We’ve got big news for you! This week, Nightfall on the iOS is only $0.99! And, a special promotional unlock is coming soon, which will give you all of the promo cards in the game! So if you haven’t already, head on over to the iOS App Store, and pick up your copy of Nightfall and Nightfall: Martial Law for the iOS today! And Happy Ghouling!

Make sure to talk to your local retailer about getting Nightfall: Crimson Siege when it comes out next week, and happy hunting!

Happy Monday Nightfall Fans,

Today we have another Hunter preview for you – Jorgen Jacobsen. This card has two interesting features that compliment each other well. In the Chain, Jorgen allows you to destroy a minion based on how many Orders you have in the Chain, showing that the more resources you plan to put into play to use, the greater damage they will be able to do. The Kicker is an interesting contrast by comparison – the next time a player would suffer damage from an Order in the Chain, any of his minions are able to absorb that damage (Making them all “Bad Smoke”!) – which shows that the Hunters are struggling to survive, and that everyone is willing to lay down their lives in order for the survival of the group.

Check back on Friday for the next preview for Nightfall: Crimson Siege!

My name is John-Paul and I am one of the production leads for Crimson Siege, our newest edition to the Nightfall game line. I’m here to give you an inside peak into one of my great passions, art direction!

Crimson Siege was very fun to design and we had a blast working on the story direction. Story direction is really a key element in art direction as it helps to shape the world you are creating. It’s best to plan this as early as possible. We meet with David Gregg early in the development stages to share our initial story direction plans so they could be created into the card mechanics. We then used the early drafts of the card mechanics + story direction to write up a plan for the artwork. We’ll be taking a look at the direction planning for two specific cards.

The first card I want to talk about was an idea for a female Lycanthrope. I knew this was something I really wanted to make and also needed to come up with a way to ensure that everyone knew “Hey, this is a girl”. My idea to do this was to show a partially transformed werewolf where we could ensure that the “female” character was obvious. Knowing where we were headed with the story and that fire would play a central role (more to come on that in future previews) I decided it would be cool to play a fun pun with this card, and thus she became “Hot Blonde”! We threw in a little contrast to the fire by giving her ice blue eyes. Also, the hoody and jeans werea dded as a nice touch to help her blend in with the crowd and sneak past early defenses in the hunter guard posts.

Another fun thing about art direction is being able to throw in some Easter Eggs for the players. This is something we love to do here at AEG as you may or may not have noticed

Gendarme Primo has a few such items in his artwork, can you guess what they are? Here’s a few keywords to get you started: Guard, Post-Apocalyptic, Last Hope, Ruffian.

Well, something jump attacked me from my childhood and I couldn’t resist having a small shout out. Does anyone remember Mad Max? Go Google it if you don’t know what I am talking about.

That’s all from me! I hope you enjoy the card previews, and see if you can’t figure out more subtle references!

Till next time,

John-Paul Cheyne

Now that you’ve been given insight into the design of the set, as well as been brought up to speed on the new Summon mechanic, the card previews for this expansion get a lot more exciting as we see how they interact with this new mechanic! Today we have a card that’s all about Influence – getting as much as you can, and if you’re skilled enough, turning that Influence into Ghouls! Enjoy Better than Me!

What’s it like to design a board game?

DG: Tedious… but seriously, it’s a lot of iteration and trying to nail everything down and make it fun.  It starts out with some basic theme ideas and then adds on supporting mechanics.  New mechanics get added , others get cut, until it all just gels together really nicely.  It’s very fun and efficient to share ideas online, especially on BGG (boardgamegeek.com).  Sharing ideas online helps you get great feedback that your local group might not have thought of and can really speed up the development process.

What gets you most excited about Nightfall?

DG: Interacting with the fans has to be the best part.  Getting the opportunity to answer questions in the forums or on the official FAQ is pretty fun, plus hanging out and teaching the game at local cons is always a blast.  I’m lined up to demo Nightfall and run tournaments at this fall’s MACE (convention).

Have you ever been shocked by a card or combo during playtesting?

DG: Absolutely!  Sometimes I think the effect is just something mild, but then it ends up comboing in some ridiculous way that ends up breaking the card.  At one point, we had a card were people were seeing 17 influence on turn 2 and buying out whole stacks.  Have also encountered a couple infinite combos that we were able to fix in testing

What interesting things can we expect to see in Nightfall: Crimson Siege?

