From the Z-Man Games Website
Good news: you will be able to play our new games over the Christmas holidays!
In spite of all shipping delays, Z-Man Games and Alliance are working
in a common effort and doing everything possible to have our Essen
releases available in US stores starting December 23rd.
So highly awaited games like Bruxelles 1893, Carcassonne South Seas,
Dungeon Petz: Dark Alleys, Glass Road, Russian Railroads, and
Tash-Kalar: Arena of Legends will be available in your favorite game
store very soon !
Happy holidays from all of us at Z-Man Games!
Showing posts with label Tash-Kalar. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Tash-Kalar. Show all posts
Wednesday, December 18, 2013
Monday, December 16, 2013
Z-Man Games Press Release - Essen Games - Release date updates!
From the Z-Man Games Website
We are sorry to say that there have been unfortunate transport delays with all the Essen releases. Due to these transport delays, we will not be able to get the Essen games to stores in the US before Christmas.
We are terribly sorry for these delays that were unfortunately out of our control.
Here are the official release dates as confirmed with our US distributor Alliance:
DECEMBER 31ST
- Dungeon Petz: Dark Alleys
- Tash-Kalar: Arena of Legends
JANUARY 8TH
- Bruxelles 1893
- Carcassonne South Seas
- Glass Road
- Ginkgopolis: The Experts
- Russian Railroads
JANUARY 22ND
- Ricochet Robots
Once again, we are sorry that the games are not able to make it to stores before Christmas, we did all we could to bring it to stores as fast as we could, but transport delay over transport delay just didn’t allow us to make it in time.
We are sorry to say that there have been unfortunate transport delays with all the Essen releases. Due to these transport delays, we will not be able to get the Essen games to stores in the US before Christmas.
We are terribly sorry for these delays that were unfortunately out of our control.
Here are the official release dates as confirmed with our US distributor Alliance:
DECEMBER 31ST
- Dungeon Petz: Dark Alleys
- Tash-Kalar: Arena of Legends
JANUARY 8TH
- Bruxelles 1893
- Carcassonne South Seas
- Glass Road
- Ginkgopolis: The Experts
- Russian Railroads
JANUARY 22ND
- Ricochet Robots
Once again, we are sorry that the games are not able to make it to stores before Christmas, we did all we could to bring it to stores as fast as we could, but transport delay over transport delay just didn’t allow us to make it in time.
Monday, December 2, 2013
Z-Man Games Press Release - Tash-Kalar - Vlaada Chvátil designer blog: How Tash-Kalar came to be
From the Z-Man Games Website
"This is a story about why I created a game that players would probably not expect from me. Well, actually a game I would probably not expect from me myself. :) First, let me say I do not play abstract games. And I do not play two-player games (except online). It was not always like that. When I was younger, I played lots of chess, checkers, go, reversi, etc. with my friends. But once I discovered modern games, I just completely switched to them.
As for the abstract, it is not about lack of theme. (To me, chess has a pretty good theme, which is strengthened by the historical value. :) It is about the perfect information that abstract games usually provide. I prefer it when you have to use your intuition instead of your ability to exactly calculate everything several turns ahead. That's why I did not hesitate to return to abstract games when Reiner Knizia created his Ingenious game. And that's also why I do not play two-player Caylus, although it is thematic.
As for the two player games, I started to treat the games with my friends more as a social interaction than as a competition. There was a downside of being relatively good at games. Defeating a friend repeatedly in a two-player battle feels a bit... awkward to me. I do play (and actually prefer) two-player games when playing online, because smashing (or being smashed by) a complete stranger is okay. I just do not enjoy feeling like I just destroyed a friend sitting right in front of me. I prefer when there are more players around the table, having fun together but concentrating on developing their own game stuff rather than on destroying their opponents' stuff. Well, never say never. Every year, a few weeks after the Essen show, I attend a gaming event called "Severské hraní" (Northern Gaming). I love it, as it is the only event where I do not work and just explore and enjoy the Essen game harvest. Many years ago, at this event, I got up early in the morning. The gaming room was empty, except for two guys. They were playing an abstract game I didn't know. Next morning, the same two guys, just a different abstract game. They were obviously enjoying it (even though one was obviously better than the other) and it kind of reminded me of an oriental master and his apprentice playing a game of go in the lotus garden at dawn. :) This quiet thoughtful atmosphere was very inspiring, and I soon went for my diary to write down a few ideas – ideas for a game where you deploy your minions in patterns to summon other minions that then serve as parts of patterns for even mightier creatures. Thank you, Slavek and Jirka, for the inspiration. :)
The event passed, the mood faded, and I had other work to do... and the idea remained in my pool of unused ideas for a long time. Until spring 2012. That was a time where we at CGE started to seriously consider implementation of our games for mobile devices. And you know, most of my games are a bit too big and hard to implement on a smartphone screen. I started to wish I had a more suitable game. And that's when I pulled out this old idea from oblivion, just to see whether it couldn't be such an easily portable game.
