Kickstarter and other crowdfunding platforms

Skinypupy · Post by **Skinypupy** » Wed Jul 17, 2019 9:24 am

AWS260 wrote: ↑Tue Jul 16, 2019 8:47 pm If anyone wants to be talked out of the Middara kickstarter, the latest So Very Wrong About Games podcast has you covered.

I'm not much of a podcast guy...any chance you could bullet-point the issues they raised?

I actually haven't dumped in my $$ to the Kickstarter yet (was planning to do it on Monday).

Smoove_B · Post by **Smoove_B** » Wed Jul 17, 2019 9:30 am

It comes down to whether or not you're connected to the story presented and to a degree the theme/artwork of the game. He found it to be a bit teen-angsty and I'd also agree that the art/style is a bit juvenile in presentation. I think it also might come down to how much you enjoy/hate managing inventory for 4+ characters and whether or not getting "loot" is a mechanic you enjoy. For reference, his bit on Middara was about an 8 minute review - it certainly wasn't the entire podcast (I'm not a podcast guy either).

My issue with so many games lately is that there are quit a few that are really good. However, with limited time, how many "really good" games can I play? As I try to make the transition from "collector" to an actual "player" that seems to be the question to answer.

Skinypupy · Post by **Skinypupy** » Wed Jul 17, 2019 9:43 am

Smoove_B wrote: ↑Wed Jul 17, 2019 9:30 am It comes down to whether or not you're connected to the story presented and to a degree the theme/artwork of the game. He found it to be a bit teen-angsty and I'd also agree that the art/style is a bit juvenile in presentation. I think it also might come down to how much you enjoy/hate managing inventory for 4+ characters and whether or not getting "loot" is a mechanic you enjoy. For reference, his bit on Middara was about an 8 minute review - it certainly wasn't the entire podcast (I'm not a podcast guy either).

My issue with so many games lately is that there are quit a few that are really good. However, with limited time, how many "really good" games can I play? As I try to make the transition from "collector" to an actual "player" that seems to be the question to answer.

Thanks. I’ve read those criticisms elsewhere as well, and don’t disagree with them (from what I’ve seen).

Seems pretty consistent with JRPG tropes, which have been my genre of choice for decades now. Doubt that’d be much of an issue for me.

AWS260 · Post by **AWS260** » Wed Jul 17, 2019 10:37 am

Smoove_B wrote: ↑Wed Jul 17, 2019 9:30 am It comes down to whether or not you're connected to the story presented and to a degree the theme/artwork of the game. He found it to be a bit teen-angsty and I'd also agree that the art/style is a bit juvenile in presentation. I think it also might come down to how much you enjoy/hate managing inventory for 4+ characters and whether or not getting "loot" is a mechanic you enjoy.

He also felt that the core mechanics weren't as engaging/innovative as Gloomhaven. He basically concluded that Gloomhaven and Kingdom Death Monster are both better options for this kind of campaign-style game (but also acknowledged that he's kind of burnt out on the genre).

Smoove_B · Post by **Smoove_B** » Wed Jul 17, 2019 11:59 am

Oh yeah, that too. But that also moves into how they are all variations on a theme. As I mentioned earlier, Gloomhaven seems to be couched in very Euro/Puzzly mechanics - trying to figure out optimal moves in combat. KDM has combat, but really the game is more about the story associated with a group of survivors. Middara seems closer to KDM in that respect - more focused on the story. I don't get the sense that the combat is as puzzly as Gloomhaven - it's much closer to a video game that has you leveling up "gear" to get a slight edge (in this case, better dice, more powerful outcomes).

The campaign-style (IMHO) is a commonality, but in practice they don't feel the same (to me).

Tao · Post by **Tao** » Wed Jul 17, 2019 1:11 pm

My first boardgame kickstarter- just backed Etherfields, thanks TheMix for helping me spend money

. The game play looks really good and the physical game looks amazing. I went with the Dreamwalker level since I really like the look of the miniatures. After pledging the web page showed a couple of other Kickstarters on the bottom and one was for Dice Thrones. A game I really enjoy but never get to play. Sumanabitch's got me on that one...went in for the Epic collector edition. Basically it's Season one (which I don't own) re-mastered in the higher quality manner of Season Two plus a companion kit to play SOLO! Plus some more minis. Plus I just picked up Champions of Hara at my FLGS, ugh.

