Who Dares News On 13th February

Just a few short weeks ago I sat in the company of the gaming hive mind of Nigel and Lloyd Pyne (more on that in a moment) and lamented that Ghostbusters would make an excellent board game and that I was surprised nobody had thought of it yet. In my fevered eldritch tinged imaginations I saw a game of you building your Ghostbusting franchise and busting spooks, the original movie was all about the everyday Joe tackling the paranormal and making a quick buck and that theme just seem’s ripe for a fantastic game. I spent many a happy hour in my youth playing the short lived but hugely fun RPG game from West End Games which captured the feel of the films brilliantly, its such a rich universe just dripping with possibilities that its a shame we only ever skimmed the surface in the movies. Well what should arrive this very week on Kickstarter from Cryptozoic but a Ghostbusters game!! This should have been cause for celebration, for much joyfulness and Jackie Wilson prompted toaster jiving, but alas I have so far found the whole thing a bit of a disappointment.

It looks very much like a weak re-skin of Zombiecide complete with fistfuls of miniatures but none of the whit or charm that made the series so great. Whilst I’m sure it will go on to make a wedge of cash I just wanted more from this franchise. There could have been a fantastic Eldritch Horror style storytelling epic of you building your business whilst battling manifestations either across a city or the world, with the growing threat of some huge big bad waiting in the wings. Now how amazing could that be? I will keep an eye on the project but at present I’m feeling let down. We have yet to get a look at any rules so before going all Walter Peck on this lets wait and see, but as it stands this seem’s a hugely missed opportunity and that makes me sad.

Something that did fill me with child like glee was Hasbro’s announcement for Loopin Chewie. Loopin Louie the original incarnation is a stupid game but hugely addictive. You and a bunch of buddies sit around a whizzing little drunk pilot battering him away from your chicken coops to protect your hens as he spins and loops about endangering anyone stupid enough to lean too near the whirring contraption. Louie has had a huge resurgence in Germany where he has become a popular drinking game, those crazy Germans. Look for Chewie and his loopiness to hit in September.

And then there’s this. We’re getting some predators to join the Legendary Encounters party woo hoo! Its coming July for a Gen Con release. Really nothing else to add other than I found Legendary Encounters a brilliant and very thematic twist on the Marvel system that just played so much better than its four color compatriot.

There’s a excited thread on BGG applauding this and making an ever increasing wish list of follow up games. This one caught my attention and I want this now!

We have finally seen a box for the Magic the gathering board game due this June from Hasbro.  This takes the very popular but sadly expired (and hard to get) Heroscape system of modular board pieces and miniatures and transposes it to the Magic universe. There looks to be a lot of stuff in the box and so far the price seems a very reasonable $30 when it hits main stream in August.

Ohh yes so earlier I mentioned those Maverick Muse chaps, well they have been concocting something new and special in their labs. You’ll remember these terribly esteemed and dapper gents as the creators of oddball Aeronauts the cool card game of battling airships and steampunk whatnot’s and cutesy funky critters. We thoroughly enjoyed the game and I heartily recommend it as a very portable and equally playable bit of gaming goodness.

Soo this new thing, well its a tabletop game set in the oddball Realms called oddball Magiqh, it involves lots of dice (we love dice) and teams battling it out as they fly their airships on quests involving a sizable amount of derring-do (we like doing our dare) its still at a beta stage but already there is a solid game that captures that oddball flavor whilst expanding the horizons of this cool little universe and the characters that inhabit it. Its something different and new and still has all the good stuff we like so thumbs up so far guys.

Expect a new podcast episode very soon where we discuss Imperial Assault its recorded I just need to finish editing it and then I think  some more reviews. But first Tea!

Don’t forget to tweet us or like us and if you have nothing better to do go and join our BGG guild by following the forums link on the front page, that would be hugely rewarding for you and give me a notification to get all excited about.

And whilst your over on BGG there is still time for you to vote in the Golden Geek nominations HERE and if you are doing that Mr Tony Boydell has his excellent little game Ivor The Engine in the Children’s category, I strongly urge you to give him your vote. Its a cracking game and deserves all the attention it gets.

Right that’s enough of that see you chaps soon.