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 JUNE
p004.indd 1 17/05/2017 12:15
 IN THIS ISSUE
06 NEED TO KNOW 63 NOT JUST A GAME
The latest news from Tackling serious issues using
around the world of gaming. gaming in The Journey.

10 FIRST TURN 64 ULTIMATE GAMING ROOM

WELCOME
Philippe Keyaerts revisits Step into our tabletop paradise.
Small World forebear Vinci.
67 THE BEZ OF TIMES
12 MY FAVOURITE GAME We meet the innovative
Cry Havoc creator Grant party game designer.
So, we’re here: the 11th year of UK Games Expo, which also means the second Rodiek sets sail with Libertalia.
anniversary of Tabletop Gaming. It’s been quite a ride and a lot’s changed – we’ve 68 THAT’S THE SPIRIT
gained a new editor (me!) and jumped up to being a bi-monthly magazine in 14 KICKSTARTING Exploring the occult on the
the last year alone – but we’re only going from strength to strength. Whether FROM SCRATCH tabletop with tarot and Ouija.
this is your 10th issue of TTG or your first (of many, we hope), that’s all thanks Following Art Deck from
to you, your passion and support. To say thanks, we’ve got loads of exciting concept to crowdfunding. 70 RETURN TO ATLANTIS
things planned for the future, including a WORLD EXCLUSIVE character card Rick Lane tries to Escape
for The Walking Dead: All Out War in August’s issue that you won’t be able to get 16 TEN OF THE BEST from Atlantis 35 years on.
anywhere else – ever. How exciting! Make sure you subscribe by July 18th latest Budget games for under £10.
to bag your copy. So you’re not sat twiddling your thumbs in anticipation, this PLAYED
issue is crammed with loads and loads of exciting features and reviews, from our 18 ROLE CALL 76 GLOOMHAVEN
massive cover article on Exploding Kittens follow-up Bears John Dodd takes a look at 80 DARK SOULS
vs Babies and a bumper special look at pro tabletop the latest RPG releases. 82 GREAT WESTERN TRAIL
gamers, including interviews with world champions 86 RUNEWARS
at X-Wing, Magic, Catan and more, to reviews of the 20 ALL THE JAHRES 91 WATSON & HOLMES
latest and greatest games you should be picking up James Wallis revisits the 92 YAMATAI
over the summer. Here’s to another two years! Consulting Detective. 94 UNLOCK!

Matt ON THE
COVER
22 PARTY ANIMALS
Exploding Kittens
mastermind Elan Lee on furry
95 EXIT: THE GAME
97 CONSULTING DETECTIVE:
JACK THE RIPPER
98 TAK
Matt Jarvis follow-up Bears vs Babies. 101 CAPITAL
103 MAGIC MAZE
Editor 28 HITTING THE SPOT 104 PLAGUE INC
We catch up with film 107 DIPLOMACY
wizards Weta as they prepare 108 SHAHRAZAD

Contact us... to battle Giant Killer Robots.

33 AN INTRODUCTION TO...
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 NEED TO
KNOW...
LOOKING RAD
While video games arriving on the tabletop
is about as common as breathing nowadays,
we were pleasantly surprised to hear that
legendary post-apocalyptic RPG series
Fallout will be the next virtual creation to make
the leap to the physical world.
What might surprise you is that Fallout:
Wasteland Warfare won’t just be another
board or card game; it’s actually a fully-fledged
32mm-scale miniatures wargame from Achtung!
Cthulhu and Mutant Chronicles outlet Modiphius.
Running on a brand new game system,
Wasteland Warfare will be based on the entire
20-year-old PC and console franchise, not
just the latest entry, 2015’s Fallout 4.
As well as traditional player-versus-
player skirmishes, the game will support
GREEN WITH ENVY… OR SOMETHING ELSE
Eric Lang’s Blood Rage follow-up Rising
Sun recently ousted Zombicide: Black
Plague from the top of Cool Mini or
Not’s list of Kickstarter success stories,
but the publisher already has plans to
break its own record again with a sequel
to the standalone fantasy-themed
zombie-killing spin-off.
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006_009_news_v2 MJ.indd 6
co-op and solo play over a set of story-
driven missions, as players venture out
into the irradiated remains of America with
crews of up to 30 models.
Modiphius has already shown off some
of its resin figures for the game, including
deathclaws, heavily armoured Brotherhood
of Steel soldiers, human wastelanders and
floating eyebots. There’s even a Nuka Cola
vending machine, plus buildings and scenery
from the Red Rocket to Sanctuary Hills.
Before you roll your eyes and sigh ‘Urgh,
another Kickstarter’, know that the game will
be heading straight into shops without even a
whiff of crowdfunding and should be out this
autumn. If we’re not already living in a nuclear
warfare nightmare in real life by then, that is.
Zombicide: Green Horde will once
again pit players against an attacking
army of undead fantasy creatures,
including brand new infected orcs and
goblins that lend their hue to the title
and are said to be stronger than their
fellow human brain-munchers.
Plague the defending
As in Black Plague,
survivors will have medieval weaponry
and magical incantations at their
disposal as they try to fend off the CHAOS IN KENT
onslaught. Black Plague’s expansion, One of the UK’s biggest and best online games
Wulfsburg added zombie wolves and
Wulfsburg, retailers, Chaos Cards, has opened a real-life shop
towers to climb. down in Folkestone, Kent.
Black Plague racked up nearly At 4,000 square feet, the location has got a fair bit
$4.1 million on Kickstarter back in of space to check out the latest releases and try some
2015, and remained Cool Mini for yourself from a library of playable titles. There's
or Not’s most-funded campaign also the chance to buy food and drink – meaning you
(and the fourth most-funded don’t even need to leave to eat until you’re eventually
tabletop game on Kickstarter) turfed out at closing time.
until Rising Sun picked up Chaos Cards has said it will hold regular
$4.2 million earlier this year. tournaments and events in the brick and mortar outlet,
The Green Horde Kickstarter is and kicked off its opening with a day-long celebration
set to begin at the end of May, so it featuring Magic and Pokémon tournaments, plenty of
should still be running by the time you board games and some miniatures action in the form
read this. of Runewars, Guild Ball, X-Wing and Test of Honour.
Men of Mayhem
R
&
GRIM BASTARDS &
£
CALAVERAS CLUB
EXPANSIONS
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CUT THE AIR WITH A SCYTHE
If you’re a regular reader, you’ll know
that Scythe was one of our very
favourite games of last year – and, in
fact, we even felt it could well be one of
the best games we’ve ever played.
It might seem almost impossible for
us to lavish more praise upon Jamey
Stegmaier’s fabulous mech-filled
alternate-history strategy epic, but newly-
SEEING RED pieces of information they can
believe and whom they can trust.
Cold War paranoia has never
announced second expansion The Wind The glasses themselves
looked as geek chic as it does
Gambit may have us doing just that. look like the vivid red and
in Red Scare, a new social
That’s because The Wind Gambit’s blue specs you used to get in
deduction game that makes
headline feature is the introduction of cinemas to watch 3D movies
use of some fabulously lo-fi
airships to Scythe’s world. Real, honest- back in the early noughties –
decoder glasses to allow some
to-goodness zeppelins represented by rather than the cool black-
players to read secret codes
whopping 8cm-long models that will be rimmed sunglasses you get
written on its cards.
able to float freely over the map, making today – only with just red
Most of the players are FBI
it easier to immediately expand outside lenses. (Although, strangely,
spies attempting to sniff out
of your starting island. the frames are still split
the hidden communist double
The rules for the airships are based between red and blue.)
agents that have infiltrated their
on a fan-made module created by Kai Glasses or not, the game
ranks in order to deport them.
Starck, and include the use of two itself is a looker, thanks to
Only half of the players have
randomly-drawn tiles to define passive the wonderful illustrations
decoder glasses, so the spies
and aggressive traits for all of the of The Gallerist and Vinhos
must carefully work out which
factions’ vessels. artist Ian O’Toole.
If that wasn’t enough, the pack There’s no elimination,
will add resolutions, which modify the thankfully, and matches will
way the end of the game is triggered, last up to around half an hour
meaning that earning a sixth star isn’t with up to 10 players.
always the finale. Machi Koro and
The Wind Gambit is due out at Dinosaur Island outlet
Essen this October, with Stegmaier Pandasaurus, which is
also teasing a separate ‘big empty box’ publishing the game,
accessory for Scythe to accommodate says it’ll be out in
those gloriously ample airships. August or September
this year.

FOURTY THOUSAND (AND THIRTY)

If you’re of a certain age – particularly an age where you
remember gluing and painting tiny plastic space marines
as a teenager – prepare yourself, because the following
news may trigger sudden feelings of nostalgia and
oldness: Warhammer 40,000 is 30 years old this year.
To celebrate its sci-fi universe hitting three decades
on the clock, Games Workshop has announced a brand
new edition of the storied miniatures wargame that looks
set to overhaul the title with revised rules more in line
with its fantasy sibling Age of Sigmar.
Described as a ‘fresh start’ for the series, the upcoming
version will feature a sleeker ruleset that encourages
faster matches and supports open, narrative and matched
play, including a points system for use in tournaments.
If you already have an collection of figures hidden
away somewhere – which seems likely if you were born
sometime in the last 40 or so years – don’t worry, as
existing armies made up of both Games Workshop and
Forge World models will be compatible with the new
systems. What will be losing support is the current range
of 40,000 codexes, which you’ll need to track down before
they go off sale if you want to maintain them as a record.
The core rules will be released for free, with the
publisher promising ‘several options’ when it comes to
hunting down the books needed to play. The rules will
be updated and evolved annually in response to player
feedback, in a manner similar to Age of Sigmar.
In terms of narrative, the latest edition will continue
some of the arcs from the current iteration of 40,000, as
well as introducing new story strands.
Warhammer 40,000’s new edition will be out soon,
with a starter box promised.

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006_009_news_v2 MJ.indd 7 19/05/2017 15:23

 NEED TO KNOW...

SHERIFF OF NOTTINGHAM CATCHES MERRY MEN

Sheriff of Nottingham is a brilliant
play on the legend of Robin Hood
and an ace little game of bluffing
that is close to our hearts – yet, for
some reason, it’s never received
an expansion in the three years
since its release. Until now.
The first thing to say about
the Merry Men box is that it adds
support for a sixth player, which
is lovely enough on its own. What
makes it even more lovely is that it
introduces several new gameplay
variants that can be mixed into the
base game as you see fit.
This includes the chance to
play with two deputies in place of
the sheriff when running with the
full six people. The deputies can
work together to search bags or
allow players through, splitting the
subsequent benefit or punishment
when they agree or ending up with
just one gaining (or losing out) if
the decision is split.
Another fresh addition are
laws, which can be implemented
each round by the sheriff to shake
up the tactics required by the
other players.
The black market consists of
an extra set of cards that display a
specific illegal good. The first person
to smuggle the good depicted in
successfully picks up the cards,
claiming a big cash bonus.
A similar rule applies to the special
orders, which show both legal and
illegal goods; smuggling both in at
the same time nabs the reward.
Finally, the Merry Men mode
adds in members of Robin Hood’s
gang who can be smuggled to
unlock special powers.
Merry Men will be out this August.

BRAIN GAMES Hive and Castles of Mad King Ludwig also

It’s a well-known side effect of games that, as
well as being loads of fun to play, they’re not
bad for your noggin, either.
To this end, the brainboxes at high IQ
society Mensa have picked out five of their
favourite games for the last 17 years and
awarded them with the lauded Mensa Select
badge, reflecting not only their grey matter
goodness but their entertainment value and
replayability, too.
Past winners have included firm family
favourites such as Trivial Pursuit and Taboo,
with modern classics Magic: The Gathering,
recognised by the votes of hundreds of
Mensa members.
The five games to make this year’s cut
were magical co-op deckbuilder Harry Potter:
Hogwarts Battle; fellow deckbuilder Clank!,
which follows a group of thieves trying to
keep quiet as they steal from a dragon
Hobbit-style; another book-inspired pick,
Around the World in 80 Days; potion-brewing
memory test Amalgam; and Imagine, a
fast-paced party game where players must
communicate given topics using little more
than transparent cards with series of icons on.

pits two teams of humans against each other in a

THIS PARTY IS UNDEAD
Dead of Winter is returning with a brand new
expansion – and this time it’s the living you’ll be
wanting to fear.
Unlike the previous add-on for Jon Gilmour and
Isaac Vega’s dice-rolling zombie-killing hit, The
Long Night, Warring Colonies won’t be a standalone
spin-off – you’ll actually need both the original box
and The Long Night to play both of the new modes
included alongside a host of new cards.
It sounds like it will be worth the investment,
though, as the eponymous gameplay variant
expands the player count from five up to 11 and
battle of survival against the undead.
Each side will need to work together to complete
shared joint-colony crisis cards, but will also have
their own unique objectives and will need to fight
for control of the locations using a new combat
system that involves tactics cards, bullet tokens
and the use of a 12-sided dice.
The teams will take their turns at the same time,
hurried along by an included sand timer.
The second module can be played alongside also completing missions that impact both sides
the Warring Colonies mode, introducing a lone of the conflict.
wolf character who acts as a team on their own, As we write this, there’s no word on when Warring
having their own den and personal quests while Colonies will be out – hopefully as soon as possible!

IN BRIEF OVER 6,000 GAMES HAVE NOW BEEN CROWDFUNDED ON KICKSTARTER

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Must end 30 June 2017

006_009_news_v2 MJ.indd 8 19/05/2017 15:23

 FIGHTING BACK PAPERBACK GOES HARDBACK
Seminal choose-your-own-adventure book series Fighting
We love, love, love Tim as it’s set during the
Fantasy turns 35 years old this year, so book publisher
Fowers’ deckbuilding 19th century – the age of
Scholastic has decided to republish five of the classic
take on the word-building Austen, Dickens, Brontë,
titles to mark the occasion.
genre Paperback, so we Byron and other names
As well as re-releasing the books, which will include the
were overjoyed to hear the you’ve heard of and
iconic story The Warlock of Firetop Mountain, in August,
news that the designer is pretend you’ve read.
the firm will also be publishing a brand new entry in the
creating a follow-up to the As in Paperback, the
series penned by original Fighting Fantasy co-creator
card game with the perfect idea is to make words using
Ian Livingstone, who also co-founded Games Workshop
name: Hardback. the selection of letter cards
alongside Steve Jackson.
Hardback is technically in your hand. Only this time,
Livingstone’s fresh instalment will be called The Port of
a prequel to Paperback, there’s no central market
Peril and will take readers around the world of Allansia in a
from which you purchase with wild cards and make
hunt for treasure, with the teased return of a ‘terrifying old
cards. Instead, there’s every card a wild by placing
foe’ lurking in the background.
a new push-your-luck it facedown.
The partnership has also teased future releases for next
mechanic involving A co-operative mode
spring, but it’s not clear whether this will be revived books
the use of ‘ink’, was unlocked as part
from the past or brand new volumes.
which can be of the game’s almost
Also due out in August is the digital adaptation
used to draw $300,000 Kickstarter, with
of three of the stories – City of Thieves, Citadel of
extra cards but stop Fowers also promising
Chaos and Firetop Mountain – in the form of PC and
players from spelling to put out an expansion
mobile app Fighting Fantasy Legends, which features
words if they overuse to Paperback during the
deckbuilding and dice-rolling mechanics and has been
it. Another minor change campaign. Hardback will
developed by Nomad, the studio behind the digital port
is the decision to do away be out this October.
of Talisman.

CRACKING NEWS, GROMIT

There are few British on-screen
creations as widely loved or as,
well, British as plasticine pair
Wallace and Gromit, so news of a
brand new tabletop game based
on the adventures of the cheese-
loving inventor and his mute
mutt has us excitedly scoffing
gorgonzola and crackers.
The currently untitled project
is being developed by Shear
Panic and Snow Tails designer-
publishers Gordon and Fraser
Lamont, better known as Fragor
Games, who posted a picture
of them stood next to life-size
models of Wallace, Gromit and
Shaun the sheep at the studio of
Aardman Animations.
What the game will consist of
is currently unclear, but what’s
intriguing is that the Lamonts
previously hinted at being offered
the opportunity to work with the
Wallace & Gromit licence way
back in 2010 and decided not to
take it any further at the time. The
same post, made last October,
also hinted that the game would
soon be heading to Kickstarter.
The last official Wallace &
Gromit game was 2011 TV
show tie-in Rocket Race. The
Lamonts promised that – despite
the immediate suggestions of a
rebranded Shear Panic – their
title would be completely different
from their previous releases.

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HISTORY & CONQUER
THE ARCTIC

006_009_news_v2 MJ.indd 9 19/05/2017 15:23

 FIRST TURN
PHILIPPE KEYAERTS
The Belgian empire-builder (and destroyer) on his debut title Vinci: the
game that would later evolve into the planet-conquering Small World
Interview by Dan Jolin

“The first BACKGROUND

“About 20 years ago, I was working in the computer
HOW TO PLAY
“The idea is you get not one civilisation, but several.
thing I’d say science department at Brussels University when
I began to think about Vinci. I had made some
In general, in civilisation games you have one tribe,
one empire, from start to end. But in real history even
to anyone prototypes of other games, but Vinci was the first
‘real’ game – it was a game, not just an idea. Though
big empires fall. So each player develops their empire,
which has a special power that’s different from all the
designing I wasn’t thinking about publishing it; I just wanted to
make a game.”
others, but it will eventually die. So they then take
a new one. It’s basically the same system as Small
their first COMPONENTS
World. When I designed Small World, I worked anew
but from the same base – with a fantasy setting in
game is: “I have five siblings, so we played a lot of board games
when I was a child, but I stopped when I moved to
mind, and a younger audience.”

don’t forget Brussels to study mathematics. Then, from 1992, I

discovered what we call the ‘German school of games’
you have to and I began playing Acquire – though it’s not really
a ‘German’ game, but an ancestor – and Full Metal
enjoy it.” Planète, which is a big-box science-fiction game. Also,
of course, I played Civilization. During my research I
found and played History of the World, a game where
you have a tribe for one turn and then you move on,
and Britannia. But neither of them was designed how
I would have designed them.”
OBJECT
“I began with this idea of the raising and dying of
empires. And then I started on the mechanism. The
decline mechanism had to feel natural, rather than
forced by history. Like, ‘if you are a Roman, you must
have three turns and then you go into decline’ – I
didn’t want this. So I worked a lot on the mechanism.
Imagine a drop of oil, falling in slow motion to the
ground. It spreads larger and larger, but also thinner
and thinner. That was it. I just had to translate it into a
board space and a bunch of counters!”
END OF THE GAME
“Vinci is the game that started it all for me, so it’s my
baby. I still love it. Okay, now I can see it’s not perfect.
Like the fact that you play until one player has 100
points: that doesn’t work well, because by the end of
the game one person is so much the leader the tension
falls. I prefer the fixed number of turns in Small World.”
STRATEGY TIPS
“The first thing I’d say to anyone designing their first
game is: don’t forget you have to enjoy it. That’s the
most important thing. I begin with a mechanism, but
even if something works on paper you have to be sure
it’s fun to play. Okay, fun is a very vague word; I mean
laughing, thinking, studying and co-operating. And
just try to make a game. Not a project to publish. The
first thing should be a game on the table, with players
enjoying it. And then the public will come after.” ■

■ Many of Vinci’s concepts
are echoed in Small World, but
the game features a race to 100
points instead of the later title’s
fixed number of turns.
SETUP
“There were water and mountain regions on the
first board. I painted it myself with watercolours.
And I put in some richer regions. But the problem
was everybody goes for these regions, so that
makes the game less interesting. So I began to
think about each player having their own agenda.
Some go for forest regions, some for hills and so
on. Then I began to design different powers for
each civilisation, which required a balancing
mechanism. That was very difficult.”

10

010_FirstTurn_V2 MJ.indd 10 19/05/2017 15:29

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 MY FAVOURITE GAME
GRANT RODIEK
The Hyperbole Games founder and designer of Cry Havoc, Hocus and
Farmageddon reveals why buccaneering title Libertalia is the pi-right pick for him

“Few games
A
fter you’ve been gaming heavily a few years it’s
tough to choose just one favourite game. But, it’s
make me not difficult to recognise Libertalia is always on my
very short list. It’s a pirate game, but after a single play the
laugh and theme fades away and all that’s left are five of your peers,
‘friends,’ each of whom think they know how to chase the
feel so clever win. Most of you are going to be incredibly wrong.
Libertalia beautifully merges three essential things I
in such a love about card games:
Interaction: It’s just as much about what your
short period opponents do as what you do, and the simultaneous
selection forces you to make a choice, then grin, smirk
of time.” or frown as a result. It isn’t filled with cheap interaction
or ‘take-that’ clichés. When I say ‘interaction,’ be not
afraid! But it is a game where you affect each other, and
I prefer that. After all, humans are the greatest prey.
A few miscalculations in Libertalia will leave you with
a pile of curse tokens. It’s hilarious. It’s mostly your
fault. Thankfully, you have another round to fix it.
Sometimes you are delighted at the schadenfreude of
seeing a friend having curses heaped upon her. Only to
watch her trade them in for a profit because she planned
for this contingency and played you all like fools.
It’s so good! Best of all, your success – or defeat – is
from a player’s hand, not arbitrary randomness spoon-
fed by the game.
Personalisation: Libertalia wouldn’t be so special if
it weren’t for its unique twist. It takes inspiration from
building a deck of cards, like in Magic: The Gathering,
or drafting a good hand, like in 7 Wonders, but twists it
just so to create something fresh and delightful.
Every round, players are dealt the same cards, but
every player must choose which six they play, in what
order, and which they save for future rounds. By the
end of the game, our branching paths collide as players
desperately wish they kept that high card or furiously
ponder who still has their monkey.
Cleverness: Libertalia is a game that rewards
instincts and the ability to manage the uncertain more
than planning a perfectly uneventful route. Things will
go badly, and you’ll need to deal with that. Things will
go well, and you’ll need to preserve your edge.
Some rounds are about avoiding the bad thing; in
others, you’re chasing that elusive third map. As a result
of our good fortunes, or bad, we often find ourselves
laughing hysterically like Dickensian street orphans
who’ve avoided the police. Libertalia rewards the witty
for finding the best path out of a bad day.
I’ve been playing Libertalia for years now. Even
though there are only 30 unique cards, the game
always surprises me. There is so much variety based
on what loot appears, in what order, and how the cards
are dealt. Every game you won’t even see seven of the
cards, plus how you and your opponents play the cards
you are dealt changes everything.
I sincerely think it’s a masterpiece of design. It’s just so
surprising and delightful. Few games make me laugh and
feel so clever in such a short period of time. Libertalia
inspires me constantly. I hope to make anything with
cardplay even remotely as sharp as the cutlasses on this
goofy set of pirate ships. Will Libertalia always have a
place on my shelf? To that, I merely answer: ‘Ayyye.’ ■

■ In Libertalia, players all have

the same cards but must try
to outwit their rival pirates by
playing them in the best order.

12

012_myFavouriteGame_V2 MJ.indd 12 19/05/2017 15:30

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p013.indd 1 17/05/2017 12:27

 KICKSTARTING
FROM SCRATCH
Holly Gramazio begins our new column following Art Deck from concept to
Kickstarter – and beyond – by introducing her team’s unique drawing game
“The biggest
T
here are a lot of really great drawing games around.
Pictionary, of course, and all its many
problem with derivatives. Pictomania, which sets its players
drawing and guessing frantically at the same time.
designing a A Fake Artist Goes to New York, with its wonderful
combination of communal drawing, deduction and
game about bluffing. Parlour games like Exquisite Corpse, or Eat
Poop You Cat (available commercially as Telestrations).
drawing is the In almost all of these games, the aim of the drawing
is to communicate something, well or badly as the
name: there case may be (usually badly), and the drawing itself is
just a means to that end.
are just so These are amazing games, and by providing
prompts about what to draw and an aim separate
many terrible from the process of drawing, they help people who
might be intimidated by drawing to just have a go,
puns to scrawl something out. But providing prompts is
only one of dozens of different ways that games can
choose from.” encourage players to be creative.
So when we were commissioned to make a game
for a party – the No Quarter gaming exhibition, run
by New York University’s Game Center – we thought:
‘Hey, it might be fun to explore some of those other
methods.’ It might be fun to make a drawing game
where the focus is completely on the drawing,
rather than a game that uses the drawing as a tool to
accomplish some other aim.
We could give people prompts about what to
draw. We could tell them how to draw, offering
extra challenges and constraints. We could get
them working together on a single drawing, so that
nobody would be totally responsible for one image,
■ Players have a go at Art Deck
at New York University’s No
Quarter gaming exhibition.
14
014_kickstartArtDeck_v2 MJ.indd 14
feeling bad if it doesn’t work out. We could use tricks
familiar from art classes (“...without opening your
eyes”, “...without lifting your pen from the paper”),
and combine them with awkward social demands
(“...while looking into another player’s eyes”, “...until
someone tells you to stop”).
Of course, the biggest problem with designing
a card game about drawing is the name: there are
just so many terrible puns to choose from. Luck of
the Draw. Draw Your Cards. Drawing Board, if it’s a
board game as well. Win, Lose or Draw (though that
one’s already taken).
We ended up with Art Deck, because we’re not
the best at naming things. (See also: our company is
called Matheson Marcault, which people can neither
pronounce, spell nor remember.) With the name out
of the way, the rest of the game fell into place.
We settled on a design where players add cards to
a sentence, and then follow the instruction that the
sentence gives them. The sentence has three parts – a
prompt (“draw something red”, “draw something you
can see”), an elaboration (“near the edge of the page”,
“from one side to another”, “messily”, “angrily”) and a
constraint to make it difficult (“while hiding under the
table”, “while balancing on one leg”, “while listing the
names of everyone you’ve ever kissed”). Players add
one card at a time, covering over a previous card and
then following the instruction – so the instructions
change slowly, and any given picture can have a very
different feel to other pictures from the same group
of players.
So, that’s all well and good. We had a game; we
polished the instructions; we playtested it, and
polished again, and changed, and playtested. We ran
it at No Quarter. We made some more changes.
But now what? There are hundreds of cards in
the game, plus drawing equipment, so it’s not very
well suited to print-and-play. It needs art materials
that are genuinely pleasurable to use, not small
pencils and marker pens, so traditional publishing
(with its focus on low production costs) seemed
like a bad route.
Huh. Well. Kickstarter it is, then. ■
In the next issue, we weigh up the benefits and
challenges of crowdfunding as Art Deck prepares
to make its Kickstarter debut
19/05/2017 15:31
 Plastic Napoleonic British Heavy Cavalry!

Our latest plastic releases for the Napoleonic Wars are the British heavy cavalry
of the Household and Union Brigades! Each set allows you to build a regiment
of 12 figures mounted atop big horses and ready to take the fight to (and through!)
the French.
The Household Brigade set will make the the red-jacketed 1st and 2nd
Lifeguards, and the blue-jacketed Horse Guards.
Head options allow you to field the 1st Royal Regiment of Dragoons, 2nd
Regiment of Dragoons (Royal Scots Greys), and the 6th Dragoons (the
Inniskillens) of the Union Brigade. These are also ideal for the fourth regiment in
the Household Brigade, the 1st Kings Dragoon Guards. Also included are bicornes
for the Peninsular campaign and the watering cap.
Command options for these sets are metal.
Trumpeter, sound the charge!

British Union Brigade plastic boxed set: £20 / $32

B
British Household Brigade plastic boxed set: £20 / $32
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T
TM Call our UK off
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fffice on: +44 (0) 115 978 0386 Visit our new store at Warlord Games HQ,
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(602) 445 6406 (Arizona time)
www.warlordgames.com

p015.indd 1 22/05/2017 09:50

 1 2
RED7
Taking the changing rules concept of
something like Fluxx (but with a greater
reliance on strategy than pure luck)
and applying it to the simple colours
and numbers design of Uno, Red7 is
a very easy game to pick up and play STAR REALMS
with a surprising amount of depth. Proof that cheap doesn’t mean
Each round, players can add to the set shallow, Star Realms is an
of cards they have in play or change excellent sci-fi deckbuilder
the current rules based on each card’s that pits two players against
colour – or both. Failing to achieve each other in fast-paced
the ‘winning’ rules in play means space combat. It’s simple
elimination, simple to understand, but there’s a
as that. Red7 can satisfying tactical depth to
be explained in the gameplay and universe as
about 30 seconds players purchase new bases and
and played in ships and boost their trade or
as little as five combat prowess in an attempt to
minutes, and can whittle their opponent’s authority
be fittingly picked down to zero. What’s even better
up for as little as is that the sets can be combined
£7 – a bargain, to support up to six players
given that you’ll and two-player matches can be
want to play again completed in 20 minutes, making
and again. it an ideal travel game, too.

10
T
abletop gaming can be an expensive
hobby, there’s no doubt. Keeping up
with the latest and greatest titles often
means making tough decisions about what
OF THE BEST…
BUDGET GAMES
available funds between a greater number
of smaller or older gems that you might’ve
missed? Sometimes life gets in the way, too –
an unexpected car bill or birthday can mean
your gaming experience; there are hundreds
of fantastic titles you can pick up for yourself
or give as a gift for the same price as a coffee
or trip to the cinema. We’ve picked out ten of
to spend your board game budget on each waiting a little longer to play the hot game our favourites that will leave you with change
month – do you drop nearly £100 on a brand that everybody’s talking about. But a limited from a tenner.
new blockbuster release, or try and split your budget doesn’t necessarily mean limiting Chosen by Matt Jarvis

4
RHINO HERO
There’s little more satisfying
than building a towering house
of cards – and little more
devastating than watching it all
come crashing down. Add in a
superhero rhinoceros and you have the recipe
for a seriously good time. The aim in Rhino
Hero is to take it in turns to grow a skyscraper
by placing roof and wall cards, almost like
reverse Jenga. Special cards allow you to
perform new actions, including moving the
titular animal to a new location in the tower

3
– but make sure his weight doesn’t make it
crumble! It’s an ace little game for the young
A GAME OF THRONES: and old alike, and a darn sight cheaper than
HAND OF THE KING many other – and inferior – kids’ games.
A well-known licence can push up the price of
otherwise compact games, but not in the case
of Bruno Cathala’s fun spin on the brutal world
of Game of Thrones. Featuring cartoon depictions of the cast,
Hand of the King sees players manipulating Varys around a grid
of cards to gain the support of the houses of Westeros, as well
as the powers of companions such as Jon Snow and The Hound.
It’s a snappy, mechanically solid game with enough thematic
dressing to offer a fulfilling half-hour – and you won’t have to lose
your hand (or arm) to get a copy.

16

016_017_tenOfTheBest_V2 MJ.indd 16 19/05/2017 15:31

 5 6
HANABI
A Tabletop Gaming team favourite, this Spiel des
Jahres winner’s gameplay is as bright, entertaining
and brief as its fireworks theme. Players are forced to
hold their cards outwards so they cannot see them
– but everyone else can – and must work together
to set off the perfect DOBBLE
arrangement of dazzling The perfect title to play
rockets. To do so is easy: with kids (who will probably
lay down each set of beat you thanks to their
coloured cards in order young brains), Dobble’s
from one to five. But it’s lightning-fast spot-the-match
harder than it sounds gameplay takes a one-note
when you can’t see what idea and transforms it into
you’re playing! Hanabi is a a gripping observation race.
wonderful little game with It proves to be much more
plenty of sparkle – and, intense and replayable than
unlike a box you might first expect thanks
of rockets, to the smart design – only
doesn't risk one symbol on each of the
setting your 50 cards is ever a match.
garden shed The portable diddly tin also
on fire. comes with suggestions for
a variety of different game
variants, too, giving it plenty
of long-term life.

7 8
TICHU
A more traditional alternative, Tichu is essentially a playing
card game (but with four extra cards) that blends together
elements of bridge and poker with Chinese climbing card
titles. The aim is to ditch all your cards by forming sets of
increasingly higher ranks, utilising the special powers of
unique combos or cards to score as many points as possible. You can
actually make a custom set using a couple of packs of playing cards, but
the official box will hardly break the bank and will last a lifetime.
NO THANKS
Another winning
combo of bright
colours, numbers
and minimalist
gameplay, No
Thanks is a neat filler game of resource
management and set collection. There’s
only one decision to make: keep a card
offered to you, and collect chips placed
on the card by players who refused it,
or don’t, paying a chip to pass it on.
Easy, right? Only the choice becomes
a complex dilemma because you want
as low a score as possible by the time
the deck runs out – so picking up high-
scoring cards is bad, but chips take away
points. We should add No Thanks’ title is
a little politer than some of the phrases
normally heard while playing – but
despite how it sounds, it’s a guaranteed
hit among friends and strangers alike.

93 WISHES
The most wallet- and
purse-friendly game on
this list, 3 Wishes is an
adorable card game that
plays in under five minutes
and costs about as much
as a sandwich. Each player
has three cards, with two
left facedown on the table.

10
Each turn, players can
swap or sneak a look at a
card, aiming to collect a set LOVE LETTER
of three matching wishes A common sight in our '10 of the Best' lists, Love Letter is a
(hence the name). That’s perfect icebreaker or filler game, taking very little time to setup,
about it! The gameplay is as explain and play – but offering a massive amount of enjoyment
stripped back as it comes, and social kindling thanks to its tight deduction and decision-
but it’s more than worth a making core. You can pick up the original for well under £10
few quid and a couple of or – we’re cheating a bit here – invest a little more if one of the
minutes of your time. many, many themed spin-offs out there catches your fancy.

17

016_017_tenOfTheBest_V2 MJ.indd 17 19/05/2017 15:38


As summer arrives, we look ahead to some of the roleplaying releases
on their way – as well as recent crowdfunding success stories
Words by John Dodd
R
ight on top of UK Games Expo and not
close enough for the Gen Con release
schedule, this month we’re looking at
some of the newer releases both on Kickstarter
and out in the digital realm.
Age of Anarchy is an interesting take on
the Dark Ages where you play the vassals of
a low-ranking noble who is seeking to rise
up in society. Rather than the normal sort of
RPG where the players take centre stage, this
game has the group working using less obvious
methods to secure their own positions on the
018_019_RollCall_v2 MJ.indd 18
stage of history. Age of Anarchy is ideal for
those looking for a change from the regular
magic and mayhem.
After working on the project for several
years, Sean Smith has put the finishing touches
to Exuviae: Relics of House of Dragonfly, an
imaginative look at noir-style games set in an
unnamed bayside city in the 1940s. This game
has the added twist of the city being under the
control of an insect cult, reminiscent of the
Bug City scenarios of Shadowrun. Using a deck
of cards to invoke the nature and feel of the
18
world, Exuviae allows the GM to easily build
scenarios that have both style of the period
and unseen darkness within them.
From Onyx Path Publishing comes
the Chronicles of Darkness: Dark Eras
Companion. This book details eleven new eras
for Chronicles of Darkness, from Ancient Rome
through to the Russian Revolution. It includes
new ideas for supernatural creatures native to
those periods, as well as additional material to
help in getting the feel for the eras correct.
Several years ago, Eclipse Phase changed
the face of sci-fi roleplaying, and now a second
edition of the title has made it through Kickstarter.
Combining all the lessons learned over the course
of the first edition and including new art and
systems, the new version looks to be every bit
as groundbreaking as the original. The physical
volume is scheduled for October this year.
Another old favourite getting the remake
treatment is Talislanta. Recently funded on
Kickstarter, the new edition is not a sequel but
a prequel, detailing the world as it was just
after 'the Great Disaster', when civilisation was
just starting to be rebuilt after the destruction
of the world before. Available as a world book
with several different rules settings, it will be
out in September of this year and, best of all,
there are still no elves.
Finally, from Monte Cook comes Expanded
Worlds for the Cypher system, with new
equipment, rules, character options and foci
to work with the already expansive framework.
It also includes a number of new creatures to
use in encounters and expanded guidelines on
how to run games in any different world. ■
22/05/2017 14:51
 “Rather than
the normal
sort of RPG
where the
players
take centre
stage, Age
of Anarchy
has the group
working using
less obvious
methods to
secure their
own positions
on the stage
of history.”

19

018_019_RollCall_v2 MJ.indd 19 22/05/2017 14:51


James Wallis replays the winners of the Spiel des Jahres in order
Number of players: 1-8 | Playing time: 60-120 minutes | Worthy winner? Absolutely
Worth playing now? Absolutely | Availability: Brand spanking new edition | Price: £37.99
T
he early 1980s were a turbulent,
interesting time for games. Abstracts
were giving way to themed games,
the influence of D&D, Star Wars and home
computers had made fantasy and sci-fi
into big elements, and the roots laid down
in the 1970s were starting to produce the
shoots that would grow into today’s verdant
industry. Then we hit 1985.
You’re reading TTG, which means you’re
part of the games cognoscenti. You’re smart,
and informed, and probably attractive and
well-dressed too. You know your tabletop.
020_021_allTheJahres_v2 MJ.indd 20
ALL THE JAHRES
Title: Sherlock Holmes: Consulting Detective | Year of win: 1985
Designers: Raymond Edwards, Suzanne Goldberg and Gary Grady
You’ve almost certainly heard of Sherlock
Holmes: Consulting Detective, and there’s a
good chance you’ve played it. What you won’t
appreciate is how completely out of left field
Consulting Detective was in 1981, the year it
was originally released. It was completely sui
generis. Groundbreaking. Unique. Until very
recently, it still was.
Sherlock Holmes: Consulting Detective is a
game of ten interlinked cases in which you, as
the Baker Street Irregulars, must race against
the great detective to identify the culprits and
discover their motives and methods. It’s a bit
like a solo gamebook, except those wouldn’t
take off for another couple of years. It bears
similarities to the How to Host a Murder
boxsets of dinner mysteries, but they didn’t
appear until 1985. I’ve heard it compared to
Tales of the Arabian Nights, only Consulting
Detective is more elegant and came out four
years earlier. It’s a co-op game almost a
decade before there were co-op games. It’s
sort-of an RPG but with no GM or character
sheets, or dice. And there are arguments that
it’s the grandparent of legacy games, which
wouldn’t arrive for another 25 years.
It’s hard to explain how extraordinary
this mix of new elements was. I remember
20
staring at the box in a shop on Oxford Street,
trying to understand what this thing was,
and failing. If you were expecting a game
of moving a pawn round a board collecting
evidence cards, this wasn’t that. If the only
whodunit game you’d played was Cluedo,
this would blow your mind.
Mechanically it’s not a sophisticated game,
and you could say it’s not really much of a
game at all. On the other hand it is a superb
series of interactive mysteries. Each case
begins with Holmes laying out the basics
of the crime and giving you some pointers,
including at least one red herring. After that
you’re on your own, armed only with a map
of London, a street directory and a copy of
Times. As a group you choose where you
The Times
want to go or whom you want to question,
look up their location in the directory, turn
to that paragraph in the case file, and read
out the text that follows. It’s usually quite
a lot of text – atmospheric and believably
Holmesian, but long.
Some location-visits or suspect-
questionings will open up other leads
in the form of new places and people,
which you’re then able to investigate.
You can also make jumps of logic: a letter
addressed to Such-and-Such Street? Why
not check the map to see who lives there
and pay them a visit? A story in The Times
may mention something related, or you
can visit a long list of Holmes’ friends and
associates, who may help or may waste
your time. When you think you know
what’s happened, you return to Holmes
and he tells you how wrong you are. It’s
not known as ‘‘Sherlock Holmes: Insulting
Detective’ for nothing.
Detective
The structure is clever, but it’s
not complex. You can’t revisit a
location and look for new details,
or re-question a witness or
suspect once you’ve found new
information about them. You will
need to keep extensive notes, and make
guesses and deductions. Hard evidence
and proof of guilt are rare. If reading
out long sections of text (which in the
Ystari edition is in a horrible script font,
19/05/2017 15:40
 anachronistic, hard to read and not free of
typos) doesn’t sound like fun, you’re not
going to enjoy this.
Perhaps it’s unsurprising that a game as
far ahead of its time as Sherlock Holmes:
Consulting Detective wasn’t a smash hit
when it first came out. It was expensive and
didn’t fit any obvious marketing categories
except gamers who were also Conan Doyle
fans. There were a few expansions, a few
foreign editions and a hard-boiled version
called Gumshoe, but by the early 1990s the
English edition of Consulting Detective was
languishing in obscurity. It remained there
for almost 25 years until French publisher
Ystari tracked down its surviving creators and
undertook the labour of love of putting a new
edition together.
Their diligence has been rewarded and
the game is now hailed for all the qualities
the Spiel des Jahres jury recognised in it
30 years ago. It’s a modern classic: aged
but, like a bottle of fine port, still capable
of creating a memorable evening, even if
you may not remember all the details in
the morning. ■
Next issue: 1986 winner Heimlich & Co.
James Wallis is a games designer and director
of the games consultancy Spaaace.
■ Opposite: The 1981 Sleuth Publications edition
of Sherlock Holmes: Consulting Detective.
(David (antodek on BoardGameGeek))
■ Above: The best-known Ystari version of the
game (left) and this year's Asmodee re-release as
The Thames Murders & Other Cases (right).

“Perhaps it’s unsurprising that a

game as far ahead of its time as
Consulting Detective wasn’t a smash
hit when it first came out.”