NickAragua · Post by **NickAragua** » Wed Jul 17, 2019 2:41 pm

Tabletop Battletech kickstarter is live: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/450703636/battletech-clan-invasion.

50 bucks gets you a star of five clan mechs. There are also stretch/goals/add-ons/higher tiers which will get you a lance of "old school" inner sphere mechs, a different star of clan mechs, possibly some elementals, and a dropship. I'm honestly having trouble figuring all of this out as it's a giant info-dump, but I'll say one thing, the beginner box and "game of armored combat" box both have pretty amazing quality miniatures. So if you have the free time to play tabletop battletech (lol), this is pretty great.

Daveman · Post by **Daveman** » Thu Jul 18, 2019 12:13 pm

Battletech was my entry to the deeper gaming world way back in the beginning, when there was only one Autocannon. I sold my collection of Ral Partha miniatures some years ago and only recently learned about this current plastic release of the game, and the "Alpha Strike" version that's a simpllified version of the game that more easily supports larger number of mechs on the field.

Finding the existing plastic lance packs is difficult and expensive so I'll be curious to see if this kickstsrtarter will be a decent way to get caught up. I personally hate the Clans and what they brought to the game so I'm not too excited about the core content of this campaign but would happily go in low and add on Inner Sphere lance packs.

Isgrimnur · Post by **Isgrimnur** » Thu Jul 18, 2019 12:19 pm

One Small Step by Academy Games of 878 Vikings and others.

Lead the Space Agencies of the United States and the Soviet Union in their epic race to the moon in this engine building, worker placement board game.

Play on teams of one or two players where each player controls either the Engineer or the Administrator Workers for their team.

$65 or you can pick up one of their other games with it for $120.

MonkeyFinger · Post by **MonkeyFinger** » Thu Jul 18, 2019 9:52 pm

A friend let me know about this: Conan: Savage Legends boardgame Kickstarter. Also known as "Arena combat in the age of Conan" and apparently the first KS for the company? Not something I'm particularly interested and not burning up the charts but some people seem to be interested in it just for the minis.

Smoove_B · Post by **Smoove_B** » Thu Jul 18, 2019 9:55 pm

Hmmm..I wonder if that's who Monolith lost the Conan license to?

Isgrimnur · Post by **Isgrimnur** » Thu Jul 18, 2019 10:00 pm

9/5/2018

Shinobi 7, LLC. is delighted to announce the license acquisition of Robert E. Howard’s “CONAN” for tabletop games. The first game will be a big box miniature game that will launch on Kickstarter and will be available in retail; the second game will be a direct-to-retail card game.

hentzau · Post by **hentzau** » Thu Jul 18, 2019 10:04 pm

I'm still in the Battle Systems kickstarter but part of me is beginning to question why. I would get more use out of their shanty town and post-apoc stuff right now, but I like the extra stuff you get with the fantasy village.

Blackhawk · Post by **Blackhawk** » Fri Jul 19, 2019 10:24 am

Smoove_B wrote: ↑Thu Jul 18, 2019 9:55 pm Hmmm..I wonder if that's who Monolith lost the Conan license to?

Yes, and no. Yes, that's the company. No, they didn't exactly 'lose' the license. They have it back in 2020, and are planning on doing another Conan Kickstarter.

AWS260 · Post by **AWS260** » Fri Jul 19, 2019 10:26 am

Isgrimnur wrote: ↑Thu Jul 18, 2019 12:19 pm One Small Step by Academy Games of 878 Vikings and others.

Lead the Space Agencies of the United States and the Soviet Union in their epic race to the moon in this engine building, worker placement board game.

Play on teams of one or two players where each player controls either the Engineer or the Administrator Workers for their team.
$65 or you can pick up one of their other games with it for $120.

Really tempting. But Academy brings all of their games to retail, so I think I can wait.

Peoux · Post by **Peoux** » Sat Jul 20, 2019 4:44 pm

TheMix wrote: ↑Sat Jul 06, 2019 1:57 pm I did the Sundrop on Nemesis. It looks great and definitely makes the game look better on the table. But I skipped it for Tainted Grail. It didn't seem like there were enough miniatures to warrant it. I keep telling myself that maybe someday I'll take up painting... and then I'll do something about the miniatures.

