We’ve been anxiously awaiting the chance to get our hands on a final copy of The Village Crone, so we know you’ve been waiting too! We got our final production sample delivered the other day and immediately made this unboxing video to share:
While it doesn’t officially release until September 16, we will be previewing The Village Crone in demos at GenCon AND have a limited number of advance copies for sale. If you will be in Indy for GenCon 2015, make sure you plan to come by booth 1949 to get an up close look at this beautiful game and its special promo debuting there.
We hope you’re as excited about this game as we are! Stay tuned for information on a special promotional tour we’ll be taking this Fall to celebrate its release.
GenCon Indy 2015 is fast-approaching and we’re busy getting ready to offer some really fun stuff in our booth (#1949) this year!
First & foremost, we will have The Village Crone out on tables for demos all weekend, as well as Castle Panic with The Dark Titan, Dead Panic, and Bears! with Bears! Trail Mix’d.
We will also have a limited number of advance copies of The Village Crone available each day for purchase. You can get a copy SIX WEEKS in advance of it’s release in mid-September! Come to our booth (#1949) in the morning, as we will only release 100 copies each day.
As if that’s not enough reason to come by the booth, we will have promos for The Dark Titan, Bears! Trail Mix’d, and The Village Crone, so stop by and ask our booth staff. You are definitely going to want to see what we have lined up for The Village Crone!
To read more about our GenCon plans and see what show pricing and demos we will be hosting, visit our GenCon Page on our website.
We’re really excited to see you all in Indianapolis in just a few weeks! Please come by to say hi, play a game, pick up a promo, and meet some of our great volunteers in the new Torch Program!
The July 4th Holiday weekend is upon us once again and what better time to introduce your friends and family to some new games?
Here is our list of 10 fun, portable, family-friendly games perfect for the picnic table:
1. Bohnanza (Rio Grande Games) – Plant your bean fields and harvest your crops to sell them at market for top dollar. The art is playful, the theme light-hearted, and it’s easy to teach to non-gamers. Plus, it’s fun to declare yourself the Stink Bean Mogul.
2. Sushi Go (Gamewright) –A pass and play card game with deliciously adorable art and fast-paced rounds, this game becomes addicting and will surely be a go-to game for future family gatherings.
3. Red Hot Silly Peppers (Rather Dashing Games) –In this silly game of salsa-making, more is better. Play card combos to make the hottest salsa, but watch out for other players using more ingredients and stealing your points!
4. Telestrations (USAopoly) – Pictorial telephone is the way of this game. Illustrate your clue and pass the book, taking turns drawing and guessing what the clue is. At the end of the round reveal the hilarious interpretations from the group.
5. Gravwell (Renegade Games) – Use the elements to escape the blackhole and boost your spaceship closer to the safe zone. Watch out for dead ships and other players using the forces of gravity to advance their own ship past yours. There’s actual science behind this one, so go ahead and geek out a bit.
7. Roll for It (Calliope Games) – Roll your dice and stake a claim to the cards that match your rolls. Go all in to score big, or go for the sure bet and watch your winnings stack up steadily. Play as many rounds as you like with this portable, easy to learn, dice game.
8. Bang! The Dice Game (Da Vinci) – The Wild West is alive and well in this dice game of hidden identities and flying bullets. Roll the dice and play them against the bandits or the Sheriff, depending on whose side you’re on. Careful, there’s the quick and then there’s the dead, so stay on your toes to survive this standoff.
9. Citadels (Fantasy Flight Games) – Fortune and city-building, with some good old-fashioned intrigue, this game requires a balance between long-term strategy and short-term opportunity. Choose your identity carefully each round to secure the wealth needed to build your city with an and come out on top.
10. Mag Blast (Fantasty Flight Games) – Who needs diplomacy when you have laser-blasters? Captain your own fleet of inter-galactic ships, using your cards strategically to take out your opponents before they reduce you to space junk.
What are your favorite games to break out at the family picnic? Share in the comments below!
The latest threat to your woodland fun isn’t marching toward the Castle, it’s invading your campsite, and game stores everywhere, today. The brand new expansion to Bears! is now available!
