New HFC policy regarding Kickstarter campaigns & reviews

To all whom it may concern, please take a few minutes to learn about some changes regarding our support of Kickstarter campaigns and reviews based on sent in games by publishers/designers.

The HFC started as an accompanying website for a small gaming club, publishing reports of our activities and  game reviews in German. After the club fell apart, we changed the site first into a wargaming website, publishing news and reviews in English. Later, we changed it into what it is now – a gaming & history blog where we share our thoughts with the community about games we play (wargames and non-wargames), battlefields and museums we visit and what we think about stuff that happens in the gaming world.

We were happy to see that many readers like our site, we managed to reach even more gamers via Facebook, and even though these days more and more (board)game reviewers use Youtube as a platform for video reviews, it appears that some people still prefer written reviews.

The HFC is known (some say notorious) for long and very detailed reviews, giving the reader as much insight into a game as possible (including information on how the game works, the Sequence of Play etc. – something some people don’t like because they think these information can be found in the rulebook, but we don’t agree with that and consider the ” game engine” a main part of the game and therefore of the gaming experience – and a review is all about the game experience!), spicing it all up with some nice photos, so folks get a good basis to decide whether to buy the game or not. In order to write these reviews, we have to learn and play the games in question and we don’t write reviews based on only a few game sessions… so, all in all, it takes quite some time in total until a review is finally published.

We take our reviews very seriously and don’t write them until we got a solid impression and played a lot of games!

Over the years, we were happy to see that game companies and designers wanted us to publish reviews of their new games and they sent them in. For us it was no question that these games were put on the table before any other games we wanted to play, in order to bring the review online asap. The more readers we got, the more games we received in this manner and the less we were able to play the games we bought and had on our shelf waiting to be played.

Crowdfunding was an interesting idea, first used by video game designers and independent game publishers, and it is now a chosen platform for boardgame/wargame publishers as well. Wargaming is a niche hobby and many companies are rather small, so this is a good way for them to get the money needed for publishing games people want to play. If everything works out well, it’s a win-win situation for all involved. There’s always a certain risk that a game is not what the players thought it would be, but still it’s a great way to allow smaller companies to stay in business.

That was the reason why we supported Kickstarter campaigns, started by wargame companies, by advertising them on the HFC site, to let people know what is in the works and how they could help to make it happen that a certain game is actually published. Usually, the deal was to get a copy of a game at release, so we were able to see if the game we supported before it was even available, was any good and worth the money. Since we were very restrictive in whom we supported this way, it usually turned out to be a good game, so everything was fine. Except that we had even more games in the pipeline to play and review (we were not forced to review these games, because we got them in exchange for the support of the Kickstarter campaign that made it possible to publish it, but still… we thought we should bring these games on the table before any other games…).

Travelling to battlefields and historical sites is also an important part of our hobby

Today, more and more games are crowdfunded, it seems to have become the norm (at least with the smaller companies and these are the majority in the wargaming hobby), so in order to support these games, more and more announcements had to be written, because a new game was always trying to get crowdfunded, thus eventually landing on your gaming table.

And this is where we are now.

Since we are not satisfied with the current situation, we decided to change our policies for the future. The point is: we don’t want to turn the HFC website into a sort of “advertising blog” – and that’s an impression one might get if more and more of these crowdfunding campaigns are started – if they are from companies we trust, why not help them out with their new game, if we did help them with their last? So, again, a new announcement is online.

In addition to that, we see that Real Life (and two other blogs we run) lately got us under some real pressure, job, family, health problems, i.e. things that need attention before games do, so we got less and less time to play games and write reviews. And when we did, despite our tight time schedule, we thought the games in the “review copy pipeline” should come first. Eventually, we were stuck between all that.

