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FUSE Countdown, from Renegade Game Studios, is a standalone expansion to their game FUSE, a card game focused on defusing bombs.

In FUSE Countdown players draw cards with various requirements needed to defuse the bomb. They then roll dice to meet those requirements such as color or new icons. An added twist is that if you are unable to defuse it by dice rolls you would then have to draw and resolve a spark card. Another difference between editions is that this one adds special powers to your characters. Now, this isn’t a necessary component to the game but it does make for some interesting twists to the gameplay, keeping it fresh. The complexity is much higher though with those spark cards. They basically act like extra bombs that must be resolved if you have hopes of winning.

I never played the original game but based on conversations I’ve had with players that had this is the far superior version. Renegade Game Studios have done a fantastic job of taking a simple concept and making it unique. The original seems to play very similar to the Back to the Future Dice Through Time, which I DID play. BTTF Dice Through Time though took a good amount of time to play right but with FUSE Countdown games only take about ten minutes (according to the RGS site). That is quite accurate considering that you have a ten minute timer running during the game.

Overall we found the game to be quite simple to figure out and fast paced. We had a great time with this one, however due to several poor dice roles we lost nearly as many games as we won. If you are looking for something quick paced and easy to learn then this will be a great purchase.

Warcrow is an adventure game from Corvus Belli- the team behind the skirmish tabletop game world of Infinity!

Starting on Kickstarter, Corvus Belli ran a very successful campaign to fund their latest IP- Warcrow. Known more for their futuristic world of Infinity, CB has turned their sights on a new world, one where dungeons and magic are more prevalent. Are you ready for the adventure? This is not their first dungeon crawler as well, through Kickstarter they had a similar game that was set in their Infinity IP- Defiance. While the style of game is the same, Warcrow is vastly different from it’s predecessor.

This game features a new turn based initiative system that can be modified throughout the game. Actions made can move a specific character higher in the initiative list and force others further down. Additionally it features an app that allows you to control and experience the narrative in a new way. Think of it like a tabletop Choose Your Own Adventure book where it all remains within the same world each time you play. The map style and model quality remains between both of their dungeon crawlers but THIS is the next stage in crawling evolution.

What I find odd with this game is the name choice. When first announced (knowing CB’s history of skirmish games) I assumed this would be a fantasy skirmish game, allowing them to compete directly with Games Workshop and their Warcry IP. Warcry against Warcrow. Felt intentional but when I learned that this was more of a dungeon crawler it left me confused. I couldn’t find anything regarding why they chose this name but I suspect it was more to capitalize on the competition using a similar name. Or maybe there is something in the lore I missed?

Speaking of lore, the game centers around a small town called Hawthorne Point and inspired by American Wild West and early Spanish explorers. Magical mist has covered much of the land but recently has receded in areas revealing ancient cities to plunder. Adventurers and Mercenaries are sent out to plunder treasure and information and bring it back to their respective cities. This mist affects the game like a fog of war would in RTS games and utilizing the app with it will reveal monsters and portions of the map as you continue the game.

From what I’ve seen there are many games out there that combine apps with the tabletop gameplay but this is the first we had the opportunity to play on. Utilizing the app alongside the models and map tiles it honestly felt more like playing a roleplaying game where the app itself is our Dungeon Master. Considering the amount of content you get in the box I’d say the 120€ price point seems reasonable for this game. Overall I would say this game is worth playing once it hits the official public releases but I would suggest picking up the game and expansion as soon as you are able because if this sells like Defiance did it won’t remain in the CB shop for long.

Abaddon’s Black Legion is spreading their influence and a new way of playing 40k with the Arks of Omen!

What started with Nachmund has paved way for the Black Crusade to nearly control the entirety of the Imperium Nihilus. Now the Arks of Omen are here to secure the rest and more. Abaddon has never been content his just his little corner of the galaxy and leads one of the only legions willing to expand their ranks from anywhere. This means he has one of the largest legions. Who will be able to stand up to this threat?

From a story perspective, this feels very much like the End Times of Warhammer. Will this result in a story reset or is this just the tip of the iceberg? I have no idea but considering the number of planned releases we have already heard about I don’t think this will be the equivalent of End Times.

From a game perspective, what does this supplement add to 40k as a whole? It adds an entirely new way to play games of 40k, utilizing terrain currently exclusive to the most recent releases of Kill Team. This expansion focuses on ship to ship combat or battles within the Space Hulks he has mobilized. Most of the information we have seen so far suggests his focus is on the Imperium. Will anyone else be strong enough to take on this threat? I highly doubt anyone will be strong enough to do it alone. Would be interesting if we had a global campaign to determine the outcome but I don’t think we are at a point where we will see that in 40k. Only time will tell though because I also said the same thing about End Times.

