Tag: Board Games

08/20/13

Interview with Jim Crabtree of Lock’n’Load

When GrogHeads’ Editor Jim Zabek saw that Lock’n’Load redesigned their website last week and launched a new crowd-funding pledge system he knew he had to chat with Jim Crabtree, Lock n Load’s new Business Director.

 

Jim Zabek (JZ): Wow, so there are several big developments going on with Lock ‘n’Load.  Let’s start with why you decided to get involved with Lock’n’Load. Did you wake up one morning and think, “I’m going to work at game company?” Why specifically Lock ‘n’Load?

Jim Crabtree (JC): No, I actually came across the opportunity by accident.  I have been gaming since I was young and never stopped. One night I was out playing games with a few buddies, and I said, “I would love to do this full time”.  My friend told me he knew a game company that was for sale, so I made a few phone calls and spoke with Mark Walker. Mark was a joy to talk to, and we were very excited about what we could do as a team. I really love LNL games, and I am really looking forward to see what the future of the company holds.

 

JZ: As the founder and driving force behind many of the game designs, what will Mark Walker’s role be going forward?

JC: I am running the business side of LNL, and making sure the day-to-day operations run smoothly. Mark is our lead manager of designers and developers. Mark is doing what Mark does best – designing and developing games.

 

JZ: Tell us about your new website!

JC: Our new website is lnlpublishing.com, and our old url will redirect you to the new site. We offer boxed and downloadable products.

Our systems will keep complete history of what the customer purchased, tracking numbers and access to download links. We also offer LNL Gift cards for download. The website features a Wish List, Customer Support Desk system, and forums.

We added an Article page to LNL that allows members to write strategies, reviews, create scenarios, and share them with other members on our site.

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08/16/13

GARPA 25 – GrogHeads Advanced Research on Projects Advisory

With a chill in the air this week it is clear that the seasons are changing again. Soon we won’t have to feel particularly guilty about gaming or reading inside since the weather won’t be as cooperative. Peruse our below roundup to get some good ideas on interesting games and other swag to pickup to help you keep your seasonal affective disorder at bay!

 

Books

Dean Putney’s World War I Album

$82,631 pledged of $50,000 goal

Funding ends Thursday, September 5

PutneyStQuentinYes I usually cover games but this is special. Dean Putney of San Francisco has a literal treasure chest full of over 1000 photographic negatives of his great grandfather’s military service in World War I. Not only that, but his great grandfather, Walter Koessler, fought for Imperial Germany on the Western front, a perspective not covered as well or as often in English histories of the war.

The negatives, some stereoscopic, look incredibly vivid, even when viewed on the internet. Putney found over 1000 of them, all preserved and protected in a family attic in southern California, just recently. His great grandfather was an architect before the war started, and served in the German artillery as a lieutenant. He was a skilled photographer, and after the war left Germany for Hollywood, CA where he became an art director in the booming U.S. movie industry. His skill is immediately evident when viewing his pictures, which feature recognizable equipment, locations and even some aerial shots.

The images, besides being of technical high quality, are also notable for how expressive they are. Even from the few samples shown on Putney’s Kickstarter page, the mood from the outbreak of war in 1914 through subsequent years (it looks like his great grandfather served through the entire conflict) deteriorates noticeably. Images flow from young kids horsing around in a festive atmosphere in summer 1914 through to the grim reality of combat as time goes by. The images are very good at expressing the change of emotion. For grogs interested in German history, the First World War, or even just photography as a medium, Dean Putney’s Kickstarter project is something very special.

PutneyTrenches

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08/7/13

Go To Games: 7 Wonders

Brant Guillory, 7 August 2013

For a lot of people, their “go-to” game is the game they boot up on the computer when they have time to kill in the evenings, or over a weekend when they’ve got the game on TV and want to safely ignore commercials.  And while I have a few casual “go-to” games in the digital world, I would be remiss if I failed to extoll the virtues of my tabletop “go-to” game for multi-player gatherings: 7 Wonders.

 

For most wargamers, 7 Wonders barely registered on their radar.  A fast-playing European production, 7 Wonders has an abstract combat mechanic, and one that can be safely ignored and still result in a resounding victory.  With so little battlefield relevance, it’s not wonder that many grogs steered clear of 7 Wonders when it was released.  Their loss.  Seriously.

7WONDERS_3D

The core schtick of 7 Wonders is a play-a-card city-building mechanic where players use resources to build parts of their cities, including attempting to build one of the Wonders of the Ancient World.  The original game came with players’ boards for the widely-acknowledged 7 Wonders of the Ancient World, but subsequent expansions (including a brand-new pack of boards) give players almost 20 options around which to build their cities, including the Colosseum, The Great Wall, and Stonehenge.