We are “mood players” by heart, that means we watch a movie, or read a book, or visit a museum or historical site, and then are in the mood for a certain topic and then we play a game about this topic. That’s our motivation to play wargames or it used to be… we didn’t do this anymore, because we had no time left. So, we realized that the HFC had slowly turned into a kind of “job” we had to do because of the “review copy/Kickstarter campaign deal” instead of being a fun hobby project, where we tell others about the games we play and share our impressions.

So, in the end, we decided we had to change some things in order to clear the way for more content in the future and to get back in tune with the hobby character of our site!

This means, we won’t do any crowdfunding campaign ads anymore, not because we don’t trust the companies we supported in the past or wouldn’t wish them success, but because it begins to seriously change the character of our website. And to send in a game does not mean that we will automatically publish a review. We were not forced to do this, we know that, but we forced ourselves to do it.

We dedicated our sparse time to learn these games first, over other games we were interested in. We played them for a long time in order to give you a fair judgement, not a hasty review after only a few games, as some other reviewers do. Last but not least, we spent much time writing extensive reviews, pondering over each aspect of the game, so in the end, all our time we usually spent with wargaming and blogging about wargames, was consumed by review copies, while a ton of games we bought, sat on our shelf, watching us with sad eyes.

Learning and playing new games takes time… currently, we are enjoying WH40k conquest, where we just divided the factions among us

Lots of articles about other aspects of gaming, or about our travels to historical sites, were neglected because there was always a game waiting to be learned, played, and reviewed. Not that we didn’t enjoy this – most of the games we reviewed were really cool, some were even awesome. But this is about the freedom of choice what to play when and what to write, and we just don’t have enough time or manpower to play the games we buy or want to play at a given time, write articles about all kinds of wargaming-related topics, and learning, playing and reviewing “officially” sent in games – at least not in the quality and elaboratedness we expect from ourselves and which had become our trademark.

We want to be fair with you and share our thoughts about the decision – the wargaming community is small and gamers and publishers, designers and reviewers are in the same boat, because we all want to see these games and the hobby flourish.

What does this mean for you as a game publisher/designer?

If you think it would be cool if we write a review about your game – by all means, send it in! Chances are quite high that we are curious and will check it out… and if we like it, chances are even higher that we will publish an in-depth review – if we don’t like it at all and find serious flaws, chances are also quite high that we write a review… but a game sent in as a review copy does not guarantee you a published review! If you are ok with that, feel free to support us with a copy of the game you published/designed.

“HFC – back to the roots” means: Finally time for ASL again!

This way we hope to be able to bring some of the games on the table we wanted to play but didn’t have the time for, and that might be a new game-kid on the block or an oldie but goldie! So, future reviews will be based on what is landing on our gaming table and that can now again come either fresh from a publisher, or dusty from our shelf, depending on our mood and current interest in a given topic, era, or setting. You can also expect articles about other wargame-related stuff.

So you may rest assured that getting back into the “mood gaming” we started with (and which we deeply missed recently) and running the HFC as a hobby site – as a hobby, not a job -, will still bring you the reviews you like to read here 🙂

We just wanted to let you all know about our thoughts and hope you’ll be still with us as readers, friends and supporters.

Tiger Leader – new solitaire & coop WWII board game!

 

DVG has launched a new Kickstarter campaign to fund a new game in the well known and popular Leader series. The game was eagerly awaited by fans of the series and funded in the first 24 hours! So the Tiger engine is already running full speed, but there is still time left for you to back it up to get even more convenient map tiles and other improvements that will be announced as new stretch goals for this campaign soon. By backing the game you may opt for the base game or for the game including 136 miniatures to add to your gaming experience!

Tiger Leader being the latest game in the Leader series is therefore based on an extremely polished and great working game system fans know from Hornet Leader, Phantom Leader, Thunderbolt-Apache Leader and U-Boat Leader. Check out the links to our reviews to see what we mean, these games are great for experienced wargamers and new players alike.

