‘Age Of Conan’ Board Game – Video Promo

The Age of Conan is coming…

The war has begun, and every nation is sending forth armies. In Age of Conan, you take control of one of four mighty empires. Will you lead the military might of Aquilonia, crushing the forces allied against you? Will you adopt the mantle of the magical Stygians, and use your powers to lay waste to the peoples of the lands?

Each kingdom rules differently, and has unique powers to bring forth in the conquest of the world. In the midst of the war, Conan moves about the land, slaying monsters and claiming plunder. Many leaders have tried to control the awesome power of Conan, but no ruler is ever fully in control of the Cimmerian.

The latest video from Fantasy Flight gives you a glimpse into the world of the thief and reaver, the slayer and barbarian, Conan! Read more

Battletech’s 25th Anniversary – A FASA Legend

Twenty-five years after FASA published BattleDroids, a stand-alone box game recreating the giant robo/mecha science fiction action of the best anime, Catalyst Game Labs is set to celebrate the silver anniversary of this unique science fiction game that became BattleTech in its second year of existence. Since its origin in the mid-1980s BattleTech has spawned more than 100 novels, over a dozen computer games, comic books, toys, a cartoon series, and virtual world centers. In 2002 the appellation of “Classic” was attached to BattleTech, but in this anniversary year Catalyst Game Labs is reverting to the original unadorned “BattleTech” name for a host of celebratory products.

A key part of the celebration is the publication of BattleTech: 25 Years of Art and Fiction ($59.99) a deluxe oversize 160-page art book filled with a retrospective sample of 25 years of art, plus over a hundred thousand words of new original fiction from top BattleTech authors such as Thurston, Charrette, Milan, Gressman, Coleman, Keith, Long, Pardoe and Stackpole. The deluxe volume also will contain a universal timeline of the BattleTech universe as well as a definitive bibliography of all the published material relating to BattleTech from FASA to Fan Pro to WizKids to Catalyst.

Next fall Catalyst plans to launch a full novel publishing program with print editions of new novels such as A Bonfire of Worlds($7.99) by Stephen Mohan, Jr. and Shadows of Faith($7.99) by Loren L. Coleman as well as anniversary editions of some of the best BattleTech novels such as the Warrior Trilogy by Michael Stackpole.

In addition Catalyst plans to make out-of-print Battletech novels available in the Electronic Advanced Reader Copy (EARC) format via the BattleCorps.com Website. Paths of Glory by Randall N. Bills, which was first published in print in 2000, is available on the site now, and a new volume will be added every month. The EARC books can be purchased through the BattleShop by anyone, but they are free to BattleCorps members.

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Eve: Conquests – A Stategy Boardgame Ships In June

White Wolf will release Eve: Conquests, a strategy board game based on the Eve MMORPG in June. The game, which can be played by two to four players in approximately two hours, will retail for $74.99.

The Eve setting is 20,000 years in the future, when massive empires have arisen to envelop vast areas of space.

In Eve: Conqeusts, players take the roles of the four major empires in the Eve universe and play the political landscape, including frequent wars, in order to prove their superiority by means of planetary domination. Game play is a “Euro-style mechanic,” according to designer Petur Thorarinsson (see “White Wolf Expands Board Game Line”).

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Twilight Creations’ 2009 Boardgame Releases

Twilight Creations promises more zombie- (and alien-) slaying action in the first half of 2009, with four products geared for the hack-and-slash crowd. The games include a new Zombies!!! expansion, a deluxe edition of MidEvil, and a new strategy board game designed by Reiner Knizia.

Zombiegeddon, available now, is Knizia’s second product for Twilight Creations (following 2007’s Gravediggers). It consists of two phases: one for gathering the supplies and weapons for fighting the oncoming zombie horde and one for dealing with said horde. The game is for two to four players, ages 12 and up, and retails for $24.99.

Jailbreak is the subtitle for the eighth expansion to the Zombies!!! board game. It plants the zombie invasion in the middle of a mental ward, in which players have to fight off their fellow zombie-fied inmates. Jailbreak includes 15 new map tiles, 30 new event cards, and new rules. It releases in March and retails for $14.99.

