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New Game Round-up: Revised Versions of Descent, Wiz-War & D*ne, Even More Munchkin & Irongames for Spiel

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• At Gen Con 2011, Fantasy Flight Games sprang details of three upcoming titles – all of them more new-ish than new – starting with a second edition of Descent: Journeys in the Dark (announced simultaneously on the FFG website) that features eight new heroes, 38 new monsters, a revised experience system for upgrading your heroes, more detailed hero summary cards, and more. The best part of the announcement is this line:

Updated rules will have you battling evil in minutes

I hate when I have to wait an hour or more before battling evil.

To bring ye olde firste editione Descent and expansions up to speed for this new edition of the game, FFG will release Descent: Journeys in the Dark - Second Edition Conversion Kit with "Second Edition-compatible cards for every monster and hero ever produced". Both items are scheduled for release in 2012.

Two items from FFG due out before the end of 2011 are Rex: Final Days of an Empire – FFG's revision of Eon's Dune – and yet another edition of Tom Jolly's Wiz-War. Fantasy Flight first announced that it had licensed the game system used in Dune at Gen Con 2007, along with a potential release date of Q4 2008, but obviously development took longer than initially anticipated. Cover shot here on BGG. (I interviewed Eon's Peter Olotka in September 2007 about the history of Dune, and that article has been reprinted on BGG News.)

FFG's Wiz-War is a gussied-up version of the Tom Jolly design created nearly three decades ago, with a player count of 2-4 and miniatures of all the player figures. Cover shot here on BGG.

• Gen Con 2011 announcements from Steve Jackson Games revealed Munchkin: Conan for release Q3 2012 (box mock-up here), Munchkin 8: Half Horse, Will Travel (for early 2012) and the existence of drafts for two expansions for Zombie Dice (via a tweet from designer Steve Jackson).

• Designer Bernd Eisenstein has opened preorders for two new titles from Irongames: PAX and Pergamemnon, with rules in English, German and French being available for both titles.

PAX has players as escaped slaves in Roman times, with the players trying to increase their strengths in various categories to outdo their Roman rulers – well, unless you as a slave secretly side with Rome to work against your fellow slaves. PAX is for 1-4 players, with the game being playable with up to eight if you have two copies.

Pergamemnon is "a deck-building game of direct conflict" set in ancient times with each of the five nations in the game (Egyptians, Persians, etc.) having a special power.

• Take a glance at who (or what) awaits you in Ghost Stories: Black Secret – the Gravedigger, the Landscaper and the Seeker, three minions of Wu-Feng, who also makes an appearance in one of his many incarnations.


• English rules (PDF) for Sake & Samurai are now available on BGG.

• Eye-Level Entertainment has released full-color English rules (PDF) for Nature of the Beast: Polar vs. Prairie, with those also being compatible for earlier NotB releases.

• Spanish publisher nestorgames has released a nice version of 9tka from Adam Kałuża, the game previously being available only in a print-and-play version. English rules for 9tka are available on the nestorgames website.

• In addition to the forthcoming Rattus: Africanus for Spiel 2011, Dutch publisher White Goblin Games has released a promotional card for the game sold only through the BGG store – Rattus: Jester, featuring BGG's Ernie and allowing the Jester's owner to airdrop two cubes onto the game board from a height of two feet.
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Subscribe sub options Tue Aug 9, 2011 6:30 am
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Jayson Stevens
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80 minis, 12 dice and 61 map tiles at $90 MSRP
vs
44 minis, 9 dice and 48 map tiles at $80 MSRP

After 6 years, a new edition is pretty much the only way to have the game in print... inflation and China's economic development has not been kind to production costs.
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  • Posted Tue Aug 9, 2011 6:51 am
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Reaper Steve
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palmerkun wrote:
80 minis, 12 dice and 61 map tiles at $90 MSRP
vs
44 minis, 9 dice and 48 map tiles at $80 MSRP

After 6 years, a new edition is pretty much the only way to have the game in print... inflation and China's economic development has not been kind to production costs.


Still a good deal, IMO.
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  • Posted Tue Aug 9, 2011 7:10 am
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Brian Dunkle
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Wait, are all the monsters in heroes in Descent going to be new, with none of the old included? Smaller minis for all the monsters or something?
 
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  • Posted Tue Aug 9, 2011 7:55 am
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Kris Vanhoyland
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bdunkle wrote:
Wait, are all the monsters in heroes in Descent going to be new, with none of the old included? Smaller minis for all the monsters or something?


Apparantly the heroes and monsters in the new edition are all new heroes. If you want to use all the ones you have from 1st edition, that's what the Descent: Journeys in the Dark - Second Edition Conversion Kit is for.
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  • Posted Tue Aug 9, 2011 8:38 am
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Stefan Lopuszanski
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Oooo. Been looking forward to this new "Dune" game. Yes, the new game won't capture the feel of the original or have the same essence. But as long as it is more streamlined and polished, I'm sure it will be great.

And this is coming from a proud owner of an un-played (only just punched and organized) original copy of Dune. I've played the original before and it is great, can't wait to see what FFG does with the game engine.
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  • Posted Tue Aug 9, 2011 10:04 am
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Dustin Hermann
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Rex: Final Days of an Empire is an instant pre-order.
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  • Posted Tue Aug 9, 2011 3:50 pm
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It's to bad FFG couldn't work out a Dune thematic license too. I'll probably bite on Rex and the new Descent (a buddy of mine owns the first edition).

I can't see getting to upset about how a company wants to manage their product, all companies release multiple editions of board games it seems to me.

But it does seem like FFG is catching some heat from the board game players here on the geek lately.
 
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  • Posted Tue Aug 9, 2011 4:43 pm
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W. Eric Martin
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SpaceCherokee wrote:
It's to bad FFG couldn't work out a Dune thematic license too.

