Dice Tower News - Sept. 10th, 2026
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Transcript
Heat. Heat.
Good. Good morning everybody. Welcome to Dice Tour News. I'm Tom Vassel.
I'm Z Garcia.
I'm Joey Evans.
Hey, we're glad you're here. And uh you know there's a new iPhone coming out.
What? That's the news.
Okay.
We're dropping the news here.
How's it?
It's about $2,000.
Is it really?
That's a lot.
I didn't look at the pricing of it.
Oh, it's got to be.
I think it's a lot.
But also,
it's only 20 bucks a month, though. Yes, true.
For the rest of your that natural life. Hey, we want to do some shout outs to some people who uh support us in game found. We want to say thank you to Lucas Vitroloy
Vrolle Vroller.
I've heard it both ways.
To Ryan Wantland, to Ryan the Aussie Ajetsy from we boarded in Korea
to the spittle speckle that settles on the waddles of chickens and the chins of cattle.
That's disgusting.
That's so gross. everything.
But I mean, I like I like the sentence, but it's disgust
and to KGB, the nightmares gaming bunch.
When they knock
That's great. When they knock on your door in Russia, you're like, "Okay,
this is a very interesting eclectic group you got today, Tom."
Yeah.
Yeah, it is. We're not done yet, though. We also have uh Marcus Ramen wants to thank the whole team for their tireless work, especially Tom, your one of a kind explainer. Joey, always smiling. Chris, the secret game developer. And that's all he said. Um, then Glenn Bowen from Bradburn, Massachusetts, and the tabletop library in Berkeley, California.
Berkeley.
Yeah, man. That's where they made the iPhone.
You're going to have one, aren't you? You have to have one.
I I will attempt to have one. I don't want to buy one.
Got it.
But I'm going to try to get one. Yes,
I'll buy you one, buddy. Okay, so let's jump into the board game news.
First, we want to point out Dicear West. We are almost we are one-third through the way of September and early bird pricing for the hotel ends in September. So, I know some of you are waffling and some of you are thinking or you're vacasillating, which is a off maligned word. Um, did you have have a little dictionary today? Do you have like a word calendar you went through?
I know what vacasillating means.
Yeah, man. Is his name?
Yeah, it's true. Why
you think I don't know what Garciaing means? I don't think you do. Anyway, come on out west. It's going to be a fabulous time.
So
fabulous.
Something that we've known about for like I don't know almost a year now.
We knew about this.
No, but they announced PAX Unplugged. This was like a not a like a
I don't think it was a secret.
Heavily kept secret. The publishers have known about it for a while. Well, PAX has been quietly telling, you know, different publishers, hey, come to this. So, they're starting a second PAX unplugged. I don't know if it's called PAX Unplugged Houston or PAX unplugged.
Oh, I guess it is called Packs Unplugged Houston.
Does that mean the other one's called Pax Unplugged Philly then?
They wasted advertising.
They must have I mean, because they now have more than one PAX unplugged, they have to name them something. So, I'm guessing they're going to call it Philadelphia. So this is run by Penny Arcade and Reed Pop because Reed Pop is the company that Penny Arcade hires to run their conventions.
Okay.
Um so this is the fifth in their series of expos. Uh in fact they used to have a expo PAX Southwest or PAX South which was in Texas and then that kind of went away. It didn't grow at all.
There there one in te what's a board game commission in Texas? There's one in Texas ones.
Oh yeah, the BG. Yeah, they in Texas. Anyway, so this is happening on June 25th to June 27th, Friday through Sunday in Houston.
I'm there.
Um,
so this is going to be interesting. The publishers that I've talked to are definitely interested in this one. It's going to definitely mess with Origins um a little bit. We'll see. Maybe, maybe it won't. Um, and Texas does not have a big Game Con. I mean, they board game Geek, but they don't have a big Game Con, which this has the possibility of growing into. Texas isn't that big of a state anyway, so it doesn't really need one.
Things are pretty small in Texas. Yeah.
Email us at Tom.
Yeah. I don't know. Well, we'll see. We'll talk more about this as it comes.
Let's talk about some games.
