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Marvel Heroes RPG Basic Game

At last, the new Marvel Comics RPG game is now orderable.
Tell your FLGS (hopefully it's our sponsor Comic Store West) that you want to order this game.

Due to ship February 2012.

Wings of War is now Wings of Glory

You may have heard that Wings of War the miniature game that KGS loves (see our previous posts) was dead.  Well it did die but has been quickly resurrected as Wings of Glory (at least the WWII version).

Check Ares Games website out here.

Skylanders - Must have toy for Christmas 2011

Every year at Christmas there is one toy that all the kids ask Santa for.
There was cabbage patch dolls, Tickle Me Elmo and who can forget Furby.

It looks like this year it’s Skylanders.

Skylanders is a video game for all of the major platforms (XBox, PS3, Wii and DS3D) the twist on this is that it is also a toy (or miniature if you will) in that there are 37 different figures available.  Each figure has it's on set of powers that the game gets from an embedded chip.  The figure is placed on a base that connects to your game system via various methods.

The figure is then playable inside of the video game environment.  The figure also comes with a code that can be used on the internet to allow you to play various internet games with your figure for added content.

This is going to be a huge hit.  It's got everything.  It's a video game, it's a toy, it's a miniature, it's a collectible.  There are boy friendly figures, girl friendly figures and neutral figures.

Unfortunately I cannot play the game myself until Christmas, but I am working on getting the complete collection of figures for my daughter (because she, like me is a completeists).

I've created a check list because a good one was not readily available online, feel free to print and use freely.

2011 Skylanders Checklist

[ ] Spyro

[ ] Double Trouble
[ ] Wrecking Ball
[ ] Voodood
[ ] Slam Bam
[ ] Zap
[ ] Wham-Shell
[ ] Gill Grunt
[ ] Legendary Spyro (Toys R Us Exclusive)
[ ] Dark Spyro (3DS Exclusive)
[ ] Bash
[ ] Dino-rang
[ ] Prism Break
[ ] Terrafin
[ ] Hex
[ ] Cynder
[ ] Chop Chop
[ ] Ghost Roaster
[ ] Legendary Chop Chop (Toys R Us Exclusive)
[ ] Legendary Bash (Toys R Us Exclusive)
[ ] Ignitor
[ ] Sunburn
[ ] Flameslinger
[ ] Eruptor
[ ] Whirlwind (Target Exclusive)
[ ] Warnado
[ ] Sonic Boom
[ ] Lightning Rod
[ ] Legendary Trigger Happy
[ ] Boomer
[ ] Drill Sergeant (Wal-Mart Exclusive)
[ ] Drobot
[ ] Trigger Happy
[ ] Camo
[ ] Stump Smash
[ ] Zook
[ ] Stealth Elf

Star Wars Dawn of the Jedi

A few weeks ago the KGS had a round table discussion about the origins of the Jedi and if force ability is hereditary.  We will finally know the answers in February.  Dark Horse Comics in conjunction with Lucasfilm will publish DAWN OF THE JEDI.  A 5 issue comic book mini-series written y fan favorite - John Ostrander.

Read more about it here

Martian Dice Review

Martian Dice Review
Published by: Tasty Minstrel Games
Website: http://www.playtmg.com/
Price: Change back on your $20

This afternoon over lunch I finally had the opportunity to play the dice game Martian Dice with my good friend Mr Glacier.

Martian Dice is very similar to Zombie Dice (see past KGS review) in that the game contains a cup and a bunch of dice (13).  The dice are unique with pictures of Tanks, Death Rays, Humans, Cows, and Chickens on them.  Your job is to act as Martian kidnappers and try to collect as many Humans, Cows and or Chickens  as you can.  The tanks are trying to stop you but no worries you have death rays that can take out the tanks.

Like Zombie Dice this game is strictly dice management and playing the odds based on previous rolls of the dice.  You start with 13 dice as you roll you pull out tanks and death rays and re-rolling until you have and equal over overwhelming number of death rays to tanks.  Your score is equal to the number of human, cows and chicken dice you were able to collect. 

This is a very fast paced and extremely easy game to play.  We played 3 games (and sudden death overtime) in less than an hour and we both wanted to continue playing.

For the record I lost my first game, won my second game, we tied our third game.  With ties you roll 6 dice and the person with the most death rays win.  Well me tied on our first roll with 1 death ray each.  Then we were forced into sudden death overtime 2.  This time Mr Glacier edged me by 1 to take the ClixPals Martian Dice Championship (at least for now).

Rating: This game is a solid 5 (very close to a 6).

The Top Five Comics You Are Not Reading

There are 5 comics that everyone should be reading but aren't.  Not sure why people are not reading them but I highly recommend giving them a shot.

