Lil' Cthulhu

Yeehaw!
Get on there, little dogie! Hup! Hup!
Hey there, pardners, it's time once more for a Review Roundup.
So let's get this rodeo on the road!

Today we have: Super Dungeon Explore: Forgotten King, Mage Knight, Lil' Cthulhu, Fleet Wharfside, Patchwork App, Techno Bowl, Rubicon's Opel Blitz, Arena Rex, Black Hat, Captain's Wager, T.I.M.E Stories: A Prophecy of Dragons, Quadropolis, Orphan Black, City of Spies, and Empires: Age of Discovery.



Toucan Play That Game:

Super Dungeon Explore: Forgotten King Review

In this video you can find out my final thoughts on Super Dungeon Explore: Forgotten King.

Mage Knight Review

In this video you can find out my final thoughts on Mage Knight.

Geek Dad:

Lil' Cthulhu Review

Li’l Cthulhu is a press-your-luck game for 2 to 5 players, ages 6 and up, and takes about 30 minutes to play. It is currently seeking funding on Kickstarter, with a $25 pledge for a copy of the game (or $30 for the game plus a bonus expansion). Note to parents: although the game is about Lovecraftian horrors, it’s all done in a funny, cute way, so there’s nothing too terrifying for younger players. Except Li’l Cthulhu’s diaper. I don’t even want to think about that.

Play Board Games:

Fleet Wharfside Review

Fleet Wharfside is a card game of hand management and set collection. You must collect fish, complete contracts to score VPs and win.

Patchwork App Review

Patchwork is a tile-laying and resource management game with a quilting theme. The digital port does a good job of representing the physical game.

Fortress AT:

Techno Bowl - A Game I Didn't Think I Needed

A look at the upcoming Techno Bowl from Bombshell Games.

Brent Spivey at the moment is an unknown name in the board game world. He's designed several excellent miniature game rule-sets including Havoc: Tactical Miniature Warfare, The Battlefield, and Rogue Planet. When I heard he was entering the board game world my eyebrows arched skyward like my 75 pound horse of a dog hearing the word "walk". When I discovered it was an 8-bit American Football game I was left dumbfounded, like my 75 pound horse of a dog trying to apply the Pythagorean Theorem to an obtuse triangle.

Battle Brush Studios:

Rubicon's Opel Blitz Review

In this first of a series of reviews of Rubicon Models' 28mm (1/56th scale) World War 2 plastic vehicles kits, I take a look at the ubiquitous Opel Blitz truck.

As always this in-depth review contains large sprue pictures, the historical background, my experiences building and painting the model followed by a summary of my opinions on the kit.

Shut Up & Sit Down:

Arena Rex Review

I've spent the last few months working those pectorals and drenching myself in olive oil. Why? So that I can now sit shirtless at my computer for a proper review of Arena Rex.

But what IS Arena Rex? It's an excellent miniatures game of gladiator combat in a semi-mythological classical world, where your tiny team of just 3-5 fighters square off with their foes in a battle TO THE DEATH! Or, at least, to the filling of the last wound box and the removing of the little resin figure.

iSlaytheDragon:

Go Phish (A Review of Black Hat)

Black Hat pits players against each other as hackers infiltrating a network, hopefully without leaving a trace of their transgressions. With a hand of cards essentially representing your hacking skills, you and others vie to win tricks in order to root into the network’s path laid out along the board. Spaces represent accounts, assets and cyber traps worth varying points, so some are better than others. While there is a final critical asset space triggering the endgame, its occupant doesn’t always signify the winner. Instead, whoever leaves the least evidence of their presence by occupying low-key spots and dumping high skill hacking cards will prove the ultimate black hat.

Board Game Quest:

Captain's Wager Review

I used to really enjoy playing card games of chance like Poker. There was no better feeling when you won the pot with a great hand or bluff. It’s harder now to find the time to get friends together to play given everyone’s schedules and “adult” responsibilities. So when I was offered the chance to play and review, Captain’s Wager, a hand management card game of chance from Grey Fox Games, I pounced on it. Does Captain’s Wager stand up to other games from my past or should you pass? Read on!

