$50 Gift Card from Cool Stuff Inc. Contest: Entry Method #2

We wanted to make our first contest very easy to do. Just press a button and you have an entry. For our next entry method, we are wanting to expand our iTunes audience and to do so we need to get some more reviews. Therefore, to get another entry into the contest, follow these steps:

1. Goto our iTunes page 
2. Click on View in iTunes button, 
3. In iTunes click on Ratings and Reviews 
4. Write a Review. 

It doesn't have to be long, but we hope it's nice ;-)

Once you are done, email us at RollDiceTakeNames@gmail.com and give us your iTunes user name. We then can match your email address to the iTunes user.

All contests end on August 31 at midnight EST. The winner will be drawn on September 2.

Don't forget to check out the other shows on the Dice Tower Network who are also running their own contests.

The Dice Tower

The Secret Cabal

Ludology

Not Just Another Game Podcast

OnBoard Games

The Cardboard Jungle

The Party Gamecast

Geek All-Stars

Good luck!

5 Minute Initiative: Chaos & Alchemy

Chaos & Alchemy is a game designed by Michael Iachini and published by Game Salute. At this time of this writing, the game is live on Kickstarter

In the game, you play the role of an alchemist who is performing experiments in order to learn how to turn lead into gold. Experiments are in the form of cards that can be drawn during the game and can be played on your turn when you have successfully performed experiments.

Success or failure of an experiment is determined by rolling three dice and comparing the value of each die to the current value of the fortune die. If it is equal to or higher, that counts as a success, if not, it counts as a failure. Successes can be used to draw more cards into your hand or to play cards from your hand. Cards can be experiments that count towards the games goal of 10 points, they could be action cards that give an instant ability or they may be misfortune cards played on other players in order to make it harder for them to reach their endgame goal.

If doubles are ever rolled on the dice, the player will re-roll the fortune die giving a new value that future experiments must meet.

This is light, fast game that involves a lot of player interaction. As with any dice game, a certain amount of luck is involved, but sometimes it takes luck to succeed in a laboratory.

Here is my family's thoughts on the game.


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Star Date 1: Arrival at Gen Con 2013

So the adventure to Gen Con began 12 hours ago at the airport. Of course it was an uneventful flight, but for those that are familiar with the CLT airport, when you see that you are at Gate E##, you know that you will get plenty of exercise. This is fine, as long as the bees don't come back.

During the flight, talked to some gentlemen near me that were all going to Gen Con. One was coming to compete in the Dominion Tournament since he won the championship in Brazil. We had a nice discussion on the plane about the expansions of Dominion and how being down in Brazil, it takes awhile for games to get to them. Also got to talk to Edward Bolme and we knew someone in common, Lee Shelton. Amazing the small world in which we live. Either way, the whole section discussed AEG's new game Trains and the hopes of being able to snag a copy.


So, once settled in, I headed over to the convention center to get familiar so I would not be lost and understand how things work. First, don't get me wrong, but I have been in the Georgia World Congress Center in Atlanta so when I say this, I do have a frame of reference. This place isn't that big, so I was surprised and wondered how 40,000 people are going to move in this place. I shall see on Friday.

I was lucky enough to ride the coat tails of The Dice Tower and sit in a game of Eldritch Horror that is still in beta according to all the watermarks on the board. It was a pleasure to (name drops ahead) finally meet Tom Vasel, Zee Garcia, Chris Miller (Secret Cabal) and one more whose name escapes me at the moment. Bryan from FFG taught us the game and we lost the game. We had to play the hardest setting of course, but looking back, we could have won this game had we not missed one aspect of the Elder card, in my opinion.

About the game itself, it is a good game and I will write up some more later in a different post, but have a meeting in 6 hours so must get some rest. All-nighters are not in my skill set anymore.

