Topic – GenCon 2021! In this episode, I finally get the chance to meet a long time friend to both the show and myself, Erik Carl. We spend some time catching up then discuss the convention.
Hosts – Dan, Erik Carl
Media –
Loughmiller’s Pub and Eatery – This is where you can find the burger that Erik and I mentioned at the end of the episode.
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The Titan Cometh!
This year, once again, the biggest and best tabletop gaming convention in the country is returning to Indianapolis September 16th-19th. GEN CON is back and we’ll be there! if you can’t or don’t want to come to the convention in person there are several ways to be involved this year, including GEN CON Indy, GEN CON Online, Pop-Up GEN CON, and GEN CON TV.
GEN CON Indy is the Superbowl for tabletop nerds!
“Celebrating its 52nd year in 2019, Gen Con “The Best Four Days in Gaming!”(tm) has become the largest annual consumer fantasy, electronic, sci-fi, and adventure game convention in North America. Each year, gaming enthusiasts converge in Indianapolis to share their enthusiasm for all things gaming; whether its tournaments, celebrity appearances, exhibit hall booths, electronic games, workshops, seminars, anime, art shows, auctions, or countless other activities.
With an avid following of more than 140,000 consumer and professional attendees, Gen Con is THE destination for everyone from serious fans, to those simply interested in casual gaming. Many people ask “Gaming? What kind of Gaming?” Gen Con appeals to all hobby gaming enthusiasts, essentially all gaming except sports and gambling.
Game manufacturers and publishers consistently utilize Gen Con as the place to launch new games and new products, show off the latest and greatest game expansions and features, and host incredible tournaments. From world championships awarding thousands of dollars to non-professional games created by passionate enthusiasts, playing games is what it’s all about.”
GEN CON Online allows you to take part in the convention from the comfort of your living room… or office… or restroom… whatever.
After a successful first year in 2020, Gen Con Online will return in 2021, running concurrently with Gen Con Indy and Pop-Up Gen Con!
Gen Con Online is our online convention program featuring gaming, entertainment, and lots of other types of events, plus a packed schedule of livestreaming content on Twitch, a vibrant community on Discord, and more!
Pop-Up GEN CON brings little baby GEN CONs to your local game store!
“Gather with your local gaming community and try out hot new games before anyone else, all from the comfort of your friendly local game store. Each FLGS will determine how they want to host this event based on COVID-19 health and safety guidelines and conditions in their area. Check with the store for details on what they are planning.
Pop-Up Gen Con will take place on Saturday, September 18, 2021.
If you can’t make it to Gen Con Indy this year or can only come for a day, check out Pop-Up Gen Con at your local game store”
However you plan to experience GEN CON, be sure to let us know how it goes.
Also, if you‘re going to be in Indianapolis September 16th-19th be sure to connect With us. We’ll have a meet up each night!
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It’s Season Two of Modiphius Calling! It’s been four years since our last episode and we’ve come a long way! In this episode, James Sheahan tells us about Fallout: Wasteland Warfare which combines RPG and skirmish wargame elements into a game that’s dripping with theme. Giles tells us how he became a game designer and why he loves the Symbaroum RPG and Zach tells us how knowing about the history of weapons can make your games feel more “real.”
1:54 – What’s On Your Table?
17:38 – Interview – James Sheahan – Fallout Wasteland Warfare
34:45 – Meet the Hosts – Becoming a Game Designer – History of Weapons
Music courtesy of Joshua John O’Connor
While stumbling around GenCon this year, I found a little piece of Las Vegas at the North Star Games booth. The geographical anomaly was due to Vegas Wits and Wagers, the newest expansion in the line.
Wits and wagers is a juggernaut in the trivia, betting, bluffing, party game section of the gaming market. Over the last decade or so it’s racked up more awards and accolades than the Mohave desert has gangster bones.
