Brainstonz is the only non-trivia based game from McWiz.

It’s got a wooden board and pretty polished stones which fit into drawers built into the board. The board is a 4×4 grid with 8 different symbols.

The first player places one stone, and then players in turn place two stones each. If you place either of your stones such that you occupy both of the same symbols, you get to remove one of your opponent’s stones. First to get four in a row wins.

Can’t speak for the play value, but it looks good on the coffee table.

• 0 Comments

It’s not every day that you see a game subtitled “a gravity strategy game”. Briarpatch’s Newton’s Apples falls* into the same category as more familiar games, such as Stay Alive and Kerplunk, but with a bit more strategy than either of those two.

The game seems to be marketed at children slightly younger than those who can actually appreciate the rules, which (or so I’ve heard) are slightly complex: when you can move gates and apples depends on the patterns in which the gates and apples find themselves. The object is to get all of your apples to the bottom before your opponent can do the same.

* ha ha

• 0 Comments

ProFantasy Software has released City Designer 3, an add-on for the latest edition of the company’s Campaign Cartographer application. Campaign Cartographer is a professional-quality computer-aided-design package for drawing maps, particularly for use in roleplaying games. With City Designer to assist in the process of making local area maps, you can specify such fine level of detail as the direction of light and the size and shape of each house. Or you can let the program do the work for you, automatically orienting buildings to the street and laying out whole streets with as few as two clicks of the mouse. The symbol library provided with City Designer includes features in a variety of styles (e.g., Fantasy, Sci-Fi, Present-day, Gothic, Orcish, Elvish and Classical) and can be exported for use with other software.

Campaign Cartographer really does make it possible for the general user to produce professional-looking maps. But there still is a learning curve. Most experienced users recommend the series of tutorials as the first step for new users. Another source of good information and ideas for map-making with any tool is the Cartographer’s Guild.

• 0 Comments

Red Dragon Inn 2, new from from Slugfest Games, is a stand-alone board game that can also be used as an expansion to the original Red Dragon Inn. Both pick up where the typical dungeon adventure leaves off. After killing the monsters and taking their treasure, it’s time to head back to the inn and lighten the load of loot with some drinking and gambling. This new version includes four adventurers (Dimli the Dwarf, Eve the Illusionist, Fleck the Bard, and Gog the Half-Ogre), as well as a complete set of drink cards, player mats, counters, gold, and markers. Alternatively, by combining with the first game, you can play with up to eight.

• 0 Comments

Udo Grebe Gamedesign has started taking preorders for their new game, For President 2008.  From the website:

• The Democrats and Republicans are divided by a deep gap of controversial political concepts. The economy, the war in Iraq, America’s dependence on oil imports, alternative energy concepts, and other major events which shaped the actual campaign are represented in a card driven game system.
• In For President 2008 you take the role of Team Obama or Team McCain. The contest is fought out on an electoral map of the United States as it stands in 2008.
• Preview Map: Both the candidates and their VP use markers in the game for their campaigns. Both teams can campaign in each state or make federal campaigns affecting national opinion. For President 2008 puts an emphasis on the battleground states that may decide the outcome of the elections. As with the real election, the challenge is to adapt your campaign strategy as the ground shifts beneath your feet. There are never enough resources and time is too short to do everything that needs to be done. You will have to make priority decisions about where to expend your efforts to propel yourself into the White House.
• For President 2008 will also offer “What if” options. What if Hillary Clinton would be the Democrat Nominee? What if Hillary Clinton would be the Democrat VP and more…

The rules for the game aren’t posted, but based on the components, it seems to be a very light card-driven wargame. For President will be released after the US election if the preorder total is reached (this is on the P500 system) and will retail for 49.99€ (or 31.50€ for the P500 price).

• 0 Comments

Mongoose Publishing has announced the availability of the Traveller Developers Pack as a free download from their website.  The developers pack contains everything developers and publishers need to create expansions for the venerable game, including:

• Fair Use Policy
• Logo License
• System Reference Document
• Foreven Free Sector Logo License (for expansions set in the Third Imperium)

The licenses cover both commercial and non-commercial use and replace any previous licenses as well as covering previous versions of the Traveller system.  Personally, I’m glad to see some formalized competition with Wizards of the Coast’s OGL and GSL.

• 0 Comments