Hilo Gam3Escape

I went to Hawaii in October and stopped by the game store Gam3Escape in Hilo. Previously in Pahoa, they moved to a larger space in Hilo about three months ago. The staff and owner were very friendly and knowledgeable.

This unassuming door leads to loads of fun.The shop was spacious with an emphasis on play space, easily accommodating the thirty-five players that attend its weekly D&D Adventurers League. There were two games of Gaslands going on while I was there, and a few customers shuffling through TCG cards. The main product categories appeared to be D&D, Magic: The Gathering, and Games Workshop products. Continue reading Hilo Gam3Escape

Interview with Amy Veeres

Kamigakari: God Hunters coverAmy Veeres of Serpent Sea Games and project manager of the Kamigakari: God Hunters English translation was kind enough to answer a few of my questions.

Kamigakari (神我狩) is a TRPG set in modern Japan that mixes anime action with Japanese folklore and then turns it up to 11. The Kickstarter for an official English translation was funded in just 55 hours and has already met its first stretch goal of including translator notes.

The Project

Scott: How did the project first come to life?

Amy: A friend was planning on running Kamigakari for my group. While reading the original fan translation, I said to myself, “This game sounds great, Continue reading Interview with Amy Veeres

Kamigakari Kickstarter

With the Kickstarter by Serpent Sea Games funded in just 55 hours, Kamigakari is now getting an official English translation! The Kickstarter runs until the end of November, so there’s still time to get in on some god hunting action.

Kamigakari: God Hunters (神我狩) is a Japanese TRPG about beings with supernatural powers protecting an unsuspecting world from the false gods. It draws on Japanese folklore, mixing it with a heavy dose of anime action for very cool results. Check out the Kickstarter description for more details.

Cover of Kamigakari: God Hunters
Cover of Kamigakari: God Hunters

Mechanically speaking, its uses what it calls a “dice control system.” Continue reading Kamigakari Kickstarter

Dracurouge

Cover of Dracurouge, vampire knights before the red moon

Today we’ll take a look at Dracurouge, a TRPG set in an Everdark country. With the evil sun vanquished, vampire knights are now the protectors of the people.

First of all, the artwork and the ambience it creates is absolutely amazing. The style it affects through language is very immersive, but it also makes it a much harder read than most other TRPGs for me. It goes out of its way to use obscure kanji and words. The majority of the book is black and white, but the first few pages have full color illustrations. Continue reading Dracurouge

Warhammer Underworlds: Nightvault

After probably twenty years away from Games Workshop games I’ve dipped my toes in again with Warhammer Underworlds: Nightvault. For the last year or two I’ve been painting Star Wars: Imperial Assault miniatures and enjoying that, so when the Warhammer Yokohama shop opened up nearby I was tempted to pickup one of the smaller skirmish games, but managed to resist.

Freebie play mat
Freebie play mat

A week later a friend wanted to get started with Shadespire and form a group, so I decided to pickup the Magore’s Fiends warband. Cue the Nightvault release and its bonus items still being available and my wallet got a bit lighter.

Nightvault box with bonus dice and dice bag
Nightvault box with bonus dice and dice bag

Continue reading Warhammer Underworlds: Nightvault

Warhammer Yokohama

A new Warhammer store just opened up in Yokohama Chinatown! A short walk from the station, it’s a small shop with lots of warmth and a wide selection of GW products in both English and Japanese.

 

The limited edition Space Marine Terminator Captain is only available on the opening days September 15th and 16th! You still have a chance to pick one up Sunday the 16th!

Collectors Edition Space Marine Terminator Captain
Limited to September 15th and 16th!

Continue reading Warhammer Yokohama

Gaming until First Light

August has been a whirlwind of a month for me, so it was wonderful to let loose with an all night gaming session at the local gaming shop Rigoler. I wrote about the shop previously, and my appreciation of it has only increased the more I go.

The all night event officially started at 12 midnight and went to 5 AM at a bar in the same building as the shop, but the “pre-game” event started at 6pm and Rigoler was packed. My pre-game, though, was to go a local Bon Dance festival.

Bon Dance
The dancers circle around the stand performing the same movements

My friend and I showed up around midnight Continue reading Gaming until First Light

Understanding BattleTech

After years away from the world of BattleTech, Harebrained Schemes’ new BattleTech PC game has sucked me back into the 31st century. As a kid I was a huge fan of BattleTech and devoured its novels. But despite having the base game, AeroTech, and BattleSpace, I only played a few games of it. One of the things I longed for was a double blind game, and the new game has finally given me it.

So how does this relate to analog games you might ask? Well, the original tabletop game was also released in Japan and was translated by Group SNE, the makers of Sword World. It had its own revised mech designs and some of the novels were translated, but it didn’t seem to take off as much as one might have expected.

Fantasy File Guides

I have have a soft spot for old Fantasy File Fujimi Dragon Books. Riding the TRPG renaissance of the early nineties, Continue reading Understanding BattleTech