Adventure Party Galactic Network

We get to talk with Eugene Fasano about his game company, Arcana Games. Arcana Games has released a number of 'pay what you want' supplements for Dungeons and Dragons 5th Edition. They've also created the haiku driven game called Blade and Brush. His new game, called Grin, is a survival horror game that focuses more on narration. Eugene gives us the background on Arcana Games, why he's chosen his particular business model, and what lies ahead for his company. We also talk about the 'pay what you want' business model he's using and how it's been working for him.



You can find out more about Arcana games at his site https://www.arcana-games.com/ or you can follow him @ArcanaGames_BnB.

Glenn's Review

Glenn reviews the strategic deck building game called Mystic Vale. It plays 2-4 people and plays in about 45-60 minutes. You are all druids working to destroy a curse that has been placed in the mystic place. You must plan your magic use carefully or you could be overtaken by the evil that has plagued this land.

Unlike other deck building games, you have the ability to customize your cards by using the 'Card Crafting System'. What may have been a semi-useful card may end up being incredibly valuable towards winning the game.



https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/194607/mystic-vale

News

Forged in Battle has been released for Star Wars: Age of Rebellion

New character specializations and abilities have been added to the Star Wars universe, allowing you to take on new roles in defending the Galaxy from the spread of the Empire. You can try out the classes called Heavy, Vanguard, and Trailblazer. Fight as a guerrilla or as a nimble enforcer. Any way you decide to play, this supplement will be a welcomed addition to your library.



https://www.fantasyflightgames.com/en/news/2016/7/11/fight-in-the-front-lines/

Kickstarter Spotlight

The spotlight shines on a game we are very excited about. Evil Dead 2: The Official Board Game. As you and your friends enjoy your stay at a remote cabin in the woods, unspeakable evil is released.



https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/evildead2/evil-dead-2-the-official-board-game







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Please consider helping us pay for our monthly operating costs by clicking HERE.  It will take you to the support page which has links to our Patreon campaign, where you can make a recurring monthly pledge.  Next time you shop on Amazon, consider using our affiliate link. This gives us a small percentage from the sale of everything that...

Glenn and I have a serious discussion about our RPG collection and the preference of PDF books versus print books. Do only older role-players like to run a game using a physical book? Is it just the newer generation of gamers who want a PDF version of their favorite RPG to view on a mobile device or laptop? Can an old RPG dog learn a new trick? Is a PDF more convenient or is it an obstacle? We have thoughts we'd like to share with you on this subject.

Glenn's Review

Glenn reviews the board game called Escape From the Aliens in Outer Space. It's a game for 2-8 players that runs about 30-45 minutes. Osprey Games put together an interesting game of stealth, deception, and flesh-eating aliens. The ship everyone is on has stalled out in space and the surviving crew members must try and reach the escape pod to win the game. No one knows who's an alien or who is human but all of you must take a turn, draw a card, and give out a position on the map. Depending on the card you draw, you can be silent, lie about your position on the map or tell everyone where you are located. Will you make it out alive or be an alien's next meal? Only one way to find out.



https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/82168/escape-aliens-outer-space

News

E3 2016: Fallout 4 Nuka-world DLC Lets You Player As A Raider

The long awaited announcement for the next bit of DLC was announced for Fallout 4. Glenn and I are enjoying the game and are looking forward to this massive addition to the Commonwealth. You'll have the opportunity to be the leader of Raider gangs, take control of the Wastelands of Boston, and be 'the bad guy'. You'll also explore the history of Nuka Cola and the origins of Nuka-Cola Quantum. Like everything else in the Fallout mythos, there must be some dark tale involved in its creation.



http://www.ign.com/articles/2016/06/15/e3-2016-fallout-4-nuka-world-dlc-lets-you-player-as-a-raider

Kickstarter Spotlight

The spotlight shines on the new game by the creator of the Awkward Yeti, Nick Seluk. That game is OrganATTACK! This card game supports 2-5 players. It's kill or be killed as you attack your opponents organs while they attack yours. You also have cards that can block the incoming attacks. Will luck or strategy save your organs?



https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/theawkwardyeti/organattack-a-card-game-by-the-awkward-yeti



https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/theawkwardyeti/organattack-a-card-game-by-the-awkward-yeti







Leave us feedback by calling our voicemail number at (805) 328-3966 e-mailing at adventure@gncasts.com or, send an audio message by clicking https://www.speakpipe.com/GalacticNetcasts



