Engines of War Builds the Panic

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Engines of War Builds the Panic

022First, the Monsters came crashing out of the Forest hurling Giant Boulders at anything in their path, visiting Plagues on Archers, Knights, and Swordsmen, and banging up against Fortifications and Walls as they rushed to tear down the Castle Panic Towers.

Then, The Wizard’s Tower brought magic, fire, and flying Monsters to mix, and The Dark Titan brought . . . well, the Dark Titan! And his conniving comrades, the Dark Sorceress, the Boom Troll, and Elite Monsters.

Engines of War Builds Panic

Now, Engines of War builds the panic with Monsters rolling back into battle with a Siege Tower, War Wagon, and a Battering Ram. This time, they’re bringing a Shaman, Breathtaker, and Goblin Saboteurs, too. Good thing the Castle defenders have an Engineer on their side to build Catapults, Ballistas, Barricades, Spring Traps, Pits, and Walls.

Engines of War Builds Panic

You’ll have a blast working together to build weapons with Resource Cards that add a new, light economic mechanic to the game. Engines of War can be played with Castle Panic alone or with The Wizard’s Tower and/or The Dark Titan. It plays in an hour, accommodates 1–6 players ages 12 and up, and has an MSRP of $17.95. Look for it in stores this November, and read more about the game here.

Engines of War Builds Panic

Dastardly Dirigibles Demos Galore!

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photo of Dastardly Dirigibles Demos

Dastardly Dirigibles Demos

Break out your goggles, wrenches, and cravats! Game stores across the USA will be hosting free Dastardly Dirigibles demos August 13–14.

Dastardly Dirigibles Demos

Find a participating store near you from the list below and compete to become the heir to Professor Hornswoggle’s airship-building factory!

Arizona: Imperial Outpost Games (Glendale), 602-978-0467

Arkansas: Dragon’s Keep Gaming Room (Fayetteville), 479-249-8888

California: Comic Quest (Lake Forest), 949-951-9668
California: 4 Color Fantasies (Rancho Cucamonga), 855-692-6642

Colorado: Crit Castle Games (Aurora), 303-745-4140

Connecticut: Regency Gaming (Mashantucket), 860-917-1111

Georgia: Heroes and Villains (Warner Robins), 478-322-0004
Georgia: Tyche’s Games (Athens), 706-354-4500

Hawaii: The Armchair Adventurer (Honolulu), 808-843-1250
Hawaii: Other Realms Ltd. (Honolulu), 808-596-8236

Idaho: Gameopolis (Idaho Falls), 208-529-8026
Idaho: Safari Pearl Comics (Moscow), 208-882-9499

Illinois: Titan Games (Peoria), 309-981-5376

Iowa: Games King (Sioux City), 712-224-4238
Iowa: Games Plus One (Davenport), 563-391-1680

Indiana: Better World Books (Goshen), 574-534-1984
Indiana: Secret Door Games (Elkhart), 574-350-2295

Kansas: Boom Comic Shop (Lawrence), 785-856-2709

Maine: All About Games (Belfast), 207-338-9984

Maryland: Canton Games (Baltimore), 410-276-2640
Maryland: Play More Games! Store (Gaithersburg), 240-801-9375

Michigan: Acropolis Games (Adrian), 517-577-6192
Michigan: Nostalgia, Ink (Jackson), 517-784-8955
Michigan: TC War Room (Traverse City), 231-943-0248
Michigan: Warriors 3 Comics & Games (Wayne), 734-895-9069

Mississippi: Dark Knights Gaming (Long Beach), 228-236-7580

Missouri: The Bearded Dragon Collectibles and Hobbies (Independence), 816-427-1264
Missouri: Game Nite (St. Louis), 314-270-8440

Montana: Rooks Comics and Games (Bozeman), 406-556-2153

Nebraska: Hobbytown USA (Lincoln), 402-434-5040
Nebraska: Sparta Games (Omaha), 402-934-8330

New Mexico: Zia Comics and Games (Las Cruces), 575-405-0461

New Jersey: Arcana Toys Games and Hobbies (Washington), 908-223-1120
New Jersey: The Bearded Dragon Games (Bernardsville), 908-502-5112
New Jersey: Elite Battlegrounds (Green Brook), 732-424-0744

New York: Alterniverse (Hyde Park), 845-233-4234
New York: Legendary Realms Games (Plainview), 516-595-7088

North Carolina: Game Theory (Raleigh), 919-787-4449
North Carolina: Red Door Games (Richlands), 910-430-0132

Ohio: Recess (North Olmstead), 440-779-7008

Oregon: Guardian Games (Portland), 503-238-4000
Oregon: Off the Charts Games (Gresham), 503-912-1220

Pennsylvania: Comix Connection (York), 717-767-4871
Pennsylvania: The Game Table Café (Mechanicsburg), 717-695-0836

Rhode Island: Toy Vault Games (Warwick), 401-738-4325

Tennessee: The Game Cave (Hermitage), 615-678-5768
Tennessee: Hobbytown USA (Knoxville), 865-675-8647
Tennessee: Stabler Games & Comics (Oakridge), 865-685-0279

Virginia: The Island Games (Centreville), 515-599-0360

Washington, D.C.: Labyrinth Game Shop, 202-544-1059

Wisconsin: The GameBoard (Sheboygan), 920-453-4263
Wisconsin: Pegasus Games (Madison), 608-833-4263

Read all about the game here.

