Kickstarter: Harbour from Tasty Minstel Games

Just a few days ago Tasty Minstrel Games unleashed their latest endeavor onto Kickstarter and it has already exploded.  Blasting past its meager goal of $15,000 it has already flown past twelve stretch goals and doesn't look like its slowing down any time soon. The crazy thing is this is for a project with a single pledge level, a massive $20.  How is this possible?  Does it level up to the hype that must be driving this thing?  In my opinion, yes.

One of my friends happened to receive a play test copy of Harbour a couple of weeks ago and I was finally able to get in a couple of games.  The game is very straight forward to learn and play but there is definitely a depth to the strategy involved.

The basic concept is that you are trying to be the first player to purchases four buildings on the harbor and have the highest victory point total.  Getting the money for these purchases is done by interacting with the various buildings to acquire goods and then selling them off.  Two things make this simple sounding task much more challenging to accomplish.  The first is that only one player can interact with a building at a time so planning the timing of your strategy can be pretty tricky. And it that wasn't enough of a twist there is also the fact that the market prices are constantly in flux.  Just when you have everything lined up to make that big purchase someone else sells off their stock, flooding the market and driving the price right through the floor.

Personally I definitely recommend checking out this game.  It's a lot of fun to play and between the various characters you can play and the variety of buildings involved in the game there is a lot of replay value with this game as well.  Add on the fact that this one runs a mere $20 and I really don't think you can go wrong with it.  Until next time...

Sunless Sea Kickstarter: Victorian Gothic Horror... On A Boat!

Years ago I stumbled across an online narrative game called Fallen London.  I still remember reading choose your own adventure books when I was a kid and this game was perfect to scratch that itch (without the ability to cheat and see which option is best... come on, you know you did it too!).  More that just the story, I also found the setting fascinating and mysterious! Here you are trapped in the Fallen city of London, consorting with Rubbery Men, Devils, and the Masters of the Bazaar as you try to discover what this place really is and how you got here.

Now the folks at Failbetter games are looking to spin off into new and unknowable directions with their Kickstarter for a 2D seafaring exploration and survival game they are developing.  Welcome, my delicious friend, to the Sunless Sea!

Setting out from Fallen London, you guide your vessel into the unknown waters of the Sunless Sea.  Will you find endless wonders or horrors beyond imagining?  There is no way of knowing as each game is a unique experience leading itself to massive re-playability especially when combined with the deep story engine that is wrapped into the game.

Visually this game also looks stunning with its use of lighting effects.  You are literally exploring a world with no sun so even that becomes a resource you must manage.  Do you blaze your prow-light at full strength and risk attracting the attentions of pirates and monsters or run with the light low and slowly drive your crew mad?

Gameplay Concept shot from Sunless Sea

What's even better is this game will be available for digital download with a pledge of a mere 10 pounds (which equates to roughly $16 USD currently...) which is an incredible bargain! Right now this Kickstarter has about two weeks left and is nearly funded so I definitely recommend hopping over and checking it out.  Until next time...

Wrath of Kings Kickstarter: Yet More Goodness From Cool Mini Or Not

Since I had suck a pretty penny into the Relic Knights Kickstarter last year (which I'm unfortunately still waiting to receive...), CMoN sends me a heads up when they post new projects on Kickstater.  Most of them haven't really peaked my interest but their latest one... well, that's a different story.  It's time to get all fantastical and face the Wrath of Kings!

Set in the fantasy world of Arikania, five powerful kingdoms all struggle for the throne of the Ancient King.  An uneasy peace has existed between these powers but that is all about to change as their power hungry schemes lead the world into open war.

The miniatures for this game look really nice and each of the five factions has a very distinct look to them and from what I've read of the flavor all of the factions sound like they will have interesting stories behind them.  What I've seen of the game system looks pretty compelling as well as they've reduced combat to a single d10 roll rather than the usual two rolls (hit then damage) so games should flow along at a good pace.

As for the Kickstarter itself, its also driven ahead at a pretty steady pace.  Blowing through its $50k goal within the first day, it looks like it should meet all of its current stretch goals and maybe even a couple more beyond so all of the pledge levels give you a very respectable army that you will be able to play right from the start.

Unfortunately I'm not going to be able to back this one but I wanted to make sure to get it out there for people to see as it does look pretty cool IMO.  They are in the tail end of their drive though (only 10 days left as of this posting) so if you're going to check it out I'd suggest doing it soon.  Until next time...

