Halloween Party!

Halloween is almost upon us! I am sure that a lot of you, like me, will be celebrating with devilishly tasty snacks and some ghoulish games. I wanted to host a Halloween themed board games evening (as well as watching Buffy Halloween episodes), so I have compiled a list of games that I think fit the occasion nicely. Now all that I need is a few dozen candles, some cobwebs liberally hanging from the walls and a stash of carved pumpkins all lit up. But I blew my seasonal budget on Christmas decorations, so I have just left the room unpolished for a week, to give it that eerie dusty glow.  

Mysterium

I have mentioned this game before here. It is a co-operative game with a ghostly theme. One player acts as a ghost that has been contacted to identify their killer. The ghost cannot speak, they can only communicate through the use of cards as clues. The other players must decipher the cards meanings amongst each other. It does feel like you are part of a seance, contacting the spirit world for answers, and it is a good measure of how well you know your friend's thought process.

One Night Ultimate Werewolf

Who is the real werewolf? Who is an innocent villager? Who has switched the identities? This is a favourite bluffing game, with lots of fun and accusations flying. Being a good liar can help but it is not essential as I have managed to fool everyone a few times! All roles get to engage and discuss, everyone is involved and have to fight to survive using powers of persuasion. You must try to survive the nights from a hungry werewolf or the next day from the blood-lust of the angry villagers who want to kill the accused wolf. This game is great for a lively party.

Zombie Dice

This is a dice rolling push-your-luck game. Zombies are staggering around looking for juicy brains to chow down on, you do this by rolling the dice to determine how many brains you get to eat. Keep rolling, but if you roll three shotgun blasts then your turn is over and you pass the dice to the next player. The first to roll 13 brains or more is the winner. They munch all of the grey matter!

King of Tokyo: Halloween Expansion

In this fighting dice game you are playing as monsters trying to destroy Tokyo, and beat up each other in the process. The Halloween edition comes with two new monsters: Pumpkin Jack and Boogey Woogey. I've already written a brief description of the game here but it is very simple to play and lots of fun. The Halloween theme gives it that extra special something, it comes with new power cards that feature costumes for the monsters and the expansion dice are very fitting for the occasion with the black icons against the bright orange.  Halloween colours really make a nice statement, and the imagery of monsters in Halloween costumes trick or treating is enough to make me happy.   

Betrayal at House on the Hill

This is a co-operative dice rolling horror game. It is very atmospheric and puts you right into the action, giving off a horror movie vibe as you and a group of others explore a haunted house. During the game you uncover certain items that trigger the main scenario and there is often a traitor in the midst. This is a very involved game and highly exciting, I may be playing this one tonight ahead of schedule!

So I feel prepared for my little Halloween night, I even picked up some gorgeous Chessex dice for the old collection. Garish colours to please all! What creepy games will you be playing tomorrow night?

Happy Halloween everyone!

Thanks for reading,

Marisa xx

Interview with Jeff Dehut - Pocket Dungeon Quest

I recently had the pleasure of speaking with Jeff Dehut, the creator of the dungeon crawling game Pocket Dungeon Quest. Jeff's background in graphic design and photography has helped steer him in his current roles as Game Designer, Artist and Animator - he is a busy man and is even busier since launching the first expansion to PDQ on Kickstarter, Don't Go Alone. Have a look at the interview below!     

When did you start working as a Games Designer? Did you start freelance or for a company?  

I started working in Games as an Artist and Animator for a small company who was just getting started in the industry. After about a year and a half they were really struggling and let a bunch of people in their App Dept go, I was one of them. So it was at that point that I started working freelance as a Game Designer and Artist.

Have you always had a passion for table top games?

Oh yes. I have always loved games of all kinds. I was probably more influenced by video games though. I had an original Gameboy and played Tetris quite often. I used to draw ideas I had for board games and video games in my sketchbooks.

How did you come up with the concept for PDQ?

The idea came from thinking about the differences between tabletop games and video games. Since I had just come from designing levels and characters for mobile games I wondered if it was possible to bring video game concepts to a tabletop. It turns out that you can, and it is very enjoyable in my opinion. Also, I have always loved fantasy, and I love drawing cute, cartoony characters. So naturally, when it came time to make a theme for my game that is the direction I chose.