Star Trek Panic Reviews Are Beaming Up!

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Star Trek Panic Reviews Featured

Star Trek Panic Reviews GameWire

Lt. Uhura: Captain, we are receiving multiple transmissions. They appear to be Star Trek Panic reviews.

Mr. Spock: My sensors confirm they are positively charged.

We are super excited to have launched Star Trek Panic out into the universe and even Mr. Spock agrees it’s a hit. If you aren’t convinced by his cold, Vulcan logic, then maybe these great reviews coming in from around the web will sway you!

Let’s start with this hilarious unboxing video from GameWire, where Pep and Bebo crack open the box and look inside. With both of them being huge Star Trek fans, there is more than a little squee-ing in this one, and it’s really hard not watch this with a huge grin.

 

From there, Vincent Paone at Dad’s Gaming Addiction gives Star Trek Panic an amazing 9 out of 10, adding, “Star Trek Panic fires its phasers in true Trek fashion and then some.” You can read the short review at dadsgamingaddiction.com or watch the whole video with a detailed breakdown of components and rules right here.

 

Over at Bower’s Game Corner, Forrest Bower’s glee is palpable as he exclaims, “A home run, no-brainer. If you’re a Star Trek fan, absolutely check this one out.” He goes on to add, “This might be one of my favorite games of 2016.”

 

Joel Eddy from Drive Thru Reviews has a hard time containing his enthusiasm as well, stating, “It’s really, really fun. It just puts you right into that fun aspect of Star Trek.” He also says, “If you’re a fan of any of the other Panic games I would 100% pick this up.” We couldn’t agree more!

 

Trent Howell of The Board Game Family proudly declares that “Star Trek Panic is a blast!” As a long-time fan of Castle Panic, Trent has to admit “Star Trek Panic now tops the list as my favorite of the “Panic” board games.”

Star Trek Panic The Board Game Family

If you want to boldly go where no Panic has gone before, you can pick up a copy of the game in our store right now. If you’re still not convinced, make sure to visit us at Gen Con this year in booth #743 to play a demo, pick up the exclusive promo card, and get an extra U.S.S. Enterprise with purchase!

Live long and prosper!

Bite the Tooth! Dastardly Dirigibles Reviews Are In!

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Dastardly Dirigibles reviews GeekDad

*Bite the Tooth: to be successful or achieve your goal

The first wave of reviews for Dastardly Dirigibles have arrived, and they are splendid indeed! We are quite pleased to share these with you as we twirl our mustaches with pride.

Ddoplayers.org claims that “Dastardly Dirigibles is a fun game that is easy to learn. With a lot of depth to it.”

Dastardly Dirigibles reviews - DDOPlayers

 

Dave Banks of GeekDad.com quite thoroughly enjoyed the game and specifically calls out how enjoyable it is for players of different ages, “It’s simple enough for young kids to play, while having enough strategy to become a more challenging game for more serious players.” He wraps up with high praise, “Dastardly Dirigibles is a truly enjoyable game that has great art, plays quickly, and encourages laughter in its play, resulting in an all-around great family-friendly game that is definitely worth checking out.”

Dastardly Dirigibles Reviews - GeekDad

 

Marco at Marcowargamer has posted his video review and determines our airship building game to be “a simple, fun filler with a little bit of backstabbing.” Indubitably!

 

Last, but definitely not least, the famous Zee Garcia from The Dice Tower declares, “Thumbs up from me. Check this one out if you enjoy the genre. If you’re looking for a cool card game that gives you a neat new setting, look into Dastardly Dirigibles.”

Many thanks for the kind words! We’ll be posting more reviews shortly, but if you’re already convinced, you can trot on over to our shop and pick up a copy today!

Gen Con Goodness

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Fireside Games Gen Con 2016 Booth Number 743

Final preparations are underway for Gen Con 2016, and we couldn’t be more excited! We’ll have free demos, promos, events, and all kinds of fun!

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Free Demos in Booth #743: Want to check out the latest games from Fireside? This is the best way to make sure you’re taught the rules correctly with friendly people who want to make sure your experience is great. We’ll be demoing Star Trek Panic, Here, Kitty, Kitty!, Dastardly Dirigibles, and Bears! in booth #743.

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Promos for Demos: We’ll also be giving demoers these hard- to-find promos for checking out the games.
Star Trek Panic: Vulcan Mind-Meld
Here, Kitty, Kitty!: Milkshake
Dastardly Dirigibles: Smoke Bomb
Bears!: Alarm Clock

Fireside-2016-Gencon3-Facebook

Heir-On-Stick-Blog-PostExtras: Dastardly Dirigibles winners can pose with the dapper Heir-on-a-Stick to show their win to the world. And purchasers of Star Trek Panic receive a spare U.S.S. Enterprise! It’ll look great on your desk. That is, until you need to replace the one in your game after all of that damage!

Events: This year, Fireside Games is hosting events for the first time! We sold out of our original events within 3 days and opened up more. Just 4 seats remain open. One for Dead Panic, and three for The Village CroneClick here to sign up. After you click on the link, select the Board Game category to find our events. Hope to see you there!

Dastardly Dirigibles Takes to the Skies!

