Week of June 26, 2020 - Rust, Rage & Rube

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:

• A Rusty Throne
• Ragemore
• Rube 

This week's new games are all available at https://www.pnparcade.com/collections/new-games

A Rusty Throne

King Alric is mad, everyone knows that; a rusty mind on a rusty throne. As the heir to Prydon's northern highlands, the troubles of court are far away for you until the King has your father executed for a treason he didn't commit. Pledging to end his reign, you march to war. The other Lords of the land stand with the King for now; no matter, you will take their castles by force. The King has more men, more resources and more power, but you have friends at court, spies who can influence the King's military decisions. Perhaps that will be enough, if the flames of heaven will it.

This one has been on my PNP to-do list for months now, and the time is here to make progress on that! If you like diceless combat, simple yet challenging AI opponents, and “dudes on a map” area control, then this one has a ton of promise for you. Whether you’re a seasoned veteran of wargames, or new to them as a whole genre, this should be a very accessible title to try out while offering plenty of depth for experienced players. If you’ve never tried a wargame with a CDG (Card-driven game) mechanic, you’re in for a treat. If you enjoy how it functions here, I can give some great next-step recommendations (such as Watergate!). I can’t wait to try this one out - who else will be playing this one soon?

Ragemore

Evil had beset the village, and we were their last hope. We could not ignore our duty, so we set out on one last quest. We fell one by one, until I was the last survivor. Holding steadfast, I swung my axe one last time. As I crashed to the ground, I knew I had found, at last, peace.

An interesting game in 18 cards, with every card having a hero side and a monster side. Your objective? To create two rows of completed quests with 3+ cards. Like any great solo game, there are many more ways to lose the game than there are to win. Curious yet? During your turn you can take one of three actions, each one causing some sort of manipulation between the piles of cards as you try and reach your objective while skirting around losing. If you want a quick-playing solo game with some great artwork.

Rube

Reuben “Rube” Goldberg was an American cartoonist, sculptor, author, engineer, and inventor, remembered today for his cartoons depicting needlessly elaborate contraptions that perform simple tasks. These intricate collections of springs, marbles, pulleys, and countless other components are at once pointless and fascinating, silly and inspiring.

A favorite thing of mine in 2-player gaming is when you have multi-use cards and are facing the tough decision of how to use them most effectively. This somewhat has it, with a 9-card game where you take turns adding a card to the 3x3 grid. The catch? The orientation that the card is played determines who uses the action of the card and who scores the points on the card. That has to be as delightful of a decision as it sounds, with quick gameplay to rival other Button Shy 2-player greats such as Circle the Wagons for passing that small window of time together.

Check out the new games here: https://www.pnparcade.com/collections/new-games

Game of the Week: Tornado Chase

Become the best storm chaser and jockey for position while avoiding being swept away in the storm. Let the Veteran Driver get you in the storm’s path so the Anxious Radar Tech can drop the weather sensors at just the right moment. Just be sure to get out of the path of the infamous F5 Tornado!

I’ll be the first to admit that I will never, ever have the desire to chase a tornado. However, if I did, this would be the way to do it. A nice little press-your-luck game where you need to consider your position in relation to the tornado, try to drop sensors in its likely path, and use dice to activate abilities. A lot of little things to juggle and consider in a game that can be played multiple times in an hour with up to four people. If you like making decisions based around what the dice roll, this game has plenty of that decision space to keep you satisfied!

Check out Game of the Week here: https://www.pnparcade.com/collections/game-of-the-week

We launched the Prototype Zone last week, and this week we are back with two new protoypes. Both are solo! One was designed by our writer, David Wiley!

This week we have 5 prototypes:

Gale: Flowers In The Wind by Night State Games
The Honor of the Queen by David Wiley

Check out all of the new protoypes here: https://www.pnparcade.com/collections/prototype-zone

Also, reminder of our New Heroes Scholarship - intended to recognize a standout member of the board game community who is among an underrepresented group.

For full details, including how to enter/nominate someone, check out our page at: https://www.pnparcade.com/pages/new-heroes-game-industry-scholarship

See you next week with more information on our newest print and play games!