Quinns: Morning, Paul! You ready for some Games News?
Paul: …
Quinns: See that image up top? It’s the first photo we have of The Prodigals Club (previously The Castaways Club), Czech Games’ pseudo-sequel to the wonderful Last Will. We now know that The Prodigals Club will once again see players racing to lose their vast Victorian fortunes, but this time simply because they think that poor people have more fun. Presumably they saw Titanic (the film) but are living in the decade before Titanic (the accident).
But here’s the really cool bit- The Prodigals Club will ship with three modules, which are “trying to lose an election”, “trying to get rid of all your possessions”, and “trying to offend the most influential people in high society”. You can play with any two modules or even all three, but the game will also allow you to bolt your copy of Last Will onto Prodigals Club to replace any one of the three modules. Isn’t that crazy?!
Paul: …
Quinns: I KNOW!
I actually spotted a prototype of this at the 2015 UK board game expo, and my only fear is that it had none of the silliness that Last Will was absolutely caked in. Hopefully Czech games will take the job of making The Prodigals Club very silly very seriously indeed.
Paul, I know you were very disappointed by the 2013 Odin’s Ravens kickstarter. They successfully raised the money for a new edition of this two player game from 2002, then didn’t deliver anything! What a shambles.
Paul: …
Quinns: Steady on, Paul. That’s a bit harsh.
Paul: …
Quinns: Ha, you know what Paul? You’re all right!
In any case, it turns out there’s no need to get upset. Osprey Games announced this week that they’ll be publishing a new edition of Odin’s Ravens, and that they’ll send a free copy to any of the Kickstarter backers who are willing to pay shipping.
I love the theme on this one. Players are creating paths for their raven by playing cards from their hand, aiming to create smooth sets of the same card. But you can also rearrange landscapes with special cards, create an auxiliary route or play cards to the Magic Way.
I want to play cards to the Magic Way!
Have you heard of Bycatch, Paul?
Paul: …
Quinns: Ha ha! No, that’s not what it is, you filthy boy. It’s a game about exploring America’s own Magic Way (of killing terrorists and sometimes civilians with unmanned drones).
Yours for €12, Bycatch is a game about making life and death decisions with flawed surveillance. You hunt for a target using the camera on your phone, attempting to hold your cards in such a way as to hide your high-value targets which then successfully killing your opponents’ targets on your turn.
Paul: …
Quinns: That’s an interesting point, but there’s still the question of whether it’s morally just for a soldier to kill anybody in a war. I agree that the principle of “Jus in Bello” is preposterous, but not that the philosophy of Just War is without merit. Besides, you have the freedom to be liberal. You’re alive in a time where your way of life has never been threatened by an outside force.
Paul: …
Quinns: Mm.
In lighter news, those people up there have decided to put “meeple” into the Oxford English Dictionary! Look, here it is.
“Pronunciation: /ˈmiːp(ə)l/. A small figure used as a playing piece in certain board games, having a stylized human form.”
Now that board games have officially made it, I imagine it’s only a matter of time before we start receiving money in the post.
Paul: …
Quinns: Nope, none today.
Paul: …
Quinns: Exactly. Maybe tomorrow.
Finally, ICv2 has an interesting article up about Gen Con nearing the limits of the fair city of Indianapolis.
As much as we make fun of Indianapolis for basically being the web of a giant spider by the name of Marriott Hotel, I’d hate to see the con move. I’ve never been treated with such warmth as by the hoosiers of Indiana.
Actually, that’s a lie. I went backpacking in Iran and holy crap those people were nice.
Paul: Hello?
Quinns: PAUL–
Paul: I’m looking for my glasses. Wait. Did you put them on that lampshade? Is that my jacket, too?
Quinns: …
