AEG Announces the Next Smash Up Expansion

The suspense was killing you, right? Well it's all over now. Following up on the heels of the semi-controversial Obligatory Cthulu Set, AEG has announced the next expansion for their hit shuffle-building game.

SCIENCE FICTION DOUBLE FEATURE!!! (Read that with a cool echo effect in your head. It's impossible to do in print, but you get the idea.)

Time Travelers – The time stream has been compromised. Robots from the future mingle with pirates, extinct dinosaurs move with magical wizards… everything is all smashed up! That’s where the Time Patrol steps in. Organized in 1976 and led by the enigmatic Doctor When, the Time Patrol works to keep time flowing… in the manner they deem best.

Cyborg Apes – In a daring raid on a top secret research facility, apes stole the latest in cybernetic enhancements, and are now enacting their centuries old plan to take over the world! Combining their natural athleticism and powerful strength with high-tech augmentations, these apes will go bananas all of your opponents!

Super Spies – The shadow war between International Secret Intelligence and the evil HAVOC (Henchman and Villains of Chaos) continues. HAVOC’s schemes threaten the world, from weather changing satellites to lasers mounted on secret moon-bases, they can only be opposed by the daring agents of the ISI. Using the latest in espionage technology, the ISI will be able to foil your opponents plans before they even come to fruition.

Shapeshifters – Far below the surface of the earth, strange amorphous creatures have developed a thriving world, based on the manipulation of their own genetics. Now they plan to apply that knowledge to conquer our world above. Taking samples of the most powerful creatures and warriors they can find, these shapeshifters can use the best of whoever they copy.

In addition to the new factions, it'll also come with 8 new bases. This double feature premieres in April of next year. Stay tuned!

Cyber Monday IOS Board Game Deals

Ya know what's way better than getting up at 3 AM to fight insane crowds for a new crock pot? Sitting on your butt on Monday and getting great deals on board games for your i-device.

Le Havre, Ra, and Tigris & Euphrates are all on sale for $.99. Update: A few more are part of the deal.

• Le Havre is a less-fun Agricola.
• Ra is a terrific auction game—especially good with 3 players.
• T&E is a classic meaty Euro from the brilliant Reiner Knizia. (He also designed Ra.)
• Tikal is an Action Point game where you're exploring the jungle looking for treasures.
• Medici, which is another auction game from Reiner Knizia, but not as good as Ra, or as good as Strozzi, but that doesn't have an iOS implementation. So there ya go.
• A Brief History of the World—I don't know anything about this game, except that it has a really long title with the word brief in it.

Not sure how long they'll last.

Thanks for reading!

Help Fight the AIDS and Water Crises in Africa—And Win a Sweet Copy of Viticulture

Hey everyone! We hope you had a wonderful Thanksgiving, and got to play some games with loved ones! Our blog has something to be thankful for, too! Jamey Stegmaier—of Stonemaier Games—has been a Friend of the Blog for a long time. And we liked his game Viticulture quite a bit. So we were honored and humbled when he asked us to participate in his latest endeavor: An auction for limited edition copies of Viticulture—with part of the proceeds going to a charity of our choice.

We could pick any charity we wanted, and we decided on Blood:Water Mission. Here's their mission statement: Blood:Water Mission is a grassroots organization that empowers communities to work together against the HIV/AIDS and water crises in Africa.

Here's some more about them:

• Community: Ending the AIDS and water crises means seeing communities come together. It's about team work. And healthy relationships. It's not just about what you can do, it's about what we can do. Focus on the growth of a community, and its success will be for everyone.
• Responsibility: There is a message of repentance that we accept because the world isn't how it should be. The way we live affects the way others live. Once we are aware, there is a responsibility to live that out. First we own the problem. And then we own the solution.
• Integrity: We do what is right, even when it requires more work. We don't cut corners. Ever. Our work is excellent, our relationships are honest and our finances are clean because we believe  in the mission and its life-changing impact on communities. We will always prioritize doing it right. And we do what we say we will do. And when we fail, we will be honest about it, find a way to correct it, and learn from our mistakes.
• Dignity: Working for basic healthcare can intrinsically foster dignity in a community. We want our actions and attitudes to do the same. When we tell someone's story as they would want it to be heard, we honor their story. We are about inspiring people by sharing a humanized account of others, and therefore, being human to one another.
• Teachability: We do excellent work, but we are not perfect. Our values demand that we be transparent with others about the challenges and lessons that we are learning. We value listening and being willing to be wrong. Being teachable shows that we are less interested in our own pride and more concerned about the best interest of the mission. Our transparency doesn't compromise the confidence of a donor, it builds it.

We love that.

So what about these copies of Viticulture? Here's the link to the Geeklist—and please, please, please give some thumbs to our item, even if you don't bid. And if you want to just donate to Blood:Water Mission, check out the Web site yourself.

Thanks so much for reading.

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rwg6cw5slKA]

Pandemic iOS App: On Sale for Thanksgiving

The fine folks at Z-Man Games are giving us something to be thankful for!

Starting tomorrow, Thursday, November 28, through Monday, December 2, the Pandemic iPad app is only $2.99—it's normally $6.99. So go cure some diseases while you're fighting post-turkey coma! Have a great Thanksgiving!

IOS Sale: Board Games for $.99!

iOS game publisher Codito is having a sale on their games right now. Not sure how long it'll last.

The list includes:

• Tigris & Euphrates
• Tikal
• Ra
• Le Havre
• Brief History of the World
• Medici

Remember, even if you don't have an iOS device now, you can still buy these, and then when you do get one in the future...BAM! They're ready to download.

Plaid Hat Games Announces Dead Of Winter: A Crossroads Game

Plaid Hat Games, makers of the hit games Summoner Wars and Mice & Mystics have announced Dead Of Winter: A Crossroads Game. According to the Plaid Hat Web site, the Crossroads games are a new series of games "that tests a group of survivors' ability to work together and stay alive while facing crises and challenges from both outside and inside."

Dead Of Winter is the first game in the new series, and it finds 3-5 players trying to survive in a world full of zombies. Dead Of Winter is a "meta-cooperative psychological survival game. This means players are working together toward one common victory condition--but for each individual player to achieve victory, they must also complete their personal secret objective. This secret objective could relate to a psychological tick that's fairly harmless to most others in the colony, a dangerous obsession that could put the main objective at risk, a desire for sabotage of the main mission, or worst of all: vengeance against the colony! Certain games could end with all players winning, some winning and some losing, or all players losing."

Sounds cool. I love that people are playing with the boundaries of social games, such as The Resistance, and Two Rooms and a Boom. This sentence from the description has me very excited about it:

"Dead of Winter has players making frequent, difficult, heavily- thematic, wildly-varying decisions, that often have them deciding between what is best for the colony and what is best for themselves."

Sign me up. What are your thoughts? Does it sound cool? Are zombie-themed games played out?

Thanks for reading! And don't forget: You still have a chance to win a copy of Pixel Lincoln. Just listen to our third podcast to find out how. It's easy!

Kickstarter Digital: The Manhattan Project

Minion Games, makers of the new 4x game Hegemonic, and Kingdom Of Solomon, have launched a Kickstarter for a digital version of their game The Manhattan Project.

Neither Jeremiah nor I have played it, so here's the description from the Kickstarter page:

"The Manhattan Project is a low-luck, mostly open information efficiency game in which players compete to build and operate the most effective atomic bomb program. Players will mine yellow cake, train workers, operate factories, use both reactors and enrichment plants, direct espionage against one another, and test The Bomb. Players do not 'nuke’ each other, but they can direct conventional air strikes against the facilities of the other players. The Manhattan Project is a game of Cold War posturing.

This game features the worker-placement mechanic with a twist; There are no rounds and no end-of-round administration. When players run out of workers, or are otherwise forced to by game situations, they skip their turn and retrieve their workers. This allows the game to continue from beginning until end in a round robin fashion. So the game continues round-robin till the end.

Build the best "engine" for creating bomb fuel on your own player board.

Espionage actions allow players to activate and block an opponent's building, representing technology theft and sabotage.

Attack actions send squadrons of planes to bomb the buildings of other players and stop their research until repairs can be made.

Attempt to build the best "engine" for creating bomb fuel on your own player board."

$10 gets you a copy of the game on iPad, Droid, or PC. you can chip in extra to be a beta tester and play the game early.

Stretch goals include Game Center support and included expansions. Check out the campaign. It looks to be the bomb!

The Dungeon Roll Winter Promo—Live and Cheap, For a Limited Time

Last year Tasty Minstrel Games and Michal Mindes started a little Kickstarter campaign for a press-your-luck dice game called Dungeon Roll. It proceeded to fund, to the tune of $250,000. Well he's just launched a mini Kickstarter campaign for some winter-themed promos—and the window of opportunity is small. It's a pay-what-you-want model; you can join for as little as $2, but they suggest you pay $5. I would be very interested to see the breakdown on what people actually paid.

