Happy Sunday, Geekly Gang! Kyra Kyle here with another week of Geek News. We have another impressive crop of new releases for board games and video games, but before we get to those, we actually have a headline for the first time in several months. Usually, most geek news headlines tend to be on the negative side. Geekly had a month and a half of bad news for Sony and PlayStation. Yikes! It can get tiring, so we took a break from headlines. I’ve been following the continuing saga for Hasbro, Wizards of the Coast, and the creatives behind Dungeons & Dragons and Magic: The Gathering. Our headline this week centers on those creatives forming a union.
The other issue we’ve had with geek news headlines is that readers have few (if any) courses of action, but this one’s different. You can sign the petition in support of Dungeons & Dragons and Magic: The Gathering unionizing. If you want to get involved, here’s a link to the petition. In short, D&D, D&D Beyond, Magic: The Gathering, and Studio X workers have petitioned to unionize.
Dungeons & Dragons and Magic: The Gathering Designers Apply for a Union
Hasbro has had about as good of a year as Sony and PlayStation. Woof! We’ve seen new scandals from Hasbro week after week. The following is an abbreviated list of what Hasbro has done in about 18 months:
Resend the Open Gaming License (OGL), making third party D&D 5.5 content illegal to sell
Begin prosecuting gamers who use third party D&D content
Sunset D&D Sigil, firing thousands of employees in the process
Fire another tens of thousands of workers during the summer
A third set of layoffs just before Christmas last year
Yet another round of firings set for this Christmas (Merry Christmas, everyone; now pack your s#!t)
Insist on using AI…for everything
Dub D&D books as “collectibles” which is code for making them more expensive
While making a subscription model the norm, which is code for charging even more money for not owning anything
Hasbro let go of Wizard of the Coast’s CEO and has yet to replace him
That last one makes me think of Hasbro as The Reapers in Mass Effect: “Assuming Complete Control.” Seriously, Hasbro may be tabletop gaming’s closest thing to a supervillain. I’ve looked at some of the terms and conditions for working at Hasbro for D&D and Magic, and it’s bleak:
Mandatory (and usually unpaid) overtime, which leads to employees sleeping at their desks
Hasbro owns anything and everything you work on, which means any other creative product you produce as their employee becomes their property
No thanks, Hasbro. You already know I have other games and novels in the works. I don’t need you to own all of my projects. You can’t have my soul.
Your mileage with unions may vary, but Hasbro is the chief force behind most–if not all–of the negative cloud hanging over Dungeons & Dragons and Magic: The Gathering. The designers of these games have made mistakes in the past, and they will make mistakes in the future, but they deserve to make the games they want to create. Without AI. Without fear of being fired for apparently no reason. Hasbro hemorrhages money. Toys don’t make as much money as they use to make. But D&D and Magic: The Gathering are massive money makers. They’re the ones keeping Hasbro afloat, and the games’ designers are still in danger of being laid off. These designers forming a union may combat some of these bad practices.
Designers of both these games detest AI. That’s a start. Hasbro may get its wish of over-monetizing D&D and Magic: The Gathering (like rising prices for D&D books and a subscription service and the Universes Beyond series), but the designers of these games want to push back again these developments. Forming a union can help. Without a union, Hasbro will 100% implement all of the changes D&D players don’t want to see. With a union, that percentage drops. Even if it’s a reduction of 10%, that’s something. Even if its ridding Magic and D&D of AI slop, that’s something, too. Heck, I’d settle for better working conditions or in some Hasbro employees’ cases, human rights.
You can help the direction of D&D and Magic: The Gathering. Please, consider signing D&D and Magic: The Gathering designers’ petition to apply as a union. Here’s that link again.
I wanted to end on a call to action, which isn’t always something available for these headline news pieces, and on a positive note. Now, let’s talk about the fun stuff. Here are these week’s roundup of new board games and video games.
Heirloom Launches on KickStarter
Heirloom is a hex-tile laying strategy game where players cultivate beautiful heirloom tomato gardens by carefully expanding and optimizing a community garden of tomatoes, and harvesting them with their baskets.
Over the course of the game, players draft and place hexagonal farming tiles to grow contiguous fields and create high-value tomato varieties. The twist is that you can overlap (“overgrow”) tiles, which segments the boards in unique ways.