In no particular order:

1> Super Dinosaur - Image Comics.  Written by Robert Kirkman.  About a boy and his dinosaur.  This is a great all ages comic and really should have it's own Saturday morning TV series.

2> Hack Slash - Image comics.  Soon to be a major motion picture.  About a hot chick who hunts your typical horror movie serial killers and kills them.  Lots of sex, blood and gore so adults only please.
(Check out the FREE online Hack/Slash Holiday Special here)

3> The Bionic Man - Dynamite Comics.  Written by Kevin Smith.  Remake of the classic 70s TV show.  

4> Star Trek - IDW Comics.  Ongoing series spinning off from the JJ Abrams Star Trek movie.  

5> Omac - DC Comics.  Please read this series I don't want it to be cancelled.  It's DC's version of the Hulk only better.  

Ticket to Ride - Asia

Ticket to Ride Map Collection Volume 1: Asia

Warning - This is an expansion so you do need the original Ticket to Ride to play or Ticket to Ride Europe.

Contents

• Ticket To Ride Asia contains not just one but two different maps (Team ASia and Legendary Asia) on thick double-sided board.
• Two sets of destination cards
• Nine extra trains in each of the 5 colors
• Four wooden card holders (yes, real wood)
• Two full-color rulebooks

Legendary Asia
This map offers more cities in the south with longer routes to the north.  There are two special types of tracks - Ferries and Double Routes.

Team Asia
Some of the same area as the Legendary map is covered on the Team Asia map.  Besides rules for team play this map introduces tunnel routes.

Conclussion
Awesome expansion to a great game.  Team play is great.  Price point ($30) is even lower than I thought it would be.  I give it a solid 5 out of 6.

Did DC's NEW 52 Save The Comic Industry?

The answer is YES, so far.

Overall 2010 showed a striking downward trend in comic sales.  Sales numbers were down 7% from the following year.  Then DC's New 52 hit in September.  In just two months (September and October) DC is reversed the downward spiral of the industry.  With sales only down 1.5% from 2009 as of this writing DC is primed to help bring sales up to a positive number when compared to 2009 numbers.

Look at the October sales.  October 2010 sales 25% higher than October 2009.

Many stores report increased sales for both Marvel and Independent comics, which Diamond Comics attributes in part due to the increased foot traffic caused by the New 52.

It's fitting that DC Comics - creators of iconic figures like Superman and Batman, widely thought of as the 'original' comic book superheroes, have saved the comic books at least for 2010.

(Picture at top shows the industry share for October 2010)

The Game To Watch For in 2012 - Zombicide

Guillotine Games has announced a new game coming next summer that I am excited about.

Zombiecide is a cooperative miniature game set during the coming zombie apocalypse.

For 2 - 6 players. Players take on the role of survivors who work together to survive the zombie hordes.

The game features a modular playing board, 71 miniatures (most of which are zombies), 10 pre-designed scenarios, rules, dice and cards.

The game will be distributed by the same company who just release Super Dungeon Explore - CoolMiniOrNot.

KGS loves zombie games so I'm sure this will be a big hit. Look for a full review next summer.

What are your 10 Favorite RPG games of all time?

I googled this and found several websites where the author or authors listed the best RPG game systems of all time.  It seems like the following list is what most people seem to think:


10 - Gamma World
9 - Vampire the Masquerade
8 - RuneQuest
7 - Champions
6 - Tunnels & Trolls
5 - GURPS
4 - Star Wars
3 - Traveller
2 - Call of Cthulhu
1 - Dungeons and Dragons

Now I gotta say there are several listed above that would appear on my list.  But there are a few that are missing.  The one's that should definitely mentioned are:

Savage Worlds
Marvel
Pathfinder
Atomic Highway

Pokemon The Card Game

This makes me want to start playing the Pokemon Collectible Card Game again (it's been about 10 years since I've played).

Super Dungeon Explore - Hottest new miniature/board game on the market?

Super Dungeon Explore (SDE) is a dungeon crawler, inspired by old japanese console-RPG's. The miniatures are done in a cute / chibi / super-deformed style, that means the head is roughly the same size as the rest of the body.


One to five players take the role of classic fantasy heroes like the human paladin, a dwarf fighter or an elf ranger. 


One player is the "Dark Consul" who controls the monsters of the dungeon.


Every hero/monster has a character card which informs you about the stats for movement, attack, armor, willpower, dexterity, action points and hearts (= life points). Additional information may include special abilities / actions / attacks and potions.


The game is played on modular dungeon boards. In a round of play the game passes back and forth between single heroes and the monsters, but the exact order may change from round to round. The characters use the stats from their character card, special dice (with hearts, potions and stars) are only used for combat and checks. If the heroes wound the opponent they may draw loot cards to improve their stats. There is also the possibility to open treasure chests to find even more powerful things. The monsters have no possibility to "level up" but the Dark Consul has an unlimited number of them.


