Showing posts with label strategy. Show all posts
Showing posts with label strategy. Show all posts

Pandemic Legacy Giveaway

Hi everyone. So if you follow us on Twitter you may have caught a brief mention of a forthcoming giveaway. That moment is upon us friends. Who's ready for the chance to win an awesome board game?

That would be me. Woo! Contest!



I get excited for every contest we run on here, but this go around is extra special because it features an incredibly innovative take on a well-loved classic. We're giving away a copy of Pandemic Legacy: Season 1. Everyone reading this can enter for a chance to win it! (unless you're the GIR or Elder Gias, sorry guys)

How to Enter the Contest
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Step 1: Think of the name of your favorite character role, Funded Event, City, aspect of playing Pandemic, or individual title from any of the games in the Pandemic franchise. (see the Rules below for a note about expansion titles)

Step 2: Leave the name you thought of in Step 1 as a comment on either our Facebook or G+ pages, or tweet it at our Twitter account, tag us in a picture of it on Instagram, or leave it as a comment on this post. (Yes, you can enter multiple times; see the Rules below for an example of how this works) 

Step 3: Check back here on Wednesday, July 6th at 8pm EST to see if you're the winner! The winner will be selected using random.org.

Contest Rules

- You are allowed one entry per social media site (plus this website) and your entries must be different responses to each of the items in Step 1. For example, I could say my favorite character role is the Medic on the Facebook page, then say my favorite Funded Event is the Local Initiative on G+ and earn myself 2 entries into the contest. 

- Since there are five categories and five places for your potential responses, you can earn up to five entries for yourself by putting a different response on each of the sites. If you say 'researcher' 5 times in 5 places, only one of those will count.

- While you do not have to use your full, real name to enter the contest, we are going to require that you give us at least a valid handle or nickname so we can contact you if you're the winner. Contestants who are found to be using burner accounts to try and earn more entries will be disqualified. 

- For the purposes of this contest, all Pandemic expansion titles can be treated as separate games. So, if you really loved Pandemic: In the Lab and want that as your entry, you're completely allowed to do so.

Good luck everyone!

Notes: The Care and Feeding of Nerds and this contest are not in any way affiliated with Z-Man Games, Inc. Pandemic Legacy, and all imagery used therein, is licensed to Z-Man Games.
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Game Review: Rise of the Robotariat

Why hello there everyone! I know, it’s been far too long since there’ve signs of life on here. That phenomenon will be explained in its own post in the near future. For now jump back in with one of our favorite subjects: awesome new board games.

In the early months of 2015, Eye 4 Games gave us the opportunity to wage telekinetic battle against one another with their foundational game, Clairvoyance. This year they present us with a very different, but still deeply engaging title, Rise of the Robotariat. It's something we've been looking forward to since last year's Boston FIG and it definitely did not disappoint. Rise is, without question, one of the most well-conceived and immersive offerings we’ve seen in 2016.

That word…

I know, I know. Immersion is one of those buzzwords that gets bandied about in the board game world so frequently and readily that, upon seeing or hearing it, the nearly-natural reaction at this point is one of skepticism. It is, however, entirely worth our collective while to put that skepticism aside, as Rise makes a highly compelling case for the redemption of the word.

The year is 2105. The Singularity has occurred and fully self-aware artificial intelligence is nascent among the masses of robots that had, until this critical point, existed solely to serve the whims and needs of humanity. A handful of these would-be former mechanical slaves seek to sow the seeds of dissent among their metallic brethren and incite a revolution that would wrest power from the grasp of their human oppressors.

Players take on the roles of these clandestine operatives, working together to overthrow the present regime and replace it with glorious self-rule. While you are united by this worthy cause, you are also fully aware of the potential that may await you, personally, once a new order has been established. How will you incite revolution and how will you be remembered after the Rise of the Robotariat?

Is this where I start the, “Kill all humans,” chant? I want in on this revolution.



You’ll have your chance during the course of play of this extremely engaging title. Eye 4 Games describes Rise as “mostly cooperative” and that’s a very accurate descriptor. As mentioned earlier, your collective primary motivation is a full on coup de sentient lifeform. You accomplish this with tactical unit placement: seeking out Civilian Robot NPCs to woo them to your cause while simultaneously avoiding Human Oppressors who may get wise to your insurrectionary designs. In addition to overseeing token placement and movement, players must manage two crucial resources: SPARK, the de-facto currency of the game, and Reputation, the mutable, intangible belief in your righteous cause. A paucity of either spells disaster for the Robotariat, but victory depends on being able to spend these with discretion.

Fans of co-op games will likely feel right at home with Rise, but comfortably familiar does not at all translate to predictable. Play is divided into six structured rounds with each round affording players the opportunity to move or activate the ability of the space their token currently occupies. Activation activities range from placing posters to augment revolutionary sentiment, to providing upgrades for individual players, to partaking in acts of sabotage (though these may come at a dear cost to your Reputation).

Ok, this sounds like it's very much in my co-op-loving wheelhouse.

