A Card Game for Me? Summoner Wars

I strive to be, like the guys at the Game On with Cody & John podcast say, a well-rounded gamer.

My first love when it comes to gaming is miniature war gaming. I also enjoy a variety of boardgames like Battlelore, Memoir '44 and Tannhauser.

However, I've never been much of a card game player...outside of Skip-Bo, that is (which gets played almost every day in our house).

There's been a wealth of collectible card games released over the years since Magic the Gathering essentially created the genre about 15 years ago. There's been a few that have tempted me like Upper Deck's Vs system or their Quickstrike Pirates of the Caribbean CCG simply due to the themes. Despite owning starter sets for both, I've never actually played a game of either. And, quite frankly, I'm just not enamored with the collectible aspect of CCGs in general. My gaming funds are limited and precious, and I don't want to be throwing money after cards I may already have and whatnot.

But, in the past few years we've seen a variety of card games that have eschewed the collectible format. Fantasy Flight Games changed their Game of Thrones CCG from collectible to what they termed "Living Card Games" wherein they release expansion packs each month. You know exactly what you're buying, but how you incorporate the newest releases into your deck is where the strategy lies.

I recently just learned of the game Summoner Wars by Plaid Hat Games from a mention on the Game On with Cody & John podcast. As I started looking at it, I started becoming very intrigued. Might this be the card game for me? And, the bigger question, can I get my wife to play it with me?

Plaid Hat has released a couple of two-player starter sets and some expansions (with much more to come). The game looks really interesting, and I definitely want to check it out. However, I see that in June 2011 they'll be releasing a Summoner Wars Master Set. This bad boy comes with:

• 6 Complete Faction Decks
• 1 Premium Board
• 1 Revised Rulebook
• 5 Six-Sided Dice
• 20 Wound Markers
• 1 Plastic Tray (with space for more Faction Decks)

All this for an MSRP of $49.95? Awesome. This is what I plan to pick up as my first exposure to Summoner Wars, and I can't wait. Plaid Hat is going to be at Origins and they expect to have the Master Set there, so I'm looking forward to picking it up then.

In the meantime, gentle readers, I see that Plaid Hat Games is based out of Fremont, Ohio just about an hour and half north of where I am in Delaware, OH. I'm hoping that sometime between now and Origins I can make the trek north and visit Plaid Hat HQ and interview designer and lead Plaid Hatter, Colby Dauch. So, stay tuned!

Wizkids to Launch Lord of the Rings Clix Game and More

WIZKIDS TAKES OVER MIDDLE EARTH

WITH NEW "THE LORD OF THE RINGS" GAME RELEASES

(January 18, 2011-Hillside NJ) - Wizkids announced today the addition of "The Lord of the Rings" property to their 2011 HeroClix release schedule through a licensing agreement with Warner Bros. Consumer Products. The first products of the new "The Lord of the Rings" line will be a HeroClix miniatures game followed by a HeroClix strategic board game, both of which will release in the back half of 2011.

"The Lord of the Rings" HeroClix miniatures game will be sold in two different packages: a campaign style box set and the traditional booster format. The all-in-one campaign style box set will include everything a player needs, including NEW epic level rules and maps. The booster format includes the figures, similar to other previous HeroClix releases. With whichever format chosen, all of the twenty or more figures will be compatible with other HeroClix miniatures games.

The second release is a unique semi cooperative HeroClix board game, following in the similar format of our other HeroClix board game products. HeroClix figures, a gameboard and several decks of cards provide all the components needed to play this unique take on "The Lord of the Rings" story. The fun twist in the game is that players get to play as the Nazgul working with and against other Nazgul trying to capture the One Ring before it reaches Mount Doom.

Find us on the web at www.WizKidsGames.com/lotr or friend us on Facebook at Facebook.com/Wizkids to see the latest developments from WizKids as they happen!

Star Wars Returns to the Tabletop?

The rumors are rampant that a new gaming company has picked up the game rights to the Star Wars Saga.

Not much is known right now outside of some recent comments on the blog of Mongoose Publishing (aka Planet Mongoose).

Apparently, Mongoose had been pursuing the coveted Star Wars license but found out that LucasFilm LTD had already awarded it to another company.

Mongoose's head honcho, Matthew Sprange, wrote:

The interesting thing is why our negotiations ended - another company beat us to it. We are not going to reveal who this is (you have heard of them), as that is their fanfare to blow. However, I am sure many will find it intriguing that the licence covers card games, RPGs, and... miniatures. Now, the company concerned is not known for its miniatures lines, which will probably put paid to my dream of 28mm multipart/multipose Stormtroopers.

Of course, that was enough to ignite internet speculation. Leading the rumor mill is Fantasy Flight Games. A dark horse contender I heard mentioned was Osprey. Either could be interesting.

I enjoyed Wizards of the Coast's Star Wars Miniatures Game, particularily in it's first couple years and was sad to see it go from the market place. I can't help but wonder who the new keeper of the Saga is and what sort of products we'll be seeing from them.

I would imagine we'll find out in early 2011 sometime. Perhaps around the time of the GAMA Trade Show in March? Time shall tell.

Happy Thanksgiving!

May you all have a very Happy Thanksgiving!

Dead Game Syndrome

The Dead Game Syndrome.

Even if you haven't named it...you know what it is. It's that effect that occurs when your favorite game is no longer produced and supported by the manufacturer. No more updates. No more expansions. No more organized play. No more product.

