The List - January 2020

Last month I reviewed The List, but I think I have enough of an update that it's worth taking another look. I'm adding a new section for games I've recruited (or am recruiting) co-designers for:

Published Games:
- Terra Prime (BGG)
- Eminent Domain (BGG)
- Eminent Domain: Escalation (BGG) (expansion)
- Eminent Domain: Exotica (BGG) (expansion)
- Eminent Domain: Oblivion (BGG) (expansion)
- Eminent Domain: Microcosm (BGG)
- Isle of Trains (BGG)
- Crusaders: Thy Will Be Done (BGG)
- Crusaders: Divine Influence (BGG) (expansion) [In manufacturing]
- Dungeon Roll: Winter Heroes (BGG)
- Gold West: Bandits promo (BGG)
- Gold West: Trading Post promo (BGG)
- Yokohama: Achievements & Free Agents promo (BGG)
- Brainfreeze

Finished But Unpublished Games:
- Eminent Domain Origins [Ready to print]
- Crusaders: Crimson Knight (expansion) [Ready to print]
- Crusaders: Amber Knight (expansion) [Ready to print]
- Olympus on the Serengeti  (FKA Deities and Demigods) [Art starting]
- Exhibit (BGG) [Unlikely to be published due to conflict]
- Eminent Domain: Chaos Theory (dice game) [In line for art]
- Dice Works (BGG)
- Wizard's Tower (BGG)
- Isle of Trains: All Aboard (expansion)
- Suburban Sprawl
- Watch It Played [Abandoned]
- Now Boarding [Abandoned]

Current Active Designs:
- Alter Ego (BGG)
- Apotheosis (Co-Design with Rick Holzgrafe)
- All For One (BGG) (Co-Design with David Brain)
- Riders of the Pony Express (BGG)
- Isle Of Trains: The Board Game (Co-Design with Dan Keltner)

Designs I'm Recruiting A Co-Designer For:
Well established designs that I could use help finishing:
- Automatown [a designer has showed interest]
- Odysseus: Winds of Fate (BGG) [a designer has showed interest]

Established designs that still need work:
- Reading Railroad
- Moctezuma's Revenge

Early stage designs that still need a lot of work:
- Rondel Role Selection
- Kilauea [a designer has showed interest]
- Joan of Arc [a designer has showed interest]

Idea stage designs that sound promising:
- Dynasty
-Scourge of the High Seas

Old Standbys - games which have been around, 1/2 done and untouched, for years:
- 8/7 Central
- Hot & Fresh

Old Ideas that Haven't Gone Anywhere (Yet) - some of these have been getting stale as well:
- Investigative/Tabloid Journalism
- Red Colony
- Clash of the Kingpins
- Time = Money
- Dating Game
- Ticket Please
- Cruise line game
- The Untouchables
- Day labor game based on craps

Misc and Really Old Stuff:
- 9-Ball
- Blockade Runner
- Roman Emperors (my version of someone else's game)
- Admirals of the Spanish Main (my version of someone else's game)

Let's take a closer look at some of the updates:

Crusaders expansions:
- Crusaders: Divine Influence (BGG) (expansion) [In manufacturing]
- Crusaders: Crimson Knight (expansion) [Ready to print]
- Crusaders: Amber Knight (expansion) [Ready to print]
The first expansion to Crusaders: Thy Will Be Done (BGG) has been printed, and is about to ship from the manufacturer. The 2nd/3rd expansions are almost identical to each other, they each add one additional player: a red player, and a yellow player. The retail version art is done for both of them, and they're expected to release in October, 2020. I'm not sure exactly how we will support those who got the Deluxified base game, we will either make Deluxified versions of these expansions, or we'll offer some kind of upgrade pack.

Isle of Trains: the Board Game:
The publisher of Isle of Trains told Dan and I that instead of (or possibly in addition to?) an expansion to the card game, they would like to do a bigger box board game that's like Isle of Trains. So Dan and I have been working on a re-design of the game given the new constraints. We've made a little progress so far, and Dan has a prototype under construction, it'll probably see play soon.

