nights avenging the downtrodden.”
Those who purchase the book will also find it to contain “new social-based character options for the game’s many skill-based character classes, rules for influencing community organizations, social combat and verbal dueling…”
The other new book, Heaven Unleashed, will be a new campaign setting that surrounds itself in politics and agendas of the celestial races. So, for you hardcore role players, this sounds like the best chance for you to show of your acting skills.
“Thirteen holy champions are featured in this 64-page, full-color softcover book, each with complete stat blocks, encounter notes and maps, and guidelines for encounters involving both good- and evil-aligned characters.”
Ultimate Intrigue will carry an MSRP of $44.99 and Heaven Unleashed will carry an MSRP of $22.99.
Both books are due out in April of 2016.
Source: ICv2
Tags: heaven unleashed, pathfinder, ultimate intrigue
Posted in Blog, Featured Author, Featured Post, Pathfinder, Popular Posts, Role-Playing Games | No Comments »
Gearing up for the Extra Life marathon
Saturday, October 17th, 2015
I can’t believe we’re only three weeks away from the big 24-hour marathon. I have to admit, I’m really nervous about it. I’m more nervous about this year’s event than last year. Last year was the first year, so I had nothing to compare it to. Admittedly, I set my expectations low because I didn’t want to disappoint myself. Fortunately, it went well – really well last year. It went so well, that I’m afraid I didn’t do enough this year.
Every time I walk into the store, though, the folks behind the counter keep telling me that they think it’s going to be big. I guess people have been asking when the event is. Maybe it’s a sign that people are excited, or it could be that I haven’t done enough advertising for it. So, in case you didn’t know, the big event is going to be on November 7 from 10 AM to November 8 at 10 AM. That’s 24 hours of gaming! Word on the street is that a Rock Band set up might make an appearance.
Something new this year is that we’re aiming to live stream the event on Twitch. I’m still working out the details as to what channel it will be on, but as soon as I figure that out, we’ll make an announcement. So make sure that you’re following the store or myself on the social medias. By live streaming the event, I’m hoping that we’ll reach a wider audience such as those who couldn’t make it to the event all together or those who couldn’t be at the event all 24 hours. I know the stream will be at the Abington store, but I’m not sure about the Plainville store. I would love to make it out to the Plainville location this year if it all possible. I’m hoping they get just as good as a turn out this year.
Donations have been a little slower this year compared to last year. A big shout out goes to Serena who’s been the only donor thus far. I understand that a lot of you have a tight budget and I completely understand. I’ve always said that if you can’t donate any money to at least share what’s going on with your family and friends. Other than that, it’s not like you have to donate a lot of money. Every dollar counts. So small donations of $5 are just as important as the donation of $100.
Last year, we smashed our goal of $1000. When I set that goal, I thought I was crazy. I should have known that the gaming community would not let me down though. Not only did we break $1000 easily, but we made it all the way to $2500. If I hadn’t been so sleep deprived, I probably would have cried. I was extremely proud of everyone. First of all, who would have believed that Derek made it all 24 hours. I have all of you to thank for that. A big reason he was able to make it was because he was motivated by everyone else who was pulling all-nighters.
A really special moment happened in the very early hours of the morning. I can’t recall what time it was. I just know that I was leaning how to play L5R. Kudos to Steve Riley and company for having so much energy at that time. In fact, we all took a photo of the “morning crew.” It’s probably one of the best looking selfies because of the meaning behind it. Now that I think of it, we should get it framed and put it up in the store. Maybe we should even start an Extra Life section with photos and other info. Hmm…
As far as this year’s event goes, some people have been asking for an event schedule. We’re still finalizing it, but I know that Werewolf will definitely be making a return. During the afternoon, the store will be hosting a previously scheduled Weiss Schwartz WGP event. If you’ve ever been curious about the game, this is an excellent chance to see how it works. I’m even going to be playing in it. At least, that’s still the plan. I’ve got to finish learning some Japanese by then. Someone get me Carl Godon!
