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!
Join the GameWick Games facebook page for updates on the upcoming Kickstarter and release plans.
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March 3rd, 2018
Innsmouth 32, Shuffling Horrors
Exciting news! The third game in our Shuffling Horror series, Innsmouth 32, is steadily creeping forward… Our second beta deck is printed and we’ll be bringing it with us to Gary Con this month. While not officially on the event grid, we’ll be playtesting after our scheduled Shuffling Horror sessions conclude. Chances are the playtests will begin at midnite, in some shadowy secret location (so secret we will probably announce time/place on our GameWick Games Facebook).
As you can see in the pic, our beta deck features a shadowy H.P. Lovecraft on our card face mock-up. This is just a temp bit of fun – though he’s striking the perfect creepy pose. Lots of changes have been made to the original playtest deck (unveiled at Gen Con 2017). This deck features new full-color layout for the item and character cards with a creepy fish scale background (shown below). The updated action cards in the movie deck are sure to bring on the insanity, too!
The really big news is that all the ITEM art is finished – and looks awesome! We are now beginning the Character and Monster art phase. Still a long way to go here, but the thrills and chills are building…
Very bad things await those who stumble into old Innsmouth.
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February 11th, 2018
Shuffling Horror Alt Rules, Shuffling Horrors
Attention Shuffling Horror Directors! It’s time to turn up the horror in your games! As per the written rules, the Fade Out token can only be placed at the end of your turn. Well, it’s your movie, isn’t it?!? Why can’t you place it whenever you want to give the players a good scare? Guess what… now you can… And we’re even amp-ing up the game’s cinematic vibe at the same time for no extra charge!
The Fade Out Countdown
After the conclusion of any survivor’s turn (survivor’s NOT player’s), the Director may place the Fade Out token on any Item or Power Play card on the movie screen. The Director also places the 3, 2, and 1 countdown tokens along the top of the movie screen (next to the Reel Pile). The picture above demonstrates the set-up you can implement at the start of a game.
After the conclusion of each subsequent survivor turn the Director removes one countdown token. When the final countdown token is removed, so is the Fade Out token and its marked card. This screen card is discarded and a replacement card is drawn from the Reel Pile.
No countdown token is ever removed on the Director’s turn – only after a survivor’s turn. Also, the replacement card cannot trigger a Creature Feature (if one occurs it is ignored).
Fade Out is now much more terrifying. It previously gave players a full round to strategize; they now have a 3-2-1 countdown to act. Just like in a movie, the best weapon might end up in the hands of the least capable survivor, but…
Them’s the breaks in an alien/zombo apocalypse!
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December 28th, 2017
Roswell 51
For Our Fans! Here it is – Santa Claus Vs. The Space Invaders – our first free print-n-play pdf release for Shuffling Horror! Get ready for a rip-roaring, sci-fi, holiday blockbuster as the Alien Warlord hatches an evil plot to kidnap Santa to ruin Christmas in Roswell. All normal Shuffling Horror rules are followed, however, a new “Capture” mechanic is introduced to bring a dramatic element of worry for the players! This holiday-themed pack features eight new characters and six new items – and just in time for your year-end holiday gaming blitz.
This free bonus pack is our way of thanking our friends and fans for all the support they gave us this year. As an indie game company, each and every fan matters to us. You are helping to spread the word on our wacky-n-quirky games and that means the world to us!
If you enjoy this pack, we want to hear from you – send us your post game results and pics!
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December 24th, 2017
Roswell 51
The HO-HO-Horror, Part 1
Just after Thanksgiving, I ran a ROSWELL 51 game at a local shop, Highlander Games in Boonton, NJ. Four new players gathered around the Shuffling Horror Shuffle Board that night. It was also post-Black Friday and the store was fully ready for the merry march to year-end. Christmas tunes played in the background. I believe “Have A Holly Jolly Christmas” was playing when I began shuffling the movie deck. As I often do during the start of the game, I began to set the plot in motion, and made a joke about it being Christmas in Roswell, 1951. That wasn’t Santa’s sleigh overhead in the desert night sky!
There was something magical about that mental image, accompanied with the light background music, that suddenly clicked. It may have been the novelty of the whole atmosphere that night, huddled around the game table, in the back corner of the Highlander’s game room. It was, for certain, the first time I set the game against a Christmas background (I usually set it around July 4th, to coincide with the historic Roswell UFO crash date).
As we played, more holiday jokes crept in to further the plot. By the time the night was through, the main concept of SANTA CLAUS VS. THE SPACE INVADERS was dancing like sugar plums round in my head. The next few days, I began messing around with various characters that would be fun for players. Of course, we would have to have Santa and Mrs. Claus. As I had just watched the holiday classic “March of the Wooden Soldiers” the week before, a Toy Soldier entered the mix, too (as did some Elfs). I don’t know if it was elf magic, but, before I knew it, I had 8 new characters and 6 new items that would be perfect for a ROSWELL 51 holiday spoof! Something right along the lines of “Santa Claus Conquers The Martians”.
Now, why am I telling you all this?!? Well, I am hoping to release this Christmas week as a free print-n-play pdf on our site. It promises to be a whole bunch of festive B-movie fun for our friends and fans! Here’s the sneak peek at the cover…
AND TO ALL A GOOD NIGHT!
(Stay tuned here and on our facebook page for the release announcement!)
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December 1st, 2017
Roswell 51, Roswell Reports
Friends and fans sent in some of their ROSWELL 51 game recaps. I’m always excited to receive these after-action reports, as it’s fun to see how players get caught up in the story and the game’s cinematic mechanics. Here’s two Roswell reports received this week – thanks for sending these in Joe and Mike!
Roswell Report, Case#112617-1 (Joe M, NJ)
“So, just played Roswell with the kids and they like to create all kinds of back stories and relationships between characters. So, Ricky, the scout, was doing well through Reels 1&2 until he was taken by the aliens (and came back as a Familiar Face). The kids decided that Private Green (WAC) was Ricky’s Mom…when she returned from duty at the base, Ricky was missing. Long story short: Reel 3, Ricky is on the screen, Private Green’s turn. She decides to “Give my boy some peace”…and ROLLS SNAKE EYES!!!!! Headshot! Ends his suffering and alien abduction in absolute dramatic effect! Emotional and dramatic and SO cinematic!!!” << Wow – a classic horror movie moment for sure! Adding backstories and naming characters elevates the game action! >>
Roswell Report, Case#112617-2 (Mike M, IN)
“Got a chance to play some R51 tonight with John, our sister and brother-in-law. I was able to whittle away John’s survivors down, so, that right at the beginning of Reel 3, he joined me as an alien player (which triggered the Turning Point).
Reel 4 was where it all fell apart for the survivors… it came down to my BiL’s Coroner and Robot and my sister’s Scientist. With only a 2 Creepy Pods, Alien Spear and Payback cards showing on screen, all the survivors needed to do was eliminate that 2 Creepy Pods and it was game over… it didn’t happen. I got another round of full attack with my four throngs and eliminated the Scientist (adding to the alien players once it came back around to my sister). John was able to finish off the Coroner thus triggering Last One Standing for the Robot.
Robot’s final action was attempt to attack… not to rest and gain spoints… he was unsuccessful in his attack. Next up, my sister took the 2 Creepy Pods and attempted to get the Head Shot… no luck… then it was back to me. The Robot put up a mighty effort but ultimately fell to the onslaught of my many attacks taking blows that would have felled a lesser mechanical masterpiece … It’s circuits fizzled and fried and it became no more than a monument to man’s attempt to deter the alien invasion. Good game had by all!” << Awesome closing scene, Mike! >>
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