Spiel : Boardgames in the UK

Shaun Derrick emailed me to let me know what is happening with the next expansion to his great football (soccer) game. This is what he said:

“Expansion set 6 is in the design process. It will include:

• 2 boards for the 2010 World Cup
• 20 New cards that can be added to the current deck. Each card represents one year in which the World Cup took place from 1930 up to 2014. However, it is entirely the players choice which cards to add to the deck and which to leave out. Some cards such as the 2014 ‘Goal-line technology’ can be used in all World Cup Games even though the subject matter may not be appropriate for that year.

Expected release date is 30 September.”

Having mentioned that the nominees for the IGA were announced in the latest issue of Counter, it’s a bit remiss of me not to actually publish the details. Well, I was actually waiting for an official announcement from Greg Schloesser to appear online, which has now happened so I can now confirm that the nominees for the two awards were:

General Strategy Games – multi-player

• Age of Industry, by Martin Wallace (Treefrog Games)
• Dungeon Lords, by Vlaada Chvátil (Czech Games Edition)
• Egizia, by Acchittocca (Hans im Glück)
• Endeavor, by Carl de Visser and Jarratt Gray (Z-Man Games)
• Fresco, by Marcel Süsselbeck, Marco Ruskowski & Wolfgang Panning (Queen Games)
• Glen More, by Matthias Cramer (alea)
• Hansa Teutonica, by Andreas Steding (Argentum Verlag)
• Last Train to Wensleydale, by Martin Wallace (Treefrog Games)
• Macao, by Stefan Feld (alea)
• Power Grid: Factory Manager, by Friedemann Friese (2F-Spiele)
• Rise of Empires, by Martin Wallace (Phalanx Games/Mayfair Games)
• Shipyard, by Vladimir Suchy (Czech Games Edition)
• Vasco da Gama, by Paolo Mori (What’s Your Game?)
• World Without End, by Michael Rieneck & Stefan Stadler (Kosmos)

General Strategy Games – two-player

• Burger Joint, by Joe Huber (Rio Grande Games)
• Campaign Manager 2008, by Christian Leonhard & Jason Matthews (Z-Man Games)
• Claustrophobia, by Croc (Asmodee)
• Jaipur, by Sébastien Pauchon (GameWorks)
• Stronghold, by Ignacy Trzewiczek (Portal Publishing)

I think the winners will be announced around the end of September with the awards being presented at Essen.

The fourth English issue of Spielbox has now arrived. This time, there is a report from UK Games Expo (including slightly cheesy photo of the Ragnars); a report on the Spiel-des-Jahres result; reviews of Glen More, Long Shot, Samarkand, Asteroyds, Titania, Workshop of the World and 11 Nimmt, among others; plus a free expansion for Spiel-des-Jahres nominated A La Carte.

Further information is available on the Spielbox website.

The next release from Fragor Games at Essen 2010 will be Antics! - a game about, well, ants.

Prey and leaves abound nearby - if only those other ants would not take what is rightfully yours. Players attempt to have their ants bring back prey and leaves to their anthill. Only the best ant colony will survive and the winner proclaimed The Ant Queen. The game is for 3-4 players, ages 10+ and lasts for 60 minutes. It features Fragor’s “ant-hill system” - a revolutionary new game mechanic.

The game will cost 35 Euros and can be preordered at the Fragor Games website.

The 50th issue of Counter magazine arrived yesterday with a glossy full colour cover to celebrate the fact. I just wanted to congratulate Stuart, Alan and Mike for reaching this milestone and giving me endless entertainment with the great writing that goes into every issue. Thanks also to the various contributors over the years for making an indispensable quality gaming publication. I still remember receiving the first issue way back in May 1998, when there was little else to read on the international gaming scene - even BGG was not yet born. Great stuff guys.

This issue includes the IGA General Strategy Nominations (Multi-player and two-player); a report on Origins; a celebration of Leisure Games silver jubilee; a preview of Martin Wallace’s London; reviews of 11 Nimmt, Age of Industry, Egizia, Fresco, Glen More and Workshop of the World among others; and the usual letters and general gaming articles.

Just a last minute reminder that this weekend sees the annual UK Games Expo take place in Birmingham. The full details are on the website here but, in summary, the event runs from 4th-6th June with the main public opening hours being from 9.30am till 5pm Sarurday and 9.30am till 4pm Sunday. The venue is:

The Clarendon Suites
Stirling Road (off Hagley Road)
Edgbaston
Birmingham
B16 9SB

Additional open gaming area is available Noon till late Friday and 7pm till late Saturday night for more gaming in the adjacent Menzies Strathallan Hotel (you do not have to pay for this and it is open to non residents).

Just a point worth mentioning, the website is nice and pretty but all the key information is very well hidden. It’s all tucked away in the faq section, which is accessed via a drop-down menu by hovering over the Attendee tab. This info should be a lot more prominent (please take note, Richard).

The shortlist for this year’s SdJ has just been published. The nominees were: