While we have loved our time here on WordPress, sometimes you just feel it’s time for a change. Allow us to introduce to you there brand new home for The Late Night Players on this internet: www.thelatenightplayers.com!
We still have a lot of work to do and the site is a little bare, but we’re working on it! We will be leaving our original home here up for the time being as it still has some great content and articles to check out.
Again, thank you to everyone who has swung by and hung out with us here. We hope that you’ll come join us at our new hotspot and jam some games.
For the last time here, until next time, keep your dice warm and happy gaming!
Steamforged Games has just announced that they are bringing the world of Elden Ring to the tabletop via Kickstarter later this year.
Elden Ring is a massively popular video game written by George R.R. Martin (of Game of Throne fame) and developed by FromSoftware (Demon Souls). The action role-playing game allows players to explore an open-world game as they quest to repair the Elden Ring to become the Elden Lord. The game was released in February 2022 to much critical and financial success, as well as plenty of memes for its often difficult gameplay.
In Elden Ring, one to four players take on the role of the ‘Tarnished’. They will explore the iconic locations in the Lands Between, the massive open-world from the board game’s namesake, encountering familiar characters and enemies. The original game’s infamously difficult fighters with be brought to life via an intelligent dice-free combat system that will force players to rethink their plans and adapt to every new encounter.
While details are sparse at the moment (such as when the game is coming to Kickstarter so we can throw our money at it), they did mention encounters with the Godrick Soldiers (grunts) and the Grafted King (a big boss from early in the video game’s story). We were also treated to our first look at the miniatures with Margit, the Fell Omen. The attention to detail is phenomenal and looks amazing.
Steamforged Games and Bandai Namaco Entertainment (the video game’s publisher) have a long history that started six years ago with the launch of the Dark Souls: The Board Game Kickstarter campaign. That campaign went on to make over $5 million dollars and spawn a line of games, including the newly announced Dark Souls: The Board Game core game sets. We honestly can’t see this one being any less of a success.
Obviously we are a little hyped to get this one on the tabletop so we can fail a million times, over and over, just like in the digital game. However, we want to hear from you. Sound off in the comments below if you are looking forward to the next challenging adventure.
After last month’s announcement of the new Dark Souls: The Board Game core sets, Steamforged Games have offered the gaming world a detailed look into each game’s contents and price.
In Dark Souls: The Board Game – Tomb of Giants, players will assume the roles of the Cleric, Pyromancer, or the Thief as they explore forsaken realms under the earth. They will have to work together to survive against a climatic battle against Gravelord Into and the skeleton hordes they’ll encounter along the way.
Players will find themselves trying to strived a painted snowscape in Dark Souls: The Board Game – Painted World of Ariamis. As either a Mercenary, Sorcerer, or a Deprived, players will brave the elements and enemies to take on the half-dragon, half-human Pricilla the Crossbreed.
Tomb of Gaints and Painted World of Ariamis are fully standalone core sets, both have been developed to be completely backwards compatible with all of the original Dark Souls: The Board Game releases. The revitalized rules feature streamlined mechanics and were built with feedback from the actual Dark Souls: The Board Game community of passionate players. Along with the updated ruleset, Steamforged Games has made changes to the game’s campaign experienced to make games quicker and more consistent across various game sessions.
Both of core sets feature 18 highly detailed miniatures; including a large 80mm boss mini, 13 enemy minis, a mini boss, and 3 characters. Along with the miniatures, each core set includes 4 double-sided game tiles, 3 character boards, 3 token boards, a campaign dashboard, new rulebook, 15 dice, 169 cards, and 2 heath dials.
Both sets are currently available for preorder via Steamforged Games’ webstore for $109.95 each for release on November 8, 2022. As previously mentioned, these are standalone core sets that require no additional purchases to get started. Entrenched players will have no trouble adding these as expansions to their vast library of Dark Souls: The Board Game sets.
Obviously we are absolutely excited to venture into the darkness once more, but we want to hear from all of you out there. Are you ready to bring more Dark Souls to your tabletop? Let us know in the comments below.
As always, until next time, keep your dice warm and happy gaming.
Ravensburger has announced a brand new trading card game in partnership with Disney called Disney Lorcana Trading Card Game.
Announced earlier today, Disney Lorcana puts players in the roles of powerful sorcerers called Illumineers. They will put together teams of Disney characters from a treasury of all Disney songs and stories called “The Great Illuminary”.
Not much is known at the moment, beyond that the game will feature an overarching storyline and “unique gameplay mechanics”. They have said that a handful of characters from the game will be released at the announce D23 event next month, so hopefully we’ll get some more information then.
Here is their full press release on the game’s announcement:
“Disney Lorcana is the result of the powerful alchemy of Disney magic, Ravensburger game excellence, and several years of dedicated work and investment,” said Filip Francke, Ravensburger North America CEO and Global Head of Games. “This potent combination has poised Disney Lorcana to be a game-changer in the billion-dollar-plus trading card game market.”
“The breadth and scope of Disney characters represented in this game will be unprecedented, and it will contain more original Disney artwork than any other single product ever created,” said John Balen, Vice President of Product Design at Disney. “Our dedicated Disney product design team has enjoyed collaborating with Ravensburger and our Walt Disney Animation Studios partners to create a unique Disney experience for fans of all ages to take home.”
Rooted in the magic of Disney characters and storytelling, Disney Lorcana is easy to learn for TCG newcomers while still offering strategic depth for experienced players to help create opportunity for more people to enjoy the excitement and fun of TCGs. Disney fans will enjoy the beautiful illustrations, overarching storyline, and playing with their favorite characters in new and novel ways, while veteran TCG players will also appreciate the thoughtful and unique gameplay mechanics that Ravensburger is known to deliver.
The game is set in the rich and fantastical world of Lorcana, a combination of the words Lore and Arcana. Players will take on the mantle of Illumineer, a powerful sorcerer, and band together Disney characters from Lorcana’s “The Great Illuminary,” a treasury of all Disney songs and stories ever made.
“The Disney Lorcana team is an incredible and passionate group with over a century of combined experience creating trading card games,” said Ryan Miller, Disney Lorcana Co-Designer and Brand Manager at Ravensburger. “Great care has gone into delivering an unforgettable world and gameplay experience that will be equally fun for Disney superfans, trading card game beginners, and the most enthusiastic and advanced players.”
Seven characters from Disney Lorcana will be revealed at D23. Disney Lorcanawill be released globally in Fall 2023 and will be supported by four new card set releases each year as well as a robust organized play program.
What do you all think? Is this something that sounds like you’ll be sleeving up and bringing to the table? Or is the market already oversaturated with trading card games (licensed or otherwise)? Let us know in the comments below what you think.
Until next time, keep your dice warm and happy gaming.
Knight Models have released their releases for August 2022.
The August 2022 releases include releases originally found in the Back to Gotham 2-Player Starter:
Batman – Mcfarlane Edition
GCPD Agents (featuring an alternate head sculpt)
Harley Quinn (featuring an alternate head sculpt)
Deadshot (featuring an alternate head sculpt)
Gotham Thugs (featuring multiple alternate head sculpts)
These are all models that, like we said, were featured in the original 3rd edition starter box. Aside from the increased cost of purchasing the individual models versus buying the box, players will also find themselves missing other components of the game.
Still, this offers a fantastic opportunity for new players who have either picked up the game through other Bat-Boxes or established players who may have forgone it originally but want to pick up select models.
The other reissue release is the Batman Miniature Game: Batman Elsewords I. This package includes alternate reality Batman models that were released as timed exclusives on the website:
Gaslight Batman (from Gotham by Gaslight)
Red Rain Batman (from Batman & Dracula: Red Rain)
Death Metal Batman (from Dark Knights: Death Metal)
The only new models released in this wave are the Batman Miniature Game: Gotham Sewers & Lampposts. The set includes four detailed lamppost markers (including details teasing Catwoman and Poison Ivy), along with four detailed sewer markers (including details teasing Poison Ivy, Joker, and Killer Croc).
These are going to make a fantastic addition to any tabletop and game of the Batman Miniature Game.
Now we want to hear what you all think. Excited for a chance to pick up some models you missed out on the first time? Or do you have these in your collection already? Let us know in the comments below.
Pokemon Trainers will finally have a chance to pick up the newest League Battle Deck in November.
The Mew VMAX League Battle Deck provides Pokemon Trainers a League-ready deck build around the legendary Mew. The powerful and popular 151st Pokemon is represented by Mew V who can evolves into the colossal Mew VMax. Along with a slew of other powerful cards, Mew is backed up by Genesect V.
