Claustrophobia: De Profundis

For those of you just joining us, it's the expansion to Claustrophobia which is due late this month (or early next month), if CROC manages to retrieve the copies from the South Pacific.

A few weeks back, I shared an unboxing video for Claustrophobia de Profundis.

A few days after that, Asmodee posted a video they shot at GenCon of me, talking briefly about the game.

So what's left to say?
A fair amount - the video doesn't show off just how well-put-together the pieces are. Seriously: Check these beauties out:

Now, because this is the internet and people on the internet seem to need to complain, allow me to complain about these figures for you. Or more accurately, allow me to list the complaints I've seen about these figures:

1) The Sicaria need eyes.
2) The clothing the Sicaria are wearing is too bright.
3) The Hellhounds don't seem to be as detailed as the Troglodytes from the base game were. 

Sounds like ... really minor complaints, honestly.  Would the Sicaria look better with eyes?  Probably. But I don't know that I'd have been satisfied with poorly-done eyes, either. My Redeemer has slightly crazy-looking eyes - it's appropriate, mind you. The Redeemer always comes across (to me, at least) as a bit unhinged.

The clothing for the Sicaria isn't actually bright.  They're armored. So the Sicaria (Angela and Ruth, according to CROC) are the only characters in the game (other than the Redeemer) wearing any sort of armor.  In fact, these are not cheesecake figures by any stretch of the imagination, which is nice.

So what's in the box?

Sphere covered this. What he didn't mention is that there are TWELVE scenarios in there - that's double what was in the base game.

I've played a few of the scenarios, too - it's good. Really good.

A few months ago, Asmodee posted something on their websitesite that caused my wife to comment. They basically said, "If you dislike Claustrophobia, you're going to hate the expansion." She thought it was bad marketing. But it's true.

What this set does is take the base game and turn it up a few notches. Everything I liked about the base game is enhanced with the expansion.  The Demon player has difficult decisions to make with their dice every turn - do they need to get more TP? What's a better choice: 2 TP to buy a Demon or an extra die next turn? Will a card help? What's more important in this situation: A Demon or a Troglodyte?

With the addition of the expansion, the Demon player has to keep track of their Hellhounds, too. They only cost 3 TP to summon, and get a free die in the turn in which they're summoned. But in later turns, they use of one of the Demon player's dice.

The Humans previously had to decide where to put their dice to do the most good during initiative - the Sicaria don't make that decision any easier, as their skills make them different both from one another and from the rest of the team.  Not only that, but the question of attacking the Demon or the Trogs is harder, because it's possible to attack Demons, Troglodytes, and Hellhounds.

All in all, it's a very strong expansion that doesn't detract from the base game at all. It maintains its strong theme and continues to be a joy and a delight.

Short Bits

I pre-ordered a Kindle Fire. I'll let you know what I think once it gets here - the appeal to me is the statement that it'll have a "desktop-quality" PDF reader.  While I love reading PDF's on my Kindle DX, it's inconvenient when gaming because it's not as easy to search for a specific rule if a question comes up. I will post a full review once it arrives. Well, a few weeks after it arrives. I need to test it thoroughly, first.

Do: Pilgrims of the Flying Temple is a bit like Fiasco backwards. In Fiasco, things start out messed up and then continue to go bad.  In Do, the PCs are there to fix a problem and, more often than not, should succeed. And, as an added bonus, it's much more kid-friendly. Definitely worth picking up.

Jungle Speed is now available at Target, Toys-R-Us, and some Wal*Mart stores. I've personally seen it at Target at Toys-R-Us. I hope they sell a billion of them. There's even a commercial that is airing on Nickelodeon and Cartoon network. It's worth noting that the game no longer includes a wooden totem - it comes with a soft rubber totem. To my mind, this is a good thing - no more property damage from when the totem goes flying.

The Dungeon Twister video game has apparently been delayed. Again. The last word I'd had said "September 14."  Obviously that date came and went.  There's a fairly recent video on TricTrac.tv that shows Chris Boelinger talking about the game. If I spoke French, I'd love to translate it. Sadly, I only speak English, and I'm not even terribly good at that. I hear that it may be playable at Essen this year - it was playable at the recent Asmoday. When I get more news about its release, I'll share it with you. Believe me, I want this at least as much as most of you. Probably more, actually. After all, I've written more about Dungeon Twister  in all its forms than nearly anyone else out there, including Chris. Also? I've seen several teasers for the next set, Traps. I can't wait to see how the finished product plays.

The game I'm most excited about from Essen?  I'm not sure.  Takenoko looks amazing (and simple). Cyclades: Hades looks to be a lot of fun. Ghost Stories: Black Secret should be good. There's a standalone 51st State expansion coming, too. Of course Claustrophobia de Profundis is good, but I already have it. It's hard to get excited about the release of a game you already have ... there are just so many good games hitting all at once.

Speaking of Good Games, Tikal II won the Games Magazine Game of the Year. I don't always agree with their decisions, but I've been saying since I got it that Tikal II  isn't a bad game - it's just that people are too busy comparing it to the original. I honestly think the game has been hurt by its association with the original. The only thing they have in common is their theme and their designers.