I’m also working on acquiring items that we can giveaway throughout the event to help raise money. Wyrmwood has said that would like to work with us again. My hope is that we’ll be able to work something out in time. I’ve been slacking a bit, but I’m hoping to be able to get some local Magic: The Gathering alterists to come to the store and offer some alterations for your Magic cards. If any of you would like to donate something to the cause then let me know. You can leave a message for me on the Battleground Facebook page. That’s one of the best ways to contact me. Or you can hit me up on the Twitterverse at my personal handle or the Battleground handle.
Remember, the big event is happening November 7th as soon as the store opens (at 10 AM) and we’ll be going all the way to 10 AM Sunday. If you’re brave enough, then I invite you to stay the whole time. If you don’t think you can stay awake the whole time, don’t worry, it’s not a contest to see who can stay awake the longest, but funny things do happen when you’re lacking sleep. Or you could do what Joe Palmer did and bring your sleeping bag. Just pick a spot in the store and take a quick nap. We promise not to disturb you.
Last year was a ton of fun, and on a closing note, I just want to share what was the highlight of the event for me. We had already gone bast the 12 hour mark. I was behind the counter handing out tickets when a man approached me and ask if I was the one in charge of the event. It turns out that he had heard that we were holding the event and came down just to make a donation in person. He had a personal connection to what we were doing. So, for someone to let me know that what we were doing was connecting with people…it really makes you feel something beyond words.
If you’d like to donate to the Extra Life cause right now, then click on the banner below. Play Games. Heal Kids.
Tags: extra life 2015
Posted in Blog, Events, Featured Author, Featured Post, Popular Posts | No Comments »
This week in Magic: Looking at the new Standard
Friday, October 9th, 2015
It’s that time again. Time for another edition of This week in Magic. As you could tell, we took a little break last week because things were getting a little stale, but now that Standard tournaments have been reporting in with the latest rotation, we’ve finally got something to talk about. Last week, the SCG Open was in Indianapolis. If you were one of the many viewers tuning in, then you got to see some of the great new decks to hit the tournament scene. A quick look at the Top 8 shows that Abzan is still alive and kicking. At the same time, Jeskai and Esper managed to make the trip as well.
There were two decks, though, that really stood out among the crowd. Those two decks were a 5-color Bring to Light deck and an Atarka Red Aggro deck. Now the Atarka Red Aggro deck is something that many players saw coming. A Red based aggro deck is usually expected at the beginning of every new Standard rotation. Bring to Light was a card many were excited about, but it was unclear as to how this card would get played. Well, it seems that we finally have an answer. Let’s take a look at the list that made the Top 8.
5C Bring to Light
by Gerry Thompson – 5th place
4 Jace, Vryn’s Prodigy
4 Siege Rhino
2 Nissa, Vastwood Seer
1 Silumgar, the Drifting Death
1 Gilt-Leaf Winnower
1 Clever Impersonator
4 Bring to Light
4 Abzan Charm
2 Disdainful Stroke
2 Murderous Cut
2 Reave Soul
1 Crux of Fate
1 Ugin’s Insight
1 Languish
1 Ruinous Path
1 Utter End
1 Sultai Charm
4 Polluted Delta
4 Flooded Strand
3 Bloodstained Mire
2 Lumbering Falls
2 Windswept Heath
2 Forest
1 Wooded Foothills
1 Shambling Vent
1 Plain
1 Island
1 Swamp
1 Canopy Vista
1 Sunken Hollow
1 Cinder Glade
1 Prairie Stream
1 Smoldering Marsh
For now, we’re going to concentrate on just the core aspect of the deck. We’ll look at the sideboard another time. If you couldn’t tell by now, the key to the deck is Bring to Light. Don’t let the look of this sorcery fool you. It’s proven to be quite a powerful tutor. In a lot of the games captured on camera during the tournament, the best thing it could tutor for was Siege Rhino. It’s one thing for deck to naturally draw multiple Rhinos in a row, but playing Bring to Light essentially gives you Siege Rhinos number 5-8.
