In this weeks bulletin, we focus on the new expansion for the Civilization Board Game, another board game by ARISE, an update on New World, the ArcheoGaming Conference, Skull & Bones, Ghost of Tsushima’s great reviews, a pirate mod 17 years in the making and of course the rundown of this weeks Stratigraph!
Sid Meier’s Civilization: A New Dawn new expansion
Next to the Season Pass for Civ VI, the Civilization Board Game will also get a new expansion! With Terra Incognita the game Sid Meier’s Civilization: A New Dawn will get its first big expansion. Alongside new tiles and cards, the expansion will also bring new elements into the game. According to developer Tony Fanchi it will be mostly elements which have been added into the digital game since the release of the board game in 2017. Read more on the new expansion over at Dicebreaker!
ARISE announce new Board Game
Some more Board Game news: Brazilian ARISE (@arch_arise on Twitter) have announced the creation of a new Board Game called The Triumphs of Turlough. It will be created in cooperation with the centre of Medieval Studies from the University of São Paulo. They have not released much info, only that the game will focus on 13th and 14th Century Ireland! Keep up to speed through the ARISE Twitter or website!
New World update
Rich Lawrence, the Studio Director for upcoming New World has shared an update on the progress of the game. With the info they have gained from the Alpha test, the team has decided to move the launch from August 25th to Spring of 2021. The Alpha test pointed out some things the team wanted to work on before the launch, bringing players an in-depth and immersive experience. The delay does not come lightly, but will be for the better according to Lawrence. Read the whole update here.
ArcheoGaming Con
Do you like ArchaeoGaming? If yes, you’ll like the ArchaeoGaming Con! This impromptu conference will take place at the end of July / start of August and will be completely digital. The conference will host talks and panels, presentations and discussions, but will also feature gameplay. If you want to keep up to speed on the conference, you can join the Discord. You can also check the ArchyFantasies Twitter page, as many updates are shared there as well!
Ubisoft’s Skull & Bones is being reworked
Ubisoft’s pirate game Skull & Bones, which was announced at E3 2017 but has been delayed many times and has since slipped under the radar will be launched (at the earliest) in April 2021! The game, which is supposed to be made on the experiences of the Assassin’s Creed franchise’s journey towards the Carribean, will be reworked into a more live and online game than the original idea. The game is now also meant to tell an ongoing story influenced by player decision and have co-operative gameplay. Read more over at Eurogamer!
Ghost of Tshushima is beaing praised by Japanese Critics
Today, the long awaited PS4 swansong Ghost of Tsushima has been released! Aside from the big hype (Dr. Random has been waiting to play this game for some time), the game is getting some good reviews, especially in Japan! With concerns of the game depicting Japan in a wrong way, it seems that many Japanese reviers do not find that is the case, and praise the game for its accurate depiction ofthe Japanese world. For Weekly Famitsu, the game has been only the third (!) non-Japanese game which was given a perfect score (next to GTA: V and The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim). Read more on the game and its reviews on Kotaku and definitely tune in to our stream on Tuesday, when we will play the game!
How a mod revamps the Pirates of the Carribean Game
More pirate-related content! Robert Zak of PC Gamer wrote an extensive feature on New Horizons, a mod which totally changes the 2003 game Pirates of the Caribean (which was first called Sea Dogs 2 but was rebranded to tie in with the release of the Disney movies). The mod has been in development since the release of the game (so that’s 17 years!) The mod completely changes the game, not only brining real piracy, but also an elaborate trading system, morale and reputation systems and other really nice features. Want to know more about this amazing mod? Read Zak’s feature here!
Stratigraph rundown and Stream Extravaganza!
In this weeks Stratiraph, Dr. Random talked in depth about Far Cry 6, and how it misrepresents Cuba in the game. Read all his takes on the game here! In other news, lots of streaming next week! Aside from Ghost of Tsushima on Tuesday, Thursday will be a day full of streaming. As part of the introduction for new students of Archaeology at Leiden University, Dr. Random and Ymir will be streaming several games (with special guests) from 15:00 until 19:00! They will play Dawn of Man, Civilization VI and have a talk with Jack Harrison, the developer of Artefact! And were not done after 19:00, because we will continue with our regular stream of Old World at 21:30! Tune in on the 23rd to catch all the fun!