The Bulwark

“An epic board game of galactic conquest, politics, and trade” these are the words that greet you as you pull up Twilight Imperium on Fantasy Flight Games’ website.  Arguably this game made Fantasy Flight the company it is, and it has a sort of unflinching quality to it. It’s a massive game with 200+ pieces, 400 cards, and details of every race you will find in the game. On a scale of 1-10, 1 being Diplomacy like simplicity, 10 being the ostentatiously discursive complex systems like ant hives, the US military, and War! Age of Imperialism, Twilight Imperium is an 11.

Even though it’s complex, it has a flow to it that seems to fit. The most recent edition refined the rules, and made the process more natural.  This game is constantly hailed for its depth, and some have called it a new standard in adult board games. The Bulwark is proud to let you be the judge.

Andrew Flicker will be running a game of Twilight Imperium this weekend. He recently acquired it from the mad genius behind Alien Overlords, and acquired it with a challenge.  He was challenged to not only learn the game himself, but teach others to do play; like some sort of esoteric alien race Dave Zumerwalt, who sold the game to Drew, threw down the gauntlet.  He will return at some unspecified moment in time to measure us, to see if we had been not only enlightened but honed and to meet him on the intergalactic field of battle.

This is a fantastic game Drew will be running this weekend.  The game starts at 1:00 and should end by 6:00 at the latest.  If you are interested in playing please contact myself or Drew at drewflicker@gmail.com.

The Bulwark is proud to welcome Dave Zumwalt, designer of the game Alien Overlords. Dave will be traveling to Chico in order to help us play test his nearly realized system. Dave has been so kind as to save me the hassle of writing about the event, and has summarized his brainchild thus:

“Alien Overlords™ is a board game that allows two to four players to take control of futuristic empires and fight for control of a section of the galaxy. Players will customize their empires by selecting various technologies, control the resources of worlds, and command fleets of starships in strategic space battles. The game is designed to be played with a minimum of record-keeping. The game is played with numerous spaceship playing pieces and with dice.”

Dave has worked hard to design a system which addresses some of the resource management issues players have in other games. He has also designed a unique set of “Situation Cards” that create interesting challenges and conditions as play unfolds. We are hoping to have a full count for Dave on February 6th at 5:30. Dave is traveling from Redding, so this start time is traffic permitting. Slots are open, and if we wind up with an over flow other board games will be ran throughout the night. The Bulwark Library will be open to anyone, check this list to see the possibilities. If you would like to sign up for the game, have any questions for me or the designer comment below!

This Saturday a pick up game of World of Warcraft the Boardgame is forming at the Bulwark.  We have several committed players already, but a few slots are open.  Come by around 5:00 if you are interested in learning how to play this great game from Fantasy Flight Games. If you are a fan of the video game, you will love this incarnation of the franchise.

The Bulwark is proud to welcome the Chico Beer and Blades club! This Diplomacy group has been negotiating deals, breaking alliances, and tenuously hanging onto their “friendship” for almost a year now. The group will be meeting this Saturday to discuss new league rules, the state of Piedmont, and to play a game. Visitors and newcomers alike are welcome to watch and encouraged to participate. If you have any questions feel free to contact me!