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Dastardly Dirigibles steampunk airship card game

TDastardly Dirigibles steampunk airship card gamehe splendiferous day has arrived! Dastardly Dirigibles, our steampunk airship building card game, is now available everywhere!

Professor Phineas Edmund Hornswoggle, famed airship builder, is retiring and you are an engineer competing to inherit the Hornswoggle factory! Dastardly Dirigibles steampunk airship card game airships

Each airship is made of seven cards, each representing a different part of the airship, such as the nose cone or lift engine.

Whenever a player adds a part to their airship, ALL players MUST add the SAME part, even if it means replacing an existing part. The first player to play all seven parts and complete their airship ends the round, but there’s a catch. Players only score the suit they used the most in building their airship!

Dastardly Dirigibles steampunk airship card game building

Dastardly Dirigibles steampunk airship card game Smoke Bomb promo cardNormally when a new ship is launched it’s tradition to break a bottle of champagne over the bow of the vessel. As much as we’d love to celebrate in that way, nobody likes a wet, sticky card game. Instead we encourage you to visit your local game store or head over to our shop and pick up a copy. And right now, if you get your game from our online shop, or a participating retail store, you’ll get the exclusive Smoke Bomb promo card free with your purchase!

So strap on your goggles and start twirling your moustache, it’s time to become the master of those Dastardly Dirigibles!

The Dark Titan Wins Origins Award!

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Origins Award Winner

OriginsLogo

Origins Game Fair was last week and it was a blast! We had a booth in the Main Exhibit Hall and ran demos of Here, Kitty, Kitty!, Dastardly Dirigibles (releasing July 6), and Star TrekTM Panic® (available now!). Our booth was so busy and we got to see so many familiar faces and make some new friends.

We had the designer of Here, Kitty, Kitty! in the booth playing with attendees and the artist, Tony Steele, was back in the art area drawing cats on boxes for anyone who picked up a copy and asked nicely.

Star TrekTM Panic® received lots of attention and we had demo after demo of excited gamers devouring the latest variation in the Panic Line.

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Saturday of the show happened to coincide with International Panic Day and it was fun to see Social Media explode with posts from Friendly Local Game Stores around the country hosting events in-store to celebrate the day, while we played the latest variation with attendees at the show.

The biggest thrill of the show was at the Origins Awards ceremony Saturday night when it was revealed The Dark Titan, the second expansion to Castle Panic®, was the winner of the Fan Favorite award for the Gaming Accessory category! Thanks fans!

Anne-Marie De Witt, our CEO, accepted the award on behalf of Fireside Games because Justin De Witt, the designer and Chief Creative Officer for the company, was back at home in Texas working on the THIRD expansion. You can expect more news on that game to be coming VERY SOON!

Castle Panic and the first expansion, The Wizard’s Tower, were both Origins Awards Nominees in their respective release years, so you know the whole line is good. Fans really love the toughness of Agranok in The Dark Titan and we appreciate all the support and dedication to this line you, the fans, bring every time you see us at a show or a local game store.

Thanks to all of you for making Origins Game Fair 2016 such a success and so much fun. We’ll see you there next year. And remember… Just PANIC and Play Games!

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June Events – Where to Play Our Games

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Where to play June 2016

June is a great month to get out and play some games! Our games will be available for demos and Play-to-Wins at several conventions around the country this month, as well as being in many game libraries.

You can also check out your Friendly Local Game Store to see what events they have planned and make some new friends over an evening of Dead Panic®.

PrairieCon Manitoba, Canada June 3–5
DieCon Colinsville, IL June 10–12
Origins Columbus, OH June 15–19
International Panic Day Various (click for list) June 18–19
RageCon Reno, NV June 24–26

 

International Panic Day 2016

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Just Panic and Play Games. Celebrate International Panic Day. June 18, 2016

PanicDay-Splash-EventPost
Join us on June 18th when we celebrate International Panic Day (yes, it’s a real thing) the only way we know how . . . with GAMES!

You can participate in the fun by visiting one of the stores listed below that will be providing FREE demos of the various games in our Panic Line. You can also host a game day with your friends and help spread the Panic!

If you are playing our games that weekend, please tag us in your social posts with #PanicDay and let’s see how far we can get this thing to go.

Don’t forget we have lots of helpful How To Play videos on our YouTube Channel if you run into a tricky situation and need a little guidance. There’s no shame in asking for a little help, especially when you are clearly panicking!

And don’t forget our special Panic Line Bundle will be available starting June 18! It includes one copy each of Castle Panic®, Dead Panic®, and Munchkin® Panic®. Each of these variations offers a different set of objectives and gameplay twists for a variety of game play experiences each time you sit down at the game table.

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Each game in the bundle comes with an EXCLUSIVE promo piece only available in this bundle and the bundle is only available through brick and mortar game stores!

RETAILERS! Are you hosting an in-store event? Not on the list below? Contact Us and let us know so we can add you to the list!

