Robot Viking » Board Games

Legend of Drizzt Brings Salvatore’s Characters to Board Gaming

Ed Grabianowski — Fri, 28 Oct 2011 21:12:24 +0000

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. We covered the [...] Related posts:

Playing Alone Together: the Perils (and Joys) of Non-Interactive Games

Ed Grabianowski — Fri, 21 Oct 2011 18:03:50 +0000

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 [...] Related posts:

Oil Springs of Catan Explores the Tragedy of the Commons

Ed Grabianowski — Wed, 19 Oct 2011 18:00:00 +0000

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 [...] Related posts:

Kobold Guide to Board Game Design is a Designer’s Bible

Ed Grabianowski — Mon, 10 Oct 2011 16:30:50 +0000

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. This [...] Related posts:

Ikusa Proves They Don’t Make ‘em Like They used To — Thankfully

Ed Grabianowski — Wed, 14 Sep 2011 15:28:40 +0000

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. Shogun first came out in 1986, part of Milton Bradley’s “Gamemaster” series of games (which also included Axis & Allies). You may have fond memories of Shogun. This [...] Related posts:

PAX Packs Tons of Gaming Into One Tiny Weekend

Billy Gibbs — Wed, 07 Sep 2011 22:33:00 +0000

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. First up on [...] Related posts:

Mail Call: Ikusa Makes Shogun All Shiny and New

Ed Grabianowski — Wed, 24 Aug 2011 18:41:46 +0000

Some interesting things arrived recently in the mail here at Robot Viking headquarters. First of all, Wizards of the Coast imprint Avalon Hill has released an updated version of the classic epic board game Shogun called Ikusa. I didn’t even know this was coming out until I opened the box and had it sitting here [...] Related posts:

Playtested: Horseshoes, Hand Grenades and Atomic Bombs; Ghost Pirates

Tim Barribeau — Wed, 10 Aug 2011 20:08:49 +0000

At a late night event at Gen Con, I was lucky enough to playtest a couple of still unfinished titles, both of which ended up being excruciatingly fun to my sleep-addled brain. First up was Shirak Agresta’s Horseshoes, Hand Grenades and Atomic Bombs. This 20-30 minute title pitted a handful of players each representing Cold [...] Related posts:

WotC Invites You To Return To Neverwinter

Tim Barribeau — Sun, 07 Aug 2011 14:45:09 +0000

WoTC’s big push at this years Gen Con was a return to Neverwinter, the venerable northern city that’s been a major crossover location for decades. Most of our readers probably remember Neverwinter Nights, the Bioware game from 2002 — but there was an even older title with the same name that AOL ran as one [...] Related posts:

Conquest of Nerath House Rules — Storm Elementals as Fighter-Interceptors

Ed Grabianowski — Fri, 08 Jul 2011 16:44:22 +0000

Another rousing round of Conquest of Nerath last night exposed a few more areas where house rules might improve game balance. After our last game, we decided that dragons needed to be nerfed to some extent because they had utterly dominated the game, to the point where it was foolish to build anything else. The [...] Related posts:

Spectral Rails Offers a Ghostly Take on Railroad Building

Ed Grabianowski — Thu, 07 Jul 2011 15:26:19 +0000

Spectral Rails by Z-Man Games is a railroad game in which the players send their ghost trains around the old west in search of souls. Instead of building the tracks ahead of you to travel on, your trains leave a spectral wake that other players can ride, but blocks your own train. It’s an interesting [...] Related posts:

The Ill-Fated Origins Misadventure

Ed Grabianowski — Tue, 28 Jun 2011 20:27:43 +0000

The true story, slightly abridged, of my long weekend at Origins. This year’s trip to Origins was thrown together pretty much at the last minute. I found a great hotel price and decided to head down by myself to get some good Robot Viking coverage. Things started going south even before I did, however. I [...] No related posts.

Conquest of Nerath Addendum: Beware of Dragons

Ed Grabianowski — Fri, 17 Jun 2011 21:15:12 +0000

After a full, four-person playtest of Conquest of Nerath, we can confirm one thing about the initial review: it’s awesome and ridiculously fun. We did spot one potential balance issue that you might want to consider homeruling, however. In our epic medium-length game last night (yes, it even feels epic at medium), the Iron Circle [...] Related posts:

Wrath of Ashardalon is a Big Box of D&D Board Gaming Fun

Ed Grabianowski — Wed, 09 Feb 2011 20:06:20 +0000

Last year, Wizards of the Coast dove into the high-end board game market with the massive Ravenloft box. The second in the series, Wrath of Ashardalon, continues and expands the fun with tight rules and a metric ton of odds and ends that will keep you replaying it for years. These games come with a [...] Related posts: