Watch your Back: Week May 15 to 21
We are in mid May, I have a nasty cough, and the temperature here in Athens is 28 degrees Celsius. But let's talk business and see which games will be launching next week.
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We had mentioned Annunaki: Dawn of the Gods when it launched back in April. The creators decided to cancel that campaign and relaunch on Kickstarter on May 16 with discounted prices and new pledge levels.
This is a 4X eurogame in which four rival alien tribes seek to develop their civs and fight each other with the aim of conquering Atlantis. In the solo mode, you play against an AI opponent with its own deck of cards.
Personal opinion: You know me by now, I don't believe 4X games are good for solo.
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We have another relaunch, on May 17, of the 1-6 player solo/competitive adventure game Arcadia Tenebra. You are playing as an antihero investigator in the 19th century trying to catch a mad killer somewhere in the Balkans.
Gameplay is mostly based on skill checks, whenever a hero has an encounter with an NPC or an enemy, as well as on reading story bits from a booklet. Your goal is to collect 3 clues and take them back to your headquarters.
Personal opinion: Arcadia Tenebra has drawn the attention of some members of the 1PG, and I can see the appeal of playing a thematic adventure. To me it looks a bit like a reskin of Arkham Horror, so I will abstain.
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Then we have Kingdoms of Akandia: a 1-4 player cooperative adventure game in which a group of heroes travel across the land and try to fight the spreading evil. You have to control at least two characters in solo.
Each character's abilities can be upgraded by acquiring the required resources, and combat is performed by rolling dice. The game provides you with tasks to complete and story bits to read as you progress. It is launching on Kickstarter on May 17.
Personal opinion: This looks like an old-school overland crawler which is not a bad thing. Not sure it stands out from the crowd but I'll take a look when it launches.
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The next two releases are expansions.
The Artemis Project - a 1-5 player competitive dice placement game in which you colonize Europa and fight for resources - will get the Satellites and Commanders expansion that adds new locations and new leaders to the base game. The Kickstarter is planned for May 17.
And the 2-4 player deck building game Thunderstone Quest is getting the Deepwood Defenders expansion which comes with two new Quests. If you already have the Barricades Mode expansion, I presume you can play the new Quests solo. It is launching on Kickstarter on May 17.
One that we did not see coming:
Steel Colosseum, a tactical game with miniatures of customizable fighting robots, has just launched on KS.
Hope your cough goes away, Athena. The weather is getting crazy hot for spring right now.
As for the list of projects launching this week, a big pile of pass for me. Which is welcome after a week of backing at least 1 game.
Please get well soon, Athena! 🤒 Gonna hit about 26ºC here, today. Comfy, as our humidity is low.
I guess there isn't a lot you can do with board game names, but this batch really seems to be hitting the classics.
Buy now and enjoy:
(madeupword) of the Gods
(madeupword) Kingdoms
But don't forget everyone's favorite:
(madeupword) (madeupword)
Order in the next 10 minutes and we'll throw in:
(madeupword) Quest and
(madeupword) Project!
A quiet week is always welcome!
I'll have a look at Kingdoms of Akandia as well, but with Zerywia already backed, and Dead Throne set in June that I'd like to have a look at, I feel that I have already more than my fill of Fantasy adventure games. But, who knows, the actual offer may end up being more tempted than expected.
I think Arcadia Tenebra is typically a game that heavily relies upon your ability to gather enthusiasm over the story you're telling yourself in your head. It may be a good trigger if you're adept at this kind of board gaming fun, but to me, the fun must come from the working of the mechanics, not from…