At The Table: Castle Panic: The Wizard's Tower

After what seems like an extended lull, our game table has really seen a lot of action of late. Either that or, I have suddenly had a lot more free time for gaming.. Most likely a little of both. Which ever way I look at it though, to get back to leisure of gaming is nothing but a good thing.

Castle Panic: The Wizard's Tower

After long term ownership and what I can only really describe as a fanboy-esque appreciation of it's predecessor I finally got around to breaking out the expansion yesterday and, WOW! Is this ever a horse of a different color.

The mass appeal of the original game I suspect and indeed, it's personal  appeal to me was the sheer speed and simplicity of play.. Which has gone right out of the window. In fact the whole dynamic of the game changes when you introduce the Wizard's Tower.

If I had to compare it, I would say that the original game is a lot about playing a 1st level Warrior. Things are straight forward. You hack, you slash and, more often than not, you prevail. Playing the expansion though is a lot more like playing an epic level magic-user straight after the fact. You have a lot more power (and BOY can you feel it) but, the challenges that the GM throws at you are a lot more life and death, with no clear path to victory.

In fact, I would go as far as saying that the original game would be more aptly named "Castle Don't Sweat It", a claim which I could never make of the expansion. The expansion really ramps up the difficulty level of the game, which isn't a bad thing. It makes victories a lot more meaningful and I always relish a challenge.

The only real downfall with this add-on is the sheer volume of rules it adds. Don't get me wrong, it's not a lot but, to go from what is realistically a casual level game suitable for the whole family to, a gamer level game with a virtually vertical learning curve is going to be a bit too much of a leap for a large chunk of the folks who invested in the original.

That aside though, speaking as a gamer who appreciates a challenge (and a fanboy of the original), I'd highly recommend adding this one to the collection. It's not an expensive buy in and, it's worth every penny.

Alchemy's Workbench #15: Even More Panic!

It's official, I am hooked on Castle Panic. Tunnels and Trolls, obsessed and, it seems that when I'm not homebrewing for one of late, I'm tinkering with the other.

It's no surprise though. Both systems are elegantly light (although it has to be said that the Wizard's Tower expansion is far too convoluted for it's own good) and, welcome said tinkering.

Convolution aside, The Wizard's Tower expansion has certainly given me some food for thought though. Particularly the new rules that it introduces that allow some cards to strike certain monsters at ranges they normally couldn't given the right circumstances. It's a simple tweak (although you wouldn't think it looking at the rulebook) and, a great idea! It adds some real depth.

This set me thinking, why not go the whole hog and completely redesign the deck, and if I'm redesigning the deck, why not the monster tokens and theme too.

So after a quick brainstorm, I came up with what I think are two ideal candidates. Doom and Resident Evil, of which I decided to run with Doom. Not that Resident Evil isn't a fine game but, with Fireside Games already having a zombie style panic game in the works, creating my own when I had a choice seemed a bit moot. Not to mention, I know a damn sight more about Doom. :0).

The New Board

The board itself won't change much, other than the names of the rings, which will become Short (S), Medium (M), and, Long (L).

The New Deck

The new deck will keep the color codings of the original game but, the actual cards themselves and their capabilities will change vastly. Each card will have a value after S, M and, L, showing how many points of damage that it will deal to any one target within that ring (of the appropriate color). If it has no value, it cannot hit a target at that range and, a value of zero means that it can be expended (should you just want to remove the card from your hand) but, will do no damage.

Each card can be used to hit only one target at one range regardless of the number of various values and ranges listed on the card before it must be discarded.

Weapon cards will include Chainsaw, Pistol, Shotgun, Super Shotgun, Chaingun, Rocket Launcher, Plasma Rifle, BFG9000. Doubling up on the original four "Hit" cards (Swordsman, Knight, Archer, Hero).

