DowntimeTown Episode 6: Chaos In The Old World

It’s a brand new episode of DowntimeTown, an extra-long bit of banter about the brand new Fantasy Flight release Chaos In The Old World. It’s a game that’s NOT EVEN OUT YET in most places, and we’ve already played it and played it.

Ryan getting his Tzeentch on.

Check it out vimeo-style below, and be aware that there are some flickering images of demonic corruption throughout:

DowntimeTown Episode 6: Chaos in the Old World from Robert Florence on Vimeo.

Faidutti + Cards = EXCITE!

If Bruno Faidutti (of Citadels fame) decides he’s giving us a new card game, we better all sit up and pay attention.

Fantasy Flight have announced a game called Letter of Marque, which sees you playing the part of bold corsairs carrying valuable wares across the high seas. In card form.

It’s something else to get excited about in this amazing year for tabletop gaming. Read about it on the Fantasy Flight site and gaze at the delicious box art RIGHT HERE RIGHT NOW:

Fantasy Flight Take Tannhauser

After days of rumours, Fantasy Flight have announced that they have acquired the rights to the Tannhauser IP.

Fantasy Flight were previously only the publishers of the game, but now they have the whole shebang within their grasp. What does this mean for us?

Hopefully, it’ll mean a faster turnaround in expansions for the game. Certainly Fantasy Flight have promised a new second edition of the game and more releases to bolster the squads of the Union and the Reich. And the next release is a map supplement called Daedalus.

You can read their official announcement at the Fantasy Flight website. And you can check out my review HERE.

Space Hulk – Magic Flavour Ice Cream

This week was supposed to be all about the launch of Campaign Week on the site, but something far bigger and far more important has cropped up. As you’ll have seen in our news section, Games Workshop has announced the release of a new version of their classic board game Space Hulk.

Why is Space Hulk so important? Because it is probably MY FAVOURITE GAME OF ALL TIME.

Space Hulk and I were destined to be together. I want to take this opportunity to tell you the story of how I fell into Genestealers’ arms for the first time, and how life used to be for a Glasgow boy who loved games and toys.

I’m going to be patchy on the ages and dates front, but I want to freewheel this and lay it all out in the way I remember it all happening.

The story is called “Magic Flavour Ice Cream.”

Once upon a time, there was a boy called Robert. He lived in a big Swedish house on the corner of a main road in the North of Glasgow. It was summer, as it always is in stories like this, and Robert had recently been given a very special present by his Auntie Sadie. The present was a big bit of furniture Auntie Sadie didn’t want anymore. A strange big hulking thing. It looked like a much bigger version of this:

It was an impressive big thing, and Robert set about the task of filling it with cool stuff. RPG sourcebooks. Fighting Fantasy books. Action Figures. Piles of Batman and Justice League comics. This Justice League comic was bagged and stuck on the side of the unit, because it kicked off the greatest run of comics in comics history:

The tabletop part of the massive desk/cupboard was used for sessions of RPGs. Robert just loved poring over the DC Heroes 2nd Edition box set of an evening, generating new adventures for his schoolfriends to take part in.

One day, Robert’s friend Graham told him that a boy on the street had some Games Workshop stuff he wanted rid of. Robert, being a boy from a good working class family, could rarely afford to plunder Games Workshop’s wares – which even today seem aimed at a more well-to-do class of youngster, a true negative of Games Workshop’s style of marketing. Anyway, excited at the news of Games Workshop stuff needing a good home, Robert said to Graham “Take me to this boy.”

The boy’s name is lost in the mists of time, sadly, but he lived nearby. Graham arranged the meeting. Robert stood at the foot of a hill, the sun blazing down, waiting for the boy to arrive.

Robert knew of Games Workshop’s activities by reading White Dwarf and seeing an occasional review in old Dragon magazines. He imagined what wonders the boy might be bringing to him. Would it be an old copy of Talisman? Dungeonquest, perhaps?

A small boy appeared at the end of the road. He walked towards Robert. He carried no big boxes, no bags full of lovely stuff. He carried only this: two old-style ice cream tubs. Two big tubs, stacked one on top of the other. Ice cream.

“Ice Cream?” Robert mouthed.

“Stuff’s in here,” the boy said. He popped one of the lids open. Inside, Robert saw a stack of cardboard tiles, and some loose miniatures – monsters of some kind.

“Genestealers,” the boy said.

Genestealers.

Now, this was back in the days when the word “gene” was still part of science-fiction. The word Genestealer set young Robert’s imagination on fire.

A swap was made. Robert barely heard the boy’s explanation as the trade was organised.

“It’s called Space Hulk I lost the box my brother bought me it I have nobody to play it with really so it’s just sitting there yeah those Real Ghostbusters figures look good no I need that one sure if you want to swap aye let’s do it then the rulebooks and everything are all there it’s just the box that’s away.”

All just words, spinning into the summer sky, as Robert’s head filled with visions of being pursued by monsters that don’t just kill you, don’t just eat you, but fuck with your very genes. Steal them, even.

Robert took the Magic Flavour Ice Cream home.