At that time, I was facing the biggest decision – the level of abstraction. In my original idea, the stones retained their identity. A knight was a heroic piece, but it was also a knight with some permanent abilities... But I saw it starting to turn into a very complicated game. I could either limit the amount of possible figures (and go for something like a combination of chess and go) or forget what creature was summoned and concentrate on the variability of summon effects. I have decided for the latter, and although I was not sure at that moment, now I am glad about that. (Well, I still love theme in games, so I probably would have hesitated more without a visual idea of how it works, but then I recalled the first Harry Potter movie with those big stone chess figures. I imagined all the beings as magical stone golems. After they perform their effects, they fold into generic pawns – pawns that may come to life later, if revived by another being.)
Also, I have to admit, at the start, I had no idea what I was really doing and why. I started it as a two-player game, and since this is a type of game I play online only, I supposed it would end up as an online game only. I developed it as a virtual prototype. (I almost always do, these days. I am too lazy to print and cut the cards again whenever I change them.) I have to say, I started to quite enjoy placing and pushing tokens on the screen of my computer, and I have spent much more time than expected with the game. I was adding more creactures, improving the visual aspects, programming a better prototype, and playing it against myself over and over.
(Just a note: Since the very beginning, I kept the cards closely tied with the theme. Even for my own virtual prototype, which no other player has seen, I googled and adjusted a picture for each card, and with every creature I created, I imagined how its effect would look and why it has such a pattern. I admit it is my own thing, and the players can't see what I had in mind. So if the game feels purely abstract to you, you have full right to feel it like that. On the other hand, I am very glad some players see and feel the theme, and I will love sharing my point of view with you on this site.)
Anyway, then I printed the prototype for the first time and brought it to our Brno gaming club and let two players play the game. And... I didn't know. They said they really liked it, but I still had this bad feeling about the player who lost... Have I told you I am not comfortable with direct two-player face-to-face conflicts these days? :) Two things convinced me the game was worth working on: The fact that the players kept asking to play again at the next meetings of our gaming club (and were sad if I didn't bring it) and the reactions the game got at our CGE internal playtesting event – most of them were so positive it was hard to ignore.
When Petr Murmak told me he would like to have this game for Essen 2013, a long development work started – creating the decks, three- and four-player game, team game... dozens of hours discussing the beings art... hundreds of hours of balancing everything... But that's a different story I may tell you later. This was a story of how I created a game I thought I would not like.
As a conclusion, I add what happened cca ten days ago, at our Brno game evening. We unpacked many new games from Essen, Tash-Kalar being one of them. Some players learned the game and played a three-player melee. Then two of them had to go home and the third one asked me to play theTash-Kalar High Form with him. He assured me he was okay with losing. He just wanted to try it again. Since all the other players were in the midst of their games, I agreed. We had a good time, and I had no bad feeling about wining my own game against a friend who was playing it for the second time in his life. Weird... :)
Vlaada
PS: No, I am not planning to switch to this type of game. Actually, I do not plan to switch to any particular type of game. My next game will probably be very rich and dripping with theme. And the next one ... I do not know yet. :) But I had a good time developing Tash-Kalar, and I will surely return to this game here and there."
This is the Designer blog that Vlaada Chvátil posted on the official Tash-Kalar website. We decided to share it here because it is very interesting to see the creative process that goes into making a game like Tash-Kalar come to life.