Odysseus: Winds of Fate (BGG):
A designer friend of mine in Seattle has expressed interest in coming on board as a co-designer. After so many years and iterations, I'm excited to see if he can help get this one across the finish line. He tells me he's got a prototype built and plans to give it a try soon!

Automatown:
A designer in Utah who had printed and played an earlier prototype of Automatown has expressed interest in coming on board as a co-designer. I'm excited to see this one move forward, because I'm sure it would have taken me a long time to get back to it. I got word that he'd played the latest version already, and has some specific changes he's going to try next!

Kilauea:
Based on my blog post, a designer I'm not too familiar with has expressed interest in coming on board as a co-designer. I've sent him my descriptions of the game and the rules I had written... we'll see if he can do anything with that.

Joan of Arc [a designer has showed interest]
Another designer I'm not familiar with expressed interest in Joan of Arc. I need to revisit that one and see what info I can send him on it.

Happy Holidays From The ChicagoWiz Christmas Manor!

This has been a rough year around our house, with Death visiting us far too often and too close.

Still, I am blessed with the family and friends I have, with the good health and a steady job. There is is a full fridge with food to be made tomorrow for a family feast. Presents under the tree. These are small things that will mean so much to everyone coming over.

I hope that you have the same blessings! May the Holidays bring you joy, peace and comfort. May you have plenty of time for games and good cheer with those you want to be with!

I hope to see you all in 2020 with even more games and fun.

Michael "Chgowiz" Shorten

ASOIAF: Deployment And Activations

Get ready for some hard lessons.

One of the best things about this game how in-depth alternate deployment and activations work.  All of this is outlined really well in the main rulebook, but I want to take a moment to stress the importance of how greatly this affects overall gameplay.  A lot of this harks all the way back to my WHFB days where "drops" and chaff really meant something when it comes to deployment.  Having more drops than the opponent allows you to see where their most crucial units get placed so you can better deploy against them.  Keep in mind that when it comes to "drops", this is strictly limited to combat units.  It doesn't matter how many NCUs you have when it comes to deployment, but this will matter when it comes to overall activations.  Activation order and the number of total activations matter because the more you have, the more you can "force" your opponents to activate their units so you can better counter them.

Alright, so let's dive into deployment first.  Going forward, I'm just going to call these drops because I'm an old-school WHFB player and you're just going to have to deal with it.  I'll start by using my Robb Stark list vs. the previously posted Ramsay list.

Faction: House Stark
Commander: Robb Stark – The Wolf Lord
Points: 40 (4 Neutral)

Combat Units:
• House Umber Greataxes (7)
  with Robb Stark – The Wolf Lord (0)
• Grey Wind (0)
• Stark Sworn Swords (5)
  with Bran and Hodor – Protector and Ward (3)
• Summer (0)
• House Umber Berserkers (7)
  with Sworn Sword Captain (1)
• Stark Outriders (7)
  with Brynden Tully – Vanguard Infiltrator (3)

Non-Combat Units:
• Sansa Stark – Little Bird (3)
• Lord Varys – The Spider (4)

Made with ASOIAFBuilder.com

vs.

Faction: House Lannister
Commander: Ramsay Snow – The Bastard of Bolton
Points: 40 (20 Neutral)

Combat Units:
• House Clegane Mountain Men (6)
  with Ramsay Snow – The Bastard of Bolton (0)
  and Theon Greyjoy – Reek (0)
• House Clegane Mountain Men (6)
  with Dreadfort Captain (1)
• Bolton Cutthroats (5)
  with Assault Veteran (1)
• The Flayed Men (10)
  with Gregor Clegane – Mounted Behemoth (3)

Non-Combat Units:
• Tywin Lannister – The Great Lion (4)
• Lord Varys – The Spider (4)

Made with ASOIAFBuilder.com

Before we talk about anything else, keep in mind that after the battlefield is set up, you roll a die with your opponent and you see who gets to pick their deployment zone (winner chooses or passes).  The player who does not choose their Deployment Zone will the First Player.  The player who chooses the deployment zone puts down their first combat unit.