21

020_021_allTheJahres_v2 MJ.indd 21 19/05/2017 15:40

 PARTY
ANIMALS

22

022_026_bearsVsBabies_V2 MJ.indd 22 19/05/2017 15:42


Two years after
Exploding Kittens
blew up Kickstarter,
designer Elan Lee
and artist Matthew
Inman are back
with Bears vs
Babies. We caught
up with Lee to see
how their small
game of comedy
cats turned into all
out teddy-tot war
Words by Matt Jarvis
022_026_bearsVsBabies_V2 MJ.indd 23
A
t the beginning of 2015, a small card game
starring extremely volatile felines popped up
on crowdfunding site Kickstarter.
The brainchild of former Xbox video game
developers Elan Lee and Shane Small, and illustrated
by Matthew Inman – better known as the creator of
hugely popular web comic The Oatmeal – Exploding
Kittens was essentially Russian roulette with cards.
Players drew a series of ridiculous cat types (including
tacocat, overweight bikini cat and hairy potato
cat – we can’t decide which is most disturbing) and
actions allowing them to look at the central deck,
avoid drawing or force other players to pick up
extra cards. When a kitten was revealed, wielding
incendiaries that would make Wile E. Coyote’s eyes
water, that player had to find a way of defusing it
(catnip sandwiches, kitten therapy and laser points
all effective) or they blew up along with the moggy,
eliminating them from the game. You wouldn’t guess
it from the absurd feline theme it ended up with, but
the game started off as something far tamer.
“Matt and I have some friends in common so we
end up in the same room a lot,” Lee answers when
asked how the trio behind the title came to be. “When
I resigned from Xbox, I started working on a new
game design called Bomb Squad with my friend
Shane Small. I had been working on the game
for a few weeks and carried a deck with me
everywhere I went. I would often steal any
spare moments my friends would tolerate to
test and retest the ruleset.”
Equipped with nearly
two decades of experience
working on video games and
movies – including heading up the
creation of The Beast, the alternate
reality game used to promote Steven
Spielberg’s A.I. Artificial Intelligence – Lee
was clearly no stranger to creating unique ways of
playing. What he needed to complete the package
was a killer hook. Enter Matthew Inman, the final
part of the trinity, and the theme that would rocket
Bomb Squad to multi-million-dollar success.
“Matt had heard about Bomb Squad and asked if
he could play,” Lee recounts. “I told him we could
certainly find better things to do than play a silly
prototype, but he insisted and I agreed to show
him the game for five minutes before we went out
to dinner. Those five minutes turned into ten, and
those ten turned into an hour. When three hours had
passed, and we were all starving, we agreed to take a
break and play again the next night. This turned into
a ritual for the next week. It was the most flattering
playtest result I could imagine.
“At the end of the week, Matt asked if he could
join the team to create the final version of the game.
He only had one condition: we’d have to change the
name to Exploding Kittens, ‘Because: the internet.’”
23
It turns out that
the combination of
an internet-friendly
title, quick-fire party
gameplay and cute cats is
like catnip for us mere humans
– who’ve guessed? – and Exploding
Kittens quickly lived up to its moniker,
blowing up Kickstarter by raising nearly $9
million and attracting over 219,000 backers
– making it the crowdfunding site’s most-funded
project until Kingdom Death: Monster 1.5 closed
with $12.4 million at the start of this year. (Although
Kingdom Death’s much higher price tag meant it had
fewer than a tenth of Kittens’ backer count.)
A NSFW standalone spin-off deck and full
expansion, Imploding Kittens, followed the base game
and were quickly snapped up by fans hungry for more
Kittens. It was clear that the team was onto something.
A new game seemed inevitable. But how do you follow
the biggest party hit since Cards Against Humanity?
Well, you’ll need two key ingredients…
ENTER, PURSUED BY A BEAR
“The original idea was Matt’s,” Lee says of Bears vs
Babies, the follow-up to Exploding Kittens that features
even bigger furry animals and approximately 5,000%
more nappy-clad infants.
“Matt is the king of non-sequiturs. Four years ago,
he had this idea to start putting the body parts of some
of his characters on cards – Pomeranian heads, fighter
jet arms, legs that can run at the speed of light – so that
players could arrange and rearrange his cards in any
order they’d like to create their own non-sequiturs.”
In a reversal of situations, Inman eventually found
himself calling on the design expertise of Lee to round
out what was at the time simply a strong idea based on
the off-kilter comedy that had made The Oatmeal an
online phenomenon.
“The humour was amazing, but there wasn’t much
gameplay to it,” Lee explains. “About a year ago, he
brought the idea to me, and we tinkered with a ruleset
for a few weeks. Once we had something pretty solid,
we pestered all our friends to play with us. Each time
we played, we changed the game a little bit until finally
our friends were pestering us to play instead of vice-
versa. It was at that point that we knew the game was
solid enough to start a crowdfunding campaign.”
Like Exploding Kittens – and most of the party games
that go on to become tabletop phenomena – Bears vs
Babies is born to be a crowd pleaser. But unlike popular
examples such as Cards Against Humanity, where
the comedy comes ready-packed into the box and is
deliberately designed to be assembled during a game
with little effort from those playing (even a po-faced
lawyer could put together an amusing ‘fill the blank’
punchline using those particular cards), Lee believes
that Kittens and Bears aren’t ‘funny’ games – ▶
19/05/2017 15:42
 BEARS VS BABIES
instead, they merely act as a way to encourage their
players to be amusing themselves.
“You know
“Exploding Kittens was built around a
very simple concept: the game should not be
you’re done
entertaining,” he explains. “The game should be
the mechanism by which the people you’re playing
when your
with become entertaining.
“Whenever our fans send us videos of their game
friends are
nights playing Exploding Kittens, we watch them
laughing, yelling, pointing and throwing things.
happier at
Alliances are formed, betrayals are commonplace and
we get emails thanking us for saving marriages at least
the end of a
once a week. That’s because the players are the focus
of the game. The cards themselves are just the tools
game than
that allow the players to take actions.”
Bears vs Babies repeats this mantra. Although
they were
it shares more mechanical similarities with Cards
Against Humanity’s DIY joke-construction gameplay
when they
than Exploding Kittens, there are fewer ready-made
punchlines (though you hardly need to know the
started.”
context to laugh at ‘...who is being piloted by a robo-
squirrel’) than CAH’s constant stream of gasp-inducing
answers. Instead, Bears’ humour relies more on the
slamming together of otherwise largely mundane
factors – a shark, business attire, a peg leg and a squid
are pretty ordinary separately, but Frankenstein
together a shark dressed in business attire who is also a
squid with a peg leg (or, erm, tentacle) and you’ll start
to hear giggles around the table.
“Bears vs Babies is built with the same design
goal [as Kittens],” Lee continues. “The cards are
amazing and hilarious, but each one unlocks an
interaction between two players at the table. There’s
nothing we can build that’s as incredible as the
people you’re already friends with, so our goal is to
build the tools to let you play together in the most
spectacular way possible.”
PRE-BEAR FOR BATTLE
Bears vs Babies doesn’t stop at ‘Ha ha, who
made the funniest monster?’ It’s arguably a
more involved game than Exploding Kittens,
pitting the monstrous creations of players
against an army of invading infants –
that’d be the ‘vs Babies’ bit.
A force of sprogs builds up in the
centre of the table, including the icky
(big ol’ diaper baby), bizarre (laser
pterodactyl baby, Portuguese Man
o’ Baby) and downright
freaky (scary hairbaby,
beard baby).
Eventually, a player
dares to interrupt
the tots’ naptime
by playing a provoke
card – once awoken, they
attack. Y’know, like babies do.
24
022_026_bearsVsBabies_V2 MJ.indd 24
Combat is simple to resolve – if your monster has
more cards than the number of babies, you survive the
battle. Lose and your beautiful monstrosity is destroyed.
It might seem like you’d want to work with your fellow
humans to fight off the newborns, but the idea is to
provoke the gathering force of babes once you’re ready
but before anyone else has a chance to stop them. Eat
the most babies and you win. Yep, really.
It may be more strategic and ‘deep’ than Kittens’
luck-driven core, but make no mistake: Bears vs Babies
is still very much a party game. That’s not to say it’s
mechanics are throwaway, either; Lee suggests the
game includes exactly as many rules and gameplay
elements as it needs to in order to achieve its goal.
“When I design a game, I always start with the basic
mechanic,” he comments. “In Exploding Kittens, it
was ‘Russian roulette with cards’. In Bears vs Babies
it’s ‘build monsters for battle’. Once you have that core
mechanic you can add a series of rules and evaluate
each against the same set of criteria: was this rule fun?
Did it enhance the basic mechanic? Am I now playing
against the game instead of the other players? Coming
up with an endless string of rules is easy. The problem
is that most will not satisfy all of those criteria.
“Sometimes new rules will break older ones, and
sometimes older rules fade away to reveal some new
insight about the core mechanic. This process takes a
massive amount of patience and the endless ability to
throw away things you love.”
And what exactly is the ultimate goal? Why, it’s obvious.
“You know you’re done when your friends are
happier at the end of a game than they were when
they started,” Lee summarises.
Both Exploding Kittens and Bears vs Babies have the
fingerprints of Lee and Inman over them, but the
two games reflect the specialities – design
and visual comedy – of their lead authors
in slightly varying ways. In the end, it’s
a harmony that comes together for
that same modest – but deceptively
tricky to achieve – aim.
“The process for each
game has been different,”
Lee compares. “Exploding
Kittens came together in
a matter of weeks, and
was designed around an
idea for a game mechanic.
Bears vs Babies started
because Matt wanted to
let his audience build visual
non-sequiturs out of his art.
I immediately fell in love
with the concept and we
worked together to design
gameplay around the art.
“In general, the
partnership works
19/05/2017 15:42
 because we both have very different skill sets and
neither of us has much desire to become a pro at
the stuff the other guy is good at. Also, we both
hate long meetings.”
BABY, YOU’RE A RICH MAN
Although it’s since been surpassed
by Kingdom Death, Exploding
Kittens’ Kickstarter campaign
remains the first significant turning
point when tabletop games proved
they could hang with the heavy
hitters on the crowdfunding site.
It took under 24 hours for the team to raise $1.3
million – in fact, within just seven hours the
original $10,000 goal had been smashed seven
times over. Bears vs Babies launched with the
same target, a perhaps surprisingly low bar
given the massive response to Kittens.
Kittens Lee
insists that it’s not all about the money.
“This second time around
we hit our funding goal in nine
minutes,” he recalls. “When that
happened we came to a really
important realisation: we’re no
longer crowdfunding to raise
funds, we’re crowdfunding to
raise a crowd.”
In the nearly three years
between the campaigns for Kittens and Bears,
Kickstarter had exploded in popularity for tabletop
designers looking to get their own eccentric or
innovative games made into a reality – with no small
thanks to the success of Lee and Inman. As the
platform quickly filled up with projects good and bad
alike, designers continued to find ways to try and
make their campaign stand out from the crowd, as
well as trying to coax more of those vital dollars out of
fans already interested in the game. Despite Lee and
Inman’s crowdfunding fame, it was no different for
the pair as they returned to the platform.
“Everything in our campaign was designed around
having fun with a large group of people online,” Lee
explains. “We created challenges asking the crowd to
take pictures of their pets disguised as fighter jets, of
gummy bear towers balancing on their infants, and to
write horrible Bears vs Babies-themed haikus. The deal
is simple: do these silly and amazing things with us,
and we’ll keep upgrading the game for free.”
Like any rational person presented with the
chance to bag more swag for free, Bears vs Babies fans
dived into the increasingly ludicrous tasks headfirst.
Among some of the more bonkers achievements
unlocked by the 85,000-plus backers were the trials of
legally renaming a “baby, pet or vessel” to Crabbin’
McThundersquash (it turned out to be a ship – breathe
easy, parents), posting pictures of Pomeranians
wearing ‘incredible’ underpants and a pumpkin
25
022_026_bearsVsBabies_V2 MJ.indd 25
giving birth to another ■ Above: Players construct their
pumpkin, and getting monsters before provoking the
a Bears vs Babies tattoo. sleeping babies.
Not to mention countless
pictures of babies dressed ■ Opposite: Elan Lee previously
as bears – we’re surprised the worked with video games and
internet is still running. Needless movies for two decades.
to say, the enthusiastic response
quickly levelled-up the game by ■ Below: Exploding Kittens and
adding extra cards, Bears vs Babies- The Oatmeal artist Matthew
themed condoms (to prevent babies, Inman once again contributed
rather than bears, we’d hope) and covering the illustrations but also came
the box in fur. up with the original concept for
“Three weeks into the campaign, our backers had Bears vs Babies.
already unlocked three free upgrades by playing this
crazy challenge game with us!” Lee says.
BACK TO REALITY
As recently as five years ago, leaving a high-powered
job and two-decade career working for technology
giant Microsoft in one of the world’s fastest-growing
industries – video games – to make a small card
game starring cartoon cats would’ve left mouths
agape. Today, Elan Lee’s move isn’t just acceptable
– it’s becoming an increasingly common story, as
designers and authors from video games, movies, art,
literature and more flock to the tabletop to bring their
ideas to cardboard life.
“Building casual games that friends and families
can play at parties and around the dinner table is
certainly a new passion,” Lee says of his own journey.
“It’s quite a departure from what I’ve been doing for
the last 20 years.”
It’s not only those making games that are returning
to board games, either – tens of thousands of players
are coming back to the tabletop
as they search for ways to
connect with their friends and
family in meaningful ways, in the
face of an increasingly disconnected
modern world. It’s a sentiment that
Lee echoes. ▶
25
19/05/2017 15:42
 BEARS VS BABIES
“I love video games and have spent the last 20 years
building some of the biggest games in the world,” he
continues. “But lately I’ve noticed that staring at a
screen and largely ignoring the other people in the room
is too isolating. I would watch my nieces and nephews
play the games I’ve made on their consoles, but I’d feel
bad about the fact that they’re not forming bonds with
each other or with me. Games like Exploding Kittens
and Bears vs Babies are my attempts to course-correct.
“I believe that games should be celebratory
experiences. I’m also a lifelong supporter of any
movement that ends the scourge of attacks from
terrible and ferocious babies inflicted on adorable,
cuddly bears. The games I make from now on should
make you laugh, scream and glower at the people
you’re playing with.”
KITTENS, BEARS, BABIES AND...?
With two hit party games propelling them forwards, it
surely won’t be long until Lee and Inman return with
another project set to shake up the genre – and we’d
put good money on it starring cartoon animals.
Yet, with everything they touch currently turning to
gold, would the partnership be interested in swimming
out to the deeper end of the tabletop pool and
experimenting with something a little more complex?
“There are three prototypes I’m currently tinkering
with,” Lee responds. “One involves a fairly elaborate
relationship with a 3D printer.
“The struggle I’m having is in the ‘ramp-up’. In the
video game world, you can introduce complexity as
the player progresses. In physical games, you have
to present them with all the rules upfront. I haven’t
022_026_bearsVsBabies_V2 MJ.indd 26
found a great way to ramp up the players to new rules ■ Above: Some of the baby
as they go on with the game, and I hate the notion of cards, or the worst round of Kiss,
presenting a huge manual in the box.” Marry, Avoid we’ve ever seen.
Despite this, the opportunity for a weightier follow-
up to Kittens and Bears might not be as far-fetched as
it sounds – in fact, one particularly influential set of
games has caught Lee’s eye as a potential muse for his
own future projects.
“There’s some creative options, though,” he
explains. “Games like Risk Legacy are really
inspirational in their ability to introduce new rules
over time, but suffer from being locked to the same
group of friends over and over again.
“One of the reasons I love design so much is that
the only way to learn if a new idea works is to build it
and find out.”
With Lee and Inman both contributing the concept
for one game each and working together to turn those
ideas into a finished release, the pair also has plans to
reach out to other creators looking to team up in order
to transform their unique designs into real-life games.
“Now that we have a library of games – two games
is a library, right? – we’re going to start a small
publishing wing of our company,” Lee
reveals. “I want to
be able to offer
opportunities to new
game designers and
tinkerers like myself.
“We’ve built
an amazing
megaphone over here – now we’re
going to shout through it.” ■
26
19/05/2017 15:42
 . Recruit Cultists
. Gather Power
. Perform Rituals
. Go Mad
. Die

p027.indd 1 17/05/2017 14:29

 HITTING
THE SPOT
Cinematic effects studio Weta has been responsible for the visual punch of blockbusters from
Lord of the Rings to Avatar and Mad Max. Now, it’s bringing its design expertise to the tabletop realm
with GKR: Heavy Hitters. Senior concept designer Paul Tobin unleashes the Giant Killer Robots
Words by Matt Jarvis

Z
Road and this year’s Ghost in the Shell. In other words,
ombies. Pirates. Cowboys. Ninjas. Superheroes. big, beautiful and deadly are Weta’s bread and butter.
Robots. From the tabletop to the silver screen, Still, jumping from multi-million-dollar movies to the
there are some things that never fail to get comparatively tight-knit realm of tabletop gaming may
blood pumping and passions burning. How do you
seem a curious move for the distinguished outlet.
bring these ingredients for instant fandom to the boil? “We’ve worked on a lot of big films over the years,”
Make everything bigger and deadlier, of course. acknowledges senior concept designer Paul Tobin,
Enter Giant Killer Robots: Heavy Hitters, the debut who co-created GKR: Heavy Hitters with fellow Weta
board game from Weta Workshop. While Weta’s name veterans Christian Pearce and Leri Greer. “We’re also
may be a stranger in the tabletop world, film fans all avid gamers. Leri and Christian are particularly big
will recognise the New Zealand design studio from video game players. I’m a bit more old-school, I was
its Oscar and BAFTA-winning visual effects work on kind of roleplaying games and a lot of board games,
mammoth blockbusters including the Lord of the Rings as well, and some tabletop miniature games for a little
Avatar, Mad Max: Fury
Kong, Avatar
and Hobbit trilogies, King Kong bit. So all of us have definitely had a strong interest in
games, but we’ve never had the opportunity to work
on a game of our own.”
Weta’s professional curiosity in game design had
first been piqued during its past experience creating
video game visuals. More recently, sculptor Johnny
Fraser-Allen had collaborated with UK tabletop
publisher River Horse to create the miniatures for
the Labyrinth board game – building on Weta’s legacy
of ‘bigatures’ (some of them measuring a staggering
nine metres high) used on-screen in Lord of the Rings
and King Kong.. As in the company’s film work, the
physical and digital worlds eventually collided.
“Basically, a company called Trigger
approached us,” Tobin recalls. “They had a
desire to make an augmented reality board game
and they wanted to know if we would be interested
in designing the world. That kicked the
whole project off. That must be nearly two
years ago, I think. It was quite a slow burn.”
Trigger eventually brought a third
company into the mix: Cryptozoic, the

28

028_031_GKRHeavyHitters_V3 MJ.indd 28 19/05/2017 16:41

 bunch of design work where we needed to take AR
into account,” he recalls. “Part of that was designing
the look of the robots so they could be visually tracked
when you held your phone or tablet up. So we came
Spell Wars of the
tabletop publisher behind Spyfall, Epic up with this very signature look to the robots which
titles such as Ghostbusters:
Battle Wizards and licensed we never would’ve come up if it hadn’t been for the
Gam e and the DC Com ics Deck building Game.
The Board augmented reality part of it. That was an interesting
grew , the AR elements
As the project’s physical focus side note as to what we got out of augmented reality
asing ly push ed to the back grou nd. With
were incre even though we didn’t end up pursuing it.”
and Cryptozoic
Trigger’s subsequent departure, Weta
the virtu al side altogether.
ultimately decid ed to drop
board game
ANOTHER WORLD
ucin g the best
“We just focused on prod Weta has built a reputation on making the dreams
d and just not purs uing the augm ented
that we coul of others a reality, whether it’s Tolkien’s literary
Tobi n expla ins. “We
reality aspect at that moment,” creations or the cinematic images of visionary
a long time , I migh t add. It wasn ’t just
pursued it for directors. When the chance arose for the team to
ths in on it.
like a flash in the pan; we were mon unleash their own imaginations for the first time
a road trip in the State s; Leri and a couple
“We did “We have a reputation for being world builders,” Tobin
took the proto type game
of the other guys from Weta says. “I guess it started with Lord of the Rings. It certainly
trip arou nd nine state s in the US, visiting
on a road continued with Avatar, District 9, The Hobbit and a
the thing is we don’ t have
stores. Because, of course, bunch of other films we’ve worked on. This was a big
in the gam es desig n area. We’v e got a
any street cred first step for us because [Weta co-founders] Richard
it’s important –
lot of cred in the filmmaking area and Taylor and Tania [Rodger] literally let us create our own
y big on doin g our hom ewor k and actually
we’re reall world for the company. Usually we’re guns for hire,
we took the game on the
engaging with our fans. So we work for other people like James Cameron or Peter
and the feed back that cam e back was that the
road trip Jackson, so this was a big opportunity for us to actually
AR aspe ct of it was not
game was kind of fun but the create our own world.”
ng to the fun facto r. In fact, it was limiting the
really addi Once Weta had bolted together the basics of how
it was locking the
fun a little bit because, for starters, the titular machines looked and the universe they
rienc e to two playe rs, beca use that was the
game expe inhabited, it was time to put them into motion.
nolo gy coul d allow. Once
limitation of what the tech “One of the coolest things in terms of how the
from the road trip, we did a big serious
we got back game developed was that we came up with the
d up decid ing that the
rethink and we basically ende basic backstory, a bunch of designs for the robots,
bette r spen t inves ted in mak ing a better
money was we outlined a few pilots and then we pretty much
in tech nolo gy that didn’t
game rather than investing just handed that over to the designer, Matt Hyra at
ly impr ove the enjo yme nt of the game.”
necessari Cryptozoic, and just said: ‘Here’s some ideas we’ve
ons of Heavy
Although the augmented reality secti had around gameplay, go crazy,’” Tobin reveals.
d up on the scrap heap , the time and money
Hitters ende “Other than the restraints of the AR that were still in
plete ly. Tobi n suggests
spent didn’t go to waste com play at that time, Matt went away and basically came
hed boar d gam e wou ld look very different if
the finis up with a bunch of really cool gameplay ideas and ▶
lopment.
AR had never been a factor in its deve
thing abou t the augm ente d reality
“The cool
d up havi ng to do a
opportunity was that we ende

29

028_031_GKRHeavyHitters_V3 MJ.indd 29 22/05/2017 15:03

 GKR: HEAVY HITTERS
then we would look at those and feed back in again
from the world point of view.”
The continuing rally between substance and style
resulted in the introduction of brand new gameplay
concepts to better reflect the vision that Weta had set
out to bring to life.
“We really wanted to get more humour into the
game, so we started introducing sponsorship cards
and more advertising – like Formula 1 racing, where
that level of corporate control is pervading everything,”
Tobin continues. “Sponsorship cards were a great way
of getting more humour into the game and a little bit
more of a depth to the world. It would just go back and
forth in a very organic process.”
Although the GKR universe is an original creation,
it clearly bears the hallmarks of Weta’s 30-year history
working in the movies. Players control the pilots of
towering bipedal mechs as they battle to destroy
their rivals or send four of the 3D skyscrapers placed
around the board crumbling to the ground – all for the
amusement of a human audience.
Each robot is also backed by a fictional sponsor, each
with a satirical capitalist goal – from ensuring 100% of
the world’s natural resources turn a profit to replacing
unsightly forests with the refined sheen of shopping
malls. The robots can tag skyscrapers with their
partner’s advertising to earn sponsor cards, unlocking
extra abilities and weapons. Younger players may see it
as Pacific Rim meets Hunger Games,, while older fans are
more likely to notice similarities to older action classics.
30
028_031_GKRHeavyHitters_V3 MJ.indd 30
“Myself, Leri and Christian grew up in the ‘80s and
we’re big fans of RoboCop, Total Recall and Starship
Troopers – a lot of those tongue-in-cheek dystopian
futures that have a good sense of humour to them,”
Tobin says. “In my case, I grew up reading Judge Dredd,
which was a massive influence. So a lot of those interests
led us to explore a world where we could have fun
with consumer culture and celebrity status – this
whole reality TV nightmare we’re living in these days.”
Despite the homage it pays to iconic depictions
of humanity’s future as being bleak, GKR ditches the
cold grey and metal palette often associated with
the genre for an eye-popping spectrum of brightly-
coloured machines, partnered with comic book-style
visuals on the cards.
“Rather than do a Terminator 2-style post-apocalyptic
grim future, which we’ve seen play out so many times
before in film, we thought it would be far more fun if we
had a bit of a weird dystopian future where corporates
and consumer culture rule,” Tobin elaborates. “The
way that the corporates control people at some level,
manipulate people and keep them entertained is a bit
like the Romans with the gladiatorial games – keep
your population happy and you can control them –
with the idea that GKR, this giant robot sport, was the
biggest thing on the planet. Like football on steroids.
It pervades society. That was where we started
exploring the world and it just evolved from there.
“We were less influenced by video games, with
a big influence from anime and manga. Christian,
who did most of the robot designs – and his signature
look pervades the game – he grew up on Akira, so
that was definitely a big influence for him. For me,
it was definitely a lot of the 2000 AD megacities and
some of the great storylines that were run around
corporations gone crazy, there was some really good
stuff there. Borderlands as a video game had a really
nice stylised look to it, which we quite liked as well.”
While GKR’s brawling bots and peppy look may call
to mind comic strips and Saturday morning cartoons,
Tobin stresses that the team ensured that Heavy
Hitters lived up to its name when its gameplay comes
to landing the full might of its blow.
“We tried to avoid anything that would bring
connotations of Transformers or Pacific Rim, because
those are basically IPs based around two robots
smashing each other hand-to-hand a lot of the time,
whereas we’re taking a much more grounded, realistic
approach to the robot design,” he insists. “The robots in
GKR have a very strong level of physics-based realism.
For us, it was looking at Boston Dynamics and some
of those other cutting-edge military tech companies
and looking at that as a leaping-off point. Our robots
don’t lock together in physical combat and they don’t
transform ; they’re basically war machines, so we treat
them much more like tanks and that kind of thing.
“The world’s seen more than enough of
the gritty-real side of things. Giant robots or
19/05/2017 16:44
 of sophistication is starting to be reflected in the
artwork and design. Maybe because of the success
of board games now, we’re seeing game designers
robots-versus-monsters is a well-trodden genre not being afraid to go and hire someone that they’ve
– Gundam and even Evangelion in the Japanese always wanted to work with but maybe in the past
space – so for us it was about reinventing it. That’s haven’t quite been able to afford.
where keeping the robots grounded, and bringing “I’ve seen a parallel development in TV; back
in the corporation aspect and strong colour [came in the day, TV was the poor man’s filmmaking, as
from]. That’s down to Leri, the other co-creator. He’s it were. It was always seen as a lower-class form
a graphic design guru and did most of the graphic of entertainment compared to the pinnacle of
design and corporation design for Neill Blomkamp’s filmmaking. Well, that’s completely one-eightied,
films and Avatar for Jim [Cameron]. We basically just hasn’t it? I’d argue that some of the greatest
unleashed him on this project. It’s that real signature entertainment on the planet right now is television
strong colour and brand identity – the really cool and we’re seeing top-level actors, designers,
names, like ThunderHappy and King Wolf – that’s all production designers and cinematographers coming
Leri. It’s like each one of us has brought a different out of the film industry and going into TV. As a result,
aspect to the world and then Matt and the Cryptozoic TV has exploded. I’d suggest that a similar thing is
guys have channelled that through gameplay.” happening with board games, where board games
is now pulling in video game and film designers and
A NAME FOR ITSELF illustrators and starting to make those connections.
Weta isn’t the only master of cinematic design It’s an amazing opportunity to work on a game.”
making a move into board games. Pop culture As for Weta’s own tabletop debut, Tobin reveals
art studio Mondo recently announced that it is that the studio has grand plans for Giant Killer Robots
developing a social deduction title based on John – including the suggestion of taking the game back
Carpenter’s The Thing called Infection at Outpost into the cinematic world.
31, in collaboration with newly-founded tabletop “We very much see the game as a stepping stone
publisher Project Raygun. That’s not to mention the to taking the world much further,” he discloses.
increasing number of movie adaptations coming out, “Obviously, that will depend a lot on the success of
from Labyrinth and Evil Dead 2 to The Godfather. the game first, but there’s no question that from the
Yet, Tobin sees a closer comparison in the growing very first moment we locked ourselves in the design
involvement of designers and artists from outside of studio meeting room for a week to come up with the
the tabletop circles to television, rather than film. world at a conceptual level, from the outset, we were
“I’ve never seen so much variety of game design already outlining a TV series and a movie. We can’t
coming out at the moment,” he observes. “That level help doing that, because that’s just the world we
operate in. It was then just distilling that back down
to make a good game. I can’t go into the plans for
GKR beyond that, but let’s just say if we’re lucky we’ll
definitely be seeing GKR in a different medium in the
near future.”
With GKR: Heavy Hitters raking in close to a million
dollars on Kickstarter and long-term ambitions already
in place for the game, it’s clear that Weta is here to stay.
“I know that, certainly from all of us that have
made this first board game, we’re all super keen to do
another one,” Tobin enthuses. “We’re very, very keen
to do expansions for GKR, as well.
“The hope would be that, if things go well, there’s
a really strong interest in us starting to look at doing
more board games. I wouldn’t be surprised if we
even look at doing some licensed board games
and also original board games, so it might end up
being more of a mix. We’re quite excited about the
prospect of actually making a
board game based on a film that
we’ve been involved with, because
that’s a fun challenge in itself. There’s
different opportunities of doing original
IP versus licensed. I think it would fun to
do both, so that’s something we’re going
to try to pursue.” ■

31

028_031_GKRHeavyHitters_V3 MJ.indd 31 19/05/2017 16:45

p032.indd 1 17/05/2017 14:43
 AN INTRODUCTION TO...

PATHFINDER Created as an offshoot of Dungeons & Dragons, Pathfinder has since grown into its
own roleplaying giant. As the RPG's sci-fi sequel Starfinder prepares to blast off this
summer, we discover why it’s still worth visiting the fantasy world of Golarion
Words by Matt Jarvis

2
008 marked a revolution in roleplaying.
Wizards of the Coast announced that the
fourth edition of Dungeons & Dragons
would drop the Open Game Licence (OGL)
introduced with the third edition of the RPG
in favour of a new system known as the
Game System Licence (GSL). The decision
caused uproar among fans, as the OGL had
allowed third-party creators to use elements
of D&D to create their own roleplaying titles,
whereas the GSL offered a far more restrictive
system that only permitted use of certain
approved phrases and simply referred players
back to the fourth edition rules, rather than
allowing the rules themselves to be used in
other titles. (Wizards would later reverse the
decision with D&D’s fifth edition in 2015,
returning to the OGL.)
What followed the shocking
announcement was another surprise, as
Paizo Publishing revealed its plans to take
a stand against the introduction of GSL
and continue to release adventures for
D&D’s 3.5 ruleset under the OGL. Paizo
had been closely linked with Wizards since
its inception, taking control of the official
D&D magazines Dungeon and Dragon
until it dropped them in 2007. What’s more,
Paizo announced that it wouldn’t just be
releasing adventures for D&D 3.5 – it would
be launching its very own roleplaying system
and world, based on the 3.5 rules and
released with the OGL. Pathfinder was born. ▶

33

033_035_introToPathfinder_v2 MJ.indd 33 19/05/2017 15:43

 AN INTRODUCTION TO...

In the nearly eight years since, Pathfinder
has continued to evolve thanks to dozens
of expansions and supplements, from
bestiaries
and guides
to races
and combat
to scenarios
focused solely on
horror. One of the biggest early
additions were archetypes,
introduced in the Advanced
Player’s Guide, which
allowed players to customise
■ Pathfinder is full of their character’s class. Other
weird and wonderful rules, detailing elements
characters, such as such as chases, duels and
the bomb-throwing
corruption, have similarly
goblin Mogmurch.
been introduced, and can be
added to or removed from the base rules
as game masters see fit.
Pathfinder Adventure Path scenarios, which
offer a linked campaign beginning with
Rise of the Runelords in August 2007 and
continuing through more than a dozen serial
instalments. Paizo also releases around three
Pathfinder Modules a year, which offer short
adventures that can be played on their own
or woven into part of an existing campaign.
Outside of the RPG, Pathfinder’s universe
has also been explored in more than 30
novels known as the Pathfinder Tales series,
as well as audiobooks and comic books – one
of which even involved crossovers with Edgar
Rice Burroughs’ literary characters Tarzan
and John Carter.
■ One of Pathfinder's
biggest changes to
the D&D formula
is expanding the
flexibility of player
character classes.

WHAT’S IT ALL ABOUT?

The move divided the roleplaying
community, with some fans sticking to the
older 3.5 rules at the heart of Pathfinder and
others moving onto D&D’s updated fourth
edition. Pathfinder was much more than a
shell wrapped around the 3.5 core, however
– lead designer Jason Bulmahn and his team
made significant changes to the systems,
with Bulmahn’s own design documents
originally referring to the game as ‘3.75’.
Pathfinder’s revised rules were an evolution
on the 3.5 framework, massively expanding
the options for character classes in order
to make sticking with a single class more
appealing for 20 levels – something that
Bulmahn felt was an issue in D&D – and clean
up elements that were considered messy
to attract more newcomers. Other tweaks
affected combat actions, skills, balancing and
spell-casting, but a key part of the design was
that Pathfinder remained compatible with
D&D 3.5, allowing existing adventures and
characters to be used with the improved rules.
To help ensure that Pathfinder ticked
all the right boxes for players, Paizo held a
year-long public playtest of the RPG split
into alpha and beta releases, providing the
chance to fine-tune different sections of
the final game. More than 45,000 people
ended up participating, offering over
100,000 comments on Paizo’s online forums,
before the final 576-page core rulebook was
released in August 2009.
Although Pathfinder’s ’s rules and systems
can be transplanted to any setting, Paizo’s
adventures and materials for the game take
place on the planet of Golarion, a fantasy
realm located in what’s known as the
Material Plane. There are eight continents
on the world, separated by five oceans
and nine seas, and each of the regions
has a distinct history, environment
and civilisations living there, from
Casmaron, the home of the Kelesh
and Vudra empires, to the frozen
tundra of The Crown of the World.
Much of Paizo’s official narrative
for the game takes place in the Inner
Sea, which has at its centre the city of
Absalom where characters from around
the world come to meet – a sort of fantasy
Mos Eisley Cantina, if you will. Absalom also
has a cathedral containing a rock said to have
fallen from the heavens and that holds the
power to turn you into a god, if you’re into
unlimited power and all that jazz. As well as
Absalom, there’s also the opposing nations
of Andoran and Cheliax, plus the Egyptian-
inspired territory of Osirion and the raider-
infested Lands of the Linnorm Kings.
As with any classic work of fantasy
literature, there are many secrets and hidden
histories in Golarion, including mention
of warring deities, long-lost kingdoms and
the belief that at the core of Golarion is
imprisoned the evil mad god Rovagug.
Pathfinder’s world and narrative
are built out twice a year by the

34

033_035_introToPathfinder_v2 MJ.indd 34 19/05/2017 15:44

 As in any roleplaying game,
the focus of Pathfinder is
on characterisation and
storytelling, allowing players
to explore the world as guided
by a game master and flesh out
the background of their tabletop
avatar and the setting around
them, discovering secrets, engaging
in battles, encountering the locals
and adventuring.
DIFFERENT PATHS
Soon after it was released,
Pathfinder quickly emerged from
the shadow of D&D, picking up
a number of the roleplaying-
focused ENnie awards and even
overtaking Dungeons & Dragons in
the rankings of best-selling RPGs
from 2011 to 2013 to become the
most popular roleplaying title in
the world – the first time D&D
had been ousted from the top
spot since 1974.
This success quickly led to
spin-offs, including the Pathfinder
Adventure Card Game, which
launched in 2013 and distils the RPG’s Rise
of the Runelords Adventure Path into a co-op
campaign that can be played using the cards
found in the set in around an hour and a half.
The game has since been expanded itself
with new classes, adventure decks and other
expansions, as well as being adapted for
phones and tablets as Pathfinder Adventures.
Meanwhile, WizKids has produced a
line of pre-painted miniatures for use in
the roleplaying game under the Pathfinder
Battles name, while online tools for
enhancing a tabletop campaign exist in the
form of packages of rulebooks and character
creation utilities in mobile and PC app
HeroLab and Syrinscape soundboards to
add atmosphere.
There’s also Pathfinder Online, a massively
multiplayer online video game for PC that
first emerged in 2012 and went through years
of testing and development difficulty after
raising more than $1 million on Kickstarter.
In March 2017, Paizo announced that it
would commit to completing the troubled
title within a year.
That’s not to mention the Pathfinder
Society, the organised play system that
provides a universal campaign for players
around the world, with players joining one
of a number of competing factions and
033_035_introToPathfinder_v2 MJ.indd 35
participating in campaigns broken serves as essentially an ultimate version of
up into seasons comprised the much-beloved system.
of multiple scenarios set What’s more, if you’re more a fan of sci-fi
across Golarion. Actions and than fantasy, you’ll soon be able to experience
achievements during each some of Pathfinder’s gameplay for yourself,
season affect the continuing as this year’s sequel Starfinder looks to build
storyline, and Pathfinder Society on the game with refined rules, new alien
meet-ups are often held at major monsters, races and classes, rules for starship
gaming conventions throughout combat, and a story set in the same universe
the year. The Pathfinder Adventure of Golarion but thousands of years after the
Card Game has its own guild fantasy adventures take place. Starfinder will
that features a similar ongoing be compatible with Pathfinder, meaning your
narrative split into seasons made characters and campaigns should be able to
up of around 30 90-minute make the leap between the games.
scenarios, with scenario bundles If Starfinder manages to capture the same
released each month. magical mixture of accessible gameplay,
fulfilling mechanics and gripping world-
WHY SHOULD building as its fantasy forebear, it may very
YOU TRY IT? well do for science-fiction roleplaying what
Pathfinder remains one of Pathfinder did for fantasy – and that will be
– if not the – most popular something very special indeed. ■
roleplaying games out there,
thanks to its accessible
systems and flexible nature. ■ Left: Gods, represented here by
Whether you choose to their symbols, play a prominent
play using Paizo’s official role in the history of Golarion.
line of adventures or not, the ■ Below: One of the many
streamlined D&D 3.5 rules provide fantasy inhabitants of
plenty to dig into and enjoy some of Pathfinder's world.
the best roleplaying gameplay to ever hit
the tabletop. If you opt
to adventure around
Golarion, you’ll find an
incredibly expansive
and well-realised
universe to
explore, with
plenty of extra
materials to
indulge your
intrigue about
the world’s history
and inhabitants.
Pathfinder is an ideal
starting place for first-time
roleplayers thanks to its refined
ruleset, but also has plenty
to offer experienced players
due to the expansive character
creation options, large amount
of supplements and story
available, and the highly
popular organised play.
Especially if you’re
a fan of D&D 3.5
and have somehow
never encountered
Pathfinder, the game
35
19/05/2017 15:44
 Five years on, the Star Wars
dogfighting hit continues to
be one of – if not the – most
popular games to emerge
from the galaxy far, far away.
Producer Steven Kimball
looks back on the birth of a
modern miniatures classic
Words by Owen Duffy
36
036_040_theMakingOfXWIng_v2 MJ.indd 36
I
n the years since its cinema debut in 1977,
the Star Wars saga has invaded tabletop
gaming so many times that it’s difficult to
keep track. From mass-market board games
like Star Wars Monopoly to more complex
titles like Imperial Assault, collectible card
games to a succession of RPGs, fans of the
series have never been short of ways to
transport themselves to a galaxy far, far away.
While numerous games have given players
their take on George Lucas’ universe, arguably
none has had as enthusiastic a reception as
the X-Wing Miniatures Game – a space combat
title that throws players into deadly dogfights
between the Empire and the Rebel Alliance.
19/05/2017 15:55
 X-WING
THE MAKING OF...
Tabletop Gaming spoke to the producer
behind the game to learn about its creation,
its continued success and how its design
team aimed to capture the spirit of the Star
Wars franchise.
TAKING OFF
Steven Kimball was the producer behind
X-Wing’s development. A lifelong Star Wars
fan, he vividly remembers his introduction
to the science-fantasy setting - although he
encountered the series in a chronologically
confusing way.
“I watched A New Hope when I was four
years old,” he recalls. “My grandparents had
036_040_theMakingOfXWIng_v2 MJ.indd 37
recorded Episode IV and Episode VI on a
Betamax tape, so my early memories of Star
Wars were pretty rosy; the Rebels always
came out on top! It wasn’t until my parents
recorded The Empire Strikes Back on VHS that
I fully understood the Skywalker family tree.”
His first experience of the franchise may have
been slightly muddled, but Kimball was instantly
hooked on the epic tale of lasers and lightsabers,
and he immersed himself in novels and video
games based on the films. He remembers
blasting his way through the Dark Forces first-
person shooter games, as well as piloting ships
in the 1994’s virtual flight simulator TIE Fighter.
“I craved all things Star Wars,” he says.
37
Years later, while working for US publisher
Fantasy Flight Games, Kimball would get the
opportunity to step into the galaxy he had
been obsessed with since childhood. The
company had recently acquired the licence to
produce tabletop games set in the Star Wars
universe, and one of its top priorities was to
develop a game that recreated the movies’
fast-paced deep-space dogfights.
The company first assigned design duties
to Jay Little, whose previous work included
the card game Blood Bowl: Team Manager,
based on the ‘80s cult favourite fantasy football
board game by Games Workshop. But when
Little was sidelined by health problems, ▶
19/05/2017 15:56
 THE MAKING OF…
Kimball took a more active role in the game’s
development, working with designers Corey
Konieczka (Forbidden Stars, Battlestar
Galactica) and brothers Adam and Brady
Sadler (Warhammer Quest: The Adventure
Card Game). From the very start, the team
had a clear idea of the kind of experience they
wanted to create.
“From a gameplay standpoint, there really
was only one mandate from the beginning,” says
Kimball. “We had to make it feel like X-Wings
and TIE fighters duking it out in space.
“From there, it was more or less a stream-
of-consciousness brainstorm to settle on
what things were most important. We had to
determine how integral pilots would be and,
of course, we have to have droids. Torpedoes
saved the Rebellion, so those needed to be in
the game, too.”
The team came up with a shopping list of
thematic elements for the game. But while
these snippets of lore from the original
movies were important, X-Wing also needed
a mechanical underpinning that evoked
the feeling of the films’ frantic space battles,
036_040_theMakingOfXWIng_v2 MJ.indd 38
where daring, bravado and split-second
reactions could mean the difference between
life and death.
Their eventual answer was a system of
hidden orders, with players using cardboard
dials to secretly issue commands to the ships
under their control. Different options would see
ships madly accelerate, pull razor-sharp turns or
make wide swoops across the battlefield. With
both players issuing orders to their ships before
simultaneously revealing their choices, it made
it critical to anticipate opponents’ moves and
to come up with audacious and unpredictable
plays that could turn the tide of a fight.
Pulled off at the right time, these hair-raising
manoeuvres could be pivotal moments in a
game. But they came with a cost; certain moves
would inflict stress on pilots, restricting them
to tamer actions until they’d had a chance to
recover their composure. It meant that players
needed to be judicious when employing their
flashiest and most effective techniques.
Additionally, different pilots came with
different skill ratings, with more competent
fliers moving after their opponents, giving
■ Below: The X-Wing
core set includes the
titular Rebel ship
and two TIE fighters.
A variant based on
The Force Awakens is
also available.
■ Opposite: Players
can customise the
pilots and upgrades
assigned to their fleet.
38
them a chance to react to their enemies’
actions. Higher-rated pilots would also get
to fire their weapons before lower-ranked
adversaries, giving them the chance to wipe
out enemies before they’d had the chance to
inflict damage in return.
While different characters offered various
gameplay opportunities, it was crucial to the
team that they should also reflect their source
material. Alongside pilot skill rankings, they
developed an array of different special abilities
designed to represent the heroes, villains and
supporting characters from the series.
“It wasn’t hard to be inspired by the Star
Wars IP,” says Kimball. “Not only did we all
know it so well, but many of those iconic
characteristics lent themselves incredibly well
to mechanics in the game.
“For example, R2 repairs the ship – ‘R2, that
stabiliser’s broken loose again. See if you can’t
lock it down.’ We incorporated Luke’s uncanny
Force powers to avoid targeting – ‘The Force
is strong with this one…’ Biggs has a target
painted on his back as a wingman covering his
formation lead – ‘Hurry, Luke, they’re coming
in much faster this time. I can’t hold them!’”
KEEPING IT SHIPSHAPE
If representing characters in a form that felt
true to Star Wars fans was a priority, it wasn’t
the only one. The team also realised that the
ships themselves were an integral part of the
series’ appeal, from ominous TIE fighters to
the Millennium Falcon, and they endeavoured
to ensure that the game’s various spacecraft
behaved in a way that would be authentic to the
films. Even less recognisable craft received their
own set of in-game mechanisms to ensure
that they matched their on-screen portrayal.
22/05/2017 15:05
 “A
juggernaut
like X-Wing,
regardless
of its relative
simplicity to
learn, required
the utmost
attention to
detail during
development.”
“When it came to designing the Lambda
shuttle, we wanted it to feel like a tugboat
amid the frantic fighters,” says Kimball. “But
we also wanted there to be something special
it could do that none of the other zippy ships
could do: stop moving entirely.
“The mere fact that the Imperial player can
choose to invoke a zero-speed manoeuvre
and essentially just hit the brakes forced
players to respect the shuttle. If they didn’t,
they were staring down the barrel of its front-
facing arsenal. That’s a great example of what
happens when we achieve synergy between
a combination that is both thematically
satisfying and mechanically interesting.”
This dual consideration for thematic
authenticity and compelling game
mechanisms led to dramatic, cinematic
battles. It gave the game psychological and
tactical depth. Players could go from the
elation of evading an aggressive opponent to
the sinking feeling of being caught in a deadly
crossfire between multiple enemy ships –
often in the course of a single turn.
While Kimball and his team were
confident that they’d nailed the tense, chaotic
atmosphere of space fighter combat, they
knew that their job wasn’t finished yet.
036_040_theMakingOfXWIng_v2 MJ.indd 39
“Every game goes through loads of changes
during its development cycle,” Kimball says.
“And a juggernaut like X-Wing, regardless of
its relative simplicity to learn, required the
utmost attention to detail.
“X-Wing was one of FFG’s earliest games to
benefit from our beta process, which entails
us printing a limited quantity of ‘finished
games’ and shipping them out to our most
trusted testers. I can’t begin to describe
how invaluable that process was to the final
product being as polished as it was.”
Based on feedback from playtesters, the
team tweaked the game’s combat rules to make
certain types of heavy long-ranged attacks more
effective – the kind of subtle alteration that
Kimball says couldn’t have been made without
detailed information from actual gameplay
sessions. Since the game’s release, he and his
colleagues have had similar realisations about
other aspects of the design. But with regularly-
released expansions offering players new ships
to command, the team has been able to address
some of these elements.
“Now that we have nearly a dozen waves’
worth of ships, we have our own personal
wishlist of tweaks we now see would have
made the game better. Honestly, this is no
39
different than any other game we work on;
it’s just that, on a game like X-Wing, any
elements we would like to have changed in
hindsight might annoy us more than similar
things on a standalone game.
“When a game is designed as a finite,
closed system, you fundamentally approach
it much differently than one that is intended
to be a living line. Its needs, its player base
and its community are unique. Fortunately,
the natural progression that comes with an
evolving meta-game allows us to constantly
push and pull various levers, affording us
more latitude to make balance adjustments
as well as fully explore every crevice of
meaningful design space.”
While this evolving gameplay experience
was critically important, it was just one part
of X-Wing’s intended appeal. In addition to
its carefully-honed rules, the game needed to
look spectacular on the table.
Fantasy Flight worked directly with
Lucasfilm, the studio behind Star Wars, to
ensure that the miniatures used in the game
matched the dimensions and appearance of
the craft in the movies. They used the original
Lucasfilm models built for the films’ battle
sequences to create detailed 3D digital ▶
19/05/2017 15:56
 THE MAKING OF…
replicas which could be used to precisely
reproduce ships at a tabletop scale.
Kimball says Lucasfilm and Disney, which
acquired the rights to the Star Wars franchise
for £2.5 billion in 2012, had been extremely
willing to help with the game.
“We have a fantastic relationship with
Disney and Lucasfilm,” he says. “We’ve
worked with a lot of licensors over the
years and, for the duration of X-Wing’s run,
Lucasfilm has sought to help us troubleshoot,
problem-solve and generally help us
find a solution that suits our needs while
maintaining the integrity of their IP. Not all
licensors are as amenable to requests or as
eager to help us devise a solution as opposed
to just saying, ‘No, that’s not going to work.’”
READY TO FLY
Unlike other miniatures games like Warhammer
40,000, X-Wing’s plastic models came pre-
assembled and painted – a move Kimball says
was designed to appeal to fans who might
not be enthusiastic about the model-making
dimension of other battle games.
“The idea was to make the game as accessible
as possible,” he says. “The modelling and hobby
portion of minis games is merely one aspect;
there’s also the world and the IP that players
really dive into, and of course the gameplay
itself. We knew that the IP would bring a lot of
attention to this game, and our dedication to
making the gameplay thematically appropriate
meant that we intended to achieve the perfect
meld of those two aspects.
■ Ships range from smaller
fighters to larger vessels,
such as Han Solo’s iconic
Millennium Falcon.
036_040_theMakingOfXWIng_v2 MJ.indd 40
“When a publisher
opts to require any end-user
assembly, no matter how simple, your
potential audience shrinks. If that
assembly requires gluing, then your
audience shrinks substantially.
If that assembly requires
clipping from sprues
before gluing, your
audience shrinks by an
order of magnitude; you’re
appealing to only the most die-
hard hobbyists.
“We knew full well that any hobbyists who
cared to kit-bash, touch up highlights or
repaint an entire ship would just go ahead
and do that anyway, so we opted to cast our
net as wide as possible. To be honest, it paid
off quite well. Those are some of the highest-
quality pre-painted game pieces you can find
anywhere on the market.”
STAY ON TARGET
This combination of tactical challenge and
aesthetic appeal struck a chord with players
when X-Wing was released in 2012. It was
accessible, but full of tactical possibility,
and it found a receptive audience among
Star Wars fans as well as the community of
dedicated miniatures gamers.
The game has developed a thriving
competitive scene, with organised competitions
taking place in game stores and gaming venues
around the world, and a system of regional,
national and world championships. But while
top-level competitive play is an important
aspect of X-Wing’s success, Kimball argues that
its simplicity makes it a game that fans can
easily pick up and play, even if they never
intend to take it any further than their
kitchen table.
“X-Wing’s passionate
competitive scene is, in many
ways, the backbone of the
product,” he says.
“They do so much on
their own to drive enthusiasm,
promote the game, foster a friendly
community, and overall do whatever they
can to grow the player base. The great health
of the product line and its longevity certainly
have been impacted by these devoted
players. I would call this type of
success narrower, because it is a
limited audience, but it delves
very deep.
“In other ways, the game has been
a huge success on a more casual level. The
40
■ Waves of expansions have added
ships from the latest films, including
Rogue One’s TIE striker and U-Wing.
simple rules are easy to grasp, but they allow
for some exceptionally rich planning, agonising
decisions and really great payoffs when you
predict your opponent’s move and he lands
directly in your crosshairs. This type of success
runs much wider, but also a bit shallower as
these players are not keeping up with every
single new ship released, and some of them
were only interested in ships from the films.”
X-Wing’s success has led to a host of
other games set against Star Wars’ thematic
backdrop. In 2015, its publishers released
Star Wars: Armada, a sister title which used
smaller-scale models, allowing players to fight
battles between some of the series’ biggest
and most powerful ships. Fantasy Flight
also publishes titles including the Destiny
card and dice game and a set of roleplaying
games that let players step into the shoes
of characters in the films’ war-torn galaxy.
X-Wing’s game system also provides the basis
for the company’s new Runewars miniatures
game – a fantasy battle game competing with
industry giant Warhammer.
Kimball has now moved on from the
project. Today, he heads the design studio at
Pandemic and Carcassonne publisher Z-Man
Games. But X-Wing remains a career highlight
– one that still appeals to the four-year-old
who first discovered the Star Wars series on
old Betamax tapes.
“When I was young I had several Star Wars
Micro Machines playsets,” he says. “Funnily
enough, I recall my younger brother and me
on my living room floor devising rules for how
these ships would fly and fight in space.
“Who knew I would someday be afforded
the opportunity to actually turn that
childhood dream into a reality?” ■
22/05/2017 15:05
 On-line In Store Mobile

