Nomad Games is a developer specialising in video game adaptations of card, dice and table-top board games for electronic devices. We met up with them at their EGX booth to have a chat, and I had a play on their upcoming release Smash Up, an adaptation of the award-winning deck shuffling game from Alderac Entertainment Group.
Smash Up is a game for up to four players, and each player chooses two factions from a selection, including dinosaurs, aliens, pirates, ninjas, and my old favourite, the zombies. Both chosen factions are shuffled together to create a formidable force, and players must use Minion cards and Action cards to take control of any of the four bases available. To win the base, the player must have the highest number of points from their faction on the board when a particular base reaches its points threshold. Minion cards have a number in the top left of the card, and also have various abilities such as being able to play another Minion with a certain number of points or playing a card from the Discard pile. Actions can be combined with a played Minion, increasing that card’s score, or could be used to remove other player’s cards from the base, amongst many other options. The artwork for each card is vibrant and eye-catching, and the game plays smoothly and can be, as I found, very addictive!
For my play through I had help in the form of Zombie Lord, so now I feel ready for battle when the game releases. As of September 23rd, Smash Up was released on the Coming Soon section of Steam, and will be available on Early Access October 6th. Click HERE to go directly to the Steam Store page, and it will be free to play. I thoroughly recommend it, as it is a blast to play, and multiplayer can be played either online, or the locally on the same computer.
Nomad Games are best known for their digital version of the Games Workshop board game Talisman: Digital Edition, having sold over a million units on PC, Mac, Android and iOS. There are more expansions planned, and a port is coming to PS4 and PS Vita later this year. An adaptation of a nearly 30-year-old board game, the player embarks on an adventure to find and claim the Crown of Command, a magical artifact with great power. Playing as one of many characters, including warriors, magicians and rogues, claiming this artifact will ensure the destruction of your rivals and allow you to rule the kingdom. Released last year for Steam, iOS and Android last year, click HERE to go directly to the Steam page.
Using the rule system for Talisman: Digital Edition is another version of the game, titled Talisman: The Horus Heresy, the setting shifts to the popular Warhammer 40,000 universe. A game for up to four players, the stakes are raised to a new degree, with not just a kingdom but a whole galaxy to explore, and the future of humanity in the balance. A combination of the galaxy’s greatest heroes and notorious villains are available to play as, and you will need to form a vast company of Space Marines and more to ensure your victory. Released this year on Steam, iOS and Android, click HERE to go to the Steam Store page.
We will be holding a competition soon to give away keys to Talisman: Digital Edition, as well as 50% off codes and free access to Talisman: Prologue to runners-up, courtesy of the generous folks at Nomad Games! So be sure to keep an eye on this site, as well as our social media pages, to be in with a chance of ruling the kingdom! And be sure to check out Nomad Games over at www.nomadgames.co.uk for more details on these and future releases! Also stay tuned for our video package, featuring Nomad Games and more, coming soon, and I will be releasing a full review for Smash Up upon release.