As you can see in the example lists above, Robb's army has a total of 6 drops compared to Ramsay's 4 drops.   This is one of the best things about the Stark Dire Wolves and that's because it comes with good 0-point chaff that are combat units.

If you choose Deployment and therefore starts deploying first, it would look like:

1. You put a wolf down
2. They put down a combat unit
3. You put another wolf down
4. They have to put another combat unit
5. You put down some Stark Swords
6. They put down another combat unit
7. You put down some Berserkers
8. They have to put down their Flayed Men with Ser G
9. Now you counter-deploy your Greataxes to meet his knights
10. ...and you can put your Outriders somewhere that best suits your needs

Hell, if you count his drops ahead of time, you can even choose to Outflank with your Outriders because you know the drop advantage is yours.  Always count the number of drops your opponent has and take note of any units of significance.

Do you see the power of having more drops than the opponent?  This is actually one of Stark's most powerful tools and that's the free Dire Wolves with Robb and Brann.  Once Shaggydog gets up in here, it's going to be a hoot.  Even having one drop over the opponent can mean a big difference because it allows you to better set up your slower moving speed-4 Greataxes somewhere that's going to scare those Flayed Men.  If you end up tieing with your opponent when it comes to drops, consider letting them choose deployment so they drop first.

Activating in the most optimal order is key.

Next, let's talk a little bit about activations.  For the most part, I'll try and keep things as generic as possible.  Knowing the when and why you activate your units will mean the difference between victory and defeat.  This is where most of the complexity of the game comes from.  By understanding that your NCUs count towards total activations and directly interact with the game through the tactics board, this greatly enhances how you play the game.  While most units interact directly with tactics cards, there's also a ton of ways to cheat out free actions.  To explain all of this is going to be really complex because it's simply impossible to predict any and all events that are going to happen in a game.  No worries though, I'll try and give out some hints based on the games I've had so far.  Keep in mind that who is First Player also matters greatly.

Here are some helpful tips:

• NCUs tend to activate first to either stifle the opponent's zones or take advantages for themselves.  For example, as First Player, taking the Tactics zone can be super useful, or robbing the Stark player of free maneuvers can also be strong, especially when there are plentiful objectives on the board.
• Whenever you interact with the tactics board, you should first consider if you're planning to give a direct benefit to yourself or to disrupt the opponents' plans.  Every decision you make should be deliberate and has a significant impact on the game.
• When units are already engaged,  claiming the Combat zone is very strong and should be claimed if you have First Player.  This is essentially a free combat action, which is just incredible.  Anything that gives free anything is highly-sought after.
• Activating your Dire Wolves first before your main combat units allow you to better move units in response to what the opponent is going to do.  They have to activate their units and cannot choose to just pass.  They can, however, put an activation token on the unit and just not do anything.
• Always look for low-risk activations first if you want to bait your opponent into doing something so you can counterplay it.  However, you need to prioritize high-value activations if you absolutely need something to go in your favor.  This is how tempo is set by the player:  If everything you're doing gives you an advantage some way or another, you will always be ahead.  An example of this could be deciding to put an NCU down first to disrupt the opponent or to activate a unit.  You want to choose the one that will put you ahead while leaving the opponent unable to respond.  The best type of activation is getting to do something that gives you advantage while the opponent gains nothing.
• As the game progresses, this is where the true chess element of the game comes in:  Choosing the wrong activation order can literally mean victory or defeat.  Everything is a risk because both you and your opponent has a hidden hand of tactics cards, and with NCUs being different every game, there's always going to be calculated risk.  This is why Varys is one of the strongest NCUs in the game currently:  He has 4 tries to foil your opponents' plans with the tactics board or their NCUs.
• Once combat is joined, the focus of the game shifts a bit from NCUs to actually fighting the battle.  Otherwise, you risk skipping pivotal combat and your opponent might just tactics your unit into the ground before you get a chance to swing.  If you see the opportunity to inflict damage, it's almost always worth it to take it unless you have the appropriate counter.  Look for unit activations that will give you the battlefield advantage.  NCUs are not the ones fighting over objectives.
• Typically when you're a couple of turns in and the battle is joined, you should look for opportunities for free actions first, then combat, then NCUs in that order.  There are many factors that will change this order around, but that's completely up to you to analyze the opportunity cost.  Since there are a lot of things to keep track of once battle is joined so it's important for you to get comfortable with your units, your commander, your NCUs, and your tactics cards.  Else, you risk missing vital opportunities or triggers that can win the game for you.