STORE NAME LOCATION
Dragon’s Keep Gaming Room Fayetteville, AR
Imperial Outpost Games Phoenix, AZ
Game Kastle Fremont, CA
Crit Castle Games Aurora, CO
Dragon’s Lair Wallingford, CT
Emerald City Clearwater, FL
Smallville Hobby Store Macon, GA
Tyche’s Games Athens, GA
The Armchair Adventurer Honolulu, HI
GameQuest Fort Wayne, IN
Game Preserve Indianapolis, IN
Better World Books Goshen, IN
Secret Door Games Elkhart, IN
TableTop Game & Hobby Overland Park, KS
Boom Comic Shop Lawrence, KS
A+ Comics and Games Lexington, KY
Hobbytown USA Frederick, MD
Brainstorm Comics & Gaming Frederick, MD
Acropolis Games Adrian, MI
TC War Room Traverse City, MI
Game Nite St. Louis, MO
Dark Knights Gaming Long Beach, MS
maCnarB Gaming Gautier, MS
Penta Smite Gaming Pearl, MS
Red Door Games Richlands, NC
Spielbound Omaha, NE
The Game Shoppe Bellevue, NE
Arcana Toys, Games, and Hobbies Washington, NJ
Elite Battlegrounds Green Brook, NJ
The Game Room Store Woodbridge, NJ
Alterniverse Hyde Park, NY
Legendary Realms Games Plainview, NY
Rockin’ Rooster Comics & Games Cincinnati, OH
Six Feet Under Games New Holland, PA
The Temple Games Pawtucket, RI
The Game Cave Hermitage, TN
The Next Level Games Madison, TN
Clockwork Games & Events College Station, TX
The Island Games Centreville, VA
Leesburg Hobbies & Collectibles Leesburg, VA
The Compleat Strategist Falls Church, VA
Diversified Games Chehalis, WA
Pegasus Games Madison, WI
The GameBoard Sheboygan, WI
Lost Legion Games & Comics, The Rifleman South Charleston, WV

That’s A LOT of places to PANIC! We hope you can join us for the fun.

Let us know what games YOU’LL be playing on International Panic Day in the comments!

Panic Line Bundle with Exclusive Promos

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Special Panic Line Bundle with Exclusive Promos! Available June 18th

Have you been considering picking up the Panic Line? Want to try all the different variations for the unique experiences they provide, but don’t know which one to start with? Well, we’ve got you covered with the special Panic Line bundle coming June 18!

panic-line-bundle-image

The Panic Line Bundle will include one copy of each of the Panic Line variations currently available from Fireside Games: Castle Panic®, Dead Panic®, and Munchkin® Panic®.* Each of these variations offers a different set of objectives and gameplay twists for a variety of game play experiences each time you sit down at the game table.

As a special bonus to this bundle (which is already being offered at a great value of $99.95 MSRP for all three games), each game comes with an EXCLUSIVE promo piece only available in this bundle!

You can get the “Laser Sight” for Dead Panic®, the “Potion of Mwahahahaha” for Munchkin® Panic®, and the special “Promo Tower” for Castle Panic® that was only available in 2015 as part of TableTop Day!

These bundles will be available starting on June 18 to help celebrate International Panic Day and will only be available through brick and mortar retail game stores. Let your Friendly Local Game Store know you want one so they can put in their orders today!

A little Panic can be a good thing, and A LOT of Panic can be a GREAT thing… when it comes to games, that is!

Find a Friendly Local Game Store near you with our handy Store Locator map!

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*Star TrekTM Panic® is not included in this bundle. It will be released by USAopoly in late June. For even more ways to Panic, check out these expansions to Castle Panic®: The Wizard’s Tower, and The Dark Titan.

Making Star Trek Panic

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Star Trek Panic Box Cover50 years ago, the crew of the U.S.S. Enterprise took us on voyages to strange new worlds. This summer the latest variation in the Panic line, Star Trek Panic, will beam down to your game table to continue the adventure. Read the entire behind-the-scenes story of how the game was created, straight from the designer, Justin De Witt.

 

Growing up, I was a huge Star Trek fan. I had a model of the original Enterprise and the Galileo shuttle hanging from the ceiling in my room. As a kid, I remember dragging the big chair to the middle of the living room, right in front of the TV, so I could watch the original series (in syndication by then) from my own “Captain’s chair.” I have an (almost) complete set of Micro Machine spaceships from every series, and a well-worn Technical Manual from The Next Generation. I was a Trekkie before they were called “Trekkers,” so it’s both amazing and a little surreal that I’ve been given this chance to work on a piece of Star Trek history.

 

First Contact

The project has its roots at GenCon 2014 when Anne-Marie met with Maggie Matthews, the Vice President of Licensing at USAopoly. In addition to their original games like Telestrations, USAopoly is famous for creating licensed versions of everything from Monopoly and Risk to Yahtzee. The year before, USAopoly had licensed Munchkin from Steve Jackson Games and combined it with the Adventure Time license from Cartoon Network. Maggie and Anne-Marie talked about what it was like working with Steve Jackson Games (great!) and compared stories about the process of licensing the games. Munchkin Adventure Time had been a great success. They were looking to combine even more hobby games with some of the licenses they had, and we agreed it might be interesting to work together in the future.

Munchking-panic-Flat-cover-artLater that year at BGGCon, Anne-Marie and I were being interviewed about Munchkin Panic in a quiet room away from the crowds. It was a common space set aside just for exhibitors, and at that time there were just a few other publishers in there. After we wrapped things up, we struck up a conversation with Andrew Wolf, the Project Manager for New Business at USAopoly, who had overheard the interview. As we talked with Andrew over dinner, he asked if we would be open to a similar arrangement for Castle Panic with one of their licenses. We agreed we might be, but whatever the license was, it would have to make sense for the game. While I knew we could be flexible with a lot of the mechanics, the Panic line’s core gameplay is about surviving a siege and fighting off attackers. I would want to make sure that whatever we paired it with was a good fit for both the gameplay and whatever theme the license brought. Andrew agreed, and we decided that he would take this info back to their office and see what they could work out.

