All posts tagged 'Unplugged'

Heist: One Team, One Mission (Boardgame)

Pass items back and forth as the central safe shouts out instructions in this cooperative real time game of bank robbery. Take on the role of one of four characters and follow the instructions on the battery-powered central cube. Pass items back and forth and then “use” them correctly to advance the timer. Success leads to the big payoff, while mistakes cost you money and perhaps the entire game. Heist: One Team, One Mission is a fast-paced game looks neat, is very family friendly, and plays in just a few minutes.

 

 

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New Frontiers (Boardgame)

New Frontiers has players taking turns to select an action card, which then dictates the action that is performed by all players. Through the course of the game, players settle planets, build developments, and exchange goods for points or profit. Develop the best economy (be it building, exchanging, settling, or a combination of them) to be crowned the winner of the game.  This 2-5 player game is a great, family-friendlier version of the popular Race for the Galaxy card game.

 

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Welcome To… (Boardgame)

Fill in your suburb wisely (in numerical order) to score points in this (sort of) Roll and Write style game of designing neighborhoods.  Cards are flipped up from a deck and players must choose which cards to use and for what purpose as they fill in the blanks on their personal score sheet.  

 

 

 

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Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020 (Switch)

The simplicity of track and field events made them an excellent candidate for early videogames. I remember hammering away at our family computer in 1982 as my brother and I spammed keys in an effort to defeat each other in Olympic Decathlon. One year later, Track and FIeld appeared in the arcades and was an instant hit, allowing up to four players to spam buttons in a head to head competition. Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020 (yes, that’s the full name) blends modern gaming with some retro-inspired gameplay through dozens of Olympic-themed mini-games. When played multiplayer (as it should be) iIt manages to capture much of that early videogame magic.

 

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Cloudspire (Boardgame)

Cloudspire is a boardgame based around the extremely popular MOBA and tower defense genres of videogames. MOBAs have players working as a team of individual characters trying to destroy an enemy base, while fighting the other team and its stream of AI controlled “minions” streaming out of the opponent’s base. In Cloudspire, players send out heroes (which they control) and minions (which are sent out and just march along) against the other player (or players) in an attempt to wear down and destroy the opponent’s home base. Cloudspire provides plenty of gameplay in one package, with diverse starting factions (each with unique play styles) and many options of play (such as both solo, cooperative, and competitive modes.)

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Imperial Settlers: Roll & Write (Boardgame)

Use actions and resources to build up your kingdom in Imperial Settlers: Roll & Write. Convert the resources shown on the dice directly into points or use them to invest in buildings to gain even more resources in future rounds. Roll & Write games of this sort are a great family gaming option since all players take their turn at once. This particular game stands out because it also has solo mode that can be played as a campaign, where the game changes up slightly each time, keeping each game fresh.

 

 

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Dungeons & Dragons 5th Edition Update

A quick update to point out some new and upcoming D&D products.  The beginner-friendly D&D Essentials Kit is now available everywhere (it was initially only available at Target.)  This is a new take on the introduction to game, with a slightly different bent than the original D&D Starter Kit. The Essentials kit contains maps, a short (64 page) rulebook, a DM screen, a set of dice, an introductory adventure, and a set of notecards with a box to hold them in.

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Unplugged: Tanto Cuore

I’ve been going to the Penny Arcade Expo, or PAX for short, for about ten years now.  While I mostly visit the video game booths, there are an equal number of tabletop and card game booths as well.  Every year I always pass by a booth featuring a card game called Tanto Cuore.  I don’t know why I always remember that, but it does seem like a memorable game.  The very kind folks at the booth always offer to show me how to play it, but I’m usually in between meetings and appointments and don’t have time.  But now Tanto Cuore is celebrating its 10th anniversary!  Wow, has it really been that long?  I guess considering I’ve been to PAX for about that length of time, it does make sense.  In honor of that milestone, the makers of the game have offered to let me review it so I can finally play it!  Anyway, Tanto Cuore is a deck building card game where you amass an army of anime maids, and according to the instruction booklet, Tanto Cuore means “Much Heart” in Italian.

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Role-Playing Accessories (RPG)

So, you were intrigued by the recent reviews of Starfinder and the D&D Essentials kit and want to know what else you can spend your hard earned cash on. Look no further! Here’s a brief roundup of various other bits and pieces one can purchase to add a bit of zing to a night of RPG gaming.

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Dungeons and Dragons Essentials Kit (RPG)

The newest edition of Dungeons and Dragons (known as D&D) burst on the scene in 2014 and this “5th Edition” released by the Wizards of the Coast has never looked back. Thanks to the rise of a large streaming culture, where gamers broadcast their games on Twitch or other streaming media, play of D&D has grown nearly 50% in each of the past two years. A recent announcement states that over 40 million people now play the game, with 9 million of those also watching streamers play their games. While the initial release of 5th Edition included a Starter Set, Wizards of the Coast has gone back to the drawing board and created a new entry-level experience to provide a better on-ramp to the world of Dungeons and Dragons role-playing.

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