When D&D 4th edition was announced, one of the things that really drew me to the new edition was the description of the Feywild: a magical land based on our tales of Faerie. It has taken a long time, but with Heroes of the Feywild, the D&D design team has finally turned their attention fully towards the Feywild. The result was worth the wait: this … Continue reading Heroes of the Feywild review – A marvellous book for D&D 4E
THE “MAY I?” BLUNDER The new Civilization game gets a lot of things right, but there are aspects to the game which really, really irritate me. The primary one of these is the cards and resource abilities that allow you to cancel another player’s action. It adds a level of timing to the game that just doesn’t feel right, and it slows down the game … Continue reading Thoughts on the new Civilization boardgame (part 5)
If Military and Tech victories are the most obvious in the new Civ boardgame, and Culture is achievable if tricky, the victory condition that is the least obvious to me so far is the Economic Victory. ECONOMIC VICTORY Gain 15 coins. What are coins and what do they do? Well, coins appear on some squares on the map, some techs, and some great people and buildings. Each … Continue reading Thoughts on the new Civilization boardgame (part 4)
I’ve now played four games of the new Civilization boardgame from FFG. I’ve won three of them, and the original 2-player game I played wasn’t finished (though I was on my way to a loss). At present, I rate it as a “7” on the BGG site: “Good game, usually willing to play”. It’s a very FFG-type of game which – thankfully – is in … Continue reading The newest Civilization boardgame – Thoughts on the game (part 1)
I don’t think I’ve ever bought a computer game for full price before – most of the games I buy are acquisitions that come along long after they’ve been released. However, I have a (relatively) new computer, and there was Civ V staring at me longingly from across the aisle, and I just had to buy it. Installation went smoothly, which included setting up a … Continue reading First impression of Civilization 5
Looking back at the early years of my role-playing and general gaming, there were a number of games that I wanted to play and never got a chance to. Amongst those games were such titles as Rolemaster, RuneQuest, Traveller, Call of Cthulhu, Car Wars and BattleTech. At this stage of my life, I have found myself able to dabble in a few of these older … Continue reading Games of my youth… and Rolemaster Express
The release of The World of Greyhawk in 1980 was an event that I didn’t mark. At that point, it was still a year before I would get my first introduction to Dungeons and Dragons. Eventually I was introduced to the World of Greyhawk through the first real AD&D campaign I played in the mid- to late-eighties, and that was using the later World of Greyhawk (2nd Edition) 1983 boxed setting. It … Continue reading The World of Greyhawk – 1980 folio edition
Last week, I traded for the game Dungeon Lords, the latest game from Vlaada Chvatil (Galaxy Trucker, Through the Ages, Space Alert). In it, you play a Dungeon Lord who is trying to build a dungeon, competing with the other players for resources, and hiring monsters and building traps to hold off the adventurers who try to destroy your dungeon each year. It’s a game … Continue reading Dungeon Lords – review by session report
I’ve posted my review of the Doctor Who RPG on RPG Geek. Enjoy! Continue reading Review of the Doctor Who Roleplaying game
Tallow, by Karen Brooks, is the first of a new fantasy trilogy by an Australian author set in a fantasy version of Venice. It has a number of really good things about it: the setting is interesting, there are a number of intrigues swirling about, a fascinating magic system and, of course, a prophecy. Unfortunately, all of these good premises are let down by indifferent … Continue reading Tallow
