Category: Previews

03/14/14

GARPA 40 – GrogHeads Advanced Research on Projects Advisory

This week, GARPA has some nifty little strategy games for you to check out.

 

The Ancient World  (Red Raven Games)
$21,000 or $15,000, ends 3 April 2014

From the creator of Eight Minute Empire comes a new civ-builder set in the ancient Mediterranean with a box full o’ cards that cover trade routes, combat, knowledge, and building.  Red Raven’s artwork is some of the best thematic art on the market, and although it’s a light worker-placement game, it feels like your civilization is rising from nothing to dominate the neighborhood.  At $50 for a copy, this is a good deal for a game that’s likely to become a staple of any game group that’s not exclusively grogs.  Go see the Kickstarter page and get a load of the game, and some gameplay videos.

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02/28/14

GARPA 39 – GrogHeads Advanced Research on Projects Advisory

Our running late on a busy Friday brings you this week’s GARPA!

Board Games

SUPREMACY 2020 – Superpower Game of Nuclear Brinksmanship (Command Post Games)
$17,700 of $15000, ends 15 March 2014

An old classic reimagined for a new superpower age, Supremacy returns as the 2020 version with its ever-tense mixture of resources, nukes, conventional armies, technology, and back-stabbing fun.  Make no mistake, this is a high-strategic-level game that won’t have you pushing battalions and brigades around.  You track your missiles, and missile interceptors, along with navies and resources and nary a grunt in sight.  Stretch goals have already added international terrorists to the mix, and bring you a set of pieces to add Brazil as one of your superpowers.  Check it out and get your pledges in.

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G39-carcThe Adults of Carcassonne (Carcassonne Shop)
$7200 of $7000 goal, ends 9 March 2014

Ever been in the middle of a board game and thought “Man, I could use a drink!” ?  How about a game that answers “Sure!”  Tje Adults of Carcassonne is an unofficial expansion (though they are official “accessories”) that swaps meeples for shot glasses, and game tiles for mug coasters.  Yep, this is the pub-friendly Carcassonne for the drinking gamer.  Go ogle the fun at their Kickstater page, and get your gamedrink on.

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02/14/14

GARPA 38 – GrogHeads Advanced Research on Projects Advisory

This week’s GARPA? A truckload of new games on Kickstarter, and some wargaming, too!

Board Games

GBACW: Twin Peaks (GMT Games)
p500 – not there yet!  Pre-order price $41

Building off of one of wargaming’s most enduing game systems (TSS first rolled out in 1976), Twin Peaks govers the battles of Cedar Mountain and South Mountain, in the fall of 1862.  It’s two games in one, and both part of the series that all ACW gamers already know and love.  There’s a high level of complexity in the system, but that’s the tradeoff you make for the high degrees of realism and fidelity you get.  It’s the seventh GMT game in this series, so you know what you’re getting into for art and design.  Jump into the GBACW series with this while it’s on pre-order; hit GMT’s site to make your pledge.G38-twin

 

Storm over Dien Bien Phu (MMP)G38-storm
p500 – 156 of 520 needed, preorder price $33

The last gasp of the French in Southeast Asia, the decisive 1954 battle set set the stage for dramatic shifts in warfighting for the next half-century.  MMP’s game gives players the familiar “Storm Over ____” system to jump into their game quickly, and augments gameplay with a deck of cards.  The world was shifting from a WWII warfighting mindset ot something much more recognizably “modern” and you can game it out on your table if you pop over to MMP and place a pre-order for the game.

 

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01/31/14

GARPA 37 – GrogHeads Advanced Research on Projects Advisory

This week’s GARPA?  A few nifty KickStarter projects, and the pre-order of a reprint that’s kicking butt.

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Ares Magazine (One Small Step)
$18,200 of $25,000, Ends 3 February 2014

Remember Ares Magazine?  The guys over at One Small Step sure do, and they’re bringing it back.  They’ve got a KickStarter project to, well, kickstart the printing and distributing of the new magazine.  They promise to include a game in each issue, and the first issue is a War of the Worlds-inspired alien invasion of London.  You can also pick up the fiction-only version of the magazine, if you’re interested in saving a few bucks and skipping the game.  But hurry – time’s running out on the campaign, and they need some help to get over the final hump!  Head over to KickStarter and get your pledge in now >>

 

Board Games

G37-HunterThe Hunters – 2d Printing (Consim Press and GMT)
278 Orders on p500 – Not there yet

This well-honored game from Consim Press – it ran away with two categories in our Readers Choice Awards – sold out the first printing rather quickly, and demand for a second printing has been building.  Take command of a U-boat and patrol your way to glory through the dangerous waters of WWII.  It’s a solitaire game, so you always have an opponent, and take its inspiration from the venerable B17 Queen of the Skies game for the feel of the game the designers were after.  It’s on p500, and with a successful print run already under its belt, it’s unlikely to need 500 orders to make the cut, but it cold still use some nudging from y’all to move it along, so hit the p500 page and make your pledge today >>

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01/18/14

GARPA 36 – GrogHeads Advanced Research on Projects Advisory

Hey, it’s still Friday somewhere…

This week is an all-tabletop-gaming week, even though they aren’t all games, per se.  Read on, friends!

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VCS: Salerno, Multi-Man Publishing

Multi-Man Publishing is kicking out a new series of games called the Variable Combat System, and Salerno is the first title.  Amphibious assaults, coordinated actions across multiple maps, and alternate histories that include options for airborne assaults, and different commanders.  Awesome Eskubi artwork, revolutionary mechanics, what are you waiting for?  Head over to the pre-order page and plunk down your shekels.

 

Earthdawn RPG, FASA Corporation
$28,600 of $10,000 goal, Ends 12 February

The original ’90s-era Earthdawn was lavishly-illustrated and notoriously fiddly.  The reboot looks fan-freaking-tastic and promises to play just as good as it looks.  The risk setting was always the hallmark of Earthdawn, and the Kickstarter campaign includes all manner of add-ons, upgrades, and stretch goals that build out the world, from new adventures to location sourcebooks.  You can pick up poster art, hard- or soft-cover books, and, for a cool $1200, play an eight-player game with the creator by video chat.  Or, you could just check out the Kickstarter page and order a copy of the game. Continue reading →