Bears! Trail Mix’d is a single die expansion to our fast-paced, dice-pairing game Bears! and changes up the game play by introducing 6 new rules to shake up your strategy and keep you on your toes.
This expansion easily fits into the base game box and is fully transportable to your next summer picnic or bonfire. Be sure to pick up your copy before the July 4th family reunion and get the whole family involved in the frantic, fun, and addictive experience of gaming.
Bears! Trail Mix’d is rated for ages 7 and up, retails for $4.95, and requires Bears! to play. Ask about it at your Friendly Local Game Store.
In this article, Anne-Marie De Witt, CEO of Fireside Games and designer of a hefty percentage of our products, shares some insights on the product development cycle and compares the design processes for Bears! Trail Mix’d (releasing June 24) and The Village Crone (due out this fall).
How long does a game take to design from initial idea to publication?
Quick Answer: It varies widely.
Real, In-Depth Answer: When planning a game, we try to keep to a one-year development cycle. The longer a game takes, the higher the expenses and the higher the sales need to be. However, a game that hits all of the right deadlines and turns out to be no fun won’t sell or cover its costs either. The best course is to pursue the game design diligently, know when it’s working, and be willing to kill it when it’s not. A game isn’t worth publishing if it isn’t strong. There are too many great games on the market to invest money in a mediocre idea.
The shortest development cycle we have had was 8 months, which was for Bears! The concept came rapidly and was refined almost to its end state as I wrote it out for the first time. The whole game design process took just 2 weeks. Art development, graphic design, and layout took about 4 weeks. The remainder of the time was spent in manufacturing, shipping, warehousing, and fulfillment.
It actually took longer (10 months) to develop Trail Mix’d, the expansion to Bears!, because the game design was harder to nail down. If I had trusted my instincts, it would have taken a shorter amount of time, but I spent some time chasing down other solutions that didn’t pan out. In the end, though, the assurance I have in my final design was probably worth the time spent even though I could have gotten it to market more quickly.
Knowing what constitutes your initial idea can be tricky as well. After working on different approaches to a witch game for a couple of years, I couldn’t get it feeling right. I hadn’t worked on it for several months when the inspiration for The Village Crone hit me while training a volunteer for GenCon 2014. I excused myself and asked Justin to take over so that I could write it down before I forgot it. The game design evolved tremendously from that flash of insight and required the sacrifice of almost all of the guiding mechanics.
Although I look to that day of inspiration as the beginning, you could argue that it started years before and required substantial stewing before it was ready or that its start date was closer to its current incarnation. By the time the manufacturing and fulfillment are complete, getting that game to market will have taken 13 months (ironic for a game in which the winner is the first person to score 13).
Because of the uncertainty in the game design stage and the necessity of it being as solid as possible, most publishers prefer to license games. The designer sinks all of the time in that phase and is compensated based on a percentage, tying his or her return to the strength of the sales. Not only does that help the publisher control costs but it also helps to create a more predictable product development cycle. Of course, unforeseen problems in the publication process (such as strikes by dock workers) can and do occur. But having a plan in place allows you to steer through the obstacles and hit the right time from initial idea to publication to ensure the highest degree of success.
What a way to start the summer! We returned to Origins Game Fair in Columbus, OH after a few years away and were greeted with warm smiles from eager gamers.
The quiet before the rush.
When the hall opened on Thursday morning there was a steady stream of attendees getting their first look around the hall and we even had a few beeline straight to make their Bears! Trail Mix’d purchase. This expansion to our fast-paced, dice-pairing game Bears! doesn’t officially release until June 24, but we had a stash of advance copies and people weren’t shy about snagging one of their very own.
We had a lot of interest in The Dark Titan expansion to Castle Panic and kept that demo table running regularly most of the weekend. There were many Castle Panic first-timers sitting down so they got to experience the true panic the expansion brings to the game. The ratio of wins to losses was pretty evenly matched and everyone seemed to actually enjoy the anxiety brought by the new Monsters and Agranok.
Edgar taught a 6-player group how to fend off Agranok in this Castle Panic and The Dark Titan demo.