I'm not sure if you noticed, but Gamethyme.com now has a favicon.  Those of you reading via RSS obviously haven't noticed.  Thanks for the change, Blogger team! It's small but (for me, at least) important.

I'm considering changing the name of the blog from "Talking Game" to "Gamethyme's Talking Game" or "Talking Game with Gamethyme."  Something like that.  I don't want to drop "Talking Game" because I get a LOT of Google Hits from it, and I want to more deeply incorporate "Gamethyme" to the title. Thoughts and suggestions are, of course, welcome - just leave me a comment.

I went back to that game store I mentioned a few months ago.  As soon as I was half-way through the door, I was greeted warmly and asked if I needed help finding anything. The guy knew right were it was, guided me there, and helped me find the exact one I needed.  It still had the obnoxious Yu-Gi-Oh duel machine thing and the signs warning people not to use their table or their chess sets, but the staffer was a huge improvement. When I asked him what was new and good this week, he pointed out that new Games Workshop naval game. "Just about everything else," he told me, "is in a holding pattern for Essen." It means that he was at least marginally aware of the industry, unlike the folks that had been there during my previous visit. I'm happy with Phoenix Games, so I won't ever spend a lot of money here, but it means I can use this place as an emergency backup for supplies like sleeves or occasional games that Phoenix can't get for whatever reason (and there aren't a lot of those).

... and that about wraps up what I have to say this week.  Next week, I'll be talking more about de Profundis. Unless something big drops in the meantime.

Ten Years of the Toyota Prius

I saw something on the news the other day about it being the tenth anniversary of the Toyota Prius. Has it really, I thought, been around for that long?  Yes. It has. Eleven years, actually.

When it first came out, it was exciting and different and new.  My friends would eagerly point them out whenever we were on the road and spotted one. "That's one," we'd say, "That's the future right there!"

But here's the thing: It's no longer an oddity on the roads. It's become just another car.


These days, it's the Tesla that draws our eyes and interest that way.


This year, Vampire: the Masquerade turns 20.  White Wolf has put out a 20th Anniversary version of the game. I remember when it came out - it was new and revolutionary and different - a system that supported storytelling more than combat.

And now it's just another game. When you look at its influence, dozens of other games have taken cues from it. Or have tweaked some of its ideas and then improved upon it.

In fact, I've grown to dislike their system a great deal - in large part because other people have taken their ideas and improved upon them to the point where the original looks dull by comparison. But that's beside the point.

The real point is this: What was new and revolutionary a decade ago is now just another _______. Newer games have taken ideas from older games - mechanical ideas, mostly - and refined them. Polished them. Made them something new. There are more electric cars on the road than there used to be.

So, even though The One Ring is new and a "compelling blend of indie and old school designs," it is still standing on the shoulders of giants. And, in another decade, someone will be standing on its shoulders, too.

But that doesn't mean I'm not going to look as it representative of what is yet to come.

With ideas as diverse and unique as we're starting to see these days, I really can't wait to see where we're going.

Charities

Early this year, I had that minor issue with someone using one of my images without permission (and without following the terms of its Creative Commons license).  In that post, I mentioned that I had requested a $50 donation to Child's Play.

Since then, I have received a number of e-mails from folks asking about game-related charities. At the time, I only knew of Child's Play and Toys for Tots. A few more have shown up since then.

Since it's now well into September, we are nearly to the holiday season. This is when charities start to gear up for their busy season, and I want to encourage you to give to charity.

These are the charities I know of who are either game-related or are tied in some way to gamers which I can recommend to you:

Childs Play - Originally started by the Penny Arcade guys, Child's Play initially focused on getting video games and video game systems for low-income or otherwise disadvantaged children. Over the years, it's grown well beyond that. I can, without hesitation, recommend Child's Play as a charity worth supporting.

Jack Vasel Memorial Fund - Tom Vasel is one of the internet's best-known and most prolific board game reviewers. Over the years, he's done an excellent job of letting us into his personal life in bits and pieces. Tom is also an amazing human being. In 2010, his son, Jack, was born too early. After struggling for longer than anyone had expected, he passed. The boardgamegeek community rallied and raised tens of thousands of dollars to help with the medical bills. Tom wishes to pay that forward. The Jack Vasel Memorial Fund gathers funds which are then given to gamers who are in need.

Foodmachine - I only recently became aware of this one. Apparently, a bunch of New Jersey-based Warmachine players formed it to give money to the local food bank.What started small and local has snowballed, with prizes now provided by Privateer Press. It's a great idea.

Toys for Tots - The USMC's annual toy drive also accepts games. My FLGS participates every year by putting out a big box for donation collection. They collect year-round, however, and also accept cash donations. Check the website for the local chapter near you.

