Bloglander

HAMMERED HEROES NAILS KICKSTARTER CAMPAIGN

A trio of local, beer-loving game designers have finally reached success with a third attempt to crowdfund their multiplayer card game, Hammered Heroes.

There’s still time to back the locally-made game on Kickstarter — the campaign runs through next Wednesday, Feb. 28, which might be, at least for the foreseeable future, one of the only ways to get your hands on a copy.

Hammered Heroes was designed by Adam Boyd, Clancy Bundy and Adam Harum. As its name implies, the game is heavily themed around beer, beer puns and the drinking of it, though imbibing is not a requirement to play.

“The game functions like that old card game War — for each round, a player plays a Hammered Hero card with a number value, hoping to win the round with either the highest or lowest card, depending on that round's condition,” Boyd explains.

“It’s a ‘take-that’ style card game within the same vein of Munchkin, Smash Up or even Exploding Kittens. And because the overall theme of the game is fantasy meets drinking culture, we have some optional rules to play with drinks.”

The trio designed the game as an homage to their personal love of card and board games, which also intersects with their enjoyment of drinking and socializing.

“We’re always drinking beers while we hang out and play games, but we weren’t aware of any games that were easy and fun to play at a get-together, and could even be the reason for a social event,” Boyd says. “So we started experimenting with game mechanics from our favorite games and started playing with the idea of a fantasy theme, but where alcohol shaped the character names and card designs.”

The booze-themed pun names resulted in cards like "Harry Porter," "Cosmopaladin," "Brown Baggins," and the "Beerbarian."

Get one of the first printed copies of Hammered Heroes by backing the project on Kickstarter for $20 (plus $8 shipping). The team hopes to have the game available for purchase in stores eventually and will have copies for sale at this year’s Lilac City Comicon in June.

WOLF CREEK STEAKHOUSE TO CLOSE

On the heels of the departure of local restaurant mainstay Milford’s Fish House, another longtime establishment is also ending its decades long run: Wolf Creek Steakhouse.

The restaurant in east Spokane, at 104 S. Freya, opened back in 1999. Staff recently announced on the steakhouse’s Facebook page that its last day of business is to be this Saturday, Feb. 24:

“All of us want to thank Spokane for 20 years… We will be saying good bye [sic] to great people and dedicated guests on Feb 24th. We have all created such strong relationships with our guest, with our families, with each other.. Tom and Lisa thank you.”

Wolf Creek’s sister restaurant in Coeur d’Alene, Wolf Lodge Steakhouse, is set to remain open for business and is not being affected by the Spokane location’s closure.

IN THIS WEEK'S ISSUE

On the cover this week is, of course, our comprehensive guide to Inlander Restaurant Week 2018, starting Thursday, Feb. 22, and running through Saturday, March 3. If you haven't picked one up already, make sure to do so this week. Menus for all 107 participating restaurants can also be accessed online at the previous link. Featured chef Q&As, an overview of things to do before or after dinner and other features published this week in the printed guide can be read online here.

In the latest issue's food section, we've got a profile on Europa Restaurant & Bakery's long-time pastry chef Christie Sutton, whose decadent creations are also featured on the issue's cover. Learn more about her journey to become a respected and well-known pastry chef in our feature.

Food contributor Carrie Scozzaro also shares the low-down on the newish Westwood Brewing Co. in Rathdrum, Idaho, which started as a bar, has expanded to serve a full food menu and soon will add a microbrewery to its offerings.

A version of this information originally appeared in our weekly Entrée food newsletter; sign up to get it delivered directly to your inbox here. Find the previous edition of the Entrée blog here.