Steve and Andy guest on Paul Grogan's Gaming Rules podcast
where we talk about Star Wars Rebellion, Dark Souls, Anachrony and of course
the upcoming UK Games Expo.
You’re in a room. It is dark. You’ve been eaten by a Grue.
Ok, not that last bit, but two out of three isn’t bad. For those of you who may wear tinfoil hats and are obsessed with the impending dawn of war, then you may quite enjoy the subject of my latest peek-a-boo as it’s set in a bunker during a war. Whoever chose to build this bunker clearly hadn’t heard of basic requirements like medicine or lighting. Perhaps they were cut from the budget during construction.
It’s hardly surprising that amenities such as a light bulb were missed as the inhabitants of this Stone-Age bunker are a bunch of woodland animals, the Critters, trying to survive a particularly hefty war involving a lot of bombing of a rather unspecific nature. The world is warring whilst our protagonists must wait it out in their concrete cocoon below ground. And thus we arrive at the name of the game in question: Critters Below from Antler Games
The more board games you play, the more you notice mechanics and concepts shared between various games. It’s actually one of those great things about learning to play a game, when you realise that there is a common DNA with another game, or a new game takes something familiar to you and mixes it up, using it in a way that you weren't expecting. Unfortunately this sometimes leads to games feeling very similar, or sharing so many mechanics that it’s hard to differentiate them.
The UK Games Expo is the 2nd to 4th of June and it’s the biggest tabletop gaming convention in the UK. It will be three days full of board games, card games, miniatures and roleplaying games and we take a look at the games that have got us excited.
To get more information and tickets head to https://www.ukgamesexpo.co.uk/
Dungeon crawling is a well-used trope in the board gaming world; grab a party of likeminded adventurers and head underground to grab some loot and kick the snot out of all manner of monsters. But what if I told you that gold and sparkling gems weren't the real treasure? What if you were a culture that used teeth as a currency? Well, all of a sudden venturing into dark subterranean deaths isn't about collecting shinies and honour, but instead becomes an attempt to recreate a Pantera album cover in as a many imaginative ways as possible.
In many ways Ravage: Dungeons of Plunder is a typical dungeon crawler and in its basic premise I have to say that there isn't a huge amount of original ideas in the game. You'll venture into dark depths, kill monsters, grab loot, level up and hopefully last long enough to take on the story's goal. But Ravage puts a few interesting tweaks into the age old formula and wraps it up in a package of beautiful artwork and striking graphic design.
You may have noticed a surge in the number or Escape Room style board
games appearing over the last few months. Fresh on the heels of
cooperative puzzle games like TIME Stories comes a whole range of one-time puzzles based on the escape room phenomenon that is gripping the
world. If you are like me, and live at the arse end of nowheresville
you will most likely not have had an opportunity to visit one of these
experiences.
Thankfully system like Unlock, Escape the Room and
EXIT allow you to experience these cooperative puzzle sessions at home.
We were lucky to receive a copy of EXIT The Secret Lab from Kosmos and so the
opportunity of a bank holiday weekend meant I was able to lock ourselves
into the dining room after a Sunday roast and see if the Tudor family
was clever enough to escape a devious laboratory.
We were not.
Picture the scene: you’re at a large convention at a popular UK site and you see through the crowd a man wearing a metallic owl on his shoulder, together in Victorian getup and an extendable spyglass fixed to the side of his head. On the streets, this kind of behaviour would usually result in a swift recapture followed by a series of injections and perhaps a straightjacket. In the safe and womb-like environment of the UK Games Expo however, it’s worthy of perhaps a gently raised eyebrow before being distracted by another miniatures vendor. Unless you’re me of course, where Steampunk holds a particular fascination ever since I donned the light gem and began a career as a thief in the PC game… er… Thief.
Steve faces the crushing difficulty and divisive gameplay of Dark Souls and then all three go to war with big mechs and sneaky spies in Farsight. Andy is one with the weather as he moves like the wind in Petrichor before joining Steve on the dungeon crawling of Ravage: Dungeons of Plunder. Finally Steve tries one of the latest Escape the Room games in Exit the Secret Lab.
Chaos. Games. Minis. Press. Cameras. Shops. Stalls. Cosplay. Shows. Talks. Seminars. And Two prats from Polyhedron Collider. It's the UK Games Expo, it’s the biggest tabletop gaming convention in the UK and it’s only a few weeks away.
In part 2 of episode 23, the Andy, Jon and Steve go through our overflowing mailbag and answer your questions. We discuss solo games, Talisman Legacy, apps in game and our favourite and least favourite game components.