The Pokemon TCG: Mew VMax League Battle Deck features:
A 60-card deck
2 foil cards featuring Mew V
2 foil cards featuring Mew VMax
2 foil cards featuring Genesect V
A deck box featuring Mew
2 coin condition markers
6 damage-counter dice
A competition-legal coin-flip die
A strategy sheet
A code card for the Pokemon TCG Live
The Mew VMAX League Battle Deck offers a comprehensive deck out of the box. Regardless of a player’s skill level, it seems to be a deck that could be sleeved the day of a Pokemon League and played to some great success. For veteran players, the deck can be more finely tuned to offer a high level of competitive edge.
Releasing November 11th, the Mew VMAX League Battle Deck will retail for $29.99.
Let us know in the comments below if this is one you’re looking forward to or if you’ll be passing on this one.
Until next time, keep your dice warm and happy gaming.
Steamforged Games has announced two new core sets for its popular Dark Souls: The Board Game for release this November. The new sets are Tomb of Gaints and Painted World of Ariamis.
Featuring iconic enemies and areas from the Dark Souls video game, both of these new core sets are designed to be played standalone for new players to dive straight in. The games are designed to be fully backwards compatible with the original Dark Souls: The Board Game. Rather they are new to the world of Dark Souls, or already deeply entrenched in the lore, players will fight to survive against the likes of Gravelord Nito and Crossbreed Priscilla.
Dark Souls: The Board Game – Tomb of Gaints
Dark Souls: The Board Game – Painted World of Ariamas
Steamforged Games has refreshed the ruleset of the game after much community feedback and discussion. The refreshed ruleset includes a new event system, new objective card deck, increased puzzle-based gameplay, and streamlined campaign rules.
At present, the full contents of the boxes are unknown, aside from the miniatures seen with their respective sets. Also unknown are the prices and exact release date beyond November 2022. Steamforged Games encourages players to sign up for their newsletter as they will be releasing that information, as well as a deep dive into the new ruleset, some time in the near future.
So far we can say we are absolutely ecstatic to see more adventures in the world of Dark Souls. Steamforged Games has done a phenomenal job translating the scope and difficulty of the video game onto the tabletop. We’re sure this will be a fantastic addition. Plus, any time a developer takes the time to listen to its community to freshen up a ruleset is a plus in our book. It only goes to show the commitment to the game and the community supporting it.
We want to hear from you, though. Are you excited to venture forth once more, or for the first time? Or is it possible the game’s difficulty is one that is out side your level of enjoyment? Let us know in the comments below!
As always, until next time, keep your dice warm and happy gaming.
Today we are taking a look at the Mythic Edition Loyalty Dice set from the folks at Ultra Pro:
The Mythic Edition is a line of accessories aimed at Magic the Gathering players that feature a slick black aesthetic with orange detailing, featuring the iconic Planeswalker emblem. The assortment includes various deck boxes and binders, along with the aforementioned dice.
The Mythic Edition Loyalty Dice comes packaged in a sleek black box with plastic window display, with the dice and carrying case secured within a plastic insert:
The leatherette carrying case feels exceptionally durable. It zips closed so a player never has to worry about the dice falling out while moving from table to table. The handy little clip allows players to attach it to whatever their gaming bag of choice may be. The carrying case has more than enough room for the four dice and any other dice or Spindown dials a player may need to have handy.
Two of the four dice are marked 1 through 6, while the other two are marked 7 through the 12. The numbers are enclosed within the outline of the loyalty symbol found on Planeswalker cards, again in the same orange coloring. This certainly helps the numbers pop against the dark color of the dice, especially when they can be sitting on (or next to) equally dark cards. If a player wished to use them as standard d6’s, the dice feature rounded edges for both easy rolling and to protect anything in the surrounding game space.
The dice are also considerably larger than a standard d6. The size helps them really stand out when in use. The added weight also adds some peace of mind that a sudden knock of the table won’t send the dice rolling.
Final Thoughts:
Much like every other product line Ultra Pro produces, the Mythic Edition is a quality product. While any sort of dice can be used to show off how close you are to pulling off your favorite Planeswalkers’ ultimates, these offer a little more visual flair to the game. The weight and size of the dice make them feel like more than just a cash grab sort of accessory, trying to just get by on the name and logo alone. The carrying case is one of the nicer dice bags that we’ve used, as well.
