You can take Tokyo, storm the beaches, and even race a rabbit, but now iello wants to take you to places you’ve never been this year. You might know them best for King of Tokyo or The Hare & the Tortoise board games, but we know them as the company you need to keep an eye on for games that dive into deep strategy and a whole lot of fun. We met up with them at Gen Con to talk about what’s hitting the shelves later this year and what you can look forward to playing. And with one story about to unfold along with a book that wants to tear you apart, the folks from iello are just getting started. And when guns meet the Nameless Ones, you know you want to be on the winning team. Now let’s warm up that dice!
LITTLE RED RIDING HOOD
Over the mountains and through the woods, the trip to grandmother’s house just got a bit tougher, thanks to the wolf nipping at your heels. Little Red Riding Hood, fifth in the Tales & Games series, arrives later this year to pit the young lass against the hairy villain. Choose to play as our favorite traveling girl or the villainous wolf as you make your way to your grandmother’s unprotected cabin. It’s a game of greed and speed as you try race through the woods.
Players move through the field with numbered cards, but how far you’ll get depends on the luck of the draw, a little bit of strategy, and the type of game you play. The easier mode pits you and your friends against the wolf controlled by the game. If you want to add to the difficulty, you’ll have someone else guide the wolf’s hand as he makes his way to the house at the end of the lane. Either way, you will need to be smarter than the fuzzy beast and know when you should press your luck—if you want share your picnic with your grandmother and not become the main course.
THE BIG BOOK OF MADNESS
What do they say about a little knowledge? Gather your friends and be careful. We’re heading into the library. Where paper cuts are the least of your problems, we’re taking a trip into a wizard’s library to peek into The Big Book of Madness. Between the pages of this tome lurks six of the toughest monsters you will find in this world of magic. You probably should have picked up a nice magazine from the front instead, but it’s way too late for that now. Fortunately for you and your friends, you know the right kinds of spells to help burn through those pages.
The Big Book of Madness is a cooperative deck-building game where you take on the role of a curious wizard-in-training. The four elements of the world guide your way and help you cast spells to draw more cards, burn through the ones you don’t want, or help your friends. With the cards in your deck, you can cast spells, buy better cards, or start to take out the curses inflicted on you by the monsters in the book. Manage to take out a monster and you get to turn the page. A bad hand, however, can send madness cards your way to clog up your deck and knock you out of the game. So warm up your wands! The Big Book of Madness opens later this year.
SHADOWS OVER NORMANDIE
Hot off the Kickstarter page, Shadows over Normandie combines the worlds of brutal war with unspeakable horror in this tabletop strategy game. If you have ever worked your way up the beach with any of the board games utilizing the Heroes System, then you know that you’re in for a treat—or agonizing terror. Players take secret moves, carry out those orders, and hope they survive to live another round. Instead of taking shots at Nazis this time, you’ll take on merciless Deep One units looking to drag you down beneath the waves or under the sand drenched ruins. Get ready for the madness when Shadows over Normandie hits the store shelves.
Image Source: iello press kit
Featured Image Credit: Shadows over Normandie Kickstarter