Because of this, you aren’t reading a review of Wits and Wagers, per say, but a review of the currently Kickstarting expansion pack that makes the newest edition so…
Well…
Vegas Wits and Wagers is the limited run expansion pack for Wits and Wagers Party that contains a large (like, really big) neoprene, double sided play mat, new, high quality, cardboard chips with larger denominations including $500 and $1000(for that big, “No Limit” feel), another betting card, marker and pair of player chips allowing the game to be played by 7 people, and two “closed” betting covers (also high quality neoprene).
However, the real commodity on the table is the presence that this game brings when you lay it out.
As well as the new components, there are now more betting options. For the skittish, there are now “safe bets,” betting on the red or black side of the board for a lower pay out. However, in true Vegas fashion, there are now “long shot” bets that pay out 10-1 where you can bet on an individual player before their answer is revealed. This comes in handy if you have reason to believe that Johnny happens to be an expert on toilet paper advertisements from the 1950’s. Lastly, the game is played in seven rounds with the stakes raising each round. With these new options and mechanics, every question is potentially a game changer. That said, as I mentioned before, it’s the game’s presence that is truly astounding. The art, the colors, the mood, all blend beautifully with the mechanics making it a spectacle worthy of its name.
The Kickstarter ends at 11:00 PM, September 7th. As of the posting of this review, they’ve raised $50,000+ and have exceeded the goal by more than $20,000.
What’s the buy in?
For $25 you get the Vegas expansion. This is everything that I outlined above but does not include Wits and Wagers Party. You’ll need this in order to play the Vegas version of the game. If you have older versions, however, the back of the neoprene mat is printed with the original layout so you can still utilize it.
For $40 you get the Vegas expansion as well as Wits and Wagers Party, which is everything you need to set the stage for your gaming extravaganza!
Stretch goals?
Several stretch goals have already been unlocked. Every $5,000 over the goal unlocks a new themed pack of all new trivia questions. So far, packs about the Ocean’s movies, Las Vegas trivia, music, television, and celebrities have been unlocked with several more goals slated to be announced. xe88
As of this posting, there is a little more than two days left in the Kickstarter. If you’re interested, don’t waste time. You’re not going to want to miss this.
Kickstarter Link – https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/northstargames/vegas-wits-and-wagers/description
If, for some reason, a pink van full of Elvises and aliens pulls up and drags you away from your internet connection before you’re able to pledge, don’t fret. North Star Games is planning on releasing Vegas Wits and Wagers to a store near you in the Fall of 2018. The only problem is, while the boxed version will have all of the
new options and rules of the limited edition, the gorgeous neoprene table mat, and cover slips, etc, will be made of the more familiar felt or cotton materials found in previous versions, thus making it just a little less…
Well,
…Vegas
Wits and wagers has been a favorite in my household for many years now. Even before the newest expansion, it played quite a bit like Trivial Pursuit had a love child with a craps table and left Las Vegas on the fastest flight back to Maine. I’m truly pleased to have been able watch that child grow up,
put on the cape and jumpsuit,
and steal the show.
To me, this is a brilliant and exciting thematic step in the right direction for a fantastic party game.
But then again, this is just my humble opinion.
-Dan Whorl
(CarpeGM.net Game Reviews)
A review copy of Vegas Wits and Wagers was given to me by the game developer for an honest review of their product. No money or further compensation changed hands or has been promised for a good review. They earned it!
A big box, miniature laden, dungeon crawler with several modes of play, this is sure to be a favorite on game night. As with previous titles in the 12 Realms line, familiar faces from fairy tales and lore are in the cast of playable characters (as well as some of the baddies). I’ll have a more in-depth breakdown of mechanics and gameplay in the coming days, as there is a Print and Play trial version of the game available here. (Spoilers! it’s a lot of fun!)
Also, once it’s live, you can find the kickstarter here.
That said, I asked the fine folks at Mage Company if they’d like to write an article about the game and how it’s different from previous iterations in the 12 Realms line.
12 Realms: Dungeonland is a standalone game set in the 12 Realms Universe. It is a cooperative dungeoncrawler, where each player takes the role of a Hero from fairytales and explores dungeons and magical locations. They battle against evil monsters and epic bosses controlled by AI, and evlolve through the way. So no need for anyone to be the bad guy. In Dungeonland everybody is a Hero. But what makes 12 Realms: Dungeonland different from the other 12 Realms games and what are its key features?