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p041.indd 1 17/05/2017 14:46

 “EVERYBODY STARTS OUT
FRIENDS, EVERYBODY'S FINE.
ABOUT MID-WAY THROUGH,
THAT ALL GOES TO HELL.”
Pop culture art studio Mondo has put the tabletop in its sights with the first official board game
based on John Carpenter’s legendary horror flick The Thing. We tie brand director Jay Shaw to
a sofa and ask him about teaming up with publisher Project Raygun on Infection at Outpost 31
Interview by Matt Jarvis

From vinyl and posters to clothing and
collectibles, you’ve dipped your toes
into nearly every aspect of pop culture
– bar board games. Why was now the
time to break onto the tabletop?
It's exactly like everything else Mondo does
– one or a few of us got really excited about
games and kind of said, 'Well, why aren't we
creating games? It doesn't make any sense,
we should be making games.'
In the beginning there was a little bit of
reluctance to jump into it because making
a game is extraordinarily complicated,
obviously. We couldn't do that ourselves,
there's no way to do it. We don't have any
game designers on staff. Quite frankly, we
didn't really know anybody in the industry
at the time. But I had a friend who's an artist
– he was over at USAopoly and they'd been
planning on starting this Project Raygun
initiative; they really wanted to get into more
boutique stuff.
A year later, we had it all connected
and we said, 'Okay, great, we've got the
pieces here: we've got a phenomenal game
designer, a place that actually knows how to
manufacture and put out games, licences,
artists, all of us have a passion for this stuff.'
So from there it was we're definitely doing a
game, what game should it be? That's how we
got to The Thing.
It was simply a stroke of luck?
It's just like everything, exactly. Honestly,
Mondo do a lot of big things but we're a
really small company. We're just a handful of

42

042_045_mondo_v2 MJ.indd 42 19/05/2017 15:57

 people and we're all complete geeks about
things. When we went into soundtracks, it
was really simply because one of the creative
directors wanted to put out a soundtrack,
he thought it was a good idea. Then all of a
sudden we become a record label a few years
later. It's that kind of thing where everything
starts as a goofy idea and you go: 'Yeah, I
don't know, I love doing this stuff, this would
be a lot of fun. Let's see if we can do that
for real.' So that's how all of it happens, and
definitely how this happened. A complete roll
of the dice, as it were.
Did Infection at Outpost 31 always start
out as an adaptation of The Thing?
In the beginning we all floated ideas back
and forth. We said: 'Well, let's definitely
do a licensed game and something that
either Mondo already has the licence for or
that we can go out and get. But something
that's really going to resonate with
Mondo fans.’ That was a big priority in the
beginning: let's find a game that's going to
work for Mondo fans but also has a really,
really interesting gameplay mechanic built
into the narrative.
To be honest, when I very first started
thinking we should do board games, The Thing
was the first one that came to mind – because
it was almost the most obvious. You've got this
cast of characters, hidden identity, paranoia,
042_045_mondo_v2 MJ.indd 43
people trying to kill each other. There's so
many gameplay mechanics that are already
built into the film, it just made so much sense.
Then we started thinking of two-dozen other
films that already have a really neat gameplay
mechanic, but kept coming back to The Thing.
It's a combination of it being a good game
but also it being one of our favourite movies,
so that was a pretty obvious choice. Then we
went after the licence and luckily got it. We
had the Thing licence in other capacities, but
it's never been out there for a board game.
Did you have to go through director
John Carpenter's people?
The Thing is Universal, they own the film, so
that's where the licensing goes through. If
we want to use John Carpenter's name, that
involves going to John and working with him
on that side of it.
I know he's really busy right now, but we've
reached out to him, had a bit of conversation
back and forth, and showed him what we're
doing. So we're kind of working on that, that's
a little bit up in the air right now as to how
that'll go.
We would love to involve John in any way
he wants to be involved because we adore
him and his film. It's more what John's got
time to do and what he's really up for doing –
he's working on music so he's definitely very,
very busy.
43
Maybe you could convince him to
record a soundtrack for the game...
That would be incredible, are you kidding? If
John sees this, yes, please, let's do that.
The Thing has a very distinct
atmosphere and some truly horrific
things happen during the movie.
How do you even begin to capture
that in a card game form?
That was the big challenge with this. You
can build a game based around the idea of
hidden identity, passing missions with teams
and all of that. You can build that game – it's
not easy, I wouldn't dismiss it by saying it's
easy – but to have that game truly feel like
you're playing the film, that's where the
challenge comes in.
That's where we spent most of our
development time: going back and forth
and saying, 'Okay, I love how this plays, but
this moment in the film actually happens
right about here and you wouldn't have
it over here.' Every little beat from the
movies, whether it's tying somebody up to
a couch so they can't come on a mission
because you're paranoid of them or what
monsters you encounter, that's important.
You're not going to encounter the Blair
monster before you do the dog. That's
never going to happen, you've got to play it
exactly like the film. ▶
19/05/2017 15:57
 INFECTION AT OUTPOST 31
■ Right: Infection at Outpost 31 sees players
attempting to escape from the Antarctic station
while working out who among them has been
replaced by the shapeshifting Thing.
■ Below: The game's box art showcases Mondo's
pop culture design talent, seen in its work on
posters, vinyl sleeves and figurines.
■ Opposite: Players collect items and equipment
to help complete missions, and can test their
fellow survivors' blood for infection.
We really went back and forth. All of us
have watched the movie a hundred times, I've
probably watched it a thousand times. We kept
saying: 'What from the movie can we add here?’
‘How can this feel more like the film?’ ‘How
can this be paced more like the film?' You've
got to figure out how to make that happen.
And, y'know, poor Joe [Van Wetering, designer]
– every time one of these things comes up,
he's got to go back in, break the game again
and rebuild half of it just to make some small
concession because it's so important to me that
this one thing or moment happens.
But through a ton of back-and-forths – just
really honestly development tennis – we were
able to get it to a point where I feel like you really
are playing the movie. It genuinely feels that way.
Everybody starts out friends, everybody's fine;
things are nice and co-operative. About mid-way
through, that all goes to hell. It's table chaos for
the rest of it, that's kind of neat. That was huge; it
was huge to make it feel exactly like the film.
With Project Raygun being the tabletop
experts in the relationship, what was
the extent of Mondo's involvement?
Initially the structure was going to be that
Project Raygun would handle the development
042_045_mondo_v2 MJ.indd 44
of the game and mechanics and we would
stick with the art. We tried to do that so we
weren't in each other's kitchens and made
sure that they were doing exactly what they
wanted to do and we were doing exactly what
we wanted to do and doing our best and then
we'd marry it together at the end.
Luckily, what ended up happening is we've
all become friends – we've got this great
working relationship, we talk every day – so
naturally everything started to bleed over. All of
a sudden, the Project Raygun folks are looking
at the art: 'Well, what if this?' and 'What about
this?' 'What if we did this?' and 'What if we
made this happen?' It's all incredible feedback
– 'Yeah, this a great idea, let's do that!'
Conversely, on the Mondo side, as I'm
playing more games and going nuts about
games, I would start chiming in and saying:
'Wait, what if this changed to this and this
changed to that?'
Joe's been very, very gracious in allowing
that type of collaboration to happen. The
science of it, the maths of it, that stuff I don't
understand at all. So the heavy lifting had to
happen on the Project Raygun side in terms of
making the game work and really, really doing
it right. But just in terms of everybody jumping
44
in with feedback, it's truly been both sides just
throwing as much as they possibly can at it.
Was there anything you wanted to
include in the final game but couldn't?
There was one element where I thought: 'I'd love
to be able to have this, this would be so cool, I
wish we could but it obviously just doesn't really
work because we've already got the game A to
Z.' That's kind of it – you can't put this back in,
there's no way to shoehorn something.
So everybody got together and I said: 'Hey, I've
got an idea – what if we did an expansion? Here's
how that expansion could work, it's a small thing,
but boy would it really change the whole end of
the game.’ We got both teams completely back
into it and put together a small expansion.
I won't give away too much, but if you're a
Thing fan and you happen to love this game
– which we hope you do – that expansion is
going to absolutely complete the film and
complete the game itself. It already works
really well, but there was one little moment
where I was like, 'Argh, I love that moment at
the end and it doesn't work for this game.' But
that's the miracle of board gaming – you can
create an expansion that's just totally different
from the rest of the game.
22/05/2017 09:13
 Does it just involve sipping from
cups in the cold, as MacReady and
Childs do at the end of the film?
(Laughs) Not quite. That was one moment
in the game where you don't really get that.
Sitting down with Childs and seeing what
happens. That would be boring. You'd have
no idea who's who. But we did talk about how
you wish you could do more with this game.
Because we think the game's phenomenal,
we know it's going to really well received. So
you start thinking: can we do a second game?
And it's like no, you can't. This particular film,
this particular story, has an end. There isn't
really a way to go about it. That was one of the
challenges with this particular story – we can
only do this once.
Was it always the plan for the game’s
structure to follow the story of the film?
Yeah, because that's the thing: we're trying to
marry three different elements at the same
time. Chiefly, the game has to play great. That's
the only way people are going to get back
to it. To be honest, as a game fan, if a game
doesn't play well I generally don't care what
it looks like or what it's based on, it makes no
difference – it's boring, it stays on the shelf and
I'm not recommending it to anybody.
Then, on the other side of it, this has to
play well for people who are fans of The
Thing. Because this isn't a movie people
have seen once or twice. People who have
seen the movie a gazillion times, can quote it
completely, probably have educated guesses
as to who's the Thing at the end of the film –
those are the folks that we really, really want
to excite with this. In doing that, you have to
stay true to the narrative of the film. Because
that's one of the most fun things – playing the
game as one of the characters and going, ‘This
is exactly what would've happened here.'
The other side of it is the art, in that this is
almost a living Mondo poster. So when we're
doing the art we make sure we're replicating
elements from Outpost 31; if we don't have
042_045_mondo_v2 MJ.indd 45
something from the screen we really dig in
and work out what that would've looked like
in this Antarctic base. We're 100% slaves to the
material. We want to stay very true to it.
Mondo had never worked on a board
game before this project. Will that
change now you've worked on this?
Oh, absolutely. That's the thing: when we
get into stuff we really don't get in for the
one shot and then run away. If we're going
to put in the effort and the resources, it's
worth creating a new category for us. So this
is our first game, but we are already planning
the next dozen. We're 100% committed to
gaming. This game is basically the launch of
the Mondo games division.
Will you be tackling those alone or are
they likely to be more collaborations?
We're figuring it out now. We've got some
interest from some incredible, really well known
games designers out there. They've come
and said: 'Hey, listen, I like what you guys are
doing already, can we work together?' We're all
about collaboration, so we're definitely looking
in to working with other designers. We haven't
necessarily figured out the whole structure of
what Mondo Games looks like, it's more an
organic process. We're really lucky in that our
first partnership just worked out really, really
well, so we'll see where it goes. So far, so good.
What have you learnt so far about
designing for a board game
versus a record or poster?
Wow, it's really something else because the
mechanics of the game are complicated
enough. That's already something that it breaks
my brain to think about that. Because when
you play, a good game plays like it's not very
complicated. But the engine behind it is so
complex that it's just mindblowing. So that
kind of translates over to the actual design, the
graphic design of the game, where you look at
a game and go: 'Cool, it's a board, a couple of
45
pieces and a box, this can't be that difficult.'
Oh, no – it is that difficult, once you really dive
in and start looking at how you design all of this
and how these things interact with each other.
You have to make sure that everything
you're designing is designed not only to look
good, but it has to be functional. It has to be
something where a player isn't going to look
at it and be confused. That's something that
drives me insane about some games – it's
almost like the information design is an
afterthought and then you're sitting there
flipping things over and looking for info and
trying to figure it out. I hate that stuff!
Why do you think we're seeing more
designers from outside the world of
games moving onto the tabletop?
One thing I definitely want to be very clear about
is that Mondo isn't inventing board games. We're
not stepping into some uncharted territory and
saying, ‘Hey everybody, here's the first board
game, enjoy this one!’ It's not happening.
There's a rich, rich history in this community
of really incredible designers, companies and
artists making just the best stuff ever. I adore
board gaming. So when we come into this, we
really want to jump in but we want to contribute.
The hope is that our involvement in the gaming
community is only going to strengthen the
gaming community and give it more appeal
outside of what it currently has. Because I wish
board games were ten times bigger than they are,
and they're already huge. I want this industry
to thrive. I want people to have every option on
Earth in terms of what they can play, how they
can play it, when they can play it – all of that.
I would love to be able to introduce our
entire roster of artists and all of our fans,
everybody, into gaming. I mean, heck, they
don't even have to make games for us. Start
playing them, start buying them, start having
fun with them. That's what we would love to
do – we really want to bring our fans over to
this side of things. Because we're desperately
in love with it ourselves. ■
19/05/2017 15:58
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10:47
 ON TOP
OF THE WORLD We speak with international champions in everything from Magic: The Gathering
and X-Wing to Scrabble and Catan about taking their hobby to a pro level
and get them to reveal their expert tips for perfecting your play
Words by Matt Jarvis

47

047_053_proGamers_v2 MJ.indd 47 19/05/2017 15:59

 PRO GAMING

SPREADING HIS WINGS

Barely more than a year after he first encountered the game, Nand Torfs was
crowned X-Wing world champion. The Belgian pro looks back on his journey and
explains why he wants money and competitive gaming to stay separate

I
n the summer of good lists, then I learned about Dengaroo out. It's different to Magic, because every ship
2015, Nand Torfs lists. That the list I played the world is allowed to play in a tournament.
played his first game championship with. It's not a list I made but “I buy every ship once, just to play it and
of X-Wing with his it's a list that was good in the meta in the USA. figure out how it works. You only figure it out
nephew and friend. I chose that list because it was good for my if you play with it, so you have to play your
Instantly, the Star Wars play style. I felt comfortable playing it.” ship to gather how it works.”
dogfighting hit took It’s learning these lists that Torfs says is Behind Magic, X-Wing is perhaps the
a hold on him; that November, the Belgian what separates casual fans from competitive most popular tabletop game currently on the
gamer sat down to follow the fourth annual players, but adds that his own draw was organised play scene, and its status is only going
world championship. It made an impression. simply the enjoyment of an engaging battle. up. Yet the former champ (Torfs placed second
“I really wanted to go into competitive “The game remains fun, that's the most in the recent 2017 final) expresses a desire to
play,” he recounts now. important thing – to keep it fun,” he observes. keep things on a smaller scale.
“I had to look for a community, because there “It's just really fun to play against people “I'm not a fan of pumping money into
were the three of us – if you play with only one of the same level. That was the thing that the prize pools,” he contends. “I think the
or two other persons you'll have had enough of attracted me the most.” atmosphere will get tense and bitchy. The
it after a while, because you're always playing The other big step that players looking good atmosphere is released when there's
the same list against the same guy. I found a to participate in major tournaments need money at stake.
community and there I could play against other to overcome is the periodic waves of new “When you play the tournaments, you
people and play tournaments as well.” releases, which can drastically change the make a lot of friends. People are nice and
Just over a year on from his decision to state of the competitive landscape – making you all have the same interests in Star Wars
go pro, Torfs was named 2016 X-Wing world them vital an essential purchase for those and the game. When you play a Magic
champion, bringing to an end the three-year looking to perfect their play. tournament, the atmosphere is not as good as
reign of renowned player Paul Heaver. Torfs is “I like the pace the ships come out,” Torfs says. X-Wing. That's why I don't want to get money
the first to extol Heaver’s talents when asked “Every five, six months. For new players, I guess involved. Just prize support: win a ship or a
what advice he would offer to budding fans it's pretty difficult to start playing competitively few ships or a play mat or something. If you
looking to recreate his rapid success. because they don't have all the ships that came can win $5,000, people will get bitchy.” ■
“Watch games of Paul Heaver and try to
figure out what ships are good at and try to fly
them,” he counsels. “Fly what you feel you're
good at and focus on that and keep practising.
If you have a list you think is good and you
play it a couple of times but you lose, give
up on the list. Keep practising and try to find
other players. Build up a community. Those
were the things that helped me.”
Lists – the makeup of ships, pilots and
upgrades used by players – are key to
competitive play. Combinations that prove
effective are shared on the internet and around
the ‘meta’ community, and rise and fall in
popularity as ships are introduced or ‘nerfed’ to
limit becoming overpowered in organised play.
Torfs had made a name for himself in the 2016
Belgian regionals by learning how to counteract
an especially notorious and widespread
loadout known as Triple Jumpmasters.
“I had a lot of difficulties choosing my list to
go to Worlds with,” he reveals. “The list I played
the most in the regionals was Chewbacca,
two Z[-95]s and a Y-Wing. When the [TIE]
Defenders came out, it was really a counter
for the list I played the Jumpmasters with.
Then I had to find a new list and I couldn't find
anything. I went looking on the net for some

48

047_053_proGamers_v2 MJ.indd 48 19/05/2017 15:59


KING OF THE WORD
Scrabble number one Brett Smitheram explains how
parasitic wasps and cannibals led him to glory
“P
eople
sometimes
assume
before they meet me
that I’m obsessed
with spelling,” says
Brett Smitheram.
Smitheram’s grievance would be an
unusual one for most people, but as Scrabble
world champion it’s become a somewhat
predictable problem – as has the odd
assumption that the recruitment consultant’s
mastery of letters on a grid means he struggles
to put together words off the tabletop.
“People assume that Scrabble, or indeed
any competitive mind sport, requires a high
level of geekiness and limited social skills
to really excel at,” he adds. “While there’s no
doubt these people do exist in the world of
high-level Scrabble, I would say they are no
more prevalent than in any other area of life.
That said, a level of dedication is required to
be world-class at anything – I haven’t seen
anyone calling Lennox Lewis a geek for his
devotion to his sport recently, though.”
Smitheram’s own devotion began when he
was a teenager, but unlike most pro players
who advance a fun pastime into a more
serious involvement, he insists: “I’ve actually
never played Scrabble as a hobby. I’ve always
047_053_proGamers_v2 MJ.indd 49
played it competitively, even with other pupils
when I was young.
“At the age of 15 or 16 I found myself deciding
whether I wanted to be really good at chess
or Scrabble – and given that my school has a
former pupil who is an international chess
Grandmaster, I felt it was time we balanced that
with having a Scrabble Grandmaster, too!”
While Smitheram’s obsession with Scrabble
hasn’t changed during the more than two
decades he’s been playing, he has continued
to find new reasons to fall in love with the
wordy classic.
“As a young player it was the sense of
community,” he explains. “I got to meet
a huge variety of people at tournaments,
from all backgrounds and from all over the
globe, all with a common passion. As I have
grown, I remain engaged by the infinite
variety in the game – no two games are
ever the same and, regardless of how great
or poor a player you are, you always have
to be on the ball as one bad tile draw can
sometimes change things completely.”
Having a dictionary-like power of recall can
obviously help to make maximum use of the
random selection of letters that pop up each
turn, but Smitheram admits that even the best
of the best need to take an educated guess
every now and then.
49
“BRACONID, a parasitic wasp, in the final
game of the world final, has to rank up there,”
he answers, when asked to recall his favourite
play of his career. “It scored 176, covering two
triple word scores.
“However, my fondest memory is of a
complete guess years ago: EXOPHAGY. I
knew the prefix means ‘out’ and the suffix
‘eating’ so I assumed it meant perhaps getting
a takeaway. It actually means ‘the tendency
of cannibals not to eat members of their own
family’. So, yes, eating out.”
As for the seemingly random arrangements
of letters that often spell out obscure and
specialist phrases (looking at you, QI),
Smitheram offers an impassioned defence.
“There are just over 161,000 words of two
to nine letters in length,” he explains. “Top
Scrabble players will know a large majority
of these, some know virtually all of them.
Sometimes people dismiss them as ‘Scrabble
words’, by which they mean they aren’t really
words. This isn’t a fair assessment though, as
the English language is ancient and huge in
breadth and depth – I only recently saw an
anoa for the first time in a zoo. That didn’t
make it any less real before I met it!”
Alongside Monopoly and Cluedo, Scrabble
remains one of the UK’s quintessential
tabletop favourites. Despite this, Smitheram
sees the American-made game as somewhat
neglected in its adopted home compared to
the rest of the world.
“The energy and vibrancy of the Scrabble
scene in Asia is truly incredible,” he enthuses.
“Recently there was a tournament involving
over 1,500 school children in Pakistan, and
in Thailand the game is immensely popular
– top Scrabble players sometimes get treated
like rock stars!
“The UK is lagging behind, which is ironic
given that we invented the language from
which the game originated, but I hope that
our efforts in this and coming years will
turn this around. That said, there are still
tournaments happening all over the country
every month, so if anyone wants to try it out,
they should!” ■
19/05/2017 15:59
 PRO GAMING
William Cavaretta went from unwrapping Catan for Christmas to being crowned world champion.
The master Settler considers how victory can land on the lucky roll of a die
“I
never quite
imagined that I
would one day be
the world champion of
a game which has been
pretty much a hobby
of mine since being
introduced to it,” says William Cavaretta.
About five years ago, Cavaretta opened
a fresh copy of The Settlers of Catan given
to him for Christmas by his family. It was a
familiar introduction to the gateway game, and
Cavaretta quickly found himself enthralled by
the legendary Euro.
“After playing with my family for a while,
I wanted more, and found that I could play
online and anytime of the day or night,” he
says, describing his Catan ‘addiction’. “For a
short time, I just played the basic Catan game,
but after trying out the other expansions and
scenarios, I was definitely hooked. I used to
watch experienced players play online all the
time, and often times, the experience was
as if I was playing. That led into me playing
against those players and building my skill
up. From there, I started competing in online
tournaments and doing really well.”
His confidence running high, Cavaretta
entered himself for the US championship in
the hope of securing a spot at the bi-annual
world tournament.
“I really didn’t know what to expect, I was
simply there playing the game I loved and
seeing how far I could get,” he says. “I was very
047_053_proGamers_v2 MJ.indd 50
SETTLE FOR MORE
surprised to make it all the way to second place
in the US national tournament and a rank off
from competing in the Worlds in Berlin later
that year. Who would’ve known two years later,
I’d win the national tournament and a spot in
the world championship?”
Catan has become a modern tabletop classic,
with Hollywood stars Instagramming their
games and TV comedy The Big Bang Theory
featuring Klaus Teuber’s masterpiece multiple
times. When it comes to competitive matches,
though, that friendly edge quickly vanishes.
“At the professional level, anything goes,”
Cavaretta warns. “There are certainly no ‘cuddle’
rules, no move which is off-limits. Professional
players tend to be more a serious type; all trying
to achieve the goal of winning.”
One element that makes Catan stand out
from many other Euros played at a high level
is the presence of luck, introduced through
the rolling of dice to generate resources. It’s
unusual for games with such a strong reliance
on fate to survive in tournament lineups, but
Cavaretta suggests that the role of luck is key to
Catan’s unique appeal.
“Luck consists of two parts: good luck and
bad luck,” he retorts. “In Catan, you want to
make moves which will increase the ‘good luck’
while decreasing the ‘bad luck’ factors for you.
“Catan has the right amount of skill, luck and
variability which makes it the perfect game for
playing competitively. Whether you place first
or last, or are having a good or bad start, you
always have a shot at turning that around.”
50
It may now be more than two decades old,
but Catan’s popularity only continues to grow
as more and more people are sucked into board
games’ growing pull. Cavaretta is confident that
the game’s huge audience could one day see its
tournaments take to an even wider global stage.
“Just five years ago, you would have to go
into a unique game store just to buy the game,
whereas now, you can purchase it at retail stores,”
he says. “Simply getting enough people to know
about the game will make it popular enough
itself so that it’s on the levels of eSports with
video games and other gaming areas that have
become popular throughout the world.”
With over 22 million sales, it’s clear that
Teuber’s Spiel des Jahres winner continues to
charm and captivate people around the globe.
Cavaretta believes that, for millions of fans,
showing their talent to the world is simply a
case of knowing the opportunity is there.
“Just this past year at the Worlds, we had a new
country represented for the very first time as one
of the 34 different countries at the tournament,”
he reveals. “That in itself should go to show that
Catan is really starting to get known by more and
more people in countries and, as that happens,
more and more will play the game and build
their skill into a competitive nature.
“The key is getting all those people to know
about Catan and the competitive events that
are available. I hear from many people who
have played Catan that they never knew there
was a championship for the game, if they did –
they would’ve tried competing in it.” ■
19/05/2017 16:00

With over 80 Mind Sports Olympiad medals to his name, Studiogiochi
founder Dario de Toffoli is one of the world’s best multi-game competitors.
He reveals his secret to excelling across the entire tabletop
M
ost players
spend a lifetime
enjoying many
different games, but
without taking their skill
past the level needed to
simply have fun. Some
are lucky enough to become an expert at a
single game. A smaller number accomplish
the feat of mastering two or three. Very few will
reach the point of Dario de Toffoli.
The founder of Italian publisher
Studiogiochi, de Toffoli is one of the world’s
leading competitors at the Mind Sports
Olympiad, a 20-year-old annual tournament
that aims to discover the best all-around
tabletop players from around the globe.
“In 1996 I was in Essen for the annual
Spieltage, leading the Italian team at the
European Board Game Championship – at that
time it was called Intergame – and I found a
flyer regarding the first MSO which happened
in 1997,” de Toffoli recalls. “I immediately
decided that it was something I could not miss.
Since then, I’ve only missed three editions.”
As with its athletic namesake, the MSO
divides competition across a wide-reaching
selection of games and genres, from modern
favourites Agricola, Carcassonne and
Ticket to Ride to abstract classics such as
chess, backgammon and Go. There’s even a
Monopoly tournament.
047_053_proGamers_v2 MJ.indd 51
MASTER OF ALL
The ultimate honour goes to the winner of the
Pentamind, an event that tallies participants’
scores in five drastically different games – which
rotate every year – to decide an overall victor. In
addition to his 87 other MSO medals, de Toffoli
has won the esteemed accolade twice, in 2002
and 2012, with his first victory making him the
oldest champion crowned.
“I don't like being dedicated to one single
game, it looks like a kind of waste to me and it
becomes boring,” he says. “If you go too deep
into one single thing – not necessarily a game
– you can also lose the framework, the larger
picture. It’s much better to me to exploit the
flexibility of the mind, to apply what you've
learned in different contests and situations.”
With Pentamind hopefuls having to prove
their prowess in such vastly dissimilar game
mechanics, I ask de Toffoli how he ensures his
tabletop talents remain comprehensive.
“The skills cannot really be universal,” he
replies. “But I try to have a universal approach
to the competitions and remain ready to
face unpredictable and difficult situations.
Sometimes you succeed and sometimes you
don’t – it's very important learning to lose.”
Of course, there can be an upside to the
Pentamind’s random selection of events –
good fortune can win out.
“I have to say that in 2012 I won the
Pentamind having a very, very poor preparation,”
de Toffoli admits. “I went to London with nothing
51
to lose, so I had no fear to lose my matches.
Maybe that was key. With a bit of luck, of course.”
While many of the games featured at the
MSO are long-term staples, with competitors
bringing years or even decades of experience
to the table, de Toffoli expresses a particular
fondness for competitions that are deliberately
impossible to prepare for.
“When possible I like the ‘learn and play’
contests: playing a tournament of a new game
that nobody knows,” he effuses. “The quickest
to work out the best strategy wins!”
As for the ingredients required for a successful
competitive mind sport, de Toffoli praises “a
good mixture of ‘agon’ and ‘alea’” – the Latin
terms for a contest and the rolling of dice.
“I mean, an aleatory engine but the
possibility to make choices to take the best
from any possible situation. Backgammon is
the perfect example of the mixture.”
Given the aptitude of its polymathic stars,
the MSO continues to stand out as one of the
tabletop’s most illustrious contests. de Toffoli
remains optimistic that competitive tabletop
gaming and its stars will only grow in wider
recognition and prestige – if the right support
is offered.
“The scene is growing and this is good,” he
says. “I hope the trend will continue.
“I think that a serious international association
of ‘multi-players’ – players who compete in
different games – has to be started.” ■
19/05/2017 16:00
 PRO GAMING

people skills. This also makes preparing for big

competitions surprisingly simple, despite the
game's notoriously long play time.
“I don't do much special, actually,” Brand
says of his pre-tournament routine. “Just
playing regularly is important, of course. There
are some things that you learn to think about
for tournament weekends in particular – like
making sure to start a game on a full stomach
because you don't know how long it will be
before your next meal.”
Still, there are steps that players can take
to improve their chances – and the game’s
dependence on real-life interactions and
relationships can actually make cinching
victory a surprisingly complex task.
“It's key to do your best not to burn any
bridges – until a player is eliminated they will still
have an effect on the game,” Brand advises. “The
experienced players will be far more upset if you
THE ART OF WAR lie to them unnecessarily than if you have to lie
to them. A lot of the time a Diplomacy game ends
Chris Brand, holder of the North American and world up like an election in that it's the person who
champion titles for strategy epic Diplomacy, talks annoys the rest the least that does the best.
“There's a lot of interesting stuff that happens
about mastering the discussion-driven game between games at tournaments, too. When
people are trying to form those pictures of their

T
he first time Chris
Brand encountered
Diplomacy, it wasn’t
exactly love at first play.
“My dad actually
owned a copy, and I
remember trying to play
the three-player variant in the rules with him
and my brother,” he says. “That was absolutely
horrible – don't do it.”
His next few experiences with Allan B.
Calhamer’s epic political simulation were
similarly less than ideal, but something kept
Brand coming back.
“I remember playing at school when I was
16 to 18,” he explains. “A group of us used
to play in the lunch hour with ridiculously
short deadlines – five minutes, I think. I don't
remember being particularly good, although I
did have a lot of fun.
"I may have played once at the university
board gaming club. Then there was a long
drought until I got an email address and
discovered the play-by-email scene. That kept
me going for a while, and some of the online
resources helped improve my game.”
Having emigrated from the UK to Canada,
Brand took the skills he had honed online and
entered a local tournament in 2004.
“At that point, I was hooked,” he recalls.
The game finally stuck. Brand participated
in tournaments every year until the biggest
Diplomacy celebration, WorldDipCon, arrived
in Vancouver in 2007.
“That was a revelation – almost twice as
many players as the largest tournament I'd
played at up to that point, and people from
all over the world,” Brand says. “I learned
that there are different styles of play that are
associated with different parts of the world and
got to see some of the top players.”
Brand took part in more and more
competitions, slowly climbing the rankings.
Having missed 2015’s WDC in Milan, Italy, he
returned to Chicago for last year’s event, finally
earning the titles of North American champion
and world champion last year.
Diplomacy is almost entirely driven by
negotiation with other players. Opponents
deliberate, write their movements secretly and
then reveal them; social interaction is vital to
forming the alliances needed to control cities
and supply centres – and knowing when to
betray your former allies to pull ahead.
“Diplomacy is a ‘love it or hate it’ game,
unfortunately,” Brand observes. “I meet a lot of
people who've played it once and never want to
play it again. It's long, people get eliminated, and it
can be emotionally painful. But it's also uniquely
challenging. I haven't come across any other
game that's comparable. Luck only comes into it
with the initial power selection, and you're always
outnumbered, so you can't rely on tactics alone.
I like to describe it as the game where you have
to convince the other six players to let you win.”
The unique gameplay means that refining
your play comes down less to learning differing
strategies and more to improving your overall
opponents, they'll consider interactions they've
seen between games – from who was hanging
out with who to whether somebody had one too
many beers the night before. So you need to keep
your game face on for the whole weekend.”
This can be further complicated by the
international interest in the title. WorldDipCon
finds a new home country each year, but a game
built on discussion can become even more
complex when regional barriers are raised.
“Language can be a factor – my French is just
about good enough for me to avoid starvation
in France but I can really only negotiate in
English,” Brand admits. “The other big factor is
that you get regional variations in play style. You
don't want to assume no bounce in the Channel
while your neighbour assumes the opposite
because their experience is different.”
WorldDipCon will celebrate its 30th
anniversary next year, while Diplomacy itself
is almost twice that age. Although the game's
format may seem outdated, Brand is confident
that its individual achievements still deserve a
place in the hearts of today’s players.
“I'd like to encourage people to give
Diplomacy a try,” he insists. “Yes, it's nearly
60 years old now but it's a unique experience,
particularly at a tournament. Don't be afraid
to just show up and play – the rules are really
pretty simple and there will be somebody
willing to teach you if you ask. As long as you
listen well, don't take everything you're told in
the game at face value and think carefully about
your moves, you should be able to do okay.” ■

52

047_053_proGamers_v2 MJ.indd 52 19/05/2017 16:00


After leading the Greek side to victory at 2016’s Magic: The Gathering world cup,
captain and national champion Bill Chronopoulos recounts the team’s rise to the top
A
t 2012’s Magic:
The Gathering
world cup, the
Greek team ranked
among the top 32
sides in the global
tournament. The next
year, it placed in the
top 16, before becoming a finalist in 2014.
After a slight dip back into the top 16 in 2015,
last year saw captain (and Greek national
champion) Bill Chronopoulos and his co-
players finally achieve overall victory, walking
away the winners of one of the tabletop’s
most prestigious competitions.
It was the culmination of years of practice
and hard work for the four friends, but
Chronopoulos maintains that it was the side’s
resolve that ultimately paid off.
“When you want something so much and
devote time and effort to it, at some point it
comes to fruition,” he asserts.
The win overturned the devastating loss
that had occurred against Denmark two
years before, when the Greek team had been
beaten in the event’s final by the lucky draw
and casting of the powerful Duneblast card –
in a shocking event now infamously referred
to by Magic fans as ‘Daneblast’. While the
move would delay the Greeks’ glory by two
years, Chronopoulos holds no grudge.
047_053_proGamers_v2 MJ.indd 53
THE MAGIC TOUCH
“The chance that we would lose that way
in the finals two years ago was something
like 1%,” he observes. “Still, it happened and
that’s the beauty of Magic. My opponent had
a lot of very good answers against my deck,
still he didn’t draw any of them until it was
too late.”
While Magic boasts perhaps the biggest
competitive scene in the world of tabletop
gaming – the world cup alone offers a prize
pool of $250,000 and entry into the invite-
only Magic Pro Tour – it is still yet to reach the
level of video game eSports, where top-level
players are now able to support a career in
gaming full-time.
“I’m not a professional player by any
means,” Chronopoulos explains. “I’m a full-
time lawyer and Magic is still a hobby for me.
However, whatever I do, work or hobby, I
always want to be the best at it. You could call
me a very competitive hobby player.”
Law may hardly seem the easiest
career to provide spare time to
indulge in card games; Chronopoulos
explains that he and the rest of the
Greek team use virtual adaptation
Magic Online to practise their
strategies. What might be a little more
surprising, however, is the looser
approach taken to preparing decks
for major competitions.
53
“Based on the strategy I like more, which
is either mid-range or combo, and always
according to the metagame,” he says of his
own technique. “If I don’t have time, I just
copy a deck from the internet.”
It’s a similar case of efficiency when it
comes to collecting cards.
“I’m not what you call a collector,”
Chronopoulos clarifies. “I just keep the cards
I need to play with. Now though, my favorite
card is Conflagrate, the card I used to win in
the final match of the Magic world cup.”
Chronopoulos admits that while the
rather methodical style may have led him
and his teammates to global success, there
remains a charm to competing outside of
the arena.
“Competitive Magic loses some of its fun,”
he suggests. “You can’t play whatever cards
you like; you play the cards that offer you the
best chances to win.” ■
Images courtesy of Wizards of the Coast.
19/05/2017 16:03
p054.indd 1 17/05/2017 14:44
 PLAYING WITH
YOUR FOOD
Jennifer Howlett is combining the culinary with
the fantasy in a new RPG where you cook
in real life to complete quests. We asked the
author why she decided to swap dice for dicing
Interview by Matt Jarvis
Cooking With Dice is an roleplaying
game that takes place in kitchens,
rather than dungeons. How did you
come up with the recipe for the game?
I decided to create Cooking with Dice for the same
reason I decided to create [gaming fragrance
range] Adventure Scents – because I wanted to
buy it and no one had gotten around to making
anything like it yet! I've searched high and wide
and haven't found many people working on ways
to gamify home cooking, despite the popularity
of so many cooking competition TV shows.
Why was roleplaying the right genre
to mix cooking with – rather than,
say, a board or card game?
Well, the cards get really sticky when you use
them to slice cheese and scoop up salsa, so
those were right out.
Honestly, I focused on the story and the
feeling I was looking for first, then worked out the
mechanics of the game after that.
What I wanted was for cooking to feel like
an epic adventure; I wanted to get some of the
same kind of joy out of cooking dinner that I
do when I sit down with my family and play
an RPG. So, I started thinking about how to
incorporate some of the elements that make
RPGs fun into a cooking game. Characters.
Adventure scenarios. Experience points. Loot.
And, to top it off, an element of chance.
How did you integrate the real-life
cooking elements with the RPG aspects?
To begin Cooking with Dice, you read the
adventure scenario and select a character to play
for the duration of the game. Your goal is to earn
055_cookingWithDice_v2 MJ.indd 55
XP and level that character up to
the chef de cuisine (head chef). To
do this, you cook your own variations
of the basic formulas included in the book.
Each of the formulas has an associated set of
roll tables that you can use to alter the formula
and increase the number of XP it's worth. Just
roll the dice and swap out an ingredient. Each
formula has thousands of possible recipe
variations that you can customise.
Was it hard to achieve the right
balance without resulting in boring
recipes or pointless gameplay?
Definitely. I wanted it to have a classic fantasy
RPG feel to it, but it needed to be very rules-
light. Too much fiddlyness would interfere
with the cooking, so I tried to keep things
simple but entertaining. The whole game can
be played solo, co-operatively or competitively.
Is the idea with the random rolls that any
potential combination will work? Or is
there the chance that some combos will
come out as less than pleasant to eat?
I crafted the roll tables to contain ingredients that
have similar properties. For instance, you can swap
out blueberries for strawberries in a muffin without
any great risk, but swapping out blueberries for
tuna would be a crime against humanity.
We worked with a team of awesome
'playtasters' to work out the best ingredients to
include on our roll tables, but you are likely to roll
some combinations you'd never have thought to
try on your own! If you really don't like the looks
of what you've rolled, you can take a penalty to
chicken out and substitute it with something safer.
How did you decide which recipes
should be included?
It helped to pick a theme for the
first book; Cooking with Dice: The
Acid Test focuses on debunking
the idea that ‘to cook’ equals ‘to
heat’. All of the recipes in the first
book utilise acidic ingredients to
chemically 'cook' or otherwise alter
the other ingredients.
55
How tough is it to make a fantastical
creation using real-life components?
At first, it was hard to make the bridge between
a fantasy challenge and making food in your
kitchen. Originally, I tried to come up with
ways that cooking skills might represent heroic
actions in the game. Then, I realised that the
game itself should star adventure chefs that
were setting off on a quest with maxed-out
whisking skills but no ability to shoot an arrow.
The recipes you're creating aren't ones that are
inspired by a fantasy world – they're ones you're
cooking in a fantasy world, for creatures that are
in desperate need of your culinary skills.
You mentioned Adventure Scents, which
also add a real-life element to gaming. For
you, what is the importance of introducing
real-world sensations such as taste and
smell to otherwise fictional experiences?
I like when there's a blur between ‘gaming’ and
the ‘real world’.
I work as an instructional designer and
am often looking for ways to add gaming
and multisensory elements to educational
content. I love the idea of adding scent to both
classrooms and tabletop games. And I love the
idea of helping both kids and adults to improve
their cooking skills via a game.
Also, I believe the world is a better place when
it has more interesting smells and snacks in it!
What’s the best recipe you’ve created
while playing Cooking With Dice?
One of our formulas is for a Poppin’ Lemon
Drop Martini. It has a fizzy candy rim that
looks like foamy, dripping froth. Making the
candy is like a fifth-grade science fair volcano
gone wrong, and is an absolute blast. There's
a kid-friendly version of the drink without
vodka, but my favorite version was one that
had blueberries, blueberry vodka and a blue
raspberry candy rim. For some reason I named
it a BongoBlue. We tested a lot of variations
that night… ■
19/05/2017 16:04
 FROM A CURSED ISLAND TO THE

RED PLANET
Robinson Crusoe designer Ignacy Trzewiczek is taking his beloved tale of exploration and
endurance out of this world and onto a new one with First Martians. He explains why the
game's companion app is crucial to its experience and considers why Mars is all the rage
Words by Matt Jarvis

“I
t all began with fans,” Ignacy Trzewiczek
recounts when asked about the origins of
First Martians: Adventures on the Red Planet.
Hotly anticipated for years, the grand game
of survival on Mars is a spiritual successor to
the designer’s celebrated 2012 adventure title
Robinson Crusoe: Adventures on the Cursed
Island, which saw players work together to
build shelters, hunt food and resist dangerous
weather after becoming castaways.
First Martians recasts players from Robinson
Crusoe’s stranded crew of cooks, carpenters
and soldiers to become scientists, explorers
and engineers landing on Mars as humanity
prepares to settle the inhospitable rock.
“It is a co-op game,” its creator explains.
“There are a couple of managing phases at the
beginning, like the event phase when you
check new events for the round, the production adventurous game, about pirates, tigers and
phase where oxygen, energy and food are treasures, while First Martians is more of a Euro
produced, or the morale phase when you check game about managing a supply of resources,
the psychological condition of the team. fixing the habitat with spare parts and doing
"Then we move to the main phase of the your best to keep the whole place in one piece.”
game: the action phase. All players together have One stark difference from Robinson Crusoe
to plan what to do and what actions they want is the required use of a companion app on a
to resolve this round, choosing from options smartphone or tablet, which automatically
including exploring, researching, building and chooses from more than 500 events to craft a
many others. They plan, put their action pawns
on appropriate spaces on the board and then
resolve. They receive any benefits and move
to the maintenance phase to check if any vital
systems have had any malfunctions.
“If you’ve played Robinson Crusoe, you
will very quickly become familiar with the
First Martians game system. They are built
on the same engine. Robinson is a more

56

056_057_firstMartians_v2 MJ.indd 56 19/05/2017 16:04

 unique narrative throughout each game, as well
as offering the ability to save players’ current
progress in the game and change the difficulty.
“The app tracks everything that happens in
the game and using a follow-up mechanism
builds an immersive story,” Trzewiczek details.
“Things that happened in early rounds will
have consequences in later rounds because
the app remembers exactly what happened
and adjusts the story accordingly.”
The decision to make the app’s
implementation non-optional has proved
controversial with fans of Trzewiczek’s
earlier work, who have backlashed by posting
negative reviews and comments online ahead
of First Martians' release. Yet, the designer
remains convinced it was the right choice.
“Yes, we are aware that some players will
not play the game because of the fact the game
requires the app,” he admits. “We are also
aware that it makes the difference. We have
made the game like no other – because of the
app. I am confident that all players who decide
to play the game will become our evangelists
and convince new players.
“We offer amazing gameplay with an app
that is here only to help and add value to the
experience. This is no gimmick, this is not
some marketing crap just to build hype; this
is a tool to make your experience better. I am
confident we will win the hearts of the gamers.
Don't be afraid of apps. We made them to
make the game better. It is as simple as that.”
One major benefit of the technological heart
of First Martians is the ease of releasing new
expansions and scenarios for the game without
the need to produce expensive physical boxes
and components, just as Fantasy Flight has done
with Mansions of Madness’ second edition.
“We will support the game with many
updates,” Trzewiczek confirms. “With the app
being part of the game we will be able to very
easily offer players new events, adventures and
missions. There are so many players who are
skeptical to app integration – I strongly believe
they will open their eyes to the amazing
possibilities we have for them. One of these is
updates. The moment they see information in
the app that there is a new scenario ready to
download, they will smile and say: 'Hey, that's
cool.' And they will know it was a good move
to trust us.”
Even more-so than in Robinson Crusoe,
story is key to First Martians, and – alongside
the variation offered by the app’s generation
of events – the game will serve up a series
of standalone missions or can instead be
experienced through two separate campaigns.
056_057_firstMartians_v2 MJ.indd 57
“Things that happened in early
rounds will have consequences
because the app remembers
exactly what happened.”
“For those of you who prefer a more 'Euro'
style of game, we have six missions,” Trzewiczek
says. “They are more puzzle-ish, more like a
game of Pandemic. They put you in a situation,
give you goal and objective, and ask you to solve
the problem and win the game. On the other
hand, for players who prefer more narrative-
driven games, who have a background in RPG
and other games with strong narration, we have
the campaign mode; the story unfolds in five
chapters, in five unique scenarios connected
with one major plotline. There is time to get
attached to your characters, gain experience
points and think about the theme of the story.”
First Martians may be making its debut this
year, but Trzewiczek hasn’t forgotten about
the title’s predecessor, releasing an updated
version of Robinson Crusoe at the end of last
year to mark its fifth anniversary. With half a
decade and multiple versions between him
and the original, I ask the designer if he had
discovered any elements of the game’s during
the making of First Martians and remaking of
Robinson Crusoe that he felt hadn’t aged well
in the time since.
“You put me on a very dangerous spot here,”
he jokes. “I love Robinson and while working
on the new edition I didn't want to change
even a single piece of the game. I am really
proud of Robinson and, to be honest, while I
was working on First Martians quite often I was
taking Robinson and checking how I solved
57
this or that issue back then. 'Man, I was smart
back then – I wish I was that smart today,' was
quite often in my head.
“Robinson is all about single scenarios, but
it also has a campaign. We released it in 2013;
it was called H.M.S. Beagle and was sort of
precursor of the whole legacy hype we see in
the board game industry these days. With First
Martians we were able to go even further with
the campaign mode because the game comes
with a supporting app.”
First Martians may be going further
mechanically, but it’s not the only game taking
another giant leap for mankind, as the Red
Planet re-enters the public consciousness
through recent games such as Terraforming
Mars, Mission to Mars 2049 and Martians:
A Story of Civilization, as well as Hollywood
blockbusters such as The Martian. Yet, it’s not
only in fiction that the planet is growing closer.
“Mars is hot these days,” Trzewiczek
observes passionately. “Why is that? Because
we are one step from landing on Mars. Because
NASA, SpaceX, Mars One – all these amazing
projects that are getting worldwide attention –
are so fascinating.
“With no doubt we will land on Mars. When
our parents were young, humans landed on the
Moon. Now, in our time, humans will land on
Mars. This is a breaking moment in the history
of humankind. It is hard to not to get excited
and think about playing a game about it!” ■
■ Opposite: First
Martians is a
spiritual successor to
Trzewiczek's Robinson
Crusoe and is driven by
a similar game engine.
■ Left: Players must
work together to
survive Mars' harsh
environment while
settling the planet for
human colonisation.
22/05/2017 16:14
 䄀圀䄀刀䐀            圀䤀一一䤀一䜀 䜀䄀䴀䔀 䴀䄀吀匀

