Dice Tower -- Game On!

I'm at the Dice Tower convention in Orlando, a place for serious (and not-so-serious) boardgame geeks.

I've save the most interesting for down the page. Scroll down. Let's start with the obligatory zombie game: Run, Fight or Die!

Great fun, and check out the boss zombie.

Most zombie games are cooperative games. While there are limited cooperative elements in Run, Fight or Die, (mainly killing the boss), this the most individually terrifying game I've ever played. The zombies advance across a board toward you.

You save people for points. I got these two jerks. I also won the game.

I also played Catacombs, which is a tabletop dungeon explorer with elements of "Pitch Car." To elaborate, your characters are on wooden discs, which you "pitch" or flick across the table at the bad guys.

I was the elf. Better than the ice princess that some kid played; but the paladin was overpowered, as frakkin' paladins usually are.

Here are some of the cards for the baddies; good art. 

Next, a shot of the game play itself. And Catacombs is a game for all ages, so it has that going for it.

Late at night, two ladies agreed to let me joint them playing Carcassone: The Tower. I've played all sorts of Carcassone variants -- it is one of my favorite games -- but never this one. It has a good deal of "screw your neighbor" to it. One of the ladies seemed grumpy at first, but she warmed up to me.

... which was perhaps unwise, because I kicked their butts. Bwah-ha-ha! You can't see it, but I'm wringing my hands maniacally. 

 This morning, because someone kept hogging Alien Frontiers, I ended up playing some games sponsored by the companies selling them.  Good move, because I got to play Hooyah, the cooperative game of marines on a mission.

And here is my character ...

I've saved the most interesting game for last. Microvores.  This is a beta of the game, which was being demonstrated (and played) by its designer.

One of the best things about the Dice Tower con is you get to play with so many game designers. And they have some of the more interesting brains you'll ever come across. For example, who comes up with a game where you play a rampaging, mutating microbe ...

Here are some of the mutation/event cards from Microvores.

You can read more about at Microvores.com

To make it more interesting, the designer of this game has come up with his own patented system for showcasing and playing prototypes of games. It should save game designers lots of money. 

Oh, and I haven't played it, but I'll click-whore with a shot of the set-up they have for the Star Wars: X-Wing game. Fanboys go "ooh!"

I will post more later.