The only slightly negative thing is that there are only four dice. While most decks only run a couple of Planeswalkers, it would be nice to have had two to four more dice for players that run a Super Friends EDH/Commander deck. Yes, we could buy a whole other set, but then there is another dice bag you may or may not use. Again, a vastly minuscule complaint against an other wise fantastic product.
Verdict:
This is an easy recommendation to buy. The Mythic Edition Loyalty Dice is just a beautiful looking product that has a functional reason for being in your game back.
The Mythic Edition Loyalty Dice retails for $19.99 and can be purchased at your local game stores or via the store on the Ultra Pro website.
((Note: This was not a sponsored post. We were not provided any product or compensation for our review. The actual set depicted above was purchased from Ultra Pro at Gen Con 2022 earlier this month.))
With Gen Con now in the rear view mirror (sadly) it is time to begin looking forward to the future. After having a lot of internal discussion with what we want the future of The Late Night Players to be about and the direction we want to take our content in, we thought it would be fun to kick off this soft relaunch with a subscriber drive and giveaway.
What exactly are we planning on doing, you ask? Well we’ve put together some amazing giveaways that are either from our own personal vault or provided to us from some amazing publishers. We haven’t decided yet if it is all going to be one massive grand prize or if we’ll select a bunch of different winners. That will all depend on how much participation we get from all of you!
Before getting into the details of how to enter, let’s look at our first inclusion into the giveaway- a complete set of the Gen Con 2022 My Hero Academia promo cards!
Plus Ultra!
The fine folks at Jasco Games hooked us up with this set at Gen Con. They were more than happy to help us bring some great goodies to our audience, especially those who couldn’t make it to Gen Con themselves.
So how do you get the chance to add these beautiful foils to your personal collection? To borrow a catchphrase from one of our editor’s favorite web-series: It’s super easy, barely an inconvenience.
Simply visit all of our social media locations (listed below for your browsing pleasure) and give them a Like, Follow, or Subscribe. Each one gets you entered into the drawing, so you’ll have multiple entries if you’re so inclined to follow multiple sources! Current followers/subscribers on any/all of these platforms are already entered.
Another way to enter is by supporting us on Patreon. Yes, we know that that is such an annoying thing to do. However, 100% of all proceeds from that account get put directly back into the content we are trying to produce. We have lots of big plans for the future and the funds just help us get to that future a little faster (like getting new recording equipment). That being said, we are committed to never put anything whatsoever behind a paywall. The Patreon will eventually have some special perks as our way of saying thank you (like custom tokens) for those that are in a position to go that extra step with us, but all articles, videos and the like will be available for everyone. No one gets left behind in our gaming group!
If you would care to check that out (there really isn’t anything there since this is all a relaunch), head over to The Late Night Players Patreon.
Since this is a summer time drive, we’ll let the hype train for the goodies run until the end of September. The last day of summer in North America is September 22nd, but we’ll just let it ride out the full month of September and draw the name of the lucky winner(s) on or around October 1st.
To our long-time readers, thank you from the bottom of our hearts for sticking it out with us over this last year as we adjusted to new things happening in real life that has kept us away from the tables. To all of the new readers who may be discovering us for the first time, we hope you’ll like what you see and have a seat at the table long after the subscriber drive giveaways are done.
Check back through out the week as we announce new additions to the giveaways!
Until next time, keep your dice warm and happy gaming!
If you follow us on Instagram (which you should!), you’ll have noticed a little surprise we received at the last minute. The Late Night Players were invited to attend the 55th annual Gen Con as a member of the press.
Needless to say, we were more than excited to go!
While we did have to miss all the fun on Thursday due to other obligations, we managed to have so much fun and check out so many amazing games. There was even a massive bucket list item we get to mark of the list.
We’ll have a full write up on the site shortly, as well as individual pieces regarding our favorite games of the year. For now we are still collecting our thoughts and making it through our IRL jobs.
We do want to quickly extend our sincerest thanks to the team at Gen Con for the opportunity to partake in something we absolutely love but from a different point of view.
As always, until next time, keep your dice warm and happy gaming.
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The Late Night Players 