Andrew's Personal Favorite: Talisman

I have been playing Talisman for nearly fifteen years. It was originally released in 1983, and following a few revisions, the most recent 4th Edition which is now being manufactured and produced by one of the top board game, card game, and role-playing game publishers in the industry, Fantasy Flight Games. Talisman currently has a total of 8 expansions 4 of which alter or add onto the original board.

Game Häus Cafe. Coming soon!

Many tabletop enthusiasts are familiar with various tabletop game cafes around the world, but they are scarce and for the general population, out of reach. However, luckily for the fine folks Southern California, we are being gifted with the upcoming Game Häus Cafe coming to Los Angeles, CA.

Now I'm sure you have a few questions on your mind, such as, what is a tabletop games cafe you ask (or more popularly known as a board game cafe, sit tight tabletop will catch on soon enough)? It is precisely as simple as it sounds, it is a cafe with the usual coffee, espresso, pastries, and sandwiches, with tables, couches, and a warm welcoming atmosphere. But here's the catch, its designed for tabletop gaming. A place for you and your friends to come grab some coffee, a bite to eat, and determine who is the best at any given board game!

Gateway Table Top Games: Small World

Premise

Small World is a fantasy board game in which you attempt to score the most victory points after a set amount of rounds.  Players get points by occupying a region.  Every region has a certain amount of units required in order to occupy it. Each player selects a random combination of a race and special power, which designates how many units of that race the player receives.  The points can be boosted by the special powers and abilities of each race.  Eventually your race becomes too spread out to survive and then you must go into decline and select another race.  This makes the game extremely interesting because even if you have a distinct advantage.

My Experience

This game was extremely easy to pick up and had easy to use reference cards to understand the abilities of each race.  I played with my two friends Doug and Andrew.  Doug, like me, was new to these types of board games and Andrew is an avid gamer.  Even though it was my and Doug's first time playing, we were able to get the game going pretty quickly and started developing our own strategies.  While all my strategies ended up being terrible, Doug was able to come out on top and beat me and Andrew.  I highly recommend Small World for anyone wanting to get into table top games or if you're just looking for a board game for you and your friends to play.

Orange County's Best Geek Hideout

For all the tabletop gamers, comic book readers, or just fans of everything geek - if you haven't been to the Comic Book Hideout it is time you go.  The store opened November of 2012 but in the short time since then they were named OC Weekly's Best Comic Book Store in Orange County for 2013.

They have weekly events like Wednesday Board Game Night where anyone can bring any tabletop game they would like to play.  It usually starts around 7PM and lasts as long as people want to play.  It is also a great way to come in and pick up your new comics for the week.  I went this past Wednesday to pick up my new comic books and decided to take part in the games and I discovered my new favorite card game, Guillotine. For all the Magic the Gathering players come by for Friday Night Magic and take part in their weekly tournament.  They host many other events like signings, art exhibits, and an occasional movie premiere at a local movie theater with the proceeds going to charity.  So if you love board games and comics or if you're just looking for a place to hang out come in to Comic Book Hideout.

Check 'Em Out! So Cal Gaming Stores

If you live in Southern California and are new to tabletop gaming, there are many stores you can visit to learn more about how to play and which games to start with.  Check out the stores in this post for locations and upcoming events.  There are many other gaming stores, so leave a comment with your favorite store, So Cal or elsewhere!

Custom Audio for Table Top Games Fully Funded on Kickstarter

Orange County Gaming Group, based in Anaheim, California, has fully funded it's Kickstarter project for Realmsound 2.0.  On it's second attempt, OCGG was able to fund it's project in just one day.  

The OCGG website explains the project: "The Orange County Gaming Group has always been dedicated to finding ways to advance the table top games we play. One of our biggest steps in doing so was adding audio. We began investing more and more into our audio, and eventually ended up with some truly amazing works that changed our games forever. Suddenly, we were able to hear the sounds of the Dwarves singing to their God. We were able to listen to the wind blowing through the towers. We jumped when the GM suddenly played the roar of a creature we’d come upon. Making such audio custom, based on our years of gaming experiences, made each sound original and exotic. It was music created FOR the game.

Realmsound is the Kickstarter created  not only to earn the donations to make the audio, but also to gain the support from fellow tabletop gamers. The Audio we source will be available through donations to our campaign- donations that will be used to continue building the library of soundscapes, voice-overs, background music, and racial music to enhance the roleplaying experience for everyone."

Here is what the soundboard will look like once the product is finalized:

The Soundboard

The intuitive design of the audio dashboard will make integration into the gaming experience simple.  Even as a beginner, you will find that adding audio will bring a new element of life to the game.  Check out Orange County Gaming Group here to learn more!

Gateway Table Top Games: A Saboteur In Our Midst! A Card Game of Pure Deception

"I'm on your side!", your fellow gamers will say but among them there is an enemy in your group, but who?

Gateway Table Top Games: Wiz-War: The Game of Magical Mayhem! Circa 1983

Board Game Gab's Classic Corner Spotlight

History

The game you've never heard of. This classic table top game was published nearly 20 years ago and had been out of circulation for nearly 15. Published by Chessex and created by Tom Jolly, Wiz-War is an intriguing, action packed table top thrill. Jolly called it a "beer & pretzels"  game and actually introduced it to Richard Garfield, inspiring him to create the best selling Magic: The Gathering franchise.

Cool Minis of the Week

Some tabletop games use character figures known as minis. These minis can range from people, orcs, or even buildings. But this week's feature are a favorite of my own, from the game Star Wars X-Wing.

(photo credit: Wired.com)

Gateway Table Top Games: Settlers of Catan

Now when the average person hears "Table top games" or "board games", what exactly comes to mind? Most of us have played those common games, such as Monopoly, Yahtzee, or even Uno, but the table top game world is much deeper than that...One could get lost in a fantasy world slaying dragons, or even building cities to rule. With this series of posts, "Gateway Table Top Games", we will go into a few Table Top games that the average person may not know about, but would definitely have some fun playing. Our first post is about a game called "Settlers of Catan".

Gaming Guide: Etiquette

Tabletop games, like most things in life, come with certain unspoken rules.  We thought that those of you who are new to tabletop games, or who simply need refreshing, would like to see a few pointers on gaming etiquette.