Alright, that's pretty much all I have to say about activations.  There are just a billion examples and each one of them is unique.  However, I think mastering your activations is the most difficult, most complex, and most rewarding part of the game.  It's probably the biggest factor in identifying player skill and experience, so it's definitely worth practicing.  Good luck!

Ashen Free Download

Ashen is a 3rd person, action RPG about forging relationships. You are a lone wanderer in a sunless land. The only light to be had sputters from an age-old lantern at your side. There is a rumble in the distance, and then a light. Through leaking eyes you make out a peak on the horizon, choking the land in a cloud of ash. Nothing ever shone so bright. The first dawn turns to dusk and finally recedes into familiar blackness. A GAME BY AURORA44. This is the tale of a bygone world. Choose a path and hold on to those you trust. Players can choose to guide those they trust to their camp, encouraging them to rest at the fire and perhaps remain. Together, you might just stand a chance.
This Release Includes:
• Ashen (main game)
• Ashen Nightstorm Isle (DLC)

GAMEPLAY AND SCREENSHOTS :

DOWNLOAD GAME:

♢ Click or choose only one button below to download this game.
♢ View detailed instructions for downloading and installing the game here.
♢ Use 7-Zip to extract RAR, ZIP and ISO files. Install PowerISO to mount ISO files.

Ashen Free Download

INSTRUCTIONS FOR THIS GAME

➤ Download the game by clicking on the button link provided above.

➤ Download the game on the host site and turn off your Antivirus or Windows Defender to avoid errors.

➤ Once the download has been finished or completed, locate or go to that file.

➤ To open .iso file, use PowerISO and run the setup as admin then install the game on your PC.

➤ Once the installation process is complete, run the game's exe as admin and you can now play the game.

➤ Congratulations! You can now play this game for free on your PC.

➤ Note: If you like this video game, please buy it and support the developers of this game.

SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS:
(Your PC must at least have the equivalent or higher specs in order to run this game.)

Minimum:

• OS: Windows 7 (64 Bit)
• Processor: Intel Core i3 @ 3.5GHz or AMD FX-4170
• Memory: 4 GB RAM
• Graphics: Nvidia GeForce GTX 760 or AMD R7 270X (2GB VRAM)
• DirectX: Version 11
• Storage: 15 GB available space

Recommended:

• OS: Windows 10 (64 Bit)
• Processor: Intel Core i5 @ 3.5GHz or AMD FX 6 Core
• Memory: 8 GB RAM
• Graphics: Nvidia GeForce GTX 970 or AMD R9 290X (4GB VRAM)
• DirectX: Version 11
• Storage: 15 GB available space

Supported Language: English, French, Italian, German, Spanish language are available.
If you have any questions or encountered broken links, please do not hesitate to comment below. :D

Download Here They Lie For PS4

Download Here They Lie For PS4

PRELUDE | CUSA05344 | Update v1.03 | VR | HACKED

Initial release date: 2016

Publisher: Sony Interactive Entertainment

Developers: Tangentlemen, SIE Santa Monica Studio

Platform: PlayStation 4

There's something truly terrifying about not having any idea where you are or what you're doing there and not even being able to trust your own eyes. In Here They Lie, part of the horror comes from not knowing if the world is messed up, or if it's just you. The starting area was the scariest for me because everything was so mysterious — as I moved through a train, shadowy figures appeared before me and then vanished. Showing the threat but not actually sending anything my way as I wandered (with smooth movement using the gamepad) through an unfamiliar, labyrinthine subway station was enough to make me tense up quite a bit.

