TABLETOP GAMING LIVE GAME INSIDE

2 7 M U S T- P L AY G A M E S AT O U R L O N D O N C O N FIGHTOPIA FOR FREE!

tabletopgaming.co.uk September 2018

X-WING 2.0
Back in the cockpit with the X-cellent second edition
of the massive Star Wars miniatures game

HOLDING ON LEARN TO PNP

Display until 27/9/18
£5.25

THE GAME YOU’LL HOW TO MAKE

NEVER FORGET G A M E S AT H O M E
 You’ve studied the footage, connected the dots, and gathered what
meagre evidence you could. You’re close – soon the whole world
will know the truth behind the cryptid. A group of like-minded
cryptozoologists have come together to finally uncover the elusive
creature, but the glory of discovery is too rich to share. Without giving
away some of what you know you will never succeed in locating the
beast, but reveal too much and your name will be long forgotten!

Cryptid is a unique deduction game of honest misdirection in which

players must try to uncover information about their opponent’s clues
while throwing them off the scent of their own. Each player holds one
piece of evidence to help them find the creature, and on their turn they
can try to gain more information from their opponents. Be warned: give
too much away and your opponents might beat you to the mysterious
animal and claim the glory for themselves!

3-5 10+
1
4

30-50
5

MINUTES
PLAYERS AGES PLAY TIME
21
86 6
17
24
1 13
88 8
2
3
6

86 18
6

27 85
26 34

Explorers have been returning from the Amazon with extraordinary

tales – conquistadors withered with age marching through the
rainforest, unidentified beasts stalking expeditions, and an ominous
mountain that is said to be more perilous than the jungle itself! Only
the most reckless adventurers would ignore these warnings, but
even they might find that they need some help.

The Fountain of Youth & Other Adventures brings

four different expansions to The Lost Expedition,
adding new cards to the adventure deck, introducing
companions to assist your party, and revealing a new
trail that offers a range of new gameplay decisions.
Add them individually or combine them to provide new
challenges as you continue your search for El Dorado!

THE LOST
EXPEDITION
EXPANSION!

RINTY
- EAST
WERE B

ORDER ONLINE AT WWW.OSPREYGAMES.CO.UK

08:43 13/04/2018 10:24
4 13/04/2018 d 3
TLE_TFOY_MapCards_Front_v3.ind
18 09:1
13/04/20 3
ont_v3.indd
aracterCards_Fr
TLE_TFOY_Ch
4
v3.indd
ds_Front_
CharacterCar
TLE_TFOY_
 EDITORIAL
EDITOR Matt Jarvis
01778 392 400

Welcome
matt.jarvis@warnersgroup.co.uk

CONTRIBUTORS Anna Blackwell,

Sam Desatoff, John Dodd, Owen
Duffy, Robert Florence, Holly
Gramazio, Christopher Hobday,
Sam Illingworth, Richard
Jansen-Parkes, Dan Jolin, Andy
Leighton, Phil Robinson, Alex
Sonechkina, Charlie Theel, Paul
Wake, James Wallis

HEAD OF DESIGN & PRODUCTION

I
Lynn Wright
t’s Tabletop Gaming Live month! If you haven’t already
DESIGNER Richard Hallam
got your tickets to our mega convention happening in
COVER IMAGE FROM STAR London’s Alexandra Palace on September 29th and
WARS: X-WING MINIATURES 30th, turn to our heaving preview on page 8 to find out
GAME: SECOND EDITION
® & ™ Lucasfilm Ltd. why it’s the place to be for everyone looking for the latest
and greatest in gaming: from Gen Con’s hottest new
ADVERTISING releases and tournaments to a live schedule packed with
TO ADVERTISE PLEASE CALL
GROUP ADVERTISING MANAGER Now Playing... fun, fascination and big names. Honestly, you won’t want
Claire Ingram 01778 391 179 Detective: A Modern to miss it. I can’t wait to see you all there.
claire.ingram@warnersgroup.co.uk Just one of the games you’ll be able to play on the
Crime Board Game
KEY ACCOUNT MANAGER show floor is the second edition of X-Wing, with the Star
Cat Gray 01778 395 059 Wars miniatures game zooming back onto tables across
catherine.gray@warnersgroup.co.uk
Get in touch the galaxy this month with some seriously impressive
changes, promising the most cinematic space battles
ADVERTISING DESIGN tabletopgaming.co.uk
AND PRODUCTION yet. Hear what’s new from its designers on page 24.
Nicola Lock 01778 392 420 tabletopmag As part of our dive into print-and-play games on page
nicola.lock@warnersgroup.co.uk
45, you’ll find a free copy of a brand new and exclusive
tabletopgamingmagazine
MARKETING edition of Fightopia. You can download the PDF from our
MARKETING BRAND MANAGER tabletop_gaming_magazine website ready to cut out and play.
Nicola Lumb
That’s just the start of a crammed issue. Read on...

Matt
PUBLISHED BY
ASSOCIATE PUBLISHER
Claire Ingram
Warners Group Publications PLC
The Maltings, West Street, Matt Jarvis Editor
Bourne, Lincolnshire, PE10 9PH matt.jarvis@warnersgroup.co.uk | @liquidmatt
01778 391 000
www.warnersgroup.co.uk Q U I C K S TA R T
NEWSTRADE DISTRIBUTION
Warners Group Publications PLC
Absolutely I want to Shouldn’t
01778 391 150 nobody see more there be a
PRINTING predicted how games about section of the
This publication is
printed by Warners
wildly popular relationships, hobby that tries
01778 395111 X-Wing would be. identity, sexuality to touch on
The views expressed by contributors are not necessarily and sex. something
more serious?
those of the publishers. Every care is taken to ensure that
the content of this magazine is accurate, but we assume no
responsibility for any effect from errors or omissions. While
every care is taken with unsolicited material submitted for X-Wing 2.0 is built to last, says Avery Alder on breaking boundaries Holding On: a very different kind
publication, we cannot be responsible for loss or damage.
While every care is taken when accepting advertisements, we
co-designer Alex Davy, p24 in Monsterhearts, p36 of board game, p52
are not responsible for the quality and/or the performance
of goods and/or services advertised in this magazine. The
Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) exists to regulate the
content of advertisements. Tel: 020 7429 2222
© Warners Group Publications Plc, 2018 tabletopgaming.co.uk 3
 In this issue
06 AT A GLANCE 41 THE INDEPENDENT SHELF 91 EVENT REPORT
Your 30-second guide to the latest in gaming Try to keep up with 5 Minute Chase, if you can We head north to game with Tabletop Scotland

08 TABLETOP GAMING LIVE 44 THROUGH THE AGES 92 CLUB DIRECTORY

27 must-play games and more from
London’s hottest new gaming convention
15 FIRST TURN
Pulsar 2849 designer Vladimír Suchý revisits
his 2007 debut League of Six
16 10 OF THE BEST
The answers to ‘What are the best quiz games?’
19 ROLE CALL
This month’s offering of unmissable RPGs
Back on track with the history of racing games
95 SHOP SPOTLIGHT
45 PRINT-AND-PLAY GAMES Inside the revamped gaming department of
Discovering a world of incredible games you Cambridge store Heffers
can make at home – for free!
98 TABLETOP TIME MACHINE
48 FIGHTOPIA Dropping in with Downfall
Whet your print-and-play appetite by playing
this exclusive new edition of the PnP hit
WANT TO SUBSCRIBE?
51 PLAY IT SMART Turn to page 90 for the latest offers
Dealing with colonialism in board games

20 ALL THE JAHRES 52 HOLDING ON

It’s not all smooth sailing with 1997 winner Uncover The Troubled Life of Billy Kerr in a
Mississippi Queen heartwrenching story like no other

23 MY FAVOURITE GAME 56 UNEARTHED ARTEFACTS

D. Brad Talton flies the flag for Libertalia How does Witness hold up a millennium from now?

ON THE COVER 57 ON THE TURN

24 X-WING 2.0
The creators of the Star Wars miniatures
game take flight with its biggest update yet
32 HAVE YOU PLAYED?
Sci-fi communication breakdown in the
co-operative, chaotic Space Alert
35 KICKSTARTING
FROM SCRATCH
36 HOW WE MADE
Avery Alder takes us behind the heartfelt
supernatural teen drama of Monsterhearts
Meet the designers reinventing the building
block of games: the player turn
63 PLAYED
Every essential game you need to play this
month reviewed in full
82 PAINTING GUIDE
Bringing the legendary creatures of Atlantis
Miniatures to life, one stroke at a time
88 DUNGEON MASTER’S
GUIDE TO ROLEPLAYING
When should you be unafraid to kill your
players’ characters in a campaign?

24

4 September 2018
 THE GAMES
LOOK OUT FOR EXTRA CONTENT WHEN YOU SEE THESE ICONS 5 Minute Chase 41
Libertalia 23
Amun-Re: The Card Game 75
Art Deck 35
Atlantis Miniatures 82
Gallery Zoom Panoramic 360˚ Sound Video YouTube
Bolt Action 57
Capharnaum 75
36 45 Catan 51
Choose Your Own 73
Adventure: House of Danger
Council of 4 78
Cryptid 74
CuBirds 81
Detective 65
Downfall 98
Dungeons & Dragons 77
Fightopia 48
Forbidden Sky 08
Formula D 44
Heroes of Land, 68
Air & Sea
Holding On 52
52 08 Infinity 57
KeyForge 08
League of Six 15
Mississippi Queen 15
Monsterhearts 36
Mr. Cabbagehead’s 45
Garden
News@11 70
The Ninth World 71
Sagas of Midgard 60
Sailing Toward Osiris 66
Shadows Upon Lassadar 45
Snakes and Ladders 44
Space Alert 32
Specter Ops: 80
Broken Covenant
Spirit Island 51
Spy Club 69
Star Wars: The RPG 70
The Tea Dragon 79
57 Society Card Game
Ticket to Ride: New York 76
Wallet 72
Warhammer 08, 57
Warhammer 40,000: 64
Kill Team
Welcome To... 67
Wildlands 08
Witness 56
Wits & Wagers 16
X-Wing 24

tabletopgaming.co.uk 5
 AT A GLANCE
KEYFORGE, THE NEXT GAME FROM THE CREATOR OF
MAGIC: THE GATHERING, HAS BILLIONS OF DECKS
Play the first ‘Unique Deck Game’ from Richard Garfield at Tabletop Gaming Live later this month
Having created the first-ever trading card game
– Magic: The Gathering – and the asymmetric
cyber-showdown Netrunner, sometimes
proclaimed as the best card game ever
made, Richard Garfield is no stranger to truly
groundbreaking card games.Even so, his next
project might be his most ambitious design yet.
KeyForge: Call of the Archons starts with
a familiar setup: two players, head-to-head,
playing cards to knock out their opponent. But
the game has a brand new trick up its sleeve
when it comes to the cards that players are
using. One that’s totally unique – literally.
KeyForge is what publisher Fantasy Flight
describes as the first ‘Unique Deck Game’.
The idea? Every single player has a deck like no
other. Not just the two people playing in a single
match – every person that owns the game.
In fact, there’s apparently 104,000,000,
000,000,000,000,000,000 possible deck
combinations in the game’s first set, or 104
septillion if you can’t remember how many
zeroes that is. Every pack brought by a player
will feature a different deck that only they have,
made up of three of the game’s seven houses
– but the catch is that it can’t be customised,
so you’ll have to get a completely fresh deck
to try something new. A free companion app
will let you register your one-of-a-kind deck,
find tournaments and check out other players’
decks to see how the meta’s evolving.
There’s an original twist when it comes to
gameplay, too. Players can only use cards
from one of the houses on
each of their turns. Cards don’t cost anything,
so the only limitation to what you can play
is how many cards of a certain house you
have in your hand. Commanding your army
of creatures are the powerful Archons, and
each house has a distinct play style – not
unlike Magic’s coloured mana.
Cards can be used to fight rival creatures
and players, or gather the resource of
Æmber, which is used to forge one of the
three keys needed to win.
KeyForge is planned for release during the
last quarter of 2018, but you will be able to
get an early look at the new announcement
from Gen Con and try it for yourself at the
Tabletop Gaming Live convention in London’s
Alexandra Palace later this month. The show
takes place on September 29th and 30th,
and tickets are available now.

PLAY IT AT

PRE-ORDER YOUR TICKETS TODAY

THETICKETFACTORY.COM
TICKET HOTLINE
0844 338 0338

KNOW YOUR NUMBERS

TH 10 2019
Dead-smashing
Pandemic’s hefty new anniversary edition,
2009

City of Remnants board game

is getting with miniatures and a metal first aid kit
Zombicide is being

6
a spiritual box, celebrates a decade of the co-op hit
spun off into a roleplaying game next year

$55,000
successor in

30%
Neon Gods, a Tabletop projects were Cult racing game
game of gang responsible for almost Rallyman will return
warfare set in the a third of all the money later this year, six
‘near future’ of… The price paid for the original artwork
raised on Kickstarter in the first half of of rare – and banned – Magic: The years after it went
nine years ago 2018 – a whopping $80m (£61m)! out of print
Gathering card Shahrazad at auction

REASONS TO SUBSCRIBE

• SAVE UP TO 10% PER YEAR

• GUARANTEE YOUR FREE GIFT EVERY MONTH
• DON’T MISS OUT IF THE SHOPS SELL OUT
6 January 2018

NO LONGER CAUGHT AT A CROSSROADS
The next dramatic survival game after Dead of Winter has finally been unveiled
Four years after Dead of Winter
kickstarted the Crossroads run of
survival games, Plaid Hat has revealed
its next title in the series: Gen7.
Set on a troubled colony ship
in search of a new home planet
in the far future, the game takes
A NEW KIND OF HORROR
Arkham Horror’s third edition is a radical reinvention of the Lovecraftian classic
Arkham Horror’s first new edition
in over a decade will turn the
Lovecraftian classic on its head.
The third reincarnation of
Richard Launius’ 1987 horror icon
following its 2005 update, the new
Arkham Horror has been given
a major overhaul by Mansions of
Madness and Eldritch Horror co-
designer Nikki Valens.
The changes are pretty striking,
with the traditional board replaced
by a new series of modular hex
map tiles that are rearranged for
a unique layout of the infamous city
of monsters and madness during
each playthrough.
THE TABLETOP GAMING PODCAST
DOWNLOAD NOW FROM TTGAMI.NG/TTGPODCAST
SUBSCRIBE PRINT OR
D I G I TA L F R O M J U S T
£14.99
tabletopgaming.co.uk/subscribe
For the latest news from the world of gaming visit
tabletopgaming.co.uk/news
place over a connected campaign
of seven ‘episodes’ that build on
the drama injected by the deck of
Crossroads cards with branching
story paths and a legacy-like
introduction of extra gameplay
elements and outcomes.
There’s an increased focus on
scenarios, too, with four separate
storylines to follow. Players will
start each game unaware of their
objective, needing to discover clues
to work out their ultimate goal and
grasp victory (or go mad trying).
Each of the scenarios includes
various branching paths that players
can take, adding cards as the result
of uncovered clues or growing doom
that can affect future events
and even the finale.
The
dice-heavy
gameplay also
seems to have
A single playthrough will last
around half an hour to 45 minutes,
making an entire campaign around
five hours, but it seems Gen7
will be fully replayable, with the
potential for new twists each time.
There’s no mention of a traitor
mechanic, as in Dead of Winter,
but players will be competing to
earn officer stars and bonus perks.
Gameplay involves deploying crew
to locations to obtain resources
and deal with events, rolling dice to
determine their successes.
Plaid Hat is yet to confirm a
release date for Gen7, having
announced the game at Gen Con –
so it could be we’ll see it later this
year. What we do know is a price:
$100 (£76) in the US.
evolved, with a new variant of the
Mythos phase involving pulling
tokens from a cup (or bag), similar
to Arkham Horror: The Card
Game’s chit-bag system.
Arkham Horror: Third Edition is
set for release in the last quarter
of 2018.
84
We asked…
What’s your most
treasured memory of
gaming as a kid?
You said…
Making my own paper ‘flats’ to do
ancient battles like I saw in a book
from the library (1970).
Rich Jones
Hours spent playing first-edition
Advanced Dungeons & Dragons
in the early ‘80s – all those new
modules as they came out. Ravenloft
and Dragonlance were amazing!
Andy Doherty
My family and I used to play
Cluedo all the time. We were all so
competitive and each of us has our
own special code for our clue sheets,
so whenever one of my family
members showed another person
a card we’d all mark our thoughts
of what they showed on our sheets
in each of our own codes. It was
pretty funny to watch all of us quickly
obscuring our sheets and writing
stuff down on everyone’s turn.
Jessica Portner
I still have my copy of The Warlock
of Firetop Mountain.
Wendy Busby-Cheung
There was an old Goosebumps
board game where you had to walk
through a graveyard. The board
could move and your pieces get
trapped. I loved it and played it with
my friends all the time.
Jake Wilson
Getting HeroQuest for Christmas.
Mike Kirkham-Ingram
I’ve got two. Me and a mate
playing Imperial Guard vs Imperial
Guard [Warhammer 40,000]
games. And me and my brother
playing Mordheim.
Patrick McCabe
Get in touch
tabletopmag
tabletopgamingmagazine
tabletop_gaming_magazine
STUFFED FABLES
PAINTS & TECHNIQUES STITCH
PAINTS YOU WILL NEED: STAGES
Agrax Earthshade Flash Gitz Yellow Screaming Skull Each model is split up into four stages, each Stage 3 is highlighting. This stage involves
Averland Sunset Fulgrim Pink Seraphim Sepia with a list of colours and the corresponding applying a line of your colour along the
Balor Brown Gauss Blaster Green Skavenblight Dinge paint that was used for it. Each stage uses a hard edges and ridges of the area. I would
Blue Horror Genestealer Purple Skrag Brown different technique to achieve a similar effect recommend using a fine brush and adding a
Celestra Grey Karak Stone Slaanesh Grey on each element but with different colours. tiny dash of water to your paints.
Ceramite White Krieg Khaki Temple Guard Blue Stage 1 is basecoating. Base colours are Stage 4 is for final details. This stage
Dawnstone Lugganath Orange Thunderhawk Blue applied using flat colours. This is usually applied involves adding the finishing touches,
Deathclaw Brown Mechanicus Standard Grey Wazdakka Red over several thin coats, to achieve a bold, flat sometimes just small details like the
Dechala Lilac Mephiston Red Xereus Purple colour that is evenly spread. eyes, or adding an extra highlight of
Doombull Brown Mournfang Brown XV-88 Stage 2 is layering. During this stage we increase definition.
Dorn Yellow Pallid Wych Flesh Yriel Yellow apply a flat even coat, generally a lighter If you find yourself unsure of where to apply
Emperor’s Children Pink Horror Zamesi Desert shade, over the basecoat. A thin line of the the highlights or spot highlights, look over the
Evil Suns Scarlet Rhinox Hide base colour is left in all of the recesses to images alongside the guide and compare that
Fenrisian Grey Russ Grey help simulate shadows. stage to the last.
THEADORA BASE COLOURS
XV-88, Karak Stone, Rhinox Hide &
SHADING &
LAYERING
HIGHLIGHTING
Kreig Khaki: Apply a line highlight to
BASECOATING Mournfang Brown: Apply a basecoat to the patches.
Karak Stone, Skrag Brown & Mournfang
the body, arms, head, cape and hat using Brown: Apply a layer over the patchwork. Deathclaw Brown: Apply an edge
Mournfang Brown: Apply a basecoat all over the body. the different colours randomly across highlight to the hat and cloak.
Flash Gitz Yellow: Apply a layer to the pencil
Averland Sunset: Apply a basecoat to the belt. the patches. and an edge highlight to the yellow buttons. Fulgrim Pink: Apply an edge
Xereus Purple: Apply a basecoat to the scarf and the small patch Doombull Brown: Apply a basecoat of the Emperor’s Children: Apply a layer to the eraser. highlight of the eraser.
beside the heart. cape and the sash. Pallid Wych Flesh: Apply a layer to the stitches. Ceramite White: Apply a
XV-88: Apply a basecoat to the scabbard. Averland Sunset: Add a basecoat to Blue Horror: Apply a line highlight to the dot highlight to the top
Dawnstone: Apply a basecoat to the sword. the pencil. blue buttons. edge of the stitches and
Mephiston Red: Apply a basecoat to the heart patch. Karak Stone: Apply a basecoat over Gauss Blaster Green: Apply a line highlight the buttons.
Skavenblight Dinge: Apply a basecoat to the eyes, nose and mouth. the stitches. to the green buttons. Dorn Yellow: Apply an
Karak Stone: Apply a basecoat to the stitches. Temple Guard Blue, Moot Green and Averland Sunset: Mix one part paint with edge highlight to the pencil.
Averland Sunset: Apply a basecoat to around five parts water and, with only a Skavenblight Dinge:
the buttons. small amount on your brush, apply lines to Apply a layer to the end of
Pink Horror: Apply a basecoat to the eraser. some of the lighter patches. the pencil.
PIGGLE
10 RPGs YOU MUST PLAY IN 2018!
LAYERING
Skrag Brown: Apply a layer over the body, making sure
to miss the inner ear.
Genestealer Purple: Apply a layer over the scarf.
PLUS OUR REVIEW OF D
Yriel Yellow: Apply a layer to the belt.
UNGEONS & DRAGONS’
Celestra Grey: Apply a layer to the sword.
Thunderhawk Blue: Apply a highlight to the top left of NE W E XPANSION
both the eyes and the nose.
Pallid Wych Flesh: Apply a layer over the stitches and
add a line highlight to the scabbard.
January 2018 tabletopgaming.co.uk
Evil Suns Scarlet: Apply a layer to the heart.
HIGHLIGHTING BASE SHADING & HIGHLIGHTING
Deathclaw Brown: Apply a highlight to the fur of the body. This
should be applied as an edge highlight on any hard edges, like the
COLOURS LAYERING Emperor’s Children: Apply an edge
highlight to all the hard edges,
Pink Horror: Apply a basecoat Emperor’s Children: Apply a
ears and the brow, and a line highlight to the top edges of each across the body, head, arms, legs layer over the pink, applying like the ears, as well as around
body ‘section’ – the body, head and arms. Also, add small sections and rattle. only an edge highlight to the top edge of each section of
of cross-hatching to help simulate the texture of the fabric. These Pallid Wych Flesh: Carefully apply the snout. the model. Add cross-hatching
can be achieved with two or three thin lines horizontally and then the lines around the rattle. Genestealer Purple: Apply a horizontally and vertically to
two or three vertically. Xereus Purple: Apply a basecoat layer to the Shield. simulate the knitted fabric.
FALLOUT: WASTELAND WARFARE |
Dechala Lilac: Apply an edge highlight to the scarf and a layer to the Dechala Lilac: Apply an edge
FINAL DETAILS FINAL DETAILS
BOGUS
to the shield. Dawnstone: Apply a line
tab on the edge of the heart. Mechanicus Standard Grey: highlight to the brows, mouth highlight to the shield.
Dorn Yellow: Apply an edge highlight to the belt. Lugganath Orange: Apply a very fine highlight to the Apply a basecoat to the trotters. and trotters. Celestra Grey: Apply an edge Ceramite White: Apply a dot highlight to the top left of the eye. Apply
Lugganath Orange: Apply an edge highlight to the heart.
Fenrisian Grey: Apply a dot highlight of the top left of the eyes.
Ceramite White: Apply a dot highlight of the top of the stitches and
cross-hatching, leaving a little of the original colour
around the edges.
Ceramite White: Apply a dot highlight to the top left
Skavenblight Dinge: Apply a
basecoat to the eyes, brows
Ceramite White: Apply a layer
to the handle and stripes of
highlight to the trotters, eyes
and brows.
Fenrisian Grey: Apply a dot highlight
a fine highlight to the cross-hatching, leaving a little of the original
colour at the edges. Add two lines down the head for the rattle.
Xereus Purple, Genestealer Purple & Dechala Lilac: Paint the words
BOARD GAMES
and mouth. the rattle.
Do you own
an edge highlight to the sword. of the eye. to the upper left of the eyes. ‘play clay’ onto the shield, building the highlights up from the base colour.
a fake?
July 2018 tabletopgaming.co.uk 85
STUFFED FABLES | FAKE BOARD
LEARNING
EVOLVED
Games aren’t
just
help you boost fun – they can also
GAMES
your brainpower.
Professors and
students tell us
the cranium-cram about
Darwinian delight ming benefits of
Evolution
FALLOUT
Words by Anna
Blackwell
Wasteland warfare
Nuclear PHWOAR! We go behind the
the action-packed post-apocalyptic scenes of
JANUARY 2018
minis game
STUFFED FABLES | CIVILIZATION:
THE MAKING OF DOMINION | A NEW DAWN | VENGEANCE |
AZUL
STAR SAGA PAINTING TIPS | PHOTOSYNTHESIS | MASSIVE DARKNESS
Display until 29/1/18
HNEFATAFL: THE VIKING BOARD
£5.25
HUNT FOR THE RING | TABLETOP
LIVESTEAMERS | RAXXON | AND GAME
MORE
tabletopgaming.co.uk 44 February 2018
7
 AY AT
EED TO PL
) YOU N
MORE
S (AND
ME
27 GA

8
29–30 Sep 201
th

ce
Alexandra Pala
ou rnaments,
t
ew releases, this month
ga mes, hot n a Palace later
unmissable on’s Alexandr
he d
ust so me of t oming to Lon
J more c
s an d
talk

8 September 2018
WHAT YOU
NEED TO KNOW
WHERE IS IT?
Alexandra Palace, London

WHEN IS IT?
Saturday September 29th and Sunday 30th 2018

WHEN DO THE DOORS OPEN?

9am to 6pm (Saturday), 9am to 5pm (Sunday)

HOW CAN I GET THERE?

» If you’re getting the train, head to Alexandra Palace
overground rail station or Wood Green tube station via
the Piccadilly Line.
» For car drivers, plug the postcode N22 7AY into
whatever navigation system you use. Alexandra Palace
is outside of London’s congestion charge zone, so
there’s no need to worry about extra charges. There are
a limited number of free parking spaces at the venue.
» Bus users can catch the W3 directly to Alexandra
Palace’s Palm Court.

CAN I BRING MY OWN GAMES?

Of course! We have a large open gaming area where
you’re welcome to play your games from home, those
you’ve purchased at the show or anything from our free
library of available games.

CAN I BRING MY KIDS?

Absolutely. Tabletop Gaming Live is a safe and
welcoming show for every gamer, whatever their age
or interest. Kids under 10 can attend for free, tickets
for children from 11 to 15 years old are just £10 and
discounted family bundles are available. Search
“Tabletop Gaming Live” on the Ticket Factory website
to find out full admission price details.

HOW CAN I SIGN UP

FOR TOURNAMENTS?
Turn the page to find out! If you need more
information, head to tabletopgaming.co.uk to find out
more and sign up.

BEAT THE
QUEUES!
PRE-ORDER YOUR
T I C K E T S T O D AY
THETICKETFACTORY.COM
TICKET HOTLINE
0844 338 0338

tabletopgaming.co.uk 9

29–30th September 2018
Alexandra Palace
PREVIEW
HOT
FROM
VAMPIRE: THE GEN
MASQUERADE CON
– FIFTH EDITION
The dark roleplaying game is
back for another bite
An RPG horror classic gets an
update in this bold new vision for
the World of Darkness icon that
embraces a ‘you are what you eat’
philosophy – with a bloody twist.
LUXOR
A tomb-raider to treasure
One of just three games shortlisted
for this year’s prestigious Spiel
des Jahres ‘Game of the Year’
prize, Luxor is an exciting family-
friendly treasure hunt through the
legendary tomb. Publisher Queen
Games will be bringing along its
TOURNAMENTS
SHOW YOUR SK ILL S AND W IN AM A ZING PRIZES! FIND OU T MORE AT T TGAMI.NG/T TGL18ENTER
KINGDOMINO
Grab some free stickers
just for entering (for
free) and compete
for the crown in the
delightful tile-laying hit!
Saturday 29th
12pm & 4pm
Sunday 30th
12pm & 3.30pm
10 September 2018
Queenies expansions for the game,
which are available exclusively at
shows, making Tabletop Gaming
Live one of the rare chances to
pick them up.
STRONTIUM DOG
MINIATURES GAME
From the pages of 2000 AD
onto your tabletop
Set in the unmistakably dangerous
world of the 2000 AD comic strip,
Strontium Dog is a pacey skirmish
battle between bounty hunters and
the outlaws and criminals they aim
to bring to justice, dead or alive.
Form your posse and play through
scenarios from the comic – or why
not create your own story?
THE LOST EXPEDITION:
THE FOUNTAIN OF YOUTH
& OTHER ADVENTURES
Welcome (back) to the jungle,
we’ve got fun and games
The first major expansion for last
year’s gorgeous but punishing card
game adventure, this set packs in
four different ways of playing that
can be mixed and matched as you
see fit, offering up further discoveries
and challenges in the Amazon.
KING OF TOKYO
Join the ultimate battle of
monsters for your chance
to win promos, packs and
more! Every participant
will get a Zombify card.
Saturday 29th
10am & 2pm
Sunday 30th
10am & 2pm
FORBIDDEN SKY
Matt Leacock’s co-op survival series heads to new heights with a
high-flying sequel – and it’s launching at Tabletop Gaming Live!
The third in Pandemic creator Matt Leacock’s other co-op run of games,
Forbidden Sky sees players racing against an incoming electrical storm
as they connect cables to blast off a rocket – while hoping they don’t
end up zapped! Forbidden Sky will celebrate its UK launch at Tabletop
Gaming Live, meaning you’ll be able to get your hands on it for the first time!
UK LAUNCH AT
TABLETOP GAMING LIVE
giving it away to the snooping
Mods, working to hack and recruit
without getting caught.
NEWSPEAK
Fight the power in this thrilling
cat-and-mouse chase
The next game from Sub Terra
studio Inside the Box, Newspeak is
a tense social deduction game set
in a dystopia where dissidents are CAHOOTS
rebelling against the controlling Play your cards, numbers and
Moderators. The dissidents must colours right in a co-op challenge
use codes to communicate their Could this be the next co-op card
secret meet-up location without game gem after Hanabi and The
WILD WEST EXODUS:
UK GUNSLINGERS
MASTERS
The first-ever Gunslingers
Masters event in the UK
boasts incredible prizes
for fans of the alt-history
weird west miniatures
game. Go to ttgami.ng/
ttgl18wwx for more
details and tickets.
Mind? Like in those games, you can’t
say what’s in your hand, but the whole
group is trying to complete goals,
from making piles the right colour to
getting cards to add up to the right
number. It’s tricky, but fun! Tabletop
Gaming Live is the first event Cahoots
has appeared at, making this the
perfect chance to check it out!
HOT
FROM
KINGDOMINO: GEN
AGE OF GIANTS CON
The most exciting royal
expansion since Louis
We absolutely love Kingdomino, the
speedy tile-layer that won last
year’s Spiel des Jahres, so its first
full expansion has us properly excited.
Age of Giants also works with
Queendomino, and adds the titular
towering beings to the fantasy
world, who will step on tiles and
cause havoc in players’ kingdoms.
The box also lets a fifth person play
and adds new end-game scoring
bonuses for fresh ways of playing.
CLICKBAIT
A legendary designer
gets lost on the internet
Reiner Knizia is a board game icon,
having created Modern Art, Tigris
& Euphrates and hundreds more
games. But we’ll be honest – we
didn’t expect a party game about
making internet adverts to ever be
part of that library. And yet, Clickbait
promises to apply the designer’s
magic touch to its meme-friendly
theme, getting players to roll letter
dice and write ads for ridiculous
and bizarre products, hoping to
be voted the most click-friendly
wordsmith of the group. It’s very
silly, but it might just turn out to be
another Knizia classic.
HOT
FROM
GEN
CON
THE WALKING DEAD:
HERE’S NEGAN
The comic book’s villain is back
– and badder than ever
A board game spin-off to the ace
Walking Dead minis game All Out
War, Here’s Negan follows on from
the comic book of the same name
starring the baseball bat-loving
bad guy. This time, players are on
his side, trying to clear the way in
a series of co-op scenarios – while
also aiming to impress the boss
and avoid his anger. It’s not out
until November, so don’t miss your
chance for an early look at the show.
FALLOUT:
WASTELAND WARFARE
Raiding and rolling in the post-
apocalypse miniatures game
Wasteland Warfare brings to life the
irradiated US of the RPG series with
intense firefights between survivors,
KEYFORGE: CALL OF THE ARCHONS
The next card game from the creator of Magic: The Gathering and Netrunner
The first so-called ‘Unique Deck Game’, Richard Garfield’s latest ambitious
card game features billions of individual decks that are used in one-on-one
battles, with no deckbuilding required. Only unveiled at Gen Con last month,
Tabletop Gaming Live is one of the first chances for you to give it a go.
mutants, robots and other inhabitants
of the post-apocalypse. A sprinkling
of roleplaying gives the gameplay a
unique feel. It’s thoroughly rad.
HOT
FROM
GEN
CON
LOST CITIES: RIVALS
The two-player favourite invites
more people on its next expedition
The original Lost Cities has long been
one of the best couples’ games out
there, so the chance to introduce
more players to the simple but
deviously strategic card game is
already essential. Rivals brings
something else new to the table, too,
with a brand new auction mechanic.
We’d bet it’s something special.
FUNKY CHICKEN
The groovy follow-up to Happy
Salmon hits the dancefloor
If you haven’t played the ridiculously
entertaining party game Happy Salmon,
HOT
FROM
GEN
CON
you’re missing out. Luckily, its sequel
continues the fun by making players
match dance moves to get rid of the
cards in their hand and race for the win.
Prepare to bust a move, then a gut.
TARGI
Rediscovering a desert delight
Andreas Steiger’s 2012 card game
masterpiece isn’t exactly new, but
this year’s long-awaited English
reprint is the ideal time to (re)
discover the strategic joys of placing
meeples and claiming cards in the
desert. The expansion is also due to
be published in English for the first
time, so don’t hesitate to snap it up.
HOT
FROM
GEN
CON
TOMATOMATO
Get your tongue in a twist with
this deliciously fruity game
A juicy party treat from the
creators of A Fake Artist Goes to
New York, Tomatomato’s appeal is
instant: combine separate syllables
from the name of the red berry into
increasingly hard-to-say combinations,
then fall about laughing. Simple. Grab
the Gen Con release on the show floor.
EXIT: THE GAME – THE
MYSTERIOUS MUSEUM
Through the gift shop, if you can
This month’s new instalment in the
brainteasing run of clever puzzlers
takes a trip to the Florence Natural
History Museum – and then locks
tabletopgaming.co.uk 11
 WILDLANDS
Martin Wallace ventures into unexplored territory with
a swift and strategic miniatures battle board game
Wildlands is an asymmetric miniatures game that plays out on a semi-
randomised board layout, depicting four unique factions fighting over a
29–30th September 2018
Alexandra Palace
fallen fastasy kingdom. With Brass and Steam designer Martin Wallace
at the helm, it’s a promising and unique arena-battler bursting with
character that’s well worth experiencing. You’ll be able to get a look
ahead of its planned release in October at Tabletop Gaming live.