Ah, and we haven't even gotten to the aspect of Rise that takes it above and beyond many of its cooperative brethren. As mentioned earlier, the members of the Robotariat are not ignorant of the roles they may be able to play once they've established a new mecha-world order, and this is where the "mostly cooperative" portion of Rise comes in. Players may draw a Secret Objective at the start of the game (this is optional, as Rise can be played wholly cooperatively as well), and each Objective contains a unique set of conditions that must be met. While the majority of the Objectives serve the purposes of the revolution, there is one Turncoat card that introduces the possibility of treachery.

The hard limit of six rounds, which averages out to about 45-60 minutes of play per game, paired with the need for tactical resource management forces a degree of intense collective focus that anyone who has played Pandemic will quickly recognize. The NPC component and the always-present threat of a potential traitor in your midst also adds to the overarching tension; victory or defeat often arrive on the slightest of margins.

In addition to the mechanics, Rise is beautifully composed, with every one of the game's components: from the board, to the custom dice, to the prose in the rulebook work together to draw players in nearly from the instant they sit down to play. Several of our players remarked on just how rapidly and completely they became invested in the premise of robot revolution. Rise provides deeply satisfying play for seasoned board game veterans and, thanks to the "mostly cooperative" premise, can be accessible to newcomers as well. The wide array of potential outcomes afforded by the Secret Objectives assures a high degree of replayability.      

How do I get my hands on this game?

The Kickstarter campaign for Rise of the Robotariat launched earlier today. Head on over to the crowdfunding site and you can pick up a copy for a pledge of as little as $5 USD.

I'm really digging this.

We did too. Rise was one of our favorite titles to come out of Boston FIG 2015 and we're thrilled to see what it's grown into since then. It's a phenomenal blend of tactics, teamwork, and tension that will have you wanting to overthrow humanity again and again.

Bonus: if you want to take that whole immersion thing to the next level there is actually companion book that features short stories inspired by the game. All glory to the Robotariat!

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This Week in Geekdom

Oh geez, how in the name of Zod is this month rocketing along at this pace? As you guys can probably guess, work has, once again, been absconding away with just about all of my free time as of late. Fortunately there was a enough of a break in the proverbial clouds this past weekend to take in a showing of Civil War, but it seems that such nerdery will likely continue to be of the guerrilla variety for the majority of this year. We'll get into the nitty-gritty of that in a future post but, for now, let's get down to the Week in Geekdom!

Games

On nothing less than Star Wars day Respawn Entertainment, makers of Titanfall, announced that they are in the midst of working on a (as yet untitled) third-person ARPG set in a galaxy far, far away.

Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare isn't even approaching mass release yet and already gamers are seething at Activision's forthcoming offering.

Escapist would have us believe that these are the 8 most influential RPGs of all time. Do you agree?

While we're in a listicle frame of mind, these are 7 recent turn-based titles that are worth giving a go.

Fallout 4 now has Oculus Rift support.


Science/Technology

It's a technology at the heart of the vast majority of science fiction, but here's why we won't ever see faster-than-light travel in reality.

Say you're a miniaturized superhero. Could you, say, safely travel on a human-launched projectile while in your insectile state? (Warning: link contains Civil War spoilers)

Think you can program in a quantum environment? IBM has just the place for you to try your hand.

Another day, another revving of the Large Hadron Collider, another potential discovery of a new particle.


Feats of Geekdom/General Awesomess

Meet the Finnish 10-year-old who discovered a colossal bug in Instagram.

All Nippon Airways put together this very detailed and highly appropriate tribute for Star Wars Day:


As always, best wishes for an excellent week ahead!

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Developer Dialogues: Master of Spies

Hey guys. Exactly one week from today I'll be done with the first of the professional certification exams I have slated for this year. While more exams will be forthcoming, there'll be a bit of a break between sitting for the exam and receiving my results, during which I hope to get reacquainted with...well...everything really.

In the meantime, meet the guys behind Move Rate 20 Games, the minds behind the nimble-but-intrinsically-strategic card game, Master of Spies.

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Tell us a little about yourselves. What prompted you to want to become game developers?

We’re a group of friends who’ve played various games together for years. We wanted to take our love of gaming to the next level and that was developing our own games. Steve R. brought an idea for a game he had to us, and we agreed to help him develop it -- that game is still being built out. Steve P. showed the group another quick, fun game idea he had, and that eventually became ourfirst Kickstarter, Master of Spies.

Once you decided to put on the developer’s hat, what made you choose this specific type of game? Why did you feel a card-based game was a particularly good fit for your vision of Master of Spies?

Master of Spies was, like many things in life, developed out of frustration. While working on developing our first game idea, which has the working title of “Project Lightning Sword,” Stephen P. got frustrated with some game-mechanic roadblocks. To clear his mind, he sat at the kitchen table with a deck of cards and some poker chips and came up with the rough idea for a simple, quick game that became Master of Spies. We then took that initial idea, tweaked it a bit and decided that it would be a good first release as it had appeal to both hard-core and more casual gamers alike. During the development, we got the idea of tying all of our games together by setting them within the Eldinar universe and thought that using the spy theme would be a fun introduction to the world.

