You can download the PDF file here: Mystic Vale: Twilight Garden – Conclaves
War Chest – Scouts
War Chest releases at Gen Con Indy this year, and brings tactical war-gaming to bag-building! Take up arms against your challenger, and control the board in this beautiful and unique game from Trevor Benjamin and David Thompson.
In War Chest, units must enter the battlefield from controlled locations. The Scout, however, can deploy into any space adjacent to a friendly unit. This special attribute can be used to grab an early neutral location, but it can also be used later in the game to launch a surprise attack or defense. Indeed, many a Scout is sacrificed in what may appear to be foolish gambits, only to reappear moments later in a key strategic space on the other side of the board.
Scouts were used successfully through most of the Dark Age and Medieval campaigns. A great example is the Battle of Vlaardingen in 1018 CE, perhaps the defining battle in the foundation of Holland.
The fleet of Holy Emperor Henry II, carrying the imperial army drifted down the river and moored at Vlaardingen. Advanced tactical information from Frisian scouts gave the defenders vital information and they had withdrawn within the castle and onto higher grounds. Initially, Godfrey, the imperial commander lined his men up around the castle, but then he ordered them to march towards a flat field, because it would be difficult to cross the extensive ditches dug in preparation.
During this manoeuvre, the Frisians unexpectedly appeared from an ambush and attacked, causing panic to break out. The imperial warriors hurried back to their ships, which had been moved to the middle of the stream by now, because of the lowered tide. Many were lost in the soggy river banks or drowned.
Check out War Chest at Gen Con, or pick it up in stores August 29!
War Chest – The Ensign and the Marshall
War Chest releases at Gen Con Indy this year, and brings tactical war-gaming to bag-building! Take up arms against your challenger, and control the board in this beautiful and unique game from Trevor Benjamin and David Thompson.
In War Chest, you take on the role of a battlefield commander, giving orders to the units in your army. Two units—the Ensign and the Marshall—act as secondary commanders, with tactics which grant an extra basic action to a nearby unit. They help you to coordinate multi-step manoeuvres, like moving a unit with the Ensign and then on your next turn using the unit’s own coin to control or to attack. Even more effective is when the granted action can trigger a unit’s special attribute. For instance, the Swordsman’s attribute allows it to move after it has attacked. This includes the special case where it is the Ensign that moves it. Similarly, if the Marshall grants the War Priest an attack, the War Priest’s special ability triggers, allowing you to draw and immediately use an extra coin.
The principles of battlefield began by the Romans were still in use through medieval battles. Orders were passed down from the generals to the leaders of each battle, sergeants and then through to each soldier.
In the heat of battle, changing the orders was difficult. Horns, drums, and flags could be used and units would mark themselves with a banner, and march together. Over greater distances armies would need runners.
The Mongol armies fought with their generals safe behind enemy lines giving orders through a flag system. This made sense since they were a loosely spread cavalry force in different units.
Arguably the original Marshal, was William Marshal (1146 – 1219 CE) – perhaps one of the greatest medieval knight to have ever lived. Indeed the hereditary title “Earl Marshal” comes from his name. Undefeated in tournaments he was the only man known to have unseated Richard the Lionheart. He was also a great orator at battles, although medieval chroniclers and writers were fond of exaggerating the speeches given by military commanders. One such speech was “recorded” by the anonymous author of “The History of William Marshal”, who reported the rousing speech given by his protagonist before the Battle of Lincoln on May 20, 1217 CE during the First Barons’ War. Marshal successfully lead an army that broke the siege of the city form the forces of Prince Louis of France, leading a key charge at a critical moment in the battle, despite being 70 years old at the time!
Check out War Chest at Gen Con, or pick it up in stores August 29!
War Chest – Crossbowman
War Chest releases at Gen Con Indy this year, and brings tactical war-gaming to bag-building! Take up arms against your challenger, and control the board in this beautiful and unique game from Trevor Benjamin and David Thompson.
The second ranged unit in War Chest is the Crossbowman. Like the Archer, the Crossbowman can attack units which are two spaces away, but it can only shoot in a straight line, with no intervening units. This creates holes in the Crossbowman’s cover which opposing units can exploit. The Crossbowman makes up for this limitation by being more resilient than the Archer. It can attack adjacent units and it has a full 5 coins available in the supply.
Although a favourite of many medieval armies, the crossbow dates back much further.