There was a heightened interest in Dead Panic so we cracked open a copy for the second demo table and that one stayed full most of the weekend as well. We had a fantastic play through with a young gamer and her dad. She was a boss at taking out zombies with her chain saw and there were a lot of smiles in that apocalypse.
Our favorite zombie apocalypse survival team of the weekend.
The best thing about doing game conventions is all the familiar faces and the new friends we make, and this year’s Origins Game Fair was no exception. We want to thank everyone who came by the booth to say hi, pick up the latest promos, and take a copy of a game home with them.
New game promos included a 6th Level Agranok card for The Dark Titan and an Alarm Clock for Bears!
If you missed out on the 6th Level Agranok promo or the Bears! Alarm Clock, don’t worry, we’ll have them at other shows this year. Check out our Calendar for future appearances.
We hope to see many of you in July at GenCon in Indy. (We’ll have The Village Crone on the table there, as well as a special promo you’ll want to be sure to pick up.) We’ll be in booth #1949.
We are returning to Origins Game Fair this year! We invite you to stop by our booth (#839) to check out the latest games and promos, get in a demo, and update your game collection with our new releases.
The Dark Titan released in April and has been very popular among Castle Panic fans. (Did you know you can combine it with The Wizard’s Tower as well for maximum panic?!) Bears! Trail Mix’d doesn’t actually release until late June so you can score an advance copy at the show!
We have special promos for the new games as well, so you’ll want to be sure to come to booth #839 to pick up the latest game swag to make all your friends jealous.
Summer is approaching, and with it family gatherings and camping trips. What better way to add some extra fun to your outdoor adventures than with a portable, fun, family game?
Bears! Trail Mix’d introduces a new die with six new faces, each triggering a new scoring rule/strategy for each round of the game. Add this to your existing copy of Bears! to really shake things up and test your speed and decision-making in the heat of the moment.
Bears! and Bears! Trail Mix’d are easy to teach your non-gaming friends and family. Fast play time keeps everyone engaged and gets even the shyest member of the family shouting “Bears!” at the end of a round.
Kris and Maureen were on location this past weekend at Who’sYerCon in Indianapolis, IN to share The Dark Titan and kick-off recruiting for our new volunteer corps, The Torch Program*.
We arrived on Friday afternoon and found the con already in full swing with the game library hopping and the open gaming area full. We saw several familiar faces and met lots of new friends.
Agranok tried to scare us up some Torch applicants and managed to hypnotize a few fans of our games that first night. We moved to the open gaming room around 8pm and played games until 11, giving some new players a chance to tackle The Dark Titan.
Saturday morning came and after scavenging for breakfast we headed back to the Wyndham Indianapolis West to meet some more gamers, recruit some more volunteers, and play some more games. We got to tell a bunch of people about the Panic Line and saw our games coming and going from the game library all day. That evening we played some Dead Panic as well as Castle Panic with The Dark Titan.
Who’s Yer Con is a free gaming convention that is open to anyone who wants to play. It has a very friendly, laid-back vibe and every one we met was a having a great time. We hope to get a chance to get out and do this con again in the future.
*We’re working on a web page for The Torch Program, so if you are interested in volunteering and teaching Fireside Games games to others stay tuned as we bring the application process to a computer near you! Also feel free to ask about the program when you see us in person at events coming up this summer!
We’ve been playing the new Castle Panic expansion, The Dark Titan, a lot recently with the official release date, the launch party, and International TableTop Day. We’ve noticed some players appreciate having a little help keeping some of the new rules in mind when they face one of the new Monsters.
We totally understand, these new threats are scary! To help you out we have more than just the Cavalier and Support Tokens. We have How to Play videos!
The official The Dark Titan How to Play video covers it all, but if you need some specific help check out these handy break-out videos dedicated to specific topics. You can also review the rulebook on the pages listed below for each new element.
