Watch your Back: Week February 26 - March 3
Tuesday is for crowdfunding. Here are some ice cold titbits to get you through the day. Cool!
FLOE (1-4 players) is an adventure game where you'll go questing across an icy landscape. Discover long-lost secrets, find treasure and battle monsters - then open envelopes and put stickers on stuff.
The game will have both a solo mode against an AI, and a coop variant that you could play solo. It will launch on Kickstarter today, February 27.
Personal opinion: I haven't played prevous releases by any of this team, Endless Winter, Parks or Sweet Mess, and Unconcious Mind is not in shops yet. For this one I am a bit apprehensive because of the unlockable stuff. Let's see how replayable it is afterwards.
More adventuring outside in the cold, but based on history this time, can be found in the new release of Expedition: Northwest Passage (1-4 players). To celebrate the game's 10 Anniversary there will be a HMS Terror Edition, with deluxe components like dual layer player boards and screen printed tokens, and a mini expansion to optionally make your game harder (Tuunbaq).
The solo and coop modes are completely new. If you happen to own the previous box, you can print the solo mode for free. The HMS Terror Edition will go live on Kickstarter later today, February 27.
Personal opinion: I've always been curious for this game, so now that there are official solo and coop modes I'll definitely check it out. I like historical settings, and am also fond of Tourigny's Arkham Noir.
You know what's cold? When the light dies out. That's exactly what happens in the cooperative video-game-turned-board-game Dying Light (1-4 players). In it you'll play through a campaign, build your Outpost, defend against zombies and then look in horror at glow in-the-dark components during the Night Phase. 😱 A UV-flashlight will be available in the add-ons.
For solo it is possible to play with one character, if you fancy to take on the Infected single-handedly. The campaign can be found on Kickstarter later today, February 27.
Personal opinion: I am not familiar with the video game. Glass Cannon also brought us Frostpunk, while one of the co-designers worked on Zerywia, so it looks interesting enough. Also, a week without zombies is a week not lived, as we say in The Netherlands. [insert undead joke]
If you are more of a frost spell caster, we've got you covered as well. In tactical card game Chrome Arcana you'll be a mage, duelling your opponent until death - using your minions, traps and potions for support. You will need the Tyrant Hunt (1-6 players) expansion for solo or coop. On Kickstarter today, February 27.
Personal opinion: I have a weakness for fantasy games with spell casting, and for boss battlers, so let's see how the expansion modes play. That it's a deck construction game where you don't have to buy card packs regularly is certainly a plus.
Then ship-building and trading game Ostia (1-4 players) will have a reprint plus the expansion Pirates on Kickstarter today (February 27). But it will only be shipping to US, Canada and Japan, not to Europe. So, boo. The game is set in ancient Europe! And it's about ships! And they're not shipping here!
We are being left in the cold!
Personal opinion: I've run out of exclamation marks.
I did not leave out the rolling Cascadias on purpose (Cascadia: Rolling Hills and Cascadia: Rolling Rivers). I knew they were launching. I probably forgot because they have no ice theme 🥶 Sorry!
Most important question (with the answer as provided on the Kickstarter page):
So the base Chrome Arcana is for 2 Players (since the players are dueling 🙂), then. It has a clean, functional look, as compared to the 'a bit more busy looking' FLOE. I'm still watching-out for interesting-looking 2 Player games, so I'll look at that one more closely. And there is the expansion for Solo!
The eye-boggling FLOE
Even the cards seem a little busy...
Dying Light has an optional UV flashlight? 🤗 Amazon has 'em for 1¢, but the shipping is $15.99. 🤔
I'm inserting an Undead joke here.
Expedition: The Northwest Passage is the one that tempts me the most this week, but I think I'll pass. Too much Euro for me (I think there is some layer of resource management in it no?).
I'll also have a look at Chrome Arcana. But even though I believe I love card dueling games like Skytear Horde or Mutants or Worldbreakers, each time I play one of them, I feel dissatisfied. I think I should re-evaluate my preferences.
I have been looking at Ostia as well...seem to remember that the previous kickstarter had the same issue with no shipping to Europe...or else it was simply too expensive. They do have a pricelist for shipping to Europe now (20 € plus VAT), so I'll be considering it this time