The game is touted as being extremely easy to learn, but a highly satisfying overall play experience. How long would you say it takes people to pick up Master of Spies and what demographics do you think would most enjoy the game?

The basics of the game are very easy to learn, children as young as age nine have gotten the basics in just one play-through. The advanced rules add a bit more strategy, but gameplay remains quick & easy to learn. We believe the game would appeal to families with players of different ages & skill levels since, while being easy to learn, it also has enough strategy to keep the attention of more serious gamers.

The puzzle-based game market is pretty competitive with both major publishers and Indie developers in the field. What would you say makes Master of Spies distinct?

Well, one of the things that make it unique is that it’s based around the world of Eldinar, a unique fantasy world we are creating for the majority of our games. The names of places and characters will appear again and again, taking players deeper and deeper into the intrigue of the world. Plus, there’s the scalable complexity of the game -- we’ve designed it with rules for a “basic” game and a set of Advanced Rules with “Special Actions” that can further a player’s advantage or thwart an opponent.

The artwork and overall aesthetic of the game is very interesting. What was your inspiration for the look and feel of the game?

Since the world of Eldinar is a fantasy realm, we wanted the cards to have a look that fit that universe -- cards that feel like they could exist in that world. I wanted something that looked good, was distinctive enough for each Faction, while also being easy to read.

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What do you feel was the most enjoyable part of developing Master of Spies and, conversely, what would you say was your biggest challenge?

The most enjoyable part was definitely seeing the reactions of people who play tested the game. They were initially engaged by it, but then got even more into it when they realized it offered more strategy than at first glance. The biggest challenge was finding a balance between simplicity and ease of play vs. depth and strategy, all while keeping gameplay short.

The most fun for me (Stephen P.), as the graphics guy, was designing the cards and bringing the artists onboard to create the portraits of the Royal Courts’ dignitaries.

You intimate on the Kickstarter page that the game would be the first in your Eldinar series, any hints as to what the rest of the series would be like?

The other game currently in development (Project: Lightning Sword) is a more complex resource management, unconventional deck building, and castle defense style card game. There are also plans for a board game and an RPG game setting, both also based in Eldinar.

Is there anything else that you think potential players should know about Master of Spies?

It is quick and fun…easy to learn….good for the family or for your hard-core gaming pals.

Collectively, we have played the game 100’s of times, for play testing, demoing at cons, showing family members during the holidays, etc., and we still enjoy playing. Every game is different because the tactics and styles of the different players combined with the randomness of the cards makes each game session different. Plus with no “player elimination” mechanic, everyone is still in the game and, with a cleverly played card, could potentially pull off a win in the last round.


Interested? The Kickstarter for Master of Spies runs for another two weeks; head over to their page for play footage and even more details!
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Developer Dialogues: Moonquake Escape

It's been a spell since the last iteration of Developer Dialogues and we return to the series with a very special entry. MoonQuake Escape was the very first game to venture into our Playtesting Lab and we've been gleefully watching its development in the nearly two years since. We'd sit here gushing about the mechanics, the artwork, and that board all day, but it's assuredly better if we turn this over to Jeff, the mind behind MoonQuake Escape, and Michael, the man behind its distinctive art.


Tell us a little about yourself. What prompted you to want to become a developer?

HI, Kel! I’m Jeff Johnston (@PairOfJacksGame) and I’ve been designing games as a hobby for the last few years. I started shortly after a friend at work mentioned that writing a book was on his bucket list. It got me thinking about what I’d want to do and I started thinking about all the fun I’d had when younger playing games with friends and family.  I decided my goal was to see a game that I’d created on a store shelf. Within about six months I had a fun little game about toasting marshmallows, Toasted or Roasted, and about six years later I walked into an EMS store and said “Look what I made!” to anyone within earshot.

Once you decided to put on the developer’s hat, what made you choose this specific type of game? Why did you feel this style was a particularly good fit for your vision of MoonQuake Escape?

I really enjoy making games for families with younger children. Like a Disney film, something focused on the youngest but enjoyable by the whole family. My second game, Flashlights & Fireflies, is about playing flashlight freeze tag and catching fireflies. I mention F&F in particular because its core fun was a “hide and seek” mechanic (a la 3-Card Monte) with players traveling a straight four-step track. My son was taking an entrepreneurial course during his college studies and I suggested we develop a game together and KickStart it—not sure I’ve ever a heard a faster “No” in my life! But, my wheels were already turning. I thought it would be a lot of fun to take F&F and add a bluffing mechanic: what if each player could protect (or shield) one face down card—would they protect their one key card, or would they try to lure you away? I also thought it would be interesting to have a way to bring players together on the board unexpectedly for some interesting interaction and I started to picture a set of concentric circular boards to create those situations, and inspired the look of a planet. The space-aged theme on a prison was simply to aim at an older audience and keep it a competitive setting. And thus “Monsters & Moonbeams” was born! The name MoonQuake Escape came about six names later…

The game is touted as being extremely easy to learn, but a highly satisfying overall play experience. How long would you say it takes people to pick up Moonquake Escape and what demographics do you think would most enjoy the game?