The pack will contain:

• Klaus, Saint of the North (Legendary Hero)
• Jack Frost (Legendary Hero)
• Sugar Plum Faerie (Legendary Hero)
• Ebenezer (Legendary Hero)
• 12 Treasures (Snowball, Cake, Coal, Present)
• Winter promo book of heroes

The campaign only runs for two weeks, so check it out now if you're interested.

Thanks for reading! And don't forget to checkout our third podcast for your chance to win a copy of Pixel Lincoln!

A Kickstarter Feature: Two Rooms and a Boom!

It's not a secret that we here at TOG we are HUGE fans of The Resistance, and every once in a while there is a game that comes along claiming to be able to topple The Resistance from its pedestal. In recent months Two Rooms and a Boom has been getting a ton of social media, podcast, and bloggy love, and while it has many similarities to games like Mafia, Werewolf, and The Resistance, there are some very intriguing differences that could make this one stand out from the crowd! Keep in mind that I have yet to play 2R1B yet, which hopefully won't be the case for long. But here's the info I've gathered from around the interwebs and various podcasts.

Much like games of this type, each player is randomly given a secret role, which determines which team they are on; the blue will have the president, and the other team has the bomber. Players are divided into two groups (or rooms) and the game consists of 5 timed rounds. At the end of each round the two rooms exchange people. The goal of the red team is to get the bomber in with the president at the end of round 5, thus blowing up the president. The blue team's goal is to save the president.

Unlike games of this type, players are allowed to ask other players to see their identity card, so more information becomes available as the game moves along. And because the rounds are timed, there is a finite play time for each game.  And what secret identity game would be complete without special role cards? Well 2R1B boasts over 150 special roles! That's not a typo! 150! Needless to say the replay value of this one should be sky high.

Despite being a Print and Play favorite for some time, the Kickstarter campaign funded within the first 6 hours, and is currently barreling down on the 300% funded mark, and they have unlocked 8 stretch goals, with more to come.

You can check out the campaign, which ends Nov. 29, and download the print and play files RIGHT HERE! If you want to back the project, it's only $20 to jump on board!

So are you backing this? Have you played it? Will it end the reign of The Resistance? Let us know in the comments below!

Thanks for reading; please take a second and subscribe to the blog over there on the right ---->

And don't forget to look for us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube. Oh, and check out our Podcast for a chance to win a copy of Pixel Lincoln!

Come Play with Us... Or Me, I guess...

Hey gang, we shared a few weeks ago that I (Jeremiah) will be hosting a 24-hour game marathon to support the Children's Miracle Network of Hospitals. I'd like to invite you once more, if you are local to the Northeast Ohio area (or feel like making a road trip) I'll be playing games from 8:00 AM this Saturday (Nov. 2) until 8:00 AM Sunday (Nov. 3)! I'm working on a few surprises and maybe a give away or two for the day as well! I'll keep filtering info to you as the week goes on so be sure to check back!

I'll be playing games at the illustrious Root Cafe, at 852 W. Bath Rd. in Cuyahoga Falls. A great coffee shop, run by even greater folks who love and serve the community. They've graciously cleared the calendar to make a way for us to be there the whole 24-hours and host this great event for a great cause!

Here are some more details if you'd like to be involved!

1 - You can join the team by clicking this link. Please know that by joining the team it doesn't mean you're signing up to do the whole 24-hours, you can come out for as little or as long as you like!

2 - If you can't make it but would like to contribute, you can make a donation of ANY amount by following this link. All of the proceeds go to the Akron Children's Hospital, an amazing medical facility that has cared for my children, and my extended family's and friends' children for years. The staff there are second to none!

3 - If you unable to do either 1 or 2, would you please consider sharing the event on your Facebook wall, or giving us some Twitter love? Or even sharing this post through the social media outlet of your liking (Facebook, Twitter, Reddit, etc.)?

4 - Lastly, and most importantly - If you are the praying type. Would you say a prayer for the folks who's children are being treated by the wonderful people at Akron Children's Hospital? As a parent there is nothing scarier than having a hospitalized child. I hope that our prayer support can bring them comfort in their situations.

Thanks for reading our blog, and thank you in advance for any and all support, I sincerely hope I get to meet you, our readers (at least some of you!) this weekend as we play games for a greater cause!

If you have any further questions please leave them in the comments and I'll answer them right away!