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p058.indd 1 17/05/2017 14:47

 THROWN FOR A LOOP Tales from the Loop mixes nostalgia for ‘80s adventure films with sci-fi
mysteries to create a truly unique RPG setting. Project manager Tomas
Härenstam discusses how players can combine heroism with homework
T
he sun drifts towards the horizon as a
group of teenagers tromp through knee-
high grass towards a copse of trees.
The leader, an older girl in expensive clothes,
drags the rest along as they follow a path long
forgotten by the town’s adults.
She points at something through the
branches and a rake-thin, mop-haired boy
rushes forward with a camera in one hand
and a notebook in the other, while behind
him a burly teen in a football shirt grips his
baseball bat a little bit harder.
There, in a clearing, is a blue-white
glow floating in the air – a rip in time
and space. As the others crowd round and
chatter excitedly, a pale girl in ripped jeans
and a black t-shirt examines the ground,
noticing the tracks the others missed. The
tracks with claws.
In the shadows cast by the trees, something
watches them with cold, reptilian eyes...
This is the world of Tales from the Loop,
a tabletop RPG from Swedish games studio
Free League that combines mysteries, sci-fi
059_061_talesFromTheLoop_v2 MJ.indd 59
Words by Richard Jansen-Parkes
and school in order to evoke the feel of kids’
adventure movies from the 1980s.
If nothing else, it’s a prime example of the
fact that sometimes you don’t know how
much you want something until you hear
about it, at which point it seems like the most
obvious idea in the world.
“Tales from the Loop is a game of the
'80s that never really was,” explains Tomas
Härenstam, the game’s project manager. “The
'80s that is perhaps the way you wished it
were if you grew up in that time.
“It’s the imaginings of a child – of robots
and dinosaurs and fantastic things making
their way into your everyday life. Well, that’s
the basic premise, anyway.”
The spark of inspiration for the game came
from a series of paintings by Simon Stålenhag,
set around an imaginary town next to a
powerful and mysterious particle
accelerator known as ‘The Loop’.
Tales from the Loop has a
feel that many gamers will
find reminiscent of Jamey
59
Stegmaier’s 1920s-with-mechs strategy
game Scythe – itself based on an artist’s
vision of an alternate past. The work mixes
sci-fi trappings with nostalgia for suburban
childhood, battered old Volvos and summer
holidays spent aimlessly wandering the
countryside. It instantly proved a hit on
Kickstarter, spawning two artbooks published
by Free League.
The company has a history of putting out
RPGs and keeping an eye on ways to expand
its international offerings, which previously
included Mutant: Year Zero, so it was only a
matter of time before the company took the
idea from the coffee table and moved it over
to the gaming table.
“It goes back a lot to movies like E.T., and
The Goonies, and these days Stranger Things,”
says Härenstam. It has that vibe, where
everyday life meshes with fantastic elements.
We can create fantastic stories from that.
“A lot of people interested in this game grew
up in the '80s but, honestly, everybody can
play it – those kind of stories are timeless.” ▶
22/05/2017 15:12
 TALES FROM THE LOOP
WEIRD AND WONDERFUL
Over the course of a Tales from the Loop
game the players may encounter a huge
variety of weird and wonderful happenings
spawned from within the confines of the
research station.
The core rulebook contains four separate
scenarios that cover everything you might
meet in an adventure film, all the way from
hungry dinosaurs to runaway robots.
This doesn’t mean that games always
end up as wacky, over-the-top action
extravaganzas, however. According to
Härenstam there is a natural limit of sorts on
how crazy things can get. After all, one of the
core trappings of the genre is that the bizarre
things the kids encounter have to stay at least
somewhat deniable to the adult world.
“It’s an alternate world so robots and
the like may be common, but time portals,
dinosaurs and really crazy things like that
have to remain firmly within the domain of
rumour and legend,” he observes.
“The everyday life portion of the game
stays separate from the sci-fi adventure part,
that’s one of our core aims.”
This peek into the characters’ home, school
and social lives is just as important to the game
as the more exciting action and adventure
sections. Part of the character creation process
involves deciding on an ‘anchor’ – something
that makes the character feel safe, whether
it’s a place, person or object. This may be the
musician’s guitar teacher, a clothes shop in the
town centre or even a moth-bitten teddy bear.
Not only do these provide the backdrop that
makes the fantastical elements stand out and feel
dangerous; they also play a mechanical role.
059_061_talesFromTheLoop_v2 MJ.indd 60
The damage mechanics for Tales from
the Loop are rather abstracted and can lead
to characters suffering negative conditions
when they’re out on adventures and end
up hurt or scared. In order to remove those
conditions and head back out into the woods
and fields they need to overcome their fears
by heading back to their anchor or another
safe place to recover.
“There are adventure, mystery-solving scenes,
but there are also scenes from everyday life,
which are interweaved,” says Härenstam.
“You’re supposed to go back to your everyday
life and relate to partners, teachers, friends,
and then go back out on your adventures.
“That creates a natural flow between the
two types of scenes.”
EMBRACING CLICHÉ
The game system is designed around the kids
right from the start. Rather than the traditional
classes or roles found in most RPGs, the
characters from Tales from the Loop fall into
‘types’ drawn from schoolyard stereotypes.
None of these would feel out of place in
the cinematic classrooms of The Breakfast
Club or Mean Girls, and a group may
include characters like the Bookworm, the
Troublemaker, the Popular Kid and the Weirdo.
“When we were writing the early rules we
weren’t sure if we needed this kind of class-like
mechanic – everyone would be playing kids
after all, but the more we thought about it we
realised that they would help people get a quick
grasp of their character,” explains Härenstam.
“They’re clichés, but they give you a broad
brushstroke idea of what the character will be
like and you can build it out from there.”
60
Another important aspect of the rules is
that they place a hard limit on the age-range
open to protagonists, with the youngest
coming in at 10 and the eldest being 15. Once
they hit 16 they have to retire from mystery-
solving and start growing up.
The reason for this is partially a mechanical
one, as the total amount of attribute points a
character has is equal to their age. Older kids
will probably be stronger and maybe a bit
smarter, for example. This is balanced out by
awarding younger children more luck points,
allowing them extra re-rolls.
“We wanted to make sure that when you
become older it had a dramatic effect. After
all, when you’re a kid, 15 is very different
from 13, and that’s very different from 11.
“However,” Härenstam continues, “the main
reason for limiting the ages is that we had a very
specific idea of the ages we wanted to focus on.
“When you start getting to 16 and up,
you’re moving toward adulthood and that
creates different situations and dynamics.
We wanted to focus on the age where you’re
still very much a child experiencing these
adventures and mysteries without the adult
issues and concerns.”
This decision presented a few big questions
of its own. One of the most contentious was
how to handle violence and danger in a game
where the characters are all children. After
all, while gaming groups may cheer when
their fantasy heroes wade through buckets
of blood, it can all get rather uncomfortable
when the same consequences are heaped
upon an 11-year-old.
“That was definitely something that came
up a few times throughout the development.
19/05/2017 16:06

One of the ways we dealt with this is that
there is no mechanical way for characters to
die,” Härenstam says.
“In most RPGs you can reach zero hit
points and you’re dead, but it doesn’t
work like that in Tales from the Loop. If you
suffer too many conditions you instead
become ‘broken’ – you have to go back
home, go recover.
“Of course, if you want to there’s nothing
stopping you from creating a scene
involving death if everyone in the group
was okay with it and it was dramatically
appropriate, but in the game we have no
rules or mechanics to cover it. We thought
that was a better way to handle it.”
MYSTERY MECHANICS
These rules are what set RPGs apart from
simple storytelling or improvisation games,
and Tales from the Loop uses the same
core mechanics as all of Free League’s
internationally-released games.
As far as stats go, the characters all have
four main attributes and 12 skills, each of
which is associated with an attribute. These
can have scores anywhere between one
and ten.
When the time comes to use a skill – such
as when the Computer Geek tries to hack
into the research facility’s network – the
player rolls a number of regular six-sided
dice equal to the points they’ve put into it,
plus their score in the associated attribute.
If they roll at least one six they succeed at
the task, and if they get more than one then
they get a few extra benefits as well. For
example, the successful hacker might not
059_061_talesFromTheLoop_v2 MJ.indd 61
only find the information they were after, but
also stumble across a few extra tidbits they
weren’t expecting.
“That’s the core mechanic, but there are
ways to play around with it if you want,"
Härenstam elaborates. "You can use your
luck points to re-roll, push yourself to
trade re-rolls for potential conditions, use
equipment that gives benefits… but the core
mechanic is very simple.
“That was important to us, as the setting isn’t
your typical fantasy or sci-fi kind of world. We’ve
had lots of interest from people who aren’t
experienced pen-and-paper RPG players, and
we’ve found that they can pick it up quickly.
“There are some tricks and some quirks
that can make things more exciting, such as
bonuses from equipment or circumstances,
but the core mechanic is very easy to pick up.
“The fact that the world is a reflection of our
own also makes it easier for people to pick it
up. They know what they can do in real life.”
Probably the biggest part of Tales from the
Loop will be the kids’ investigation into strange
happenings and exploring the associated
mystery. However, as with most RPGs, there’s
always the chance that the protagonists will find
themselves drawn into some kind of conflict
– or ‘trouble’, as it’s known in the system.
This can take a great many forms, such
as hiding from enemies, distracting them or
simply running away. Every now and then
there’s no alternative but to take out the
hockey sticks and jury-rigged tasers and get
into a scuffle.
“When conflict does break out in Tales
from the Loop it shouldn’t take too long
or involve too many rolls, especially when
compared to more traditional RPGs. You
won’t have to wear down huge amounts of hit
points or the like,” says Härenstam.
“To be honest it’s more framing the conflict
and the scene rather than any kind of actual
simulation of combat. You’re rolling the dice
and letting the story unfold, not running
though every blow and parry.”
IT ITS PLACE
While more of us may feel comfortable
roleplaying in small-town Sweden in the wake
of the recent run of popular Scandinavian
crime dramas on TV, Härenstam does recognise
that the setting may not be for everyone.
Fortunately, one of the many Kickstarter
stretch goals thoroughly smashed was a
second setting, this time based in a small town
in Colorado. This alternative town is included
in the main rulebook, and can easily replace
61
its Scandinavian counterpart in all of the
scenarios with only a few cosmetic changes.
“Even though the Swedish setting is really
interesting, we felt that quite a few people
would prefer to play in another country,”
Härenstam notes.
“We took a look at where our backers came
from and it made sense to base it in the US. At
the same time, Simon had created a parallel
loop in Boulder City, Colorado, so it was a
natural fit.
“The scenarios that we write will generally
work in either location, but there are a few
superficial changes – names, that kind of
thing. Otherwise it doesn’t effect the game
that much.“
Härenstam adds that one of the most
fascinating parts of putting the game together
was that so much of the world was already
created before his team got their hands on
it. However, rather than being in the form of
a book or a film like most adaptations, Tales
from the Loop existed as a series of paintings.
There were occasional areas where the
art and the rules didn’t align at first, but
he explains that he believes this ultimately
ended up being a positive part of the experience.
“We’ve had a lot of discussions with Simon
and the main writer of the game, a man
named Nils Hintze,” he says. “As editors and
product managers we’ve made sure to get
them on page – to discuss what works and
what doesn’t work.
“It’s actually been a great experience and
a great way to get a better idea of the setting
overall, having them both discuss and drill
further into what’s going on.
“Where there have been inconsistencies
or problems, we’ve always managed to sort
them out pretty well.” ■
STRANGER THINGS
HAVE HAPPENED…
Even since Tales from the Loop launched on
Kickstarter fans have been keen to connect
it to one of 2015’s most acclaimed TV series:
Netflix's '80s-tinged sci-fi mystery show
Stranger Things. But is it a fair comparison
to make?
“The world of Tales from the Loop predates
Stranger Things by a few years,” explains
Haerenstam. “There’s certainly parallels, as
both are pulling from that combination of
nostalgia and soft sci-fi, but an RPG was on
the table long before it became popular.
“Having said that, when Stranger Things
became as huge as it did we were discussing
when to launch the Kickstarter and its
success played a role in our decision to start
it last year. It wasn’t the deciding thing by any
measure, but it was definitely a factor.”
19/05/2017 16:06
 BATTLE FOAM

CUSTOM RUGGED
FOAM CASES

p034.indd 1 23/03/2017 14:28

 NOT JUST
A GAME
Impact Unified is harnessing the
tabletop’s power to bring people
together and raise awareness of
the real-life struggles of migrants.
Neil Bell takes us on The Journey
Words by Matt Jarvis
O
ne of the greatest things about games
is their ability to take us to different
worlds and allow us to experience
the lives of disparate people and cultures –
whether it’s farmers scraping together a living
from the land, Vikings waging war in pursuit of
a glorious demise or historical leaders hoping
to defuse the nuclear tension of the Cold War.
Neil Bell is part of Impact Unified, a Swedish
organisation that plans to utilise the magic of
gaming to put players in the shoes of real-life
migrants and refugees as part of the wide-
reaching project The Journey, which also
incorporates the use of virtual reality, video
documentaries and a mobile app.
“We decided on a film initially but due to
the uncontrollable nature of film we decided
to work on a board game as we are able to
control it much better than the other mediums
without too much expense,” Bell explains.
Impact Unified’s first board game, The
Journey: Khartoum, casts players as migrants
travelling from the titular Sudanese capital to
the Libyan coast.
“One important point we want to address
is the challenges an illegal migrant has to
063_theJourney_V2 MJ.indd 63
overcome,” Bell summarises. “This means
we want to give a glimpse of a very complex
system involving migration policies, border
police and people smugglers besides the many
possible migrant backgrounds.
“We want to give a glimpse of how it is to
be trapped in a place where the rules and the
obstacles are completely different from what the
audience is used to. We believe a tabletop game
is very suitable to illustrate this. The core of a
game is its mechanics and through those you
control all the challenges, choices and moments
of success and failure the audience experience.
In other words, you can really put the players in
a place where the normal rules don't apply and
the obstacles they encounter are completely
different from their everyday lives.”
Depicting the realities of such a harrowing
experience on the tabletop is tough enough –
“There are as many ways of doing migration
as there are migrants, so it is impossible
to capture the whole experience, but by
submerging yourself in the subject you
may find aspects of it which are possible to
illustrate with a board game,” Bell insists – but
when you take into account that the game
must also be ‘fun’ enough for people to want to
play it – and therefore have the opportunity to
absorb its important message – that challenge
is made even harder.
“When we say that a board game is 'fun' and
engaging we don't necessary mean it should
make the players laugh a lot,” Bell retorts.
“Instead, we mean that it should make the
players interested, trigger their imaginations
and put them in a state of contemplation.
63
the
journey
Game Design by Jakob Hultgren
game
of travel
ent kind
A differ
Kh art oum
vinsten gåar till:
trythejourney.com
When you interpret 'fun' in this way then
there is really no contradiction between 'fun',
'serious' and factually correct.”
After releasing The Journey: Khartoum in
late 2015, Impact Unified plans to boost its
message by getting the game into every school
in Sweden and giving a copy to every world
leader at the United Nations General Assembly
this September. It’s since published a follow-
up, The Journey: Istanbul, examining the influx
of migrants from Syria, Iraq and Pakistan to
the Turkish hub, and announced card game
Dakar-Paris, inspired by human trafficking
between Senegal and France, where players
play as migrant smugglers. Bell also mentions
plans to "illustrate the complexities of conflict
regions" with an upcoming strategy game.
With migration continuing to make headlines
in the UK and around the world, it seems that
there is only room for Impact Unified’s message
– and gaming’s role in getting it heard – to grow.
“The most important thing with the game
might not be what happens when you play it
but what happens afterwards,” Bell observes.
“If we can create an experience that the players
remember and reflect upon afterwards then
we have succeeded.” ■
19/05/2017 16:07
 THE ULTIMATE
GAMING ROOM
What would be the top table for tabletop
gamers, we wondered? The ideal storage?
The best place to park your backside?
Fortunately, British bespoke premium
gaming furniture makers Geeknson
were on hand to help out…
Words by Dan Jolin Pictures by John Egan

THE TABLE
The Denis gaming and dining table, shown here
in European ash (but also available in white
oak), can be built to your exact specifications.
“It’s really heavy and solid,” says Geeknson’s co-
ordinating manager John Egan. “They’re built to
last for generations. They are expensive but, as
long as you take care of it, it will last a lifetime.”
(The table pictured here measures 110x180cm,
and would set you back around £2,200.)

THE LEAVES
These are removable in two halves, and can
be slid back under the table on a rail system
so they’re not left lying around. They also have
a ‘keep-dry system’, whereby any spillages
that occur while they’re covering the surface
are blocked by a rubber seal and drain out
through holes on either side. The seal also
handily doubles up as a card holder.

THE RAIL
There’s a rail system which runs 360 degrees
around the table, on which you can arrange
the accessories of your choice: wine glass
holders, counter holders, trays, dice towers,
a GM station... All come with a ‘breaking
point’, which means if an accessory gets
leant on, it will break before the table does,
and Geeknson can send a replacement.

64

064_065_ultimateGamingRoom_v2 MJ.indd 64 19/05/2017 16:09

 THE STORAGE
As with the table, these
units can be built entirely
to your own specifications,
with any combination of
shelves, drawers or even
pull-out desks.
THE INSET
The baize (which comes in any colour or design
you like, and can even be double-sided) is
removable with an acrylic sheet beneath, in case
you have kids who like messy tabletop play.
THE BENCH
The bench comes with a lift-up seat and storage
underneath — deep enough, Egan assures us, to
take your Arkham Horror or Blood Rage box.
064_065_ultimateGamingRoom_v2 MJ.indd 65
THE LIGHTS
Optional LED lighting, which is fully remote-controlled.
You can pick the colour, the brightness or even put them
on what Egan calls ‘disco mode’. Another extra you could
add, if you wished, would be a USB charging port.
THE CHAIRS
These are what Egan calls ‘eight-hour chairs’ – in other words,
you can comfortably park your arse on them for up to eight hours
if you fancy an old-school Risk or Twilight Imperium session.
They come in any choice of colour, or you can have your own
design printed on them, like this delightfully baleful Sauron eye.
THE TABLE HEADS
Another optional extra, which
Geeknson are still trialling. These
ones are resin-cast dwarf heads
(orc war trophies, perhaps?), but
they also have snakes that can
entwine around the table legs.
If you like that sort of thing.
65
22/05/2017 15:14
 ITB
INSIDE THE BOX

ITB
BOARD GAMES

BOARD GAMES
INSIDE THE BOX The Political Card Game

Play With Ideas

The Political Card Game

itbboa
rdgam
es.com
/

Th e
Poli
tic al C
ard
Gam
e

I
I

B
ITB
BOARD GAMES

INSIDE THE BOX

At the ITB UK Games Expo Stand (E6): The Political Card Game
I
IN

Over 14 Demo Tables Sub Terra 'Cave Experience' Statecraft 'Situation Room Experience'
Sub Terra & Statecraft on Sale Live Illustrator Demonstrations Game Designer Signings
Plus additional surprises - Check out the schedule at the stand!

p066.indd 1 17/05/2017 14:49

 THE BEZ OF TIMES
Behrooz 'Bez' Shahriari is
responsible for some of the
most unique and out-and-out
entertaining party games you’ve
probably never heard of – but
that you definitely shouldn’t
miss. The Glaswegian
designer tells us about In a
Bind, Wibbell and Blether
Words by Matt Jarvis
she explains. “By saying, 'Okay, this is Stuff by
Bez', I'm saying: 'It's my stuff by me and I'm
not going to work on anyone else's game.'”
After two years as an underground hit – the
sales were such that Bez used to sign every
set by hand – and a kid-friendly spin-off, In a
Bind Jr., last year, In a Bind is re-emerging this
summer as Yogi, a rebranded version that swaps
Bez’s distinctive hand-drawn illustrations for a
more restrained style replete with references
to pop culture in an effort to find the
inventive title the wider audience it deserves.
Beginning with In a Bind, Bez has released a
new game every August 1st, a date the creator
has dubbed ‘Bezday’. This year’s Bezday will
mark the release of Wibbell++, a deck of cards
entertained by the things that people are
doing. So, to my mind, Blether is kind of the
word version of In a Bind.”
As for future Bezdays, Bez mentions a
title inspired by the crowdfunding format of
Kickstarter that she first envisioned at the
start of her career before pouring her efforts
into In a Bind.
“Still, no-one's made a game about
Kickstarter which is quite strange to me,”
she says. “I got halfway through and
realised I shouldn't be making a game about
crowdfunding until I've actually done some
crowdfunding. So I put that on the back burner.”
With a seemingly endless supply of
inspiration, Bez rattles off countless half-

“T
here's something to be said for
being right beside people,” says
Behrooz 'Bez' Shahriari, recalling
her early obsession with playing video game
Bomberman shoulder to shoulder with
school friends as a child.
It’s this philosophy – that people are the
most important part of any game – that led her
to turn away from a career as a video games
developer to design some of the most original
party tabletop titles of the last five years. Not
that you’ll have heard of them, as the designer
has remained under the mainstream radar
since she emerged two years ago.
Take Bez’s 2015 debut, In a Bind, which
raised just under £3,000 on Kickstarter
from 173 backers. An abstract reimagining
of Twister as a single deck of cards, where
players have to follow an increasing number
of rules by touching and contorting parts
of their body, the game is hilarious and an
instant hit at parties. The idea was so good
that Bez says several publishers approached
her during the crowdfunding campaign
with the offer of a partnership – an offer she
ultimately turned down, deciding to release
the game under her own Stuff by Bez label.
“Friends asked me if I wanted to be a
publisher or a designer – and I'd like to be both,”
printed with letters and patterns designed formed and in-development ideas during
to be used as a flexible game system for a our conversation, from a hex-and-chit game
variety of word games, from forming complex compared to Magic: The Gathering to the
acronyms and phrases to simply grabbing other 85 unused ideas on her blog, but,
matching cards faster than your opponents. throughout, a single aspiration unites them.
“Normally, in any word game you have, “Just making things and then seeing other
the letters in your hand are the limitation and people enjoy them is a massive rush.” ■
you've got to use as many as you can,” Bez
explains. “The original Wibbell was trying to
simply that as much as I could and iterating it.”
Wibbell originated as one of more than 80
game design concepts Bez came up with as
part of a design-a-day challenge on her blog.
Clearly bursting with ideas, she already has the
Bezday release for 2019 in the works, a game
reminiscent of BBC Radio 4’s Just a Minute
where players must speak for 60 seconds,
using as many phrases from a deck of cards as
possible. Abbreviated to ‘Blether’’ – the Scottish
word meaning to talk at length quickly – the
actual title is more than 1,200 words long.
“I approached it by thinking I wanted to
make the game with the longest-ever title and
then worked backwards to figure out what
kind of mechanics make sense for a game
that has a crazy-long title,” she explains.
“Blether is all about having the focus put
on the players and the players doing things ■ Yogi (above) is this year's rebranded release of
and then people looking at them and being Bez's 2015 Twister-like debut In a Bind (top).

67

067_bez_v2 MJ.indd 67 19/05/2017 16:10


T ’S T H
H cult On A
T The Oc
Romanticised as a way of speaking with the dead or predicting the future, Ouija boards
and tarot cards share many of the traits of their gaming counterparts, offering the chance
to explore unknown worlds and construct a story from little more than wood and cardboard
Words by Kate Gray
P
uberty is one hell of a drug. It makes you do the
stupidest, most ill-advised things: going to nitrous
oxide-fuelled parties in a cave, having your cleavage
pierced, getting an ankle tattoo of your boyfriend’s face. My
pubescent experimentation involved talking to ghosts. After
all, being a teenager is all about being cool, and what’s cooler
than a demonic tête-à-tête?
The Ouija board is a way of talking to those who cannot usually
talk – ghosts who hover around the board, presumably having
waited their entire afterlife for someone to bring out a very
specific lettered piece of wood to give them a voice. However, the
design that has become the popular image of Ouija boards was
sold commercially and used as a parlour trick in America in the
1890s. It was marketed as less of a spiritual telephone and more
of a game – to this day, the Ouija name is still owned by Hasbro.
The board itself is iconic, hand-lettered in that carnival-
esque font, with its letters arranged alphabetically. Playing
it feels like that bit at the start of Jumanji, when this carved,
exotic oddity is brought out like a party piece, a sense of
foreboding apparent to all except the players.
Our fingers used to rest, trembling and tense, on top of the
planchette as it slowly, ominously moved across the alphabet.
Given that it was (probably) not spirits controlling it, but our own
excited, nervous fingers, it might come as no surprise that the
first few attempts at contacting the dead were nonsensical strings
of consonants that would make even Carol Vorderman frown.
With experience came sophistication, and soon stories
began to emerge. We talked to the same characters every
weekend, like a serialised story that we couldn’t get enough of.
hello
68
068_069_tarotAndOuija_v2 MJ.indd 68
Yes
We speculated at school about who they were in whispers at
the back of science classes, made plans to find out more when
we could.
At one point, we decided that Ouija boards were the
equivalent of trying to talk to friends through Morse code, that
the best way to talk to ghosts was instead through possession,
and that the best way to get possessed was to become
unconscious. One girl volunteered, and we held her upside down
in a handstand, hoping that the blood would go to her head. It
didn’t work, and that was probably for the best.
Eventually our infatuation with Ouija boards died down.
Some of the group moved away, others lost interest in the
suddenly childish-seeming arcane arts. But my own interest
in Ouija boards continued, in less of a practical and more of a
curious way. At the same time as all this was going on, I was also
nurturing a fascination with tarot cards – the beautiful designs,
the stories, the creativity of doing a reading for someone.
Like Ouija boards, tarot cards have an origin in parlour
games. As in a regular pack of cards, there are suits and
picture cards but, unlike a deck of playing cards, these are
known as the major and minor arcana, and there are 78 cards
in total. They can be used to do readings, but their original
purpose was to play games, mostly trick-taking games similar
to bridge and Hearts. At some point, tarot cards moved into
the realm of the occult, which remains a large part of their
reputation today. A certain number of cards are laid out on
the table, and the reader can answer questions and talk about
future possibilities and choices based on the cards and the
layout in front of them.
22/05/2017 15:16
 No
HE SPIR
The Tableto IT
So much of tarot is merely suggestion – perhaps Death
means death, but it can also mean life, rebirth, an ending
or change. Or it could mean something entirely different,
depending on the other cards in the hand.
At first, this was daunting. I always imagined that tarot
cards, like Magic 8-Balls, gave you a definitive answer; now it
seemed like the readings were manipulated to suit some story
that you had to pluck out of thin air yourself.
Yet, the best part of tarot card readings is storytelling. Just
as with any future-reading exercise, it’s about reading the
person in front of you as much as the cards; even if you’re
doing a reading for yourself, it’s about how each card makes
you feel. If you’re worried about a relationship that’s going
badly and you see Death, you’re probably not going to say
to yourself, “Ah, new life! Rebirth! Second chances!” – you’re
going to think, “Break up.” Tarot cards are able to influence
you in ways you’re too afraid to do yourself because, even
if you don’t believe in all that spiritual stuff, it feels like
cosmic nudging.
Delphine Fourneau, known professionally as ‘Dziff’,
designed her own major arcana tarot deck last year, which
is the deck I have now. She began drawing them as part
of Inktober, a challenge where you have to do a new ink
illustration every day of October. Designing a tarot deck from
scratch can be a challenge, as each picture has to be open to
interpretation but still present strong implications.
“It was funny to see how the cards could have different
meanings. I just picked up the meanings I loved,” Fourneau
says. “But when the deck was finally printed, I was kind of afraid
that people used to doing readings couldn’t get it right, because
I gave my own interpretation of the cards.”
Fourneau’s style is very fluid, with repeated floral, organic
and water motifs: The Star stands in a moonlit pool, water
flowing from her hands; The Chariot has a cape of stars
flowing behind him. Designing tarot decks can be as revealing
as the readings themselves, she says.
good bye
068_069_tarotAndOuija_v2 MJ.indd 69
p
“There are several elements I unconsciously use. For
example, several characters have cat ears – The Hanged Man,
The Hermit – and, also, I noticed that most of the characters
are female or androgyne or anthropomorphic characters.”
Tarot cards can’t really predict anything, but they can tell
you things you already know with unnerving accuracy. It’s all
in your own imagination, and comes down to how perceptive
the reader is – just like a good dungeon master in a tabletop
roleplaying game. A good reader will ask subtle questions to
encourage sharing, but they will phrase them as if they already
sort of know the answer: “Perhaps you’re in some kind of
difficult financial situation?”
Just as a good board game has a strong sense of
atmosphere, Ouija and tarot both have an implied sense of
spirituality that seems to make people more suggestible.
Immersing yourself in occult language is the same as
roleplaying, allowing yourself to imagine that something is
happening even if you can’t see it (or don’t believe it). You
can’t see the goblins in the dungeon, but your DM might
make appropriately goblin-esque noises and play the sound
of a dank, dripping stone room; in the same way, you can
immerse yourself in the feeling that something may be
talking to you through a board, or through cards. We use
these human, familiar objects to make the whole process
seem more comfortable, and we specifically use the materials
and vocabulary of games because it’s more accessible – it’s a
language we all speak.
The occult can tell you things about yourself that you
perhaps didn’t know before, whether you believe in it or
not. It is a way to delve deep into your own mind, to provide
answers to questions that whisper to your subconscious. In
the same way that flipping a coin on a decision is less about
the result when it lands, but more about which outcome
you’re hoping for as the coin is still in the air, tarot cards and
the Ouija board give you an insight into what you’ve secretly
wanted all along. ■
69
22/05/2017 15:16
 RETURN TO
ATLANTIS
35 years after its creation, designer Julian-Courtland Smith
looks back on the phenomenal Survive: Escape from Atlantis!
Words and pictures by Rick Lane
S
urvive: Escape from Atlantis! is one
of the earliest examples of a gateway
game. These are board games that
straddle the boundary between family
gaming staples such as Monopoly and
Cluedo, and more advanced hobbyist games
like Cosmic Encounter and Arkham Horror.
They balance short play times with exciting
themes and feature rulesets simple enough
for children to follow, while dipping their toes
into the deeper waters tabletop gaming has
to offer. Amongst their ranks are some hugely
successful titles, including Pandemic and the
mighty Ticket to Ride.
In all these ways and more, Survive:
Escape from Atlantis! resembles a modern
gateway game, yet it has just celebrated its
35th anniversary. First published in 1982,
the game sees players attempting to get
their Atlantean villagers away from the
mythical city as it sinks into the ocean tile by
070_073_escapeFromAlantis_v2 MJ.indd 70
hexagonal tile. They must sail or swim to the
safety of four corner islands, navigating an
ocean filled with sharks and sea monsters.
It’s a fast-paced game of tough choices and
risk-taking, of fierce competition and fragile
alliances. In other words, it’s everything you’d
want from a family game.
Escape was created by Julian Courtland-
Smith, a veteran game designer who
lives in Hastings. Growing up in the
1950s, board games were a natural part
of Courtland-Smith’s childhood, but it
wasn’t until 1965 that he first considered
designing them himself. Also known as The Business Game, Mine a
“I read an article in a magazine about a Million is an economy board game themed
new game by Waddingtons called Mine a around tin mining. Players place mining
Million. That was the moment I was inspired,” derricks to produce units of tin, which are
he recalls. “Quite simply I thought: ‘I could then transported to the city of Newport to
do that!’ I never realised that it would be sold for money. The player can transport
be another 17 years before I became an their cargo in three ways: on lorries, via river
'overnight' success.” barges and across a vast lake using ships.
70
19/05/2017 16:13
 This last mechanic, moving units of value
to the player with other units, would also
become a key part of Escape from Atlantis!.
It would be some time before Courtland-
Smith’s moment of inspiration reading
about Mine a Million would lead to his most
famous game. In fact, Courtland-Smith has
designed over 50 board games in the last
four decades. The first game he created was
named War Power.
“With hindsight it was clearly a variation of
Risk and was rubbish,” he admits.
One early game that stands out in his
designs was The Game of Warlords. Created
in 1975, Warlords bore some similarities
to chess, but played out on hexes. It was a
beautifully-crafted game, with pieces cast
from brass and copper, and a board made
from Honduran mahogany.
“The prototype board was made by the
fledgling Games Workshop,” says Courtland-
Smith. “It was on sale in Harrods and sold
almost a hundred sets.”
Many of Courtland-Smith’s early designs
were wargames or heavily influenced by
wargaming, and the hexagonal board
used for Warlords was another element
later adopted by Escape. Perhaps the most
important influencer upon the design was
Courtland-Smith’s earlier game Lost Valley of
the Dinosaurs.
In Lost Valley, players assume the role of
competing explorers seeking out a hidden
temple loaded with treasure. The valley is
home to a host of carnivorous dinosaurs, while
a rumbling volcano threatens to engulf the
070_073_escapeFromAlantis_v2 MJ.indd 71
entire valley in lava. Although it was published
later than Escape from Atlantis!, Lost Valley was
designed first, and it was here that Courtland-
Smith discovered how important an exciting,
unique theme is to a game’s design.
As for Escape itself, the moment of truth
came during a trip to the library.
“One day I was browsing the shelves
of Hastings library and came across a
section of books all to do with Atlantis,”
Courtland-Smith explains. “That was my
eureka moment. I thought that would
be a great theme for a game.”
The importance of Escape’s
theme cannot be underestimated.
Rather than simply being a fitting
skin for a ruleset Courtland-
Smith already had in mind, the
idea for a game set in Atlantis
was the driving force behind many of its rules
and mechanics. Most importantly, it gave
Courtland-Smith the idea for an island that
gradually disappears from the board as the
game progresses.
In Escape from Atlantis!, the central
island is constructed out of hexagonal tiles
placed on the board. Each turn, the player
removes one of these tiles, revealing the
ocean beneath. When a tile is removed,
any villagers standing on it fall into the sea.
What’s more, the back of the tile reveals
another unit to be placed on that hex. It
could be something useful like a boat or
a friendly dolphin, or it could be a hostile
unit, like a man-eating shark or a boat-
crushing whale.
71
■ Above: The 1982 version of Escape from Atlantis!,
named Survive!. Note the 2D boats and island pieces.
■ Opposite: The 30th Anniversary edition of
Survive: Escape from Atlantis!, published by
Stronghold Games.
■ Below left: Whales smash boats, but leave
villagers alive, if stranded in the ocean.
Intriguingly, this is not how Courtland-
Smith first conceived of the mechanic.
Instead, the island of Atlantis was painted
directly onto the board, and was gradually
covered up by players through the
placement of ‘sea’ tiles.
“Bad idea!” he exclaims. “This didn't work
in practice as it meant, for example, one
would have to place a sea tile on land to flood
it then put a sea creature on top of the sea
tile. Moving a boat with Atlanteans across sea
tiles made the sea tiles push into one another,
knocking many playing pieces over.”
Courtland-Smith struggled for 18 months
to make this mechanic work, before realising
that swapping them out for removable land
tiles solved all the problems.
Escape’s crumbling island is a brilliant bit
of game design. Not only does it provide the
game with an obvious evolution and a strict
time limit, it is also incredibly evocative,
conveying the destruction of the once-grand
civilisation with remarkable lucidity.
The theme of destruction bleeds out
into other areas of the game as well. Escape
from Atlantis! is astonishingly cut-throat,
with players moving sharks in to gobble up
the villagers of other players, and directing
whales and sea monsters to shatter boats
into driftwood. ▶
22/05/2017 15:17
 SURVIVE: ESCAPE FROM ATLANTIS!
In fact, it’s reasonable to wonder whether the
destruction and violence implied in Escape from
Atlantis! made it difficult to sell as a family game,
but Courtland-Smith points out that if anything
it made the game more appealing. The ferocious
competition inherent to Escape derives from
Courtland-Smith’s experience playtesting the
game with his children.
“One thing's for sure:
children can be a lot more
bloodthirsty than adults.
“It would be 17 years before I
Play the game with children
and you'll soon find it's the
became an 'overnight' success.”
parents who usually come off
worse!” he says. “The only issue I ever had with
a publisher was when one of them though it
might be a good idea to harpoon the whales.
That to me was a definite no-no as children
love whales. Rather paradoxically, children
appear to think it's okay for sharks to eat
swimmers but not okay to harpoon whales!”
070_073_escapeFromAlantis_v2 MJ.indd 72
Aside from switching out sea tiles for land
tiles, Escape from Atlantis! went through
remarkably few prototypes, with most of the
smaller issues ironed out through playtesting.
However, further changes were made once
Courtland-Smith found a publisher. Escape
was first published by Parker Brothers in 1982.
“I rang up Graeme Levin, publisher of
Games & Puzzles magazine, who was looking
for original games to promote. He liked
Escape, became my agent and showed it to
Parker Brothers USA, who marketed the game.”
Parker Brothers published Escape from
Atlantis! under the name Survive!, with several
72
alterations made to Courtland-Smith’s design.
It was Parker Brothers who introduced whales,
which Courtland-Smith preferred to his own
idea for boats to be sunk by dastardly pirates.
However, Parker Brothers made several other
changes to the game which the designer was
less enthused by.
“I designed the game for two
to six players, but Parker Brothers
changed it to two to four players.
They also made the island 40
land tiles and gave each player 10
Atlanteans. To me this upset the
delicate maths of the game which
I had deliberately kept to multiples of threes.”
Upon its publication in 1982, Survive! was
a modest success. However, financial troubles
hit Parker Brothers (and many other board
game publishers) in the early ‘80s due to the
advent of video games, and as a result Parker
Brothers ceased publication of Survive!. By this
19/05/2017 16:13
 point, however, Courtland-Smith had agreed
a publishing deal with Waddingtons for Lost
Valley of the Dinosaurs, which launched at
Christmas in 1986.
“It was number two in the UK charts
behind Trivial Pursuit. Riding on the back
of that success, Waddingtons’ product
development manager rang and asked if I
had another 3D game to show them. I said
yes, as Survive! had been withdrawn from
the Parker Brothers catalogue.”
Waddingtons agreed to publish, and it
was at this point that Survive! became Escape
from Atlantis!. The Waddingtons version also
saw another key evolution to the game.
“At that time, Survive! was a 2D game, so
I set about converting it into 3D by creating
the island's triple layers of terrain.”
Indeed, the Waddingtons version of
Escape from Atlantis! was defined by its
chunky plastic island, which lent a much
greater sense of impact when it sank
beneath the waves. Waddingtons also sub-
licensed Escape from Atlantis!, making it
available in multiple regional versions.
“It did particularly well in Germany as
Atlantis!” Courtland-Smith reveals.
In the mid-‘90s, Waddingtons was
overtaken by Hasbro. Courtland-Smith
negotiated with them to published a
new version of Escape from Atlantis!,
which launched in 1997 and continued
production until 2001. For the next nine
years Escape from Atlantis! remained off the
shelves, although it thrived in the second-
hand market.
“Amazingly, rare complete copies of
Survive! exchanged hands on the Internet
for up to $100,” Courtland-Smith says.
Around 2008, Courtland-Smith was
contacted by Stronghold games, who wanted
to produce a new version of Escape from
Atlantis!. Stronghold’s version combined
elements of all previous versions of Escape.
It ditched the plastic-moulded pieces of
the Waddingtons version, opting for a more
abstract aesthetic with tiles made from
compressed cardboard. But it retained the
3D island that Courtland-Smith introduced
for the Waddingtons version. Even the name
– Survive: Escape from Atlantis! – suggests a
bringing together of the various forms the
game has taken over the last three decades.
“I think the most artistic and best
produced version of Escape is the current
one by Stronghold Games. The quality of
games in general has definitely improved
over time,” says Courtland-Smith.
070_073_escapeFromAlantis_v2 MJ.indd 73
The Stronghold version also makes some ■ Above: Escape from Atlantis! and Lost Valley
changes to the game’s rules, replacing the of the Dinosaurs were part of a planned trilogy of
adventure games. The third, Mammoth Mountain,
spinner used to control sea creatures with a pictured here, was never published.
six-sided die, and adding hidden numbers to
the underside of villagers, which represent the ■ Opposite: Creator Julian Courtland-Smith,
points players receive if they are rescued. More pictured with the American version of Survive!.
recently, Stronghold has launched a couple of ■ Below: The 30th Anniversary edition of Escape
expansions that bring it closer to Courtland- from Atlantis! also boasts three expansion packs
Smith’s original vision. One introduces (top); Courtland-Smith’s The Game of Warlords,
friendly dolphins to the game to aid villagers produced in 1975 and sold at Harrods (bottom).
trapped in the ocean, while the other expands
the game to a maximum six players.
In the 35 years since its original publication,
Escape from Atlantis! has sold over 1.25 million
copies, a remarkable amount considering many
of those sales occurred prior to tabletop
gaming’s ongoing Golden Age. In many
ways, Escape from Atlantis! is a survivor itself,
having withstood various recessions and
takeovers within the board game industry.
“I had product meetings with all these
late great companies and witnessed the
demise of Parker Brothers, Milton Bradley
and Spears etc. as they were swallowed up,”
Courtland-Smith says.
What has kept Escape from Atlantis!
alive over these years is not just simply
how immediate and engaging it is (the very
title ‘Escape from Atlantis!’ is also the basic
instruction for the game), but how its strong
theme is infused at a mechanical level.
“People like the theme of Atlantis which
is quite often featured in the news or
documentaries, keeping the subject matter
upfront and alive.” Courtland-Smith says. “I'm
told the game is iconic and doesn't date.” ■
73
19/05/2017 16:13
 DEFEAT THE
HUMAN INVADERS!

