Stately Play

Month: July 2018

The Zeds are back in town, on Kickstarter

July 10, 2018 David Neumann 1

Tabletop • It’s only been in the last couple years that I’ve really taken to solo gaming and a lot of that has to do with Victory Point Games. A lot of other games offer solo variants or whatnot, but VPG pumps out games that were made to solo, and I haven’t found one that wasn’t a blast to throw down on the table. My first venture into this brave new world was even more remarkable considering the theme, the third edition of Dawn of the Zeds. This deluxe edition of Zeds was out of print for a bit, but it’s back on Kickstarter now and, if you want a copy, now’s your chance.

Stately Scrying: What we’re playing this weekend

July 6, 2018 David Neumann 12

Well, today marks the end of the second week of slaving away at a real job which means I was greeted with a paycheck upon arrival at my cube-shaped work area this morning. Now I remember why people do this “work” thing. That said, two weeks of work is a long-ass time when you’ve been out of the game, so next week I’m heading on vacation. This is not a joke, I’ll be heading down to Indiana with my wife’s family for the week. None of us live in Indiana, mind you, but Wisconsin is dull enough to make Indiana seem like a vacation destination. I should have WiFi and whatnot next week, so I’m not sure anyone will notice a change in operations, but I wanted to make sure you all knew just in case I’m not hanging around the forums or if I miss a turn here-and-there in any online games I’m currently in. Oh, and I wanted to make sure you realized that my life involves vacationing in Indiana. Twice. Later this summer we’re all going to Indiana again for a family vacation. That one revolves around Gen Con, though, so I’m not too upset about heading down I-65 again. Anyway, on to everyone’s weekend:

Hostage Negotiator adds its final villain

July 5, 2018 David Neumann 0

iOS Universal, Android • Released earlier this year, Hostage Negotiator from Peter Kossits and Van Ryder Games, has been a reliable go-to when looking for a solo game that I can’t possibly win. It may have been overshadowed a bit by the more recent release of One Deck Dungeon, but Hostage Negotiator remains a tense, anxiety-inducing experience AND you can play it on your phone. It’s received a lot of new content since release, and recently it received one more bad guy: Gonzalo. Not only is Gonzalo the most difficult baddie to date, he’s also the last expansion planned.

One Deck Dungeon gets two new DLC to try: The Witch and The Cinder Plains

July 4, 2018 David Neumann 0

iPad, Android Tablet, PC/Mac/Linux • I love Handelabra as much as the next guy, but the amount of One Deck Dungeon news is starting to get annoying. I mean, I haven’t even tried a dungeon with Caliana, their last DLC hero and now they’ve gone and added another? Not just that, but I still have problem getting through the 1-star-difficulty Dragon and now they’ve added a 4-star deathtrap? Geez, it’s almost like I’m just going to have to just keep playing and playing One Deck Dungeon for the foreseeable future. Woe is me.

Digidiced announces next project: Castles of Burgundy

July 4, 2018 David Neumann 3

I normally take off all my video/board game news hats on July 4th so I can spend the day sweating profusely and grilling sausages and wondering when my kids are going to mow the lawn. Yes, in the US today is a national holiday and, as we’re wont to do, we spend it eating and drinking. This morning, pre-parade, I spotted a Tweet from our friends at Digidiced however, and it’s big enough news that I wanted to share. Their next project is…The Castles of Burgundy.

Farm livin’ is the life for me!

July 3, 2018 Nick Houghtaling 7

PC/Mac • Games these days are all about making big decisions and watching the repercussions. Whether it’s a split second tactical misstep in Rainbow Six: Siege that costs your team a highly contested match or a game of Civilization in which you decide to research Pottery instead of The Wheel and end up ten turns behind your opponents (okay, okay – it’s been a while since I’ve played Civ, so that analogy might not be great). These games do function as escapism, but sometimes they end up feeling more frustrating than satisfying. I’m starting nursing school in just a few months, so my anticipation/anxiety is, obviously, through the roof. I have a to-do list of several things I need to complete beforehand – immunizations, visits to my physician, and so on – that progress feels so slow, and the end goal is so far off that I am not getting resolution any time soon. For this reason, it seems like I have been migrating more and more towards games that are less weighty. Farming Simulator 17 is at the top of my list right now.

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