To win the game the Dark Consul must defeat all heroes in his dungeon. The heroes must defeat all monsters and destroy all spawning points (= entry points for new monsters) to be victorious.



Game Contents
• 50 + highly detailed Soda Pop Miniatures
• Custom Super Dungeon Battle Dice
• Character and Minion Stat Cards
• Loot and Treasure Card Decks
• 5 Large, Double Sided Dungeon Boards
• 32 Page Rule Book

Mouse Guard RPG - New Rules and New Missions

A new Mouse Guard supplement is available in PDF format.
This supplement was originally available only in the Mouse Guard Boxed Set.

The supplement contains new rules for using mounts, weapons for conflicts and three new locations for adventuring.

If you have the original hardcover rule book for Mouse Guard and did not want to purchase the box Set you can pick up the PDF at drivethroustuff.com

Lord of The Rings HeroClix

It's been almost a year since I broke the news about Lord of the Rings miniatures coming to HeroClix. Well the wait is finally over. The LOTR starter set and single booster packs release this week. These are fully compatible with the HeroClix Gaming Engine.

These are also going to be perfect when we play The One RPG game (Adventures in MiddleEarth).

Smallville WatchTower Report

Mysterious projects, villainous experiments, and superpowered opponents constantly challenge Clark and his companions. Rising above them all is the Watchtower, always ready to provide support, guidance, and direction for these heroes. This sourcebook expands and builds upon the rules found in the Smallville Roleplaying Game with a special focus on antagonists and opposition. The Watchtower Report also features a Season Ten update to the Smallville RPG, spotlighting new allies such as Booster Gold and Blue Beetle in addition to new threats like Granny Goodness and General Slade Wilson.

Release date: December 2011

New Post Apocalyptic RPG - Mutant Epoch

As many of our viewers know the KGS Post Apocalyptic RPG Games. Atomic Highway is one of our favorite games we have played. We at the KGS are very interested in game companies that support their games, whether it be online support or just timely expansions. Well the following game caught my eye and looks to be a game we would all enjoy - Mutant Epoch.

Mutant Epoch

Not only Core Rules, and One Expansion so far but a MONTHLY magazine just for the game. Also for anyone purchasing the book you get a free life time membership to the SOE Online Club which offers exclusive online support for the game.

I will be checking with my FLGS for availability of this game and hopefully will have it in hand soon for a full review.

Happy Thanksgiving

Happy Thanksgiving from the KGS Family !!

The Resurrection of Online Flash Games! Week 18: Fishy

Sorry for my long delay in putting up another review. Nevertheless, I'm back with another online game you can play for free online. Now it shouldn't be a secret that I favor strategy games over any other genre. So today its time to delve into the realm of Action games. And while I like this game, I'm not quite sure how Fishy counts as an action game. But thats beside the point, lets get it on!

In fishy, you start off as a small fish. But you have big dreams, for yourself anyway. The objective is also simple; all you do is eat fish that are smaller than you. You also have to avoid being eaten by bigger fish, something which I will get to later. Also, there is NO saving; you either get so large that you take up the entire screen, or you die. You use the directional buttons for moving around the screen. For those out there that prefer AWSD, I tired it and it will not accept them.

Now as I mentioned you die by being "eaten" by any fish that is larger than you. However the game seems to have a different deffinition of "eaten" than I do. If you die by being eaten, to me that means avoid the mouth. But not in this game. If you so much as come in contact with a bigger fish, even its tail; you die. Just thought that was some helpful advice.

All in all I do enjoy this game. But it certainly doesn't make my top 5. Its very simple but suprisingly hard to complete. You could put 15 minutes into this game and then die, forcing you to restart. Some people would not be discouraged and keep on going, and to an extent neither am I. But there comes a point where one finally says "ok, I've had enough" and finds something else to do; and there isn't a good chance they'll be coming back.

Fishy was created by XGenStudios

Play Fishy for free at Addictinggames.com: www.addictinggames.com/action-games/fishy.jsp

Leave a comment or send me a message on Facebook for any online game you would like me to review.

KGS VideoCast - King of Tokyo Box Opening

Savage Worlds Horror Companion

Description

Take your Savage Worlds games to new depths of darkness with the Horror Companion. Inside are new rules for playing monsters, signs and portents, buckets o' blood, ritual casting, new spells, sanity, gear, new Edges & Hindrances, Setting Rules, over 100 new monsters, advice on creating and maintaining atmosphere, and MORE!

This tome of terror is essential for anyone running a dark or horrific setting.