"This is a story about why I created a game that players would probably not expect from me. Well, actually a game I would probably not expect from me myself. :) First, let me say I do not play abstract games. And I do not play two-player games (except online). It was not always like that. When I was younger, I played lots of chess, checkers, go, reversi, etc. with my friends. But once I discovered modern games, I just completely switched to them.
As for the abstract, it is not about lack of theme. (To me, chess has a pretty good theme, which is strengthened by the historical value. :) It is about the perfect information that abstract games usually provide. I prefer it when you have to use your intuition instead of your ability to exactly calculate everything several turns ahead. That's why I did not hesitate to return to abstract games when Reiner Knizia created his Ingenious game. And that's also why I do not play two-player Caylus, although it is thematic.
As for the two player games, I started to treat the games with my friends more as a social interaction than as a competition. There was a downside of being relatively good at games. Defeating a friend repeatedly in a two-player battle feels a bit... awkward to me. I do play (and actually prefer) two-player games when playing online, because smashing (or being smashed by) a complete stranger is okay. I just do not enjoy feeling like I just destroyed a friend sitting right in front of me. I prefer when there are more players around the table, having fun together but concentrating on developing their own game stuff rather than on destroying their opponents' stuff. Well, never say never. Every year, a few weeks after the Essen show, I attend a gaming event called "Severské hraní" (Northern Gaming). I love it, as it is the only event where I do not work and just explore and enjoy the Essen game harvest. Many years ago, at this event, I got up early in the morning. The gaming room was empty, except for two guys. They were playing an abstract game I didn't know. Next morning, the same two guys, just a different abstract game. They were obviously enjoying it (even though one was obviously better than the other) and it kind of reminded me of an oriental master and his apprentice playing a game of go in the lotus garden at dawn. :) This quiet thoughtful atmosphere was very inspiring, and I soon went for my diary to write down a few ideas – ideas for a game where you deploy your minions in patterns to summon other minions that then serve as parts of patterns for even mightier creatures. Thank you, Slavek and Jirka, for the inspiration. :)
The event passed, the mood faded, and I had other work to do... and the idea remained in my pool of unused ideas for a long time. Until spring 2012. That was a time where we at CGE started to seriously consider implementation of our games for mobile devices. And you know, most of my games are a bit too big and hard to implement on a smartphone screen. I started to wish I had a more suitable game. And that's when I pulled out this old idea from oblivion, just to see whether it couldn't be such an easily portable game.
At that time, I was facing the biggest decision – the level of abstraction. In my original idea, the stones retained their identity. A knight was a heroic piece, but it was also a knight with some permanent abilities... But I saw it starting to turn into a very complicated game. I could either limit the amount of possible figures (and go for something like a combination of chess and go) or forget what creature was summoned and concentrate on the variability of summon effects. I have decided for the latter, and although I was not sure at that moment, now I am glad about that. (Well, I still love theme in games, so I probably would have hesitated more without a visual idea of how it works, but then I recalled the first Harry Potter movie with those big stone chess figures. I imagined all the beings as magical stone golems. After they perform their effects, they fold into generic pawns – pawns that may come to life later, if revived by another being.)
Also, I have to admit, at the start, I had no idea what I was really doing and why. I started it as a two-player game, and since this is a type of game I play online only, I supposed it would end up as an online game only. I developed it as a virtual prototype. (I almost always do, these days. I am too lazy to print and cut the cards again whenever I change them.) I have to say, I started to quite enjoy placing and pushing tokens on the screen of my computer, and I have spent much more time than expected with the game. I was adding more creactures, improving the visual aspects, programming a better prototype, and playing it against myself over and over.
(Just a note: Since the very beginning, I kept the cards closely tied with the theme. Even for my own virtual prototype, which no other player has seen, I googled and adjusted a picture for each card, and with every creature I created, I imagined how its effect would look and why it has such a pattern. I admit it is my own thing, and the players can't see what I had in mind. So if the game feels purely abstract to you, you have full right to feel it like that. On the other hand, I am very glad some players see and feel the theme, and I will love sharing my point of view with you on this site.)
