Archive for June, 2009

Origins day one wrap-up

Posted by Lance on 26th June , 2009

I blew off my second slot in lieu of some hearty exploration of the expo floor. Some really great stuff this year. I was disappointed to learn that the first printing of Days of Wonder’s new Small World has apparently sold out completely. I’m playing a demo tomorrow, and from the buzz I’d been expecting [...]

Origins 2009 – Hackmaster Basic continued

Posted by Lance on 25th June , 2009

We completed a short adventure run by Steve Johanson. Definitely intrigued enough to pick up a copy. The rules have a decidedly First Edition feel. Crunchy, but flows pretty quickly. I think there’d be a little learning curve until we get past the “wait, we forgot about X” factor.

Origins Day One – Hackmaster Basic

Posted by Lance on 25th June , 2009

Day one is off to a great start. Our first event is an introduction to the new Hackmaster Basic ruleset. So far, it looks really promising. I think these rules could provide the crunch and depth that several of our players are looking for. A couple of us had tried to sell the group on [...]

Magic: the Gathering – Duels of the Planeswalkers (XBLA) reviewed

Posted by Lance on 19th June , 2009

Flash back to the late 1980s.  A Penn graduate student named Richard Garfield begins designing an interesting new card game called Magic: the Gathering.  Several years later, the 1993 commercial launch of Magic dumps the gaming industry on its head, singlehandedly spawning the bold new genre of collectible/customizable games still thriving worldwide. Back to June [...]

First Impressions: Magic: the Gathering – Duels of the Planeswalkers

Posted by Lance on 18th June , 2009

I checked out the demo of this new XBLA title this morning, playing first through the tutorial, and then one duel.  (I wasn’t, um, a bit late for work because of this…) Duels of the Planeswalkers is a faithful, unembellished digital implementation of the popular Wizards of the Coast collectible card game.  The interface seems [...]