The game is dead.

When this happens it seems that the most common response in many wargaming circles is to move on to another game and hope this one experiences a longer lifespan. Moreso, players tend to dump their existing books and miniatures on eBay or elsewhere despite the fact that they loved the game prior to its cancellation. At the very least they box everything up and doom it to be forgotten in the back of their closet for the rest of time.

Rackham Entertainment's AT-43 has been my main game of choice since it's debut about four years back. I love the game. The rules are good, for the most part. The fluff and universe are fantastic and the miniatures are really well done...especially for pre-painted (which was another plus for me).

Rackham has been struggling for quite a few years now and had been bought out and reformed into Rackham Entertainment complete with new investors and management. There was hope that they'd pull out of their financial and creative troubles. They were hard at work on a new edition of the AT-43 ruleset. Things were, on the surface, looking up.

Alas, 'twas not to be. A couple weeks back Rackham announced they were in liquidation. Their assets are being sold off. Rackham is dead. AT-43 is dead.

A friend of mine with whom I regularly play asked me what my plans were. He was thinking of selling his stuff. I encouraged him to hold onto to enough to play the occassional game with. I plan on keeping my Karman army and my Cogs Army Box. I still enjoy the game and there is no reason why I can't keep playing the game with the wealth of material that I already own.

But, you know, I feel it, too. Knowing that there's nothing new coming does seem to take some of the excitement out of it. But, there's still plenty of games to be played with existing product. But, when a game dies...it appears that it's player base does as well.

Take Heroclix for example. Heroclix was very popular for 5 years until Topps unceremoniously shut down Wizkids back in 2008. Gaming stores around the country that held regular Heroclix events for nearly half a decade saw those players all but disappear (or, at least, start playing another game). After NECA purchased Wizkids in 2009 they faced something of an uphill battle re-engaging previous players and developing new players. Thankfully, it seems to be working.

I would love to hear the thoughts of other gamers on this issue. Being new, The Rural Gamer still has a fairly limited readership at this point. But, I would appreciate you sharing this article in any manner you can. Share the link via email, or on Facebook. Tweet about it. Talk about at your local gaming venue. However you do it, just please come back here and comment about it.

And maybe...just maybe...reach into the back of your closet, into that old, dead game graveyard and revist an old favorite or two this week.

Pragmatism Wins Out

OK. So. I changed my mind.

A little while back I wrote about choosing Wood Elves to be my first Warhammer Fantasy Battles army, and my reasons for doing so.

I had mentioned that a friend recommend I choose another army as Wood Elves had become somewhat difficult to play under the new 8th Edition rules. But, loving the theme and look of the Wood Elves, I was determined to stand my ground.

But, then I got to thinking about it and decided to go with High Elves instead. For now.

There's a darn nice starter force for High Elves available in the recently released Island of Blood boxed set. I really wanted the smaller rulebook that's only available in that set (so I wouldn't have to lug around the family bible-sized 8th Edition Hardcover rulebook!), and the templates and dice are a nice bonus. Plus, I figure, I could sell off the Skaven half of the box thereby decreasing my financial output a bit. See? Pragmatism wins out.

Plus, I heard on the World's End Radio podcast that High Elves have amongst the most plastic kits in the WHFB range, and I just prefer plastic over metal.

So, I'm keeping things all in the family by going with another Elven army at least...and plan to pick up some Wood Elves units here and there until such time as we get a new Army Book for them and I can assemble a proper force. I don't feel like too much of a turncoat. I still think the look and fluff of the High Elves is pretty pickin' cool.

But, I gotta admit, I'm intimidated as heck at painting the High Elves. The detail in those models is crazy, and it's been a long time since I painted anything. But, I guess I'll just take it slow.

Taking to the Seas Again...for the First Time

Way back in 2004, Wizkids released Pirates of the Spanish Main. It was billed as the worlds first Constructible Strategy Game. The game was sold primarily in packs, like trading cards, containing plasticard with punch out components that could be assembled into ships and sea monsters and the like. It was an extremely creative idea...which is something creator Jordan Weisman is known for.

The game was a modest hit for Wizkids, resulting in several expansions over the next 4 years including an officially licensed Pirates of the Caribbean expansion based on the blockbuster movies from Disney.

Somehow, despite my general pirates obsession (spurred by those same Pirates movies) I never picked up the game. Even during the time I had Alley Cat Games I never picked any up. I always thought the concept was cool, 'though.

Well, there's a new Pirates of the Caribbean movie coming out next summer called On Stranger Tides. I'm currently reading the 1988 novel by Tim Powers upon which the new movie is (loosely) based. So, the other day when my daughter and I were in Target and I happened to see some old Wizkids Pirates for insanely cheap, I picked them up.

I haven't played a game yet, or even really had the opportunity to read the rules, but I did sit at our dining room table with my daughter and put together a couple of ships and we had a great time doing that. I hope I can find a PDF of the most current rules online because, dang, the text on the included rulesheet is small for these aging eyes!

I'm hoping to track down the awesome gaming mat produced by Gale Force 9 for the game. It was really well done and adds, I feel, a lot to the experience of the game. They also made a couple of Island terrain sets. I love that kind of stuff.

So, hopefully soon I'll be having some adventures on the High Seas. I wonder if the new Wizkids has any plans to bring the game back. Next year, with the new movie, would be a smart time to do it.

Aaar!