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We talk with Ryan Krippendorf. Ryan is a master pilot in X-wing and is also a miniatures game enthusiast. He has worked hard to build a group of folks who enjoy miniatures battles, such as X-Wing, and has been building it for some time. We will be talking with him a bit about the X-wing miniatures game as well as how to build and maintain a solid community around a game. You can find out more about his group, Renegade Squadron at The Barrister's Battalion.



https://www.facebook.com/groups/1392089244358496/

Glenn's Review

Glenn introduces us to the Red Raven game called Above and Below. This 2-4 player game plays in around 60-90 minutes. You can get a copy for around $50. The premise of the game is that you've left your ransacked village to try and start a new life and a new village. Once you find the perfect spot, you discover that there are a series of caverns below this land. How many people will you recruit to explore the subterranean underworld for riches and glory or will you continue to build your new village? To win, you'll need to find the perfect balance of the two.



https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/172818/above-and-below

News

Creepy New Call of Cthulhu Trailer Shows Off the Xbox One/PS4/PC Horror RPG

The company, Focus Home Interactive, has put together a trailer for their upcoming game called Call of Cthulhu. It's noir horror that will have you questioning your sanity as you investigate the murder of a family. You begin to uncover truths that you will never have wanted to know but you have to keep going forward to solve the mystery. What price will you pay to get justice? It's loosely based the H.P. Lovecraft novel of the same name.



http://www.gamespot.com/articles/creepy-new-call-of-cthulhu-trailer-shows-off-the-x/1100-6440654/

Kickstarter Spotlight

Our spotlight shines on the game called Massive Darkness. You and up to five other players will crawl and dark dungeon to acquire riches and new skills to help guarantee your survival. You'll fight the denizens of darkness, demons, dwarves and spiders along the way. Do you have what it takes to survive?



https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/coolminiornot/massive-darkness



 







Leave us feedback by calling our voicemail number at (805) 328-3966 e-mailing at adventure@gncasts.com or, send an audio message by clicking https://www.speakpipe.com/GalacticNetcasts



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You can find more episodes at https://gncasts.com/adventure/



Please consider helping us pay for our monthly operating costs by clicking HERE.  It will take you to the support page which has links to our Patreon campaign, where you can make a recurring monthly pledge.  Next time you shop on Amazon, consider using our affiliate link. This gives us a small percentage from the sale of everything that you buy.

Glenn and I got to catch up with our old friend, Gretchen Wolfmeyer. She's an actress, improviser, and fellow LARP-er. She's appeared in Rob Schrab's "Robot Bastard", a local theater, an improv group called Delicious Ambiguity Comedy, and was a part of a Mind's Eye Theatre LARP group called Point of Darkness. In fact, that's how she and I first met, LARP-ing and pretending to be Vampires. We wanted to talk with her and try to figure out what to classify a LARP as. Is it acting, improv, or is it something else?

Glenn's Review

Glenn introduces us to the game World's Fair 1893. It was a magical year, in Chicago. The world had arrived bringing advancements in science, transportation, agriculture, fine arts, and manufacturing. It seemed like the future had arrived. Your mission is to gather the best and the brightest exhibits and increase your influence over the fair. You can also gather imortant people, in each of the categories to appear at the fair. This game supports 2-4 players and plays in about 35-45 minutes. It seems like a good family game that can also teach you a bit of American history.



https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/178336/worlds-fair-1893

News

Mayfair Games Acquires Twilight Creations

Mayfair games now has a major shareholder stake in Twilight Creations. Twilight Creations created the fun game called Zombies!!! over a decade ago and it still continues to do pretty well. They will be moving all of the operations to their main office in Skokie, Illinois and continue to support and develop their game lines.



https://www.mayfairgames.com/news/mayfair-games-acquires-twilight-creations

Kickstarter Spotlight

Speaking of historical games, we shine the spotlight on the game called The Pirate Republic. This is Green Feet Games first project and it highlights historical pirates and piracy in the Caribbean. You can play notorious pirates like Black Beard and Ann Bonnie to control the region and defend yourself against the Navy's of the ocean-faring European nations that have colonized the area. A lot of care has been put into the map and pieces of the game.



https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1637269442/the-pirate-republic







Leave us feedback by calling our voicemail number at (805) 328-3966 e-mailing at adventure@gncasts.com or, send an audio message by clicking https://www.speakpipe.com/GalacticNetcasts



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In this meeting of Adventure Party we discuss house rules used with board games and RPGs. There may be times when a group of people play and feel that the rules are lopsided, they want to make a game more challenging or make the game more interesting. That's all well and good but everyone playing needs to be on board with the new set of rules. We discuss some house rules that we know of for Cult Express: Modified Belle Rules, AD&D: Racial Modifier Rules, and Monopoly: Free Parking. We feel that these are good examples of house rules but we'd like to hear your house rules. Email us at adventure@gncasts.com and tell us about rules you've used and enjoyed.