DG: Crimson Siege adds in one of my favorite mechanics (Summoning FTW!) and really brings a great presence to the ghouls.  Playing with this set will see the table swarming in them.  The set gets pretty epic when combined with other sets we have in the works!

Do you have a favorite card, combo, or art piece from any specific set?

DG: I really like cards in the 2-3 cost range with mediocre stats, that also have some effect in the, or when they attack.  Lilith Lawrence from the base set is an example; she inflicts damage in the chain, but is still decent while in play.  Zacharias Sands is also a personal favorite from the base set.

What are your two favorite cards for this set?

DG: Definitely the new summon card.  Love that new mechanic!  There are a bunch in the set I really like.  I’m gonna go with Died Piper as my other favorite summon mechanic, but it’s also excellent for handling table politics.  At a glance he isn’t much, but then he attacks… BAM

Anything specific you’d like to mention before we close?

DG: Hmm… we could always use quality playtest teams!  We have some excellent teams on board now, but sometimes they need a break and having others to step in is fantastic. Go playtesters!  You guys are the rock of game development.  Don’t know what we’d do without you all!

Now, for all of you who are wondering what the Summon mechanic does and how it can impact the game – there is a summoning deck, separate from the other stacks of cards in the game. Whenever a card with ‘Summon X’ on it resolves its ability, you draw from the top of that deck and place a minion into play under your control. There is a variety of Ghouls in the summon deck, and unlike other minions in Nightfall, when a Ghoul is destroyed, exiled, or otherwise removed from play, it goes back into the summon deck, and thus the supply of Ghouls to overwhelm your opponents will never run out.

We hope you enjoyed these previews and interview with David Greg – make sure to check back next Monday for more previews!

PLAYDEK’S NIGHTFALL: MARTIAL LAW for iOS HAS RELEASED!

Carlsbad, CA – Playdek, a leading mobile video game publisher, and Alderac Entertainment Group (AEG) announced today that Martial Law, the first in-app expansion to the popular horror themed Nightfall iOS game, is now available!  Nightfall: Martial Law will sell for $1.99 and to celebrate the launch, the original Nightfall iOS will again be offered at $.99, in a one week sale.

In Martial Law, darkness reigns and chaos threatens. Humanity looks to impose order, but can they control creatures that defy logic? New characters, new actions and new color chain combinations make Nightfall: Martial Law a brand new twist on the horror-themed, deck building game, Nightfall. A new “Feed” mechanic that let’s players get more use from their orders and a brand new “Wound” effect that lets a player increase the strength of a Minion makes the Martial Law expansion a must-have addition to the Nightfall game.

“Due to the great success we’ve had with Nightfall, we are excited to introduce an expansion pack for fans,” said Joel Goodman, CEO, Playdek. “The new additions in Nightfall: Martial Law give players the opportunity to surprise opponents as they vie to come out as victor in the end.”

Martial Law provides new Game Center Achievements (http://www.apple.com/game-center/), if users are logged into a Game Center account and new unlockable Promo cards.

A free update to Nightfall is required in order to purchase the Nightfall: Martial Law expansion. To purchase Nightfall for iOS visit iTunes. To see images, technical requirements and more information on Nightfall: Martial Law, please visit Playdek’s web site.

About Playdek, Inc.
Located in Carlsbad, CA, Playdek is a premier developer, publisher and platform for the world’s best tabletop gaming. Playdek has won numerous awards, including “Game of the Year” for its iOS version of Ascension: Chronicle of the Godslayer.  Visit www.playdekgames.com for more information.

About AEG:

Alderac Entertainment Group has produced award-winning games and game worlds for over 15 years.  Its flagship product, Legend of the Five Rings, features the second longest running CCG in the game industry, role-playing games, and board games.  Alderac also produces the popular boardgames Thunderstone, Nightfall, and Infinite City.   This summer Alderac will release the all-new board game Smash Up, and later this year, the board game line The City-State of Tempest.

Press Contacts:

Nina Ronstadt

Ronstadt & Associates PR

(619)224-3186; Nina@Ronstadtpr.com

You’re probably starting to get anxious and excited about the Summon mechanic – so make sure to check back in next Wednesday, as we’ll have a special preview for you – an interview with Nightfall game designer David Gregg, and it will also reveal more about the Summon mechanic. So don’t miss it!