1) Not an expansion. 12 Realms: Dungeonland is a standalone game. This means you do not need to have any of the other 12 Realms games. This is not an expansion. You can just grab a box, gather with friends and start your epic battles!
2) Cooperative, but not as 12 Realms base game. 12 Realms: Dungeonland is a cooperative game too, but it offers a completely different experience from 12 Realms base game. The only thing these two games have in common is the theme. They are both set up in a fantasy fairy tale world, so Heroes, items and monsters will be inspired from this theme. However the gameplay is totally different and the two cannot be compared.
3) The Campaign Mode. The main way to play 12 Realms: Dungeonland is through the campaign mode. The Heroes explore their way through multiple scenarios. All of the scenarios all linked to each other and the decisions you make will affect the plot of the scenario. This means that your decisions affect the story, so be careful what you choose and what you do!
4) The Arena. The game also includes an Arena board, where up to 8 players can involve in battle. The Arena offers 2 different game modes: The Duel: Players create 2 teams of 2, 3 or 4, depending on their number and battle each other. Which will be the team to be the last one standing? Waves of Enemies: This is a tower defense type mode, which will be used as a bonus stage between the different scenarios. In this mode, the Heroes battle against waves of enemies. The more waves they manage to defeat, the more rewards the get to continue their campaign.
5) The Master Quest. This is one of the unique features of 12 Realms: Dungeonland. You want to get the feeling of a complete campaign, but you do not have the time to play all the scenarios? 12 Realms: Dungeonland will feature the Master Quest, a single scenario that will give you the feeling of a complete campaign. This means that you will get the chance to experience the Hero development, the different choices that lead to different story endings and the Boss battle, all in a single session. No need to arrange several meetings with friends, experience everything in a single go.
6) Character Development. Each Hero has their unique starting gear and ability. During the campaign you can evolve your Hero by finding new items, weapons, spells, potions etc. At the same time, you can unlock new skills from the various skill categories that are offered through the game, to suit your playstyle. This means that even if you play the same Hero twice, they can be a totally new character and offer a different experience.
7) Exploration. The exploration mechanism is one of the key features of the game and offers great replayability. Through this clever mechanism, the dungeons and monsters are randomly generated each time, which means that two playthroughs will never be exactly the same. Furthermore, this mechanism is designed in a way to make you further immerse in the exploration of the magical dungeons, thus enhancing the game experience.
8) Gameplay. 12 Realms: Dungeonland is designed in such a way that it is streamlined and easy to learn and play making it suitable for families, without taking away the depth and strategic options that gamers would like to experience in a dungeoncrawler.
9) The perk of having the previous 12 Realms. As we said, you do not need to have the other 12 Realms games to play Dungeonland. However if you own any of the previous games, a conversion kit will be offered through the Kickstarter campaign, that converts all Heroes and their starting gear and abilities from the existing 12 Realms titles, making them suitable for Dungeonland. This means that you can take your favorite Hero and their miniature and use it in the game.
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Topic – Live from GenCon 2016! I was invited to a special, after-hours edition of the live action escape room the Spin Master Games had erected to support the release of their new game, “Escape Room – The Game”. While I was there, I snagged a few minutes of audio with game designer, Brady Lang about the new venture. buy dnp online
Enjoy the show!
Media –
Where to buy –
School is almost out in Antarctica but a few of the penguins are too hungry to wait! They skip out on class and, racing through the hallways, make their way to the cafeteria to grab an afternoon snack. Will they make it before being caught by the dreaded hall monitor? Welcome to “Ice Cool”.
“Ice Cool” is a surprisingly fun and innovative “flicking” game for 2-4 players published by Brain Games. The gameplay is fast and intuitive. Although it’s geared to younger players, I’ve played the game with several different age groups, including a mixed session, and the result is always the same, LOTS OF FUN!