PREVIEW

the doors. It’s your job to get out by HOT

cracking the numerous conundrums
that confront you. Robert Langdons
in the making, sign right up.
HOT
FROM
GEN
CON
WARHAMMER: AGE OF
SIGMAR – CHAMPIONS
From fantasy miniatures to
innovative trading card game
Combining the world of Age of Sigmar
with the tech-infused CCG mechanics
of PlayFusion’s debut trading card
game Lightseekers, Champions is a
fast-playing card-battler with some
neat tricks up its sleeve. Among them
is the ability to import your physical
cards into the game’s companion
app, letting you track and use your
whole collection both on the table
and in online digital matches. The
collectible card game only came out
at Gen Con, making Tabletop Gaming
Live one of the first big outings for the
newly-released title.
FROM
GEN
CON
IMHOTEP: A NEW DYNASTY
Building up hype
The first major expansion for Phil
‘Sushi Go!’ Walker-Harding’s nifty
game of competitive builders in
ancient Egypt, this set adds a bunch
of new cards and monuments, plus
the extra challenge of predicting
when buildings will be completed for cards, trying to maximise their score gladiator – and living to bask in the
bonus rewards – and suffering the by collecting sets while avoiding glory. The game’s Kickstarter
wrath of the gods if you’re wrong. underworld ferryman Charon. launches during Tabletop Gaming
Live, giving you the chance to take a
look in person before you back.
INGENIOUS
NESSOS Looking smart
Collect Greek legends on the sly First released all the way back in
in this godly game of deceit 2004, Ingenious was arguably due
A snappy 20-minute bluffing game a fresh makeover. This year’s new
starring the pantheon of Greek OBAMA LLAMA 2 edition of the abstract hex-tile-layer
gods brought to life by the mythical Can you crack a celebrity rhyme? leaves the gameplay untouched, but
artistry of 7 Wonders illustrator If you can, you’re in for a good time boasts brand new artwork. Genius!
Miguel Coimbra. Players offer and The first Obama Llama brought us
choose whether to accept hidden surreal rhymes from the head of
Radio 1 DJ Matt Edmondson like

PARTICIPATION
Tom Cruise in his platform shoes
and Angelina Jolie eating ravioli.
GAMES The sequel amps up the ridiculous,
with even more outlandish ditties
H E A D T O T H E PA N O R A M A and A-list cameos.
R O O M T O P L AY :
» STARFINDER
» PATHFINDER
» CALL OF CTHULHU
» GASLANDS MONSTER MATCH
» RUNEQUEST Don’t fritter with the critters!
» FROSTGRAVE Being the quickest isn’t always
» FROSTGRAVE: best in this different spin on speed
GHOST ARCHIPELAGO GLADIATORES games. Players hunt to match the
Enter the arena with this
» SANDS OF THE SUDAN hard-hitting card game
dice, but some cards are worth
» UFO Engage in fast and furious card
more points than others, making
» AND MORE! combat in this brutal blow-by-blow
taking your time sometimes more
worthwhile. Expect monster fun.
take on pleasing the crowd as a

12 September 2018

HOT
FROM
GEN
CON
MERCADO
Go on a shopping spree to earn
your status – if you have the coin
Istanbul creator Rüdiger Dorn
accompanies players to the market
in this competitive game of buying
luxuries to boost your reputation.
But that takes the right money –
and you don’t get a choice which
coins you draw from your bag
of gold. A bit of luck and a bit of
strategy, and you’ll strike yourself
the perfect deal.
WARHAMMER FANTASY
ROLEPLAY: FOURTH EDITION
A fantasy roleplaying icon,
revitalised for a new age
Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay,
the RPG based on the miniatures
game, remains a touchstone for
scores of gamers. That’s despite
the game not having been updated
in almost a decade, with its
2009 third edition now a distant
memory. This year sees a glorious
return for the ‘80s exploration
of the universe, with a fourth
edition influenced by the earlier
versions while making some modern
improvements to an experience
that’s captivated players for decades.
PLAY THESE GAMES
AND MANY MORE AT
TABLETOP GAMING LIVE!
Don’t forget, you can pre-
order your tickets to beat
the queues at the show:
» THETICKETFACTORY.COM
» 0844 338 0338
EVERYBODY’S TALKIN’
Designers, experts, personalities, the Tabletop Gaming team
and more will be gathering in Alexandra Palace’s West Hall
for two days of entertaining and insightful talks, seminars,
workshops and more – with plenty of laughs along the way
SATURDAY
SEPTEMBER 29TH
10AM PAINTING THE ‘MINIATURE’
DROP-IN WORKSHOP
Follow Deathwatch Studios’
Andy Leighton as he paints
some awesome miniatures –
or have a go at painting one
yourself! Andy will be on hand
to answer any questions on
painting and his past guides
featured in Tabletop Gaming
magazine. Plus, come and take
a look at some of the miniatures
painted for previous issues to
get inspiration for your own
painting schemes.
11AM GAMING FOR THE
GREATER GOOD: USING
GAMES TO RAISE AWARENESS
OF MENTAL HEALTH
Phil Tottman and Tom Dryland,
creators of Book of Beasties,
discuss the creation and origin
of the mental health awareness
card game, and why using gaming
to broach serious issues like
mental health is the future for
this type of education for young
people. They’ll be joined by Anna
Williamson: television presenter,
TalkRadio broadcaster, life
coach, counsellor, Master NLP
practitioner, author of the number
one bestselling book Breaking
Mad and ambassador for Mind,
Childline and The Prince’s Trust.
12PM CALLING CTHULHU
Join Mike Mason, Chaosium’s
Call of Cthulhu line editor, and
game writers Paul Fricker and
Scott Dorward to hear about the
latest news about the RPG, how
to start playing and how to craft
adventures.
1PM PLAY IT SMART: WHAT
WE CAN LEARN FROM GAMES
(AND WHY THEY SHOULD BE
USED TO TEACH US)
Manchester Metropolitan
academics and Games Research
network co-directors Dr. Paul
Wake and Dr. Sam Illingworth,
plus guests, talk about the role
that games can play in education
and engagement.
2PM TIPS FOR TEACHING
GAMES WITH GAMING RULES!
Gaming Rules!’s Paul Grogan reveals
the ways you can become a better
teacher of games, including tips on
how to get people playing quickly
and making it fun and engaging.
3PM BUILDING A BETTER
TABLETOP COMMUNITY
The gaming explosion has seen
the hobby become incredibly
diverse, with players from all
kinds of backgrounds getting in
on the fun. Journalist, author
and critic Owen Duffy is joined by
game designer Bez, associate
professor of Games Research at
Staffordshire University Esther
McCallum-Stewart and more to
discuss ways that the tabletop
industry and community can
encourage civility, inclusiveness
and respect, and why that
ultimately results in better games.
4PM PUTTING THE
WARHAMMER DOWN: JAMES
M. HEWITT TALKS GOING SOLO
WITH NEEDY CAT GAMES
The Warhammer Quest: Silver Tower,
Gorechosen and DreadBall designer
reveals why he left Games Workshop
behind to open his indie board game
studio and takes us behind-the-
scenes of some of the projects
he’s working on, from Hellboy: The
Board Game to Blitz Bowl.
5PM ROLLING ON THE
FLOOR: SHOULD GAMES
MAKE YOU LAUGH?
Tabletop Gaming contributor and
game designer James Wallis (The
Extraordinary Adventures of Baron
Munchausen) is joined by a panel
of very funny folks from across
the world of games to talk about
games that give players the giggles
– and no doubt crack a few gags of
their own along the way.
SUNDAY
SEPTEMBER 30TH
10AM PLAYING THE OLDIES:
5,000 YEARS OF GAMES IN
UNDER 60 MINUTES
James Wallis is joined by history
buffs and gaming experts to
take us on a whistle-stop tour
of gaming history, from its early
origins centuries ago to the
emergence of modern designs
and the tabletop innovations
leading us into the future.
11AM CATAN: GLOBAL
WARMING – AN UNOFFICIAL
EXPANSION PLAY SESSION
Come and play the Catan: Global
Warming scenario with its
creators and see if you have
what it takes to settle the island
sustainably. Recommended for
players with previous Catan
experience. Limited to 24 people.
1PM THE TABLETOP GAMING
PODCAST: LIVE!
Tabletop Gaming editor Matt Jarvis
hosts the first-ever LIVE episode
of the Tabletop Gaming Podcast,
discussing with guests what
they’ve seen on the show floor,
what they’re playing and more!
2PM HANDCRAFTING GAMES
Have you ever wanted to make a
game? A print-and-play game? A
prototype? During this seminar
Jackson Pope will show you
how he handcrafts high-quality
games. You’ll learn tips and tricks
from his 12 years’ experience of
handcrafting games to a very high
standard and stories from his
experiences running two board
game publishing companies, during
which he’s handcrafted over 600
games and sold over 8,000.
4PM UK INDIE RPG
LEAGUE: MAKING AND
SELLING INDIE RPGS IN
THE AGE OF KICKSTARTER
A panel of British indie RPG makers
– including James Iles (UFO Press),
Chris Longhurst (Certain Death)
and Grant Howitt, Mary Hamilton
and Chris Taylor (Rowan, Rook and
Decard) – talk about their experiences
getting their games made, funded and
delivered to players. They’ll discuss
the different ways you can do that, the
various challenges and opportunities
presented by making indie RPGs in
the UK instead of the US, and how to
interest the public in you – and your
games – when you’re first starting
out as a designer.
tabletopgaming.co.uk 13
 FIRST TURN
VLADIMIR
SUCHY
The Czech designer of 20th Century
and Pulsar 2849 on his initial bid for
gaming glory with 15th-century-set
auction game, League of Six
Interview by Dan Jolin
BACKGROUND
“I’ve lived in Prague my whole life, where I work as
a government employee. I don’t consider myself a
typical board game designer. I feel more like a fan
who’s experienced happiness with realising some of
his ideas. I played chess a lot as a child, and the Czech
version of Monopoly, but the big change came when
I met my wife in 2001 and we started playing modern
board games together: Settlers of Catan, Carcassonne,
Elfenland… That was when ideas started coming into
my head about creating some games myself.”
COMPONENTS
“I was inspired by some mechanisms in a few well-
known games, such as Amun-Re, for the auction
element; Puerto Rico, where you place the goods in a
stock; and Zatre, where you have to fill up the line to gain
the bonus – although in League of Six it was transformed
into exporting the goods. These mechanisms I modified
and organised into a new, innovative unit.”
OBJECT
“I wasn’t aiming it at a particular group of players. I just
wanted to create a Eurogame of the type I like. The first
idea for a mechanism for League of Six was its auction
innovation, which I tested independently of the
whole game. The theme of tax collecting for Emperor
Sigismund in the Holy Roman Empire fitted the game
mechanism, and history is my other hobby, so I like
creating games with historical themes. I remember the
Lusatian military power unit known as the League of
Six was a topic I’d just read about in a book.”
SETUP
“League of Six was the third or fourth board game I
created. It was quite a short time – 10 months – from
first testing until publishing the game, and only about
20% of it changed during that process. Ideas come to
me spontaneously, so the main problem was balancing
the mechanisms so they worked well together. I was
lucky with League of Six, because at the same time I
finished it, the very successful and famous company
September 2018
Czech Games Edition was founded with the aim to
publish many games of Czech designers. So League of
Six and Vlaada Chvátil’s Galaxy Trucker were the first
I
two games of the new CGE company.” don’t
HOW TO PLAY
“I would describe League of Six as a light Euro-style
consider
game. It is for three to five players, and over six rounds
they are trying to win an auction for any of the cities as
myself
conveniently as possible, and in ‘their’ city they collect
taxes for Sigismund. Auction is in this case innovated
a typical
by moving figures on the board between particular
cities. Players transmit the price for winning to each
board
other, and the player who loses must move to another
city, and has to pay for this move. The proceeds from
game
each city are transferred to Sigismund’s warehouses,
where VPs can be obtained.”
designer.
END OF THE GAME
“It was published in autumn 2007 during Essen Spiel,
which was a huge experience for me. The first print
was sold out during Essen Spiel, and other prints and
several different-language versions followed. The
publishing company was delighted and satisfied, and
it inspired me to design more games. If I could change
anything about the game from today’s point of view, I
would have made the expansion, Loyal Retinue, part of
the basic version of the game. The expansion provides
more possibilities – if it had been part of the basic
game, it would have been more successful.”
STRATEGY TIPS
“I would say that if someone wants to start designing
board games, it is helpful for him or her to play a lot
of different games and gain some experience with
different mechanisms and themes. If you have your
first prototype already, find experienced players with
critical views and think about what they are talking
about during the testing of your prototype. If the
comments are repeated continually, then include them
into your corrections. It is not good to say, ‘All testers
are wrong and my ideas are the best ones!’”
tabletopgaming.co.uk 15
 1 WITS & WAGERS
As much a quiz as it is a sharp bidding game, you don’t need to
know the answer in Wits & Wagers – you just have to be able
to make a decent guess without going over! Bid on your correct
answers (or other players’) and
you’ll get a payout based on the
question’s odds. Fast, fun and playable
with a big crowd, it’s a sure bet.

Q: What is the fewest number of moves

that it takes to solve any Rubik’s Cube?

2
A: 20. (This is true for all
43,252,003,274,489,856,000
possible combinations!)

MR LISTER’S
QUIZ SHOOTOUT
A party game that hits the bullseye, Mr Lister has two teams exchanging
shots in response to questions with list of answers. The first team to miss
loses the shootout – and draws are settled with a quickdraw tie-breaker.

Q: List the UK’s eight largest supermarket chains.

10
A: Tesco, Asda, Sainsbury’s, Morrisons, Co-op, Aldi, Waitrose, Lidl.

OF THE BEST
QUIZ AND
TRIVIA GAMES
Question: Who doesn’t love a good battle of the minds?
Answer: Nobody, of course! Prove you’re a regular clever-clogs
and font of knowledge with these brain-busting delights
Chosen by Matt Jarvis

4
BEZZERWIZZER
Taking its name from the German word for ‘know-it-all’, this
trivia classic features a Scrabble-like bag of tiles that feature
question categories rather than letters. Each player or team
draws a handful and arranges them in the order they think

3
matches their knowledge, earning more points for correct
answers to do with the topics they feel confident in. A few
special tiles add the chance to swap tiles or steal another
player’s question for extra points. From there,
it’s a race to the finish line.

Q: Which of the

TIMELINE
Not a game for those who struggle with remembering dates, Timeline features a
original Seven
Wonders of the
Ancient World was
deck of cards full of historical events. It’s your task to try and put them in order, created to cure
taking turns to insert a card into the increasingly crowded row. Put one in the Nebuchadnezzar’s
wrong place and you’ll have to draw a new card; the first to empty their hand wife’s homesickness?
wins. There’s a number of instalments in the series, from inventions to music and A: The Hanging
cinema – combine them together for the ultimate headscratcher. Gardens of Babylon.

Q: Put these inventions in order from oldest to newest: teabag, chronometer, camera.
A: Chronometer (1735), camera (1888), teabag (1908).

16 September 2018
5
FAUNA
What do you get when you combine the designer of the
intense Eurogame Power Grid, Friedemann Friese, with animal
trivia? Fauna: a quiz game for gamers. Mixing in elements of
bidding, bluffing and area control with knowing your animal
facts, it’s a seriously smart spin on the typical trivia experience
as players bet on where each revealed animal lives and its size.

6
But only one player can occupy each space, so it’s a competition to get it dead on!

Q: How much does

a typical bison
weigh and where
ANOMIA
A fast-playing party card game for people
can it be found? stuffed to the brim with random information,
A: 450-900kg, the Anomia works a bit like Snap, but when two
Great Plains (US). cards match the players must quickly name
something to do with their opponent’s category
first in order to claim the card. Wild cards and the chance to
combo matches together make for a fast and entertaining time –
best brush up on your pop trivia beforehand.

Q: Name a well-known shampoo brand.

A: Tresemmé, L’Oréal, Pantene, Head & Shoulders, Dove (etc.)

7 8
LINKEE
Taking quizzes back to their basics but with a twist, Linkee is all
about questions. You’ll be given four of them to try and get right,
but there’s a fifth solution to discover that ties all of the other
answers together. The first person to work it out and shout ‘Linkee’
nabs the card, which has a letter on it. Collect the right cards to
spell the name of the game and you win!
Q: Name the mythical
firebird that is also the
capital of Arizona – and
the magical children’s best-
seller it lends its name to.
(Clue: it’s number five in a
certain series.)
A: Phoenix, and Harry
Potter and the Order of
the Phoenix.
SMARTY
PARTY!
What if quizzes were less about getting the
questions right, and more about not getting
them wrong? Smarty Party! is the answer,
pitting players in a head-to-head contest to
continually name items on a list relating
to a question. Guess wrong and you’ll get
a penalty token. Get one right, though,
and you’ll earn the smarty pants used to
cancel out a token. The round keeps going
until all the tokens are handed out or the
list is finished, with tokens moving
players along a score tracker –
the person who earns the least
penalty points can officially call
themselves a smarty-pants. Until
the next match, that is.

Q: What are the top three best-

selling construction/building toys?
A: Lego, Duplo, Megabloks.

9 WHEN
IN
ROME
Transforming smart speaker AI
10 QWORDIE
A quiz game crossed with
Bananagrams, Qwordie isn’t just about
getting the answer right, but being
able to spell it using letter tiles, too!
Luckily, its questions aren’t very hard,
but they do have multiple answers –
using more letters and answering
before your opponents means
Alexa into a quizmaster so everyone accelerating towards the finish line more
can have a shot at answering, this quickly, but you don’t want to give your
tech-enhanced travel trivia game features rivals the chance to beat you there…
real people asking a wide range of questions about their homes around the
globe as players fly around a physical board to collect points, special ability cards and Q: A cow, sheep, pig and duck all make
souvenirs. The questions come with plenty of banter (especially if you get the answer well-known sounds. Spell one.
wrong) and the handy virtual assistant means it’s very easy to get going. A: MOO, BAA, OINK, QUACK.
(Hopefully you didn’t
need our help with
Q: According to urban legend, why is the circular train line in the middle of that one.)
Moscow’s metro map brown?
A: Stalin left a coffee cup on the original plans, and it left a ring.

tabletopgaming.co.uk 17
Role Call
Long-awaited settings, old games made fresh for new players
and all the things a future adventurer could ever need.
Words by John Dodd

PUNKTOWN STARFINDER: ARMORY SHADOWRUN: CALL OF CTHULHU: MASKS

Six years in the making, this is the
final production from Miskatonic
River Press, this book for Call
of Cthulhu details the complete
setting of Punktown as drawn
from the mind of author Jeffrey
Thomas. While the Mythos
is ever present, the greater
danger lies within the city, where
aliens, mutations and out-of-
control technology threaten to
destabilise everything.
Chronicle City | $15
Everyone needs gear out in
the darkness of space – here
you’ll find the newest equipment
available for Starfinder, from
light to powered armours and
new weapons together with
interesting ways to customise
them. There are also several new
augmentations and equipment-
themed options, with everything
from cybernetics to magitech and
necrografts available.
Paizo | $10
STREET LETHAL
Only professionals survive in the
shadows; being an amateur is a
sure way of getting killed quickly.
Contained within this book is all the
knowledge to ensure that when
the fight comes to you, you’ve got
the skills to take care of things.
Including briefings on corporations,
mercenaries and a catalogue full
of the most efficient weapons on
the streets.
Catalyst Games | $25
OF NYARLATHOTEP
Listed by many as the greatest
campaign every written, this new
version of the Call of Cthulhu classic
is 666 pages in the campaign
alone, then hundreds more pages
of handouts and appendices.
Venture forth again to find out
what happened upon the Carlyle
Expedition in an epic campaign over
five continents, where death and
insanity wait at every turn.
Chaosium | $60

September 2018 tabletopgaming.co.uk 19


Replaying the winners of the Spiel des Jahres so you don’t have to
MISSISSIPPI QUEEN
S
piel des Jahres winners fall into two
categories. There are the instant classics:
the of-course-it-wons, the titles you’ll
see on the shelves of shops forever alongside
a slew of expansions and spin-offs, the ones
mentioned in newspaper articles about this
exciting new board gaming thing the journalist
has just heard about. And then there are
the other winners: the ones you struggle to
remember, and sometimes struggle to find
because they’ve slipped into misty obscurity.
Let’s get one thing straight right now: there is
nothing wrong with Mississippi Queen. It’s fine.
It’s a perfectly enjoyable strategy-race game about
piloting paddle steamers down the Big Muddy. But
it had the misfortune to win the Spiel des Jahres
after three stone-cold classics: Manhattan (1994),
Settlers of Catan (1995) and El Grande (1996). Any
game would have a hard time looking sharp in
that company. When you’re an easygoing title with
simple mechanics and Southern style – by way
of Bavaria, where publisher Goldsieber Spiele is
based – it’s going to be all upstream.
Mississippi Queen is a handsome box
showing a mighty paddle steamer that in
no way resembles the ones inside and has
only a nodding acquaintance with the rules of
20 September 2018
All the
Jahres
Words and photographs by James Wallis
arrangement of islands on it, some to be avoided
Year of win: 1997 and some to be stopped at to allow a southern
Designer: Werner Hodel belle with a parasol to come on board. The last
Number of players: 2-5 tile is the destination: first to dock there wins.
Playing time: 45 minutes Once you’ve mastered the arts of navigation,
Worthy winner? Arguably acceleration and steering among the islands
Worth playing now? Yes without accidentally ramming them or your
Availability: Rare in the UK, competitors, you’ll soon realise that ramming
common in Germany is not only a viable tactic, it’s the key to success.
Price: Anywhere from £10 to £50 Shunting someone with sufficient speed lets
you determine the direction they get pushed,
perspective. With the lid off, for your money you and if that happens to be a backwater or dead-
get five plastic paddle steamers, each with two end creek then ha-ha-ha. Soon the Mississippi
wheels with the numbers 1 to 6 on them. The left starts resembling Death Race 1860, the river
wheel (red) shows your speed, the right (black) currents awash with the crinolines of
shows how much coal you have on board. drowned passengers.
Regular acceleration, gentle deceleration and
easy turns are free, but anything more energetic
will cost coal, and if you run out then you are out.
The board is modular, each of the 12 tiles a
cluster of hexagons, and whenever the leading
paddle steamer enters a virgin tile its player takes
the next one from the stack and
rolls a special die to show if
it lies ahead, left or right
of the current. Each
tile has a different
 It’s fun, but it all feels a bit old-fashioned,
so much so that I completely made up that bit
about knocking passengers overboard. The tile-
placement mechanic harks back to games like
Milton Bradley’s Thunder Road, and stopping
three times to pick up passengers is remarkably
similar to the triple-lettuce-drop-off mechanic
in Hare and Tortoise, the first Spiel des Jahres
winner back in 1979. Limiting your fuel is nice but
nothing new and there was no shortage of clever
racing games in the late 1990s: the dice-tastic
Formula Dé had been around since 1991, and
Carabande (aka PitchCar) had been a Spiel des
Jahres runner-up to El Grande the year before.
But Mississippi Queen did bring two factors
to the table: its novel theme, and its lack of
randomness. The only time a die gets rolled
is to decide the direction a new river tile is
placed. Everything else is directly controlled
by the player – except the other players and
their inevitable attempts to shunt you into the
shore. Hare and Tortoise was also completely
choice-based, but Hare and Tortoise didn’t have
ramming rules and 16 plastic belles in the box.
Players must learn to juggle burning coal and managing their speed to avoid hitting islands – and,
After two proper strategy games, Mississippi
once they’ve mastered the basics, to ram their opponents in order to gain an edge
Queen feels like a throwback to the titles that had
won the Spiel des Jahres in the 1980s: simpler, more
charming, less demanding. The Spiel des Jahres is, the player in last place. There was a US edition market had got the rich taste of a new style of
after all, an award focused on family games. Awards from Rio Grande that’s been out of print for game on the wind, and wanted more of them. In
juries never operate in a vacuum; whether or not years. Werner Hodel, the designer, produced his the next few years the Spiel des Jahres jury would
it’s done consciously they’re always influenced by last credited game in 2000: Trau Dich, a simple find itself pulled in two different directions by the
the knowledge of what won the year before, and in roll-and-move. Only 19 BoardGameGeek users changing tides of design and demand, a conflict
this case you can almost feel the jurors hitting the have it in their collection. that will finally come to a head in 2002.
reset button, bringing things back towards a more History seems content to let Mississippi
generally acceptable middle-of-the-river course. Queen drift gently out of mind. It’s certainly a
Goldsieber produced a single supplement lesser entry in the annals of the Spiel des Jahres, Next month: 1998’s winner, a game of
for the game – The Black Rose, adding sandbars, though there’s nothing wrong with it at all – it’s planning cross-country travel routes by
the legendary Alan R. Moon. Not Ticket
floating logs and refuelling stations, plus more entertaining and pleasingly strategic, if light. But
to Ride – it’s Elfenroads
board tiles and a rogue steamer controlled by attitudes were changing in the late 1990s. The

tabletopgaming.co.uk 21
 my favourite game
D. BRAD TALTON
The Millennium Blades, Pixel Tactics and BattleCON
creator tells us why there’s little he’d rather be doing
than getting his throat cut on the high seas in Libertalia
You’ll sink
or swim by
your own
wits and
decisions in
this highly
strategic
game.
W
hile the game I’m most excited
to play changes often, the one I
consistently rate as my favourite
(outside of my own projects, which
have a separate and special place
in my heart) is Libertalia by Paolo Mori, published
by Marabunta. This game combines cut-throat secret
selection with an elegant and clear payout mechanism,
making it an intense competition for skilled players and
an accessible entertainment for novice gamers.
Each round, all players will receive an identical pirate
crew to send out to plunder. The order that you send them
in, and the interactions with the other crews, will determine
what loot you actually bring back from the raids. Crew
members are ranked and, when you send out your crew
members, the one with the highest rank gets first pick of the
loot, second-highest gets second pick and so on. The loot
tiles vary between positive and negative points, and include
a collectible set (treasure map pieces) as well.
Some turns are rich in treasure, giving you an opportunity
to safely use the special abilities of your riskier crew
members, or to try and take extra shares. Other
turns are full of danger (curses and military officers)
and will force you to commit hard to winning the round, lest
you be forced to take the negative scoring loots. Miscalculate
the intentions of your opponents, and you might waste
your best crewmen needlessly or be left holding the
curses. Predict and counterplay successfully, and
you’ll have the best loot and the strongest crew
during the scoring round.
You won’t need all of your crew on each
raid – those you save will be held over
to the next round. While you each get
September 2018
identical new crew members, the holdovers mean that
going into rounds two and three, players will have slightly
different crews from one another. The variable characters
and their interactions make each game play unique,
but the symmetry of crews mean that each player fully
understands what the others’ cards are capable of doing.
Once things start to diverge with the asymmetry of
rounds two and three, players already know what cards
they can expect to see come up. Even with such variable
player powers, there are no surprises about a card’s
effect (though the big reveal itself is quite often filled
with ‘How did I not see that coming?’ moments). This
clean dissemination of information is what makes the
game so approachable. Combined with the interesting
effects of the crew members and the loot piles which
alter their prioritisation, you’ll sink or swim by your own
wits and decisions in this highly strategic game.
Aside from the great gameplay, Libertalia features a
fairly convincing theme matched by great artwork and
immersive flavour. The boards that hold your ship are
a great touch, and really bring to life the feeling that the
table is an ocean and that your small privateer vessels
are surrounding a large merchant boat and preparing to
attack. The flavour text on the cards is a lot of fun, and the
effects feel very on-point; the French officer will pay you
for capturing Spanish military, normally not a desirable tile
to take. The brawler knocks out the highest-ranking officer
on the ship, but watch out if everyone starts throwing them
in at once. The cabin boy doesn’t get a share of the treasure
– which is just fine if the pile is full of curses!
So there you have it! Libertalia is a great game, and one
I expect to be playing for years to come. Paolo, if you’re
reading this, I really want an expansion for this game!
tabletopgaming.co.uk 23
 I
t seems almost ludicrous to suggest today that
X-Wing was going to be anything but a huge
success. But six years ago, the idea of a Star
Wars tabletop game featuring pre-painted
miniatures of the galaxy’s iconic vessels
duking it out in space wasn’t such a sure bet.
“I think it’s safe to say that absolutely
nobody predicted how wildly popular X-Wing
would be,” confirms Alex Davy, co-designer of the
game’s second edition, which releases later this month.
After all, this was 2012. It would be another
three years until Episode VII, The Force Awakens,
24 September 2018
would breathe much-needed life back into the
main Star Wars filmography and wash away
much of the sour taste left by the prequel trilogy
a decade before. Star Wars nostalgia lingered
as it always had done, but the franchise’s future
appeared to largely rest on TV cartoon The
Clone Wars and Lego sets based on increasingly
obscure vehicles and locations. On the tabletop,
things were even worse, with years of forgettable
spin-offs and Monopoly and Risk reskins painting
a bleak picture for fans hoping to immerse
themselves in the universe.

Players certainly didn’t expect the one-two punch
of games delivered that year by Fantasy Flight, which
would go on to shepherd the Star Wars series to
a golden era of games. Eric Lang’s Star Wars: The
Card Game became one of the studio’s headline
living card games, with a passionate competitive
scene and wide-reaching exploration of the original
trilogy’s timeline; it continued to thrive until being
brought to a conclusion only earlier this year. It
was X-Wing, though, that would prove to be an
especially astonishing revelation, its approachable
modernisation of miniatures wargame strategy
THE
FACTOR
X-Wing put us right in the cockpit of
Star Wars’ intense space battles – and
the experience was phenomenal. But its
creators were just getting started, as the
game’s biggest overhaul yet proves
Words by Matt Jarvis | Images courtesy of Lucasfilm
and highly customisable approach to building PLAY
modestly-sized squads of ships propelling it from X-WING 2.0 AT
being a dining-room table favourite among casual
players to a dominant presence in the organised
play scene. Its enduring popularity and
tournament viability have since long outstripped
its designers’ original expectations.
“Six years [is] a long time for any miniatures PRE-ORDER YOUR TICKETS TODAY
game,” says Davy. “The core mechanics are simple
THETICKETFACTORY.COM
while allowing for a lot of strategy, but the way the
foundation of the game was built did not anticipate its TICKET HOTLINE
0844 338 0338
runaway success.”
tabletopgaming.co.uk 25
 X-WING 2.0
NEVER TELL ME THE ODDS
While the game certainly hasn’t suffered from the
overwhelming reception from players, this year’s second
edition of X-Wing seeks to reinforce parts of the game’s
foundation that simply weren’t built to withstand the
rapid expansion and iteration that come with needing to
keep pace with the constant shift of high-level play.
“Simple things like having a fairly limited amount of
text space on cards becomes extremely limiting over a
long enough time period, especially when you run out
of simple abilities and have to get increasingly creative
to break new ground,” highlights Davy.
“It’s also worth pointing out that the nature of an
ever-expanding game with no built-in mechanism
for updating older content meant that newer releases
were tending to accumulate an abundance of riches
while older products either languished or had to be
somewhat clumsily updated through specifically-
tailored upgrade cards. While designing Second
26 September 2018
Edition,, we were able to distribute these newer
mechanics and ideas more equitably and thematically, ABOVE The new X-Wing is
as well as design a system that’s much easier to update familiar, but the gameplay
and rebalance in the future.” has been fine-tuned to be
Attempting to wrestle X-Wing’s ’s now sprawling list of faster and slicker than ever
gameplay concepts and systems into a sleeker form is
designer Frank Brooks, who has rewritten creator Jay RIGHT X-Wing 2.0 co-
Little’s original rules from the ground up. designer Alex Davy
“Having been seeped in first-edition language for
years, we have felt the limitations of the game’s syntax,” OPPOSITE TOP Some
he says. “I really wanted to take this opportunity to of the new Rebel and
unify the way abilities were written, remove some of the Imperial ship minis
unnecessary verbage, and otherwise write thinking ahead
to what abilities we knew we wanted to re-introduce.”
“By revisiting the core mechanics and widening
the foundation substantially, we were actually able
to simplify a lot of complicated mechanics and
streamline the whole game substantially, without
losing any depth,” Davy adds.
 We
were
able to
simplify
a lot of
complicated
mechanics
and
streamline As well as accounting for years of additional concepts
the whole and systems stretching a simple core to its limits, the
changes aim to make the game’s foundation more
game. malleable for the years to come. One such addition is
the introduction of charges, a type of resource card that
grant certain effects a limited number of uses over the
course of a match – for example, once a round – and can
eventually be depleted, or recharged, as necessary.
“This is a lot more flexible than the way similar
effects worked in first edition, where expendable
cards like torpedoes only had a single use by default,”
explains developer Max Brooke.
Revisiting ships’ actions allows the team to rebalance
the dozens of potential combinations and clashes that
fuel X-Wing’s
X-Wing heated meta, giving players extra ways to
utilise each ship in their squad and make the vessels feel
more individual. One of the most refreshing decisions is
the reclamation of Push the Limit, a powerful first-edition
upgrade that granted an extra action and was immediately
seized upon by competitive players.
“Having too many actions could also take the
emphasis of the game away from the fundamentals of
flying the ships,” Brooke acknowledges.
In X-Wing 2.0, Push the Limit has been absorbed
into the main rules as ‘linked’ actions that let certain
ships perform pairs of actions, often with the risk-
reward price of stress.
“It’s basically a way of baking Push the Limit into
every ship that we want to have it, but it also opens up a
ton of new design space,” Brooke continues.
“Linking two different actions, or even
the same two actions in a different
order, can make a ship feel unique.”
To balance the expanded
capability of ships, actions
can now be categorised
by difficulty – just as
manouevres are – with
tougher skills coming
at a greater cost.
“For instance,
a Y-Wing can definitely do a barrel roll in the fiction,
but in First Edition, it had to access it through an
upgrade card,” Brooke says. “Now, it can natively
do it, but it’s a red action, so it gives it a stress – and
the Expert Handling upgrade can make that action
easier, letting it do it without stress.
“We’ve worked to control access actions in Second
Edition, while still giving players fun options and
even expanding options where possible.”
The alterations will be felt most strongly by
competitive players hooked into the nuances
of X-Wing’s meta, but Brooke promises that the
improvements also bring the game’s most important
feeling – getting to pilot the spaceships of Star Wars
– to the fore.
“We found that First Edition served the squad
optimisation element really well, but many people felt
that this was coming at a cost to flying the ships,” he
says. “Both good squad choices and good tactics at the
table should be important. One of our biggest goals
with Second Edition was to make sure that, to take
advantage of your good choices in squad building,
you’d have to make good choices at the table.”
THE FORCE WILL BE WITH YOU
Despite playing a central role in Star Wars’ most
memorable scene featuring an X-Wing – when Luke
Skywalker is told by the ghost of Obi-Wan Kenobi to “Use
the Force”, disables his targeting computer and delivers
his critical shot on the the Death Star during the climactic
final battle of A New Hope – the mystical Force has played
a minimal role in X-Wing to date.
“When the first edition was created it was intended to
be a simple game that people of all ages could partake
in,” Brooks offers by way of explanation. “Part of keeping
the game simple was to not add too many mechanics
to overwhelm the player. After having worked on the
game for a few years, we thought long and hard about
whether or not to implement the Force as a mechanic
in first edition. Although it exists in subtle ways through
the various abilities – for example, Luke Skywalker’s
tabletopgaming.co.uk 27
 X-WING 2.0
ship ability – we wondered whether we should add it
to the game in a more overt way. Once we came to the
conclusion to make the second edition, we decided to
hold back on doing the dramatic overhaul that adding
the Force so late in the game [would require].”
X-Wing 2.0 finally breaks Force powers away from
standard actions, becoming a subset of charges used by
the Force users of the galaxy. The effects of the powers
can be as simple as modifying dice – to, say, help hit
a target no bigger than a womp rat – to more specific
ways to exert their control of reality.
“Adding entirely new mechanics to a great game is a
risky proposition, because you don’t necessarily want to
tamper with a successful design,” Davy says. “We knew
we wanted to integrate any kind of Force mechanic we
designed as seamlessly as possible with the existing design,
and so we took a comprehensive look at the way the Force
was depicted in First Edition. What we found is that we
had frequently made use of focus tokens and focus-related
game mechanics to represent this idea of being more in
tune with the underlying mystical forces of the Star Wars
galaxy. From there, it was a pretty easy route to the very
simple but powerful ability to more readily and naturally
manipulate the ‘focus’ die result, especially since we had
already sketched out the concept of charges.
“I’m really happy with how smoothly and simply the
Force was integrated into the game. It’s opened up a lot of
28 September 2018
really fun design space and allowed us, I think, to properly
depict powerful Force users in all their glory.”
Unsurprisingly, Force powers make those able to wield
the mystical energy formidable foes behind the controls
of their ships, but what the characters gain in supernatural
ability they lose in terms of raw aptitude, often sacrificing
the equally useful talent update slot and becoming worth
their weight in points when constructing a squad.
“Force users were something we spent a lot of
time developing, and we wanted them to feel very
impressive, but also have trade-offs,” Brooke reassures.
“They’re awesome, just as the wielders of the ultimate
power in the galaxy should be, but you pay for it.”
STAY ON TARGET
The stars of the show, X-Wing’s ships make for a
breathtaking display on the tabletop. With every vessel
released fully pre-painted since the game debuted,
there’s few places to experience the scale and spectacle
ABOVE Over a dozen of Star Wars’ heartpounding dogfights outside of the
waves of ships have been big screen.
added to X-Wing over the It’s not just about nailing the look, either. Each of
last six years X-Wing’s ships is designed to fly in the game just as
it does onscreen – not an easy task when you’re
RIGHT X-Wing 2.0 co- talking about static bits of plastic.
developer Frank Brooks “In terms of gameplay, we try to get a sense
from the source material of what kind of
 a role that ship is intended to play,” Davy says. “Is it a
One dedicated space-superiority starfighter? A bomber?
thing
A modified, weaponised freighter or bounty-hunting
ship? Once we have a handle on that we can begin to get
that can
creative with mechanics that reflect that role.”
Over six years, the X-Wing team has brought dozens
make a of new ships to the game, thoroughly going from
A-Wing to Z-95. With only eight main films in the main
competitive Star Wars series (six when X-Wing launched), the
franchise’s wider canon is also represented in the game,
game feel with the designers working to accurately bring to life
each and every vessel – ensuring that the Millennium
stale is for Falcon would make the Kessel Run in 12 parsecs.
“I’ll also say that Star Wars is an extremely well-
the game maintained IP with tons of carefully-crafted background
information, all of which is provided to us,” Davy says.
to not “In particular, each time a new ship is introduced by one
of the contemporary films, it has already been carefully
change. researched and integrated into the Star Wars galaxy,
which makes our jobs that much easier.”
Despite the closely maintained lore of Star Wars,
the team has had to occasionally contend with pinning
down specifics otherwise left a little more fluid onscreen.
“Since we aren’t working with real-life counterpart
ships and weapons, the power level of ships can vary
somewhat between sources,” Brooks says. “For plot
purposes, a ship may appear unstoppable, but typically
will reveal some sort of weakness. We always have to
keep in mind that, although we are simulating a ship,
we have to still make a fun interesting game-
piece. We will go to the source material and
find something that will make it stand out
on the table, find an unsatisfied niche, or
otherwise be generally fun to play.”
X-Wing’s second edition pushes the
faithful representation of ships to a new
level, introducing minute details to its
miniatures sure to leave even series
diehards impressed. These include
new interactive elements – with
our favourite being the ability for
X-Wing wings to switch between
open and closed.
“I’m a big fan of the new
Y-Wing mini, and I’m excited
to see what other ships will be
getting subtle but significant
improvements for their
second edition re-release,”
Davy says.
“Spinning Fang
Fighter wings,”
Brooke emphasises
as one of his favourite
small details. “When
[producer] Derek
Fuchs told us that
was happening, I
assumed he was kidding. He was not kidding, and
it’s awesome.”
“Outside of various re-sculpted ships, we are also
going to have some fun updating or changing some
paint schemes,” Brooks adds. “Especially for ships that
don’t typically have a ‘uniform’ look, we are going to
create some more schemes so you have a varied look
for your lists.
“A player familiar with First Edition will of course take
note of the medium-based ships. There was also some
feeling that some ships felt a little small for a large base
and some others crowded the edges of their tiny bases.
We were able to address this by implementing a mid-
range base size for all of those ships.”
As well as being re-released entirely for the new
X-Wing, ships from the first edition will also be
supported via conversion kits. Even with a staggering
number of ships already available, its creators have
no fear of exhausting their wishlist of vessels from the
expanded universe.
“Fortunately, Star Wars is more vibrant and
expansive than ever,” Brooke responds confidently.
“We’ve got movies, TV shows, novels, comics, video
games… it’s a great time to be a Star Wars fan! We’re
not too worried about running out of awesome ships,
characters and technologies to explore.
“We covered a lot of – but not all – of the ships
from the Rebellion era, but being able to assuredly
dive into another era will give us more ships to work
with,” Brooks agrees. “Just as much as you – the fans
– are, we look forward to exploring the ships and
technology from other movies and shows for years
to come!”
JOIN THE REBELLION
When X-Wing launched in 2012, its ships were neatly
divided into the opposing factions of the Rebel
Alliance and Galactic Empire, with each of the game’s
two players taking one side of the original trilogy’s
conflict. As the game grew, a third major faction was
added, Scum and Villainy, representing the otherwise
unaffiliated and unsavoury inhabitants of the galaxy.
Following The Force Awakens’ release in 2015, the
Rebels and Empire were fractioned further into
the Resistance and First Order, in keeping with the
advancing story of the later trilogy and the updated
core set put out alongside the film.
X-Wing 2.0 overhauls the faction system, allowing
the Resistance and First Order to stand alone as
completely independent from their predecessors.
Davy describes the small but significant change
as “really important” in the context of the growing
importance of the sequels.
“When The Force Awakens came out, it made far
more sense to simply integrate those new ships and
characters into existing factions, especially since we
knew it would be years before the new films could even
come close to providing enough material to rival the
tabletopgaming.co.uk 29
 X-WING 2.0
original trilogy,” he explains. “At this point, however, the
Resistance and First Order are much more fleshed out,
with new content coming out all the time. These new
factions can and should stand on their own.”
The other factions remain the same, but have been
carefully revised to capture the individual feel of their
ships and pilots so that players can really embed
themselves in the universe.
“One benefit to making the factions more distinct
is for mechanical reasons,” Brooks suggests. “In First
Edition, the abilities we gave to the Rebel and Imperial
pilots started to blend together a bit and it was hard to
feel what a Rebel ability is supposed to feel like. When
we introduced Scum and Villainy they had a very
‘scummy’ vibe around them. A player can see an ability
and easily internalise it as a Scum effect. Additionally,
the various upgrade slots effects began to overlap a lot.
While making this new edition we took the opportunity
to make factions and upgrade slots feel more defined.”
The result is a game where players can commit
to a favoured side and invest in learning the unique
advantages and disadvantages of their chosen
faction inside-out.
“People are very dedicated to their favourite
factions, and we want the unique nature of these
organisations to be reinforced by the theme of
the mechanics,” Brooke says. “In terms of actual
gameplay, breaking up the factions a bit helps similar
ships that appear in multiple eras to be more unique,
too, and generally opens up design space for us. Even
if the T-65 and T-70 X-Wing are fairly similar ships
when you get right down to their role in Star Wars,
just the ability to fly with different wingmates changes
their dynamic substantially.”
30 September 2018
THE DROID YOU’RE LOOKING FOR
Most of X-Wing 2.0’s changes are taking place on the Now
we
tabletop, but one of its biggest additions is happening a
universe away. An official companion app is launching
have the
alongside the game, which will allow players to track
their collection of ships and help them quickly build
squads to use in matches.
Most importantly, the Squad Builder app will be ability to
responsible for displaying the latest stats and abilities
for each ship, with the information no longer set in shake up
carbonite on the game’s physical cards.
“We can add entire new mechanics to existing ships the value of
when they debut, by updating the app so that those
ships have access to a particular upgrade icon or icons,” the whole
Davy says. “For example, when the Y-Wing originally
debuted, it didn’t have an upgrade icon allowing it to
meta every
drop bombs, because bombs as a game mechanic hadn’t
been developed yet. Eventually, we were able to release
few months,
an upgrade card that allowed Y-Wings to gain the relevant
upgrade icon, but it took many years and required the
which should
purchase of a different product. Adjustments will be much help keep it
healthier.
more seamless in the future, thanks to the app.”
The team hopes that the ability to update things on the
fly will keep the game’s competitive scene fair and fresh, as
they rapidly respond to feedback from the community and
adjust to trends that emerge among high-level players.
“On a micro level, it’ll really help with our ability to
keep specific elements from being too pervasive,” Brooke
enthuses. “Competitive games – especially those that get
played a lot, like X-Wing – tend to end up focusing around
particular combinations and pieces, and this will let us
adjust strong builds down and weak builds up.
“However, there’s an even more significant
effect here on the macro level, which is that it
helps address stagnancy. Even beyond individual powerful
builds – which we addressed in the past through errata –
we can keep the game dynamic without adding tons and
tons of ‘fix cards’. In First Edition, if something was weak,
it would be weak until we printed a card to help shake up
its value. Now, though, we have the ability to shake up the
value of the whole meta every few months, which should
help keep it healthier and more diverse.”
Brooks reveals that the app’s responsive nature was
partially influenced by the shifting refinement of video
games, and suggests that the app could also be used to
introduce new game modes that encourage players to
experiment with ship and upgrade loadouts.
“One thing that can make a competitive game feel stale
is for the game to not change,” he says.
“I am really excited to see how we are able to provide
some fun alternative ways to play. Although having a
‘familiar’ way to play to be the competitive tournament
game mode, some players are looking for a variety. Novel
restrictions and other curious limiters allow the organised
play game modes to really take on a life of their own.
“The custom game modes in the Squad Builder will
allow players to craft their own restrictions for a game
mode. For example, a player could limit which types of
upgrades are allowed and which ships – and therefore
factions – are allowed. An event organiser could craft their
own custom game mode and share it with the attendees.
With people making and sharing their custom game
modes, if one has inventive enough restrictions and gets
popular among players, we may even feature it via the
organised play game mode!”
“The app’s flexibility and capacity to accommodate
new features – and propagate these out to the players
quickly and easily – is one of its most appealing features,”
adds Brooke. “We think it’d be really interesting to explore
events that use alternate game modes, with different ships
and upgrades allowed. Even a simple change like this
suddenly makes list-building for the event a whole new
experience for players, and the app makes delivering that
easy! We have lots of other ideas for the app, so we’ll have
to see what the future holds.”
ATTACK POSITION
It’s been a long six years for Davy, Brooke, Brooks and
the rest of the X-Wing team. The game has gone from
unexpected phenomenon to casual and tournament
mainstay, with Fantasy Flight hosting a World
Championship every year since 2012 – the winner is
given the opportunity to help design a new card for
the game.
“Six years is actually a pretty long time for a single
edition of a miniatures game – especially one that has
had as much content as X-Wing,” says Brooke. “While
there’s certainly lots of competitive enthusiasm for
First Edition, we’ve learned a lot, too.”
Much remains the same as it was more than half
a decade ago: it’s still just as fun to push squadrons
of X-Wings and TIE Fighters around a table, pulling
off manoeuvres, dodging shots and landing strikes.
But the game’s evolution has led to other aspects
showing their age; parts of the gameplay not originally
engineered to be played with quite so much fervour
or pushed so far to their extremes requiring a much-
needed tune-up.
“A new edition gives us a chance to revisit the
concepts we’ve developed over the last six years from
the ground up, designing in these ideas as part of
the core experience so that we can make better use
of them,” Brooke continues. “This helps us make the
game a better experience for competitive players, and
also helps make it more approachable and intuitive to
new players.”
With a clearer idea of exactly what hooked fans ABOVE Several of
the first time around but the confidence that X-Wing the ships have been
is here to stay, Second Edition sees the team locking resculpted for 2.0
in on one of the tabletop’s most thrilling miniatures
games and being able to truly punch it. LEFT Max Brooke
“Being the largest and most distributed game I’ve
ever designed, I’m both elated and frightened to FAR LEFT The Squad
see how people respond to all of my changes to the Builder app will allow
game system,” Brooks says. “I feel like we have set a ships to gain new abilities
sturdy groundwork for ourselves and I’m excited for on the fly
the future!”
tabletopgaming.co.uk 31
 H AV E Y O U P L AY E D ?