DOWNLOAD

 PRELUDE - Here They Lie - DIRECT LINK

---

Download-Part-1

     Download-Part-2

Download-Part-3

Download-Part-4

Download-Part-5

Password: After 10$ payment is done

ORDER NOW

Suzy Cube Update: March 23, 2018

#SuzyCube #gamedev #indiedev #madewithunity @NoodlecakeGames 

A very late and very short update...

Read more »

Louard's game design sounding board and home of the Pro's and Con's reviews.

We Build A Capable $300 Gaming PC. Believe It! - PCWorld

We build a capable $300 gaming PC. Believe it!

Post Oblivion Faction Choice

In my last post I opined on what I'd want to see for the rest of the faction spoilers and what my pro/cons were for each faction.

Well it's been a little less than a week since Oblivion dropped and I've been mulling over what to play for the next few months and I've reached a decision...

Legion!


So why Legion over Trolls and CoC? Well I've got a few reasons and it's easier to start with the reasons I'm not going with Trolls or CoC rather than what I'm going for in Legion.

Why Not CoC?

Convergence was what I was playing before Oblivion and it's what I have been inclined to keep with after the changes, but there are some things that made me decide shelving them for a bit.

The Dynamic Update changes for CoC were pretty minor beyond the (massive) theme changes, only the Colossal's got points drops and the Developers stated that they want to do more, especially with the medium based infantry (which I love), but they can't really test that until all the new stuff that is coming in a few months is also being tested. As such things are mostly the same, though we're far more likely to play in Clockwork Legion, even for Vector heavy based lists.

In the Steamroller I went to a few weeks ago I played two DI lists in my pairing and while I could manage threat ranges to get up on attrition, I had trouble contesting with new scenarios and lost on scenario before I could capitalize on the attrition win.

If you're in DI, you've got no screen of infantry or much in the way of throw away items, and our heavies are still pretty expensive for what they do.

The other changes that have me excited to play CoC is the Void Archon in Clockwork Legions being in the theme - except it will not pre-release at Gencon and so I'm waiting till October before I can really start playing the lists I want to be playing anyway. By that point we will be very close to the CoC new CID

The final reason I'm putting my CoC down for a bit is because I just know that major changes are coming to the faction in a few months and it feels kinda meh to play them in their current state when everyone including the developers knows there are problems with things as they are and the changes are a short time away. So why not take a change of pace with stuff I already own?

Why Not Trolls?

Trolls are interesting to dojo for me, because the faction revolves around so many different buff pieces which I just like the general approach of, it's just that there are two main problems I see.

First and foremost is the Krielstone and SR2019.  With one third of scenarios having very wide spread zones, and those being "new" scenarios more likely to see play in events, Trolls are going to suffer, especially the kind of brick list I typically enjoyed.

I went and mapped out what it would look like with a max (barring spending an additional 9 points on sorcerers) stone aura would look like if it could stand in the center of the table. The results are not very consistent.

The other problem I have is that the infantry units are just...not great. Fenns + UA are 20 points and our mainline gun units that I'd want to run are only RNG 8 (Highwaymen or Raiders). That's not inspiring. The beasts are also just very expensive, 19 point Bombers are rough. Our lights are also pretty expensive for what they do. Compare that to beasts in Grymkin or WM heavies and it's just painful.

Again this seems to be something that is recognized as a bit of a problem by the Devs with the idea that after a while Trolls will get looked at in more depth.

No More Support Taxes!

One thing I learned from playing Clockwork Legions in events (and what I know from Trolls), is that I'm kind of just tired of paying for support that is effectively essential to my army functioning but generally doesn't do much else.  Especially when said support requires a tight spacing.

Clockwork Legions troops are not very great, because they can recur. The medium based troops are very expensive and not great, because they can recur. But then I also have to pay 16 points...in order to recur. That's kind of a double whammy.  I also need to stay moderately tethered to the Foundries for it all to work. It hurts the more you spread out, because canny opponents will overload on one flank to fill the foundries covering that flank and start permanently killing models. So unless you can have a nice bunker in the center, the strength of recursion can be more easily mitigated.

