Hello gamers, once again we’re here to talk about the latest and greatest in tabletop gaming! We’re starting off with an interview with Scott Haring, the Line Editor for CAR WARS.
Abstruse: Would you like to introduce yourself to the readers?
Scott Haring: My name is Scott Haring, and I am now the Line Editor for Car Wars, published by Steve Jackson Games. If that sounds familiar, it's a position I held many, many years ago, which says something about the circularity of all existence, or something.
A: For those out there who don't remember the golden age of gaming, what is Car Wars?
SH: Car Wars is a boardgame designed by Steve Jackson and Chad Irby and published by Steve Jackson Games in 1981. In the game, you design vehicles for combat -- cars, vans, motorcycles -- with armor and weapons, and take to the highways and arenas to battle it out with your friends.
A: So basically something like the video game that came way later called Twisted Metal?
SH: I suppose so. My experience with that game is limited.
A: I know one thing that's come up a lot ever since OGRE, people have been asking about the future of CAR WARS. What do you have planned?
SH: We're reviving the Car Wars line two ways. First, we brought the Classic-scale game back with a reprint of Car Wars Classic, and followed that with the just-released-to-Kickstarter Car Wars Arenas map set. And we just finished production the Car Wars Card Game, a revised edition of a game originally published about 15 years ago. The second way is through Car Wars 6e, a 6th-Edition reboot of the entire game. Same driving and shooting and blowing stuff up, a friendlier game design.
A: So the current Kickstarter is for an expansion to the original CAR WARS?
SH: It's a supplement with five classic Car Wars arena maps, all printed in full scale for the first time ever.
A: And that's just the base funding. What do you have for stretch goals on top of that?
SH: More maps! At $50K, the project funds. After that, we ramp up the number of maps you'll get, with an ultimate goal of 18 arenas!
A: What versions of the game will the maps be compatible with?
SH: We also added a small pack of game counters that our fans requested as a Stretch Goal. All the maps will be the tradiitonal Car Wars scale: 1" = 15'.
A: So let's talk about the new edition. How far are you in development for that?
SH: I had a version that was worth demonstrating back at the end of last year. I took it to BoardGameGeek.con in Dallas/Fort Worth and showed it off. I think the game basics are good, but I still need to put it together into a rulebook I can get to playtesters.
A: What changes can we expect in the new edition so far?
SH: At the very first meeting about the 6th Ed. when they hired me, I told them I wanted to use just three stats: Vroom!, Rat-A-Tat!, and Crash! That is, movement, combat, and damage. Well the game ended up being a little more complicated than that, but my original design goals -- easy to learn, quick to play, but with all the speed, excitement, and violence inherent in the premise. So far, so good.
A: My editor Nordling wanted to make sure I asked if you'd still be able to do the Bootlegger?
SH: Yes, the Bootlegger Reverse is still in the game. As are all the maneuvers you know and love, the Swerve, the Drift, the Fishtail.
A: Will you support larger vehicles like buses?
SH: I'm not sure the first game will include them, but they're just too much fun to not include. That's one of my design principles on this: if the fun outweighs the difficulty, find a way to get it in.
A: Do you have any production in mind yet? Stand-up pawns, plastic miniatures, things like that? Or is that later on down the line in development for you?
SH: I'm thinking about it. We had some success with standing cardboard silhouettes placed in plastic bases, but I would also love to have full 3-D models if we can make it work.
A: That's what Kickstarter stretch goals were made for. More awesome! Back to CAR WARS ARENAS, Are the maps and arena scenarios compatible with the old 1980s version of CAR WARS I might have in my attic? Or will I need to get the current CAR WARS CLASSIC to use them?
SH: Well, both are true. The recent edition of Car Wars Classic is the same scale as all the stuff in your attic, which is all the same scale as the Arenas.
A: Will the 6e be the same scale?
SH: No. We wanted something bigger so the playing field would be more visually exciting. Doesn't seem like it'd be too hard to reuse the maps. The corners will just be a bit tighter if 1" = 10ft Another thing we're looking at is an open table, with templates to guide movement. No maps, no grid.
A: So something closer to the various miniature space games like D&D ATTACK WING or X-WING MINIATURES?
SH: Those and a number of other games that have done it over the years.
A: Yeah, I think technically WARHAMMER did it first with tape measures...
SH: Mechwarrior, too, I think.