WWW.GREATERTHANGAMES.COM

p074.indd 1 17/05/2017 14:50

 76 80

PLAYED
GAMING ENIGMAS
82

91
86

I
n may ways, every great board game is a puzzle
waiting to be solved, whether it’s working out
how to mechanically maximise your score in a
points-heavy Euro, tactically positioning miniatures
in a wargame or psychologically analysing your
friends’ allegiance in a social deduction title.
This month, we’ve taken a look at a number of
games that take the whole puzzle thing a bit more
explicitly, featuring cases to be cracked and riddles to
be solved. Unlock! and the Exit: The Game trilogy both
approach the escape-the-room genre very differently,
with one taking the digital route with a companion
app and the other sticking with trusty pen and paper.
Meanwhile, there’s the Jack the Ripper-themed
sequel to one of most famous puzzle board games
76 GLOOMHAVEN
92
of all time, Sherlock Holmes: Consulting Detective,
as well as spin-off Watson & Holmes, which dials
back the complexity of the mysteries but introduces
a gripping race against your fellow investigators to
discover clues.
On the lighter side, Magic Maze’s entertaining
puzzle is communication, with a ban on talking
making it very hard to race against the clock when 94 95
everybody can only perform part of the actions
needed to succeed.
There’s also Gloomhaven, the epic RPG-in-a-box
that mixes hand management and semi-random
combat mechanics to create tense battles in a
fantasy world. It’s a real treat, so prepare to put
aside hours to dig through every inch.
97 98

80 DARK SOULS: THE BOARD GAME

82 GREAT WESTERN TRAIL

86 RUNEWARS MINIATURES GAME

91 WATSON & HOLMES

101 103
92 YAMATAI

94 UNLOCK!

95 EXIT: THE GAME

97 SHERLOCK HOLMES: CONSULTING DETECTIVE: JACK THE RIPPER & WEST END ADVENTURES
104 107
98 TAK: A BEAUTIFUL GAME

101 CAPITAL

103 MAGIC MAZE

104 PLAGUE INC: THE BOARD GAME

107 DIPLOMACY (2017 EDITION) 108 108

108 SHAHRAZAD

108 ANOMIA

109 MANGAKA

109 ONE DECK DUNGEON

111 METAL CALL OF CTHULHU DICE SET

109 109
111 DIMENSION WEST SCENERY AND TERRAIN

111 111
075_ReviewsIntro_v2 MJ.indd 75 22/05/2017 15:19
 PLAYED
GLOOMHAVEN
Prepare for this fantasy epic to take your hours and your heart
Cephalofair Games | £119.99 | Adventure | 1-4 players
30 minutes (per player) | Age: 12+ | cephalofair.com
Q
uality over quantity, as the
old adage goes: it’s much
easier to achieve something
small but perfectly formed than it is
to produce a vast work of greatness.
Yet, it has been achieved, and –
without overstating it too much
– Gloomhaven may just be to the
tabletop what Ulysses is to literature,
Lawrence of Arabia is to film or The
Beatles' White Album is to music.
Let’s first condense Isaac Childres’
enormous creation as much as we
can; in a sentence, Gloomhaven is
an RPG in a box. Players create their
characters, track experience earned
through both combat scenarios and
other events, and set out into the
eponymous fantasy world in search
of treasure, renown and a good fight.
There are 90 separate scenarios
included, each of which takes
around an hour or two to complete,
providing easily over 100 hours of
unique story and experiences to
explore. Gloomhaven harnesses
the legacy concepts established
in Pandemic Legacy and SeaFall
in arguably their most natural fit
yet, as completing missions and
076_079_gloomhavenReviewInterview_V3 MJ.indd 76
encountering the surrounding
cast of non-player characters
unlocks new location stickers
to place on a central map board
which serves little other purpose
than to simply track the current
state of the world. As in an RPG,
players keep a record of their
own experience, gold, items
and skills on separate character
sheets, unlocking new perks
and abilities as they level up,
while a party sheet makes a
note of experiences that affect
the whole group.
While the partially pre-
defined character creation aspects
don’t allow you to flesh out your
individual avatar and make them as
unique as you would in a traditional
roleplaying game, the classes all feel
distinct and avoid slotting directly
into tired fantasy tropes – although
the archetypes definitely float in the
background. Tracking progression
and customising your adventurer
introduces a significant level of
investment, helped by a unique
personal quest that provides an
overarching goal for each hero to
76
achieve, allowing them to retire once
their driving desire has been fulfilled.
This allows the player to start afresh
with a new class, an effective way of
stopping characters and play styles
growing stale over dozens of hours –
as well as thematically encouraging
players to see as much of the box’s
content as possible.
The party’s collective conscious is
developed through city and
event cards, which can be
drawn between scenarios and
act as one-off moral decisions
with potentially short- and long-term
repercussions depending
on the group’s actions – at a
basic level, a reputation track
impacts the price of goods
at shops and the ability to perform
other options later on.
Gloomhaven’s writing and
Gloomhaven
narrative will be familiar to anyone
who has had at least a passing
experience of fantasy plotlines in
the past – twists are easy to see
coming and many of the missions,
especially in the first dozen or so
hours, end up falling into the ‘go to
place, kill something’ mould. The
game doesn’t try to convince you
it’s something it’s not, so the
text is using sparingly, applying
enough atmospheric dressing
and narrative propellant
without overegging effective – if
unremarkable – storylines. The
world is engrossing enough
thanks to its outstanding
mechanical delivery to overcome
any minor blips in the writing.
Venturing out on a mission
involves going through
Gloomhaven’s weakest aspect:
Gloomhaven
setup. There are thousands of
components in the sizeable box,
but the overall organisation is
poor, making searching for a specific
tile or monster standee frustrating
and resulting in a pre-playing time of
up to 15 minutes for each encounter.
Most of the scenarios are a
comfortable length and stick closely
to the estimated 30 minute per
player, which makes the prolonged
setup even more frustrating – this
would be an ideal game to digest in
hour-long segments each day, like
■ Gloomhaven
features 90 scenarios,
a Netflix series, if it wasn’t for the
and supports custom- extra time required simply to unpack
made missions. everything. Speaking of which, invest
19/05/2017 16:15
 in plastic baggies to store all of the
cardboard pieces and make finding
things a little easier. You’re going to
want baggies. Outside the drudgery
of fetching the components and
cards, setup is surprisingly intuitive,
with smart difficulty scaling for
different numbers of players and the
ability to adjust things on the fly if
the odds feel stacked.
When you’re rolling on a mission,
Gloomhaven’s combat shines. Using
a blend of hand management and
random attack modifiers drawn
from a stack that only reshuffles
after specific results, the game
offers a deep and involving level
of strategy and the opportunity to
set up satisfying combos without
saturating the core systems with
unnecessary complexity.
Each player starts with a full
hand of cards, which can be
customised depending on their
level before embarking on a
scenario. This card has top and
bottom actions: each round, each
player can perform one top and
one bottom action, with their place
in the turn order dictated by the
cards’ initiative value. Generally,
top actions are bigger attacks while
bottom actions are more passive
effects such as movement, making
every turn feel dynamic and keep
the flow going. Each card feels
worthwhile and there’s plenty
of flexibility in the characters'
skills to adjust play style
to dish out heavy damage,
take the hits as a team
shield, provide healing and
support, and more.
The combat tension
is reinforced by the
game’s key exhaustion
mechanic, where
performing more
powerful actions
means cards are
‘lost’ rather
than discarded.
Spending a turn
to rest involves
losing a
discarded
card and,
with the exception of certain
actions or items, lost cards cannot
be recovered – lose all your cards
and it’s game over. The value of
076_079_gloomhavenReviewInterview_V3 MJ.indd 77
knowing when to lose a card for
maximum impact is crucial, and
lends a tense tactical edge to the
otherwise easy-to-parse combat.
Having said that, it’s surprisingly easy
to lose scenarios, especially early
on, but the game simply tells you
to try again rather than accounting
for your failure and progressing the
story based on the outcome, taking
away from the naturalistic evolution
and living sense of the world that is
strengthened to such an impressive
standard by its more roleplaying-
centric elements.
Enemies are controlled by the
game and driven by individual
decks of cards which dictate their
actions and buffs or handicaps
that turn. While enemies’ health,
power and abilities scale with the
average level of the player group,
the semi-randomised nature of their
77
actions makes combat thrilling and BOX CONTENTS
◗ 18 character
unpredictable to just enough of a
miniatures
degree where it feels engaging, rather ◗ 47 monster stat sheets
than unfair or frustrating. Unlike ◗ 24 battle goal cards
many other fantasy games, there’s ◗ 50 money tokens
◗ Scenario book
an impressive variety of monster
◗ 17 character boards
types you’ll come up against; every ◗ Six monster
creature feels uniquely talented and stat sleeves
requires a slightly different approach ◗ 24 personal
quest cards
to defeat, allowing scenarios to feel
◗ 48 damage tokens
exciting and varied throughout. ◗ Town records book
Gloomhaven isn’t a perfect game, ◗ 504 character
but the component niggles and ability cards
◗ 150 event cards
other minor issues are engulfed
◗ 40 random
by the sheer scale of ambition and dungeon cards
achievement on offer. Night after ◗ 10 wood trackers
night, we found ourselves returning ◗ Nine random
scenario cards
to the captivating world and stories,
◗ 10 XP tokens
desperate to explore a crypt we had ◗ 457 attack
discovered hours before or chase modifier cards
down the latest evildoer on our ◗ Map board
◗ 236 monster
hit list, all the while pursuing our
standees
character’s personal quests and ◗ 253 item cards
increasing our wider notability. ◗ Four player
When the game lands its hits – reference cards
◗ 12 number tokens
which it does far more often than
◗ 17 character pads
it misses – it’s bested by little else ◗ 30 two-sided map tiles
on the tabletop. In many ways, it ◗ 232 monster
is everything the tabletop world ability cards
has to offer brought together and ◗ Six wood
element discs
combined into a hybrid of dizzying ◗ 32 summon tokens
accomplishment: an RPG without ◗ Party pad
the need for a GM, an accessible ◗ 155 two-sided
combat system with the depth, overlay tiles
◗ 24 plastic stands
strategy and weight of a Eurogame ◗ Element infusion board
but the exciting luck-driven aspects ◗ 60 status tokens
and thematic dressing of Ameritrash, ◗ Three sealed
and a legacy title with permanence envelopes
◗ 35 character
and consequence but with more tuck boxes
replayability than most people ◗ Round tracker
will ever need. Gloomhaven is ◗ 85 character tokens
a game to invest not only your ◗ Four sticker sheets
◗ Rulebook
money in, but your time and
heart. It will reward you justly
for years to come. ■
MATT JARVIS
CONCLUSION
A thrilling combat system,
absorbing world and ingenious
use of legacy concepts come
together to make Gloomhaven
a standalone experience on the
tabletop. It’s an epic achievement
in both scale and ambition, with
its multifaceted gameplay offering
something for everyone.
IF YOU LIKE DESCENT…
TRY GLOOMHAVEN
Gloomhaven looks sure to inherit the
title of must-have dungeon-delving
game from Kevin Wilson's classic.
19/05/2017 16:15

Isaac Childres’ Gloomhaven is one of the most striking board games to hit the tabletop in years,
offering a sprawling adventure with highly ambitious legacy elements. More astonishingly, it’s only
the designer’s second title. We take a tour around the fantasy world with the fast-rising star
Where did the idea for
Gloomhaven’s world and
mechanics come from?
Haha, that's a big question!
Gloomhaven's world just came from
a wealth of experience designing my
own D&D campaigns, full of weird
monsters and bosses. I never used
source books and always went for
creating my own worlds. I just love
building that sort of stuff, so when
it came time to dream up a world
for Gloomhaven, I was happy to sit
down and dream big.
The mechanics came from a
variety of places, of course. Using
the core concept of a brain-engaging
dungeon crawl, I cobbled together
mechanics from many different
games and refined them until it felt
complete and streamlined.
Gloomhaven is one of the
first major legacy games not
designed with the input of Rob
Daviau. Why did you decide to
make the title a legacy game?
Well, I did have a little input from Rob;
he helped design one of the scenarios.
The main thing I have to say
about the legacy concept is that it
never felt like a challenge because
I was using it to solve problems – I
wasn't using them just to say I made
a legacy game. I wanted to create a
campaign game where it really felt
like there was a dialogue between
the player and the designer, much
like you get a dialogue between
player and DM when you are
sitting around the table playing
D&D.. I wanted to evoke that
feeling that as players explore
the world, they are making
permanent changes to it.
They are presented with
a choice, and going one
way means that they can't
ever go back and do things
the other way. That was
really what I used legacy for:
permanent, dynamic decisions.
076_079_gloomhavenReviewInterview_V3 MJ.indd 78
MASTER OF GLOOM
Interview by Matt Jarvis
Despite the critical success of
Risk and Pandemic Legacy, we
haven’t seen that many creators
adopt legacy mechanics for their
own games. Why do you think
this is?
It is very time-consuming! I believe
there are many, many games in the
works, but we just haven't seen many
of them because they take so much
time to develop properly. I guess I'm
just a crazy workaholic and was able
to get mine out earlier, while still
making sure that it was a great game
experience at the end of the day.
Other than legacy titles, what
games or other works did you
take inspiration from while
designing Gloomhaven?
Definitely other dungeon crawlers
like Descent and Mice & Mystics. I
love the campaign aspects of
those games, and wanted
to combine that with
something that felt
meatier than moving
around and rolling a
bunch of dice.
The two-card
mechanic was inspired
by this game
78
“I have an that doesn't actually even exist –
Rocket Wreckers – but I saw it on an
irrational old episode of Tabletop Deathmatch.
Multi-use cards isn't really a new
hatred concept, but I think it added a little
bit of that Euro flavor to the game,
of dice. which helped make it meatier.
They You had only published
one game before releasing
never Gloomhaven: Forge War. How
did your experience creating
seem Forge War impact your approach
to Gloomhaven?
to roll Forge War was definitely an
important stepping stone to the
the way creation of Gloomhaven, though
thematically they are not related –
I want outside of them both being fantasy.
You've gotta learn to walk before
them to.” you can run, though I feel the better
analogy might be that Forge War
taught me to run before I tried to
sprint in the Olympics. They were
both gigantic projects compared
to my skill level as a designer,
developer, and publisher, but I guess
I am a fast learner.
You brought both of your games to
Kickstarter. What do you find most
appealing about the crowdfunding
platform? What changed between
your campaigns?
The appeal of crowdfunding is really
two-fold, and it's right in the name:
the crowd and the funds. So first of
all, Kickstarter allows you to build and
interact with a community – a group
of incredibly supportive
fans that only want
to help you make
the game as good
as it can be. Some
of the suggestions
and contribution in
both Forge War and
Gloomhaven ended up being
some of the best parts of those
games. And, as a small company with
pretty much no capital at the start,
Kickstarter was vital because it let me
19/05/2017 16:16

raise the funds to print these massive
physical objects.
It's hard to pinpoint anything
I adjusted or changed between
the two campaigns, but I think
it just comes down to an overall
refinement that comes from
experience – and also my graphic
designer. Having the experience
from Forge War allowed me to move
forward and run a much smoother
campaign for Gloomhaven. Sort of
like the difference between raising
your first kid and your second kid.
Why did you opt to implement a
diceless card-driven system for
Gloomhaven’s combat?
I just have an irrational hatred of
dice. They never seem to roll the
way I want them to.
In fact, the original
implementation of the game had
no randomness whatsoever, but at
some point, I realised that you need
some amount of randomness in a
game to keep players on their toes
and keep it from being completely
deterministic. It also helps to create
epic moments in combat. I still
didn't want dice, though, not only
because I hate them, but because
they felt so limiting to me.
A deck of cards can accomplish
what a die does, but a deck of
cards is also customisable, and
076_079_gloomhavenReviewInterview_V3 MJ.indd 79
customisation became a major
aspect of character progression in
the game.
You released many of
Gloomhaven’s assets for
free to support the creation
of fan-made scenarios and
custom campaigns. What’s
the importance of tabletop
creators supporting the potential
modification and expansion of
their games outside of ‘official’
releases and what more can be
done to encourage this?
I think fan-made content extends the
life of the game, which is just better
for everyone. I want Gloomhaven
players to have the best, richest
experience possible with
the game, and that includes
stretching on their adventures
into the creative works of the
community. Plus, it helps to
build up that community of fans
and increase their interaction
with each other. It's great to feel
like you are part of a community.
There's no down side.
I think publishers just need
to realise that fan-made content
doesn't reduce interest in any
future content you want to release,
it can only make people more
excited about the game and increase
their interest in future content.
79
■ Left: Gloomhaven's The upcoming Founders of
world and campaign
Gloomhaven is pitched as a
were inspired by
Dungeons & Dragons. prequel to Gloomhaven, and
boasts distinctly different
mechanics and a competitive,
rather than co-operative, setup.
What makes the tile and worker
placement mechanics and
competitive aspects suitable as a
companion title to Gloomhaven?
I love creating Euro games. When I
go to a game night, that is really what
I gravitate toward.
Designing Gloomhaven was sort
of a diversion for me that is now
dominating my life, but I still have
a lot of ideas for Euro games that I
want to develop. But now I've also
built this audience of Gloomhaven
fans who are interested in this
world, and I want to give them more
to experience as well, so, for the
foreseeable future, any Euro games
I develop will be set in this same
universe to enhance it and build
upon it.
What are your own plans to
support and expand Gloomhaven
and the Gloomhaven universe
post-release?
I really just sort of play this by ear. You
know, the solo scenarios I released
a while back, or the fan-driven
■ Below: The combat campaign I ran during the most
system eschews dice recent Kickstarter, both of those were
in favour of random just random ideas I had that grew
attack modifier cards.
into something really interesting. I'm
sure more stuff like that will come
in the future, but I am also working
on a legitimate big-box sequel that
contains a whole new campaign,
new characters, new enemies
and new ways to interact with
the world. That's all I can say
for now, though.
Outside the world of
Gloomhaven, what’s
next for you?
Haha, is there
something outside the
world of Gloomhaven?
Well, actually, I just
signed on to work on
another project for
another company that I
am really excited about, but
I can't talk about it yet. If all
goes well, it will be announced
at Gen Con. ■
19/05/2017 16:16
 PLAYED
DARK SOULS: THE BOARD GAME
Prepare to dice with death in this gruelling adaptation of the video game
Steamforged | £100 | Dungeon crawler | 1-4 players | 90-120 minutes | Age: 14+ | steamforged.com/dark-souls
D
ark Souls is undoubtedly one of
the greatest video games ever
made. Infamously challenging
and permeated by the enigmatic
narrative of its gothic fantasy world, it’s
an experience that rewards those willing
to invest both time and effort to master
its unforgiving – but fair – combat
systems and unpick a rich story that is
obtuse at best.
Dark Souls initially made its
name on the back of its try-and-try
again difficulty – it was advertised
with the tagline ‘Prepare to die’ –
that sees players drop all of their
gathered souls, which serve as both
currency for new equipment and the
experience required to level up, upon
death and lose them permanently if
they cannot successfully fight their way
back through resurrected enemies and
reset traps to the spot of their last demise.
What is key is that everything goes back
exactly as it was, not unlike a virtual
Rube Goldberg machine – you know that
knight will ambush you from a hidden
corner, so you can anticipate the surprise
before it happens. You learn from your
mistakes, correcting your strategy each
time you die to progress a little further.
Dark Souls: The Board Game places
this idea of ‘live, die, repeat’ at its core,
080_81_darkSoulsReview_v2 MJ.indd 80
BOX CONTENTS offering up a dungeon full of enemies
◗ 27 plastic miniatures that must be conquered before facing
◗ Nine double-sided
map tiles
a mini-boss and a final boss, both
◗ Four character boards pulled from across the video game
◗ 64 health and trilogy. While the dungeon layout and
stamina cubes the monsters within are randomised
◗ 15 dice
◗ 121 tokens
during setup, they remain the same
◗ 252 cards when a player dies, throwing the party
◗ Eight tracker dials back to the home bonfire and resetting
◗ Rulebook all cleared rooms – as well as leaving
behind any unspent souls, which can be
cashed in between encounters to draw
from a treasure deck of cards or level
up characters. So far, so Dark Souls.
Where the board game falls apart
in relation to its on-screen sibling is
in the idea of repetition leading to
player improvement. Dark Souls the
video game has become a favourite
of online streamers who have shown
how even the hardest foes can be taken
down with little more than a pair of
pixelated pants and enough well-timed
dodges and attacks, highlighting that
skill is the trick. Dark Souls: The Board
Game does away with much of this
■ Top: Each dungeon patient strategy, making combat rely
is created using a on endless dice rolls that can see a party
random series of back on their bums by the bonfire after
encounter cards and
a few unlucky turns.
map tiles and must
be reset and replayed What further replaces the feeling
if a player dies. of sweaty-palmed tension with
80
sweaty-browed frustration is that
all enemies act after each player’s
activation, meaning that three- or
four-person parties can see their
teammates turned into human
mincemeat between their individual
turns (it's instant failure if one player
dies) and the added downtime kills
the feeling of a fast-paced dance with
death despite an otherwise fluid node-
based movement and attack system.
With so much coming down to luck,
the only meaningful way to up your
chances of victory is by grinding through
battle after battle to earn souls and
equip better treasure, which increases
everything from melee strength and
magical power to pure defense and
dodging ability by adding dice to each
respective pool. The treasure cards are
held in a shared inventory and can
be equipped once a player passes the
necessary stat requirements, which
also cost souls to improve.
It therefore becomes a see-saw game
of chance where making it through
to the main boss relies primarily on
pulling the right treasure cards early
and being able to level up towards
those, or risk having to sink souls into
drawing random items until something
somewhat achievable is revealed.
19/05/2017 16:17

With souls being in limited supply
– the same amount is earned after every
encounter, regardless of its difficulty
level – this can be a frustrating situation
where hours upon hours of playing are
wasted on trying to find a half-decent
set of armour, with the wasted souls
from the shared pot meaning only one
player may even progress past a starting
loadout even multiple runs in. Any
sense of reward from finally besting an
encounter is quickly funneled away by
the realisation that it likely won’t be
enough to make it past the next one.
What’s most disappointing about
Dark Souls: The Board Game is that
despite the major gameplay missteps
that make it an ultimately unenjoyable
and unsatisfying experience, there are
the buds of several smart and innovative
ideas buried beneath the surface.
One of the smartest is the
combination of health and stamina into
a single bar on each player board, into
which red and black cubes are placed
from either end to reflect damage taken
or exhaustion from more strenuous
actions – if the entire bar fills, it’s death.
The juggling of health (which only heals
with certain items or spells) and energy
(which restores gradually each turn) is
a clever way to introduce more strategic
decisions into each encounter – you
080_81_darkSoulsReview_v2 MJ.indd 81
could risk a more powerful blow to
finish off an enemy this turn, but if the
hit fails to kill them the spent stamina
could mean your own demise. The bar
completely refills at the end of each
encounter, so every battle opens with
the chance to start with a bang before
slowly restricting the options available
to characters on their last legs as health
is depleted, lending a nice sense of
fatigue to longer fights.
While the combat may not reflect
Dark Souls’ preference for skill over
luck, this is mitigated in the boss fights,
which stand head and shoulders over
the rather one-note behaviours of
smaller sword fodder thanks to boss
behaviour decks that aim to recreate
the dynamic move sets of their virtual
counterparts in a physical form.
Each card dictates the set of actions
taken by the boss that turn, but the stack
remains in the same order each time it’s
reset, providing the chance for players
to memorise the sequence and exploit
it to fell the beasts, finally bringing
the board game closer to the complex
memory test setup of the video game.
Once the bosses have taken enough
damage, more powerful 'heat up' cards
are shuffled into the mix, introducing
new attacks and changing the flow of
the fight for an exciting finale.
81
The bosses are the only enemies to
make use of four arcs marked onto the
models’ bases, signalling wider area-of-
effect attacks and weaker portions
that grant players the opportunity to deal
bonus damage. The extra mechanics
make the bosses easily the highlight
of the game, if you can bear to grind
your way through to them – though,
honestly, it's a hard case to make.
While including similar behaviour IF YOU LIKE
GLOOMHAVEN…
decks and mechanics for every enemy big
TRY DARK
and small alike may have stretched the SOULS: THE
already baggy play time to an unbearable BOARD GAME
point (expect to take up to double or Dark Souls offers
a very different,
even triple the two hours suggested –
luck-driven take
sometimes just to reach the mid-boss), on the idea of
the difference they make is so staggering managing stamina
that it begs the question whether extra during battles than
the Euro-inspired
development in that area might have
legacy fantasy epic.
alleviated some of the many half-baked
ideas that end up capturing Dark Souls
■ Below left: The
at nothing more than a surface level. boss behaviour decks
To that end, the miniatures do look offer an interesting
fantastic. Sculpted from hard plastic – and dynamic way of
so they do risk snapping, as one of our bringing the monsters'
powerful move sets
DOA models attests, but maintain the to the tabletop.
striking poses perfectly – the four mini-
bosses and two main bosses are suitably
large, imposing figures on the tabletop.
While the bosses span all three
games, the environment tiles stick with
the drab stones of a castle-like setting,
which feels like a missed opportunity
given the forest, frozen and lava-filled
levels visited during the games. This is
particularly notably during the optional
campaign mode, which adds the chance
to play truncated versions of Dark
Souls and Dark Souls III as series of
connected scenarios – another case of
something sounding well-considered
in concept, but executed messily as it
highlights the absence of environments,
bosses and other elements from the two
games, not to mention the gap left by
leaving out middle chapter Dark Souls II. II
Dark Souls: The Board Game appears
to be the worst kind of adaptation: CONCLUSION
something that lazily tries to capture It looks the part and
there are innovative
a popular creation in look without
mechanics ticking away
applying the care to embody its soul. in the background,
That’s not the case, as there are enough but Dark Souls fails
factors that work as clever ideas but to balance its reliance
on tiresome grinding
fail to come together in action. A better
and frustrating dice
set of rules might have been able to rolls with meaningful
take the fraying strands and create a decisions or rewarding
coherent experience worthy of Dark gameplay. Still, the
boss fights are a
Souls’ legacy. As it stands, though,
highlight – if you can
you’re better off staying in the light. ■ even be bothered to
MATT JARVIS get to them.
19/05/2017 16:17
 PLAYED
GREAT WESTERN TRAIL
We set out on the dusty trail with this cow-herding masterpiece
Pegasus Spiele | £43.99 | Strategy | 2-4 players | 75-150 minutes | Age: 12+ | pegasus.de
T
housands of board games
take mediocre gameplay and
pair it with an exciting theme
that papers over the mechanical
cracks, but many of the greatest
tabletop titles begin with a seemingly
mundane area of interest and elevate
it with outstanding mechanics,
revealing the fun and fascination
in the mundane. So it is that Great
Western Trail is set in the American
Old West but features no gunslinging
shootouts, moonshine-swigging
outlaws or hangings at dawn;
instead, what will keep you pinned
to your seat for two-odd hours are
cows. Grass-munching, methane-
producing, mooing bovine.
Okay, that’s not entirely true. As in
the actual American Frontier, cattle
herding is only a single part of the
multifaceted design in Great Western
Trail, but it is the core of the game,
as players make the long trek from
Texas to Kansas City to send off their
livestock on trains to pastures new. As
you repeat the journey up the board,
082_085_greatWesternTrailReviewInterview_V3 MJ.indd 82
BOX CONTENTS
◗ Game board
◗ 54 worker tiles
◗ 18 hazard tiles
◗ 22 teepee tiles
◗ Four player boards
◗ Four player count tiles
◗ Four cattlemen
◗ Four engines
◗ 56 player discs
◗ Four certificate markers
◗ 92 cattle cards
◗ 24 objective cards
◗ 47 building tiles
◗ Five station master tiles
◗ 55 coins
◗ Job market token
◗ Scoring notepad
◗ Rulebook
you’ll need to manage your herd,
represented by cow cards of different
breeds and values in your hand.
There’s a deckbuilding aspect
to having the best hand of cows by
the time you hit your destination,
as cattle can be purchased from
a shared marketplace at certain
locations – but are only worthwhile
in the short term if you can get them
into your hand by the end of the trail,
earning more money and victory
points by reaching further-off cities.
You’ll also be trying to hire
staff, including cowboys, workers
and engineers, who can help you
buy better cows, construct more
advanced buildings along the path
and get your personal train further
along the railroad that runs along
two edges of the board – all of which
works towards refining your herd and
selling it for the most money possible
by the end of the game.
Meanwhile, there’s also the
potential to run into natural hazards
such as floods, rockfalls and drought,
82
or be forced to trade with Indians –
though this can go in your favour if
you’re careful.
There’s a lot happening, and
both the main and player boards
can look intimidating at first glance
with countless icons, arrows and
tokens. Like the recent Scythe,
however, designer Alexander Pfister
has managed to create a flow of
gameplay actions and decisions that
quickly begin to feel very natural
and easy to understand, keeping
the strategy complex without
overloading players’ turn-to-turn
juggling of all the elements involved.
For one, each turn only tends to
consist of one or two simple actions,
dictated by the space that the player
lands on that turn – although a
variable movement range, diverging
paths and the chance to construct
personal buildings between neutral
outposts offers plenty of tactical
scope. The actions are dictated by
smart use of the symbols, which
effortlessly become a second
19/05/2017 16:17
 language, and the boards – while
visually busy – mean there’s very
little consultation of the rules once
everything’s flowing a few turns in.
One of the most pleasant surprises
we found was that, despite the
number of things to pay attention to
at a wide level, there was little to no
analysis paralysis among our group
– although actions can have complex
repercussions, each momentary
decision is often a simple one,
keeping everything driving steadily
onwards until the final turn.
Great Western Trail is a Euro at
heart and, true to the genre, there is
a significant ‘points salad’ series of
end-game calculations to determine
a winner. Unlike some Euros,
however, it’s much easier to track
exactly what you are working towards
on every turn, whether it’s pursuing a
specific breed of cow to achieve one
of the optional risk-reward objective
cards or bolstering your workforce
to unlock more powerful abilities –
such as by claiming one of the train
stations encountered as your engine
puffs along the tracks.
The many interlocking cogs –
managing cow cards, placing building
tiles, hiring workers, advancing your
train, earning money, achieving
objectives – are greased by the need
to traverse the trail time after time,
with players shipping off their herd
of cows and adding new elements
to the board once they reach Kansas
City before returning to the beginning
of the track with a slightly upgraded
■ Players will make
their way up the
board time and time
again, but it never
feels tiresome.
082_085_greatWesternTrailReviewInterview_V3 MJ.indd 83
player mat. The repetition of the
journey not only works thematically,
joining the many other goings-ons
in building up the feeling of day-
to-day living of the Wild West, but
also provides a comfortable level of
familiarity during each game, with
players learning which routes to take
for certain outcomes and focusing
their building efforts on making
their personal route as prosperous
as possible. As well as the chance to
explore new paths on the board, the
steady acquisition of cows, buildings
and player upgrades also helps to
evolve the gameplay throughout,
keeping player choices interesting
and introducing fresh options every
time you embark on the journey
once again.
Although the game can take
upwards of two hours with more
players, it never feels overstretched
or exhausting – once the group
collectively reaches Kansas City a
certain number of times and fills
up the job market (the number
83
IF YOU LIKE
SCYTHE…
TRY GREAT
WESTERN TRAIL
Scythe and Great
required varies with the player
Western Trail
count), it ends, providing enough stand as glowing
time for players to find a secure examples of Euro-
groove and establish their own style titles that are
strategically deep
strategy but stopping long before
and thematically
things become dull. There’s enough satisfying,
variety in the game mechanics as without requiring
they are to keep things fresh for a exhaustive effort
to understand.
long time to come, but many of the
setup and starting elements have
alternative versions or can even be
randomised for yet more variation.
Great Western Trail is a masterful
amalgamation of deckbuilding,
hand management, tile laying, CONCLUSION
building management, economic There’s a lot going
on in Great Western
strategy and more, which always
Trail, yet it all comes
feels hearty and fulfilling to play, together to offer an
rather than tiresome and convoluted. experience that is
Although the mechanics come first, absolutely top-notch.
Complex decisions
the historical theme and setting
are made easy to
permeates the gameplay, providing a manage thanks to the
richly engrossing experience – even flawless design and
more impressive given that repetition the brilliant theme
shines through the
is a core element. It’s a journey you
gameplay. It’s sure
shouldn’t hesitate to set out on. ■ to leave you mooing
MATT JARVIS with pleasure.
19/05/2017 16:18
 all scenery and battle mats are ready straight out of the box: pre-painted  and assembled
www.gamemat.eu

p043.indd 1 22/03/2017 10:33


Alexander Pfister is no stranger to success, having won the Kennerspiel des Jahres consecutively
in 2015 and 2016. His latest game, Great Western Trail, looks certain to continue the designer’s
critical acclaim. He reflects on an extraordinary couple of years
Where did the inspiration for Great
Western Trail come from?
I was always interested in the US
economics of the 19th century. I
studied economics and read books
about this age.
I want people to have fun with
my games, so I usually start with an
interesting core mechanic. The core
mechanic in Great Western Trail is the
buildings, which all players build on
the same route.
The cattle theme was not there at first,
but it was set in the US at this period
of time. First, it was also about oil and
gold mining, but running cattle really
made the most sense. Now I could not
think of a better theme where you travel
along the same path several times.
You’ve now won the Kennerspiel
des Jahres twice in a row for
Broom Service and Isle of Skye.
What does the 'expert game of the
year' award symbolise for you?
Spiel des Jahres is the Oscars of the
gaming industry. It's such a great
honor to be nominated. Winning
twice is unbelievable. I'm very happy
and proud of this.
First you get the notification that
you are nominated. All nominees
come to the ceremony not knowing
082_085_greatWesternTrailReviewInterview_V3 MJ.indd 85
HIT THE TRAIL
Interview by Matt Jarvis
who will win. And then the winning
game is revealed. It's a huge moment,
but of course only one out of the
three nominees will win, so there is
also some disappointment. But this
industry is so great that nevertheless
everybody is fine with each other.
All three games are great, so
Andreas [Pelikan, co-designer] and I
were very lucky to win two times.
You designed both Broom Service
“I try to and Isle of Skye with Andreas,
while Great Western Trail was
focus a solo effort. What effect does
working alone have on your
on a few approach to designing a game?
I like both ways. Designing a game on
games your own means you can set your own
speed. I can invest quite a lot of time in
and make designing games; I like solo playtesting
my games. When doing a game on my
them as own, I can work on it every day.
On the other side, co-designing a
great as game reduces the work, so you can
do more games in parallel. I like this
possible.” especially with lighter games.
Broom Service is very much
steeped in fantasy, while Great
Western Trail, Isle of Skye and
Mombasa are based on real places,
time periods and actions. How
does this change the way you
design each title?
Theme is often a choice of the publisher.
If I hand in a game with a theme, of
which they already have a game in their
portfolio, they change it. If they think the
theme will not sell well, they change it.
The designer is responsible for
the game mechanics. Box, material,
illustration is the job of the publisher, but
of course they will communicate with
you, especially theme and illustrations.
However, only Isle of Skye had
a different theme as a prototype
■ Left: Great Western compared to the released version.
Trail started with the
concept of constructing You recently released a card game
buildings along a adaptation of Broom Service. Why
shared route. did you decide to make this version?
85
The publisher wanted to have a card
version as they started a new line of
card games. So Andreas and I were
asked to do a card game. We presented
two versions to the publisher and the
lighter one was picked.
Although some time was lost by
doing the more complex version, I think
it was a good choice. The transition was
not that difficult, as we knew we wanted
to preserve the heart of the game: the
brave-cowardly decision.
I'm very happy how the game turned
out; it is very fast and fun. A good choice
if you have only 15 minutes to play.
Is there any genre or mechanic you
are yet to work with that you would
like to include in a future game?
I like to tell stories in a game and
I'm working on an expansion for my
bestseller game Port Royal. I will use
my dynamic event deck mechanism,
already used in Longsdale in Revolt. It
will be released this year.
What are your future plans for
Great Western Trail? Do you think
we will see an expansion?
I'm facing the same question with
Mombasa. I'm not working on an
expansion yet, but it's possible we will
see one in the future.
While you’ve still seen a large
amount of success, 2016 has been
far quieter for you than the slew
of releases in 2015. What are your
plans for 2017?
I'm working on a bigger game; it
depends on the publisher if we will see
it in 2017 or not. Apart from this, there
will not be many new releases from
me. I try to focus on a few games and
make them as great as possible instead
of releasing several mediocre games.
And beyond 2017?
I'm working on some small, lighter
games. Nothing of big interest for
people searching for the next Great
Western Trail. ■
19/05/2017 16:18
 PLAYED
RUNEWARS MINIATURES GAME
Can this fantasy wargaming newcomer take over the Warhammer crown?
Fantasy Flight | £99.99 | Wargame | 2 players
90 minutes | Age: 14+ | fantasyflightgames.com
T
he influence of X-Wing on the
Runewars Miniatures Game
is clear as soon as you open
the box and are presented with dials
to pop together, mini upgrade cards
and curving cardboard movement
rulers, all of which harken back to
the fantastic Star Wars dogfighting
spin-off. Runewars aims to be the
next small step into the deep depths
of tabletop wargaming for players
who have found themselves seeking
more weight than X-Wing, but without
drowning in the pedantic checking of
rules in heavy tomes and exhaustive
multi-hour battles that have become
the stereotype of the genre. Mostly
it succeeds – although not without
losing some of the magic formula that
made X-Wing such a hit to begin with.
One of the most divisive decisions
publisher Fantasy Flight has made
is to embrace the makey-doey
elements of miniatures, providing all
48 of the Daqan Lords and Waiqar
The Undying forces in small plastic
pieces that will require, yes, a) gluing
together and b) painting.
The models took me around an
hour and a half to stick together,
with very little room for confusion or
086_089_runewarsReviewInterview_v2 MJ.indd 86
standard given a few hours’ practice.
Especially impressive are the core set’s
biggest models: the carrion lancer, a
curling worm with a skeleton rider,
and the rune golem, a four-armed
rock giant dual-wielding swords. The
lead hero for each side
comes stood on a
rocky pedestal,
which lends a nice
dramatic flair to the
more powerful individuals – but they
can also be slotted in among ranks of
troops to increase their group strength.
Runewars’ battles take place in the
world of Terrinoth, the setting for
Descent Runebound,
Descent, Runebound BattleLore
and the 2010 Runewars board
game. An extensive lore guide
booklet provides a fair amount of
narrative padding to the universe
and introduces the two factions in the
box, as well as two clans set to arrive
in future expansions. It’s an admirable
attempt to establish Terrinoth as a
fantasy domain to rival Warhammer or
Middle-earth and get pulses racing for
the reveal of new races, yet – outside of
the same scattering of unique characters
and details you’d find in any new fantasy
BOX CONTENTS error thanks to the limited number of creation – the setting just fails to excite.
◗ 48 miniatures components – three or four separate The included learn to play
(Daqan Lords and
bits at the most – and separation into guide provides an easy-to-follow
Waiqar The Undying)
◗ Eight command tools bags for each character, meaning you introduction to Runewars’ combat,
◗ Round counter can build a whole platoon without as well as giving surface-level
◗ Range ruler having to hunt around and wonder explanations of the wider miniatures
◗ Nine movement
if one specific tiny head fits on a hobby, including collecting, crafting
templates
◗ Six attack dice particular miniscule pair of shoulders. terrain and organised play. The core
◗ Eight unit cards Although the models’ sculpts box itself comes relatively well-
◗ Four terrain cards perhaps don’t quite match the stocked, with two armies of reasonable
◗ Six deployment cards
quality of miniatures at the hardcore sizes and unit varieties (infantry,
◗ Six objective cards
◗ Four reference cards end of the spectrum, they’re still very archers, spearman, cavalry, heavies,
◗ 30 morale cards impressive. While it’s a shame that they heroes), plus cardboard scenery to use.
◗ 18 upgrade cards come unpainted versus the attractive One interesting touch is the inclusion
◗ Four deployment
ships of X-Wing, the figures' lack of of objective, deployment and terrain
markers
◗ Eight objective tokens ultra-fiddly details means that even cards, which are chosen by players
◗ 10 wound tokens an amateur painter should be able to while setting up and provide a semi-
◗ Five energy tokens finish them to a more than acceptable random way to mix up the starting
◗ 22 boon and
positions, environment and bonus
bane tokens
◗ 12 unit ID tokens goals of each clash when not playing a
◗ Four terrain pieces simple skirmish.
◗ Lore guide Dual sets of dials for each unit
◗ Learn to Play booklet
drive the core gameplay, with players
◗ Rules reference
selecting an initial action – such as
movement or attacking – on the left
before applying a modifier on the
right, from charging into battle to
■ Top: The core box avoid panicking units to performing
includes plenty of special abilities. The results are
models and everything
you need to play, colour-coded, making it easy to
including terrain. tell which skills can be combined
86
19/05/2017 16:19

together while also dictating the
initiative and turn order of units.
It’s an incredibly simple system
that works wonders to streamline
orders that would elsewhere involve
minutes of checking minutiae in
rulebooks. All dials must be locked
in before any units execute orders,
which requires greater consideration
of where your rival’s troops may be
by the time your own armies move
– this can be frustrating for newer
players, who may not be aware of
what their enemies are able to do or
which characters will be able to act
faster depending on their chosen
action, while more experienced
players may be able to adapt their
strategies by remembering the
potential initiative of each unit.
All of Runewars’ systems work to
break down complex wargaming
concepts to their basics, from the
effects of morale, which becomes as
easy as drawing cards when panic
occurs, to so-called ‘boons and
banes’, which tend to be represented
as tokens applied to units and
each have one or two very easy
effects – remove attack dice, restrict
movement, ready exhausted upgrade
cards and so on. A set of double-sided
energy tokens are cast randomly at
the start of each new round and can
provide temporary buffs to units’
stats, keeping tactics somewhat
unpredictable and dynamic.
The X-Wing-like series of set-
distance movement rulers fit neatly
into the side of the trays of models,
making it easy to move units around
the table. Purists might argue about
086_089_runewarsReviewInterview_v2 MJ.indd 87
the accuracy of using such templates,
but we found it to be no less specific
than judging a tape measure. When
opposing trays collide, they are
immediately squared up to their
closest edges – flanking provides the
choice of an extra combat die, so
there’s no arguments about specific
angles and whatnot.
Attacks are resolved using custom
dice, with troop cards dictating which
of the increasingly powerful dice
are rolled. The rank-and-file format
of the interlocking trays is used
inventively: width dictates damage
dealt on hit rolls, while depth offers
re-rolls, presenting plenty of tactical
consideration and variability while
preparing armies. Although, the fact
that the trays lock together can also
be frustrating when you need to
remove figures or an entire square, as
they don’t always separate too easily.
Surge results during attacks provide
the chance to employ characters’ more
powerful moves, which are great fun
87
– but can be devastating when used
against you. Even the more powerful
characters aren’t invincible and will
fall after a few lucky strikes, but as
matches end and are determined by
points after eight rounds, knowing
when to flee is as important as going
down fighting. The built-in finale
neatly keeps matches a comfortable
length, topping out at an hour-and-
a-half tops, but coming in closer to
45 minutes with the core forces once IF YOU LIKE
both players find their footing. X-WING…
TRY RUNEWARS
Runewars has a lot going for it. Runewars is
The dial-driven systems are fun and clearly inspired by
make understanding and executing X-Wing, but works
more complex strategies fast and hard to evolve
the formula with
very easy. The models are of high deeper mechanics
quality and – although the basic and more complex
infantry is a tad boring – the heroes gameplay ideas.
and bigger creatures are original and
exciting, especially if you have the ■ Bottom: The bigger
chance to paint them. The starter models, such as the
carrion lancer, are
kit includes a healthy platter of a joy to build and
components to welcome newcomers paint, and stand out
into the miniatures scene and the against the more run-
core gameplay is strong enough to of-the-mill infantry.
hold up session after session.
The concern is that the game falls
in an awkward gap between the fast
and furious tight action of X-Wing,
which also has the benefit of beautiful
pre-painted Star Wars models, and
more full-bodied wargames such
as Kings of War that feature deeper
mechanisms and proven longevity
– after all, if you’ve stepped up to
Runewars and enjoyed the taste of
wargaming, why stop there? It’s a gap
that I’m not sure Runewars manages
to climb out of, despite its best efforts.
It’s a very well-made miniatures game
that lacks the personality to step out
from under the shadow of its peers. ■
MATT JARVIS
CONCLUSION
Runewars is fun to
play and does a
fantastic job of offering
a deep, satisfying
wargaming experience
in a newbie-friendly
package. The problem
is that it’s hard to
imagine sticking with it
rather than moving on
to deeper offerings or
going back to X-Wing,
making the investment
harder to justify.
19/05/2017 16:19

Fantasy Flight is breaking into the world of miniature wargaming with Runewars.
Alex Watkins, organised play manager for Europe at Asmodee, weighs in on the
game’s X-Wing heritage, need for paints and glue, and future on the world stage
Could you introduce the
world of Runewars?
Runewars is essentially Fantasy Flight's
first toe in the water for full-on miniature
wargaming. We've done things with
Imperial Assault and X-Wing, which is a
miniatures game, and Armada – there's
plenty of games which are miniatures
games, and even Imperial Assault is
paintable. But it's never been a glue-
together, construct your unit, move rank-
and-file, strategy wargame like this.
The decision was made to set it
in Terrinoth, which is a Runebound
universe, along with Descent and various
other Rune- games there have been
over the years. You can argue it's a fairly
generic fantasy setting, but ultimately
it's got a lot of history, which is great.
The lore guide that comes with
the game talks a lot about the Daqan
and Waiqar and how they came to be
and why they're there and what their
meaning is – there's a lot of history
there. It introduces a little bit of the
other two clans which is nice; even at
this level, before they've even come
out, we're hinting a lot towards what
these other clans are and how they play
into the bigger picture.
Although Runewars'
mechanics echo
X-Wing's dial-
driven actions,
the models come
unbuilt and unpainted.
Why is that the case?
It's a market that's there, and
it's one we've never been in.
086_089_runewarsReviewInterview_v2 MJ.indd 88
WAR AND PIECES
Interview by Matt Jarvis
As far as the gluing and putting
together [is concerned], there are very
few bits needing gluing. It's all very
simple – one or two points of glue,
boomph, away you go. The models are
unpainted but they look okay – you
don't have to paint them. It will appeal
to those people who paint them,
because the ones we've had painted
up are just gorgeous. They're very good
detailed models, there's plenty to be
done there. Some games go too far with
detailing and there's so much to paint
that it's cumbersome and a burden to
actually paint them, whereas these have
enough detailing that you can enjoy that
side of it or you can do your three or four
colours and away you go, if you want to.
Admittedly, this doesn't have the
same level of IP that we're used to with
some of our Star Wars games. But at the
same time it's got a lot of the mechanics
we've borrowed from it – so you've got
the movement templates, you take a
look at them once to realise they're very
similar to X-Wing. Being able to cross
that into a fancy environment where
you're moving rank-and-file figures is
very simple – there's no getting a tape
measure out, there's no getting down
and squinting looking for line of sight.
So as far as entry level for
new players, it's a very, very
easy to grok wargame. You
can probably play in an
hour. If you're going to glue
the guys together, okay, you'll
have to wait for the glue to dry,
but you can pretty much stick
them in the bases, away you go.
88
As a lapsed Warhammer player,
I definitely found the ease of the
gameplay very appealing. There's
something very nice about being
able to just get it going.
The combat mechanic of just everything
falling into line makes everything so
simple. If you know you can obviously
reach, I can just push myself up to you,
line it up, that's where I'm going to be.
It almost snaps together.
Exactly, yeah. "There you go, we're now in
combat, now I'm going to roll some dice."
Then you get to the dice rolling – you're
rarely rolling more than three dice. I'm
sure there will be people who want to
roll their fistful of D6s, but I love that. You
pretty much always roll the same number
of dice, but it's the size of your unit,
how you built it and how you put your
army together that modifies those dice.
To me – I guess a little bit is coming
from X-Wing with the dice modification
– it really makes it more accessible. You
really don't need more dice than you get.
Runewars is set in the world of
Terrinoth. Given Fantasy Flight's
roster of big-name licences –
■ Some of the heroes Game of Thrones and Star Wars,
and bigger creatures
from the core set. to name a couple – what does
that setting add to the game?
The only thing I can speculate – I haven't
been included in that conversation – is
that it's an IP we have and we own.
We've had it for a long time.
FFG has had this licence and used
it for various games – Descent is a very
successful, fun game that loads of people
love. So it's clear to me that this isn't a
snap decision, they've been investing in
this IP for a bit of time now and decided
this is the time to put it at the forefront
and see what they can do with it.
You get 48 figures in the core
set – around 100 points for
each army. How does the game
scale in terms of expanding
from skirmishes to all-out big
battles? Is there an ideal size?
19/05/2017 16:19