His first games of Space Hulk were played solo. He discovered the concept of Overwatch for the first time. The brilliant, graceful genius of Space Hulk Overwatch. The term Overwatch slipped into his vocabulary.

“Keep an eye out for the teacher, Rab.”

“Nae danger. I’m on overwatch.”

When Robert went to sleep at night, he dreamt this scene:

He was a Space Marine Terminator. And the Genestealers were coming at him from every angle. His heart pumping. Split seconds from death. Praying his bolter didn’t jam. It wasn’t a nightmare, though. It was one of those terrifying dreams young men often have – a fantasy, a joyous liberating fear-fantasy. Like that zombie dream we’ve all had. You know the one.

He was still playing solo. He would be Space Marines, trying to survive, and then he’d be the Genestealers. Every night, after school, laying out the shape of the Hulk. Constructing it from the plans in the Scenario Book. Working from the very blueprints that would make him the man he would inevitably be.

Memories were created that Robert would never forget.

Memories of jammed bolters and the perfect Genestealer flanking maneouvre, while downstairs my Da is watching The Bill.

This isn't my Da, it's Burnside from The Bill.

Memories of a clean Blood Angels advance to mission objective while Robert’s friends Graham and Speil wrestle and punch each other on the floor.

Robert and Space Hulk. For days and weeks and months. Lots of games against others, but the ones that Robert played on his own were the magical ones. Like playing Chess against himself. Punishing himself for his own mistakes. The beautiful design of the game lets strategies get deeper and deeper while the gameplay stays simple and action-packed. Robert needed nothing else. School, home, Claw, bolter, overwatch, jam, flank, kill, survive, die, bed.

One day, Robert suddenly started to get older and leave these things behind. It was like he’d eaten a poisoned apple and had fallen into a sleep. During that sleep games got thrown out and swapped away and lost. Things were completely lost, and Robert, under a spell, would never ever remember what he did with them. DC Heroes. Nightfall. Shadowrun. His original Heroquest. Advanced Space Crusade. Comics. Toys. Space Hulk. All lost. All gone. While asleep.

Robert was very sad about this. As an older boy, when he heard the following song for the first time, he had to go to an open window and stare out of it, pretending he had something in his eye.

He had been asleep. And he’d lost something.

He tried new things. He ate ice cream of many flavours. Something was missing. A man now, not a boy, he made sure to give the video game version of Space Hulk a special mention on his videogame TV show. It was his nod to the boy he left behind.

Then, one day, Robert decided to cut back on his computer game hobby so that he could try to rediscover his earlier ones. That night he had a dream. In the dream, he was a super-soldier in a dark, dead ship. And a Genestealer was hissing in that darkness.

A Genestealer. A Gene Stealer.

Robert bought Space Hulk from a place called “ebay” the very next day. It was the first game of his new board game collection. And this time, it was complete with its box.

Ice Cream in a box? That’s new.

And as you can see from the collection page on the site, they all lived happily ever after!

NEW SPACE HULK CONFIRMED

Games Workshop’s classic game Space Hulk is back FOR REAL and I know for sure because I just pre-ordered it.

The new edition comes with beautiful, I say BEAUTIFUL new miniatures and delicious new floor tiles.

You can read all about it and go OOH AAH at the Games Workshop site.

They say numbers are limited, so if you’ve ever trusted me on anything, trust me on this – Space Hulk is incredible. It’s maybe my personal favourite game of all time. Thrilling, exciting, genuinely frightening. If you have the spare cash, get it ordered.

Zaa Ooo Zaa!

UPDATE

Video now in:

New Space Hulk Confirmed?

Space Hulk is maybe the greatest game ever made. And for a while there have been rumours that a new edition is coming. So, am I telling you now that it’s all confirmed?

Well, no. Not yet. But it’s starting to look very likely.

Indeed, early reports from Gen Con are that Space Hulk is indeed coming, and that the official announcement may be as soon as TOMORROW.

OH MY GOD. TOMORROW. OH MY GORROW.

Let’s cross our fingers and hope it’s all true. What better way to kick off Campaign Season than with more wonderful gaming news?

Zaa Ooo Zaa!

Campaign Season Is Coming!

It’s almost Campaign Season at DowntimeTown.

What does that mean? It means that as we run campaigns of some of our favourite games, you fine people can follow the action in our regular session reports. Battle reports of each sitting of the campaign, rammed full of photos and videos. You can follow the campaign from start to finish, and even fling in advice for the players in the comments section.

And what are we playing first? What’s up first in our first ever Campaign Season?

This beauty right here:

DESCENT: ROAD TO LEGEND

It all kicks off next week on DowntimeTown, as the site steps up a gear. Campaign Season, reviews, and a new episode of the show!

Zaa Ooo Zaa!

Chaos and Quest This Week! MAYBE.

Good news, ladies and gentlemen of the tabletop. MAYBE.

Fantasy Flight’s Chaos in The Old World and Middle-Earth Quest both will be shipping this week, according to reputable online board game dealers.

We’ve spoken a fair bit about Chaos in the Old World, but haven’t really mentioned Middle-Earth Quest. So now we’ll tell ye a bit about it.