Captain’s Wager is a hand management card game for 2-5 players and plays between 25–30 minutes. Captain’s Wager plays best with 4-5 players.

Polyhedron Collider:

T.I.M.E Stories: A Prophecy of Dragons Review

A Prophecy of Dragons is the second expansion, and therefore third adventure module for T.I.M.E Stories, and while T.I.M.E Stories remains one of my favourite games of 2015 and one of the best cooperative game experiences to date, A Prophecy of Dragons is by far the worst adventure for the system and its approach to rules and story threaten to undo all the great work accomplished by Asylum and The Marcy Case.

I will try and keep this review as spoiler free as possible; however some mild spoilers will come out in the discussion.

Drive Thru Review:

Quadropolis Review

Quadropolis Review

Intro (00:00); game overview (01:12); final thoughts and review (10:25)

Orphan Black Review

Orphan Black: The Card Game Review

Intro (00:00); game overview (01:36); final thoughts and review (11:30)

City of Spies: Estoril 1942 Review

City of Spies: Estoril 1942 Review

Intro (00:00); game overview (01:06); final thoughts and review (13:36)

Empires: Age of Discovery Review

Empires: Age of Discovery Review

Intro (00:00); game overview (01:31); final thoughts and review (20:16)

We're making it, people! We're making it! We've just about made it to the weekend. Some of you reading this who are to the East of me have already made it there. Those of us here in the last couple time zones just have a couple hours more to hold out and we'll be there, too. Hooray! Fun with time zones!

In order to make sure we've got enough energy, let's fill up on some bite-sized gaming stories, shall we?

Today we have: Lil' Cthulhu Kickstarter Reaches 70% Completion, New WW2 releases from Company B at Cold Wars, Shades of Vengeance Launches Free Rulebook Primer, Hitech Miniatures Releases Commander Cassandra mini, New Sons of Thor Torsos Available From Kromlech, Oddzial Osmy’s 3mm and 15mm February/March Releases Arrive at PicoArmor, and Brigade Models Rerelease Tolero Figures.



Lil' Cthulhu Kickstarter Reaches 70% Completion

De-Evolution Studios is proud to announce that at the midway point of its Kickstarter campaign, Lil' Cthulhu has already raised more than $16,700 in funding. Lil' Cthulhu is the hell-spawn of the elder god Cthulhu. This "child" is so evil that he is causing his own father to go insane. He needs a babysitter. That's where the players come in. At this point in its short campaign, top reviewers have had extremely favorable things to say about it: "I've played Li'l Cthulhu with adult gamers and my kids, and it's a light but fun game that I think Cthulhu
fans will particularly enjoy." - Jonathan H. Liu, GeekDad
"The game has those wonderful 'gotcha' moments!" - UndeadViking, Youtube personality
Lil' Cthulhu is a quirky, fast-paced card game in which players, acting as "Cultists of Cthulhu," take turns trying to calm the creature with demonic toys - but they back-stab each other in the process in a mad dash to keep Lil' Cthulhu happy… before eventually going insane.
The goal is to be the first cultist to either calm Lil' Cthulhu with the toys he is demanding or be the last sane cultist standing - whichever comes first. Like any proper eldritch horror story, you cannot truly win. You're just trying to survive for as long as possible!

New WW2 releases from Company B at Cold Wars

Company B will be at Cold Wars March 18-20 2016! Please come by Brigade Games and say 'hello'.

Newly Released 1:56 accessories at the Convention

Sherman Bulldozer Blade Kit
Jerry Cans, German and U.S. (packs of nine)
Hedgerow Cutters (packs of two)

Shades of Vengeance Launches Free Rulebook Primer

Only 7 days. That's how long before British roleplaying game company Shades of Vengeance launches its newest Kickstarter project, after successfully completing all previous Kickstarter campaigns. This time, the Era game system, which has gotten rave reviews, is used to breathe life into - and add drama to - a setting in which the future of humanity looks bleak indeed. Contagion has spread worldwide, infecting most survivors, making them sick first and mutating them in later stages of the disease.