Anyway, then I printed the prototype for the first time and brought it to our Brno gaming club and let two players play the game. And... I didn't know. They said they really liked it, but I still had this bad feeling about the player who lost... Have I told you I am not comfortable with direct two-player face-to-face conflicts these days? :) Two things convinced me the game was worth working on: The fact that the players kept asking to play again at the next meetings of our gaming club (and were sad if I didn't bring it) and the reactions the game got at our CGE internal playtesting event – most of them were so positive it was hard to ignore.
When Petr Murmak told me he would like to have this game for Essen 2013, a long development work started – creating the decks, three- and four-player game, team game... dozens of hours discussing the beings art... hundreds of hours of balancing everything... But that's a different story I may tell you later. This was a story of how I created a game I thought I would not like.
As a conclusion, I add what happened cca ten days ago, at our Brno game evening. We unpacked many new games from Essen, Tash-Kalar being one of them. Some players learned the game and played a three-player melee. Then two of them had to go home and the third one asked me to play theTash-Kalar High Form with him. He assured me he was okay with losing. He just wanted to try it again. Since all the other players were in the midst of their games, I agreed. We had a good time, and I had no bad feeling about wining my own game against a friend who was playing it for the second time in his life. Weird... :)
Vlaada
PS: No, I am not planning to switch to this type of game. Actually, I do not plan to switch to any particular type of game. My next game will probably be very rich and dripping with theme. And the next one ... I do not know yet. :) But I had a good time developing Tash-Kalar, and I will surely return to this game here and there."
We hoped you enjoyed learning about how Tash-Kalar came to be as much as we did!
Monday, November 4, 2013
Z-Man Games Press Release - Essen Games – Release Dates
From the Z-Man Games Website
With 10 new games that released in Essen, many have asked us when the games will be released. Today, we answer your questions!
Due to transport times, almost all of the games will release at the same time.
Week of November 25th
Blueprints ---> 2-4 players – 30 min
Blueprints is a dice-building game! Choose your dice wisely; because building is not all about respecting the plans, it’s about creating something that will surpass all others… Who will be the best architect?
Week of December 9th OR week of December 16th depending on transport delays
Agricola World Championship Deck ---> 1-5 players – 30 min/player
The WM-deck for Agricola has 60 Minor Improvements and 55 Occupations that are divided into 5 Mini-Decks and were created for the first Agricola World Championship 2011 in Vienna.
Bruxelles 1893 ---> 2-5 players – 25 min/player
Carcassonne South Seas ---> 2-5 players – 35 min
The players take turns placing land tiles on the table. These tiles create Bridges, Islands, Sea Regions and Markets, on which the players may place their Islanders in order to collect the various Wares.
Glass Road ---> 2-4 players – 20 min/player
Glass Road commemorates of the 700 year old tradition of glass making in the Bavarian Forest. You must skillfully manage your glass and brick production in order to build the right structures that help you to keep your business flowing.
Russian Railroads ---> 2-4 players – 120 min
The players embody railroad moguls who have been commissioned to build the Trans-Siberian Railway, as well as two additional railroads. In addition to track construction, the players will purchase new locomotives, promote industrialization, and hire workers and engineers. All this is done in the lofty pursuit of acquiring the most victory points – the truest measurement of a player’s rail building skills.
January 2014
Dungeon Petz : Dark Alleys ---> 2-4 players – 120 min
Bringing you more than just new pets, cages and magic items, the Dungeon Petz: Dark Alleys also has a whole new district. This is the heart of the expansion. It’s kind of a back valley district in the Imp town where all the weird things live and try to do their business. Taking care of your pets will never be the same.
Well, there you have it. These are the release dates for all of the Essen releases. Once we have more up to date info, we will let you know on the game page on the website, and on our Facebook page.
With 10 new games that released in Essen, many have asked us when the games will be released. Today, we answer your questions!
Due to transport times, almost all of the games will release at the same time.
Week of November 25th
Blueprints ---> 2-4 players – 30 min
Blueprints is a dice-building game! Choose your dice wisely; because building is not all about respecting the plans, it’s about creating something that will surpass all others… Who will be the best architect?