Who has family members that downright suck? Sloth King Games give you the chance to play one of them with My Shitty Family!

Most social deduction games have players trying to identify who did the nefarious act but in My Shitty Family everyone is doing something that is (at the very least) not good. Gameplay is equal parts discussion and acting. You take one the role of a family member and draw a hidden trait card. This card can be something annoying or even downright offensive. These can be political affiliation, sexual orientation or just a shitty behavior like racist. After this is decided you get some Shitty Habits to also display during the game and then Shitty Topics are drawn one at a time. Each topic is discussed in a round where you are trying to display your Hidden Trait and Shitty Traits. Your goal is to keep your Hidden Trait secret while still behaving that way.

To get the most out of this game you will need to have some acting skills. In order to really succeed at this game you need to sell everyone on the trait without being obvious about it. Some of these can get offensive. Sloth King Games reminds players in the rulebook to remember this is a game and is meant to be fun. There are two issues I see with the game. The first being that many people are unable to separate themselves from reality and the traits and topics can upset them. The second is that some player have these shitty habits already and will have trouble not showing them during the discussions when they don’t have the related card. To add to the mayhem are Family Challenge cards. These are challenges that are both hilarious and teach the players more about the characters themselves.

The art for each character is both highly detailed and really emphasize some of their traits at a glance. It reminded me of Martin Morazzo‘s work on the Ice Cream Man comics from Image Comics. The mechanics of the game are really quite simple and leave most of the complexity to the players.

Overall I found the game to be something truly unique. The design was both thought out and showcased the creativity of the designers. As I mentioned before, many of our players had trouble removing themselves from their characters and let them influence how they played more and others were too easily offended. The game has potential to be a lot of fun but with these dynamics it was a bit more difficult for our group. A way we found to make it better with our group was to have us review the possible cards ahead of time and remove the ones that were triggers for our players. For example one player is a member of the LGBTQ+ and is easily triggered by homophobes so the homophobe card was removed for their playthrough. Doing this we found the game to be much more fun.

GI Joe Deck Building Card Game has released Coldsnap from Renegade Game Studios, the second expansion pack for the game.

Unlike the recent expansions for the Transformers Deck Building Card Game, Coldsnap absolutely requires the core GI Joe Deck Building Card Game to play. Cobra is back to their shenanigans where they strive to take over the world. In this expansion they are using the Weather Dominating Device to control the weather- just like in the classic episode of the animated series.

Players will work together to stop the attacks and eventually defeat Cobra. More importantly you are facing new threats by way of Destro, Zartan and his Dreadnoks! Classic heroes and enemies are ready from the get go. With the available bonus pack you can add even more, specifically Beach Head. Other than new locations and other enemies this expansion adds towable assets like artillery. It even continues the Expert Mode that was introduced in Shadow of the Serpent.

Anyone that is a fan of the classic comics or the later IDW issues that continued the storyline will enjoy the art on these carts, even if they don’t enjoy the game as a whole. I found the expansion to be a great addition to an already great game.

The Transformers Deck Building Card Game has returned with it’s latest expansion- Dawn of the Dinobots!

Dawn of the Dinobots is the latest expansion for the Transformers Deck Building Card Game from Renegade Games Studios and works with both the core game or A Rising Darkness. As the name implies it is the introduction of the Dinobots to the game and ironically enough when I reviewed the previous expansion I commented on how I wished to see these characters brought into the game. Who else had an internal nerd child scream in excitement? I can’t be the only one. I have always preferred Grimlock to any other member of the Autobots. For the fact that you get to play him in the game means this is a must add to my collection. Even better it comes with Sludge, Swoop and Slug as well!

The Autobots aren’t the only ones getting reinforcements, the Decepticons are getting both Shockwave and their first combiner character Devastator! I remember when Devastator first came out in the Eighties. He was by far one of my favorite Decepticons. Oops, there goes my inner nerd child screaming for excitement again. Anyone that orders the game can get the limited Bonus Pack or the previous Bonus Packs $5 each. This Bonus Pack includes Snarl and Razorclaw.

Overall this is easily my favorite of the expansions and I can’t wait to see where RGS takes this game next!

Operation Cold Iron is the first expansion for the GI Joe roleplaying game from Renegade Game Studios but does it hold it’s own?

Renegade Game Studios had sent us a copy of the first expansion for the GI Joe Roleplaying Game– Operation Cold Iron. This is essentially a mission pack that adds four mission chapters for the overall Operation. Additionally it also brings stats for new vehicles and foes like Destro and the Snow Vipers. A mistake many game publishers make (at least in my opinion) is that they keep updating rules for the same characters or monsters/enemies. Prior to opening this book I expected RGS to have made this mistake and include a new version of Cobra Commander. I was pleased to see they did not. In fact there was almost nothing that could be considered a duplication in any way.