Era: Survival is not your ordinary zombie setting. Neither is it a typical postapocalyptic world. In Era: Survival, mankind has scattered, but survivors have formed many different – and oftentimes competing – factions. Tensions run high, treachery is always around the corner, schemes are being hatched and bizarre religions have gotten a grip on many who are left.

To celebrate the Kickstarter launch, Shades of Vengeance has now made the quick start rules for the very first Era game it released, Era: The Consortium, available to download for free. This way, gamers can already familiarise themselves with the rules, which are compatible with Survival. Featuring an easy-to-learn but involved and innovative system, The Consortium spans 500 years of future history, focusing on the descendants of human colonists who lost much of their memories after crash-landing for reasons unknown to the general populace. The biggest megacorporations are at constant odds with the Senate, which itself was formed out of the 200 largest corporations founded after the crash.

During the past 5 centuries, humanity made contact – and often warred with – several alien species that now coexist with the humans… at least nominally. Players can take the role of an aquatic Eulutian, an insectoid Ximian or a Vilithii - a race of sentient plants. Many of these alien beings have their own secret agenda and schemes. With an entire homeworld wiped out secretly during a covert operation led by two of the most influential corporations, tensions are sure to rise and distrust is running rampant.

Hitech Miniatures Releases Commander Cassandra mini

Congregation Of Nuns
Commander "Cassandra"
Multipart (5 pieces) 28mm scale miniature represents "Cassandra" - Egzekuthor armor, female SF warrior
This is high quality , resin miniature which comes unpainted and require assembly.
Feet to the eyeline dimension 32mm
1) Body 2) Left arm with sword 3) Right arm with gun 4) torch 5) Base
40mm SCENIC BASE INCLUDED

New Sons of Thor Torsos Available From Kromlech

Valhöll awaits those worthy of enter
brave and strong are the sons
on the Thunresdæg come
to conquer to fight endless war
in the heat of battle test your courage
shed blood, Valhöll awaits
all praise Þórr all praise Alföðr

Today we have a new addition to our Sons Of Thor range:
Sons of Thor Torsos

Oddzial Osmy’s 3mm and 15mm February/March Releases Arrive at PicoArmor

PicoArmor (Oddzial Osmy’s exclusive North American distributor) is pleased to announce that Oddzial Osmy’s new releases are now in stock.

IS-622 Achzarit (15 pcs) - heavy APC based on T-55 tank chassis
UK-640 Hunter F.6 (8 pcs) - British jet fighter
FR-628 Rafale M (8 pcs) - French navy multirole fighter
FR-629 Crotale (10+5 pcs) - low-altitude SAM system on P4R vehicle
CH-629 J-20 (6 pcs) - Chinese stealth fighter (prototype)

WUS-658 LVT(A)-4 (15 pcs) - 75mm howitzer armed Amtrack

PSF-631 Cunningham MBT (15 pcs) - railgun armed, tracked tank with unmanned turret

CW-1504 Polish CW Infantry w/SA7B Grail (6 pcs) - Infantry with SA-7B (Strela-2M) MANPADS in two poses.

Brigade Models Rerelease Tolero Figures

Natives of the fourth planet of the Eta Odin system, the Tolero are primitive but intelligent creatures who outwardly resemble terrestrial bears. More than one anthropologist has been taken in by their cute and cuddly appearance but received a nasty surprise from the pointy end of a Tolero spear !

Armed with the afore-mentioned spears and short bows, the Tolero are hunters that roam the plains and prairies of their homeworld, stalking the docile Shomix quadripeds for food. Some ride on fearsome Thaeyax steeds, a vicious flightless avian similar to an Emu and nicknamed ‘Terror Birds’ by the first research teams to visit Eta Odin IV.

