Author: Justin De Witt

Can You Handle the Heat?

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So, you’ve been playing Castle Panic for a while now. You still have a good time, but you are wondering if there is more. Well, I’m here to tell you there is SO MUCH MORE! The Wizard’s Tower is the first expansion to Castle Panic and it really amps up the excitement and challenge of the game. There’s also the not-so-little matter of The Dark Titan, the second expansion that is due out in the Spring of 2015, which brings all new threats and some fun new twists.

But let’s not get ahead of ourselves. Not everyone is ready to tackle the Mega-Bosses right out of the gate. It is a good idea to hone your Monster-slaying skills before taking the leap. If you need some help mastering Castle Panic, check out our How To Play videos in the How to Defend Your Castle post for some pointers from the designer, Justin De Witt.

“How do I know if I’m ready?” you may ask. We’ve put together this helpful guide.

How to Know if You’re Ready for The Wizard’s Tower:

1. You win more often than you lose (if you lose at all anymore), and you often have all or almost all of your Towers still standing.

2. Somebody in your gaming group says, “Castle Panic? Isn’t that a kid’s game?” and you want to shake them up a bit.

3. Fire has always held an allure for you and you want a fun way to play with it without actually getting burned.

4. You find yourself saying, “Oh, it’s just a 3-point Troll” when placing Monsters and long for more variety in your trophies.

5. You wish you had magical powers and have always wanted to face off against a mythical Monster such as a Dragon or a Chimera.

If any of these describe you, you may be ready for The Wizard’s Tower. But be warned, the forest is full of dark and dangerous things and the Castle will be depending on you.

Already playing The Wizard’s Tower? Tell us how/when you knew you were ready to advance. What is your favorite addition to the game from The Wizard’s Tower? Tell us in the comments.

If you are interested in purchasing The Wizard’s Tower, you can do so at your Friendly Local Game Store or through our web store.

How to Defend Your Castle

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How To Play Castle Panic

Been wondering what this Castle Panic game is all about? Now you can satisfy your curiosity with our Official Overview video where Justin gives you a succinct explanation of the objective, the mechanics, and what you need to do to win.

This is also a great video to share with your friends to if you are already a fan of the game and want to get them into it. It does some of the preliminary teaching for you, so you can get straight into playing the game with them on your next game night!

Is your interest piqued? Then may we suggest further viewing satisfaction with our Official How To Play video. In this video, Justin takes you through game setup, the order of play on a player’s turn, and some special Monster tokens that affect how the Monsters behave and even some tokens that interact with the Castle differently than Monsters.

After watching these videos you should be fully prepared to band together with your friends and defend the Castle!

Once you’ve mastered the base game of Castle Panic, you’ll want to consider adding The Wizard’s Tower expansion! It adds magic, fire and more Monsters!

 

Munchkin Panic – Review Roundup

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It’s been a little over a month since Munchkin Panic hit store shelves across the U.S. and we’ve been awed by the outpouring of support and affection for this game! Thank you so much to everyone who has welcomed our latest game into their homes and onto their game tables.

We’ve been seeing reviews for Munchkin Panic popping up all over from blogs to YouTube and wanted to give those of you still considering this game some resources. We think this game is awesome, but as Levar Burton from Reading Rainbow would say, “you don’t have to take my word for it.”

Tom Vasel of The Dice Tower gave it the Dice Tower Seal of Approval and said, “Munchkin fans will be totally at home here.” You can see his video review on his YouTube channel or the review page over at DiceTower.com.

Vince, over at Dad’s Gaming Addiction, states “‘Munchkin Panic’ takes the best parts of both games and mashes them together both elegantly and brilliantly.” He gives it a final verdict of 9/10. You can read his review and check out his video at dadsgamingaddiction.com.

GeekedupGaming‘s Anna and Tim say, “This game is awesome! Add it to your shelf. And your library, because we all have more than one shelf.” Watch their verdict at 45:57 in their YouTube play-through.

The Post Post Modern Dad blog says, “Many of the elements are similar but the execution is vastly different” when comparing Castle Panic and Munchkin Panic. Then states, “This is a really fun and challenging game, one that really can bring members of the family together.”

Dave Banks of Geek Dad says, “…Munchkin Panic may very well be our go-to cooperative game … as long as I am wearing the Sandals of Protection.”

At ObsessiveMommy.com, she quotes her 16-year-old son’s review of the game. “My favorite part about this game is that the objective changes throughout the game. One turn you may want to save the castle to rack up more trophies, and the next you’ll want to sabotage the castle to ensure your win.” He pretty much nails the Mini Expansion with this description. He goes on to say, “I also enjoy how creative this game can get… I really enjoyed this game and I would recommend it to my friends.”

Jonathan Nelson of Gaming Bits says Munchkin Panic “mashes up the best parts of Munchkin with Castle Panic… This is a game that fans of both Munchkin and Castle Panic will love.” He gives it an overall 9/10.

Blogcritics‘s Jeff Provine gives Munchkin Panic 95/100, commending it for how it “brings together the best of two exceedingly different systems.”

Board-Game-Brooke calls Munchkin Panic “One of the Best New Board Games of 2014”. She provides an excellent overview of the changes made to Munchkin Panic from the original inspiration games. She says, “the changes to the game make it more complex and more challenging, plus add some visual and verbal whimsy to the play… I highly recommend the game to anyone who enjoys the concept of Castle Panic and the wacky aesthetics of Munchkin.”

If you’ve been wondering how Munchkin Panic is different from Castle Panic, we recommend checking out Board-Game-Brooke‘s review, as well as checking out our video on the differences, and our blog about all the Panic Line games.

We hope this roundup of the reviews for Munchkin Panic has saved you some internet search time so you get back to playing games. Let us know what you think of the game in the comments section.

Have you written a review for Munchkin Panic or another of our games? Please email us your information for possible inclusion in future roundups.

The Cardboard Vault Reveals Secrets About The Dark Titan

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At BGG.Con 2014, Anne-Marie & Justin sat down with Phoebe Wild from The Cardboard Vault to discuss Munchkin Panic and the just-announced Castle Panic expansion The Dark Titan.

Phoebe catches Justin in a sharing mood and gets him to reveal some secrets about The Dark Titan.

In the video interview Justin gives more detail on how the new Support Tokens work and what some of the new Monsters bring to the game. He also shares some info on how Agranok’s adjustable levels of difficulty work, giving you control over how hard you have to play.

Attention then turned to Munchkin Panic. Anne-Marie explains how Munchkin Panic upends the expectations of Castle Panic players, adding Treasure and Backstabbing to the familiar cooperative style of play.

She goes over how a turn plays out and some of the variations in how you slay Monsters by using Treasure cards and how you use Curses to boost your advantage over the other players. You’ll want to watch this video if you still aren’t quite clear on how the games differ as it gets to the heart of why Munchkin Panic is such fun and how it offers you a new play experience.

Check out The Cardboard Vault’s YouTube Channel for loads of interesting videos from BGG.Con 2014 about all your favorite games.