I'll let I'll let Joey announce the question.
I don't think I don't think I don't think I want to say this.
You can do it.
You think so?
Yeah. Do it.
Wow. That sounds
So, this is a bidding game where you're building a farm. Eight rounds. This is coming from This is coming at the spiel from Skelling Games.
Skelling.
I love that. I love the the cover on this kind of looks like like made out of paper.
It does.
And then the letters are on strings. The whole thing is super cute. Really cute cover.
It's really good.
Clank the forgotten vault.
Yo, what?
They got another Clank up in here.
So, this is So, they're re-releasing the base game. We already knew that. the Master Thief edition which will have some various things and minor
um balancing of cards tweaking.
No balance needed.
I know. I'm so sorry. You
anyway to do this
if you They're also going to have a mastery pack that has materials needed to update the base game and the five existing expansions.
Swing and Clank the Forgotten Vault has two new maps and new gameplay elements. And there's that cube of holding which will be a giant plastic storage device for Clank and its expansion. I don't know. I like Clank a lot.
There's just again these giant things never really get me that excited about.
There's such a thing as too much clank.
Whatever you guys about to say is wrong.
There's too much clank in the tank.
This this this would be words of wisdom from you if you ever bought one of these giant things and then played the game again in your life.
Oh, you just got clanked.
Well, you look really nice in the couch. Um, the cuba holding is 90 bucks. The uh neoprene map pack is 90 bucks. A card sleeve bundle 65 bucks. Acro token upgrades for 55 bucks. Metab cubes for 50. I'm buying the iPhone. I You can have 20 of these for the price of I like how it caks now.
I know. It's like been opened four times. It already caks. That's not a good look.
All right. Adventurers required. This is from Asthma Day. This is in their little cute
game line.
See this cover?
I hate it.
What? Really? You
I like that cover.
Oh, you like this cover.
I do.
You do? You don't really hate this cover. It's very cutesy.
I really hate that cover.
That cover is terrible.
You just hate fun.
Anyhow,
um there's a
got rogue up there.
This is from first time designer/ artist. So, if you don't like the game
Whoa. Wow. Way to go.
What I meant to say it was. Let's go ahead and shut it.
Uh I just Yeah, I don't know. It looks like it's a very boring arrangement that cover. It's not that I don't like the artwork. It's a really like that is the first thing anybody thinks of to of how to arrange that cover.
I wonder see that cover makes me think it's a kids game, but the the the game itself doesn't look like a kids game. Right.
Yeah.
So, we'll see. Alrighty. Only colors. This is a co-op game. And this is from Zomatic.
Picture taken.
And you're gonna get a
No, that was taken on a flip phone
or Google Earth.
Uh Google Earth. What? Just kept zooming. Can
you imagine? Wow.
They're getting good up there, man. Those satellites are getting
What are they playing down there? Anyway, you're going to get a card listing five things or concepts and then you have to arrange these sticks to make that. This reminds me and I wonder if that's this is what this is. You ever see those little people used to put them on Facebook where they show a whole bunch of sticks stacked and you're like who is that? And sometimes it would be obvious. Oh, that's Superman because of the red blue motif. Other times you wouldn't know.
That sounds like that.
That might be what it is. Yeah.
Wow.
Yeah.
I'll be bad at that.
Hundo. I'm assuming it's hundo because it's about going to 100.
Yep.
Um, this is a new party style game for two to six players. You're trying not to make the pile go over 100 in the middle,
which isn't that no 999.
Yes. Yes, it is.
Um, okay. We from Asmo Day.
Wow.
Alto. This is from Helvetique. Um, this is a new abstract. Well, Helvetique bought Stfan Spiel and so this is a new title in that line and you're going to there's a 4x4 grid. You're going to move the topmost disc next to that tile and each tile can be used twice. Then you score and your discs are worth as many points as it's tight in a stack.
These guys always have the weirdest looking most like bizarre games. I like the way it looks. It's very captivating.
But they're always this strange minimalist.
Yeah. They always have only like three or four colors, you know. Red, white, and black.
I like this one.
This one looks more interesting to me. Kulami.
This is a remake.
This is right.
