Heroclix – Nerds on Earth https://nerdsonearth.com The best place on earth for nerds. Tue, 24 Mar 2020 11:14:48 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.4.3 https://nerdsonearth.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/cropped-nerds_head_thumb2-100x100.png Heroclix – Nerds on Earth https://nerdsonearth.com 32 32 All the podcasts from NerdsonEarth.com, under one umbrella. We create short run podcasts for nerds, covering D&D, Marvel, Starfinder, and more! You vote for your favorite shows and they just might get a second season. Heroclix – Nerds on Earth false episodic Heroclix – Nerds on Earth jason.sansbury@nerdsonearth.com podcast All the podcasts from NerdsonEarth.com, the best place on Earth for nerds. Heroclix – Nerds on Earth https://nerdsonearth.com/wp-content/uploads/powerpress/noe-podcast-logo.png https://nerdsonearth.com/blog/ Moving and Shaking: 7 Great Board Game Publishers (Early 2020) https://nerdsonearth.com/2020/03/great-board-game-publishers-early-2020/ Thu, 26 Mar 2020 12:00:00 +0000 https://nerdsonearth.com/?p=29509

With the board game industry growing like gangbusters, it's understandable there would be tons of board game publishers. Nerds on Earth lists the top 7.

The post Moving and Shaking: 7 Great Board Game Publishers (Early 2020) appeared first on Nerds on Earth.

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A web search of “board game publishers” yields 2,110,00 results. So…that’s a lot.

But board game publishers aren’t created equally. How do we know which are best, the brightest? Well, a very few of them crank out game after game that combine wonderful gameplay, high component quality, value for your money, and funfunfun games that always find their way to the table.

As with all lists, this is subjective, but I tried to give good thinky thoughts to this and I’ve listed my top board game publishers below. It’s an alchemical combo of steadiness, what’s in the pipeline, trust they have built with customers, and more. So, trust that when you buy from one of these companies, you’ll get something good.

7 Great Board Game Publishers (Early 2020)

Days of Wonder

Days of Wonder is a thoughtful game company. They have a measured release schedule that pretty much only produces A+ games. Days of Wonder might not produce many games, but they are all killer, no filler, and they make this list due to their steadiness and dependability.

Ticket to Ride and Smallworld are well-known classics. Their record of consistency has also created a nice catalog of games like Five Tribes and the new Deep Blue, which I, sadly, have not been able to try.

But my favorite Days of Wonder game is Memoir ’44: a World War II themed game that I’ve reviewed in full.

Top Days of Wonder games:

  • Memoir ’44
  • Ticket to Ride

Leder Games

Leder Games is a small company that has become known for a certain type and they make this list due to the strength of Root and Oath, which is in the pipeline.

Root took the gaming world by storm. It had a wonderful blend of deep asymmetrical strategic gameplay mixed with…cuteness. Our full review of Root is here.

So, while the St Paul, MN-based company has developed an identifiable pattern with their games, it’s working like a champ. Their smart design, attention to illustrations, and story-deep gameplay is a hit, right now with Root. And we suspect in 2021 with Oath.

Top Leder Games game:

CMON

CMON was formerly Cool Mini or Not, which was appropriate because with CMON games, you come for the cool minis.

Known for multi-million dollar Kickstarters for games like Zombicide and Blood Rage, CMON has built their company on big, thematic games with BEAUTIFULLY sculpted miniatures that entice board gamers via stretch goals.

I’m an admitted big dumb animal when it comes to my game preferences, so I love the active and thematic games that CMON produces. Would CMON still make this list if their games didn’t include zombies, samurai, Vikings, and wizards? I dunno. But I don’t have to imagine that hypothetical because my gaming shelves are chock full of CMON minis!

(Our review of Zombicide and Blood Rage.)

The latest CMON game is a Marvel game that is filled with–you guessed it–a box full of superhero minis.

Top CMON Games:

Fantasy Flight Games

FFG stands for the Minnesota based Fantasy Flight Games. Being one of the largest game companies, they have lots of good titles in their catalog, but few are as well-received as their licensed games, particularly those from Star Wars.

Star Wars games like Imperial Assault and X-Wing are fantastic, plus Star Wars Rebellion from their long-time in-house designer Corey Konieczka is a masterpiece.

