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All Articles: Tabletop Games
Calzones For No One: How Mayfair’s Cones of Dunshire Kickstarter Campaign Flopped
As we reported in January, Mayfair Games, the publisher of Settlers of Catan, took to Kickstarter with the dream of making Cones of Dunshire, a fictional board game from the Parks & Recreation universe, into a real game. Fans of the NBC show and of intricate and/or confusing cooperative board games rejoiced. It seemed like an impossible task to raise $300,000 to create a deluxe version of the game… and it was. So Mayfair canceled their original campaign and relaunched it in early February with some adjustments, including a lowered project goal ($125,000) and reworked pledge levels and rewards.
Even at the reduced levels, it still took at least $400 (and a dream!) to reserve a copy of the game. As before, additional goodies and enhancements to the game were available at higher pledge levels. For example, backers would receive the game at $400, but at $550 they would receive the game with metal “Hero Bases,” and at $700 they would get the game with metal figures.
During the original campaign, pledges were slow to come in and it did not appear that Mayfair would meet its goal in the 60 days allotted. The second Kickstarter, which after a 30-day run ended on March 12th, fared no better. At its conclusion, Mayfair had raised $48,696 from 194 backers, only reaching 39% of its goal.
So how did it all go wrong? (more…)
Posted in Opinions, Top Story
Tagged Tabletop Games
Dragon Age: Inquisition wins “Game of the Year” at 2015 SXSW Gaming Awards
BioWare’s Dragon Age: Inquisition won “Game of the Year” at the 2015 SXSW Gaming Awards, but 2014’s other big releases walked away with the rest of the categories.
Middle-Earth: Shadow of Mordor and The Last of Us: Left Behind were the only multi-award winners. Shadow of Mordor collected trophies for “Excellence in Gameplay,” “Excellence in Animation,” and “Excellence in Design and Direction,” while Naughty Dog’s expansion to The Last of Us was awarded with the “Most Valuable Add-On Content” trophy as well as “Most Valuable Character” (for Ellie).
The full list of winners (which also includes Destiny, Far Cry 4, Alien: Isolation, Transistor, Super Smash Bros. For Wii U, and many others) can be found after the break. (more…)
Posted in Mobile, News, PC, PS3, PS4, Vita, Wii U, Xbox 360, Xbox One
Tagged Alien: Isolation, Child of Light, Destiny, Dragon Age: Inquisition, Far Cry 4, Middle-Earth: Shadow of Mordor, South Park: The Stick of Truth, Super Smash Bros. For Wii U, Tabletop Games, The Last of Us, The Last of Us: Left Behind, The Wolf Among Us, Transistor
PAX East 2015 Indie Megabooth lineup has been announced
The people behind the Indie Megabooth have announced this year’s PAX East 2015 lineup, which includes 79 games from 76 developers. The mazelike network of booths and carpet will feature a variety of eclectic games including previous PAXpocalypse selections such as Broforce (East 2014), Catlateral Damage (East 2014), Lovers in a Dangerous Spacetime (Prime 2013), Tumblestone (East 2014), and We Are Doomed (Prime 2013).
Trailers for every game are viewable at the Indie Megabooth official site and after taking in the short teasers, I’m sure a few other games will catch your fancy. I know I’m already planning to line up for Black Ice, a neon-coated beat ’em up/first person shooter; One More Line, a mobile game that feels like a Spider-Man simulator; and Titan Souls, a “Zeldalike” from Acidnerve.
In the interests of journalistic integrity, I’d also like to mention that Warp Zoned’s own Nicole Kline and Anthony Amato have earned a spot in this year’s Indie Megabooth Tabletop Area with their game, Resistor. I know I’m biased, but you should check it out.
You should also check out the complete list of games you’ll find within the Indie Megabooth at PAX East 2015, which is available after the break. (more…)
Posted in Mobile, News, PC, PS3, PS4, Vita, Wii U, Xbox 360, Xbox One
Tagged Broforce, Catlateral Damage, Lovers in a Dangerous Spacetime, PAX East 2015, Tabletop Games, Tumblestone, We Are Doomed
Shadow of Mordor and Dragon Age 3 lead all nominees at 2015 SXSW Gaming Awards
Another major award show has announced their 2014/2015 nominees and, once again, Dragon Age: Inquisition and Middle-Earth: Shadow of Mordor lead the pack. This time, we’re discussing the 2015 SXSW Gaming Awards, where each game has secured five nominations apiece.
Naturally, both games are competing for the Game of the Year prize, alongside Bayonetta 2, Dark Souls II, and Shovel Knight. Dragon Age: Inquisition was also nominated for “Excellence in Gameplay,” “Excellence in Technical Achievement,” “Excellence in Narrative,” and “Excellence in Design and Direction.” Shadow of Mordor is up for most of the same secondary awards, except swap out “Excellence in Gameplay” for “Excellence in Animation.”