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08/5/13

2012 Charles S. Roberts Award Winners

CSRLogo1As announced last week at WBC, here are the winners of the Charlies for games released in 2012.

Best Ancient to Napoleonic Era Board Wargame: The Battle of Fontenoy (by Paul Dangel), Clash of Arms Games

Best Post-Napoleonic to Pre-World War 2 Era Board Wargame: Bloody April (by Terry Simo), GMT Games

Best World War 2 Era Board Wargame: Red Winter (by Mark Mokszycki), GMT Games

Best Post-WW2 Era Board Wargame: Andean Abyss (by Volko Ruhnke), GMT Games

Best Pre-20th Century Era Computer Wargame: Levee en Masse (by John Welch), Victory Point Games

Best 20th Century Era – Modern Computer Wargame: Battle of the Bulge, Shenandoah Studios

Best Science-Fiction or Fantasy Board Wargame: Star Wars: X-Wing Miniatures Game (by Jeffrey Kniffen), Fantasy Flight Games

Best Science-Fiction or Fantasy Computer Wargame: X-Com: Enemy Unknown, Firaxis 2K Games

Best Magazine Game: Beyond Waterloo (by John Prados), Against the Odds magazine (ATO)

Best Desktop Published (DTP) / Print-and-Play / Postcard Game: City of Confusion: The Battle for Hue, Tet 1968 (by Paul Rohrbaugh), High Flying Dice Games

Best Expansion or Supplement for an Existing Game: Festung Budapest (by Bill Cirillo), Multi Man Publications, Inc. (MMP)

Best Board Game Graphics: The Battle of Fontenoy (by Charles Kibler), Clash of Arms Games

Best Computer Game Graphics: Battle of the Bulge, Shenandoah Studios

Best Professional Game Magazine: C3i, RBM Publications

Best Amateur Game Magazine: 1914 Dispatches, Oregon Consim Gamers

Best Historical/Scenario Article: 1914 – A postwar Solution for Austria-Hungary’s Mobilization (Michael Resch C3i nr 26)

Best Game Review or Analysis Article: For the People – Defending the Union (by Dave Dockter and Mark Herman), C3i Magazine

James F. Dunnigan Design Elegance Award: Dean Essig

Clausewitz Award HALL OF FAME: Brian Youse

What are your reactions?  Tell us here >>

08/2/13

GARPA 25 – GrogHeads Advanced Research on Projects Advisory

GARPA #24 – Dan Pinkham & Lloyd Sabin

Let’s face it, a long work week can get to all of us. And in the summer long weeks can feel even longer.

I focused on this point just a minute ago when my co-worker came in said good morning to me, found something on his desk and then said, “What fresh Hell is this?”

We’ve all been there. And that’s where GARPA comes in. You work yourself to the bone to get some money, and hopefully once the family is taken care of and the bills are paid, you have a bit leftover for yourself. We are here to help unload you of that burden as well as forget about any “fresh Hells” you had to endure to get it by providing updates on the best looking crowd-sourced games coming down the pike. Let’s get to it!

Board/Role-Playing Games

DemonWars – Reformation by R.A. Salvatore
$14,057 pledged of $50,000 goal, funding ends August 30

GARPA-24-DemonWars

Speaking of fresh Hells, DemonWars – Reformation is looking to set your world on fire quickly and efficiently. Set in R.A. Salvatore’s world of Corona (not the one in Queens, NY) DemonWars-Reformation  will have a game system akin to older tabletop board and role-playing games from the 1970s. The setting of Corona includes creatures that any self-respecting demon-slayer should expect to find: goblins, evil monks, and of course demons, along with intricate maps, in-game lore books, and a detailed gemstone magic system.

Want more detail? OK: DemonWars-Reformation puts the player in the role of a monk in the Abellican Church.  The player is thrown against a rebellious church faction under the command of Marcalo De’Unnero. Confused yet? Me too.  No worries though. The plot of DemonWars-Reformation is set after the events taking place in Salvatore’s novel Immortalis.

Clearly, fans of Salvatore’s work will be delighted to pick up DemonWars-Reformation. They will also be ecstatic to know that the game is in a working prototype mode right now, and play testing has been going on since the beginning of this year. Originally intended to include every faction in the DemonWars universe, Salvatore and his team have honed this down to the Abellican Church for the initial launch to flesh the faction out. With success, other factions from the books will be covered in future game modules.

It is refreshing to see a new game in production set in an untapped world. I know for me personally reading through the Kickstarter info got me interested in the DemonWars backstory and it looks to be progressing well enough with 30 days to go.
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