You place a marble on the board and the marble you place determines the roll or column where your opponent plays their marble with the two most recently played upon tiles being off limits.
Okay, it's a reworked Kami or whatever. There's a game that's similar to this. I don't think I played the OG game. So, this I like that idea though.
Monopoly Deal. Tim Burton's The Nightmare Before Christmas, which I have to say I think is some pretty bad marketing in this particular box
because when I saw that I saw Monopoly Deal and I went to the next thing.
Yes.
I didn't know it was Night Before Christmas and that logo is small and not easy to read.
I agree. And then the background
doesn't really
like why is Jack Skellington's face not there or something.
Yeah, they they can definitely make this pop a little a lot more. I'm seeing that green whatever the green sort of
that's not that's not doing enough.
Give me the classic like
Give me that classic moon behind the weird twisty tree logo kind of look. Iconic image. Give me that.
You got to be able to see it from AC because where it's selling you have to see it from
agree. Don't avoid the obvious.
Yeah. Oh, no. He asked if we could say the designer's name, and I wondered if it was him.
Do it. Do it.
Andreas.
I'm assuming they're just trying.
Kikath Hobbler. Well, it's close to his name. That's why I wonder.
Oh, maybe it is this person.
And Andreas. Andreas. Kunetcath Hobbler. Okay.
Oh, I bet that is the designer.
Okay. Anyway, uh, Nightmare themed action cards like the I don't know. There's It's a It's a riff on Monopoly Deal. Monopoly deal seems to be getting some love. Actually,
it does seem to be having like a a bit of a resurgence.
Having a moment.
Clue. Home Alone.
I'm excited.
Where Kevin was so afraid his face melted. Um and his hair
or they didn't get the rights to McCauley Coughlin's likeness.
Oh, that's sad. But that might be accurate.
That's almost definitely what happened.
That's rough. Anyway, um yeah, the they're coming back to find Kevin wrecked the house with booby traps and need to discover who got trapped, what booby trap was used, and where it was placed in the house.
One out of 10. I hate everything about this. Really? I do.
I would like a dungeon crawler kind of game set in the Home Alone setting. Like I want to I want to like kick in a door and shoot him in the face.
Okay. Wow, that got dark. But yes, I agree.
I'm just saying. I will say on a side note, I just showed my kids
Clue.
Oh, he's got Oh, Tim Curry
the the the movie and that is a 10 out of 10 movie. It really is. Clue is a great movie.
I haven't seen him in forever.
It really holds up. The dialogue is
Does that have Columbbo in it or No, that's a different one. It's
Columbbo.
Peter Faulk. He's going around.
Uh,
okay. Peter Faulk.
One more thing. You know what?
Wait, one more thing. Wait a second.
Don't mock Colombo.
What's wrong with you?
It's the greatest detective of all time. You not know flames.
Sherlock Holmes
on my fa flames.
Columbbo Sherlock Holmes.
Thank you for what? You didn't get the reference. Someone else made.
What do you say was reference?
Never mind. You missed it.
I got to rewind and watch it live. Not live.
Someone was telling me about this game courtroom 1936 noir trilogy.
So this is a team-based deduction game. Um, and you're going to e one person's prosecution and the other team is a defense team and you're investigating the same case from different perspectives.
So, you're going to build your case based on shared and secret information and then organize your evidence to support your claims and deliver closing arguments.
Wow.
And whoever has the highest score wins.
It's like a really fun school assignment.
Today, I'm
That sounds boring to put together a case for court.
I am super interested in this. I think it sounds fantastic.
I want to kick in a door and shoot the kid in the face.
Wow, people's faces are
1984 unperson.
So, another game based on 1984. I played one a few years ago with that solo game based on that.
Okay.
Um, and players can be tasked filling the directives or if you don't fulfill the directives, you become an unperson, someone who's erased from society secretly. So you're going to each round you're forces you to make a decision to obey or rebel. You have to fulfill five directives and you have to reach your secret aspiration.
It's it sounds very thematic, right? Like based on the book obviously, but I want does that make it a good game? We'll find out.
Yeah,
it's a cool cool look.
Yeah, really cool.
