Blog Archives
Summoner Wars Mega #3: Phoenix Elves vs. Sand Goblins
Phoenix Elves vs. Sand Goblins.
The outcome of today’s match should leave everyone happy, because regardless of whether the fiery Phoenix Elves or the hell-continent-dweller Sand Goblins win, a faction of evil jerks has lost — and in battle-torn Itharia, where every madman has a summoning stone nowadays, that can only be a good thing.
As always, Somerset and myself were provided with a surprisingly unique match. It lacked the early-game assassination of our first match and the stalemated battle lines of our second. Instead, it was a highly tense game in which both Summoners felt the sting of enemy blades, and both subtle trickery and brute force had their moment. Spoiler Alert: At the end of this one, our score stands at 2-1. Oh, that was obvious? You want to know which of us is now ahead? Sorry, you’ll have to read on to find out the winner.
Summoner Wars Mega #2: Vanguards vs. Mercenaries
Vanguards versus Mercenaries.
Today’s battle is something of a class war. The sprawling (and smelly) City of Heap has long stood in the shadow of the Citadel of the Fist, home to the Vanguards, but at long last Rallul’s Mercenary company, which often recruits out of Heap’s slums, has challenged young Sera Eldwyn to a battle for ultimate control! Or at least control for a while, since the Summoner Wars are functionally unending.
This match couldn’t have been more different from our last one if it tried. Rather than being full of trickery and win-stealing, this one was all about two forces slowly grinding each other into dust. And I’ll tell you now, it was a close one.
Board Games & Me: Forbidden Bridge
Forbidden Bridge, the jewel of 1992.
After being bored out of our minds retrying Risk last week, I promised this time we would play something fun — and I’m making good on that promise with Forbidden Bridge, the first board game I ever begged my dad to get for Christmas (I think I asked for the Game of Life a few years earlier, but we’re going to pretend that never happened. We only played it twice, so it functionally didn’t).
Forbidden Bridge is amazing, despite not being that great a game. I’ll explain why.
Summoner Wars Mega #1: Mountain Vargath vs. Jungle Elves
Mountain Vargath versus Jungle Elves.
Today the stout Mountain Vargath will face off against the mobile Jungle Elves. This matchup probably wouldn’t even occur if the lore of Summoner Wars were ironclad, since both factions are only fighting to defend their homeland. Ah well, maybe there’s a tract of mountainous jungle somewhere that everyone lays claim to. The Itharian Poland or something.
This match caught us both by surprise. It was surprisingly nonviolent, though it lasted fewer than 10 full rounds. Neither faction managed to get through their entire deck, and nobody was sure who would win until the very last dice roll.
Board Games & Me: Risk
The family’s 1980s version of Risk.
Hi there, friendly reader. Today I’m inaugurating a short series about the games that instilled me with my current love of boardgaming, and about trying them again years later. Be warned that these aren’t necessarily the most interesting games, or even particularly good games — today’s article is about Risk, for instance, which is neither.
“So why talk about it then?” Good question! I have a good answer to go with it: Because Risk was the first game I ever longed to play. And when I finally did, it taught me something important about the power of board games.
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.
SPACE-BIFF! 