A new Star Wars box, Cry Havoc expanded, and The Networks back on the air – all this and more in the Board Game News Brief.
This box contains 46 new cards for Star Wars: Destiny – two starter decks, essentially – pitting Kylo Ren and Captain Phasma against Rey and Poe Dameron.
There's exciting new cards featuring new Poe, other characters from The Force Awakens, and even Ahsoka Tano from Star Wars Rebels. The game was announced for Force Friday and will be available soon.
Despite being announced almost a year ago, only now are details being revealed for Cry Havoc's first expansion.
The asymmetrical area control game tore up the BoardGamePrices charts last year and remains one of the genre's best entries. Aftermath brings 5 new skills for each faction as well as new structures (including neutral ones) and faction leaders.
These should all mix up the variety and shake up the game, which some critics felt had a 'solved' strategy for each faction. Portal Games promises more details soon! Meanwhile check out Cry Havoc if you haven't – it's still one of my favorite games.
TV network production game The Networks is receiving an expansion as well as a reprint of its base game. The whole shebang (including previous On The Air expansion) is on Kickstarter.
The Executives adds 12, well, Executives to the game. They each have a unique power that will help your network dominate the airwaves – but they also each have a foible that makes them idiosyncratic and possibly even unhelpful!
The Networks has been out of print for some time, so if now's your best chance to grab it.
Wander: The Cult of Barnacle Bay manages to somehow be both action packed and adorable.
A family-friendly co-operative dungeon crawl, play as heroes from the Wanderer's Guild as you fight the Cult of the Deep that has infested Barnacle Bay. Battle bear sharks, otters, and bats as you cast spells, level up, and play through the story campaign.
Next up we have the new Doomtown Reloaded expansion. After a rocky period where the fate of the game was up in the air, the card game of weird west area control has returned with There Comes a Reckoning.
Featuring 96 new cards, each of the game's six factions gets new toys as well as new themes to play with such as Blessed cards and Gadgets. For new players, There Comes a Reckoning also streamlines and clarifies the core rules. Worth a look if you like Wild West card games – of which Doomtown Reloaded is considered one of the best.
Finally we have Champions of Hara.
An adventure board game with both co-operative and versus modes, the world of Hara is dying and you must save it through tactical combat, character progression, and modular map design. Ridiculously gorgeous and incredibly interesting, go have a look at Champions of Hara if you like card-based combat.
This week's Centerpiece is Sugar High Score, a mom and daughter duo who bake up some delicious gaming confectioneries!
The above video shows them baking the dragon purse from Clank!, one of BoardGamePrices' most popular games, with instructions on how to replicate this yourself. Watch Shelby and Stephanie build this 3 foot monster cake and give a quick overview for Clank!
Thanks for reading the News Brief. Be sure to check out Ars Technica's picks for the hottest board games of Gen Con as well as August's most popular games.