One of the earliest battles that records the effectiveness of crossbowmen is from China and the Battle of Ma Ling in 341 BCE. This battle is famous for the tactics of Sun Bin, known as the “Tactic of Missing Stoves”, in which one side is led to underestimate the other by creating an illusion of soldiers running away from the army. The result was the Wei army being lured into an ambush in a narrow wooded valley at night, where Qi crossbows were waiting for them.
Check out War Chest at Gen Con, or pick it up in stores August 29!
War Chest – Archer
War Chest releases at Gen Con Indy this year, and brings tactical war-gaming to bag-building! Take up arms against your challenger, and control the board in this beautiful and unique game from Trevor Benjamin and David Thompson.
War Chest has two ranged units—the Archer and the Crossbowman. The Archer can attack any unit that is two spaces away, even if the intervening space is occupied. By threatening such a wide area, the Archer can often hold off multiple opposing units, making it an incredibly powerful defender. Similarly, the Archer can be used to support one or sometimes even two advances if positioned centrally. The Archer does have a substantial weakness, however. It cannot attack units which are directly adjacent to it. If it is flanked, the Archer is often forced to retreat, undermining the cover it is providing.
Perhaps no battle so iconically illustrates the power of the longbow than the Battle of Agincourt in 1415 CE. Recently ploughed land hemmed in by dense woodland favoured the English deployment, both because of its narrowness, and because of the thick mud through which the French knights could not easily charge on horseback.The French had originally drawn up a battle plan that had archers and crossbowmen in front of their men-at-arms, with a cavalry force at the rear, but in the end, the French archers and crossbowmen were deployed behind the men-at-arms, where they were largely ineffective during the battle.
The French cavalry, despite being both disorganised and not at full numbers, charged towards the longbowmen, but it was a disaster. The mounted charge and subsequent retreat churned up the already muddy terrain between the French and the English. Contemporary accounts report how the wounded and panicking horses, devastated by English arrows, galloped back through the advancing infantry, scattering them and trampling them down in their headlong flight from the battlefield.
Check out War Chest at Gen Con, or pick it up in stores August 29!
Women Game Designers Wanted
Women Game Designers Wanted
SAN CLEMENTE, CA – 25 July 2018
Alderac Entertainment Group today announced the theme for their 2020 Big Game Night. Games Designed by Women. We are looking for 3-4 great games designed or co-designed by women.
WHAT IS BIG GAME NIGHT?
Big Game Night is our premiere event at Gencon. 1,000 people show up for a night of demos, gaming, and fun. Everyone goes home with copies of a selection of featured games released that night. The Big Game Night fun does not end at Gencon we also have an event at PAX Unplugged and plan to have events at other shows by 2020. These are sold out events, and we expect that we will grow the attendance at each show through 2020.
WHAT MAKES A GREAT BGN GAME?
Big Game Night games are easy to learn and teach and can be played in under an hour. We want games that gamers will love, but they can also play with their non-hobby gamer friends and family. We are hoping to find games for 4-6 players, but we will happily publish a game for fewer players if they are great. A fantastic example of a BGN game is Cat Lady which was a breakout hit from 2017’s Big Game Night.
HOW DO I SUBMIT A GAME?
If you have a game that you think would be a good fit for BGN we ask you to send an email to Creative@alderac.com.
We ask you to label the email: [BIG GAME NIGHT 2020] Game Idea Submission
We also ask that you tell us about yourself and your ideas in the email and attach a one- page sell sheet for each game with necessary information about the game.
Sell sheets tell us briefly about the theme of the game, its core, and most essential mechanics, what is unique about the game, how long it plays, and how many and what type of components you envision for the game. Pictures of the game set up for play are helpful.
If you have a short (less than 5 minute) “how to play” video, please provide that link as well.
Someone from AEG will quickly follow-up.
We know 2020 seems like it is a long time away but it is closer than you think. We will be reviewing game submissions through November 2018 and plan to make decisions about BGN 2020 games by March of next year.
If you have any questions, send them to creative@alderac.com. We cannot wait to see tomorrow’s great games today.
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About Alderac Entertainment Group
Alderac Entertainment Group (“AEG”) has produced award-winning games and game worlds for over 20 years. Alderac publishes the popular games Smash Up, Mystic Vale, Thunderstone, Edge of Darkness, and many more. Visit www.alderac.com for more information.
Note to Editors:
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Press Contact:
Mara Johannes-Graham
VP Sales & Marketing
Alderac Entertainment Group, Inc.
M (314) 600-2941
mjohannes@alderac.com