The board game (and board game-related!) news that caught our attention for the week ending June 1, 2018.
- Super slow week, guys. Sorry.
- Hasbro has applied the Stranger Things license to some of their perennial properties, beginning with Stranger Things Monopoly and Ouija: Stranger Things. Look for them now. Or look the other way. I guess this beats their Eggo game. Maybe.
- Betrayal at House on the Hill. The mention of this title almost always elicits a single complaint—those character cards with their awful trackers! WizKids has you covered with their upgrade kit. The character cards will have internal dials, be double-sided, and the kit will also include custom dice. Look for it this fall.
- Fantasy Flight released details about how combat will work in the new X-Wing Miniatures system. It’s actually pretty cool. Force powers!
- This week’s image features elements from Shaky Manor.
- If you remember playing Shadowrun Crossfire, you’ll be excited to learn that Catalyst has tweaked some of the gameplay and made the game easier to get into for new players. They’ve added a bit of new art, buffed the box out, and will be bringing it to you this month in a new box called Shadowrun Crossfire: Prime Runner Edition.
- Ash, our favorite chainsaw-manacled hero, has made his way to tabletop a few times before, with varying degrees of success. Dynamite Entertainment is bringing him to cardboard again with Army of Darkness: The Board Game. The game will be developed by the group behind the like-titled Buffy the Vampire Slayer: The Board Game. S-mart. No release date yet.
- Prowler’s Passage comes out next week. We reviewed the game this week and it seems pretty darn good.
- I’m teaching Game Design merit badge to a group of Boy Scouts tomorrow. It’s a well-researched badge and, if you are properly educated and motivated, I’d urge you to become a counselor and spread the word about playing games!
At GeekDad, we write a lot about tabletop games. Here’s what we’ve written about this past week:
- Simon Yule bravely explored Monsters of the Guild, a compendium of D&D monsters from an all-star cast of contributors.
- Over at GeekMom, Sophie Brown, checked out the Star Wars Destiny expansions, Legacies, and the fancy binders that FFG is offering for Destiny game storage.
- Sara Blackburn is way ahead of the game, celebrating Christmas Lights Card Game, a card-swapping-set-collector you should add to your holiday list.
- Jonathan Liu double-dipped this week. Starting with Fantastic Factories, a dice placement game that’s seeking funding on Kickstarter. Next, he looked at Shaky Manor, a crazy and clever dexterity game that you just have to see to believe.
- Ryan Hiller checked in from PaizoCon and seemed to be having an excellent time.
- Lastly, Logan Giannini went to ground to get a better look at Prowler’s Passage, a two-player racing game that he says is really good.
Finally, here’s what some of the GeekDad Crew has been playing this week:
- Jonathan Liu: BarBEARians, Tofu Kingdom, Blue Lagoon, Dungeon Time, Ghost Fightin’ Treasure Hunters, Mystic Vale: Vale of the Wild, Sailing Toward Osiris, Startropolis, Raccoon Tycoon, Shaky Manor
- Z.: Dungeons & Dragons fifth edition
- Sara Blackburn: Istanbul, Lanterns, Hey That’s My Fish!
- Samantha Fisher: Dungeons & Dragons fifth edition
- Dave Banks: Istanbul Dice, Senshi, Getaway Driver, Junk Orbit, In Vino Morte