Before Covid-19, I would write many of my Nerds on Earth articles from Fantasy Flight’s Game Center, which has gaming space for several hundred, plus a full kitchen. It’s wonderful, just like Fantasy Flight Games. You can rest assured that if you pick up a game from Fantasy Flight, it will be a quality one.

Top FFG Games:

Plaid Hat

Plaid Hat was an indie game company that was acquired by Asmodee, only to recently go indie again. They made this list because of that recent turn, which has fans wondering if it will allow them to go back to their roots.

Designer Jerry Hawthorne is known for whimsical story-driven games like Mice and Mystics and studio head Colby Dauch is known for 1v1 games like Summoner Wars.

Dauch is candid in telling the story of the professional and personal events that took Plaid Hat from indie to acquisition to indie again.

Their upcoming game is pirate themed, which makes it instantly interesting to me.

Top Paid Hat games:

Starling

A game board with a tree built in really does inject a boost of interest to the table.

Starling made the list due to the steady popularity of a single hit: Everdell. It’s a game with cute forest creatures that is balanced with legitimate gameplay.

But that’s not enough on it’s own to make this list. Starling has produced an impressive set of expansions for Everdell. Each begin on Kickstarter but are delivered on time, with clear communication, and an overall broad strategy to support them in game stores and wide distribution as well.

Like Leder, they are another small publisher with very few titles. But big studios like FFG more than balance them out.

Top Starling game:

Stonemaier

Stonemaier cares about the industry as a whole, as well as the individual board games they produce. Jamey Stegmaier is an industry thought leader who has helped raise the water level for everyone. (Our interview with him is here.)

But that wouldn’t be enough to put Stonemaier on this list if they didn’t release great games. Between Two Cities and Euphoria are solid, while Viticulture is a delight. And Scythe is a bonafide hit that was then one-upped by Wingspan.

Stonemaier cares so much about quality, each one of their games is anticipated upon release.

Top Stonemaier games:


So there you have it: lots of great board game publishers, making lots of great board games. Plenty of games were linked as well, because you can trust if you get a game from the above companies that you are getting a ton of entertainment in a box.

The post Moving and Shaking: 7 Great Board Game Publishers (Early 2020) appeared first on Nerds on Earth.

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Companies You Can Trust: The 7 Best Board Game Publishers https://nerdsonearth.com/2017/07/best-board-game-publishers/ Mon, 17 Jul 2017 12:17:36 +0000 https://nerdsonearth.com/?p=13788

With the board game industry growing like gangbusters, it's understandable there would be tons of board game publishers. Nerds on Earth lists the top 7.

The post Companies You Can Trust: The 7 Best Board Game Publishers appeared first on Nerds on Earth.

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A web search of “board game publishers” yields 2,110,00 results. So…that’s a lot.

But board game publishers aren’t created equally. How do we know which are best? Well, a very few of them crank out game after game that combine wonderful gameplay, high component quality, value for your money, and funfunfun games that always find their way to the table.

As with all lists, this is subjective, but I tried to give good thinky thoughts to this and I’ve listed my top board game publishers below. Trust that when you buy from one of these companies, you’ll get something good.

7 Best Board Game Publishers

7. Days of Wonder is a thoughtful game company. They have a measured release schedule that pretty much only produces A+ games. Days of Wonder might not produce many games, but they are all killer, no filler.

Ticket to Ride and Smallworld are well-known classics. Their record of consistency has also created a nice catalog of games like Shadows of Camelot and Five Tribes, two nice adds to any collection.

But my favorite Days of Wonder game is Memoir ’44 a World War II themed game that I’ve reviewed in full.

 

6. Z-MAN games is another type of game company: one that offers breath and variety, being that they crank out a larger number of titles per year (I also thought of using AEG for this slot).

But don’t be mislead, Z-Man also has a wonderful track record of hits, games like Pandemic and Carcassone coming to mind. (Although it must be noted that a downside to having a bonafide hits means that a company will understandably “milk” that success by producing copious expansions and adding, something that Z-Man is wholly guilty of.)

With Pandemic Legacy: Season 1 being the #1 overall game on Board Game Geek, anticipation for the Season 2 followup is insane. But even if Pandemic Legacy: Season 2 suffers from a sophomore slump, we can rest assured that Z-Man will give it wonderful production values.

