Experiment 7 is develop, with license from Wizards of the Coast, a Dungeons & Dragons-themed virtual-reality Chess game. Dungeon Chess (for Samsung Gear VR and Oculus Rift) will feature animated game-play, a variety of environments (like the Yawning Portal tavern), and iconic D&D monsters as Chess pieces (e.g, dragons as kings, beholders as rooks, drow as pawns, and mind-flayers as bishops).

Remote multiplayer and AI opponents will be available.

Release of Dungeon Chess is planned for later this year.

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A group of adventurers gather in an imagined tavern…

In this case, however, the adventurers are players rather than characters, and the tavern is a virtual environment developed by AltspaceVR for the purpose of playing Dungeons & Dragons.

The environment is more than just a virtual tabletop, though one of those is included. It’s a three-dimension computer-based game room modeled on the stereotypical fantasy tavern. In it, players meet remotely and can roll dice, consult rule books, and manipulate terrain tiles and miniatures on a tactical battle map.

Essentially, it does the same thing as existing virtual tabletop applications but with the added benefit of providing players the suggestion that they’re really sitting together playing face-to-face.

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Splendor is now available for PCs via Steam. And Days of Wonder has upgraded the game (iOS and Android) with a fourth challenge pack, Saint Petersburg, based on Russia in the 13th-17th centuries.

Orchard Toys has ported some of their games for preschoolers to iOS.

Reiner Knizia’s Lost Cities card game is getting a virtual reality edition (Samsung Gear VR and VRFocus).

Dr. Knizia is also the designer of Dice Monsters, being brought to iOS by Timecode.

Hammerfall Publishing has launched Warhammer 40,000: Regicide on Steam. The game combines 40K, Chess, and gore.

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