The winners of the 2015 SXSW Gaming Awards will be announced on Saturday, March 14 as part of the SXSW Gaming Expo, which runs from March 13th through the 15th in Austin, Texas. The first list of nominees can be found after the break. (more…)
Posted in 3DS, Mobile, News, PC, PS3, PS4, Vita, Wii U, Xbox 360, Xbox One
Tagged Bayonetta 2, Dark Souls II, Dragon Age: Inquisition, Middle-Earth: Shadow of Mordor, Shovel Knight, Tabletop Games
Mayfair Games wants to make Cones of Dunshire game from Parks & Rec a reality
Fans of NBC’s Parks and Recreation will remember Ben Wyatt’s meltdown in season four when he spent some downtime from his career perfecting calzones, making a five-second stop-animation film, and working on The Cones of Dunshire, his delightfully dorky and complex board game that all the other characters thought was a massive cry for help. It came as no surprise that many a viewers’ interest was piqued by that episode, and that folks wanted to bring it to life. A prototype was available at last year’s Gen Con, and now efforts to bring Ben’s awesome fictional nerdiness to fruition are stronger than ever.
According to Entertainment Weekly, a playable version of The Cones of Dunshire may soon be available to regular nerds everywhere as long as they have $500 and a dream. Mayfair Games has launched a Kickstarter campaign to collect $300,000 in order to bring a deluxe edition of the game alive, and copies of the game will only be given to backers who pledge at least $500. Even if you can’t afford that (and who can?) there are various donation levels with corresponding swag packages — $20 can get you a Cones of Dunshire poster and a pin, for example. Starting at $650+ the rewards become more complicated with various caches of goodies including the game, t-shirt, baseball hat, pin, poster, tokens, stickers, figures, flags and bases, Parks & Rec replica script, etc. And add-ons, oh the add-ons!
Check out the Kickstarter for the scoop on the game, what’s included, a complete list of rewards, and pictures of the whole kit and kaboodle. As of this writing, the campaign has raised $21,000 towards its goal and appears to be well on its way with a little under two months left. If they do achieve their goal, Mayfair Games expects to ship The Cones of Dunshire out to backers sometime in or around July of this year.
Posted in News
Tagged Tabletop Games
Indie Megabooth lineup for PAX Prime 2014 announced
After a successful trip across the Atlantic, the Indie Megabooth is coming back to North America with a massive PAX Prime 2014 installation. But before I begin this news article, I’d like to congratulate Warp Zoned’s Nicole Kline and Anthony Amato, who will be sitting in with this iteration of the Indie Megabooth with their card game, Resistor.
But if you’re looking for some video games, there are plenty of great titles on display. All told, 78 games will be available within the confines of the Indie Megabooth… 58 featured games and 20 more as part of the Minibooth. Some of this year’s heavy hitters include a new game from Team Meat (A Voyeur For September), the next game from the Threes guys (Close Castles), the intriguing Oculus title Keep Talking and Nobody Explodes, and N++ (a game which needs no introduction). Over in the Minibooth, you’ll three of our favorites from PAX East 2014: Max Gentlemen, Catlateral Damage, and Tetropolis.
You want more? You can find the complete lineup after the break and more details on every game at the Indie Megabooth’s official website. (more…)
Posted in Mobile, News, PC, PS4, Vita
Tagged Catlateral Damage, Keep Talking and Nobody Explodes, Max Gentlemen, N++, PAX Prime 2014, Refactor, Tabletop Games
It’s dangerous to go alone… Pass Go with Monopoly: Zelda Edition next month
Rich Uncle Pennybags is stepping aside to let Rich Uncle… Old Man in a Cave… roll the dice in a special Legend of Zelda version of Monopoly, which will be released next month.
The Zelda-themed board will include your favorite Hyrulian hotspots including the Temple of Time and Hyrule Castle. Elsewhere on the board, Community Chest cards have been renamed Treasure Chest cards, while Chance cards are now Empty Bottle cards. And yes, the Spirit Train is one of the Railroads (as is Epona, for some reason) and you better believe that dollars have become Rupees. The Triforce is the token that everyone will surely fight over, as the rest of the players will get to choose from the Bow, Hookshot, Boomerang, and Shield.
The board game will be available through retailers beginning on September 15, but GameStop will carry an exclusive Collector’s Edition that includes extra goodies. These exclusive items include an Ocarina of Time token, a Hyrule Map Lithograph, and six “Power Cards” (Goddess Harp, Wind Walker, Minish Cap, Spirit Flute, Phantom Hourglass, and Ocarina of Time) that can affect the game in some mysterious way.
Monopoly: The Legend of Zelda Edition will be priced at $39.99.
Posted in News
Tagged Tabletop Games
The PAXpocalypse List: The Best of PAX East 2014
PAX East 2014 was a different type of show than in years past. Some big publishers, such as Nintendo, skipped the show completely, while others, like Microsoft, only brought a handful of unreleased games. This shift in the show floor allowed the indies to take center stage, and the majority of our PAX East 2014 PAXpocalypse List reflects this year’s status quo. But that’s not to say the big publishers skipped PAX East 2014 altogether. Towering displays from 2K, Bethesda, and Ubisoft dominated the exhibition hall map, and we definitely had some fun with a few games that will demand your time during this Summer and Fall.
So if we were cut off from the outside and trapped within the walls of PAX East 2014, which games would we return to over and over again? Well… (more…)
Posted in Features, Mobile, PC, PS3, PS4, Top Story, Vita, Wii U, Xbox 360, Xbox One
Tagged Broforce, Catlateral Damage, Evolve, Hyper Light Drifter, Max Gentlemen, PAX East 2014, Refactor, SlashDash, Tabletop Games, Tumblestone, Wolfenstein: The New Order