Hex Games has just released Aces & Apes, a game of World War I flying aces with the key ingredient that’s been lacking from other aerial combat games: intelligent apes.

When the Great War blew up, the world found itself divided. Brother against brother; man against man; ape against ape. You, as a member of the Belle Alliance’s flying corps, are here to keep things quiet on the Western Front or die trying as the Goth forces attempt to break through the lines. It’s the Red Baron meets Bedtime for Bonzo in this game of banana-toting aerial mayhem.

So, swing that propeller! Let’s get the old bus airborne and go save the world!

Aces & Apes is a game of thrilling aerial escapades designed for use with the QAGS Second Edition rules. The game includes rules for a wide variety of PC types (orangutan, gorilla, chimpanzee, bonobo, and even human), historical background, rules for biplanes and dogfights, the sample adventure “Masque of the Black Death,” and much more.

Aces & Apes–as well as the QAGS rulebook, Edison Force, Spy Racers, and more--can be purchased in PDF form at www.hexgames.com and at the finer PDF sales sites for just $7.99.

The QAGS Qik Start Rules, which include everything you need to play Aces & Apes, are available for download at www.hexgames.com, absolutely free.

Aces & Apes is written by Edison Force creator Ian Engle and illustrated by Robert Kemp.

Rule the skies. Have more fun!

Hex Games today announced the upcoming release of Q-Next, the updated version of QAGS (the Quick Ass Game System).

What is Q-Next? Hex Games Chief Operating Officer Steve Johnson explained as he stepped down from his Segway, “It’s the next step, basically. We had QAGS, then QAGS Second Edition, but now it’s time to go farther. It’s time for a paradigm shift. We’re changing the way we think about gaming.”

“We’re thinking outside the box,” added Hex Creative Director Leighton Connor, as he took a sip of his Starbucks latte. “Not only that, but we blew the box up. We are strictly anti-box.”

“We have a No Box policy,” Johnson said, pointing to a sign on the wall. The sign did in fact have a picture of a box, with a large red X over it. “We had to shelve all our old thinking, to remake our product into something edgier. We’re not just reaching out to traditional gamers. . . we want to reach young people who are into snowboarding, who have piercings and tattoos.”

“I have a tattoo,” Connor said, rolling up his sleeve to show it off.

“Basically, this is not your daddy’s role-playing game,” Johnson said. “RPGs have traditionally been aimed at the ‘Mountain Dew and Cheetos’ crowd, but Q-Next is more for people who are into Red Bull and Extreme Doritos. This is fresh. This is hip. This is happening. This is now.”

As part of its mission statement to embrace the new millenium, Q-Next features a dynamic new user interface that no longer requires the Jam Master (formerly “Game Master”) and the Bros (formerly “Players”) to be in the same room. “We see this as the kind of game you can play over MySpace or Friendster,” said Outreach Director Ian Engle. “Totally Web 2.0  stuff.”

The Q-Next Core Rule Set will roll out in a series of seven full-color hardcovers--which will eventually be collected in the Q-Next Deluxe Special Edition Box Set--beginning with the Jam Master’s Guide in September. In addition to these books, fans will also be able to purchase the new Q-Next line of collectible miniatures, a crucial part of the Q-Next combat system.

But the Q-Next Core Rule Set is only the beginning. Once all seven volumes have been released, the Q-Next supplement line kicks off with Juggalomancer, which introduces another revolutionary new magical tradition to the Hex Ficton. According to lead developer Carter “Crazee 2 C” Newton, who has already started immersing himself in Juggalo culture, “This [expletive deleted] game’s gonna be a [expletive deleted] miracle, man. I mean it’s got [expletive deleted] magnets and giraffes and all kindsa [expletive deleted]. It’s gonna blow your [expletive deleted] mind, yo!”

