Monday, June 2nd, 2014
At ACD Games Day – an annual event held by ACD Distribution, owned by Hall of Fame Magic the Gathering player Bob Maher Jr., CoolMiniOrNot shared details about the planned release of Dogs of War, a new European-style board game they will release in the fourth quarter, according to retailer news website ICv2.com.
Designed by Paolo Mori (Libertalia, Augustus), Dogs of War is a game of intrigue and backstabbing, set in a steampunk Renaissance universe. Players take the role of captains of private armies, deployed in favor of rival noble houses. Players use their Dog of War to help them win influence, battles and if needed, betray the house they’ve sworn allegiance to. The goal is not pure military power, but rather to amass power by getting rewards from houses, amassing gold and troops, and gaining influence with the most successful houses.
The box will contain 30 plastic busts of the 5 Dogs of War and their player screens, 50 soldier cards (4 types), 32 tactical cards, 72 house influence tokens (for 6 houses), 36 coins, 60 victory point tokens, and a configurable tile-based game board. The game is for 3 -5 players.
The game was funded on Kickstarter at the beginning of May, and raised $66,703 from 1,139 backers ($58.56/backer).
If this board game sounds sweet, let us know when you stop by your local Battleground Games & Hobbies! Special order available.
Tags: ACD Game Day, Board Games, Dogs of War, Euro Game, ICv2.com, Kickstarter, New Release, Steampunk, TableTop
Posted in Blog, Board Games, Featured Post, Store Related | 1 Comment »
Wednesday, May 28th, 2014
Popular hobby industry new website ICv2.com reported yesterday that Wizards of the Coast announced plans to release Basic D&D as a free PDF downloadable from its website in July, coinciding with the release of the D&D Starter Set.
In an article on their website, Mike Mearls, senior manager for the Dungeons & Dragons research and design team, outlined the material that would be included in the Basic D&D download, comparing it to the D&D Rules Cyclopedia of previous editions, but without as much detail. “We want to put D&D in as many hands as possible, and a free, digital file is the best way to do that.”
The release will cover the basic core of the game, including material needed to create characters and advance to 20th level. It will cover basic classes (cleric, fighter, rogue, wizard) and essential subclasses, as well as basic race options (dwarf, elf, halfling, human). The introduction is positioned to steer players toward purchasing more extensive material in the Player’s Handbook, Monster Manual, and Dungeon Master’s Guide. But, Mearls also states, “Basic D&D is the true heart of the game and could easily provide a lifetime of gaming.”
When the Player’s Handbook releases in August, Basic D&D will expand to include essential monsters, magic items and DM rules to run the game, as well as rules for different settings (wilderness, dungeon, urban). When storylines like Tyranny of Dragons launch, Wizards will make new PDF’s available that provide the rules and stats to run the adventures tied to the story. This way, Mearls says, players are not required to purchase any of the core rulebooks or the Starter Set to participate in adventures.
The free distribution of rules is another example of WotC’s strategy of free sampling to get people involved in the new Dungeons and Dragons; the company is also making the first part of the adventures in its D&D Encounters organized play storyline events free.
For more information on the upcoming D&D releases and organized play, see “Wizards of the Coast Announces Changes to D&D OP.“
Tags: D&D Next, Dungeons & Dragons, Free Basic D&D, ICv2.com, PDF, Role-playing Games, RPG, Tyranny of Dragons, Wizards of the Coast, WOTC
Posted in Blog, Board Games, Dungeons & Dragons, Featured Post, Role-Playing Games, Store Related | No Comments »
Wednesday, May 28th, 2014
Wizards of the Coast has released details for changes coming to the Dungeons and Dragons Organized Play program, now titled the D&D Adventurers League, which will accompany the release of Dungeons & Dragons Fifth Edition according to hobby news website ICv2.com. In addition to the new name, Wizards has announced a new three-part program with overarching storyline themes (D&D Encounters, D&D Expeditions, and D&D Epics), as well as a new monthly scheduling and reporting structure for stores.
Each storyline event, in this case, The Tyranny of Dragons, will begin with a D&D Epics kickoff event hosted by Wizards at a select major conventions. For Tyranny of Dragons, this event will take place at Gen Con Indy in August. The goal of the event is to create buzz about the new season of OP, and get players excited to head back to stores to participate in the weekly D&D Encounters or D&D Expeditions sessions.
D&D Encounters will be the baseline store events, presenting the first portion of each storyline published adventure in an organized play kit. The kits, which are free to participating Wizards Play Network (WPN) retailers at Gateway level or above, will introduce players to the main storyline and provide enough play to get players from 1st level to about 5th level. Afterwards, players may continue by purchasing the rest of the adventure from stores, or participate in other play programs. For the first season, the adventure will lead to a purchase of Hoard of the Dragon Queen, the first adventure published for the new edition of D&D.
The redesigned kits support up to 20 players and four Dungeon Masters, and will include gameplay aids and new components like certificates for special items or awards, table tents, blank character sheets, and more. The adventure portion will be available as a complimentary PDF from Wizards.
D&D Expeditions play is intended for higher-level character play, either for experienced players or those that have completed the D&D Encounters portion of OP. The organized play kits are available free to any WPN retailer at Core level or above. Each month, these smaller monthly kits will contain a series of “convention-style” adventures, usually one-offs (about 4 hours), and certificates for special items in the adventure. Stores are encouraged to use these kits to support local convention events, and contact Wizards’ retail support team if they require more than one kit.
Scheduling and reporting will be updated for the August D&D Encounters session, and qualifying stores can begin scheduling on June 8. On July 8, scheduling opens for the September D&D Expeditions sessions, as well as that month’s D&D Encounters. The process for reporting D&D Play has been simplified as well: stores only need to enter their DMs and add players as a list now, rather than table by table.