Star Trek Tactics Announced

WizKids has finally made the Star Trek announcement I have been waiting for. Star Trek Tactics is the Star Trek ship miniature combat game that I thought Star Trek Fleet Captains was supposed to be.

Star Trek Tactics Series 1 will feature 20 pre-painted Federation and Klingon vessels. Using the HeroClix Game Engine for ship abilities and combat to take place on a 2x2 or 3x3 map. Looks to be a very low price point too, the starter set is going to go for about $20 which covers 4 ships, rules, maps, and tokens while single ship boosters will be available (yes it's collectible) for about $3.99.

WizKids has already announced Organized Play featuring EXCLSUIVE ships and maps available only in official tournaments.

This Series 1 set releases in February. Look for tournaments hosted by KGS beginning in February.

Check out the full announcement here

Wings of War with 11 people!

Wings of war is a World War One air plane combat game where you use little planes and a deck of maneuver cards for that plane to move your plane around the table and imitate the actions of a WW1 dogfight. Of all the games I know I think Wings of War is more scalable than any other game. What I mean by that is that it plays as well with 2 players as it does 12 players.

This last Saturday, Nov. 4th was our 3rd Dude Night at Kevin’s home. If you’ve read Scott or my write ups about the other 2 times you know all about his ping pong, air hockey and pool table. You also know that the last two times we played Fantasy Flight’s game Moto Grand Prix.

The Dude Night before this one was a little less attended then the first one so this time I brought a wider range of games to play. Only 3 of the 7 made it into the house but that was plenty. By the time we we’re ready to play we had 9 people. That would have worked just fine for another night of Moto Grand Prix but since we’ve played that twice I thought it was time to put some variety into Dude Night. I explained to everyone that we we’re going to play Wings of War, a WW1 dog-fighting game. Once we got sides picked I passed out the player ‘dashboards’ and planes.

Most people haven’t played table top miniature games like this before so it’s always good to explain to them that where the plane/figure is is important. In most games like this you measure from a fixed point on one plane/miniature to a fixed point on another, moving a plane/miniature will change the distance that you’re measuring to and change a miss into a hit at a tense moment of the game. So bumping or moving your plane more or less than what’s called for is cheating and will throw off the game. So five minutes of explanation and everyone was ready to play.

As the game started Scott and I took over the role of mediator’s, necessary people to have for any large game. We played till one side had 4 kills. After a turn or two we added 2 more people to the game, late arrivers, to give us 11 people playing at once.

This was great fun and everyone got the hang of selecting their movement and moving their planes. Nobody ever really got the hang of working as groups to gang up on the enemy but then caught on enough to make it that I was the first person shot down! We played that if you we’re shot down you came back on with the next set of cards which kept everyone in the game till the end.

A good time was had by all of us. Afterwards I got comments from most everyone that they had never played a game like that before and that they couldn’t believe how much fun they had. Two or three went so far as to tell me that they we’re going to buy it for their family to play at Thanksgiving and Christmas.

So if you don’t already own a copy of Wings of War ask your local shop to get you one or Google Shopping or Amazon Wings of War: Revised Deluxe Edition. It comes with 4 planes and all you’ll need to start hour’s worth of fun.

I have to go watch Flyboys again, see yah!

Get Your Hands Off Me You Damn Dirty Ape !!

Why am I just hearing about a RPG game based on one of my favorite movie properties - The Planet of the Apes? I am a gaming addict and FLGS owner. Someone's head is going to roll. I know it's an older game but has anyone played it?, drop me a line and let me know. I just picked up the PDF version of the rules and am really excited to play.

It's TERRA PRIMATE by Eden Studios (All Flesh Must Be Eaten).

KGS VideoCast - Star Trek Fleet Captains Box Opening

Star Wars Gaming Notes from 10/25/2011

With little backstory, the party is thrown together on a ship headed for Alderaan to claim the bounty on an assassin droid sent to kill Senator Ilan Tah. Only problem? We have no idea what this droid looks like. As a cover, we're suppose to pick up some wine. Should be simple enough. I'm playing a Wookie bounty hunter so I've practiced my grunts and growls all week.

We land on Alderaan and they immediately lock up all of our weapons. Seems Alderaan is a peaceful planet. We begin our investigation by setting up appointments with the Senator and the winery (separately, of course). In the meanwhile, we start spitballing ideas on how to identify and stop this assassin droid. We search databases for droids recently entering the system, try to establish underworld contacts, and eventually try to tail the Senator to establish likely ambush points.

It seems that our tailing attracted some attention, however, because we were stopped by the police and detained. All of this fit into my Wookie's plan. I hoped that news of my arrest in connection with the Senator would lure out the elements who had hired the assassin droid. Unfortunately, no such luck.

