News

Game of the Week - Descent: Journeys in the Dark. Sorry, what did you say? Is it as scary as it sounds? Ha, of course not! *scuttles away in haste*. This 2-5 player game by Fantasy Flight is a smoother, faster version of its predecessor, so that you can crack on with tackling that bugger of an overlord as quickly and easily as you can. Most players become heroes that venture into terrifying caves, dungeons and forests to defeat the overlord, played by another player. The rich and detailed story campaign is dark but golden: brilliant, but tinged with evil! There's even a 'conversion kit' available for an easy peasy transition from one edition to the next. Handy indeed! Read more at the publisher's website and check out this Starlit Citadel review.

Parks and Recreational Gaming. In our recent Gen Con blog post, we brought news of 'Cones of Dunshire', a fictional game made by a fictional character in the American TV show Parks and Recreation being played at Gen Con with huuuge success. Mayfair Games brought the game to life for the special occasion and are now looking to capitalise on the popularity by making it real - forever! Well, as 'forever' as made up parody games can be. A 'super-deluxe' version will come out first, depending on crowd funding for its existence, while the regular version for normal folk like you and me will follow later and with a considerably cheaper price tag. Watch this space and read about it here!

Are You Ready For The Game You've Been Waiting For Your Whole Life? Tell the truth - every time you go to the cinema and see a thriller, a zombie flick, an action-spattered movie with suspense and jumpy bits, you leave wondering just what you'd do in that situation. Now, there's an answer - Fantasy Flight Games are bringing out a role-playing game that allows you to play yourself as a character in lots of different 'end of the world' scenarios, including invasions of zombies, aliens and big scary machines. Assigning yourself honest characteristics and working with the others around you, you must survive the wasteland of decay! Read it all here.

You've Been Playing Other Games Again, Haven't You? Kickstarter's a gold mine for gaming genius and has come up trumps again with 'Divorce!', the chirpy game of failed marriage and shattered expectations. Players - or ex-lovers - must take cards that count as assets like cars and wedding rings, and decide whether to keep them or hand them over. Lawyers and the crippling guilt for your children come into play too, and every decision sits on the next until you reach the end and realise why the game's creator Andrew Yoon likes to call it a 'regret simulator'. It's expected to come out early next year and its dark humour is sure to make it a contender for bitterly funny games like Gloom! See more here.

One Big Virus, One Big Room. Z-Man Games has decided to test the fans and players of 'Pandemic' by challenging them to a World Championship! Up to 16 teams of 2 can take part in 'Pandemic Survival' in a space where every game is separated by screens as the groups battle it out to the end! The three rounds include prizes and cool stuff like t-shirts and getting flown to Essen 2015 - all paid for - to play the final round, but the crème de la crème is a 1 week holiday with a budget of $5000 per winner to go anywhere they like on the Pandemic board! Now, Pandemic's a favourite of ours and with several other gaming hot spots signing up to take part then who knows... It'd be so fun to participate, we won't lie about that! Read more here.

There's No Business Like... Board Games! A few decades ago in the brightly-coloured grainy fuzz of Eighties' television, a trend took hold of the world: classic board games translated into TV shows. Scrabble, Yahtzee and Pictionary are just a few of them, and the concept has trickled into our modern times as well, with chat show hosts like Jimmy Fallon and Ellen Degeneres using classic games as celebrity-filled comedic segments in their shows. Most of the Eighties stuff only lasted a few months before being brutally hacked from the air, but there's no doubt about it - they paved the way for the quiz and game shows we love to watch today! The public love 'em, it's the TV executives who get mad at the dice and call the whole thing off! Click here a full list of board-games-turned-TV-shows and to watch the video clips of embarrassing 'Eighties TV' gold. 

C.R.O.W Return On September 28th! The lovely folks at C.R.O.W are with us again later in the month for another slice of role-play pie. You can learn more about story-telling and carefully craft your skills or simply perfect your detailed alibi for your next evil lie. Your call.

Critics Are Calling It The Gaming Event Of A Lifetime... Not strictly true - it happens once a month, so you've got plenty of chances to attend Gaming @ The Gate! This month's event on September 29th will see you surrounded by games and fun people with a drink of choice in hand, and if you're thinking Christmas has come early then you're right on the money, Rudolph. 

New Releases / Restocks / Coming Soon!

New In Store From Next Week - Zombie 15', a new and terrifyingly fast zombie survival game that comes with a 15 minute soundtrack; Timeline Science & Discoveries and Timeline General Interest to test your knowledge in chronological order; an under-water adventure with Abyss; war game Quartermaster General; and Shadowrun Street Grimoire, the limited edition!

New Releases Available Now - Doomtown: Reloaded is here. lookin' fiiiine and packing a punch; the Naruto Shippuden Deck-Building Game in all of its colourful glory; the Skull & Shackles expansion of Pathfinder; a pretty Valiant Universe RPG book and an even prettier limited edition one; be the superhero you know you are with Heroes Wanted; Shadowrun Street Grimoire.

Arriving Soon - a steam punk Renaissance in Dogs of War; from the wildly popular novel and video game series comes The Witcher Adventure Game; 3 new Pandemic expansions, including dice-based quick co-op The Cure, the competitive Contagion and the hotly anticipated Pandemic: Legacy will hit the streets; zombies doing snow angels in Dead of Winter; Fantasy Flight's LCGs take on the mighty legions of Warhammer 40K in Conquest; Dungeons and Dragons shrinks to miniature in a collaboration between Wizkids and Wizards of the Coast for the new Attack Wing Starter Set; from a galaxy far far away comes new Star Wars miniatures games, fleet-based Armada and ground-based Imperial Assault; city-building until you're the Mayor in the clever and quick Machi Koro; family-friendly bluffing and bribery in Sheriff of Nottingham, and come closer and see, see into the trees in Talisman: The Woodland.... PRE-ORDERS FOR ALL THESE BEING TAKEN NOW!