Glenn's Review

Glenn's discussed a game called Survive: Escape From Atlantis, this time around. You are on Atlantis on the fateful day it sinks beneath the waves. You must get as many of your people off the island before it is lost to the depths of the ocean. You'll need to get your people on the boats but beware of sharks, sea serpents, and whales. It's a fun 2-4 player game that lasts about 60 minutes. It's easy to learn and is recommended for people ages 8 and up. That may make it a great addition to your game collection.



https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/2653/survive-escape-atlantis

News

There is some great DLC content for Fallout 4. The first major bit of DLC is Far Harbor. They went all out creating a huge map and engaging content for this addition. The new creatures, deadly radiation fog, and waring factions on the island will keep you on your toes. You'll need to solve a mystery with your old pal, Nick Valentine. Along the way you'll discover some interesting things about The Institute and the Children of Atom. You'll also get the opportunity to get a new companion and use some new weapons as well. We highly recommend getting Far Harbor for your copy of Fallout 4.



http://kotaku.com/three-quick-tips-for-fallout-4s-big-dlc-far-harbor-1777772471

Kickstarter Spotlight

Our spotlight shines on the game Plague Inc. Not the video game version but the new board game version. You'll have the opportunity to become a deadly disease looking to evole and infect the world. What countries will you infect? How will you grow? When will you become the most infectious plague to ever attempt to wipe out life on this planet? It's all up to you to.



https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/932314378/plague-inc-the-board-game

Feedback

Big1975 wrote to us about episode 7 and our discussion with Pat Rothfuss. He feels that the Hero system may be the best one to make his world one that can be played in an RPG and makes a good point.







Leave us feedback by calling our voicemail number at (805) 328-3966 e-mailing at adventure@gncasts.com or, send an audio message by clicking https://www.speakpipe.com/GalacticNetcasts



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Our guest is the award winning designer Mike Myler. He’s worked with companies like, Avalon Games, Fantasy Flight Games, Paizo Publishing to name a few. We wanted to discuss how Mike got into the business, some of the projects he’s worked on, what it's like to win an ENnie, and get some advice on how you could work towards writing that supplement or creating that game you’ve often dreamed of.



You can find out more about Mists of Akuma at mistsofakuma.com. He's not quite as active on his Facebook page but you can check that out under mike.myler. If you want to try out a cyberpunk setting using Pathfinder, check out Mike's work on HyperCorps 2099 at hypercorps2099.com.

Glenn's Review

Quadropolis is a quick playing family game for 2 - 4 players made by Days of Wonder. Your job is to build a booming metropolis. First, you need to lay out a 5x5 grid by picking out random tiles. You score points by building up residential buildings, shops, public services, parks, harbors, and factories. Parks gain more points if they are close to residential areas, and factories score more if they are close to shops and harbors. Suggested retial is around $50.



https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/176396/quadropolis

News

Paizo Releases Ultimate Intrigue Book For Pathfinder RPG

Would you like to be a fantasy themed vigilante? Perhaps you want to try playing a mesmerist, spiritualist or investigator? You'll get to play with new magic items, feats, and skills. All of these things can add to your Pathfinder gaming group and allow you to try out some new themes. Also, the concept and rules of social combat are laid out for you. Some many new and exciting things for  you to try out.



http://paizo.com/products/btpy9j6p?Pathfinder-Roleplaying-Game-Ultimate-Intrigue

Kickstarter Spotlight

The spotlight shines on our guest, Mike Myler's game, Mists of Akuma. Enter a realm infused with the traditions of the East, a dying world where technology is heresy and the wounds of the past bleed still. Eastern mythology, steampunk, the supernatural, and dragons all exist in the same place. You need to navigate this fantastic land in the D&D 5th Edition rules framework. You're in for a unique experience that has been created by our award winning guest, Mike Myler.



https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/verantheacodex/mists-of-akuma-eastern-fantasy-noir-steampunk-for



 







Leave us feedback by calling our voicemail number at (805) 328-3966 e-mailing at adventure@gncasts.com or, send an audio message by clicking https://www.speakpipe.com/GalacticNetcasts



Subscribe to this podcast at https://gncasts.com/subscribe-to-the-adventure-party-podcast/



You can find more episodes at https://gncasts.com/adventure/



Please consider helping us pay for our monthly operating costs by clicking HERE.  It will take you to the support page which has links to our Patreon campaign, where you can make a a recurring monthly pledge.  Next time you shop on Amazon, consider using our affiliate link.