Maximum Throwdown is Here!

That's right Maximum Throwdown, Jason Tagmire's card flinging game has arrived! Well.. Not in our grubby little hands yet, but you can pick up your own copy from the retailer of your choice, and that's the important thing.

We're still catching up with some of the big news to come out of GenCon, and this is pretty newsworthy! Jason sat down with us a few months ago and gave a demo of Maximum Throwdown (you can watch that here), and we're excited to finally see some images of the AEG branding of the game. Jason posted a description of the game's different factions over on AEG's site, right here, as well.

Maximum Throwdown has been referred to as an amped-up version of FlowerFall; the idea is that players are tossing cards on the table and trying to cover up powers and points of their opponents. It's a good mix of dexterity and strategy. And for a price point of $19.99 is pretty much a no-brainer for folks who are looking for a solid, fun, filler-type game.

Thanks for reading. Did you go to GenCon? What games are we missing that you were excited about? Hit us up!

Fantasy Flight Announces Battlelore 2nd Edition

Fantasy Flight has announced a second edition of their popular squad-based 2-player game Battlelore—based on Richard Borg's Command & Colors system, used in games such as Battlecry and Memoir '44.

Apparently the new edition will be changing things a bit, and will keep the Command part of the system, while ditching the Colors part of it.

"While the first edition of BattleLore utilized the 'Command and Colors' system, and while the command cards have been updated and remain, the 'color' system has been changed. Instead of the color system, which dictated the movement and combat ability of units, each unit type now carries its own unique stats for moving and combat. These unique stats allow for the existence of an even greater variation in play experience between the two armies.

BattleLore Second Edition has now been firmly placed into the fantasy world of Terrinoth, joining other classic games set in that universe like Runebound, Runewars, and Descent: Journeys in the Dark. The warring armies in BattleLore Second Edition are the Daqan Lords and the Uthuk Y’llan barbarians, battling beneath the walls of Nordgard Castle.

In addition, the figures included in BattleLore Second Edition are presented in a different scale than the units used in the first edition of BattleLore. Rather than the 20 mm scale used by the original BattleLore, BattleLore Second Edition presents its figures on a 28 mm scale. This new scale allows the armies of the Daqan Lords and the Uthuk Y’llan to be rendered with a new level of detail, drawing you into the experience of epic battles and brutal warfare. Because the figures are bigger, the number of figures in a unit is smaller. Instead of four infantry and three cavalry figures per unit, BattleLore Second Edition uses three figures for infantry and three figures for cavalry. The rest of the game board has also been scaled up accordingly."

Another change is that instead of winning by defeating a number of opposing troops, now you'll be trying to hold certain objectives on the board, and complete specific goals.

The game is set to come out in Q4. What are your thoughts on this? Are you excited at the prospect? Do you have a bunch of now-useless 1st Edition stuff and now you're ticked? Have you never played the game, so not sure what to think? (Like us.) Let us know in the comments! And thanks for reading!

Hello? Is This Thing On?

"I can hear you, just barely hear you... I can just barely hear you."  ~They Might Be Giants So, several weeks ago, we tweeted about the momentous occasion of us recording our very first episode of the Theology of Games Podcast! "Well...where is it?!" you might ask.

It's coming. We PROMISE it's coming! There is way more stuff to do in getting a podcast up off the ground than we had prepared for.

So we thought we'd give you a quick update on what we're doing, and how things are going to look moving forward.

The status of episode one, is that we've secured hosting, recorded it, done a bit of editing, and are working on nailing down the title music and an introduction and closing voice over.

Our intro music will be an original piece composed by the unflappable DJSP, a friend of ours and fellow youth worker—you're going to love it!

Our announcer, who will introduce us each month, is a good friend of mine (Jeremiah) named David Bryan Lile. David is a man of many, many talents, and three first names. He's got a classic golden radio voice!

Once all the pieces come together it's just a matter of uploading and jumping through a few iTunes hoops.

