Stately Play

Tag: Fantasy Flight

New mission comes to digital Lord of the Rings LCG tomorrow, new pricing on the horizon

November 20, 2018 David Neumann 3

iOS/Android (eventually),  PC/Mac (Early Access now) • When Lord of the Rings LCG from Fantasy Flight Interactive launched in Early Access back in August, reviews were rather tepid and some were downright hostile. It’s a shame because the game itself is pretty good, but it’s not what fans of the physical version wanted: a direct copy of their favorite LCG to play on the go. If we look at it as a completely separate game, however, it’s pretty fun, albeit a bit limited by the growing pains associated with an Early Access game. What may have been the biggest gripe was the pricing scheme which was confusing as hell, especially compared with the simplicity of the LCG model it was attempting to emulate. Well, that’s all changing as free-to-play is going out the window. More on that later, but for now you need to know that Asmodee and FFG just added a new mission to the game that can be had for the low, low price of free.

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.

Mansions of Madness coming to digital as standalone game

April 17, 2018 David Neumann 4

PC/Mac • Mansions of Madness 2nd Edition began life as a digital marvel, removing the not-very-fun role of game master and putting it in the hands of an iPad or whatever other digital device you had sitting at the table. Thus, up to four players could play as a team while the mystery, map, and whatnot were held under wraps by a GM that didn’t care if you took a break to eat or talked about the latest baseball game while exposition was divvied out. It even allowed for friendless losers, like myself, to play Mansions of Madness solo, which worked better than I could have ever expected. Since its release, there have been many updates to the companion app, adding new mysteries and expansion packs. Today we learned that Mansions of Madness is getting a new digital form. It has nothing to do with the current board game+app configuration, instead it’s a completely new game that will drop you into the Mansions of Madness world in glorious 3D.

Fantasy Flight’s companion app for Imperial Assault imminent

November 20, 2017 David Neumann 2

Tabletop, iOS, Android, PC/Mac • Back at Gen Con in 2016 we were introduced to Mansions of Madness Second Edition which removed the need for a GM and made MoM one of the best exploration/narrative/dungeon crawlers out there. Around the same time we were also introduced to the Road to Legend app for their actual dungeon crawler, Descent 2.0. This, also, removed the need for a GM and did all the work so players could complete whole campaigns while all working on the same side. Both of these additions were met with critical acclaim, but gamers are a finicky bunch and instead of patting Fantasy Flight on the back, screamed about wanting the same type of companion app for FFG’s Star Wars themed dungeon crawler, Imperial Assault. Well, it’s coming.

Gold .38, twin .45s--close enough.

Cardboard Critique: Arkham Horror The Card Game – Dunwich Legacy

September 14, 2017 Kelsey Rinella 6

Tabletop • Arkham Horror: The Card Game gets a lot of love around these parts. It’s as flexible as a tentacle–it can be deeply thematic if you’re into that, or offer moderately involved deck-building and agonizing decisions during play for the more mechanically minded. It can be enjoyed solo (though I recommend playing two characters) or in groups of up to four, as a campaign or a one-shot. I’ve been extremely pleased with it as a solo experience playing both the original campaign and the full Dunwich Legacy cycle, and will here offer brief mini-reviews of each expansion in that cycle. While I’ll avoid spoiling anything beyond the initial setup in each, even the basic premise of some of the expansions gives information about the plot, so beware.

Cardboard Critique: Arkham Horror The Card Game

February 7, 2017 David Neumann 44

Tabletop • While the Cthulhu Mythos burst like a purulent, racist boil from the twisted mind of H.P. Lovecraft way back in the 1920’s, it’s only been in the last 10 years or so that Fantasy Flight Games has managed to turn it into a means to print money. Fantasy Flight has mastered the genre and has created a handful of tabletop titles rife with existential dread and, of course, tentacles. Their latest recalls their first, and most popular, game to tread these dark paths: Arkham Horror. Only this time, there’s no board, no 8,000 cardboard chits, and no FAQ full of rules exceptions. Just cards. Lots and lots of cards.