It's New Game Friday! David Wiley (Cardboard Clash) is here to tell us about the new games.
Here’s what is new this week:
- Agropolis
- Agropolis: Invasion and Points of Interest
- Combopolis
- Pocket Paragons
This week's new games are all available at https://www.pnparcade.com/collections/new-games
Agropolis
Having developed dream cities in Sprawlopolis, it's now time to set your sights on the rolling countryside, where farm, ranches, and roads intermingle master plan, as ever, seems just out of reach.
Agropolis is a stand-alone expansion to Sprawlopolis, bringing the same card-laying, variable-scoring gameplay into a new setting: city blocks give way to orchards, wheat fields, livestock pens, and vineyards. As before, players draw three goal cards and then attempt to place cards one at a time to create a rural tableau that best satisfies those goals. New gameplay features help offset overly-powerful scoring combos and layer additional attributes onto certain types of terrain, providing even greater depth of gameplay without satisfying the original's signature elegance.
If you ever found yourself wishing Sprawlopolis was a little less major city and a little more countryside, this game is going to fit right in your barnyard. With rules you may already know but with a look that is a little more evocative of the countryside, us Midwesterners are going to enjoy this retheming of a great title. However, it isn’t just the look of the cards that are different here. No, there’s an additional “optional” rule of a Feed Fee to consider, based on the scoring cards that are used. All of them have some animals along the bottom, and some scoring cards can have you need additional points to win based on the animals represented on the cards. For those who truly love to lose (because Sprawlopolis was already impossible to win often anyway, right?), you can possibly give yourself a higher score to hit in order to secure victory. After all, life on the farm is not for the faint of heart.
Agropolis: The Expansions!
Neighboring farmers want to lend a hand! Invading UFOs are abducting our livestock! The city and countryside are converging!
Three expansions for Agropolis are on the market here. With the Points of Interest expansion, you’ll be trying to cluster the same type of terrain adjacent to the matching Point of Interest section. Because this one is part of setup, it’ll force you to carefully consider some of the early construction of your countryside. The Invasions expansion adds alien visitors in the deck - yes, you read that right. With this one, you shuffle the card into the deck during setup and when it is revealed, it must cover the last-played card. Every cattle pen adjacent to that card at the end of the game is negative points. Then there’s the Combopolis, which lets you merge Agropolis and Sprawlopolis for a truly epic experience. But don’t expect it to be much bigger, as you’ll be drawing a card from each game and playing one, discarding the other. The twist? You only score two block types from each game, which can potentially be a good thing for you so long as you balance your play effectively.
Pocket Paragons
Fast and portable action in your pocket! Pocket Paragons is a quick deceptively simple game of big spells and big reads.
If you like dueling games where you go head-to-head with an opponent, this one is a game you do not want to miss. Not only is it highly portable, but it is also a very fast game which can be played in a matter of minutes. Play your planned actions simultaneously, attempt to divine what your opponent might choose to skillfully use a counter to that action. Bonus: if they rest and you use a weapon card, you instantly finish off your foe. Rules are also here for a 3v3 match, where you and an opponent each select a team of 3 fighters and have them fight going down the line - with the opportunity to pass an ability down to the next fighter in the line as you go. This game sounds like a blast and makes me feel like I should be dropping quarters into the machine in order to play the next round.
Check out all of the new games here: https://www.pnparcade.com/collections/new-games
Game of the Week: Someone Has Died
Someone Has Died is an improvisational storytelling game set at a will arbitration where players try to convince an estate keeper that they are the most worthy of someone's fortune. Identity, relationship, and backstory cards help players create wacky characters who must argue against one another for the riches and glory.
We’re treading into my realm of obliviousness here, as I am outside the target audience for large group games that rely heavily on player discussion, debate, persuasion, and more. I know plenty of folks that love these Social games, and this one is bound to be a hit for them. For 3-6 players, one person is the judge for the round and the others have cards identifying who they are and how they know the deceased person, and they are trying to be the most convincing person to gain the inheritance of the deceased. If that sounds like a fun time to you, it probably is and you’re probably the target audience. Oh, and it follows a pattern of opening statements, the judge player asking each player a question, a recess round with casual interaction where players can ask other players questions, and a final remarks round. Want to interfere? You can earn objection cards that can be played during another player’s turn to swing things in new directions. This might be perfect as game rooms open back up.
Check out Game of the Week here: https://www.pnparcade.com/collections/game-of-the-week
See you next week with more information on our newest print and play games!