 

5. CMON was formerly Cool Mini or Not, which was appropriate because with CMON games, you come for the cool minis.

Known for multi-million dollar Kickstarters for games like Zombicide and Blood Rage, CMON has built their company on big, thematic games with BEAUTIFULLY sculpted miniatures that entice board gamers via stretch goals.

I’m an admitted big dumb animal when it comes to my game preferences, so I love the active and thematic games that CMON produces. Would CMON still make this list if their games didn’t include zombies, samurai, Vikings, and wizards? I dunno. But I don’t have to imagine that hypothetical because my gaming shelves are chock full of CMON minis!

(Our review of Zombicide and Blood Rage.)

 

4. FFG stands for the Minnesota based Fantasy Flight Games. Being one of the largest game companies, they have lots of good titles in their catalog, but few are as well-received as their licensed games, particularly those from Star Wars.

Star Wars games like Imperial Assault and X-Wing are fantastic, plus Star Wars Rebellion from their chief designer Corey Konieczka is a masterpiece.

I write many of my Nerds on Earth articles from Fantasy Flight’s Game Center, which has gaming space for several hundred, plus a full kitchen. It’s wonderful, just like Fantasy Flight Games. You can rest assured that if you pick up a game from Fantasy Flight, it will be a quality one.

 

3. Portal is a Polish board game publisher. The first thought I had to describe them was “a poor man’s Days of Wonder,” but to say that sounds dismissive. In reality, I meant it as a compliment, in that Portal has quickly and quietly came to be known as a board game publisher that is all killer, no filler, just like Days of Wonder.

Portal is newer on the scene, but also higher on this list, as they have firmly established themselves with a strong catalog of games that our wonderfully thematic while being packed with thoughtful gameplay.

They also learn from their mistakes and are quickly improving over time. Robinson Crusoe was already a wonderful game, but the second edition amped it up even more so. Then they re-themed the game into First Martian, one of the most anticipated games of 2017.

And the founder of the company–Ignacy Trzewiczek–is known as one of the kind and generous personalities in the industry.

 

2. Wizkids produces some wonderful stalwarts coupled with an aggressive new catalog. They are known primarily for Heroclix, which turns 15 years old this year and continues to produce minis (both Marvel and DC) that get better and better. I should know: I have hundreds of them.

But Wizkids also has the fantastic Mage Knight, the really quick and enjoyable Dice Masters, plus many more. (And let’s not forget that Wizkids is THE place for painted D&D and Pathfinder miniatures. Just check out our YouTube channel for our unboxing videos.)

But despite being one of the industry heavyweights for years, they’ve recently managed to find another gear. They are on an upswing right now, having just hired Zev Shlasinger (the Z, formerly of Z-Man Games) to come at the industry with a fresh slate of new board games. They have released some great ones in just the first half of the year alone.

 

1. Stonemaier cares about the industry as a whole, as well as the individual board games they produce. Jamey Stegmaier is an industry thought leader who has helped raise the water level for everyone. (Our interview with him is here.)

But that wouldn’t be enough to put Stonemaier on this list if they didn’t release great games. Luckily, they do! Between Two Cities and Euphoria are solid, while Viticulture is a delight. And their latest game–Scythe–has been a bonafide hit, winning oodles best-of awards last year.

Their upcoming Charterstone is highly anticipated and I fully expect Stonemaier Games to only rise in prominence, slowly building out their catalog, despite being a small independent publisher.

__

So there you have it: lots of great board game publishers, making lots of great board games. Plenty of games were linked as well, because you can trust if you get a game from the above companies that you are getting a ton of entertainment in a box.

The post Companies You Can Trust: The 7 Best Board Game Publishers appeared first on Nerds on Earth.

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How to Get Started Playing Heroclix https://nerdsonearth.com/2017/07/how-to-get-started-playing-heroclix/ Mon, 03 Jul 2017 12:00:31 +0000 https://nerdsonearth.com/?p=13542

Heroclix is a staple of game shops everywhere, but you might not be playing it. Here's how to get started.

The post How to Get Started Playing Heroclix appeared first on Nerds on Earth.

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Heroclix turns 15 years old this year, causing the game to put on headphones and yell “YOU CAN’T TELL ME WHAT GAMES TO PLAY BECAUSE YOU AREN’T MY REAL DAD!” before slamming their bedroom door.

