Happy Sunday, Geekly Gang! Kyra Kyle here. I’m still on a pseudo-hiatus with Novel in November. I just shared a writing update a couple days ago, but this means that Geek News will mostly be video game and board game new releases. Let’s begin with board game new releases.

Exactly as Planned Sneaks Onto GameFound

I love it when a publisher/designer allows players to demo their game. Exactly As Planned offers a solo, cake-walk heist to whet gamers’ whistles. You can play the game by checking out Exactly As Planned’s GameFound page. And it won’t take long. Exactly As Planned lasts exactly 5-minutes. Gamers on the clock, attempting to play the correct cards to pull off their semi-coordinated heist.

I love Exactly As Planned’s box art. The off-centered “As” is hilarious. Once gamers become accustomed to Exactly As Planned’s ruleset, they can add a little spice to the proceedings. One team member may be speaking only in questions, a second might have to stare at the ceiling, and a third may be restricted to saying only “yes” and “no.” If Exactly As Planned sounds like chaotic fun, check out its GameFound page.

Arydia: The Paths We Dare Tread Journeys to GameFound

Arydia: The Paths We Dare Tread is another big box, fantasy, open-world, and open-ended exploration board game. So, what separates Arydia from other board games like it that we’ve covered over the past handful of months? Prowess.

Publisher Far Off Games and designer Cody Miller of Xia: Legends of a Drift System are well known for immersive, exploration board games. Despite being over a decade old, Xia maintains a top 200 spot on BGG. And Arydia: The Paths We Dare Tread brings this same scale and grandeur to a fantasy setting. This GameFound campaign is Arydia’s second printing. The game sports a whopping 9.1 out 10 on BGG, where most games are lucky to get a 7. And I love the idea of a “green legacy” game. Far Off Games notes that Arydia features all the hallmarks of a legacy game–packages to open, hidden information, progression, discovery, and exploration–but allows you to reset the game when you complete it so that you can start again or pass it on to someone else.

We need more “green legacy” games. While it can be cool to burn your board game after playing (like I’ve seen others do with Pandemic Legacy), it’s also a waste. And look at the dice. I don’t know if the dice signal how a unit can move or where a spell casts its area of effect, but I’d like to find out. Arydia comes with plenty of detailed miniatures and other game components. If you’re interested in Arydia, check out its GameFound page.

Chants for the Old Ones Lurks on GameFound

Chants for the Old Ones is another second printing making its way onto GameFound, this time with two new expansions: The Eye of Dagon and The New Orders’ Reckoning. Players control unique cults with various paths to earn victory and unleash the power of the Old Ones. Perform dark rituals. Control key areas of the city. Do your worst in this deck-building and worker placement game set in the Cthulhu Mythos.

I like Chants for the Old Ones’ combination of deck building and worker placement. Those are two fantastic game mechanisms. Playing a Lovecraftian cult is a bonus. And I like how The New Orders’ Reckoning expansion adds a playable cult for the King in Yellow (Hastur) himself. If you’d like to get your Cthulhu on, check out Chants for the Old Ones’ GameFound page.

Elements of Truth Launches on KickStarter

Elements of Truth shakes up the traditional trivia game. The game includes four question types for each of its 250 cards: More or Less, Multiple Choice, Number Line, and True or False. Multiple Choice and True and False need no introduction. More or Less has players choose whether one “fill-in-the-blank” has more or less of something than another “fill-in-the-blank” thing. But Number Line has me most intrigued. Players write an answer on the (provided) whiteboard to see if they can get as close to the numerical correct answer.

Elements of Truth offers five expansion packs (four pictured above). Each question pack includes an additional 200 question cards in a particular subject. My history of playing Trivial Pursuit makes me wonder if gamers will want to pick up at least one of these expansion packs. 250 question cards are easy to memorize after a few plays. The base game pledge is $39. Players can get the first question pack (Veritasium, which isn’t pictured above) in addition to the base game for $59. Or go all-in for $99. If you’re interested in Elements of Truth, check out its KickStarter page.

Anno 117: Pax Romana Releases

The Anno series of city-building real-time strategy games continues with the earliest setting for the franchise. Gamers are given the choice to build the Roman Empire (Latium) or the Celtic kingdom (Albion). You’ll have the choice between paths of loyalty or rebellion. You can focus on military might or economic growth. And, for the first time, gamers will be able to play Anno 117: Pax Romana in first-person.

This option alone piques my interest for Anno 117: Pax Romana. I’ve played numerous city-building games and always wondered what it would be like to experience my city at ground level. Anno 117: Pax Romana has received good reviews from critics. Rome has been built (and torn down) in many video games. I may try my hand at building the Celtic Kingdom. Anno 117: Pax Romana is available on PC, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X/S.

Lumines Arise Releases on Steam and PlayStation

I’ve been a fan of the Lumines series ever since it was first released on the PlayStation Portable, and Lumines Arise is the first new title in the series since 2012. More than just a Tetris clone, Lumines gives the familiar formula a new twist. Every block is 2×2, but they contain up to two colors. The blocks slide into spaces left in the puzzle, and gamers must match colors (in 2×2 blocks or better) before they explode.

I’ve always enjoyed Lumines’s slick design. At first glance, you may find Lumines confusing, but you’ll get used to the game’s aesthetics soon enough. Lumines Arise includes numerous game modes, ensuring ample replayability. The classic Journey mode returns. Gamers will play over 35 stages, called skins. Each skin has its own theme with music and visuals to match the stage’s vibe. I love the themes that use vegetables. What?

After gamers complete the Journey, they unlock a new mode called Survival. Players play endlessly–or at least until they top out–with the skins transitioning as they reach certain milestones. That could get trippy with Lumines Arise’s bizarre skins. Lumines Arise also offers Training Missions, Challenges (various game states with goals and some variations on gameplay), Time Attack (clear enough blocks in the allotted time), and Dig Down where the blocks come from below. Trippy.

I can’t wait to get my hands on Lumines Arise. It’s received good to great reviews from most critics, with a slight edge given to the PlayStation 5 version over the PC version. Honestly, I always intended to pick up this title for PS5 anyway.

That’s all the Geek News we have for this week. Thank you for reading, and wherever you are, I hope you’re having a great day.