Not too long aftStar-Trek-Panic-50th-deltaer GenCon, we heard from Maggie that their team was excited to work on a Castle Panic variation, and they already had some ideas of licenses that would make good pairings. One of the first questions we were asked was if we would be okay using photos instead of illustrations in the new game? We were, but that really sent our minds buzzing. What could it be? What license would only use photos? We had a lot of fun playing the “what if?” game in our office, and it went to some crazy places. A few weeks later, Anne-Marie met with Maggie and Luke Byers, head of Creative Development for USAopoly, at New York Toy Fair, and they asked, “How does Star Trek Panic sound to you?” It sounded unbelievable, but somehow Anne-Marie was able to contain any squeeing and assured them we were interested. What really sealed the deal was when we learned that because 2016 was going to be the 50th anniversary of the original series, CBS wanted this game to be set in that timeline. That meant we were going to get the chance to retell the stories of Kirk, Spock, and the whole crew in a new medium.

One key detail was that even though USAopoly would manufacture and publish the game, we weren’t going to be content to have this be just a reskin of Castle Panic. To that end, it was determined that I would do the initial concept and design, pushing the envelope of what we’ve done with Panic games in the past while playing on the strengths of what we could do with this license. Andrew and I would take that initial design and refine it before he finalized the design work to create the finished game. It couldn’t have been a better arrangement.

 

Star Trek Panic—Where No Panic Has Gone Before

As Anne-Marie started negotiating the details of the contract, I started brainstorming ideas for what the game could be. The first step? Get reacquainted with an old friend. Part of my job for the next few weeks was to watch every episode of the original series. (I know. It’s a hard life.) I camped out on the couch taking copious notes as I binged on the entire series start to finish and running with every wild idea they inspired. It was a hoot to go back and see all the classic adventures again. I have to say that overall, it’s still an amazing achievement. The good episodes are really good, and the themes and messages of that 50-year-old show are still very relevant today.

Star Trek Panic research
Getting started on Star Trek Panic required some very serious research. Now pass the popcorn!

As I made my notes, I had lots of inspiration on how I would convert the Panic mechanics to fit the world of Star Trek. I really wanted to capture as much of the Star Trek feel as I could, so I thought about different core game ideas. Maybe the center of the board would be a planet the players were protecting and the Enterprise could be a token that was moved around the board, similar to the Cavalier in The Dark Titan? Maybe there could be a space station in the center that warded off attacks, like Deep Space Nine? Cool, but that’s the wrong version of Star Trek . . . No, it really made sense to make the center the one thing Kirk and the crew always wanted to protect the most, their home, the Enterprise.

Converting walls to shields made sense, and treating hull sections of the Enterprise as towers followed naturally, but I wasn’t sure how we would show damage to the ship. We couldn’t just take chunks off without it being weird. What would happen if the only piece left was an engine pylon? That just wouldn’t make sense. I liked the idea of possibly showing a damaged ship underneath and covering it up with shiny, new ship pieces. That way when you removed a ship section, you would leave the banged up, burned out section in its place. I wasn’t sure if that would be done with just artwork on the board, but it would be really cool if we could make some kind of 3D model of the Enterprise! The downside was that it might make it a little difficult to handle having to load up the model with “good” pieces as part of setup. As part of my playtesting, I ended up building a prototype that showed a complete Enterprise and creating tokens that were placed on top of the sections, covering them up to indicate when a section was destroyed.

Star Trek Panic early Enterprise prototype
The very first playtest version of the Enterprise!

When it came to damage, I also wanted to expand the Brick and Mortar idea from Castle Panic and turn it into a system that would actually let players repair the Enterprise. This was kind of a big deal since that’s essentially the same thing as letting players rebuild towers in Castle Panic. I wasn’t sure exactly how it would work and I knew it was going to need balancing, but considering how many times Scotty saved the day at the last minute with a quick bit of repair work, I knew it needed to be in the game.

I was starting to create a pretty big list of ideas I could put into this game, and I knew that not everything was going to make the final cut. However, there were some concepts that I felt were pretty much a sure thing. The enemies would be Klingon, Romulan, and Tholian spaceships. These enemies wouldn’t just approach the Enterprise harmlessly like they do in Castle Panic, I wanted them to shoot, doing damage as they got closer. After all, what’s space combat without some pew-pew? I wanted some ships to be able to cloak, making them temporarily invisible. I wanted to include the idea of boarding parties. (There were always troublemakers getting on board the ship!) I knew I wanted to have the crew be actual characters in the game. Players would get to pick who they wanted to be, and each character would bring their own skills to the game that related to their area of expertise on the show. That’s an idea I’ve been waiting to introduce to Castle Panic for a while now, and I knew it would work great here.

star-trek-panic-character-cards
TM & © 2016 CBS. ARR.

