Looking for something a little spooky? Make this Halloween frightfully fun with 25% off horror titles from Fireside Games. In Dead Panic, you’ll search your cabin for items and weapons to hold off the zombies and sprint to the van to escape. Take too many bites, though, and you’ll join the undead against your fellow teammates.
Or vie to become The Village Crone by sending out familiars to gather resources for spells you’ll cast on unsuspecting villagers and complete your Witch’s Schemes. Either way, you’ll have a hauntingly good time!
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!
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.
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
Extras: 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 Crone. Click here to sign up. After you click on the link, select the Board Game category to find our events. Hope to see you there!
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.”
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 Croneon our information page and pick up a copy at your Friendly Local Game Store today!
We were recently in the ATL for a distribution show and took a night out to visit Treefort Games in Fayetteville, GA.
It was a cool, calm Friday night when we pulled in to the parking lot at dusk. We got set up just in time for a group of curious players to walk up and take their seats at The Village Crone. Maureen explained the game to this crop of young witches and away they went, casting spells left and right and scattering Familiars all over the village! It was a really tight game with the last round being the true test. One misspoken spell was caught and the potential winner was left a few points shy of victory.
Meanwhile Kris was introducing a few players to the joys of backstabbing in Munchkin Panic. They embraced the spirit of the game and there were several uneasy alliances kept on the sly throughout the game. They managed to finish with 4 towers still standing! Excellent use of the bare minimum cooperation required in that game.
The second play through of The Village Crone had some veteran gamers who immersed themselves in the strategy and quickly racked up their points, choosing their schemes carefully to maximize their efforts. There were lots of laughs and plenty of thwarting of other player’s plans. After that they played Bears! and chatted about board games and themes and enjoyed their night at the table.
Kris guided a team of players through the perils of the zombie apocalypse in Dead Panic. They were having such a blast, and then one of them became a zombie. It was a test of friendship when the final two characters took a stand to fight off the horde and escape to the van together.
We enjoyed teaching so many players to play our games and getting to chat with the owner, John. He has created a great space for his local gamers and the community they have formed was warm and welcoming. Everyone seemed to know each other and inquired about family members and checked in on life.
It was really inspiring to see how the younger players look up to John and how everyone encouraged each other to be themselves and pursue their diverse interests. We feel fortunate to have gotten to be part of their world for an evening and encourage you to stop by Treefort Games if you find yourself in the Atlanta area.
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!
Our weary travelers have to score two more points as they wind down the Something Wicked Tour. Can they do it? Read on and find out…
1 POINT: Search for the Unexplainable – (Lake Champlain, VT) COMPLETED
The legends of a mysterious creature that lives in Lake Champlain go back centuries. The native Americans had their stories and colonial settlers had sightings that have continued up until just a few years ago.
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
Amidst a whirlwind of store visits our heroes, Anne-Marie & Justin, still managed to keep their eye on the prize and complete a few more Tour Schemes. See how many points they earned with these and learn about some of the spooky things Connecticut and New York have to offer.
Last week saw a fair amount of city driving with several visits in and around New York City, and then a jog a up the Hudson Valley. In the past we’ve visited Lairs, Havens, and Taverns. The Village Crone has now taken us to us Cafes, a Lab, and a Den. Check them out!
First up we had one more trip into Manhattan to The UnCommons NYC, a popular game café with a very extensive game library. There is a cover charge to get in, but you can play as many games as you want from their massive collection and stay as long as you like. Looking in their windows you can see a lot of fun games in their window displays.
We unloaded our witchy goodness and got ready to cast some spells. Anne-Marie got the first group started and played with several groups of would-be witches throughout the evening. A lucky gamer got to go head-to-head with Anne-Marie in a 2-player game. It’s pretty cool to learn from the designer!
It was a late night, but a fun one. If you find yourself in Manhattan with a jonesing for a cuppa and a board game, this your place.
We also got to spent two pretty amazing afternoons at the Brooklyn Game Lab. It’s an after school program where kids can not only play great games but study them, and even make their own games.
The whole thing is run by a great team and Bob and his crew really do an amazing job of keeping 40+ kids focused every day. Some days it’s RPG’s, other days it’s board games and for Thursday and Friday the kids had a really special treat of getting to meet Justin and Anne-Marie while they learned Castle Panic and The Village Crone.
