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Instead of a host of new games, this week we have the strange case of things saying goodbye, including inventory from Fantasy Flight Games (FFG), Infinity and a gaming tournament.
Infinity to start giving the Squat treatment
Corvus Belli have decided to shake up their Infinity universe, and they’re going to do it by writing out old factions and bringing in new ones. Don’t panic, yet, but the first to be reduced is the Merovingia, and all their figures will go out of production and their role in the fluff will be changed. There’s one final hurrah, and that’s with a new profile, fireteam and mission pack for a great (last) Merovingia battle. Of course, Corvus Belli have hedged their bets and reserve the right to bring everyone back when they wish.
Android: Netrunner finds itself cancelled
Shocking news from FFG this week: the Android: Netrunner Living Card Game has died. This isn’t a FFG decision, as a revised set of rules showed they were committed to the tournament favourite, but a result of Wizards of the Coast (WOTC) not renewing the licence.
We don’t know what WOTC are doing next, but the final FFG tournaments will occur in September, the Reign and Reverie expansions will be the last and the official end date for everything else is October 22, 2018. To their credit, FFG are hoping people will still play the game going forward.
Spiel des Jahres Children’s Game of the Year is…
The Spiel des Jahres is preceded by the Kinderspiel des Jahres, aka the Children’s Game of the Year and this time it’s… Dragon’s Breath (or Funkelschatz). Players aged five or more take turns removing a ring from a central column, to collect coloured counters and avoid losing any. The dragon bit comes in as the ring is ‘ice’ and you ‘melt’ it.
Condottiere Returns
If you fancy conquering medieval Italy, Condottiere is returning. The 1995 classic is getting another revamp, and here’s the essentials: the small box size will remain. Oh, you want the rest? Both the classic and revised rule sets will be included, the board has been expanded, the two-player version has been wholly revamped and Z-Man are fiddling with the art to allow for better understanding and tracking of the game.
‘Unrivaled’ Gaming Championships Cancelled
Unrivaled hit the gaming scene with a large budget and big claims: to put board and card gaming in the middle of a global stage. The first world championships in 2017 had a total prize pool of $250,000 while in 2018 they had raised that to $300,000, and this year’s games were to include Kingdomino, Exploding Kittens, Champions of Midgard and more.
But it’s all been cancelled. The parent company is a social media firm and, according to a statement by Unrivaled, they’ve had some unexpected financial problems which have stopped 2018’s event happening. Their investment in Unrivaled is in the millions.
Massive Darkness has a companion app
CMON has unleashed the Massive Darkness Companion App into the Apple system, and it’s a welcome addition for people whose pets nudge things. The app will track your player tray and can network to play a common game across several devices. You can also have the app control in game decks such as Events.
Lando’s Falcon comes to X-Wing
The Second Edition of X-Wing is getting a new craft, so Scum and Villainy players start cheering because you’re getting a Falcon: Lando’s Millenium Falcon to be precise. You’ll still get cards for Han and Chewie but this is the smuggling phase of their lives, and if you like toys (we know you like toys), the Falcon has (spoiler alert), an escape craft which connects to the main Falcon figure but also comes apart and flies separately. The release is September, at which point no one will remember the Solo: A Star Wars Story movie that the ship’s from.
A Board Game Annual is on Kickstarter
How many people here loved annuals as a kid? Those yearly retrospective looked back at your fandom with added articles and glossy photos. Well… there’s going to be a tabletop gaming annual, possibly several. A team of writers, who include people from Tabletop Gaming Magazine and Geek and Sundry are putting together a full size, 250+ page run down of the games of 2018, promising critical essays and interviews as well as some meeple eye candy.
As of writing it’s not funded, but this could be the start of something amazing.