It’s also an “order fulfilment” game where we are trying to bring fresh tomatoes to the get-together to make a specific dish. Getting your tomatoes there first will earn you more VP.
Featuring vibrant botanical artwork and a clean, approachable ruleset, Heirloom offers a relaxing yet thinky tile-laying experience focused on growth, planning, and the quiet satisfaction of a perfectly cultivated garden.
Thank you, Aerobellum Games, for the description. I like Heirloom’s tile stacking element; this reminds me of Flamecraft Duel but takes the mechanism in a different direction. Allowing players to collect tomatoes and cook recipes with them is another great twist. Heirloom uses a lot of element from recent games and give them a nice spin. The artwork reminds me of Fromage and Formaggio, which is interesting because we will be seeing more from the publisher of those games this week. Heirloom looks amazing. I have seldom met a board game with cooking mechanisms that I didn’t like, so I’m interested in Heirloom. Pledges range from $39 to $299. If you’re interested in Heirloom, check out its KickStarter page.
Don’t Go Back There Launches on KickStarter
Don’t Go Back There is a standalone expansion for Don’t Go In There. It can be played on its own or combined with the base game. Though you were warned to never return, curiosity got the best of you and now you’ve accidentally awoken the Vampires!
Decide how risky to play as you venture deep into Dracula’s castle. Do you take first choice of the items and risk attracting Vampires, or play it safe? Collect the right items and to dispel Curses and ward off the Vampires.
On your turn, choose a part of the haunted house to explore by placing a token in one of the 3 rooms. Each room has a line of 4 spaces. The deeper you go into a room, the more likely you are to get the Cursed item you desire, but be careful! The further you go, the more Vampires will stalk you.
When 3 tokens have been placed into a room, the Vampire dice are rolled and players gain Vampire tokens, but may negate Vampires if they stay toward the back of the line. Next, players will take cards from the room in order of how far each player ventured into the room.
At the end of the game. The player with the most Vampire tokens is possessed and gains extra Curses. The player with the fewest Curses wins!
Don’t Go Back There features all new Cursed items, all new Rooms, and new Vampire dice and tokens. Mix these together with the base game to see if you can escape both the Vampires AND the Ghosts!
Thank you, Road To Infamy Games (R2i Games), for the description. Between all JK Geekly’s writers, we own at least 75% of R2i’s games. I didn’t know that until I started researching Don’t Go Back There. Ironically, none of use own Don’t Go In There, the previous game in this series. We may need to change that. I love a good, quick game with strong push your luck components. Don’t Go Back There looks to fill the niche. This is a departure for a lot of R2i games, at least with the push your luck component. Fromage, Formaggio, and Canvas all run short but there’s little–if any–push your luck. I’d like to see what R2i does with this mechanism, because I do like push your luck games. Don’t Go Back There offers pledges between $24 and $68. Not a bad mix of options. If you’re interested in Don’t Go Back There, check out its KickStarter page.
Excursions Launches on KickStarter
Hi there, and welcome to an exciting new chapter of Galactic Cruise. While the scientists, engineers, and architects are hard at work on Earth, you and your fellow cruise directors will be stationed here on the new, state-of-the-art Galactic Cruise space station. This will be your base of operations, where you’ll be carefully crafting specialized trips, upgrading your fleet, and making sure that our esteemed guests have the time of their lives! I have it on good authority that the cruise director who impresses the board of directors the most will receive the coveted Cruise Director of the Year bonus!
When you are the active player, you choose one of the seven actions around the outside of the space station. These actions include building developments, advertising to guests, adding new excursions to your itineraries, upgrading your ships and player board, and sending guests on the vacations of their dreams! All players will take this action simultaneously, but as the active player you will also gain a bonus, the potency of which fluctuates as the space station rotates.
Once a player reaches the requisite number of victory points, the game comes to an end and final scoring commences. The player with the most points is crowned cruise director extraordinaire and will receive the Cruise Director of the Year bonus (and the victory!).
