What’s New, Mind Games? Boardgames Winter 2018 Edition

Winter i̶s̶ ̶c̶o̶m̶i̶n̶g̶ has come!

And while the cold months spell bad news for almost all hobbies save skiing, AFL and Olympic curling – ‘tis the season for all things tabletop gaming!

So snuggle up in your favourite onesie, crank up the heater, and grab some snacks cos boy do we have a host of hot new games and RPG’s for you!

First off we have a Panorama of new titles for you on the board game front.

Here’s a few juicy highlights:

The White Box

Ever wanted to design your own board game? This fresh title from kickstarter is a great place to start! While not exactly a board game, The White Box comes with a large range of basic components for designing, play-testing and refining your homemade game designs! Start creating the next Gloomhaven or Settlers of Catan today!

Missile Command

The next installment in the IDW Atari series, Missile command is a board game throwback to the 1980 classic arcade game.

3 to 6 players build and deploy their supply of Missiles, Nukes and Interceptors on a mission to destroy as many enemy cities they can, while trying to protect their own.

Each round, the players can negotiate with each other, forging temporary alliances and truces, or trading funds and Missiles. Then, they secretly plot their attacks behind their Radar Screens. Finally, they reveal their attacks, and destruction rains down from the skies!

Magic Maze: Maximum Security Expansion

Can’t get enough of Magic Maze? Well with the new expansion you’ll never have to with new challenges and customisable modules added to the game for Maximum re playability! The mall guards have become reanimated and will stop at nothing to make your lives even harder as you attempt to steal loot for your next adventure. You’ll have new capabilities as well with the added abilities and modules. Spice up your Magic Maze game today with Maximum Security!

Altiplano

Our Game of the Week! Reiner Stockhausen’s next ‘bag-building’ game along the lines of Orléans, Altiplano is a resource management and space occupation game about managing a small community in the South American highlands of the Andes. Trade fish, alpaca, silver and corn with other players for extensions or better warehouse facilities. Use shrewd timing to build the road and open up new options for victory! A great euro style strategy game with an uncharacteristic flavour of interactivity.

Feudum

The Kickstarter beast has finally hit Australian shelves! Feudum (latin for fiefdom) is an economic medieval game of hand and resource management for 2-5 players. With many strategies at their disposal, players optimize four actions per turn in attempt to score the most victory points over five epochs. If you’re a fan of beautiful, whacky art and gargantuan rulebooks this is the next big box for you!

Noria

A new big box strategy game from Europe, Noria is the debut title from German Designer Sophia Wagner – who created an entire steam punk universe just for the game. Using a new mechanic dubbed ‘wheel building’ each player constructs their own action selection on an interchangeable turnstile, allowing a huge variety of strategic options. Over the course of the game, players try to obtain new discs and manipulate the rings of the wheel to optimize their action selection. Additionally, to ensure their investments bear fruit, they also need to bribe politicians with knowledge. Noria is an interesting and innovative new title sure to surprise even the most experienced euro gamers!

//Code: Robot Repair and Rover Control

Thinkfun’s inventive new programming series is a screen-less way to learn the basics of coding logic through fun and engaging puzzles for all ages!

Robot repair puts players in the role of a robotics technician, In each of the 40 Robot Repair challenges you’re given a robot to fix. Within the Robots are wires that need to be activated by Power Cells. Using logical deduction and the clues given, insert the Power Cells correctly and repair the robots.

Rover Control offers another 40 new challenges, each of them containing a map. The trouble is, the pathways on the map are colorless and the Rover is programmed to only travel on colored pathways. You’ll need to figure out how to color the pathways so the Rover can complete its mission.

Grab either of these titles from the masters of logic gaming at Mind Games

Evolution: The Beginning

From the designers of the original Evolution, Comes ‘The Begining’! A stand-alone game in the Evolution line that borrows many of its concepts but is designed for fast and easy play. Players will adapt their species to succeed in a dynamic ecosystem where food is scarce and predators roam. Traits like Flight and Horns will protect your species from Carnivores while a Long Neck will help them get food that others cannot reach. With hundreds of ways to evolve your species, every game unfolds in a beautifully unique way. If you’re a fan of evolution or quick and satisfying card-based strategy, this is a must for any collection!

Looking for more fresh strategy titles to wet your whistle?

Other fresh titles include Aviation Tycoon, Pioneer Days, Byzanz, Empires & Alliances, Thanos Rising, Epoch: Early Inventors, Mafiozoo, The Manhattan Project 2: Minutes to Midnight, Xi’an, Rising 5, Sabordage, Dark Souls: The Card Game, Barker’s Row, Agra, Helionox: Deluxe Edition and probably a few more I’ve forgotten!

More in the mood for some family fun? Try Codenames XXL – Literally a giant version of the world-wide smash-hit. Or if you’re looking for something a bit more physical, try ‘The Climbers: aka: Jenga for people who want a little bit more!

Lastly we have a host of new expansions to old favourites up our sleeves.

Check out: Legend of Korra Pro-Bending Arena: Amon’s Invasion, Grimslingers Advanced Duels, Conflict & Heroes: Eastern Front Solo Expansion, Flamme Rouge: Peloton Expansion, Explorers of the North Sea: Rocks of Ruin Expansion, and Kingdom Builder: Harvest Expansion!

Thats a wrap for this week dear gamers. Stay warm and stay tuned for the RPG report!