Campaigns take about 30 minutes to set-up, and each battle can be resolved in 15 to 30 minutes, game play time total is usually depending on your own style, which is one of the advantages of true solitaire games –  you can play whenever you have time, at your pace. But what makes the Leader games so special and what we always stress as one of the aspects that make them so outstanding is the fact you can bring a friend to the table and play cooperatively! Sit down, divide up your forces and plan with your fellow commander how to get the job of the mission done 🙂

Tiger Leader includes dozens of German vehicles and infantry types and includes 5 Allied Nations that you battle against: Poland, France, United Kingdom, Russia, and USA. The battlefield units for each nation have unique stats that reflect that nation’s combat capabilities. The game is played on a map that allows for always changing terrain and combat situations keeping the experience fresh and the replay value high.

Components announced so far:

240 Full Color Cards

2 Full Color Counter Sheets

3 Full Color Sheets of MOUNTED Terrain Hexes 

22” x 17” Full Color MOUNTED Tactical Sheet

11″ x 17″ Full Color Head Quarters Sheet

1 10-sided die

To back up the game, get more detailed information and to see a funny video explaining the game to you go to the official Kickstarter site –> HERE

As always with DVG games, you can expect high quality stuff inside the box reminding us of the famous quote by Heinz Guderian….

Nicht Kleckern, sondern Klotzen!

 

 

Victory in Europe by Columbia Games funded!

Columbia Games has a new game in the pipeline called Victory in Europe and the Kickstarter Campaign has already reached the goal to fund the game. Now in the remaining days left you may still help to reach the stretch goals of the campaign to make the game even more interesting to play!

Victory in Europe is a strategic block wargame of World War II for 2 or 3 players that captures the entire war in Europe in a fast-paced experience. The game begins in late 1939 and ends up to six years later. Game time is 3-5 hours. Basically designed as a two player game there’s also the option to have the Soviets to be commanded by a third player. The game is card driven with the Allies and Axis each having their own deck and the possible actions are based on the different functions of the cards in play. Cards depict historical events or give a more general advantage in terms of maneuver. The game is designed with a historical flow of the war in mind but allows for new twists and turns based on the players decisions. To get an impression you can check out the rules synopsis here!

Some may question the need for another WW2 strategic level wargame since so many are already available that portray this gigantic struggle from different perspectives but most if not all of these games are quite lenghty when it comes to playing time and often use a lot of tablespace. So many players are still waiting for a historically accurate wargame on the strategic level that plays the whole ETO scenario in a couple of hours…Victory in Europe might be this game we are all waiting for! If you think that this game could be for you support the stretch goals on the official Kickstarter website!

As always Columbia Games products come with a money-back 30 day guarantee, that means if you don’t like the game just send it back to them and you’ll get a full refund so there’s no risk for you to back them!

Designer Notes by Ron Draker

I have always enjoyed grand strategy games on WW II in Europe and spent many hours of my youth playing “Third Reich” and “Advanced Third Reich.” Some of you may remember SPI’s monster game on WW II with division-level units and spiral production charts. Oh those were the days when we had weekends to play. Now, however, I find I do not have the time or patience to learn 30 or 50 pages of rules with hundreds of exceptions. I prefer a game I can play in a long evening with minimal time looking up rules. I started thinking about designing my own WW II game back in 2002 and then learned that “Europe Engulfed” was in development.

Having discovered and fallen in love Columbia’s block games in the 1990s, I shelved my idea thinking there was no need since a playable block game was in development. When Europe Engulfed came out my friends and I played it practically non-stop and I still love the game, but I felt I still would like to see a game with less playing time and fewer exceptional rules. My goal was to take the things I liked most from Third Reich, EE, and other great WW II games and blend them into something new.

I started in earnest around 2005 and found my first design, while using fewer units, was still a monster game. I started with hexes, then went to areas, and then back to hexes. I had abstract concepts for managing the air war off map and intricate spiral production charts that would put SPI to shame, but the more cool things I thought I wanted in the game the longer the playing time became.