1. Support Tokens – want a quick overview of how these guys work for you? Check out pages 8-9 of the rulebook and watch this:
2. The Cavalier – this fancy new defender has several special rules that apply to him. You can learn more in the rulebook on pages 4-5 and in this video:
3. The Boom Troll – support is all well and good, but what about those new threats? Learn what the Boom Troll will do in this video and on page 7 of the rules:
4. The Dark Sorceress – She’s one tough lady! Her effects are lasting. You can read about her on page 8 and in this video:
5. Agranok, The Dark Titan himself! – No matter which of the 5 levels of Agranok you face, he is sure to make your day a little tougher. He and his heralds are covered on pages 6-7 in the rulebook and by Justin in this video:
Just in case you want even more panic in your game, you CAN play The Dark Titan with The Wizard’s Tower expansion! That’s a lot of Monsters, but you can do it. We believe in you. For instructions on how to incorporate both expansions in your Castle Panic gameplay watch Justin’s video on playing the two together:
We had representatives on the ground at two additional events for International Table Top Day this year. We’re excited the growth of the company has provided us the additional staff so we can play games with more people in more locations on more occasions in the future.
The Flame Hat made its debut at The Malted Meeple for International TableTop Day. Pretty swank, huh?
First up, we started the day in Hudson, OH with Kris and Maureen on location at The Malted Meeple, a gaming cafe that offers a wide variety of snacks and beverages (craft beers and sodas, and hand-crafted milkshakes!) as well as an extensive game library. Kris debuted the Flame Hat in her intro video for the event. You can watch it in action below:
The Malted Meeple main gaming area. This area was packed all day!
We got set up in an event space off the main room around 11 AM and there were already several gamers at other tables enjoying games. We were set up to handle demos of Castle Panic with The Dark Titan, as well as Dead Panic and Bears! Partway through the day they broke out a copy of Munchkin Panic to show a few gamers how they were different and get a couple more demos underway.
We were running multiple demos all day. Our tables were always full!
Aside from the event room we had copies of the games out at tables in the main room among the throngs of people who kept the staff at The Malted Meeple hopping all day with milkshake orders and lots of snack prep! There was rarely an empty table and the place stayed full well into the evening. Maureen even played a couple of raucous games of Bears! right at the bar!
A rare moment you could actually see the bar, they were so busy all day and even had to call in extra staff!
It was great fun to see our games making the rounds and meet some big fans who came out specifically for Castle Panic swag. We even got to see our Troll coasters all over the place with each drink order!
Image courtesy of The Malted Meeple. Our Troll coasters in action!
Next up, a few hours later and entire time zone away, Edgar and Gabby were at Dragon’s Lair Comic & Fantasy in Austin, TX for their in-store event!
They ran several demos of Castle Panic with The Dark Titan as well as a few with Castle Panic and BOTH The Dark Titan and The Wizard’s Tower expansions! Edgar also ran some people through some exciting games of Bears! They ran out of space and time as the tables remained full all day, but managed to talk to a lot of people about the upcoming Bears! Trail Mix’d expansion to Bears! as well as the forthcoming The Village Crone, expected out this fall.
Image courtesy of Dragon’s Lair Austin Edgar giving the Castle Panic + The Dark Titan + The Wizard’s Tower demo
Dragon’s Lair is an awesome store and they planned a big event with several game companies represented and lots of open gaming happening. The staff there was very accommodating and supportive and the event attendees were great fun. There were even a few people who survived The Dark Titan! It was a long day full of fun, Castle destruction, and awesome people.
We look forward to future events at Dragon’s Lair and hope to see more of the Austin gaming community out at events like this. Thanks to the folks at Dragon’s Lair and The Malted Meeple for helping us have such a successful International TableTop Day!
Kris & Maureen will be back at The Malted Meeple later in the month as we are in their Publisher Spotlight this month. So if you are local in Ohio and missed TableTop Day you get a second chance at the fun. Check our calendar and watch our Facebook for information on the next visit.
You’ll be seeing more of Edgar as well as he heads up our new volunteer corps, The Torch Program. If you are interested in becoming a volunteer for Fireside Games, we are currently actively recruiting for the Austin area as well as for GenCon 2015. Contact us for more details.
