This week we have some fun stuff. Movie tie-ins. Game tie-ins. What else can we tie-in…
Jaws
You’ll probably know how this one is gonna play out. Kill the shark to win. Or if you are the shark, kill the people to win. Easy!
From the publisher:
In Jaws, one player takes on the role of the killer shark off Amity Island, while the other 1-3 players take on the roles of Brody, Hooper and Quint to hunt the shark. Character and event cards define player abilities and create game actions for humans and the shark. The gameplay is divided into two acts — Amity Island and The Orca — played on a double-sided board to replicate the film’s story:
- In the Amity Island phase, the shark menaces swimmers and avoids capture. Other players attempt to pinpoint the shark’s location and save swimmers from shark attacks.
- In the Orca phase, played on the reverse side of the game board, Brody, Hooper and Quint are aboard the sinking ship engaging in a climactic battle against the shark, while using additional action and strategy cards to defend the Orca from targeted shark attacks.
If humans kill the shark, they win; if the shark attack on the Orca succeeds, the great white shark wins.
Sounds like a fun little game. If you are still not sure, W Eric Martin at BGG does a great run through here:
Cyberpunk Red
Can’t wait for Cyberpunk 2077 next year? Well, Cyberpunk Red is coming very soon (August 1st at GenCon) and is basically the fourth edition of Mike Pondsmith’s Cyberpunk, which was originally set in the far-flung future of 2013 when it first emerged in the late eighties, before being updated to 2020 in its 1990 second edition and the 2030s in 2005’s third edition – the last major update for the roleplaying game.
The latest version of the RPG will begin with the jumpstart kit which will give fans a glimpse into the updated lore of the fourth edition and the Cyberpunk 2077 game before the full version of the RPG is released at a later date.
Exciting times!
Catan: Starfarers
Finally! Starfarers of Catan is getting an update it deserves!
From the publisher:
Twenty years ago, the settlers started into the depths of the galaxy to discover unknown planets, the undiscovered universe lying before them. Maybe they’ll find planets with good ore or carbon deposits — or perhaps only barren ice planets. They might encounter alien folks and start lucrative trading, with pirates and wormholes being a constant challenge for them.
Catan: Starfarers is a new version of Starfarers of Catan, originally released in 1999, that contains completely revised graphics and game materials, revised rules, and (most importantly) a variable game board that brings even more variety to the exploration of space.
We do like the German title better though: Catan Sternenfahrer. Hehe!
Tal der Wikinger (Valley of the Vikings)
Tal der Wikinger or Valley of the Vikings as it will be known in English has won the prestigious 2019 Kinderspiel des Jahres, Germany’s children’s game of the year award.
From the publisher:
In Valley of the Vikings, the annual barrel bowling contest is taking place. Now courage, skill and risk-taking are required so that the players use the ball to knock down the right barrels, and cleverly position their Vikings on the dock. But the player who ventures too far and is first to fall in the water goes away empty-handed. The player who captures the most gold coins wins.
HABA USA is trying to get it to the English market before the end of 2019 so look out for it around November / December. Could be hot with not a lot of stock. (Unintentional rhyming there. Good stuff!)
Super Fantasy Brawl
This weeks Kickstarter is not out on Kickstarter yet. The irony. It is due today at some point (25th June) from Mythic Games so look it for it as it’s shaping up pretty good!
From the designer:
In the land of Fabulosa, powerful magics have rendered war obsolete. With nothing else to compete for, the bored populace has turned to the Super Brawl for entertainment. These same powerful magics are now used to reach back into the timelines to pluck out the finest warriors from every civilization in order to compete against each other in the greatest entertainment spectacle ever staged.
Super Fantasy Brawl is a fun, fast-paced competitive miniatures board game. Players select a team of three champions and combine their unique action cards to create a synergistic action deck. The game is faction-free, so players have their choice of any combination of champions they wish. Each turn, the players use their hand of action cards to manoeuvre, attack, displace enemies, and claim objectives to score victory points.
As the wizards who oversee the Super Brawl ensure that all champions are returned back to their timeline unharmed and unaware, champions cannot be killed. Instead, a champion who is taken out returns to the field of play whilst the champion who delivered the blow is levelled-up to an even more powerful version of themselves — but if your levelled-up champion is taken out, then it returns to the action reset back to its less powerful version.
Every action card in Super Fantasy Brawl is attributed to one of the three cores which govern all magic in Fabulosa: creation, destruction, and manipulation. Each turn, players may play up to one action card of each core. Doing so exhausts their connection to that core until the end of the turn when their hand will be replenished and the cores readied.
The objectives in Super Fantasy Brawl are only scored at the beginning of a players’ turn, ensuring that you always get a chance to disrupt your enemy’s plans and position your champions to score the objective for yourself. This tactical to-and-fro continues until one player reaches the victory point threshold, declaring themselves the winner and advancing towards victory in the Super Brawl tournament!
Super Fantasy Brawl will also offer a 2v2 mode for 4 players to clash in an all-out melee mashup!
On our watch list!
That’s a wrap for this week. See you next week!