What do you think gamers? Do these changes to the Dungeons & Dragons organized play program sound interesting? Let us know in the comments below!
Tags: D&D Adventures, D&D Encounters, D&D Next, Dungeons & Dragons, ICv2.com, Organized Play, Tyranny of Dragons, Wizards of the Coast
Posted in Blog, Board Games, Dungeons & Dragons, Events, Role-Playing Games, Store Related | No Comments »
Wednesday, May 21st, 2014
Paizo announced details on its next set of Pathfinder Battles miniatures, according to hobby industry news website ICv2.com. The Lost Coast set will release in November.
The Lost Coast set will contain 45 figures, and unlike previous sets, will not be based on characters from a specific Pathfinder Adventure Path, as previous sets Reign of Winter and Wrath of Righteous were. Instead, this release will be a broad-based set based on multiple Pathfinder RPG products, but with a specific focus on the popular region of Varisia, which has been the setting for previous Adventure Paths and other releases.
The set will include monsters, heroes and humanoids inspired by previous releases, as well as new monster types not yet released in this figure line. The case incentive figure will be the “Gargantuan Shemhazian Demon,” which is also the largest figure produced to date.
Each Lost Coast booster contains 1 large figure and 3 medium/small figures. The Lost Coast Standard Brick contains 8boosters (32 total figures.) The Lost Coast Standard Case contains 4 Standard Bricks (32 boosters, 128 figures).
Tags: ICv2.com, Miniatures, Paizo Publishing, pathfinder, Pathfinder Battles, The Lost Coast
Posted in Blog, Board Games, Featured Post, Miniature Games, Pathfinder, Role-Playing Games, Store Related | No Comments »
Wednesday, April 2nd, 2014
Hobby channel retailer news website ICv2.com reported last week that Bushiroad will release the new Angel Beats! Re: Edit expansion for its Weiss Schwarz TCG. The expansion will include a Trial Deck and Booster packs. Both will release on July 25th. This set will introduce a new foil pattern for R and RR rarity cards.
The set is based on the Angel Beats! anime and game series. The story takes place in the afterlife, and focuses on Otonashi, a boy who has lost his memories after dying and is enrolled in an afterlife school. Otonashi is asked to join the Afterlife Battlefront, an organization fighting against God for imposing cruel fates on the students during life. The series blends action, humor and music.
The 50-card Trial Deck will contain 21 types of cards including three exclusive cards. A randomly selected deck in each display will have 1 RRR holo card (3 designs) or 1 SP Gold foil signed by Japanese voice actress Kana Hanazawa, who played Kanade. The decks will include a rule sheet, deck manual, playbook and playmat. The decks are packed six to a display, with eight displays per carton. The English Edition does not include gold/silver campaign coupons.
The booster will include 117 types of cards, as well as 36 parallel cards. Gold foil chase cards featuring autographs from Japanese voice actresses will be randomly inserted into packs. Each booster includes eight cards, with 20 boosters per display. Four rubber playmats are included in each carton. The English Edition does not include gold/silver campaign coupons. With this set, English and Japanese cards may be played together in tournament formats (except in Japan).
The Weiss Schwarz: Love Live! Trial Deck and Booster are due to release in May. Bushiroad has also introduced US organized play for the game this year, which you can enjoy each and every Saturday at Battleground Games & Hobbies in Abington, MA! Please see our event calender for additional details.
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: Angel Beats!, Anime, Bushiroad, CCG, ICv2.com, New Release, TCG, Weiss Schwartz
Posted in Blog, Card Games, Events, Featured Post, Store Related, Weis Schwartz | No Comments »
Tuesday, April 1st, 2014
Retailer news website ICv2.com announced today, that the Kickstarter for a new board game based on The Walking Dead comic series was canceled on Saturday, around a week before the funding period was to complete. The project creators announced that they’ve “agreed to an exclusive distribution deal with Diamond/Alliance,” which led to the decision to cancel the Kickstarter.
“Given that we now have an amazing distribution deal with the perfect distribution partner, we don’t feel comfortable continuing to ask for funding money through Kickstarter,” the creators announced in an update. The game will now be solicited by Diamond Comic Distributors and Alliance Game Distributors.”
Backers had pledged $31,830 of the $81,100 goal before the project was canceled, and the project creators had noted that pledges had dropped off.
The Walking Dead: The Prison Board Game, is described as a “stand-alone sequel to the hit 2011 game Robert Kirkman’s The Walking Dead: The Board Game, published by Z-Man Games.” The Z-Man game did well, but was often out of print and was eventually eclipsed by the game based on the TV show, published by Cryptozoic Entertainment. This gives another chance for a game based on the comic to come to the fore.
Artwork is by Charlie Adlard, with game design by Keith Tralins through his Megagigaomnicorp, which was the company he used for his first game, based on the Lost TV show. Also involved are Matt Wang, co-founder of Top8mangic, who worked on the Z-ManThe Walking Dead Board Game, the Chaotic TCG, and many other games; Brian David-Marshall; and Jason Greeno.
The game will include a board, 90 Encounter Cards, 20 Follower Cards, 30 Goal Cards, 15 Room Cards, 6 Starting Character Portraits, 6 Bases, a rulebook, 6 starting character player sheets, 4 Blue Hero dice, 4 Red Warrior dice, 4 Green Scavenger dice, 1 Black Ammo die, 96 Zombie tokens, 24 Fatigue markers, 15 Secured markers, 12 Resource markers, and 6 Leadership Point markers.
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: ICv2.com, Kickstarter, The Walking Dead Board Game, Z-Man Games
Posted in Blog, Board Games, Featured Post, Store Related | No Comments »
Social: