Hello everyone, Darryl here with this week’s gaming news! We’ve got a lot of miniature and board game news because Gen Con’s just around the corner and all the RPG news will be happening then. In the mean time, we’ve got our first look at the final production models for Stafinder miniatures, a new dungeon crawl board game from WizKids, Target getting over 70 new exclusive games, new Warhammer 40,000 Codices, and more!
The first images of the final versions of the Starfinder miniatures came out from various distributors. The first wave will contain four sets of miniatures. The miniatures, licensed by Ninja Division and Soda Pop Miniatures, will be plastic and pre-painted sold in non-random blister packs
Iconic Heroes Set #1 has an MSRP of $39.99 and contains Navasi (Human Envoy), Iseph (Android Operative), Keskodai (Shirren Mystic), and Sunrise Maiden (ship).
Iconic Heroes Set #2 is also MSRP $39.99 and contains Obozaya (Vesk Soldier), Altronus (Kasatha Solarian), Raia (Lashunta Technomancer), Quig (Ysoki Mechanic), and Quig’s drone.
Pact Worlds Fleet Set #1 is MSRP $35.99 and contains Ringworks Wanderer (Fighter class ship), Kevolari Venture (Frigate class ship), and Atech Immortal (Battleship class ship).
Finally, the Corpse Fleet Set #1 is MSRP $35.99 and contains Death’s Head Necroglider (Fighter class ship), Blackwind Sepulcher (Frigate class ship), and Thaumtech Omenbringer (Battleship class ship).
All four sets are scheduled for release in “Fall 2017” with some reports indicating it will be sometime in October.
WizKids announced a new board game, Dungeon Hustle. Two to four players are sent on a quest to rid the dungeon of monsters with each player taking on one of the iconic fantasy classes: Fighter, Rogue, Cleric, and Mage. The items are Potions, Scrolls, Swords, Keys, and Shields and each come in a different color. You move through the dungeon on color-coded squares, hustling through tiles of the same color. When you step on a different color, the hustle ends and you pick up the tiles you stepped on. You then use the items to complete quests, earn gold, and fight monsters. The goal of the game is to score points to win against your fellow dungeon hustlers, but if you let too many monsters escape from the dungeon, the game ends early and all the players lose. Dungeon Hustle will be available at Gen Con before arriving in stores later this month for an MSRP of $24.99.
Two new codexes (codices?) are on the way for Warhammer 40K 8th Edition. Codex Heretic Astartes: Chaos Space Marines and Codex Adeptus Astartes: Grey Knights are both due out later this month. Each of the books will contain new rules specific to the armies they cover as well as additional army-building options, stratagems, warlord traits, and artifacts. Not only will the datasheets for existing models be covered, but it will also contain information for upcoming models as well.
Target is expanding their “Only at Target” initiative for board games with more than 70 new games. Target Senior Vice President of Merchandising Scott Nygaard said:
“We’re continuing to see double-digit growth thanks to hits like Oregon Trail and our vast assortment of curated exclusives—and the momentum shows no signs of slowing. So, we’re going even bigger into the trend, working with the leading game makers, specialty shops – and even kid inventors – to create more unforgettable, exclusive games for Target guests to love.”
While many of them are simply repackages of existing games (such as wooden-token versions of Risk, Candyland, and Monopoly or nostalgic reprints of older games like Super Mario Bros. Power Up and Saved by the Bell), there are many more hobbyist games included in the expansion as well. Exploding Kittens is getting a party game variation, and 2017 Kennerspiel des Jahres nominee Captain Sonar is getting a special “Family Edition”. The new games have already begun rolling out to retail stores and will continue through this fall.
If you haven’t been keeping up with social media, RPG Brigade is continuing its now four-year long tradition of RPG-a-Day. The social media campaign has become popular among gaming professionals and fans. And this year, EN World is getting in on the action as our regular contributors and many game designers have weighed in on the prompts so far for Day 1 “What published RPG do you wish you were playing right now?” and Day 2 “What is an RPG you would like to see published?” I will say, though, that I might change my answer from Fallout to Elder Scrolls, Ultima, or Kingkiller Chronicles. Because I want all four equally and I can’t really decide.
