Gen Con Continued: Triking, Temple Games, and Hamster Press

Triking Games:

        One of the things that's sort of bugging me about this year's coverage of Gen Con is the fact that one of the largest displays and demos doesn't seem to be getting proper coverage.  Sure, we can evidently wax poetic for years about Clout Fantasy, but I've read entirely too little about Triking Games and their Gen Con presentation of their card game, Anachronism.

        Now, by nature, I am not a card game lover.  You will not find 250 pictures on this site dedicated to middle-aged men fighting 12-year old boys in a Pokemon tourney (a site I was to see many, many times at the Con this year).  There's nothing wrong with that particularly for of geekery versus my chosen geek path per se, but it's just not my thing.  I find it dull, dull, dull. But what I didn't find dull was Anachronism.  In association with the History Channel, Triking has created a game that lets great warriors from across history face off against one another.  Add special weapons, armor, and condition cards to the battle, and the strategy really comes to life.  I played in a very entertaining scrap pitting Ramses II vs. Tamerlane, and generally just enjoyed the hell out of it.  As I understand, battles with 4 or 5 warriors on each side are not uncommon, and this is a game that could as easily take ten minutes or an hour.  It made a non-CCGer have fun, and that's saying something.

Temple Games:

        My crossover into the non-RPG realm continued with a stop at Temple Games and their new product, ChiZo Rising.  It's a collectible tile game based on the animals and elements of the Chinese Zodiac, and was among my favorite games of the convention.  In ChiZo, as in the Zodiac itself, certain animals are compatible or incompatible with the others.  Being able to link compatible animals together, by strategy, battle, or card change gives you points towards victory.  As I said, it consists collectible tiles, with pieces or different aspects of animals that can change how they relate to the other pieces on the board.  We currently have George and Katie, our sibling dynamos from Virginia, playtesting the heck out of this game, and hope to have their full report soon.

        When you're fortunate, you come across a game where you can truly see the love, care, and consideration that went into the creation of a game.  So let it be noted of ChiZo Rising.  The tiles are of a German-style sturdy design, and the art is whimsical while still retaining its appeal to an older audience.  I would feel as equally at home playing this game with my 10-year old nephew as I would a friend in their 30s.  I heard nothing but praise for this game from every circle I traveled in, and I have nothing but praise to add.  This game will be definitely be going out to a few friends come Christmas.  Deborah Robinson and the entire crew at Temple Games should be proud not only of ChiZo, but of how welcome and friendly they were during the Con.  Great folks, great game.

Hamster Press:

         Nearly obscured by large mounds of colorful puppets (his wife's venture, as I understand it) was Chris Engle of Hamster Press.  Looking spry indeed in his deerstalker hat to promote his Engle Matrix games featuring Sherlock Holmes, Chris had a surprise up his sleeve (or on his table) for visitors to his booth.  Same intriguing games, with antique photographs and illustrations to set the mood for whatever Lovecraftian or Holmesian setting he had to present, only his new products are fold-up, much like a travel map.  On these laminated works were the same characters and descriptions, complete with the aforementioned pictures, but a map is also included for the area being described.  The map I saw was for a Sherlock Holmes game and was of part of Victorian London.  Best of all, the sticker price was only $9.95!   Chris said that reaction to his new fold-out products was largely positive, and I'm glad to hear it.  It looked to be a whole lotta game for a small price.

Comments

[steve]

Anachronism is really a tactical miniatures/board game cleverly disguised as card game that rewards different levels of engagement. You can spend hours figuring out the optimal five-card deck, or you can play a fun game with a pair of unaltered booster packs. . In both tournaments I attended, I was surprised at the amount tactical depth generated by so few rules and attributes.

[RPG Blog]

Absolutely. I, too, was happily surprised at how much of a wargame feel it was able to present. Being a history fiend, I was also thrilled to be given the chance to match up some of my favorite warriors throughout history. I'm gunning for an Alexander the Great/Ghengis Khan vs. Julius Caesar/Saladin matchup soon. :)