My Shoshone were allied with some militant city-states, and among the units ‘gifted’ to me were a unit of Norwegian Ski Infantry. The disconnect of Shoshone Norwegian Ski Infantry in the plain of Shoshonia was just too amusing.
Eight-Minute Empire: Lost Lands (Red Raven Games)
$35k of $15k, ends 25 August 2014
A sequel to the insanely good Eight-Minute Empire (which we reviewed), this new expansion adds new map boards, new cards, and new mechanics to your favorite one-sitting empire builder. There are new player boards to help you organize your cards as you acquire them, new cards that change some of the mechanics, and a ‘faster’ gameplay option that seems very 7 Wonders-ish that involves passing hands around the table. The original was a great game, this one really kicks it up another notch. Head over to Kickstarter now and pledge, yo!
Yes, Risk. It’s a skirmish game, not a conquer-the-world game. Truth be told, it’s a videogame on your tabletop, which is what you’d expect from a cross-branded game that is using the Risk name to sell a tabletop adaptation of the Battlefield series.
GARPA turns 50! Can we get a “w00t! w00t!” ? Last month it was all games that had already made the cut. This month? You gotta work for ’em…
No Trumpets, No Drums (One Small Step Games)
Pre-order price of $44.95
New from OSS, No Trumpets, No Drums is a strategic- and high operational-level game of the Vietnam War from ’65-’75. Picking up after the French have left, and running past the departure of most US ground troops, this expansive game covers the ground campaigns, with a heavy dose of the political machinations that ultimately decided the war. It’s a hex-and-counter layout on your table, but the game plays on several levels and is conducive to team play, as well.
This is a remake of an earlier magazine game from the early 80s. They are hoping to get it out by the end of the year, but only if they can get enough preorders in to make it into production, so get to their website and place your pre-order. OSS makes some great games, from some cracking designers and developers.
So 1740 appears to be a pretty wide change of direction for the company that just won the award for Best Historical Minis game at Origins. What’s the thought process behind 1740 and how did become the “next game out the door” for you guys?
1740 has been in the back of my head for years. We went with Fields of Fire first because we had a well-tested set of beta rules from the 90s that just needed updating and tweaking. Books are less expensive and easier to publish, so we wanted our first foray into game production to be something that we knew we could get off the ground.
Now that we have that experience behind us, we’re poised to launch additional projects with a much better handle on the process. 1740 is a departure from Fields of Fire, but it still falls within our core game development philosophy. Our mission statement, if you will, is to produce games that are historical, accurate, fun to play, and easy to learn. 1740 fits that to a tee.
As far as why 1740 and not something else? I’ve loved 18th Century history since I was a girl. I grew up reenacting and actually my husband Mark and I met at a reenactment. One of my favorite books in high school was Outlander. It’s the story of a woman from 1945 being thrust back into Scotland in the 18th C. That kind of thing resonates with a reenactor. When I met Mark, he was portraying a Scottish loyalist regiment in the Revolution. So, 1740 brings together a lot of my passions into one place.