SPACE ALERT
10 minutes makes all the difference in this frantic real-time survival game. In space,
no-one can hear you scream – but that’s because you’ll be laughing too loud
Words by Matt Jarvis

32 September 2018
A
LERT. ENEMY ACTIVITY DETECTED.
These four words are the
lit fuse for some of the most
explosive minutes in gaming.
They’re the opening command
on the soundtrack for Space Alert, the 2008
co-operative sci-fi survival game created by
Vlaada Chvátil just after he had revisited the
whole of humanity in Through the Ages: A Story
of Civilization and years before he would prove
himself the master of wordplay in Codenames.
Space Alert actually directly followed
another real-time exploration of the universe
by Chvátil in 2007’s Galaxy Trucker – though
where that game pitted players against each
other in a race to build an interplanetary HGV
and deliver goods around the galaxy, Space
Alert brought them together in the same
rickety craft and survive just 10 minutes.
That’s right: all of Space Alert’s action, drama
and drastic win-or-lose decisions happen in
less time than it takes to find a working CD
player to play the included soundtrack disc in.
(Fortunately, the tracks can also be downloaded
for free as MP3 files or generated by an optional
companion app available for mobile and PC.) Players race against the clock to program actions – and then see them play out, for better and worse
This soundtrack gives Space Alert its
unmistakeable sense of heightened tension.
You’re Ripley escaping as the Nostromo HOW DO YOU PLAY? Survive (it’s unlikely, at least to begin with),
prepares to self-destruct at the end of Alien, Space Alert is the tabletop equivalent of pulling and you’ll end up with a score to record based on
needing to remain calm and collected in the back one of those model cars before letting it your efficiency as a team – and the potential to
face of the ticking clock. Yeah, good luck with go: you can have an idea of what you want to continue along a set of three connected missions
that. As your 600 seconds drain through the achieve, and even aim at it, but you’ll more than if playing the game’s optional campaign mode,
virtual sandtimer, your task is to program likely see it all go to pot in a beautiful spectacle of in which damage is retained and repairable
your crew members – who begin each game failure and good intentions gone bad. but failure is absolute. Lose (and you will lose)
on the bridge, naturally – with commands to The gameplay appears at first deceptively and – after the initial finger-pointing blame and
run around the ship and operate its various simple: place cards in order on your player spats have subsided – you’ll come away with
systems, firing weapons to fend off approaching board, choosing which action on the double- memories of when Wes immediately ran the
space invaders and redirecting the main ended cards you’d like your crew member to wrong way or Bev and Deanna both got stuck in
reactor’s energy to recharge shields and other take, in what order. These actions are largely the lift, and a smile on your face.
gizmos as necessary. simple: move left or right, up or down, activate
All the while, the soundtrack continues to one of a selection of actions. Cubes are pushed WHY SHOULD YOU TRY IT?
play, introducing extra threats and mishaps to around to represent energy being redistributed Win or lose, Space Alert has the capacity for
deal with and cutting off the chance for players or weapons being fired, cards representing hours of memorable playthroughs and the
to rearrange their older actions, forcing them to encroaching dangers are flipped and the sigh ability to make your ribs hurt with deep-space
live with any accidental orders they gave their of relief you let out at the end of the panicked schadenfreude as your best laid plans fall apart.
crew only for them to sprint off down a corridor real-time phase quickly becomes a groan of The intense tempo provided by the
before they could change their mind. realisation that you’ve doomed your whole crew soundtrack keeps things tight and taut
Crucially, though, players’ coded line of action with a couple of mistakes. throughout, making Space Alert quite unlike
cards only executes once the track comes to Space Alert’s threats are divided between the almost any other game – Chvátil’s unique design
an end, resulting in a chaotic resolution phase external – aliens on the starboard bow – and the even earned him a special prize at the Spiel des
as players’ memories, communication with internal – a virus screwing with the computer Jahres for its ‘New Gaming World’ in 2009.
their crewmates and forward planning are systems, for instance. A nominated chief of If you somehow manage to master the base
tested. Crew members move between rooms security and communications officer make game, the New Frontier expansion introduces
on the ship, shift between decks using gravlifts sure that their whole crew hears the threats even tougher challenges including new threats,
and activate systems whether their controlling as they scramble to deal with them, hoping to game modes and an experience system that can
players now wants them to or not, often finding avoid taking damage when the resolution phase picked and mixed as players see fit – making it a
that they arrive in a room only to find that it’s plays out. A captain steers the team through the worthwhile addition for those who find the game
already been emptied by one of their team or game’s full half-hour flow – as well as inevitably their personal Kobayashi Maru, too.
that the whole crew has forgotten to deal with barking orders as the heat increases and the As ridiculously fun as it is fast and full-on,
one of the ship’s internal threats, leading to dangers continue to pile up, regardless of which Space Alert is a game worth finding yourself lost
further disorder and destruction. of the multiple difficulty levels you’re playing on. in the void with.

tabletopgaming.co.uk 33
 RISK-FREE SHOW OFFER

3 ISSUES
JUST £5
FREE GOODY BAG
WORTH
OVER
£50
W
Windfinder
Melee Zone 1”
MOV TAC KICK DEF ARM INF
6”/8” 5 2/8” 5+ 0 4/6

1
T 2 T

Character Plays CST RNG SUS OPT

Eye Spy 2/ 6”
Friendly models gain +2 TAC while
attacking
target enemy model.
Full Speed Ahead 2 4”
Target friendly model gains +0”/+2”
MOV
and may sprint or charge without spending
influence during its activation.

14

OFFER AVAILABLE AT
TABLETOP GAMING LIVE
B U Y Y O U R T I C K E T S AT
THETICKETFACTORY.COM
* PRODUCTS SUBJECT TO AVAILABILITY
 KICKSTARTING
F R O M S C R A T C H
Holly Gramazio starts to feel the stretch of the extra
goodies promised to Art Deck’s Kickstarter backers
R
unning a Kickstarter for a game is such a
strange, stressful, long-winded process.
You need There’s the preparation, of course – I’ve
been writing about that for close to a year
to build now. There’s the weeks of activity once
the campaign is live. There’s the crescendo near the
in some end. And then – it’s over. Maybe you made it (and now
you get to finish making the game), maybe you didn’t,
flex and but either way there’s a moment to take a breath.
And then, if you’re lucky and the campaign
expect succeeded, it’s time to get to work.
We went into our campaign with a pretty exhaustive
things to timeline and a list of things we’d need to do to get Art
Deck straight to production – but that list changed,
change subtly and not so subtly, as the Kickstarter campaign
ran. We’ve spoken to other people who’ve run
a little. Kickstarters, and found out that this is completely
normal – it doesn’t mean you shouldn’t make those
exhaustive timelines before you start a campaign, it
just means you need to build in some flex and expect
things to change a little.
The most obvious changes come with stretch goals.
We were told over and over that it’s easy to get carried
away in the heat of an active campaign, so we were
careful to be pretty modest with our stretch goals. No
September 2018
new illustrations, no changes to the packaging, no live
events – just two new variant ways to play, and 12 more
cards for the core deck.
I’ve already written a little about our rules variants,
so I won’t go into them again in detail here. One is a
two-player head-to-head version of the game, and
that variant’s been pretty easy to test and refine; it only
needs two people, after all.
The other variant, though, is designed to work for
any number of players, with pieces of paper passed
around Consequences-style. And – surprise! –
playtesting a game for really large groups of people is
way harder than playtesting a game for two. The first
couple of times we tried to test it we didn’t even get
enough people together to give it a fair go – instead
we’ve had to find situations where there are already
going to be 15 or 20 playful people in a room together,
at another games event or after a talk, and bolt on a
playtest to that existing event. The next step – testing
written rules when we’re not there, to make sure our
explanations are legible without our presence – is
going to be even trickier.
Our other stretch goal, 12 more cards, seems even
more straightforward – we just print more cards, right?
But here’s the thing: the new cards, contributed by
amazing guest designers Emily Short, Leigh Alexander,
Pippin Barr and Viviane Schwarz, are good. They’re
really, really good. They’re so good that as we tested
them out they started giving us new ideas for even
more cards we could add to the game. So one small
change that seemed like it should exist independently
from the rest of the game has had all sorts of
implications. We’ve been trying out a load of new ideas
to see how they play in interaction with the old and
new cards, and deciding whether the new non-guest
cards are good enough to replace any of our current
card list, and even working out afresh how the slightly
changed card list should be allocated between core
deck and our two expansions (‘Arty’ and ‘Party’).
So even with our modest stretch goals, there’s been
quite a bit of work to do, and some still to come. But
here’s the important thing: it’s game design work. It’s
playtesting and writing and trying things out. It’s fun,
it’s satisfying, it’s immediate. And after a long month of
running a Kickstarter – which involves lots of different
tasks, sure, but almost no actual game design – it’s nice
to be back home.
tabletopgaming.co.uk 35
 HOW WE MADE
MONSTERHEARTS
Avery Alder’s coming-of-age RPG might star the supernatural, but its frank
exploration of adolescence, sexuality and identity is as real as it comes.
Puberty has never seemed quite so terrifying…
Words by Owen Duffy
F
rom the tentacled horrors of
Call of Cthulhu to the blood-
sucking predators of Vampire: The
Masquerade, roleplaying games
have a long history of letting
players confront – or become – monsters.
Whether you’re in search of explosive kaiju
action or creepy tales of eldritch horror, the
hobby has you spoiled for choice.
But one game above all others looks
deep into the concept of monstrosity, using
fantastical creatures to explore powerful real-
world themes. Monsterhearts, by Canadian
designer Avery Alder, casts players as teenage
vampires, witches and werewolves navigating
a world of sex, drugs, social cliques,
nightmarish supernatural entities
and sadistic levels of homework.
36 September 2018
We caught up with Alder to learn about her
story-focused approach to game design, and
how she created her brilliant distillation of
adolescent fear and confusion.
INDEPENDENT THOUGHT
Avery Alder had a typical introduction to roleplaying.
“My entry point was Dungeons & Dragons,”
she says. “I was playing with a group of fellow
teen rookies, we played the 3.5 edition, and
we really struggled with the game. Our rules
interpretations and aesthetic sensibilities
clashed, and nobody stayed dungeon master
for very long. I came out of that scene knowing
that roleplaying games were full of exciting
potential, but that I hadn’t experienced it yet.”
Her experience with D&D may have been
chequered, but Alder was drawn to the
wider possibilities that roleplaying offered
for creative expression, and she soon became
interested in some of the small-press games
being produced by independent creators.
She was especially impressed by My Life with
Master, a 2003 release by designer Paul Czege. It
cast players as hapless minions employed by an
evil genius – where most RPGs served as power
fantasies for players, this game put them in
the shoes of weary and downtrodden servants
vying to avoid their master’s ire.
“I was drawn to independent games and doing
my own design work really early on,” Alder says.
“My Life with Master was the
first indie game I bought,
and it continues to
shape what I think
of as good design:
precisely-focused mechanics, emotion-driven
play and tight aesthetic sensibilities.” Some
She also encountered the 2010 release
Apocalypse World, by designer Vincent people were
D. Baker, which broke down some of the
traditional barriers between players and game immediately excited,
masters, distributing responsibility for the
story more evenly around the table. For Alder, and others indignant,
it was a source of inspiration.
“Apocalypse World is an amazing engine and at the thought of a
toolset for designing new games,” she says. “I
feel like it has inspired and informed so many of game about sappy
my projects – not just the ones that are explicitly
Powered by the Apocalypse, but all of them. I dysfunctional
love its principle-oriented design, its use of lists
and its focus on relationships in community.” vampire
It wasn’t long before she was working
on game designs of her own, and she romance.

brought touches of innovation to her work that
challenged some of the core assumptions about
what roleplaying games could be. In 2009 she
released Ribbon Drive, a game that put players
in the shoes of travellers on a shared car journey.
Players compiled playlists of songs, forming a
soundtrack for their trip that determined the
mood and direction of their story.
“Ribbon Drive is a game about road trips and
self-discovery,” Alder explains. “It combines
structured freeform mechanics with mixtapes
that each player brings to the session. It’s a
game that I’m still really proud of, and that
remains available to pick up.
“I designed it in response to a design trend
that seemed overwhelmingly popular in the
years preceding it: games that pushed toward
conflict in every single scene, that encouraged
players to ruthlessly ask ‘But where’s the
conflict?’ in any moment of reflection or
dialogue. I’d been designing them too. Ribbon
Drive reacted to that trend, envisioning play
that was exclusively focused on reflection
and dialogue, where the only conflict was an
internal one: the question of whether people
really want the things they think they want.
The game met with a positive response
from players, and in 2012 Alder followed it
with another innovative release. The Quiet
Year was a post-apocalyptic game about a
community of survivors eking out an existence
in a harsh wasteland. Characters explored
their surroundings, attempting to build a
community while collaboratively creating a
map of their environment.
“It’s a poetic map-drawing game about
community, scarcity and figuring out how to
make decisions together,” Alder says. “I love
it because it’s a game that exists at a strange
intersection: it’s not exactly a board game,
because there isn’t a board or win condition;
it’s not exactly a roleplaying game, because at
no point do you play as a specific character
or have scenes. It feels unique, an invitation
to imagine what strange communities might
exist in the future, and to negotiate through
play how they might work together.”
MORE THAN MONSTERS
2012 also saw Alder release the game for which
she’s now best known. Monsterhearts took
the much-maligned genre of young-adult

tabletopgaming.co.uk 37
 HOW WE MADE M O N S T E R H E A R T S
paranormal romance and used it to explore
themes of alienation, social manipulation and
turbulent teenage sexuality.
“It started as a joke,” she recalls. “I’d been
spending a lot of time thinking about the design of
Apocalypse World, and how to use its core engine
to do new things narratively. And I’d been thinking
a lot about Twilight – how disproportionately
ridiculed it was by grown men, how that might
reflect more on our cultural biases than the quality
of its prose and whether there was something in it
that I gravitated toward. The two lines of thought
collided, and I started designing Apocalypse
World-style moves about supernatural teen
romance. Some people were immediately excited
about the idea, and others indignant at the thought
of a game about sappy dysfunctional vampire
romance. Weirdly, both reactions invigorated me.
“I dove in deep – binge-watching seasons
of Buffy, The Vampire Diaries, Misfits, Roswell,
Being Human and True Blood. I studied The
Craft, The Lost Boys, Jennifer’s Body, Ginger Snaps
and more. I worked to distil central
themes from all of these
38 September 2018
chaotic, messy stories. Ultimately, I realised
that these were stories about young people who
didn’t feel like they belonged in the world or had
any power in it, and monstrosity was invoked as
a metaphor to explore that emotional truth.”
Monsterhearts saw players become
teenage vampires, werewolves, ghouls and
ghosts. Together they faced an assortment of
otherworldly threats, but they also confronted
the confusing, messy and sometimes dangerous
world of adolescence. They might accidentally
unleash a vengeful demon while agonising over
how to ask their crush to a school dance. They
could grapple with their overpowering lust for
human blood while finding themselves caught
in the middle of their parents’ divorce. While
this mix of the monstrous and the mundane
might seem like an odd combination, there’s
a long tradition of using the supernatural to
explore aspects of teenage existence, from
Carmilla to Buffy the Vampire Slayer.
“I think that there are two ways to tell the
truth,” Alder says. “The first is to recount, with
as much accuracy and detail, what literally
transpired. And the second is to tell a story
which reaches your audience and resonates
with them, bringing them into the emotions and
perspectives that you’re trying to communicate.
“We’ve built a culture where teenage perspectives
are often dismissed as uninformed, short-sighted,
stupid, hormonal and misguided. Adults like to
position themselves as ‘knowing better’. And so it’s
hard to tell stories about teenage shame, teenage
ambition and teenage self-discovery using that
first kind of truth. I think artists and writers turn to
the supernatural as a metaphor for adolescence
because it allows them to speak truthfully about
these themes, without inviting their audience to
automatically and callously disregard them.
“The story of a werewolf is the story of someone
who feels out of control in their own body. But
adult audiences don’t hear that story and snidely
retort, ‘Why don’t you just learn to control
your body?’ The werewolf’s story is granted
legitimacy, where other teenage characters
might have been dismissed out of hand.
“I think this is the same reason why
monstrosity and the supernatural are often used
as a metaphor for mental illness, queerness
and otherness. Audiences have been culturally
conditioned to dismiss the experiences of
marginalised people and so, in a bizarre
workaround, creatures like ghosts and swamp
monsters sometimes end up providing a more
relatable, resonant lens for understanding real
human experiences.”
To capture these kinds of alienated teenage
experiences, Alder needed to populate her world
with compelling characters. Monsterhearts
includes an assortment of different creature
types, or ‘skins,’ for players to inhabit: possessive
and controlling vampires, fickle and dangerous
witches, werewolves with impossible strength and
a hair-trigger temper. Each examines a different
aspect of adolescent existence, with characters
working out how to come to terms with their
changing bodies and developing personalities.
“Each skin encapsulates not only a monstrous
archetype, but also a kind of teenage struggle,” she
explains. “They reflect the ways that people can
isolate and hurt themselves, and the ways that
dysfunctional relationships can develop. But skins
aren’t just focused on suffering. They also reflect
how people conceptualise their own power and
resiliency. Are you strong because you are loyal
to people even when they treat you badly? Are
you powerful because you can disappear?
“The skin that I knew from the outset was going
to be pivotal in designing the game was the Mortal,
the hungry-for-love ingénue who gets pulled into a
enrapturing, monstrous world. I had to make Bella
a compelling, dynamic character with real choices.
The question that really unlocked a lot of the
design space for the Mortal was ‘When does
giving away your power give you more power?’”
SEX TALK
While Monsterhearts’ mature, considered, literary
approach made it stand out from other roleplaying
games, it’s perhaps its frank portrayal of teenage
sexuality that most powerfully sets it apart. As in
real life, sex serves to complicate the plot, and each
character comes with their own ‘sex move’ which
triggers whenever they sleep with someone.
Sexual relationships in Monsterhearts
become part of a growing web of connections
between player characters and the people they
encounter: a mix of loyalty, desire, power, love
and manipulation. Alder argues it’s a more
accurate and multifaceted representation than
can be found in the vast majority of games.
“I think games have typically done a terrible
job of portraying sexuality,” she says. “It’s often
portrayed as a reward for heroic action, or as
a goal to be achieved via opposed dice rolls.
Sexuality is portrayed as an exchange between
opposing forces. Rarely as a collaboration or
generative force.
“Monsterhearts is working in a genre space
that sees sexuality in terms of power and identity.
I think it does a good job of exploring that one
story about what sexuality means in our lives, but
there are others that gaming really lacks for.
“I want to see more games about relationships,
identity, sexuality and sex. Especially ones that
get away from thinking of these topics in terms of
conquest and contest. I think Emily Care Boss
has done amazing work in her Romance Trilogy
of games; Breaking the Ice in particular tells a
story I don’t see elsewhere in roleplaying games.”
tabletopgaming.co.uk 39
 HOW WE MADE M O N S T E R H E A R T S
The game’s approach to love, sex and
attraction took an inclusive approach to lesbian,
gay, bisexual and transgender characters,
encompassing all kinds of orientations and
identities. But it did more than just including
LGBT characters as an option for players to
portray: it dove deep into the experience of teens
who didn’t identify as straight. Depending on how
the dice fell, characters might find themselves
experiencing sudden and unexpected same-sex
attraction and, while that might initially seem
arbitrary, it meant that the game’s teenage
protagonists were no more in control of their
own orientation than people in the real world.
For Alder, this kind of representation was one
of the most important aspects of the game.
“LGBT youth are rarely given opportunities
to see themselves reflected back in media,” she
says. “Television and movies are especially guilty
of this erasure, and there are often producers
and financial contributors working behind the
scenes to keep that representation off the screen.
Shame on them. I think that stories are one of
our primary ways of understanding our own
cultural fabric, and visual media in particular
has a huge hand in teaching us who belongs in
the world. When we see youth in movies, we
typically see white, thin, able-bodied, straight,
cisgender, class-privileged youth. Where
otherness exists, it’s a joke or a tragedy.
40 September 2018
“Seeing authentic reflections of yourself in the
world around you is important. It affirms that you
belong in the world, that you have worth in your
society. LGBT youth need that. Along with family
acceptance, positive representation is one of the
biggest factors in preventing queer youth suicide.”
FROM THE HEART
Monsterhearts’ combination of dramatic stories
and engaging gameplay based on the Apocalypse
World engine won it critical praise and a loyal fan
following. In 2016, Alder launched a crowdfunding
campaign to develop a second edition of the game.
“After five years of play, feedback and
improving my craft as a designer, I knew that
I could create a more elegant, well-expressed
version of the game,” she says. “A lot of the
changes were focused on streamlining and
refining, making sure that the game was inviting
to new players and effortless for existing ones.
“I responded to concerns that had been
brought up with me a number of times by
asexual players that the game didn’t create
space for their stories and experiences. I sat
with that, and over time developed rules
to model the ways that asexual people are
differently impacted by teenage sexuality.
“And, finally, a huge difference is the addition
of a full chapter on navigating boundaries,
and what to do when the game leaves a player
feeling uncomfortable or unsafe. Monsterhearts
is a game about teenage shame, sexuality,
confusion, power and relationships. There’s lots
of triggering or unsettling content that could
come up. The new edition does a better job of
walking players through how to handle that.”
While Alder has developed her skills as a
designer, she has also given thought to the way
she publishes her work, making her games
available at a reduced cost for players suffering
financial hardship. She says that while it’s an
approach that fits with her egalitarian principles,
it’s also proven beneficial to her as a creator.
“The motivation behind it is simply that I think
capitalism is a rotten system, designed to exploit
inequality for profit. I don’t like it. And while
selling games is how I put food on my family’s
table, I want to be mindful and intentional about
how I engage and participate in capitalist markets.
Taking 30% off the ticket price for people in
financial need is an easy first step toward fairness.
“It’s worked great so far. Sales have increased,
meaning that my bottom line isn’t compromised.
But more importantly, I’ve had a number of people
reach out and mention that it made a difference.
Obviously, the real solution to these issues is going
to be systemic – wealth redistribution, socialist
public policy and tighter market regulations. But
in the meantime, I want to figure out what I can
do as a creator to keep my work accessible.”
 the independent shelf
5 MINUTE CHASE
This cat-and-mouse race between police and would-be escapee
is as breakneck as it is breathtaking. Can you keep up?
Y
ou walk by a table and stop.
It’s occupied by a branch of
tiles, spreading like a single
gangly limb. The little squares
depict buildings and roads jutting out in a
multitude of directions, like a modern take
on Carcassonne by way of indecision. Then
you notice the players.
One is fumbling with a stack of tiles
while miniscule beads of perspiration
sprout along their temple. Meanwhile,
the other clever fool is staring at the table
with narrow eyes and furrowed brow. Then
action erupts as the first person throws
down a tile, connecting it to the labyrinth
of paved road. The second responds by
quickly placing a token on the street they
were ogling. Their faces contort, flying
through a dozen emotions as the tension
grips you tighter and tighter.
This is 5 Minute Chase.
You have to love a good real-time game.
This one puts a player in the role of prison
escapee, running across the city and
collecting a few spare items before making
a permanent break for it. Their opponent is
September 2018
Words and photographs by Charlie Theel
hunting them down and keeping the heat on
their back as the sun fades. It’s wild and wraps
up in less time than it takes to clear out your
answerphone messages.
Being a fluid design, there are no turns. The
runner is handling a stack of tiles and trying
to mentally orientate them to see which might
connect to the last street they’ve placed. You
must always link to your last position as the
game mimics your flight from the cops. Streets
must align but you can’t connect a road exit
with a police roadblock to another tile, unless
the other connection has a cluster of trees
dotting the street.
You’re looking through this stack mentally
trying to grasp which connections will work,
while also trying to lay down several special
tiles representing keys and loot. Once you’ve
successfully placed all of those tiles then you
can throw out the exit and you’re as good as
gone. Easy-peasy, as they say. Or at least it
would be if the law wasn’t hot on your heels.
The other participant is playing their own
game. They’re looking at tiles and attempting
to identify all of these odd little head icons
dotting the surface. These onlookers include
bizarre depictions of animals as well as
people and will often have you shaking
your own head in confusion.
The pursuer needs to identify which of
the four quadrants of the tile has the most
faces staring in the direction the convict
fled. This seems like it should be simple
enough, but it’s surprisingly arduous when
performed under the gun.
5 Minute Chase’s magic occurs in how
it captures theme. That sense of pursuit is
ever-present as the pressure is prickly and
expansive. It breeds a sense of urgency that
rushes you along as the street tiles build
up. The stakes are surprisingly high as a
single mishap on either side causes a loss.
This impedes an otherwise lightning pace
and causes a delicate balance between
mental acuity and rapid velocity.
This unique setup and quick playtime
can occasionally produce lopsided matches
and frustration. Fortunately, the majority of
experiences have you riding shotgun on this
tension-laden five-minute journey. Rewatch
Cool Hand Luke and take a shot, then sprint
for the outskirts of town.
Both sides of the chase
must follow certain
rules in placing tiles and
tokens – or risk losing
to their opponent
tabletopgaming.co.uk 41
SEE IT, BUY IT, PLAY IT AT...

29–30th September 2018

Alexandra Palace
DON’T LEAVE IT
TO CHANCE...
BOOK IN ADVANCE

ONE
MONTH
TO GO!
BOOK
NOW TO TURN
PAGE 8 FOTO
B E AT T H E THE EXCITR ALL
SHOW NE ING
QUEUES.
WS

» THETICKETFACTORY.COM
» 0844 338 0338
 THROUGH THE AGES
RACING GAMES
Try to keep up as we speed through a high-octane genre that
stretches from cars and cycles back to slippery snakes
Words by Sam Desatoff
I
n July, Holy Grail Games announced that a new
version of beloved racing game Rallyman was
coming to Kickstarter in late 2018. The 2009
original was well-received for its unique take
on the traditional roll-and-move racing genre, and
fans have been clamoring for a reprint for years.
With the call finally being answered, now is a good
time to take a look at the lengthy history of racing
games; a complicated past that stretches all the
way back to ancient India.
In searching for the origins of racing games,
I came across a mess of vague descriptions and
a host of different names. According to various
sources, sadhurangam, dhayam, thaayam and
dayakattai all seem to be different names for
mechanically-similar games with roots in ancient
India and Sri Lanka; player pawns are moved
around a track by casting shells or dice, it is possible
to attack other players’ pawns in order to set them
back and there are spaces that serve as ‘safe zones’
where they cannot be targeted. This appears to be
racing in its purest, most basic form, a foundation
on which the genre seems to have been built.
These ancient games are known by many
names, but the most common by far is Snakes
and Ladders, one of the best-known games in
existence. In the 1800s, the game found its way to
the United Kingdom, and in 1943 was published
for the first time in the United States as Chutes
and Ladders by Milton Bradley. This helped
pave the way for another perennial racing game,
Candyland, published by Milton Bradley in 1949.
In 1974, legendary designer Wolfgang Kramer
released his first game, Tempo. Not only did this
1943
44 September 2018
put Kramer on the map, but it also established
his ‘Auto-Racing’ series of games. The card-
driven racing system combines luck and auction
elements with some strategic decision-making
in order to keep races tight and tense. Tempo was
the first game to use this system, and Kramer
has since revisited it several times in games like
Daytona 500, Top Race and, most recently, last
year’s Downforce.
In 1991, Formula Dé sought to simulate a more
authentic car racing experience by including the
action of shifting gears as a gameplay element.
There’s a bit of a push-your-luck feel to Formula
Dé – and its hugely popular 2008 English-language
edition, Formula D – as higher gears offer less
control of your car. Each track requires players
to time their gear shifts properly in order to
win. A good game for families and large groups,
Formula D has seen dozens of track expansions,
ensuring that it retains its value for years to come.
Racing games took a dextrous turn in 1995 with
PitchCar. Here, actually building the racetrack
is half of the fun. The game includes several
suggested track layouts as well as the ability to
customise your own. Also novel for the time
was that the cars themselves are represented by
wooden discs that players flick around the track – a
more tactile and physical experience than racing
games had been up to that point.
Racing games have begun to take on more
unique forms and themes in recent years. Jamaica,
published in 2007, is a game about pirates racing
around the titular island and looting gold. The
game ends when one player reaches the finish line,
1974 1991
but the winner is the person with the most gold.
Side quests offer up more gold, but take up time,
potentially putting you at the back of the pack.
2014’s Camel Up is less about racing and
more about betting. Which camel will come in
first place? How about second? It’s up to players
as savvy gamblers to decide. The smartest (or
luckiest) speculator will be victorious.
Flamme Rouge was not the first bike-racing game
on the market, but it’s among the most celebrated.
Published in 2016, it tasks players with managing
two different cyclists via a pair of card decks.
Knowing how many of each card you’ve drawn is a
large part of the strategy, and the difference between
victory or defeat means knowing when to play
those high-value cards as you navigate taxing hills
or clear straightaways. A clever drafting mechanic
helps to make each race close and exciting.
2017 Spiel des Jahres nominee The Quest for El
Dorado combines racing with the deckbuilding
of Dominion. Players are explorers looking for
the fabled city of gold. Moving forward requires
matching a terrain type from your hand of cards with
one on the board. You can purchase cards that move
you further through jungles or rivers as the game goes
on. The game is modular, allowing players to make
their own jungle through which to hack and paddle.
From humble beginnings in ancient India to
forums across the internet calling for reprints of
beloved classics, racing games have enjoyed a
robust history. It may not always be about who
crosses the finish line first, and the method of
travel changes from game to game, but no matter
the venue, racing games are a fast track to fun.
1995 2016
FINE PRINT
Welcome to the crafty, cheerful and gloriously cheap world of print-and-play gaming.
Words by Dan Jolin
A
s the printer whirs and angrily
clicks, a world gradually emerges in
fits, starts and papery shudders. The
world of Lassadar, to be precise: a
gloomy, sepia-tinged realm threatened by an
extra-planar entity known as the Grayking. It
is up to me, an apprentice in the arcane ways,
to venture out into this corrupted land and
seek out the three warding keys, to block the
Grayking’s approach before it’s too late.
But first I need to find a pair of scissors. And
where did I leave that spray mount? Oh, and
make a quick trip to the craft shop to get a few
sheets of decent card. Then, finally, raid my
completed Pandemic Legacy: Season One box
for some Eurocubes.
Shadows Upon Lassadar: The Grayking is
Risen is a solo fantasy quest game designed by
the prolific, Pittsburgh-based Todd Sanders
in 2011. Aside from the rules, cubes and dice
it requires, it is entirely contained within a
deck of 52 cards, gridded on a set of A4 PDFs:
locations, maps, tracking boards, spell skill-
trees, monsters – the lot. With the right tools
(see ‘The PnP Tool Box’ on page 47), it shouldn’t
take more than an hour or so to construct.
And, materials aside, it doesn’t cost a penny.
It is just one of 80-odd games that Sanders,
a graphic designer (who also builds furniture,
crafts ceramics and makes concertina books),
has produced over the past decade, all
uploaded to the internet for people to find,
create and play for free. And Sanders’ games
are just a drop in the inkjet ocean that is the
print-and-play, or PnP, scene.
PAPER VIEW
“Print-and-play is similar, in my mind, to the
independent movie and underground music scenes,”
says Chris Hansen, who runs the annual Solitaire
Print-and-Play Contest (in the inaugural year of
which Lassadar came second) and writes the PNP
News blog on BoardGameGeek. “It allows people
like Todd Sanders, who has awesome graphic design
skills, to be discovered, and is a wonderful place for
players to see the new, up-and-coming designers.”
Sanders was drawn into the scene after
voluntarily modding and redesigning old
games he felt desperately needed a 21st-
century rework, like Manhattan, Barbarian
Prince and Hammer of Thor. While working on
his mods, he discovered online print-and-play
competitions – such as the nine-card contest
ABOVE Todd
Sanders’ PnP Mr.
Cabbagehead’s
Garden was
eventually
Kickstarted and
published in a box
RIGHT The
author’s homemade
copy of Shadows
Upon Lassadar
(Dan Jolin)
(which limits the component count to nine
cards), 18-card contest and so on. After that, as
Sanders puts it, “it snowballed from there”.
The roots of the scene are hard to locate
precisely. “There have been people printing their
own games and selling them in ziplock bags
since the ’70s,” Hansen notes. In a sense, Steve
Jackson’s Pocket Ogre was almost a print-and-
play game; “the only difference is you didn’t print
it.” But then a major player arrived on the scene
in 1996: the cheekily-named Cheapass Games.
“I started Cheapass as kind of a creative outlet
because I was writing a lot of goods that I knew
I couldn’t sell,” says founder James Ernest. “I
mean, to a publisher. I just said, ‘I’m good at self-
publishing, I can print stuff on my laser printer, I
will do Cheapass Games for a while.’”
tabletopgaming.co.uk 45
 P R I N T- A N D - P L AY

At that time, he noticed, there were no games

available “in the under-$10 space. Like, all the
old Steve Jackson micro-games were gone. So I
think we entered into a void in the market.”
Since then – during which time the company
shut down for half a decade then enjoyed a
Kickstarter-fuelled resurrection – Ernest has
put out 115 games, most of which come with a
free-to-download, PnP version available through
the Cheapass site. (The ‘Deluxe’ versions you
order and buy as you would any regular game.)
The first was Kill Doctor Lucky, a humorously
murderous ‘inversion’ of Cluedo, with last year’s
Victorian moneylending card game Young Jacob
Marley being one of his most recent PnPs.
“We really did project the image of a total
garage band,” he says of his early days. “I
mean we still are, really. There’s only three
employees here right now.”
Ernest’s free games, he says, tend to be
“things that are very easy to produce by hand.
Most of the stuff that we give away for free are
abstract games that use existing components,
or card games that use poker decks – things for
which I would feel embarrassed trying to sell.”