Week of December 9th OR week of December 16th depending on transport delays
Agricola World Championship Deck ---> 1-5 players – 30 min/player
The WM-deck for Agricola has 60 Minor Improvements and 55 Occupations that are divided into 5 Mini-Decks and were created for the first Agricola World Championship 2011 in Vienna.
Bruxelles 1893 ---> 2-5 players – 25 min/player
In Bruxelles 1893, you represent one of
the famous architects who established the reputation of Art Nouveau in
the Belgian capital. Your assistants help you perform actions such as
the construction of Art Nouveau buildings, or creating the works of art
that decorate these beautiful homes.
Carcassonne South Seas ---> 2-5 players – 35 min
The players take turns placing land tiles on the table. These tiles create Bridges, Islands, Sea Regions and Markets, on which the players may place their Islanders in order to collect the various Wares.
Ginkgopolis : The Experts ---> 2-5 players – 45 min
This expansion consists of 6 separate
modules that can be freely combined to revitalize the base game and
offer new strategies. Design competitions and advertising campaigns
eventually lead to increasingly imposing avant-garde buildings. So
imposing, in fact, that it becomes necessary to provide green spaces in
order to maintain the air quality in this boomtown.
Glass Road ---> 2-4 players – 20 min/player
Glass Road commemorates of the 700 year old tradition of glass making in the Bavarian Forest. You must skillfully manage your glass and brick production in order to build the right structures that help you to keep your business flowing.
Ricochet Robots ---> Any number of players – 30 min
The robots are unable to reach their
destination on their own. Help them by planning their trajectory as
efficiently as possible. Optimize your moves and ricochets to arrive at
your goal. Remember: robots are obstacles too; and they can easily be
moved. Can you find the shortest trajectory before the other players?
Russian Railroads ---> 2-4 players – 120 minThe players embody railroad moguls who have been commissioned to build the Trans-Siberian Railway, as well as two additional railroads. In addition to track construction, the players will purchase new locomotives, promote industrialization, and hire workers and engineers. All this is done in the lofty pursuit of acquiring the most victory points – the truest measurement of a player’s rail building skills.
January 2014
Dungeon Petz : Dark Alleys ---> 2-4 players – 120 min
Bringing you more than just new pets, cages and magic items, the Dungeon Petz: Dark Alleys also has a whole new district. This is the heart of the expansion. It’s kind of a back valley district in the Imp town where all the weird things live and try to do their business. Taking care of your pets will never be the same.
Tash-Kalar : Arena of Legends ---> 2-4 players – 45 min
Tash-Kalar: Arena of Legends is reserved
for masters of magic. Two to four Summoners will face each other in the
Tash-Kalar arena. Players may fight in teams or individually in order to
prove their skill and strategy in a short but intense battle. By clever
deployment of their minions, players create magic patterns for
summoning powerful beings. These strange beings are then sent to destroy
their opponent’s forces.
Well, there you have it. These are the release dates for all of the Essen releases. Once we have more up to date info, we will let you know on the game page on the website, and on our Facebook page.
Thursday, October 17, 2013
Z-Man Games Press Release - Essen Game Previews – TASH-KALAR: ARENA OF LEGENDS - Something Special: Faction Cards
From the Z-Man Games Website
Tash-Kalar: Arena of Legends is a game played by masters of magic. Two to four summoners encounter each other in the Tash-Kalar arena, either in teams or each on his own, and prove their skill and strategy in a short but intense battle. By clever deployment of their minions, they create magic patterns for summoning powerful beings, and then use those to destroy their opponent’s forces or to prepare patterns for the ultimate legendary beings.
For Tash-Kalar, we wanted to take advantage of the fact that there have been 6 previews of the game on BGG to compile some of the most interesting elements of those 6 previews: the faction cards.
The Empire
There are two Empire factions in the game, one Red and one Blue. Aside from the color, they are identical. This allows you to play a very symmetrical game and it is also easier to use both for an introductory game.
Messenger
You always want to be moving your pieces around in this game, and this card will help you do that. You can move one space or all the way to the other end of the board, that’s your choice.
Bomb
Use the bomb wisely for it is very powerful. It has a short fuse and will explode quite fast and will destroy pretty much everything around it … well what were you expecting it’s a bomb!
