Risk Legacy Game 3

So we played out game number 3 for Risk Legacy recently, and it was very interesting.  We had several people who have now played in all 3 games now, and a new winner this week.  Here is a list of who played game 3:

Sean "Striderlotr" Banks
Stasi "Dengirl" King
Dave Steltenkamp
Amanda Cowen
Alex Sherman

Well no one was elliminated this game, but we did get a new winner, Alex! He made some crazy alliance with Amanda and then turned on her to win the game.  So for winning Alex chose to name the continent of "North America"... and went with Amurka.  As we had everyone else hold on, we got to claim victory items as well.  Amanda named a minor city: Mootown, Dave claimed a minor city: Byzanta, Stasi claimed a minor city King's Kourt, and I founded a minor city St. Banksville. 

The map now has 7 minor cities, 1 major city, 3 mercenary scars, 3 ammo shortage scars, and 2 bunkers.  We have also named 2 continents, so the game is progressing very nicely and it is turning into a world for the Drgaon's Den!

If you want to read some more about the game, below is a review and a quick bit about the games we have played so far.  We will be continuing the game until we name the board, so we have 12 more games to go.  Stop in and maybe be a part of the history of this world.

Game Review
Game 1
Game 2

After the next game we will take some pictures of the board and post them as well, but if you want we have the game out for everyone to see.  Hope that everyone who is interested in Risk Legacy has some fun reading these posts and if you want get a copy, stop in and pick one up! 

Sean "Striderlotr" Banks

Risk Legacy Game Number 1

So last night be sat down and played our first game of Risk Legacy.  It was really different and fantastic at the same time.  So we had 5 players and we began the game with only one person who had played this version before... and only once at that.  Let me break down some of the points so that you might get an idea of some of the differences in this version then to regular Risk.  As Stasi  wrote a product review and had some great pictures, I'm going to write this more from the play side... but add in some pictures too!

First we took a look at the factions, picked the one and wrote our names on the back.  The factions give the play a specific bonus (or a choice of two possible ones at the beginning) that can affect the game.  We were also each given a single Star Token, and a Scar card that can be used once to alter the board... PERMANENTLY! So I ended up with Khan Industry and the Scar card "Bunker."  Matter of fact, I was the only one who played a Scar card in this first game.

Play started out with a bunch of territory expansion, and only a little combat.  But by the fourth round several HQs had changed hands, and mine was under attack, which prompted the bunker Scar card!  I was able to pull off a quick surge and capture a second HQ and purchase a Star giving me 4 Stars at the end of the turn, which oddly enough was the end of the round as well.  As I was the first to gain the 4 necessary Stars, I ended the game.  Now, when we start next, I get a Missile Token rather than a starting Star!

The coolest part of the game is what happens at the end.  Not only do you have some permanent changes to the board with Scar cards, BUT you also get to change the board at the end of the game.  The winner gets several choices; name a continent, name a major city are two.  I chose to name a major city.  If you held on and were not eliminated (which was everyone else) you have other options. For example, you can add a resource to a card for a province you control or name a minor city.  We had 2 players  name minor cities and 2 add a resource to a card.  All of these change how the game will be played next time.

I'm so excited to play again!  I'm hoping to play with the same group and see if we can give some of the new players a little more time to grasp the tactics.  Here is who we had play the first game:

Sean "Striderlotr" Banks
Alex Sherman
Dave Steltenkamp
Amanda Cowen
Stasi "Dengirl" King

Sean "Striderlotr" Banks

Holiday Goodies Now At Dragon's Den!

As the holidays get closer, we of the Dragon's Den have gotten numerous requests to show exactly which food items we have in stock that make good presents or stocking stuffers.   So, here's our recomendations for great holiday snacks that will make everyone smile!First off, we have a huge amount of European and Japanese candies for sale...if you need to know exactly what is in each one, simply scroll all the way to the bottom of the post, where the items are listed alphabetically.


Our Smarties, Milkybar Buttons and Fruit Pastilles are in tubes, the Revels and Maltesers are in like-sized boxes. Each of these candies are the perfect size for stockings, or for a smaller Channukah gift.

For the older family members, we have Edinburgh All-Butter Shortbreads, and the very sought-after Oatfield Emerald Caramels. Both are very chewy and rich, wonderful for more discerning palates.

Of course, we know there are other options for the chocolate lovers. We not only have the Milkybar white chocolate Advent Calendars, but Cadbury Coins and the assorted chocolate Cadbury Roses!

And what would a real Christmas be without the Christmas Cracker?  We have two different brands, the Santa & Snowmen for youngsters, and Luxury Crackers for the older children (or anyone!).

If the person on your list enjoys Japanese snacks more than European ones, we've got you covered there too. Not only do we carry various types of Pocky flavors...