'Don't Go Alone' is your first expansion for PDQ, tell us a little about it.

The whole idea behind Pocket Dungeon Quest is making a play on video game concepts and converting them to work on a tabletop. So, with Don’t Go Alone I wanted to continue that theme. What this expansion is all about is equipping the Heroes of PDQ with better Gear that will aid them as they crawl through the Dungeon in search of the three Relics. Don’t Go Alone also opens up some new gameplay mechanics which will allow me to expand the Pocket Dungeon Quest universe even more in future updates. I have a lot of ideas and I hope I get a chance to implement them!

Your illustrations for PDQ are great, did you have any artistic influences when you studied as a Graphic Designer that inspired you to create these images? 

Growing up I loved comic books and cartoons. Batman was my all-time favorite hero, so I was definitely influenced by those types of things. I wouldn’t really nail down a specific artist that I always looked to. I had a lot of really great teachers going through Highschool and College that really helped shape my technique and style. I think my education in Graphic Design really helped me to see my illustrations in their most simple forms and really brought out the cartoony aspects even more.

Do you have a favourite hero to play as in PDQ or a favourite monster?

I love playing PDQ with all of the Heroes for different reasons. My favorite Hero to draw is by far the Warrior, though the Archer is a close second. I love their costumes in particular and usually play around with drawing them in different ways. Haha, my favorite Monster is one that isn’t in the game…yet. He is coming in Don’t Go Alone as an added Monster Pack. He is a play on the Beholder from DnD and he’s just so cute!

What are your favourite games of all time?

Oh boy. There are so many. Tabletop games; Smallworld, Catan, 7 Wonders, Power Grid, King of Tokyo, then classics like Water Works, Chinese Checkers, many Playing Card games. As far as video games go; Minecraft, The Elder Scrolls games, Borderlands 2, Diablo 3, and I could go on because I am always finding new games that are great for different reasons.

How was your experience at Gen Con 2015?

GenCon was amazing. I got to meet the team from AdMagic who are my manufacturers. They are a great bunch of cool people, and very helpful to someone just getting started in the Indie Board Game industry. I was demoing my game pretty much the whole time so I didn’t get to walk around and see too much, but what I did see was very impressive. Lots of great cosplay costumes, lots of great games, and just a bunch of great people having a good time playing great games.

If you had to go delving in a dungeon, what three items would you bring along, and why?

A torch to see by, a sword to swing at all those monsters, and a nice leather purse for all the precious gems I would find. (:

Jeff  Dehut

Thanks, Jeff! You can check out the Kickstarter for Don't Go Alone here

Looney Labs Holiday Gift

I know it is a little early, but if you are a fan of Looney Labs games (creators of Fluxx and Just Desserts) then you should get onto their website for a special festive treat! 

Looney Labs are generously sending a limited amount of secret items out to their fans over Christmas. They have been doing this for many years, and I think they rather enjoy playing Santa!

So head over to the Looney Labs website, fill in the webform to qualify and see if you make it onto the Nice list :D   

Thanks for reading! Keep checking back as I am working on a creepy blog list.

Marisa xx

Ticket to Ride: Halloween Add-on

Despite hating the cold weather, I do love this time of year.  My body shuts down and shivers non stop but the leaves are golden and there is an air of nostalgia when I see the Halloween decorations in shops and in houses.  

This year Days of Wonder are celebrating the season by releasing a limited edition Halloween add-on for Ticket to Ride.  The set comprises of 45 sculpted pumpkin trains and three creepy stations. They look so great, you will want to use them all year round.  Also, they can be used with any of the Ticket to Ride boardgames! 

I totally want the Halloween add-on, even though I do not yet own a copy of Ticket to Ride myself.  So maybe I will hint heavily here, and see what Santa brings me this Christmas.

Thanks for reading!

Marisa xx

Food, Glorious Food!

I like to eat, I like to eat a lot. I also like to cook and spend hours looking through recipe books for the perfect dish. Finding games with a food theme always gets me excited, before I became rather obsessed with table top games I played Nintendo's Cooking Mama and Cake Mania to death. The Food Network channel would be on constantly, and whether it was Nigella Lawson cooking up a calorific treat or Adam Richman taking on insane food challenges, I would be consumed by it for a spell. So I was pleased to find many games that tantalise the taste buds and allow you to get creative without making a mess in the kitchen or ruining your appetite. Here is my list of food themed games that I have enjoyed.