Thank you, Kinson Key Games, for the description. I saw Excursions and knew it had to make this list. Then, I saw Excursions was part of the Galactic Cruise line of games. I have never played Galactic Cruise. The theme appeals to me: holding cargo of sightseers, you’re sailing a starship through space. Awesome! My only reservation with Galactic Cruise is its complexity. I find more complex games difficult to get to the table. You must be in the right headspace to play an involved game. Fortunately, Excursions dials down Galactic Cruise’s complexity. With pledges ranging from $39 to $349, I have plenty of options to give Excursions a try. Excursions packs a lot of game into a small box. If you’re interested in Excursions, check out its KickStarter page.
Sky Bloom: The Rooftop Gardening Game Launches on KickStarter
Sky Bloom is a strategic game of resource management, set collection, and thoughtful planning. Over the course of a summer season, players gather Seeds, fill Planters with blooming flowers, attract Pollinators for valuable end-game points, and draft Cultivator Cards that enhance their growing strategy.
The flowers, pollinators, and seasonal rhythms in Sky Bloom are inspired by real plants and ecosystems, grounding the game’s garden-building in the natural relationships that allow gardens to thrive.
With personal objectives, shifting weather Forecasts, and limited rooftop space, every decision matters as players compete to grow the most flourishing garden before the season slips away and the first frost claims the final bloom.
Designed to be easy to learn yet rewarding to master, Sky Bloom offers multiple paths to victory and simple turns with surprising strategic depth.
Thank you, Merchants of Play, for the description. I told you gardening board games are popular, and I love the concept of Sky Bloom: gardening on rooftops. Of course the game looks amazing. The bits look high quality. I like the idea changing weather patterns. Gardening on rooftops should come at a cost. And it looks as if Sky Bloom has gained some traction in the community. That’s great to see. Merchants of Play is a newer publisher, but they have some cool upcoming games they have scheduled. Sky Bloom pledges range from $29 to $78. If you’re interested in Sky Bloom, check out its KickStarter page.
Silver Pines Releases
Silver Pines is a survival horror metroidvania set in small town America. Fight nightmarish terrors and solve puzzles, while carefully managing your scarce resources as you uncover the mysteries that could hold the key to redemption.
Thank you, Team 17, for the description. Silver Pines releases at the perfect time: spooky season. I haven’t seen too many metroidvanias mixed with exploration and survival horror games. Silver Pines has an interesting combination of genres and story beats, and the graphics looks great. Just look at that noir aesthetic above. Team 17 is a well-respected game publisher (The Escapists, Overcooked, and War Dogs series), and Silver Pines has received good reviews. This looks like another game Skye may need to explore. Silver Pines is available on PC, Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series S/X.
Order of the Sinking Star Releases
From director Jonathan Blow (Braid, The Witness), Order of the Sinking Star is a massive puzzle adventure set in a realm of magic and enigma. Solve over 1000 interconnected, hand-crafted puzzles, discover unique playable heroes, master evolving gameplay mechanics, and decipher a grand mystery.
Thank you, Thekla Inc, for the description. Order of the Sinking Star sounds like it’s right up my alley. I loved Braid. The fact that Order of the Sinking Star is by the same director has me hooked. That and the fact that Order of the Sinking Star offers numerous puzzles. What? I love puzzle games. Mrs. Geekly loves puzzle games. Couple that with the excellent graphics, and Order of the Sinking Star becomes a must-play. This game looks amazing. I see myself losing countless hours in this game, and it’s received stellar reviews. I would expect nothing less from Jonathan Blow. Order of the Sinking Star is available on PC and Nintendo Switch 2.
Paperhead Releases
In the cute cardboard world, something went horribly wrong… Use the magical pencil, a good old shotgun, and various other weapons as well as the strength of your mighty boots, to uncover the dark truth and find out WHY WOULD CARDBOARD… BLEED?
Thank you, HypeTrain Digital, for the description. We end this week’s new releases with another spooky game…of sorts. Paperhead looks equal parts adorable and unsettling. Is it supposed to be a cardboard cutout version of Doom? Wow! I love the concept of a magical pencil. Yes, please. Forget the various other weapons I could wield. The pencil is mightier than the gatling gun. LOL Paperhead features an interesting art style. It’s received good reviews, so it must be doing something right. Like many other games on this list, Paperhead was an instant wishlist game. Paperhead is available on PC and Xbox Series S/X.
That’s all the geek news we have for you this week. Thank you for reading, and wherever you are, I hope you’re having a great day.
