Monthly Archives: June 2011

Small World Underground Preview in Burlington

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Days of Wonder posted a list of game stores participating in a nationwide preview of Small World Underground. Among them, nearest to me in terms of geography is none other than good old Quarterstaff Games in Burlington. And I get to help by running the preview — which probably consists mostly of learning the rule differences between Underground and its sunnier sibling.

When the game was first announced, I noticed with interest that it “can be combined” with the original set, but that’s not necessarily the same as mixing all the pieces together for a mega mash-up game. Surely someone will concoct an “Invasion from Below” mechanic to allow the two boards to interact, if it doesn’t already exist.

It’s not often you see board games getting this kind of preview buzz. Magic: The Gathering does it all the time. Even some miniatures games, I think. But previewing board games seems to be limited mostly to big shows like Gen Con and Essen. Consequently, I’m psyched that not only is Days of Wonder doing a wide preview like this, but it’s happening right here in Burlington. And I get to help. Nifty.

2011 Diana Jones Award Shortlist

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The shadowy figures behind the Diana Jones Award for Excellence in Gaming posted the shortlist for the 2011 award. Of the five candidates, I have played one — Fiasco — and flipped through two — The Dresden Files and Freemarket. That’s a pretty good record for me.

Glancing at the other two candidates, both board games, I don’t feel especially driven to check them out in detail. Escape from the Aliens in Outer Space has graphic design about as compelling as the title, seemingly by intent, given the “less is more” principle is evident on the box as well as the game components. Catacombs sounds interesting, as you huck pieces representing adventurers and monsters at each other, but it has the “one versus many” model, which I’m pretty much done with.

Free RPG Day 2011

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Free RPG Day is not coming to Vermont this year, same as 2010. The nearest participating stores are in Albany, New York, Montreal, Quebec and Manchester, New Hampshire. In short, they’re way out of the way for some freebies.

It’s not a big deal, as many of those offerings show up for download sooner or later. And, to be honest, the only one I’ve ever used in any capacity was the Changeling: the Lost quickstart when it first came out, so it’s not as though they’re of startling utility to me.

If you’ve got a game store in your area participating in Free RPG Day, show them some love. Or they’ll decide role-playing games aren’t a viable source of revenue, as so many other stores, including Burlington’s own, have done.

Summer Game ‘n Grill 2011 Mere Days Away

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The 2011 Game 'n Grill, going down at the Upper Valley Grange in Norwich, Vermont.

This Saturday is the second annual Summer Game ‘n Grill hosted by the Green Mountain Gamers — and it’s their first second annual anything. Yes, Green Mountain Gamers is more than a whole year old now. The quarterly game days have proven to be successful on every outing so far.

This time, the gang is headed to Norwich, Vermont, in the Upper Valley, through which runs the Connecticut River. That’s Carnage‘s traditional stomping grounds, so it’ll be a bit odd to see the valley in the glory of summer, rather than the dying days of autumn.

On the other hand, it’s going to be a rocking game day. Board games have been the big thing every time and that’s not likely to change. Role-playing games are slowly growing and that’s where my main interest lies. Friend to all role-players Charlton is bringing Apocalypse World, which I know nothing about, beyond that there’s a world and an apocalypse in it. And I’ve still got InSpectres from PAX East to try out, so I think that is the role-playing set’s day sorted.

June 18th’s gonna be a great day for tabletop games.