When it came time to go to the winery, the wine snobs wouldn't sell us their precious wine called "Alderaan Blue Fury". So my wookie had intimidate the shop employees into selling him the wine. Once they saw his credits were good they complied with our *ahem* gentle request. We safely loaded the cargo and waited to meet with the Senator the next day.

Finally, the day arrived and we were greeted by a protocol droid. Something didn't seem right, however, when the droid took a translation device in with us to see the Senator. When we accused the droid of trying to kill the senator, he fled. Some of us pursued and apprehended the droid while the rest defused the device which turned out to be a bomb and guarded the Senator.

We collected our bounty, earned the thanks of the Senator, and headed off to deliver our wine cargo. Unfortunately, before we could leave the system, a large moon appeared around Alderaan. Tie fighters swarmed us and forced us onto what we now realized wasn't a moon at all but a fully operational battle station.

It's ALWAYS great to roleplay in the Star Wars universe... To be continued...
(originally posted by Scott on his One Long Road blog)

Star Trek Fleet Captain's, first game impressions

At a pivotal point in our Deathwatch game Ken and Steve  couldn’t make it. Rather than letting the rest of the party suffer torture and death at the hands of the Khorne possessed Space Marine Commander without their friends we decided to play Star Trek Fleet Captains instead.


We borrowed the store copy seeing that none of us had yet coughed up the $99.00 it cost to buy the game. Setup for the four player game was pretty quick and easy with the most time consuming part  being sorting out the massive bag of tokens and then after that the Command cards.
Chris and I played the Federation while Dave and Elliot played the Klingon’s. Right as we started to draw for our ship’s Steve wonders in to join us. Dave and Steve decided to share command of their half of the Klingon side.


Before I go any farther I should probably tell everyone that I like Star Trek. I’ve seen most of the episodes of most of the series. I’ve even been to Shore Leave a few times with some friends to marvel at the Trekky’ness of it all.  My favorite episode is that one where Captain Kirk is about to marry two crew members and before the ceremony they beam down to a planet and the groom is the red shirt of the away team. He dies, cause that’s what red shirts do, and at the end of the episode Kirk stops to see the ex-bride and basically say ‘This stuff happen all the time, get over it and get back to work.’ And then the next few minutes are him walking alone around the halls of his ship. I’ve always loved the symbolism of the solitude of his command , a great cinematic effect. Now that I’ve said all that you trekky’s know the name of the episode I mean but I have no clue what it’s called. Ask me about Dr. Who though….


Now that you know about me let me say that Dave, Steve, Chris and Elliot are pretty big Star Trek fans, much bigger than me. I think their reaction tells allot more about how close Whiz Kids came to making a great game then mine would. I didn’t hear one complaint, sure they complained about me looking up rules or not knowing how to do this or that but not once did I hear the “That could never happen ‘cause a Klingon bird of prey has two dorsal venting ports that….”.  Don’t pretend you don’t know who I’m talking about, you know him and you might even be him!


As out game played out us with the Federation jumped right out there and started collecting Victory Points right away. We we’re up around 10 (we we’re playing to the recommended 16pts) when the Klingon’s finally started completing missions. Need I say that it seemed, and rightfully so, that most of their mission involved hunting us down and inflicting some kind of damage on us.


One of the many nice parts of the game is that each turn you can discard a mission and draw a new one if you think you’ll never be able to fulfill it. I had one that I held onto for ¾ of the game that would get me 2 Victor Points if I destroyed a Klingon Starbase. Knowing that they we so slow at expanding their empire I discarded it for a new card only to have them build a Starbase the next round!


We played for about 2 ½ hours and with the store closing soon ended the game a turn before we of the Federation would have scored one more Victory Point and won anyway.
In the end we all decided that we really liked that game and that we’re going to have to play again soon. It sounded like Dave, Chris and I will end up buying the game at some point especially when more races come out (that was the teaser that Brett gave us ½ way through the game). Elliot though he loved it as much and maybe a tiny bit more than his new copy of Dread Fleet, that he keeps under his pillow. Steve said he’d defiantly buy a copy if it wasn’t for the fact that he couldn’t get anyone else but us to play it with him. Brett, keep 4 on hand and someday we’ll pick them up, honestly!


The game is designed to be a 2 player game expandable to 4 players, we all felt that after playing it as a 4(5) player game the 2 players would not be as much fun. With how fluidly the game plays we see no reason you couldn’t combine 2 sets and play with 6 or 8 players as long as you we’re mindful of play area size and how many actions each person could take a turn.


I think this is a great game; I’d give it a 5 out of 6. Once I get to play more and more races come out this games going to move up to a 6 for me. If you could get non-Star Trek fans to look past the theme and play the game I think they’d find a fun game that is quick to learn and easy to play.