And not game-related, but relevant to me, is Movember. I've decided to participate this year.  Those of you who know me know that I have facial hair. In fact, I have had this facial hair since the mid nineties. I shaved it off for one month a few years back (and was paid $300 to do so). On October 31, I will be shaving it all off again, and then regrowing just the mustache, with normal facial hair to begin resuming in December.

I don't get any kickbacks or prizes for any donations to any of these charities. I support the missions of all of them (in one or two cases, I do so financially).

Cursed Items for D&D

Apparently Wizards of the Coast does listen to its fans.

Remember when I ranted about a lack of cursed items in 4E?

They're now available.

Finally.

It probably sounds weird that I'm so excited about this, because I'm not currently a 4E DM.  I'm a player.

It's not as odd as it seems. I promise.

Currently, I know that every time I slay a foe, I can (and should) grab anything they drop that I can carry. I don't need to worry at all about drawbacks - it's a matter of, "Is this stuff better than what I already have or not?"

I miss the mystery of, "Is this safe to use?" or "Will this item have a drawback of some sort?" I miss powerful items that forced PC's to remove their armor. Or which had a risk associated with them - the Wizards article linked above makes it sound like the curses are added to the existing awesomeness of an item - so you might get a Dragon-slaying Backbiter blade +4 that has the power to do significant damage to Dragons (and nearly anyone else), but inflicts half-damage on its wielder in the case of a critical.

It means that PC's will need to think before mindless grabbing handfuls of loot. It may be that that blade +4 is better than my Longsword +2 - but is it worth the critical effect?

I, for one, can't wait to start seeing some of these items in play.

Jim and Jason: I'm not kidding. I'd love to see a few cursed items in our games from time to time.

The Kobold Guide to Board Game Design

The Kobolds did it again: They've released another Kobold Guide. And offered me a free PDF to read.

The previous Guides had loads of solid information on writing and publishing RPGs and RPG Adventures. How to approach publishers, various models of design, and so on. I really loved them - enough that I purchased print copies after reading the free PDF copies.

The new one, however, hit me in a particular weak point missed by the others: Board Games.

The Kobold Guide to Board Game Design is structured similarly to the three RPG-flavored volumes - that is, there is one "core" author, who does the interstitial work as well as an essay or two.  This time, it's Mike Selinker who fills this role. There are also essays by Richard Garfield, James Earnest, Matt Forbeck, Jeff Tidball, Andrew Looney, and several others - all of whom I recognized (which says something about me).

It's divided into four parts: Concept, Design, Development, and Presentation.

Part 1: Concepting is just what it sounds like - working on coming up with an idea for a game, and it includes some thoughts about game design in general. I especially recommend reading Richard Garfield's essay in this section, in large part because I agree with him. I don't always like his games, but I do like what he has to say more often than not.

Part 2: Design overlaps a great deal with Part One. It does include the first thing in the book that made me actually laugh out loud - Andrew Looney's chart detailing his creative process.  It ends with PUBLISH and then START FAQ FILE. It was an excellent reminder that publication is never done.

I particularly enjoyed Rob Daviau's essay from this section, where he discussed how a small rules tweak can clear out multiple paragraphs of rules text and make a game easier to learn.

For those of you who don't know, Mike Selinker has a Livejournal account dedicated to the "most beautiful" things.  Each time he posts, he picks a category, and discusses what he finds to be the most beautiful example of that category. So it was not a surprise to find an essay here called, "The Most Beautiful Game Mechanics."

Part 3: Development has (no surprise) some overlap with the previous section. Rob Daviau's essay could easily have fit into this section. It's all about taking your game and then polishing it some more - generally it's polish that is out of the hands of the designer, too.  Dave Howell's essay could easily have fit into Part 2, as it outlines a series of design rules.

Part 4: Presentation is all about that final coat of polish and what to present to potential publishers.  Steve Jackson (of Steve Jackson Games) has the first essay in here, with a long list of "This is a bad idea and why." It's written interestingly, and demonstrates a solid understanding of gaming and gamers. Having been in business for as long as he has, it should come as no surprise that he has this depth of understanding.

Michelle Nephew's essay in this section seems to my (unpublished) mind to be the most useful. It summarizes much of the rest of the book, and does so clearly and concisely.

Even if you aren't thinking about designing a board game, I would still pick up a copy of this book - the sneak peek into the mind of some truly excellent designers is well worth the price of admission.

ICONS Contest: Results

Sorry for the delay in posting - I got home late last night.

Here are the answers:

My favorite comic book character?  Lobo.  No-one got this one. Not surprising. Most of the guesses I received were fairly predictable - Batman, Superman, Wolverine, and Green Lantern led the pack.

My favorite superheroic system?  The old Marvel Super Heroes FASERIP system. After a brief discussion with my wife last night, I would also have accepted Smallville (which I think of as being a soap opera game, even though it is a super hero-genre game. FASERIP got a fair number of guesses. HERO system received a fair number of guesses. Mutants and Masterminds was the most popular guess.

No-one got both questions correct.

The winner was Uriah Otting, who did not have any correct guesses. Uriah, please check your e-mail and get back to me. Thanks to all for your participation.