July 4th, 2018
Roswell Reports, Shuffling Horrors
On this date in 1951, four years after the infamous “Roswell Incident”, the Roswellian Star reported all sorts of wacky things going on around town. Did the citizens bravely band together and stop the outer space invasion – or did they just become pod people?!?
Only those who play the SHUFFLING HORROR: ROSWELL 51 boardgame know for sure…
Happy 4th of July from your favorite
independent game company!
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June 10th, 2018
Conventions, GameWick News
Find GameWick Games at Origins Game Fair – Booth 153! We’ve got a corner booth at the end of Aisle 100 (the left-most aisle in the exhibit hall), near the Origins Game Library. Swing by the booth for a quick Shuffling Horror demo or even take a selfie with our Dice Hog (he don’t bite)! Also, we’ve got a bunch of ROSWELL 51 and PITTSBURGH 68 games on the schedule (see our full event info here). Join us for some geeky fun and nonsense!
Can’t wait to see some old friends and meet some new ones!
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May 31st, 2018
Roswell Reports, Shuffling Horrors
GaryCon X is in the rearview mirror, but the memories of those games still linger for many! One that I remember well is a ROSWELL 51 game that had such a spectacular ending! The terror of the outer space invasion mounted reel by reel, until a final survivor was left to save humanity. It all came down to the WAC, as played by Erin W. Surrounded by alien players on all sides, it was the WAC versus seven players! Luckily, Erin was able to score two Horror Stars during the course of the game and this made all the difference in her survival.
In Erin’s words… “Being the last one standing for my first game was incredible! Larry ran the game seamlessly, and I had a blast even though I barely knew anyone at the table. By the end of the game, I didn’t want it to be over even though I had won. Shuffling Horror didn’t leave any awkward or empty moments with action on every card and around every corner!” (Erin W., Age 13)
“I Didn’t Want It To Be Over…”
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May 4th, 2018
Conventions, The WEGS Fray
We are super excited for our return to Origins Game Fair this year! We’ve got a booth, a Shuffling Horror secret reveal, and a bunch of games on the grid! In addition, we’ll be running our classic Dwarf Walks Into A Bar scenario. It’s been a couple years since we did that! Many Old Skool fans were introduced to the WEGS system with this over-the-top tavern brawler. The synopsis: It’s a slow night at the Tongue of Dung, the seediest tavern in the worst part of rotting Old Ikkspatt, but not for long…”
There’s only one session on Saturday night, so you better ACT FAST!
(Our full Origins Event Menu is found here…)
Borkfu Awaits!
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May 1st, 2018
Conventions, GameWick News
The GameWick Gang is back at Origins Game Fair this summer, with a bunch of events and a booth, too! First time we’ve had a booth in a few years, so we’re really looking to showing folks what we’ve been up to and give a little sneak peek of our next Shuffling Horror game, INNSMOUTH 32. Not to eclipse that amazing news, but, for WEGS OLD SKOOL fans, we’re running our classic tavern brawler “Dwarf Walks Into A Bar” on Saturday night! Now, here’s all the other wicked details…
GAMEWICK’S ORIGINS GAME FAIR MENU
—Day Sessions: Thurs thru Sat—
12 pm ROSWELL 51
2 pm ROSWELL 51
4 pm PITTSBURGH 68
—Evening Sessions: Thurs & Fri—
8 pm ROSWELL 51 & PITTSBURGH 68
10 pm INNSMOUTH 32 Sneak Peek
—The WEGS Sat Night Special—
8 pm Dwarf Walks Into A Bar
(Wegsperienced Players Only)
Our event menu is easy to remember: from 12 noon until 12 midnite, you can find a Shuffling Horror game on the even hours (12, 2, 4, 8, 10). Each game session is about an hour and a half. We run a sci-fi double feature at 8pm, ROSWELL 51 and PITTSBURGH 68 in tandem. Thrills and chills await!
