Watch your Back: Week August 7 to 13

Ah, let me savour these quiet days of August with just a couple of games launching from time to time... before the avalanche of autumn comes and sweeps us over again...

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So, this week we'll see the launch of Kinfire Chronicles: Night's Fall: this is a 1-4 player cooperative adventure game in which a group of heroes is fighting against the forces of evil. It is a 15-quest campaign game with RPG elements. Each character has their own set of skill cards and boosts.

Over the course of their journey, they will face encounters and events that will be resolved via skill checks. Success in a check is determined by the cards you reveal (e.g. flip four cards from your hand, the two have to be blue). Battles are resolved via pulling tokens from a bag for initiative, and using your cards to fight. It is launching on Kickstarter on August 9.

Image source: BGG

Personal opinion: Ehm, it's okay, I guess? I don't see anything bad here but neither do I find anything exciting. Why do heroes have to almost always be bards, elves and dwarfs? And always fight a dragon? This game seems to have followed the adventure game recipe to a T: pour one cup skill checks, two cups stereotypical heroes and monsters, add one tablespoon of CYOA, and serve with ice cream on the side. (Oh, I see there's also a robot among the heroes. Well, that changes everything :P )

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Then we have the reprint of Dead Reckoning and the Letters of Marque expansion: the expansion adds more content to the base game: two empire boards, ship upgrades, new encounters and mysteries. Dead Reckoning is a pirate-themed game in which players are sailing the high seas looking for treasure. In the solo mode, you are playing against an AI.

Image source: BGG

Personal opinion: This looks better-suited to multiple players than solo to me.