Welcome back to Gaming Shelf, our regular column all about board games and tabletop roleplaying games. This time around, we’ve got a cool campaign from the folks behind Reigns: Game of Thrones, and a design contest to make figures for the classic tabletop game Labyrinth. Plus, a failed Kickstarter campaign for an Evil Dead 2 game gets a free second leg, thanks to some good Samaritans. Check it out!
News and Releases
Bargain Quest Reprint
Renegade Games’ popular fantasy game Bargain Quest is back once again with a second printing. Similar to Sheriff of Nottingham, players in Bargain Quest take on the role of shopkeepers — in this case, in a generic roleplaying game town that’s filled with monsters.
Your goal is to stock the best goods, and keep away the nastiest pests, to attract the bravest (and richest) heroes to your shop. The expansion, Black Market, should be coming out soon. Renegade Games also released Time Chase, where players have invented time travel and use it to prank people across the timeline (kind of like South Park’s Crank Prank Time Phone, only without K-10 the talking robot dog).
Labyrinth Character Creation Design Contest
MyMiniFactory is partnering up with Ravensburger to host a design contest, where fans can submit custom figures for the classic fantasy game Labyrinth.
Fans are asked to pick a theme — whether it’s something like vampires, robots, or even “Cute Animal Babies” — and make four figures that fit in the theme. Winners will have their custom designs featured on Ravensburger’s website, and will receive royalties of 30 per cent of total sales. Submissions are open until the end of September.
Pandemic System
Z-Man Games has announced that any of its board games that use its trademark Pandemic gameplay style will from now on fall under the Pandemic System of games.
This means games like Reign of Cthulhu, even if it’s technically not about a global pandemic, will now be referred to as a Pandemic System game. This means the company will also be discontinuing the Survival Series system, which includes Pandemic: Iberia, Pandemic: Rising Tide, and Pandemic: Fall of Rome, as it’s been made obsolete. Future reprints of games in that series will now be part of the Pandemic System. The rules of those games, however, aren’t expected to change.
Ultra-Tiny Epic Galaxies
As a fan of Gamelyn Games’ signature Tiny Epic series of games, I was excited to hear that the company is back with an expanded instalment of Tiny Epic Galaxies — even if it’s technically in an even tinier box. Ultra-Tiny Epic Galaxies is a reprint of the original game, designed to be even smaller than the previous one for on-the-go gaming.
As reported by The Gaming Gang, it even comes with a mini-expansion. More game, taking up less space! Ultra-Tiny Epic Galaxies comes out on November 2 and will cost around $22.
Hasbro Discontinues Plastic Packaging
Hasbro has announced that, starting next year, the toy and board game company will begin phasing out plastic from new product packaging. These include bags, elastic bands, shrink wrap, window sheets and blister packs.
The company is working on how to redesign its packaging to compensate for the loss of plastic. According to a press release, the goal is to “eliminate virtually all plastic in packaging” by the end of 2022.
Bundle of Holding: Catalyst Bundle
Earlier this month, Flying Buffalo Games founder Rick Loomis passed away from cancer. This left his family with a series of medical bills that the folks at Bundle of Holding are trying to help with. The company has announced the re-release of the Catalyst Bundle, which features some of Flying Buffalo’s well-known tabletop roleplaying games and supplements.
These include CityBooks, four Grimtooth’s Traps collections, and the recent Mercenaries, Spies, & Private Eyes. The Catalyst Bundle starts at around $12, and there’s a bonus collection for a larger donation. The family also has a GoFundMe campaign.
Expansions
One Night Ultimate Bonus Rules (One Night)
Looking to add some new characters and creatures to your One Night gameplay? Bezier Games has announced One Night Ultimate Bonus Roles, a series of new roles and artefacts that can be used for any games in the One Night series, compiled from the One Night Ultimate Bonus Packs. According to Dice Tower News, it’s set to come out in early October.
Tiny Towns: Fortune (Tiny Towns)
As reported by ICv2, Alderac Entertainment Group is coming out with an expansion to its Tiny Towns game, called Tiny Towns: Fortune — which, appropriately, introduces money into the game. It will be released on February 22, 2020.
Crowdfunding
Reigns: The Council
Based on the popular mobile game, with the equally popular Game of Thrones version, Reigns: The Council is a party game where players take turns as the ruling monarch of the kingdom, while everyone else plays advisors trying to accomplish their own (secret) goals. Anytime a ruler gains or loses too much influence, they’re deposed and the next one is crowned. Reigns: The Council will be on Kickstarter through October 2. The minimum pledge for a copy is $51, and it’s set to ship in May 2020.
Windward
This beautiful but intense tabletop game pits players against each other as captains on the gaseous planet of Celus. Each captain is working to be the “master of the skies” by hunting creatures, harnessing wind power to increase their moves, and even attacking other players to steal goods from them. Windward will be on Kickstarter through September 23. The minimum pledge for a copy is $81, and it’s set to ship in June 2020.
Cast Out the Conjurer
It can be hard to find interesting and unique two-person games, and I’m intrigued by this one. Cast Out the Conjurer is an asymmetrical two-person dueling game where one player is a warlock, and the other is a hunter who’s trying to take them down. Each one has unique card deck at their disposal — the hunter wields weapons and allies, and the warlock’s got magic and monsters that can be conjured at the drop of a hat.
It also boasts some pretty cool art that reminds me of Ivan Albright mixed with Ren & Stimpy. Cast Out the Conjurer will be on Kickstarter through September 20. The minimum pledge for a copy is $23, and it’s set to ship in March 2020.
Evil Baby
Who doesn’t love an evil baby? This is a Russian Roulette-style card game where players try to survive the evil machinations of a truly terrifying infant. Basically, whoever’s last standing is the winner. Developer Daniel Hayles said he doesn’t plan on releasing this game in stores and is making it a crowdfunding exclusive for supporters.
Evil Baby will be on Kickstarter through September 22. The minimum pledge for a copy is $22, and it’s set to ship in September.
Evil Dead 2: The Board Game
This is an interesting campaign, because of how it’s also honouring another crowdfunding campaign. Evil Dead 2: The Board Game, based on the events of the movie, has players fending off Deadites, searching the cabin for Necronomicon pages, watching out for betrayal from the other players, and trying to close the dark portal before it’s too late.
However, there’s something else about this Kickstarter, because this isn’t the first time someone’s tried to make a board game from the classic Bruce Campbell film.
Back in 2016, Space Goat Productions held a Kickstarter for a tabletop miniatures game based on Evil Dead 2, which was funded but never delivered.
Now, Jasco Games (which wasn’t involved in the previous version) is promising that anybody who funded the original, unfulfilled game will get a copy of this new one… for just the cost of shipping. That’s an awesome thing to do for the fans, even if it’s not the same game in the end.
Evil Dead 2: The Board Game will be on Kickstarter through September 14. The minimum pledge for a copy is $89 (unless you were a backer of the Space Goat one), and it’s set to be delivered in April 2020.