MysteriumAsmodee Digital has announced that digital version of both Libellud‘s Mysterium and Horrible Games‘ Potion Explosion will be coming in December of this year.

Mysterium will be released for both the PC and mobile devices in conjunction with Playsoft Games. Prices for iOS and Android will be $6.99 and Steam will be $9.99. 

Potion Explosion will be available for iOS and Android for $6.99, and is being published with the help of Studio Clangore.

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Second Look—Storyline: Scary Tales

Second Look - Boardgame reviews in depth. Check out that cat.This Second Look is going to be a bit shorter than normal. That’s because I’ve already reviewed Storyline: Fairy Tales and Storyline: Scary Tales is the same game, just with a spooky theme. Scary Tales comes with 30 new narrator cards, 100 new story cards, and 21 spooky tokens. Just like the original the box contains two storylines.

“It was a dark and [Feature] night.”

So the first story begins.

I’m actually a bigger fan of Scary Tales than I was of Fairy Tales. The gloomy setting and spooky art are right up my alley. There’s nothing overly scary here, it is a family game after all, but there’s plenty of haunted manors, vampires, horsemen, curses, and slimy cards to satisfy the Halloween season. The new token set, shaped like coffins, contain icons like gravestones, a witch’s hat, and skulls.

Scary TalesScary Tales can also be combined with Fairy Tales to create even more fantastic stories, and it really works well. We’ve actually had a great time using narrator cards from one game with the story cards from another. Mixing them all together is really the best way to play, though

Storyline: Scary Tales is available now, and I highly recommend picking it up. Pick both Storyline games up. They’re perfect for family game night and work well down to around age 5 or 6. If you’re only going to pick up one, Scary Tales would be my first choice.

A copy of Storyline: Scary Tales was provided free for review by Asmodee.

 

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scarytailsThe second game in Asmodee’s StoryLine series, Scary Tales, will be hitting shelves in time for Halloween this October. Scary Tales will be a stand-alone game, but is fully compatible with StoryLine: Fairy Tales. This new boxed set includes 30 new narrator cards and 100 new illustrated story cards, all with spooky themes like vampires, mad scientists, mysterious swamps, haunted chapel, and more.

I had a blast with Storyline: Fairy Tales with the kids, and can’t wait to get Scary Tales mixed in for a little holiday fun.

 

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wr02_sample_no-boxJust announced, and demoing at Gen Con, Asmodee’s new version of Citadels be updated and expanded, containing twenty-seven characters and thirty unique districts. Coming out in Q4 of this year, the new version of Bruno Faidutti’s classic will retail for $29.99

I’m ashamed to say I’ve never played the original. I’m going to make sure I rectify that when the new version hit stores. Everything about this new edition is looking great, and if it follows in the footsteps of other Windrider releases, I’m sure it will be.

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Logo_AsmodéeAsmodee Group is in the process of acquiring yet another game publisher, F2Z Entertainment, including the latter’s design studios, Z-Man, Plaid Hat Games, and Filosofia. Terms were not revealed but closing was said to be expected “in the coming months.”

Interestingly, the deal will unite two leading titles of the board game resurgence, Catan and Carcassonne, under one publisher (for English and French, at least).

Next!

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Finding Dory Games

A new Disney Pixar movie means of course lots of opportunities to play along with licensed games at home.

Closest to its inspiration is the Finding Dory See Search Game from Spin Master ($25). The board in this one represents the ocean floor but in order to see what’s there players will have to look through diving goggles with special lenses. After drawing a card, players all at the same time search with their goggles to find the matching symbol.

Finding Dory See Search Game

Spin Master subsidiary Cardinal Industries has a Finding Dory Floor Memory Match Game ($16) and a Finding Dory Pop-Up Game ($15). Also the Finding Dory Shell Collecting Game ($17) in which players use Dory fishing poles to try and grab shells as they snap open and closed while spinning around the pool.

Finding Dory Floor Memory Match Game

Finding Dory Pup-Up Game

Finding Dory Shell Collecting

Hasbro has Finding Dory Guess Who ($15) and Finding Dory Operation ($20). On its way is a Finding Dory Monopoly Junior ($15).

Finding Dory Guess Who

Finding Dory Operation

Also shipping soon is Finding Dory Spot It ($13) from Asmodee.

Finding Dory Spot It

From Mattel there’s Finding Dory Uno ($6).

Finding Dory Uno

Outside the U.S., Ravensburger’s put out Finding Dory Surprise Slides (£12), a spin-and-move game in which sections of the occasionally flip to vary the path. Ravensburger also has a Finding Dory Memory game (£4).

Finding Dory Surprise Slides

Finding Dory Memory Ravensburger

Finding Dory Don’t Wake Hank (£20) from Bandai is a kind-of balance game. The goal is to place pieces on Hank’s tentacles until they collapse.

Finding Dory Don't Wake Hank

More matching games, but appropriately waterproof, are available from Cartamundi, Finding Dory Pairs (£11), and Jumbo, Finding Dory Bath Memo Game.

Finding Dory Pairs

Second Look—StoryLine: Fairy Tales

Second Look - Boardgame reviews in depth. Check out that cat.Take a popular party-game mechanic, turn it into a kids game with a fairy tale theme, and you’ve got StoryLine: Fairy Tales, the first in what I’m guessing will be a line of StoryLine games. I was a bit skeptical of this one, but had a great time playing it with my kids

Storyline comes with 30 Narrator cards that cover two different stories. Then there’s 100 story cards, 20 each of 5 different types. Each turn a different player takes the role of Narrator and flips over a Narrator card for the story they’re playing. The card will dictate what type of cards the players need to play to continue the story. Each player starts with one of each of the five card types, and will also draw an extra of the type needed for the round. Then the players each play the appropriate card face down. The Narrator chooses a card, and whoever played that card gets a token.

StorylineThe tokens are the only part of the game I’m not 100% on board with. If it were as simple as the player with the most tokens wins, then that’d be fine. That’s not the case. Tokens are awarded to players face down. Some are worth 1, 2, or 3 points. Others have special rules, like a boot that’s worth nothing or a crown that lets you take 2 more tokens to score. This means that a player with the least amount of tokens can still pull a win with a lucky hand of tokens. My kids were kind of upset with this too. It seems a bit too random, and was a bit of a buzz-kill at the end of the game.

Overall we had fun. The cards are beautiful, the gameplay simple, and there’s some pretty funny card combinations that can take a more traditional Fairy Tale and really turn it on its head. We may just stick with counting actual tokens, and not using the points and special token powers.

A copy of StoryLine: Fairy Tales was provided free for review by Asmodee 

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Second Look—Crossing

Second Look - Boardgame reviews in depth. Check out that cat.Asmodee has a lot of companies under their belt now, and one of those is Moonster Games, publisher of Crossing. Crossing is a game where the peaceful fantasy races of the world come together to snag as many Life Stones as possible by any means necessary. The Summer Solstice is the one time of year they’re not so kind to each other.

The goal of the game is simple. Get as many Life Stones as you can, before the supply runs out. You do this by simultaneously pointing to mushrooms with stones on them. The problem is if another player pointed to that mushroom you both get nothing. Toss into the mix that you can point to a player’s stash to steal it during a turn, and things get a bit more crazy. Have a ton of stones and thing someone might try to steal them? You can cover them instead of pointing to a tile to protect them, but you’re giving up a turn to snag more stones.

pic2797773It’s hectic, and fun, and really quick. It’s simple to learn for almost any age, though I’ve found that the 8+ age rating might have more to do with maturity than the ability to play. My 6 year old was getting really upset when his gems were stolen, and started to have pretty bad anxiety during play. My 9 and 10 year olds had a blast, and were able to laugh off losses in their fun of playing. My little guy has stated he wants to try again, so I’ll see how well it goes next time with him. After a few plays, having a better understanding may help him with his fear of losing stones.

Overall the game is a blast, is short, and everything can be tossed into the included bag an carried around quite easily. It’s not a game you can focus a whole game night around, but it’s great for short bursts with the kids. At around $25, it’s in a good range to just pick up and play with the family, and I recommend you do so if you’ve got small ones in the house.

A copy of Crossing was provided free for review by Asmodee Games.

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Asmodee Launches New Studio

Windrider GamesAsmodee is launching a new game design studio, Windrider Games, which the company describes as “dedicated to developing and producing an array of fun, engaging games for players of all ages… games [ranging] from reimagined versions of classic Eurogames to entirely new and innovative designs.” While that doesn’t really narrow the field much, Windrider’s first three titles are Knizia classics taken from the Fantasy Flight Games portfolio: Samurai, Tigris & Euphrates, and Ra.

The first two are currently available and the last, Ra, is scheduled to hit retail in the third quarter.

Ra Windrider Games

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Asmodee has acquired the Worldwide English-language licensed publishing, commercial and brand rights to Catan from Mayfair Games. They’ve created Catan Studio, a division dedicated to the development of the brand content for Catan.

There will be a transisiton period where Mayfair will continue to distribute the English version of Catan, after which Asmodee North America for the U.S. and its partners outside of the U.S. will handle distribution.

Stéphane Carville, CEO of Asmodee Group said: “I am very proud and honored that through this acquisition, we are becoming a major partner to Catan GmbH and the Teuber family, with whom we share common values and vision for Catan and for board games. Our commitment is to highly contribute alongside Catan GmbH and their partners in pursuing the growth of the Catan brand through our new studio, Catan Studio Inc. steered by Pete Fenlon and his team. With Catan we are expanding our IP portfolio with an absolutely iconic board game and brand, one that will join and strengthen the gaming experience we provide.”

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