Ryan Laukat has made a career pairing Euro-style adventure mechanisms with threaded narrative content. This is most directly seen in Near & Far, but it’s also present in Above & Below and Empires of the Void II. Unfortunately none of those games have felt perfectly comfortable or expertly integrated between their various elements. Iteration, however,…
I didn’t really expect to be writing about Spartacus right now. When the new edition arrived on my doorstep I was certainly surprised, but I was also curious and more importantly, interested in taking a reflective look at this title from an academic angle. Most of my plays of this game have occurred in the…
Devil May Cry: The Bloody Palace is a Steamforged Games title. There’s some baggage there. It’s also a James Hewitt lead work. And there lies expectation. Like Sabertooth meeting Wolverine, impediment meet badass. May the stronger come out on top. I know a bit of the Devil May Cry series. Enough to examine this game…
I was impressed with Unmatched. I thought the character choices were interesting and varied, the ruleset was tight and fluid, and the product design was simply outstanding. What’s perhaps shocking is that I was never much of an Epic Duels fan, yet this release felt warm and comforting in ways I didn’t expect. It even…
Core Space is a semi-cooperative miniatures skirmish system that was one of my most beloved releases of 2019. It continues to see a substantial amount of play and my enthusiasm remains elevated. Dangerous Days functions as the second season of this system, featuring the first expansion material developed post-release. I’m using the title Dangerous Days,…
The “Jyhad” is the eternal war between ancient Methuselahs in White Wolf’s popular World of Darkness setting. It’s a conflict of clandestine offensives launched from the shadows. Vampires endlessly crave, desiring not just cruor but demonstrable power. Perhaps its their lingering vestiges of humanity, perhaps its a heightened need to control others. Regardless, we Methuselahs…
To see the ending we have to go back to the beginning. Awaken Realms, Michael Oracz, surreal sprawling dreamscapes. My heart is beating and I’m in. I treat it like a formless object at the edge of my vision, afraid to look too hard or too direct and spoil the mystery. It’s a thriller I…
I was a fan of Themeborne’s Escape the Dark Castle. Sector is the same core engine with a few new wires and screens soldered on. Perhaps you already knew this, perhaps not. While there are numerous fans of this series, there’s also a solid contingent of hobbyists who condemn it. Because well, this is barely…
Cosmic Frog is out there. Being a Jim Felli/Devious Weasel production, its idiosyncratic setting and theme is altogether expected. In fact I welcome it. I eat it up like a two mile high galactic amphibian shoveling earth into its gullet. This is a game that totally gets it. It’s empowering, at once realizing the goal…
The Galactic Corps is an expansion for Core Space that introduces security forces to the game. My expression right now is one of exasperation and struggle. How do I write about this? It’s only part of the reason why it’s been four long months since I’ve written anything, but it is a significant part. I’m…
