Around the Web
I see that Tom’s game Phoenicia will be released this summer. Congrats.
The rules for Caylus Magna Carta look good. We may be in a situation ala Puerto Rico and San Juan. After 50+ games (100+ in Caylus’s case), the low/no-luck original somewhat stagnates, but speeding the game up (and adding luck) leads to a lighter game that hits the table much more often. That would be nice.
The Here I Stand two player variant will be published in the next C3I. And I must admit I’m tempted to join the WBC just play in the PBEM tourney.
I’ve added Fortress: Ameritrash to the blogroll. w
Update:
Larry Levy spills more beans about Phoenicia on BGN. I can pretty much add ‘ditto’ to the entire article.
The Tao of Gaming 
I suspect we’ll do some serious high-fivin’ in Columbus, Brian. Your favorite Lehmann game will be coming out in the summer and my favorite will be hitting the shelves at about the same time. But you’ve known about Race for the Galaxy for a while, while I, despite some hopeful indications, didn’t know for sure about Phoenicia until I saw an ad for it on the Geek this morning. Thankfully, none of my co-workers saw me pump my fist in the air or heard my exhultant “Yes!”. It’s got to be the best gaming news I’ve heard in a long time. I was psyched!
Hmm, I guess if we do any celebrating at the Gathering, we really should include Tom!
Larry Levy
March 15, 2007 at 9:35 pm
Honestly, I had despaired about Phoenicia and ‘written it off.’ In retrospect, Scepter of Zavandor’s strong showing probably helped.
Tom has one more title (that I can think of) that I really would like to see published, but these two will hold me for a while. Honestly, I can’t think of too many other “Must haves” scheduled for this year, although I’m sure they are out there.
Brian
March 15, 2007 at 10:17 pm
You can check the 2007 megalist of games:
http://www.boardgamegeek.com/geeklist/20372
I stopped after the first page, but I encourage others to look through it. 🙂
frunk
March 16, 2007 at 1:30 am
I hadn’t given on Phoenicia just yet, but I had resigned myself to the fact that it might never get published. It’s quite a heavy game and the industry was definitely moving away from that direction. It seemed that Tom’s best shot was with an indie, but who knew when the right set of circumstances would occur to allow it? Thankfully, the stars aligned (the success of Zavandor probably didn’t hurt) and I should have my very own copy before long. Good times indeed!
Larry Levy
March 16, 2007 at 8:49 pm
Outpost and Zeptor appeal to different audiences. Phoenicia is clearly better than Zeptor; it’s quicker, more coherent and easier to learn. I’m not sure I like Phoenicia better than Outpost, which is a favorite of mine, but it sure will be easier to get it on the table.
Eric Brosius
March 17, 2007 at 9:30 am
Are you saying that Outpost &Zepter (together) appeal to different audiences than Phoenicia (which I can see) or that Outpost &Zepter appeal to different audiences between the two of them. [I don’t see that at all].
Phoenicia isn’t just a streamlined Outpost, but it seems fairly clear to me that it evolved from that line.
Brian
March 17, 2007 at 5:22 pm
Oh, and that geeklist that Frunk mentioned is worth a look, but it confirms that I don’t have anything particularly compelling in my future. Although some of the wargames are tempting.
Brian
March 17, 2007 at 5:23 pm
Oh, and that geeklist that Frunk mentioned is worth a look, but it confirms that I don’t have anything particularly compelling in my future. Although some of the wargames are tempting.
Brian
March 17, 2007 at 5:23 pm
I’m saying Outpost and Zeptor appeal to different audiences between the two of them. I, for example, love Outpost and am lukewarm toward Zeptor. I know other people who can’t stand Outpost and much prefer Zeptor.
The difference lies in whether you enjoy games where one player can pull out to a big lead early in the game. I don’t mind this sort of game, as long as the decisions are interesting. (Other games in this category are Settlers of Catan, Jenseits, Empire Builder, Titan and McMulti, all of which I enjoy.) It means that every decision matters, even in the first turn. Other people detest this. Zeptor includes substantial “drag the leader back to the pack” elements which I think of as detracting from the game, but which others think of as a plus.
In my mind, Outpost is the novel and Zeptor is the movie adaptation.
Eric Brosius
March 26, 2007 at 11:21 pm
I’m saying Outpost and Zeptor appeal to different audiences between the two of them. I, for example, love Outpost and am lukewarm toward Zeptor. I know other people who can’t stand Outpost and much prefer Zeptor.
The difference lies in whether you enjoy games where one player can pull out to a big lead early in the game. I don’t mind this sort of game, as long as the decisions are interesting. (Other games in this category are Settlers of Catan, Jenseits, Empire Builder, Titan and McMulti, all of which I enjoy.) It means that every decision matters, even in the first turn. Other people detest this. Zeptor includes substantial “drag the leader back to the pack” elements which I think of as detracting from the game, but which others think of as a plus.
In my mind, Outpost is the novel and Zeptor is the movie adaptation.
Eric Brosius
March 26, 2007 at 11:21 pm