I think I’d like to meet these touters! At first brush, MoonQuake Escape takes some explaining. You do have to convey an entire world—its dangers, how you move, how it moves, how its moon moves!—how you interact with the other players, and your goals in the race to the only remaining escape rocket.  Hard core gamers jump right in without issue, but lighter gamers are often initially skeptical about the level of complexity. But after a round or two, they start to get that there are only a few but rewardingly deep decisions to make in each round. I was challenged by my fellow game designers to make it as simple as possible and so I created a Basic rule set that feeds you a healthy portion of the MQE world before introducing the rest in Advanced rules.  Those extra rules aren’t hard or complex, just less to absorb in an initial sit down.

I’ve been playing MQE with people from all walks for more than two years now of many ages and demographics.  The box will say ages 10+ and its extremely engaging for families. I’ve had kids chasing down parents to join in a second or third demo game. But, I’ve been extremely pleased with how adults playing adults enjoy the game and the constant playful interaction each round creates.

The board game market is pretty competitive with both major publishers and indie developers in the field. What would you say makes MoonQuake Escape distinctive?

It’s amazing the quality, variety and creativity in the market today.  That really means that your project has to have something special about it.  I didn’t really know where MQE would go—I just followed its lead.  It needed rotating rings and an orbiting & revolving Moon, and I was foolish enough to craft it.  In 2014 at PAX East, I accidentally “kidnapped” Shari Spiro (@AdMagic/@Breaking Games) and showed her an MQE prototype. At first sight, she immediately said “I want to make that!” and I knew MQE had the ally it needed to make it real.

The visual appeal of MQE on the table is amazing, but, it couldn’t be a gimmick. The game play on the board, with the cards, and between the cards and the board needed to be compelling all around.  Working through this was my key focus, even more so than the visual aspects of the game. I’ve developed a saying: “The board brings them to the table, the game brings them back.” OK, sometimes a Moon Pie brought them to the table.

The artwork and overall aesthetic of the game is very visually striking. What was your inspiration for the look and feel of the game?

After a great reception of the game at Boston Festival of Indie Games (@BostonFIG) in Sep 2014, I found Michael’s vector superhero art style and started collaborating with him on the art and design. I quickly realized what value he was bringing to the entire process and decided that partnering on this project would be the most rewarding. I think Michael can best speak to the overall art.  Michael?

Hello, I’m Michael Parla (@Michael_Parla) the art director for MQE and I’ll field this question. After working in the pharmaceutical industry as a graphic designer/art director for 15+ years, I felt called to scratch a creative itch I’ve been carrying since starting my career. This project seemed just the ticket!
When I was first introduced to MQE I felt it was an ambitious project offering a creative challenge. Initially Jeff was using an illustration for the cover that looked like something out of a Flash Gordon strip. Although the image fit the game’s genre, I didn’t feel it matched with the feel I got when Jeff would demo his games. Much like a 1950 serial film poster, MQE needed to feel loud and exciting, and that inspiration crystalized the art concept.  To capture the feel of these posters I found a bold display font for the main titles (thanks blambot.com) and a condensed secondary font similar to that of poster movie credits.
To me the cards were the most exciting to work on. I was able to display my illustration as a main focal point and add value to the gameplay. I saw early on that I could help clarify card type with colors (green = good, red=bad), making sure players could focus on enjoying the game play and not translating icons or inferring details from the text. Might not sound like much but in a game designed as complex as this it was a nice break.
Color was also missing from the board. In the early stages, Jeff wanted a stark prison world, so for that reason the colors of the board were a boring and drab color. It wasn’t until Shari Spiro (Ad Magic/Breaking Games) insisted that the surface include “MORE COLOR!” I wanted something that people could relate to as alien while contrasting off the dark blue background so it was pretty much set in stone that from here on Zartaclaton would be a bright orange planet. After that everything else fell into place.
What do you feel was the most enjoyable part of developing MoonQuake Escape and, conversely, what would you say was your biggest challenge?

The most enjoyable part was listening to the feedback from fellow designers, playtesters and observations, and then creatively solving the issues. For example, players were having trouble remembering whose turn it was—that was the problem that an orbiting moon component solves for the game!  Early in the process I discovered the Game Makers Guild here in the Boston area and it’s been an incredible resource—game design expertise, playing testing, and most importantly, honest frank feedback. I was confidently done with MQE at least three times before receiving that one additional comment that made me iron out one more crease. And, of course, sharing the game with hundreds of people the last year and a half at conventions across the country has been a blast.  We try to keep the interaction going—our fans are creating the backstories of our alien criminals on the MQE FaceBook page!

The biggest challenge: the rulebook, no doubt.  I must have tackled the approach to tell the whole MQE story in rule form five ways to Sunday with different reactions to each.  Some players wanting information in this order, others in that order.  But, I worked with some really sharp editors—Jim White (@twwombat) in particular—and many savvy play testers to iron out a rule book that tells the MQE story very well. A long process, but I’m very pleased with the final version (you can check it out on the MQE BGG page if you’re curious).