MidEvil Deluxe combines three prior MidEvil releases into one package, while also updating the art and skeleton warrior figures. The Middle Ages-based zombie game ships in May and retails for $39.99.

Finally, Martians!!! replaces the zombie hordes with an all-out alien invasion. It ships in June and retails for $29.99.

Fantasy Flight Games’ ‘Age Of Conan’ Boardgame Has Been Released

Fantasy Flight Games is proud to present, in conjunction with Nexus Games, Age of Conan: The Strategy Board Game. Bringing to your gaming table the epic sweep of the Hyborian age, Age of Conan presents the battles and intrigues, quests and magic, of Robert E. Howard’s celebrated tales of Conan the Cimmerian.

In Age of Conan two to four players will take on the roles of the great kingdoms of Hyboria – Aquilonia, Stygia, Turan, and Hyperborea – and build through military might and cunning the most powerful empire the ancient world has ever seen!

Meanwhile, Conan the Cimmerian adventures through Hyboria on his own quests and the kingdom who ignores him, does so at its own peril. The kingdom which crowns Conan may harness his power, but the barbarian is unpredictable and savage, and failure will only unleash his wrath!

Brought to you by the design team of War of the Ring, Age of Conan is an epic-level strategy game featuring 170 plastic figures, 165 playing cards, 13 dice, and a large game board map of Hyborea, with rulebook and reference cards.

Fantasy Flight Games

Risk: Halo Wars Edition Coming in July ’09

USAopoly has announced two new licensed games tied to major properties:  Risk: Halo Wars Collector’s Edition and Clue: 24 Edition.

Risk: Halo Wars Collector’s Edition remakes Risk for the Halo Wars videogame world. Halo Wars, the newest release in the videogame series, streets in March; Risk: Halo Wars will street in July.

Risk: Halo Wars will allow players to command one of three factions (the UNSC, the Covenant, or the Flood) and battle for supremacy of Arcadia. The board freatures 42 territories and six sectors; 250 plastic playing pieces represent the three factions. It will use the new Hasbro rules that allow for three levels of game play (basic, advanced, and classic) depending on the skill level and desired playing time of the players. Play can be completed in as little as 60-90 minutes with no decrease in strategy. The game will be appropriate for players 12 and up. MSRP will be $39.95.

Clue: 24 Edition adapts the classic board game to the world of the hit Fox TV show. The board will be a blueprint of the Los Angeles Counter Terrorist Unit office, and the traditional Clue suspects are now represented by CTU agentsw. One of them is a mole that must be uncovered within 24 hours. Eight clock cards, each representing three of the 24 hours, build the suspense–if the eighth card is drawn, time’s up and the mole has won.

Clue: 24 Edition will be appropriate for players 9 and up; MSRP is $34.95. The game will street in March.

Source: icv2.com

Fantasy Flight Games Posts Rules for Age Of Conan – The Boardgame

In anticipation of the Spring 2009 release of Nexus Games’ and Fantasy Flight Games’ new epic strategy board game, Age of Conan, we are presenting this brief sneak peak at Age of Conan, by Editor Sam Stewart. Those of you who attended Gen Con 2008 and got a chance to play the prototype of Age of Conan will remember Sam – he ran demoes the entire Gen Con weekend.

Age Of Conan – The Boardgame Rules

Age of Conan is, at heart, a game of military conflict. Phalanxes of armored soldiers square off against hordes of howling, axe-wielding barbarians, while swarms of horsemen pepper ensorcelled legions with clouds of arrows. While players can (and should) send their diplomats to convince or coerce the provinces of Hyboria into alliances, they should not do so at the expense of their armies. Though military conquest may prove more difficult than diplomatic intrigue, it will also provide a player with more long-term rewards. After all, this is the time of Conan the Barbarian, when only the strong survive to reap their rewards.

Conan is a major presence in this game (of course!), as he adventures through Western Hyboria. He can start minor uprisings and raise bands of brigands in provinces as scum and rabble-rousers flock to his presence. He may even join the armies of neutral provinces to fight against the invading armies of the players. Obviously, this means Conan’s influence can often upset a player’s carefully laid plans. However, there are ways for players to temporarily enlist Conan to aid them in their endeavors. A canny player will time his actions to take full advantage of Conan’s presence or absence. A player may even steer Conan in the direction of his opponents, so their schemes will be disrupted while he can proceed unimpeded. Read more

Mayfair Releasing New ‘Steam’ Boardgame by Martin Wallace

Mayfair Games has announced that it will release Steam, a new train game by Martin Wallace based on his popular Age of Steam game, in Q1 2009. Wallace has created two new versions of the game: one with rules that emphasize ease of play and a shortened playing time, and another with auctions and maintenance costs, for more experienced players.