Next, Rasslin’ meets River Monsters in Colin Thomas Presents X-Rodz. “We’ve always wanted to do a QAGS supplement about fishing, but could never really figure out how to make it work,” said Hex Operations Director Steve Johnson. “Then one day [Assistant Creative Director] Josh Burnett and I were playing foosball in the Employee Inspiration Lounge and realized that with the Universal Rasslin’ League [from previous Hex release Colin Thomas Presents Rasslin’] doing so well, the URL’s Mr. Colin Thomas would want to expand his empire. The obvious choice was for him to take all the things that make professional wrestling so popular and apply it to the world of tournament fishing. It’s kind of like Moby-Dick with Hulk Hogan in the role of Ahab.”

Finally, Leighton Connor revisits the world of the 2009 Hex release Laser Ponies in the sure-fire smash hit Raver Ponies. “The first book was geared toward kids, so a lot of the focus was on the kind of adventures younger ponies would have,” said Connor. “This takes a look into the life of the teen and young adult ponies, especially the nightlife. In this supplement we get to explore more adult subject matter, like pony sex and drug use, that we weren’t really able to touch on in the first book.”

“Those are the initial releases,” Connor added, “but there’s plenty more to come. It’s safe to say that QAGS fans--or, as we like to call them, ‘Quizzles’--will be extremely pleased. Although I can’t announce anything official at this time, I can whet your appetite with a few tantalizing titles. Get ready for Sk8ter Boiz Vs., Real Worlds: Role-Playing in the World of Reality TV, Tweet Wars, Parkour: The Role-Playing Game, and Crunkcore Cyborgs. It’s going to be off the hook.”

Hex Games has just released Tell Me About Your Character, a character development resource that can be used with any role-playing game.

Tell Me About Your Character is a character development resource that can be used with any role-playing game. Since so many games focus entirely on “the mission,” some gamers don’t really know where to start when it comes to creating three-dimensional characters. Fortunately, we’re here to help.

Tell Me About Your Character is divided into two main sections: instructions and worksheets. It’s sort of like a tax booklet, but hopefully a lot more fun. There are three worksheets: the Character Information worksheet, which helps you flesh out your character’s background, goals, and personality; the Supporting Cast worksheet, where you provide information about the people your character knows; and the Game Preferences worksheet, which gives you a chance to let the GM know what kind of game you’re interested in playing. The bulk of the book gives guidelines for the worksheets and provides examples of both good and bad responses.

Tell Me About Your Character –as well as QAGS Second Edition, Hobomancer, Spy Racers, and more--can be purchased in PDF form at www.hexgames.com and at the finer PDF sales sites for just 99 cents.

Tell Me About Your Character is written by Steve Johnson and illustrated by Joshua LH Burnett and Jeffrey Johnson.

Make better characters. Have more fun!

Hex Games has just released Spy Racers, the first supplement for Sex, Lies and Ultraspies.

It’s the ‘60s. The cars are fast, the women are faster, and there’s no better cover for international spies than posing as flamboyant race car drivers competing in events across the globe. It’s all about beating the clock, whether it’s crossing the finish line in first place or destroying the villainous mastermind’s doomsday weapon in the middle of an active volcano!

Spy Racers focuses on that staple of the ‘60s spy genre, vehicle chases. This supplement provides the GM and players alike a quick and interesting way to resolve vehicle combat and chases using the QAGS Second Edition rules, complete with character sheets and a sample race board. Spy Racers also includes background on the Global Racing Group, an overview of racing in the ‘60s, sample characters, and the adventure “Who Killed Team Unity?”

Spy Racers–as well as the QAGS rulebook, Sex, Lies and Ultraspies, Hobomancer, and more--can be purchased in PDF form at www.hexgames.com and at the finer PDF sales sites for just $9.99.

For those who would like to sample QAGS before they buy it, the QAGS Qik Start Rules are available for download at www.hexgames.com, absolutely free.

Spy Racers is written by Sex, Lies and Ultraspies creator Robert McCabe and illustrated by James Hornsby and Jeffrey Johnson, with a cover by Joshua LH Burnett.

Start your engines. Have more fun!