February brings lots of board game and TTRPG news. These include new Stonemaier games and expansions, a fantastic deal on Pathfinder books from Humble Bundle, and a new Five Parsecs book top our news this week.
Scythe Expeditions
Our Board game news kicks off with Stonemaier Games. The company has announced two new titles so far this year: Expeditions a standalone game set in the Scythe universe. The game works with 1-5 players and is called “a competitive, card-driven, tile-exploration, engine-building sequel to Scythe.” Here’s a blurb from Stonemaier Games:
Expeditions sends players on a new adventure into Siberia, where a massive meteorite crashed near the Tunguska River, awakening ancient corruption. An expedition led by Dr. Tarkovsky ventures into the taiga to learn about the meteorite and its impact on the land. Itching for adventure, heroes from the war privately fund their own expeditions to Siberia, hoping to find artifacts, overcome challenges, and ultimately achieve glory.
Expeditions is a competitive, card-driven, engine-building game of exploration. Play cards to gain power, guile, and unique worker abilities; move your mech to mysterious locations and gain cards found among the tiles; use workers, items, meteorites, and quests to enhance your mech; and use power and guile to vanquish corruption.
Tapestry: Fantasies & Futures
The second title from Stonemaier this year is Tapestry: Fantasies & Futures. This is the third expansion for Tapestry and was designed by Chris Scaffidi and Mike Young. The latest expansion brings new tech, new civilizations, and rules to tie all Tapestry expansions together for cohesive play.
Here is more information from Stonemaier Games:
In this third and final expansion to Tapestry, 10 new civilizations, 6 advanced capital city mats, 38 new tapestry cards, and 12 new tech cards are accompanied by a comprehensive rulebook that organizes all rules for Tapestry and the 3 expansions in one place (as well as a few replacement cards from previous expansions: 3 landmark cards, Oil Paint, and Migration). Some of the new tapestry cards include a new “charm” mechanism that provides one-time bonuses; some new tapestry and tech cards include exciting payoffs reserved for the final income turn. Fantasies & Futures is fully compatible with any combination of the core game, the other Tapestry expansions, and the natural rubber playmat. It is packaged in an eco-friendly, recyclable envelope.
Pathfinder Humble Bundle
If you’ve been wanting to explore the Pathfinder system, now is the time. Paizo is offering a “pay what you want” Humble Bundle of PDF Pathfinder books that will keep you entertained for years to come. The company is really going a long way to court new fans and it seems to be working. I see Pathfinder and Starfinder books flying off the shelves of our local FLGS (Dice House, Shuffle and Cut) lately. Now is the time to get in on this fantastic TTRPG.
Paizo has also announced Starfinder products at 25% off this week on their website. Read more at paizo.com.
Five Parsecs from Home Freelancer’s Handbook
Solo gaming has come a long way in the past few years. Five Parsecs from Home is a great example of how tabletop games have evolved to serve players who may like to game on their own. This adventure war-game puts you in control of a group of space travelers in a tabletop adventures. While the game is usually played with miniatures, a new Freelancer’s Handbook expansion offers rules for playing the game without minis. The expansion also offers “new character options such as two new playable species, psionic characters (and enemies!) and new training and upgrade paths.”
Get the Five Parsecs Freelancer’s Handbook from the Modiphius website.
AEG Announces Let’s Go! To Japan
Board game makers Alderac Entertainment Group (AEG) have announced a new game to launch on Kickstarter called Let’s Go! To Japan. Created by Josh Wood (Cat Lady, Santa Monica), this game captures the excitement of planning for a trip across the globe. Let’s Go! To Japan will launch on Kickstarter in March of 2023. Read more about the game on AEG’s website.
Azul Mini
Can’t get enough of Next Move Games’ Azul? They have just the thing for you: Azul Mini launches sometime this spring of 2023. Portuguese-themed board game Azul was created by renowned designer Michael Kiesling. The game challenges players to decorate a palace with vibrant tiles. Despite its peaceful appearance, Azul is a fiercely competitive drafting game that has captivated board gamers around the world since its release in 2018.
