Robot Viking

I would never have heard of this game if one of the creators hadn’t been in line behind me at the Magic party at PAX. That would be a shame. I’m already addicted to this turn-based fantasy combat game.

Last Night on Earth’s latest expansion, Timber Peak, is a standalone game that adds new scenarios, characters, and chaos to the endless struggle between the humans and the zombies. You thought you could escape town and head for a remote mountaintop to get away from the walking dead? You were wrong.

Twilight Creations’ Zombies!!! franchise keeps shambling along. The latest standalone expansion, Death Inc., offers an new win condition, adopts some popular house rules for faster play, and has better graphic design than earlier expansions. If you’ve ever thought, “Hey, a zombie apocalypse would be a perfect chance to make a corporate power play,” then get [...]

One of the surprise success stories from Gen Con was AEG’s Smash Up. A non-collectible card game, Smash Up lets you grab a deck of ninjas and a deck of dinosaurs, shuffle them together and compete to control all the bases. Or maybe you want to go with robots and zombies. Or wizards and aliens. [...]

The alien conspiracy thing was a bit of viral marketing, of course, but Privateer is still keeping their new post-apocalyptic science-fiction property, Level 7, close to the vest. Here’s everything we know so far.

Wizards of the Coast’s board game department has a pretty solid batting average, and Lords of Waterdeep is another home run (but not quite a grand slam). As one of the masked lords, you’ll work through your agents to hire adventurers, complete quests and secure your political power within the City of Splendors.

Zombies!!! is a pretty straightforward game of escaping zombie hordes and getting out before your fellow humans do. It moves fast and has simple D6 mechanics. If you want something a little deeper from your Zombies!!! experience, there’s a free RPG conversion.

The Legend of Drizzt is the third entry in Wizards of the Coast’s series of D&D based board games. It uses the same basic mechanics as the first two, but adapts the game to the Forgotten Realms, using all the major characters from R.A. Salvatore’s novels instead of generic heroes and villains.

There are solitaire games that you play by yourself, and then there are solitaire games you play with others. Sure, the box says, “For 3-6 players,” but really everyone at the table is playing her own game, developing resources and working toward some goal without directly influencing the other players in any significant way. You [...]

Settlers of Catan has plenty of expansions that change the dynamics of the game, forcing the players to work together, putting a focus on exploration, or drawing emphasis to a certain section of the map. A new variation from publisher Mayfair Games will add a new wrinkle to the basic game, allowing some players to [...]

If you make your living designing games (or just dream that you do), the Kobold Guide to Board Game Design is money in the bank. It is packed cover to cover with incredibly useful information on every aspect of game design, written by the most creative, insightful and experienced minds in the gaming industry.

Ikusa is a rerelease of the classic Milton Bradley game Shogun. While the game is beautiful and the pieces lavish, the dated game mechanics don’t hold up.

Penny Arcade Expo (PAX) was held recently in Seattle. Fortunately Robot Viking’s roving reporter was there to bring you all the hot scoops. I explored the gigantic expo halls for the greatest loot, fighting off rabid fans and the occasional scary cosplayer all to get the greatest intel on the coming games.

Some interesting things arrived recently in the mail here at Robot Viking headquarters.