Red Dragon Inn 4 Kickstarter: The Adventure's Complete So Its Time To Hit The Inn!

Yep, its time to talk about another Kickstarter.  Slugfest Games is in the last week of its Kickstarter for Red Dragon Inn 4 but there's still time to get in on the action!

For those of you that might not have heard of the game, the Red Dragon Inn series of games are about drinking your fellow adventurers under the table as you try to take all their gold in the process.  Each of the games can be played independently or you can mix and match across the various sets so the combinations are endless!  While the previous games have all featured various fantasy adventurers, Red Dragon 4 is hitting the high seas and introducing four members of the crew of the Crimson Drake.

The crew of the Crimson Drake and a sample of the awesome artwork that goes into these games!

On top of this, there are also two new characters that are being added the mix in the form of Cormac the Mighty and Witchdoctor Natyli.  These two are from the Red Dragon Inn Allies series which lets you add individual characters to expand your game rather than purchasing the whole thing all over again.

Having played two of the three current RDI games along with the first set of Allies, I can honestly say that these games are an absolute blast to play and I definitely recommend picking them up regardless of whether you support the Kickstarter but right now Slugfest Games is offering RDI 4 and the new Allies at a reduced price.  I am working on putting together a review of the Red Dragon series right now but this is a great buy and I wanted make sure I got the word out about the new expansion before the Kickstarter ends on June 18th.  So go check it out and I'll try to get my review up over the weekend for any of you that are still on the fence.  Until next time...

Robotech RPG Tactics Kickstarter: Living The Dream Baby!

Back when I was a kid I stumbled across an RPG at our LGS that instantly caught my eye.

 

 

Then... the cover of the original Robotech RPG

At the time, I'd never even heard of Robotech but the concept of giant mecha tearing across the battlefield captivated me.  I even toyed with the idea of making a my own mass combat game but it never made it beyond a few counters.  Now a miniature game, that would really be awesome.  As it turns out I'm not the only one that thinks so.

And now... the cover of Robotech RPG Tactics

Just a week ago, Ninja Division and Palladium Books unveiled their Robotech RPG Tactics miniature game and within a day it had already blown past its funding goal.  Now over 500% funded with more undoubtedly still to come, its just a matter of seeing what they can do to expand their Kickstarter.

They have also posted a short game play demo and it looks pretty cool.  They only show the basic mechanics but they look like they've done a good job capturing the fast paced action of the series.

If you are a fan of the series then I definitely recommend you check this one out and even if you are new to the series I'd recommend taking a look.  The miniatures are looking pretty sweet and the Kickstarter is a great way to get into the game and save some money at the same time.  Until next time...

Bones Kickstarter: Wow, That's A Lot Of Minis To Paint...

A couple of days ago Reaper sent out this sneak peek of the Vampire pledge level for their Kickstarter and holy crap is it a lot of minis!  I mean sure, I've seen the picture on the pledge page but seeing them all together like this... wow.  Check it out.

That's a total of 240 minis.  The question now is just how many of them am I actually going to be able to paint before the end of next year but for that we'll just have to wait and see.  Until next time...

Fate Core Kickstarter: Going From One Fate To Another

Ironically enough, the same day I canceled my pledge to Through The Breach another product caught my eye and I was quick to put in a pledge for it instead.  Definitely an odd twist of "fate" which is appropriate since the new product is none other than the Fate Core Rulebook.

In stark contrast to the lack of apparent development for Through The Breach, Fate is well established and thoroughly broken in so no growing pains with this one!  In addition everyone who pledges gets a pdf of the current draft of the Fate Core Rulebook.  Strapped for cash?  Donate a dollar and the pdf is yours to play with.  If you have another nine bucks you can part with you'll also get all of the expansions that have been added as stretch goals (a total of thirteen so far with 45 days still to go).  Heck, knock it up to thirty dollars total and get yourself all this plus a hardcover copy of the book!

Now I'll be the first to admit that I've never actually played Fate but after listening to some actual plays using variations on the system I really want to give it a try.  With its easy to grasp mechanics and flexibility to be used for any setting your mind can imagine this system just seems like a win-win and being able to get the rules in a hardcover for a mere $30 just makes it that much better.  Until next time...

Malifaux Kickstarter: But Where Is The Game Exactly?