Through much trial and error and literally dozens of game mechanics and different maps, I feel I have finally succeeded in designing an enjoyable game that is playable in a long evening thanks to the help of Tom and Grant Dalgliesh at Columbia Games. To accomplish this goal of course, much of the chrome originally envisioned has fallen by the wayside. These are the trade-offs for the Holy Grail of a WW II grand strategy game playable in one sitting.

Setting the right victory conditions to make the game challenging for both sides is one of the harder aspects of designing a game. I decided to make conquest of Britain or the Soviet Union a game-ender to give the Axis player an incentive to go for the big win but there are many paths to victory. I hope you find the choices made acceptable and enjoy the game. 

The map is of a unique oval design

 

WARFIGHTER Kickstarter project now live!

Warfighter – The Tactical Special Forces Card Game

We love cooperative games and wargames on the topic of Modern Warfare,  so we started to listen attentively when DVG announced a new game that would combine both aspects! It will be published if the Kickstarter project that was going online today is raising enough funds and the HFC wants to encourage you to support this game. There are not that many cooperative wargames around or wargames on the topic of modern warfare and since we know the quality of the game designs by Dan Verssen especially when it comes to games you can play coop with a friend we are sure this one will not disappoint. You get to equip your soldiers, deploy for a mission, fight your way through a hostile city, and take out your objective. If you like fast-paced card games, co-op play, modern tactical military combat, and want a chance to use M16s, M4s, LAW Rockets, Grenades, call in mortar strikes, and perform sniper kills, this is the game you should support with your bucks!

Command the world’s best Special Forces operators and complete vital assault missions around the world!

Warfighter is a card game for 1 to 6 players.

You play cooperatively with your friends against the system to complete present day squad-level combat missions.

At the start of each mission, you each select a soldier, equip him/her with skills, weapons, and combat gear within the mission’s Resource limit.

You then fight your way through hostile territory, engaging hostiles, as you attempt to reach and complete your mission objective.

Every mission is a stand-alone game. You build your Soldiers, select your Gear, and then run your mission. Within 30 to 60 minutes you will have succeeded or failed.

Warfighter uses a new combat system that takes into account the fire mode you select for your weapon, range, running out of ammo, suppression, and cover – all in the same dice roll! This system creates an incredibly deep narrative with every attack.

As you eliminate hostiles, you gain experience to Upgun your Action cards.

Very easy to learn!

Plays in 30 to 60 minutes!

1 to 6 players!

No special rules needed for solitaire play!

Awesome new combat system!

Access to modern tactics, weapons, and equipment!

What’s in the game box?

168 Full Color Playing Cards 

– Soldier Cards

– Mission Cards

– Objective Cards

– Action Cards

– Location Cards

– Weapon Cards

– Equipment Cards

– Hostile Cards

 1 Full Sheet of Full Color Counters

– Ammo Counters for different Weapons

– Bandage Counters

– Wound Counters

– Kill Counters

– Grenade and Rocket Counters

– Suppression Counters

– Experience Counters

3x 10-sided Dice

1x 6-sided die

1x Rulebooklet

                                                                                                                           

 

To check out additional information about the expansions that are planned for this new game system, about possibilities to get your personal soldier card in the game, to watch the promotional video and to make this game a reality go to the Warfighter Kickstarter website.

Bobby Lee (CG) Third Edition on Kickstarter!

Columbia Games has started a new Kickstarter Campaign to bring out a new version of the well known game Bobby Lee.

It will be an updated version, with a larger map, a larger scale, extra blocks and much more. Funding period is Oct 7, 2013 – Nov 11, 2013 (35 days), goal is 20.000 USD, about 8000 USD already in, so be part of the backers and get your Third Edition game asap on the gaming table 🙂

As usual CG makes you a no risk offer, support the game via Kickstarter or buy it after the funding period when ‘normally’ available –  you will get a 30 day full refund of the game if you don’t like it! 