The players choose a color and collect the corresponding penguin and ID card. One of the players is chosen to be the Hall Monitor (called the Catcher). The other players (called Runners) take turns flicking their penguins, trying to get them through the doorways that have their fish clipped to the top. If they make it through, they collect their fish and score a fish card. On their next turn, they begin making their way toward their next fish.
The Catcher has a different goal. He or she is trying to collect the IDs of the Runners by flicking their penguin so that it touches the penguins of the Runners, thus, collecting their ID cards. A round ends when either, one of the Runners collects all of their fish, or the Catcher has all of the IDs. There are as many rounds as there are players so that everyone gets a turn to be the Catcher. Also, there is a bit of a “rubber band” mechanic built in. You look at the ‘fish cards” as you collect them. If, at any point in the game you have collected two cards that only have a “1” on them, you can “ice skate”. You turn over your two “1” cards and get to take an extra turn. After all of the rounds have been completed, the players total up the numbers on their “fish cards” and the highest total wins.
The board for this game is a VERY innovative design called “Box in a Box”. Inside the box are 5 smaller boxes with holes in the sides and art depicting the different rooms of the school. These all clip together with the holes matching up to create the doorways and a kind of obstacle course for the players to navigate by flicking their penguins from room to room, collecting fish and (hopefully) avoiding the Hall Monitor. The art on the board/boxes themselves is a convincing depiction of what a penguin school would look like, complete with overhead views of desks, chairs, a gymnasium, a cafeteria, all of which are complete with nice little touches like posters, drinking fountains, and basketball rims. (Even though I’m sure that penguins are terrible at basketball)
(4) Plastic penguins;
(5) Cardboard boxes – rooms;
(16) Wooden fish tokens (12 fish in 4 player colors and 4 fish in white color);
(45) Fish cards (each showing 1, 2 or 3 victory points);
(4) Color reminder cards;
(4) Penguin ID cards;
(1) Rules booklet
Several re-sealable bags for component storage
The components for this game are quite nice. The cards are of good quality, and the “fish” are solid wood and seem to be very durable. The real features of this game are, as described above, the board itself, and the adorable little penguins. The penguins are rounded at the bottom, and weighted so that they can’t lie on their side.
For those of you who know what they are, think Weebles.
When flicked, they flop and flounder, spin and turn, but what they don’t do, is lay still. With a little practice, you can begin to steer them around corners, make them jump over walls and, if you’re really good, you may even be able to get them to travel in a straight line!
Check out the “Ice Cool” promo video on YouTube to see an AMAZING shot near the end.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hhzIZUQvLng
If you’d like to listen to our interview with the man who, both, made that trick shot, and helped design this game, it can be found here:
https://carpegm.net/interviews-ep-17-ice-cool/
This is an easy one to grasp for kids and adults alike. If you’ve ever flicked things on a table you already have the basics down. Spend a few minutes reading the rules and a couple of minutes setting up the board and you’re ready to go. There is a bit of a learning curve as you figure out how to make those pesky penguins do what you want, but not so much as to make the concept unattainable. In any case, in a game like this failure can be just as entertaining as success!
As I said before, I’m absolutely enamored with this box. Not only does it hold all of the smaller boxes, but, because there is no insert for the smaller pieces, the designers included small, re-sealable bags for storing the other components. This allows “Ice Cool” to pass the “shake test” with flying colors. Store it however you’d like!
The rules document for this game is clear and concise, has little comic-style penguins all over it making it fun for kids to read, and even covers some of the unpredictable things that can happen when you get a few people around a table flicking plastic things through cardboard things.
The game is rated for 2-4 players. The sweet spot for this game, in my opinion, is 4 players. The more pieces that you have flying around the board, the better!
Due to the shape of its components and the nature of dexterity games in general, the replay value of this game is quite high.