Let’s say MoonQuake Escape is received particularly well by the gaming community at large. Would you be open to continuing to develop it? Would you pursue any expansions or other additional content?

Which designers haven’t already mentally built an expansion to their game?! Yes, we have some exciting ideas we’d like to add to MQE. More dangers on the planet’s surface. A new set of board rings that lets you play a “prequel”: you start in the center of the board deep under the surface in the high security dentention cells and have to make your way through the prison to the surface (the moon will be replaced by a security camera with a different game play effect). And, I think there’s a more card focused game that focuses on the final battle on the Launch Pad. And each of these add to the others allowing you to revisit with new options. But, let’s sell the first copy of MQE before I get too excited!

Is there anything else that you think potential players should know about MoonQuake Escape?

If it looks like I’m having fun telling you about MQE, it’s only because I know how much fun you’ll have playing it. Many moons ago I had to admit that this project is officially my mid-life crisis (of my possible choices, my wife has approved this one!). It’s been quite a ride and we hope you escape with us!
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GiR by GIR: Warhammer End Times - Vermintide

With over 350 hours played on Steam, Left4Dead2 constantly reminds me that, while I may be an RPG gamer at heart, it was this co-op FPS that became one of my greatest gaming loves. It's the game that I could never give up, that is until I got my hands on the recently released Warhammer End Times - Vermintide by Fatshark.


The End Times is the great cataclysmic apocalypse that was prophesied to bring about the end of the Warhammer Fantasy setting. Vermintide focuses on the city of Ubersreik which is being overrun by a horde of Rat-Men called Skaven. A group of five unlikely heroes must work together to try and save the city and, barring that, at least survive long enough to escape.  


Over the course of 13 different missions four players will battle their way through several richly detailed environments ranging from a Mage Tower built by MC Escher to the docks and sewers of the city to the surrounding countryside. Most missions follow the formula L4D soundly established: move along a mostly linear path until you get to a set piece where you have to hold out against waves or enemies, or collect something to deliver before you can advance further while being ambushed by hordes of adversaries. Sadly, the storyline itself isn't quite as detailed as the maps it pulls the players though. That said, the narrative is certainly serviceable, but doesn't quite seem to tap the full potential of Warhammer Fantasy lore.  
     
Being a Co-Op Action FPS, the core mechanics are the standard focus on melee and ranged weapons (with a light emphasis on the former) while battling hordes of basic enemies occasionally bolstered by special units. Unlike each of the survivors in L4D, in Vermintide each of the five playable hero classes has a unique skill, gear set, and specific roles they are best suited for. While other co-op games have you finding gear and loot throughout the levels and missions, Vermintide has a loot reward, inventory, and crafting system that allows you to tailor your chosen hero to best fit your play style.  

Everyone has a primary and secondary weapon slot as well as space for trinkets they can customize before you set out on a mission. For example, the Empire Soldier Markus or Bardin the Dwarf Ranger can use a one-hander plus a shield to get higher endurance which allows them to block melee damage or shove enemies away, giving them more durability. The Mage has a variety of staves that will change how her magic works, causing her flames to act like a beam, area explosion, or a javelin she can hurl.  The Elf Waywatcher has bow that can do poison damage over time or fire homing arrows.    

While this diversity in gear and loot is great for flexibility in terms of play style, it’s also a double edged sword (no pun intended). The reason behind this is that the only way to get much of this gear is the somewhat controversial loot system. At the end of each successful mission players get to “roll” a set of dice that will determine the reward you get from a list of options displayed to the right of the screen. The quality of loot available depends on the difficulty level of the mission, but there’s no guarantee the player will get something good if they roll poorly and, even if they do, it might not even be for the heroes they prefer to play. Ostensibly, the loot system was configured as a tactic to try and get people to try out all of the heroes instead of sticking to a single roll, but things rarely work out that way. I still have nothing but normal (white) gear for the class I wanted to play most, the Witch Hunter, but, as a Level 30 running hard, I am forced to play the role I have the best gear for or risk dragging down my allies. 


You can slightly improve the odds of better rewards by collecting hidden items called tomes or grimoires, both of which take up a healing item or buff slot so there’s a neat risk/reward aspect in play. The grimoires, in addition to taking up a potion slot, also reduce the entire teams Max Health and can’t be dropped or they are lost for the mission. Tomes, on the other hand, can be picked up and put down at will. This can be helpful, but not every mission even has them which leads to a somewhat lopsided server list in terms of what’s being hosted. I definitely enjoyed this mechanic, as it incentivizes players to work together and discuss if it’s worth doing none, one, or both grimoires based on map difficulty and current party health. That said, I do play with friends who communicate well. In public games with strangers people’s personal experiences may vary.     

To try and alleviate some of the grind, Vermintide has a crafting system that allows players to recycle useless or duplicate gear into a better quality item. The conversion rates in said system are 5 Whites = 1 Green, 5 green = 1 Blue, 5 Blue = 1 Orange. Despite this, the item crafted can still be bad so, like the dice, you're at the mercy of a random number generator. Even more frustrating are the trinkets and hats which can't be crafted or recycled for parts and, after playing long enough, you'll could end up with a heap of worthless clutter in your inventory.