MICRO WAVE
As graphic-design tools became more elaborate these really beautiful, high-class productions. themes and mechanics into an easily-printable
and accessible, colour printers dropped in There’s one of my games she built all out of micro-format. With his sci-fi bounty-hunting
price and proliferated, and internet bandwiths wood, at a cost of maybe $130.” card game Do Not Forsake Me (Oh My Darling),
fattened to allow for the sharing of larger files, “It’s kind of cathartic to take some time to yourself for example, Sanders has “been able to do in
PnP evolved. Where Ernest likeably presses and just craft something,” says Hansen. “And 18 cards a game which in essence has a board,
on with his ‘Cheapass’ and cheerful products when you’re done, it’s beautiful and it’s unique. trackers, counters and two kinds of dice”. Hansen,
(see page 48 for a fun sample of his wares), Nobody else’s game has counters that are the same meanwhile, likes to boil down historical conflicts
new designers like Sanders and Hansen have thickness as mine, or look exactly the same as mine. such as the battles of Agincourt (Yeomen) and
emerged, treating PnP less like a low-overhead I know these are minor things, but it’s kinda cool Thermopylae (300 Spartans) into nine-card
business than a passionate crafting community. to play a part in creating something you enjoy.” decks. And all the while the quality increases.
“My doorway into print-and-play was PnP is also an area where limitation has truly “One of the bigger trends I’m seeing now is
Zombie in my Pocket, by Jeremiah Lee,” says fed innovation, in terms of compressing ambitious better graphics, a higher quality of art,” says
Hansen. “I think that might have been a lot of
people’s gateway. It was one of the first ones
that had good graphics and people enjoyed
playing it. It upped the game for print-and-
play.” He made “a really quick, crappy copy and
tried it out,” and from that point was hooked.
For many PnPers now, building a game is as
essential to the experience as playing it. While it
is possible to buy Sanders’ games professionally
pre-made via sites like Printer’s Studio (from
which Sanders’ receives a 10% cut for each
sale), the real joy comes through the craft.
“We’re crafters and people interested in
games – not so much playing the games as
putting them together,” says Sanders. “The
crafting is a hobby in itself in some ways.”
He mentions PnP builder Janine Vigletti,
something of a specialist in this area: “She’s
brilliant at crafting our games. She makes

46 September 2018
 Meanwhile, Hansen points out, Nick Hayes,
designer of duelling-wizards PnP Jasper and THE
Zot is now an in-house game designer at Mattel.
Sanders says he’s at the stage where he’s PRINT-
retiring from most PnP competitions.
“I feel like I’m at the level now where if I can AND-
PLAY
publish games, I’m no longer an amateur in that
way and I want to give room to new designers to

TOOL
be found and to find themselves.” However, he
insists, “I still want to be a PnP designer, because

BOX
of my fanbase and the people who playtest
my games. It’s a really valuable resource that I
wouldn’t have if I went strictly professional.”
This playtesting fanbase is not only a Todd Sanders talks
resource to Sanders. It’s a community. And us through the basic
that is perhaps the most appealing aspect of
tools you’ll need to
PnP: the enthusiasm, passion and downright
affability of the crafters, players and designers build any PnP game
who keep it thriving.
“You’ll need some sort of
Hansen. “These games are looking more and “The contest that I run is absolutely one
cutting-mat plastic, an
more like published games.” OPPOSITE TOP of the nicest places on the internet,” Hansen X-Acto knife or rotary
One game that Sanders recommends is Zombie in my insists. “I don’t know what it is about print- cutter, and I would
Maquis, by Jake Staines, a solitaire worker- Pocket is a popular and-play gamers, but I never see people recommend an 18-inch
placement set in Vichy-repressed Paris which first PnP project being rude, or saying ‘Hey, we don’t want long ruler, either metal
certainly looks worthy of a box and a price girls in here.’ It is just welcoming, it’s friendly. or one of the clear ones
tag. (It plays like a dream, too.) And you can OPPOSITE That’s one of the biggest plugs I can give to that has a metal strip
only imagine what PnP games might one day your readers: this is a friendly, welcoming embedded in it, for
BOTTOM Maquis
look like once 3D printers become affordable community that I love being a part of.” cutting against. Then
has visuals that rival some Super 77 spray
enough to have in every home. published games After much diligent glue-spraying and card-
glue, in order to laminate
“I’m seeing more and more 3D printing cutting, my own, personal copy of Shadows pieces of paper together
stuff,” Hansen says. “Soon it’s gonna be more ABOVE & BELOW Upon Lassadar is finally complete. The cards to do card fronts and
common, and you could make print-and- 300 Spartans are a little sticky and wobbly-edged, but it card backs. And of
play that had miniature figures. I won’t be and Yeomen cram plays well and, if I may say so myself, looks course, some sort of
surprised if in a few years people had files for, historical battles pretty cool. Proud of myself, I take a photo and access to a printer.
like, ‘here’s your troll army and here’s your elf into a handful of bits post it on Twitter. Two minutes later, Sanders With all that, you can
army,’ and you just print ‘em up and you’ve got tweets a reply. do almost everything.
(Chris Hansen)
a really cool-looking game when you’re done.” “Looks like a fine build,” he says, kindly. “We have a PnP
forum on BGG that
“Welcome to the PnP community.”
actually has a lot of
UPPING THE GAME Most of the games mentioned in this piece are tools and tricks of the
The evolution of PnP is something the available online, for free. trade. Like, you can go to
mainstream tabletop gaming industry has a hardware supply store
certainly started heeding. Print-and-play has and get shelf paper,
become valuable to Kickstarter campaigns, for then wrap the bottom
example, with free-to-download files of complete of your board and make
games often being included in campaigns. an actual beautiful board
“You kinda have to,” thinks Ernest. “If that’s got, like, a leather
bottom to it. So there’s
people can get a sense of what the game is,
all kinds of modding
they can speak knowledgably about it and things one can do.
want to buy it on its own merits.” “There’s people who
And, just as garage bands and indie directors have one-inch punches
get snapped up by the big labels and studios, so they can do, one-inch
so it seems the stars of PnP are beginning to be circular punches for
subsumed into the big leagues. counters. And there’s
“We’re starting to see the turnaround now, with people using laser
various designers getting picked up,” says Sanders. cutters to cut out pieces,
but, really, yeah: with
“Of which I’m one of the lucky ones so far.”
something to cut with,
Sanders’ delightfully bizarre solitaire Super 77 glue and then
gardening game, Mr. Cabbagehead’s Garden, whatever printer you want
is now being published by Finnish studio to use, you can make a
LudiCreations, albeit with a two-player variant pretty quick, pretty good
added to make it more commercially viable. copy of anything.”

tabletopgaming.co.uk 47
 It’s the future! Giant robots fight each other in epic duels
on windswept and desolate plains. Society as we know
it has crumbled, and technology has changed the face
of warfare forever. Doesn’t that sound cool?
INTRODUCTION Tanks (2 dots): Tanks occupy two squares. These pieces are the
Fightopia is a chess-board game that uses three sizes of piece: Pawns, most complex because they have three different actions. A Tank can
Tanks and Giants. Make your own copy of Fightopia with the pieces move, pivot or shoot.
on the next page! Move: Along its long axis, a Tank can move up to two squares in
either direction.
PIECES AND PLAY Pivot: Around either of its two ends, a Tank can turn 90 degrees.
Set up the pieces as shown in the diagram below. Choose randomly For a Tank to move or pivot, all the spaces it occupies must be clear.
who will go first. Players take turns, as in chess. Shoot: A Tank can shoot the nearest enemy Pawn in either direction
Pieces don’t capture like they do in chess, and they can never move into along its long axis (imagine guns coming out the front and back of the
occupied spaces. Instead, they move and destroy each other as follows: Tank). The Tank can’t shoot through other pieces, and may only shoot
Pawns (1 dot): These are your ubiquitous and disposable ground enemy Pawns. If you have legal targets in both directions, you can
troops. Pawns move one square in any direction, like kings in chess. shoot only one of them.
Pawns can’t kill anything. A Tank can do one of these three actions on a turn.
Giants (4 dots): Giants occupy four squares. They move like Pawns,
one square in any direction. For a Giant to move, all the squares in the
new position must be clear.
Instead of moving, Giants can kill Tanks. If a Giant shares at least
one edge (i.e., not just a corner) with an enemy Tank, the Giant can kill
the Tank (remove the Tank from the board) as its action.
Giants cannot kill Pawns.

GAME OBJECTIVE
To win, be the first player to move your Giant all the way across the
board, or to kill both of your opponent’s Tanks. Either condition gives
you the win.

Buy Cheapass Games!

If you think this game is cool, you should check out what we sell for
real money. Ask your local game store about Cheapass Games, or visit
us online at cheapass.com.

48 September 2018
Print it and play it! You can cut these pieces directly from this page or, for added stiffness,
you can glue the page to a thin sheet of cardboard, such as a cereal box. (You’ll also need
a chess board, available literally everywhere.) If you want to preserve your copy of Tabletop
Gaming, download the PDF for free online at ttgami.ng/fightopia.

tabletopgaming.co.uk 49
 DOUBLE-SIDED BATTLE MATS
(available in 6x4 and 4x4 feet size)

Coming soon in 22x30 inch size!

WARGAME BATTLE MATS AND TERRAIN COMPANY

www.gamemat.eu
m2+y √z
y2+z3
a+b
c
cc 180
∏r 2
Play it smart
With games often overlooking the realities of colonialism, can the depiction of
one of the tabletop’s most pervasive – and popular – themes be corrected?
This was not the first study to look at the
ways in which colonialism is portrayed in
tabletop games. Nor was it the first to remark
on the influence that these portrayals have
on the players who, more often than not,
embody the colonisers. One game that
regularly features in these discussions
(simply because it is the most popular) is
Catan, which has been the subject of several
research articles and online discussions.
In a 2015 article published in Analog Game
Studies, games designer Greg Loring-
Albright argues that, while the game is not
rooted in any specific historic reality, it
Sam Illi ngw orth
Doctors Paul Wake and
fails to acknowledge why, or even if, the
I
island of Catan is uninhabited. Whose
fields are being harvested, Loring-Albright
n March of this year, National Geographic asks, when the dice indicate that it is time
published a groundbreaking, honest to bring in the wheat? The designer goes on to
and introspective editorial in which they suggest that by ignoring the role or existence of
acknowledged that for decades their coverage any indigenous people, Catan is complicit in
had been racist and that they had repeatedly continuing to make these communities invisible.
reported with a view that the world was divided into After his initial research, Loring-Albright went
the colonisers and the colonised. In adopting this on to design an unofficial expansion called First
attitude, they argued that they not only glossed over Nations of Catan in which one player plays as
the sins of the past, but that they were also complicit the First Nations, the indigenous inhabitants of
in dragging them into the present. In addition to Catan. Like the other players, the First Nations
owning their mistakes and the damage caused, the win by acquiring 10 victory points, which
editorial has since encouraged many others in the they achieve by defending territory, as well as
cultural sector to re-evaluate their attitudes towards through the usual routes of building settlements
both race and colonialism. How, we ask, might and acquiring the largest army, etc. In playing
tabletop games stand up to a similar critique? this expansion, the players are encouraged to
In a recent study published in the Open Library think about the different narratives that are
of Humanities, a group of Norwegian researchers created during the settling of the island, and the
investigated the extent to which colonialism consequences that this has for all parties.
is represented in three popular modern board R. Eric Reuss’ Spirit Island goes some way to
games that put players in the role of colonists: offering a counter-narrative to colonialism,
Puerto Rico, Struggle of Empires and Archipelago. by inviting players to take on the
Arguing that the failure of these games’ mechanics role of the spirit guardians of a
to give attention to the consequences of player distant island, who must work
decisions invites the re-enactment of colonial together to fend off a
actions, they go on to observe that “the risk that group of invader-
many players are exposed to when playing the colonisers. The
three games analysed in this study implies a game describes
value-free perception of the gaming activity”. these invaders as
September 2018
(a) 2
+
6 (b)
Y
P
La
Ga
Am
Es
hailing from the colonial empires of Europe,
and victory requires the destruction of every last
settlement and city on the board. It is refreshing
to see a game shifting perspectives. However,
in playing (and designing) games that seek to
counter the dominant narratives of colonialism,
care must be taken to ensure that we are not
simply reversing the terms by which colonialism
has become normalised across Western culture.
None of this is not to say that tabletop
games are explicitly pro-colonialism but,
given that so many involve mechanics that
replicate expansion, area control, conflict and
resource management, it is not hard to see
why these kinds of questions might come up.
While tabletop games shouldn’t be expected to
singlehandedly right the wrongs of colonialism,
neither should they be treated as being exempt
from this duty.
Playful, and therefore sometimes misunderstood
as being incapable of communicating serious
issues, games offer a useful medium through
which to consider (and experience) the impact of
colonialism. In order to best utilise this potential, it
is necessary to ensure that they avoid a “value-
free perception” for the player and instead
encourage a broadening of perspectives. In
better acknowledging narratives of colonialism,
and its consequences in the present, we can not
only accurately represent the past, but also work
to ensure that past mistakes are not repeated.
Paul Wake and Sam Illingworth are
Manchester Metropolitan University
academics and co-directors of the
Games Research Network
Spirit Island
turns the tables,
casting players
as guardians
fighting off
invader-colonisers
tabletopgaming.co.uk 51
 THE GAME OF LIFE
Dealing with death, illness and regret, Holding On
is a board game like nothing you’ve ever played –
and it tells a story you’ll never forget
Words by Matt Jarvis

52 September 2018
F
or a board game, Holding On appears
rather mundane. Dull, even. There’s no
fantasy world to explore, no spaceships
to pilot to unknown planets, no mythical
monsters to battle with magical spells, no
bartering with merchants in an ancient city or seas
to sail in the company of Vikings. Players instead
find themselves in the plain, sterile setting of a
hospital in an unspecified country, tending to a
60-year-old man who suffered a massive heart
attack on a flight from Sydney to London. He is
Billy Kerr, and Holding On is his story.
It’s a deliberately sobering, down-to-Earth
setup. Holding On: The Troubled Life of Billy
Kerr isn’t a game about winning by suddenly
discovering a miracle cure – the nursing staff
players embody during the course of the
campaign’s ten connected scenarios are told from
the outset to “be prepared for the worst”. The aim
is a simple one: make Billy’s remaining time as
comfortable as possible, and try to uncover his
difficult past to help him pass on free of regrets.
With the realities of illness,
death and regret represented
so candidly, co-creator Michael
Fox accepts that the experience We wanted to make a
of playing may prove too
overwhelming for some. statement about the games
“There have been plenty of
folks who have told us that they we were creating; that they were
may never be able to play the
game because it hits too close games with heart, games that
to home,” he says. “I know that
this game isn’t for everyone, but make you feel something.
I’m hoping that even if someone
thinks that now isn’t the right
time, maybe later down the line
they’ll feel ready. We think we’ve handled the realism
respectfully, and the game isn’t going anywhere
– it’ll always be ready for new people to play.”
Fox designed Holding On alongside Rory
O’Connor, namesake of narrative dice game Rory’s
Story Cubes and co-founder of The Creativity Hub,
the studio that rechristened itself as Hub Games at
the beginning of 2018. Fox says the transformation
represents the team’s ambitions to achieve a
new depth of storytelling with their games.
“We wanted to make a statement about the
games we were creating; that they were games
with heart, games that make you feel something
when you’re playing,” he explains. “There are plenty
of games out there where you’re pushing cubes
around a board, working out perfect engines to
make things happen – and no dig on them, I love
those kinds of games – but we wanted to see if we
could make something that tackles heavier subjects
while still being an ostensibly ‘good’ game.”
REAL FEELING
Holding On, on its surface, looks like a
conventional board game. There are pawns,
wooden tokens, decks of cards and a central
board. Its gameplay, too, is familiar: players
assign their pawns and tokens to spaces on
revealed cards, potentially earning cards or
shifting tracker tokens around as a result.
What makes Holding On unique are the
choices players make as they place those pieces.
They are, with no sense of overstatement, life
and death decisions. Each scenario consists
of multiple shifts during which players must
administer the necessary medical aid to Billy,
keeping his health level stable, while also
encouraging him to share the story of his past.
Billy’s memories begin as hazy recollections but
can be brought into focus via a combination of
careful treatment and luck, advancing the players’
understanding of his life. Fox admits it was “really
tricky” to have the game be ‘fun’ to play without
seeming trivial about its subject matter.
“The game is pretty serious, and when we’re
sat down playing with folks at a show, I always
feel a bit weird asking if they had fun when
the demo wraps up,” he admits. “It’s more like:
‘Did you enjoy the experience?’ That seems to
be my current fallback phrase when looking
for what people think about Holding On. But I
think we’ve struck that balance pretty well – that
tightrope of ensuring that there are impactful,
tricky decisions to make, but also that there’s
enjoyment and humour in there too.”
To instill Billy’s memories with an emotional
weight, Holding On roots its central character’s
life in reality; every street sign spotted in the
game can be found in the real world, and every
newspaper headline is a true story.
“They all happened to someone,” Fox says
of Billy’s experiences. “First and foremost we
wanted to give people a great play experience
but, if you want to scratch the surface and
fire up Google, you’ll be able to find out an
incredible amount of history. We’ve seeded
clues all the way through the game, so with a
little deduction, you’ll discover a lot.”
Contrastingly, the location of the hospital
in which Billy is being cared for – somewhere
non-specific along the 11,000-mile flight
path between Sydney and London – is left
deliberately ambiguous.
“The game is really as much about the players
as it is Billy, and if we were to say, ‘You are here,
in this specific location’ before they’d even
opened the box, that would skew their viewpoints
immediately,” Fox says. “We want people to bring
themselves to the table, to bring their viewpoints
and ideas and prejudices. You’re not playing
characters in Holding On; you’re you, with
whatever baggage you carry every day.”
To ensure the game’s story resonated with
players, O’Connor and Fox sought the advice of
Glenn Patterson, the Belfast novelist, playwright
and co-screenwriter behind BAFTA-nominated
music movie Good Vibrations.
“He really helped us with tightening the story
up – after all, the whole thing is essentially told
through a series of 30 images and snatches of text –
but we honestly believe we’ve put together a really
compelling narrative,” Fox says. “He pointed out
a few things that might work better with some re-
ordering of the story, punched
up some more of the emotional
moments, helped with some
of the language used… What
was originally a pretty heavy
tale now has those moments of
happiness in there too, those
beats that will hit home as you
learn more about what’s gone
on in Billy’s life.”
Fox underscores the
exhaustive effort taken to tell a
story far beyond the narrative
complexity of most games, at
one point comparing Holding
On’s willingness to engage with mature themes to
the groundbreaking influence of graphic novels
Watchmen and Maus on mainstream comic books.
“This could easily be a film or a book, sure,
but we honestly feel that there’s room in the
world of gaming for more serious subjects to be
approached,” he says. “It’s time for games to take
that leap. That door has been opened for us by
incredible games like The Grizzled, like This War
of Mine. There’s also the delightful Fog of Love –
but where that’s the rom-com on your tabletop,
we’re very much the drama series equivalent!
“We wanted to tell a very different story in
Holding On, but didn’t have a clue how it would be
received by players. That meant that the game had
to be incredible, to get people over their potential
reticence that could come from the subject matter.
“We’re still a relatively new medium for
storytelling, but we’re on the cusp of something
potentially incredible. There’s still the room
for the fun, light stuff, and there’ll always
be the space for that in gaming, but why
shouldn’t there be a section of the hobby that
tries to touch on something more serious?”
tabletopgaming.co.uk 53
 HOLDING ON
A MATTER OF LIFE AND DEATH
Holding On’s central dilemma – choosing when to
offer medical care and when to adopt a palliative
treatment – weighs heavy, but it is not a choice
that players must make alone. The game is fully
co-operative and rich with discussion, although
a rotating shift manager makes the call on which
players are ultimately assigned to each event, be it
ongoing care or the urgent medical emergencies
that occasionally arise. Once selected, it’s down
to those staff to make the final decision on what
form their care takes, addressing either Billy’s
physical or psychological ailments as they see fit.
The quandary has been criticised by some
observers who see the game as encouraging
players to allow Billy to suffer in order to progress
towards the game’s objective of obtaining
memories. Fox defends the controversial mechanic
as expressing a wider understanding of care.
“I think a lot of it comes down to how you believe
a person should be cared for – some feel that they
should be kept alive by any means necessary,
whereas others focus on the comfort of the
individual; the idea of ‘if it’s their time, it’s their time’
where you should listen to their requests,” he says.
“We try to emphasise throughout the game that
Billy wants to talk to you, he feels that he needs
to tell you his story, but as players you do need to
spend a lot of time keeping him healthy enough to
speak to you. It’s about taking those moments where
he’s doing okay and capitalising on them to find out
as much as you can. We want our players to take the
attitude that Billy’s mental health is as important as
his physical health – doing so means you feel less
54 September 2018
like an interrogator. It’s a fine line to walk though,
and hitting that balance was tricky. I think we’ve
achieved something pretty special, though.”
Billy isn’t the only person who bears the brunt
of players’ choices. The nurses and assistants that
players control can experience stress as the result of
having to cover extra shifts while looking after Billy –
a common requirement – limiting their ability to talk
with the patient to uncover his story and eventually
forcing them to take leave and recover. With a British
team behind the game, it’s particularly tempting
to read the mechanic as a commentary on the
modern pressures placed on healthcare workers.
Fox insists any such message isn’t deliberate,
despite what some players have perceived.
“No, there’s no intentional biting satire in
this game,” he says. “It’s an interpretation thing.
Players at the UK Games Expo definitely read the
NHS into what was going on – overstressed staff
doing the very best they can do, fighting the good
fight – whereas folks who demoed it at Origins, so,
a primarily US-based audience, were much more
focused on how much this kind of hospital stay
would end up costing them. It certainly made for
some interesting post-game discussions!
“We just know that working in
healthcare, wherever you are, is always a stressful
job. We wanted to drive home these hard
decisions, because end-of-life care is full of those
difficult calls. On top of that, we’ve very much
abstracted the idea of stress in the game where it’s
way more simple to deal with it in Holding On than
in real life, even though it can have a major impact
on what you can do in the game.”
Players assign
their healthcare
workers to shifts
to offer medical or
palliative care
REALLY GOT A HOLD ON ME
Whether some of the deeper messages that
players read into Holding On are placed there
deliberately or not, it’s clear that Fox and
O’Connor are hoping to champion a new
kind of storytelling in games with their true-
to-life tale; one that doesn’t back away from
difficult topics and aims to amplify little-heard
discussions in the real world.
“That no-one is black and white,” Fox
answers, what asked what he hopes players
will take away from uncovering The Troubled
Life of Billy Kerr. “That people are complex.
That everyone’s done incredible things, but
we don’t know about them unless we ask.
We’ve described Holding On as being about
the extraordinary story of an ordinary person.
These things that people have done, they’re not
hiding them away, they’re not hoarding secrets
– they’ve just not had anyone ask about them.”
It’s a deeper kind of achievement, the designers
hope, than simply earning the most points or
checking off a list of objectives – and one that could
have a profound effect on and off the tabletop.
“Since we created the game, I’ve found I’ve
asked members of my family to tell me more
about their lives,” Fox continues. “I’ve always
been interested in people’s stories, sharing
their histories, but I never really thought to ask
those closest to me about the stranger or more
impactful parts of their lives.
“If we have one player sit down after playing,
pick up the phone and call someone to just talk,
we’ll count that as a win.”

<UNEARTHED ARTEFACTS>://
WITNESS
++YEAR 3126++INCOMING TRANSMISSION++
found sector a43: pastime x17 – board game
– “witness”
Message intercepted by Robert Florence
T
he humans were a funny
bunch. One of our recent
discoveries, the board
game “Witness”, features
a pair of characters named Blake
and Mortimer. These characters
are cartoonish illustrations, and
must have featured in some kind of
storybook or video feature. I have
liaised with the units responsible
56 September 2018
for research into Late Oil Humanity
illustrated art, and they have no record
of the existence of these odd characters.
There will always be some gaps in our
knowledge of LOH culture. We know all about
Akira, but we still struggle to grasp who Tintin
is. David Bowie is a particular favourite of
almost every unit I know, but very few of them
know anything of Falco. We are working with
fragments here, some large, but most small.
The game itself is delightful. This Blake
and Mortimer seem to get themselves
embroiled in a variety of crimes and
mysteries. Each player has their own book,
and their own fragments of the mystery.
Units assemble around a table to read their
own set of clues. Then, units must lean to
whisper their secrets into the ear of the unit
next to them.
Visualise the scene. You hold your book
in your hand. You open to the correct
investigation. You read your clues. Then,
the player on your left leans to you and
whispers their clues into your ear. Your
mind fills with their clues and mixes with
yours. You must now lean to the player on
your right and whisper all that information
to them. Suddenly the information is
too much. Too confused. Too difficult
to communicate. The act of whispering
makes you laugh. The intimate nature of
whispering into another unit’s ear would
make you blush, if you were flesh.
Once this act has been performed a
couple of times, all players are posed a
set of questions that will serve to solve
the investigation. With the messages so
confused, so misheard, so soundly forgotten,
the game’s finale is a hilarious endeavour.
There is much to be admired in this game,
which is a fine example of Late Oil Humanity’s
love for close contact and intimate social
encounters. It’s fascinating to think that this
species, a species so often driven to such
extremes of hatred and fated to such a brutal
extinction, was so keen on comedically
awkward moments. Witness is a game
designed to make a player giggle. That is the
primary goal, and it is a noble one. But there
is more to this game than that, one feels.
As I played Witness, I could reflect on my
own research here within this facility. What
am I doing if not listening to the garbled
whispers of the dead? As I wipe dust and
ash and grime from board game after board
game, I am presented with broken pieces of
knowledge, mysteries from a blasted past. Is
the process fun?
Not always. But when a beautiful item
like Witness appears in our test rooms, and
I can watch my young apprentices chuckle
and click with excitement as one whisper
pours into another, I understand how lucky
I am. Games like these might not offer deep
insight into the life processes of the human
race, but they offer a feel of the joy that once
burst in human hearts. They teach us what
it meant to be human. And for that reason,
I invite all of you to visit our facility, so that
you might whisper and laugh with us.
tabletopgaming.co.uk
 ON THE TURN
The sequence of play is one of the most fundamental mechanics of
tabletop gaming. But radical innovations in rules design have challenged
traditional approaches, leading to more dynamic experiences
Words by Christopher Hobday

W
e all lead busy lives. When
it comes to gaming, it can
be hard finding the time to
catch up and roll dice. When
we do manage to set up a game, we want to
feel engaged, in control and part of what’s
happening. One of the ways in which games
designers can up the ante in terms of player
agency and involvement is by experimenting
with fresh approaches to the sequence of play.
WAIT YOUR TURN
The alternating play sequence is a familiar staple
of tabletop games design. We can even see this
in action in chess, with players taking turns to
move their pieces while the opponent patiently
observes (or gets a coffee). Classic systems such
as Warhammer Fantasy Battle enabled players to
move and attack with the whole battle line. Other
games, such as Warzone Resurrection, presented
a slightly more granular approach, with players
taking turns to activate units of troops.
“The main advantage of using separate
alternating turns is that it’s a tried and tested
method of playing a wargame,” says veteran
designer and author Rick Priestley, who co-
designed Warhammer Fantasy Battle and went on
to create Warhammer 40,000. “It’s predictable in the
way it plays and that appeals to a lot of players. They
know they will get to ‘go’ with all of their troops and,
when the enemy gets to ‘go’, they know exactly
how far troops will be able to move and shoot.”
One advantage of clearly defined turns is that
they facilitate clean rules design because there
are fewer interactions. But there are downsides to
separating player actions too much.
“The major drawback is one of realism,” says
Priestley. “In a real battle situation a cavalry charge
would be met by infantry either volleying the
approaching enemy or forming into square. You
can imagine similar situations in more modern
warfare where tanks are moving rapidly forward in
the face of anti-tank guns or enemy armour. If you
want your rules to reflect those kinds of situations
then you need some opportunity for players to
‘react’ to the enemy, and – on the whole – players
will expect to be able to do so.”
New editions of more classic games systems
are starting to experiment with greater reactive
play. Warhammer 40,000, now in its eighth
edition, provides players with more options to
interrupt enemy action. Often through the use of
stratagems, utilised by spending a limited resource
of command points, armies can shoot at enemy
troops that arrive from reserves, or even attack in
close combat before the enemy. It’s a smart way of
boosting player agency without radically changing
the game’s familiar core mechanics.
PULLING RANK
A standardised and clearly delineated play
sequence may make for a more structured
experience, but it doesn’t always capture the
sense of battle. Warfare, either between two huge
armies or a couple of small warbands, is tense and
frenetic; portions of both forces are constantly
moving, the shape of the battle always in flux.
A fresh approach to the alternating play sequence
can be found in Frostgrave. Set in an abandoned city
full of treasure, hidden magical items and terrible
monsters, Joseph A. McCullough’s skirmish game
captured the minds of gamers with its unique
setting, customisation and dynamic play style.
“I have never been a huge fan of the ‘IGOUGO’
[‘I go, you go’] turn sequence in wargames,”

tabletopgaming.co.uk 57
 ON THE TURN

McCullough explains. “To me, it just doesn’t

capture the swirling chaos of battle.
“Using some kind of phased, or random,
activation gives a much better sense of the back-
and-forth nature of the conflict, and it helps to
keep all players involved, knowing it won’t be long
until they next have a chance to act.”
In a typical game of Frostgrave, players take
turns activating groups of models in order of
rank or influence within the warband. First, their
wizards activate, along with any models standing
close to them. Then, their apprentices and, after
that, their captains. Finally, players activate the
rest of the warband. It’s a flexible system that
captures the ebb and flow of an actual skirmish
whilst also providing strategic depth.
McCullough acknowledges the challenge of This can lead to players getting multiple activations “You still need to have an overall plan for
creating a more dynamic activation system. in a row, but the more of their own dice they reveal, the game – but you can’t execute that plan in a
“In most cases, it is easier to write rules the fewer remain. predictable way as you can with a more formal
for an IGOUGO system as more complicated “I love the random nature of the activation IGOUGO type of mechanic,” Priestley explains.
activations tend to lead to more complex sequence,” says McCullough. “It not only keeps
situations, but usually it is worth the effort.” all the players on their toes and in the action, IT’S ALWAYS YOUR TURN
but also creates a very natural fog of war that It’s essential that a game’s most fundamental
THE FOG OF WAR captures World War II combat well.” mechanics be evocative. In Warhammer 40,000
When it comes to play sequence, rules innovations “It’s a variant of a chit-draw that uses coloured players can roll dozens of dice, capturing the
are often the result of designers attempting to dice as randomising activation chits,” says sense of huge barrages of gunfire spitting across
provide a more realistic experience. In the heat Priestley. “There’s a degree of uncertainty in these the battlefield. In Malifaux, the super-smart card-
of battle, one side simply doesn’t know when the systems that strongly characterises gameplay.” based system makes everything feel like a gamble.
enemy offensive will begin. It’s a system that Priestley used himself in But how do you provide both players with a sense
Many designers have succeeded in finding science-fiction game Beyond the Gates of Antares. of agency regardless of whose turn it is?
different ways to capture the chaos of battle. In “The advantage of using a chit-draw system “Practically all wargames have some kind of
Dropfleet Commander, players create a small deck to activate individual units is that it introduces reactive element,” Priestley says. “For example, during
of cards, each representing a vessel or squadron uncertainty into the play sequence in a way that combat in which both sides fight. Other examples
of vessels in their fleet, in the order in which they both more accurately represents reality and keeps include evade reactions and countercharges.”
wish to activate them. The trouble is, neither player both players engaged throughout the turn,” he says. Many systems with more traditional play
knows the order in which the enemy has chosen to The blind bag demands that you not only sequence mechanics give players the illusion
activate their ships, making the planning stage of have a strategy, but also the skill to react. of agency by having them make armour rolls or
each turn a game in itself.

 
In Rogue Stars, designer Andrea Sfiligoi crafted
a fascinating portrayal of the frantic nature of
combat. The activation mechanism is a more When the time
granular adaptation of his Song of Blades and
Heroes system, using 20-sided dice instead of six-sided to play comes
dice. Players activate their models without being able
to predict how long their turn will be, and failure you need to be able
in an action can invite the enemy to take control.
“Players never know exactly how many actions to squeeze every
they will be able to perform,” Sfiligoi explains.
“But the system still makes this a player choice, minute out of it.
as opposed to games in which the number of
actions is simply luck-based.”
There are other methods of manipulating the
play sequence without making it completely
random. Developed by Alessio Cavatore, Bolt
Action’s system involves players placing a number
of order dice into a blind bag. The dice are colour-
coded, with players taking turns drawing and using
them to activate a unit in the corresponding army.