One of the biggest additions I knew had to be in the game was events that were based on episodes of the show. I wanted the players to be terrorized by NOMAD, face off against the Doomsday Machine, and deal with everything from transporter accidents to rapid aging diseases. The original idea for implementing this was split between Mission cards that would be the victory conditions for the game, and Event cards that players would draw at different times and would present challenges that the players would have to overcome together. (These eventually were combined into the Mission cards that you see in the final game.) These events would have to be dealt with in addition to surviving the waves of enemies that the game would throw at the players, so while they needed to be somewhat challenging, they would have to be balanced out so the game didn’t feel overwhelming. A lot of the episodes dealt with the crew having some kind of countdown they were working against, and I wanted to reflect that with a timer that provided a time crunch to some of the missions.

Experimenting with missions led to another new mechanic I wanted to introduce called “Command Points.” Some of the most powerful cards in the game would feature the same Division icons the characters wore on their shirts. Cards with these Command Points would act as a currency the players would need to pay in order to complete some of the missions. The cost would be higher than any 1 player could pay on their own, so the team would really have to work together toward the common goal. The catch was that a player could either use the card for its powerful ability or spend it toward completing the mission, but not both!

star-trek-panic-mission-cards
TM & © 2016 CBS. ARR.

As I spent a few months turning rough ideas into playable concepts, there were a few ideas that ended up being dropped from the game. I had really wanted to include planets and away teams, where players would beam down for a separate mini-game that would have generated resources. Scotty always seemed to be dealing with equipment that broke down right when the crew needed it, and I had created a system that would gum up players’ hands with Malfunction cards that had to be repaired to simulate that engineering challenge. I’d even experimented with the idea of the characters being injured and losing abilities until they could be healed in the Sick Bay. As fun as these ideas were, the added complexity didn’t fit with the simpler goal for this game so they had to be cut. We’ve talked about including them as expansions so who knows, they may return!

 

Ahead Warp Factor One

Before long we arranged to fly out to California and meet with USAopoly for our kickoff meeting. I spent the days before the meeting turning my pages of notes into a readable design document before we packed up and headed out. Meeting the crew from USAopoly was great. They even had a fantastic Star Trek Panic welcome banner on display right when we walked in the door! We met with Maggie, Andrew, Luke, and the rest of the staff, got a tour of their very cool office, and then got down to some very intense days of work. The first day we covered everything from contracts and production schedules to going over all the various Panic games with a fine-tooth comb. We dove into my design document which, while it was stuffed with a ton of ideas, was still very much a work in progress.

Andrew and I broke out into our own design meeting along with Rick Hutchinson, the Senior Creative Designer at USAopoly, and we started really tearing into the game. Ideas flew fast and furious as concepts were refined, edited, and refined again. It was an amazing day and a half, and some of the most fun I’ve had while still getting paid.

One of the coolest things we figured out was how to make the transition away from the castle and walls setup to a 3-dimensional Enterprise model! Inspired by an idea from another game USAopoly was working on, it involved die cut chipboard pieces that are put together via tabs and slots to build the classic hull, saucer section, and nacelles of the famous ship. This would allow damage tokens to hang off of the ship the way the fire tokens work in The Wizard’s Tower. Now instead of just being a static pile of towers and walls in the middle of the board, the Enterprise would be built on a base that the shields were attached to and the whole thing could now be rotated as one piece to its facing.

Star Trek Panic 3D Enterprise
TM & © 2016 CBS. ARR.

Star-Trek-Panic-making-of-Phaser-cardHaving the model of the Enterprise on its own movable base let us run wild with the idea of maneuvering the ship. We modified the ring and arc arrangement to be more like Dead Panic, using 3 rings instead of 4 (removing what would have been the Forest ring). The next big change was that we removed the use of colors. The Enterprise is aligned on the board so that its front faces 2 arcs, each side aligns with 1 arc, and its rear faces 2 arcs. We changed the Archer, Knight, and Swordsman cards to Phasers of Long, Medium, and Short range, limited each one to 1 particular facing of Front, Side, or Rear. Now, instead of playing cards to hit enemies anywhere you wanted to, the hit cards became directional, based on the facing of the Enterprise. The Phaser cards are not color-specific as Hit cards are in Castle Panic, and only let you hit a target that matches both the range and facing. Finally, we gave the players the ability to rotate the Enterprise one arc clockwise or counter-clockwise during their turn, while they were playing cards. This meant the players might be able to attack a target they would otherwise be unable to hit after they rotated the ship to change its facing. We were actually restricting the use of the cards, but giving the players even more tactical flexibility by maneuvering the ship.

We applied this idea of maneuvering to tokens outside the ship for the concept of moving “forward.” Obviously, the Enterprise couldn’t actually move on the board, so instead when players maneuver forward it brings all tokens in the 2 front arcs one ring closer to the ship. Tokens to the side and rear were unaffected. While it may not have been completely accurate from a physics point of view, it worked really well and allowed us to include maneuvering as a fun requirement for some of the missions.

 

Boldy Going

When the dust settled we had a pretty good idea of what the game would be and how it might play. We said our goodbyes, and I took this new version of the game home to make some adjustments and start playtesting to see what worked and what didn’t. Within a few days, Rick had created a mockup of the 3D Enterprise that was nothing short of amazing, and they shipped me a version of it to include in my playtesting. I can’t say I didn’t run around the house with it making spaceship noises, but you try not playing with this thing!