The older kids were started on The Village Crone while the younger players went into the outdoor garden area and learned how to play Castle Panic. A few kids even dared to go up against the bigger foes in The Wizard’s Tower.
After we played for a while, the kids all got to make their notes on winning strategies for the game, expansion ideas and even new components. It’s all an organized part of how the game lab staff gets the kids to really focus on the games they are playing and think about them.
After that we had a brief Q&A session where the kids got to ask Justin and Anne-Marie all about their inspirations, and what it takes to make a game go from an idea to a finished product. It’s a really unique program and we were very excited to have been a part of it.
While we had fun in the Big Apple, we were glad to leave the bustling city traffic behind.
It was a cold and rainy afternoon as we made our way to The Dragon’s Den in Poughkeepsie but we were warmly welcomed by David and Sean as soon as we walked in. They had gone out of their way to make our event special with fancy Halloween themed tablecloths, signs, and even tasty snacks.
No sooner had we setup than the first group of players wanted to know all about our latest release. We had two games going almost nonstop for the entire event with many new fans being made this day. One player even declared The Village Crone to be “The best game ever!” after thoroughly crushing their opponents.
We spent a few minutes talking with the owner David about business and what it takes to run a store like this. The amount of fun stuff here is pretty amazing. Retro video games in the back, comics on the sides, board, card and minis games in between, and tons of table space. It’s a great store and the gamers in the area are lucky to have such a cool place to hangout.
We played more games than we could count and even sold out all the inventory of The Village Crone the store had before we called it a night. Our thanks to the staff at the Dragon’s Den for a great time!
What’s Next?
This week we’ve got a quick stop in Connecticut at Gamer’s Gambit and then we’re heading North to Vermont, New Hampshire and Maine! To see our remaining schedule, check out our Something Wicked Tour blog!
There’s been so much to share with the Something Wicked Tour store visits and the launch of The Village Crone, we’ve gotten a wee bit behind on sharing the meta game Justin & Anne-Marie are playing! Here’s what they completed in the last few days in Massachusetts before heading off to New York and Connecticut (we’ll be sharing those schemes next week).
1 Point: Conjure a Familiar – Locate a Familiar in the Cambridge Village Green (Cambridge, MA) – COMPLETED
In The Village Crone, each witch has a different Familiar. The Familiars to choose from are: Bats, Rats, Cats, Snakes, Spicers, and Crows/Ravens. Anne-Marie and Justin had to scour the Cambridge Village Green to find one of these creatures to score this point.
Things can never be easy, now can they? The Cambridge Village Green was under construction at the time of their visit, so they had to get creative to find any creatures who stuck around, and hadn’t gone into their winter dens yet.
3 Points: Marry Magic & Mayhem – (Boston, MA) – COMPLETED
Three parts to this scheme include “Visiting Phineas Gage’s Skull at the Warren Anatomical Museum, Crossing Harvard Bridge, and Visiting Boston Neck Gallows“.
Phineas Gage was a railway worker in 1800s who famously survived an accident in which a large metal rod impaled his head, destroying much of his frontal lobe, but not killing him. He lived for another 12 years and has become a case study for brain and behavior for psychology and neurology enthusiasts and professionals alike. His skull is on display at the Warren Anatomical Museum.
The Harvard Bridge connects Cambridge and Boston. It is the site of a famous Harry Houdini stunt where he was shackled and jumped off the bridge into freezing water below. Spectators waited an agonizing 40 seconds before Houdini broke the surface of the water, shackle-less, to solidify his fame as a magician. Harry Houdini died on Halloween in 1926.
The Boston Neck, a narrow strip of land connecting the Boston peninsula to the mainland, was the former home of the Gallows where the first person sentenced to death for witchcraft was executed.
What’s the Score?
With the 3 points they scored previously, and the 4 points they scored above, Justin and Anne-Marie are at a total of 7 points toward the 13 they need. There’s plenty of spooky left to share, so stay tuned!
The Something Wicked Tour rolled along over the weekend with three more stores in two states and some crazy traffic!
Our visit to Sarge’s Comics and More in New London, CT was short and sweet. While setting up for the event I noticed they had this copy of the old Bermuda Triangle game. I haven’t seen that since I was a kid!
We gave overviews of The Village Crone to several customers and made many people happy with a free piece of Silver, which came in handy as an actual coaster as well.
