Author: Paco G. Jaen

Roleplaying and board games reviews, podcasts, videos and interviews

Interview with Jey Legarie

Earlier this year I came across a CCG with a Solitaire mechanic built into the game. I played solitaire as a kid, and at work like most of Americans. I was excited to think that I would not have to wait for friends to play a CCG. Sadly, for months, I was forced to wait as the release date was pushed back. Following the Company for a few months, I wanted to find out why their debut was so difficult. Jay Legarie, creator of Dungeon Crawler, was graciously willing to give me some answers.

Pandemic

Let’s talk about one of Z-Man Games best releases of recent years. No, it’s not Agricola (despite the fact it’s been hovering around the top of the boardgamegeek Top Ten since pretty much the beginning of time) – I’d like to talk about Matt Leacock’s fantastic co-operative game, Pandemic.

Coliseum Morpheuon

A quick glance at the cover and interior shows you that CM is a full-color book, and a beautiful one at that – both the full-color artworks and the formatting are beautiful to behold and easy to read. That being said, let’s jump into the action. The pdf kicks off with an informative introduction on the subject matter of the plane of dreams in literature and gaming that serves to provide both nice recommended readings as well as lead into the first chapter.

Research Review: Article Investigating Factors That Impact Appeal of Board Games

By Jeremiah Dwyer

This is a review of an article published in the Journal of Consumer Marketing (2007). It is entitled, “An inquiry into the factors that impact on consumer appreciation of a board game.” It was authored by Alain d’Astous and Karine Gagnon, both of Montreal, Canada. Normally I review articles that have more direct relevance to psychology, specifically clinical or forensic (which I post on my blog). However, I also have an interest in blogging about other things (when I blog at all!), and that includes games. I figured I’d see what kind of research was out there about board games, rather than the usual things, such as examining whether video games lead to violence. Thus, one literature search later, I was able to identify a few articles addressing various aspects of board games that I thought might be interesting, including this one. However, this article is much more of a business analysis of board games and board game preferences, rather than a straight examination of the psychology of board games, so to the extent my understanding of particular business terms and concepts is lacking, I apologize.

War of the Dead: Chapter 1

War of the Dead Chapter One is the first leg of the War of the Dead campaign epic for Savage Worlds by Daring Entertainment. To be clear: Chapter One is actually 13 adventures, of which there will ultimately be 52 (not counting one sheets, which Daring has begun to release). It is a modern setting, set during a zombie outbreak, and you can buy them in bits or you can buy all of Chapter One as a package. I’m going to save you the trouble: Like Savage Worlds and zombies? Go buy the bundle. I’ll even link to it for you.