Oz Fluxx is the newest addition to the Fluxx family of card games from Looney Labs. The game doesn’t break any new ground (for those who are already familiar with the Fluxx games), but like the card games before it, the theme of the game is really what it’s all about. All of your favorite classic Wizard of Oz favorites are here, from the most wicked of witches to that little dog who miraculously survives the whole movie.
Zooloretto Mini, by game designer Michael Schacht, is a tile placement game that tasks the players to organize and fill their zoo intelligently and to manage a certain amount of risk at the same time. Challenging and rewarding without being heavy or difficult, Zooloretto Mini will be a fun game to play at your family table with little geeks, friends, and gamer elitists. Plus, baby animals!
CPU Wars Volume 1.0: The Battle of the Desktops is one of the newer entries into the ever-growing family of Top Trumps like games. CPU Wars challenges the players to compare processor statistics and attempt to select the value that would win between all the players. Very little is needed in the way of computer science knowledge to play the game. A player can simply guess and hope for the best. While computer geek purist will wrinkle their nose at such behavior, it does make a game that uses very technical stats into a fast game anyone can play.
A new project on Kickstarter just launched not too long ago that might have the music lover in your family dancing a jig. The game, Music Mania, is all about music with a game wrapped around it to make it an experience you can share with your family and friends. Of course, just because a song is “known” doesn’t make it an easy win. Players will have to recognize the song with very little information. Communication will be key to victory, but so will knowing your music. Dancing is not required, sadly.
From the Depths is the first release of miniatures inspired by the Dungeon Crawler universe. The miniatures represent a plant vine, an otherworldly arm, a slimy Kraken tentacle, and three stringy grappler tendrils. Each miniature is securely mounted to a plastic black base, pre-painted, and very detailed. Since “slimy things that grab” are pretty much a given in just about any genre, be it Sci-fi, Fantasy, or Horror, the vast majority of today’s miniature games can use these miniatures with ease, fitting in perfectly to the current theme and narrative.
RoShamBo brings the classic and time-honored game of Rock-Paper-Scissors to the family gaming table and uses it to be the determining factor in challenges. The winner of these challenges goes on to win the game (eventually), but the losers are usually penalized by being given silly tasks to complete. For example, barking like a dog for 1-minute. The game is simple, to the point, and will generate laughter and groans at the table. Victory and defeat is only a hand sign away, but so is the promise of potentially embarrassing tasks.
Double Double Dominoes, by Calliope Games, is a light abstract game where the players use dominoes to match numbers and score points. Players cannot only score on their turn, but also their opponent’s, which means the players at the table must be watching and communicating during the game at all times. Place a domino on the board and you could score points for yourself and for more than one of your opponents!
I can think of no better way to celebrate a movie about fake people doing fake things than with a fake holiday. Of course, there is a generous portion of geek sweetness added to it which makes it all the more palatable. Yes, ladies and gents, it is once again May 4th, the official fan-created day to celebrate all things Star Wars.
Father Geek, in cooperation with Knight Works, is very excited to offer two lucky individuals a copy of the fun and challenging board game, Dark Horse! Two games to give away! And what an entertaining game it is! Dark Horse has that “just right” feel to it that leaves me satisfied with my experience, win or lose, when the game is over, every time.
In case you did not know, my wife was invited to attend the closing night screening of The Avengers at the Tribeca Film Festival in New York City. Words cannot describe the level of jealousy and pride I felt. She has worked hard to get where she is today and I was overjoyed to see her efforts reward her with such a fantastic opportunity. Of course, the flip side was that she was going to see The Avengers before me. UNHEARD OF! My geek reputation (if I ever had one) suffered a major blow that day. And yet, how awesome is it to have a wife who likes comic books?