21 Feb
Posted by David Miller as Card Games, Modern Board Games
If nothing else came out of Toy Fair for Playroom Entertainment, it’d still be great news that production of Killer Bunnies has resumed and the whole line of murderous-rabbit card games should be back in-stock on store shelves soon.
But of course that wasn’t the only news from Playroom. The company is moving ahead with several new products in 2016.
Pass the Pandas (spring, $12) is a light, cute dice game with the simple goal of getting rid of all your dice. Everyone rolls. Pandas are passed. Water dice are out. Blanks you have to keep. And any that land bamboo go in to a kind-of roll-off to see with whom they end up.
Playroom’s Geek Out line of trivia games gets an edition, Geek Out Family (spring, $20), populated with questions that should be easier for kids.
Another trivia game coming from the company plays off the current obsessive concern with spoilers. In Spoiler Alert (June, $20), players attempt to get their partners to guess the names of movies, TV shows, books, and songs. Every one they can do within 60 seconds, not using a list of specific “spoiler” words, earns 10 points. Alternatively, they can go ahead and use one of those words, which will certainly make the guessing easier, but at a penalty of 1 or 5 points, depending on how good a clue it is (proper names are never allowed). For example, if the title is Star Wars, then “light saber” is a giveaway at -5 points.
Costume Party Assassins (spring, $30) has players trying to guess which character meeple belongs to which player based on how they move the other meeples around the board.
Three Little Birds (May, $20) is a cooperative game for young children. The goal is to get the birds back to the nest. But with every card offering two or more ways to move them, the players must discuss and come to agreement on which they choose together.
Sherlock Deluxe (May, $15) plays the same as Playroom’s previously published non-deluxe memory-and-move card game. This one, though, has a few additional cards and a cute Sherlock, dog detective, pawn.
17 Feb
Posted by David Miller as Card Games, Modern Board Games
Playroom Entertainment recently delivered the super-sized, all-inclusive Killer Bunnies Deluxe Edition. Next up for the company’s perennial best-selling line is Killer Bunnies: Heroes vs. Villains, a comic book superhero themed set. In comparison to previous Killer Bunnies games, the victory conditions for Heroes vs. Villains will be significantly less random. No more collecting carrots. The winner is the first player to collect four bunnies in the Bunny Circle and four cities in the City Circle.
But of course there will be more to Playroom in 2013 than just Killer Bunnies. Shipping in the second quarter will be two games based on J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Hobbit and Lord of the Rings books. And later in the year, we’ll see three games celebrating the 50th anniversary of Puff the Magic Dragon.
Previously published by Fantasy Flight Games, The Hobbit Board Game is a family adventure and activity board game. As players move around the board, they must answer riddles and recite poetry to collect jewels, which are needed to defeat the dragon.
A new Lord of the Rings Card Game requires players to assemble groups of characters (i.e., collect their cards) in order to attack enemies with matching colors. Victory points are earned for each bad guy defeated.
Puff the Magic Dragon Board Game is for ages 3+ and cooperative—everyone plays Jackie Paper. The players’ goal is to collect a set number of gifts and deliver them to Puff before he’s moved through the eight verses of his song. On their turns, players can move either forwards or backwards the number they’ve spun on the spinner.
The Puff the Magic Dragon Sing Along Memory Game and Puff the Magic Dragon Land of Honalee Card Game are both matching games. The first involves matching song lyrics in order. The second is a cooperative game with pictures.