It scales up beautifully. When you go up
to 200 points – tournament size – you're
on double the playing surface: six-foot
wide, three-foot deep. With that, you
introduce terrain, which makes a big
difference and have different properties
and can leave you exposed. That dictates
the way the battle flows around it.
The difference between 100 and 200
points isn't twice as many units, because
you start to add upgrades and do all
these other different things; it's probably
about 50% more units. So you're getting
more space. You can start putting your
carrion lancers in with your reanimate
troops and suddenly you get a more
mobile slug moving around because
it gets all the movement properties
of the reanimates. Likewise, with the
rune golem when he gets in with the
spearmen. Or just simply putting
your champion in with a unit and
seeing how differently they interact.
So you've got a lot of variable options
right off the bat and once it scales up
you're going to see even more of that.
I'd love to see a 1,000-point army.
Rune golems everywhere!
Yeah, well, if you put a two-by-three set
of golems together, that's a lot of points!
In terms of organised play, what do
you have planned for the game?
It'll go in the Q3 quarterly kits. So it'll be
game number eight – we lost a game and
then gained two, so we're now above
where we started. It's going to slide in
there, with a plan to get into Worlds
in November. Once it hits Worlds, it'll
join the Nationals track for next year.
086_089_runewarsReviewInterview_v2 MJ.indd 89
Depending on its success, who
knows what we do with it. We've got
the Open Series for X-Wing and there's
a discussion going on about what the
next step for that is and what games
join it. If we can get a good successful
wargame then absolutely there's some
potential for this.
You've got the first FFG European
Championships at UK Games
Expo. What's in store for that?
The thing I keep saying to other people is
if you look at Gen Con and the prize level
of Gen Con, everyone knows Gen Con is
a Gen Con event, but it's North American
continentals, that's what it is. And we're
running the European continentals, so
the prize support will be the same. Now
we're going to cycle into the Europeans
coming in. We've got two of them a year
– Europeans and North Americans – that
have exactly the same prize support,
except for the first time – or the first time
in a long time – Europe will get a prize
pool first, because we're running our
event two months sooner. Which means
all those cool promos and spot glosses
you saw coming out of Gen Con last
year will be in Europe before America.
I hear from players a lot that they feel
they're second-class citizens to America
– that's just because things are made
out there, it's the nature of the business.
It's not deliberate, there's no conspiracy
about trying to treat American players
better, it's just the way it is. It's really
nice that we can turn around this time
and say: "Actually, you're going to get
it first." We're going to put on this big
event, it's going to be a celebration.
89
People over here often think of the
US getting a lot more organised
play support. Do you have plans
to step up tournament support
over here in response to that?
If you look at the Open Series for X-Wing,
they ran five in American this year and
three in Europe. Of the three in Europe,
our smallest one was 270 players, that
was at Lothal in Germany. Then we
had 362 in Tatooine in Spain, 369 in
Birmingham for Yavin. I think only one
Open in America had over 300 players,
so the demand is quite clearly over here.
The player level for our premier-level
events is much higher. Our regionals
are getting over 100 players in the UK
and in Poland and in countries like that,
just for a regional. Whereas you had a
sister event in America that didn't hit
■ Runewars uses 100 players. So you can see the demand
rank-and-file bases is definitely here in Britain, and I like to
to simplify much
of its combat.
think that's part of the reason my role
came into place in November – we need
a driving force to start doing it. Part
of my role is make sure we're getting
everything consistent all across Europe.
The Worlds will always be in America,
that's not going to change. I totally get
why – they've got their own gaming
centre, they've got all their staff there,
they can run an awesome event and they
do every year. So getting the Europeans is
a step in the right direction. The more
we can build on the Europeans, where
it goes, what we do with it, how we up
that participation level, is only going
to be good for the games. We're seeing
a level now where the prize support
and competitiveness are starting to
level out and be on a par to America.
Do you expect people who play
X-Wing will move onto Runewars,
given the gameplay similarities?
There's a lot of X-Wing gamers who
“It's a moved away from traditional wargames
because they don't want to paint
very, very anymore or don't have time to paint.
I was a Warhammer 40,000 player,
easy but stopped when I went to uni. When
I wanted to get back into gaming, I
to grok came back through the card gaming
route, which was really convenient. But
wargame. then X-Wing appealed to me because
I didn't have time to paint. Now I
You can have a house and a spare room, and
this coming out is like I can put some
play in space aside and get my paints out and
actually paint these things without it
an hour.” having to be on top of everything else. ■
19/05/2017 16:19
p090.indd 1 17/05/2017 14:54
 PLAYED
It’s a race of reasoning in this elementary spin on Consulting Detective
Space Cowboys | £39.99 | Bidding, deduction | 2-7 players | 45-75 minutes | Age: 12+ | asmodee.us
W
ith both Sherlock Holmes
and Batman jostling for the
title of ‘World’s Greatest
Detective’, it seems that the number
two spot is up for grabs. Likewise,
while Sherlock Holmes: Consulting
Detective may be firmly in pole
position when it comes to tabletop
takes on the Victorian super sleuth,
there’s plenty of room for another
board game to come along and play
second fiddle to the indisputable
masterpiece. Watson & Holmes may
just be what the doctor ordered.
Though it may not explicitly say as
much, Watson & Holmes is essentially
a boiled-down, more mechanically
rich competitive homage to Consulting
Detective’s text-heavy, deduction-driven
collaborative format. In lieu of the
latter’s map, directory and casebooks,
players instead travel to a smaller
number of set locations by outbidding
their rivals using carriage tokens – only
one player can read each location’s
clues each round, making beating your
opponents to the punch vital to solving
each of the 13 mysteries first.
The competitive spirit is
strengthened by the ability to summon
the police to a location you’ve just
visited, forcing others to call them off
or break their way in with a lockpick
token before visiting, which can often
only be achieved by burning a turn
going to Scotland Yard. Of course, the
location could be worthless – but your
opponents don’t know that, offering
the chance for some light deception
and bluffing.
Although there is a greater focus on
the auction mechanics, the solution
091_watsonAndHolmesReview_V2 MJ.indd 91
WATSON & HOLMES
BOX CONTENTS for each case isn’t simply presented by
◗ 13 case booklets going to the right places – you will still
◗ 13 envelopes
◗ 206 location cards have to put your brain matter to work.
◗ Seven player standees As in Consulting Detective, players
◗ 67 carriage tokens need to present their answers to a series
◗ Six police tokens of questions to the master investigator
◗ Six call off tokens
◗ Two lockpick tokens to win (this time, you’re given the
◗ Eight character cards questions upfront) – get any wrong and
◗ Holmes card you’re out of the game. Fortunately,
◗ Watson card the factor of elimination is offset by the
◗ Carriage stop card
◗ Wiggins token introduction of Holmes as a character,
◗ Start player token allowing losers to stay involved.
In most of the cases, each player
starts with a unique single-use
character ability, while everyone
can call on Watson by spending four
carriages to force another player to
read their location’s clue out loud
– a potentially risky move, as your
opponents all benefit, too.
The bidding aspects can sometimes
only end up intensifying towards the
conclusion of the game as everyone
chases down the same story strands,
so the characters present a nice level
of player interaction from the off.
That said, it’s certainly worth playing
with as many people as you can (we’d
recommend at least four) to accentuate
the role of the bidding and abilities.
Watson & Holmes is presented in
the same bookshelf-friendly drawer
box style as the recently re-released
Consulting Detective games, and boasts
the same beautiful level of presentation
in its more varied components, with
vibrant art and quality materials.
IF YOU LIKE SHERLOCK HOLMES: CONSULTING DETECTIVE…
TRY WATSON & HOLMES
Watson & Holmes feels like a condensed, more mechanically involved
play on the deduction-heavy storytelling format of Consulting Detective.
91
There’s not as much text as
Consulting Detective, but the abridged
writing remains more than strong
enough to conjure a smoky Victorian
atmosphere and propel each whodunit
forwards. The only thematic wobble
is the rulebook, which provides little
in-universe setup as to why you’re
competing for Holmes’ affections
despite the entertaining premise
– nevertheless, we had great fun
roleplaying (complete with dodgy
accents) as a colourful cast of job
applicants racing to prove their worth.
Watson & Holmes is a satisfying hors
d'œuvre to Consulting Detective’s filling
three-course meal of crime solving.
It won’t give your brain as vigorous a
workout, but the added mechanical
layers of bidding and character abilities
offer a uniquely distinct experience
that still requires a satisfying level
of analysis and reasoning. Plus, it
plays in under an hour. Stick it on
your bookshelf alongside Consulting
Detective and Arthur Conan Doyle’s
novels – it’s earned the place. ■
MATT JARVIS
CONCLUSION
Watson & Holmes takes the meditative
deduction of Consulting Detective and
transforms it into a fast-paced logical
dash, with a sprinkling of auction
mechanics and character abilities. The
cases are satisfying to solve, the player
interactions meaningful but balanced,
and the atmosphere richly delivered.
The verdict: a seriously good time.
22/05/2017 16:17
 PLAYED
YAMATAI
Let this mesmerising Euro set in ancient
Japan work its magic on you
Days of Wonder | £49.99 | Worker placement | 2-4 players
40-80 minutes | Age: 13+ | daysofwonder.com/yamatai
S
ome games make an instant
impression on you as you
play, whether it’s through
innovative mechanics, breathtaking
artwork or a captivating theme.
Others can embody all of the same
essential factors, but work their
magic a little more slowly, subtly
washing a perfect blend of active and
passive experience over you until you
realise you’re completely under their
spell. For me, playing Yamatai was
absolutely a case of the latter.
A little history lesson: Yamatai
was a mythical country of unknown
location in ancient Japan, first
recorded in Chinese records as being
under the rule of Queen Himiko. It
is Himiko that you are attempting to
impress in this Yamatai, by building
the most lavish buildings and
monuments across the archipelago.
The core of Yamatai is the
placement of coloured wooden boats
representing the flow of trade to
092_093_yamataiReviewInterview_V3 MJ.indd 92
the islands. Fleet tiles chosen at the
beginning of each turn dictate which
boats you can place – with the ability
to buy at least one more – as well
as a variety of other abilities to help
extend your influence.
Players can make use of rival boats
to reach further islands or construct
buildings, as long as they place their
own boats in an unbroken chain and
match the colour of the vessel they’re
connecting to. They can then collect
culture tokens (placed randomly
during setup) or construct one of five
building tiles on an empty island, as
long as it’s surrounded with the right
combination of boats and that player
placed at least one boat next to it this
turn. This last point is vital – most of
the buildings cannot be build without
exploiting boats placed by other
players, making it key to consider
what your own boats might grant to
opponents. This is intensified by the
initiative value on each of the fleet
92
tokens, which dictates the player
order for the following round.
Players can exchange culture tokens
for specialists, who grant ongoing
bonuses and abilities, as well as extra
victory points. Otherwise, winning
comes primarily down to effective
placement of both normal buildings
and special red monuments, which
can grant additional money and VP in
the right arrangements. BOX CONTENTS
It’s not a hard Euro to grasp, but ◗ Game board
◗ 41 wooden buildings
there’s a really pleasing harmony to ◗ Four player mats
the theme and gameplay that is utterly ◗ Six turn order meeples
irresistible. The Chinese-Japanese ◗ 80 wooden boats
origins of the real Yamatai are reflected ◗ 10 fleet tiles
◗ 28 building tiles
in the beautiful artwork and design of ◗ Seven mountain tiles
the game – even before a rainbow of ◗ 34 culture tokens
boats extends across the board and ◗ Eight scared
a spread of multi-coloured huts and ground tokens
◗ 18 specialist tiles
arches spring up, it’s a striking sight. ◗ 73 coins
When everything comes together, ◗ 24 prestige
the get boat–place boat–build point tokens
mechanics flow as smoothly as a ◗ Rulebook
trading junk cutting through the
waves. Like many Euros, analysis
paralysis can set in due to the potential
to accidentally hand precious VP
to your enemies – the risk of this is
increased when playing with two
people, which grants multiple turns to
each player in a single round, resulting
in a bit of a freeze-up when trying to
plan ahead. We’d therefore strongly
recommend getting at least three
people to play. There are a few ability
symbols on the fleet and specialist
tiles to decrypt the first few times you
play with newcomers, but the icons
IF YOU LIKE
communicate the many skills available FIVE TRIBES…
so well it quickly becomes easy to TRY YAMATAI
know exactly what you can do. The Swapping one
only other minor niggle we have is the mystical land
for another, Five
thinness of the player boards – hardly Tribes fans will
befitting of the dazzling illustrations. see similarities
Yamatai’s gameplay isn’t in Yamatai’s
groundbreaking, and its mystical- mechanics – but
both are still very
historical framing does little to set much individual.
it apart from many other similarly-
themed Euro games out there. Yet,
CONCLUSION
despite the ease with which you could
It might not knock
push it aside, there’s something special your favourite
about the way everything comes Euro out of your
together as you play. Theme and collection, yet Yamatai
is a spellbinding
gameplay intertwine into a fine weave
experience executed
that’s quick to teach, comfortably with beauty and
strategic and (when all’s well) flows precision. If you’re
into a fulfilling 40 or so minutes. It’s a trying to show
someone why they
perfect gateway game to demonstrate
should play board
the pure magic of the tabletop. ■ games, this isn’t a
MATT JARVIS bad place to start.
22/05/2017 15:20
 ‘I’M CREATING GAMES FOR MYSELF. THEN I
CONVINCE PEOPLE TO FOLLOW MY TASTES’
7 Wonders Duel, Five Tribes and Yamatai creator Bruno Cathala looks back over
nearly 15 years of game design and reveals why he wants to be a trendsetter
Could you tell us how you became
a tabletop designer?
I discovered there was a life after
Monopoly when I was 20 because of a
French magazine dedicated to board
games. I bought my first one and was
so impressed that I decided that, one
day, I would create my own game.
But I had absolutely no ideas at
this time. So, over the years I
just consumed games, games,
games – all kind of games.
When I was 36 I suddenly
decided that now was the time for
me to make a game. I began to work
on my prototype, Lawless, which was
published in 2003.
While many of your games you
design alone (such as A Game
of Thrones: Hand of the King), it
seems just as many you create with
another designer. What difference
does working with a partner have
on your approach to design?
Creating means doubting, so it’s much
more comfortable to share doubts with
a colleague. I’m also convinced that by
staying alone, you stay in your comfort
area. Working with someone else is
a good way to explore methods you
would have never tried without them.
How do you juggle the interplay of
theme and mechanics?
I try to always find the best connection
between mechanism and theme,
irrespective of which came first.
Sometimes, it can take a while to find
this connection. For example, for Abyss
and Kanagawa, we had the main
mechanisms from the beginning, but
we took one complete year to find a
good story!
You’ve worked in a large number
of genres throughout your career,
from short-time card games such
as 7 Wonders Duel to longer
and more complex board games
including Cyclades. What benefits
has jumping between so many
092_093_yamataiReviewInterview_V3 MJ.indd 93
Interview by Matt Jarvis
different types of game so quickly
granted you?
Well, I don’t know if jumping from one
category of game to another creates
some benefits, but my only guideline
in my job is to work on the game I want
to play now. So, nothing is planned. If
today I want to play a small card game,
I will just do it. And if in some weeks
I want to play a bigger game, I’ll do it.
That’s all. It’s quite a selfish
attitude but I’m creating
games for myself. Then I try
to convince people to follow my tastes.
Speaking of which, is there a genre
or mechanic you’re yet to explore
that you’d like to – or that you’d like
to see make a return?
I have not designed a lot of party games,
and it seems my head is too complicated
for children’s games. I would really be
happy if I have a good idea to create
something special in these two fields.
Are there any trends in particular
you expect to influence board
games in the next few years?
One trend seems to be the creation of
board games that interact with electronic
devices. In one way I’m really interested
– designing with a new supporting
element is always exciting – and in
another way, I prefer when you’re given
all you need inside the box when you
buy a game. I’m really curious to see if
the trend will grow.
Unlike many other creators,
you’re yet to launch a title through
Kickstarter, although games
you’ve been involved with have
been crowdfunded. What are your
thoughts on the use of the platform
by designers?
Never say never! It’s quite sure that,
one day, I will have a game on a
crowdfunding platform, if I have
■ Left: Bruno no other choice or if it really makes
Cathala: "By staying sense – if it’s the kind of game has no
alone, you stay in other solution to reach an acceptable
your comfort area." selling price.
93
I’m not a big fan of the system,
mainly because of the consequences
for specialised shops, which are so
important for giving advice to customers,
helping our business to grow each year.
With crowdfunding, you can never
be sure whether you're going to get the
best or worst outcome. For example, I
backed Santorini. I’m so happy with this
incredible game! On the other hand, I
know people who spent their money and
never received anything.
One more thing is that when I hear
some colleagues speaking about their
crowdfunding projects, it’s all about
money. I need money, for sure. But I
prefer to focus myself on the games.
Beyond Yamatai, what are you
working on this year?
Well, I have Crazy Mistigri, a small
card game based on the Old Maid
mechanism, created with Matthieu
Lanvin and published by Cocktail
Games. There’s also expansions for Five
Tribes, Abyss and Jamaica.
Outside of your own games, what
are you excited to see in 2017?
I’m always excited to
know what Portal will
publish. I really like
the work of Ignacy
[Trzewiczek].
But in general, I
don’t really have
expectations. I just
expect to
be surprised! ■
19/05/2017 16:22
 PLAYED
We trap ourselves in for an hour (or three) with this
app-powered take on the escape-the-room genre
Space Cowboys | £26.99 | Puzzle | 2-6 players | 60 minutes | Age: 10+ | spacecowboys.fr
T
he door slams shut behind you,
a heavy bolt sliding across. You’ll
need to find the code to get out
before you perish. A timer lights up and
begins ticking. 59:59, 59:58, 59:57…
Unlock! is in many ways the next
evolutionary step of publisher Space
Cowboys’ temporal adventure game
TIME Stories.. Trimming down the
included components to three decks of
60 cards – one for each of the separate
scenarios in this first box, plus a 10-card
tutorial – the game does away with
TIME Stories’’ dice, console board,
wooden counters and tokens to offer a
comparatively sparse box.
The play time, too, has been
condensed from TIME Stories’ multiple-
hour runs – the mandatory companion
app that makes up the other half of the
game begins a one-hour countdown
at the start of each adventure, which is
often shortened by accidental missteps
or incorrect guesses to make a single
playthrough closer to 40 minutes. We
would recommend turning off the music
– atmospheric as it may be, we found the
bland tunes to be distracting, and better
replaced by a custom playlist. (Perhaps
the heart-racing soundtracks to James
Bond, Mission Impossible and 24.)
Driving the players’ exploration of
each temporary prison (and potential
tomb) is a similar system to TIME
Stories’ numbered inventory of cards.
Certain item types can be combined (for
example, a key and a locked cabinet, or
a piece of wire and pegs) – the resulting
sum often results in the discovery of a
094_unlockReview_V2 MJ.indd 94
UNLOCK!
new item or location. It’s an effective
system that also works against players
who try to reverse-engineer solutions
by looking at the numbers of the backs
of the cards, as many lead to penalties
(these can also be set off by technically
correct combos that lead to negative
in-game events), encouraging a more
tactful approach to puzzles.
The puzzles generally balance
frustration and head-scratching well
– there's plenty of satisfaction in store
when you finally figure out a code or
environmental challenge. That said,
some of the puzzles can become a
BOX CONTENTS little convoluted or obtuse if you fail to
◗ 10-card tutorial deck immediately grasp the designers’ train
◗ 60-card The
of thought – and the app’s clues (one
Formula deck
◗ 60-card Squeek & per card) are often of little use.
Sausage deck This is coupled with a habit of hiding
◗ 60-card The Island of additional numbers and items in the
Doctor Goorse deck
artwork of cards; it’s a clever trick, once,
but if you’re playing with anything
less than perfect lighting and keen-
eyed teammates, missing one of the
miniscule figures can lead to minute
after minute passing by in confusion
and increasing irritation.
There are plenty of one-off tricks that
are pulled off with panache, though – in
one instance a code that plays a garbled
recording when typed into the app
plays the original audio when typed
in backwards, and the third adventure
IF YOU LIKE TIME STORIES… TRY UNLOCK!
Space Cowboys’ pair of games offer two very different
but highly polished modern takes on the puzzle genre.
94
splits the group into teams for a
genuinely thrilling finale. (The other
two scenarios can be played solo.)
Unlock!’s biggest flaw is one suffered
Unlock!
to a lesser degree by TIME Stories:
replayability. Combined, the three
scenarios and tutorial will take you
under three hours, and there’s very little
reason for repeat plays – the clues and
codes remain the same. Curiously, the
app offers up a star rating out of five
when you complete an adventure, but
there appears to be no way to view past
rankings and it’s very easy to achieve a
perfect score after a single playthrough.
Unlike TIME Stories, where the base
game offsets its higher cost by serving as
a console for future expansions, Unlock!’s
individual decks can only be used for
their original scenario – there’s no
Mansions of Madness-style remixing of
universal assets here. At just under £9 per
scenario for an hour-long experience,
it’s not excessively extortionate, but it
might still be worth pitching in with
some friends and sharing the box
around; we found the adventures play
best with two players anyway.
If you’re happy to invest in the
set, you will be rewarded with three
scenarios that kept us engaged and
tense to the last tick of the clock. The
puzzles (not unlike the grandfathers of
the genre in point-and-click computer
games) may wander into illogical
territory now and then, but for the
most part offer dilemmas that feel
challenging and fulfilling to solve,
powered by an efficient and effective
card system. It’s a strong foundation on
which to build something special. ■
MATT JARVIS
CONCLUSION
It’s not perfect in design on either
the physical or digital fronts and the
investment may be a little too high for
some players, but Unlock! is nevertheless
a gripping and challenging puzzler
that makes (generally) clever use of its
combined app and card mechanics.
19/05/2017 16:23
 EXIT: THE GAME
Is this trilogy worth getting stuck with or will you be climbing the walls?
Kosmos | £13 (each) | Puzzle | 1-6 players | 45-90 minutes | Age: 12+ | thamesandkosmos.com
S
hunning the digitally-enhanced
format of fellow escape-the-room
newcomer Unlock!, the initial trio
of Exit: The Game titles are instead fully
pen-and-cardboard affairs, utilising a
physical decoder disc in all three entries
to provide access to new clues and
ultimately answer the various riddles
scattered around the rather unoriginal
locations: The Secret Lab, The Pharaoh’s
Tomb and The Abandoned Cabin.
There’s a light amount of thematic
dressing before players are thrown
into three essential identical setups,
save for the riddles. Scan through a
book of puzzles, try and solve one
of the conundrums and input the
three-symbol code into the disc, which
directs you to a card asking you to find
where the icon relating to the puzzle
was in the environment. Get it right and
you’ll get more clue cards and further
enigmas to crack. It’s an efficient system
and surprisingly well implemented,
with an excellent three-tier structure
of help cards (two useful clues and the
solution) to alleviate the worry of getting
stuck with no way forwards.
A wrong answer doesn’t lose anything
but time, but (again, unlike Unlock!)
hitting the recommended one-hour
095_exitGamesReview_V2 MJ.indd 95
limit also isn’t instant failure –
instead you’ll be graded on the time
taken and number of help cards used. It’s
a curious decision, as it detracts a little
from the atmosphere of pressure (‘You’re
doomed if you don’t solve the riddles
in time!’) but avoids the frustration of
having to start from scratch.
This last point is important because
each of the £13 boxes can only be
used once, as some of the puzzles
involve cutting things up or drawing
on materials. It’s perhaps a little steep
for what amounts to around an hour
of entertainment, but the puzzles are
well constructed and rewarding enough
to justify the price if you’re willing to
commit – without spoiling anything,
some of the more inventive solutions
resulted in genuine ‘a-ha!’ moments of
elation when we finally figured them
out. When you complete a box, the back
of the manual offers a space to record
the specific details of your win – it’s hard
to see the certificate being kept as a
sincere memento, but it’s an admirable
attempt to led some permanence to the
otherwise disposable package.
Although it is a little disappointing
that the code wheel format is
implemented almost without change
95
BOX CONTENTS
◗ Riddle cards (number varies)
◗ 30 answer cards
◗ 31 help cards
◗ Two ‘strange items’
◗ Decoder disc
◗ Riddle book
◗ Rulebook
between the boxes and that the symbols
used to identify each puzzle seem
very out of place with the atmospheric
settings – seeing a plain black hexagon
or square on Tutankhamun’s tomb is
jarring – all three sets of puzzles are
diverse enough to warrant playing
through all of them if you enjoy one.
We found The Pharaoh’s Tomb to be
the strongest experience overall, followed
by The Abandoned Cabin and then
The Secret Lab, with the latter certainly
feeling more like an introductory
scenario. (We did play it first.) The
Abandoned Cabin easily came in as
our quickest time by a good 15 minutes
– although, as we played it last, it’s hard
to tell if this was because there was less
substance (it certainly didn’t feel like it
at the time) or because we had become
accustomed to the format.
What the Exit titles lack in terms
of inventive theme and format, they
more than make up for with creative
puzzles and an acutely satisfying level
of accomplishment – assuming you
get the answers right, that is. ■
MATT JARVIS
CONCLUSION
The themes may be a little uninspiring
and it’s a shame the format isn’t better
tailored to each unique environment,
yet the Exit trilogy easily overcomes its
shortcomings with a rewarding selection
of puzzles and an air-punching feeling
of triumph that many games would
struggle to match.
IF YOU LIKE
UNLOCK!… TRY
EXIT: THE GAME
The Exit series
shows that
Unlock!’s’s digital
enhancement isn’t
everything thanks
to its clever
use of physical
components and
the decoder disc.
19/05/2017 16:23
p096.indd 1 17/05/2017 14:55
 PLAYED
SHERLOCK HOLMES: CONSULTING DETECTIVE:
JACK THE RIPPER & WEST END ADVENTURES
Deerstalkers and pipes at the ready as we prepare to once again
lock wits with the world’s most famous sleuth
Space Cowboys | £41.99 | Co-op | 1-8 players | 90 minutes | Age: 12+ | spacecowboys.fr
T
he first release in the
revamped Consulting
Detective collection, Jack
the Ripper & West End Adventures
is something new, something old,
comprising six cases polished up
from mid-1990s Consulting Detective
expansion West End Adventures
and four brand new cases that form
a linked campaign following the
real-life Jack the Ripper murders,
packaged up in a beautiful slipcase
ideal for bookshelves.
If you’ve never played Consulting
Detective before, it hardly matters,
as this box serves as a standalone
experience. The format will be familiar
to veterans of the series, as you chase
down leads and clues in the streets of
London using a combination of the
directory of names and businesses, map
of London (the reverse focuses just on
Whitechapel for the Ripper missions),
newspapers for the time period of
each case and the narrative dialogue
provided by visiting each location.
The idea is to try and beat the score
of Sherlock himself by using as few
locations as possible and answering
a series of questions presented once
you feel you’ve solved the riddle of
each mystery but, as with the original
097_jackTheRipper_v2 MJ.indd 97
Consulting Detective, besting the
master sleuth’s perfect score involves
making incredible leaps of deduction
and assumption – meaning it's best
to just play for fun. There's the chance
to earn bonus points by answering
additional questions about details
not directly relating to the case that
serve to build up the atmosphere and
world of 19th century London, but
these involve wondering off the main
path and can easily be missed if you
happen to chase the ‘wrong’ threads.
Even when you do follow the right
tracks, you can end up in frustrating
dead ends as the aging book format
shows its weaknesses. On multiple
occasions, we chased up a legitimate
clue in what we felt to be a logical
way only to stumble into the middle
of a plot strand we were yet to begin,
throwing the otherwise evocative
method of storytelling off the rails.
The atmosphere is piled on thick
and fast, with plenty of extraneous
details and the ever-welcome daily
newspapers intensifying what is
easily Consulting Detective’s greatest
asset. However, as with the original
game, this re-release does suffer from
awkward phrasing and an abundance
of typos that put a stick through the
spokes of a mystery’s momentum
– as well as some dialogue during
the Ripper cases that felt out of time
and place given the context. The
components, at least, feel premium
and are easy to read.
97
BOX CONTENTS The Ripper campaign is a unique
◗ 10 case booklets and engaging way of exploring the
◗ 10 newspapers
◗ Two maps (London real-life British legend, with each
and Whitechapel) case centred around one or two of the
◗ Directory killer’s victims. Mechanically, the lack
◗ Rulebook of resolution regarding Jack’s identity
means the scenarios are tougher
than the other cases in the box (we’d
recommend playing at least one of the
West End adventures first) but can be
more gratifying to solve – especially
as the booklets delve into historical
details in relation to each conclusion.
One of the Ripper cases imposes a
limitation on the usual open-ended
format of a Consulting Detective
scenario, which not only limits the
atmospheric potential but also seems
strangely unexplained in terms of
narrative – if it had been used more
logically, it may’ve been an interesting
contrast to a standard investigation,
but has instead been crammed in for
IF YOU LIKE no real reason. Inconsistent in quality
LETTERS FROM
throughout, the Ripper campaign
WHITECHAPEL…
TRY JACK ends on a flat note finale that serves
THE RIPPER as an especially egregious example
& WEST END of the infuriating logical leaps and
ADVENTURES
incoherent record-scratch storytelling
The Consulting
Detective spin-off of Consulting Detective at its worst,
offers fans of the making the many hours invested in the
Ripper-themed preceeding cases feel thrown away.
hidden movement
Yet, despite its faults, it’s still a joy to
game the chance
to dig further sink into the atmospheric storytelling
into the often of Consulting Detective’s
Detective world and
disturbing details this spin-off is no exception. There are
of the real-life
frustrations with the delivery of certain
historical mystery.
elements and the book-driven format
is showing its age as it approaches
its 40th anniversary, but the ability
to conjure a satisfying enigma and
make exploring the streets of London
remains as irresistible, though-
provoking and gripping as ever. ■
MATT JARVIS
CONCLUSION
Issues with the presentation and logic
of the Consulting Detective format can’t
detract too much from a fascinating and
riveting addition to the series. Just make
sure you have a strong stomach if you
plan on taking down Jack.
19/05/2017 16:26
 PLAYED
TAK: A BEAUTIFUL GAME
This fictional creation-turned-reality is an abstract title for the ages
Cheapass Games | £54.99 | Abstract strategy | 2 players
10-30 minutes | Age: 12+ | cheapass.com/tak
C
oncocted between the pages
of Patrick Rothfuss’ fantasy
novel The Wise Man’s Fear,
Tak originally existed as little more
than a few sentences’ worth of
vague description about a seemingly
perfect abstract game: “Simple in its
rules, complex in its strategy.”
This real-life adaptation, adapted
by design extraordinaire James
Ernest, is impressive not only for
living up to its literal legacy, but also
for offering a ready-made classic that
could easily sit alongside chess, Go
or backgammon.
True to Rothfuss’ description, the
rules are easy: well-crafted wooden
stones of the traditional two-tone
variety can either be placed flat to
form steps on a road or standing on
their straight edge to block a rival
route. Capstones, one or two of
which are used depending on the
size of the play area, count as both
path and wall. The goal is to form an
unbroken path from one side of a
grid to the opposite edge, not unlike
098_099_takReviewInterview_V2 MJ.indd 98
a far more intellectual version of TV
game show Blockbusters.
This is combined with the
defining manacala-esque movement
mechanic, where players can instead
opt to move stacks of stones in a
straight line, dropping at least one
from the bottom of the stack on
each successive square. Only the top
stone on each stack is valid, opening
up the ability to bisect an opponent’s
route, while landing a capstone on
a wall flattens it and opens up the
obstruction for a new path.
It’s a subtly deep mixture that
is very easy to fumble your way
through initially – we spent our first
few matches trying to brute-force
routes with single stones before
realising the power of a well-timed
run with a stack – which then evolves
into a far more complex and richly
rewarding game of forward planning,
tactical use of the movement rules
and chess-like consideration of
the options available though each
piece’s unique attributes.
98
BOX CONTENTS The game’s flexibility allows it
◗ Double-sided board
to be played on grids of any size,
◗ 30 white
wooden stones from three-by-three to a traditional
◗ One white 64-square chessboard. This breeds
wooden capstone further variation in strategy,
◗ 30 black
especially when one – or even two –
wooden stones
◗ One black of the powerful capstones become
wooden capstone involved; breaking down a rival’s
◗ Rulebook well-placed wall can result in a
devastating reversal of fortune.
The rulebook includes scoring
rules and gameplay variants suited
to tournament play, while the game’s
relatively basic components (like
draughts, you could play with little
more than a drawn grid and handful
of pennies if you tried, though you'd
be missing out) and potential for a
single match to be played in as little
as 10 minutes make it an equally
fitting addition to existing Sunday
afternoon favourites or portable
travel companions.
In fact, the game’s flawless design
is only let down by the disappointing
components included in this release.
The elegant beauty of the smooth
wooden pieces is undermined by a
double-sided board that features a
naff faux wooden effect on one side
and an overwrought floral design
on the other – neither of which we
were overly fond of. While the board
handily offers both five-by-five and
■ Above: With six-by-six play area options, its lower
gorgeous wooden quality comes across as ill-fitting
pieces and flawless
mechanics, Tak lives with the wooden tokens and hardly
up to its subtitle. justifies the nearly £60 price tag.
We’d actually recommend using a
fancy chessboard (ignoring outer
squares as necessary) and investing
in a fabric pouch for the tokens to
free them from the packaging, which
feels like an afterthought anyway.
Overall, however, these are minor
niggles with an otherwise fantastic
game. Tak has the enthralling feel,
polished execution and simple
complexity of a timeless traditional
title. Don’t be surprised if it becomes
a point of reference for future abstract
designers and goes on to become an
IF YOU LIKE
GO… TRY TAK all-time classic in its own right. ■
Tak takes the MATT JARVIS
proven systems
of games such CONCLUSION
Tak overcomes a slightly disappointing set
as Go that have
endured through of components to offer a gripping modern
the ages and classic that has all the accessibility and
combines them depth of traditional staples. Do yourself
to create its own a favour: invest in a nice board, store
the pieces in a pouch and savour a
modern classic.
game you’ll return to year after year.
22/05/2017 15:21
 CHANGING YOUR TAK
Cheapass When did you decide to bring Tak
to life?
Games owner As soon as I read the book, of course.
and Tak co- I really enjoy making ‘artifact’
games: games that belong in a story,
designer James rather than trying to retell the story.
The distinction is between a game
Ernest reflects that Luke Skywalker would play, and
on collaborating a game where you get to play Luke
Skywalker. Most IP-driven games are
with fantasy the latter, which I call ‘story’ games.
author Patrick Whenever I see a new opportunity
to create a new artifact game, I'm
Rothfuss, the eager to try it. In a lot of cases I find
that it has already been done by
relationship someone else, but with Tak I got lucky!
between books
What was it like working with
and board Patrick Rothfuss?
games, and Pat writes about games intelligently,
because he is a gamer. I sat down with
why Quidditch him at the start of the design, and he
gave me a thorough explanation of the
earns his ire themes and potential mechanics of Tak,
Interview by as well as some history. This went a lot
Matt Jarvis deeper than the description in the book.
From there, I worked up a functional
prototype, and we worked together on
polishing the rough edges, as well as
expanding on the history. The process
took about two years.
The description of Tak in The Wise
Man’s Fear is very vague – was this
■ James Ernest a help or a hindrance when it came
worked on Tak's to making the game a reality?
prototype for more It was a great help. Pat knew what he
than two years. wanted the game to be, but he was
096_097_takReviewInterview_V2 MJ.indd 99
smart not to lock himself into the
details before the game was a reality.
Saying "I won the game in ten moves"
would have been hard to walk back if,
for example, the game can't logically
end in ten moves. And you can't know
that until the game is designed.
Tak is designed to evoke the
simple-yet-complex strategy of
traditional titles such as chess, Go
and mancala. How did you embody
this in its core mechanics?
The game design started with a few
basic requests from Patrick: stacking
pieces, road building, area control and
so on. The game also has influences
from the rest of the world; for example,
the idea of standing stones. There is
also a fairly clear definition for a classic
abstract game: simple rules and pieces,
no language requirements, etc.
I tried many things in short
succession over the first few months
of the design, honing in on the best
version of the rules. It took a while to
lock down the limitations on movement
and the definition of winning. All this
was done with the basic premise of
making a ‘beautiful’ game.
One thing that stands out about
the game is that it can be played
independently of knowledge of
Pat’s books. Did you consider
honing the game to more directly
reference or rely on familiarity
with the Kingkiller Chronicle?
While Tak does draw inspiration from
the world of Patrick's books, the game
is a character in the books, and is
therefore unaware that it is in a book.
That's a major difference between
artifact and story games; the artifact
game stands alone by definition,
even though it might be evocative of
the world.
Abstract strategy games haven’t
quite seen the same explosion in
interest as thematic titles over the
last few years. What’s the current
state of the abstract strategy
genre at the moment?
I don't know much about markets in
general but I can tell you that it's quite
hard to succeed with a pure abstract
strategy game. I have designed several
99
over the years but I usually give them
away for free, because there is no
marketing hook that entices people.
I would never have taken the leap
with a game like Tak unless it already
had an audience waiting for it to exist!
So, from a marketing perspective, it's
better to think of Tak as a licensed game
first and an abstract game second.
You previously designed Pairs,
a game with variants based in
the Kingkiller universe but not
explicitly mentioned in any of
the novels (yet). How did your
approach to designing Pairs differ
to your treatment of Tak?
Pairs was designed as a pub game,
without a specific setting in mind,
and Patrick got involved after the core
game was finished. Pat and I tailored
several of the Pairs decks and variants
to belong in his world, but it isn't based
on any game from the books. It might
show up in a future book – that's not a
spoiler, just a hopeful guess.
A number of novels feature
fictional tabletop games, from A
Song of Ice & Fire’s Cyvasse to
Discworld’s Cripple Mr Onion –
and Tak, of course. Why is there
such a bond between literature
and tabletop gaming – and
fantasy literature, in particular?
Games are a part of culture, so they
belong in literature. Whenever
someone invents a new world, they
need stand-ins for the games of the
real world. But I sometimes wish that
authors would take a little more care
in the games they describe. There are
many fictional games that are awful in
reality; I'm looking at you, Quidditch.
What future plans, if any, do
you have regarding Tak and
future games inspired by the
Kingkiller Chronicle?
Tak is just getting started, and we
hope to find bigger – and smaller –
ways to bring it to people. I'm very
fond of my travel set, for example,
so you can expect a more portable
edition next year. I'd absolutely love
to tell you what I'm doing next in
the Kingkiller universe, but it's still
a secret! ■
19/05/2017 16:25
 The games
FIND THE have escap
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Call 01580 212000 or email sales@thamesandkosmos.co.uk for more information.

p100.indd 1 17/05/2017 13:58

 PLAYED
CAPITAL
This rewarding historical tile-layer is a hidden gem worth uncovering
Granna | £29.99 | Tile-laying | 2-4 players | 60 minutes | Age: 10+ | granna.pl/en
R
eally, Capital should be called
Warsaw, because the history
and personality of Poland’s
largest city permeates the game’s
theme and mechanics to such a
degree that it would be a far lesser
experience without the detailed
background information explaining
the city’s higgledy-piggledy mix of
old and contemporary buildings
and landmarks. Yet, even without
the fascinating real-life reasoning
applied to Capital’s tile-laying
gameplay, playing it would still be an
excellent time.
Each player is working to build up
a district of Warsaw over six epochs,
beginning at the end of the 16th
century and going through both
World Wars. To do so requires placing
down tiles with vibrantly coloured-
coded quarters to represent various
areas, from residential and parks to
commercial and industrial – anyone
who has played another city-builder (or
SimCity) will be immediately at home.
In-between paying to construct
the best score-generating layout they
can (putting homes near parks and
keeping smoggy industry away from
residential and so on) one tile at a
101_capitalReview_v2 MJ.indd 101
BOX CONTENTS time, players pass unused tiles to the
◗ Board player next to them. The light strategy
◗ 105 city tiles introduced through this drafting makes
◗ Three player aids
Capital the tile-laying equivalent of
◗ 36 coins
◗ Four mermaid figures Sushi Go: a fast pick-up-and-play treat
◗ Rulebook that's perfect as a thematic gateway
game, with a pleasantly different
experience for differently-sized groups.
After every player has placed or
discarded four tiles, a district milestone
is awarded to one player at the end of
every epoch, based on sub-objectives
that vary with each match due to
the milestones’ double-sided faces.
Landmarks and public buildings can
also be constructed during the rounds,
lending special abilities that can be
crucial to victory, as well as the chance
for a little more player interaction.
While turn-to-turn actions are very
basic, the decisions remain complex
even with the normal tiles – do you
build industry and commerce to
earn more money to invest in better
buildings in future rounds, or focus
on racking up a steady supply of
victory points?
IF YOU LIKE SUBURBIA… TRY CAPITAL
If you’re a fan of city-building, Capital offers a simple but effective entry in the genre
with a theme steeped in real-life history, beautiful components and irresistible gameplay.
101
Although the box artwork is
pleasant, if as uninspired as its title,
the thick tiles are gorgeous, with
either bright squares of the key zones
or watercolour renderings of famous
Warsaw locations. The rulebook
offers an expansive amount of detail
into the importance of each building
and even has a paragraph helpfully
explaining why players’ pawns are
adorable plastic mermaids. The
inclusion of the two World Wars is
done so in a way that acknowledges
their severe effect on the city itself
but while tying this effectively into
gameplay and remaining positive
about its overcoming of difficult
times rather than dwelling on their
horror. This level of care even extends
to the box inlay, which is one of the
finest we’ve ever encountered – the
whole title is a success of small
details and clearly loving treatment
applied to theme, gameplay and
components alike.
Capital is a game distinctly
about Warsaw, which celebrates
and embodies the city’s evolution
and character without requiring a
familiarity with or even interest in the
European hub to play. The gameplay
does a wonderful job of reflecting
the real-world ingredients that
make up the city and mechanically
involving players in a simulation of
Warsaw’s history while simultaneously
balancing simplicity and complexity
to achieve a massively fun experience
that works outside of its framing.
Many people will likely overlook
Capital due to its nondescript box
and lack of knowledge of Warsaw,
but they shouldn’t: this is likely
to become an underappreciated
treasure that deserves to be
celebrated as much as the city that
inspired it. ■
MATT JARVIS
CONCLUSION
Capital is a wonderful game that offers
so much: fun, fast, easy gameplay with
deep and fulfilling complexity ready
to discover below the surface and the
chance to learn more about one of
Europe’s most captivating cities, all
wrapped up in a beautiful package. It’s
an ideal gateway game, but everyone
should experience it for themselves.
19/05/2017 16:26
p102.indd 1 17/05/2017 14:02
 MAGIC MAZE
This chaotic real-time dash is bursting with clever ideas
Sit Down Games | £21.99 | Co-operative | 1-8 players
15 minutes | Age: 8+ | sitdown-games.com/magic-maze
M
agic Maze is the most hectic,
wild, out of control party
game you could play in a
library or at the back of church.
It’s a real-time co-operative dash
with a hilarious and unique theme:
four hapless fantasy adventurers have
decided to rob the local shopping centre
(it’s called Magic Maze, in case you’re
wondering about the name) to resupply
after losing all of their possessions.
Pulling off the heist is less of a
fully planned-out scheme and more
of a Supermarket Sweep-style sprint
through the shops and corridors so that
the barbarian, mage, elf and dwarf can
grab their items and leave as quickly
as possible. That’s not to say there’s
no co-ordination. Actually, you’ll
need plenty, as each human player is
randomly dealt a tile that dictates the
one or two actions they make with the
four heroes. (Play with fewer than four
people and you’ll get multiple tiles
each, while over four means players’
abilities double up – four is the sweet
spot.) This means one person might
be able to move the pawns left, but
that’s all they can do. Another can go
101_magicMazeReview_V2 MJ.indd 103
BOX CONTENTS
◗ 24 mall tiles
◗ Four hero pawns
◗ 12 out of order tokens
◗ 16 action tiles
◗ Three-minute sand timer
◗ ‘Do something’ pawn
◗ Score sheet
◗ Theft tile
◗ Sticker sheet
right or use escalators, but that’s it.
And so on.
It would be amusing enough
to try and guide the robbers
around the randomly-generated
mall tiles with this caveat if you
could chat out loud and work together
– but you can’t. No player is allowed to
speak (or shout, as the case may be),
meaning pointed stares and the use of
the big red ‘do something’ pawn are all
you have to communicate your plans
to your accomplices. Thus, chaos
ensues, as players send the heroes
careening around the tiles as the sand
timer ticks down.
Oh, did we not mention that you
only have three minutes to get the
goods and get out? Luckily, the sand
timer can be turned by landing on
one of the marked single-use spaces
around the mall, but it simply flips it
as it is at that exact moment – meaning
timing the flips carefully is the only
way to maximise the amount of time
you have to complete each mission.
(You do also get to talk until someone
touches the board again – but the time
goes down regardless.)
103
It all adds up to a frenzied mess
of tangled arms moving pawns and
frustrated heads-in-hands that plays
out in complete silence, almost like a
Chaplin or Keaton comedy translated
to the tabletop. Yes, the lack of talking
can be maddening as the last few
grains of sand flow through and the
person responsible sits clueless as you
bang the pawn in front of them, yet
the ultra-fast play time (15 minutes
at the very most, but often under 10)
encourages repeat plays rather than
angrily scattered components.
There’s a surprising amount of depth
going on in the game, which ramps
up from teaching the fundamentals of
movement and the use of teleportation
vortexes (which shut down once the
items have been stolen) to class-specific
abilities, including the need to knock
out security cameras, over a series
of gently intensifying scenarios
in the manual, which
smartly add extra tiles
into the mix with each
subsequent lesson. These
are followed by ten nicely
varied scenarios, each with a
unique gameplay challenge,
which can also be adjusted
in difficulty by adjusting the
number of map tiles used –
your winning time for each can be
recorded on the included score sheet.
Although the box design and tile
backs are hardly exciting, the actual
illustrations of the mall pop with
cutesy cartoons and hidden jokes.
One lovely touch is the inclusion of
stickers to help those with colour
blindness or other visual difficulties
distinguish between the hero pawns
– and the game’s insistence on silent
communication would also suit those
who are hard of hearing, making it a
wonderfully accessible experience.
Don’t let the naff name put you
off – Magic Maze is quite unlike many
other games out there. It’s a frantic,
IF YOU LIKE delightful race with a whole lot of
ESCAPE: THE
heart – and plenty of brains, too. ■
CURSE OF THE
TEMPLE… TRY MATT JARVIS
MAGIC MAZE
Magic Maze CONCLUSION
provides a Magic Maze’s lacklustre box and title
don’t do justice to the hilarious, bonkers
silent – but just
as exhilarating game inside. The divided movement
– alternative responsibilities keep the tension running
to Escape’s high as time ticks down, while the ban on
soundtrack-driven talking results in a uniquely exciting and
amusing co-op experience. The accessibility
race against time.
considerations are also a big plus.
19/05/2017 16:27
 PLAYED
PLAGUE INC: THE BOARD GAME
Wiping out humanity has rarely been so much fun
Ndemic Creations | £33.99 | Area control | 1-4 players
60 minutes | Age: 14+ | ndemiccreations.com
H
ave you ever found yourself
playing Pandemic only to think,
“I know we’re trying to save the
world and all, but I can really relate to
these diseases’ attempt to eliminate
humankind”? Even if you’re not quite
that misanthropic, there’s an amusing
gallows humour to Plague Inc: The Board
Game’s turning of the Pandemic formula
on its head, as players take control of
the killer infections and try to send
billions to their unfortunate demise.
If you’ve played Plague Inc on mobile,
PC or console, the gaudy colour palette
of the board game will be instantly
familiar. The vibrant hues make for
an arresting tabletop vision, and the
design resembles the video game’s
user interface, with stripped back yet
clear icons and layouts that beg to be
prodded with a finger. The similarities
extend past looks – the board game’s
snappy and simple gameplay captures
the feel of playing on your iPhone, with
the same benefits and drawbacks.
The crux of the game is controlling
countries, which earns DNA points.
These neatly double as both victory
104_105_plagueIncReviewInterview_V2 MJ.indd 104
points and currency to purchase traits
for your evolving disease, such as the
ability to infect locations with specific
environmental barriers, such as airports
or extreme climate. There’s not a great
mechanical variety in these traits, but
the use of DNA points as both game-
winning score and currency is clever
as a concept, forcing you to consider
whether paying for an improved
trait later in the game is worth the
potential points catch-up required.
Killing fully infected countries is the
key way to obtain DNA points – but
there’s a catch. Once all of the cities
in a region are infected, the player
who has the most cities and therefore
controls the country must roll the
blood-splattered death die to see if the
region is wiped off the map, earning
all of the players in the country bonus
points and event cards. There’s an
interesting duality to eliminating
countries, as holding certain countries
can make infecting connected regions
much easier – so it can sometimes
pay off to keep a country on its knees
instead of swinging the sword.
104
At the same time, players are
punished if all of their disease tokens
are wiped off the map, which can make
forcing a rival to kill their last habitat a
potentially advantageous move. It’s a
simple but effective way of introducing
more risk-reward strategy decisions and
player interaction. This is aided by the
event cards, which offer the opportunity
to impede your opponents more directly.
The manual suggests removing them for
a less confrontational match, but we’d
argue they’re key to making the game a
deeper and more fulfilling experience.
Although it shares little in common
with Pandemic beyond the theme of
global infection, Plague Inc is another
fine example of a gateway game –
especially if the tabletop newcomer
is already a fan of the video game.
There’s enough theme, strategy and
competition to make for an engrossing
hour, without becoming bogged down
in complex mechanics or potentially
off-putting over-aggression from
experienced players. The box includes
several options to customise the game,
including the chance to play as a virus
with altered rules, randomise players’
starting locations and adjustn the game’s
length slightly. They’re little touches, but
highlight the game’s welcoming nature.
Plague Inc is likely a little strategically
BOX CONTENTS shallow for those who have already
◗ Four bacteria/virus played medium-weight strategy titles or
evolution slides
◗ Four DNA
have no investment in the video game.
point markers That doesn’t discredit its achievement
◗ 49 country cards in accurately bringing its inspiration
◗ 62 trait cards to the tabletop – much like the video
◗ 28 event cards
◗ 64 plague tokens
game, this is a fun way to spend an hour
◗ Double-sided card mat or two indulging in an entertaining
◗ Death die theme, eye-catching design and simple
◗ End game bonus card gameplay. Only now you can enjoy it
◗ World board
◗ Rulebook
all with friends. The importance of that
shouldn’t go understated. ■
MATT JARVIS
CONCLUSION
Whether you’re a fan of the video
game or not, Plague Inc is a solid and
worthy addition to the strategy genre.
The macabre theme goes a long way,
helped along by the colourful visuals
and easily-understood gameplay – but
there’s also a good bit of depth to keep
it returning to your tabletop.
IF YOU LIKE PANDEMIC…
TRY PLAGUE INC
Plague Inc turns Pandemic’s
co-operative ‘cure the world’ setup
into an interesting competitive battle
to infect the globe.
22/05/2017 15:22

Before he decided to bring his viral video game to the tabletop, Plague Inc creator James Vaughan
had let the modern board game renaissance pass him by. He reveals what he discovered as he
designed his debut and the differences between building with cardboard and code
Why did you decide to adapt
Plague Inc into a board game?
I’ve always thought that Plague Inc
would make a wonderful board game. A
lot of the elements of the original video
game seemed like they would be a really
good fit. On top of that, Plague Inc. is
really popular and knowing there are 85
million people out there who’ve already
played it means there’s a definite
audience of players who are interested
in the game. Certainly, quite a lot of
the fans requested a board game so it
seemed like a bit of a no-brainer.
The actual trigger for starting work on
the game was when all of the tech guys
were busy tweaking elements of the
video game and I was sort of kicking my
heels a bit. I thought in the meantime
I might as well make myself a board
game and it’d be a nice little fun thing
to do. Of course, it actually ended up
taking years but that’s a lesson learned
for next time!
As a side note, I hadn’t really played
any board games as an adult until
I decided I wanted to make Plague
Inc: The Board Game. Once I did I
started hunting out games and now
I absolutely love them. I play them
a lot with friends and family and we
play them in the office a lot as well. It’s
been a real voyage of discovery for me
finding how far games have evolved
beyond Risk and Monopoly!
This is the first board game you
and Ndemic have designed. How
did the process of creating a board
game compare to developing the
original video game?
It’s very interestingly different. A lot of
the challenges that you get with a video
game are around code and testing that
the code does what it needs to. With
board games it’s wonderfully refreshing.
There’s all this shit that you have to deal
with in video games that you don’t have
to worry about on the tabletop.
Of course, the flip side of that is that
you can’t change things in a board
game once you’ve gone to print. You
104_105_plagueIncReviewInterview_V2 MJ.indd 105
SICK IDEAS
Interview by Matt Jarvis
can do patches and updates for a
video game, but for a board game it’s
terrifying knowing that once you’ve
finalised everything you can't make any
changes to it. That's why we spent years
testing it and iterating, to make sure that
everything was absolutely perfect.
What was the hardest thing
about making the video game's
mechanics work on the tabletop?
The human brain. Plague Inc has
thousands and thousands of lines of
algorithms which help simulate the
world and the spread of disease. With
a board game you can’t ask people to
do all of that in their heads. It was really
about trying to compress these highly
complex and sophisticated algorithms
into something that just organically
works as a board game and still feels like
a Plague Inc game.
First and foremost, though, it needed
to be a really good board game. I didn't
want to make a shit version of the video
game. I wanted to make a really cool
board game which happens to be based
on a really cool video game.
Was there anything from the video
game you tried to make work in
the board game but couldn't?
105
“There’s We came up with a lot of really cool
and fun stuff during the two-year
all this shit development cycle but we had to remove
some aspects in order to make sure
that you that the game was easy to explain and
teach to players. A lot of those things
have to I want to bring back in as expansions
at some point. A cure disease mode,
deal with more disease types, various other
mechanics... they’re all sitting in our
in video storage cupboard waiting to be brought
out as expansions in the future.
games Plague Inc could arguably be
that you described as the ‘anti-Pandemic’,
in that you are attempting to spread
don’t disease rather than cure it. Did you
take inspiration from Pandemic or
have to any other tabletop titles?
Plague Inc the video game was the
worry key source of inspiration for us. I was
definitely aware of Pandemic, and I see
about Plague Inc as the perfect complement to
it. The two boxes go together very nicely
on the on the shelf and you can decide: do you
want to cure the world, or do you want
tabletop.” to kill the world today?
Quite a few players have said they
want to cobble together a ruleset
where some players are playing
Pandemic and some players are
playing Plague Inc and they’d interact
with each other at the same time. That
kind of thing would be wonderful.
Does Ndemic have any other future
plans in the tabletop space?
Making a board game is a very different
way to scratch the creative itch and adds
its own challenges. We’re in a position
now when we’ve done it all once and it
would be easier to do next time.
That said, my only current plans are
for possible expansions, but if I came
across a cool new game that someone
else was making I might support them
and help them make it.
In the future I’d quite like to make
another board game unrelated to
Plague Inc but, for now, my focus is on
expansions. There’s lots of stuff I want
to do before moving on. ■
19/05/2017 16:28
 A MIGHTY FORTRESS
DEFENDING THE REICH : SUMMER 1944 -1945

NEW BY CHRIS RUSSELL FOR £12

Rules and scenario game featuring
Tumbling Dice 1/600 aircraft models
contents, 3 x B17 Flying Fortress.
4 x P51 Mustangs, 4 x ME262.