The New Horde

Like the weapons, I am still working on the special rules and values for the monsters but, I expect them to include the Zombie Man, Shotgun Guy, Commando, Imp, Demon, Cacodemon, Mancubus, Revenant, Lost Soul, Pain Elemental, Baron of Hell, Hell Knight, Arch Vile, Arachnotron, Spider Mastermind, Cyber Demon.

So Far, So Good!

After posting up my recent homebrew crossover for Castle Panic and ZOMBIES!!! I have had chance to give it a quick test and can happily report that for all intents and purposes, it seems to work.

Admittedly, so far  I have only had one chance to play it through (on the Standard difficulty setting) but, the game I played was neither too easy nor a dire struggle. It had it's moments, such as when I spawned two hordes of six zombies in a row but, with just about half of my walls and towers remaining at the games end, I feel it was a fair match-up.

Since that test though, I have also picked up some more ZOMBIES!!! goodies that were on sale at my FLGS (ZOMBIES!!! 2: CORPS(E), ZOMBIES!!! 3: MALL WALKERS, and a Bag O' 100 Glow in the Dark Zombies) for a grand total of £20 (absolute bargain) and, my creative juices have been flowing again.

The sculpt for both the original zombies and the glow in the dark zombies is identical, so I quickly realised that if put in a bag and mixed, they'd be indistinguishable from one another until drawn. I could, if I wanted, have two different types of zombie assault the castle without the need to draw up and print tokens. Awesome!

So here we have it, Zombie Panic 1.5!!! Now with added Uberness!

Zombie Panic 1.5

All the rules are the same as Zombie Panic!!! with the addition of uber zombies and, the following optional difficulty settings.

Uber zombies

 Uber zombies vary from game to game, where they are either very tough or, very fast (but you get to choose which). If you choose very tough, uber zombies have 2HP instead of the standard one (lay it down when it is first hit, removing it from play on the second hit).

Very fast uber zombies move forward two sections at a time, instead of the standard one.

For added challenge, you may choose to flip a coin (or roll a dice) before play to randomly determine which of these abilities all of the uber zombies will be granted this game.

Standard Game .5: Spawn 1D6 zombies each turn. 40 regular zombies and, 10 uber zombies in the spawning pool.

A Hard Game .5: Spawn 1D6+1 zombies each turn. 60 standard zombies and, 15 uber zombies in the spawning pool.

A Virtually Impossible Game .5: Spawn >2D6 (roll 2D6 and spawn zombies equal to the highest number shown) each turn. 80 standard zombies and, 20 uber zombies in the spawning pool.

A Hell Froze Over Game .5: As a Virtually Impossible game with the following additional rule:

Return Of The Living Dead

 Whenever a double is rolled for zombie spawning return that many zombies from the scrap heap (pile of defeated zombies) to the spawn pool. No zombies spawn this turn.

 

If there are both standard and uber zombies in the scrap heap, uber zombies are returned first.

First Look: The Wizard's Tower

It's here! It's here! It's finally here!!

After a long wait for it to come back into print, The Wizard's Tower expansion for Castle Panic is available once again.

But was it worth the wait?

From an initial look over the box contents, I'm going to go with a resounding yes. In fact, it's better than I expected! Initially I was hoping for maybe a few new monsters and, I knew that the inclusion of the spell cards would add another dimension to the way that the game played but a brief read through of the rulebook reveals that they have done much, MUCH more.

The strategy is a lot deeper once you add the expansion, you get to make more meaningful decisions and, the introduction of immunities and "mega boss" monsters really takes the whole experience to a new level. Well, I assume it will but, I'm yet to give it a whirl.

I'm also impressed that the aesthetics of the game have remained just as appealing with the expansion too, as the look of the original game was a large part of it's appeal.

Really looking forward to breaking this one out. :0).

Alchemy's Workbench #14: One More Panic!

After posting up my variants in the pipeline for Castle Panic I was suddenly struck with a bolt of inspiration that I think could really work!