We also have the very popular Hi-Chew in 4 or more flavors. We also carry Calpico & Ramune sodas.

Last, but certainly not least, we have the powerful 4-8 hour novelty energy drinks made by gamers, for gamers. Have a World of Warcraft or D&D player who needs a small gift? Grab them a Mana or Health Potion. Know someone who's easier to find on Facebook than the real world? Get them a Facedrink. Just have that impossible to shop for person who loves novelty?  We have your answer; Get them a Love or Luck potion!

Want something else for the holidays? We carry a LOT more snacks than what is pictured here. Need Mario, Sonic, Gears of War, Star Trek or Ghostbusters candies? We have them.  Need Cadbury Creme eggs, Ribena Blackcurrent juice, Tru Blood soda or Green Apple Tango? We've got that too.  Want to see everything we have?  Stop on by, and pick up some delicious foods!

-Stasi "Dengirl" King

PICTURED ITEMS
-Fruit Pastilles = small round sweets that have a jelly-like consistency due to the gelatin they are made from, and are covered with sugar. They contain fruit juice and have no artificial colours or flavours, and come in five flavours: strawberry, blackcurrent, lemon, orange and lime.
NOT VEGETARIAN, CONTAINS PORK GELATIN.

-Smarties = are a color-varied sugar-coated chocolate, very similar to M&Ms in America.  The chocolate is a richer variety than what is typically found in the USA, and has 8 colors rather than 5.

-Milkybar = a white chocolate created by Nestle, it has a creamier texture than most US chocolates.

-Revels = chocolate coated candy with orange creme, raisin, toffee, or coffee creme centers.

-Maltesers =  are a ball of malted honeycomb center, surrounded by milk chocolate.

-Royal Edinburgh Shortbread = made into smaller 'fingers' of shortbread, this classic treat uses the original recipe that has won 9 awards. Made with real butter, they are a step above store-quality.

-Oatfield Emeralds = Much chewier than other caramels, these have an almost toffee-like texture. They are rich and chocolatey with a light coconut taste mixed in.

-Cadbury Roses = a selection of individually wrapped Cadbury's chocolates. Flavors are; Tangy Orange Creme, Brazilian Darkness, Dairy Milk, Caramel Velvet, Golden Barrel, Hazel Whirl, Strawberry Dream, Country Fudge and Hazel in Caramel. Each is in an easily distinguishable foil of various corresponding colors.
-Cadbury Coins = a small package of silver and gold foil covered discs of Cadbury's milk chocolate.

-Christmas Crackers = two different kinds are available at our store. Though each has a small 'cap' inside to make the distinctive "cracker" sound, the Santa & Snowmen Crackers 10 Pack has a joke, stickers and .  The Luxury Crackers 12 Pack has a joke, a paper crown, and a small toy or prize.

-Pocky = long, thin shortbread-like cookies covered in chocolate, strawberry, caramel, mint chocolate, almonds or dried strawberry pieces. Extremely popular among anime groups!

-Morinaga Hi-Chew = small 'bricks' of incredibly chewy fruit-flavored candies, they are a favored sweet in Asian countries. Flavors include Strawberry, Green Apple, Melon and Peach.
NOT VEGETARIAN, CONTAINS PORK GELATIN.

-Novelty Energy Drinks = all made by Harcos Labs, these 50ml drinks provide numerous vitamins (including gratuitous amounts of B6 and B12) to give you 6-8 hours of pure energy. Some caffiene, but no sugar so you won't 'crash' later. The Mana Potion has a tangy citrus flavor, Health is apple/cinnamon, Love has a sweet strawberry taste and Luck is a tart green apple.  Facedrink is the newest of the bunch, and has a hard-to-place tropical/fruit flavor.

As always, please pay attention to your own dietary needs or restrictions when enjoying the snacks we carry here at Dragon's Den!

Risk Legacy Review

Risk. A war-waging strategy board game that many have played, but few have conquered. Available in variant formats such as Godstorm, 2210 AD, Narnia, Lord of the Rings, Star Wars and even Transformers, each new generation of war gamer has a reason to play it.
The common idea, of course,  being to defeat your opponent and put away the game until next time you want to re-demolish the world. But have you ever wondered what it would be like if your bombs actually changed the landscape? If the economy ever failed beyond repair? Or if the radioactivity ever drastically changed the population of that country?

Wonder no longer, fellow-Risk players, for Risk Legacy has finally released!

Upon first opening the box, we see that there are 4 sealed decks of cards taped to the interior lid, along with a shrink-wrapped game board. These particular decks aren't to be opened until the game's prerequisites are fulfilled. This can range from when all 9 minor cities are founded to when the world capital is built. 

But wait, what's that paper glued to the board say?