Shadowrun Returns: Hong Kong got an interesting expansion, an authorized and fan-created mod that recreates the original Shadowrun Returns campaign, Dead Man’s Switch just in time for the fourth anniversary of its release. Created with permission of both Harebrained Schemes and Catalyst Game Labs, the mod attempts to re-create the original story and plot of the first game in the updated game engine from Hong Kong while fixing a few minor issues and plot holes from the original and adding some additional content. The mod was designed by Matthew Hendrickson, David Hendrickson, and Ryan Swank with assistance from Shadowrun tabletop designers and authors Russell Zimmerman, Patrick Goodman, and Jason Hardy. The mod is available for free for those who have purchased Shadowrun Returns: Hong Kong via Steam, with a version available on Nexus Mods soon for those who purchased the game through Good Old Games or other outlets.
There’s been a bit of ironic setback for the game Lisboa. The game raised $277,597 on Kickstarter for its resource management game based on the rebuilding of Lisbon, a real historical event when, in 1755, the city was hit by an earthquake that damaged buildings, caused a tsunami, and suffered three days of raging fires. With the game printed and ready to ship to European backers, a fire broke out in the factory and destroyed all copies of the game. In a quote on the Kickstarter update, Eagle-Gryphon Games stated: “About all I can say is at least there have been no earthquakes and no tsunamis!” Shipment to backers in the United States, Canada, South America, and non-EU European countries have only been slightly delayed due to the accident, but the entire run of games for European Union backers will have to be re-shipped from warehouses in the United States in order to avoid extra Customs fees.
Cam Banks is a long-time game designer whose impressive resume includes work on Dungeons & Dragons, Dragonlance, Marvel Heroic Roleplaying, Feng Shui, and enough more I might break my word count just listing them all. He’s also the new caretaker of the Cortex System through his company, Magic Vacuum Design. His Patreon focuses on both writings on roleplaying games and new rules, but also new campaign settings. Swordbridge is a “mannerpunk” setting focused on politics and intrigue on a smoke-filled city that serves as the gateway to the land of Faerie, and Eidolon is a neo-Classical fantasy built around an array of small gods and divinities worshiped throughout the land that a chosen few can draw on for strength. All pledge levels are monthly, and a $1 pledge gets you access to all backer-only posts and blogs, $5 gets you access to playtest documents and previews of works-in-progress, $10 gets access to Hangouts and chat forums to provide feedback directly and with fellow fans, and the rewards go from there.
Okay, I’m honestly not sure if Reaper is just trolling us now because they know they’re getting our money, but the fourth Reaper Bones line is on Kickstarter now, titled “Mr. Bones Totally EPIC Adventure”. I’m honestly not sure what to say about this one because, well, it’s Reaper Bones. Unpainted plastic miniatures with detailed sculpts available at a great price that gets better as the stretch goals unlock. This set has minis covering epic fantasy, heroic fantasy, urban fantasy, cyberpunk, science fiction, mecha, and a few mixes of those genres to cover games like Shadowrun and Starfinder. The core set is available for a $100 pledge, or you can pledge at the $1 level to put your pledge just toward add-ons without the core set. If you want to get your minis sooner, though, keep a close eye on the campaign as they’re already up to Wave 5 in pledges, but occasionally someone in a previous wave will cancel and open up an early shipping spot. This Kickstarter might barely make its $30,000 funding goal, but it’s going to be close. Yeah, right, they’re already over $700,000 and are about to need to post more stretch goals. This Kickstarter ends on Saturday, September 2.
The award winning deckbuilder Star Realms is getting a stand-alone expansion. Star Realms Frontiers is a stand-alone deckbuilding game for one to four players that is completely cross-compatible with previous editions and expansions for Star Realms (which means up to six players total if you have other expansions). The game itself is simple: You use various resources to increase trade to buy/upgrade ships/bases and get more resources to increase trade to buy/upgrade ships/bases as you attack the bases belonging to other players in order to reduce their Authority to 0 and eliminate them from the game. It works as a good introduction to the deckbuilding genre while also having enough depth and strategy to stay interesting and fresh for quite a while. You can pick up the core game alone for $20, add on Kickstarter exclusives and expansions for $30, add six Command Decks and more exclusives for $65, and more. This Kickstarter is fully funded and closes on Thursday, August 10.
That’s all from me for this week! Find more gaming crowdfunding news at the EN World RPG Kickstarter News website, and don’t forget to support our Patreon to bring you even more gaming news content. If you have any news to submit, email us at news@enworldnews.com. You can follow me on Twitter @Abstruse where I gave an impromptu lecture on the legalities of likeness rights despite having no qualifications to do so, or you can listen to the archives of the Gamer’s Tavern podcast. Until next time, may all your hits be crits! Note: Links to Amazon and/or DriveThru may contain affiliate links with the proceeds going to the author of this column.