In the meantime we're still going to move ahead with our recording schedule and we'll release episodes as we can, to catch up with what we've got recorded. As we do this, we'd love to feature you in our next episode! "How does that work?" you might ask. Boy, you're full of questions today! We're going to feature a segment of the show where we answer questions from our readers and listeners. We've had some great conversations with folks offline about faith, entertainment, games, and all of those things mixed up into one wibbly-wobbly mess. Well, we'd love to have even more of those conversations as a part of the podcast. So how does this happen? Again with the questions! Simple, you can either email us at TheologyofGames@gmail.com, comment on a post, hit us up on Facebook, or use the hashtag #AskTOG on Twitter. Ask us about anything—our faith, the games we're playing, what our favorite color is, the airspeed velocity of an unladen swallow...whatever! We love the folks in the gaming community and we want to hear from you! We're recording episode 2 this weekend, so get those burning questions into us!! And stay iTuned for the TOG Podcast! It is coming... REALLY!

Thanks so much for reading, and we'll be looking for those questions!!

Big X-Wing News From GenCon: Big Ships!

There was lots of news coming out of GenCon this year, but one of the biggest was Fantasy Flight's announcement that they're fudging the scale of X-Wing Miniatures to accommodate some big ships.

It seems that Fantasy Flight is coming out with some large rebel ships, which include the Tantive IV (a Rebel blockade runner), and the Rebel transport. These ships are massive, and EXPENSIVE! ($90 and $60, respectively.)

This is not, apparently, wave 4—that has yet to be announced.

They also announced two new modes of play: Epic and Campaign. The Epic gameplay will be just that: big maps with lots of ships and big point totals. This is the only way the big ships make and sense, as they just wouldn't fit into the game currently. The FF folks were also quick to point out that this isn't replacing anything; this is only an additional option for those who want to use those bigger ships.

The Campaign play will be a series of linked narrative scenarios that are story-driven, and not necessarily balanced.

What do you think about this? Will you be buying any of these?

What's Better Than New Board Games?

UPDATE: It's over now. That'll teach you not to read our emails right away!

Cheap board games!

Today's Gold Box Deal from the folks over at Amazon features a number great board game titles, and a number of well...not-so-great board game titles.

The great games include:

The Resistance

Castles Of Burgundy

Seven Wonders

Forbidden Island

Dominion (Big Box)

And More!!

The not so great titles... Well we'll let you decide what those are...

All of the titles are about 40% off! That's right you can get The Resistance for $11.99!! Check out the great deals here! It's over now. Stop clicking things!

So stock up on all those classics that might be missing from your collection!

Thanks for reading. Are you picking anything up from this sale? Let us know!

And as always we appreciate your subscription to the blog!

The International Gamers Awards Nominees

It's awards time again, and now we've got the nominees for the International Gamers Awards. According to their Web site, "The International Gamers Awards were created to recognize outstanding games and designers, as well as the companies that publish them. The awards are truly international in scope, with committee members representing countries throughout the world. As such, it is our belief that these awards will truly select the ‘best of the best’ and come to be respected by not only hobbyists, but the general public at large. We hope that this will lead to greater exposure for these wonderful games to more and more people and help spread the word of the 'wonderful world of gaming' on a global scale. There are two categories (that we're concerned with, anyway): The Multi-player General Strategy category and the 2-Player General Strategy. Last year's winners were Trajan and Agricola: All Creatures Great and Small, so I automatically have more faith in these than the sketchy Origins Awards...

So who are this year's nominees? Let's take a look...