Role Playing games Are Good For Kids (CNN Article)

CNN has a really good article about why role playing games are good for kids.
Link

JUST PLAYED - King of Tokyo

We played King of Tokyo for the first time tonight and LOVED IT.

We played with the EXCLUSIVE promo cards from boardgamegeek.com which are pictured above.

A full review and podcast will probably be coming next week because we all want to play it some more !!!

NEW GAME - Harry Potter House Cup Challenge

Ok, I'm spending too much money on games.  My order for this new Harry Potter Game came in today so that's like 8 new games in the past 6 weeks. 

There will not be a review or box opening of this game until sometime after the holidays because this is a gift for my kids at Christmas.  Sorry folks you will need to wait until at least the 12/26 for a review.

It looks like a great game, and my kids love Harry Potter so I'm sure it will be a big hit.



NEW GAME - Duel In The Dark

The other day I told you about one of the two new games I just bought.
Today I will tell you about the other.

DUEL IN THE DARK

Description:

Duel in the Dark is a World War 2 air combat game depicting the nighttime air raids of British bombers hitting German cities.

As the head of the British Bomber Command, you plan the attacks on Germany in order to undermine the morale of the civilian population. Or as a General of the German Air Force (Luftwaffe), you defend using your ace squadrons and organizing an effective civil defense.

The gameboard enables you to set up countless variations of these historic events. You play as many nights as you wish - each night takes 30-45 minutes to resolve.

Immerse yourself in the strategic and tactical thinking needed to survive in those dark times.

Gameplay allows for easy entry into the action with some advanced rules for the hearty wargamer. The game rules include weather conditions, full moon/new moon bonuses and penalties, clouds and thunderclouds, fog, flak, searchlights, balloon barriers, target markers, and much more.

The British player secretly plots the course of the bomber while the Mosquito acts as escort or decoy. The German player tries to figure out where the bomber is going, making sure to efficiently use the fuel to get as many hits on the bomber as possible.

NEW GAME - Bloodsuckers

I just picked up two new board games.
The first one I got because Halloween is coming and KGS will be sponsoring some games at the annual ZombieFest held at Comic Store West in York PA.

This game is called BLOODSUCKERS.

Description:

The once quiet small town of Blackwood has become a battleground. A coven of vampires has crept in under the cover of darkness to drain the very life from its helpless citizens. As powerful as these creatures of legend are, they do not prowl the streets unchallenged. A team of skilled vampire hunters with an arsenal of modern weapons has tracked these bloodsuckers down and the battle for the soul of Blackwood is about to begin.

Play as either vampire or hunter, using Attack cards to battle for the citizens of Blackwood, Impact cards to enhance your powers, and deadly Strike cards to destroy your opponent. Unleash powerful combos and use Blood or Adrenaline as you fight, alone or with a teammate, through both night and day. Win battles to recruit the innocent bystanders at the Nightclub, Church, Graveyard, Police Station, and Hospital. Claim the most locations to win control of the town.

Save the town of Blackwood, or drain it dry.
The choice is yours.

Bloodsuckers is a highly thematic strategy card game for 2 to 4 players ages 13 and up.

- Players can choose to fight as either vampires or hunters with different abilities for each side.
- Time of day is tracked using the Clockdial with day and night having special effects on gameplay.
- Multiple ways to combine cards gives players exciting strategic options.
- Four-player games focus on unique team-based gameplay.

Batman Vs Captain America - Who Would Win?

Captain America's Fighting knowledge:
American Boxing, Judo, Aikido, and Jujutsu are the only revealed disciplines, but he has utilized various different techniques and methods from multiple others. Among these are various Gong fu (or Kung fu) such as Taijiquan, Wing Chun, various Shaolin arm methods which he incorporates for his shield, Chin na, and northern kicking methods, Capoeira, Muay Thai, Karate, Eskrima, and hand techniques used in Ninjutsu. (for more info visit the Marvel wiki)

Batman's Fighting knowledge:
Has mastered 127 different fighting styles (Ultimate Guide to the Dark Knight)

Let's approach this 2 different ways.

Arena #1 - Standard MMA Octagon (32ft across, 750 square feet)
Rules - No gadgets or shield, both fighters in standard fighting shorts

How the fight would go:

Cap is gonna land some good punches on the bat, and probably even try and get a grab in. But Batman is going to be able to counter most techniques used and eventually get Cap in some kind of lock and get him to tap out.

I think this is a long fight which is usually in Cap's favor because of his conditioning.  But Batman is patient not using much energy, he weights for the one small mistake Cap makes and then counters and forces a tap out.

Winner - Batman

Arena #2 - typical dark city alley
Rules - none

How the fight would go:

Yes Cap has his shield, but guess what Batman is strong and agile enough to catch the shield if thrown at him. Batman would spray Cap with knockout gas from the utility belt and fight is over.