Instead of the standard circular attack area, this variant uses a grid and the grand daddy of all tower defense games, Missile Command, as it's theme. The "missiles" will all be programmed to move in a very D&D adventure system style (in order to home in on towers). The deck of cards that the players draw from will also be replaced.

Instead of Swordsmen, Knights and, Archers, the deck will be largely populated by letters and numbers, which are referenced on the grid to hit incoming missiles in the style of Battleships. There will also be a few cards that substitute for any letter, any number, any letter or any number, as well as other special effects cards.

I'm still mulling this one over at the moment but it's fast falling into place. It's also far enough detached from the original game that it might even be permissible to offer as a print and play game right here! :0). 

Alchemy's Workbench #13: Other Sources Of Panic

In addition to the zombie variant I mentioned in my previous post, I have a few other ideas that are in various stages of development for other sources of panic. It's amazing just how flexible this game model is!

Star Wars Panic: Really need to come up with a better name for this one but basically you'll take on the roll of the Death Star as the rebels make runs through your trenches in an attempt to bullseye that womp rat.

Mechanically the range will cover aspects such as TIE Fighter and Defensive Gun Batteries, whilst "boss" monsters will include Luke in an X-Wing and, the Millennium Falcon. As for regular enemies I'm thinking mostly X-Wings and, that most cards will simply be re-skinned (Barbarian becomes "Use the force").

This one needs a fair bit of work but should be a fun little project.

WWII Panic: Inspired by the Battle of Britain / The Blitz but with very little historical accuracy to actual events (purely cinematic) other than that it will be anachronism free.

Again, this is very much just a re-skin (although expansion is a possibility) at the moment with the premise that you are defending a large city from incoming enemy aircraft. I am much further along with this idea with the following substitutions worked out so far:

• Swordsmen will become Anti-Aircraft Guns.

• Knights will become Fighters.

• Heroes will become Aerial Aces.

• Missing will become Blackout.

• The Barbarian will become Fighter Squadron.

• Drive Him Back will become Low Fuel.

Alchemy's Workbench #12: Panic Stations!

Given how much our little group both loves zombies and Castle Panic, I was delighted to come across this news snippet.

We were pretty sure that there was never going to be an undead expansion released for the original game as it is very much a family affair and, I agree. The wide appeal of the game is a big part of what's made it a success. That said, there has been a great cry out across the Internet that this is what gamers where looking for. So the release of a zombie themed game that expands the mechanics, creating more of a gamers game is a dream come true.

But this doesn't mean that you can't add zombies to your Castle Panic. Just that you'll have to homebrew it!

Now I could sit down and design counters, print counters and, use counters but with what I have at hand, there is an easier route. Because I have ZOMBIES!!!

Now, these rules are still very much at the draft stage but if you have a copy of Castle Panic and want to give them a try, I'd love to hear how well they worked for you. You don't even need ZOMBIES!!! Any counters will work as all monsters in this game are identical (until I get creative anyhow) ;0).

Zombie Panic Homebrew

Play is pretty standard with a couple of alterations:

• The monster tokens are not used in this variant.

• At set-up, place 1 zombie in the forest section of each numbered ring (6 in all).

• All zombies have 1HP.

• All zombies move 1 in the monster movement phase.

• Instead of drawing monster tokens you roll D6 based on the difficulty (see below) to spawn zombies and then roll 1D6 for each zombie spawned, placing it in the appropriate forest section (as if you had drawn it as a monster token).

• You win the game when all zombies are destroyed.

 In order to keep the game fresh you can alter the difficulty of the game with the following adjustments:

Standard Game: Spawn 1D6 zombies each turn. 50 zombies in the spawning pool.

A Hard Game: Spawn 1D6+1 zombies each turn. 75 zombies in the spawning pool.

A Virtually Impossible Game: Spawn >2D6 (roll 2D6 and spawn zombies equal to the highest number shown) each turn. 100 zombies in the spawning pool.