Fantasy Flight says:

Up to three players will take the role of heroes working together as a team to prevent the Dark Lord from conquering the world of Middle-earth. Seek favor, training, and knowledge from famous characters from Middle-earth such as Gandalf, Aragorn, Boromir, Denethor and many more. Each of the five heroes included in Middle Earth Quest (“MEQ”) must not only seek to thwart Sauron’s plans, but has a unique quest path of his/her own. Each quest provide heroes with valuable knowledge and skills in the fight against the Shadow. If the heroes are successful, Gandalf will acquire the knowledge he seeks, and move to set in motion the events which will eventually lead to Sauron’s defeat and the destruction of the One Ring (as described in The Lord of the Rings.)

One player will take the mantle of Sauron himself, seeking to corrupt the lands and leaders of Middle-Earth, to summon an unstoppable army of darkness, and to use the fearsome minions of Mordor in locating the One Ring. In the dreadful chance that Sauron be succesful, his great shadow will fall across a helpless Middle-earth. The lands covered in a darkness that no light will ever pierce.

Now, I’m not the biggest Lord of the Rings fan in the world. But I’m wise enough to know that when Fantasy Flight get their EPIC on, you better stand up, drop your trousers and get ready for love.

And just look at it:

FUCK! ME!

If it’s true that these games are out this week, we can officially call this week BEST WEEK EVER and put a cherry on top. Once I get it confirmed I’ll let you all know.

CHAOS and QUESTS! Zaa Ooo Zaa!

UPDATE: THEY’VE SLIPPED!

Sumeria Review

Sometimes you need a game that is a big sprawling epic. Something that runs for five hours, and has you up all night, hating everyone. And sometimes you need a game that is small, brief, competitive, and clever.

Sumeria, from Reiver Games, is that game.

Sumeria, designed by Dirk Liekens, plays 3-4 people and usually runs to about 45 minutes. It comes in a small box, and as is usual from Reiver Games, the components are of good quality.

Here’s how this intelligent little game works. Each player has a number of traders, and take turns either adding a trader to the map, removing a trader from the map, or moving a trader from one stop to the next available stop. Traders in an area increase that area’s influence, and the area with most influence at the end of the round scores better for the player who controls that area.

Sumeria's board. You put your wee man on those little dots. Not your actual wee man! The traders!

So, in your turn you try to manipulate influence across the board, to try and put the city-state which you control into a higher position of influence than every other. You could maybe do this by removing a trader from an area controlled by an opponent, which knocks that area down the influence track. You could maybe do this by adding a trader to your own majority control area, to bounce it back up the track. The game continues in this manner, through play, counterplay and bluff, until a sixth and final round.

Sumeria is an abstract game, but the theme fits well. It seems logical that a large assembly of traders in an area makes that area more influential, so it never feels like you’re just sliding wooden blocks around a map. It’s a game that makes you feel like you’re actually playing your opponents, and not just the game system. There’s nothing better than knowing that the trader you’ve just planted into an area will, when you pull him back out, turn the game in your favour. There’s nothing better than filling up the roads so that your opponent can’t move his trader where he wants him to go.

Ahhh. It’s wonderful to hear the delicious sighs of your enemies as you recall your traders from their areas. To look into their grim face as they realise that the area they fought so hard to control is no longer as fancy-schmancy as they thought it was. To witness a player’s collapse, as an area slides down the influence track, to hear his soft “fucking hell” rise to the stars.

Sumeria’s only downside is that it’s exactly the kind of game you wouldn’t introduce to new players. It’s not a gateway game. Look what happened between the fictional Mark and Jessica.

JESSICA: Hey, listen. You want to play a game?

MARK: Um…sure. What have you got?

JESSICA: How about a majority control game about traders in ancient Sumer?

MARK: How about a fuck off about fucking off?

If you have a group of gamers, though, PROPER GAMERS MAN, Sumeria is going to be a hit. Even if you’re playing with someone who can be very slow at thinking through his turn (Richard, this is for you, my friend), the minute-to-minute tactical nature of the game doesn’t allow people to get bogged down. It’s very much a game of reacting to the short-term tactics of others, and so rattles along at a fair wee clip. The rules are easy to learn, and yet there’s a lot of depth.

Trader in, trader oot. Shake it all aboot. What’s not to like?

Nothing. It’s great.

The lovely Hopey modelling the lovely Sumeria.

Here’s a Sumer song to play us out.

Fighting Fantasy Comes To iPhone

Here’s some news of the greatest thing that ever happened ever anywhere ever.

On the most recent episode of the world’s greatest videogame podcast OneLifeLeft, Fighting Fantasy co-creator Ian Livingstone confirmed that the Fighting Fantasy series is heading to iPhone THIS YEAR.

The great man, Ian Livingstone

It’ll all kick off with Warlock Of Firetop Mountain, as it should, and you’ll be able to shake your phone to roll the dice.

This is the best thing that ever happened. EVER.

We’ll keep you up to date with any further news of the greatest thing ever to happen as it happens.

Zaa Ooo Zaa!

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