This fight is very quick.

Winner - Batman


Check back soon for our next Marvel vs DC throwdown.

Tales of a Female Gamer

So.............it's been awhile since I posted anything...........ahem, and I think I might be getting the hang of gaming. MIGHT BE. Thank God for d10! As some of you know from listening to the podcast ( and if your not downloading it, WHY NOT?). I'm not a very good counter, or adder, or anything with numbers, so the easier the game the better. Remember, me dumb girl can't count die. As the role playing has progressed, I sort of start to get it. If only I can count. My fellow gamers have actually added for me in some cases when it was evident that my eyes have glazed over, and my brain is shut down. Again, thank God for d10 systems. At least it is fairly simple. Introduce a charting system and I'm almost happy. The problem is my lack of any attention span when someone is explaining rules to me. After about the third or fourth sentence it starts sounding like the teacher from a peanuts cartoon. I have to just forge ahead and play the game, understanding as I go. This creates a bit of frustration with my fellow gamers. I don't blame them really, but someone reading rules out of a book just turns me off.

Let's give the example of tonight's game we are playing. As a filler between RPG's, we are playing a board game called "King of Tokyo". My lovely husband, Old Brian, starts reading off the rules for the game. It simple enough, maybe even a little fun. Even a special guest little boy was playing. After about a third of the way through, I got board, stopped listening and didn't hear a word he said. Resulting in me losing, and the 4 year old winning the first game. Comical really. I never win at games though so I'm used to the humiliation.

Case in point, everyone is still playing while I'm posting.....

Maybe I should take speed before I play, that way I might pay attention

JUST PLAYED - Gears of War - The Board Game

My friend Art and I played the new Gears of War Board Game this past Saturday.
We SUCK.  We couldn't get out of the starting tile on the introduction mission.

It's a pretty cool game.  Look for the KGS to play in the upcoming weeks.

KGS VideoCast - Gears of War Boardgame Box Opening

What You Get:

KGS Podcast - Episode 00030 - Lone Wolf RPG Review

KEYSTONE GAMING SOCIETY REVIEW
GAME:	LONE WOLF RPG
PUBLISHER:	MONGOOSE
THE RATINGS:
SCOTT:
OLD BRIAN:
YOUNG BRYAN:
DAVE:
TISHA:
SAM:

New Videocasts coming soon

KGS fans look for box opening videocasts of the following games in the weeks to come:

King of Tokyo
Gears of War - The Boardgame
Star Trek Fleet Captains
Hogwart's House Cup Challenge Collectable Adventure Board Game

AD&D1e, A New Way to Play?

Advanced Dungeons and Dragons, 1st edition was the first role-playing game I ever played, and recently I've been interested in playing it again. Is it nostalgia for a bygone age when phones were attached to cords, tv screens were concave, and floppy disks were cool? Sure, but it's more than that. 1st edition was great! OK, the combat system isn't realistic and the way it handles armor is silly. Alright, the character classes might have been a little unbalanced. And yes, many campaigns were little more than dungeon crawly, hack'n'slash fests. But gods, was it fun to play! Even with all its sloppy game mechanics, endless charts and tables, and ridiculous monsters. Some of the best adventures I've ever played, both modules and home-brewed, were for 1st edition.

I've been thinking about running a module or two for KGS within the next 6 months, but was worried finding copies of the rules, both for players and myself, might be a problem. I still have most of the original books and modules, but I never bought the Fiend Folio and my original Monster Manual was misplaced. I was going to check eBay when I found out about OSRIC.

OSRIC (short for Old School Reference and Index Compilation) is a set of free rules that creates a version of AD&D 1st edition within the guidelines of the OGL. Basically, it's 1st edition without the original art and layouts of the TSR books, but the rules are almost identical. Within the 400-page pdf (found at www.knights-n-knaves.com/osric/) are the equivalent of the Players Handbook, Dungeon Master Guide, and Monster Manual. Instead of splitting the rules into 3 books, the OSRIC rules are broken down into 6 chapters: Creating a Character; Spells; How to Play; Dungeons, Towns and Wildernesses; Monsters, and Treasure. There is also a Compiled Tables appendix, character sheet, and index. This layout is a real upgrade over the original books, which were labyrinthian in their layouts, and allows for much quicker rules access. I recommend OSRIC for anyone who wants to learn AD&D 1e and doesn't have access to the original books, and for those of us who no longer have all our old books and need to fill in the gaps. Again, the pdf is free, but they also have softcover and hardcover editions available if you'd prefer those.