On Saturday we braved Manhattan traffic to visit legendary NYC store of The Compleat Strategist.
For years we have heard about this amazing store deep in the heart of the Big Apple. It’s known around the world as “the” place to come see if you are a gamer in New York. It lives up to its reputation.
Not only is the store absolutely packed with games of every type, style and size, the owners Mike and Danny do a great job of matching customers to the perfect game they are looking for.
We were warmly welcomed and quickly setup right at the front of the store to show off The Village Crone. Within minutes we had people asking how to turn Villagers into Frogs, or what the binding rings did. In between giving overviews, we talked all kinds of business with Mike and Danny and learned a lot about what it takes to have run a game store since 1975!
Before we knew it we were signing copies of games and wrapping up the night. It was a great event for us and a very cool opportunity to see one of the most unique game stores in the U.S.
A sunny, fall Sunday in Manchester, Connecticut saw the Fireside Games minivan pull into The Portal’s parking lot and unload all our goodies. We made our way inside and grabbed a long table in the board game area to setup The Village Crone.
Sunday’s are board game day and before long it was standing room only in there and we had our first game up and running. 5 witches battled it out and we saw one of the best uses of scattering happen, sending almost every Familiar back to the Village Green! In the end it came down to just a few point spread, but we had our winner at 13 points.
In between games we took a few minutes to explore the store. In addition to a great selection of games and a ton of play space, The Portal has a massive demo game library! Hundreds of games stacked into bookcases mean that you can come here and play anything from an old classic to a brand new release. The hardest decision will be picking which game to try!
Our next game started up and was a quick 2-player battle that resulted in one of the most crowded Forges we’ve seen and to top it off, it gets Bound so no one can leave! The best part was that while 4 Villagers were in the Forge the other 2 had been turned into frogs, so that was all there was!
We had a great time and met a lot of great gamers there. If you’re anywhere near the Manchester area and are craving a game, The Portal is definitely the place to go!
We’re only halfway through the Something Wicked tour, so stayed tuned for many more store visits in another 3 states!
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!
Riding with ghosts, witnessing history, and exploring the paranormal… just a few of the objectives Justin and Anne-Marie had to complete to score the first seven points of the Something Wicked Tour meta game. Let’s take a look at the Schemes they were following and whether they accomplished them or not!
1 Point: Ride with the Damned – take the Trolley of the Doomed (Boston, MA) – COMPLETED
Our first scheme “Ride with the Damned” took us on a dark and spooky ride through historic Boston. We visited Copp’s Hill burying ground, saw the home of the last victim of the Boston Strangler, spent some time with the occupants of the Granary Burying Ground and more. The city is crawling with ghosts and we survived our encounter to score our first Witch’s Scheme!
Copps Hill Tombstone: This 3 part tombstone is a sad marker of 3 untimely deaths. George Worthylake’s tombstone is on the left, his wife’s on the right and their young daughter’s in the middle. The three were drowned while returning to Boston Lighthouse at Beacon Island where George was keeper. Strangely enough, George’s replacement was found drowned days after taking up the position, giving rise to the legend that the lighthouse was cursed. To this day, a phantom lightkeeper can be seen shining his lantern on the island and climbing the lighthouse stairs. Locals believe it to be George Worthylake, which means this is a photo of the grave of an actual ghost!
Franklin Grave: Wow, the actual grave of Benjamin Franklin! . . . is in Philadelphia. This monument is where his parents are born.
Paul Revere grave and memorial
Paul Revere Grave: The large marker in the center is a monument to the famous rider. The tiny tombstone on the bottom right is where he is actually buried.
2 Points: Pay Respects to the Accused – visit the Salem Witch Museum & Memorial (Salem, MA) – COMPLETED
What witch focused tour would be complete without a visit to Salem, MA? We took some time to absorb the history and tragedy of the Witchcraft Hysteria of 1692.
The Witch Trial Memorial is a somber place to remember what happened here. It’s a simple, but touching memorial with stone benches bearing the names of those who were hanged for witchcraft.
Actual quotes from the accused are carved into the stone threshold of the memorial.
A plaque at the memorial recaps the trials and lists the names of all the hanged victims.
The Salem Witch Museum has a retelling of the events that surrounded the hysteria of the trials as well as a look at witches through history.