SF15-051 – Tolero with Spears (x8) – £2.75
SF15-052 – Tolero with Bows (x8) – £2.75
SF15-056 – Tolero Cavalry with Spears (x6) – £3.50
SF15-057 – Tolero Cavalry with Bows (x6) – £3.50

Those in the know will recognise the Tolero as being another part of the former ArmiesArmy range that we’ve finally got round to re-releasing.

We're making it, people! We're making it! We've just about made it to the weekend. Some of you reading this who are to the East of me have already made it there. Those of us here in the last couple time zones just have a couple hours more to hold out and we'll be there, too. Hooray! Fun with time zones!

In order to make sure we've got enough energy, let's fill up on some bite-sized gaming stories, shall we?

Today we have: Lil' Cthulhu Kickstarter Reaches 70% Completion, New WW2 releases from Company B at Cold Wars, Shades of Vengeance Launches Free Rulebook Primer, Hitech Miniatures Releases Commander Cassandra mini, New Sons of Thor Torsos Available From Kromlech, Oddzial Osmy’s 3mm and 15mm February/March Releases Arrive at PicoArmor, and Brigade Models Rerelease Tolero Figures.



Lil' Cthulhu Kickstarter Reaches 70% Completion

De-Evolution Studios is proud to announce that at the midway point of its Kickstarter campaign, Lil' Cthulhu has already raised more than $16,700 in funding. Lil' Cthulhu is the hell-spawn of the elder god Cthulhu. This "child" is so evil that he is causing his own father to go insane. He needs a babysitter. That's where the players come in. At this point in its short campaign, top reviewers have had extremely favorable things to say about it: "I've played Li'l Cthulhu with adult gamers and my kids, and it's a light but fun game that I think Cthulhu
fans will particularly enjoy." - Jonathan H. Liu, GeekDad
"The game has those wonderful 'gotcha' moments!" - UndeadViking, Youtube personality
Lil' Cthulhu is a quirky, fast-paced card game in which players, acting as "Cultists of Cthulhu," take turns trying to calm the creature with demonic toys - but they back-stab each other in the process in a mad dash to keep Lil' Cthulhu happy… before eventually going insane.
The goal is to be the first cultist to either calm Lil' Cthulhu with the toys he is demanding or be the last sane cultist standing - whichever comes first. Like any proper eldritch horror story, you cannot truly win. You're just trying to survive for as long as possible!

New WW2 releases from Company B at Cold Wars

Company B will be at Cold Wars March 18-20 2016! Please come by Brigade Games and say 'hello'.

Newly Released 1:56 accessories at the Convention

Sherman Bulldozer Blade Kit
Jerry Cans, German and U.S. (packs of nine)
Hedgerow Cutters (packs of two)

Shades of Vengeance Launches Free Rulebook Primer

Only 7 days. That's how long before British roleplaying game company Shades of Vengeance launches its newest Kickstarter project, after successfully completing all previous Kickstarter campaigns. This time, the Era game system, which has gotten rave reviews, is used to breathe life into - and add drama to - a setting in which the future of humanity looks bleak indeed. Contagion has spread worldwide, infecting most survivors, making them sick first and mutating them in later stages of the disease.

Era: Survival is not your ordinary zombie setting. Neither is it a typical postapocalyptic world. In Era: Survival, mankind has scattered, but survivors have formed many different – and oftentimes competing – factions. Tensions run high, treachery is always around the corner, schemes are being hatched and bizarre religions have gotten a grip on many who are left.

To celebrate the Kickstarter launch, Shades of Vengeance has now made the quick start rules for the very first Era game it released, Era: The Consortium, available to download for free. This way, gamers can already familiarise themselves with the rules, which are compatible with Survival. Featuring an easy-to-learn but involved and innovative system, The Consortium spans 500 years of future history, focusing on the descendants of human colonists who lost much of their memories after crash-landing for reasons unknown to the general populace. The biggest megacorporations are at constant odds with the Senate, which itself was formed out of the 200 largest corporations founded after the crash.

During the past 5 centuries, humanity made contact – and often warred with – several alien species that now coexist with the humans… at least nominally. Players can take the role of an aquatic Eulutian, an insectoid Ximian or a Vilithii - a race of sentient plants. Many of these alien beings have their own secret agenda and schemes. With an entire homeworld wiped out secretly during a covert operation led by two of the most influential corporations, tensions are sure to rise and distrust is running rampant.