Wow! Hasbro certainly went all out with this one.  It's almost as though they want the players to know they may have to take responsibility for their actions later on...

 Underneath the board we find the rules manual, a sheet of sticker decals, Red Star Tokens, Orange Missile Tokens, the Sideboard, and the double-sided Faction Cards.

 Under all those is are the plastic pieces that will be used to represent the various troops. As in other Risks, there are 1-Troop, 3-Troop and HQ pieces, all colored for the faction they are part of.  The dice are also similar to other Risk titles, as the 3 Black Dice are used for attacking and the 2 Red Dice are used for defense rolls.  The cards consists of Resources, Territories, Coins, Powers and Scars (which permanently alter aspects of various Territories).


Before reading on, this is a MAJOR SPOILER! Read on only if you want to learn more!


The following pictures show which card types are in each of the 4 sealed decks, in order of how you should open them.

Of course, the board itself is fairly standard, and should be easily recognizable to Risk players everywhere. It is divided into 42 Territories, which are grouped into 6 standard Continents. The 15 lines on the left are for the winners names.

Lastly, there are now Mutants and Aliens that players must contend (or collaborate!) with.

 

Won't spoil anything else for now, but I'll certainly reccommend getting a copy of this new board game from our friends at Hasbro. At only $59.99, it's a great holiday present for the Risk/War gamer in your life, or a fantastic way to spend a snowed-in day. Come by and pick one up, or simply ask to see our opened store copy!

Stasi "Dengirl" King

Yugioh Photon Shockwave Sneak Peek

This weekend, we had a spectacular turn-out for our YuGiOh Sneak Peek.  The new set that was debuted, Photon Shockwave, will be for sale November 15th. 

Our events were on Saturday, November 5th, and Sunday November 6th.  Both days we had the $20 Sneak Peek at 12pm and a $10 Box Tournament. The winners of the Box Tournaments will be rewarded with various numbers of boosters from the new set when it releases next week.

We had a full house on both Saturday and Sunday, with all 96 of our packages (6 Photon Shockwave boosters + promo card) being sold out before 2pm each day! The Photon Dragon playmats were given out as random door prizes, and the lucky recipients were thrilled!

All in all, we are very pleased with this huge turnout.  Hopefully, our representatives at Konami will allow us to get even more kits for the next Sneak Peek, and we can run even larger tournaments!  If you are interested in participating in our YuGiOh events, we have regular tournaments every Sunday from 1pm-6pm and Tuesday from 5:30pm-9pm. A $5 entry guarantees that every participant gets 1 booster pack, and the top players get extra store credit!

Check out our calendar at gamersgambit.com for more events and information.

Stasi "Dengirl" King

New York Comic Con 2011

Well we are putting on the finishing touches and packing up all the product for New York City Comic Con! There is so much to do and so much more to prep for, but I think we have a handle on it and will be ready for a spectacular con!

So if you are heading down, then stop in and see us, we will be at booth #2920! This is our first trip to NYC Comic Con, so we were really putting a lot into what to bring and how much, so here is an idea of what we are going to have at the show:

• Variant Amazing Spider-Man #666 with our custom cover
• Video Games: Nintendo, Nintendo Gameboy, Super Nintendo, Nintendo 64, Sega Genesis, and more!
• Magic the Gathering: Innistrad, M12, Scars of Mirrodin, Mirrodin Besieged, New Phyrexia, and more special items!
• Yu-Gi-Oh:  XYZ Starters, Hidden Arsenal SE, Generation Force SE, Gold Series 4
• Pokemon: Black and White, Black and White Emerging Powers
• Heroclix: Superman, Captain America, Giant Sized X-Men
• Etched Glasses: Marvel, Hobbit, and Walking Dead
• Star Wars and Ghost Busters talking plushes
• Power Rings, Flash Point Pins, Select Back Issue Comic, Variant Cover Comic Books
• RA Salvatore's new Hard Cover "Neverwinter" The Neverwinter Sage Book 2 **(Don't forget that he will be there for signing later in the show)

Stop and see some of our friends from up here in NY:

Zombie Petz: Booth #2838
Iron Age Production (Jaded Comic Book): Booth #1924

Who from the store might you run into at NYC Comic Con:

Dave
Sean "Striderlotr"
Stasi "Dengirl"
Scott
Brittani "DnDPrincessAria"
Amanda


Hope to see you at NYC Comic Con!

Sean "Striderlotr" Banks

Support Your Friendly Local Gaming Store

OK, I'll keep this simple.

SUPPORT YOUR FRIENDLY LOCAL GAME STORE for Magic!

This Saturday is the Prerelease for a new Magic the Gathering set, Innistrad. I personally think it looks great and I know that while not everyone is a fan on the new 2 sided transform mechanic cards, I give WotC credit for trying new rules and ideas to keep the game fresh! However, that is not the point of this post...

