Posted in: Games, Movies, Recent Updates | Tagged: Car Wars, GAMA Trade Show, hellboy, mars attacks, Mars Attacks Dice Game, Steve Jackson Games, Tabletop Gaming

Rounding Up Steve Jackson Games Announcements: Hellboy, Car Wars, Munchkin

By Christopher Helton

With the GAMA Trade Show going on in Las Vegas, the announcements are flying fast and furious for tabletop gaming. Here at Bleeding Cool  we are going to sort through all of the releases and teases, and even through in some speculation.

GAMA is the Game Manufacturer's Association, a tabletop gaming trade group that organizes the GAMA Trade Show and the Origins gaming convention. At The GAMA Trade Show (GTS), publishers and manufacturers get together to show their new and existing lines to retailers, so that everyone can plan their ordering for the next year. For gamers it is important to know what is coming because you can talk to your local game and/or comic store and get them to stock these games for you.

There have been a few announcements from Steve Jackson Games , so let's talk about them.

First up is a Hellboy boardgame announcement. Hopefully this is true and official word will follow. Steve Jackson Games has previously produced a roleplaying game set in the Hellboy universe and powered by the 3rd Edition of the GURPS rules, so this is not a new relationship. There are no details or images yet available for the board game, other than the mention of an October release.

More on the Cars Wars front, they have officially announced the expansion boxed set for Car Wars , Car Wars Arenas.  This expansion to the core rules will give "hardcore autoduellists more exciting locations to showcase their skills and blow away their opponents." The box will contain five new maps to allow new locations in your Car Wars games and a booklet that outlines the special features of each location. "The rules will also cover revised versions of popular variants like corporate team duelling, an AADA pro circuit, and more." So, this expansion is going to be must have for players of Car Wars Classic.

Car Wars Arenas will be available in stores, but it is being launched via Kickstarter on March 31st. The pledge levels for the Kickstarter, as shown in the link above, are nothing fancy and basically allow for purchasing a copy of the expansion (or the expansion and the core set, for those who don't already own Car Wars Classic) at the price you would purchase them for at retail. There are also retailer levels available as well.

Artist John Kovalic (creator of the Dork Tower comic strip and artist for much of the Munchkin cards) tweeted this picture from a Steve Jackson Gamesi presentation:

Munchkin NIGHTMARE BEFORE CHRISTMAS announced for 2015! @SJGames pic.twitter.com/jkT4ERjOtI

— John Kovalic (@muskrat_john) March 17, 2015

Munchkin already has a number of licensed properties attached to it (Conan, Judge Dredd, Mars Attacks), so another licensed property isn't a surprise. This, I think, is a big deal compared to the other properties mentioned (except maybe for Mars Attacks), because A Nightmare Before Christmas  is still so popular. Between this and the Hellboy boardgame, October should be a big month for Steve Jackson Games.

In other Munchkin news, there was also the announcement of Munchkin trading cards coming from  Renegade Game Studio.

They also announced new printing of the Mars Attacks Dice Game.  I've talked before about how much fun this game is, so if you missed out on getting it previously, now is your chance. They also announced a Spring release for Mars Attacks Ten-Minute Takedown, a fast-playing dexterity game that is also set in the Mars Attacks  universe. I played an early prototype of this game at last year's Gen Con, and while it was fun and fast I did not have the requisite dexterity for the game. That however, seems to be my lot in life.

There is much more to come as news and announcements roll in from the GAMA Trade Show, keep tuned to Bleeding Cool for your tabletop gaming news as it rolls out.

Christopher Helton is a blogger, podcaster and tabletop RPG publisher who talks about games and other forms of geekery at the long-running Dorkland! blog. He is also the co-publisher at the ENnie Award winning Battlefield Press, Inc.  You can find him on Twitter at @dorkland and on G+ at https://plus.google.com/+ChristopherHelton/ where he will talk your ear off about gaming and comics.

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