Category Archives: Board Game
Upcoming: Summoner Wars Mega
Inspired by Space-Biff! friend Digital Pariah, who’s been battling his way through his Summoner Wars collection one faction at a time and making me jealous with all manner of fascinating tales, the wife and I have decided to follow suit. Beginning next Monday, we’ll be posting weekly Summoner Wars battle reports in addition to our regular programming. Details below.
Summoner Wars: Divine Intervention
The beginning setup: Vanguards versus Tundra Orcs.
Back in October I decided to roll the dice in the official Summoner Wars iOS Tournament and prove myself the premier Summoner Wars player of all time. Turns out I’m not. Even so, I did a lot better than I assumed I would, coming this close to making it into the third round (of four, in case you were wondering). I took screenshots of most of my games, and meant to do a massive post-tournament writeup, but certain constraints (like not winning) kept me from it.
Well, I figure I can talk about a couple of the games though, considering I have all these hundreds of screenshots. The first match is a win from the first round — it’s actually the win that placed me at 3-2 in my division, and going on to the second. It’s an epic win, full of tense moments and nick-of-time maneuvers. At no less than two points I nearly hurled my iPad across the room, and was only constrained by the damnable fragility of the thing. But. Despite the thrills this match offers, this isn’t an example of how to play Summoner Wars well. Not in the slightest.
5 4 3012
Yes, this article’s title is a rebus for “Five for 3012,” and yes, I thought it was clever when I thought it up. Before you leave, I’ll confess that I’m no good at the art of article naming — for instance, I realized only the other day that my Spec Ops article from way back in June should have been entitled “Spec Oops.” Dang it, that would have brought me the journalistic fame (and integrity-challenging freebies) that I so clearly deserve. Ah well, live and learn. At any rate, bygones shouldn’t distract us from talking about 3012, the new deck-building game from Cryptozoic Entertainment. After the jump, I’ve got five reasons why 3012 is excellent, and a few about why I didn’t expect it to be.
Let’s Smash “Smash Up” Up
If a box image could sell a game, Smash Up would break sales records.
Ever since prehistoric man daydreamed of riding mastodons to victory over the mighty brontosaurus, there’s been something wonderful and endearing about our crossover fantasies. Fast forward a billion years, and we’ve got Star Trek versus Star Wars, DC versus Marvel versus Capcom, Disney versus Final Fantasy. Children bicker endlessly in “Who would win between…” conversations. Fans gossip about cameos and write reams of bad fiction about romantic meetups between their favorite characters. Even my childhood playtime was dominated by the US Army and G.I. Joes defending the Alamo against the faceless hordes of the LEGO axis. It’s as natural as falling in love with television characters, really.
And that’s what the board game Smash Up is all about — merging two disparate factions into a bizarre alliance and pitting them in a race to overwhelm neutral bases before your opponents do. That means leading an army of leprechaun ninjas in their conquest of the isle of Tortuga, or getting back at the self-righteous dopes at the School of Wizardry with laser-saddled stegosauruses and shambling zombies. Like many crossovers, it’s a fun concept — but does it work? Find out after the jump.
It’s Good to Be a Mage Knight, Day Three
Goldyx and Tovak on the third day.
Okay, so we’ve talked about how on the first day, the Mage Knights popped out of that portal of theirs and started putting on all sorts of magic shows, and on the second they figured out where the Red City was hiding, and began laying plans to take it by force. You know this story ends with the corrupt City falling, but I’ll reckon you couldn’t guess how. Even if you could, you couldn’t stop me from telling it.
I’m Fighting Tooth & Nail
As with Omen and Hemloch, the art in T&N:F is quite nice.
Back in August, I talked about a pair of exciting two-player card duelers from Small Box Games — Hemloch and Omen: A Reign of War — and mentioned that I would be reviewing their newest game, Tooth & Nail: Factions, as well. And then, total silence.
What a mystery! Find out why this writeup has taken me so long below the jump.
It’s Good to Be a Mage Knight, Day Two
Tovak returns to the little monastery.
Alright, now where were we? Ah, right, so last time Goldyx and Tovak, Mage Knights both, spent a day and a night conquering a path across the countryside, bringing down warbands of orcs and fortified strongholds with equal ease. I’ve told you that they’re the ones that brought our Red City’s corrupt penny-squeezers to heel, and in only three days too. Well, I reckon I’ll tell you about their second day. It’s the one that some folks like to jaw about when they say the Mage Knights aren’t so heroic as we’ve been told, but don’t let anyone hear you talk like that. And anyway, it’s true that they did some pillaging and burning, but there’s a reason for all that.
It’s Good to Be a Mage Knight, Day One
Goldyx and Tovak: friends, rivals, Mage Knights.
Ever heard of a Mage Knight? No? For shame. It was a pair of Mage Knights that fought against the dragons and orcs and corrupt burro-crats that were running this country into the mud. Only took them three days to do it, too.
Ah yes, looks like you’re remembering now. Only three days and three nights, and they went from Mage Knight rookies to veterans with the powers of the gods themselves—I’m talking about the power to melt walls sixty feet high, to bring an elder dragon crashing out of the sky without dripping a single bead of sweat, to command loyalty that kings could only fantasize about. Settle in and I’ll refresh that fogged-up memory of yours. It’s the least I can do—after all, that pair did me a good turn by bringing the Red City to its knees.
Omen: A Reign of War
Some of Omen’s lovely art.
Last week I reviewed Hemloch from Small Box Games, which defied my expectations by being a thematic and compact engine designed to churn out excruciating decisions that didn’t come paired with obvious solutions. This week, I’ve been playing Omen: A Reign of War, which tells the story of two of Zeus’ children slugging it out for control of the known world through Greek wrestling… or, better yet, by calling upon all sorts of heroic warriors, sexy oracles, and fearsome beasts to plunder great cities and accomplish godly feats.
So what did I think of Omen? I think it’s excellent! Review done. If for some reason you haven’t been convinced to order it straightaway, I guess I can talk more about it below.
Eight Easy Steps to Becoming a Better Summoner
Ret-Talus and his Fallen Kingdom square off against Krusk’s Sand Goblins.
A few handsome and/or beautiful people have asked me to write down some strategy tips for Summoner Wars from Plaid Hat Games. Being an obscure blogger, I’m pretty much jumping up and down at the opportunity to both write about my favorite board game and to fulfill requests, which makes me feel oh so professional.
I hope to eventually write about each of the game’s factions, but for now here’s a few basic clues that I like to give players just barely introduced to Summoner Wars. If you’ve played more than a handful of games, you might not find these steps particularly useful. Though maybe you will. Who knows? The only solution is to keep reading.
SPACE-BIFF! 