Royally Learning The History of Tarot Cards with Grant Howitt - Boards & Swords #280
AEG guy learns his actions have consequences, Hasbro trying to mess with D&D again, and goodbye Star Wars Shatterpoint? We barely knew thee. Also! We’ve got an interview with Grant Howitt to talk about their newest game “Royal Blood” (https://rowanrookanddecard.com/product/royal-blood-rpg/)!
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News
Tabletop industry veteran Ryan Dancey loses Alderac COO job after saying AI can generate game ideas as good as some of his company’s designs (via Rascal/BoardGameWire)
The COO of AEG (Alderac Entertainment Group) was asked to resign after making comments online that board games are the results of a bunch of churning of the same ideas and making the comment that generative AI could be used to make similar games to some of AEG’s recent hits. Clearly, he hadn’t read the room on the opinions of AI in the tabletop gaming space. Plus, to paraphrase Jurassic Park - doesn’t matter if it could do that, we should be asking if we should be doing that (the answer is no btw).
Halo: Flashpoint – ‘Noble Team’ On Deck And Dropping In April (via Bell of Lost Souls)
“How can Halo: Flashpoint be a long lasting game? There aren’t that many things to make minis off of?” Mantic Games is showing us how they can support this game by putting out MORE Spartan minis to complement the 20+ Spartans you already have painted. This time, its the Noble Team from Halo: Reach. Plus, they are releasing some of the figures that were previously limited to organized play kits. How would you like to get all those figures on the battlefield at once? The Noble Team box also includes rules for double-sized boards for “Big Team Battle” play.
Atomic Mass Games cuts back on Star Wars Shatterpoint, in favor of "flagship" wargames Legion and MCP (via Wargamer)
Atomic Mass Announce Marvel: Crisis Protocol Alliances! (via OnTableTop)
Atomic Mass Games (AMG), convincing me I was right to not buy any of their games, has put out a press release recently stating that they are moving their focus to their “core games”: Star Wars Legion and Marvel Crisis Protocol. Star Wars Shatterpoint, their newest game, will be considered a “specialist game”, which many people online are taking to mean that they will not be supporting Shatterpoint any more. Given the company’s history with Star Wars X-Wing & Armada, this isn’t a baseless opinion.
At the same time, AMG announced that Marvel Crisis Protocol will be getting board game box releases dubbed “Marvel: Crisis Protocol Alliances”. These games will be co-op experiences that give me “Zombicide” vibes. The first one, Night of the Goblin, features Spider-Man and his friends up against the Green Goblin. If they use the core ruleset from MCP, I see this as a good way to get people into that minis game - and get me to buy a box since I wont have to worry about them cancelling a stand-alone box.
‘D&D Beyond’ To Be Rebuilt From The Ground Up (via Bell of Lost Souls)
Hasbro, once again not comfortable with D&D making a lot of money when they could milk it for billions, has announced a roadmap for D&D Beyond. The company plans to rebuild the website “from the ground up”, giving it a more powerful game engine. From the features described on the roadmap, it seems they want to turn D&D Beyond into the kind of Virtual Tabletop that other places like Roll20 and Foundry are already doing. Probably to squeeze even more microtransactions out of players. But the good news? They also finally did away with the 2024 moniker and official called the new rulebooks “D&D 5.5e”.
Fist your friends with this new Warhammer 40k plushie (via Wargamer)
That headline is journalism at its peak. Games Workshop teased some upcoming plush toys with its partner TOMY based in GW’s popular Warhammer 40,000 franchise. The coolest one by far was a wearable plush Power Fist themed around the Ultramarines space marine chapter. This thing looks super cool, and it just makes me want to buy multiples of them and have power fist fights with my friends. Also, I come up with a great fundraising opportunity for the show using one of these. (Get your head out of the gutter!!)
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