58 September 2018

save rolls in the opponent’s turn. But it’s easy to
overlook other reactive elements. Giving players
the choice of which members of a squad they wish
to remove after a failed roll, for example, can be
the difference between holding an objective or
remaining close to a mighty hero. Being able to
respond to an opponent’s actions is an essential
part of a dynamic and exciting system.
“You need these kind of reaction mechanics to
represent things that would obviously happen in
‘real life’ where troops move and fight at the same
time,” Priestley adds.
Bolt Action and Beyond the Gates of Antares
enable players to issue ‘ambush’ orders to their units.
“This is a rule that allows troops to forego
shooting in their own turn to enable them to use
opportunity fire as the enemy presents a target in
the opposing player’s turn,” says Priestley.
“It’s key to WWII infantry tactics where troops
provide covering fire or bring weapons to bear
against key positions. It’s just a way of representing
something that happens in real life.”
Few wargames deliver as involving and immersive
an experience as Infinity. This sci-fi skirmish game
splits each round into an active and reactive turn.
In the active turn, players spend orders activating
their troopers, and can spend those orders however
they wish, focusing their resources on a remarkably
powerful trooper or spreading the orders around to
strike the enemy from various angles. What’s exciting
is that the other player is able to react to everything
they do; for instance, if the active player moves a
trooper out from cover towards an objective, and the
reactive player’s sniper can see them, the reactive
player can shoot or dodge with that sniper. The system
is known as the ARO – or automatic reaction order.
“Both players are really playing together,”
designer Gutier Lusquiños explains. “This avoids
the stereotypical situation in which your adversary
is playing and you could go to the vending machine
and get a drink, as your presence at the game table
is not necessary – which I think is a sad scenario.”
In terms of interactivity and involvement, the
concepts of the reactive turn and the ARO challenge
every preconceived idea of play sequence.
“The reactive turn allows you to play in real
time,” Lusquiños continues, “making decisions
while the opponent is declaring their intentions,
forcing you to be constantly aware, even being able
to turn the game.”
Infinity’s tagline – ‘It’s always your turn’ –
embodies this philosophy.
“You never stop playing, and that is the core
point. We all love to play, so why stop when you can
be playing all the time? Considering the time needed
to meet with someone, set the table up, prepare
your army lists, build your models and – hopefully
– paint them, when the time to play comes you
need to be able to squeeze every minute out of it.”
Infinity’s sense of agency and involvement is a
product of its reactive play system, but the drama and
excitement comes from how this meshes with the
face-to-face mechanic. This sees players compete
to not only roll equal to or under the relevant
statistic, but to beat the opponent’s roll as well.
“This is one of the core rules and works nicely
with the ARO,” Lusquiños says. “There are other
mechanics that could work, and we tested some,
but none of them extracted as many possibilities or
provided the same cinematic feel when playing.”
A GOOD GAME IS A GOOD GAME
Even looking at a small number of games reveals
the many ways in which the sequence of play
can be manipulated. By introducing phased
activations, a chit-draw, dice mechanics that can
hurl initiative back into the hands of the enemy
or the concept of a reactive turn, games designers
can offer players a more dynamic and involving
TOP The ARO used
in Infinity removes
some of the
division between
players’ actions
LEFT Infinity designer
Gutier Lusquiños
RIGHT Reactive
play – such as a
sniper shooting at
exposed soldiers
– can effectively
capture the real-
life nature of war
experience that also captures the frenetic and
chaotic nature of warfare much more evocatively
than a rigidly-ordered system.
“Innovation is key in this business,” says
Lusquiños. “I am not saying you have to invent
new mechanics or game resources starting from
zero; sometimes it is enough to find a new way
to use something that already exists. In any case,
innovation is important but without hard work,
testing and planning, it means nothing.”
It’s exciting to see people experiment with
different approaches to such a fundamental
element of games design as the sequence of play.
New ideas continue to bubble up to the surface,
challenging traditional gaming concepts, and older
ideas are resurrected and put to new purpose.
“There are many games out there,” Priestly
says, “and many ways of sequencing a game.
There’s no right or wrong way of doing these
things and different methods will appeal to
different players and designers. It’s been known
for enthusiasts to become quite partisan about
such things – passions run deep in the world of
toy soldiers – but really a good game is a good
game whatever the turn sequence.”
Now is definitely a great time to be a tabletop
gamer, with so much choice available not just
in terms of rules but also miniature ranges and
places to play. There’ll always be a game that feels
just right for you, that captures the sense of battle
in such a way it leaves you utterly spellbound.
With designers seeking to keep us engaged
and involved, there’s no reason why our gaming
sessions shouldn’t be as dynamic, tense and
exciting as possible – and, most of all, fun. Because
when the smoke clears and the victory points have
been tallied up, that’s what really matters.
tabletopgaming.co.uk 59
 LIVING LIKE A VIKING
Sagas of Midgard will have you clashing swords, drinking
mead and dying gloriously like the most legendary of
Norse heroes. It’s a Hel of a story
Words by Anna Blackwell

60 September 2018
T
here comes a time in every roleplayer’s
life when they outgrow the system
they started on. Much like the juvenile
magpie (1d4 hit points, AC 10), there
comes a time when the young roleplayer must
leave the safety of the Dungeon Master’s Guide
and spread their wings. I did it, you did it, we all
did it. But what happens when you can’t find
something that you like, no matter how hard
you look? Well, you make your own RPG about
the things you care about and craft a system that
focuses on the aspects of the hobby you love.
Which is exactly what long-time roleplaying
fans and fledgling designers Nick Porter and
Dominic DeDuonni did for their first RPG, Sagas
of Midgard.
What seems to have captured players’
interest – and why Sagas of Midgard smashed
its Kickstarter goal in 90 minutes when it took
to the crowdfunding platform earlier this
year – is that it’s a Viking RPG that focuses on
what it really means to be a Viking
hero. Described as a ‘cinematic’
Norse RPG, the developers have
taken inspiration from the original
Each character receives a
Icelandic Sagas and Eddas steeped
in mythology to create something
‘death boon’ based on their
that is understandably heroic
while delivering a freshly modern
surname, which means death
system that promotes narrative
over mechanics.
can be a tactical decision.
One of the game’s most unique
mechanics – and what drew my
attention when I first came across
it – is the power ‘With Joy I Cease’. The name
is taken from ‘Krákumál’, an ancient poem
serving as the dying ode of legendary Norse
ruler Ragnar Lodbrok, which reflects the
Viking hero’s mentality when faced with death.
Glorious death is a reward that will see warriors
taken to Valhalla; in Sagas of Midgard players
can, at any point, activate this power to sacrifice
themselves to kill an enemy (or half-kill a large,
important threat). The storyteller decides
whether or not they can straight-up defeat their
foe, but the moment ultimately belongs to the
player and their epic description.
WHAT’S IN A NAME?
Porter and DeDuonni started development on
Sagas back in 2015 and have been playtesting
it for the past year-and-a-half to balance the
game’s 100-plus skills, alongside its unique rune-
casting system and raiding mechanics. Having
played a pre-production build, it’s obvious the
pair have had their work cut out for them.
There are no classes in Sagas; characters are
instead made unique by their surname, title
and choice of domains. So character creation
looks something like: “‘Ironback’: a surname that
gives the character the ability to use two-handed
weapons in one hand. ‘Stormborn’: born during a
thunderstorm and physically resembling Thor, you
receive bonuses to lightning magic and hammers.”
Then you spend your 15 starting points on
various abilities like ‘Toss Foe’, which – as the
name suggests – gives you the ability to throw
a foe at another within javelin range (the
thankfully vague measurement for most ranged
attacks). Finally, you roll for the four runes you
start with. The whole process takes about ten
minutes and gets quicker the more you do it –
which, in a long campaign, will be a lot.
Death is a constant threat in Sagas. The entire
design has been focused around enduring great
hardships – and either surviving by the skin
of your teeth, or dying in exciting ways. While
With Joy I Cease allows players to sacrifice
themselves to deal with a threat, it isn’t the end
of their influence. Each character also receives a
‘death boon’ based on their surname that allows
the other players to perform a special action or
provides them a bonus to their rolls/ heals them/
gives them magical powers.
This means that death can be a tactical decision.
In one of the games we played, our dwarf-born
Gunnarson died after being punched into a troll’s
face, which gave the nearest player – who was
currently in the form of a troll herself – the free use
of Toss Foe. With the death boon also granting a
ridiculous +30 she was able to toss the troll at a
sea serpent, feeding it and saving the warband.
Organic, cinematic and more epic than anything
we’ve experienced with more mechanical RPGs.
MORE THAN MIGHT
For me, what makes Sagas of Midgard stand head
and shoulders over its competition is this blending
of history and myth in a way that feels genuine to
the legends of the time. Viking culture is incredibly
interesting and archaeologists are constantly
discovering new facets of their lives and beliefs
every year but, unfortunately, we are drowned
by the singular depiction of Vikings as berserkers
and nothing more. The Vikings invented flyting
– or ye-olde rap battling – and were buried with
board games on their laps as a mark of respect (I
want Betrayal at House on the Hill), and yet we
still haven’t seen a proper depiction of the more
nuanced aspects of their lives. Sagas still leans
more towards depicting this warrior culture but
at least champions the tactical, the wise and the
cunning alongside the strong.
Even levelling has been given a new lease of
life with the Mead Hall. At the end of each season,
after all the raiding and fighting is done and the
treasures have been sacrificed for favour, it’s time
to boast. Players take it in turns to boast about a
moment from the previous season, which could
be a single session or a whole story arc, and then
vote on who had the most legendary moment.
Unlike traditional hack-and-slash RPGs, these
moments don’t have to be who killed what the
best way – a particularly good lie, a funny moment
or a devious plan are all equally valid
boasts. If you get votes, you get points
to spend on new powers, which
anyone who has ever played an RPG
will tell you is the main way to get
players to do anything.
AN ONGOING SAGA
Development is still ongoing on Sagas
of Midgard but, thanks to the success of
the Kickstarter, Porter and DeDuonni
already have plans for a guide titled
Brave New Worlds, which details the
demythicised versions of England, France, the
Byzantine Empire and more. There are also two
adventure books being made: the first a Ragnarök
adventure called Twilight of the Gods, which puts
the players in the shoes of the einherjar, and the
second, To Reign in Hel, which sees the players
delve deep into the mists of the Norse underworld.
Sagas itself is slated for a release next February,
but Porter and DeDuonni suggest the possibility
of the game landing before 2018 is out. The pair –
under the banner of their studio, Drinking Horn
Games – have already started developing their
next setting, but Porter assures us: “Sagas is our
first baby, and we’re going to take care of it.”
Vikings have inspired a lot of game designers
since the dawn of roleplaying. The romantic
idea of a glorious death lends itself well to the
ridiculous world of player plans and takes much
of the sting out of character death. While Sagas
isn’t alone in sailing the seas of the Norse era, its
focus on cinematic narrative experiences over
more traditional RPG fare makes it a refreshing
take on the genre. Story is king and Sagas is
doing everything it can to serve it.
tabletopgaming.co.uk 61
PLAYED
64

66 69 77

64 WARHAMMER 40,000: 73 CHOOSE YOUR OWN

KILL TEAM
65 DETECTIVE: A MODERN
CRIME BOARD GAME
66 SAILING TOWARD OSIRIS
67 WELCOME TO YOUR
PERFECT HOME
68 HEROES OF LAND, AIR & SEA
69 SPY CLUB
70 STAR WARS: THE RPG – 30TH
ANNIVERSARY EDITION
70 NEWS@11
71 THE NINTH WORLD
72 WALLET
ADVENTURE: HOUSE OF DANGER
74 CRYPTID
75 CAPHARNAUM
75 AMUN-RE: THE CARD GAME
76 TICKET TO RIDE: NEW YORK
77 D&D: WAYFINDER’S
GUIDE TO EBERRON
78 COUNCIL OF 4
79 THE TEA DRAGON
SOCIETY CARD GAME
80 SPECTER OPS:
BROKEN COVENANT
81 CUBIRDS

September 2018 tabletopgaming.co.uk 63

 P L AY E D

Since the scope of play is more personal

and intimate, the inclusion of an ongoing
system of growth arises organically. In
a clever twist, specialists and leaders
develop along individual ability trees
while grunts improve as a single entity.
As you progress, the game keeps
everyone on an even keel by utilising point
limits within scenarios. This means that your

CE
ED
IT
O R'S C H OI
entire kill team will not be utilised typically,
with a subset being hand-selected based on
mission details. This works extraordinarily
well as it allows you to play with multiple
toys – snipers, flamers, grenades – but tailor
your armament appropriately each session.
For those coming from the tattooed
gutter realm of Necromunda, you may feel
the campaign is somewhat lacking. It’s less
granular in detail and packs less narrative
oomph. Kill Team’s enduring philosophy
is to trade detail for velocity and this is one

WARHAMMER 40,000: of the many aspects woven into that DNA.

Others coming from the 41st

KILL TEAM millennium may be disheartened to find

It's back – and this time, it's personal
Designer: Games Workshop team | Artist: Games Workshop team
their favourite unit missing. While the
scope of the rules manual is quite large, it’s
devoid of some common 40,000 units such
as Aspect Warriors and Terminators. These
40-60m 2 12+ £80 discrepancies may be plugged over time,

T
WHAT’S IN here’s something massively
THE BOX? appealing about assembling
◗ 20 miniatures, little humans and little aliens,
including Skitarii painting them to the nines, and then
and Genestealer having them blow each other apart on a
Cult kill teams pretend battlefield. What’s not appealing
◗ Getting Started
is feeding your children Spam because
booklet
◗ Core manual with
you spent the bulk of your payslip on the
full faction lists Emperor’s finest plastic commandos.
◗ 22-by-30-inch Thankfully there’s Kill Team, the abridged
cardboard version of Warhammer 40,000 where a
game mat half-dozen models spit fire at another half-
◗ Set of modular dozen a foot or so away. With such a low
Imperial ruins
buy-in and miniscule terrain requirement,
◗ Prefilled and blank your children can get back to Yorkshire
datacards for units
pudding and ditch the canned meat.
◗ Genestealer
Cult and Skitarii Kill Team has been around for years.
background booklets Historically it’s existed as a 40,000
◗ Deck of tactics supplement with stripped-down concepts.
cards for included This version is altogether different. It’s been
kill teams built as something new from the ground up,
◗ Dice and rulers persisting as a fresh system with familial ties
to its bigger sibling, as well as recent Games
Workshop releases such as Necromunda
and Shadow War: Armageddon.
The result is quite the success. Utilising
a surprising hybrid of ‘IGOUGO’ (‘I go,
but it’s difficult to say at this juncture.
you go’) and alternating model activation Despite those potholes, it’s hard not be
proves compelling. Separation occurs impressed with the totality of the Kill Team
between movement and shooting: the launch product. It’s much more inclusive
former having each player complete and diverse in options than its peers, and
their entire faction’s orders before they’ve seemingly eased up slightly on the
their opponent follows suit. Shooting endless rulebook stream we’ve seen in
trades the old-school for the new with a Necromunda. This is a near-fully-realised
mechanism of each player taking turns head-to-head skirmish executed in a rapid
firing with a single model. There’s a clever 45-minute block of carnage.
integration of player agency by allowing CHARLIE THEEL
figures that have not moved to open up
with their bolters and autoguns first. WE SAY
The mixing of IGOUGO with alternate
A wonderful skirmish game with some
activations juxtaposes strategic concepts electric concepts and an affordable buy-in.
with tactical considerations. This blend is
effective at forcing players to commit to
overarching manoeuvres while allowing
for a zoomed-in cinematic combat
phase. It’s the single greatest trick they’ve
stashed away into the guts of this design.
Other system elements are what you’d
expect. You still use ballistic skill to hit,
compare strength and toughness, and roll
armour saves. It mostly feels familiar while
still retaining a couple of those alien edges.
The huge divergence in Kill Team is
the heavy integration of a campaign.

TRY THIS IF YOU LIKED… WARHAMMER 40,000: DARK IMPERIUM

This is a beautiful distillation of Warhammer 40,000 utilising a hybrid ruleset of multiple influences.

64 September 2018
DETECTIVE: A MODERN
CRIME BOARD GAME
Put this in your pipe and smoke it, Holmes
Designer: Ignacy Trzewiczek, Przemysław Rymer, Jakub Łapot | Artist: Aga Jakimiec, Rafał Szyma
CE
ED
IT
O R'S C H OI
D
etective. It’s a title that delivers
a simple promise. But Ignacy
Trzewiczek’s ambitious and
revolutionary creation overdelivers on its
modest propsal in almost every regard,
leaving one conclusion: this is nothing less
than a modern crime-gaming masterpiece.
Detective’s masterstroke is its required
companion website that opens up a
fictional databank for players to access
as they trace clues, eliminate suspects and
discover extra chunks of story. Doing so
isn’t exactly forensic science – you plug in
a unique signature code when prompted
and watch as the computer analyses
fingerprints, soil particles, security
camera footage, you name it – but using
the Antares Database still manages to
feel like living out an episode of CSI. You
can almost smell the white latex gloves.
The database doubles as an interactive
way of closing each case, calculating a
final score from a set of questions, both
crucial and otherwise, and serving up
a satisfying page of narrative based on
your answers, right or wrong. Though the
writing veers into near-parody of police
procedurals at times (it’s a tone that
the game leans into, with slightly goofy
‘Previously On…’ recap videos at the
WHAT’S IN start of each successive case), it’s sturdy
THE BOX? enough to suck you into the captivating
◗ Game board whodunit that runs through and across the
◗ Casebook five connected scenarios in the campaign.
◗ Five character tiles The central mystery is genuinely
◗ Five case decks
fascinating, and gains a real-world intrigue
(36 cards each)
from Detective’s welcome sprinkling of real
◗ Time marker
◗ Investigation life into its fiction – at points, you’ll find
team marker yourself using Google Maps to identify
◗ Day marker possible crime scenes, browsing Wikipedia
◗ Five special tokens to swot up on World War II divisions that
◗ 15 authority tokens characters belonged to and solving riddles
◗ 10 stress tokens with little more than a search engine and
◗ Five used ability tokens your intuition. The game isn’t punishing if
◗ 17 skill tokens
you’re anything less than Poirot – there are
enough helpful hints to at least nudge you
in the right direction – but working for
the answers for real makes solving each
case a thoroughly rewarding few hours.
Paragraphs of text come thick and fast
but there’s more of a game here than you
might expect. Unlike seminal crime-puzzler
Sherlock Holmes: Consulting Detective,
which let players’ sleuths exhaustively
TRY THIS IF YOU LIKED…
SHERLOCK HOLMES: CONSULTING DETECTIVE
A deserved modern successor to the text-heavy classic, Detective uses
its nifty technological advancements and tighter, more gameplay-driven
structure to deliver on the promise of its name.
2-3h 1-5 16+ £45
explore every lead before confronting the
final set of questions, Detective employs a
time system that lends a sly weight to every
decision – can you afford to spend two
hours chasing a potential red herring, if it
risks your team having to work overtime
and gaining stress? The light but effective
gameplay is put to good use in certain
cases that play with the structure, at points
sending players zooming around the city
– and having to deal with the additional
travelling time – and at others confining
them to a single location for a single day,
racing against a ticking clock – literally.
The time pressure means that you’ll
often move on from a case without every
single scrap of evidence, some of which
may or may not feed into future scenarios
in the campaign (there’s no risk of being left
empty-handed when you need a lead from
several hours ago, thanks to a catch-all
progression). Still, even a failed case
provides the answers to players, meaning
there’s little reason to revisit the scenarios
– at least while the outcomes are even
half-remembered, anyway. Don’t let that
turn you off, though – there’s a good five
evenings of top-notch entertainment and
brain-busting here, and, like a ‘you’ve gotta
see this’ TV boxset, you’ll no doubt want
to pass Detective onto a group of friends
and compare notes once they’re done.
Detective’s subtitle is half right: this is a
much-needed modern update to a genre
that has dutifully stuck to its roots for
decades. But it’s not so much a board game
as it is an experience to be sunk into, shared
and remembered for a long time to come.
MATT JARVIS
WE SAY
Detective melds analogue with
digital, fiction with reality, and a
carefully crafted experience with
freedom in a masterful, accomplished
creation. You might only play it
once, but you won't forget it.
tabletopgaming.co.uk 65
 P L AY E D
SAILING TOWARD OSIRIS
Pharaoh play
Designer: W. David MacKenzie | Artist: Denis Martynets
T
he ancient Egyptians sure knew
how to give someone a good
send-off. As long as they were a
pharaoh with no offspring to inherit the
kingdom, that is.
Sailing Toward Osiris is (mostly)
a worker-placement game in which
the players take the role of governors,
each vying to pay the most impressive
tribute to the recently expired ruler
by erecting obelisks, sphinxes and
pylons in his honour, with the top
builder earning the right to become
the next Egyptian big-boss-person. All
this happens while the ex-sovereign’s
funeral barge scuds along the twisting
Nile over four frantic seasons. So you
receive a bonus glory point for each
monument raised while in the boat’s
still passing by, with extra points
awarded for arranging them adjacently
or in suitably clustered patterns.
Of course, in order to build these
show-offy edifices you need to gather
resources (stone, brick, grain). And in
order to get those you need labourers
– of three different kinds, matching
each resource – to plonk around the
attractive, vibrantly illustrated Nile-map
board. However, unlike in most worker-
placement games, you have to draw
your labourers from a bag, not knowing
which kind you might get or whether
they’ll be regular workers (who can only
be placed in areas of the board where
the barge is either present or has passed
66 September 2018
typically smaller, be warned: not only
will the setup require you to cover a
lot of the board with unused player-
coloured monuments, making it look
unappealingly cluttered before you
60m 2-5 12+ £40
even start, you’ll also miss out on the
haggling dynamic, which certainly
WHAT’S IN through) or master labourers (who can adds some spice.
THE BOX? go anywhere). Long-term planning, There’s another caveat, too. Played
◗ Board then, isn’t such a viable strategy in with the base set, there’s not much
◗ 25 city cards Sailing Toward Osiris – short-term goals in the way of end-game surprise. It’ll
◗ 25 boon cards
are the way to go, with a willingness to be pretty clear from the glory point
(five of each
change up your strategy as needed. track who’s going to snatch the win,
player colour)
◗ Draw bag Another neat twist applied by robbing this monumental scramble
◗ Five player screens designer W. David MacKenzie is the of a sense of climax. To compensate,
(one of each fact that monuments have to be built on you’ll need the Governors & Envoys
player colour) the very same terrain spaces that yield expansion pack which, among other
◗ Regent token resources (or, in the case of city spaces, things, adds secret ‘objective’ cards;
◗ Three bonus yield super-handy bonus-granting ‘city’ these award extra points at tot-up time,
cover tokens cards) so, as the game progresses, those depending on how you’ve arranged
◗ Barge token
resources become harder to gather; not your monuments. Along with its handy
◗ 90 resource tokens
least because the main supply is also ‘envoy’ tokens, which enable players
◗ 12 labourers
◗ Three master labourers limited. Not enough stone to complete to reserve spaces, and ‘governor’
◗ 10 pylon tokens your precious sphinx this turn? Tough. cards, which give each player a unique
(two of each This, along with the fact that trading ability, it really should have been made
player colour) and haggling is encouraged throughout, part of the core ruleset. The fact that it
◗ 15 sphinx tokens means MacKenzie’s take on a core Euro- wasn’t only lessens your appreciation
(three of each style genre is potentially more fiercely of a title that, otherwise, has plenty to
player colour) competitive and backstabby than you’d recommend it.
◗ 20 obelisk tokens
usually expect – how much that impacts DAN JOLIN
(four of each
on your enjoyment is of course a matter
player colour)
◗ Five withdraw of gaming taste. WE SAY
tokens (one of each It also means Sailing Toward Osiris
A solid Euro-styler that offers
player colour) is calibrated for higher player counts, an interesting twist on worker
◗ Five score markers and indeed works best with four or placement, but which sadly feels
(one of each five players. If incomplete without its simultaneously-
player colour) your group is released expansion pack.
◗ Five camel tokens
(one of each
player colour)
TRY THIS IF YOU LIKED… STONE AGE
Take away Stone Age’s dice and the similarities are
obvious: worker placement in an ancient world, with the
added challenge of resource scarcity.
WELCOME TO YOUR PERFECT HOME
Roll-and-move… house
Designer: Benoit Turpin | Artist: Anne Heidsieck 25m 1-100 10+ £24

R
oll-and-write games – where
you roll dice and write down
how you want to use the results
– have been around for a few decades
but it’s only in the last year or so that
they’ve really exploded, with Ganz
Schön Clever making the shortlist for the
Kennerspiel des Jahres, and the buzz
around Welcome to Your Perfect Home.
Welcome To... is not a typical roll-and-
write, mostly because there’s no rolling
involved: instead you draw cards. It’s
attracted a lot of attention and positive
comment, and people have been
ordering the French edition before the
English one was ready.
The players take the roles of urban
architects in 1950s America, each
planning a development of nigh-
identical houses on three streets.
Every round three cards are turned
over and everyone has to choose one
and record its effects on their pad. So
far, so conventional, but the cards are
cunningly double-sided, so the front of
the new card makes a combo with the
back of the next one.
That means each combo indicates
which of six possible effects you want
to use – from hiring a surveyor to
divide up a street with fences, to having
a landscaper build a park, to temp
workers and swimming pools – along
with the house number you’ll need
to write on one of your streets. House
numbers have to run in order – if they
don’t, you’re in trouble.
Essentially it’s a race to maximise
your score by optimising multiple
tracks, each governed by a different
process, knowing the other players
are doing the same and working with
the same resources. That’s about all
you can do with the other players –
Welcome To... is a multiplayer-solo
game par excellence. There are contract
cards that give extra points to the first
person who meets their requirements,
but apart from those and cross-table
chit-chat, that’s it for player interaction.
There’s one page in the rules
describing a solo variant but honestly
they needn’t have bothered.
Welcome To… is not a quick study. WHAT’S IN
Your first playthrough will be learning THE BOX?
the systems and getting the rules ◗ 81 construction cards
◗ 29 city plan cards
straight in your head and, for a game
◗ Four player aids
that comes with a limited number ◗ Scoring pad
of tear-off sheets to play with, that’s
a shame. Once it all clicks then
the mechanics are actually quite
straightforward, the combinations are
intriguing, you never have enough
resources to do everything you want
and winning – even if it’s just beating
your previous score – always feels like
a challenge.
Publisher Blue Cocker Games has
done a fantastic job of graphic design;
the game’s theming is spot on, the
visuals match the setting beautifully
and the scoring pads are clear and
logically laid out. WE SAY
Even if the game looks and feels Roll-and-write
like something out of the 1950s, its games have come
gameplay is right up-to-date. There are of age this year,
only two questions that Welcome To… and this is a great
introduction to the
doesn’t answer: why couldn’t there
genre – particularly
have been a few more ways to affect if Ganz Schön Clever
other players, and why is the surveyor is too abstract
on the cover wearing high heels? and numerical
JAMES WALLIS for your taste.

TRY THIS IF
YOU LIKED…
WELCOME TO
CENTERVILLE
If you liked
Centerville’s crunchy
dice-based take
on city planning,
you’ll find Welcome
To… offers several
similarities in a slimmer,
faster package.

tabletopgaming.co.uk 67
 P L AY E D
HEROES OF LAND, AIR & SEA
A clunking triumph of stuff over substance
Designer: Scott Almes | Artist: Chad Hoverter, Adam P. McIver, Ian Rosenthaler, Benjamin Shulman
H
eroes of Land, Air & Sea is a
textbook Kickstarter success story.
A big-box strategy title packed with
cardboard and plastic, it hands players
control of fantasy factions fighting across
a world of roiling seas and sprawling
continents. It raised almost $500,000 on
the crowdfunding platform in 2017, and
now it’s hit shop shelves for the rest of the
gaming public to get their hands on.
Unfortunately, though, it also serves as
a perfect example of the kind of bloated,
overblown design that crowdfunding
can sometimes encourage. A look at
its campaign page reveals a breathless
emphasis on the sheer amount of stuff
packed into its box: 80 plastic miniatures!
Multi-part vehicles! Modular cardboard
castles! There’s just one thing missing,
though: a compelling game.
Ostensibly, Heroes is a 4X game,
encouraging players to explore the
board, expand their domains, exploit
resources and exterminate opponents.
It even says as much in big letters on
the front of the box. But in reality, while
these are all things that you can do
in the game, they aren’t necessarily
objectives. It offers various point-
scoring opportunities, some of which
seem entirely arbitrary. Learned a new
spell? Have a point! Started a battle?
Have a point! Played a certain card from
your hand during combat? Have a point!
68 September 2018
It isn’t necessarily a terrible
approach. Just look at designer Stefan
Feld, whose games like Merlin and The
Oracle of Delphi turn their innumerable
means of scoring into a brain-bending
exercise in planning and optimisation.
But that’s not what Heroes is trying to
be, and it only succeeds in creating a
WHAT’S IN sense of detachment from its theme of
THE BOX? fantasy warfare.
◗ Double-sided There’s a pervading sense of
player board clunkiness that hangs over the game.
◗ Player capital Its magic system, for instance, adds
city boards
CCG-style timing complexity around the
◗ Plastic unit miniatures
◗ Cardboard city
types of spells you can cast at any given
miniatures time. Its combat is a jarringly convoluted
◗ Cardboard ship and blend of unit shuffling, cardplay and
airship miniatures mental arithmetic. Its movement rules
◗ Cardboard towers see certain spaces on the board halt
◗ Hero character cards troops passing through them, regardless
◗ Faction tokens of whether they’d normally be able to
◗ Tactics cards keep marching. It amounts to a series
◗ Spell cards
◗ Resource tokens
of tripwires, where counterintuitive
◗ Exploration tokens
elements provide endless opportunities
◗ First Player token for players to make mistakes.
Heroes attempts to be an epic, grand-
scale game in the style of Twilight
Imperium, Blood Rage or A Game of
Thrones. But while those games come
TRY THIS IF YOU LIKED… FORBIDDEN STARS
There’s an emphasis on extending your grasp across the board, and a similar
card-based combat mini game. But Forbidden Stars does it far better.
2-3h 1-4 14+ £100
with hefty rulebooks, they combine
their various subsystems like parts of
an intricate clockwork mechanism.
They might seem intimidating at first,
but they flow beautifully once you’ve
played a few rounds. By comparison,
this new release feels disjointed, with
a stop-start pace that isn’t helped by
constant reference to its manual.
And, for a game sold so heavily on its
physical presentation, it’s not even that
much to look at. Its minis aren’t a patch
on those found in games like Rising Sun.
Its board looks decidedly un-map-like,
with weird square landmasses. And its
focus on the generic fantasy factions of
orcs, dwarves, elves and humans just
suggests a lack of imagination.
It fails to justify its play time, its shelf
space or its three-figure price tag.
OWEN DUFFY
WE SAY
Heroes of Land, Air & Sea fails to
combine its disparate elements into
a satisfying whole. It feels disjointed,
and it’s full of niggly, confusing rules
details that trip up players and
make it a nightmare to teach.
 WHAT’S IN
THE BOX?
◗ Suspect pawn
◗ Escape marker
◗ 18 idea tokens
◗ 54 clue cards
◗ Eight character cards
◗ Four focus tokens

SPY CLUB ◗ Card tray

CE
ED
IT
O R'S C H OI ◗ Four incoming
clue placards
Kids solving mysteries in a small town? ◗ 25 movement cards
◗ Central board
Stranger Things have happened… ◗ Four player boards
◗ Case log scorepad
Designer: Randy Hoyt, Jason D. Kingsley | Artist: Kordowski, Kwiatkowska, Zhu 45m 2-4 10+ £42 ◗ Blank stickers sheet

W
hether it’s Scooby-Doo
or Stranger Things, pop
culture has long proved
that young people just have a knack for
solving mysteries. Spy Club’s wonderfully
whimsical world of small-town
whodunits will soon have you wanting
to drag your Chopper out of the garage
and become a meddling kid once again.
First, you’ll need some clues. Like any
good mystery, these are in abundance: it’s
up to the players to sift through the red
herrings by building a matching set of cards
in the centre, revealing one of five crucial
details – suspect, object, location, motive
or the crime itself – needed to completely
crack the case. Straightforward actions
and free teamwork bonuses open up room
for a buoyant reliance on co-operation
between members of the club, gaining,
swapping and discarding cards to uncover
the truth as they race against the suspect,
who attempts to escape throughout.
Nailing the feel of the young detective
genre, the game makes its relatively trivial
mysteries (potential misdemeanours
include ‘prank’ and ‘eavesdropping’,
never getting more serious than ‘theft’)
feel important and delights in the unison
of friends solving a mystery together,
rather than falling into the trap of each
player feeling like a lone wolf investigator.
This is captured best by the Carmen
Sandiego-like suspect, who is ever on the
move around the group’s circle of cards,
triggering negative effects as they land
on clues – making hoarding a particular
set potentially risky and requiring the
group to plan ahead and collaborate to
minimise the risk of escape. Naturally, they
can always be temporarily diverted with
distractions like homework or chores…
A big part of Spy Club’s charm is that
even when you’ve discovered the answers,
it’s still up to you to join the dots.
Solving a case offers up a sometimes
logical, often bizarre combination of
five key aspects that the players are free to
connect as they see fit: “Well, of course the
dog was jealous over the cake and ended
up bullying someone at the school.” The
entertaining diversity of the clues (each of
which is double-sided) has the emergent
group story-generation feel of a game like
Deception, but with bright childhood
whimsy and innocence in place of the
instantly gritty Murder in Hong Kong.
The freedom of being able to decide
how the pieces fit together yourself is
given more lasting power by Spy Club’s
ingenious integration of its legacy-lite
campaign, dubbed the ‘mosaic’ system.
A branching deck of cards provides the
backbone for a connected five-game
story, with each solved case contributing
one element (the players’ choice, to some
degree) of the overall mystery and often
bringing other aspects forward to tie the
whole thing together. Importantly, while
there’s some application of stickers, it’s all
◗ 174 campaign cards
fully replayable. The evergreen setup ◗ 16 mosaic tokens
◗ 12 completion tokens
means that the reveals and gameplay
◗ Five player tokens
changes never get as shocking or wild
◗ Nine tracker tokens
as one-and-done legacy games, but ◗ Ring token
there’s plenty to leave you smiling and ◗ Arrow token
anticipating the next gentle twist during ◗ Six disc tokens
the handful of hours required to complete
a full playthrough. The possible number
of combinations and things to see is
frankly staggering, providing more than
enough reason to dive right back in.
Like its fresh-faced heroes, Spy
Club wrings every drop of creativity
and inventiveness out of what appears
at first to be relatively mundane. It TRY THIS IF
attaches welcoming gameplay to a YOU LIKED…
surprisingly remarkable flair for creating
DECEPTION:
MURDER IN
distinctive and memorable stories out of HONG KONG
the everyday. You might have to invest Though their
some of your own imagination to truly gameplay couldn’t
get the most out of its modest charms, be more different,
but Spy Club will meet you more than both mystery-solving
halfway with a quietly revolutionary take delights capture
on interactive mysteries, legacy games the thrill and fun
and emergent storytelling. There’s more of coming up with
inventive stories
to this unassuming character that meets
with your friends.
the eye…
MATT JARVIS
WE SAY
If you’re willing to join some of
the dots for yourself, Spy Club will
reward you with a charming world
full of near-endless mysteries that
are well worth investigating.

tabletopgaming.co.uk 69
 P L AY E D

STAR WARS: THE ROLEPLAYING GAME

– 30TH ANNIVERSARY EDITION
Designer: Fantasy Flight/West End Games team | Artist: Various 250 13+ £40

W
hile it may not be the most
elegant RPG in the galaxy,
Star Wars: The Roleplaying
Game is a shot of pure, unadulterated
fun that gleefully ditches any trace of
grit in favour of space-opera heroics.
The tone of the entire thing is firmly
set in line with the hybrid sci-fi/fantasy
of the original Star Wars trilogy, long
before the muddy tone of the prequels
or melancholy feel of Rogue One and The
Last Jedi. It’s designed to give a group
a chance to blow their way through the
galaxy and feel like they’re the heroes
of their own adventures rather than just
another bunch of renegades.
This is understandable, of course,
as the game was first released more
than 30 years ago, long before the hint
that there could be any more movies
waiting in the wings. And though
some older systems can seem a little
complex to modern tastes, Star Wars:
The RPG holds up surprisingly well. In
fact, it’s possible to explain everything
important about the rules, build a party
of characters and get down to fast-talking
Imperials in only a matter of minutes.
Of course, it helps that the core
mechanic is incredibly simple, with
everything from firing a blaster
to manifesting force powers
requiring you to roll a handful
of regular d6s and maybe
add a small bonus to the result. How
many you roll depends on your skills,
while the target number you want to hit
depends on how tough the task is. silly noises – are utterly timeless. It would
And that’s pretty much all there is to it. almost be worth picking up the book just
Instead of devoting hundreds of for the crash course on GMing heroic
pages to rulings and character options, adventures alone.
Star Wars: The RPG instead has a major There are signs of rust here and
focus on guiding the GM as they put there, such as a reliance on tables and
together adventures. Though the advice charts that can slow down play and
is probably older than most of the people the lack of an index in the rulebook,
playing, the small sections on suspending but Star Wars: The Roleplaying Game
disbelief and setting tone – such as holds up magnificently.
reminding you that Star Wars relies on RICHARD JANSENPARKES

NEWS@11
Designer: Jon Gilmour, John Burns, Travis Magrum, Ian Moss, James Schoch, Earl Tietsort 30-45m 4-11 7+ £19

N
ews@11 is a game of being
part of a news crew, the type
that Americans see on their
TVs every day and the rest of the
world knows mostly from the movie
Anchorman. Well, it’s sort of a game.
“There’s no scoring and no winners
or losers, just a fun time,” declares
the rulebook.
Everyone gets assigned a role on
the crew, from lead anchor to sports
and weather, and gets three cue cards
which have one filled-in word and
two blank slots. You write a word over
one of the blanks, using the marker
provided. The permanent marker.
Let’s pause for a moment and
look at the logistics of this game.
There are 146 cue cards. Say
you’re playing with six people,
half the maximum number.
Each uses three cards, or 18
per game. Even with two slots on
each card, you’ll have filled all of them
in 16 games. In permanent marker.
And this is (a) not a long game, and
(b) a party game, not a legacy title.
The lead anchor deals one
completed card to each player, and
then you play through the morning
news bulletin, each using the roles
and the cues on the cards to improvise
a short segment. The cards are
reshuffled, everyone now gets two and
you do the afternoon news; then it’s
three cards each and the evening news.
It’s Mad Libs crossed with improv
drama, without the constrained
structure that makes either of those
work. It can be very funny – I saw
it reduce a ten-year-old to helpless
giggling – but it’s not really a game, it’s
not as clever as it thinks it is and it’s a
small box with a limited lifespan. Back
to you in the studio.
JAMES WALLIS

