Pages Menu

Categories Menu

Posted on Sep 22, 2022 in Boardgames, Front Page Features

An Ancient Cold War Goes Hot in Plague Island Games “Sparta!”

An Ancient Cold War Goes Hot in Plague Island Games “Sparta!”

Sparta! Publisher: Plague Island Games. Designer: Kris Van Beurden. Price $59.00 – 89.00 on kickstarter. This is Sparta! That classic line from Frank Miller’s 1998 graphic novels, still resonate. Sparta was a military superpower in its day, fielding a formidable army under capable leaders. But part of what fuels our continuing interest in Sparta were their opponents – Athens and Thebes. Plague Island Games is working to bring these conflicts to the table with Sparta! Designed by Kris Van Beurden and with development support by Stuart Tonge. Plague Island Games provided us with a demo/prototype copy of the game. While it’s not quite the finished production version, it’s really close to it. By way of comparison, Plague Island did the same thing with their first game 2 Minutes to Midnight, and the differences between that prototype and the final game were very minimal, so I expect the finished version of Sparta to be very similar to this prototype. The game board for Sparta! Sparta! Is a two-player game in...

Read More

Posted on Jun 5, 2021 in Boardgames, Front Page Features

We’re Eyeball to Eyeball – Now’s Who’s Going to Blink? Plague Island Games Takes on the Cold War in “2 Minutes 2 Midnight.” Board Game Review

We’re Eyeball to Eyeball – Now’s Who’s Going to Blink? Plague Island Games Takes on the Cold War in “2 Minutes 2 Midnight.” Board Game Review

...Stuart Tonge’s upcoming game 2 Minutes to Midnight explores the Cold War in the form of a game in which atomic weapons were still sought after and stockpiled, while the United States and Soviet Union competed for dominance by using means that fell short of a Global Thermonuclear War. Starting in the immediate aftermath of the Second World War the players strive to expand their influence and rebuild nations shattered by war. Their ultimate goal - create a global community in which they are recognized as the dominant socio-political economic philosophy. In other words, it’s a geopolitical struggle for the ages....

Read More

Posted on Jun 1, 2021 in Boardgames, Front Page Features

Touring the Crystal Palace: Unboxing “2 Minutes 2 Midnight.”

Touring the Crystal Palace: Unboxing “2 Minutes 2 Midnight.”

Ron Perlman’s narration in the Fallout game series usually opens and closes with the phrase “War never changes”. But in the latter half of the twentieth century, we saw that war did change. The invention of the atomic bomb and the end of World War Two ushered in an era in which some weapons had become so destructive that it was impossible to rationalize their mass use, except as a form of deterrent. Plague Island Games current project 2 Minutes to Midnight explores this period of history in the form of a game in which atomic weapons were still sought after and stockpiled, while the United States and Soviet Union compete for dominance using means that fell short of all out global thermonuclear war.  Starting in the immediate aftermath of the Second World War, in a devastated global landscape, the players strive to expand their influence and rebuild nations shattered by war. Their ultimate goal is to create a global community in which they are recognized as the dominant...

Read More