In addition to being able to stomp all over your opponent with Rhinos it has incredible reach. The deck has an unusual number of 1’s and 2’s in the deck list, but as long as you have the mana, Bring to Light can grab anyone of the limited spells in your deck. Also, thanks to Jace, you can use these spells more than once if needed.
So how do you play against a deck like this? Well, one thing is for sure, I don’t think this is an easy deck to play. This looks like one of those situations where if the person piloting the deck doesn’t know how to play it well, it could potentially implode on itself, but don’t always count on that. Bring to Light is one of the keys to the deck. If you take it out of the equation, you chances of winning increase. So, spells like Duress or anything that will disrupt your opponent’s hand may do the trick. There is also a lack of counters in the deck which means it could run into some serious trouble against heavy control decks.
Atarka Red is a deck that will probably stick around for a while. Mono Red was really hurt with the rotation of Theros and M15. So like any good deck, it adapted to the changes and has transformed itself from a burn deck to one of the most aggressive decks in the format. Let’s take a look at the list.
Atarka Deck Wins
by Brian Demars – 1st place
4 Zurgo Bellstriker
4 Abbot of Keral Keep
4 Monestary Swiftspear
2 Lightning Berserker
2 Chandra, Fire of Kaladesh
1 Makindi Sliderunner
4 Wild Slash
4 Atarka’s Command
4 Titan’s Strength
4 Dragon Fodder
3 Become Immense
3 Temur Battle Rage
8 Mountain
4 Bloodstained Mire
4 Wooded Foothills
2 Cinder Glade
2 Windswept Heath
1 Forest
As you can see, there is nothing special about this deck. It’s very straight forward – play a bunch of creatures and smash your opponent as fast as you can. Like a lot of aggro decks, there isn’t much of a late game. So, if your opponent begins to stabilize with fatter creatures, you could find yourself in some trouble. This shouldn’t be the case, though. You should be playing spells without much hesitation because you want to be able to fill your graveyard in order to make things easier when casting Become Immense. The green pump spell plus Temur Battle Rage should be more than enough to finish your opponent even if they have a blocker.
About the author
Simeon is now the Community Manager for Battleground Games & Hobbies. If you have any questions or inquiries, then you can reach him at Sims@battlegroundgames.com. He is also an avid gamer who loves to play board games and video games. He graduated college with a degree in Political Science, and now serves the public by writing about games. You can check that out here. Don’t forget to “like” him on Facebook as well. It’ll update you on all of his newest content. Best of all, you can follow Simeon on Twitter (@SimeonCortezano) for some real time hilarity. Thanks for reading!
The Extra Life 2015 campaign is underway. Donate today!
Join the Battleground Games & Hobbies community forums!
Please don’t forget to check us out on Facebook and follow us on Twitter @battleground_gh!
Tags: Magic the Gathering, MTG, Simeon Cortezano, Standard
Posted in Blog, Card Games, Featured Author, Featured Post, Magic: The Gathering, Popular Posts | No Comments »
This week in Magic: Prepping for the prerelease
Friday, September 25th, 2015
It’s that time again. Time for another edition of This week in Magic. Well, if you couldn’t tell by all the hype in the air, the Battle For Zendikar prerelease is finally upon us. This is typically the time when players who have been away from the game or who are new come out and play with everyone else. So, if you’re one of those people then you’re in luck. This week’s article is dedicated to you. We’re going to go over things you should bring with you, items you may want to purchase when you get to the event, and the new mulligan rule that will go into affect this weekend for all formats.
What should you bring?
Let me ask you a question. When was the last time you played a slightly competitive game of Magic: The Gathering? If you can’t remember or you’ve never played a competitive game, then this is the best section for you to start with. Otherwise, feel free to jump around.
One of the first things you may need is a bag. This seems obvious, but sometimes people don’t think of it because of how trivial it can be. However, you never really know what kinds of goodies you may pick up while you’re there. It’ll be nice to have everything all compartmentalized in one bag. Just remember to keep that bag close to you at all times. It’s an unfortunate piece of advice I have to give out, but one that seems to be necessary today.