If you do not buy your Magic cards and play in your local game store for these types of events, then you are hurting both yourself and the Magic community has a whole! Why you ask? I'll give you a few simple reasons.

First, your local game store gives you a place to PLAY! You can't play on-line with that great new box of Innistrad you just got off the web at a few bucks cheaper than your local store, can you! Yet, here is your friendly local game store (FLGS) giving you table space to hang out for FNM and many other times during the week. That table space could be replaced with a pool table or a new product line of model train accessories that would make your FLGS money.  Buy your Magic at your FLGS to help your FLGS provide PLAY SPACE FOR YOU!

Second, who is there for you when you need help with your deck or when you wanted to learn how to play in the first place? Yeah, you might have learned from your friends or family but when you really needed unbiased advice on your bud's really annoying mill deck or how do I beat Red Deck Wins, I bet your FLGS was there to help. I'll even bet the guys and gals at the FLGS didn't even charge you to ask those rules questions or help you adjust the mana ratio of your new deck. Go find that service for free on-line! Buying your Magic and playing in FLGS store events helps to keep that resource alive for YOUR FUTURE NEEDS!

Third, your FLGS helps find you new people to play with. Tired of beating your kid brother for the 347th time? Come in for FNM and see if your "unbeatable merfolk" deck does so well against a former state champ. Hey, maybe you get to draft with a Pro Tour player or win one game against the guy who won GP Providence this year. Chances are, these other players won't be dropping by your kitchen table to play with you. Looking to trade an extra Stoneforge Mystic or 4? Well, these guys are more likely to need them than your mom. You might even make some new friends - ones that like playing the same game you play! In short, you get to be PART OF A COMMUNITY!

Last, and this may not mean much to some of you but buying and supporting your FLGS is good for your wallet. The money you spend locally goes back into making your town a better place to live. Maybe you want a job at your FLGS. Maybe your friend already works there. Maybe you like the hot chick who works there (Yeah, they do work at FLGSs and I have pics to prove it!). It would be a real shame if your FLGS closed because johnny internet was $5 cheaper for a box of Innistrad (Bet you forgot to add shipping) and now you have to wait for it to be delivered instead of cracking those minty fresh packs at midnight on release day! In other words, keeping your FLGS strong HELPS YOUR LIFE!

So, when it comes time to buy your Magic, stop and think about the secondary benefit to you and your friends, family and neighbors and SUPPORT YOUR FRIENDLY LOCAL GAME STORE otherwise, you might be home on a Friday Night playing Magic with, I mean by, yourself!

Good Luck with Innistrad!

Dave

PS. Yes, I own a FLGS and may have a biased view BUT, I can prove each of my points objectively so I would love to hear from you folks out there.

PPS. Support Your Local FLGS is a nod to two great James Garner movies done in the 70s, Support Your Local Gunfighter and Support Your Local Sheriff. If you are unfamiliar with these flicks or James Garner, I am sure Netflix can help you out.

Eclipse Phase RPG

Eclipse Phase Role Playing Game

I've started to run a group of players through Eclipse Phase.  Part of this was to try and play a new game, new setting, and a new rules mechanic.  I've had a chance to run the core book and to gather a group of experienced and novice players to really get a good feel of the game.  I'm hoping to cover some about the game, a little about the rules, and more about how the players took to the system, both players who are experienced and new to role playing games.

The Game:

 Eclipse Phase is produced by Posthuman Studios and has been published by both Posthuman and with Catalyst Games. The game was designed as a paper and pencil role playing game.  The game is a science fiction based game which is heavily influenced by horror and conspiracy. 

The Setting:

In the not so distant future humanity has been transformed into a Transhuman state.  There are more then humans though. Animals have been uplifted to a much higher intelligence level.You can be an uplifted Dolphin, Gorilla, or even a parrot.  In the future the TITANs, Seed AI, have been infected with a virus and turned on Transhumanity. Most of Earth is now inhospitable to live on, so Transhumanity has moved to the stars, or more planets.

The Rules:

The game only involves the use of 2 dice, both of which are D10s.  Most of the time you are rolling as a D100, but some times a single D10 is needed.  There are also a much high amount of "Role" playing instead of "Roll" playing. The game allows for a tremendous amount of interaction between the players and the Game Master.

The Players:

GM: Sean "Striderlotr" Banks
1. Dave Steltenkamp
2. Stan Tyler
3. Sara Tyler
4. Stasi "Dengirl" King
5. Brittani "dndprincessaria" MacFadden
6. Amanda Cowen

As we get a few more games under our belts, we will post some comments about how the game actually plays out especially with combat and skill challenges.  Check back to see what everyone thought of the game!
 
Sean "Striderlotr" Banks