Hitech Miniatures Releases Commander Cassandra mini

Congregation Of Nuns
Commander "Cassandra"
Multipart (5 pieces) 28mm scale miniature represents "Cassandra" - Egzekuthor armor, female SF warrior
This is high quality , resin miniature which comes unpainted and require assembly.
Feet to the eyeline dimension 32mm
1) Body 2) Left arm with sword 3) Right arm with gun 4) torch 5) Base
40mm SCENIC BASE INCLUDED

New Sons of Thor Torsos Available From Kromlech

Valhöll awaits those worthy of enter
brave and strong are the sons
on the Thunresdæg come
to conquer to fight endless war
in the heat of battle test your courage
shed blood, Valhöll awaits
all praise Þórr all praise Alföðr

Today we have a new addition to our Sons Of Thor range:
Sons of Thor Torsos

Oddzial Osmy’s 3mm and 15mm February/March Releases Arrive at PicoArmor

PicoArmor (Oddzial Osmy’s exclusive North American distributor) is pleased to announce that Oddzial Osmy’s new releases are now in stock.

IS-622 Achzarit (15 pcs) - heavy APC based on T-55 tank chassis
UK-640 Hunter F.6 (8 pcs) - British jet fighter
FR-628 Rafale M (8 pcs) - French navy multirole fighter
FR-629 Crotale (10+5 pcs) - low-altitude SAM system on P4R vehicle
CH-629 J-20 (6 pcs) - Chinese stealth fighter (prototype)

WUS-658 LVT(A)-4 (15 pcs) - 75mm howitzer armed Amtrack

PSF-631 Cunningham MBT (15 pcs) - railgun armed, tracked tank with unmanned turret

CW-1504 Polish CW Infantry w/SA7B Grail (6 pcs) - Infantry with SA-7B (Strela-2M) MANPADS in two poses.

Brigade Models Rerelease Tolero Figures

Natives of the fourth planet of the Eta Odin system, the Tolero are primitive but intelligent creatures who outwardly resemble terrestrial bears. More than one anthropologist has been taken in by their cute and cuddly appearance but received a nasty surprise from the pointy end of a Tolero spear !

Armed with the afore-mentioned spears and short bows, the Tolero are hunters that roam the plains and prairies of their homeworld, stalking the docile Shomix quadripeds for food. Some ride on fearsome Thaeyax steeds, a vicious flightless avian similar to an Emu and nicknamed ‘Terror Birds’ by the first research teams to visit Eta Odin IV.

SF15-051 – Tolero with Spears (x8) – £2.75
SF15-052 – Tolero with Bows (x8) – £2.75
SF15-056 – Tolero Cavalry with Spears (x6) – £3.50
SF15-057 – Tolero Cavalry with Bows (x6) – £3.50

Those in the know will recognise the Tolero as being another part of the former ArmiesArmy range that we’ve finally got round to re-releasing.

A friend of mine is about to have her baby. It will be a grand day for her family and all of her friends. We're 99.99999% sure it's going to be a baby human. Taking care of a baby Cthulhu would probably be a lot tougher than taking care of a regular baby. But to prepare you, just in case, there's an instructional card game, Lil' Cthulhu, up on Kickstarter now.




In the game, players are looking to meet baby Cthulhu's demands. He wants certain toys and you need to find those for him. Players get sanity tokens that they use to draw from a deck of cards containing toy parts (used to make the toys Cthulhu wants), dark toy cards (that will protect them from the ravages of baby Cthulhu as well as let you sabotage other cultists), and tantrum cards (Cthulhu wants his toys NOW!). Each draw from the deck costs sanity, as will other things in the game. Completing toys for Cthulhu will get you some sanity back. Be the first player to complete 3 toys, or the last cultist standing with any sanity left and you win!

The campaign's about half-funded with still 21 days left to go.

Source