Episode 19: The wait is over - Gen Con

Yes, the year long wait is over and Gen Con is on us. While many of the board gaming faithful will not be able to attend, it is estimated that there will be over 41,000 people in attendance this year. And here at RDTN, I, Tony, will be in attendance for the first time. It is scary, it is daunting, and I am clueless. So Marty spends some time giving me advice and how to prepare for Gen Con in the first part of the show. We then hear from others on what games they are looking forward to and then we smoothly transition into our Top 5 games. As always, our closing thoughts include various nuggets of wisdom and more importantly how to win the $50 CoolStuffInc Gift Card.

Gen Con Food Advice	4:00
Parking at Gen Con	6:10
Bags to take to Gen Con	8:20
At the Table	12:05
Our Gen Con Top Five	18:30
Closing Thoughts	56:00
CoolstuffInc Contest Reminder	01:02:00

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5 Minute Initiative: Dungeon Roll by Tasty Minstrel Games

One of our first blogs was on a Kickstarter called Dungeon Roll designed by Chris Darden and brought to market by Tasty Minstrel Games. The game arrived and Marty and I wanted to get a 5 Minute Initiative out quickly on this game after our initial plays. There is a great How To Play video out there and the rules are quick and simple. As I state in the podcast, you roll dice to set your adventurers, the dungeon lord rolls dungeon dice depending on the level of the dungeon you are on, defeat the monsters with your adventurers, and see if you want to go on with that level defeated based on what is left in your party of adventurers. Each player gets to go to the dungeon three times and whoever has the most experience points at the end of the third delve wins. Once again, the How to Play video does a great job of explaining, give it a watch.


Marty and I both enjoy this game as a filler and the theme really is a positive for this push your luck type of game. All dice games have down time, but since the dungeon lord is a different person and they have something to do, there is less in this game than in others in my opinion.

At this price point and the quality of the dice, these bad boys are solid, and with future expansions planned, this could be a good game to add to your shelves if you are looking for a Zombie Dice replacement.


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5 Minute Initiative: The Agents Card Game

In this segment, Marty and I review a prototype copy of the card game The Agents, which is currently on Kickstarter. The game is a card game, plus on my side because I love card games, that involves a lot of interaction between players. In the game, you are trying to score 40 victory points before you opponents by playing Agents in a shared area known as the Faction. Factions are shared between the opponent to your left and the opponent to your right. So, you are sharing two sets of cards (factions). This concept is very important to the game for it provides one of the means to score points and causes interaction in the game between players. You also have missions that score points and these missions are only for you. So you must balance between your factions and missions to secure victory.

Marty spends the first part of the episode discussing the rules and you can get them here. One thing we forgot to mention in our discussion is that drawing cards from the draw piles is not automatic, you have to spend victory points in order to draw cards so you are having to judge when to give up points to get cards. Another nice mechanism in this game to make you have to think.

If you aren't sure this game is for you, they have the print and play ready to go along with the rules, so give it a try. This game has been backed by RDTN and we look forward to receiving our copy.


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Want a $50 Gift Card from CoolStuffInc? Entry Method #1

As we mentioned in Episode 18, we have the privilege to offer our listeners, followers, guildies, and groupies the opportunity to win a $50 gift card to Cool Stuff Inc. via the Dice Tower Network. So for the month of August, we will provide ways for you to enter into the drawing for the gift card. And this drawing isn't just us, it is also across the Dice Tower Network. You can go visit the following DTN shows and find out how to enter into their drawings/contests for their $50 gift cards:

The Dice Tower

The Secret Cabal

Ludology

Not Just Another Game Podcast

OnBoard Games

The Cardboard Jungle

The Party Gamecast

Geek All-Stars

So, how do you get your name in a hat for a shot at the GC? The first way is by heading over to BoardGameGeek and join our guild. Current members will automatically be entered.

That is it for now, but continue to follow our blog and Twitter for more ways to be entered into the drawing.

Chances of winning are based on the number of entries received during the month of August. The winner of the prize agrees to the use of their name on the Dice Tower Network and will provide information that allows the awarding of the prize.