Kickstart Your Week! Timequakes, murder and Daniel Craig in a wizard’s hat

Paradox

 

Do you feel a rumbling? Something shaking you to your very core? Perhaps it’s the time-quake shaking is way through the universe. No its more than that… it’s Candy Crush Saga in board game form!

Except wait! Don’t panic yet! The game has a cool sci-fi theme, a multitude of alien races to save, a beautiful space thing on the front cover! It’s called Paradox: what a cool name. Yes, that’s the official subtitle. Maybe let’s give it a chance. So, what’s going on?

There’s a disaster, a time-quake, passing through the universe destroying alien worlds. You are all scientists trying to rescue the destroyed worlds and the histories, and futures, of the races that live on them. This requires energy (quite a lot of it too I would imagine), which you get by solving the 4 in a row type puzzle that Candy Crush is known for. Swap blocks with the same symbol to get 4 or more of the same colour in a row to gain energy of that colour. This can then be used to rescue timelines with the corresponding requirements. This is an awesome mechanic. You’ll be constantly puzzling out your next moves while you wait for your next turn.

Players score by completing full timelines for the alien races. So far it sounds like a game everyone plays alone (a bit like Candy Crush Saga…) but it gets better. Each piece of history you save moves the time-quake around the ring of planets in the centre by a certain amount. Any it touches, that isn’t protected by an energy shield you can build, is destroyed. Dead. Out of the game. And guess what? You won’t score any points for the races whose planets are dead at the end of the game!

Suddenly the puzzle has lifted from your little play area to encompass everything your players are building. Do you try and complete your set? Or finish something to move the storm and destroy the Alphoria homeworld that your friend is so focussed on protecting? You can bring planets back into play with another energy type, but then you’re not completing new sets.

The art is cool, with different artists imagining each of the races. The rulebook, only to be opened in the event of a time-shattering quake, is nicely written. The puzzle this game poses is fascinating. There are additional routes to victory via research, and scenarios to mix up the gameplay. It looks like a great package, but it needs your help to fund it!

 

The time-quake will pass through the Paradox Kickstarter on July 26^th.

 

Deception: Murder in Hong Kong

 

“My goodness what a mess. Blood everywhere. Forensic Scientist! I understand we found the murder weapon!”

“It’s intact.”

“Excellent. But where is it?”

“It happened in a… school? Yes! School!”

“Oh, you mean the murderer used the… the brick? They have bricks in schools, right? Yes, the brick!”

“The brick!? It was the trophy you moron! Why would you go for the brick!?”

Oh yes, this is Deception: Murder in Hong Kong! A game of deduction, of murder, but also deception, for one of your fellow investigators is the perpetrator of this terrible crime. The Forensic Scientist on your team will know who it is, what he used and what clues he left behind but, for reasons that are never made entirely clear, he can only communicate in single words chosen from an array of options made available to him on the Scene Tiles. With those he must somehow lead the investigators to the correct murder weapon and clue from the tableau of possibilities placed in front of each player. However, one member of the team is doing everything they can to mislead the investigation. Get the wrong clues, and the murderer will get away with it!

One of the most entertaining games I’ve played in recent months was Mysterium. In it, players are trying to match up the dreams they are given by a ghost, with an array of possible items, locations and people, again to solve a crime. The game is absolutely hilarious, as the available dream cards are totally unable to provide specific information. Leading to players talking themselves out of choosing the correct answer while the ghost player sits in agonised silence. One of my favourite games this year! Deception sounds like Mysterium, with a traitor!

The game falls perfectly into the social deduction category along with classics like The Resistance or Werewolf/Mafia. If you enjoy these games, you should absolutely be checking this game out. It even adds various roles for players to try out, beyond the investigator/murderer/forensic scientist I mentioned above. Of course, if you are someone who can’t lie, best to not play this game. But I know there’s plenty of you out there who can!

 

The Deception is on until July 20^th.

Hocus

 

Poker-us! Everyone’s heard of Poker. Many have played it. Felt that excitement, of bluffing your opponents, of not quite knowing who has the higher hand! Do you bet more!? But then there are the hands where nothing happens. No one has anything. Or you’re sat around watching your chips disappear while you are dealt hand after hand of rubbish cards. Because for all the awesome moments in poker, it’s a sad fact that there is a lot of waiting around for the right hand. Well, how about we add some spells into the mix?

That’s right! No more is it James Bond we’re aping, more Daniel Craig in a wizard’s hat! But Hocus is more than just poker with spells. Its grown into something more than that. You will have much more control. You will be cooperatively building a communal set of cards (as in texas hold ‘em), and choosing the two cards you keep in your pocket. But you’ll also be betting cards on the communal set if you think you’re going to win, all of these actions aided by the spells you have available. Win the pot by being able to make the best poker hand from your pocket cards and the communal set.

But wait! There’s also multiple communal sets, multiple pockets each, and multiple pots on offer to win! So where do you think you’ll be able to win? What cards do you need in the communal set to help your pocket? And will your opponents realise and scupper your plays? And of course, there are the spells to be used at just the right time to make that killer move. All of this dipped in the most incredibly beautiful art. It’s a lovely package encompassing a fascinating game! Go check it out. It even has owls.

 

Cast your way to victory with Hocus by July 24^th.

 

Worth a Look

Battalia: The Creation – Question: how many different elements can you put together to make a game? Well Battalia is in the running for the trophy, combining deck building, tile laying, city building, area control, card driven combat, hero developing with a calendar mechanic! It’s an impressive description for an equally impressive game. Because, believe it or not, it all seems to fit together into a functioning whole! And it’s beautiful to boot! Ends July 22^nd.

 

Immortal – An intriguing card laying game of mythological Gods. Each God has combat values on each of its side, that are compared to any neighbours that are placed on the modular, variable board. Losing cards are captured by the winning player’s faction, and the player that controls the largest number of cards at the end of the game wins. Timing and careful choice of where to place your cards to capture your opponents while not exposing your own cards are the key to this puzzle. Ends July 23^rd.

 

Shadowrift 2^nd Edition – A new release for the cooperative deck building game of heroes defending idyllic Haven Town from ravenous monsters ready to eat your villagers and smash your barricades. Now with new art, revamped monster rules and setting up for an array of new expansions. Ends July 23^rd.

 

 

Swords and Bagpipes – A semi-cooperative card game set during the 1^st war of Scottish independence, aka Braveheart times. You are the leader of a Scottish clan, and must decide whether your loyalty in the coming battles lies with your fellow Scots, or with the coin of the English invaders. For if the English are victorious in their campaign, it will be the most loyal clan that is considered the winner. But if Scotland achieves its independence, it will be the richest player who is triumphant! Balance the timing of your betrayals for when you can best profit. Figure out your fellow clan leaders and trick them into doing what you want, and glorious victory will be yours. Ends July 23^rd.

 

Brawl – A card fighting game played in real time, or in other words, as quickly as possible! Play hits and blocks to try and take control of scoring cards in the centre of the table. Intense and chaotic, it plays in less than a minute. Each player needs a deck, but can be played with up to 6 players at once. Chaotic indeed! It was originally released back in 1999 to quite some acclaim, but has been out of print for a good 10 years now. Ends July 24^th.

 

Bomarzo – Explore the mysterious Bomarzo Sacred Grove, a disturbing garden filled with statues to ancient deities. Court the deities powers by offering them resources obtained by your village in this nice worker placement game. The deities will reward the players who specialise in their preferred aspect, but using the deities abilities will shift the order of the statues and the victory points they award, offering a very intriguing puzzle akin to that of the grove itself. Ends July 24^th.