Tabletop Spotlight: D&D Next

Break out that dusty d20 and order some pizza… That’s right, this week’s tabletop spotlight will have to be bright. We are going to talk about the dark and scary world of the greatest (and oldest) RPG out there: Dungeons & Dragons. To be specific, we will talk about the newest edition of the game, dubbed D&D Next.

Now, I have had the simultaneous pain and pleasure of being involved with a few different D&D campaigns, all with different folks at my side and running the show. I will soon be attempting to foray into the world of running a campaign myself. If that sort of thing interests you, hit me up with a comment down below and we can talk about it. Maybe I will even do a segment here on WCR about it, who knows?

Tabletop Spotlight: Sunrise City

Taking a look back at the games I’ve reviewed so far, I realized that I haven’t had much in the way of actual physical BOARD games. So today, our spotlight shines upon the dynamic and beautiful landscape of Clever Mojo Games’ Sunrise City.

Sunrise City is a nifty tile placement board game for 2-4 players with card drafting and auction elements tossed in for good measure. Before I get too far into the actual gameplay and everything, I have to stress how cool this game looks. This thing is freaking gorgeous. Isaias Vallejo started the game via Kickstarter early last year, and meeting their goals made it so the fans really see the quality in the materials of the game itself.

Tabletop Spotlight: DC Deckbuilding Game

It's a bird, it's a plane, it's.... another board game review!

Our spotlight shines tonight on a game more recently put out by Cryptozoic Entertainment, the DC Comics Deck-building Game. (Yes, that's the title. No, it isn't very creative) This is a well-polished deck building card game for 2-5 players using the Cerberus engine- we'll get to that, don't worry- set in the DC comics universe. Have I piqued your interest yet?

I have to admit, I was a little taken aback by the New 52 art style, but they've really pulled it off in few ways that even the DC comics themselves haven't been able to do. The same DC heroes and villains we've all come to love over the years are in action, and let me tell you, this game is beautiful. The art on the box and the cards is gorgeous, and overall, it's very sleek. But aesthetics aren't everything; Dominion is the best deck builder out there and the art for that game looks like crap. How's it play?

Tabletop Spotlight: 7 Wonders

Today's spotlight features a game near and dear to my heart: 7 Wonders. I've always had somewhat of a soft spot for historical games, and this one caught my eye immediately when it came out in 2010. At the time, I was pretty new to deckbuilder type games; I had tried playing through Dominion and Ascension, and was starting to see the similarities between the TCG games I knew already and a streamlined card game. I was hooked right away and have since purchased multiple expansions, too!

7 Wonders (by Repos Productions) is a drafting style board game for up to seven players, incorporating a fast-paced game economy into a strategic deck builder with a diverse number of ways to score points. What that translates to is the fact that 7 Wonders is a difficult game to master. A deceptively simple gameplay mechanic- drafting cards (buildings) around the table and creating your own wonder of the world- cleverly hides a game with a ton of ways to score victory points and backstab your neighbors.

Tabletop Spotlight: Sentinels of the Multiverse

Today’s spotlight shines on a game that is up-and-coming amongst board gamers and is one that I must admit I am totally hooked on: Sentinels of the Multiverse. This is a deeply thematic, fully cooperative card game for 2-5 players from Greater Than Games. Debuted in 2011, this game has already warranted three full expansions (with another in the works!) and was one of the top 10 board/card games funded on Kickstarter. The most recent expansion, Infernal Relics, boasts contributions from Richard Launius of Arkham Horror fame. Needless to say, it’s getting big.

What really attracted me to this game at first was the theme. I am an enormous comic book nerd, and I have already had a lot of personal success with other cooperative board games (e.g.Pandemic, Castle Panic, and Forbidden Island… even Shadows over Camelot and Battlestar Galactica if I had to). When I saw this box, the art and theme immediately jumped out at me. The gorgeous aesthetics conceal an incredible easy game mechanic system. It’s accessible to the point of learning how to play in five minutes!