Even though most of the components are cast or printed in bold primary colors, color blindness may be a concern. That said, because of the gameplay and the mechanics involved, this could be overcome with just a little assistance by other players. The cards are easily read, but the penguins and wooden fish are all the same, only differing in color. However, adding multiple casts to a game is extremely expensive, sometimes adding tens of thousands of dollars to a game’s initial bottom line. This would have probably priced it out of its market and, all things considered, is probably not necessary for our chromodysoptic friends to enjoy it.
Even though “Ice Cool” is targeted toward younger players, I think gamers of all ages will have a lot of fun with it. I’ve seen older gamers pull the chairs away from the table so that they can line up their perfect shot as if they’re playing a tiny game of billiards, while a game with younger players looks and sounds exactly like what you may think;
Raucous excitement sometimes mixed with the spell cast by a basketball circling the hoop in an Antarctic gymnasium.
I highly recommend this one, particularly if you have children. However, I think this game would be a welcome addition to any collection, whether it’s found in a kid’s closet or the college campus.
In a word, “Ice Cool” is white-hot!
But then again, this is just my humble opinion.
-Dan Whorl
(CarpeGM.net Game Reviews)
A review copy of Ice Cool was given to me at GenCon 2016 by the game designer. No money or further compensation changed hands or has been promised for a good review. They earned it!
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Topic – Live from GenCon 2016! I was able to spend a few minutes talking with Egils Grasmanis From Brain Games about their new, super fun dexterity games “Ice Cool” We talk a little about the design process and how the idea for one of the most popular casual games of the year came to be.
Enjoy the show!
Media – joker123
For our full review of the game, go to
https://carpegm.net/game-review-ice-cool/
Egils Supported:
Mikkel Bertelsen’s game “Klask”
Check out the Ice Cool promo video!
Mr. Game! challenges nearly every convention of the classic roll and move board game. This modern spin on retro style gaming has become a family favorite for game night at my house. It checks boxes that I didn’t know existed and jumps through hoops that I had no idea I was holding…Refreshing!
The object is simple. Everyone starts on one space and races to land on the “goal” space to win. That’s pretty conventional stuff, right? Wrong. Mr. Game! creates an atmosphere where even the concept of “what is a space?” can be challenged. The road to victory is complicated by an ever-changing board, as well as an array of cards with different types of wacky functions, a goal that just won’t sit still, and of course, Mr. Game!.
The board is a pretty straight forward design with the numbers 1-4 in the four corners and some wandering paths of spaces in between. You start on “1” at the beginning of the game and you’re trying to land on “4”. This is subject to change.
There are 3 types of cards in the game, “Actions”, “Badges”, and “Powerups”.
“Actions” are the most common cards in the deck and are played immediately when drawn. The effects of these cards vary wildly including (but not limited to) moving other people’s pawns, adding or moving spaces on the board, changing the goal, etc.
“Badges” are cards that are kept secretly in your hand to be played at just the right moment. Some of the effects may be similar to “Action” cards but the ability to weaponize them makes them valuable. The results of a well-timed “Badge” can range from devastating to hilarious…
…or both…
…or neither…
…or…
Never mind. Moving on.
A “Powerup” is a card that is played immediately when drawn and changes the way your pawn behaves, giving you some sort of ability or taking one away. For better or worse, you’re stuck with these until someone takes them or you roll doubles.
There are also four blank cards found in the deck that prompt you to use your imagination…or not. It’s up to you.
Given the ubiquity and familiarity of spaces in tabletop games, I hadn’t really considered the idea of describing them until I got to this point in the review. On one hand, because of the nature of this game, they need to be discussed. But on the other hand, it feels a little like describing to someone how it feels to blink.
The spaces on the board, at a glance, are rudimentary. You have normal spaces that prompt no action. As mentioned before, there are four spaces in the corners of the board that are numbered 1-4 and serve as the “goal” spaces. There are spaces marked with an exclamation point that prompt the player to draw a card. There are also spaces found sporadically about the board that prompt you to “roll again”. If that’s not enough, all of these spaces can be different colors depending on where they are found on the board. The colors of the spaces have no bearing on their function when playing with the rules as written. That said, the colors, location, and even the null area between spaces can (and probably will) routinely come into play because of this game’s chaotic nature.