A Hell Froze Over Game: As a Virtually Impossible game with the following additional rule:

Return Of The Living Dead: Whenever a double is rolled for zombie spawning return that many zombies from the scrap heap (pile of defeated zombies) to the spawn pool. No zombies spawn this turn.

At The Table: Castle Panic / Race For The Galaxy

After realising that for a gamer, with a gaming blog I don't actually write up too much about what I've been playing, I figured that at the table might be a good idea.

The idea being to give a  brief overview of what's being played by our group, how it's been received and, who else might get a kick out of it. I suppose I am thinking of this along the lines of "reviews: fast play edition".

First up, Castle Panic.

Castle Panic

As those of you following the blog will be aware, this is a game that I was virtually bursting at the seams to play and, upon it's introduction to the group it went down like a storm. We have literally not a bad word to say about this game and I can honestly see it remaining popular for months to come. We also have the expansion on order and are eagerly awaiting it's arrival.

Given the simple rules, amount of laughter it has produced and the family friendly art, I would have to say that this game is perfectly suitable for any gamer or group and, I'd happily recommend you all pick up a copy.

Race For The Galaxy

This was a surprise addition to our regular games, despite the fact that I'd had a copy of this game sitting on my shelves for months. Personally I'd found the rulebook to be as clear as mud, so had shelved it but, with another member of the group being shown how to play and in turn showing me, we have found that we have another firm favorite.

Whilst being a good game with a lot of replay value, you may struggle with the rulebook if you don't happen to have an experienced player at hand to break it down for you. That said, it's not a complicated game once you get to grips with it so for groups looking for a strategic game with a difference and some depth, this might be just the ticket.

It's certainly proved popular at our FLGS, selling faster than it can be stocked!

Castle Panic: Finally At The Table

A lot later than expected, and just a quick posting but I finally managed to get a game of Castle Panic in, and well it was awesome.

When I sat down to read through the rules, I knew that my first run through, tonights session, would be a solo affair and the rule book promised me quite a challenge. It wasn't kidding! The monster descended upon the walls of the castle pretty damn fast but despite the horde, all was was going reasonably well until I lost close to half of my walls and towers within the space of a couple of turns.

To say it was looking bad was an understatement.

Thanks to a couple of lucky draws, it didn't take too long to turn the tide of battle though, and a few turns later I had replaced all of the lost walls. Just a shame that I couldn't do anything about the lost towers.

The game kept pace from then on in up until a point where I had most of my walls wiped (again) with monsters continually being thrown into the same couple of arcs in some weird twist. Whilst this wasn't too bad from a strategic point of view, it did result in just under a third of the draw deck being useless for the better part of the game. Maybe that'll even out over time though.

This kind of flow, along with a fairly consistent pace (save a couple of surges) meant that victory came rather easily, but I can't help but think with how easily all of those walls fell early on into the game, combined with the fact that I only had two walls (one of which was reinforced mind) and one tower remaining, that this game has a lot of challenge left in it.

It's certainly no Elder Sign.

If you don't own it, buy it! Like Settlers, this is one title that should be in EVERY gaming collection.

Alchemy Bytes #32: WINNING!

Following on from previous posting on the excellent Castle Panic, I decided to have a look over the Fireside Games website to see what else they might have to wet my gaming whistle.

Then I found this. A free print-and-play game of Sheenisms! WINNING!! A free game that I just had to share.

Although I do notice that Fireside Games have made yet another typographical screw-up (which is becoming something of a theme), labeling the web page as "Fireside Games - Bloodsuckers Card Game". Another one of their fine products, but nothing to do with Charlie Sheen.. I hope.

Still, typo's or no typo's, the products are still great, and that's the main thing. :0).

First Look: Castle Panic

Well, the time is almost upon me and the green skins are gathering amidst the trees. Thinking we cannot see them as we hurry our work upon the bastions along. The Panic will soon be upon us.

