Category Archives: First Impressions
GrogHeads First Impressions of Stars in Shadow
Screenshots of snake-people swashbuckling around the stars ~
Boggit, 26 May 2018
Developed by Ashdar Games Inc and published by Iceberg Interactive
I’ve been meaning to have a look at this game for some time now and finally have got around to it. Playing Emperor “Gritok the Devourer” of the Gremak Empire – an aristocratic race of four-eyed cobra alien slavers – I took to the stars in a huge Galaxy to try my luck as the mean and nasty imperialist snake people!
Here’s a collection of screenshots from my early expansion into the stars, which gives you an idea of how the game is presented, as well as the sort of options available to players. I liked the artwork, which unlike a lot of space games is nice, bright and colourful – and even a bit cartoony – which added to the fun. I liked what I saw with this game, which reminded me of the classic Master of Orion 2 in terms of gameplay. A big plus is that it is simple to play like Master of Orion 2, yet had sufficient depth to keep my attention.
So here we start at our home planet of Gremal. We’ve already made life a misery for the poor Enfi race that shares our planet having enslaved those centuries before. Now we have a chance to enslave other species to our will.
Arms & Ambition – Playtest Report
GrogHeads had a chance to check out a pre-release playtest of the new Arms & Ambition boardgame ~
Chris Caran, 15 November 2017
This weekend while attending the MACE convention in Charlotte, I had an opportunity to sit down with Brad Warren and play his new wargame, Arms and Ambition. The game is in development, but very polished so far – a beautiful vinyl mat, 3D printed pieces, and professionally printed cards. Only the rules and documentation are still in developmental mode.
In the game, you play one of eight noble families vying for the throne after the ruling dynasty collapses. Each family has starting territory and “family ambitions” – victory conditions specific to the player. The overall goal is to gain 100 victory points and declare yourself the new king. You have starting units and each territory you own (represented by a card) has an income value.
Deep Thoughts on Field of Glory 2
Are the roots of FoG2 found in tabletop minis? ~
Jim Owczarski, 11 November 2017
There’s not an awful lot of point in doing a straight review of a game like “Field of Glory 2” (hereafter FoG2) in a venue like this one. After all, we are a fairly aware lot and share information about the games we get, like, and dislike quickly. By now, you have all likely heard the game is the best of its kind in this generation (it is) and that it surpasses its only real competition — Interactive Magic’s much-admired “Great Battles” series. Were this the whole story I’d recommend slapping an “Order of the Hex” on the thing and moving on.
I think, though, many reviewers have missed the importance of FoG2’s roots in tabletop miniatures gaming, roots that have made this such a remarkably strong offering. Therefore, I would like, in place of a proper review, to point out five things that FoG2 took from the world of little lead men that make it so very special.
Victory and Glory: Napoleon – First Impressions!
Glory is fleeting, but obscurity is forever. – Napoleon Bonaparte, Emperor of the French ~
Boggit, 30 April 2016
Developed by Electric Games, and Published by Matrix/Slitherine
Victory and Glory: Napoleon is a strategic level game covering the Napoleonic Wars. It offers six start points during the Napoleonic Wars, each preceding one of the major campaigns in the wars, with the player cast in the role of Napoleon. To win the player must either make peace – or survive as an individual from becoming a prisoner or battle casualty, and make it to the scenario end turn. If you get that far, your performance throughout the game is qualitatively assessed in terms of victory or defeat.
A very pretty menu screen. Here’s hoping the rest of the game is too.
First Impressions!
Order of Battle Pacific: Morning Sun
Airboy dives into the continental side of WWII’s PTO ~
Avery Abernethy, 5 March 2016
Click images to enlarge
Morning Sun is an expansion to Order of Battle: Pacific requiring the base game to play. Morning Sun adds a single long Japanese Campaign where you command a core force plus auxiliaries in an attempt to conquer China. The Sino-Japanese War was the longest campaign in World War 2 and has received relatively little attention from war game designers.
