Veritas Games (aka Lee Valentine), creators of the Powerstorm CCG, as well as the ridiculous print-and-play game Zombies Want Fluffy, have also created five abstract games. They are available in two game sets, one with three games, and one with two games.

Rochambeau Twist contains variants on the the three classic games of Chess, Checkers, and Tic-Tac-Toe. The twist is that each player controls three types of pieces: rock, paper, and scissors. Each game uses the RPS concept in a unique way.

Box of Rox contains two games played on a 10×10 grid. One is a simple connection game, and the other a placement/capture game.

Both sets come with board and pieces.

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Violence is an art piece RPG, not meant to be played. It was created by Greg Costikyan as a satirical attack on the business practices and unspoken assumptions of RPGs. In his words:

Violence is intended to be a good read, but not really intended to be played, though I’m told people have. It’s a lot like D&D–you roll up a character, then wander corridors, kick in doors, and kill what you find on the other side. Only instead of taking place in a fantasy “dungeon” it takes place in a modern apartment building, and instead of killing “monsters” you kill other humans beings with hopes and dreams and aspirations. And instead of being a “hero,” you’re an evil sadistic murderer. Which of course raises the question of what those D&D characters are really doing, and why.

Which is a springboard for many questions about violence in the RPG genre, which is the point.

(source, download [PDF])

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Four girls in Indiana, Pennsylvania, turned their Candy Land themed Christmas party into a benefit for the $1,100 for the Make-a-Wish Foundation.

Their parents were initially resistant to the idea of a large Christmas party, until the foursome came up with this idea. Now you know how to convince your parents to let you throw a big party. And now you know one of the few good things Candy Land has done for the world.

(source)

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Squale’s latest game, Paleo, is now available, which gives me the opportunity to present their previous game: Dart Wars. Both are distributed by Asmodee.

Like Paleo, Dart Wars combines kinetic skills with a strategy war game; in Paleo, you flick your armies, while in Dart Wars, you toss your darts at the board. Where you hit is where you can invade, subject to some additional rules.

Funny, but darts look a lot like bombs, making this game rather closer to reality than I would like.

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Joe and Dave Herbert are two guys planning to sell a board game called Triviathon, but they took a detour to make an ad for a contest Doritos ran. The chosen ad would be played during the Superbowl.

The brothers’ ad not only played during the most costly advertising time slot of the year, but it topped USA Today’s Super Bowl Ad Meter contest, beating out firms like Anheuser-Busch, who probably spent a whole lot more on their ads.

Watch the ad below:

Triviathon is a whole family game ala Cranium.

(source)

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Z-Man Games has issued its fifth newsletter, and they finally created a group that lets you subscribe to it.

So what’s in it?

• News on a reprint of Ideology The War of Ideas
• A traitor variant for Pandemic
• News on a Duel in the Dark expansion: Baby Blitz
• Hints about two games: Elemental Wars and Canterbury. And a list of other upcoming 2009 releases, including reprints and expansions for Pandemic, Reef Encounter, and Ubongo.
• Conventions, interviews, and designer advice

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Hope springs eternal among publishers for success with print game magazines. So while some are calling it quits, OgreCave reports from D&D Experience that Goodman Games is launching Level Up, dedicated to 4th Edition and licensed under the GSL. Included in every issue (quarterly to start with) will be new monsters, new character options, an adventure, and a “Dear Archmage Abby” column.

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Not known as the height of convention season, there are, nevertheless, a number of good opportunities in the next two months, including:

Winter War, February 6-8 in Champaign, Illinois

DunDraCon, February 13-16 in San Ramon, California

Orccon, February 13-16 in Los Angeles, California

Dreamation, February 19-22 in Morristown, New Jersey

PrezCon, February 25-March 1 in Charlottesville, Virginia

Fear the Con, March 6-7 in Saint Charles, Missouri

GameStorm, March 26-29 in Vancouver, Washington

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