1. Fish Cook

This is a Euro-style game about top chefs in Paris competing to have the best recipes by earning the most money and prestige. It is a game of strategy and dice rolling. The dice rolls determine the amount of ingredients available in the markets and players must choose which items to buy in order to make their desired dishes. You must choose wisely, as once an ingredient is out of stock then that round is over and you must cook up your dishes to earn money. There are three rounds, you may cook up as many of your recipes as you can after the market phase is over, and perhaps even steal a recipe from an opponent in the process. This is a really fun game, the dice rolls gave the luck element but you can use your initiative to make sure you gather the vital ingredients.

2. Sushi Dice

I have already gone into detail about the excellent game of Sushi Dice here. Frantic dice rolling to match the ingredients on the cards and frenzied bell ringing which alerts the neighbours that you either have a very unresponsive servant or you are, in fact, just playing Sushi Dice.

3. Fungi/Morels   

This beautifully illustrated card game is all about gathering delectable mushrooms and frying them in the woods by moonlight. As a set collecting game for two players, you must forage the forest for mushrooms using tools or aides that you acquire though the deck. The mushrooms have two values; what they sell for and what they are worth if you cook them. You may cook three or more of the same kind at a time, and the rarer the mushroom, the more value it has. Adding butter or cider to the sizzling pan of mushrooms increases your points, and adds to the flavour. Whoever has the highest points at the end of the game is the champion forager.

4. Just Desserts

Now this card game just makes me hungry for desserts, I have a real sweet tooth anyway so it is hard to play this without raiding the kitchen afterwards. Players must serve customers at a cafe, they must be the best waiter there by serving up what the customers crave. You can combine card symbols in your hand to win over customers, unless you have their favourite dish in your hand which not only gets you their card but you get a tip (which is drawing an extra dessert card, very handy). To win, you must have three customers in a matching colour or five customers in different colours. This set collecting game is delicious to look at, and each card is unique. I need more dessert games!

5. Sushi Go!

Another sushi game. Sushi is tasty and aesthetically pleasing, and these sushi morsels are as cute as buttons! The setting for this card drafting game is a fast food sushi restaurant, where dishes zoom by on a conveyor belt and you have to grab the best combination that you can. Players choose a card from their hand and pass the cards over to another player, collecting sets that will win them the most points. Combining wasabi with nigiri triples the value of the nigiri, so wasabi is a sough-after card. Also, keep an eye out for pudding, as whoever finishes the game with the most pudding gets bonus points and whoever has the least gets penalised. Sushi Go is very enjoyable and simple to play. There are three rounds of the game, and I am sure you will want to go again and again. 

6. Elevenses

Such an elegant looking game! But beware; elegant socialites hosting morning tea can be highly conniving. In Elevenses, you are creating the perfect spread of sandwiches, biscuits, cakes and tea. Each player starts with eleven morning tea cards, and each card has a point value and special action. For instance, the Tea card has a value of 1 (the teaspoon icon in the right is the value) and the special action states 'Choose a player, flip one of tablecloth cards valued 2 - 9 face-down' Ouch! The special actions on the cards make things interesting as cards are passed back and forth, flipped over, peeked at and stolen. The round ends when a player plays the Elevenses card. Whoever has the most points is rewarded two sugar cubes and the others get one, rounds then continue until someone wins by getting seven sugar cubes. That is a lot of sugar! 

7. Lord of the Fries

This game looks quite different from the last eatery-based game. Welcome to Friedeys, a fast-food establishment where your server is a decaying zombie, but at least he is wearing the appropriate diner attire complete with the classic cap. One can only hope that he has gained the basic food hygiene certificate. This game is really simple to play and extremely fun. Players choose orders from the menu, either through dice rolls or by picking something they think their opponent will struggle to make, and try to make the order with cards from their hand. When one player plays their last card then the round is over, points are totalled and any leftover cards in hand are worth minus points. There are four rounds of menu madness, and you may still feel peckish at the end. 