On a lighter note, there is a cool statue of Samantha Stevens from Bewitched in the middle of town. Anne-Marie loved this show growing up and later episodes were actually filmed in Salem.
What’s the Score?
At this point Anne-Marie and Justin have scored 3 points total towards the 13 they need by the end of the Something Wicked tour in October. We’ll be sharing their first 3-point scheme soon, so stay tuned!
Have you visited any of these places? Tell us about your experiences in the comments!
Over the weekend Anne-Marie and Justin made the first two store visits for the Something Wicked Tour.
We have started this tour in Boston and the surrounding boroughs and our first stop was at Knight Moves Cafe in Brookline, MA. Knight Moves is a game cafe that focuses on providing a friendly hangout for gamers (both new and veteran) to have a snack, a drink, and a good time playing games together.
We arrived early and the shop was relatively quiet. That would change as the night went on when it was standing room only and we got in several games of The Village Crone and earned some new fans for the game
The owner, Devon, was very helpful and kept directing gamers to our tables as well as serving delicious drinks and snacks all night long.
Their demo library is made of multiple bookcases that are literally overflowing with games. If you want to try out a game in the Brookline area, this is the place to do it!
While they don’t sell games at Knight Moves Cafe, they do work with Eureka Puzzles & Games, a game store down the street, to promote gaming in the Brookline area.
On Sunday evening they ventured to the Harvard University area to visit Pandemonium Books & Games in Cambridge.
We played with all the local board game night attendees, squeezing in 4 games over the night.
The first game of the night had a tremendous finish with one player scoring all three of his Witches Schemes on his last turn in an amazing combination of spellcasting!
Unfortunately we lost the video for this event, so we only have a few photos we grabbed while we were there. Must have been some of those ghosts we met earlier on the Trolley Tour!
We met some local gamers and showed them what it takes to become The Village Crone. They were pretty good at being witches as it turns out since Justin got trounced soundly!
Up next is our visit to Sarge’s Comics in New London, CT on Friday (6–10pm) and then we will be visiting the legendary New York store of the Compleat Strategist this Saturday from 1pm to 5pm!
Join Justin & Anne-Marie on the Something Wicked Tour, and immerse yourself in the spirit of the tour with a little meta-game.
Follow along as they try to complete their own set of Tour Schemes over the next few weeks. Similar to your goals in The Village Crone, they will have to achieve the objectives on the Scheme Cards to score those points. Will they be able to score a total of 13 points before the last tour date? Stay tuned and see as we share these little extras with you!
The first set of Schemes Justin & Anne-Marie need to complete while they are in the Boston area!
Up first is a series of schemes in the Boston area. If you see them out and about, say hi, but don’t distract them from their purpose, they want to WIN this tour!
Schemes on Deck:
1 Point: RIDE WITH THE DAMNED – Take the “Trolley of the Doomed” Ghost Tour
1 Point: CONJURE A FAMILIAR – Spot a Familiar in the Cambridge Village Green
2 Points: PAY RESPECTS TO THE ACCUSED – Visit the Salem Witch Trials Memorial & Visit the Salem Witch Museum
They will be providing proof of their Schemes on social media with photos and videos, so watch our YouTube Channel, Facebook Page, and Twitter & Instagram accounts for details.
(For bonus points, you can play along… share your experiences with any of the events/situations on their scheme cards – or make up your own! – through social media. Tag your posts using #SomethingWicked!)
Best laid plans often find themselves at the mercy of fate, and a customs hold on our shipment of The Village Crone has put us a bit behind so we are sliding the release date to September 30.
We have confirmation it has been released by customs and is in the warehouse. We need some time to get it logged into inventory and prepped for outgoing shipments, but we will definitely make this new release date.
You may also want to meet up with us on the road as we start the Something Wicked Tour this weekend in Brookline, MA at Eureka Puzzles & Knight Moves Cafe on September 19. You can see the entire tour schedule with dates and venues in our tour announcement blog or by viewing our Calendar.
Don’t forget you can download the 3D printer files for the game components and make your own minis on your personal 3D printer, and if you pre-order through our website, you will get the exclusive Silver promo coaster! (Ask at your FLGS, as they may have gotten a few of these at recent retailer shows.)
We’ll be sharing more game play videos and game reviews as they come in and stay tuned for fun updates from the Something Wicked Tour!
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Extras: 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!
We were recently in the ATL for a distribution show and took a night out to visit 