70 September 2018
THE NINTH WORLD: A SKILLBUILDING
GAME FOR NUMENERA
Bid for adventure a billion years in the future
Designer: Paul Peterson, Boyan Radakovich, Mike Selinker | Artist: Various
T
he (ninth) world of Numenera
is fascinatingly bonkers. If
you don’t already know it
from the RPG or its excellent video-
game iteration Torment: Tides of
Numenera, Monte Cook’s vibrant,
psychedelic sci-fantasy universe is
set a billion years in our future, in
a distant civilisation built on the
super-high-tech bones of the eight
that preceded it, where adventurers
scour the wilderness for powerful
ancient tech (or ‘cyphers’) and battle
freaky beasties. Rather appropriately,
its first original tabletop spin-off
(following 2013’s Numenera-themed
Thunderstone reimplementation), is
itself a rather strange affair, albeit in
an ultimately appealing way.
While it bills itself as “A
Skillbuilding Game”, at its heart The
Ninth World is an adventure card
game with a similarly explorative,
questing thrust to the Pathfinder
Adventure Card Game, which shares
two of this title’s designers: Mike
Selinker and Paul Peterson. Each
player chooses a character from
a motley set of 12, be they glaive
(warrior), jack (rogue) or nano
(mage). Then, over nine rounds,
each round comprising five phases,
they can choose to either help out
around the town (a spread of five
face-up cards drawn from a deck of
low-risk, low-reward monsters, quests
and cyphers) or venture out into the
wilderness (drawing blind from a
deck of tougher challenges). You can
either play competitively, each hero
vying for the most valor (tracked on
a board which neatly unfurls from
the box itself ), or co-operatively or
solo, meaning you each need to pass
valor point thresholds at the end of
every third round to succeed, while
the wilderness stacks up threats as
you play.
What marks The Ninth World out,
though, is its interesting usage of
an old favourite Euro mechanism:
bidding. Each player has a set of five
skill cards, reflecting their character’s
strengths, and during each phase
must bid (blindly in the competitive
version, openly in the co-op) to seize
the initiative, determine the turn
order and create a limited pool of
action points. In the scout phase, you
spend your points to draw wilderness
cards and mark them with your token
(the only way to later claim these
30m 1-5 14+ £40
high-value offerings); in the tinker
phase, you can discover/purchase
handy-gadgety cyphers; in the charm
phase you grab quest cards, which can
synergise nicely and stack up the valor
rewards; and in the combat phase
you can claim monsters – although WHAT’S IN
this comes with a dice-rolling risk of THE BOX?
gaining a wound, which will block ◗ 12 hero tableaux
your character’s special ability and ◗ Valor board
◗ Gamebook
cost you five valor if you don’t heal it.
◗ Two dice
Finally, there is the focus phase, where ◗ 45 region cards
you effectively level-up, spending ◗ 48 town cards
points to increase the rank of your ◗ 60 wilderness cards
skill cards and give you the edge in ◗ 120 skill cards
future bids, especially when played in ◗ 50 power/
a particular skill card’s own phase. For wound cards
example, a rank-four tinker card will ◗ Five bid shields
be worth four points during the tinker ◗ Round marker
◗ 50 hero tokens
phase, but only worth a single point if
◗ 36 quest tokens
played in any other phase. ◗ Monolith
Aside from the fact that the
provided bid shields are flimsy and
useless (just choose your cards under
the table, then slam them down
on a count of three), it makes for
a fun, brisk twist to the adventure
card-game format – whether you’re
playing against others or alongside
them. Each round has to be very
carefully thought-out, in terms of
deciding how to bid, when to pass, TRY THIS IF
and managing your slowly growing YOU LIKED…
pool of points. And it’s neatly true
PATHFINDER
ADVENTURE
to the Numenera RPG’s own core CARD GAME
mechanism, too: if you really want to The main
achieve something, you can go all out mechanism is
and burn your points, but it’ll leave different, and it’s
you vulnerable (or sitting things out) thankfully far less
until the next round. dice-dependent, but
Complemented by vivid art that The Ninth World
atmospherically captures Cook’s crazy shares the card-
turning explore-
far-future, it proves a compellingly
quest-kill vibe of
replayable experience, one that – of Selinker and co.’s
course – comes ready-built for some 2013 effort.
welcome deck-expansion.
DAN JOLIN
WE SAY
An engaging Euro-twist on the
adventure card game, with an effective
bidding mechanic that chimes well
with the original Numenera RPG.
tabletopgaming.co.uk 71
 P L AY E D

WHAT’S IN
THE BOX?
◗ 80 playing cards
◗ Five extra ID cards
◗ 15 special cards
◗ Six hourglass cards
◗ Seven reference cards
◗ 37 victory point tokens
◗ Seven coins

WALLET
Robbed of the possibility of being good WE SAY
Designer: Marie Fort, Wilfried Fort | Artist: Oksana Dmitrienko, Anastasia Voropina Having a wallet in a
30m 2-7 8+ £28
game called Wallet

I
t is always a little treasure to get a board
game, no matter how big or small,
that does something truly original,
whether with its theme, mechanics or
components. With so many new board
games coming out each month, it seems
the pressure has increased on designers
and publishers to add something to their
game to make it stand out. While a decent
sentiment in premise, it can also lead to a
design taking a wrong turn, where a game
is laden with a gimmick for the sake of
being different, instead of contributing
something worthwhile to the experience
of playing. Unfortunately, that is true in
the case of Wallet.
While attending the fancy party of
a mafia boss, players – here taking on
the roles of various criminals – are
ambushed by the police. The boss, of
course, uses his helicopter to escape
before the doors are kicked in but,
as luck would have it, leaves behind
his wallet, full of money, credit cards,
IDs and jewellery. (Seriously, how big
is that wallet?!) Being the good little
criminals that they are, players end up
rummaging through the compartments
of the wallet to enrich themselves and
hopefully find an ID that will make
them look innocent to the police.
In theory, Wallet has a number of
elements that promise potential fun.
The IDs alter the basic rules of the game,
allowing players to have multiple identities,
carry more cash or even make achieving
perceived innocence easier or more
difficult. There are special abilities that
encourage player interaction through
stealing and exchanging cards. Even the
basic premise of the wallet itself, with secret
compartments and the chance to either
draw the perfect card or one that will
render the player guilty, sounds exciting.
Yet, the game loses momentum
almost immediately, and the biggest
culprit is the component that is also the
most enticing part of the game – the
wallet. That’s right: the game fits in, and
is played with, an actual wallet.
The wallet absolutely could have
been a fun, original part of the game,
but its design is so generic that it ends
up hindering the gameplay rather
than enhancing it. Out of the three
compartments it has, only one – for extra
IDs – fits the cards comfortably. A small
zipped-up section for the victory tokens
can barely hold all of them in, promising
to overflow every time someone opens
it. Meanwhile, the compartment for the
rest of the cards is too big so, instead of a
about rummaging
neat deck, the cards are mixed and fall
through a wallet just
sideways, preventing the wallet from makes sense, and
folding as it was seemingly intended to do. could have offered
Passing the wallet from one player a unique experience
to another proves more fiddly than fun. – but the (non)
With the bigger compartment always in a practicalities of its
mess, most of our players didn’t bother to design and poor
zip it up at all. This meant that every other integration in the
round all the cards would spill out on gameplay result in
the feeling of being
the gaming table, interrupting the game
left out of pocket.
and breaking any semblance of thematic
illusion. If that happened once or twice,
the players’ sloppiness could have been
to blame. When it happens almost every
single time, it is a design flaw.
The harsh truth is that if a game TRY THIS IF
has a central component that players
YOU LIKED…
MAFIA DE CUBA
interact with almost every turn and that Sometimes mob
component is fiddly, hard to manage and bosses can leave
looks average in design and quality, it does behind simpler, more
not matter if the game is good or not. The manageable and
excitement of drawing a random card easier-to-steal-from
from the wallet’s compartment fades to the objects than wallets,
experience of the cards falling out over and like a cigar box with a
over again. Passing the wallet becomes secret compartment
full of diamonds.
an ordeal, rather than fun. The rest of the
clever little twists and characters, special
powers and hidden identities that are
tied to one frustrating component end
up ignored and forgotten.
ALEX SONECHKINA

72 September 2018
CHOOSE YOUR OWN ADVENTURE:
HOUSE OF DANGER
You must choose… but choose wisely
Designer: Prospero Hall
T
he Choose Your Own Adventure
books – and the eponymous genre
of gamebooks they spawned –
have been a staple of childhoods for
decades since they first turned to page
11 in the 1970s. This game, based on the
original House of Danger paperback,
hopes to update the series for a new
generation – as well as no doubt inviting
grown-up fans to return for another run
along its branching paths.
House of Danger sticks diligently to
its source material – much of the text on
each of the game’s story cards appears to
be taken directly from the book’s pages,
and the whole set is lathered in a retro
‘70s look with off-white backgrounds
and stark monochrome illustrations.
Original fan or not, it’s a beautiful tribute
to the legacy of the series – albeit stored
in a thoroughly crap box insert that
undoes some of the goodwill earned by
the components.
The gameplay will be familiar to
anyone who has ever flicked through
a choose-your-own-adventure book,
with players following breadcrumb
trails of page numbers through a variety
of encounters. Despite the faithful
recreation of the book, there is more of
a game present here, with a roleplaying-
lite introduction of die rolls to determine
the outcome of some events and the
ability to obtain items and clue cards
that can have an effect in later scenes
and chapters. Two basic stats – psychic
and danger – shift up and down as
players pass or fail rolls, further affecting
their chance of survival later on. It’s
light enough not to get in the way, while
managing to feel interactive enough to
justify the transformation.
Even so, there’s rarely a sense of real
danger or challenge. If a player dies, the
game jumps back to the previous card,
like a reader pretending they actually
60m 1+ 10+ £24
meant to choose the other option. It
saves you having to replay an entire
chapter again, but it takes away from the
weight of your decisions and limits the
reasons to return to a game that already
feels somewhat on rails, despite the
branching routes through.
Still, it’s worth seeing once, not least
to (re)discover the increasingly strange
directions in which original author R.A.
Montgomery took his inventive tale.
The weirdness can be fun to uncover
as a group, but House of Danger is best
WHAT’S IN
experienced as a solo endeavour, as
THE BOX?
◗ 160 story cards there’s no extra effort made to cater for
◗ 129 clue cards the ‘plus’ end of the suggested ‘one-plus’
◗ Game board player count – it’s the same game with
◗ Die one person or 99, just with the story
◗ Psychic mover cards being passed around, stretching
◗ Danger mover the experience out without real benefit.
With five chapters to go through,
persistent items and decisions helping
to bind the lot together, House of
Danger offers up a good few hours of
interesting storytelling and entertaining
quirks to seek out, but it’s unlikely to
hold a lot of staying power for most
players. Nevertheless, it’s as clean to
play as it is to look at, and might just hit
the sweet spot for RPG-loving parents
and younger kids looking to be able
to control their adventure. Not quite
a new classic, then, but a respectable
modern makeover for a story that’s lost
little of its magic.
MATT JARVIS
WE SAY
It’s light and will run its course
over just a few plays – that doesn’t
mean there’s no reason to pick up
this charming tribute to an iconic
series and experience it anew,
for the first or 500th time.
TRY THIS IF YOU LIKED…
ESCAPE FROM THE
DARK CASTLE
Dark Castle pays ample tribute to
the classic era of gamebooks –
why not return to the series that
started it all?
tabletopgaming.co.uk 73
 P L AY E D
CRYPTID
If you go down to the woods today,
you’d better take some cubes
Designer: Hal Duncan, Ruth Veveers | Artist: Kwanchai Moriya
F
rom Bigfoot and the Yeti to El
Chupacabra and the Loch Ness
Monster, rumours of strange,
undiscovered creatures are some of
our most enduring modern-day myths.
This game from first-time designers Hal
Duncan and Ruth Veveers casts players
as monster hunters on the trail of one
of these weird beasts – and to find it
before your rivals you’ll need powers
of logic, deduction and just a hint of
sneaky misdirection.
Cryptid revolves around a modular
hex-grid board divided into different types
of terrain: deserts, caves, forests, lakes.
Before the game begins, you and your
opponents consult a deck of setup
74 September 2018
30-50m
cards to construct a landscape. Then, with
the aid of a set of player booklets, you each
receive one bit of information leading
to the hiding place of an unidentified
mythical creature, for instance: “It lives
on in a forest or a mountain,” or “It
doesn’t live in deserts or swamps,” or
“The habitat is within two spaces of an
abandoned shack.”
The clever bit is that
however your board is set
up, there will only be one
possible space where your
animal could live. Your goal
is to find it before anyone else
– to do that, you’re going to
have to ask some questions.
On each of your turns you’ll be able
to choose a location on the board and
ask one of your opponents whether the
creature could live there. They’ll either
answer yes, placing a circular token
on the space, or no, placing a cube. As
3-5 10+ £30 the rounds progress, you’ll collectively
cover more and more of the board with
WHAT’S IN markers and, along the way, you’ll try to
THE BOX? use the revealed information to guess
◗ Modular game board
what your opponents’ clues might be.
◗ Beginner and
Are they constantly placing certain types
advanced setup cards
◗ Structure tokens of markers on certain types of terrain?
◗ Player tokens Are they guessing at locations close to
◗ Five clue books particular structures or landmarks? Over
time and with some careful observation,
you’ll be able to hazard a guess at the
information they might hold, and hone
your own search accordingly. That also
introduces the possibility of misleading
your opponents, asking questions about
terrain you already know can’t possibly
be the correct type; a stone-cold poker
face can be a considerable advantage.
WE SAY Mechanically, it’s easy to get the hang
Cryptid creates an of and, once you’ve got the premise
engaging sense down, turns fly past very quickly. The
of incremental game’s publishers also plan to release
deduction. With a companion app to simplify the setup
each passing round process and, while it wasn’t available at
you’ll uncover a little the time we received our review copy,
more information it promises to further streamline to
about your creature’s
process of getting the game to the table.
hiding spot, and
the challenge lies But while it delivers a slick, fast-
in making sense playing hit of head-scratching deduction,
of it before your Cryptid comes with one big problem:
opponents can. But there don’t seem to be enough wooden
it comes without cubes in its box. In our three-player
enough bits in the games, we ran out of bits before we were
box, which is enough able to guess at the creature’s location,
to leave a bit of a leading to some deeply unsatisfying
sour aftertaste on
situations where we finished without a
what’s otherwise a
fun little brainteaser. winner. Publisher Osprey later clarified
that we should have kept playing with
any substitute markers we had to hand.
Surely a better option would have been to
include a few more cubes with the game?
It’s a rare misstep from a company that’s
established a stellar reputation for its
games’ physical presentation.
OWEN DUFFY
TRY THIS IF YOU LIKED…
CLUEDO
You’re interrogating your
opponents and gradually
uncovering information. But
Cryptid is far slicker and more
rounded than the mass-market
murder-mystery hit. It’s just a
shame about those missing cubes.
CAPHARNAUM – THE TALES
OF THE DRAGON-MARKED
Designer: Raphaël Bardas, François Cedelle, Sarah Newton et al. | Artist: Various 383 17+ £35

C
apharnaum’s blend of Arabian
tales featuring deserts, djinn and
swashbuckling adventure is a
welcome twist on traditional fantasy RPG
tropes but, while the worldbuilding is on
point, a few clunky areas in the ruleset
itself can drag down the energetic pace
it’s focused on building elsewhere.
The game has actually been around in
French for many years, but the translators
at Mindjammer Press have now managed
to bring the Inner Sea setting to life in
English. Everything from the art to the
snippets of story drip with a distinct
style of Arabian fantasy; even the GM is
dubbed the Al-Rawi, apparently an Arabic
term for ‘storyteller’.
Capharnaum makes it clear from the
very beginning that the party will be playing
as larger-than-life heroes, as every single
player character begins the game with a
mystical mark somewhere on the body
that denotes them as something special.
The way they go about performing
their extraordinary deeds is handled
by a neat little mechanic based around
rolling a number of d6s. As with many
other systems, the amount you get
to throw depends on both innate
attributes and trained skills, but the
twist is that you can only keep an
amount equal to your skill rating. This
increases the importance of good
training and specialisation, while still
allowing characters to get lucky every
now and then.
However, there are several petty
niggles that keep getting in the way at
the most inopportune moments. Every
other roll or check seems to come
with minor bookkeeping; none of it is
particularly boring or complicated, but
it just adds extra distractions that take
you away from the madcap excitement
for a few vital moments.
While it’s not without a few problems,
Capharnaum is certainly a breath of
fresh, desert air amidst the confines of
traditional western fantasy gaming.
RICHARD JANSENPARKES

AMUN-RE: THE CARD GAME

Designer: Reiner Knizia| Artist: Gaël Lannurien, Igor Polouchine 45m 2-5 14+ £24

I
t’s Knizia. It’s set in ancient Egypt.
It’s a card-based reinvention of an
auction game originally released
15 years ago. You’d be forgiven for
thinking this all sounds a bit familiar.
It’s Knizia, doing what he does best –
or, at least, what he does quite often.
Amun-Re: TCG takes place over
three kingdoms, or ‘turns’ as gamers
call them. In each you bid to acquire
three provinces using your gold
supply, then make offerings to the
gods from your remaining gold which
determines the level of the Nile, which
in turn fixes the revenue from the
fields and caravans in your provinces.
You can spend that gold on building
pyramids, or hoard it to use the next
turn. Victory points come from having
pyramids in every province, having
loads of fields and being pharaoh at
the end of the turn.
This is Knizia, so as you’d expect
the mechanics and systems are clever
and well integrated, everything makes
sense, every decision is an interesting
one, and it’s beautifully balanced. The
box is small and tidy, with cards and
tokens, and some restrained wooden
markers, which use the upturned box as
a revenue tracker. It’s all nicely themed.
At the same time there’s a sense of
having been here before, even if you’ve
never played the original Amun-Re or, for
that matter, the classic Ra. If you’re new
to Knizia’s style of design then this is a
perfectly fine introduction; if you enjoy his
other games then you’ll enjoy this but it
won’t engross you. It’s a lesser work. That
doesn’t mean it’s in any way bad, just that
this is old ground being retrodden. Amun-
Re: TCG’s strongest recommendation is
also its weakness: it’s Knizia.
JAMES WALLIS

tabletopgaming.co.uk 75
 P L AY E D
TICKET TO RIDE: NEW YORK
City slicker
Designer: Alan R. Moon | Artist: Julien Delval, Cyrille Daujean
Y
ou have to assume that Ticket to
Ride: New York’s 1960s setting
is an attempt to avoid having to
call it Tap to Ride: Uber Edition had it
been set in the Big Apple today. After
all, beyond a brief mention on the back
of the box and the Don Draper and
Fonzie look-a-likes on the cover, the
decade’s influence is barely much of
anything here – references to physical
ticket stubs, slightly antiquated vehicles
and a vaguely psychedelic background
to the wild cards notwithstanding.
Ticket to Ride: New York as a whole,
in fact, appears to be barely much
of anything at first glance. A heavily
pared-down edition of Alan R. Moon’s
fabulous train game, this time starring
diddly plastic taxis in keeping with its
urban setting, it plays almost exactly like
Ticket to Ride – but smaller, and faster.
76 September 2018
WHAT’S IN
THE BOX?
◗ Game board
◗ 60+ plastic taxis
◗ 44 transportation cards
10-15m 2-4 8+
Yes, there are some subtle gameplay
differences – largely in how many
cabs you start with and how many are
required to complete routes, plus the
game’s freshest addition of offering
extra points for passing through tourist
attractions that smartly levels out the
standard longest route bonus – but this
is still Ticket to Ride as you know and
(probably) love it. Well, nearly.
It really does play stunningly fast;
expect to bash out a match in under 10
minutes with those used to the usual
Ticket to Ride flow of gathering cards
and aggressively claiming routes. The
box is ridiculously small – not quite
pocket-sized, but easily a worthy
contender for a place in any travel
suitcase or rucksack. The lightweight
taxis prone to skittering across a
bumped board mean that it might not
quite suit being played in the back of
an actual taxi, but the whole set is like
a delightful miniature diorama of the
Ticket to Ride experience. It’s a precious
little thing.
A little too precious, as it turns out.
Ticket to Ride: New York resembles its
magnified predecessor in looks and
gameplay, but there’s an inescapable
feeling that it’s just not quite the same.
You’d expect the compressed board to
have a more claustrophobic, competitive
feel, but the shorter distances and play
time mean that momentum never builds
to a point where finding your route from
Wall Street to Gramercy Park cut off feels
as important as when you’re making
your way from, say, San Francisco to
Pittsburgh. Completing a long-distance
journey in Ticket to Ride often feels like
a monumental achievement against the
odds – here, it sometimes has as much
staying power as most conversations had
in the back of a cab.
That’s not to say that Ticket to Ride:
New York doesn’t feel worthwhile taken
as a whole. It won’t give you the full
Ticket to Ride experience – but it isn’t
the full Ticket to Ride, and it’s not trying
to be. What is here crams just enough of
the satisfying loop of collecting cards and
claiming routes into a time commitment
that just can’t be argued with. At this
price (cheaper than a taxi trip in most
major cities) and this size, having a
travel-friendly version of an all-time
board gaming great that can be played
as a gaming night filler, half-a-dozen
£20 times in a lunchtime or while waiting
for the next train is almost a no-brainer.
Just don’t be surprised when you’re still
pining for a proper journey after you've
popped down the road.
MATT JARVIS
WE SAY
What Ticket to Ride: New York lacks
in staying power compared to its
bigger sibling, it absolutely makes
up for with a breathless pace and
absurdly compact size. Keep Ticket to
Ride on your dining table – play Ticket
to Ride: New York everywhere else.
TRY THIS IF YOU LIKED…
TICKET TO RIDE
Despite its size, Ticket to Ride: New
York makes few cuts to the original’s
gameplay – and actually adds new
elements in some areas. It’s the
ideal travel companion for fans.

D&D: WAYFINDER’S
GUIDE TO EBERRON
A new world to explore
Designer: Keith Baker, Wizards of the Coast team | Artist: Various
T
his snappy little guidebook lays
out the groundwork for running a
Dungeons & Dragons: Fifth Edition
game in Eberron’s weird and wonderful
world of lightning-powered trains and
raptor-riding halflings and, though it falls
well short of a complete setting book,
there’s plenty to here to work with.
Released with very little warning
through the official D&D Dungeon
Masters’ Guild webstore, Wayfinder’s
Guide to Eberron is a slim PDF-only
volume that offers a crash course in
the history and rules needed to run a
campaign or two. This covers a trio of new
race options that include the fan-favourite
warforged, a species of artificially-created
robots, as well as a vast array of ways to
create characters that use ‘dragonmarks’
– mystical brands that allow the bearer
to channel powerful abilities.
All this comes with a promise of
more updates to come as the contents
of the book are playtested and refined
over the coming months and possible
years. However, this promise – and the
unexpected nature of the release – does
leave all the rules and character options
hovering in a strange, quasi-official
limbo state. For example, while it has
been confirmed by the D&D design
team that the book itself is considered
official, the races and other options
within it are still ‘playtest material’ and
therefore subject to change and banned
in organised play events.
176 13+ £15
Still, if you don’t particularly mind
potentially having to update a character
sheet to match new decisions down the
line, Wayfinder’s Guide to Eberron is an
incredible gateway into one of the most
fascinating worlds in the D&D line-up.
Originally created by Gloom designer
Keith Baker for a competition some 16 years
ago, Eberron is a wonderful example of how
to take the standard fantasy setting and twist
it into something fresh. While many of the
standard fantasy tropes are still accounted
for – there are still dragons to battle and
dungeons to delve – there is a deliberate
effort to shift away from Tolkien rip-offs
and instead start ripping off everything
from Jurassic Park to Casablanca.
If that sounds like a criticism, it really isn’t.
RPGs are all about creating shared worlds
and stories, and one of the best ways to draw
out those ideas is by working in threads that
people can instantly jump onto. By picking,
choosing and spinning out a mishmash
of concepts from pop culture, Baker has
created something undeniably fun.
These ideas include fleets of
elementally-fuelled airships plying the
skyways, magical laundries servicing
noble houses, lycanthropic adventurers
and – of course – wild halfling tribes that
hunt from the backs of their raptors.
TRY THIS IF YOU LIKED…
SWORD COAST ADVENTURER’S GUIDE
The Forgotten Realms’ Sword Coast is the traditional home of D&D: Fifth
Edition, but Wayfarer’s Guide offers fresh insights into a new realm
The entire setting is packed with magical
gadgets and gizmos, but at the same time it
manages to feel a little more down-to-earth
and dirtier than the Forgotten Realms,
which has hosted virtually all of the D&D:
Fifth Edition products published before this
book. Where more traditional worlds have
played host to battles between good and evil
on a vast scale, Eberron is gripped in a cold
war where there is very little black-and-
white morality to spare, which may appeal
to groups that keep their eye on profits while
saving villagers from this week’s threat.
While it does a great job of setting up
this huge world, DMs planning to launch
a campaign deeply rooted in a particular
area or culture may be a little frustrated
at the overall lack of detail in Wayfinder’s
Guide to Eberron. The section of faiths
and religions – fairly important in a game
where clerics and paladins play major
roles – stretches to maybe four pages,
and entire regions of the continent where
most of the main events are set are lucky
to get a few paragraphs dedicated to
them, creating the feeling that you’re
reading an introduction to something
larger that’s still waiting in the wings.
In some ways that’s not a problem,
because it’s made abundantly clear
that this isn’t intended as a complete,
standalone world guide, and if you’re
really dedicated to uncovering the lore
then the background information in books
for the earlier editions is still relevant if
you can track down a copy. However,
the whistle-stop tour of the world and
changeable nature of some of the rules
does sometimes leave you feeling like
you shelled out £15 for playtest material.
Still, if you’re in any way curious about
Eberron and feel like messing about in its
magical playgrounds, it’s easy to see that
expense as an investment in something
fascinating. Even if you’re determined to
stick with the Forgotten Realms or your
own homebrewed world the sheer range
of stuff going on within Wayfarer’s Guide
to Eberron can be an incredible way to
fire up the imagination.
RICHARD JANSENPARKES
WE SAY
A nifty introduction to a very
different kind of D&D setting.
tabletopgaming.co.uk 77
 P L AY E D
COUNCIL OF 4
Don’t get too comfortable, councillor…
Designer: Simone Luciani, Daniele Tascini
R
eally, a council of four isn’t
a great idea: you’re all but
guaranteed a split 50-50 vote
on any divisive issues. Handily,
in Council of 4, you can just kick
anyone that doesn’t agree with you
out of the club.
Simone Luciani and Daniele
Tascini (of Tzolk’in: The Mayan
Calendar fame) make a strong first
impression with their abstracted take
on the corruption and manipulation
of an anonymous empire’s
controlling committees.
The councils are represented in this
revamped edition by four rows of four
pastel miniatures, in place of the 2015
original’s primary-colour meeples.
The rows operate almost like vending
machines: an action allows a player to
insert a new member, selected from
each of the six ruling families, into
one end, which amusingly forces the
member at the opposite end out of the
group and back to unimportance at
the edge of the board.
The correlation between theme
and gameplay is about as fleeting as
a position on one of the councils, but
that doesn’t stop the act of constantly
nudging nobles out of their position
78 September 2018
40-75m 2-4 14+ £55
WHAT’S IN of power like political Play-Doh being
THE BOX? superbly entertaining – especially as
◗ Queen miniature you watch your opponents silently
◗ 24 councillor fume about seeing their own choice
miniatures
pick relegated from the line-up.
◗ Four big
merchant miniatures Turnover is so high because
◗ 44 small you need the right combination of
merchant miniatures nobles to cash in a matching hand
◗ 90 politics cards of cards and buy a business permit
◗ 45 business tile, granting permission to install a
permit tiles merchant in one of the towns on the
◗ Seven general map under that council’s control and
reward Ttiles ultimately propelling you towards
◗ Five queen’s
earning that sweet VP. Imagine Ticket
reward tiles
◗ 30 servant tokens
to Ride, but with the colour of each
◗ 14 city tokens route to your destination changing
◗ Eight marker tokens every few turns as everyone races to
◗ Four player aid cards make them match their particular
◗ Main board cards, and you have an idea of what’s
◗ Track board happening here.
You’ll want to place those
merchants quickly, too, because
Council of 4’s greatest hook is the way
in which it makes building a network
feel valuable. When a new merchant is
placed, it triggers the effect of both its
home town and the towns connected
TRY THIS IF YOU LIKED… TICKET TO RIDE
If completing a route in the train-laying favourite had you feeling unstoppable,
Council of 4’s satisfying network-building should be your ideal next stop.
to it that host merchants of the same
colour – and they spark off merchants
connected to them, and so on. Over
the course of the game, this leads
to crescendos that churn up points,
coins and servants in increasingly
bigger totals with every placement.
It’s extremely satisfying to watch
your web of carefully-linked merchants
activate like electricity conducting
across a circuit board, knowing that
you’ve set up your custom wiring in
a way that will suddenly accelerate
you ahead of the current leader with a
windfall of points.
At the same time, as the
interweaving network of merchants
grows, each fresh placement leads to
a longer time spent calculating exactly
what you’ll receive. The game’s solid
set of relatively simple actions keep the
action rolling on with little downtime
otherwise – working out what a board-
sweeping combo will bring in is like
having to get off the ride for a minute
or two before it carries on, and detracts
from the otherwise rewarding act of
benefitting from a game’s worth of
strategic placement.
Council of 4 is easy to recommend
and pick up, but it’s not necessarily as
relaxed as its approachable gameplay
suggests: the cascading effect of a
well-built web of merchants and big
rewards for limited objectives means
that one player can potentially run
away with the victory, punishing those
who fail to get their network up and
running fast enough.
The highs massively outweigh the
lows, though; Council of 4 is a game
that simply feels good to play, whether
you’re kicking nobles from their
perches or watching your investments
in merchants pay off. Four, it turns out,
is a number with magic all of its own.
MATT JARVIS
WE SAY
Not as easy and simple as it appears,
Council of 4 offers huge satisfaction
through its pursuit of shifting goals
and the immense joy of seeing a
well-built network rake in points and
coins galore. Don’t be surprised if
you suffer for small mistakes during
your first few games, though.
THE TEA DRAGON SOCIETY CARD GAME
Tea leaves predict tranquility and calm in this cute deckbuilder
Designer: Steve Ellis, Tyler Tinsley | Artist: Katie O’Neill
W
hen I opened the box for
The Tea Dragon Society
Card Game, I could finally
fully understand the emotions of little
Agnes from Despicable Me upon seeing
that fluffy pink unicorn: that instant,
uncontrollable in-love feeling.
A fair question would be to ask if one
can love a game just because it’s pretty,
and the critic in me would instantly
agree that looks aren’t everything. In
fact, lately gamers have been spoilt by
beautiful games with wide ranges of
interesting and imaginative illustrations
and drawing styles. In almost all the
games I’ve reviewed in the past, attractive
artwork has been the most consistent
compliment – and I wouldn’t take it back.
The Tea Dragon Society Card Game
is, without a doubt, gorgeous. Based
on the comic of the same name written
and illustrated by Katie O’Neill, it
retains all the essential looks of the
book, from the sweet pastel-colour
palette to the adorable characters of
dragons and their caretakers. What
distinguishes it from being pretty for
pretty’s sake, though, is the intelligence
with which the cards have been
illustrated and how they tell the story.
There is no requirement to know the
original comic before playing the game
– it impacts the gameplay in no way.
However, it is impossible not to pick up
some story hints just by playing. Even
more pleasantly, the narrative snippets
subtly integrate themselves with the very
simple deckbuilder at the game’s heart.
Every player is a caretaker looking after
their own dragon – named, appropriately,
after a type of tea. Another small, but
nice, touch is that the base decks for each
dragon, while essentially almost identical,
feature cards that correspond to the
action most relevant to the tea’s qualities.
For example, orange Chamomile dragon
will have a lot of ‘sleeping’ cards, while
green Jasmine dragon will have more
‘grooming’ cards. Each card, of course,
WHAT’S IN represents the action undertaken to take
THE BOX? care for the dragon.
◗ Four payer aid cards The gameplay itself is very
◗ Four tea dragon cards straightforward and simple, but
◗ Mentor card
purposefully so. The Tea Dragon Society
◗ 24 memory cards
◗ 28 market cards
Card Game does not strive to bring any
◗ 48 starter cards revolutionary mechanics to deckbuilding or
◗ Comic quickstart guide have some sort of twist to make itself stand
out. Its gameplay is unassuming, quick and
non-confrontational, like a little palette-
cleanser before playing something bigger,
longer and more competitive. One might
say that it is not unlike a good hot cup of tea.
Even when the game adds a little bit
extra to the deckbuilding with push-
your-luck elements, it is once again
grounded in the logic of the overall
universe. Players never attack each other
and, bar purchasing a card that someone
else wants, there is nothing they can do
to affect their opponents’ plans. This is
not a universe of epic dragon battles, but
TRY THIS IF YOU LIKED… MACHI KORO
Another simple deckbuilding game with cute artwork, Machi Koro is
more about building a town (with plenty of nice cheese factories) than
having Zen moments with dragons.
60m 2-4 10+ £19
of calm and tranquillity. That said, each
dragon deck does have mischief cards
which can hinder players' progress. For
example, drawing a ‘grumpy’ card will
make a player discard a more useful
‘sleeping’ card, essentially rendering
that whole turn a waste. As it turns out,
dragons are fussy and caring for them is
notoriously hard!
Players might find the negative cards
frustrating, especially if, through the
luck of shuffling, they end up drawing
them in close succession. However, they
do not provide a long-term hindrance
and catching up is fairly easy, with the
winning player usually ahead by only a
small number of points.
The Tea Dragon Society Card Game may
not be for those looking for an exciting
new deckbuilder or a subversive twist
on the genre. Even so, it's still a breath of
much-needed fresh air because every card,
every illustration and every character is
filled with goodness and warmth.
ALEX SONECHKINA
WE SAY
A card game so adorable it will
sweeten the sourest of hearts, The
Tea Dragon Society Card Game takes
the comic universe and transforms
it into a simple deckbuilder full
of heart, soul and dragons.
tabletopgaming.co.uk 79
 P L AY E D

SPECTER OPS: BROKEN COVENANT

Imperfections can't stop this hidden gem from shining
Designer: Emerson Matsuuchi | Artist: Steven Hamilton 90m 2-5 14+ £55

T
he first expansion-sequel to WHAT’S IN THE BOX? numerous production issues – most
Specter Ops is a stonkingly ◗ Game board significantly, multiple mislabellings
fun hidden-movement ◗ Movement sheet pad of co-ordinates and objectives across
◗ Five hunter figures
success marred by some unfortunate the board’s grid. While none of the
◗ Four secret role cards
production issues. ◗ Four agent
mistakes make the game unplayable,
If you’re coming from the character cards they’re frequent and noticeable
original box, don’t expect anything ◗ Eight hunter enough to irritate when they do
revolutionary here: there’s a new character cards pop up. (Publisher Plaid Hat has
map, items, agents and hunters (all ◗ Sand timer since released a free sticker sheet
fully compatible with the previous ◗ Four agent figures to correct most of the problems,
game, making this a worthwhile ◗ Six-sided die which is worth requesting.) Given
acquisition all the same), but things ◗ Dual-sided vehicle card the striking, amped-up cyber-style
◗ 29 tokens
are otherwise much as they were. of the universe's characters and
◗ 18 equipment cards
The changes, though slight, are environments, it's a particular shame
enough to build on an incredibly – but not worth condemnation.
strong foundation. Agents can now These missteps are ultimately minor WE SAY
procure extra equipment from supply and pale in Broken Covenant’s wider
The visual hiccups fail to tarnish a
caches around the map, serving as achievements of making a great game
shining example of why Specter Ops
a way of better evening the odds even better. When it comes to hidden remains one of the best hidden-
against their pursuers and providing movement, there’s no hiding from the movement experiences out there.
more options during their invisible fact that Specter Ops is among the best It's more a careful refinement than
sprint around the board to hack out there. a total reinvention, sure, but why
terminals and escape. MATT JARVIS mess with near-perfection?
Meanwhile, the hunters’ ability to
fatigue the agent and force them to
slow, combined with more inventive
ways of detecting the stealthy
intruder – such as the box’s MVP,
scent-tracking mutt Rover, and a
brand new vehicle for hunters to
zoom around the map in – make for
a far more unpredictable array of
cat-and-mouse chases, refreshing
the ways to lay traps and tighten the
net. Specter Ops' robust gameplay
remains as slick and accomplished
as ever, disappearing comfortably
behind the hugely enjoyable
experience of playing.
The vastly improved traitor mode
becomes Broken Covenant’s standout
feature, with the previously deflating
discovery of the turncoat among
the hunters – who then turned
invisible and joined their ghost-like
companion but could do little more
than distract – now an electrifying
reveal as they flip their character card
over to gain new agent abilities and
contribute to the mission.
While the gameplay refinements
shine, they’re tarnished somewhat TRY THIS IF YOU LIKED… WHITEHALL MYSTERY
by the overall presentation of Broken The two hidden-movement hits offer distinctly different – but equally excellent –
Covenant, which suffers from takes on the genre.

