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:
- Doodle Islands
- Hidden Leaders (Kickstarter Preview)
- Hórreos
This week's new games are all available at https://www.pnparcade.com/collections/new-games
Hidden Leaders
The island of Oshra is in turmoil. Following the death of the Emperor, the conflict between the Hill Tribes and the Imperial Army escalated. While the Water People try to maintain balance between the old rivals, the Undead aim to cause an outright war. All hope rests on the six children of the Emperor: Who will claim the throne?
An interesting game of political struggle, each player is secretly aligned with two of the four possible factions. You’re trying to play cards in order to manipulate the position of the markers for two of these factions, and how they end up when the game concludes determines which faction wins - and then you see which player aligned with that winning faction fulfills the tiebreaker to determine who “wins more”. This game has variants to play with two, as well as to play with a smaller number of cards as a sort of introductory experience to get the hang of the game. And I’m a sucker for a game with delightful art, which this game certainly qualifies as having. The game sounded like social deduction, but it is more of political intrigue with room to manipulate things without anyone knowing who you are truly pulling for - something that will please those who love to bluff and double bluff the other players at the table.
Doodle Islands
A game of Doodle Islands plays out over several rounds. Each round, you will either draw a route on a space of your Map or cross out a space of your Map. Try to find as many Gold Coins as possible by traveling through Archipelago, Treasure Island, Monster, Ship, or Breaker spaces.
A roll-and-draw sort of game that is remarkably similar in concept to 30 Rails - you draw in the corresponding row/column based on your die results and are trying to connect lines as routes. But that is pretty much where the similarities end. One interesting wrinkle is a black die is rolled, which tells every player which column to use, and you draft one of the rolled white dice (which no one else can have) to give you the row. What you draw in there is completely up to you. An interesting, and seemingly fresh, approach to the ever-expanding genre of games is sure to be a quick, fun game to play.
Hórreos
IIt is the 18th century in Galica, Spain. Elaborate raised granaries known as horreos are garnering acclaim for their agricultural importance and aesthetic beauty. Now the neighboring towns of Camota and Lira are engaged in a competition to create the best horreo, Can you build the longest, most ornate structure that keeps the mice out?
It’s going to be all the rage, folks. This game will have you drawing up the plans to make your own hórreo in your backyard! Okay, maybe not, but what a fun name for a game with a fun theme. If you like competitively building structures with one other player, and you like plenty of chances to sabotage their plans, then this game is 100% your cup of tea. I’ve got this one sitting near the top of my list of games to play this month, and something tells me I won’t be regretting that decision once we get it to the table. It looks just as good as it sounds!
Check out all of the new games here: https://www.pnparcade.com/collections/new-games
Game of the Week: Paper Pinball Season 1
Paper Pinball is a dice game that tries to capture the feeling of playing pinball. All you will need is a pencil, three dice, and about five minutes.
This is a bundle of the 7 season one games, Including:
Each round, roll two dice and fill in one of the scoring zones. Some zones need to be filled in a certain way, and most will cause some sort of effect, so the order you fill them in is important. If you ever can't fill a zone, you'll lose a ball. Lose three balls and the game is over. Try to fill as many scoring zones as possible while triggering multipliers, opening tunnels, and getting the coveted multiball.
Okay, so it has been a hot minute since our last time talking about Paper Pinball, yet everything said before about it remains true. This is a fast-playing, easy-to-prepare roll-and-write style of game that evokes the feeling of playing pinball. The art on so many of these are great, and here’s your change to grab a nice handful of them in one purchase at a great price. If you’ve resisted the urge to be a PNP Pinball Wizard, then give into the temptation and give these a try. Just be sure to blast the song from your speakers (or sing it a capella by yourself) as you play it for best effect...
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!