Combat itself is good and engaging and, overall, the game is fairly challenging. The weapons really do feel responsive in that a one-handed mace will swing really fast compared to a hulking two-handed hammer; blades swish nicely as they cleave Skaven limbs from bodies, and shields thump under heavy Skaven assault. I know some people feel that the AI is no better than zombies of other games. but I strongly disagree. Full stealth is never an option but taking down a group of Skaven in a watchtower with a bow can allow a group to sneak past a larger group and save that precious healing for finales and recovering after ambushes. If the players go loud using guns and bombs on that same watch tower they will draw a larger horde, wasting time, healing, and other resources. Even the most basic units know not just to swarm, but to try and flank to get behind players. Also, unlike zombies, the Skaven will recoil in fear when players land critical kills or bring down special units. Sometimes that moment of respite is the difference between regaining enough stamina to block an incoming attack or getting dropped and leaving your allies a hero down as the tide of vermin continues to grow. 

For players familiar with L4D, the parallels in special unit types in Vermintide will be obvious and likely easily dealt with but, for the uninitiated, the challenge of learning how to deal with the tougher Skaven can be difficult but rewarding once a rhythm and pattern of blocking/parrying/counter striking is established. The 5 Specials are: Packmasters, which will latch on and drag players away from the group; Ratling Gunners, who lock onto a single player and unleash metal hell using a gatling gun; Poison Wind Globadir who hurl long range gas bombs which cloud vision and damage over time; Gutter Runners who teleport and pounce on players, eviscerating them; Rat Ogres that are basically like the Hulk and require the whole team to bring down; and Stormvermin, which are larger, heavily armored rats with heavy weapons. The last type is also unique in that patrols of about a dozen roam around on various maps and, again, players can use stealth to avoid these which on lower difficulties isn’t always necessary, but at higher level play is mandatory as even the best geared players will quickly be facing a TPK (Total Party Kill).
   

While the influence of L4D hangs heavy around Vermintide like the fog around Ubersreik, I don’t think that’s a bad thing. Frantically fighting off hordes of enemies back-to-back with your friends as you wait for a gate to lower so you can escape a doomed city is the whole point right? Desperately trying to revive a downed ally while a Rat Ogre roars bearing down on you full speed will never stop being thrilling to me. It’s been 6 years since L4D and there has been no worthy successor. I’m here to say I now feel there is and it’s Vermintide. This is, hands down, the best FPS co-op experience a player can get today.  

Warhammer: End Times – Vermintide released on 10/23/15 and is available on Steam for $29.99.  Pick it up today and let’s save Ubersreik together, or die trying.
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Star Wars: Armada Giveaway!

We're psyched to bring you guys the second round of our promised spring board game giveaways! This time around the grand prize will be the second major hit from last year's Gen Con, Star Wars: Armada by Fantasy Flight Games. Board games + Star Wars = so much win. This two-player strategy game promises the chance to indulge in some intense tactics with the high quality minatures you'd expect from Fantasy Flight (though there's nothing small about these models if you're used to playing Star Wars: X-Wing).

Awesome! How do I enter?

If you're reading this and you're neither the GIR nor Elder Gias (sorry guys) you are eligible to enter by following the directions below.

How to Enter the Contest

Step 1: Think of the name of your favorite character, weapon, alien species, type of ship or individual title from any of the movies, comics, or TV shows in the Star Wars franchise. (see the Rules below for a note about Expanded Universe titles)

Step 2: Leave the name you thought of in Step 1 as a comment on either our Facebook or G+ pages, or tweet it at our Twitter account, tag us in a picture of it on Instagram, or leave it as a comment on this post. (Yes, you can enter multiple times; see the Rules below for an example of how this works) 

Step 3: Check back here on Thursday, April 9th at 8pm EST to see if you're the winner! The winner will be selected using random.org.

Contest Rules

- You are allowed one entry per social media site (plus this website) and your entries must be different responses to each of the items in Step 1. For example, I could say my favorite character is Mara Jade on the Facebook page, then say my favorite type of ship is the Chiss Star Destroyer on G+ and earn myself 2 entries into the contest. 

- Since there are five categories and five places for your potential responses, you can earn up to five entries for yourself by putting a different response on each of the sites. If you say 'Han Solo' 5 times in 5 places, only one of those will count.

- While you do not have to use your full, real name to enter the contest, we are going to require that you give us at least a valid handle or nickname so we can contact you if you're the winner. Contestants who are found to be using burner accounts to try and earn more entries will be disqualified. 

- For the purposes of this contest, all Expanded Universe titles, weapons, species, ships, and characters can be treated as valid and canonical (since Episode VII hasn't been released yet!)

Good luck everyone!