Multi-Player General Strategy

Bora Bora—Stefan Feld

Bruges—Stefan Feld

Clash Of Cultures—Christian Marcussen

Ginkopolis—Xavier Georges

Keyflower—Richard Breese and Sebastian Bleasdale

Myrmes—Joann Levet

Nieuw Amsterdam—Jeffrey Allers

The Palaces of Carrara—Wolfgang Kramer and Michael Kiesling

Robinson Crusoe: Adventure on the Cursed Island—Ignacy Trzewiczek

Snowdonia—Tony Boydell

Terra Mystica—Jens Drogmuller and Helge Ostertag

Tzolk'in—Simone Luciani and Daniele Tascini

2-Player General Strategy

Android: Netrunner—Richard Garfield and Lukas Litzsinger

Antike Duellum—Mac Gerdts

Le Havre: The Inland Port—Uwe Rosenberg

Mage Wars—Bryan and Benjamin Pope

Polis: Fight For the Hegemony—Fran Diaz

So what's your favorite of the nominees? Will Feld win again, or will the juggernaut Terra Mystica take it. Will a once-dead CCG come back like a zombie of awesomeness to flatline the competition? Who knows?!

Thanks so much for reading. Please check out our new YouTube channel, and also Twitter and Facebook.

Fantasy Flight Brings Us More Cthulhu: Eldritch Horror

Fantasy Flight has announced Eldritch Horror, a brand-new co-op—a companion piece to their already popular games Elder Sign and Arkham Horror.

"In Eldritch Horror, one to eight players take the roles of globetrotting investigators, who must work together to solve mysteries related to an Ancient One – an elder being intent on global destruction. Along the way, you’ll gather clues, encounter strange and mysterious circumstances, battle monsters, and embark on daring expeditions."

"Each loathsome Ancient One is shrouded in secrecy, and each comes with a unique deck of Mystery cards, which draws you and your group of investigators ever deeper into the narrative. The tasks on these Mystery cards, along with the locations of otherworldly gates, menacing monsters, and helpful clues will inform both your travel plans and the dangers you confront.

Each Mystery card presents a new objective to complete, and each mystery you solve will bring you one step nearer to preventing the destruction of our world. With clues scattered across the globe, you’ll find adventure no matter where you travel. Maybe you’ll need to explore the vast expanse of Tunguska to research a strange comet, which seems to coincide with the rumblings of ancient evil. Perhaps, you’ll be tasked with discovering what lies behind the veil between our world and other, strange, dimensions.

Only by solving mysteries specific to the Ancient One you face will you and your fellow investigators be able to prevent impending doom."

The game comes with 12 different investigators to choose from, and a ton of cards, so FF is promising no two games with be the same.

Personally, I think we need more Cthulhu games like we need a hole in the head. But Fantasy Flight will have demos running at GenCon. So check it out if you're going, and let us know how it is!

Contests, Updates, and Podcasts! Oh My!

Hey Everyone! Jeremiah checking in with you to give you some cool updates and news!

We announced earlier this week that we are giving away a copy of Fluxx: The Board Game to our YouTube subscribers, so head over to our YouTube Channel, click subscribe and tell your friends!

Check out the video after the jump for all kinds of great news and info on what you can expect from TOG in the very near future!

And yes! We have recorded our first episode of the Theology of Games Podcast! We'll be going through the process of getting it listed in iTunes and we'll let you know when and where you can find that as soon as humanly possible! [youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3ynf8-yTNwQ&w=560&h=315]

Don't forget those interweb things!

Facebook! Twitter! Instagram!

Thanks for reading and watching!

Race For the Galaxy: Alien Artifacts Delayed. Again. (Plus a Bonus Rant!)

By Firestone I'm starting to think we're going to discover actual alien artifacts before the new Race For the Galaxy expansion is released...

BGG user KissaTalkuri noticed that the Rio Grande Games site now has a release date of 12/1/2013 for the game. You might remember that I wrote about Rio Grande Games telling us December of 2012 that the game's release was imminent. I expressed some doubt about that—given Rio Grande's past issues with release dates.

Sometimes I hate it when I'm right...

Here's what's in the box:

• ~45 new cards and start worlds to add to the base set, plus a set of action cards and start hand for a fifth player.

• ~45 cards and Alien tokens used to represent the Alien Orb which players jointly map and explore, gaining tokens of various types that provide powers and VPs. There are also five new Explore action cards used to map the Orb (instead of gaining an additional card or greater card selection).

How in the world can it take so long to print that? Rio Grande Games is becoming a joke. I can't trust anything that comes out of Jay's mouth regarding release dates.