The game is for two to six players ages 12 and up, and will play in 90-120 minutes. MSRP is $42.00.

The player is in charge of a railway company, which he is trying to run to build track, deliver goods, and become the greatest railroad of all. Maps of New York and Germany’s Ruhr Valley are included.

The new game’s components will be compatible with previous editions.

Source: icv2.com Read more

Essen 2008 Report – Boardgames Everywhere!

Thanks to Ward Batty from icv2 for this report.

Editor and writer Ward Batty, who has over 30 years experience in retail management and publishing, sent us this report from the recently completed game fair in Essen, Germany.

Every October, over 150,000 board game enthusiasts fill a space about nine times that of Gen Con to check out the hundreds of new games that debut at the show each year.  This year’s fair is against a backdrop of continuing softening sales in the German boardgame market, which would have fallen even more last year except that Germans discovered Texas Hold ‘em Poker and everyone bought poker chips, which are included in the game sales totals.

A famous designer that I’ll decline to name once told me the reason board games sell so well in Germany is “there is nothing else to do.”  Stores close early; few businesses are open on Sunday.  However, it appears that the same forces that have reduced the time many families in America spend together, such as the XBox, or cell phones, are now having the same effect in Germany and families, especially with older kids, simply don’t play boardgames the way the once did.

Still, for an American gamer, it is amazing to attend an event where publishers have the resources to erect massive displays and hire dozens of people to teach games.  Just to see boardgaming as a mainstream activity is a delight.  Nothing is more attractive than a cute girl with big bags of games in each hand.

The most common theme for games this year seemed to be race games.  A number of them should appear on store shelves throughout the year.  My favorite was Fast Flowing Forest Fellers, a new Friedemann Friese game race game about log-rolling that could be compared to a simplified Robo Rally, which will be available from RGG.

Read more

Valley Games’ ‘Titan’ Ready For Shipment

According to Torben Sherwood of Valley Games, their Titan pre-orders have arrived in port and are to be cleared and delivered to their shipping facility on October 25th. Those who pre-ordered the game (like me ) will also receive their pre-order bonus of a set of exclusive Titan figures to go with the game.

I can’t wait for this game. I’ve had this one pre-ordered for several months. I was very happy to have found out that Valley Games was reprinting this ‘holy grail’ of boardgames as the prices on eBay were way beyond my reach just to obtain a copy of the original.

Titan was originally published by Avalon Hill in 1980 and very quickly became highly sought after with its limited print run.

Titan is a full-out monster slug-a-thon, in which players must be prepared to sacrifice their creatures to cause maximum damage to their opponents. Players take the role of the Titan, and roam the board attempting to recruit bigger and badder monsters to fight for their legions. But just as your own army grows, your opponents themselves will be seeking the clash of battle, and there can be only one true Titan!

Titan is played on a main gameboard, where armies are recruited, and positions set. When two armies meet, the action transfers to a battleboard, where the opposing forces battle for position and power. Only the strongest monsters will survive, bringing both points and glory to their Titan.

Kurt Miller and Mike Doyle combine their artistic talents for this reprint. Titan takes from 2 to 4 hours to play, and is for 2 to 6 players.

Valley Games has also reprinted Avalon Hill’s Hannibal: Rome vs. Carthage, another very hard to find and very expensive game until the reprint.

UPDATE:I have received my copy of Titan along with the pre-order bonus of six Titan miniatures.  Two of the miniatures were broken off at the base upon arrival but that’s not a big deal as a little glue goes a long way.  The counters included in the game were shrinkwrapped together in the box so the ink on the counters was still a little moist when I opened them.  I set them out to dry so no big deal there either.  I’m just happy to have a copy of a game that I couldn’t really afford to get before Valley Games took over.  I will post a quick review of my first play when I can get to it.

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