OK, maybe Heroclix doesn’t act like a teenager just because it turned 15, but the sheer volume of miniatures can fill potential players with overwhelming emotions and a sense of panic-filled questioning, such as “How would I even know where to begin if I wanted to start playing Heroclix?”

How to Get Started Playing Heroclix

First, let’s give a quick definition. Heroclix is a collectible miniatures game. Each mini has a little dial as a base. These dials display the special powers the figure has, as well as a defensive and movement value.

If, for example, the figure is hit for 2 damage, the dial would be clicked two times (hence the “clix”). Once the dial is clicked enough that the “KO” symbol is visible, that figure is knocked out of the game.

It’s a tactical combat game because the minis move around on a map printed with a square grid. This grid both measures movement of your minis and their close-quarters or ranged attacks. It works via a “point buy” system and each mini carries a point value. Say you are building a 100 point team. If you draft a 50-point mini, you can then fill out your team with a couple 25-point minis for example.

The catalyst that has led to Wizkids selling over 750 million of the figures is the fact that they have the Marvel and DC comics license, among others. Battling with figures on a grid is fun, but it’s so much more so when it is your favorite X-Men or Avengers that are battling villains like…who is the bad guy in current Marvel Comics again? Oh yeah, it’s Captain America, agent of HYDRA (not that I’m bitter).

Second, grab yourself a Starter Set. You might wonder where you get the gridded map and all the figures, tokens, and rulebooks required to play Heroclix. Well, I have some bad news. Despite the incredible ubiquitousness of Heroclix miniatures, it’s pretty difficult to get all this in one place.

Wizkids does sell Starter Sets, but they are surprisingly hard to come buy. Your local FLGS (Friendly Local Game Shop) will often just sell the booster packs that contain the minis. I found a couple Starter Sets on Amazon, but they are often out of stock. (Note: They also have a product called “Fast Forces” that provide a thematic collection of miniatures (like the original 5 X-Men for example), but these Fast Forces packs don’t include a map or rules booklet.)

So encouraging you to pick up a Starter Set is a little bit of a quest, but it’s worth it. And I hope that Wizkids will one day put out a really nice Ticket to Ride-sized boxed set that includes interchangeable map tiles, a nice assortment of heroes, and some quick play rules in addition to a full rules booklet.

Third, go rules lite at first. Heroclix has unfortunately garnered the reputation that its a fluffy and gimmicky game. This is unfair. There is a lot of depth to the rules. In fact, the design history of the game includes Monte Cook, Jeff Grubb, and Jeff Quick, some of the godfathers of the industry.

Instead of being a fluffy game, a LOT of rules have built up in the 15 year history of Heroclix, so it’s best to take it easy on your first few plays. There is no expectation to dig into strategy the first few plays, particularly if you can watch videos to ramp up on the rules.

Play a little 1v1 skirmish to get going. If you don’t understand a rule, just yell “POW!” and roll the dice for a power punch! There is time to slowly layer on the rules and increase the depth of your strategy. But don’t get overwhelmed to the point that it prevents you from having fun and starting with a great game.

Fourth, build out your collection. Again, Heroclix is a collectible miniatures game that has sold over 750,000,000 minis. We’re nerds, so it’s fun to open a booster of superheroes to see who you get, then add them to your forces.

If you are a DC fan, it’s fun not just to get Batman, you’ll want to get 5 different sculpts of Batman. And if you are a Marvel zombie, then it’s not enough to just have Iron Man and Thor, you’ll need to get every single Avenger, including Tigra, because the West Coast must represent.

Heroclix is clearly made by folks who have a deep love of comics. Wizkids pulls the flavor out of the comic panels and turns it into 3 dimensional miniatures. It’s great.

Sometimes we take familiar things for granted. Heroclix is so ubiquitous that it’s almost easy to overlook it. But battling as superheroes and villains is fun! My daughter just went off to a summer camp where they are teaching her video production. To understand stop motion, they asked each kid to bring in an action figure. When my daughter asked me if she could bring in one of my posable Marvel Legends figures for class, I told her that I had been waiting my entire life for that moment. We started looking for a particular action figure for her to bring and she lit up at the sight of superheroes, which filled me with joy. My next thought was, “Man, I gotta teach her Heroclix. She’ll love it.”

You will too.

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