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This week’s big news is that Gloomhaven’s first expansion pack is on the way, however Taj Mahal and Fireball Island have also returned from the past.
Gloomhaven announces first expansion and skips Kickstarter
One big surprise this week was the first expansion pack for the all-conquering Gloomhaven. ‘Forgotten Circles’ will see you assisting an ‘Aesther Diviner’ who is trying to stop a disaster, and we assume it’s pretty world ending stuff. To do this you’ll have 14 new items, extra monsters to kill, three new bosses and 20 scenarios. Cost is reasonable at $30, but here’s the even bigger surprise: it’s bypassing Kickstarter (unlike the previous gargantuan Gloomhaven campaigns) and coming straight to retail in October.
Fireball Island is back
When Pandemic Legacy mastermind Rob Daviau asked the internet which games his Restoration imprint should resurrect, they answered as one. Well, not one, but the winner was Fireball Island, the game of ball rolling and volcanic death. So guess what: a souped up version of the game has now reached Kickstarter and already passed half a million dollars.
Fireball Island: The Curse of Vul-Kar comes with a large 3D island board, which looks awesome, revised rules and mechanics, and we’re promised future expansions like a pirate ship.
Samurai! In! Space!
Last year Isaac Vega winter, aka Mr Dead of Winter, said he was releasing a game called Starship Samurai, and now we have the full details. No prizes are guessing it’s set far into the future, as human factions battle across space for control of a galactic empire. However, everything is shot through with Japanese culture and history, from the classic era of the samurai (you control clans and there’s an honour mechanic) to the present day (it’s an area control game with massive robots).
Crisis returns
When your scribe first started writing for Zatu, he reviewed a Ludicreations game called Crisis, which was both a worker placement game where you had to work together to save an ailing economy while also earning more money than your opponents, and an allegory about real world financial crisis. Someone on Twitter asked me why I had bothered, as Crisis was out of print, and Ludi explained reviews helped decide the future of the game. Which is a verbose way of saying I’m claiming all credit for Crisis coming to Kickstarter for a deluxe re-release and a new expansion.
Monopoly Gamer Edition spawns Mario Kart version
Monopoly gets a hard time on the Facebook groups, and Nintendo’s tie in ‘Monopoly Gamer’ had a lot of people confused. Evidently the release did enough to sire a child, as the ‘Mario Kart’ edition is coming. You can play as your Mario Kart favourites, throw turtle shells, collects coins and all that good stuff. Also, it’s out now.
Sands of Dorne comes to Game of Thrones
There is a new expansion for the Games of Thrones: The Card Game’s second edition, and it’s all about the desert people. Here’s Fantasy Flight outlining the fluff:
“In the southernmost reach of Westeros lie the sweltering deserts of Dorne. Under the rule of House Martell, this region stands separate from the rest of the Seven Kingdoms, divided geographically by imposing mountain ranges, and culturally by an indomitable spirit and a thirst for vengeance. Today, you have your chance to join them.”
Even better, no waiting, it’s out now.
Heroes Welcome brings crafting and conniving
There’s a lot of games where your brave dungeon crawling heroes take the goodies back to a merchant, sell them, then do it again. Monkey Jump Games are Kickstarting the lesser played part of that equation in Heroes Welcome: Merchants of Dragon Reach, as they cast you as goblin merchants buying the adventurers loot, breaking it down, crafting more powerful items and stocking the monsters up ready for the heroes.
It’s worker placement, it has things called ‘Scam Cards’ and at time of writing is very nearly funded.
The Coup and Resistance go on Exodus
Martin Wallace is expanding the shared world of Coup and The Resistance with a new game: Exodus: Paris Nouveau. It’s another social deduction experience, aimed at four to six players with a swift half hour play time. Details are scant, but Tabletop Gaming News dived into the world of Reddit to discover it (might) be about two teams, one escaping and one pursuing. The Reddit review wasn’t exactly glowing.
There are no release details as yet, but it’s an add on in the Aeon’s End: Legacy Kickstarter pledge manager. Mysterious.
Taj Mahal returns
Z-Man’s Euro Classics sounds like a dance music compilation, but the latest game to be brought back in the re-release line is Reiner Knizia’s Taj Mahal. It’s a game of auctions and area control from 2000, was critically acclaimed at the time, and is returning with the visuals fully pimped for 2018 sensibilities. You’re looking at $50 when it’s out, but no release date yet.