Gryphon Rider
With this card, you can jump to any square on the board, instead of the regular adjacent square movement. You may then split-up your Gryphon and your rider into two common units, or keep it as a heroic unit.
Cannon
The effect of this card is a bit more controlled than the Bomb card, but it will still destroy anything in its path, be it enemy or friendly.
The Highland
Ritual Keeper
He is at his best when summoned on a Red or Green space on the player board. He will allow you to upgrade one of your combat units or to do a combat action. However, if you summon him on a regular square, he will not give you any special advantage.
Clan Healer
This is a fantastic way to get more pieces on the board. It is most useful when played as a first action.
Eagle Lord
This card may do a combat leap to any square on the board. It’s like the Eagle has been gliding over the board and has finally spotted his prey…
Mountain Troll
What is not to love about a giant Mountain Troll? He walks onto the board and destroys anything on the adjacent squares. If he destroys more than two units, you gain an extra action!
The Sylvan
Sapling
The effect of the card is quite unique: it simply appears and then grows into an upgraded piece.
Centaur Spearman
This card may do a combat move and will then throw his spear to kill the next creature in line in front of him.
Kiskin Leafsplitter
It may destroy the first piece in line diagonally, rather than only adjacent spaces. It may also do this up to two times!
Forest Mystic
This card will allow you to draw one extra card from the Legendary deck at the end of your turn.
What is most interesting to see with these cards is the strong thematic aspect that links them all together. Each faction is really well represented and they all fit together as a whole.
You will be able to discover these factions and all of the beautiful material included in Tash-Kalar at our booth in Essen!
Tash-Kalar: Arena of Legends is a game played by masters of magic. Two to four summoners encounter each other in the Tash-Kalar arena, either in teams or each on his own, and prove their skill and strategy in a short but intense battle. By clever deployment of their minions, they create magic patterns for summoning powerful beings, and then use those to destroy their opponent’s forces or to prepare patterns for the ultimate legendary beings.
For Tash-Kalar, we wanted to take advantage of the fact that there have been 6 previews of the game on BGG to compile some of the most interesting elements of those 6 previews: the faction cards.
The Empire
There are two Empire factions in the game, one Red and one Blue. Aside from the color, they are identical. This allows you to play a very symmetrical game and it is also easier to use both for an introductory game.
Messenger
You always want to be moving your pieces around in this game, and this card will help you do that. You can move one space or all the way to the other end of the board, that’s your choice.
Bomb
Use the bomb wisely for it is very powerful. It has a short fuse and will explode quite fast and will destroy pretty much everything around it … well what were you expecting it’s a bomb!
Gryphon Rider
With this card, you can jump to any square on the board, instead of the regular adjacent square movement. You may then split-up your Gryphon and your rider into two common units, or keep it as a heroic unit.
Cannon
The effect of this card is a bit more controlled than the Bomb card, but it will still destroy anything in its path, be it enemy or friendly.
The Highland
Ritual Keeper
He is at his best when summoned on a Red or Green space on the player board. He will allow you to upgrade one of your combat units or to do a combat action. However, if you summon him on a regular square, he will not give you any special advantage.
Clan Healer
This is a fantastic way to get more pieces on the board. It is most useful when played as a first action.
Eagle Lord
This card may do a combat leap to any square on the board. It’s like the Eagle has been gliding over the board and has finally spotted his prey…
Mountain Troll
What is not to love about a giant Mountain Troll? He walks onto the board and destroys anything on the adjacent squares. If he destroys more than two units, you gain an extra action!
The Sylvan
Sapling
The effect of the card is quite unique: it simply appears and then grows into an upgraded piece.
Centaur Spearman
This card may do a combat move and will then throw his spear to kill the next creature in line in front of him.
Kiskin Leafsplitter
It may destroy the first piece in line diagonally, rather than only adjacent spaces. It may also do this up to two times!
Forest Mystic
This card will allow you to draw one extra card from the Legendary deck at the end of your turn.
What is most interesting to see with these cards is the strong thematic aspect that links them all together. Each faction is really well represented and they all fit together as a whole.
You will be able to discover these factions and all of the beautiful material included in Tash-Kalar at our booth in Essen!
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