A week ago I wrote about the Kickstarter for Through the Breach, the role playing game from Wyrd Miniatures set in the Malifaux world.  With such a rich world to draw on I was really excited about this and was looking forward to seeing just what they had in mind.

 

Notice the "was" in there?

 

Now a week later I have decided to withdraw my backing from this project, but the question is why?

 

Most of the Kickstarter projects that I've seen or backed have had at least some of the development done on them before they hit Kickstarter, the general idea being "here is our product, please help us produce this on a large scale".  For example, some of the initial run for the new Reaper Bones was shown in the video for their KS because they had already started working on it, and Relic Knights by Soda Pop Minis had been in development and playtesting more than a year before their KS even started.

 

In stark contrast, it sounds like Through the Breach still has yet to reach the playtest level but is slated to be released in roughly nine months.  In fact the only thing that I've really been able to pick up from the info that I've seen is that the game will use a card mechanic like Malifaux which makes me a little leery.  How they can expect to create a solid and unique game system and work out the bugs in less then a year... well, I just don't see that really happening.

 

Don't get me wrong; I hope that they are able to create this incredible and lasting game like they were talking about in the initial video on the KS but personally I think I'll wait to see what the game is like before I start handing over my money.  Until next time...

Malifaux Kickstarter: Time To Start Playing With Your Own Fate

Yep, its time for another Kickstarter!

About a week ago Wyrd Miniatures launched their latest Kickstarter endeavor, giving all of us the opportunity to take a step further into the world of Malifaux.  Slated to come out in September next year, Through The Breach lets players become part of the story of Malifaux as they try to survive and control their fate in that nightmare realm.

Using a card mechanic that sounds similar to the core mechanic of their miniature game, Through The Breach will let players cheat fate as they try to rewrite their own story and shape their destiny.

Already over 500% funded with more than a month still to go, this game sounds like its going to be a lot of fun and I've already put in my pledge to back it.  In addition to the receiving a copies of the Players and Fate Masters Guides, there are a number of nice little perks to go along with this one including male and female multi-part plastic minis to let you customize your character for Through The Breach or the Malifaux skrimish game.

If you enjoy the Malifaux skirmish game or even just the dark world that Wyrd has created just beyond our own, then you should definitely check this game out.  Until next time...

Exploding Relics In The Knight!

A couple of weeks ago, I mentioned the Relic Knights Kickstarter from Soda Pop Miniatures.  At the time, they were around the $165k mark and had just unlocked casino quality cards with all of the starters.  Well, things have changed since then...

As it stands right now, for a $50 pledge you get the starter, which includes a Relic Knight (this is the leader for the faction and is typically a giant mech with pilot along with their cypher), a unique minion or two (these are more specialized then you regular grunts, such as a weapon team or elite troops), and a squad of regular minions (which are the aforementioned regular grunts), along with quick start rules, and the cards and tokens you'll use in the game.

Here's the artwork for the six different starter options.

In addition to all of this, the Kickstarter pledge will also get you a second squad of regular minions, a character for the faction, and a Questing Knight (basically a Relic Knight without the Relic).

Here's an example of the extra minis included in just one starter!

 As if this wasn't enough, they are also offering a number of special edition minis which look really sweet as well.

This is a great value just to get the miniatures which is what sold me in the first place.  They do have a gameplay intro video on their Kickstarter page as well which is worth checking out to see how the mechanics work, but even if you're not interested in it for the game, I definitely recommend giving these minis a look.  Until next time...

Digging Into The Depths Of The Earth To Reveal The Bones Within!

Well, the Reaper Bones Kickstarter is in the homestretch now and if you still haven't checked it out, you really should take a few minutes to take a look.  This is an incredible deal for some amazing miniatures, not to mention giving you a chance to help Reaper Miniatures take their products and your gaming experience to an entirely new level.

As of this post, the Kickstarter is now over 1.7 million dollars, so far beyond it's meager goal of $30,000 that its absolutely ridiculous.  The $100 Vampire level pledge has grown from its original 67 minitures to an astounding 209 miniatures with a ton of options that let you add some truly massive figures to the mix for mere dollars.

Time is running out though.  The Kickstarter end this Saturday so if you have been sitting on the fence, its time to make a decision.  The good news is even if you decide to pass up on this option, you should still be able to get most if not all of these figures at retail stores in the future, though they will cost you more if you go that route.  Either way, the only bad news is we'll have to wait until March next year to see just how well these turned out.  Just think of it as a late Christmas present and you should be all set.  Until next time...