80 September 2018
CUBIRDS
Birds of a feather flock together in
this brain-scratching set-collector
Designer: Stefan Alexander | Artist: Kristiaan der Nederlanden
C
uBirds mixes light puzzle
solving and set collection,
occupying players for a breezy
20 minutes, before letting them
fly into the sunset to seek warmer
climates. Players collect different
species of birds, aiming to gather
two flocks of the same three birds or
seven different birds to win the game.
Undeniably, the most fun part
of the game is interacting with the
central tableau of birds laid out in the
middle of the table. It is constantly
changing as the result of players
adding extra birds and taking some
away. While each round is relatively
fast, it encourages players to consider
altering available cards and figure
out what would be the best move to
collect the birds they need, while also
not letting the next player benefit too
much from their decision.
The rules of the game are very
nicely balanced to make players
feel that they have done something
worthwhile every turn, with the right
proportion of strategy to luck to make
every round just a little bit risky.
Playing birds from your hand into
the central tableau is mandatory but
players have a lot of choices of what
and how to play, even with one major
restriction: they always have to put
down all cards of the same species
they have in their hand.
Sometimes that makes the moves
sweetly agonising to consider – to
pick up an owl from the table, a player
needs to surround it with the same
type of bird already in the line, say,
a seagull. The latter is a tricky bird to
collect because it has a big flock, and
needs at least six birds to score. So it
may take players a while to get all the
cards they need and might therefore
make it not worth picking up. Whereas
an owl, while a rarer card, needs a
minimum of three birds to score. If a
player already has two owls in hand,
picking up that card could be really
beneficial for this turn.
Here swoops in the delicious
struggle of the game. The player needs
to place all their three seagulls from
their hand to collect an owl. What if the
player after them is collecting seagulls
and picks them up afterwards? Is it
worth the risk to set the next player up
to score, too? What if someone else
picks up an owl instead?
20m 2-5 8+ £15
So while CuBirds is really WHAT’S IN
uncomplicated mechanically, THE BOX?
strategically it gives players a bit ◗ 110 bird cards
to think about. At the same time,
the decisions are not complicated
enough to invoke analysis paralysis
and hinder the flow of the game.
For a short, light game, that is a
perfect combination. Add to that
quirky cubic artwork, and CuBirds
makes a great little warm-up game
ahead of a heavier longer one later
in the night. TRY THIS IF
CuBirds may not occupy YOU LIKED…
players for long or make a strong SUSHI GO!
enough impression to inspire If you liked collecting
returning to again and again. adorable delicious
But with its lightweight theme sushi, then you will
and simple, yet engaging core enjoy the equally
mechanics, it tickles the brain just quick and engaging
game of CuBirds.
enough to be entertaining with a
side of a light challenge.
ALEX SONECHKINA
WE SAY
CuBirds takes full advantage
of its short playtime to engage
players in a fleeting game of bird
collecting and flock gathering.
Could be worth a quick flutter.
tabletopgaming.co.uk 81
 THE MYTHICAL BESTIARY
OF ATLANTIS MINIATURES
A wyvern, a giant, a yeti, oh my! Make the fantasy menagerie pop from the
tabletop with these tips on giving them a magical makeover
Words and photographs by Andy Leighton
F YETI PAINTS
or this guide we’ll be taking a look at how
to paint a few of the epic monsters from
Atlantis Miniatures, particularly the wyvern,
giant and yeti.
Everything about these miniatures screams luxury,
from opening the beautiful black and silver box
they’re packed in to the detailed and wonderfully-
cast models themselves.
Each one is massive, towering over your standard
28mm miniatures, but the detail and textures are
superb. Skin is rough and pitted, each scale on the
dragon visible, each hair on the yeti picked out. All
these details only make these miniatures that much
easier to paint, the details being so fantastically crisp
it’s a simple matter to pick them out. Overall, these
are some of the best fantasy miniatures I have had the
pleasure of working on – even though the price tag may
scream luxury, the quality of the models screams it that
little bit louder.
While the figures aren’t specific to a single game,
they can be used as ample thematic dressing for
other fantasy miniatures games or even tabletop
RPGs – and many of the painting methods can of
course be applied to other depictions of the classic
mythological creatures.
TECHNIQUES
ZENITHAL HIGHLIGHTING
Zenithal highlighting at its core is a much more
complicated process than what I am going to
show you in this guide. I will show a basic version,
that helps apply a simplified version of highlighting.
This begins at the basecoating stage, whilst
preparing the model for the later stages.
Begin by basecoating the miniature black, as
seen on the left. This is easiest with a spray paint.
Once the black is dry, apply a light spray
of white from the top around the model. This
will create a light element of highlighting and
shading straight off the bat, that will either
provide shading or highlighting in later stages
or a guide as to where they should be applied.
82 September 2018
USED:
Aliatoc Blue
Baharroth Blue
Baneblade Brown
Biel-tan Green
Blue Horror
Celestra Grey
Ceramite White
Dark Reaper
Dawnstone
Druchii Violet
Flayed One Flesh
Karak Stone
Pallid Wych Flesh
Rhinox Hide
Steel Legion Drab
Temple Guard Blue
Valhallan Blizzard
STAGES
Each model is split up into three stages. The advises to use a thinned layer, mix in three
first two cover the basecoating and shading, to four parts water.
the foundation for the rest of the model and
a great way to make the most of the zenithal Stage 2 is shading. Washes and glazes
highlights. The third focuses on key areas on are applied to help enhance the shadows.
each model to allow for the use of differing Washes are generally applied straight to
techniques to be used where needed, and is the model, whereas glazes are made from
split into a few smaller stages. a mix of a normal paint and around four to
five parts water.
Stage 1 is basecoating. Base colours are
applied using glazes to help enhance the Stage 3 is layering. Each section is tackled
effect of the zenithal highlights. The paints in a different manner, though most make
are thinned with water and applied all use of thinned colours layered over the
over the chosen area. Each time the guide previous coats to build a gradient.
WYVERN PAINTS USED:
Abaddon Black Lamenters Yellow
Agrax Earthshade Mechanicus Standard Grey
Aliatoc Blue Mephiston Red
Averland Sunset Nuln Oil
Biel-tan Green Pallid Wych Flesh
Blue Horror Rhinox Hide
Cadian Fleshtone Russ Grey
Ceramite White Steel Legion Drab
Dark Reaper Sycorax Bronze
Dawnstone Temple Guard Blue
Doombull Brown Ulthuan Grey
Dorn Yellow Wazdakka Red
Drakenhof Nightshade Xereus Purple
Druchii Violet XV-88
Fenrisian Grey Yriel Yellow
Karak Stone Zandri Dust
Kislev Flesh

GIANT PAINTS USED:

Agrax Earthshade Kislev Flesh
Baneblade Brown Krieg Khaki
Biel-tan Green Lugganath Orange
Bloodletter Mornfang Brown
Bugmans Glow Pallid Wych Flesh
Ceramite White Rakarth Flesh
Drakenhof Nightshade Rhinox Hide
Fire Dragon Bright Squig Orange
Flayed One Flesh Steel Legion Drab
Incubi Darkness Zandri Dust
Khorne Red

tabletopgaming.co.uk 83
 AT L A N T I S M I N I AT U R E S

WYVERN
BASECOATING SHADING

Khorne Red: Apply a thinned layer over
the skin.
Scrag Brown: Apply a thinned layer over
the rock.
Abaddon Black: Apply a basecoat to the
claws and horns.
Zandri Dust: Apply a thinned layer over the
base, as well as over the underside of the
wings, the chest and the tail.
Druchii Violet: Apply a shade to the
underside of the skin, focusing on all the
areas shaded by the zenithal highlight.
Rhinox Hide: Make a mix with around four
parts water and apply a small amount to the
shaded areas on the rock.
Reikland Fleshshade: Apply a shade to the
lower half of the fleshy areas in the underside
of the wings.

WINGS & CLAWS &

SKIN CHEST HORNS MOUTH ROCK & BASE

Mephiston Red
Water down the paint with
two parts water and apply
over the skin. Focus on the
upper edges of each muscle
mass, armour plate and scale.
Zamesi Desert
Apply a thinned basecoat
across the underside of the
wings, neck, chest and tail.
Dark Reaper
Apply a layer to the top and
front of each claw and horn.
Genestealer Purple & Zamesi Desert Krieg Khaki
Pallid Wych Flesh Apply a heavy drybrush to the Apply a light drybrush across
Apply a coat of Genestealer sand using Zamesi Desert. the rock.
to the inside of the mouth.
Apply a coat of Pallid Wych
Flesh to the teeth.

Evil Suns Scarlet
Apply as a highlight to the
same areas as the last stage,
but leaving a little of the
original colour showing.
Flayed One Flesh
Apply a thinned layer to the
top half of the wings and
chest, and along the top edge
of the underside of the neck
and tail.
Thousand Sons Blue
Apply a highlight to the upper
edges of the claws and the
points of the horns.
Dechala Lilac
Apply a layer to the inner
mouth and gums, leaving
a little of the base colour
showing in the recesses.
Karak Stone & Zandri Dust
Apply a drybrush of Karak Stone
to the sand and a heavy drybrush
of Dawnstone across the rock.
Use a thin coat of Zandri Dust to
add a layer to the top rock faces.
Scenics
Apply some scenic elements
to the base. I chose some
small grass clumps and
dry grass.

Wild Rider Red
Apply an edge highlight to
the top of each section,
focusing particularly on the
hard edges.
Pallid Wych Flesh
Apply a thinned layer
around the top quarter
of the wings, as well as
across the raised ridges.
Blue Horror
Apply a spot highlight to the
top edge of the claws and
the points of the horns.
Bloodletter
Apply a wash of Bloodletter.
This not only helps to shade
the mouth – it also ties
together with the skin.
Krieg Khaki & Dawnstone
Apply a light drybrush of
Krieg Khaki to the sand. Apply
a fairly heavy drybrush of
Dawnstone across the rock.

84 September 2018
YETI
BASECOATING SHADING

Aliatoc Blue: Apply a thinned layer to the fur
and skin.
Steel Legion Drab: Apply a layer to the skulls.
Dark Reaper: Apply a thinned layer to the
rock and base.
Temple Guard Blue: Apply a thinned layer to
the ice crystals, ball and eyes.
Blue Horror: Apply a wash to the underside
areas of the fur.
Biel-tan Green: Apply a wash to the lower
centre of each crystal and the lower half of
the ball.
Druchii Violet: Apply a light wash to the
underside areas of the skin.
Rhinox Hide: Make a mix with around five
parts water and apply as a glaze over the skull.

SNOWBALL, SKULLS &

FUR SKIN ICE & EYES NAILS ROCK & BASE

Pallid Wych Flesh
Apply a fairly heavy drybrush
over the fur. Focus towards
the topmost areas, such as
the tops of the arms, head
and knees.
Flayed One Flesh
Apply a layer over the face,
avoiding the recesses.
Baharroth Blue
Apply a thin layer focusing on
the top and hard edges of the
crystals. Apply a light layer to
the top half of the ball.
Baneblade Brown Dawnstone Blue Horror
Apply a layer over the skulls, Apply a heavy drybrush Apply a final light drybrush
leaving the recesses the across the rock and base. across the base and to the
base colour. top edges of the rock.

Ceramite White
Apply a light drybrush over
the fur in the same areas as
before. Pick out the fur with
fine line highlights along the
edges of each strand.
Pallid Wych Flesh
Apply a layer – but only to
the upper parts of each
facial feature.
Baharroth Blue &
Ceramite White
Make an equal mix of both
paints and apply a line highlight
to the hard edges of the
crystals and top edge of the ball.
Karak Stone
Apply a further layer over
the same areas as the last
coat, but leaving a little of
that colour showing around
the edges.
Celestra Grey
Apply a drybrush across the
base and to the top edges of
the rock.
Valhallan Blizzard
Apply a heavy amount across
the base and on the rock.
This was also applied around
the crystals on the back, as
well as in small spots across
the fur.

Ceramite White Ceramite White Pallid Wych Flesh

Apply a line highlight to the Apply a spot highlight to the top Apply a line highlight to the
top edges of the face. of the crystals and where the hard edges and a light layer
hard edges meet, as well as the to the top areas.
ball where it meets the hand.

tabletopgaming.co.uk 85
 AT L A N T I S M I N I AT U R E S

GIANT
BASECOATING SHADING

Bugmans Glow: Apply a thinned layer over all Drakenhof Nightshade: Apply a coat to
of the skin. the recesses and undersides of each
Mornfang Brown: Apply a thinned layer over muscle mass.
the skulls on the belt and head of the staff. Agrax Earthshade: Apply a layer over the
Rhinox Hide: Apply a thinned layer over the ropes, focusing on the underside.
leather areas. Rhinox Hide: Apply a thinned layer to the
Steel Legion Drab: Apply a thinned layer over lower areas of the rocks.
the ropes. Biel-tan Green: Apply a layer over the staff.
Zandri Dust: Apply a thinned layer to the staff.
Khorne Red: Apply a thinned layer over the
hair and the lower tabard.
SKULLS &
SKIN LEATHER HAIR BONES STAFF BASE

Kislev Flesh
Using thinned paint, highlight
the upper areas of the skin. Use
a small amount, start from the
top and work down to around
the middle of each section.
Steel Legion Drab
Apply a thinned layer over the
leather, focusing towards the
top of each section and any
hard edges.
Squig Orange
Apply a layer to each
strand of hair until each
one is a solid colour,
leaving the recesses
showing the base colour.
Rakarth Flesh Zandri Dust Mournfang Brown
Apply a layer over the bones, Apply a heavy drybrush Apply a basecoat across the
working from the tip along to across the staff. whole base.
around halfway down. Apply a
line highlight to the areas not
covered yet at the ends.

Flayed One Flesh
Highlight the skin, further down.
Bloodletter & Palllid Wych Flesh
Apply a Bloodletter glaze around
the eyes and mouth, and Pallid
Wych Flesh highlight to the skin.
Baneblade Brown
Apply a line highlight over the
leather, again sticking to the
upper areas and hard edges.
Add small lines and dashes to
simulate scratches.
Fire Dragon Bright
Apply a highlight, starting
at the root of each hair
and continuing until around
halfway to two-thirds down.
Pallid Wych Flesh Krieg Khaki Baneblade Brown
Apply a layer from the tip to Apply a light drybrush across Apply a heavy drybrush.
a third of the way up. Add a the staff.
spot highlight to the darker Krieg Khaki
ends, plus small dashes to Apply a light drybrush.
represent scratches.

Incubi Darkness
Thin the paint with around
four parts water. Use a tiny
amount and carefully apply
tattoos to the skin.
Krieg Khaki
Add a highlight to the leather.
Apply in small dots to the hard
edges, adding a small amount
to the scratches.
Lugganath Orange
Apply a final highlight, again
starting at the roots, but this
time only continuing down
each strand around one-third.
Ceramite White
Apply an edge highlight to the
tip and any hard edges.
Pallid Wych Flesh
Apply an edge highlight to
the hard and top edges of
the staff.
Scenics
Finish the base with your
choice of scenics. I used a
mix of static grass and forest
debris, as well as small flowers.

86 September 2018
 Is there

www.UpToFourPlayers.com
anything we need for
gaming that they don’t
have here? ...pizza?

Art by
Board Games, Card Games, Role Playing,
Board Games, Card Games, Role Playing, War Games, In-Store Gaming and Events
War Games,
100 Ballards In-store
Lane, Finchley, Gaming
London, N3 2DN and
| Tel: 020 8346 2327 Events
| www.leisuregames.com

Come and visit our Bricks & Mortar shop

in North London and be amazed at the
range of games we carry in stock!
100 Ballards Lane, Finchley, London N3 2DN
Tel: 020 8346 2327 Email: shop@leisuregames.com

www.leisuregames.com

Live on

in July.
 T H E D U N G E O N M A S T E R ’ S G U I D E T O R O L E P L AY I N G

DEARLY DEPARTED
Whether they’re going out with a bang or falling prey to fateful rolls, should you
be unafraid to swing the scythe when it comes to killing off player characters?
Words by Richard Jansen-Parkes

O
ld Man Zabadar was a
wizard of simple pleasures,
such as fire, explosions
and fiery explosions. It
was perhaps inevitable,
therefore, that when he went out it was in
both a figurative blaze of glory and a quite
literal one.
To tell the truth, Zabadar’s fate was
probably sealed the moment he realised
that the mining supplies stolen by a
marauding warband of orcs was, in fact, an
enormous pile of explosives. While the rest
of the party were busy trying to expose the
diabolical shaman that was manipulating
the clan into greater acts of violence, the
half-elven wizard seemed to be tagging along
in the hopes of reducing half the camp to a
smoking crater.
For a while it seemed as though the heroes
were going to save the day with nothing but
cunning diplomacy that would leave Zabadar
deeply unfulfilled, but a last-minute twist
involving a string of terrible saving throws and
an enchanted mask spiralled into a showdown
between a battered and bruised band of
adventurers and the demonically-possessed
shaman. The monster made short work of
a couple of front-line fighters and things
seemed desperate for our heroes until it made
the mistake of getting too close to the pile of
explosives – conveniently placed on one side
of the battlefield.

88 September 2018
 Some RPGs make it
especially hard to kill off a
hero, while others delight
in soaring body counts
(Wizards of the Coast)
Zabadar leapt into action with a well-
aimed firebolt. But while his aim was true, he
seemed to forget the cardinal rule of setting
off explosives: don’t stand in the blast radius.
There was a roar of fire and a flash of light,
and when the rest of the heroes managed to
pick themselves off the ground a few minutes
later there was nothing left of either shaman
or wizard, save for a strip of his purple robe
drifting down from a cloud of ash.
Everyone at the table agreed that it was a
stupid, easily-avoidable death. And that it
was entirely appropriate.
DIFFERENT STROKES
At the time of writing, character death is
a hot-button issue in the RPG community
thanks to certain events in the actual-
play behemoth that is Critical Role. The
discussions that blew up in the wake of one
particular episode made it clear that different
groups handle death very differently.
Some folks who lean old-school are very
strict on the fact that losing characters to
unlucky rolls is just another part of the
game,and that GMs should always be utterly
ruthless when it comes to running monsters
and other bad guys. If a pack of ghouls get
the drop on an adventurer, it’s time to roll up
a new character rather than try and justify
why a horde of ravenous undead cannibals
only knocked her unconscious.
Others seem to be determined to preserve
the party members at all costs, whether that
means bending the rules to turn a death
into a serious – but not permanent – injury
or simply playing fast and loose with divine
interventions and magical resurrections.
So many RPGs are about telling a shared
narrative, after all – and what kind of story has
one of the main
characters get
offed by a nameless
bandit who landed a
couple of lucky hits?
Annoyingly,
this is one of those
situations where I always try and
there really is no
correct answer. The
use deaths as a
right approach to
killing off characters
method for
is something that
will vary from group
pushing the
to group and from
system to system.
story forward.
In fact, two
games I played this
month, Star Wars:
The RPG (read the
full review on p68)
and Capharnaum (p74) have mechanics that
make it fairly hard to actually kill off a hero
without putting in real effort, and as such
are likely to produce fewer bodies than a run
through The Tomb of Horrors or an old-school
Call of Cthulhu campaign.
Personally, I’ve always felt that the most
user-friendly approach is to sit somewhere in
the middle of the two extremes. I like to let the
dice and bodies fall where they may, but always
try and use deaths as a method for pushing the
story forward rather than examples of random
fate screwing the party over.
OF STAKES AND STORIES
‘Player agency’ is a term that gets thrown
around a lot when it comes to designing
RPGs and talking about how best to run
them. Essentially, it means giving the players
a chance to make their own decisions and
– importantly – to feel the consequences of
those decisions.
When Old Man Zabadar decided to toss a
firebolt into a pile of high-explosives, there
were several ways that I could have probably
preserved his mortal coil. Perhaps the crates
of dynamite had gotten wet, or the initial
shockwave was strong enough to carry him
out of reach of the fiery inferno he had just
set off.
If I had done that, however, it would have
been obvious to everyone at the table that this
was blatant fudging. It would have been the
DM stepping in to save the wizard from the
consequences of his actions, no different from
a dozen different forms of railroading that can
pluck the stakes from the adventure.
Even if it hadn’t been quite so cut-and-
dry, I probably would have let Zabadar bite it
there anyway, so long as he rolled poorly and
the damage from the
explosion was big
enough. It was good
for the story, gave
the party another
reason to press on
and find out who
was behind the
shaman’s evil magic
and felt like a totally
appropriate way to
kill off the character.
When else was I
going to be able
to give him such a
perfect send-off as
being caught in an
enormous explosion
of his own creation,
after all?
WORSE THAN DEATH
Of course, just because you don’t pull your punches
that doesn’t mean that you have to get a whole new
party rolled up every week. Doling out consequences
for poor decisions or worse luck doesn’t always
have to mean hacking a character down.
In fact, there are many things that players
fear worse than simply having to introduce a
new hero. The loss of valuable equipment is
always a good one, especially when it has some
sentimental value, and personally I’m always
a fan of going after the pets, minions and other
helpers that so many parties eventually acquire. I
still smile when I remember the moment a minor
villain became the most loathed enemy of all time
after striking down the paladin’s faithful mastiff
when it got in the way of a final coup de grâce.
Ultimately, you will know the needs and
feelings of your table and with a bit of practice
you’ll get comfortable making the decision on
when the axe should fall and when it’s time
for a last-minute reprieve. And if you haven’t
learned anything else from this story, remember
to get a decent distance away from mounds of
explosives before you throw firebolts at them.
tabletopgaming.co.uk 89
 LOVE THIS MAGAZINE?

REASONS FOR SUBSCRIBING

BE THE FIRST
TO KNOW
CHECK OUT OUR DEFINITIVE
PAINTS & TECHNIQUES
PAINTS USED
Abaddon Black
Agrax Earthshade
Alaitoc Blue
Altdorf Guard Blue
Averland Sunset
Baneblade Brown
Blue Horror
Bugman’s Glow
Cadian Fleshtone
Celestra Grey

UNIFORMS
BODYSUIT
S TA R T R E K A D V E N T U R E S

Ceramite White
Dark Reaper
Dawnstone
Doombull Brown
Dorn Yellow
Drakenhof Nightshade
Khorne Red
Kislev Flesh
Krieg Khaki
Leadbelcher
Liberator Gold
Lugganath Orange
Martian Ironearth
Mephiston Red
Pallid Wych Flesh
Reikland Fleshshade
Rhinox Hide
Runefang Steel
Screaming Skull
Squig Orange

COMMAND AND HELM

STAGE 1 Apply a basecoat of

Khorne Red.
Slaanesh Grey
Sotek Green
Steel Legion Drab
Temple Guard Blue
Warplock Bronze
Wild Rider Red
Zamesi Desert

ENGINEERING, SECURITY AND OPERATIONS

STAGES
Since there is a large amount
of variety in the crew of the
Enterprise, combined with
matching uniforms, this guide is
split into general sections covering
the uniforms and tech, but splitting
the skin, hair and other details into
different sections. This will allow
us to cover every element of each
crew member, giving you a guide
for the full boxset contents.

STAGE 2 Apply a layer of

Mephiston Red, leaving the
recesses the basecoat colour.
STAGE 3 Add a line highlight of
Wild Rider Red, focusing on the
hard edges.
STAGE 4 Apply a dot highlight of
Lugganath Orange, focusing on
the corners.
UNDERSHIRT

STAGE 1 Apply a basecoat of

Steel Legion Drab.

MEDICAL JACKET

STAGE 1 Apply a basecoat of

Altdorf Guard Blue.

SKIN
LIGHT SKIN
STAGE 2 Apply a highlight of
Dawnstone, focusing on the hard
edges and folds.

STAGE 2 Apply a layer of Alaitoc

Blue, leaving the recesses the
base colour.
STAGE 3 Apply a line highlight of
Celestra Grey, focusing on the
hard edges and raised folds.

STAGE 3 Apply a fine highlight

of Blue Horror to the edges and
raised folds.
DARK SKIN

REVIEWS OF THE LATEST

STAGE 1 Apply a basecoat of
STAGE 1 Add a highlight of Dark Rhinox Hide.
Reaper across the hard edges, corners
and raised folds of the bodysuit.

STAGE 1 Apply a basecoat of STAGE 2 Apply a wash of STAGE 3 Apply a layer of Averland STAGE 4 Apply a line highlight of STAGE 1 Apply a basecoat of STAGE 2 Apply a layer of Cadian STAGE 3 Apply a highlight of Kislev STAGE 4 Apply a final fine highlight of
Averland Sunset. Reikland Fleshshade. Sunset, leaving the recesses the Krieg Khaki. Bugman’s Glow. Fleshtone, leaving the recesses Flesh, focusing down the centre Pallid Wych Flesh, only adding small
original colour. the base colour. and top of the head. lines and dots over the previous coat.

STAGE 2 Apply a highlight of

SCIENCE AND MEDICAL ANDROID SKIN Doombull Brown, focusing on the
top edges of the features.

RELEASES BEFORE
STAGE 2 Add a dot highlight of STAGE 1 Apply a basecoat of STAGE 2 Apply a highlight of STAGE 3 Apply a line highlight STAGE 1 Apply a basecoat of STAGE 2 Apply a layer of STAGE 3 Apply a glaze of Zamesi STAGE 4 Apply a final fine highlight of STAGE 3 Apply a final fine highlight
Slaanesh Grey, focusing on the corners Sotek Green. Temple Guard Blue, focusing on of Blue Horror, focusing on the Zamesi Desert. Screaming Skull, leaving the Desert over all the skin. Dorn Yellow, only adding small lines of Krieg Khaki.
and the top of the raised folds. the hard edges and folds. corners and raised folds. recesses the base colour. and dots over the previous coat.

84 February 2018 tabletopgaming.co.uk 85

20 P L AY E D

ANYONE ELSE
of 132 pages

BATTLE FOR ROKUGAN

Legend of the Five Rings expands with
an excellent
area control spin-off. Or are we just
Designer: Molly Glover, Tom Jolly |
bluffing?
Artist: Mathias Kollros, Francesca
Baerald, Nele Diel, ShenFei
90m 2-5 14+ £40
safeguarding it from future attacks
but potentially sacrificing a tactical
advantage during future battles.
Taking over an entire territory
can grant a huge advantage, as each
collection of lands unlocks a single-use
power for the controlling player to use.
The abilities feel fittingly formidable
ED

IT
CE

O R' I and satisfying to execute, but are only

S CHO held onto as long as that player has total
control – meaning waiting to use them
to
their full advantage can be very risky.
Each player also starts with a very
limited supply of scouts and shugenja
that let them spy on some of their
opponents’ tokens, plus a secret

SUBSCRIBE PRINT OR
objective that’s revealed during end-

H
ot on the heels of its recent living
card game revival, Legend of the
Five Rings’ next major franchise
instalment is Battle for Rokugan – a
taut
area control board game that stands
alone as a truly fantastic experience.
If you’re already a fan of Legend of the
Five Rings, you’ll find rough sketches
game scoring for a potential last twist
WHAT’S IN crucially, when – you put your tokens
in the final standings. Funnily enough
THE BOX? down becomes a tense standoff and
for a spin-off to a living card game, the
◗ Game board cardplay is kept to a bare minimum,
◗ 22 territory cards
clash of wits between players. Could
leaving the focus on the placement of
◗ 10 initiative cards the token attacking your province be
a tokens, but the small number, restricted
◗ Seven daimyō screens powerful army needing to be fought
off use and great power of the cards means
◗ 12 secret with ample defence? Or could it simply
that every one lands with a huge impact.
objective cards be a distraction to draw your forces
The combination of straightforward

LEARNI
of the seven competing clans’ broad ◗ First player card away from a surprise attack elsewhere
◗ 189 combat tokens basics, the chance for deceptive mind
during the final placement? You’ll need

strategies in their slightly asymmetrical
special abilities and pools of combat
tokens used for wresting control of
◗ Five shugenja cards
◗ 10 scout cards
◗ 210 control tokens
EVOLVENG
games, and just a smidge of luck and
to constantly guess and second-guess
asymmetry works an absolute charm:
your rivals, especially as every player
Battle for Rokugan is 90 or so minutes
always has a blank bluffing token hidden

D
the map’s various provinces – and the ◗ Four honour of exhilarating Oh My God!-ness,
victory-sealing honour that comes bonus tokens with the rest of their ‘hand’ behind

DIGITAL FROM JUST

air-punching triumph and head-in-
with them. It’s just enough to root the ◗ Four defence their screen, presenting a constant
hands regret (with laughter) as traps
conflict in a wider world that feels more bonus tokens opportunity to mislead and deceive. Games
are sprung, plans go astray and bigaren’t just fun –
◗ Shrine token It’s a tight, thrilling experience that they can also
believable and vibrant, without throwing
◗ Harbour token
moments pop off in every help you
round. boost your brainpowe
off the careful gameplay balance or keeps up the pressure throughout its Professors r.
◗ Battlefield token That’s no bluff. and students
leaving total newcomers feeling lost. very reasonable running time and gets the cranium-c tell us about
◗ 15 peace tokens MATT JARVIS ramming
Learning the ropes is easy, with especially explosive during the fifth benefits of
◗ 15 scorched Darwinian delight
combat largely coming down to a earth tokens
and final round, as players unleash WE SAY Words by Anna
Evolution
straight battle of numbers – attack with ◗ Round track token
a last-ditch effort to take over entire There’s no need to already be a Legend
Blackwell

more strength than your opponent has territories or block their rivals’ control. of the Five Rings fan to enjoy Battle
defence, and you’ll claim that province. Particularly brutal are the rare raid for Rokugan as a brilliant game of

£14.99
Each type of combat token has slightly tokens, which completely decimate planning, deception and strategy. The
different rules – armies must attack an area for the rest of the game easy-to-grasp gameplay means the
over land, naval tokens operate only and remove all combat and control riveting showdowns between players
tokens, while the equally uncommon get to shine, while the tight play time
along coasts, the rarer shinobi can strike
diplomacy tokens permanently forbid and differences between the clans and
anywhere and so on – and is placed territory powers leave plenty of reasons
facedown to signify its intent, before all combat in – or out – of a region,
to come back time and time again.
all players’ tokens are revealed and
resolved simultaneously. TRY THIS IF YOU LIKED…
GAME OF THRONES: THE BOARD
This is where Battle for Rokugan’s GAME
Want a game that lets you conquer
real joy comes into play, as where – and, the world as you trick and outwit your
friends? Battle for Rokugan lets you
do it all in under a couple of hours.

64 February 2018

44 February 2018

tabletopgaming.co.uk/subscribe
Prices displayed are all direct debit deals – UK only. Ends 31 December 2018. *Promo and cover gifts only available with print copies.