>>>>> To support the Kickstarter Campaign for Bobby Lee click here!<<<<<

150 years ago a civil war raged in America, an epic clash between  northern and southern states that cost 650,000 lives. It began in 1861 and ended in 1865 with defeat for the Confederate States of America.

Bobby Lee brings to life this dramatic event in American military history. The game covers the war in the east, focusing on the one hundred miles between the two rival capitals of Washington and Richmond. For four years, the Confederate Army of Northern Virginia, commanded by the incomparable Robert E. Lee (known as Bobby Lee to his soldiers) defended these few bloody miles against overwhelming Union strength in men and supply.

The eastern theater saw the campaigns and battles of First Bull Run, Shenandoah Valley, Peninsula, Second Bull Run, Antietam, Fredericksburg, Chancellorsville, Gettysburg, Wilderness, Petersburg, and Appomattox. You can re-stage all of these battles and campaigns, or devise your own “war-winning” strategies.

Players maneuver their armies on a map of the Eastern Theater. When enemy armies clash in the same location, a battle is fought. Battles are resolved on tactical boards where clever tactical maneuvers allow skilled players to defeat larger armies.

Bobby Lee is designed to be played again and again.  This game will give you and your friends dozens of hours of entertainment, and real insight into the American Civil War.

PLAYERS: Two, Ages 12+
Play Time: 2-3 hours per scenario

What you get in the box

• Full color, deluxe mapboard that is 130% larger (25” x 33”) than the original. The portion of the map shown below is at the new larger scale. There is ample room to fit 10 blocks in a hex.

• 90 Hardwood blocks, blue & gray. The Order of Battle is similar to that found in earlier editions, but includes six (6) extra blocks and the former NATO symbols have been replaced with period crossed muskets, sabres, and gun barrels. Below you can see, left to right, a USA Headquarters and Cavalry, and CSA Infantry and Artillery.

• 2 color copies of the rules. Five scenarios are included, one covering the entire war in the east, 1861-65, and one for each year 1861, 1862, 1863, and 1864 that can be played separately or linked together. The third edition rules are a blend of previous 1st and 2nd edition rules.

• Two larger, thicker tactical battle maps. Battles fought on these maps are similar to those found in Napoléon, but have rules to reflect American Civil War battle tactics.

• Four quality dice (2 blue & 2 gray).

The Cards of Cthulhu – support a new DVG title!

I must warn you about a threat to our world.

Long before mankind roamed this earth, there lived great and terrible beings. Even a single of these ancient beasts held the power to enslave or even destroy the world. When they entered a state of hibernation, humanity was allowed to prosper.

Even now however, their power infects mankind.

Weak-minded men have fallen under their control and formed Cults dedicated to each Elder God’s revival.

You must prevent them from succeeding or the world will be lost.

– Walter P Matherson

Dan Verssen Games, the company known for their high quality wargames and especially great Solitaire and Coop games has a new cool game title in the pipeline – The Cards of Cthulhu by Ian Richard

A game that pits you against the forces of The Great Cthulhu and other Elder Gods. You will battle Cultists, slay Minions, banish Horrors, seal the Gates, and protect our world from the enveloping insanity that threatens to consume us all! Easy to get into and playable in 30 to 45 minutes for solo games, or 60 to 90 minutes for multiplayer games.

What you get in the box:

Cards – Each card is a work of art, literally. Cloud Quinot created these masterful pieces of horror art and we are very pleased to have been able to work with him. The cards will be printed on extra thick card stock to stand up to the wear of tear of many battles.

8 – Investigator cards
8 – Follower cards
10 – Item cards
8 – Cult Gate cards
4 – Minor Horror cards
4 – Major Horror cards
4 – Unspeakable Horror cards
60 – Minion cards

7 CUSTOM CTHULHU DICE – These are your Health, Body, or Spirit dice. You’ll roll these to resolve your attacks on the foes plotting your destruction.

4 CULT BOARDS – More amazing artwork! Each of these 8.5″ x 11″ sheets features a piece of Cloud Quinot artwork of an Elder God. These sheets are vital in organizing the cards for each Cult.

3 METAL CUSTOM CTHULHU COINS! – Use these to track the Experience Investigator earn from battling Cthulhu’s Otherworldly Foes!

1 RULEBOOK

As you can see  the art is stunning and you can read the complete rulebook before deciding to back this project. If you find something unclear in the rules, send your questions to DVG and the designer will see to make points clearer – so this is a game where you know you get the rules you expect before you open the box instead of having errata and clarifications published later! The game is ready to go to the printers as soon as funding is complete, so here’s your chance to get a nice backer bonus like your name on a card or just to get the game first (since backer copies are sent out first).

We wish DVG  all the best in their new project and hope to see this game on everybody’s gaming table soon 🙂

If you want to play this game go to the Cards of Cthulhu Kickstarter website now!

Update:   Due to the great support of the backers the game now includes custom coins, mounted boards, and custom dice!

Go here and watch the Set Up video!

 

 

Battle for Stalingrad – new DVG game announced

Dan Verssen Games (DVG) is known for regularly publishing a lot of quality (war)games and so it’s no surprise to see this announcement for a new game. It’s a card based wargame about the Battle of Stalingrad and seems to deal with sector control and getting supply/rations by doing so to keep the fight going. Nothing is mentioned yet about the actual scale but tactical or squad level is probably to be expected in this portrayal of the brutal house to house and street fighting this famous battle of WWII is known for.

If you like what the official announcement below is telling you, head over to the Kickstarter website to support this project and hopefully we’ll see another winner on our gaming table soon.

More info about the game, with pictures of the cards can be found here and you can also take a look at the rules draft already.

 

One of the most brutal events of the Second World War, the Battle of Stalingrad has long been regarded as a turning point in the fight against Hitler’s forces. The Fuhrer had ordered that Stalingrad be taken in a bid to crush the morale of the Soviet Union by giving the Germans a springboard to potentially seize control of the East. Supported by Luftwaffe bombing, the city was quickly reduced to rubble and hundreds of thousands were killed in the later months of 1942. Yet, despite staring into the face of defeat, the Red Army dug in and pushed back, eventually cracking the Nazi forces amidst the one of the bleakest winters on record. 

Now you can experience it for yourself in Battle for Stalingrad from DVG. Two players face off against each other, one taking control of the German Army, the other commanding the Russian forces, in a bid to either maintain or rewrite this momentous period of history. Using an intuitive card-driven game system that is quick to pick up yet offers an incredible depth of play, Battle for Stalingrad sees you and your opponent fight block by block through the rubble-strewn streets, struggling to keep your troops going as morale and supplies grow ever more scarce… As the battle draws to a close, you’ll be running low on everything – especially willing soldiers – leaving you to consider whether victory is worth such a high price…

The goal of the game is simple: gain control of five locations within the city of Stalingrad. At the start of each game these locations are randomly selected from a set of nine, adding variety every time you play. Locations contain a Control area and a Perimeter area for each player; if you have forces in your Control area when the enemy does not, the location is yours.

Commanders must balance their plays carefully by gaining control of locations while preserving their forces, managing their cards and spending ration counters – possibly one of the most vital aspects of the game. Rations are gained by controlling locations. They are necessary if you wish to move and attack, and are also used by forces to absorb battle damage. Players must decide when to spend cards, when to discard rations, and when to let a force get destroyed. There are always casualties in war.

The game is built around combat, with every action card having a Firefight value in the top-right corner ranging from -3 to +3. Cards can be played from your hand to build up your attack or decrease the enemy’s strength, and players draw Firefight cards back and forth. Once both players pass in succession, they each flip one last card from their decks as a randomizer, finally allocating damage to each other’s forces.

Throughout the game, the Russian player is also trying to get three Operation Uranus cards into play; if all three are still in play at the end of the German player’s turn, victory immediately goes to the Red Army.

