Watch your Back: Week February 19 - 25
Don't know what the thing with Dante is, but we've got two crowdfunding campaigns launching based on his work. Perhaps development started three years ago when it was 700 years since he died? Anyway, we'll have hell to pay this week.
In the thematic eurogame Inferno (1-4 players) you will accuse people of being sinners, so they'll be sent to hell. Then you will guide these souls to their circle and score points. For solo you compare the end score to a table and see how well you did. There are also solo challenges with variable difficulty settings, where you try to reach a score treshold with minor changes to the rules.
The game will launch on Gamefound this Tuesday, February 20. The deluxe edition adds 4 big miniatures and a storage system to speed up set up.
Personal opinion: Probably better multiplayer. It's nice they added the solo options though.
We also have DANTE: Inferno (1-4 players), which is more of an cooperative adventure game: you'll explore hell and fight monsters. It's a narrative campaign with a branching storyline and levelling up of characters, but you will be able to play one-shot scenarios as well. For solo you either handle multiple characters, or use companions that have minimal upkeep.
Just to confuse everyone, this game will also launch on Gamefound this Tuesday, February 20. Choose wisely.
Personal opinion: I am not buying another narrative campaign game, there's just so many you can own and play (for me personally the number is extremely low). I do appreciate that the miniatures are an optional add-on.
More coop goodness in Zombie Horde (1-5 players) where you try to survive the zombie apocalypse until a cure is found - while the game also ends when all your characters are dead. Or, well, undead I guess.
The game can be found on Kickstarter on Tuesday February 20. The end is near!
Personal opinion: Couldn't find much info on this one. I do enjoy post-apocalypse games and own several zombie-themed games. But I'm not a minis painter and I think I am not the target audience for this specific one.
Boardquest: Tales of Liria (1-4 players) is a fantasy battle and conquer game. Fight monsters, gain XP, gold and loot, level up and finally control enough forts on the map or defeat all other players. Solo you'll play scenarios from a dedicated book, in which the enemy players are automated.
You will find this on Kickstarter on February 21. A video game version will be released as well.
Personal opinion: I think I've got enough fantasy games, but I'll check a video.
Then: Reprints Galore! If you missed out on any of these games in the last few years, here's your chance.
Black Rose Wars: Rebirth (1-4 players). This competitive fantasy deck-builder return to Gamefound on February 20.
Vampire: The Masquerade — CHAPTERS (1-4 players). This cooperative story-driven RPG will return to Kickstarter with a new expansion on February 20.
Street Masters (1-4 players). New publisher, new packaging, new expansion for this cooperative card-driven scenario-based miniatures battler. On Kickstarter on February 21.
And just when I thought it would be all big box miniature games, we have the return of pocket-sized game The Market with a new expansion, The Upgrades. It will launch on Kickstarter on February 23.
Personal opinion: Street Masters is a top-10 game for me. The last campaign didn't get delivered, new owners Steamforged will send it to me if I pay for shipping again, or back the new expansion. Guess it will be the new expansion then. 😁 I mean I was sour on the previous publisher, but I am sure it will be good fun to play this. I think Black Rose Wars is more geared towards multiplayer. Not interested in Vampires: The Masquerade (even though I played the computer game) because it's a narrative board game. I will check out The Market, not to buy this time, but as the designer thinks about running a EU friendly campaign for his games next. Great to see people thinking of us still.
I've tried very quickly the video game demo for Boardquest: Tales of Liria (it shares the same rules as the board game), and wasn't too impressed unfortunately... The ugly graphics and clunky interface surely didn't help.
Anyway, I did not come across very interesting gameplay situations so far, but at least, everything is streamlined and quite clear.
Is SFG the new savior of games in perdition?
I own one game by SFG (Ni no Kuni II The Board Game). A nice game with good production value (and not overproduced!), albeit not quite interesting overall.
Anyway. They seem to fare well as a company and to deliver their massive campaigns in a rather smooth way.
Great post and right on time for the crowdfunding Tuesday show!
I'll be backing Boardquest I guess. Unlike you I never have enough Fantasy games. I love area control and the solo mode looks cool (it's a mini campaign with fixed objectives, not AI based). The game mechanics seem streamlined and easy to run. The pricetag is not too high. I love Warcraft III and this seems to the most straightforward board game adaptation to it.
I had this on my radar for a few months and the more I learned about it the more I wanted to back it. I'll write a KS spotlight for it I think!