Stately Play

Author: David Neumann

Holy Fo’c’sle, have you seen what Every Single Soldier is working on?

September 12, 2018 David Neumann 1

iPad, PC, Tabletop • I’m going to tell you a secret that will probably discredit my supposed love of all things hexmap, but I never really got into any of the war games from Every Single Soldier. Which games are those, you might ask. That would be the acclaimed and much-loved Vietnam ’65 and the slightly less beloved follow-up, Afghanistan ’11. I know, I’m ashamed of myself [this goes without saying and has nothing to do with either of those games-ed.]. I did manage to stumble onto a tweet from ESS today, however, and my jaw hit the floor. Perhaps this is old news, but it’s new to me and this is the ESS game that looks right up my alley. It’s called HMS and it’s coming for iPad, PC, and…wait for it…cardboard.

Putting the Carthage before the horse; Commands and Colors: Ancients now live on Steam

September 12, 2018 David Neumann 5

iOS & Android (soon), PC/Mac (out now) • It’s been a long while since we’ve heard from the folks at HexWar which may be because their last few releases weren’t given the warmest of receptions in the hallowed halls of Stately Manor. That said, their next project is a digital port of GMT Games‘ seminal card-driven block game, Commands & Colors: Ancients. We love the cardboard version so we’re willing to give them a little leeway and see what they can come up with. As luck would have it, today is the day we see how they did as C&C: Ancients has just been released onto Steam for PC and Mac.

Nomad Games keeps up with the surprises, now they’re releasing Love Letter next month

September 10, 2018 David Neumann 5

iOS, Android, PC/Mac • We’ve been fans of Nomad Games since the early days when their only title was a solitaire take on Talisman. Since then they’ve been the developer of Talisman: Digital Edition mainly with a few other games tossed in here and there. There was a Fighting Fantasy gamebook and, more recently, a digital version of AEG’s Smash Up. Over the past few months, however, they’re really spreading their wings and hitting the digital board game scene hard. In June they announced that digital versions of Mystic Vale, Cat Lady, and Space Base were in the works and today they dropped an even bigger, juicier morsel: AEG‘s (and now Z-Man’s) mega-hit, Love Letter, is coming to digital in October.

They’re making it harder and harder to not buy a Switch. Civ VI coming to the Nintendo console in November

September 7, 2018 David Neumann 8

iPad, PC/Mac/Linux, Switch • I’m not a Nintendo guy. Never have been. Even when the NES was ruling the roost back in the 80’s, we had a Sega Master System which was followed by a Genesis and, yes, even a Sega CD. Thus, when the Switch was announced I was fairly meh on the system with my interest only really piqued by its mobility. Then I watched as games I cared about–not just Marios and Zeldas–started showing up on the console. Gems like Darkest Dungeon, Hand of Fate 2, Skyrim, and, most recently, Into the Breach were hitting the Nintendo e-shop with regularity. This convinced me to pick up a Switch a while ago, but if you’re still on the fence, maybe this will push you off: Civilization VI is headed to Switch on November 16.

Digital Scythe releases for PC/Mac today

September 5, 2018 David Neumann 3

PC/Mac • Asmodee Digital told us at Gen Con that Scythe for our laptops would be coming out in Q3 and, well, they weren’t lying. Scythe has shed its Early Access shackles and moved onto full release today for both PC and Mac nearly 3 weeks before the third quarter of 2018 comes to an end. What are you waiting for? Details? Oh, okay, check after the jump.

Stately Scrying: What we’re playing this weekend

August 31, 2018 David Neumann 17

Alas, another week is ending which means there should be loads of free time to get some gaming in. Unfortunately it’s also a holiday weekend here in the States, which means my game time will be spent not playing games and, instead, doing family things. The horror! Actually, I was supposed to have an overnight gaming holiday with my game group, but that was nixed by the wife and, instead, I’ll be heading up to the Upper Penninsula of Michigan to fish. When I say “fish” I mean put worms on my kids’ hooks and remove fish from said hooks when they get lucky. I rarely get to drop my own line in the water. Could be worse. Have a great weekend and we’ll see you again on Tuesday.

Afghanistan ’11 set to expand with Royal Marine DLC

August 30, 2018 David Neumann 11

iPad, PC • It’s been a while since we’ve talked about Every Single Soldier‘s followup to Vietnam ’65, Afghanistan ’11. I’d like to say it’s because there’s just been so much other content that we haven’t gotten around to it, or there hasn’t been much to talk about regarding the title but neither of those are the real truth. The real reason why I’ve been hesitant to talk about Afghanistan ’11 lies with our resident tank-builder, Alex Connolly. Back in 2017 when he wrote about the game his title contained the best pun every unleashed on any website and I’ve been afraid to follow up and taint his brilliance. Unfortunately (or fortunately if you want more Afghanistan ’11 news), this week ESS announced new DLC coming to Afghanistan ’11, Royal Marines, and it’s coming next week.

Warhammer Quest 2 adds new warriors and goes on the cheap

August 30, 2018 David Neumann 0

iOS Universal, Android • Warhammer Quest 2 arrived as a bit of a problem child, but attention paid to it by its creator, Perchang, since then has turned it into a respectable member of App Store society. That’s a really clunky and sad metaphor, so let me rephrase. Warhammer Quest 2 wasn’t as beloved as the first entry when it arrived, but Perchang has turned it into the belle of the ball via updates and expansion content since then. Still clunky, but I think you get point. Today they added more content to the game in the form of two new warriors which you can buy via IAP. To help offset the price, however, they’ve also discounted the base game so, if you haven’t yet pulled the trigger on WHQ2, now’s a pretty good time.

Speak, friend, and enter. The digital Lord of the Rings LCG has opened its doors

August 28, 2018 David Neumann 9

PC/Mac • It was over 3 years ago, when Asmodee Digital was just revving up, when we overheard Fantasy Flight was working on a digital version of their popular Lord of the Rings Living Card Game (LCG). We also quickly learned we weren’t supposed to overhear such things and let it drop with the hope that an official confirmation would be coming soon. It took them a couple years, but confirmation came in 2017 with the announcement of a new in-house developing arm of FFG, Fantasy Flight Interactive. Today, their first foray into the world of board game (card game?) ports has gone live. You can now pick up an Early Access version of Lord of the Rings LCG for PC/Mac.

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