Pen and paper is another great item to bring with you. Whether it be for notes, keeping your life score, or writing down someone’s phone number, having pen and paper has become essential. What about dice, you ask? Well, keeping your life total on dice is fine, but dice can be knocked over and easily turned. You’ll want to keep track of your life and your opponent’s. If you plan on becoming a more competitive player, then this will be excellent practice for future events. Get in the habit of writing things down. Even keeping notes of how damage was dealt can prove to be important.
Speaking of dice, bring some! There is nothing worse than someone going to a gaming store and not bringing dice. C’mon man! There is no excuse for this. Well, maybe, if you’re coming from somewhere and you didn’t have any on you to begin with. However, I carry dice on myself at all times just because. Also, you’re at a gaming store. If you don’t have any, then you could always buy some. That’s for another section, though. If you have dice, bring them.
Well, that’s it for this section. If you’ve been away from the game long enough, then you may not have the dice anymore, but pen, paper, and a bag you should have already.
Items you may want to buy
Here’s a small list of items you may want to get while you’re at the store. The first thing on this list has to be sleeves. Now, some people don’t like playing with sleeves and some people play with “penny” sleeves. Thanks to the “expeditions” that have been randomly inserted into packs, there is the potential to open a very pricey card. Even if you don’t open one of these cards, you still may want to consider protecting you cards. Think of it more like an investment. You’re paying good money for these pieces of cardboard and the last thing you want is to ruin them because you didn’t want to spend the few extra dollars to protect them.
Another item you may want to get is a small box to keep your cards in. I would recommend an 800-count box. These are very cheap to buy and completely worth it. You’ll thank me especially if you play in more than one prerelease event in a day. Plus it makes for a great storage unit to keep everything separated from your different events.
Speaking of a small box, how about a deck box? I know the items are adding up, but these are only suggestions thus far. A deck box will run you about $4-$5. So that’s not bad. This way you can keep your deck apart from other cards you may have collected that day from either trading or playing in other prerelease events.
Other items to consider, but are not prioritized as high as the other items I previously mentioned are a playmat and some dice (if you don’t have any).
The new mulligan rule
So, you may have been hearing about this new mulligan rule, but what exactly is it? Well here it is, straight from DailyMTG’s website.
“103.4. Each player draws a number of cards equal to his or her starting hand size, which is normally seven. (Some effects can modify a player’s starting hand size.) A player who is dissatisfied with his or her initial hand may take a mulligan. First, the starting player declares whether or not he or she will take a mulligan. Then each other player in turn order does the same. Once each player has made a declaration, all players who decided to take mulligans do so at the same time. To take a mulligan, a player shuffles his or her hand back into his or her library, then draws a new hand of one fewer cards than he or she had before. If a player kept his or her hand of cards, those cards become the player’s opening hand, and that player may not take any further mulligans. This process is then repeated until no player takes a mulligan. (Note that if a player’s hand size reaches zero cards, that player must keep that hand.) Then, beginning with the starting player and proceeding in turn order, any player whose opening hand has fewer cards than his or her starting hand size may scry 1.”
Did you get all that? So once both you and your opponent have finished taking your mulligans, starting with the first player, you can scry one card. If you have any questions regarding the new rule, there should be someone on hand to answer any concerns you may have.
Well, that’s it for this week. Hope you enjoyed this week’s article. If you think I missed something or have something to say, then sound off in the comment section below.
About the author
Simeon is now the Community Manager for Battleground Games & Hobbies. If you have any questions or inquiries, then you can reach him at Sims@battlegroundgames.com. He is also an avid gamer who loves to play board games and video games. He graduated college with a degree in Political Science, and now serves the public by writing about games. You can check that out here. Don’t forget to “like” him on Facebook as well. It’ll update you on all of his newest content. Best of all, you can follow Simeon on Twitter (@SimeonCortezano) for some real time hilarity. Thanks for reading!
The Extra Life 2015 campaign is underway. Donate today!
Join the Battleground Games & Hobbies community forums!
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Tags: Battle for Zendikar, Magic the Gathering, MTG, Prerelease
Posted in Blog, Card Games, Featured Author, Featured Post, Magic: The Gathering, Popular Posts | No Comments »
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