‘A Mighty Fortress’ is the 7th in a

series of 20th century aerial warfare
games, for a free bonus game!
with detailed modelling and painting
guides go to wingsatwar.com

For details of all Tumbling Dice

aircraft, also extensive ranges of
naval items and miniature figurines
go to tumblingdiceuk.com

p106.indd 1 17/05/2017 14:05

 PLAYED
DIPLOMACY (2017 EDITION)
We see if the notoriously ruthless game of alliance
and betrayal holds up nearly 60 years on
Avalon Hill | £24.99 | Strategy/social | 2-7 players | 6 hours
Age: 12+ | avalonhill.wizards.com/games/diplomacy
D
iplomacy is a game that
ushers in hushed tones of
reverence when brought up
in conversation among those in
the know – both for its stripped-
back design, cited as the favourite
tabletop experience of US president
John F. Kennedy and authors Isaac
Asimov and Ray Bradbury, and for
those willing to embark on the six-
hour voyage the iconic friendship-
wrecking goliath offers.
The game’s notoriety arises out
of its reliance on forming alliances
between players and choosing
when to break them off with often
devastating betrayals. Each player
– it’s best played with the full
headcount of seven, for the sake
of both balance and variability –
controls a country in pre-World War I
107_diplomacyReview_v2 MJ.indd 107
Europe, represented by two types of
unit: land-bound armies and fleets,
which can venture from the seas
into specific coastal regions.
Unlike global strategy games such
as Risk, however, there’s no element
of luck in Diplomacy – every unit is
worth the same as every other unit,
and only one can occupy a region
at once. This means that to claim
the 18 supply centres needed to win
(you begin with three), you’ll have to
work with some of your neighbours
to force other players out by lending
each other support.
The game’s length – and the meat
of its unique experience – comes
from discussion rounds, which last
15 minutes (half an hour for the first
round) and allow players to break
off into groups to discuss potential
107
partnerships and agreements before BOX CONTENTS
◗ Game board
writing and executing orders for
◗ 20-count strategy
their troops. map pad
This makes the bulk of the ◗ 315 army, navy
experience comparable to snappier and national
control markers
20-minute social deduction games
◗ Rulebook
such as The Resistance or Werewolf
writ large, as you attempt to work
out who might convince you to
funnel your troops in one direction
under the pretense of an allegiance
only to sneak into the back of your
country and swipe control. This can
lead to tense standoffs in real life,
IF YOU
as the rules permit any amount of LIKE RISK…
deception, lying and convincing TRY DIPLOMACY
to gain the advantage – meaning Diplomacy strips
double-crossing your friends doesn’t the element of
luck and tactical
just feel real, it is real. If you have complexity away
some friends who might take the from its fellow
betrayal a little hard – even under the strategy classic
knowledge that it’s a game – it might to offer an equally
epic and deep
be worth theming up the otherwise experience driven
dry and po-faced presentation of the by the players.
game with some extras; our group
dressed up in country-applicable
clothes to lighten the atmosphere.
With so much of the game relying
on the need for alliances and
betrayals to shift troops around the
board, less aggressive players may
find themselves stuck at lengthy
impasses if they’re unwilling to
turn on their friends – or struggle to
convince others to join their side. At
the same time, the cut-throat nature
can be intimidating, especially as
certain alliances can end up in hours-
long sieges of a group of two or three
(or more) against a single player,
and it can be frustrating and even
upsetting to find yourself pushed out
of the game early on by the necessity
of keeping progress flowing.
That said, Diplomacy’s focus on
the interaction and relationships
between players is an absolute treat if
you gather the right group of players
together. The same factors that make CONCLUSION
the betrayals feel so devastating also The lengthy play time
and oppressive nature
lend the game a weight and impact
of the social aspects
that few other tabletop experiences may be overwhelming
achieve. The minimalist mechanics for some players,
involved in manoeuvring troops but if you can see
the fun side of your
make it simple to grasp the strategy
friends turning on
and ensure the complexity and you and have a full
enjoyment stays in the discussions group of right-minded
and social aspects. Just remember companions willing to
invest in Diplomacy’s
not to take it too seriously – it’s only a
distinct atmosphere,
game, after all. ■ this tabletop classic is
MATT JARVIS still a treasure.
19/05/2017 16:29
 REVIEWS ROUND-UP

ANOMIA
Coiledspring | £12.49 | Party | 3-6 players
30 minutes | Age: 10+ | coiledspring.co.uk

A
nomia follows in the tradition of incredibly simple party games
that are equally suitable for families playing with young kids or
adults looking for something to play over a few drinks that has
a little more brains than the average chug-a-thon.
The rules are very one-note, being essentially a cross between the
drinking game ‘Categories’ and Snap variants such as Slapjack: each
player draws a card from two central decks and flips it face-up in front
of them. On each card is a symbol and a general topic; if you match
icons with another player, the first person to call out something that
relates to their opponent’s category wins that card.
With such a base set of rules, the game lives or dies by its choice of
subjects. Luckily, the topics are varied enough to be both amusing and
brainteasing without becoming overly obscure or resulting in awkward
thinking silences. There are some unexpected but straightforward
groups – such as naming a battery size or famous ghost – mixed
in with a few more challenging options, such as blurting out a
palindrome. Wild cards further spice up the reaction race, resulting
in the temporary ability for two different symbols to count as a match,
meaning you’ll need to stay on your mental toes.
The cards are a little on the thin side and favour clarity over visual

SHAHRAZAD
Osprey | £12.99 | Tile laying | 1-2 players
10-20 minutes | Age: 12+ | ospreypublishing.com
flair, adopting a plain design with the symbol and text on a blank
background. Although uninspiring, this fits the fast-paced format
perfectly – it’s very easy to spot a match and identify the topic needed
to win. (Although thinking up an answer isn’t always as snappy…)
With 92 cards and categories in the box – plus the variation of

S
hahrazad is a beautiful game. From the finely-textured box players perceiving each prompt differently – there’s a bit of longevity
to its 22 gorgeous oversized tiles, each featuring a different in Anomia,, but it’s unlikely to outlive a dozen or so plays, especially
mythical or fairy tale reference, illustrated by artist Kotori with the same group. Still, at just over a tenner, it’s a good bit of cheap
Neiko, there’s no doubt that this revamped version of designer Yuo’s entertainment with zero effort required, whether you’re filling a few
Tarot Storia more than looks the part. The problem is the beauty only minutes with the kids or looking for a laugh over a couple of drinks. ■
goes skin deep. MATT JARVIS
Shahrazad’s title refers to the 1001 Nights character who tells stories
to a bloodthirsty king to spare her life. The game takes this setup and
attempts to apply it to a simple tile-laying mechanic, where all of the
squares must be arranged from left to right in ascending numerical
order and placed adjacent to matching colours in order to gather
points over two rounds.
There’s technically a co-operative mode that simply splits the task
of placing tiles between two people, but Shahrazad plays best as a
solitaire title with one person trying to maximise their score.
The theme appears to be very confused – there’s tarot-like titles
(‘The Magician’, ‘The World’) left over from its previous incarnation
as Tarot Storia and the illustrations often depict Japanese folktales
or 19th-century European fairy tales, while the framing takes place
around a thousand years before in the Middle East in line with the
1001 Nights.. This jumbled delivery undermines the commendable
attempt to link the thematic concept of Shahrazad telling a coherent
story to the mechanical need to form unbroken runs of tiles.
Outside of the theme, the gameplay is interesting as a quick
diversion, but it’s not gripping enough alone to serve as anything more
than that. Despite the random drawing of a tile each turn, there’s very
little variation between games and the pressure never mounts, making
it a rather humdrum affair.
Sadly, if it was this game attempting to keep the king distracted, it’s
unlikely it would’ve kept its head past night number one. ■
MATT JARVIS

108

108_109_reviewsRoundUps_V2 MJ.indd 108 19/05/2017 16:31


Japanime | £39.99 | Drawing | 1-8 players | 30-60 minutes | Age: 12+ | japanimegames.com/mangaka
I
f, like me, you grew up in the ‘90s and early
noughties and spent a not inconsequential
amount of your spare time doodling made-up
comic strips or trying to copy the distinct art
style of manga, anime and Japanese RPGs,
Mangaka is the drawing game for you.
ONE DECK DUNGEON
Asmadi | £23.99 | Dice-rolling | 1-2 players | 30 minutes | Age: 14+ | onedeckdungeon.com
E
xploring a darkened dungeon, battling
monsters and uncovering precious loot
is a tabletop pursuit that never fails to
excite. Offer us the chance to blast through
a pocket-sized lair in half an hour and we’ll
reach fever pitch.
That’s the premise of One Deck Dungeon,
a charming game of dice-rolling best
experienced with just one other person
(though you can combine multiple sets to
support up to four players).
True to its title, the game tidily condenses
the exploration, combat and treasure
hoarding of a sprawling underground setting
into a single deck of cards. The trick is to
roll each character’s dice to overcome each
danger, be it a monster or environmental
peril, with the number and colour of the dice
dictated by each fantasy class’ strengths.
Fail to cover over some of the required dice
results and you’ll lose health, time or both.
The gameplay is surprisingly fully-featured
for such a compact package, incorporating
character skills, traits, items, levelling, magic,
bosses and more into a handful of dice and
108_109_reviewsRoundUps_V2 MJ.indd 109
MANGAKA
What makes Mangaka stand apart skills. Fans of anime and manga will likely
from many other drawing titles is best appreciate certain references and the
right there in its title, which is cards’ own Japanese-inspired artwork, but
Japanese for ‘comic artist’. anyone can have a good time playing.
Over four rounds you The static time limit but multiplying
don’t just sketch number of panels has the amusing side effect
one-off illustrations of quickly degrading your initially detailed
– the point is to create drawings into abstract stick people, which
an ongoing strip and makes for a lot of laughs but also encourages
narrative, contributing expressive use of the space rather than
two, four, six and finally simply deciding who can draw best. There’s
eight linked panels in the a genuine feeling of satisfaction at the end
space of around five minutes. of the final round, with the comics forming
Holding the continuity together are absurd mini arcs.
theme cards, drawn at the beginning of the The concept of earning fame can feel a
game, which have to be communicated in little irrelevant at first, as it's relatively easy in
your strip to earn the maximum amount of the opening rounds for everyone to achieve
fame points. full marks given that there’s no player voting
Later rounds introduce trend cards, which – this again avoids the obvious separation
are more involved achievements for that turn by drawing talent. As the number of panels
only – show two characters falling in love, and trends ramps up, though, it does help
name an unnamed character, have a celebrity to ultimately decide who has best expressed
cameo and so on. Both the themes and trends their themes. Anyway, it hardly matters who
tend to dodge the tired tropes of drawing wins – everybody goes away with a smile
games in favour of genuinely interesting (and etched on their face. ■
often challenging) ways to test your visual MATT JARVIS
cards. There’s even a well
thought-out campaign
mode that tracks
permanent progression
over several matches. As
a bonus, all four of the
diverse player characters
are female.
Although it all sounds
a dream on paper,
One Deck Dungeon
is somewhat of a
letdown once the dice
are rolling. In short:
despite the smartly-
designed systems, the
outcome is simply not
engaging enough. Each
encounter blends into
the next, with unique monster abilities and feeling of monotony that sets in very
attractive artwork failing to provide enough quickly. It’s a real shame, as the separate
differentiation as you battle through the floors. ingredients are clearly implemented with
The peril encounters and acquisition of care and consideration – it just adds up
spells and loot do help to mix things up a to a whole load of nothing. ■
little, but it’s not enough to overcome the MATT JARVIS
109
19/05/2017 16:30
 30 Roneo Corner, Hornchurch Essex, RM12 4TN
• Tel: 01708 475051 • Email: tolehavenuk@aol.com
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p110.indd 1 18/05/2017 15:11

 ACCESSORIES
METAL CALL OF
CTHULHU DICE SET
Q Workshop | £TBA | q-workshop.com
T
hemed dice are one of the smaller but effective ways to add a
touch of atmosphere to your roleplaying games. Q Workshop
has made a name for itself with its plastic and metal sets
designed specifically for everything from Pathfinder and Doctor Who
to Batman and Call of Cthulhu, and it’s the latter seminal Lovecraftian
RPG that the accessories' specialist's latest pack of premium metal
dice takes as its inspiration.
The set, which was originally funded on Kickstarter earlier this uear
but is now headed for a wider release, includes seven dice – one each
of D4, D6, D8, D10, D12, D20 and D100 – cast in tin and accentuated
using black paint.
There are some nice details across the dice, from the raised twisting
tentacles along each edge to the gaping mouths lined with teeth
at each corner. The highest critical hit value on each dice has been
replaced with an Eldritch star, which helps to adds to the atmospheric
design but can end up lost a little into the overly-busy background of
each panel.
This is an issue that affects all the dice: the numbers become
increasingly harder to read as the smaller values are crammed among
the tentacles and tendrils – we found that the black paint used to bring
out the numbers only went so far as helping us to easily identify the
rolled result quickly.
The finish of each die is similarly inconsistent. While the tentacles
and mouths are beautifully highlighted on some faces and edges,
others weren’t cast or painted with as high a level of accuracy, leading
to a noticeable loss of detail.
It’s a shame, as the dice feel satisfying to roll thanks to their solid
construction and density, giving the impression they would last for
years to come – even if it seems that the paint may eventually wear off
and leave the faces even harder to distinguish.
The designs have clearly been considered with the cosmic horror of
Lovecraft in mind, but impact the dice’s legibility – at some point you
question whether it’s worth surrendering substance over style. For us,
sadly, it’s too great a sacrifice to make. ■
MATT JARVIS
111
111_accessoriesReviews_v2 MJ.indd 111
DIMENSION WEST
SCENERY AND TERRAIN
Red Beam Designs | £75 (main set), £15 (storage box)
redbeamdesigns.com
T
he right choice of scenery and terrain can transform a tabletop
into a living, breathing world for miniatures games. Yet, it can
also be a nuisance to transport to your local club or conventions
– as well as pushing up the price of the already potentially costly hobby.
Red Beam Designs has been striking a fair balance between price,
quality and convenience with its Battle Vault line of MDF scenery kits,
the latest of which heads to the American Wild West – but would be
just as welcome in 32 to 35mm sci-fi and fantasy western settings such
as Malifaux.
The main set comprises seven buildings that can be assembled
without glue due to the use of the firm’s nifty T-peg system. The pegs
and holes make for a less atmospheric or neat finish on the outside of
the constructions (pedants or those looking to paint will want to sand
the edges for a tighter fit), but hold together well and can be collapsed
or built in a matter of minutes. The sheet of instructions included with
the set is laughably poor, consisting of little more than photos, but it’s
still no real hardship to work out how everything goes together after a
tiny bit of trial and error.
There’s a wonderful variety of thematic dressing included in the
bundle, from the buildings in various heights and shapes to the cacti,
trees, fences, coffins, rail tracks and boxes to add smaller touches to the
environment – you will need a dab of glue for some of the smaller pieces.
Some of the buildings are unavoidably missing detail due to
their need to be collapsible – for example, there’s a saloon balcony
that consists of little more than a flat shelf – but the details that are
included are otherwise well executed, from the laser-etched signs and
window frames to the 3D cogs in the side of the clock tower. More than
enough to conjure up the setting, even without painting.
There’s a separate Dimension West storage box available for £15
that is similarly made of 3mm MDF and requires gluing together. With
a laser-etched logo on the lid, it’s a nice touch for fans, but the added
bulk and weight seems unnecessary given you can transport most of
the flattened terrain in more efficient ways, such as a satchel.
Overall, the kit is an effective and relatively cost-friendly way of
bringing a Wild West setting to life. The T-peg system works well
for those looking to carry their terrain around and the variety and
general quality of the pieces included makes it a no-brainer if you
want to get everything you need in a single, easy package. ■
MATT JARVIS
19/05/2017 16:33
 WORLD EXCLUSIVE THE WALKING DEAD: ALL OUT WAR
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TTGsubsFP.indd 13 24/05/2017 09:41

 PAINTING GUIDE:

RUNEWARS
MINIATURES GAME
Make your mark on the tabletop by learning how to decorate the Daqan Lords and Waiqar the
Undying armies, including grunts, heroes and giant monsters, found in the wargame’s core box
Words and pictures by Andy Leighton

Y WHAT PAINTS
ou would have to have been living knights, which lends to a varied feel when
under a rock if you had not caught the they're massed together. The monsters really WILL YOU NEED?
buzz that surrounded the launch of are something else. Each towers over the rest Abaddon Black Liberator Gold
Runewars. Not least because it's a miniature of the forces and make a great centrepiece Agrax Earthshade Mechanicus Standard
game that encourages you to paint and straight out of the box. They also feel like the Cadian Fleshtone Grey
customise your forces – not something most unique fantasy element found in the Caledor Sky Pallid Wych Flesh
Fantasy Flight has been known to do in the box. Although we may have seen undead Caliban Green Rakarth Flesh
Dawnstone Rhinox Hide
past. Being a fan of the miniatures found wyrms before, I think Fantasy Flight’s carrion Doombull Brown Runefang Steel
in most of Fantasy Flight’s games I was lancers are the best looking on the market. Druchii Violet Runelord Brass
interested to see how they fared with a whole The heroes felt a little underwhelming, Evil Suns Scarlet Screaming Skull
host of fantasy warriors and monsters. looking and feeling more like sergeants than Guilliman Blue Sotek Green
I was very impressed straight out the box. the leaders of armies, but the excellent scenic Hormagaunt Purple Steel Legion Drab
Jokearo Orange Temple Guard Blue
Each figure is exactly what you'd expect, bases they come with help make up for this.
Karak Stone Ulthuan Grey
with lots of little touches of character and a Take a look at my spin on the forces Khorne Red Warplock Bronze
variety of poses. Each infantry unit consists and how I painted each up to form its own Kislev Flesh White Scar
of four different poses, two in the case of the distinct force. Leadbelcher XV-88 ▶

113

113_117_hobbyTips_v4 MJ.indd 113 19/05/2017 16:33

 HOBBY TIPS

ARMY BASE COLOURS ARMOUR WHITE TABARDS

WAIQAR FORCES

UNIQUE DETAILING
Most of the models in each of the Runewars Stage 1 Stage 1
Miniatures Game starter box factions are made up Apply a drybrush Basecoat the
of very similar elements, meaning much of them are of Warplock white areas with
painted in the same way. Start painting your forces Bronze across all several thin coats
using the guides below for each faction – Daqan the metal areas. of Ulthuan Grey.
Lords and Waiqar the Undying – and you can create a
force that looks unified and ready for the battlefield.

Stage 2
ARMOUR Stage 2
DAQAN FORCES

Apply a layer of
Stage 1 Apply a drybrush of White Scar over
Basecoat all of the Leadbelcher over the base, focusing
armour plates with the previous coat. towards the edges
several thin coats of of the cloth.
Calidor Sky.

HORSES
BASE COLOURS Stage 1
Apply a basecoat Give the horses
Stage 2 a light drybrush
Make a mix of to each of the
following areas: with Mechanicus
two parts Calidor Standard Grey.
Sky and one part • Paint the model's
Ulthuan Grey and bones using Pallid
drybrush towards Wych Flesh.
the top of each • Paint the straps,
armour section. belts and wooden Stage 2
areas with Steel Legion Drab. Line highlight the
• Paint the tabard and cloak using a dab of musculature of
Sotek Green. the horses using
• Paint the weapon hilts and small details Dawnstone.
Stage 3 with Runelord Brass.
Add another part
of Ulthuan Grey to WASH
the previous mix First apply a wash
and apply a line of Agrax Earthshade DAQAN SHIELDS
highlight to the top over the entire Stage 1
sections of each model. Once dry, Mix two parts Pallid
armour plate. apply a glaze of one Wych Flesh with
part Sotek Green to one part water. With
five parts water over very little on the
the entire model. brush, begin to line
BASE COLOURS out the symbol on
Apply a basecoat DETAIL COLOURS the shield.
to each of the Apply a highlight to
following areas: the following areas:
• Paint the trims of • Highlight the
metal and blades
HEROES AND MONSTERS

the armour plates Whilst this guide may only show the basic
and weapon hilts using Leadbelcher. warriors it can easily be put to use for any other
with Liberator Gold. • Highlight the models in the force. For some it will provide
• Paint the gloves, bones with several nearly everything that needs to be painted on
boots and furs with Doombull Brown. thinned-down layers the model and for others an extra element to
• Paint the face with Cadian Fleshtone of Pallid Wych Flesh, focusing towards the help tie the model into the rest of the force. I
• Paint the figure's blades and buckles top of the miniature. applied this when painting the heroes and the
using Leadbelcher. • Highlight the straps, belts and wooden monsters. For the heroes I added elements
areas with Steel Legion Drab, and follow up after applying the forces guide, but for the
with a line highlight of Karak Stone. monsters the forces guide was followed after
• Highlight the Tabard and Cloak with a first painting up the carrion lancer and the
WASH mix of two parts Sotek Green and one part
Once the previous golem themselves.
Pallid Wych Flesh. Add another part of
coats are dry, give Pallid Wych Flesh and apply a line highlight.
everything but the
blue armour a wash EYES
of Agrax Earthshade. Stage 1
Make a mix of one
part Hormagaunt
Purple to two
parts water and
apply into and
DETAIL slightly around the
COLOURS eye sockets.
Apply a highlight to
the following areas: Stage 2
• Highlight the gold Add one part
sections and blades White Scar to the
with Runefang Steel. previous mix and
• Highlight the furs dot into the centre
with Karak Stone. of the eye socket.
• Highlight the boots and gloves of the
model using XV-88.
• Highlight the face with Kislev Flesh.

114

113_117_hobbyTips_v4 MJ.indd 114 22/05/2017 15:26

 Stage 2 ROCK CHAINS &

RUNE GOLEM
Using the same Stage 1 SWORDS
mixture, begin to Begin the Rune Stage 1
complete the shape Golem by giving it Paint the chains
of the symbol. a good drybrush of and swords with
Steel Legion Drab. Jokearo Orange,
then lightly
drybrush the rock
around the chains.
Stage 3 Stage 2 Stage 2
Once the border Follow this up with Give the chains
is complete, fill a lighter drybrush of and the swords
the symbol using Karak Stone. a light drybrush
several thin layers of Leadbelcher.
of the mixture.

Stage 4 Stage 3 Stage 3

Clean up the edges Add a touch of Give the chains
with a small amount water to Pallid and the swords a
of Calidor Sky and Wych Flesh and wash using Agrax
apply a highlight begin to add a fine Earthshade.
to the top edges line down the edges
of the symbol with of the rocks, adding
White Scar. a little more paint
where edges meet.
RED CLOAKS RUNE GLOW Stage 4
Stage 1 Stage 1 Line the edges of
Basecoat the Make a mix of one the chains with
cloaks and tabards part Temple Guard Dawnstone. Add
with Khorne Red. Blue and two parts small lines to the
Water and paint into edges of the swords
the head and chest and notches. Add a
runes and slightly few lines tapering to
around their edges. the centre.
Stage 2 Stage 2 Stage 5
Apply a highlight of Add one part White Highlight the
Evil Suns Scarlet Scar to the mix and previous lines with
to the folds of the add to the centre of White Scar, focusing
cloaks and tabards. the head and chest on the corner edges
runes. Also add a and notches.
fine line around the
edges of the runes.

KARI
WRAITHSTALKER
Kari was painted
like the rest of
the Daqan Lords
forces, for the
most part, with the
following additions:
• Her scar, lips,
fletching and tassles were painted with
Khorne Red. Everything but the lips was
then given a highlight of Evil Suns Scarlet.
• Her eyes were painted with White Scar.

ARDUS
IX'EREBUS
Ardus Ix'Erebus
was painted like the
rest of the Daqan
forces, for the
most part, with the
following additions:
• The brass
sections were given a highlight with
Liberator Gold.
• His horns were painted much like the
carrion lancer's spines. Starting with a
base of Rhinox Hide, they were lined with
Steel Legion Drab, followed by a lighter
line of Screaming Skull and a final highlight
of White Scar to the tips. They were then
given a Sotek Green glaze. ▶

115

113_117_hobbyTips_v4 MJ.indd 115 22/05/2017 15:26

 FLESH SCALES SPINES &
CARRION LANCER

Stage 1 Stage 1 MANDIBLES

Begin by Basecoat the scales Stage 1
basecoating all with Caliban Green. Basecoat the
of the flesh with spines and
Rakarth Flesh. mandibles with
Rhinox Hide.

Stage 2 Stage 2 Stage 2

Apply a light glaze Begin to line on Add lines of Steel
of Guilliman Blue Sotek Green, Legion Drab coming
around the scales following the natural from the tips and
and folds in the ridges and edges of tapering towards
flesh. Apply a light the scales. the roots.
coat of Druchii
Violet to the boils
and neck vents.
Stage 3 Stage 3 Stage 3
Apply a drybrush of Apply a light Add further lines
Rakarth Flesh. highlight of Temple of Screaming Skull
Guard Blue, focusing to the previous,
on where the ridges leaving a little
meet and the edges of the previous
of the scales. coat showing and
focusing towards
the tips.
Stage 4 Stage 4 Stage 4
Apply a further Finally, add a dot Add a dot of White
drybrush of Pallid of White Scar to Scar to the tips and
Wych Flesh, the point where the edges of the spines
focusing towards ridges meet. and mandibles.
the centre.

Stage 5 Stage 5
Apply a final light Apply a glaze of
drybrush of White one part Sotek
Scar, but only Green and five
across the middle parts water over
of the belly. the spines and
mandibles.

Stage 6 MAW
Apply lots of dots of Stage 1
Sotek Green around Basecoat the
the scales, getting maw using vivid
smaller the farther Genestealer Purple.
they are from them.
Also apply another
light coat of Druchii
Violet to the boils.
SADDLE Stage 2
Stage 1 Apply a wash of
Basecoat the Druchii Violet.
saddle rug and reins
with Rhinox Hide.

Stage 2 Stage 3
Make a mix of two Make a mix of two
parts Rhinox Hide parts Genestealer
and one part Pallid Purple and one part
Wych Flesh and Pallid Wych Flesh
add a highlight to and add a highlight
the edges of the to the edges of the
reins and rug. maw's features.

Stage 3 Stage 4
Add another one Add another single
part of Pallid Wych part of Pallid Wych
Flesh to the mix Flesh to the mix
and add a final line and add a final line
highlight over the highlight over the
previous coat. previous coat.

116

113_117_hobbyTips_v4 MJ.indd 116 22/05/2017 15:27

 I chose to do each faction’s bases in a
BASES

distinctive way to help add to the theme

of the army. Every base, including the
movement trays, was painted in the
same fashion.

DAQAN
Stage 1
Begin by painting
the whole base with
Doombull Brown.

Stage 2
Apply a drybrush
of XV-88.

Stage 3
Apply a light
drybrush of
Screaming Skull.

Stage 4
Finish by gluing on
some sections of
static grass and
painting the rim
Abaddon Black.

WAIQAR
Stage 1
Begin by painting
the whole base with
Rhinox Hide.

Stage 2
Apply a drybrush
of Dawnstone.

Stage 3
Apply a light
drybrush of
Screaming Skull.

Stage 4
Finish by gluing
on some sections
of dry-style
static grass and
painting the rim
Abaddon Black.

113_117_hobbyTips_v4 MJ.indd 117 19/05/2017 16:34

 THE DUNGEON MASTER'S GUIDE TO... PAR

BUILDING AN THR T
EE

RPG CAMPAIGN
Our ongoing column focuses specifically on providing tips, guidance and advice to dungeon
masters as they create their own worlds to run campaigns in. Some of the advice will be
specific to the latest fifth edition of Dungeons & Dragons, but the majority of the concepts are
applicable to any setting, game or ruleset that you prefer. This is the third entry in the series and
focuses on how to expand upon a world you’ve just started building using smart storytelling
Words by David Jagneaux

W
elcome to the third entry of The
Dungeon Master’s Guide to Building
an RPG Campaign!
In the previous second entry of this column,
we spent our time helping you get the ball
rolling on your great new RPG idea. Whether
that was by simply coming up with a world
for the first time, figuring out where to start
with your ideas or deciding on a scope for the
adventure, you should be able to crack open this
issue of Tabletop Gaming with confidence about
where things are headed in your story. With
those first two entries out of the way, it’s time
to finally dive into some of the details about
storytelling in tabletop roleplaying games.
Do you ever find yourself stumbling over
ideas because you can’t quite figure out how
to put them into words, or you’re not sure
how to start an adventure or keep it moving
forward because you’re overwhelmed with
the burdens of your universe? Then you’re in
the right place. Once you begin laying things
out with names, motives and locations it
starts to feel real and can get intimidating.
A WHOLE NEW WORLD
For starters, take a look down at the map you
drew last time (you did actually draw one,
right?) and pick your favourite spot. It could be
anywhere. Maybe it’s the tip of a mountain range,
the centre of a lake or even just the biggest, best
capital city. Now, decide why that place is special.
Maybe it was the location of a legendary battle,
where the queen met the king and fell in love or
where a civilisation's hero was betrayed and slain
in cold blood. Assign some significance to that
favourite area and build it up in your mind.

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 If you want to get extra special, come up
with a magical item of some kind that’s tied
to that place. Well-known examples include
The Lady of the Lake creating Excalibur, Link
retrieving the Master Sword from the Lost
Woods or even Frodo destroying the One Ring
in the fires of Mount Doom. These are iconic
things, places and actions tied to some of our
favourite works of fantasy fiction. Your world
needs its One Ring or Excalibur.
It’s a classic trick with fantasy fiction and
it’s so easy to sell to players. Create a mythos
around this place and this item, or person,
and make your story focused on it. Don’t start
the journey there, since that will rid you of
your ability to build it up. Instead, choose a
nearby location where the locals are familiar
and place breadcrumbs along the way to not
only lead your players down that path, but to
build their excitement as the plot unfolds.
an actual personality, or make allies more
nuanced and layered than they at first seem.
As a general rule of thumb, it’s often best
not to fully script out or consider every little
detail when it comes to an RPG campaign’s
narrative. Having a framework in place is
important, but most players are going to
go off book unintentionally. Plan out the
motives of your NPCs and consider how they
fit into the overarching web of intrigue your
players are building, but don’t be surprised
or frustrated if you lose your flow and have to
combine some characters together to finish a
quest, erase someone the players never met
or add in new people to spice things up. Being
flexible and adaptable is just as important as
preparing a campaign beforehand.
Now that you’ve picked a spot to focus your
story around and have a good idea of where
your players might start, as well as how they

Images: Wizards of the Coast.

will discover new areas, that’s when things can
GIVING YOUR WORLD A VOICE start to move along. Decide motivations for key
A huge part of being a DM is of course about villains and NPCs along the way to ensure that
crafting a story, building a believable world your players aren’t just being ushered from
and keeping players engaged, but there are one dungeon to the next. A living, breathing,
some nitty-gritty details that a lot of DMs vibrant world is much more worth saving than
forget. The age-old adage of ‘show don’t tell’ an empty and uninspired one. ■
might seem like an oxymoron in the case of
a roleplaying game that consists of almost ■ Above: Give villains
entirely verbal dialogue, but it makes sense personality rather
than making them
when you think about it.
simple sword fodder.
If your players have entered a new town, you
could just say, “Your party enters the town from ■ Opposite: Building a
the main entrance and you find a shop, an inn, story around a specific
place or item is a
a tavern and a handful of residential buildings.
classic fantasy setup.
Now what?” You can totally do that, but it’s
boring. Try to think about how the scene would ■ Left: Be ready to
play out in a movie, a game or even in real life. improvise and don't
overplan everything,
Instead, try something like, “Your party
as players can often go
enters a small town that’s tucked away in the their own way.
hills at the base of the region’s capital and
immediately notice it looks like a farming
village. Animals roam freely and you count at
least a dozen armed guards, probably of the
lord’s affiliation, roaming the streets. You can
wander around on your own, ask a guard for Check back in the
directions or do something else entirely.” By next issue for a
adding that extra flavour you’re framing the new entry in The
moment for players, suggesting courses of Dungeon Master’s
action, but giving them enough freedom to go Guide to Building an
in whatever direction they please. It’s a rough RPG Campaign. In
example, but you get the idea. that column we will
dive into creating
DOING YOUR PART dungeons from
Combat is usually the most exciting part of scratch and explain
any RPG session, but it’s not the only part. how to balance
As a DM you aren’t just there to try and kill them for your party’s
players but are instead the orchestrator of size and skill level.
a grand spectacle of events. Take pride in If you’ve missed
establishing personalities for various NPCs an entry, the series
around towns and in dungeons. Give villains started in TTG #8.