The first images of the final versions of the Starfinder miniatures came out from various distributors. The first wave will contain four sets of miniatures. The miniatures, licensed by Ninja Division and Soda Pop Miniatures, will be plastic and pre-painted sold in non-random blister packs
Iconic Heroes Set #1 has an MSRP of $39.99 and contains Navasi (Human Envoy), Iseph (Android Operative), Keskodai (Shirren Mystic), and Sunrise Maiden (ship).
Iconic Heroes Set #2 is also MSRP $39.99 and contains Obozaya (Vesk Soldier), Altronus (Kasatha Solarian), Raia (Lashunta Technomancer), Quig (Ysoki Mechanic), and Quig’s drone.
Pact Worlds Fleet Set #1 is MSRP $35.99 and contains Ringworks Wanderer (Fighter class ship), Kevolari Venture (Frigate class ship), and Atech Immortal (Battleship class ship).
Finally, the Corpse Fleet Set #1 is MSRP $35.99 and contains Death’s Head Necroglider (Fighter class ship), Blackwind Sepulcher (Frigate class ship), and Thaumtech Omenbringer (Battleship class ship).
All four sets are scheduled for release in “Fall 2017” with some reports indicating it will be sometime in October.
WizKids announced a new board game, Dungeon Hustle. Two to four players are sent on a quest to rid the dungeon of monsters with each player taking on one of the iconic fantasy classes: Fighter, Rogue, Cleric, and Mage. The items are Potions, Scrolls, Swords, Keys, and Shields and each come in a different color. You move through the dungeon on color-coded squares, hustling through tiles of the same color. When you step on a different color, the hustle ends and you pick up the tiles you stepped on. You then use the items to complete quests, earn gold, and fight monsters. The goal of the game is to score points to win against your fellow dungeon hustlers, but if you let too many monsters escape from the dungeon, the game ends early and all the players lose. Dungeon Hustle will be available at Gen Con before arriving in stores later this month for an MSRP of $24.99.
Two new codexes (codices?) are on the way for Warhammer 40K 8th Edition. Codex Heretic Astartes: Chaos Space Marines and Codex Adeptus Astartes: Grey Knights are both due out later this month. Each of the books will contain new rules specific to the armies they cover as well as additional army-building options, stratagems, warlord traits, and artifacts. Not only will the datasheets for existing models be covered, but it will also contain information for upcoming models as well.
Target is expanding their “Only at Target” initiative for board games with more than 70 new games. Target Senior Vice President of Merchandising Scott Nygaard said:
“We’re continuing to see double-digit growth thanks to hits like Oregon Trail and our vast assortment of curated exclusives—and the momentum shows no signs of slowing. So, we’re going even bigger into the trend, working with the leading game makers, specialty shops – and even kid inventors – to create more unforgettable, exclusive games for Target guests to love.”
While many of them are simply repackages of existing games (such as wooden-token versions of Risk, Candyland, and Monopoly or nostalgic reprints of older games like Super Mario Bros. Power Up and Saved by the Bell), there are many more hobbyist games included in the expansion as well. Exploding Kittens is getting a party game variation, and 2017 Kennerspiel des Jahres nominee Captain Sonar is getting a special “Family Edition”. The new games have already begun rolling out to retail stores and will continue through this fall.
If you haven’t been keeping up with social media, RPG Brigade is continuing its now four-year long tradition of RPG-a-Day. The social media campaign has become popular among gaming professionals and fans. And this year, EN World is getting in on the action as our regular contributors and many game designers have weighed in on the prompts so far for Day 1 “What published RPG do you wish you were playing right now?” and Day 2 “What is an RPG you would like to see published?” I will say, though, that I might change my answer from Fallout to Elder Scrolls, Ultima, or Kingkiller Chronicles. Because I want all four equally and I can’t really decide.
Shadowrun Returns: Hong Kong got an interesting expansion, an authorized and fan-created mod that recreates the original Shadowrun Returns campaign, Dead Man’s Switch just in time for the fourth anniversary of its release. Created with permission of both Harebrained Schemes and Catalyst Game Labs, the mod attempts to re-create the original story and plot of the first game in the updated game engine from Hong Kong while fixing a few minor issues and plot holes from the original and adding some additional content. The mod was designed by Matthew Hendrickson, David Hendrickson, and Ryan Swank with assistance from Shadowrun tabletop designers and authors Russell Zimmerman, Patrick Goodman, and Jason Hardy. The mod is available for free for those who have purchased Shadowrun Returns: Hong Kong via Steam, with a version available on Nexus Mods soon for those who purchased the game through Good Old Games or other outlets.
