Meople News: The 7th Vampire of Japan
5 October, 2015 Kai Weekly News
Fantasy Flight Games If you have been following Fantasy Flight's Runebound previews, then you already know the land you must[…]
Meople News: Masked Zombie Machine
6 March, 2013 Kai Weekly News
TwoMonkeyStudios A clever little card game called Influence is currently on Kickstarter, and it's worth your time to check out.[…]
Meople News: Innovative Wil and the Shadow of the Roller Coaster
21 March, 2012 Kai Weekly News
If you're already following us on Facebook or Google Plus then these two items won't be all that new to[…]
Meople News: Neolithic Drowned Goats
This is our longest news post yet, with many new announcements for Essen and the rest of the year. I'm[…]
Meople News: Era of Gnomes and Goblins
8 August, 2011 Kai Weekly News
Small Box Games Shattered Aegis is the first expansion for John Clowdus' card game Omen: Reign of War and packs[…]
Just when you thought that every way to play with cards had been published somewhere already, along comes a game like Innovation. With some – dare I use the word – innovative game mechanics and many ways to make sabotage your opponents' strategy, you probably haven't played a card game quite like this one before.
It's safe to say that The X-Files was one of the most popular TV series created to date. (Or maybe still is, with the 2016 revival mini series ending on a huge cliffhanger.) So finding a new The X-Files boardgame published 13 years after the last episode of the original series was aired wasn't a big surprise. There are millions of people out there with nostalgia for agents Mulder and Scully digging up alien conspiracies, and nostalgia sells. If you know me, then you know that's why I'm skeptical towards licensed games in general. Nostalgia sells irrespective of quality. But there are good games made on a license, so lets see what side of that spectrum Kevin Wilson's The X-Files falls on.
Kilt Castle
From haggis to caber toss, Scotland is full of traditions that seem odd to an outsider. But the oddest tradition has recently been discovered by Günter Burkhardt: when the Scots build a castle for their clan, it's not a collaborative effort like you would expect. Every builder wants floors in his or her own color to top of all the tower. The resulting castle is neither very hospitable to live in nor does it have great defensive value, but it is a home for your clan, and someone made a lot of money building it.
Lewis & Clark – The Expedition
In 1804, shortly after president Jefferson purchased half the North American continent from Napoleon, the Lewis and Clark expedition set out to survey just what the president had acquired. Or should that be "the Lewis and Clark expeditions"? As it turns out, up to five expeditions may have competed to get to the Pacific coast first, and only the first to arrive, cleverly recruiting expedition members and managing their resources, will be remembered by history.
Pamplona – Viva San Fermín!
The Running of the Bulls in Pamplona is a world-famous festival, moreso since Hemmingway wrote about it. But its rarely used as a theme for boardgames. Pamplona – Viva San Fermín does make use of it.
Okiya
Looking through the window into the garden, you see two rivalling gangs of geishas fighting for control. Wait. WHAT? The setting doesn't always have to make much sense for a beautiful game, especially not when it's a very short and fun abstract.
The life of a secret agent is tough. We know from James Bond's biographical movies about the large number of people who to kill you while megalomaniac villains try to either kill everyone, enslave everyone or just take everyone's money. But those movies gloss over the hardest part of the job: keeping track of who is who, and who they are working for. You think it's easy, working with a bunch of double agents who all look the same because they wear stupid hats and trench coats and only meet in dark corners, anyway? Well, think again after you accidentally pass that briefcase to the wrong guy. He looked just like the right guy, but when he said "Thank you" you realized he was talking with the wrong stereotypical villain accent. But no more! With Undercover Doris and Daniel Danzer will help you understand just how hard the secret agent life is on your memory.
Thing-building games are still going strong. Deck-building games are the most popular of the bunch, but dice-building games and bag-building games have lots of fans, too. With Orleans one bag-building game has made the Kennerspiel des Jahres nominations this year and it really represents the cream of the genre. To become the most successful leader in medieval France, you need tight management of the followers in your bag.