8. Fishfry

This is one of my favourite filler games, it is very quick to play but it has lots of replayability. Fishfry is a dice rolling game that consists of five custom dice. Players may roll the dice up to three times, trying to catch the largest fish to fry. You must roll a head and a tail to score points, and various sized fishy body bits to add to the score. If you roll a small panfish then you may not re-roll that and it counts as one point. If you roll five panfish then you shout 'FISHFRY!', you have fried up all your fish and instantly win. Mini Fishfry tournaments happen at my place regularly, usually before Dino Hunt Dice, whenever the mood for constant rolling and re-rolling hits.

So that is my list of foodie games. Are there any food themed games that you enjoy playing? I would love to hear about them.

Thanks for reading!

Marisa xx

                           

Breakneck Blitz

I have been absent from blogging for a bit as life has been rather crazy this month. Aside from the usual work, I have been involved in the artwork design and play testing of Breakneck Blitz; a new game by British Briefs that was Kickstarted in August. I created guest artwork for a few characters and many arena maps, using my favourite techniques of lino-cutting and watercolours for the characters, and pen and digital colour for the arenas. As I type this, Breakneck Blitz arenas are scattered all over my place, I have been playing it a lot to make sure the obstacle placement works. Masquerading as a freelance artist can be rewarding, especially when you get given an exciting brief to work from such as this. This was my first venture into game illustration and I hope I will do more in the future, as combining my love for drawing and gaming was so much fun.

Two of the many arenas available, Ginger Dread design (Left) and Retro Rumble (Right)

Breakneck Blitz is played on a square grid, players draw out their movement line for the character they select and try to outlast their opponent in the arena. The game is rather like a futuristic gladiator arena combined with Rollerball. Players act as Blitzers, which are cybernetically-enhanced skaters, and they face each other off in an endurance skate to the death, keeping skating whilst throwing a few tricks out there to impede their opponents. It was inspired by old school Roller Derby. In the 1930s it was more of an endurance skate, but it was still just as vicious, if not more!

A selection of some of the Blitzers. My little dude, Axolotl Trouble, is hiding in there.

Each Blitzer has three special abilities that can be used only once. These abilities vary and could be a boost in speed, turning 90 degrees, causing an explosion behind your opponent, escaping death, jumping etc. The list goes on! The special moves are vital as movement on the grid is not straighforward when your opponent is trying to trap you.

To start, players agree on a starting point and draw a line up to one grid in length, at opposite ends of the arena. The first player then moves into any of the eight neighbouring points on the grid, then their opponent makes a move. Players may move up, down, left or right from their starting move and then may choose to move to any point within their trajectory. You build up speed by gradually moving two or more points at a time, and slow down at the same rate. If you hit any walls, obstacles, each other's lines or your own lines then you are out of the game. Of course, some of these end game scenarios can be prevented if your Blitzer has certain special abilities that allow you to rapidly increase speed, brake abruptly or cheat death!

After playing obscene amounts of my arena maps, I ended up developing a few strategies to outlast my opponents. Holding back on using your special abilities unless it is an emergency (I'm heading straight towards a wall - argh!) and not heading directly towards my opponent but allowing them to chase me were good moves. That is probably something I would do in real life too, skate away from the danger! This game requires a fair amount of strategy and second guessing your opponent's moves, as well as picking the character with skills you know you will utilise effectively. The All-star move, which is a wild card, is a nice all-rounder.

The original game artwork is slick and it looks pretty cool. It has a 1980s/early 1990s nostalgic feel to it, especially with Blitzers like 'Basket Casey' paying homage to The Breakfast Club. Several different artists (including meeee, shameless gloating wheeeee!) were involved in character and arena creation, but the game was designed and implemented by the man behind British Briefs, Lewis Terry. It is an enjoyable and intense game that can be played quickly or be drawn out into a longer and more epic fight if you get a number of people involved, as it can take up to eight players. You can play in teams or as individuals, and things can get very heated quickly! Breakneck Blitz was available as a print and play on Kickstarter, it has just been sent out to all the backers but it will be available to purchase online in the near future. In the meantime, come to my place - I have printed out and laminated nearly every arena available!

Thanks for reading

Marisa xx