Anne-Marie and Justin took a whirlwind trip to LA to attend the flagship TableTop Day event at Geek & Sundry’s secret Headquarters in Burbank. The day started off early with people lining up to get in. The “secret” headquarters weren’t so secret with giant, inflatable G&S logos everywhere, so it was pretty easy to find.
Justin and Anne-Marie got there early and were able to see the place while it was still empty. Geek & Sundry has a pretty sweet soundstage to work with!
Since we were sponsors of TableTop Day, we were given a VIP table where we could show off The Dark Titan. We had help this year from local game gurus, Eric Burgess and Devi Hughes. These two were awesome, running demos and keeping players entertained all day long. We couldn’t have done the event without them! Plus Eric brought famous strawberry donuts from The Donut Man, which of course Justin had to try.
Before long, the doors were open and gamers came flooding in! Tables were filled and many games began. People were excited to try The DarkTitan, but a lot of the people that came by the table hadn’t played Castle Panic yet at all. They soon realized they were getting a special treat when the designer of the game taught them how to play!
Devi gets some players started on a game of Castle Panic with The Dark Titan.
Felica Day kicked things off with a quick speech and was there all day playing games with people and shaking hands. Geek & Sundry had a library where players could check out games, as well as a merchandise booth where you could get a drink or pick up some sweet G&S swag!
While Eric and Devi taught some demos, Justin and Anne-Marie went out into the crowd to visit with fans and take in the whole event. We found some Bears! players, and Anne-Marie was able to teach the game to them, but she didn’t get the highest score that game!
There was a photo op with a couch and cutout of Felica Day that got a lot of attention that day as well as a Loser’s Couch. Here our buddy Patrick from Crash Games poses with a group of players that were defeated.
It was a great time with a great feel to it. Justin took this panorama shot standing in the middle of the soundstage, which kind of gives you a little bit of the feel of the whole thing.
Click to enlarge
The event was so large, they had to extend it out of the soundstage and into a tented area in the parking lot. And it was NEVER empty.
We also encountered a group of Munchkin players diving into the world of Munchkin Panic, so we stopped to talk with them. Once they realized they were talking with the designer of the game, they wanted to get their photo taken with Anne-Marie. It was a lot of fun to meet fans of our games at this event, since so many of them are new to gaming they are very passionate and very excited to meet the creators in person.
There were also 3 food trucks at the event providing Hawaiian shaved ice, Japanese-style hotdogs and gourmet grilled cheese. The lines may have been long, but it was worth it.
Later in the afternoon, Wil Wheaton arrived and thanked everyone for coming. It’s fun to see how drawn to him people are, and he really does make a great ambassador for gaming. He was running a live stream on Twitch that should be available shortly, and we’ll let you know once we have access to that.
We ran a bunch more demos and made a lot of players happy. Even if Agranok did crush their towers, players still left with smiles on their faces.
Eventually though, 6:00 rolled around, and it was time to close down the event. Wil and Felicia gave a very nice closing speech reminding everyone that this hobby brings us all together like nothing else and also pointing out that this year TableTop Day was celebrated on every continent on the planet, including Antarctica! It was really great to be a part of something so big, and we hope everyone had a blast playing games with old friends and new ones. Thanks to everyone that helped organize an event, or just joined one to make it more fun!
We are honored to be the featured publisher for The Malted Meeple’s Publisher Spotlight in the month of April.
The Malted Meeple is a new game café that recently opened up in Hudson, OH, not too far from where our Marketing Manager, Maureen, is based. The Malted Meeple is owned by the fine folks who also own and operate Ravenwood Castle in New Plymouth, OH.
The Malted Meeple offers snacks, hand-crafted milkshakes, and craft beers alongside their selection of board games you can play on-site with your party. This is a family-friendly environment and they encourage gaming for all ages. We are really enjoying this growing trend of game cafes and encourage you to seek one out in your neighborhood for a fun dining/gaming combo experience.
In honor of our spotlight, The Malted Meeple is showcasing some of our games this month and Kris and Maureen will be heading out to their location on International TableTop Day on Saturday, April 11 to play games with patrons and hand out some fun promos.
If you are in the area we invite you to join us on April 11 for a fun day full of games, milkshakes, and good friends!