Tiles are essentially spaces that can be added or moved on the board once prompted by a card, changing the effect of a space or adding a new one altogether! There are several types of tiles. Nearly all of the spaces described above can be found in the stack of tiles, as well as webs in which your pawn can get “stuck”, portals that allow you to quickly traverse the board, and null spaces to cut off possible avenues for your opponents.
Last but certainly not least, there’s Mr. Game!. Before you begin playing, you decide who will act as Mr. Game!. While all players are expected to interpret the rules, this player will have the final word on any decisions to be made concerning them.
From this mechanic, chaos is born.
While the other players are constantly trying to take advantage of any given situation that may get them closer to winning, they invariably will be challenging the very conventions of a roll and move game. This, coupled with a purposefully minimalistic set of written rules, creates an environment where house rules are necessary. This is where Mr. Game! comes in. During play, Mr. Game! will have to make any number of probably ridiculous and unforeseen rules decisions. As these situations are arbitrated, they become rules for the remainder of the game. Keep in mind that whoever is playing as Mr. Game is also playing the game with everyone else and, as such, must uphold and is subject to his or her own rulings throughout the game.
( 1 ) Game Board
( 1 ) How To Play Booklet
( 1 ) Alternate Game Types Booklet
( 104 ) Cards
( 18 ) Tiles
( 8 ) Player Pieces
( 8 ) Player Cards
( 2 ) Four Sided Dice
( 2 ) Goal Markers
( 4 ) Blank Cards
The components of the game are all of very good quality and have weathered several plays with little to no wear and tear.
If you read every word of the rules pamphlet it’ll take you about 10 minutes to learn to play. The set-up is minimal and the core mechanics of the game are extremely intuitive.
The storage space in the box holds all of the components well and passes the “shake test” with minimal movement.
Ordinarily, a rules document that leaves so many unanswered questions would receive bad marks in this category. However, this one, because of the nature of the game, is perfect.
The play time varies from game to game. Most of them last 20 to 60 minutes with 4-6 players,
Rated for 2 – 8 players, the more the merrier! We’ve played with as many as 7 players with no negative experience regarding gameplay. That said, after having experienced the game several times with varying group sizes, I’m going to put the sweet spot somewhere between 4 – 6 players.
Having many variants and additional rules included in the “Alternate Gametypes” book that comes with the game, several more variants published at http://whoismrgame.com/your-house-rules/, along with the fact that you can play a completely different game just by changing the people playing or who presides as Mr. Game!, the replay ability of this one is off the charts!
You can purchase your copy here.
The charm of Mr. Game! is rooted in the unpredictability that spawns from just playing the game. This provides the players with an experience that is unique not only to their gaming group, but to the individual session, which prompts the telling of stories and anecdotes about those sessions. This is a trait usually found in meatier board games and tabletop RPGs such as Dungeons and Dragons rather than a simple roll and move game. But then again…
Just a simple roll and move board game, Mr. Game! is not…
I believe that Mr. Game! is, in and of itself, an experience.
But then again, this is just my humble opinion.
-Dan Whorl
Check out our interview with the creator of Mr. Game!, Frank DiCola, here.
A review copy of Mr. Game! was given to me at GenCon 2016 by the game designer. No money or further compensation changed hands or has been promised for a good review. They earned it!
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Topic – I was finally able to sit down with Frank DiCola, the creator of Mr. Game!, one of my favorite family games EVER! In this episode, we discuss Mr. Game!, the nature of its design, and some house rules. Frank also gives a little insight into Kickstarter and we discuss some of the hurdles of being an independent game designer.
Enjoy the show!
Media –
whoismrgame.com
Mr. Game! (@whoismrgame) | Twitter
Mr. Game | Facebook
Frank DiCola (@Yoshgunn) | Twitter
drinkinggamezone.com/drinking-games/mr-game
Tabletop Simulator on Steam
Buy Mr. Game!
For our full review of the game, go to
https://carpegm.net/game-review-mr-game/
Frank Supported:
Aether Game Cafe