EVENT REPORT
TABLETOP SCOTLAND
Director David Wright on bringing gaming right to
the heart of Scotland with his new Perth convention
Interview by Matt Jarvis
When did you decide to hold a gaming event
in Scotland?
It’s been an idea for about four years prior to
us going public in October last year. There was
a plan to do one two years ago but that never
happened for a variety of reasons.
How does the event compare to other Scottish
gaming shows – and those in the rest of the UK?
One of the things I did prior to pushing the ‘go’
button on Tabletop Scotland was look at the event
calendar across the UK. That was actually harder
than I thought it would be as not every convention
is that well marketed, but I managed to discover
that if you’re looking for a board game or RPG-
focused convention in England then you’ve got
one almost every weekend of the year. In Scotland,
you’ve got two. This is what I wanted to change.
As to how different it is, well I’ve never been
someone who has done things by half. I wanted to
put on a convention that acted as a bit of a flagship
event for the Scottish gaming community so that
was the starting point and we’ve pushed that as
hard as we can to get to where we are today.
What exciting happenings do you have planned
for this year’s show?
We’ve got a lot of exhibitors with strong representation
from the Scottish game publishing community.
We’ve tried to blend scheduled events with open
gaming and, to make that work, we’ve brought in
Dice Roll Café to provide our board game library.
We have a Gateway Zone to help people find their
next steps into the hobby where the team will be
recommending games based on what people
already know – or if you’re completely new we’ll
recommend something and guide you through it.
Scheduled event-wise we have board game
tournaments for Catan – a UK National Qualifier –
Warhammer Underworlds: Shadespire – Scotland’s
September 2018
first-ever Grand Clash – Star Wars: Destiny,
Carcassonne, Pandemic and a Mega Karuba
tournament. Plus, over the weekend we have over
70 tables of RPGs including 40 tables of Dungeons
& Dragons with a Scotland’s first ever D&D
Adventurers League Epic on the Saturday night.
Why is Perth the right place in Scotland to hold
a gaming event?
If you want to get to Perth from almost anywhere
in mainland Scotland you can do it in less than two
hours. In fact, you can get to Perth from Carlisle
in just over 2.5 hours and Newcastle in just over
three hours. Perth is geographically in the heart
of Scotland and the train network north to south
meets in Perth.
From our pre-sales of tickets we can see that the
location is working for those from further afield
in Scotland but we’re also seeing a lot of pre-sales
from England, Northern Ireland and, awesomely,
Germany! Perth also happens to be a great location
to base yourself if you plan to do a tour of a number
of whisky distilleries, which may help, too...
What do you have planned for Tabletop
Scotland in the future?
I’m on record saying we have plans but let’s get
2018 done first – and I’m sticking by that. Do we
have a date? Yes. Am I sharing that? No. We’ve
learned a lot from this and no doubt will learn a
lot more over the coming weeks and throughout
the convention itself.
The venue we have has space to grow into and
we will be looking at how this year’s event goes
before committing to anything concrete! The
bottom line is that we’d love this to be an annual
event that grows to meet the needs and wants of
Scotland’s gaming community. We’d love to see
more gamers in Scotland in general and we believe
what we’re doing is a big enabler for that.
UPCOMING EVENTS
GAMESCON
Saturday September 1st
Emsworth Community Centre, Emsworth
Board gamers and roleplayers alike are
welcome at this new show.
gamescon.co.uk
HEREWARD WARGAMES SHOW
Sunday September 2nd
The Cresset, Peterborough
Now in its third instalment, the wargaming
show mixes plenty of traders, tournaments
and participation games.
hereward-wargames.co.uk
CONCRETE COW
Sunday September 15th
The Old Bath House, Milton Keynes
Open to any RPG, the Milton Keynes RPG
Club’s regular one-day event is back.
mk-rpg.org.uk/Concrete_Cow
GNOMECON
Friday September 21th to Sunday 23rd
Holiday Inn Bolton Centre, Bolton
With a charitable nature, the north-west
convention includes a raffle and bring-and-buy.
gnomeboardgamers.com/upcoming-events
THE OWLBEAR AND THE
WIZARD’S STAFF
Saturday September 22nd
The Band Factory, Leamington Spa
The one-day RPG event adds to the appeal of
its distinctive name with a pub trip finale.
bit.ly/2zm7cSe
RAIDERS OF THE GAME CUPBOARD
Saturday September 22nd
Waterside Community Centre, Burton upon Trent
Whatever you play, from minis to RPGs, it’s
welcome at this friendly one-day show.
raidersofthegamecupboard.co.uk
TABLETOP GAMING LIVE
Saturday September 29th to Sunday 30th
Alexandra Palace, London
London’s new flagship gaming convention
includes the latest summer releases from
Gen Con, tournaments, participation games,
an open gaming area and an unrivalled line-up
of speakers, seminars and panels covering
RPGs, miniatures, board games – and more.
ttgami.ng/ttglive18
DRAGONDAZE
Saturday October 6th
Newport Centre, Newport
Raising money for Barnardos Young Carers
and local charity Sparkle, this one-day event
celebrates everything gaming, whether it’s
cosplay or socialising with likeminded players.
dragondaze.com
FURNACE
Saturday October 6th to Sunday 7th
The Garrison Hotel, Sheffield
Sheffield’s de facto gaming home plays host
to the annual RPG convention that’s been
running for more than a deade.
furnace.org.uk
tabletopgaming.co.uk 91
 CLUB DIRECTORY
ABERDEENSHIRE PETERBOROUGH THE DICE AND DAGGER EASTBOURNE ELEMENTAL GWENT HERTFORD BEER & BOARDGAMES
ABERDEEN WARGAMES CLUB WARGAMES CLUB GAMING CLUB Eastbourne, BN21 3XQ GWENT REAVERS TABLETOP Hertford, SG14 1HH
Aberdeen, AB15 4YQ Peterborough, PE1 1NA Bude, EX23 9BL GAMING CLUB
FAMOUS COLLECTABLES Abertillery, NP13 3DJ HITCHIN HERETICS
OLDMELDRUM ROLL WITH IT! WEDNESDAY NIGHT GAMING Bexhill-on-Sea, TN40 1DU Hitchin, SG5 1XL
WARGAMES GROUP Huntingdon, PE29 3TF Redruth, TR15 3QY GWYNEDD
Inverurie, AB51 0AA UCKFIELD TABLETOP GAMERS CONWY WARGAMES CLUB NORTH HERTFORDSHIRE
THE CHATTERIS WARLORDS COUNTY TYRONE Uckfield, TN22 5DT Llandudno, LL30 3LB WARGAMES CLUB
ANGUS GAMES CLUB OMAGH WARGAMES CLUB Hitchin, SG5 1XL
KIRRIEMUIR WARGAMES CLUB Chatteris, PE16 6NA Omagh, BT78 1HL EAST YORKSHIRE HAMPSHIRE
Kirriemuir, DD8 4HN WOLDS WARGAMERS ARBBL NORTH LONDON
THE GAMES TABLE DERBYSHIRE Driffield, YO25 6SS Andover, SP10 1DQ WARGAMES CLUB
AYRSHIRE Cambridge, CB24 4RP CONSORTIUM GAMES Waltham Cross, EN8 9AJ
NORTH AYRSHIRE CLUB @GHQ ESSEX BLACK HOLE WARGAMERS
WARGAMES CLUB CARMARTHENSHIRE Chesterfield, S40 1JW BASILDON WARBOYZ Petersfield, GU32 3HS POTTERS BAR GAMES CLUB
Irvine, KA12 0BA CARMARTHEN OLD GUARD Basildon, SS16 4NW Potters Bar, EN6 5BT
Carmarthen, SA31 3AD DERBY ON BOARD GAMES CHINEHAM BOARD GAMERS
BEDFORDSHIRE Derby, DE1 1QH BRENTWOOD CRUSADERS Basingstoke, RG24 8LT ST. ALBANS BOARD GAME CLUB
BASEMENT GAMING CLUB TOWY VALLEY TYRANTS (TVT) Brentwood, CM13 1LP St. Albans, AL3 5PE
Luton, LU3 3AN Carmarthen, SA31 2JE GROWN UP’S GAMES NIGHT DARK WORLDS
Matlock, DE4 3FQ COLCHESTER WARGAMES GAMING SOCIETY THOR’S HAMMER GAMING CLUB
BEDFORD BOARD GAMING CHESHIRE ASSOCIATION Fareham, PO15 6TL Borehamwood, WD6 5PR
Bedford, MK40 2SX ALTRINCHAM WARGAMING CLUB SUNDAY NIGHT BOARD GAMING Colchester, CO3 5RH
Altrincham, WA14 4PG AT THE OLD KINGS HEAD BELPER FARNBOROUGH TRING WARGAMES CLUB
BEDFORD GLADIATORS Belper, DE56 1NP ESSEX WARRIORS WARGAME SOCIETY Tring, HP23 6BA
Bedford, MK41 7TW CHEADLE BOARD ROOM Chelmsford, CM1 3DU Farnborough, GU14 7LE
Cheadle, SK8 1DW DEVON WARLORDS WARGAMING
BOARD GAMES IN BEDFORD BARNSTAPLE SLAYERS GBCON QUARTERLY GAMING DAY FIRESTORM CARDS OPEN ST. ALBANS
Bedford, MK41 0TU CHESHIRE GAMERS GAMING CLUB Loughton, IG10 4LF GAMING NIGHT St. Albans, AL3 4DJ
Crewe, CW1 4NJ Barnstaple, EX32 8LS Basingstoke, RG24 8FB
LEIGHTON BUZZARD LOUGHTON STRIKE FORCE WATFORD WARGAMES CLUB
GAMING CLUB CONGLETON AND DISTRICT CULLOMPTON BOARD Loughton, IG10 1LH FORDINGBRIDGE Watford, WD17 4PN
Leighton Buzzard, LU7 1ES LIGHT BOARD GAMES GROUP GAMES GROUP GAMING CLUB
Congleton, CW12 1AH Cullompton, EX15 1JX SOUTHEND-ON-SEA Fordingbridge, SP6 1AS WELWYN WARGAMERS
SAXON GAMES & CRAFTS ROLEPLAYING SOCIETY Welwyn Garden City, AL8 6PS
Bedford, MK40 4FU ELEMENT GAMES NORTH DARK STAR GAMING Southend-on-Sea, SS1 1BD GARY DONALDSON
WEST GAMING CENTRE Plymouth, PL4 0AL Waterlooville, PO8 8RG INVERNESS-SHIRE
BERKSHIRE Stockport, SK2 6PT THE HORNCHURCH INVERNESS TABLETOP GAMERS
BROAD STREET GAMERS EAST DEVON TABLETOP WARGAMES CLUB PHOENIX BOARD GAMERS Inverness, IV1 1LU
Wokingham, RG40 3AQ GUARDIANS OF THE GAMES & RPG GROUP Romford, RM3 9LB Bordon, GU35 0LR
(TABLETOP GROUP) Honiton, EX14 1HR ISLE OF MAN
NEWBURY & READING Macclesfield, SK11 6UB THE OVERLORDS PORTSMOUTH ON BOARD KB TABLETOP GAMING
WARGAMES ASSOCIATION EXMOUTH IMPERIAL Dagenham, RM8 2HQ Portsmouth, PO1 1PT - ISLE OF MAN
Newbury, RG14 2RA MUG AND GAME WARGAMES CLUB Isle of Man, IM4 4LA
Congleton, CW12 1PG Exmouth, EX8 4SW THE PHOENIX GAMES CLUB RINGWOOD ASSOCIATION
NEWBURY & READING London, E13 0AD OF WARGAMERS KENT
WARGAMES ASSOCIATION POYNTON BOARD GAME DAY GAME NIGHT @ CARPE Ringwood, BH24 1DW ALL AROUND THE BOARD
Newbury, RG1 4PS Stockport, SK12 1RB Plymouth, PL4 8EU FIFE Westgate-on-Sea, CT8 8RE
DUNFERMLINE WARGAMING SOLENT WARGAMERS CLUB
THATCHAM TABLETOPS VARIABLE MAGERS NEO TIVERTON GAMING CLUB AND ROLEPLAYING FELLOWSHIP Portsmouth, PO1 1PT ASHFORD (KENT)
Reading, RG7 6QH Stockport, SK4 3BS Tiverton, EX16 5JJ Dunfermline, KY12 7DS BOARDGAMES CLUB
SOUTHAMPTON SLUGGAZ Ashford, TN24 9AJ
WARFIELD BOARD GAMERS WARRINGTON BOARD PLYMOUTH ASSOCIATION EAST NEUK TABLETOP GAMES Southampton, SO17 2JZ
Bracknell, RG42 2DD GAMES CLUB OF WARGAMERS Anstruther, KY10 3DJ BEXLEY REAPERS
Warrington, WA1 2SX Plymouth, PL3 5TB THE SOUTHAMPTON GUILD WARGAMING CLUB
WARGAMES ASSOCIATION KIRKCALDY MEEPLE CLUB OF ROLEPLAYERS Bexley, DA5 1AA
OF READING WINSFORD WARHAWKS TORQUAY BOARD GAME CLUB Kirkcaldy, KY2 6LF Southampton, SO14 0LH
Wokingham, RG41 5DU WARGAMING CLUB Torquay, TQ2 7AD CANTERBURY CRUSADERS
Winsford, CW7 4AT FLINTSHIRE THE THIRD COALITION Canterbury, CT1 1RT
BIRMINGHAM DORSET DEESIDE DEFENDERS WARGAMES CLUB
BIRMINGHAM WARGAMES CLEVELAND SOUTHBOURNE TABLETOP Chester, CH4 0DR New Milton, BH25 5BT GRAVESHAM WARGAMING
AND BOARDGAMES CLUB HARTLEPOOL & BOARDGAMERS AND TABLETOP
AKA DRAGOON’S DEN WARGAMES SOCIETY Bournemouth, BH6 3AA FGC FLINTSHIRE GAMING CLUB WATERLOO TABLE TOP GAMERS GAMING CLUB
Birmingham, B13 9EA Hartlepool, TS24 7DH Mold, CH7 6SZ Waterlooville, PO8 8RG Gravesend, DA11 9EU
WESSEX WYVERNS
BUCKINGHAMSHIRE REDCAR IRONBEARDS WARGAMES CLUB GLASGOW WESSEX WARGAMES GREENWICH & BLACKHEATH
MILTON KEYNES Redcar, TS10 1RH Ferndown, BH22 9AN ANTONINE BOARD GAMERS WINCHESTER BOARD GAMES AND BEER CLUB
WARGAMES SOCIETY Glasgow, G64 4EN Winchester, SO22 4QB London, SE3 7JQ
Milton Keynes, MK11 1JQ CO ANTRIM WEYMOUTH LEVELLERS CLUB
DRAGONSLAYERS Weymouth, DT4 0AR GLASGOW GAMES ROOM WESSEX WYVERNS MAIDSTONE WARGAMES SOCIETY
NEWPORT PAGNELL Belfast, BT7 1NN Glasgow, G20 7QE GAMING CLUB Maidstone, ME17 4AW
BOARD GAMES CLUB WORLDS AWAY Ringwood, BH24 2NP
Newport Pagnell, MK16 8AN QUB DRAGONSLAYERS Bournemouth, BH2 5RQ UNPLUGGED GAMES CLUB MEDWAY AREA BOARDGAMERS
Belfast, BT7 1NN Glasgow, G41 3AB HEREFORDSHIRE Maidstone, ME14 1ED
WYCOMBE WARBAND DUMFRIESSHIRE DICE AND DECKS
Beaconsfield, HP9 1LG CO CORK ANNAN GAMING CLUB GLOUCESTERSHIRE Ross-on-Wye, HR9 5HR MERRYCHEST CAFE GAMING CLUB
BRETHREN WARGAMING CLUB Annan, DG12 6EF GLOUCESTERSHIRE Dartford, DA2 8AH
CAITHNESS West Cork, T23 F577 GAMES BUNKER HEREFORDSHIRE BOARDGAMERS
NORTHERN KNIGHTS THE FIVE ARCHES GAMING CLUB Cheltenham, GL51 4XA Hereford, HR4 9EA MILTON HUNDRED
WARGAMES CO DURHAM Dumfries, DG1 3JR WARGAMES CLUB
Thurso, KW14 8HN DARLINGTON’S DOGS OF WAR IWARPUK HERTFORDSHIRE Sittingbourne, ME10 4BX
Darlington, DL3 7LX DUNBARTONSHIRE Gloucester, GL2 9EB BISHOP’S STORTFORD TABLETOP
CAMBRIDGESHIRE DUMBARTON WARGAMES CLUB Bishop’s Stortford, CM23 3BQ SEVENOAKS & TONBRIDGE
2D6 LODGE DURHAM RAIDERS Dumbarton, G82 1QQ LECHLADE BOARD GAMES CLUB ASSOCIATION OF GAMERS (STAG)
Cambridge, CB1 8NN Croxdale, DH6 5HJ Lechlade, GL7 3HA BLACK WOLF WARGAMES CLUB Sevenoaks, TN15 9HA
DURHAM Hitchin, SG5 1XL
FENLAND RPG CLUB GAMERS@HART DWG LINCOMBE BARN TUNBRIDGE WELLS
Ely, CB7 5NG Hartlepool, TS26 9DE Durham, DH1 1QG WARGAMES SOCIETY CALAMITY COMICS HATFIELD WARGAMES SOCIETY
Bristol, BS16 2RW Hatfield, AL10 0JJ Tunbridge Wells, TN3 0PR
HEFFERS GAMES - BOARDGAMES CO LONDONDERRY DYFED
AT THE BOOKSHOP THE SIEGE BUNKER WELSH WEYR GAMING GROUP PORK CHOP GAMING FINCHLEY GAMES CLUB WHITSTABLETOP
Cambridge, CB2 1TY Londonderry, BT48 7JL Ammanford, SA18 1DX Cheltenham, GL50 3HA London, N12 7JE Whitstable, CT5 1DA
NEWMARKET KNIGHTS CORNWALL EAST SUSSEX GREATER MANCHESTER HEMEL HEMPSTEAD LANARKSHIRE
GAMES CLUB SMIPHEES GAMES CLUB 1066 WARGAMING CLUB TABLETOP MANCHESTER WARGAMING CLUB CARLUKE WARGAMES CLUB
Ely, CB7 5HS Callington, PL17 7AN St. Leonards-on-Sea, TN38 8BL Cheadle Hulme, M15 4ST Hemel Hempstead, HP1 1LD Carluke, ML8 5JQ

92 September 2018
 List your club for free and see full club details
tabletopgaming.co.uk/clubs
LANARKSHIRE GAMERS LINCOLN BOARD GAME GROUP NORTHAMPTONSHIRE WESTON WARGAMERS CLUB CROYDON BOARD GAMERS DUNGEON CRAWL-EY GAMES CLUB
Motherwell, ML1 1BS Lincoln, LN1 3BJ BATTLEFIELD HOBBIES Weston-super-Mare, Croydon, CR0 1DP Crawley, RH11 7QG
Daventry, NN11 8RB BS23 1NF
ML2 GAMERS LOUTH STRATEGY GAMES CLUB EAGLE GAMING CLUB MID SUSSEX MEEPLES
Hamilton, ML3 6BU Louth, LN11 8DB DESBOROUGH ROLEPLAYING WSM BOARD GAMING CLUB London, SW18 2PT Burgess Hill, RH15 8DX
AND WARGAMES CLUB Weston-super-Mare,
LANCASHIRE LONDON Kettering, NN14 2NQ BS22 8PD HAMPTON COURT SOUTH DOWNS SIEGEBREAKERS
BLACK TOWER WARGAMING CROSS GAMING CLUB GAMES CLUB Pulborough, RH20 4DR
Blackpool, FY4 4ND London, SE1 1DX PHOENIX GAMING CLUB SOUTH HUMBERSIDE East Molesey, KT8 0BT
Rushden, NN10 9YE SCUNTHORPE TABLETOP WEST YORKSHIRE
BOLTON GNOME’S SELWG GAMERS KINGSTON GAMES GROUP BOARD IN THE VILLAGE
Bolton, BL1 5QD London, SE6 2TS THE BRACKLEY & Scunthorpe, DN16 1DQ Kingston upon Thames, Bradford, BD14 6RE
DISTRICT GAMERS KT2 6LN
BURNLEY BOARD GAMERS TANELORN WAR GAMING CLUB Brackley, NN13 6LF SOUTH YORKSHIRE GAMING CLUB BRADFORD
Burnley, BB10 3LF London, E11 3DB BROTHERHOOD OF THE DICE REIGATE WARGAMES GROUP Bradford, BD1 2DX
THE PIT GAMING CLUB Barnsley, S75 1JR Reigate, RH2 0NA
BURNLEY WARGAMES CLUB THE ROLE PLAY HAVEN (STRATFORD) Wellingborough, NN9 5TU HALIFAX BOARD GAMERS
Burnley, BB10 3EU London, E15 2HU ROTHERHAM WARGAMES CLUB STAINES WARGAMES Halifax, HX1 1SJ
NOTTINGHAMSHIRE Rotherham, S60 1JE ASSOCIATION
DECKS & DICE THE ROLE PLAY HAVEN (LEWISHAM) K.I.A GAMES CLUB Egham, TW20 0QT KEIGHLEY TABLETOP COMBAT
Manchester, M25 1AY London, SE13 6LH Nottingham, NG17 8LA ROTHERHAM WARGAMES Keighley, BD20 6EB
SOCIETY STAY ON TARGET
DICED TEA MERSEYSIDE NOTTINGHAM BOARD & Rotherham, S60 1JE Woking, GU21 5BG OTLEY BOARD GAMERS
Oldham, OL1 2DB FORGEMASTERS GAMING CLUB WARGAMES CLUB Otley, LS21 2AU
Wirral, CH63 6HD Nottingham, NG2 1NB STEEL CITY WARGAMING SURREY GIRL GAMERS
DUNGEONS & FLAGONS Sheffield, S13 7LL Woking, GU21 4AL PENNINE RAIDERS
Manchester, M1 7HL LIVERPOOL LION BOARDGAMERS THE CLUB WITH NO NAME Halifax, HX3 6AW
Liverpool, L3 9NS Nottingham, NG2 1NB VAULT 14 SUTTON GAMES CLUB
ELWA: EAST LANCASHIRE Doncaster, DN1 3JU Sutton, SM1 1DT WILTSHIRE
WARGAMES ASSOCIATION MUTANT DICE GAMES WAR & PEACE GAMES CLUB BOSCOMBE DOWN & AMESBURY
Blackburn, BB6 7DD GAMING GROUP Nottingham, NG10 5BD ZONE OUT GAMES CLUB SWIGGERS WARGAMES CLUB
St. Helens, WA9 4TR Doncaster, DN1 2PX London, SE1 2TF Salisbury, SP4 7LN
FAN BOY THREE WILDSIDE GAMING
BOARDGAME NIGHT SOUTHPORT BOARD Newark, NG24 1ER STAFFORDSHIRE THE SOUTH LONDON CHIPPENHAM BOARD
Manchester, M1 1EL GAMES GROUP ALL ABOARD GAMING CLUB WARLORDS GAMES CLUB
Southport, PR8 1NH OXFORDSHIRE Stoke-on-Trent, ST4 1JB London, SE21 7BT Chippenham, SN15 3WL
GECKO GAMES CLUB ABINGDON WARGAMES CLUB
Accrington, BB5 3QW ST. HELENS BOARDGAMES, Abingdon, OX14 5AG CHASE WARGAMES CLUB THE WOKING WEIRD BOYZ DEVIZES & DISTRICT
ROLEPLAYING GAMES (B.O.R.G.) Burntwood, WS7 0JL Woking, GU22 7TA WARGAMES GROUP
HARLEQUINS BLACKPOOL St. Helens, WA10 5BF AMBROSDEN GAMING CLUB Devizes, SN10 5AD
Blackpool, FY1 3QA Bicester, OX25 2LZ LICHFIELD GAMERS AND RPG TOLWORTH 1ST FOUNDING
MID GLAMORGAN Lichfield, WS13 6EB Chessington, KT9 1PF WEDNESDAY KNIGHT GAMERS
HOUSE LANCASTER CAERPHILLY BOARD GAMERS BICESTER BOARD GAMERS Salisbury, SP1 3TA
GAMING GROUP Caerphilly, CF83 1AP Bicester, OX26 3HA STAFFORDSHIRE SUSSEX
Lancaster, LA1 1EE WARGAMING GUILD BRIGHTON WARLORDS WORCESTERSHIRE
CASTLE GAMERS BRIDGEND NORTH OXFORDSHIRE Stone, ST15 8TG Brighton, BN1 1UB BROMSGROVE BOARD GAMERS
PRESTON’S GAMERS GUILD Bridgend, CF35 6AU WARGAMING CLUB Bromsgrove, B60 2DZ
Preston, PR1 7DP Banbury, OX16 9AF TAMWORTH GAMES CLUB WARWICKSHIRE
MIDDLESEX Tamworth, B79 7DJ AFTERNOON PLAY PERSHORE GAMING
SALFORD AND MANCHESTER BATTLEUX WARGAMES CLUB OXFORD GAMING CLUB Birmingham, B15 1AY Pershore, WR10 1EQ
GAMING HAVEN Uxbridge, UB10 0RY Oxford, OX2 7DP TAMWORTH LIBERATORS
Salford, M8 0TW GAMING CLUB BOARD GAME CAFE POSTAL ORDER GEEK MEET
DICE CLUB OXFORD ON BOARD Tamworth, B77 3AE SUMMERFIELD Worcester, WR1 1DN
THE HUNGRY DRAGON Uxbridge, UB10 0RY Oxford, OX4 1EA Birmingham, B16 0EZ
GAMES NIGHT THE VINE INN GAMERS REDDITCH WARGAMING SOCIETY
Manchester, M21 0AE HESTON AND EALING OXFORD OUTRIDERS Rugeley, WS15 2AT BRAVO ONE GAMING Redditch, B97 5YE
WARGAMERS Oxford, OX1 2AU Birmingham, B1 1QP
THE LIVERPOOL WARGAMES London, W13 9SS TRITEX GAMES WORCESTER BOARD
ASSOCIATION (LWA) SHROPSHIRE Stafford, ST16 1BG DREAMDEALERS GAMING CLUB GAMERS (WOBOG)
Liverpool, L1 6HB LONDON ON BOARD BIG ORBIT GAMES Coventry, CV6 4FE Worcester, WR1 2DP
London, W1F 9LD SHREWSBURY STIRLINGSHIRE
THURSDAY SCYTHE Shrewsbury, SY1 1PH FALKIRK DISTRICT GRANGE LIVE GAMING WYRE FOREST GAMERS
BOARD GAMERS TABLETOP TUESDAYS WARGAMES CLUB Birmingham, B1 1QP Kidderminster, DY10 1RP
Liverpool, L3 8HE London, N16 8BX E-COLLECTICA GAMES Grangemouth, FK3 8QR
Shrewsbury, SY1 2DT NUNEATON ALTERNATIVE YORKSHIRE
LEICESTERSHIRE THE GAMES CLUB STIRLING WARGAMERS GAMES ASSOCIATION AIREBOROUGH
CHARNWOOD ROLE London, NW1 2JU GAMES @THE BIRD Stirling, FK8 1QJ Nuneaton, CV10 8LJ COMMUNITY GAMERS
PLAYERS GAMING CLUB Shrewsbury, SY1 2DT Leeds, LS19 6AS
Loughborough, LE12 8DT MIDLOTHIAN SUFFOLK OCTOBER WARGAMES
EDINBURGH LEAGUE OF GAMERS STAGS TELFORD BURY ST EDMUNDS BOARD ASSOCIATION BEYOND MONOPOLY
LEICESTER ALL SCARS Edinburgh, EH7 5EA WARGAMING SOCIETY GAMING GROUP Birmingham, B16 8SY York, YO24 1AQ
Leicester, LE1 3JR Telford, TF1 1LU Bury St. Edmunds, IP30 9LH
SOUTH EAST SCOTLAND SCIMITAR WARGAMES GROUP HEADINGLEY GAMES CLUB
LEICESTER PHAT KATZ WARGAMES CLUB TELFORD BOARDGAMERS CLUB HAVERHILL AREA BOARD Coventry, CV3 5GT Leeds, LS6 3HN
Leicester, LE3 0QY Edinburgh, EH7 4EW Telford, TF1 2BW GAME GROUP
Haverhill, CB9 8AU WEST MIDLANDS HOLMFIRTH GAMING CENTRE
SECTION 31 NORFOLK SOMERSET BIRMINGHAM WARGAMES Holmfirth, HD9 7HP
Leicester, LE1 1PA AFTERMATH GAMING CLUB BATH GAMING GROUP HAVERHILL WAR GAMES CLUB AND BOARDGAMES CLUB
Norwich, NR3 4HX Bath, BA2 6AA Haverhill, CB9 9JE AKA DRAGOON’S DEN HULL’S ANGELS
SONS OF SIMON Birmingham, B13 9EA Hull, HU1 3HG
DE MONTFORT KING’S LYNN RPG & MID SOMERSET IPSWICH BOARD GAMERS
Loughborough, LE12 8TX WARGAMES CLUB WARGAMES CLUB Ipswich, IP3 0FS PLAY MORE GAMES! LEEDS GAMING
King’s Lynn, PE30 4DN Wells, BA5 2PU Solihull, B90 3GG Leeds, LS1 3DL
THE LEICESTER WARGAMES IPSWICH COUNTY LIBRARY
AND FANTASY GROUP NORWICH BOARD GAMERS PIGMAR WARGAMING CLUB BOARD GAMES LIBRARY WEST SUSSEX LEEDS NIGHT OWLS
Leicester, LE3 0QU Norwich, NR2 4AL Bath, BA1 6AB Ipswich, IP1 3DE BOGNOR REGIS GAMING Leeds, LS6 1LJ
ASSOCIATION
LINCOLNSHIRE TAS GAMING CLUB THE FROME BOARD MID SUFFOLK GAMING CLUB Bognor Regis, PO21 5EU SHEFFIELD AND ROTHERHAM
BOSTON TABLETOP GAMERS King’s Lynn, PE34 4SJ GAMES CLUB Stowmarket, IP14 4SH WARGAMES CLUB
Boston, PE21 6QQ Frome, BA11 1PU BOGNOR REGIS MILITARY Sheffield, S2 2TP
NORTH YORKSHIRE WHITE EAGLES WARGAMES CLUB MODELLING AND
GRANTHAM FRIENDLY GAMERS SCARBOROUGH GAMES SOCIETY TRINITY WARGAMING CLUB Ipswich, IP2 0RG WARGAMING SOCIETY SHEFFIELD BOARD GAMES
Grantham, NG31 6LJ Scarborough, YO12 7BY Taunton, TA1 3JG Bognor Regis, PO21 5SB Sheffield, S3 7HG
SURREY
GRIMSBY WARGAMES SOCIETY YORK GARRISON WARGAMING CLUB WARGAMING @ RADSTOCK CROSS GAMING CLUB CRAWLEY GAMING CLUB SHEFFIELD WARGAMES SOCIETY
Grimsby, DN32 9HT York, YO32 4AQ Radstock, BA3 4BD London, SE1 7RW Crawley, RH10 5DF Sheffield, S8 0PS

tabletopgaming.co.uk 93
 stʼs
We
tu h st !
So rge op
The la el sh
d
mo

www.fromemodelcentre.com
E: sales@frome-model-centre.com

Independent, family run

model shop. Years of
experience and the most
diverse model collection all
under one roof!
Next day mail
service available
on all in stock
products!

• T: 01373 465295 • F: 01373 451468

1-2 Catherine Street, Frome, Somerset, BA11 1DA

READ TABLETOP GAMING

ON ANY DEVICE ANYTIME!

THE

FACTOR
X-Wing put us right in the cockpit of
SUMMER’S HOTTEST GAMES REVIEWED
WA R H A M M E R : A G E O F S I G M A R | S TA R S H I P S A M U R A I
Star Wars’ intense space battles – and M A S K S O F N YA R L AT H O T E P | L O W L A N D S | R A I D S + M O R E !
the experience was phenomenal. But its tabletopgaming.co.uk August 2018
creators were just getting started, as the
game’s biggest overhaul yet proves

INCLUDES
Words by Matt Jarvis | Images courtesy of Lucasfilm

I
t seems almost ludicrous to suggest today that
X-Wing was going to be anything but a huge
success. But six years ago, the idea of a Star
Wars tabletop game featuring pre-painted
would breathe much-needed life back into the
main Star Wars filmography and wash away
much of the sour taste left by the prequel trilogy
a decade before. Star Wars nostalgia lingered
Players certainly didn’t expect the one-two punch
of games delivered that year by Fantasy Flight, which
would go on to shepherd the Star Wars series to
a golden era of games. Eric Lang’s Star Wars: The
and highly customisable approach to building PLAY
modestly-sized squads of ships propelling it from X-WING 2.0 AT
being a dining-room table favourite among casual
players to a dominant presence in the organised
PATHFINDER | WESTERN LEGENDS | SUMMER’S HOTTEST GAMES

miniatures of the galaxy’s iconic vessels as it always had done, but the franchise’s future Card Game became one of the studio’s headline play scene. Its enduring popularity and

duking it out in space wasn’t such a sure bet.
“I think it’s safe to say that absolutely
nobody predicted how wildly popular X-Wing
would be,” confirms Alex Davy, co-designer of the
game’s second edition, which releases later this month.
After all, this was 2012. It would be another
three years until Episode VII, The Force Awakens,
appeared to largely rest on TV cartoon The
Clone Wars and Lego sets based on increasingly
obscure vehicles and locations. On the tabletop,
things were even worse, with years of forgettable
spin-offs and Monopoly and Risk reskins painting
a bleak picture for fans hoping to immerse
themselves in the universe.
living card games, with a passionate competitive
scene and wide-reaching exploration of the original
trilogy’s timeline; it continued to thrive until being
brought to a conclusion only earlier this year. It
was X-Wing, though, that would prove to be an
especially astonishing revelation, its approachable
modernisation of miniatures wargame strategy
MOBILE-FRIENDLY
tournament viability have since long outstripped
its designers’ original expectations.
“Six years [is] a long time for any miniatures PRE-ORDER YOUR TICKETS TODAY
game,” says Davy. “The core mechanics are simple
THETICKETFACTORY.COM
while allowing for a lot of strategy, but the way the
foundation of the game was built did not anticipate its TICKET HOTLINE
0844 338 0338
runaway success.”

24 September 2018 tabletopgaming.co.uk 25

EDITION –
024_031_xWing2_v3 MJ.indd 24
24
09/08/2018 11:46 024_031_xWing2_v3 MJ.indd 25
of 100 pages
tabletop 09/08/2018 11:46

GAMING
PATHFINDER:
SECOND EDITION
The fantasy RPG prepares to enter a
LEARNING

SAY GOODBYE TO
new era – but can it keep up with D&D?

EVOLVED
Games aren’t just fun – they can also
WESTERN
LEGENDS
help you boost your brainpower.
Professors and students tell us about Saddle up for an unforgettable
the cranium-cramming benefits of ride in the Wild West sandbox
Darwinian delight Evolution

ZOOMING!
GAMER’S
Words by Anna Blackwell

TRAVEL GUIDE
Everything you need to take
your hobby on holiday

RED ALERT THE MAKING OF

AUGUST 2018

Display until 30/8/18

Richard Borg blasts off his sci-fi

CAPTAIN SONAR
£5.25

successor to Commands & Colors

A deep dive into the party hit

44 February 2018

VISIT POCKETMAGS.COM
SHOP SPOTLIGHT

HEFFERS
Robyn Marsh ponders why paperbacks and cardboard make the perfect
pair as the Cambridge bookshop opens its expanded games department
Interview by Matt Jarvis

Heffers has been a bookshop for yonks. When –
and why – did you start offering games?  families started.
Our head of Heffers Games, Charlotte, has
been with the company for over 12 years and it
was her passion for board games that sparked
the boom in board game sales here.
About four years ago we started with a few
shelves of puzzles, Cards Against Humanity
and a small assortment of Eurogames. We
celebrated our first International Tabletop Day
in 2014 and had around 30 people – for this
year’s celebration we had over 160 turn up for
a full night of gaming.
Why do you feel that books and games make
such a suitable pairing?  community also has the rest of the shop to
Cambridge is an odd place that mixes the
old-fashioned and the cutting-edge of modern
on a daily basis. We detest cars and prefer
bicycles, we choose books over Kindles, and,
as we have found, board games and puzzles
over video games.
There is a strong sense of community here
both in and out of the university setting. Our
customers like any opportunity to sit down
and socialise and parents are especially
keen to see their children getting away from
computers and phones.
There is something immensely satisfying
and tactile about the physicality of board
games and this is something that applies to
books as well making them perfectly suited.
beginner sessions to get individuals and
You host twice-monthly games nights – what are
these like, and why are they important to hold?  grouping together two player, co-op and
The brilliant thing about our store is that it
has a lot of table space across two floors for
tabletop gaming.
Being able to offer games nights at Heffers
allows our community a chance to play games
before they commit to buying them, as well as
meeting a lot of likeminded people! Another
bonus is that we treat our games nights like
private events, so you can’t come in unless you
are here to play games. This means our games
themselves so they can browse our books and
music departments between games.
What other events do you organise for gamers? 
During our games nights we host a variety of
tournaments, launches, demos, classes and
playtests. We are very much community-led
on this and rely on our gamers getting in
touch when they are interested in certain
things happening.
We support local designers, too, and we
help to arrange everything from marketing to
table space on the night. Recent examples have
ranged from Warhammer miniature painting
classes to Star Wars X-Wing tournaments and
eight different RPGs on Free RPG Day.
Our biggest additions have been WizKids D&D
miniatures, Warhammer and our epic wall of
Chessex dice. We’ve also managed to separate
out games by category more effectively,
hidden-role games, making them easier to
browse and compare. Most importantly, our
staff has doubled too! We now have twice the
number of experts to help you out.
What games are you excited for in the rest of
2018 and 2019? 
Ooh, that is a very long list! Charlotte is a
massive Fallout fan so the new minatures game
[Wasteland Warfare] is top of her list. We are big
fans of legacy games here at Heffers so the new
Betrayal Legacy is eagerly awaited. We are also
super excited about Disney’s Villainous and the
Harry Potter Miniatures Adventure Game.
What are your future plans
when it comes to games?
Our future plans are all about continuing to
grow and connect with our community, being
able to offer great advice and host epic events.
Cambridge is a vibrant city and our unique
location in a bookshop means that we can be
total nerds over books as well as board games.

What games have been proving most popular What’s the local gaming community
for your customers lately?  like in Cambridge? 
Gloomhaven has been a must-have for Epic! We have a wonderful bunch of regular
us recently, and RPGs in general, too. We gamers and it has been really encouraging to see
have seen a huge increase in the interest more families getting involved with us lately, too.
for D&D books and miniatures since we
opened our new expanded department, so Your games department has just been given an
much so that we have begun offering D&D overhaul: what’s new? 

September 2018 tabletopgaming.co.uk 95

 5 ISSUES
FOR
JUST £5
SUBSCRIBE TODAY!
tabletopgaming.co.uk/mwg-subscribe
SUBSCRIPTION HOTLINE: 01778 392494
Then just £39.99 by annual direct debit thereafter (UK only). Full terms and conditions available online.
ONLINE

SHOP DIRECTORY
GUERNSEY

A new and exciting centre for many different types of

www.gamerznexus.com gaming in Guernsey. Come and discover for yourself
what’s in store and join in many events and activities!
Check out our SINGLES for Star Wars Destiny, Stockists of Board, Card, Computer, RPG & Video Games.
Dicemasters & MTG!
Unit 5, The Albany, St. Peter Port, Guernsey, GY1 1AE
We also offer a great selection of brand new Board Games, Card Games, Tel: 01481 712240 Facebook: Facebook.com/JustGamesGsy
RPG’s, Miniatures, Dice, Paints & Accessories www.justgamesgsy.co.uk
HERTFORDSHIRE ONLINE

ONLINE SOMERSET ONLINE

TO ADVERTISE
YOUR BUSINESS
COMICS & GRAPHIC NOVELS
TOYS & ACTION FIGURES
HERE
RPG & BOARD GAMES in the next issue
MAGIC THE GATHERING
GAMES WORKSHOP & WARHAMMER please call Cat on
Scotland’s leading online retailer YU-GI-OH & POKEMON
of speciality games. We offer a STAR WARS & DR. WHO
FUNKO POP! & KIDROBOT
01778 395059 or email
range of board games, collectable
card games, miniature games &
ALIENS & PREDATORS
NIGHTMARE BEFORE CHRISTMAS catherine.gray@
other gaming products. MOVIE MERCHANDISE
FIND US AT: & MUCH, MUCH, MORE! warnersgroup.co.uk
Red Dice Games
MUM’S FAVOURITE SHOP
@RedDiceGames
reddicegames

reddicegames.com

Sign up to receive our FREE newsletter!

Get the latest news, reviews and updates from Tabletop Gaming by email.
Including popular competitions, special offers and much more!

www.tabletopgaming.co.uk
 12
1 11
2

10
9
3

8
4

5 7
6

DOWNFALL

D
ownfall is a vertical game that uses
gravity as its main gaming mechanic –
and it does it very well, making it one of
the classic MB games. Milton Bradley
was formed in 1860 in Massachusetts
and produced some of its best-known family games
throughout the ‘60s and ‘70s, many of
which are still very popular today.
Downfall is instantly recognisable from
its safe-cracking-style game board. It’s
a two-player race game to see who can
get their counters from the hopper at the
top to the tray at the bottom first. You
might think such a simple premise would
involve little strategy but this game can get
tense, and players with good poker-style
bluffing technique will do well.
Players take it in turns to rotate one of
five dials, each different in size and layout,
to pass their counters down through
the board. Basic strategy is provided
by choosing when to set your counters
on their journey and pre-setting dials
further down the line to receive them.
This is, of course, interrupted by your
opponent as both players share control of
the dials. They connect through the board
so that turning your dials also turns your
opponent’s. This counteraction is the cause of some and ignoring mine as I can see where mine are. Here
frustration when your plans are ruined often without a bluffing is required to ensure your opponent cannot
deliberate action on the part of your opponent. track you. You can turn a single dial per move for as
The interesting part of Downfall is in the design of long as you like; you can use this to collect and drop
the board and the placement of the slots that hold your counter and then reset the dial’s position in a
the counters. The slots are offset on each side so that place that is either beneficial to you or problematic for
when your counter is perfect aligned your opponent’s your opponent. Sometimes in turning your dial you
counter will usually be in some dead space. Sometimes will assist your opponent, and this can lead to fast dial-
the alignment is tantalisingly close to releasing your rotating in the hope that their counter won’t drop. Words Phil Robinson
Phil Robinson is a game
counter but it doesn’t quite drop out. Sometimes your Downfall is a classic and a great casual party game. historian and the founder
opponent will unwittingly drop your counter in the The old original design can be a bit clunky at times of the Museum of Gaming,
right place for you. – the dials wear in but never appear to line up any an organisation that
Once you have played a lot of Downfall you start to better, sometimes there seems to be no reason for a explores and documents
remember the paths through, and by keeping track of counter to not fall out but it just sits there. The game is the history of gaming
through its collections,
your opponent’s moves can work out what they are still for sale and remains very popular having recently
exhibitions and research.
trying to achieve. I find myself memorising their layout received a radical redesign of the board.

98 September 2018 tabletopgaming.co.uk

 IN OCTOBER’S ISSUE
O N S A L E SEP T EMBER 2 8 T H

HALLOWEEN
SPOOKTACULAR!
BETRAYAL LEGACY
Rob Daviau returns to the House on the
Hill with the most shocking haunts yet

ARKHAM HORROR:
THIRD EDITION
The original Lovecraftian board game
– as you’ve never seen it before

AXIS & ALLIES

& ZOMBIES
The undead have invaded World War II!
Hop in a chainsaw tank and carve your
way to the heart of a reborn classic

THE WALKING DEAD:

HERE’S NEGAN
The comic book’s horrifying villain joins a
bloody fight for survival and reputation

FREE
THE LOST EXPEDITION
PROMO CARD
 WILL YOU CLAIM
THE IRON THRONE?
A Song of Ice & Fire: Tabletop Miniatures Game brings
the epic battles, political intrigue, and iconic characters
of George R.R. Martin’s critically-acclaimed novels to the
tabletop. Utilizing beautiful, pre-assembled models and
unit trays, command the armies and heroes of Westeros’
great Houses as they fight for the Iron Throne over
multiple, unique game modes.

AVA I L A B L E N O W !

www.cmon.com CMONGames

coolminiornot CMONGames

TM & ©2018 Dark Sword Miniatures, Inc. TM CMON Global Limited.

A Song of Ice and Fire are © and tm George R.R. Martin. Used with permission.