In Case You Haven't Been Paying Attention 10/31/08

Busy week?  Trick or Treating taking up all your time?


Don't worry....we've got you covered.  Again.  So don't sweat it, and have a Happy Halloween.


Come on in, and uh....watch your step, eh?

D & D Miniatures

Wizards of the Coast has announced the end to support for the D & D Miniatures skirmish game.

"November’s release of Demonweb will be the last new set that includes skirmish statistics. We will continue to update all miniatures stats from previous sets to the current D&D Miniatures ruleset as promised, with the conclusion of that process scheduled for mid-2009...In addition, official sanctioning of D&D Miniatures skirmish events will cease right after D&D Experience in February."

Demonweb will also be the final release sold in the current configuration of fully randomized booster packs.

"Wizards of the Coast has chosen to concentrate its D&D miniatures-creation efforts on an accessory line optimized for D&D Roleplaying Game use."

They announced that the new line which will be availible spring of 2009 will be the Player's Handbook Heroes (three player characters, sold in non-randomized sets, all visiable), and the Monster Manual: Dangerous Delves (5 semi-randomized figures with 1 visiable).

You can read the big long article, where Dungeons & Dragons Brand Manager Scott Rouse spins explains these changes, complete with Q & A for all the hysterical concerned fans at http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/4news/20081023

Halo Interactive Strategy Game

 Halo ISG shipped to retail outlets last week, which means you should now be able to find this box full of plasticy goodness at your local Wal-Mart. It includes an "exclusive DVD content to enhance game play."

Play Axis & Allies on Facebook

Game Table Online has added Axis & Allies to their games that can be played on Facebook. Their other Facebook games are Guillotine, Aquire and Vegas Showdown.
To sign up for the application go here http://apps.facebook.com/axisandallies/.

Z-Man Games

Tales of the Arabian Nights did not make it to Essen, due to the paragraph booklet not being complete. 1000 new paragrahs in the style of the original stories have been added to the paragraph booklet which is based on the revised German edition. This required additional development time. The new ETA is Feb. 2009.

Fantasy Flight Games:

 The latest expansion for FFG's Descent, Tomb of Ice, now has its rules posted online.  It looks to contain stuff for pretty much everyone, including new standalone scenarios as well as new cards for integration into Descent's campaign expansion "Road to Legend."


You can see the rules for yourself here:

http://www.fantasyflightgames.com/PDF/tombofice-rules.pdf






Kevin Wilson's remake/reprint of the classic Cosmic Encounter has its own webpage, where previews are being provided into this highly anticipated release.  Everything's looking pretty good so far, so hopefully FFG won't "pull a Hasbro" on us and give the fans what they're really looking for.

See the previews and website for yourself at:

http://www.fantasyflightgames.com/cosmicencounter/index.shtml







A new preview for Battlestar Galactica: The Board Game is up...and at this point, the anticipation is frakkin' killin' me!

You can see the latest preview here:

http://www.fantasyflightgames.com/bsg/preview-2.shtml





A lot of promise initially gleamed from Tannhauser, but other than a few expansion figs it's been pretty quiet on the "Evil Not-Nazi Occultist" front.

Fortunately a new scenario has been posted to FFG's Tannhauser page, hopefully meaning we'll see a new spark of life in the system that as of yet hasn't quite lived up to its potential.

Scenario can be found here:  http://www.fantasyflightgames.com/tannhauser-scenario-ghouls_night_out.html




Any time you're looking to find out more about FFG's busy release schedule, you can easily find info about upcoming games, scheduled reprints, and more at the following two pages:

Products Page:

http://www.fantasyflightgames.com/productsrelease.html

Reprints Page:

http://www.fantasyflightgames.com/reprints.html

Asmodee:

Asmodee launched its own sub-site for its upcoming reprint/relaunch of Formula D.  As mentioned before, the game has mostly the same rules as before but has upgraded components as well as a focus on "street racing" rules that allow you to play the game in a much different way.

You can find out all the latest news about Formula D at:

http://www.formula-d.info/en/

Flying Frog:

One of Last Night On Earth's biggest strengths has been its varied scenarios that keep things fresh from game to game.

Flying Frog has just posted a new scenario to their website free of charge to breathe, uh, more "life" into the game as we wait for more expansion goodness.  And it's called "All Hallow's Eve" and arrives just in time for the pagan holiday.

Check out the new scenario here:

http://www.flyingfrog.net/lastnightonearth/pdf%5CLNOE_WebScenario_AllHallowsEve.pdf

Days of Wonder:

In a very interesting bit of news, Days of Wonder has announced they're launching official organized play for the very popular Memoir '44.  Players and Organizers of these events can win prizes including the paper map expansions for the game.

Organized play has strengthened and sustained many a Collectible Card Game over the years, but it remains to be seen how well this will work for a hobbyist boardgame like Memoir.  This certainly should serve to get the player base excited, and possibly lure new gamers into the fold.

Find out more about M'44 organized play at:

http://blog.daysofwonder.com/?p=869&language=en