News Flash: New Games from Ares, Spiel des Jahres Nominees

Ares Announces September Releases
Ares Games has announced Last Friday and Divinity Derby as their September releases this year. "Gamble on mythical, flying monsters and return to the summer camp of horror with two new upcoming releases from Ares Games!"
Source: http://www.phdgames.com/ares-games-september-releases/

Spiel des Jahres Nominees Announced
The nominees have been announced for Spiel des Jahres. They are Kingdomino, Magic Maze, and El Dorado.
Source: http://www.spiel-des-jahres.com/en/game_archive/2017

Asmodee Acquires Rory's Story Cubes
Asmodee Group has bought the story telling dice from The Creativity Hub. "The deal also has The Creativity Hub working as consultants to Asmodee for a 3 year period, allowing for the smooth transition of manufacturing, distribution, and product development."
Source: http://www.purplepawn.com/2017/05/rorys-story-cubes-sold-to-asmodee/

Rory's Story Cubes Role Playing Game
In other news about Rory's Story Cubes, a Kickstarter campaign has been launched for an RPG game feature the cubes. "For quite some time, we’ve wanted to create something that captures what we love about roleplaying games - the shared world building, the constant twists and turns, watching your character grow - then marry it with Rory’s Story Cubes to create a simpler, more accessible experience for a wider audience."
Source: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/roryoconnor/untold-adventures-await

Z-Man Games Announces Smile
Smile is a card game all about collecting cute creatures. "During each of the game’s ten rounds, critter cards equal to the number of players are revealed from the deck. Players then compete to lure the available critters by offering up fireflies. On their turn, each player can choose to either stay in the round or bow out and collect a card with at least one firefly on it."
Source: http://www.zmangames.com/news/collect-cute-critters-in-smile

Halloween Hits Kickstarter
Quined Games has launched a Kickstarter campaign for Halloween. "It's Halloween and you are out to scare some humans, with several ghosts at your disposal. But beware, the other players can control those same ghosts."
Source: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1661420780/halloween

Reviews
Space Invaders Dice!  (PopWrapped): “Realistically, it is not a game I would play regularly with a board game group, but is a fun little game to bring on trips or to have on the shelf for those days when you are feeling nostalgic.
Source: https://popwrapped.com/space-invaders-dice-review

5 Minute Dungeon (He Said, She Said): “Overall, I really enjoyed how quick the game plays and how easy it is to pick up. This would be the perfect game to break out at the beginning of a game night to kick-off the night.”
Source: https://hesaidshesaidgames.wordpress.com/2017/05/08/game-review-5-minute-dungeon/

Sherlock Holmes Consulting Detective: Jack the Ripper and the West End Adventures (Troll in the Corner): “Sherlock Holmes Consulting Detective is an overlooked gateway game that no-one ever mentions. And it should be right alongside with Splendor, Ticket to Ride, and Pandemic.”
Source: http://trollitc.com/2017/05/sherlock-holmes-consulting-detective-jack-the-ripper-and-west-end-adventures/