We met the Malted Meeple/ Ravenwood Castle team last year in person after email correspondence and fun social media banter. They have grown to be fast friends of ours. We are happy to be able to participate in their new endeavor and to welcome another great place to get together and play games to our growing list of game stores around the country.
Ravenwood Castle (New Plymouth, OH) is run by the same family. A great place for a getaway and some gaming in a real castle!
This year for International TableTop Day we are spreading the love of gaming around by participating in several TableTop Day events.
Justin and Anne-Marie got called up to the big leagues, folks! They will be in Burbank at Geek & Sundry’s flagship party to teach Castle Panic fans all about The Dark Titan. It will be our first time at the TableTop studios and we’re excited for this opportunity.
We will also have official representatives at two other locations around the country to celebrate this gaming holiday in style.
Edgar, our new Volunteer Program Coordinator, and several of our awesome volunteers will be at Dragon’s Lair Comics & Fantasy in Austin, TX sharing our games and getting to know the local Austin area gamer community. If you are in or around Austin, be sure to stop by and say hi and welcome him to the Fireside family!
Kris and Maureen will be at The Malted Meeple in Hudson, OH. The Malted Meeple is a newly opened gaming café that serves fancy milkshakes and craft beer alongside gaming fun. They are featuring Fireside Games in their Publisher Spotlight for the month of April, so if you like our games and are partial to ice cream or beer, you should swing by and see what they have to offer. (Kids are very welcome, it is a family-friendly atmosphere.)
We will be showing off The Dark Titan, the brand-new expansion to Castle Panic. We’ll have other games in the Panic Line available as room and interest allow. Castle Panic was featured on TableTop in 2013. You can watch the episode if you haven’t seen it yet to get up to speed on the base game in preparation for this year’s events.
Our special Castle Panic towers are exclusive to International TableTop Day and are included in the retailer kits distributed before the event. Ask your FLGS about them and the other awesome swag included in those kits. We will also have our special Level 6 Agranok promo cards for The Dark Titan at the events we’ll be attending, so be sure to ask for one if you see one of our representatives.
We want to see what you’re playing and who you’re playing with! You can use the official International TableTop Day hashtags #GatherYourParty and #tabletopday to tag your photos, or tag us using @firesidegames, #CastlePanic, #TheDarkTitan, #DeadPanic, or #MunchkinPanic.
Let’s fill the world with fun on Saturday, April 11, 2005 and show everyone how awesome boardgames are!
It’s official, The Dark Titan is now available everywhere! Last Saturday, we headed out to local Austin store, Wonko’s to celebrate the release of this highly-anticipated expansion to Castle Panic.
We started up our first few games and then took a brief break to slice up another one of our now famous cakes! Jarred once again went above and beyond by creating a fabulous cake featuring the Dark Titan himself, Agranok, looming out of a Castle-shaped base. Agranok was chocolate-covered Rice Krispies, and the cake was chocolate with cherry filling. The towers were ice cream cones filled with cake, so the entire thing was edible. To top it off, Jarred placed two small containers in the cake that when filled with dry ice and water caused spooky smoke to flow out over the Castle, just like the cover of the game!
After being devoured in his delicious cake form, the Dark Titan came back for revenge in board game form! Game after game saw walls crushed and towers destroyed as players felt the wrath of Agranok!
Agranok was defeated in our first game and the Castle survived, but our next game wouldn’t fare so well. Once again our villain showed no mercy to children, as these excited young gamers were about to find out when he made his way into their Castle along with a few Heralds for backup.
As the afternoon went on, we started up new games to let players try their hand at the new expansion. Here, Anne-Marie gets a family up to speed before they dive in.
In between games, Justin and Anne-Marie signed copies of the base game as well as both expansions. Wonko’s could barely keep up with demand as they sold out of The Wizard’s Tower and The Dark Titan was flying off the shelf! The day ended with many happy gamers going home with new games, promo cards, happy memories, and bellies full of cake. We wish all our fans out there the best of luck in taking on this newest challenge. Here’s to many more successful battles and saved Castles!