By which I mean that all being well, either tonight or tomorrow I will be taking my first shot at the tower defense come board game, Castle Panic. Carrying on the theme of firsts, I wanted to share my first impressions of the game with you all before even the first card is drawn.

As you have probably guessed from my previous posts, I LOVE the look of this game, and I had very high expectations of what was to come from the word go. Expectations that I can fairly say have been delivered upon from the moment I cracked open the box.

Unlike a lot of modern games that come with die-cut card components, the pieces in Castle Panic come pre-punched. Which is a big plus for me, as I have lost track of the countless hours (literally in the case of Descent 1st Edition) that I have lost popping games from their sprues before I could even entertain the idea of sitting down to look over the rule book. By which point I have usually given up the ghost and shelved the game for another day.

Looking over the interior of the box, I also notice that ample space has been left around the compartment designed for holding the games cards, so that if you wanted to protect them with card sleeves, you could and they'd still happily fit back in the box. That said, if you can't be bothered the space isn't so large that components are going to rattle around loose. That's good design!

All in all, I have to say that I think the folks over at Fireside Games have done a cracking job, with the only fall down points in the whole game being some of the simple typographical errors that have been overlooked, one of which can really mess with game balance if you happen to read it wrong. Which is a shame.

The error in question comes from the "Brick" and the "Mortar" cards, that both instruct you that if you have the other, you may play them both and build a wall. As the text is written however, it suggests that each card allows you to build a wall, instead of the two cards only giving you one wall. A small error but a significant one. The rules do clear this up but I still thought it was worth mentioning.

So there we have it. My first impressions are good, going on great. How will it all play out? Well there's only one way to find out!

Alchemy Bytes #30: Castle Panic In Action

Alchemy Bytes hits the big 3-0 in style, showcasing one of my latest purchases. Now how does that look for fun!?

Plunder For The Cave #3: Even More From My Friendly Local Gaming Store

On top of my recent thrift store purchases, I have also added a couple of items to my gaming collection courtesy of my friendly local gaming store. Not the huge haul that I picked up last time, but still a couple of solid gold additions.

The first new item is Munchkin: Apocalypse, which I didn't even know existed until I spied it in the new arrivals area in-store, which was a real surprise given that I had been surfing the Munchkin website only two days previous and I saw no sign of it. Although I picked it up without hesitation (and indeed the small pack of bonus cards that have been released for it with, quote-unquote "Radioactive Dice"), I am not entirely convinced by my purchase.

Whilst I like the concept of the release, upon flicking through the cards, I am not entirely convinced that Steve Jackson Games have done it true justice. Don't get me wrong, it's not bad, and the addition of the "Seven Seals" special rule is a nice touch. I just would have liked to have seen greater variety in the beasties and disasters. I mean, how many different ways can you think of (both natural and otherwise) of the world ending?

Flaming Meteor, The Black Hole Machine, Mega Tsunami, Volcanic Eruptions, Kaiju on the Rampage, Solar Flare, Viral Warfare, Rise of the Machines, Nuclear War, Alien Invasion, Another Ice-Age, Zombies... It's a long list. A long list that isn't particularly well represented. Still, being a Munchkin game, there will without a doubt be expansions, so there is still time for all of this to come into play I guess.

My other purchase was a copy of Castle Panic, which has recently come back into production after what seems like an age of unavailability. I have been seeking a copy of this for a while and have on a couple of occasions been met with the frustration of the expansion being available in-store, but with no chance of being able to order in a copy of the base game. So suffice to say that when I saw this in the new arrivals area, I snapped it up in an instance that The Flash would have missed if he had blinked.

Whilst I am yet to have a read through of the rules, I am already loving this game. The die-cut pieces come pre-punched, and according to what I have flicked through in the rules, the game can be played solo, co-operative or, competitively. That's a sizable achievement for such a small box! I can see this game getting a LOT of table time in the years to come.