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CLUB SPOTLIGHT
REDDITCH WARGAMING SOCIETY
Matt Purdie discusses the Worcestershire club’s expansion outside of miniatures,
the ongoing popularity of sci-fi and the universal love of Dropfleet Commander
Interview by Matt Jarvis
When and how did your club start?
Redditch Wargaming Society was
founded in April 2011 by Simon Ashton,
Stuart Davies and Luke Davies. It was
originally formed as a gaming club playing
Warhammer Fantasy, Warhammer 40,000,
Lord of the Rings and Warmachine.
How has the club changed since?
The club has increased greatly in size and
variation of gaming style in recent years.
It is now widely popular, with sci-fi games
and RPGs included, and tends to follow
the trends of its players from release to
tournaments, with Dropzone Commander
and smaller games making more of a
comeback recently.
Where do you meet?
The group meets at the Windmill Community
Centre in Redditch, a community hall that
lends itself nicely to multiple games running
alongside member-run tournaments.
Boards, tables and scenery are stored
onsite and shared by all members of the club
to make various games more accessible.
Play runs from 6.45pm until 10pm weekly
on Tuesday evenings. Up to 12 six-foot tables
can be used in the hall at once, six or seven
of which are used each week on average,
as the nearest clubs are over in Worcester,
Kidderminster and Birmingham.
120_121_clubSpotlight_V3 MJ.indd 120
What is the local gaming
community like around you?
Members of the club vary in demographic,
incorporating child roleplayers with their
parents and dedicated wargamers in their 20s
and 30s, both male and female, as well as older
players, veterans of decades of gaming trends,
who take time from historical gaming for the
occasional dabble in the current trends.
When it comes to games, what have been
long-running favourites and what’s new?
Long-standing classics at the club include Star
Wars RPGs and Warhammer 40,000, which
goes through phases but is ever-present due
to the amount of players who have invested in
the game over time.
Other games include Saga and Flames of War,
and new games are always met with enthusiasm.
Card games are not as heavy on the ground
at the moment, but are always welcomed by
those with Pokémon and Magic: The Gathering
in their repertoire.
What titles are proving particularly
popular at the moment?
Lord of the Rings has re-emerged recently for
a campaign between six and eight players.
X-Wing is newly popular – it’s easy to join as
fewer models are required.
Blood Bowl has also been picked up by
a large number of players since its release
120
and a league has formed within the club.
Tournaments tend to take place on a bi-
monthly rota to allow for more variety of
games in the intervening sessions.
Dropzone Commander led to support of the
Dropfleet Commander Kickstarter, released
in October, and eight players are currently
staging a planetary invasion campaign with
their newly painted models.
Why should newcomers come to
your club – even those normally
put off by ‘wargames’?
If new players wanted to attend with specific
games that they want to play, there are always
people not involved in a tournament who are
eager to encourage new blood and test out a
game they may not be as familiar with.
The dedicated forum is a strong tool for
players to pre-arrange games to ensure the
evening is not wasted, but newcomers are
equally welcome to come and ask questions
about the existing games and get a better idea
of what they would like to try first. Complete
novices are more than welcome, as even the
best players have to start from the beginning
with a new game.
Taster games are offered by those more
experienced in a certain game to get to know
the rules and tactics better. The result is that
this society’s attendees are able to form a
host of players for a wealth of different games
19/05/2017 16:36
 should they want a new tournament. Even if
new players are not sure what they want to
play, current members advise that they just
come along to discuss their interests – they
will have you playing within a week or two.
If you were to offer advice to someone
attending for the first time, what would it be?
If you are in the vicinity of Redditch, the club
would love to hear from you on the forum – or
simply pop down on a Tuesday evening to find
out what games are on at the minute.
The society’s popularity is steady, with a
large group of regular members attending
weekly and we are looking to expand our
membership even more.
For those looking to start up
their own club, what are the key
things to be mindful of?
For a club to be as successful as this, a few
core games should be played by at least six
to eight players so that you do not get the
stagnant feeling of always battling the same
player each week. Variety of players means
that different army lists and tactics can be
tested, and when a new game is introduced
a core group of people will usually rise to the
challenge of learning it together.
Players also advocate the use of the forum
to plan games ahead of time and avoid the
disappointment of being unable to test an army
they have been working on. Although, some
players did mention that there were always
board games that you can drop into if you find
yourself unexpectedly able to attend last minute.
Have you held any special events recently?
As the club’s members are into their
various campaigns at the moment, a few
event days have been held recently. They
recently held a one-day tournament for
Dropfleet Commander, leading up to the
UK Games Expo.
What are you looking forwards to in the
world of tabletop gaming in 2017?
Several of our club members attended
the Battlefield Birmingham Warhammer
40,00 tournament. Also, a good number
of club members will be attending the
UK Games Expo, round the corner, at the
NEC in June, with a small team playing in
the Dropfleet Commander tournament on
the Saturday. ■
REDDITCH
WARGAMING SOCIETY
TUESDAY, 6.45PM TO 10PM
Windmill Community Centre, Ryegrass Lane,
Walkwood, Redditch, Worcestershire, B97 5YE
redwarsoc.com
121
120_121_clubSpotlight_V3 MJ.indd 121
UPCOMING EVENTS
BROADSIDE GAMES SHOW
SUNDAY JUNE 11TH
Sittingbourne’s Swallows Leisure
Centre once again plays host to
tabletop traders of all sizes, as well
as the popular flea market and the
kid-friendly make-and-take stall. Entry
is £3, with children and non-gamers
getting in for free.
facebook.com/BroadsideShow
3XP
FRIDAY JUNE 23RD TO SUNDAY 25TH
The Cambridgeshire event returns
to the Brooklands Centre in Sutton,
near Ely, for another weekend of
roleplaying day and night. There’s a
bar on Friday and Saturday for those
simply looking to socialise and the
organisers are still looking for GMs
and game suggestions, so get in
touch if you’re interested.
threexp.webs.com
RAIDERS OF THE GAME CUPBOARD
SATURDAY JUNE 24TH
The annual one-day open gaming
convention is back for another day
of board games, RPGs, CCGs,
wargaming and more in Staffordshire.
raidersofthegamecupboard.co.uk
SUMMER STABCON
FRIDAY JULY 7TH TO SUNDAY 9TH
Taking place in Stockport’s Britannia
Hotel, the summer instalment of the
twice-yearly Mancunian offers the
chance to get together with like-
minded gamers and play games all
weekend. Oh, there’s also a private
bar and pool, if you somehow needed
more convincing.
facebook.com/events/247185529036551
MANORCON
FRIDAY 21ST JULY TO MONDAY 24TH
A fixture on the calendar since 1983,
the amateur show takes place in the
University of Leicester’s Stamford
Court and includes a secondhand
games sale.
manorcon.org.uk
PAIZOCON UK
SATURDAY JULY 22ND TO SUN 23RD
The largest event in the UK dedicated
to organised play for Paizo’s fantasy
RPG Pathfinder, PaizoCon will hold
the finale of Pathfinder Society’s
eighth season and include visits from
special guest stars, plus international
tables with GMs in multiple languages.
The convention also offers the
opportunity to socialise over a drink or
the group’s Friday night meal.
paizocon.co.uk
THE GREAT INDOORS
SATURDAY JULY 29TH
Worcestershire’s annual board
gaming event has a new home in
Redditch’s Arrow Valley Visitor Centre,
meaning there’s double the space for
newcomers. The day of open gaming
includes a dedicated family room and
a reverse charity auction.
great-indoors.co.uk/event
19/05/2017 16:36
CLUB DIRECTORY
ABERDEENSHIRE
ABERDEEN
WARGAMES CLUB
RGU Rugby Club, 86 Queens
Road, Aberdeen, AB15 4YQ
Tuesday 7pm
OLDMELDRUM
WARGAMES GROUP
Royal British Legion,
Market Square,
Oldmeldrum, AB51 0AA
Tuesday 7pm to 11pm
One Sunday in each month
10am to around 4pm
AVON
WESTON WARGAMERS
CLUB
Unit 9UA, Elizabeth House
30-32, Boulevard,
Weston-super-Mare,
Avon, BS23 1NF
Monday, Tuesday and Friday
AYRSHIRE
NORTH AYRSHIRE
WARGAMES CLUB
19 Volunteer Rooms, High
Street, Irvine, Ayrshire,
Scotland, KA12 0BA
Sunday 11am to 5pm
BEDFORDSHIRE
BASEMENT GAMING CLUB
Ahh Geek Out, Unit 1 - 4
182 Camford Way,
LU3 3AN
Friday 7pm to 11pm
BOARD GAMES
IN BEDFORD
8, Lacock Abbey, Bedford,
Bedfordshire, MK41 0TU
Thursday 8pm
BEDFORD BOARD GAMING
Tavistock Community Centre,
Princes Street, Bedford,
Bedfordshire, MK40 2SX
Wednesday and alternate
Fridays
LEIGHTON BUZZARD
GAMING CLUB
North Street, Leighton Buzzard,
Bedfordshire, LU7 1ES
Wednesday 7pm to late
NEWBURY & READING
WARGAMES ASSOCIATION
Fir Tree Primary School,
Fir Tree Lane, Newbury,
Berkshire, RG14 2RA
Monday 7pm to 11pm
35-39 London Street, Newbury,
Berkshire, RG1 4PS
Thursday 7pm to 11pm  Tuesday 7pm
BERKSHIRE
WARGAMES ASSOCIATION
OF READING
Winnersh Community
Centre, New Road,
Sindlesham, Wokingham,
Berkshire, RG41 5DU
Wednesday 6pm to 11pm
One Sunday a month is an open
day for all-day gaming
9am to 5.30pm
BRISTOL
HALL OF HEROES
GAMING CLUB
Beckspool Road, Frenchay,
Bristol, Bristol, BS16 1NU
Thursday 7pm
TO LIST YOUR GAMES CLUB FOR FREE PLEASE
122_125_clubDirectory_v2 MJ.indd 122
BUCKINGHAMSHIRE
MILTON KEYNES
WARGAMES SOCIETY
York House Youth Centre,
London Road, Stony
Stratford, Milton Keynes,
Buckinghamshire, MK11 1JQ
Thursday 7pm to 11pm
WYCOMBE WARBAND
National Film & Television
School, Station
Road, Beaconsfield,
Buckinghamshire, HP9 1LG
Thursday 7pm
CAMBRIDGESHIRE
2D6 LODGE
Queen Ediths Way,
Cambridge, Cambridgeshire,
CB1 8NN
Friday 7pm to 10pm (summer)
5pm to 10pm (winter)
NEWMARKET KNIGHTS
GAMES CLUB
2nd Soham Scout & Guide
Centre, Gardeners Lane,
Ely, Cambridge, CB7 5HS
Alternate Saturdays
6.30pm to 10.30pm
PETERBOROUGH
WARGAMES CLUB
38a, Cowgate, Peterborough,
Cambridgeshire, PE1 1NA
Monday 7pm to 11pm
CARMARTHENSHIRE
CARMARTHEN
OLD GUARD
9, The Carmarthen
Businessman’s Club,
Lammas Street, Carmarthen,
Dyfed, SA31 3AD
Wednesday 6pm
TOWY VALLEY
TYRANTS (TVT)
Abergwilli Church Hall,
Ismyrddin, Abergwilli,
Carmarthen, Carmarthenshire,
SA31 2JE
First Saturday of odd-
numbered months 9am to 9pm
CHESHIRE
ALTRINCHAM
WARGAMING CLUB
St George`s Parish Hall, Off
Albert Place, Altrincham,
Cheshire, WA14 4PG
Thursday 7pm to 11pm
CHESHIRE GAMERS
Alberts Corner, Prince
Albert Street, Crewe,
Cheshire, CW1 2DF
WARRINGTON BOARD
GAMES CLUB
33, Church Street, Warrington,
Cheshire, WA1 2SX
Wednesday 7pm
WINSFORD WARHAWKS
WARGAMING CLUB
St Chads Church Hall,
Gladstone Street, Winsford,
Cheshire, CW7 4AT
Tuesday 7pm to 10pm
CLEVELAND
REDCAR IRONBEARDS
7, Memorial Hall, Coatham Road,
Redcar, Cleveland, TS10 1RH
Monday 7pm to 10pm
CO ANTRIM
QUB DRAGONSLAYERS
University Road, Belfast,
Co Antrim, BT7 1NN
Tuesday 6pm to 10.30pm
Saturday 12pm to 6pm
CO DURHAM
DARLINGTON’S
DOGS OF WAR
The Voodoo Cafe and Bar,
Skinnergate, Darlington,
Co Durham, DL3 7LX
Saturday 11am to 4pm
Wednesday 5pm to 10pm
DURHAM RAIDERS
5, Croxdale Community Centre,
Rogerson Terrace, Croxdale,
Croxdale, Co Durham, DH6 5HJ
Tuesday 6pm to 10pm
Last Sunday of the month
5pm to 9pm
GAMERS@HART
102, Tea@Hart, York Road,
Hartlepool, Co Durham, TS26 9DE
Friday and Saturday 6pm to 11pm
Sunday 4pm to 10pm
CO LONDONDERRY
THE SIEGE BUNKER
The Bunker Cafe, Northland
Road, Londonderry, Co
Londonderry, BT48 7JL
Most weekends 11am to 6pm
CO TYRONE
OMAGH WARGAMES CLUB
Omagh Library Headquarters
Building, Spillars Place,
Omagh, County Tyrone,
Northern Ireland, BT78 1HL
First Saturday of the month
9.30am to 4pm
CORNWALL
THE DICE AND DAGGER
GAMING CLUB
Stratton Community Hall,
Union Hill, Stratton, Bude,
Cornwall, EX23 9BL
Sunday 5.30pm to 10pm
DERBYSHIRE
DERBY ON BOARD GAMES
21, The Bookcafe, Cornmarket,
Derby, Derbyshire, DE1 1QH
Last Wednesday of the month
4pm to 10pm
DEVON
BARNSTAPLE SLAYERS
GAMING CLUB
Golden Lion Inn, The Square,
Barnstaple, Devon, EX32 8LS
Monday 6.30pm to 10.30pm
CULLOMPTON BOARD
GAMES GROUP
Pye Corner, Cullompton,
Devon, EX15 1JX
1st and 3rd Wednesday
7pm to 10pm
DARK STAR
GAMING PLYMOUTH
9, Moon Street, Plymouth, PL4 0AL
Monday to Friday 5pm to late
Saturday and Sunday
12pm to late
EAST DEVON TABLETOP
& RPG GROUP
133, The Three Tuns,
High Street, Honiton,
Devon, EX14 1HR
Tuesday 6pm
EXMOUTH IMPERIAL
WARGAMES CLUB
Community Centre, Prince
of Wales Drive, Exmouth,
Devon, EX8 4SW
Wednesday 7pm
GAME NIGHT @ CARPE
50, Carpe Diem, North Hill,
Plymouth, Devon, PL4 8EU
Monday 6pm to 1am
PLYMOUTH ASSOCIATION
OF WARGAMERS
324, Blindmans Wood Scout
Centre, Outland Road,
Plymouth, Devon, PL3 5TB
Sunday 12pm to 5pm
DORSET
SOUTHBOURNE TABLETOP
& BOARDGAMERS
Tuckton Social Club, Tuckton
Road, Bournemouth,
Dorset, BH6 3AA
First Sunday of the month
10am to 5pm
Third Sunday of the month
1pm to 5pm
WESSEX WYVERNS
WARGAMES CLUB
The Bridgehouse, 2
Ringwood Road, Ferndown,
Dorset, BH22 9AN
Monday 7pm to 11pm
WORLDS AWAY
22, The Triangle, Bournemouth,
Dorset, BH2 5RQ
Saturday 12pm to 4pm
DUMFRIESSHIRE
ANNAN GAMING CLUB
Ednam Street
Community Hub,
Ednam Street, Annan,
Dumfriesshire, DG12 6EF
Wednesday 6pm to 10pm
DUMBARTON
WARGAMES CLUB
18, Church Street,
Dumbarton, Dunbartonshire,
Scotland, G82 1QQ
Sunday
THE FIVE ARCHES
GAMING CLUB
345, Annan Road, Dumfries,
Dumfriesshire DG1 3JR
Wednesday 6.30pm to 10.30pm
EAST SUSSEX
1066 WARGAMING CLUB
130, Bexhill Road, St
Leonards-on-Sea, East
Sussex, TN38 8BL
Thursday 7pm to 11pm
EASTBOURNE ELEMENTAL
1, Mana Gaming - The Old
Print Works, Commercial
Road, Eastbourne, East
Sussex, BN21 3XQ
Monday 6pm to 11pm
FAMOUS COLLECTABLES
19 Western Road,
Bexhill-on-Sea, East
Sussex, TN40 1DU
Thursday 6pm to 9.30pm
EAST YORKSHIRE
WOLDS WARGAMERS
5, The Blue Bell,
Riverhead, Driffield, East
Yorkshire, YO25 6NX
Last Thursday of the month
22/05/2017 16:23
 EDINBURGH GLOUCESTERSHIRE RINGWOOD ASSOCIATION HIGHLANDS
EDINBURGH LEAGUE GLOUCESTERSHIRE OF WARGAMERS DINGWALL WARGAMES CLUB
OF GAMERS GAMES BUNKER Greyfriars Community Centre, 44 Dingwall Community Centre,
11, RAF Club, Hillside Crescent, Hatherley & Reddings Cricket Christchurch Road, Ringwood, Tulloch Street, Dingwall,
Abbey Hill, Edinburgh, Club North Park, Shurdington Hampshire, BH24 1DW Scotland, IV15 9JZ
Edinburgh, EH7 5EA Road, Cheltenham, Monday Monday 7pm to 10pm
Wednesday 6pm to 11pm Gloucester, GL51 4XA
Wednesday 6.30pm to 10.30pm SOLENT WARGAMERS CLUB KENT
SOUTH EAST SCOTLAND 01-03, Royal British Legion, ASHFORD (KENT)
WARGAMES CLUB LINCOMBE BARN Portsmouth South, Lucknow Street, BOARDGAMES CLUB
Royal Navy & Royal Marine WARGAMES SOCIETY Portsmouth, Hampshire, PO1 1PT The Rose Inn, Faversham
Association at 1 Broughton Lincombe Barn, Tuesday 7pm to 11pm Road, Kennington, Ashford,
Road, Edinburgh Overndale Road, Bristol, Kent, TN24 9AJ
Thursday 7pm to 11pm Gloucestershire, BS16 2RW SOUTHAMPTON SLUGGAZ Sunday 7pm to 11pm
Sunday 2.30pm to 6.30pm Priory Road, St Denys,
ESSEX Southampton, Hampshire, BEXLEY REAPERS
BASILDON WARBOYZ PORK CHOP GAMING SO17 2JZ WARGAMING CLUB
Riverton Hall, Bardfield, Church Street, Cheltenham, Friday 6pm Freemantle Hall, Bexley High
Basildon, Essex SS16 4JW Gloucestershire, GL50 3HA Alternate Wednesdays 6pm Street, Bexley, Kent, DA5 1AA
Sunday 5pm to 10pm Thursday 7pm to 10pm Monday 7pm to 11pm
Last Sunday of the month WATERLOO TABLE
3pm to 10pm GWENT TOP GAMERS CANTERBURY CRUSADERS
GWENT REAVERS Hart Plain Church, Hart Spring Lane Neighbourhood
COLCHESTER WARGAMES TABLETOP GAMING CLUB Plain Avenue, Waterlooville, Centre, Sussex Avenue,
ASSOCIATION Big Picture Photography, Hampshire, PO8 8RG Canterbury, Kent, CT1 1RT
Tollgate Hall, Villa Road, Stanway, Somerset Street, Abertillery, Tuesday 6.30pm to 10pm
Colchester, Essex, CO3 5RH Gwent, NP13 3DJ HEREFORDSHIRE
Friday 7pm to 11pm Monday 4pm to 10pm DICE AND DECKS GREENWICH &
St Mary’s Church Hall, BLACKHEATH BOARD
ESSEX WARRIORS HAMPSHIRE Church Row, Ross-on-Wye, GAMES AND BEER CLUB
18, Writtle Village Hall, The ARBBL Herefordshire, HR9 5HR The Royal Standard, 44 Vanbrugh
Green, Writtle, Chelmsford, 28, Gilliat Scout Hall, Friday 6.30pm to 10pm Park, London, Kent, SE3 7JQ
Essex, CM1 3DU Marlborough Street, Andover, Alternating Tuesdays and
Twice monthly on Sunday 9.30am Hampshire, SP10 1DQ HERTFORDSHIRE Wednesdays 7.15pm
HEMEL HEMPSTEAD
to 5pm Tuesday 7pm to 10pm GAMES CLUB
Grove Hill Community Centre, MAIDSTONE
SOUTHEND-ON-SEA BLACK HOLE Henry Wells Square, Hemel WARGAMES SOCIETY
ROLEPLAYING SOCIETY WARGAMERS Hempstead, Hertfordshire, HP2 6BJ Linton Village Hall, Linton Hill
1, Park Inn by Radisson, St Peter’s Church Hall, St Every Tuesday at 7.30pm to play (A229), Linton, Maidstone,
Church Road, Southend- Peter’s Road, Petersfield, board games and run Magic: The Kent, ME17 4AW
on-Sea, Essex, SS1 2AL Hampshire, GU32 3HS Gathering tournaments Second and fourth Saturdays of the
Friday 7pm to 11pm Alternate Saturdays The Magic usually starts at 7.45pm month 10am to 5pm
9.30am to 12.30pm and board games tend to kick off
FIFE at 8pm MEDWAY AREA
DUNFERMLINE CHINEHAM BOARD BOARDGAMERS
WARGAMING AND GAMERS HITCHIN HERETICS 72, Union Street, Maidstone,
ROLEPLAYING FELLOWSHIP Reading Road, The Scout Hut, King George’s Kent, ME14 1ED
Dell Farquharson Community Chineham, Basingstoke, Playing Field, Old Hale Wednesday 7pm
Leisure Centre, Nethertown Hampshire, RG24 8LT Way, Hitchin, SG5 1XL
Broad Street, Dunfermline, Second and last Saturdays of Friday 7pm MERRYCHEST CAFE
Fife, KY12 7DS the month 6pm GAMING CLUB
Friday 6pm to 9pm NORTH HERTFORDSHIRE Merrychest Cafe, Watling street,
DARK WORLDS WARGAMES CLUB Dartford, Kent, DA2 8AH
EAST NEUK TABLETOP GAMING SOCIETY Scout Hall, Old Hale Way, Hitchin, Thursday 6pm
GAMES Northwest Community Hertfordshire, SG5 1XL
Dreel Halls (upper hall), High Street Centre, Henry Cort Drive, Alternate Sundays 10am to 4pm MILTON HUNDRED
West, Anstruther, Fife, KY10 3DJ Fareham, Hampshire, WARGAMES CLUB
Second and fourth Sundays of the PO15 6TL NORTH LONDON Phoenix House, Central Avenue,
month 1pm to 5pm  Tuesday 7pm, Sunday 6pm WARGAMES CLUB Sittingbourne, Kent, ME10 4BX
YHA London Lea Valley, Second and fourth Tuesdays of the
FLINTSHIRE FIRESTORM CARDS Youth Hostel, Windmill Lane, month 6.30pm to 10pm 
DEESIDE DEFENDERS OPEN GAMING NIGHT Cheshunt, EN8 9AJ
Wings Social Club, Airbus Bell House, Bell Second and fourth Sundays of the TONBRIDGE
UK, Broughton, Chester, Road, Basingstoke, month 3pm to 7pm WARGAMES CLUB
Flintshire, CH4 0DR Hampshire, RG24 8FB Lamberts Yard, Tonbridge,
Thursday 7pm Wednesday 5pm to late POTTERS BAR GAMES CLUB Kent, TN9 1ER
Oakmere House (Harvester), Second and fourth Mondays of
FGC FLINTSHIRE FORDINGBRIDGE High Street, Potters Bar, the month
GAMING CLUB GAMING CLUB Hertfordshire, EN6 5BT
The Pavilion, Snowdon Avenue, 63, Town Hall, High Tuesday WHITSTABLETOP
Bryn-y-Baal, Flintshire, CH7 6SZ Street, Fordingbridge, 61, Oxford Street, Whitstable,
Monday 6.30pm to 11.15pm  Hampshire, SP6 1AS THOR’S HAMMER Kent, CT5 1DA
Thursday 6pm to 10pm GAMING CLUB Tuesday 7pm
GLASGOW (fortnightly)  Well End Activity Camp, Well
ANTONINE BOARD GAMERS End, Borehamwood, Hertford, LANARKSHIRE
77, Main Street, Torrance, GARY DONALDSON Hertfordshire, WD6 5PR LANARKSHIRE GAMERS
Glasgow, G64 4EN Hart Plain Church, Hart Tuesday 6pm to 10pm 1st Floor, Masonic Hall,
Third Tuesday of the month 7.30pm Plain Avenue, Waterlooville, Hope Street, Motherwell,
Hampshire, PO8 8RG TRING WARGAMES CLUB Lanarkshire, ML1 1BS
GLASGOW GAMES ROOM Sunday 6.30pm to 10pm Corpus Christie Church First and third Saturdays of the
36, Woodside Hall, Glenfarg Street, Hall, Langdon Street, Tring, month 12pm to 5pm
Glasgow, G20 7Q PORTSMOUTH ON BOARD Hertfordshire, HP23 6BA
Tuesday 5.30pm to 10.30pm 01-03, Royal British Friday 7pm to 11pm LANCASHIRE
Legion, Portsmouth South, DICED TEA
UNPLUGGED GAMES CLUB Lucknow Street, Portsmouth, WATFORD WARGAMES CLUB Holy Trinity Coldhurst Church
19, Norval Coffee Co, Skirving Hampshire, PO1 1PT 68, Langley Road, Watford, Hall, Crompton Street, Oldham,
Street, Glasgow, G41 3AB Second and fourth Wednesdays Hertfordshire, WD17 4PN Lancashire, OL1 2DB
Sunday 1pm to 5pm of the month 7pm to 11pm Wednesday 6pm to 10pm  Alternate Saturdays 11am to 4pm

VISIT WWW.TABLETOPGAMING.CO.UK
122_125_clubDirectory_v2 MJ.indd 123 22/05/2017 16:23
CLUB DIRECTORY
HARLEQUINS BLACKPOOL
302, Church Street, Blackpool,
Lancashire, FY1 3QA
Monday 7pm to 11pm  Centre, Eastgate, Louth,
HOUSE LANCASTER
GAMING GROUP
The Three Mariners,
Bridge Lane, Lancaster,
Lancashire, LA1 1EE
First Sunday of the month 7pm
PRESTON BOARD GAMERS
43, Fylde Street, Preston,
Lancashire, PR1 7DP
Wednesday 7pm to 11pm
SALFORD & MANCHESTER
GAMING HAVEN
18-32 Welcome Centre,
Brentfield Avenue, Salford
Lancashire, M8 0TW
Wednesday 6.30pm to 9.30pm
SCYTHE BOARD GAMERS
Scythe and Teacup Gaming
Cafe, 61 A Kempston Street,
Liverpool, Lancashire, L3 8HE
Thursday
THE LIVERPOOL
WARGAMES
ASSOCIATION (LWA)
11, Davies Street, Liverpool,
Lancashire, L1 6HB
Thursday, Sunday and
most Saturdays
LEICESTERSHIRE
LEICESTER ALL SCARS
66, Tabletop Tyrants,
Bedford Street, Leicester,
Leicestershire, LE1 3JR
First and third Saturdays of
the month
 
LEICESTER PHAT KATZ
Ukranian Church Hall,
Livingstone Street, Leicester,
Leicestershire, LE3 0QY
Thursday 8pm to 11pm
SECTION 31
01-03 La Vida Italian Restaurant
(the function room upstairs),
Northampton Street, Leicester,
Leicestershire, LE1 1PA
Wednesday 6pm to 11pm
SONS OF SIMON
DE MONTFORT
Beaumanor Hall,
Beaumanor Drive,
Woodhouse, Loughborough,
Leicestershire, LE12 8TX
Monday and Wednesday
Regular all-day Sunday games
THE LEICESTER WARGAMES
AND FANTASY GROUP
55, West Leicester
Conservative Club,
Westcotes Drive, Leicester,
Leicestershire, LE3 0QU
Tuesday
LINCOLNSHIRE
GRIMSBY WARGAMES
SOCIETY
Sixhills Street, Grimsby,
Lincolnshire, DN32 9HT
Every night 7pm
LINCOLN BOARD
GAME GROUP
6, Upstairs Function Room,
Union Road, Lincoln,
Lincolnshire, LN1 3BJ
Tuesday 7.30pm  Sunday 5pm
TO LIST YOUR GAMES CLUB FOR FREE PLEASE
122_125_clubDirectory_v2 MJ.indd 124
LOUTH STRATEGY
GAMES CLUB
Holy Trinity Community
Lincolnshire, LN11 8DB
Sunday 5pm to 9pm
LLANDUDNO
CONWY WARGAMES CLUB
Creuddyn Leisure Centre
Derwen Lane Penrhyn Bay
Llandudno Wales LL30 3LB
Last Sunday of the month
12pm to 5pm
LONDON
CROSS GAMING CLUB
68, Borough Road, Southwark,
London, SE1 1DX
Tuesday 6pm to 11pm
Thursday 6.30pm to 10.30pm
SELWG
37, St Laurence Church
Hall, Bromley Road, Catford,
London, SE6 2TS
Friday 7pm
TANELORN WAR
GAMING CLUB
Harvey Road, London, E11 3DB
Sunday 2pm to 6pm
THE PHOENIX GAMES CLUB
The Black Lion Pub, High
Street, Plaistow, London, E13
Thursday 8pm
THE ROLE PLAY HAVEN
98, Carpenters & Dockland
Centre, Gibbins Road,
London, London, E15 2HU
Tuesday 7.15pm to 10.15pm
THE ROLE PLAY HAVEN
Upstairs, The Lewis
Club - University Hospital
Lewisham, Lewisham High
Street, London, SE13 6LH
Wednesday 7pm to 10.45pm
MANCHESTER
TABLETOP MANCHESTER
6, Slate Wharf, Castlefield,
Greater Manchester, M15 4ST
Monday 7.30pm
MERSEYSIDE
FORGEMASTERS
GAMING CLUB
Brimstage Forge, Brimstage
Road, Higher Bebington, Wirral,
Merseyside, CH63 6HD
Wednesday 10am to 10.30pm
LIVERPOOL LION
BOARDGAMERS
13, Earle Street, Liverpool,
Merseyside, L3 9NS
Monday 6pm
SOUTHPORT BOARD
GAMES GROUP
347-349 Lord Street, Southport,
Merseyside, PR8 1NH
Tuesday 6pm
MID GLAMORGAN
BRIDGEND ROLEPLAYING
AND BOARDGAMES CLUB
62 Robins Hill, Bridgend,
Mid Glamorgan, CF31 2PJ
Wednesday
CASTLE GAMERS BRIDGEND
Gilead Chapel, Heol Spencer,
Coity, Bridgend, Mid
Glamorgan, CF35 6AU
MIDDLESEX
BATTLEUX WARGAMES CLUB
Battle of Britain Club,
Hillingdon Road, Uxbridge,
Middlesex, UB10 0RY
Monday 7pm to 11pm
DICE CLUB
Battle Of Britain Club,
Hillingdon Road, Uxbridge,
Middlesex, UB10 0RY
Wednesday (except the second
Wednesday of the month)
7.30pm to late
NORFOLK
AFTERMATH GAMING CLUB
219, Lazar House, Sprowston
Road, Norwich, Norfolk, NR3 4HX
Tuesday 7pm to 11pm
Second and last Thursdays of the
month 7pm to 11pm
KINGS LYNN RPG &
WARGAMES CLUB
12th Scout Hut, Beulah
Street, Gaywood, King’s
Lynn, Norfolk, PE30 4DN
Sunday 1pm to 6pm
NORWICH
NORWICH BOARD GAMERS
16, Charing Cross, Norwich,
Norfolk, NR2 4AL
Tuesday 7.30pm
NORTH YORKSHIRE
YORK GARRISON
WARGAMING CLUB
The Folk Hall, Hawthorn
Terrace, New Earswick, York,
North Yorkshire, YO32 4AQ
Wednesday 6.30pm to 10.30pm
Second Saturday of the month
9.30am to 6pm
NORTHAMPTONSHIRE
BATTLEFIELD
HOBBBIES CLUB
17 Brunel Close, Daventry,
Northamptonshire, NN11 8BR
Wednesday and Friday 7pm to 11pm
Saturday and Sunday 9am to 5pm
THE PIT GAMING CLUB
The Wesley Centre, College
Street, Irthlingborough,
Wellingborough,
Northamptonshire, NN9 5TU
Friday 6pm to 10pm
NOTTINGHAMSHIRE
NOTTINGHAM BOARD
AND TABLETOP CLUB
The Ned Ludd, 27 Friar Lane,
Nottingham, NG1 6DA
Tuesday and Thursday
WAR & PEACE GAMES CLUB
18, Grasmere Street,
Sandiacre, Nottingham,
Nottinghamshire, NG10 5BD
Wednesday 7pm to 11pm
WILDSIDE GAMING
19-21, Wild Ways, Slaughter
House Lane, Newark,
Nottinghamshire, NG24 1ER
Wednesday to Friday 4pm to 10pm
Saturday 11am to 6pm
OXFORDSHIRE
ABINGDON WARGAMES CLUB
59, Neave Room, Ock
Street, Abingdon,
Oxfordshire, OX14 5AG
Friday 6.30pm
Third Sunday of the month 10am
AMBROSDEN GAMING CLUB
Ambrosden Village Hall, Merton
Road, Ambrosden, Bicester,
Oxfordshire, OX25 2LZ
Monday 8pm (fortnightly)
NORTH OXFORDSHIRE
WARGAMING CLUB
Bowen Room, Dupuis Centre,
25 South Bar Street, Banbury,
Oxfordshire, OX16 9AF
Wednesday 7pm to 10pm
OXFORD ON BOARD
Iffley Road, Oxford,
Oxfordshire, OX4 1EA
Monday 7pm
OXFORD OUTRIDERS
17, The Mitre, High Street,
Oxford, Oxfordshire, OX1 4AG
Wednesday 6pm
SHROPSHIRE
BIG ORBIT GAMES
Unit 3-9 Riverside
Mall, Pride Hill Centre,
Shrewsbury, Shropshire,
West Midlands, SY1 1PH
Every day
SOMERSET
BATH GAMING GROUP
Widcombe Social Club,
Widcombe Hill, Bath,
Somerset, BA2 6AA
Tuesday 7.30pm
MID SOMERSET
WARGAMES CLUB
Seager Hall, Union Street,
Wells, Somerset, BA5 2PU
Thursday 7pm
PIGMAR WARGAMING
CLUB
Salisbury & Conservative
Club - Hawthorn House,
London Road, Bath,
Somerset, BA1 6AB
Tuesday and Thursday 7pm
THE FROME BOARD
GAMES CLUB
5, The George Hotel,
Market Place, Frome,
Somerset, BA11 1AF
Thursday 7pm to 11pm
All day on the second Sunday
of the month
TRINITY WARGAMING
CLUB
17, Trinity Street, Taunton,
Somerset, TA1 3JG
Friday 6.30pm to 11.30pm
WARGAMING@RADSTOCK
Prattens Social Club,
Westfield, Radstock,
Somerset, BA3 4BD
Wednesday 6.30pm to 10.30pm
Sunday 10am to 4pm
WESTON WARGAMERS
CLUB
Unit 9UA, Elizabeth House
30-32, Boulevard,
Weston-super-Mare,
Somerset, BS23 1NF
Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday
6pm to 10.30pm
WESSEX WARGAMERS
WINCHESTER
Badger Farm Community
Centre, Badger Farm Road,
Winchester, SO22 4QB
Tuesday 7pm to 11pm
19/05/2017 16:37
 WSM BOARD GAMING CLUB
358-360, Locking Road, Weston-
super-Mare, Somerset, BS22 8PD
Thursday 6.30pm to 11.30pm
SOUTH YORKSHIRE
ROTHERHAM
WARGAMES CLUB
The Masbrough and Thornhill,
Community Centre, College Road,
Masbrough, Rotherham, S60 1JE
Saturday 9am to 5pm
SHEFFIELD BOARD GAMES
In the room upstairs at The
University Arms, 197 Brook
Hill, Sheffield, S3 7HG
Tuesday 7pm to late
The Red Deer, 18 Pitt
Street, Sheffield, S1 4DD
First Sunday of the month
12.30pm to early evening
SHEFFIELD WARGAMES
SOCIETY
Woodseats Working Mens Club,
The Dale, Sheffield, S8 0PS
Wednesday 7pm
STEEL CITY WARGAMING
St James Parish Hall, Tithe Barn
Lane, Woodhouse, Sheffield,
South Yorkshire, S13 7LL
Friday 6pm to 10pm
ZONE OUT GAMES CLUB
The Workshops, Coopers
Terrace, Doncaster, South
Yorkshire, DN1 2PX
Tuesday and Wednesday
5pm to 10pm
Saturday 9am to 4pm
Sunday 10am to 4pm
STAFFORDSHIRE
CHASE WARGAMES CLUB
Burntwood Road, Burntwood,
Staffordshire, WS7 0JL
Thursday 8pm
LIBERAL GAMING CLUB
The Old Liberal, 5-9 Woodhouse
Lane, Tamworth, Staffordshire,
West Midlands, B77 3AE
Tuesday
LICHFIELD GAMERS AND RPG
Duke Of York, Church Street,
Lichfield, Staffordshire, WS13 6EB
Monday 7pm
STAFFORDSHIRE
WARGAMING GUILD
38, High Street, Stone,
Staffordshire, ST15 8AS
Sunday 6pm to 10.30pm
TAMWORTH GAMES CLUB
Central Methodist Church,
Aldergate, Tamworth,
Staffordshire, B79 7DJ
Wednesday 5pm to 9pm
THE VINE INN GAMERS
Sheep Fair, Rugeley,
Staffordshire, WS15 2AT
Sunday and Wednesday
6pm to 11pm
STIRLINGSHIRE
FALKIRK DISTRICT
WARGAMES CLUB
Newlands Community Centre,
Montgomery Street, Grangemouth,
Stirlingshire, FK3 8QR
Monday 7pm to 11pm
Last Sunday of the month
10am to 6pm
VISIT WWW.TABLETOPGAMING.CO.UK
122_125_clubDirectory_v2 MJ.indd 125
SUFFOLK
IPSWICH BOARD GAMERS
Cult Cafe, University
Avenue, Ipswich, Suffolk,
IP3 0FS
Monday 7.30pm
MID SUFFOLK
GAMING GROUP
Wyverstone Village Hall,
Rectory Road, Stowmarket,
Suffolk, IP14 4SH
Second and last Fridays of
the month
MID SUFFOLK
WARGAMES ASSOCIATION
Milden Cricket Pavilion
Church Road, Milden,
CO10 9SG
Wednesday 9am to 5pm
Every third Saturday 9am to 5pm
SURREY
HAMPTON COURT GAMERS
Imber Court Conference
Room, Ember Lane, East
Molesey, Surrey, KT8 OBT
Sunday 4pm to 8pm
STAINES WARGAMES
ASSOCIATION
The Social Hall, Harvest
Road, Egham, Surrey
Friday 7pm to 11pm
STAY ON TARGET
56, Chertsey Road, Woking,
Surrey, GU21 5BG
Thursday 6pm to 11pm
THE WOKING WEIRD BOYZ
Mount Hermon Road,
Woking, Surrey, GU22 7TA
Thursday 7pm
TOLWORTH 1ST
FOUNDING
St Paul’s Church Hall, 280
Hook Road, Chessington,
Surrey, KT9 1PF
Friday 7pm to 10.30pm
SUSSEX
BRIGHTON WARLORDS
13-17, Marlborough Place,
Brighton, Sussex, BN1 1UB
Monday 4pm to 11pm
WARWICKSHIRE
BOARD GAME CAFE
SUMMERFIELD
Memorial Hall, Summerfield
Crescent, Birmingham,
Warwickshire, B16 0EZ
Last Monday of the month
6.30pm
DREAMDEALERS
GAMING CLUB
St Lukes Church Hall,
Rotherham Road, Coventry,
Warwickshire, CV6 4FE
Saturday 1pm to 5pm
NUNEATON ALTERNATIVE
GAMES ASSOCIATION
Church Road, Nuneaton,
Warwickshire, CV10 8LJ
Monday and Wednesday
6pm/6.30pm
SCIMITAR WARGAMES
GROUP
Christ Church, Frankpledge
Road, Coventry,
Warwickshire, CV3 5GT
Wednesday 7pm to 10pm
WEST MIDLANDS
BIRMINGHAM WARGAMES
AND BOARDGAMES CLUB
AKA DRAGOON’S DEN
91, Moseley All Services
Club, Church Road,
Birmingham, B13 9EA
Friday 6.45pm to 11.45pm
Second and fourth Sundays of the
month 1.30pm to 11.45pm
PLAY MORE GAMES!
Unit 9 Parkgate, Stratford
Road, Shirley, Solihull, West
Midlands, B90 3GG
Monday 6pm to 11pm
STOURBRIDGE &
DISTRICT WARGAMERS
The Church Hall, V icarage
Road, Amblecote, Stourbridge,
(Opposite the Corbett hospital)
Friday 7pm to 11.30pm
WEST SUSSEX
BOGNOR REGIS GAMING
ASSOCIATION
Greencourt Drive, Bognor Regis,
West Sussex, PO21 5EU
Tuesday 6.30pm to 11pm
CRAWLEY WARGAMES CLUB
Tilgate Recreational Centre,
Pease Pottage Hill, Crawley,
West Sussex, RH11 9BQ
Friday 7pm to 11pm
SOUTH DOWNS
SIEGEBREAKERS
13, High Street, Storrington,
Pulborough, West
Sussex, RH20 4DR
Tuesday 6.30pm to 11pm
WEST YORKSHIRE
GAMING CLUB BRADFORD
114, Thornton Road, Bradford,
West Yorkshire, BD1 2DX
Friday 5pm to 10pm
HALIFAX BOARD GAMERS
55, The Old Post Office,
Winding Road, Halifax, West
Yorkshire, HX1 1SJ
Monday
KEIGHLEY TABLETOP
COMBAT
The Venue @ UAK, Green
Head Road, Keighley, West
Yorkshire, BD20 6EB
Thursday 6pm to 10pm
OTLEY BOARD GAMERS
The Yew Tree Inn, Newall Carr Road,
Otley, West Yorkshire, LS21 2AU
Monday 6.30pm
WILTSHIRE
CHIPPENHAM BOARD
GAMES CLUB
The Bridge House, Borough
Parade, Chippenham,
Wiltshire, SN15 3WL
Thursday 7pm to 11pm
DEVIZES & DISTRICT
WARGAMES GROUP
Scout Hall, Southbroom Road,
Devizes, Wiltshire, SN10 5AD
Sunday 2pm to 6pm
WEDNESDAY KNIGHT
GAMERS
Mill Stream Approach,
Castle Street, Salisbury,
Wiltshire, SP1 3TA
Wednesday 5.30pm to 10.30pm
BROMSGROVE
BOARD GAMERS
2, Finstall Road, Bromsgrove,
Worcestershire, B60 2DZ
Wednesday 7.30pm
WYRE FOREST GAMERS
St Ambrose Parish Hall,
Leswell St, Kidderminster,
Worcestershire DY10 1RP
Third Sunday of the month
2pm to 7pm
WORCESTERSHIRE
POSTAL ORDER GEEK MEET
18, The Postal Order,
Foregate Street, Worcester,
Worcestershire, WR1 1DN
Monday 7pm
REDDITCH WARGAMING
SOCIETY
Windmill Community Centre,
Ryegrass Lane, Walkwood,
Redditch, Worcestershire, B97 5YE
Tuesday 6.45pm to 10pm
YORKSHIRE
BEYOND MONOPOLY
17-19, Blossom Street, York,
Yorkshire, YO24 1AQ
First and third Saturdays of the
month 10am to 9pm
Second and fourth Fridays of the
month 5pm to 9pm
HEADINGLEY GAMES CLUB
Heart Centre, Bennett Road,
Leeds, Yorkshire, LS6 3HN
Thursday 6.30pm to 10.30pm
HOLMFIRTH GAMING CENTRE
Above the Karate Centre,
Albion Mills - Unit 1 Second
Floor, Miry Lane, Thongsbridge,
Holmfirth, Yorkshire, HD9 7HP
Thursday and Sunday 5pm
LEEDS GAMING
28, Great George Street,
Leeds, Yorkshire, LS1 3DL
Second Sunday of the month
12.30pm to 7.30pm
LEEDS NIGHT OWLS
145-153, Cardigan Road,
Leeds, Yorkshire, LS6 1LJ
Sunday 10am
WEST YORKSHIRE
AIREBOROUGH
COMMUNITY GAMERS
Trinity Church Rawdon (in the old
hall), New Road Side, Rawdon,
Leeds, West Yorkshire LS19 6AS
Thursday 7pm
Saturday 1pm to late
OVERSEAS
BIELEFELD WARGAMES &
MODEL MAKING CLUB
Building 43, Catterick Barracks,
Detmolder Strasse 440, Bielefeld
NRW, Germany, 33605
Thursday and occasionally at
the weekend
THE CENTURIONS
WARGAMING
Source Comics & Games,
2057 Snelling Ave. N
Roseville, MN, USA, 55113
First and third Saturdays of
the month
WARGAME CLUB
GIUSEPPE GARIBALDI
San Lorenzo, 17 Genoa, Italy
Wednesday and Thursday
19/05/2017 16:37
 VISIT OUR WEBSITE TODAY

tabletop
GAMING.CO.UK
FOR ALL THE LATEST NEWS, EVENTS,
SPECIAL OFFERS AND COMPETITIONS.

tabletopgaming.co.uk

p126.indd 1 19/05/2017 16:57


BOARD IN THE CITY
Co-founder and director Hayley Binstead looks back
on the Southampton café’s first year and discusses
how gaming can do good in the local community
Interview by Matt Jarvis
When did the Board in the City group begin?
The lightning bolt moment came when listening
to Chris Evans talking to someone about a
board game café. We’d already been doing
gaming in the community for a while, using it
in local schools as a therapy to help with social,
emotional and behavioural barriers, and we
were doing it for free. Listening to the show got
us thinking that maybe this would help us with
our work.
The original idea was to recruit volunteers to
do more work in the community, for the café to
be a hub with multiple groups reaching out into
the community and coming back. We registered
as a business in July ‘15 and opened in March
2016 – so we just celebrated our first birthday!
Has the café changed much during that time?
It’s become much more than we ever thought
it could be! Our aims originally were to go into
the community, into primary and secondary
schools with clubs at lunchtime and after school.
Incredibly now, we also do assisted living
outreach where we take the games to those in
assisted living, teach them to play and leave the
games with them when we go.
We’ve found groups are also now coming to
us, including autism groups, transgender players,
a church group for street kids and the elderly,
plus obviously gaming groups!
You are a non-profit group. Why did you
decide this was the right approach for you?
Gaming is more than a hobby – it’s a life-
changing resource. It teaches resilience,
resourcefulness, self-awareness and patience.
Games can also teach maths, drama, focus skills,
probability, English and many other transferable
127_ShopSpotlight_v2 MJ.indd 127
skills. Using these skills help us level-up as
human beings, which is kind of our drive.
Being not for profit was our way of expanding
our community work with games as therapy;
being a CIC [community interest company]
means 65% of the profits go straight back into
the community. This can be in the form of time
donated – we are looking forward to the day
when we do make a profit!
What else makes Board in the City unique?
One of our surprising qualities is that we are
run by a team of three female directors, which
is unique in a niche dominated by men! We
are also willing to co-operate and collaborate
with what could be seen as rivals, such as other
independent cafés in the area. We also strive to
engage in a positive way with various services
including the police, local schools, social services
and Southampton Voluntary Services.
We have dedicated games masters that are
so enthusiastic about gaming they pass on their
excitement. They have immense amounts of
game ‘data’ that they can teach individual games
easily! They are our walking talking rulebooks –
their task is to guide players through setup, the
rules and stay for a couple of rounds until the
players feel comfortable to be left.
Could you tell us a little about your staff?
We have a very diverse team of around 45, of
which only eight are paid, mainly for part-time
work; all the rest are volunteers.
We have unintentionally attracted a team with
all kinds of physical, emotional and social barriers,
and we have been able to offer them opportunities
where they may have struggled elsewhere. As
well as treating them as team members, we also
127
SHOP SPOTLIGHT
■ Above: Board in the City’s directors,
including Hayley Binstead (centre).
■ Left: The café offers free entry before 4pm.
support each other on a personal level because
we value every single one. These barriers to
work include physical limitations, mental health
conditions – autism, anxiety, bipolar, depression
and psychosis – and social difficulties
including financial and family constraints. Up
to 90% of our staff have at least one.
Our team reflects every aspect of the
communities we serve. For example, we include
online voluntary roles to involve those who would
otherwise be unable to help, and we adapt other
roles as necessary: we have kitchen roles available
for those who find people difficult to cope with.
Everything just interweaves brilliantly and
everyone brings something that makes it work.
We embrace the quirky, because quirky is clever!
What special events do you hold?
To be accessible to a wide variety of customers,
we hold events that would attract almost anyone.
This ranges from D&D groups and organised play
tournaments to Beat the Games Master events
and the Dobble Challenge for children and young
people. We also recognise other days such as
the NSPCC Big Board Game Day, International
Tabletop Day and Mental Health Awareness Day
– which is quite important to us as a team.
What are your plans for 2017?
On the community side, we have just registered
as Dementia-friendly and offer discounts
to carers. One of our volunteers, Becky, is
championing a club for people who are lonely
through situations like bereavement, leading
from the work from the late MP Jo Cox – our ‘Get
Together Coffee Club’.
We’re planning more tabletop tournaments:
possibly large-scale Lords of Waterdeep across
Southampton Common and large X-Wing
tournaments with a giant map and models.
We have many other ideas; we don’t want to
put all of our cards on the table! ■
BOARD IN THE CITY
38 Onslow Road, Southampton, SO14 0JG
023 8178 3240
info@boardinthecity.co.uk
boardinthecity.co.uk
19/05/2017 16:37
SHOP DIRECTORY
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MeeplesCorner @eclecticgames / shop@eclecticgames.co.uk /

www.meeplescorner.co.uk www.eclecticgames.co.uk / Tel: 0118 9598250
GUERNSEY STAFFORDSHIRE

eclectic games.indd 1 04/02/2016 10:55

A new and exciting centre for many different types of

gaming in Guernsey. Come and discover for yourself
what’s in store and join in many events and activities!
Stockists of Board, Card, Computer, RPG & Video Games.

1 Church Square, St. Peter Port, Guernsey, GY1 2LD

Tel: 01481 712240 Facebook: Facebook.com/JustGamesGsy
www.justgamesgsy.co.uk
HErtfordshore

p128-129_shopDirectory.indd 128 19/05/2017 17:02

 MIDDLESBOROUGH SOMERSET Scotland

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p128-129_shopDirectory.indd 129 22/05/2017 16:18

 Tabletop Time Machine
FIGHTER
COMMAND
GAME (1976)
■ WWII: fun for all the family.
■ Ready for takeoff.
Words Phil Robinson
Phil Robinson is a game
historian and the founder
of the Museum Of Gaming
(www.museumofgaming.org.uk),
an organisation that explores
and documents the history of
gaming through its collections,
exhibitions and research.
130_tabletopTimeMachine_v2 MJ.indd 130
A
irfix, now owned by Hornby Hobbies Ltd,
has returned to the games industry recently
with both games for mobile phones and also
Airfix Battles, a World War II-based game that comes
with dice cards and over 100 cardboard counters that
represent tanks, infantry and terrain. This is quite a
good marketing ploy as all of the playing counters
can be replaced by its own plastic models, which
vastly improves the look and feel of the game.
I say “returned to the games industry” because
Airfix has ventured into the world of tabletop
gaming before. It’s a versatile company that has
also manufactured a wide range of slot car racing
systems and accessories. Airfix is certainly most
famous for its plastic model kits – and in particular
for its kits featuring warplanes – so its 1976 Fighter
Command Game doesn’t seem too far away from
its roots.
The Fighter Command Game is played on a green
plastic base into which you slot a transparent plastic
sky area for the battle to take place. Each player has
six plastic planes that can be pegged into holes on
the base or the transparent sky area. There are six
Spitfires and six Messerschmitts, plus an anti-aircraft
gun for each side that pegs into the base. There are
also several stickers on the sky area that represent
obstacles or places to hide.
It looks a little like Battleship with planes, but the
game is actually far more simplistic to play than that.
130
■ Above: An
anti-aircraft gun.
■ Left: One
of the Spitfire
planes, battling
Messerschmitts.
■ Right: The 1976
box artwork.
You start with your planes grounded and take it in
turns to try to launch them on the roll of a die. Once
in the air you can move around in an attempt to shoot
down your opponent – and that’s about as exciting as
it gets.
The game’s box promises “all the thrills of aerial
combat” with “exciting dog-fights, hiding, seeking,
chasing, turning, diving, crashing”, but this is
somewhat of an overstatement. There is a distinct
lack of depth to the game with virtually no strategy
and, in general, whoever manages to get their
planes in the air first wins the game. It’s a shame
as it could have been so much more and the actual
game and its playing pieces are of good design and
quality. It is, of course, possible to introduce house
rules to make it both fairer and more fun.
While the game is not great to play it is quite
rare – so if you see one it may be worth picking up.
Complete sets are very hard to come by and you
would usually need to buy more than one set and
combine them. The poor box design and rather thin
card used to manufacture it means that boxes are
always in poor condition.
It is nice to see Airfix return to making games
with Battles which shows it can make something
interesting that appeals to both Airfix fans
and gamers. Fighter Command Game wasn’t a
great game yet has still managed to become a
collectible item. ■
19/05/2017 16:38
 IN THE NEXT ISSUE...

STARFINDER NEXT ISSUE

We blast off with an exclusive look at the sci-fi sequel to legendaryAVAILABLE
RPG Pathfinder

JUNE 1ST

PICK UP
ISSUE 11 TO
GET A WORLD
EXCLUSIVE THE
WALKING DEAD:
ALL OUT WAR
CHARACTER
CARD!

PLUS!
80 YEARS OF MIDDLE-EARTH: TOLKIEN ON THE TABLETOP | INSIDE THE WARGAMING COMMUNITY
WHAT YOU MIGHT’VE MISSED AT UK GAMES EXPO | HOW ANALOGUE GAMING WENT DIGITAL
REVISITING THE DISCWORLD RPG AFTER TWO DECADES | A GUIDE TO SOLO GAMING

AVAILABLE AUGUST 3RD

131_nextIssue_v2 MJ.indd 131 19/05/2017 16:39

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