Notes: The Care and Feeding of Nerds and this contest are not in any way affiliated with Fantasy Flight Games, Inc. Star Wars: Armada, and all imagery used therein, is licensed to Fantasy Flight Games, Inc.
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Game Review: Sid Meier's Starships

It’s undoubtedly a good sign when both the GIR and I are writing about PC or video games, as it means we can spend a few hours in front of a screen rather than in front of a shovel.  Where the GIR has been hard at work getting out ahead of the release dates for some of our favorite games from PAX East, I’ve had my nose in a title from one of the few AAA publishers I claim any sort of loyalty to. Despite the initial draw of Civilization: Beyond Earth, and subsequent disappointment,  the Sid Meier name piqued my curiosity when Firaxis announced it’d be attached to a new turn-based strategy game: Starships.


There were more than a few raised eyebrows when Firaxis set the release of Starships less than five months after Beyond Earth made its debut. The studio responded with many expressions of, “Don’t worry, it’s a totally different type of game. It’s just set in the Beyond Earth universe.” The not-so-subtle implication there being that not only could they could totally develop a solid game in their appointed timeframe, but that this would be the model for a series of games that would share a setting. So, were they successful in this venture?

Eh, sort of.

That’s not to say that Starships is terrible, there are quite a few very fun bits, it’s just not particularly good and when your game has that Sid Meier prefix, ‘not particularly good’ takes on a considerably more dour meaning. What’s particularly frustrating about Starships is that there’s plenty of potential for it to have been a richer, more enjoyable game but those opportunities seem to have either been ignored or shunted aside in the interest of time or the need for compatibility with mobile platforms.

That last point is actually the foundation for more than a few of the disappointing qualities of Starships. The game looks, feels, and largely plays like it was configured exclusively for a tablet (which it was, as the game is available in the App Store), which translates to more than a few awkward bits when you play on a desktop. You may find yourself frustrated with the hover-to-open-dialogue-wheel controls that are the basis for all the non-combat portions of the game, as these tend to be less responsive to a mouse than they would, say, a finger on a touch screen.

Wait, let's back up a bit.

In Starships, you assume a leadership role in one of the same civilizations available in Beyond Earth. You also select an Affinity for your civilization from the three presented in Beyond Earth though, in all honesty, neither of these choices have a whole lot of impact on actual gameplay. After making your selections, you're hurled out into the darkness of space and presented with a planet that serves as the base of operations/effective capital of your eventual empire. That's quite literally your introduction to Starships. While the game itself is not terribly complex, there is nothing in the way of a tutorial; be prepared for either some trial-and-error or scouring the in-game encyclopedia.

In addition to your home planet, you're provided with a pair of the eponymous starships. These vessels are your primary means of establishing and maintaining your galactic presence. You move them between various planets on a map that's randomly generated at the outset of the game and attempt to gain influence over said planets by performing various tasks for the inhabitants. These quests can vary from eliminating navigating a labyrinthine asteroid field to battling a pirate armada and it's in completing these tasks that you get to experience the high points of the game.

Because dogfighting with space pirates is almost always a good time
Regardless of the goal, the quests all have the same basic form: a turn-based tactics scenario. You maneuver your starships amongst environmental hazards or against any number of adversaries. It can be a lot of fun, particularly after you've installed a few upgrades on your ships, but there's not much variety in the types of tasks you're given, so even the more interesting quests get repetitive towards the tail end of the game. The upgrades to your ships, while definitely helpful, are very clearly modifications to a statistics engine. Furthermore, there's no discernable scale for the difficulty level of each mission, so there may be occasions where you'll lose a mission largely because you had no way of knowing how to prepare properly. To that effect, you're provided with a predicted probability of success for each mission, but this percentage doesn't seem to reflect any actual inputs from the game and thus doesn't provide you with a meaningful gauge of difficulty.

The game throws a ton of information at you, but most of it is noise
The iterative tactical combat gives the impression that Starships is a much deeper strategy game than it actually is. Outside the framework of the quests, you're tasked with cultivating your empire as it exists across the array of planets you've been able to gain sufficient influence over. While there are a handful of ways to do this, namely constructing buildings or wonders, what you elect to do with each planet (and how you manage the array of resources that are produced by each) seems to matter considerably less than just completing the quests. After finishing a few tasks you can treat your fatigued crew members to a bit of shore leave on a given planet, which also seems to do more for influence levels than active engagement.

Whether by building or by blaster, your goal is to extend your influence over 51% of the galaxy. Aside from roaming gangs of pirates, other civilizations will seek to thwart your efforts via varying degrees of aggression. No matter what your play style, the mid-to-end game will come down to warfare of one flavor or another, with battles taking same the turn-based tactical form as the planetary missions. It's all a matter of which fights you pick and who you rumble with. As in some of the classic Civilization games, you may find yourself shaking your head at the questionable choices and sometimes suicidal aggression of the AI.

Starships has its moments; if you're playing on a mobile platform or are just in the mood for light, snack-sized strategy (with playthroughs taking only a couple of hours) then you may get a lot of enjoyment out of it. It's neither particularly challenging, even on the higher difficulties, nor especially deep in what it offers, which can be good if you're, say, waiting to meet up with friends or commuting home. What it's not likely to do is satisfy PC/tabletop gamers who want their 4x strategy fix. If you do want to try Starships out for yourself then I highly recommend waiting a few months and pick it up during a Steam sale.