There’s been a bit of ironic setback for the game Lisboa. The game raised $277,597 on Kickstarter for its resource management game based on the rebuilding of Lisbon, a real historical event when, in 1755, the city was hit by an earthquake that damaged buildings, caused a tsunami, and suffered three days of raging fires. With the game printed and ready to ship to European backers, a fire broke out in the factory and destroyed all copies of the game. In a quote on the Kickstarter update, Eagle-Gryphon Games stated: “About all I can say is at least there have been no earthquakes and no tsunamis!” Shipment to backers in the United States, Canada, South America, and non-EU European countries have only been slightly delayed due to the accident, but the entire run of games for European Union backers will have to be re-shipped from warehouses in the United States in order to avoid extra Customs fees.
Cam Banks is a long-time game designer whose impressive resume includes work on Dungeons & Dragons, Dragonlance, Marvel Heroic Roleplaying, Feng Shui, and enough more I might break my word count just listing them all. He’s also the new caretaker of the Cortex System through his company, Magic Vacuum Design. His Patreon focuses on both writings on roleplaying games and new rules, but also new campaign settings. Swordbridge is a “mannerpunk” setting focused on politics and intrigue on a smoke-filled city that serves as the gateway to the land of Faerie, and Eidolon is a neo-Classical fantasy built around an array of small gods and divinities worshiped throughout the land that a chosen few can draw on for strength. All pledge levels are monthly, and a $1 pledge gets you access to all backer-only posts and blogs, $5 gets you access to playtest documents and previews of works-in-progress, $10 gets access to Hangouts and chat forums to provide feedback directly and with fellow fans, and the rewards go from there.
Okay, I’m honestly not sure if Reaper is just trolling us now because they know they’re getting our money, but the fourth Reaper Bones line is on Kickstarter now, titled “Mr. Bones Totally EPIC Adventure”. I’m honestly not sure what to say about this one because, well, it’s Reaper Bones. Unpainted plastic miniatures with detailed sculpts available at a great price that gets better as the stretch goals unlock. This set has minis covering epic fantasy, heroic fantasy, urban fantasy, cyberpunk, science fiction, mecha, and a few mixes of those genres to cover games like Shadowrun and Starfinder. The core set is available for a $100 pledge, or you can pledge at the $1 level to put your pledge just toward add-ons without the core set. If you want to get your minis sooner, though, keep a close eye on the campaign as they’re already up to Wave 5 in pledges, but occasionally someone in a previous wave will cancel and open up an early shipping spot. This Kickstarter might barely make its $30,000 funding goal, but it’s going to be close. Yeah, right, they’re already over $700,000 and are about to need to post more stretch goals. This Kickstarter ends on Saturday, September 2.
The award winning deckbuilder Star Realms is getting a stand-alone expansion. Star Realms Frontiers is a stand-alone deckbuilding game for one to four players that is completely cross-compatible with previous editions and expansions for Star Realms (which means up to six players total if you have other expansions). The game itself is simple: You use various resources to increase trade to buy/upgrade ships/bases and get more resources to increase trade to buy/upgrade ships/bases as you attack the bases belonging to other players in order to reduce their Authority to 0 and eliminate them from the game. It works as a good introduction to the deckbuilding genre while also having enough depth and strategy to stay interesting and fresh for quite a while. You can pick up the core game alone for $20, add on Kickstarter exclusives and expansions for $30, add six Command Decks and more exclusives for $65, and more. This Kickstarter is fully funded and closes on Thursday, August 10.
That’s all from me for this week! Find more gaming crowdfunding news at the EN World RPG Kickstarter News website, and don’t forget to support our Patreon to bring you even more gaming news content. If you have any news to submit, email us at news@enworldnews.com. You can follow me on Twitter @Abstruse where I gave an impromptu lecture on the legalities of likeness rights despite having no qualifications to do so, or you can listen to the archives of the Gamer’s Tavern podcast. Until next time, may all your hits be crits! Note: Links to Amazon and/or DriveThru may contain affiliate links with the proceeds going to the author of this column.