Review: Rise of the Zombies – The Zombie Apocalypse Survival Game (DVG)

Game: Rise of the Zombies – The Zombie Apocalypse Survival Game 

Publisher: Dan Verssen Games (DVG)
Published in: 2013
Designer: Dan Verssen

Topic: Surviving in a  Zombie Apocalypse
Game Type: Cooperative-Competitive Card Game
Contents: 168 Game Cards, two 6-sided dice, 8 Plastic Stands for Survivor Characters, 1 Sheet of Counters, 1 Digital Timer, 1 Rulebook

Number of Players: 1-8

HFC Game-O-Meter: E 

---

Our Rating (1-10):

Graphic Presentation: 8
Rules: 8
Playability: 9
Replay Value: 9

Overall Rating: 8.5

PRO

Easy game mechanics, fast to learn, good written rules, lots of decisions, very thematic, good simulation, high replay value because it is difficult to win, cooperative, quality components (cards, rule book, box)…

CONTRA

…but some of the components are less convincing (counters hard to read because of the chosen font which sometimes looks too cramped; plastic stands are ugly and don’t hold the counters in place too well; the timer looks a bit cheap and battery sometimes detaches from the electrical contacts so it stops working), no player aid, for some players the extremely unforgiving nature of the game may lead to frustration.

________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Introduction

Zombies on the table!

There are so many Zombie games available on the market that it didn’t really awake my interest when Dan Verssen Games announced Rise of the Zombies, their new game funded by Kickstarter. We own several Zombie themed games and all of them are fun to play once in a while, but there was no reason to believe that a new game would actually bring some new game experiences to the table, so this game was not really on our radar. Then a review copy of the game arrived out of the blue and we did what we always do when a publisher sends us a new game – we quit playing the games we were currently playing for fun, took Rise of the Zombies into the HFC Test Lab and started our test sessions. 

So, what is the game about? It’s the usual setting you would expect from a Zombie game: the players are survivors in a world which was overrun by Zombies, no one knows what and why it happened, the world is just a looting ground and life is reduced to a constant run from a safe house to a new shelter, while trying to survive the walking dead. Actually, the rule book draws you into the story right away by letting you read a letter written by a certain “Gordon”:

The Howler is very dangerous because she attracts more zombies

“If you can read these words, there is still hope. On these sketch cards you will find my recounting of The Last Days of our World. Did it start in the water? The food? As a bio weapon? I never found out. 

I was touring Washington D.C. when the President declared a National Emergency and the Army barricaded the streets. Trapped in my hotel room, I watched Apache helicopters firing wave after wave of rockets into the shambling masses surging up Pennsylvania Avenue. I sketched what I witnessed on the cards you are holding now. For two days, the helicopters came, and my towering hotel shuddered from the ever approaching blasts. The third day was the worst. I awoke from a troubled sleep to silence.

Just before dusk of the fourth day, flames engulfed the White House. It burned throughout the night. At dawn, our flag over the White House had fallen. I raided the hotel’s kitchen for food and supplies and began my trek out of the city. For six days, I slept in sewers, slunk down alleys, and peered out of garbage dumpsters, sketching deep into the night to preserve my sanity. Seeing was never a problem. Something was always on fire. They were everywhere. Swarming. Searching with mindless eyes and rending flesh with outstretched hands. They never slept. They never stopped feeding. They mindlessly stalked the living. That’s all they did. 

I met other survivors along the way, but they each fell to the mindless hoards through carelessness or misplaced courage. On the seventh day, I found this house. I call it my Safe House. It was fortified with boarded windows and barbed-wire around the front yard. I met the guy who did the work. He was a construction worker before things went bad. There are more of them every day, and it is dangerous to sneak out for food. I don’t know how much longer I can stay here. I saw an Army helicopter circling the park on the other side of town yesterday. If I see another one, I’m making a run for it. I asked the construction worker if he wanted to come with me, but he said he’d stay here for a while and wait for the Army. I wish him well.

