Tabletop gaming

So this blog part is primarily on my other big hobby, tabletop gaming. I know the section name can be a bit deceiving, 3D gaming. For some it might suggest PC gaming. In the future, I might stretch it for those games as well, who knows!? But at the time of writing this post, my main goal is tabletop (board)games. I absolutely love games that use any kind of miniature. I remember the upgraded version of Monopoly that uses a shoe etc. and I loved that part. I also have fond memories of Volcano Island. Sadly, that game was either given away to somebody by my parents when I was younger, or we never owned it in the first place. I guess we will never know. But I think my love for boardgames started about there. I also want to bring your attention to my current two favorite games. They, obviously, have a heavy use of miniatures. Both where on Kickstarter and I have no regrets on pledging either.

Arena: The Contest (2019)

In a world unified by the Empire, it is forbidden to raise armies and make war. All major conflicts get solved in the ARENA, where the best fighters represent entire Nations. Such fighters, with good reason, are called HEROES.

In this turn-based tactical combat boardgame, players recruit teams of three or four from a wide pool of Heroes, all of them experts in a Combat Role, like Tactician, Healer and Bruiser. There are countless combos, counterpicks and strategies to explore in the attempt to build a powerful and synergistic team.

Each Hero is granted a Move and an Attack action per turn. Its governing rules are intuitive, meaning even beginners will find ARENA easy to learn; however, the game will forever remain challenging, as it is impossible to reproduce two equal matches, all attacks are unique, and there are optional 'advanced' features to implement in order to refresh and deepen the experience, such as Artifacts and Scrolls.

In Competitive mode (PvP), both teams fight each other until one eliminates all opposition and wins the battle. Matches begin by strategically positioning highly-detailed miniatures in an infinitely customizable battlefield featuring optional elements that change the dynamics of combat, such as walls, debris, altars and lava. You're required to plan ahead, consider your enemies' moves and work in harmony with your team in order to find the best possible action when your turn comes.

In Cooperative mode (PvE), the Player(s) build a team of 4 Heroes to travel the fantastic world of Tanares in order to solve an ancient mystery, facing Missions with different problems, hazards, and goals. Campaign Cards present players with challenging events, requiring tough decisions that shape the course - and outcome - of an adventure that find its climaxes in the difficult Dragon Boss Fights.

The Campaign is meant to be conducted through the course of several sessions, in which Heroes gain experience according to the number - and quality - of accomplished Mission objectives. Experience Points can be spent to Level UP and acquire minor permanent boosts, or to purchase Items that grant major - but provisory - boosts to any Hero.

Players are free to tweak and adjust their experience according to their personal preferences, making Arena a highly diverse and replayable game. Players can make tournament tables and play simultaneous Matches on different boards; add or subtract different advanced rules and strategical features at will; try the game on custom boards or design their own missions. Players that enjoy immersion and storytelling can maximize adventure in PvE-Campaign Mode, while players adverse to that can even play the Quests individually, in any sequence, with minimum reading required.

• 1 - 8
• 45 - 90 Min
• 14+

Arena: The Contest

Set in a fictional world where wars are fought out in a arena, this is basically a arena combat game. It has a lot of simularities to Dungeons and Dragons, one of my other games I play regularly. The combat is simple to understand, but has multiple layers of strategy. I have by far not finished the campaign mode, as I want to play all of it with the same group.

However, I am loving the campaign already. It has a nice story around it, the fights are tough. I do feel sometimes we get hit too much by the random factor of the dice rolls. But we are having a lot of fun doing it.

Nemesis

My other current favorite is Nemesis. Although I don’t like the alien / horror genre movie-wise, this game just keeps creeping up on me. (so to speak) I love the flavor, the tension and the do-I-trust-you-or-not vibe it sets on the table. I would especially recommend finding a nemesis playlist on Spotify or such as it really adds to that feeling.

For those unfamilliar to the game, it’s a sci-fi horror survival game. You and your shipmates have been woken by the ships systems from hybernation because of system malfunctions. You wake up and see the remains of a crewmember lying around, torn in pieces. You hear some sounds in the Jefferies tubes bulkheads. You head out to investigate, and complete one of your goals. Some may align with your shipmates, some may require you to sacrifice one or two. All fine as long as you survive, right?

Nemesis (2018)

Playing Nemesis will take you into the heart of sci-fi survival horror in all its terror. A soldier fires blindly down a corridor, trying to stop the alien advance. A scientist races to find a solution in his makeshift lab. A traitor steals the last escape pod in the very last moment. Intruders you meet on the ship are not only reacting to the noise you make but also evolve as the time goes by. The longer the game takes, the stronger they become. During the game, you control one of the crew members with a unique set of skills, personal deck of cards, and individual starting equipment. These heroes cover all your basic SF horror needs. For example, the scientist is great with computers and research, but will have a hard time in combat. The soldier, on the other hand...

Nemesis is a semi-cooperative game in which you and your crewmates must survive on a ship infested with hostile organisms. To win the game, you have to complete one of the two objectives dealt to you at the start of the game and get back to Earth in one piece. You will find many obstacles on your way: swarms of Intruders (the name given to the alien organisms by the ship AI), the poor physical condition of the ship, agendas held by your fellow players, and sometimes just cruel fate.

The gameplay of Nemesis is designed to be full of climactic moments which, hopefully, you will find rewarding even when your best plans are ruined and your character meets a terrible fate.

• 1 - 5
• 90 - 180 Min
• 12+

So with these two excellent games placed on the spotlight, I’m going to end this first post in the 3D gaming section. Please add a comment on what kind of content you would like to see, as I am still searching for a good format myself…