Weekly News Round-up – 19th February 2019

Weekly News Round-up – 19th February 2019

Welcome to the Weekly News Round-up! What’s been going on in the world of board gaming this week? Well, Z-Man have announced a brand new edition of Love Letter, Hasbro have teased a Stranger Things-themed Dungeons and Dragons set, Root’s new expansion has been revealed and Neill Blomkamp’s hit sci-fi movie, District 9, gets the board game treatment!

Fall in Love all over again!

Z-Man made all of our Valentine’s dreams come true this week when they announced a brand new edition of the family-favourite, Love Letter, will be released. The popular card game, originally produced by AEG who were then bought up by Z-Man, is getting a revamp, much to the delight of fans across the globe! This new edition will feature new illustrations from the Citadel’s artist Andrew Bosley, along with new characters, allowing up to 6 players to join in with this great game! While Z-Man have not given us any detail on the new characters, I would expect to see the ones found in the premium edition of the game. As for the increased player count, it will be interesting to see how this fairs as I find the premium edition has no middle ground between 2-3 players and 7 players! It just doesn’t play as well with 4-6 players, in my opinion. Love Letter is available to pre-order now and Z-Man will release more details in due course.

There’s something Strange ahead!

Stranger Things is perhaps one of Netflix’s biggest hits, with a 3rd season on the way and a massive cult following. Many fans will remember from the very first episode, the gang playing D&D together and it was only a matter of time before we saw something like this coming to production! Hasbro have announced that they will be releasing a D&D starter set themed around Stranger Things. You’ll find an Adventure book with the campaign, Hunt for the Thessalhydra, the same campaign played by the lads throughout the show. Hasbro are making this a little more attractive to fans as they are including two Demogorgon miniatures to sweeten the deal! You can expect the set to cost around £20 and is set for a May release

Everyone is Root-ing for more!

The world of Root is heading underground with its brand new expansion! The asymmetric woodland-fighting game, Root, has already seen its first expansion, Riverfolk, but with fans aching for more, Root: The Underground Expansion has been announced. This new expansion will bring two brand new factions to the game, The Corvid Conspiracy and the Great Underground Duchy. The Corvid Conspiracy is a murder of crows, specialising in espionage. The Great Underground Duchy is a labour of moles who rely on strength in numbers, using their warriors to take areas on the map. There is loads more detail on the expansions Reddit thread, where designer Cole Wehrle has given more information on the release. Root: The Underground Expansion will be heading onto Kickstarter on the 14th March and will also allow those who have yet to get hold of the game an opportunity to add it to their pledge! Leder Games have also said they are looking at creating a box to house the base game and all the expansions!

A return to District 9!

Many will remember the sci-fi hit film, District 9, from director
Neill Blomkamp. 10 years on and we are finally being graced with a board game edition of this fantastic film! Weta-Workshop are producing this board game, who first entered the hobby with their debut game, GKR Heavy Hitters. They worked on the film, District 9, so we can expect big things to come from this. Players will take control of a rival faction within the District, fighting for control of the area and pushing others out. The game is said to come with miniatures, designed by sculptor Gary Hunt, who has worked previously on Peter Jackson’s LOTR trilogy. We can expect to see this hitting Kickstarter on the 26th March

Tom Gorner

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