The Krielstone is very similar, and once you're out of the stone, which can happen if you're looking to build high threat range lists, our beasts really suffer compared to what they cost.

I'm just...tired of having to take expensive support and want a change. This brings me to...

Why Legion?

Most support is caster driven, so I always have it until the game is over. When there is support taken, it's generally self sufficient. If I take Anyssa with Raptors, the Raptors aren't completely screwed if she's gone and she can just follow them around. If I take a Grotesque Assassin with Grotesque Raiders, it similarly just is tethered to that unit, not my entire force.

The other sad thing is that if I want to play a brick/aura list, I have options to do that. Primal Terrors with a Blightbringer provides a similar experience, and while it costs 20 points more than a Krielstone, it also is much harder to kill, is a melee anchor for late game, and has a decent gun turn after turn.

Similarly I could play Thags1 with his aura and some Carniveans to put out an ARM22 brick of heavies.

There's also the fact that guns not only abound in this faction, but they're far longer range as well. Strider Rangers got buffed, and with Ravens of War opening to all beasts again, we have good shooting options plus Hellmouth's to give scenario presence and tools to give advantage in heavy trades.

Oh and there's the fact that everything has flight or pathfinder. I loathe not having that, especially on heavies. Eyeless Sight is also nice to avoid any cloud problems and stealth issues, plus the faction brings a lot of boostable sprays to the table as well.

Beasts are expensive except for rare cases, but the character beasts in Legion are particularly compelling.

There are certainly weaknesses, particularly to guns, but there are some answers that can be taken to account for that.

Plus when I was going through to look at models I saw my old stuff and was reminded of how much I liked the look of them.

So for at least the next few months, I'm back on Legion!

Brave Browser voted the best privacy-focused product of 2019

Out of all the privacy-focused products and apps available on the market, Brave has been voted the best. Other winners of Product Hunt's Golden Kitty awards showed that there was a huge interest in privacy-enhancing products and apps such as chats, maps, and other collaboration tools.

An extremely productive year for Brave

Last year has been a pivotal one for the crypto industry, but few companies managed to see the kind of success Brave did. Almost every day of the year has been packed witch action, as the company managed to officially launch its browser, get its Basic Attention Token out, and onboard hundreds of thousands of verified publishers on its rewards platform.

Luckily, the effort Brave has been putting into its product hasn't gone unnoticed.

The company's revolutionary browser has been voted the best privacy-focused product of 2019, for which it received a Golden Kitty award. The awards, hosted by Product Hunt, were given to the most popular products across 23 different product categories.

Ryan Hoover, the founder of Product Hunt said:

"Our annual Golden Kitty awards celebrate all the great products that makers have launched throughout the year"

Brave's win is important for the company—with this year seeing the most user votes ever, it's a clear indicator of the browser's rapidly rising popularity.

Privacy and blockchain are the strongest forces in tech right now

If reaching 10 million monthly active users in December was Brave's crown achievement, then the Product Hunt award was the cherry on top.

The recognition Brave got from Product Hunt users shows that a market for privacy-focused apps is thriving. All of the apps and products that got a Golden Kitty award from Product Hunt users focused heavily on data protection. Everything from automatic investment apps and remote collaboration tools to smart home products emphasized their privacy.

AI and machine learning rose as another note-worthy trend, but blockchain seemed to be the most dominating force in app development. Blockchain-based messaging apps and maps were hugely popular with Product Hunt users, who seem to value innovation and security.

For those users, Brave is a perfect platform. The company's research and development team has recently debuted its privacy-preserving distributed VPN, which could potentially bring even more security to the user than its already existing Tor extension.

Brave's effort to revolutionize the advertising industry has also been recognized by some of the biggest names in publishing—major publications such as The Washington Post, The Guardian, NDTV, NPR, and Qz have all joined the platform. Some of the highest-ranking websites in the world, including Wikipedia, WikiHow, Vimeo, Internet Archive, and DuckDuckGo, are also among Brave's 390,000 verified publishers.

Earn Basic Attention Token (BAT) with Brave Web Browser

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