It's New Game Friday (and a new year too)! David Wiley (Cardboard Clash) is here to tell us about the new games.
Here’s what is new this week:
- Ada Lovelace: Legacy of the Analytical Engine
- Four Against Darkness: Twisted Dungeons
- Longboat
This week's new games are all available at https://www.pnparcade.com/collections/new-games
Longboat
In a game of Longboat, players take the role of brave Jarls sailing down The River, filling their Boats with loyal Vikings in search of Loot and Glory. Players will take it in turns to draft cards from a central pool called The River and add them to their Boat. Some cards will trigger special actions that will affect the flow of the game. These can be used to either benefit yourself or make things harder for your opponents. Once all the cards have been drafted, the player with the most Glorious Boat wins.
People who know me also know I love a good Viking-themed game. Add in cool artwork and a process of drafting cards from a face-up display? Count me in. This one is interesting because the cards have “powers” on them, which come in one of three varieties: slowing another player, moving cards in the display, or stealing cards from a player. Fast, fun, and lots of interaction (like it should be when Vikings are involved), this game is sure to be a hit whenever it raids your game night.
Ada Lovelace: Legacy of the Analytical Engine
In a clear statement that no museum is safe from his mechanisms, Mr. X has pilfered from yet another British institute of history. It has emerged that Mr. X made a midnight visit to Lord and Lady Whycroft’s manor on the 23rd of this month. The manor halls function as a invitation-only museum, frequented by some of the most learned minds in Britain, and containing a cornucopia of foreign historical artifacts...The museum community continues to reel at the mercy of this unstoppable thief and Scotland Yard seems utterly stumped. We ask, is anybody up to the task of apprehending Mr. X or must his reign of terror continue unabated?
An Ada Lovelace campaign game? Oh no, this is going to be too good to be true. I’m intentionally avoiding spoilers for my own sake, but it appears there are 8 chapters to play plus a final map at the end. In each chapter, there are artifacts you can recover and getting appropriate sets will grant you powers going forward. Ada Lovelace itself is a roll-and-write game with polyomino shapes, a really interesting blend. The rolls essentially determine your shapes and you place them to cover parts of the map. It is fast, fun, and this is already in the queue for my printer. As soon as I saw this, I knew I would be printing it - did I mention the campaign will have you cut and glue things? That part I’m not quite as excited about...
Four Against Darkness: Twisted Dungeons
Twisted Dungeons is a supplement for Four Against Darkness, suited for all levels of play, that will change your dungeons forever.
It’s easy to use: just roll d88 (two eight-sided dice) as the adventure starts, and read the corresponding numbered entry. The book will inject unpredictable events and themes into your dungeon exploration: 64 dungeon complications, ranging from mosquito infestation to teleporting mirrors, from slippery tunnels carved out of ice to chambers with magic-enhancing properties. Most complications will come with interesting rewards, in experience or loot.
Twisted Dungeons may be used alongside its companion volume, Twisted Minions, to create even more random variations. With a bit of common sense, it will work with any book in the Four Against Darkness line.
Check out all of the new games here: https://www.pnparcade.com/collections/new-games
Game of the Week: Tower of Mages
As long as there has been magic, there have been Mages’ Towers. Tall, dilapidated structures built in wild curves to tap into elemental energy. As the Solstice approaches, three Wizards break ground on what they’re sure will be… Well, it will be a tower anyway.
This one sounds like an interesting way of using dice in a single-sheet roll-and-write game. Dice are used in a rondel-inspired approach with you choosing the order to play your three dice. There’s also some fluctuation of value in rooms, meaning you can manipulate that to finish off a tower for high points before pivoting the approach to make your other towers increase some in value. If you like being a PNPer but prefer games with minimal construction of the game (like me!), this is a great one to add to your collection and can go from printer to being played in minutes.
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!