Tag: Sci-Fi

07/17/14

A Distant Worlds AAR – Part 1

By Brandon “Kushan” Johnson, July 17, 2014

Welcome all. I’ve been playing Distant Worlds (DW) since it was first released in 2010. Since then, it’s become my favorite 4x game of any genre. No other game, except the Paradox games, come close to the breadth of options and replayability of DW, in my humble opinion of course.

 Click images to enlarge

DW Part 01 - 01

 

I’m going to be changing up my normal DW playstyle this time around. I normally fully control everything, and I’ve restarted a dozen different times trying to find a level of automation I can deal with. I’ve created a custom theme (mod) for this playthrough. I started with Haree78’s DW Extended Mod and merged in several other mods I thought would add a bit more variety.

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07/16/14

Classic Reviews: Dust

Great chips-and-soda game that is familiar in gameplay, but with just enough added complexity to keep players engaged throughout the game. Combat is nuanced but still fast-flowing, and players have to make serious strategic choices at every turn.

Review by Brant Guillory, about 7 years ago 🙂

This review originally appeared in Scrye Magazine

Number of players: 2-6
Designed for ages: 12 and up
Learning Curve: Low to Medium
Playing time: 1-3 hours
Pros: Visually grand; familiar mechanics; lots of choices for players
Cons: Backstory irrelevant to gameplay; some game effects not clearly explained

Dust, Fantasy Flight’s new “big box” game, is based on the comics of the same name, in which history was altered by the discovery of alien technology on a polar expedition early in WWII. You now know more than you need to know about the backstory of the game in order to play it. But don’t let that get you down, because Dust is a great game, regardless of the story behind it.

Players are trying to gain victory points by controlling power sources, conquering their opponents, and dominating certain numbers on the map. They do so by marshalling their armies, and balancing the manufacture of forces with the usage of them. Continue reading →

05/30/14

Home of Wargamers Report: An Unexpected Journey, part 1 of 2

A Boggit’s tale

The Prologue

Living a quiet, unadventurous life as a Review Scribe, Boggit almost missed the opportunity to go to this annual event simply by not paying attention on the scrying screen, sometimes known as the forums! Far to the East in the distant land of Italy strange things were happening. Brant – the great wizard of Grog had heard news of great treasures, and was determined to send a scout to learn the truth. The first to answer the call was the Bard – Undercovergeek – but he was sidetracked by nubile Norwegian elves. The Paladin – Jarhead – having slain so many dragons, had problems finding a tame silver dragon to cross the Great Sea. At the last moment, when all seemed lost, Boggit from the Shire of Dorset piped up. “I’ll go!” And a great adventure began.

 

Boggit crosses the Alps. Hannibal did it the hard way!
Boggit crosses the Alps. Hannibal did it the hard way!

Leaving the Shire of Dorset, Boggit travelled the Great Road to a place where tame silver dragons could be found. Stopping overnight at an Inn he fell in with another adventurer -Fraser Brown a proud Northern Scribe – with whom he shared a few beers, and learnt of Fraser’s intrepid journeys to places of learning where clever warlocks display their magic arts. The next day the two adventurers left for the Cave of Dragons, finding a friendly one, and rode it to the mysterious land of Italy.

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05/28/14

Home of the Wargamers Report: “Clear and Present Gaming!”

Distant Worlds Universe and Other Imminent Matrix/Slitherine Releases meet Grogheads

An overview by Boggit

Following on from Home of Wargamers 2014, there has been a flurry of activity from Matrix/Slitherine regarding their new releases. Distant Worlds has only just released on 27th May, and is to be closely followed by Pandora First Contact: Return of the Messeri Expansion, Close Combat: Road to Caen, and Qvadriga on Steam.

 

Distant Worlds Universe

 

You can start straight away with a pre-set human campaign, or mix things up with a custom game
You can start straight away with a pre-set human campaign, or mix things up with a custom game

For those players who haven’t got Distant Worlds, it is a massively scoped game that conventionally focuses on making broad policy decisions to guide your race to success. Essentially, you represent “the state”, but much of the game is heavily reliant on your private citizens. These private citizens trade, colonise, and exploit much of the universe’s resource potential. Distant Worlds Universe can be an incredibly deep 4X game (eXplore, eXpand, eXploit, eXterminate) – if you want it to be. You can micromanage as much, or as little as you wish, although micromanaging carries the risk of your head exploding given the multitude of activities you can engage in! Continue reading →

05/23/14

GrogHeads Advanced Research on Projects Advisory #45

Your semi-weekly wallet-blasting gallon of goodness is back! GARPA checks out some excellent new projects waiting for your pre-order dollars.

 

Kuzaarik Forgers: Freeblades Fantasy Miniatures (DGS Games)
$4100 of $8500, ends 18 June 2014

The boys from DGS are back with another nifty-looking expansion to Freeblades. Ramp up your fantasy games with some excellent new minis of the Kuzaarik, the Dwarves with a bit of a twist. The concept art is fantabulous, and if the minis are even half as good as the advance sketches, the backers of their new Kickstarter campaign will be some happy gamers. Pledge away, dear readers!

 

New York 1776 (Worthington Publishing)
$13k of $2500 – ends 27 May 2014, so hurry up!

A battle of the AWI, New York 1776 was a key campaign for the Brits following the loss of Boston. A hex-and-block game with integrated fog of war, New York 1776 has so ridiculously exceeded its Kickstarter goal that some of the stretch goals – terrain blocks? – almost seem like they were making it up as they went along. A combination of a strategic map and a tactical battle board gives battles some depth while retaining the ‘big picture’ of the strategic situation. Read more at their site, and hurry up with your pledges before the Kickstarter campaign ends.

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