The Village Crone Review Roundup!

Posted on Wednesday, Nov 04 2015 1:30PMWednesday, Dec 16 2015 3:04PM by Justin De Witt — Leave a comment

Witches aren’t just for Halloween anymore! Find out why YOU should be playing The Village Crone through recommendations from gamers like you in this Review Roundup for our newest game (released September 30).

Dave Banks at Geek Dad flatters us with his comments on the components and gameplay quality, “I really appreciate Fireside’s devotion to quality, both in gameplay and components. Everything looks and feels top-notch, making for a great gaming experience… …I think Fireside is great at coming up with little twists that affect gameplay positively…”

“The game is easy to learn and play, but offers enough depth to keep players interested,” according to Mike N. over at Nerds of a Feather in his recap of the best games at GenCon.

Caylie Sadin from Nerdy But Flirty fell in love with The Village Crone when she first saw it at GenCon 2015, “The game is really fun to play, the art is beautiful, and the theme is awesome.”

She really likes the thematic use of spell-casting in this one: “One of the mechanics that makes the game super enjoyable is that every time you cast a spell, you have to say the incantation too. It helps players get into the spirit of the game.”

You can check out Caylie’s interview with Anne-Marie De Witt, the designer of The Village Crone, over on the Nerdy but Flirty website.

The Domestic Geek echoes Nerdy but Flirty with her praise, “I can’t get enough of this game.” You can watch Brittany’s Unboxing Video and her Video Review over on her blog or YouTube channel.

Jeremiah from Theology of Gaming enjoys the thinking aspects of the game:

“The interaction is great, the board is constantly shifting, and there’s a lot of guessing who’s doing what and trying to block them, or at least trying to stop other players from moving the pieces you need out of the ares in which you need them. You’re right, it is very much puzzle-like. And I like that a lot!”

The praise for this game is summed up nicely by Ryan Morgenegg over at Deseret News, “The Village Crone has a great theme and beautiful components.”

There you have it, folks! The Village Crone is a worker placement, resource management game with a puzzle-like quality and continually shifting landscape. Learn more about The Village Crone on our information page and pick up a copy at your Friendly Local Game Store today!

Crossroad Games & Diversions Fall Under the Spell

Posted on Wednesday, Oct 14 2015 12:27PM by Justin De Witt — Leave a comment

Playing The Village Crone at Crossroad Diversions

Well, that was a whirlwind tour! Thirteen stops in 25 days across 6 states! No wonder we’re tired.

The leaves are changing colors and there is a distinct chill in the air. It must be the approach of autumn and the time of Witches. It’s also the 12th stop on our Something Wicked Tour as we visit Crossroad Games in Standish, Maine!

This was a quick visit on our tour as we setup The Village Crone and spent some time chatting with Lacey and Chuck about the game business while waiting for some players to finish up another game.

Pretty soon it was game on and our players wasted no time in getting down to the business of scoring schemes. Familiars were flying and Villagers were changing to frogs and back into humans faster than you could say “Eye of Newt”!

The next game was just as fun, with the Forge filling up with frogs and some quick scoring at the end that took everyone by surprise.

We stuck around to sign some games and visit with fans, then it was time to hit the road.

It was a dark and stormy night… The 13th store visit on the 13th of October. Coincidence? We think not! But we couldn’t think of a better way to wrap up our Something Wicked Tour here in New England!

We made our way to Diversions Puzzles & Games in Portsmouth, New Hampshire and met up with the Events Coordinator, Ian, who let us have our pick of tables in their very cool play space downstairs.

Diversions is another one of those “Tardis-esque” game stores that has a really small front window, but once you get inside it just keeps going to reveal a massive amount of clean, open space filled with well-organized games, clearly displayed and more puzzles than we’ve ever seen in one spot. The downstairs play space is really big and made for a really great place to run our last demos of the tour.

We had barely set up the game when the first group gathered around and before you could say “Broomstick” we had a 6-player game up and running. As more gamers flocked to see what was happening it became clear we needed to spread the fun, so we set up a second game and ran another group through that.