So we just got this game in the mail. Karibb, which is the hotel at Daaris is at the Karib Royale. Um, but it's done that.
It is not. Yeah. Yeah.
But I would not have guessed that this was a Pythagoras game. It's so pretty. But and that's actually there's a surface of them. Their games are very pretty nowadays, but they have really come a long way since their original ones.
So, this is uh one of their it's a one to four player game from designer Orlando
Bloom
S.
Orlando, by the way, the city where the Korea is where they start.
THIS IS WEIRD.
THIS is crazy. Anyway, your explorers visiting the lesser antilles.
There's a lot of stuff going on in that.
Yep. There. Also, the other game is Delios. This is designed by
Delos, I'm pretty sure.
Oh, I'm sorry. You're right. Delos, designed by Yaniv Kahana. And you're rebuilding the city of Delos, also known as
Deli.
Um, by building tiles. I'm actually I think I'm more interested in the game. I think the first one looks prettier, but this one the game looks more interesting to me.
Okay. I like the the the first one. I think I'm more interested in the first one than this one. Yeah.
Is there enough Star Trek?
Nope.
Yes.
Now,
Star Trek Captain's Chair Captain
has There's two uh more releases coming from them and these will be coming out in a year basically August 2027. Duty and Honor.
Yeah, there you go. Duty and Honor.
Wararf.
Yes.
Gold Ducket.
What?
I don't know how to pronounce that. Gold Ducket. Oh yeah.
Yeah. He's another one of those. You mean lower decks? Did you say upper decks?
That's a pretentious cartoon.
That's true.
Make it so.
And two more captains who are not yet announced. So this
I know they are.
How many captains are there guys? Not
I mean it's Star Wars has been on the air for 60 years.
Star Trek. Wow. Wow. We got Scott Bula is going to be the next one.
Okay. What about the
And then here's the other one. Resistance is futile. This is a standalone game where the Voyager is going to go up against Borg. I This is also Captain's Chair still. So, this one has Captain Janeway 7 to9 Lois
Ludis of Borg
and the Borg Queen.
Who's Lutus? Who's Who's that?
You. You're
So, an interesting thing about this was we just got the newest set in and I was looking at all the the captains in it and one of the captains is rated a nine out of 10 complexity,
right? So I was Jacob was showing me and I'm like, "Yeah, nine out of 10." I said, "That's that's the highest." Because whenever you do that complexity scale, you don't go all the way.
Okay.
Nope. The Borg is a 10 out of 10.
Yeah, they're actually using the whole the whole scale.
The whole scale. I heard next year there's one coming out that's an 11 out of 10.
That would be hilarious.
It's a whale. They had whales in Star Trek, right? They saved them or something.
Voyage Home. Oh, wow.
Yeah, Star Trek. That's a terrible movie.
It is. It's bad. So good. Except for the part where Spock knocks out the kid with the boom box on the bus.
Oh, yeah.
Oh, so Spock gets to knock out a kid, but I can't shoot one in the face.
You shot so many kids in the face today.
In the
That's the news.
OH, WE'RE ENDING ON THAT. You can't end on that.
That's the new Go back to the iPhone.
It's changing.
That's a much better one. That's a better way to open.
There's a new one. The hinge hasn't been broken on that one yet.
Anyhow.
Oh, look. You're getting a call. Come pick it up now. I did get a call yesterday from Apple.
Of course you did.
Did you pre-ord? I got a call. He's like,
"The event's happening soon. Watch it just in case." And after you event, he called me again.
So, did you want anything?
See it?
Did you Did you see it?
That's great.
All righty. Well, there you go, folks. That's the news. We're going to be playing a game live at
10:00, so 40 minutes from now. So, join us there. And then later on today, we have a top 10. Until then, I'm Tom.
I'm Zy.
I'm Joey.
That's the news.
Bye. Hey everybody, thanks for watching this video. If you like this review or whatever you just watched, wasn't it amazing? Uh, check out our channel, Dice Tower. We have all kinds of things. We review games, we do top 10s, we play games live. It's all about board games, but especially the people who play them. Check out Dice Tower YouTube channel.