Star Trek Panic early prototype
An early version of the game with many placeholder components.

The mission cards now became the focus of the game and how players would win or lose. I knew we weren’t going to keep the same end game condition as Castle Panic, where finishing off the last enemy ends the game. Instead it was going to focus on the famous “5-year mission” of the original show. I had played with idea of having the game last for 5 “years” with each year being a certain amount of turns, but that didn’t feel right. I experimented with a point tracker and even making the missions worth different amount of points. In the end though, simpler was better and we decided to have the goal be to complete 5 missions before the Enterprise was destroyed. At first, mission cards were drawn when certain tokens were encountered, but because of how unpredictable the token draw can be, it was cleaner to have mission cards drawn as part of a turn, so that players were always facing a mission and never waiting for one.

As I continued testing and having phone meetings with Andrew, the core ideas became Star-Trek-Panic-making-of-Dilithiummore refined. Enemy ships fire after moving, damaging the Enterprise from a distance, adding damage tokens to shields and hull pieces before eventually destroying them. The ability to repair the ship evolved into a 3-way system involving Tritanium and Dilithium cards. Playing a Tritanium card on its own removed a damage token from the hull, where as playing a lone Dilithium card would remove a damage token from a shield. Play them both together however, and a player could rebuild a shield or hull section that had been destroyed. While this was a powerful (and incredibly satisfying) ability for the players, they would need it as the Enterprise is constantly taking damage from alien attackers.

Star Trek Panic Security Team card TM & © 2016 CBS. ARR.
A group of redshirts, ready to sacrifice themselves!
TM & © 2016 CBS. ARR.

Enemy ships that reached the Enterprise would become Boarders and cause the players to eject cards from the game permanently. The Security Teams found their use in fighting off these intruders. When an enemy ship becomes a Boarder, any player can play Security Team cards from their hand to reduce the amount of cards lost to Boarders. These Security Team cards are discarded in an homage to the famous red-shirted crewmen from the original show. It’s a fun way to work together, but it involves balancing the cards in your hand with the immediate and long-term threats on the board.

 

The Final Frontier

Within a few months I had a version of the game that was playable and felt very thematic. There were still a lot of details that needed to be worked on and a great deal of balancing, but at this point, I was ready to hand the game off to USAopoly. As progress continued, Andrew and I had multiple meetings where we would compare notes, discuss trouble spots, and work on solutions. The biggest challenges were in balancing the missions so that they were tough, but not too tough, and then refining the various methods used to complete these missions. We ended up including a timed element with every mission and even removing a few missions entirely from the game when they were too complex or unclear.

The Command Point mechanic was renamed Division Credits and we adjusted the distribution of these credits throughout the deck to better fit the desired tension. Character abilities went through several evolutions as we fine-tuned their effects on gameplay and ensured they reflect the character they belong to. Sulu, for example, can maneuver the Enterprise twice on his turn, whereas the other characters may only make one maneuver.

The cloaking ability of enemy ships took a lot of tweaking as well. It went through many incarnations, eventually settling on a system by which cloaked ship tokens will alternate their movement phases between cloaking (flipping over to be upside down, revealing just a starfield) and attacking. Players can’t attack a ship when it’s cloaked, but they can see where it is. The catch is that when a ship uncloaks, it’s movement is determined by a die roll and it immediately attacks. This means the players will only have a general idea of where a cloaked ship will appear and attack them from. It adds a great sense of tension and uncertainty, just like in the famous “Balance of Terror” episode.

Star-Trek-Panic-Enemy-Tokens
TM & © 2016 CBS. ARR.

Andrew and the USAopoly team continued to playtest and refine the game. We had many fun phone conversations about tension and theme, modifying smaller and smaller elements as the game settled into its final incarnation. After a few months, I had switched from design work to reviewing artwork and components. Using stills from the show wherever they could, USAopoly crafted a really great-looking game that is drenched in the look and feel of the original Star Trek.

In the end, I’m incredibly happy with the game we’ve created. As a fan of Star Trek, it’s important to me that this game stand on its own and remain true to what made the show such a classic. I think we created something enjoyable by fans of both licenses. If you’re a fan of Castle Panic, you’ll find an entirely new way to challenge yourself that will still have familiar elements. If you’re a Star Trek fan, you’ll reconnect with the original crew in an exciting, engaging way that you’ve never done before. Good luck to you all as you explore the Final Frontier. Live long and prosper!

-Justin De Witt

May Events – Where to Play Our Games

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Where to play May 2016

Our games will be available for demos and Play-to-Wins at several conventions around the country this month, as well as being in many game libraries.

Of course, you can also always check out your Friendly Local Game Store to see what events they have planned and make some new friends over an evening of Castle Panic®.

PDXAGE Portland, OR May 13–15
ChupacabraCon Round Rock, TX May 13–15
Geekway to the West* St. Louis, MO May 19–22
MomoCon Atlanta, GA May 26–29
Evergreen TableTop Expo Tacoma, WA May 27–29
Nexus Game Fair** Milwaukee, WI May 27–30

* Play-to-Win
** Library

As Seen on TV! Orphan Black

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Orphan Black logo

If you are a fan of Orphan Black, you may have recognized a few familiar “faces” in the new Season 4 set location, Rabbit Hole Comics.

