Capitalism Be Capitalizing, D&D Drops Like Its Hot - Boards & Swords #285
We've got ad managers denying Satanic board games, D&D flying into outer space, and *possibly* a Dragon Ball Z board game coming to fruition finally. What a time to be a gamer! We're on vacay right now, so enjoy this pre-recorded episode where we go through a bunch of recent news stories before taking a look inside the new Warhammer 40k box and drooling over what's coming soon.
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News
Dragon Ball Z board game may finally escape development hell in new Kickstarter (via Wargamer)
Ever wanted to take 6 turns to launch an attack? Now you can! A Dragon Ball Z themed board game will be launching soon on Kickstarter, allowing fans to play through storylines from the anime using several of their favorite characters. It's been in progress for a long time, and funding on Kickstarter still means there's a long way to go before fans can get their hands on the game. However, I think that if you waited 6 weeks for Goku to finish his spirit bomb, then you can wait a couple more years to play this game for yourself.
Board game fan simulated 36,000 games of Catan and discovered roads are OP (via Wargamer)
Not "all" uses of AI are strictly evil. While the environmental effects can still be pretty big, programming models to run thousands upon thousands of versions of board games like Catan to analyze strategies can be beneficial in some fashion…..right? Well, one person set out to do such a thing, using the game Catan and simulating 36,000 plays of the game to see which ways to play are best. There are plenty of comments ripping this execution apart, but I could see a future where board game designers use AI to supplement actual playtesting to try and tweak the balance of a board game at the end of the development process.
Gamefound wants to throw another successful RPG Party after learning hard lessons (via Rascal)
Gamefound is preparing for a new "RPG Party", where they ask potential creators to apply to their program and get special attention and education on how to develop their games. The goal of the program is to connect indie creators with publishers and companies to give them the resources to help their campaigns succeed, while also increasing the amount of RPG projects that launch on Gamefound. However, I think that Gamefound has great ideas on how to help these creators, but is stumbling on how they execute these ideas, and how many other possible creators could be helped by this "hands on approach".
Avantris' Neon Odyssey is the biggest D&D Kickstarter ever after just one day (via Wargamer)
Legends of Avantris, the popular D&D actual play, is back on Kickstarter with a series of books that are setting new records for D&D content. Neon Odyssey is a trilogy of books that take the popular TTRPG and fling it into space, allowing for you to play out scifi adventures. There's all kinds of products available, from miniatures to merchandise, to even the regular dice (which you can get for FREE by backing physical products). Even if you are on the fence about getting these sourcebooks, given the numbers this campaign is doing, there's a good chance someone in your gaming group has purchased them!
First Dungeon Crawler Carl, now D&D Beyond: the time of the Drop has come (via Rascal)
D&D Beyond subscribers are going to be receiving weekly "drops" of content soon. Instead of waiting for huge sourcebooks to purchase, Wizards of the Coast has announced that players will be getting these small bits of content regularly. The implication is that eventually, these pieces will get assembled into a physical book for people to purchase, but will that actually happen? Seems like an okay addition to the D&D Beyond subscription, but like many things, how this actually gets executed will be the big determining factor.
Oh no, I'm experiencing the consequences of my actions! BoardGameGeek fired their ad manager after said manager denied an ad campaign for a game called "Possess Me, Satan", with the manager siting his religious beliefs and "observations" as the reason behind the denial. Comparing the game to being a sexual predator, the ad manager said that if it were up to them, the game would be removed from the site in it's entirety. The company behind "Possess Me, Satan" took to the internet with screenshots of these exchanges, to obvious and inevitable results.
When you stop producing and/or slow down the development of games outside of TCGs, SURPRISE - you don't make much money in those areas! Asmodee's annual report has revealed that while they are growing in the TCG markets, they aren't making a lot of money outside of those areas. Given how they've stopped games like Decent, put games like Star Wars Shatterpoint into "specialty game" status, this tracks.
AI-generated profiles of TTRPG designers ignite fury across social media (via Rascal)
This story is one to read in depth, because it is so weird and complex. A website called "4 Pillar Games" has popped up recently, showcasing a bunch of TTRPG designers. However, the page contains a LOT of AI generated content, which has got the TTRPG community in uproar. As of right now, the site appears to be more of a tabletop news correlator, which is even more disturbing given how much AI is present on the site. The Rascal article goes into more detail on the players behind the website and their "attempts" to justify their choices, which do little to address any of the internet's concerns. It's a trip from start to finish.
Vampire the Masquerade and White Wolf have had a rough 10 years or so. The company has been disassembled, reassembled, put away and taken out so many times it's like a Lego set. Meanwhile, #booktok and romantasy books are bringing in more and more people into the TTRPG genre, people that normally would never have been exposed to these types of games and Vampire the Masquerade is the type of game that would appeal to those fans. Well, this year at Gen Con, White Wolf is hoping to make a big splash again, celebrating the history of the RPG and returning to the metaplot aspect of the game. I know that Vampire fans really enjoy that portion of the game, so here's hoping that new players will enjoy it just as much.
Dungeons & Dragons at Gen Con 2026 (via DnDBeyond)
Ever wondered what it would be like to have a whole theater building dedicated to Dungeons & Dragons? Well, now you can experience just that at Gen Con this year! Hasbro has booked out the Indiana Repertory Theater, which they are saying contains 6 "D&D-ified floors". There will be events featuring their official actual play series "Dungeon Masters", small D&D encounters to try, and….one or two other events. We're hoping that they showcase more during the event because there's only a few sparse details on the D&D Beyond site. It sounds like one of those ideas that could be really great but a company like Hasbro could botch really easily.
Warhammer 40,000 Armageddon - What's inside???
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