SH: So CAR WARS CLASSIC is a reward level on the Kickstarter. Since it's based on an older-era tabletop wargame technically (and I grew up with Avalon Hill games), how hard is it for a modern tabletop player to pick up those rules? I still have nightmares about cardboard chits sometimes thanks to Avalon Hill...
SH: There's no denying that Car Wars is, at its heart, a classic wargame. About the only thing missing is a CRT (Combat Results Table, for you whippersnappers. But there are a lot of differences, too, and players who are into the most complicated EuroGames definitely have the chops to enjoy Car Wars Classic.
A: So if I can handle CASTLES OF BURGUNDY, I can probable grok CAR WARS?
SH: Yeah, I think so.
A: Do you plan to keep running two separate lines for CAR WARS - CLASSICS and 6E?
SH: We're still at the mercy of the market. We treaded lightly with Car Wars Classic, but sales were very encouraging and remain strong. This Kickstarter for Car Wars Arenas is another test that will tell us whether the market wants to see us expand the Classic line. And 6th Ed.'s success as a line will depend on the Kickstarter response for the initial release. We shall see.
A: You're already half-funded in, what, a single day? I'd call that encouraging. (Note: It is now 150% funded.)
SH: Indeed. It's a great start.
A: Any final thoughts about CAR WARS ARENAS and why our readers should pledge?
SH: Car Wars Arenas will give players a bunch of new arenas to duel on that we have never offered at full scale before. It will add variety as well as a wide range of tactical challenges to keep your duels at the very heights of excitement and skill.
The Kickstarter is funded with more stretch goals to unlock before it ends on April 29!
Hasbro’s COO Brian Goldner brought up DUNGEONS & DRAGONS during the company’s quarterly earnings call, a rarity for the roleplaying game line and especially unique as it was mentioned before Hasbro classics such as Risk and Scrabble. He described the game as “really on a tear”. Of course, as COO of Hasbro, Goldner probably has no idea the sales spike is due to a new edition of the game launching, but it’s still promising for the hobby when someone in charge of a trillion dollar entertainment empire makes a point to bring up our small hobby. Especially when the DUNGEONS & DRAGONS STARTER SET is showing up in Walmart stores (though for some reason at a price point of $29.98, almost $10 more than the MSRP).
Fantasy Grounds spent the last year making headway into the virtual tabletop market before scoring a coup recently to become the first officially licensed DUNGEONS & DRAGONS 5e digital product.While Fantasy Grounds possesses a user interface and experience for more slick than most of its counterparts, it is also a “freemium” service where you can only take real advantage of the system by purchasing the software or taking on a monthly subscription (free accounts can only play if the GM has an account at the $9.99/mo or $149 one-time level).
Two more odds and ends about D&D. Doubts that we won’t be getting a full update to the Forgotten Realms campaign setting were put to rest by the tag team of Mike Mearls and Chris Perkins, the former of which went to full snark-to-snark combat with the Twitter user “Montgomery Headstrom”.
Our last bit from Wizards of the Coast comes from Dan Helmick, who has begun posting optional rules for an urban fantasy camping by making use of the optional rules from the DUNGEON MASTER’S GUIDE. The biggest juicy tidbit from this is a chart of modern style armor including leather jackets, tactical vests, and forced entry unit suits. On top of that, there are suggested firearm weapon proficiencies for the PLAYER’S HANDBOOK classes and a tease of more to come.
Ah RIFTS...the game everyone wanted to play but didn’t have enough credit hours in Calculus to understand. This dimension-hopping game has been a favorite campaign setting burdened with clunky, early-80s style rules for far too long. Rather than wading through various hacks and kludges on fan pages, Pinnacle Entertainment Group (in partnership with Palladium Press and Evil Beagle Games) announced that an official RIFTS SAVAGE WORLDS game is coming! The release is tentatively scheduled for a core book out around Christmas.
Shane Hensley popped over to the RPGnet forums to clarify some of the speculation going on in the thread. The RIFTS book for SAVAGE WORLDS will be a campaign setting book and require the SAVAGE WORLDS core rulebook (which is only $10 as a digital download). My speculation is that this is to avoid wasting space in what will probably be a very dense book already by repeating rules easily available. Sean Patrick Fannon (SHAINTAR: LEGENDS ARISE, THE FANTASY ROLE PLAYING GAMER’S BIBLE) will be Lead Designer, while Ross Watson (ROGUE TRADER, DARK HERESEY, ACCURSED, and host of the Gamer’s Tavern Podcast) will be Project Manager. The book will be the launch of a line of RIFTS SAVAGE WORLDS products rather than a one-off book, but it will not interfere with Palladium Press’s release of RIFTS books under their current rules system.