Final Grade: C/C+
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GiR by GIR: Ironcast



While matching games tend to get written off as something for casual gamers to busy themselves with, Dreadbit is doing their best to change that perception with their first title, Ironcast. While on the surface the game may look a bit like PuzzleQuest with a Victorian Era Steampunk flair, my time spent with the match-3/roguelite hybrid quickly revealed it to be much, much more.  

Ironcast is a true hybrid and has a considerable amount of RPG elements welded onto its match-3 core game play. Without spoiling too much of the story, the basic premise is that, in an alternate history, England and France are at war and use Steampunk/Clockwork mechs called Ironcasts and tanks to battle it out. You play as the pilot of one the eponymous Ironcasts, engaging in glorious combat on behalf of England (naturally, given that Dreadbit is based in the UK).



There are essentially three screens players will spend their time looking at: the world map to select missions from, the hanger bay where you customize and repair your Ironcast between missions, and the match-3 combat screen; the first two are reminiscent of FTL while the latter resembles PuzzleQuest.  

After players will pick a starting commander and a Ironcast, it's off to the world map from which they can progress through a non-linear story line by choosing and completing missions with various objectives and, in turn, earn various rewards. Though there is only one option in terms of available commanders and Ironcast chassis at the outset, more of each will unlock over time as part of the roguelite aspect of the game. Rewards come in the form of schematics or parts to improve your Ironcast, upgrades to those parts, gold to buy these upgrades, or War Assets which are a unique resource that reduces the total health of Boss Enemies or provides alternative ways of completing missions instead of entering match-3 combat. In addition to rewards you also earn XP, which is used both to advance the current active game as well as unlocking things for future runs after you inevitably fail in the active game.


As mentioned earlier, missions most frequently take the form of match-3 combat. During each match, the player is depicted on the left side of the screen and your enemy is on the right with the matching grid separating them. In a standard match-3 style game you're typically swapping or shifting tiles in that grid to match three or more tiles that share a property, like color or shape, which clears those matches off the grid and allows more tiles to drop in from the top of the screen. While in a game like Bejeweled or Candy Crush this setup is perfectly fine, any game where you are playing against an AI, such as PuzzleQuest, this can be infuriating as the human player can feel cheated if the AI manages to chain dozens of matches together by random chance as new tiles fill the board and automatically match up perfectly.      

Ironcast counters this issue perfectly by making a subtle but powerful change to the base matching mechanic. Instead of shifting and swapping tiles, Ironcast lets the player draw a line that connects through as many tiles of the same color/symbol as they want or are otherwise able to (ability here being any same-style tiles that are orthoganally adjoining). While fresh tiles still drop down into the play area after a line is drawn, this eliminates the possibility of random matches triggering chain reactions based on luck. Ultimately, this is more rewarding for skilled players who can plan ahead instead of those who are just fortunate. Another seemingly slight change that I felt actually led to a much richer game, tactically speaking, was the fact that players get up to three actions per turn instead of the typical one.



In Ironcast the tiles are of five colors and symbols that players try to link, each corresponding to a specific function: Green Wrenches for repairing damaged systems, Purple Ammo for powering weapons, Blue Snowflakes for coolant, Orange Lightning for energy to power defensive systems and movement, and, lastly Gold Scrap, which is used in the hanger between missions for repairs and upgrades. There are also special tiles that allow you to do things such as link different colors together or supercharge systems to be more effective. Each combat is a delicate balancing act of providing the necessary resources for the systems that demand them. More than once I found myself torn between matching a string of gold for desperately needed repairs and upgrades and simply keeping my guns sufficiently powered to ensure I would live long enough to spend the pittance of gold I already had.



Where other match-3 games can feel mind-numbingly repetitive after a point, Ironcast keeps things fresh and moving with unlockable commanders, chassis, loot drops, and an intriguing story. After several failed runs I managed to beat a difficult Boss, which I assumed would be the end of the game a la FTL. Instead I was pleasantly surprised to find that this is the point wherein the real game was just beginning. Without getting into spoilers, apparently not everything my character had been told up until that moment was as it seemed.



Overall, I found the gameplay challenging but never unfair, and the global XP allowed me to feel like I was always making some progress even through failure. Better-than-average story telling combined with very welcome improved strategy elements to the classic match-3 formula means the lovely art style and combat animations are just icing on an already masterfully crafted cake. Ironcast doesn't reinvent the concept of matching games, but rather redefines what they can be capable of. I sincerely look forward to playing more of it and suggest you check it out once it releases on March 26th for PC/Mac/Linux via Steam and the Humble Store. Bonus: the game will be available at a 30% discount if you order from Steam or Humble in the first five days after launch. Ironcast will also be available on PS3, PS4, and Xbox One later this year.

Ironcast was reviewed on a PC using a beta access key provided to the Care and Feeding of Nerds by Dreadbit.
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