The campaign spans from Ethiopia to Siberia and is aimed at players leveled between 2 and 6. It follows directly after the Emerald Oubliette (a short mission that is included with the DM screen purchase) but does not require the mission to be played. The only requirement leading into this book is to have played the introductory mission from the core book.

Overall mechanics are the same between the games. They actually are the same across each of the properties, using the same core mechanics but different specific stats and details for each character. That includes Transformers, Power Rangers and My Little Pony! What makes it even better is that Transformers already have a history of crossing over with GI Joe in the comics so it wouldn’t be too far fetched bringing them into a game session if you have both books. Tying in MLP could be a fun way of making a game that all the kids can play with you.

Considering the expansion is completely full of content I feel the $45 price tag is quite reasonable, especially considering you are getting about as much content as you have in the core rulebook. The core book is $55. The only complaints I have about the game are that I need more friends interested in playing the game and that I want to see more miniatures released. The former they can’t help me with but the latter perhaps they will. There is already a single miniature pack that comes with most of the core Joes. Maybe they will even make my dream of a GI Joe full scale war game on the tabletop a reality one day. For now, I will continue dreaming and feel the need as much as possible playing the RPG while I wait.

The heroes of Ulfenkarn have defeated Radukar again but what’s next? Cursed City: Nemesis brings the final chapter to the story!

You’ve made it this far. You’ve defeated Radukar again. What’s next for our heroes? In Cursed City: Nemesis a Necromancer is working to resurrect The Beast and it is up to you to stop the rites. If you’ve made it this far and are feeling confidence perhaps it is premature. Sure there are some missions that allow you to start your next mission inspired but is that enough to secure your victory? I’m thinking inspiration alone will not win this day. The enemies this time around are much less intimidating in appearance but their numbers may just overwhelm you.

So what has been added this time around? Not including a resurrected Radukar, you will be facing Grave Guard, a Necromancer, Vargheists, Wight King, Dire Wolves and a couple other familiar fiends will be returning as well. Compared to your heroes they are much in a one on one fight but their numbers may turn the tide.

Continuing the story is by far the best reason to pick this up however I have two complaints. The first is the resurrected Radukar is using the same stats and model of The Beast. I was hoping for a lager and more intimidating version of Radukar, maybe one that could rival his benefactor Belladamma as the new head of the Vyrkos bloodline? The second complaint is the lack of additional map tiles. Beyond that this is a fantastic addition and I can’t wait to see how we fare against the undead hordes.

GI Joe Deck Building Card Game has released Shadow of the Serpent from Renegade Game Studios, the first expansion pack for the game.

Unlike the recent expansions for the Transformers Deck Building Card Game, Shadow of the Serpent absolutely requires the core GI Joe Deck Building Card Game to play. Cobra is back to their shenanigans where they strive to take over the world. In this expansion they are also hell bent on destroying the Joe’s base of operations. Not only do you have to defend the command center but must build it up along the way.

Players will work together to stop the attacks and eventually defeat Cobra. More importantly you are facing new threats by way of the Red Ninjas and Serpentor himself! Classic heroes and enemies are ready from the get go. With the available bonus pack you can add even more, specifically Snake Eyes who is a personal favorite of mine. Advanced players even have an Expert mode added to the game. Other than new locations and other enemies this expansion really thinks of everything.

Anyone that is a fan of the classic comics or the later IDW issues that continued the storyline will enjoy the art on these carts, even if they don’t enjoy the game as a whole. I found the expansion to be a great addition to an already great game. Did I mention that there is another expansion already out? It’s called Coldsnap and it looks like another great addition to the game. I’m looking forward to checking out that one as well.

Renegade Game Studios has brought a true 80s classic franchise to their deck building games with the Transformers Deck Building Card Game.

The original version of the Transformers Deck Building Card Game has been out for a while now but Renegade Game Studios has released a stand alone expansion along with an additional expansion. A Rising Darkness is the stand alone expansion where you can play as the Decepticons! Infiltration Protocol is the follow up expansion that works with both the core game and A Rising Darkness. It’s a great time to be a Transformers fan.

A Rising Darkness

This expansion works as both a standalone game or to further expand on the core game itself. When added to the core it brings two new modes- competitive and cooperative. This box allows players to exclusively play as the Decepticons but if combined with the core set then they can play Decepticons versus Autobots. For someone like myself who almost exclusively likes the Decepticons then this box is the best bet for them.

Infiltration Protocol

Infiltration Protocol is an expansion that works for both the core game or A Rising Darkness. This box allows you to play three new Autobots and three new Decepticons. It also features six new game modes to further vary gameplay, specifically a one versus many and a team versus team modes to say the least.

Each of these releases were followed by a single bonus pack that can be purchased, adding two MORE bots to the game! If you like Transformers or deck building games then these boxes are for you!