If you’re looking for an idea of where Sean and Ross are coming from, well there’s some perfect timing involved as the adventure DARKEST TIDES just came out. This crossover adventure designed by John Dunn brings together the worlds of Shaintar (created by Sean Patrick Fannon) and Accursed (created by Ross Watson) during a massive convergence between the two worlds. Considering that Shaintar’s tagline is “LORD OF THE RINGS meets DIE HARD” and my cover quote for ACCURSED was “It’s like someone secretly slipped RAVENLOFT some PCP”, I’m looking forward to jumping right into this adventure.
Last Christmas, CARDS AGAINST HUMANITY ran their usual Holiday Bullshit promotion where a limited number of people pay them a small amount of money to get a few new CAH cards and other tidbits like pills that block your ability to taste sour things or a Sunday newspaper style insert of webcomics. Last year, they gave everyone ownership of an island. Yes, that means I am a landowner of one square foot of Hawaii 2 (an island in Lake St. George, Maine) along with 250,000 other purchasers. Neighbors, however, have filed suit against the company for violations of zoning ordinances. If found in violation, the company will be forced to pay between $100 and $2,500 per violation per day. Theoretically, they could levy a fine of $650,000,000 daily, since each parcel of land is one “violation”. It should be noted that my deed, at least, has a clause preventing me from developing the land in any way and, should I decide to visit my square foot of land, I would have to take with me anything I bring so as to leave the island pristine. Better than another condo…
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I played the 8-bit side-scrolling card game BOSS MONSTER on Tabletop Day and fell in love. Brotherwise Games has a 160 card stand-alone game BOSS MONSTER: THE NEXT LEVEL that you can also add to the base set or use with any of the previously published expansions. In this game, you’re the boss monster of an 8-bit style side-scroller building your level in order to attract and kill adventurers. Don’t attract enough and another boss will win the game, but attract too many and they may get through and kill you. It’s an incredibly fun and easy to learn game with a lot more strategy than you’d originally think. Only $25 gets you the game for this Kickstarter with a lone stretch goal left to unlock before it ends on April 27.
Stonemaier Games is the master of tabletop board game Kickstarters. Starting with their first game, VITICULTURE and on to their other games, they were the first company to offer a money-back guarantee for Kickstarter backers and a strong approach to their pledge levels that make sure their projects deliver on time and maintain their quality. Previous Kickstarter backers have received premium resource tokens of absolutely gorgeous quality, and now you can get tokens of the same quality yourself with the three new TREASURE CHEST RESOURCE TOKENS. The first has tokens representing different types of food, the second different resources, and the third different energy sources. There’s even a handy chart for which games use which tokens. You get 24 each (rising with every stretch goal) of six different types of tokens in each chest (in a gorgeous box as well). $35 gets you one of the boxes, $67 gets you two, and $89 gets you three (one of each or mix-and-match). This project is fully funded and runs until April 29.
I’m a big fan of cooking shows, so CUISINE A LA CARD looks interesting to me. In this deckbuilding game, the 2-4 players each play a chef attempting to impress a judge. Your cards are your ingredients that you combine in order to make the most appealing dishes to the unique judges of the competition. You can get a copy of the game for $30 if it reaches its funding goal of $15,000 (currently at just under $12,000 at time of writing) by the campaign end date of May 10.
Tabletop gaming and science fandom seems to go hand in hand, so it’s a no brainer that ION: A COMPOUND BUILDING GAME is currently bonding nicely with fans. A fun and education game, you’re attempting to form essential compounds using accurate science. Each of the 2-7 players draws eight cards, plays one, then passes their entire hand to the left. You also have three action tiles you can play in order to gain the elements you need to score points by balancing ions. This game is fully funded and you can get a copy for $19 before the Kickstarter ends on May 6.
That’s it for this week. Next time, I’ll have a review of John Kovalic’s new movie themed game DOUBLE FEATURE and even more gaming news! You can find me on the Gamer’s Tavern Podcast Network, on the Gamer’s Tavern Twitch channel on Saturdays teaching D&D 5e and Sundays playing through the Starter Set or visit our YouTube channel for archives of the streamsl, or on Twitter @Abstruse. You can email me your gaming news at abstruse@gamerstavern.org or you can find me wandering around Comicpalooza in Houston, TX from May 22-25!