I’m leaving my sketches behind as a sign of hope. All is not lost. We will survive”

-Gordon

This letter explains the situation at the beginning of the game because the players start in the mentioned safe house, and since it’s not really safe there anymore, they will have to follow Gordon, who left the house to make a run for the rescue helicopter he saw.  This story introduction also gives the background for a very distinctive art style that is used in the presentation of the game: it’s a card game and all cards are sketches, pencil drawings that look interesting and fresh, and that’s what Gordon left behind to give other survivors some hope. It’s a nice touch, a great introduction for such a game and it did awake our interest and we wanted to know more…

Napoleon: The Waterloo Campaign 1815 4th edition – fund the game you love!

Napoleon: The Waterloo Campaign 1815 (published in 1974) was one of the early block games and it went through three editions. Since the 3rd ed. published by Columbia Games is from 1993 and the 200th anniversary of Waterloo occurs in June 2015, Columbia Games has decided to produce a new 4th edition of this great game.

Napoléon is a strategy game for two or three players that simulates the Waterloo Campaign. The time is June 15th, 1815. A French army commanded by the great Napoléon is ready to invade the Southern Nederlands (now Belgium) where two Allied armies, one Anglo-Dutch led by the Duke of Wellington, and one Prussian led by Marshal Blücher, are gathering strength to invade France. The French are concentrated and have the early advantage, but the Allies, if they can unite, are stronger.

Napoléon was first published in 1974 by Gamma Two Games, a Canadian company located in Vancouver, B.C. That edition sold out twice. In 1977, the game was licensed to Avalon-Hill of Baltimore, and they produced a 2nd edition. Later, after Avalon-Hill had gone to wargame heaven, Columbia Games published a 3rd edition. This too had several printings and recently sold out once more.
Napoléon is an elegant simulation of one of history’s greatest military campaigns. It has always been a fun, addictive game that you will want to play over and over.

To produce this new edition of the classic game, recently a Kickstarter project was initiated and if you want to get a deluxe version of the game you should consider supporting it via the Kickstarter fund, just click on the link below.

>>>>>> Napoleon by Columbia Games on Kickstarter

The 4th edition of Napoléon will contain the following upgrades from previous editions:

Deluxe Mounted Mapboard, 22″ x 25″.
Large 24mm hardwood blocks.

Two color copies of the rules per game. Both copies will be signed and numbered.
Larger tactical maps.

Two color Order of Battle Charts. The Order of Battle is similar to that found in the first edition. 8 quality dice (4 red and 4 blue).

IMPORTANT: most upgrades are for the Kickstarter version only. Copies of the game produced for later sale will not have the deluxe mounted map, signed extra rules, or extra dice.

The (beta) rule book is available here and feedback is welcome, so now is the time to let the designers know what you think 🙂

Please support a new five-star edition of this timeless classic, the game deserves it!

Rise of the Zombies – Now available from DVG!

“Rise of the Zombies – The Zombie Apocalypse Survival Game” – a new release from Dan Verssen Games (DVG) funded with Kickstarter is now available! It’s a coop game, playable solitaire or with up to 7 other players who try to survive the Zombie Apocalypse and reach the helicopter that brings them all to safety. It’s played in real time – that’s why the game comes with a timer – how cool is that? 🙂 – and the Zombies are controlled by the game system. Play together, stay together, or go and be a lone wolf trying to survive on your own…

Zombie Hunters can now add a cool dude to their game – go and look for Zombie Santa, perhaps he’s got some nice gifts for you 😉

The new card is free to download and can be downloaded here.

Since DVG sent us a review copy of the game (Thanks Dan!), which arrived yesterday, RotZ now enters the HFC test lab, so this first unboxing pic is only the beginning – stay tuned for the in-depth HFC review. Is this Zombie game fun like a Romero movie, or is it rotten as Zombie flesh? We’ll play the game and let you know 🙂