Numenera: Strand is a new short film from Valdes/Eriksdotter (Sweden) based on the Ninth World setting of Monte Cook Games’ Numenera RPG.

The Numenera brings promise of power, of knowledge, of true understanding. But what happens when such things come to a man before he’s ready for them?

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Monte Cook Games and Margaret Weis Productions are joining Wizards of the Coast in offering hosted licenses for third-party publishing. Like WOTC with the Dungeon Masters Guild for Dungeons & Dragons, the two companies are working with DriveThruRPG to set up special online storefronts, launching this spring, where anyone will be able to upload and offer for sale digital products that make use of the Cypher and Cortex roleplaying game systems.

A hosted license—where an open game license is tied to the use of a publisher-sponsored marketplace—allows a publisher to collect royalties on related sales and to provide some degree of oversight.

In the case of the Dungeon Masters Guild, the license also provides for broader use of the original publisher’s intellectual property (such as campaign settings). However, whether such expanded access will apply to either the Cypher System Creator Program or the Cortex Plus Creator Studio, remains to be seen.

Margaret Weis Productions’ announcement did state that the new program would replace existing arrangements for Cortex Plus Fan Product and Cortex Plus Official Licensed Products.

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The publisher of Numenera and The Strange has a new RPG project, one meant specifically for children. Called No Thank You, Evil!, the game is low-complexity that also scales with the age of the players. Its setting is a generic fantasy-land in which the players help make up the obstacles that challenge their characters.

Already with a strong reputation in the genre for its Deadlands game, Pinnacle Entertainment is developing a weird-west RPG based on The Sixth Gun comic books (of course employing Savage Worlds). The story follows six ancient pistols with mystical powers, including the ability to remake the world. Backers can get a book, inserts for Pinnacle’s generic game-master-screen, and Sixth Gun miniatures.

Twizmo Games’ bold claim of “the next big strategy board game” aside, Tak Tak does appear to be an abstract worth exploring. Played on a 6×7 grid, the game takes the traditional approach of having players try to move their pieces to the opponents side of the board. With 10, 20, 30, and 40 point pieces in each of three colors, though, a player is able to capture and bring along for the ride any adjacent piece (their own or their opponent’s) that has a matching number or matching color.

Il Gioco del Ponte (The Battle for the Bridge) is a board game based on a festival and challenge held annually in Pisa, Italy. The event pits teams from the north and south sides of the Arno river against each other in a shoving-contest to move a 7 ton cart. The board game based on the event appears relatively simple to play but carefully handcrafted to be as much an art-piece as a game.

Simon Foster’s Patreon project supports his map-making for fantasy roleplaying games. He’s scheduled to produce 2-3 per month, which along with some information on the monsters that live in the illustrated locations, he intends to assemble in to a Book of Lairs.

Dino Dude Ranch is an introductory strategy game about ranching dinosaurs. The game features simple resource-management and set-collecting mechanisms appropriate for light family play or as a stepping-stone for children to more complex games. Players roll dice to collect different types of food, which in turn allow them to attract and feed various species of dinosaurs.

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The winners of the 2014 Origins Awards, as given out by The Academy of Adventure Gaming Arts & Design at the Origins Game Fair, are:

• Best Game Accessory—Space Gaming Mat from HC and D Game Supplies
• Best Game-Related Publication—TableTop
• Best Historical Miniatures Rules—Fields of Fire from Proving Ground Games
• Best Historical Miniatures Figure or Line—Fate of a Nation: Arab Israeli Wars from Battlefront Miniatures
• Best Historical Board Game—1775: Rebellion from Academy Games
• Best Traditional Card Game—Love Letter from AEG
• Best Collectible Card Game or Expansion—Pokemon Black & White Legendary Treasures from Pokemon
• Best Miniatures Rules or Expansion—Marvel HeroClix Avengers vs. X-Men Starters from WizKids
• Best Miniatures Figure or Line—Malifaux: The Guild’s Judgement from Wyrd Miniatures
• Best Roleplaying Game—Numenera from Monte Cook Games
• Best Roleplaying Supplement or Adventure—Night’s Watch from Green Ronin
• Best Family, Party or Children’s Game—Three Little Pigs from Iello
• Best Board Game—Trains from AEG

[via Bleeding Cool and Ogre Cave]

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