In episode 2, “Transgressive Border Crossing,” formerly separated clones Sarah and Cosima are reunited in a secret lab in the basement of a Comic shop. When Sarah and Mrs. S enter the shop we get a good little “geek out” when they pan the shop and there is an eye-catching display of our favorite games.

We caught this quick picture to show off a little. Forgive our proud little hearts. :)

Games shown: Bears!, Castle Panic: The Wizard’s Tower expansion, Castle Panic: The Dark Titan expansion. You can even see a bit of Bloodsuckers and The Village Crone if you look closely!

International TableTop Day 2016

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Table-top-day-2016-Logo

International TableTop Day is almost upon us! Quick! Grab some friends and a couple of games and plan a day around it!

We will be visiting a few local game stores in Austin, TX on the day (April 30th this year) and invite you to join us. Anne-Marie and Justin will be at Wonko’s Toys & Games from 12–2:30 PM CT and then from 4–6 they will be at Dragon’s Lair Comics & Fantasy-Austin. They will be playing Here, Kitty, Kitty! and showing off an early copy of Dastardly Dirigibles (releases in July)!

If you aren’t in the Austin, TX area but want to find a local place to meet some new gamers and hang out for the day’s festivities, check out the list of participating retailers on the official Geek & Sundry International TableTop Day page to find one near you.

ITTD-Promo-Tower-2016

We have also partnered with Geek & Sundry on the official retailer event kits and there will be special, exclusive Castle Panic promo towers at 300 stores around the country. Check with individual game stores to see if they will have a kit and how they will be distributing the goodies, it will vary by location.

Hosting an event with your friends at your house or neighborhood hang out? Be sure to use the official #tabletopday hashtag to connect with people near and far! You can watch the 24-hour live stream on Twitch and see what gamers all over the world are doing to celebrate gaming this year.

Here, Kitty, Kitty! Review Round Up: Part Deux

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here-kitty-kitty-available-now-header

As if you needed more reasons to covet your very own copy of Here, Kitty, Kitty!… but here you go! Another group of reviews have been rounded up and it was way easier than herding cats.

“Start channeling your inner cat lady, because Here Kitty, Kitty!, by Fireside Games, is a kitten collecting frenzy of quick playing fun.” – Gameosity

here-kitty-kitty-Cat-HerdingOver at Blog Critics they found the gameplay “lively with laughter atop its solid base of scheming, making it a perfect game for cat-lovers and game enthusiasts alike.” To put it another way, “fun gameplay that is light enough for casual gamers while still giving more hardcore players opportunity to analyze strategy.” It’s nice to know we achieved our goals with this one!

Matt Quiett, from Nerd’s Domain, says, “I give Here, Kitty, Kitty! a 4 out of 5 stars… It’s fun, light and enjoyable.”

Jess from Gameosity couldn’t agree more. “The game is fast, fun, and light, with a good dose of silliness thrown in. Each card has hysterical illustrations that really bring the game to life.”

Of course, what is a review round up for a cat game without a few good cat puns? Special thanks to Kentucky Bored Gamer who supplied a healthy dose of them in his review:
“The game play is fast and furr-ious. The rounds go quickly and there is a lot of fun to be had… So, Should you buy this game? YES! Not only is this game a GREAT family game in general, the cat theme is purr-fect for any cat lover or gamer that is new or old to board gaming.”

Over at Toys Bulletin they had a blast playing it, “…it is an enjoyable game experience from start to finish.” And the Bizarre Brunette declares, “If you are a crazy cat lady like myself, this game must be in your closet.”

And the art? Well, of course it is still getting lots of love:here-kitty-kitty-Adoption

“The art by Tony Steele is bright and entertaining, featuring cats in all kinds of poses…make the deck so entertaining that players may have to work to focus on their game.” – Blog Critics

The art for this game… is beautiful and fitting to the theme. It’s playful and a bit of a “cartoony” look which is nice and really does fit the theme and game play.” – Kentucky Bored Gamer

“Complements are also in order regarding the artwork and illustrations shown on the game cards…they were superb and made you smile every time you examined a card.” – Toys Bulletin

If that’s still not enough to convince you to visit your Friendly Local Game Store and nab a copy of your very own, how about this?

Troy Stegner for the El Paso Herald Post expresses his approval while inventing a new rating system. “I give this game 4 out of 4 cans of tuna.”

Here-Kitty_kitty-TUNA!

April Events — Where to Play Our Games

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Where to play April 2016

Our games will be featured at the following events this month in Game Libraries, Demos, and Play-to-Win Events thanks to our partners with the Envoy Program from Double Exposure.

The games available to play at each event may vary, please consult the individual conventions for details.

Who’s Yer Con* Bloomington, IN 4/1–4/3
Tric-Con Spring* Sioux City, IA 4/1/–4/3
MEGA Spring Meltdown Derby Line, VT 4/2
Emerald City Comic Con* Seattle, WA 4/7–4/10
GameFest* Denver, CO 4/11–4/13
Greenhill Ultimate Brain Race** Addison, TX 4/17
LexiCon* Lexington, KY 4/22–4/24
MEPACON* Scranton, PA 4/22–4/24
BABSCon** Burlingame, CA 4/22–4/24
PretzCon* Omaha, NE 4/29–5/1
CharCon Bonus Round* Flatwoods, WV 4/30–5/1

* Play-to-Win
** Library