We’ll post our booth info and con specials later, but feel free to
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April 14th, 2018
Innsmouth 32, Shuffling Horrors
It was 10 p.m. on Saturday night at Gary Con X… My final event of the con was nigh – Shuffling Horror: Pittsburgh 68. Eight players took their seats for what was an unexpectedly fast-paced and extremely brutal game – all were dead or zombified within an hour. One player, entirely new to Shuffling Horror, asked if the game always played this fast and deadly. I explained it was a very unusual session in both aspects – especially given the number of players. He immediately asked if we could play again.
“We could. or if folks want, we can playtest the next Shuffling Horror game I’m working on…”
“Anyone up for some Lovecraft?”
All players stuck around to see what horrors awaited in this next Shuffling Horror release. Inspired by Shadow Over Innsmouth, one of H.P. Lovecraft’s most famous tales, this game pits gangsters, scholars, and students against cultists and Deep Ones. Before we began, I explained two new game mechanics: Mythos points and Insanity points (wouldn’t be very HPL without a healthy heaping of both). These rules are pretty straightforward. Since all players were already familiar with the base rules of the system, the movie deck was shuffled and the first reel began.
This game session played fast, but its ending was the complete opposite of our prior game – almost everyone survived! As Director, I never had enough monsters to pose a huge threat. Despite this being a “low show” monster movie, the Innsmouth vibe crept in on so many different levels. From the archetypal characters, the weird artifacts they unearthed, and the plot devices triggered along the way, all elements did their job evoking the horror of that infamous, creeped-out, fishing village. It was a game heavy on character, memorable moments, and not a few B-movie laughs.
Some of the movie’s highlights were…
The immediate appearance of a terrifying Shoggoth; knowing the harm this creature could inflict, the Aged Scholar went after it with powerful Mythos points. It was a high price to his strength, but the group was safe from its horror for now…
The Bookworm, armed with a Flashlight, explored the Old Schooner for clues and lore…
The Necronomicon appeared twice. First in the possession of the town’s Shop Clerk, who read its dark pages to gain mythos at the expense of his sanity. The book was later taken by the Aged Scholar to reinforce his own mythos power…
A gang of vile villagers tried to put an end to the town’s Shop Keep (who betrayed them). He escaped their clutches several times. Due to his uncanny ability to avoid harm (and the Bob Denver placeholder card art), this character was named “Gilligan”…
As the Deep Ones emerged, the Gangster with the Tommy Gun riddled the wharf with bullets…
The Goon grabbed the Harpoon and put some big time hurt on cultists and Deep Ones. Later in the movie, the Goon was knocked-out and taken away by the cultists. The Professor of Languages (who had fallen in love with the Goon) led the search party’s efforts through town to find him before it was too late. It was decided her name was “Adrian”, as we could all hear the Goon crying out that name (a la Rocky Balboa) when the two were reunited …
The Old Captain, the Doctor, and the Store Clerk tried to flee town but got “Lost In The Marsh”. They luckily found their way out before the Deep Ones came a-creeping…
The Socialite revealed she packed a Pocket Pistol (as she drew that item card from the screen). She later volunteered to be the bait and lure the monsters into a deadly trap via a plot device card called “Take The Bait”.
In the last minutes of the movie, the High Priest of the Esoteric Order appeared. His wrath was heaped upon poor Gilligan – whose luck finally ran out. A fitting end, as he was the only townie sympathetic to the survivors’ plight.
After the game, we had a jam session on what the players liked and what needed tweaking. For me, I was thoroughly pleased the game evoked the spirit of Lovecraft’s weird tale (even though the players were never truly in danger of being wiped out). Now, this game did NOT deliver on the insanity front, but this had to do with the lack of certain cards appearing and some very lucky die rolls. Innsmouth 32 will certainly bring on the insanity “when the cards are right”.
A perfect end to my Gary Con X experience.
More playtesting to do on I32!
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