Let's look at just a few examples.

• Years ago El Grande was out-of-print and it took YEARS for the reprint to show up, despite repeated and then bumped release dates given. And then the game had errors on the action cards!
• Tikal was also out of print for years. We also got promises and bumps. It finally arrived and it wasn't nearly as great as the others in the Mask series! (Okay, that's not Rio Grande's fault... But it's still true!)
• Then we have Arctic Scavengers. It took Rio Grande THREE YEARS to get this one out. Way to strike while the iron is hot...

This is no different. Race For the Galaxy is an amazing game, and this expansion is certainly going to be snatched up by all of the fans out there (myself included!). But...I can't remember the last time anyone in our group played RFtG. It's a classic, but not one that's often thought of anymore. The longer you delay the expansion, the less relevant the base game seems.

Jay at Rio Grande doesn't seem to have any problems getting Dominion expansions out the door. Of course, that game is still hot enough that printing a new expansion is like printing money. It would be nice if he put some of the same effort into games that aren't Dominion...

Rio Grande used to sit atop the heap when it came to Euro publishers. That's not the case anymore. Lots of new companies have come risen up to challenge that—and they're winning. There are lots of factors when it comes to why these new publishers have been able to grow and become players in the market, and I'm convinced that one of them is Rio Grande's inability to hold a release date on anything that's not Dominion.

Ask yourself this: If you had a new game design, and Rio Grande was publishing it, would you be excited, or worried that they'd make you wait three years, while the nimble publishers out there are printing game after game every month?

I truly hope Rio Grande turns things around. My earliest games, when I jumped into this hobby nine years ago, were almost all Rio Grande ones. I love what they've done and I love what they do. I just wish they did it better.

Sorry this news piece turned into a rant...but COME ON!

Thanks for reading. And we've got a new giveaway to announce soon! The only heads-up I'm going to tell you now is that you should go subscribe to our YouTube channel. And while you're there, check out our first foray into video reviews: Awesome Level 9000.

Kickstarter Weekly: Game Salute Special!

Well, like we said: Game Salute is busy powering a bunch of Kickstarter Campaigns, and bringing a bunch of games to market! So we thought we would dedicate an entire post to campaigns that wear the Game Salute brand, so here we go!

Magnum Opus - Clever Mojo Games

We'll be reviewing this title here on TOG very soon. Magnum Opus is a deck-builder with a cool matrix of cards to research and select from! You can jump on board with this one for $35, which is a great value! But! If you go in for $200 you can also receive one of the 8 prototype copies that are being sent out to the reviewers. (Including the one sitting on Scott's shelf and the one sitting next to me (Jeremiah) right now!) How cool is that!? You can find the full details and lots of videos and such right here!

Chaos & Alchemy - Clay Crucible Games

There seems to be a lot of games delving into the realm of alchemy lately and we see another example of that here! The game is listed as a quick-playing card and dice game for 2-5 players, and seems to feature a fair amount of decisions on each players turn. You use dice to give the players actions (play cards, etc.). You can get in on this one for $25, and with plenty of time left they've already funded, so there should be some sweet stretch goals in the future for backers! You can check out the full campaign, right here!

Zoo Fu - Closet Nerd Games

After a long day in the zoo, animals go full out in a samurai battle royal. This card battle game pits players against each other in an attempt to be zoo champion! When the deck runs out the player holding the most chi tokens is crowned Zoo Fu champion! A super inexpensive game to jump into at $15, and looks like a fun, light family game! They need a good boost to get to their funding goal on this one! You can check out the full campaign here!

KerFlip! 2nd Edition - Creative Foundry Games

KerFlip is a fun fast paced word game that we reviewed a few months ago. (Read that review here!) But wait...there's more, because with the help of Game Salute, Creative Foundry Games is upgrading KerFlip for a second edition! It's really quite simple: If you have the original version, for a $10 bill you can get a conversion pack, or if you back it for $25 you'll get the 2nd edition of the full game! The campaign is right here!

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