I also found that Expeditious Retreat Press has published a number of 1st edition adventure modules using the OSRIC rules under OGL. While original, creative modules in their own right, they are definitely inspired by the classic TSR adventures. You might also want to check out Dungeon Crawl classics, also modeled on the classic style. Both are available as hardcopies at your local gaming store, or as pdfs on a number of gaming sites.

Finally, there is a podcast solely devoted to AD&D1e called Roll for Initiative (http://rfipodcast.com/show/, also on iTunes). While not the most dynamic podcast ever, they do pack the show with a fair amount of information, and I like their takes on the various character classes.

So here's to AD&D 1e. Long may it reign!

KGS Podcast - Episode 00029 - Classic Marvel RPG Review

KEYSTONE GAMING SOCIETY REVIEW
GAME:	CLASSIC MARVEL RPG
PUBLISHER:	TSR
THE RATINGS:
SCOTT:
OLD BRIAN:
YOUNG BRYAN:
DAVE:
TISHA:
SAM:

Marvel Super Heroes D100 - Gaming Notes #4 (FINAL)

Recap: The X-Men are on the trail of Apocalypse, a powerful mutant who may be holding their missing teammates. Mr. Sinister gave them a tip that there was someone using his technologies in the Morlock tunnels who might be able to help them locate Apocalypse. After hours of fruitless searching, they open a door and see... a blue-furred Beast!

The Beast greets the heroes warmly, which is strange to the human-form Beast that has been adventuring with the X-Men. The Beast explains that he is from an alternate reality that was ruled by Apocalypse. He was thrown into this reality's past 20 years ago when his reality ceased to exist. He offers the X-Men a device capable of tracking Apocalypse in exchange for access to their scientific equipment.

The heroes, with this new Beast in tow, return to the X-Mansion to rest and heal. They hear the news that Avengers mansion was destroyed by the Masters of Evil and the Avengers have been badly hurt. Magneto calls from Muir Island and reminds them of the urgency of their mission - find the missing teammates!

Suddenly the Apocalypse detection device goes crazy... Apocalypse just appeared in Washington DC with his "four horsemen" and demanded the surrender of the President! The X-Men leap into action! When they arrive on the scene, they witness the destruction that has been wrought. They also notice Uatu, the Watcher, a cosmic level being who appears to record historically significant moments in time. The X-Men attack, only to realize that the four horsemen are their four missing teammates - Magma, Rogue, Angel, and Sunspot, all of whom are now controlled by Apocalypse!

In the combat, Longshot quickly goes down as does the Beast. Wolverine takes down Sunspot but makes a tactical error in attacking Apocalypse directly! It appears the X-Men will be easily defeated when a man with grey hair wearing body armor appears above the battle... Cable! He is badly injured and passes along this message, "The Scarlet Witch! She is the end of all mutants! No more mutants! You must stop her! She's too powerful to live!" Images of the horrible future (Avengers Disassembled, House of M, Decimation, Schism, Mutant Extinction) flash in the minds of all assembled - including Apocalypse. Apocalypse teleports away with his horsemen saying, "With the Scarlet Witch's power I could reshape the world in my image!"

The X-Men scramble to the New Jersey suburb where the Scarlet Witch and her husband the Vision live. The town is on flames - the Avengers are losing a pitched battle to defend the Scarlet Witch against Apocalypse (which is odd because the Avengers are still recovering from their mansion being destroyed...). Approaching, the X-Men are surprised when the Scarlet Witch blasts their plane out of the air!

The X-Men escape the burning vessel and rush into combat only to be stopped when the Scarlet Witch summons Magneto, Quicksilver, Crystal, and Wonder Man to defend her! They quickly engage in a three way battle -
On one side are the X-Men - Longshot, Colossus, Wolverine, and Beast.
On another side are Apocalypse and his three remaining horsemen - Rogue, Angel, and Magma!
On the final side are the Scarlet Witch's reality-warped puppets: Magneto, Quicksilver, Crystal, Wonder Man, Vision, and Agatha Harkness!

Apocalypse swiftly knocks Agatha Harkness down and Rogue steals Magneto's powers, putting Magneto out of commission. The Vision and Wonder Man quickly defeats Wonder Man's good friend, the Beast, and Magma puts Longshot out of commission. A battered Colossus is barely standing. Crystal and Angel exchange blows Quicksilver and Wonder Man pound on Wolverine with a flurry of blows, almost knocking him unconscious.

As a last ditch desperation grasp at victory, Wolverine goes into a berserker rage and beheads the Scarlet Witch! 

Instantly, the Avengers and her extended family are returned to their rightful places. Apocalypse, his prize stolen from him, says that the Scarlet Witch must not have been strong enough to survive and disappears, leaving his failed horsemen behind. The X-Men pick up their fallen comrades and head home. A dark future was averted but at what cost?