Once the first game ended we had just enough time to catch our breath and take some photos before we got our third group started. This turned into a huge battle with players getting caught in a defensive battle of trying to use Protection to stop the other players from completing their schemes. It may seem like it works on paper, but it’s a losing strategy and sure enough, both players ran out of ingredients and couldn’t recover. But minutes after finishing the game, there was nothing but discussion of new strategies and “next time” plans being made.

We’ve had a lot of fun crisscrossing New England, catching some of spooky sights, playing games with so many people, and getting to see more of the Friendly Local Game Stores that keep board gaming accessible and fun. Thanks for joining us on our journey. We hope you’ve had fun following along. Now make sure you pick up your own copy of The Village Crone and bring fun home!

Gamer’s Gambit and Quarterstaff Games

Posted on Friday, Oct 09 2015 1:30PM by Justin De Witt — Leave a comment

Two more stops on our Something Wicked tour led us back to Connecticut for an evening and then on to Vermont.

Gamer’s Gambit in Danbury, Connecticut is a sister store to the Dragon’s Den and it made for a great follow up visit.

The Village Crone was a popular table that night as we kept players busy casting spells and foiling plans from the minute we setup the game until closing time.

Much like the Dragon’s Den, Gamer’s Gambit covers a lot of gaming bases from minis, rpgs, comics, and board games to retro video gaming. As Justin browsed the store during a break in the action he noticed that in addition to games, they actually sell used game systems. He even found an old Atari Lynx on the shelf, looking for a new home! Continue reading Gamer’s Gambit and Quarterstaff Games

How to Play The Village Crone – Videos!

Posted on Thursday, Sep 24 2015 4:30PMWednesday, Jul 13 2016 5:20PM by Justin De Witt — Leave a comment

The Village Crone releases next week (September 30) in Friendly Local Game Stores (FLGS) everywhere in the US. We invite you to immerse yourself in the medieval town of Wickersby and learn about the gameplay with our Official How to Play videos!

Not only do we have a general gameplay overview video, but we also have some break-out videos on casting Spells, moving Familiars, and Witch’s Schemes. Check them all out on our YouTube Channel. You can share the entire playlist for The Village Crone, or just video you think your friends will find useful.

Want to know what different Spells you’ll be casting in The Village Crone? Check out this video that teaches you what the Spells do, what you need in Ingredients to Cast them, and the special incantations you need to give voice to your witchy desires!

What happens when too many Familiars congregate in one place? Watch the video on Movement & Scattering, to see what happens to Villagers and Familiars when the party gets too big! You can even use Scattering to your advantage if you are clever.

Check out our Something Wicked Tour in the New England area if you want to learn to play from the designer, Anne-Marie De Witt. And be sure to visit the game’s webpage for the FREE 3D Printer Files for all the components if you want to add minis to the game!

If you order directly through our website you get the exclusive Silver coaster promo you can use in the game, or ask at your FLGS, they may have snagged a few of this promo at a recent show!

As you prepare to get your very own copy of The Village Crone, be sure to download the Book of Spells patch for the Unbinding Spell error in the first printing.

Happy Spell-Casting!!

Which Witch is Which? Look Inside the Book of Spells

Posted on Saturday, Aug 29 2015 2:12PM by Justin De Witt — Leave a comment

What is inside the Book of Spells?

Each player in The Village Crone will choose a Book of Spells at the beginning of the game. You will use this as a privacy screen to keep your Schemes away from the prying eyes of the other witches and it acts as a handy reference guide for the Spells you will be casting and some of the rules for gameplay.

The book you choose determines which Familiar becomes yours to command. The image of your Familiar is displayed on the outside facing portion of your Book of Spells so the other witches know whose Familiars are whose.

Inside the Book of Spells you will find a handy chart of the Spells you will be casting. The chart includes a description of what the Spell does, the Ingredients required to cast it, and the Incantation you must say to give power to your spell. You may also choose to make up your own incantations, which can lead to some really funny moments in the game!

There is also a reference guide for Order of Play when you are first learning to play the game or have new players joining you, and a helpful reminder list for some of the rules you will want to keep in mind without having to look them up in the rule book once you get going.

Don’t forget to make sure you have the latest version of the rules with the correction to the Unbinding spell. You can also print out a patch for your Books of Spells Charts.