I had asked Peter Olotka about the retheming in 2007 when the project was announced, and he said the lack of a Dune license wasn't for lack of trying. The first two paragraphs of that write-up:

Quote:
While new versions of Cosmic Encounter and Borderlands were greeted with almost universal excitement, the decision to use the "Wheels within Wheels" game system of Eon's Dune in a new game set in the Twilight Imperium universe was met with an equal mixture of excitement and outrage. As of mid-September 2007, a petition asking Brian Herbert to license Dune to FFG had gathered more than 3,300 online signatures.

"I don't disagree with what [these petitioners] are saying," says Olotka, but he doesn't expect it to have any effect either. "I know of two or three other companies that tried to get the license. You can't dig out that license. It's like talking to mud. It's not there."
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  • Posted Tue Aug 9, 2011 4:50 pm
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James 3
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but WHY is it like mud? wonder why Brian Herbert is being so uncompromising with a license in demand that has a successful history? any details on his response? Does he just not like games and/or money??

I was interested in the Dune game purely because of the license, personally. playing a generic lion-person with mind control powers in REX just does not hold the same appeal to me as playing the Bene Gesserit. I'd love to see some more Dune games one day, shorter ones, not just a rehash of the old one that seems to have a huge variable playtime and needs 6 players that know the game to really work...

i still blame Sting.
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  • Posted Tue Aug 9, 2011 5:47 pm
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I think it's only right that FFG include Runewars-compatible hero-cards in this update for Descent and Descent second edition heroes. Can we get a yea or nay on whether that (or something like it) is happening?

...please?
 
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  • Posted Tue Aug 9, 2011 6:56 pm
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manga3dmann wrote:
Rex: Final Days of an Empire is an instant pre-order.


I have Dune so I'll wait for the reviews, but it is tempting. For me, it would be an "instant pre-order" if FFG used its "Game of Thrones" license for the theme instead of TI.
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  • Edited Tue Aug 9, 2011 9:52 pm
  • Posted Tue Aug 9, 2011 9:51 pm
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flamejuggler wrote:
i still blame Sting.


LOL!!
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  • Posted Tue Aug 9, 2011 10:12 pm
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Keith Higdon
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Sigh... still no word on Borderlands.
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  • Posted Tue Aug 9, 2011 10:21 pm
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Ralph T
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FezAZ wrote:
manga3dmann wrote:
Rex: Final Days of an Empire is an instant pre-order.


I have Dune so I'll wait for the reviews, but it is tempting. For me, it would be an "instant pre-order" if FFG used its "Game of Thrones" license for the theme instead of TI.


Yeah, a Game of Thrones retheme would work, wouldn't it?
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  • Posted Tue Aug 9, 2011 11:02 pm
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Quote:
eight new heroes, 38 new monsters, a revised experience system for upgrading your heroes, more detailed hero summary cards, and more.


Interesting bit here, if those are truly 100% new, then the game itself could be seen as an expansion for those who already own the game. So does the conversion kit come with the 2nd edition box?
 
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  • Posted Wed Aug 10, 2011 2:12 am
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flamejuggler wrote:

i still blame Sting.


.. and Michael Bolton.
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  • Posted Wed Aug 10, 2011 3:41 am
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manga3dmann wrote:
Rex: Final Days of an Empire is an instant pre-order.


The kids at FFG obviously have tin ears. Rex: Final Days of an Empire sounds like the adventures of Paul Atreides' dog.
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  • Posted Wed Aug 10, 2011 6:42 am
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The "Jeff" part is completely true


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SpaceCherokee wrote:
I can't see getting to upset about how a company wants to manage their product, all companies release multiple editions of board games it seems to me.


That's true, but most games don't have a half a dozen expansions, either.
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  • Posted Wed Aug 10, 2011 6:52 pm
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Stexe wrote:
Oooo. Been looking forward to this new "Dune" game. Yes, the new game won't capture the feel of the original or have the same essence. But as long as it is more streamlined and polished, I'm sure it will be great.

And this is coming from a proud owner of an un-played (only just punched and organized) original copy of Dune. I've played the original before and it is great, can't wait to see what FFG does with the game engine.


If you want to try the game, and are willing to come to Ohio, my game club loves it and you would easily find a game.
 
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  • Posted Thu Aug 11, 2011 6:35 am
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ralpher wrote:
FezAZ wrote:
manga3dmann wrote:
Rex: Final Days of an Empire is an instant pre-order.


I have Dune so I'll wait for the reviews, but it is tempting. For me, it would be an "instant pre-order" if FFG used its "Game of Thrones" license for the theme instead of TI.


Yeah, a Game of Thrones retheme would work, wouldn't it?


So Ice explodes when fighting against Lightbringer, then the wall melts and lets the Others into Westeros?
And it's about Hunting for the most valuable resource in Westeros - not spice but whores? "Whoever controls the brothels controls Westeros".
Tyrion gets of course some kind of bonus when attempting this.

Bene Gesserit = Asshai
Stark = Atreides
Lannister = Harkonnen
Baratheon = The Emperor
Greyjoy = Guild
Wildlings = Fremen

Ok, you're right, it WOULD work cry
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  • Posted Thu Aug 11, 2011 7:13 am
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Natus wrote:
manga3dmann wrote:
Rex: Final Days of an Empire is an instant pre-order.


The kids at FFG obviously have tin ears. Rex: Final Days of an Empire sounds like the adventures of Paul Atreides' dog.


Everyone seems to keep making that joke. I guess I haven't met a dog named Rex before, but had a grandfather named Rex. Good guy. Name makes sense to me!
 
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  • Posted Fri Aug 12, 2011 8:18 am
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