XCOM: The Board Game - Tell me you're not excited!
For all those that have played XCOM the computer / APP game, then this is for you, those that have not, this is definitely for you.
Fantasy Flight Games posted this new game announcement yesterday and I for one will be putting my money in it. Anyway, take a look at the extract below from there site. and let us know what your thoughts are?
You are humanity’s last hope.
In XCOM: The Board Game, you and up to three friends assume
the roles of the leaders of the elite, international organization known as
XCOM. It is your job to defend humanity, quell the rising panic, and turn back
the alien invasion.
Where the world’s militaries have failed to stand against
the alien invaders, you must succeed. To do so, you must make strategic use of
the resources available to you. You must launch Interceptors to shoot down
alien UFOs, assign soldiers to key missions, research alien technology, and use
that technology to defend your base, all while you try to keep the world from
collapsing just long enough that you can coordinate one final mission to repel
the invaders for good.
Innovative Digital Enhancement
The most notable aspect of XCOM: The Board Game is the way
that it incorporates a free and innovative digital app into the core of its game play, then uses the app to promote a unique play experience unlike anything
you and your friends have previously encountered in a board game. This digital
companion will be available both as a downloadable app and as an on-line tool.
The app’s primary function is to coordinate the escalating
alien invasion, randomly selecting from one of five different invasion plans.
Each invasion plan represents a general outline that the alien commanders will
use to coordinate the arrival of new UFOs, plan strikes against your base, and
respond to your successes or failures as it seeks to conquer Earth. The app
manages all of these tasks and heighten’s the game’s tension as it forces you
to respond in real-time. Then, after you move quickly to coordinate your
response, you engage the enemy in the untimed resolution phase and feed the
results to the app. Based upon these results, the app launches the invasion's
next strikes.
Two UFOs appear over North and South America
Additionally, the app teaches you the rules, controls the
information that your satellites provide you, and tracks the progress of your
resistance efforts, even as it allows you to enjoy the game at any of three
levels of difficulty: Easy, Normal, or Hard.
A crisis card
The use of this app does more than simply streamline your
play experience and track your turns in real-time. It also permits a uniquely
dynamic turn structure. While the variety of game phases remains the same from
round to round, the order in which you and your friends must play through them
may change, as may the number of a given phase.
As a result, while you’ll want to know where UFOs appear
before you deploy your Interceptors, the alien invaders may be able to disrupt
your satellite intel and force you to deploy your Interceptors on patrol with
limited or no knowledge of the UFOs current whereabouts. Similarly, you may be
forced to think about the costs of resolving the world’s crises before you know
how many troops you’ll need to commit to your base defence.
The effect of the app, then, is to immerse you deep into the
dramatic tension at the core of XCOM: The Board Game, and it ensures that the
game presents a challenging and cooperative (or solo) experience like no other.
Just like the XCOM department heads that you represent, you’ll need to keep
cool heads in order to prevail.
Inside XCOM Strategic Command
XCOM’s resistance efforts are spearheaded by its four
leaders, each of which is represented by one of the game’s player roles:
Commander, Chief Scientist, Central Officer, and Squad Leader.
Commander
The Commander is responsible to manage XCOM’s budget and
must be foresighted enough to know when best to access the organization’s
emergency funding and how best to allocate it.
Additionally, the Commander makes the tough decisions about
where to assign XCOM’s limited number of Interceptors to global defence.
Wherever you commit your Interceptors, you have a chance of destroying UFOs and
slowing the spread of panic. Wherever you don’t commit your Interceptors, fear
and anxiety are bound to run rampant.
The Commander is responsible for assigning Interceptors to
global defence
Chief Scientist
If you and XCOM are to have any chance of successfully
repelling the alien invaders, you’ll need better technology. The Chief
Scientist’s responsibilities include studying advanced technology, learning how
to harness it, manufacturing better weapons and armour, and equipping the rest
of the organization with the tools they need to survive.
Of course, only a limited number of scientists possess the
necessary training and intellect to quickly dissect, analyse, and replicate
alien technology. Part of your job as Chief Scientist, then, is not only to
decide how best to direct the organization’s research efforts but also to
prioritize between them, allocating more scientists to the projects you decide
will best benefit the war effort.
Central Officer
The Central Officer serves as the communications relay
between XCOM and the outside world. This means you manage the organization’s
satellite network, and it is your job to ensure that the organization remains
alert to potential threats, communicates and coordinates its efforts
effectively between branches, and scrambles as many alien transmissions as
possible.
Succeed, and you’ll reduce the number of UFOs in orbit.
Fail, and you’ll suffer communications blackouts that will force you to act
blindly in the midst of a war, the likes of which Earth has never known.
Additionally, the Central Officer communicates all of the
information provided by the game’s digital app to the players. The clock is
always running, so it’s vital that you share all relevant information quickly
and clearly.
Squad Leader
In the end, XCOM needs boots on the ground to confront the
alien invaders, and it’s the Squad Leader’s job to ensure that the right troops
are tackling the right missions. As the invasion escalates, you must assemble
strike teams to meet the aliens in battle. Simultaneously, you must assign
soldiers to defend the XCOM base, and you’ll need to strike an effective
balance. If your base falls, so do you. So does the earth.
Still, you need to succeed at missions to win. Each mission
you complete brings you closer to uncovering a means of launching one final,
fatal blow against the alien invaders.
The Squad Leader is responsible for assigning troops to
missions
All four player roles are vital to XCOM’s success, and you
and your friends must divide them among yourselves in every game. Your soldiers
won’t succeed without the upgrades your scientists can research, nor will you
be able to launch successful Interceptor strikes against UFOs unless you
acquire good intel from your satellite network.
Can You Find a Way to Defeat the Unknown Foe?
With its free companion app and distinctive player roles,
XCOM: The Board Game evokes all the fear, desperation, and heroism that lie at
the heart of the popular and acclaimed XCOM computer games. All the while, it
immerses you in a wholly unique play experience. For more about the game,
including its push-your-luck dice system, you can visit the game’s descriptionpage. Also, keep your satellites in place for future transmissions, including a
series of previews, in which we’ll explore the game and its components in
greater detail, and if you're headed to Gen Con Indy 2014, be sure to stop by
our booth in the exhibit hall where we'll be running demos all weekend long!
XCOM: The Board Game is scheduled to arrive at retailers in
the fourth quarter of 2014. Until then, destroy UFOs. Research alien
technology. Defend your base. Uncover the alien invasion plan. Should you fail,
humanity is doomed.
XCOM:The Board Game is a cooperative board game of global defence for one to four
players. As unknown alien invaders press their attack against the earth, you
and up to three friends serve as the department heads of XCOM, an elite,
international military organization. You must destroy UFOs, research alien
technology, complete critical missions, and find some way to prevent the
collapse of human civilization. You are humanity's last hope.
So there you have it, I am definitely going to keep my eye on this, it looks like it is set to be a great game. For more info and to delve further, head on over to Fantasy Flight Games.
~ Let the Pork see the
Chop @ Pork Chop Gaming ~
Really cool! Thanks for posting about this. Def going to keep an eye on this as well!
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