Soda Poppin' Onto Kickstarter!

I was checking out the Reaper Kickstarter when what should I find but the Soda Pop Miniatures Relic Knights Kickstarter!  For those of you that are not familiar with them, Soda Pop Miniatures makes a line of very anime inspired miniatures which look absolutely amazing... at least from what I've seen anyway.  Though I've toyed with the idea of picking up a few of these figures, its never been a pressing thing for me in part because I'm just not sure what I'd do with them besides paint them up and say "Man this looks sweet!"

With their Kickstarter, Soda Pop is going to take these figures to the next level and is releasing a sci-fi skirmish game.  Notice that I say "is going to" because this Kickstarter has already been successful.  In fact they were over $100,000 with a goal of $20,000 on the first day!

Each of the faction starters will include everything you need; the minis, cards (as I understand this is a diceless system like Malifaux), tokens, even a playmat!  All of this for $50, which is a heck of a deal.  Add in the fact that the minis look really sweet (provided you like that anime feel) and it sounds like a sure thing.

So what's holding me back?  Two things.

I know someone who was involved in the initial playtesting of the game and after attempting to play it several times, him and his friends told them that the game was basically unworkable.  Using the two factions that they were given, they were actually not able to end a game.  One faction was insanely fast and impossible to hit while the other was ridiculously armored and impossible to damage.  This was a while back and it must have been worked out by now but it still lurks in the back of my mind.

Calico Kate, leader of the Star Nebula Corsairs

The other thing is the miniatures themselves.  They look incredible.  The detail looks crisp, the poses are dynamic, just all around really sweet looking figures.  I've also heard that some of them are absolute bears to assemble because of their detail and the fact that they're not heroic scale.  The new sets in the Kickstarter are going to be plastic so I would think that this would be addressed as well but again, it lurks in the back of my mind.

Codifier Kisa of the Doctrine

 Even with these concerns, I'm still really tempted to get this.  The minis look awesome and the starter set that they are offering is a great deal and with the stretch goals it looks like its just going to keep getting better.  This is definitely one that I'm going to be keeping my eye on in the weeks to come.  Oh, and if any of you happen to be going to GenCon and have a chance to demo the game, please post in the comments!  I'd love to hear the game plays out now that the bugs are (hopefully) worked out.  Until next time...

Diggin' For More Bones...

A couple of weeks ago, I posted about the Reaper Miniatures Bones project on Kickstarter and I thought I'd pass along an update about how its doing.  When I first posted, the project was already fully funded and heading towards its first stretch goal.  As of right now, the project is at over $305,000 with sixteen days left to go which is absolutely amazing!

So what exactly do you get?  Well, that depends on what you donate to the cause but the best option by far is the Vampire level of $100.  Sound like a lot?  Not when you realize that you get over 100 Reaper miniatures for that, plus access to some absolutely insane options as well.

Among the options available are fire giants, ice giants, a dragon and a collection of big, nasty brutes to add to your collection as well, all at an incredible savings..

If you haven't checked this out yet, I really think you should hop on over and give it a look.  Reaper makes some of the best miniatures out there and this is an opportunity to get your hands on an absolutely massive collection for a miniature price.  Until next time...

It's Time For More Boney Goodness!

Some of you might remember my review back in April of the Bones line of miniatures from Reaper Miniatures.  If not, you can check it out right here.  Go ahead, I can wait.

Remember it now?  Well, at the end of that review I mentioned that the range was pretty limited but Reaper is now taking some pretty serious steps to remedy that.  How serious?  Kickstarter serious!

This Kickstarter was just posted yesterday and its already funded and passed its first stretch goal.  As it currently stands, you can get one of each of the 30 new minis for a pledge of $60 (the Mummy level), or you can kick it up to $100 (the Vampire level) and get a whooping 71 minis... at least for now.  They have already announced the next two goals, one of which adds another 10 minis to the Vampire level while the other lets you buy not one but two fire giant minis for $10 total, minis which would cost you $58 if you bought their metal versions right now.

This is a great opportunity to not only get your hands on some of the best fantasy minis out there, but also help Reaper take this to the next level.  Now go check them out, give them a pledge, and tell your friends!  Until next time...