IPs aren't bullet proof. Miniatures games on Kickstarter aren't guaranteed to generate $1 million in pledges. Sometimes even a Plan B isn't enough.
These are the things that the current Kickstarter campaign for The Walking Dead: No Sanctuary has taught us.
It's been a painful lesson, and much like a bite from a walker, has caused a lot of backers to groan, gnash their teeth, and develop a thirst for human blood.
However, unlike a bite from a zombie, it looks like this little incident doesn't end with a bullet to the head.
In fact, unlike most zombie stories, this one has a happy ending.
Thursday, 28 July 2016
Tuesday, 26 July 2016
Review - Warhammer Quest: Silver Tower
Published by Games Workshop
For 2-4 players, aged 14 years to adult
Some out of production games demand a reprint.
Some games deserve to be repackaged, updated, and made available to the masses so people do not have to pay obscene prices on eBay.
Some games are so timeless and superb that they should always be in print, and the world seems incomplete without them.
Guess what...?
Warhammer Quest isn't one of them.
For 2-4 players, aged 14 years to adult
Some out of production games demand a reprint.
Some games deserve to be repackaged, updated, and made available to the masses so people do not have to pay obscene prices on eBay.
Some games are so timeless and superb that they should always be in print, and the world seems incomplete without them.
Guess what...?
Warhammer Quest isn't one of them.
Friday, 17 June 2016
Review - Pie Face!
Published by Hasbro
Designed by the Spanish Inquisition
For 2 or more victims players aged 5 to adult
Pie Face! (complete with the exclamation point) isn't really a game. I mean, you play it, it's got rules, and there are winning conditions; but it doesn't really feel like a game.
If I was feeling generous I would call it an activity.
But honestly, it's just a torture device.
A torture device designed by The Three Stooges.
Kids love it though. Why wouldn't they? It involves squirty cream and slapstick humour. Playing it is like starring in your own episode of The Chuckle Brothers*. And yes, that is as bad as it sounds. Let me explain...
Sunday, 29 May 2016
Review - Family Fortunes
Published by Britannia Games
Designed by Britannia Games Limited
For 2 players or 2 teams, aged 8 to adult
Television was a big part of my life growing up.
I think, part of the reason is because my parents both worked incredibly hard. They bust a gut to make sure they could provide for their family, and when they finally got to have a moment of downtime, they invariably flaked in front of the television. British soap operas, like Eastenders, were a staple in our house; but really anything was fair game.
When I think back to my childhood, I don't tend to remember a lot of specific things; but I do remember particular feelings and emotions quite vividly, and a lot of those feelings are indelibly linked to television.
The jaunty intro to The Antiques Roadshow, even now, fills me with a deep sense of misery; because back in the day, that was the shot across the bow. It was the reminder that all I had to look forward to was half and hour of the dullest television ever created, followed by the mournful opening credits of Last of the Summer Wines, which ultimately meant bedtime, followed by Monday bastard morning, and another week of school predominantly comprising being bullied, feeling like I wasn't particularly good at anything, and being told to stop daydreaming.
I think that's why I don't really watch television anymore.
Don't get me wrong, I will binge-watch Daredevil or Game of Thrones with the best of them; but I never switch on the television just to watch any old crap that's on. And that's why I've never seen the newest incarnation of Family Fortunes (which American readers will know as Family Feud, I believe). Apparently the show is presented by Bolton's finest, Vernon Kaye, which has to be the best advertisement ever devised for switching off the television and going for a long walk.
But anyway...
Designed by Britannia Games Limited
For 2 players or 2 teams, aged 8 to adult
Television was a big part of my life growing up.
I think, part of the reason is because my parents both worked incredibly hard. They bust a gut to make sure they could provide for their family, and when they finally got to have a moment of downtime, they invariably flaked in front of the television. British soap operas, like Eastenders, were a staple in our house; but really anything was fair game.
When I think back to my childhood, I don't tend to remember a lot of specific things; but I do remember particular feelings and emotions quite vividly, and a lot of those feelings are indelibly linked to television.
The jaunty intro to The Antiques Roadshow, even now, fills me with a deep sense of misery; because back in the day, that was the shot across the bow. It was the reminder that all I had to look forward to was half and hour of the dullest television ever created, followed by the mournful opening credits of Last of the Summer Wines, which ultimately meant bedtime, followed by Monday bastard morning, and another week of school predominantly comprising being bullied, feeling like I wasn't particularly good at anything, and being told to stop daydreaming.
I think that's why I don't really watch television anymore.
Don't get me wrong, I will binge-watch Daredevil or Game of Thrones with the best of them; but I never switch on the television just to watch any old crap that's on. And that's why I've never seen the newest incarnation of Family Fortunes (which American readers will know as Family Feud, I believe). Apparently the show is presented by Bolton's finest, Vernon Kaye, which has to be the best advertisement ever devised for switching off the television and going for a long walk.
But anyway...
Wednesday, 25 May 2016
Review - Imperial Knights: Renegade
Published by Games Workshop
Designed by secretive grots in a dungeon somewhere
For 2 players, aged 14 to adult
How do you review Imperial Knights: Renegade?
It's not a rhetorical question. I genuinely don't know.
I don't even know where to start.
I mean, I'm not even sure how to describe the game.
The whole thing is a conundrum wrapped in an enigma wrapped in a contradiction wrapped in... er... shrink wrap, I guess.
The game is at once too expensive and excellent value; massive in scale yet ridiculously small in scope.
It is arguably one of Games Workshop's most exciting board game releases in the last few years, and unquestionably the dullest.
And what you think of it... what I think of it... is entirely down to perception.
Designed by secretive grots in a dungeon somewhere
For 2 players, aged 14 to adult
How do you review Imperial Knights: Renegade?
It's not a rhetorical question. I genuinely don't know.
I don't even know where to start.
I mean, I'm not even sure how to describe the game.
The whole thing is a conundrum wrapped in an enigma wrapped in a contradiction wrapped in... er... shrink wrap, I guess.
The game is at once too expensive and excellent value; massive in scale yet ridiculously small in scope.
It is arguably one of Games Workshop's most exciting board game releases in the last few years, and unquestionably the dullest.
And what you think of it... what I think of it... is entirely down to perception.
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