How different do sundrop minis look compared to plain minis? I don't think I got a good impression of them at all in the Tainted Grail Kickstarter, so I backed the plain ones. I do dabble with painting but I have been curious how much work I would save myself if I went with the sundrop option...

hepcat · Post by **hepcat** » Sat Jul 20, 2019 9:16 pm

Ertic wrote: ↑Fri May 03, 2019 11:43 am
hepcat wrote: ↑Fri May 03, 2019 11:25 am Hopefully they'll take it to completion as I'm still waiting on some cards for Myth.

As for Aventuria vs. Mistfall, I love Mistfall and will choose that over most card games like this. However it IS very polarizing. The difficulty curve between the two makes Aventuria the clear winner if you're looking for accessibility. But Mistfall gives me a sense of more depth. Although as I said, that's not an opinion shared by everyone.

Aventuria is still a favorite of mine though. Especially in head to head duels. I love card games that use the cards themselves as resources. It adds a sense of sacrifice that I find very satisfying. I've only played a little of the solo game, but it's more Chose Your Own Adventure than it is Pathfinder.

Honestly, you can't go wrong with Aventuria. It's a solid experience all around. Just not as deep as Mistfall in my opinion.
I like Mistfall as well, however I agree, it is a bit on the cerebral side. I played with a couple other folks, and as the sole rule reader, it was tough for me to follow the flow of the game and help with all the character questions. I need to review the rules again and see if I can't get it back out for a session or two.

As for Myth I believe that I received all my cards/modules. Just missing all the mini's at this point.

Just a heads up, Mistfall: Heart of the Mists is 10 bucks on funagain.com.. Guess it’s part of a big clearance sale. As I mentioned before, HotM fixes most of my issues with the base game...and allows you to use those fixes with everything.

Punisher · Post by **Punisher** » Sat Jul 20, 2019 9:34 pm

Daveman wrote: ↑Thu Jul 18, 2019 12:13 pm Battletech was my entry to the deeper gaming world way back in the beginning, when there was only one Autocannon. I sold my collection of Ral Partha miniatures some years ago and only recently learned about this current plastic release of the game, and the "Alpha Strike" version that's a simpllified version of the game that more easily supports larger number of mechs on the field.

Finding the existing plastic lance packs is difficult and expensive so I'll be curious to see if this kickstsrtarter will be a decent way to get caught up. I personally hate the Clans and what they brought to the game so I'm not too excited about the core content of this campaign but would happily go in low and add on Inner Sphere lance packs.

Battletech was my first real game as a kid...I actually started with Battledroids! I think I still have the manual, but sadly I am missing the miniatures it came with (Really, tiny articulated models) I then kept up with it when it went to BattleTech and I think I have some of the expansions like AeroTech and CityTech (or something similar) somewhere. BattleTech and Car Wars were my 2 go to games back then.
I just picked up the new beginner set and starter set from them so some of the pledge levels dont make sense to me. I am keeping on eye on the KS and if funds are available at the time, I'll probably back it and add it to my collection.

Blackhawk · Post by **Blackhawk** » Wed Jul 24, 2019 10:07 pm

MonkeyFinger wrote: ↑Thu Jul 18, 2019 9:52 pm A friend let me know about this: Conan: Savage Legends boardgame Kickstarter. Also known as "Arena combat in the age of Conan" and apparently the first KS for the company? Not something I'm particularly interested and not burning up the charts but some people seem to be interested in it just for the minis.

And failed.

MonkeyFinger · Post by **MonkeyFinger** » Thu Jul 25, 2019 12:41 am

Blackhawk wrote: ↑Wed Jul 24, 2019 10:07 pm
MonkeyFinger wrote: ↑Thu Jul 18, 2019 9:52 pm A friend let me know about this: Conan: Savage Legends boardgame Kickstarter. Also known as "Arena combat in the age of Conan" and apparently the first KS for the company? Not something I'm particularly interested and not burning up the charts but some people seem to be interested in it just for the minis.
And failed.

Not really surprising.

Isgrimnur · Post by **Isgrimnur** » Thu Jul 25, 2019 12:44 pm

For those that were interested in Apocrypha, the current Puzzles and Puzzle Games Humble Bundle has Print and Play for boxes 1-3, The Book of the Hybrids, and Steganographer's Guide.

hepcat · Post by **hepcat** » Thu Jul 25, 2019 12:50 pm

No thanks. I couldn't sell that game off fast enough once I got it and played it once.

Lordnine · Post by **Lordnine** » Thu Jul 25, 2019 4:20 pm

Smartphone Inc is on KS today. This one I got to play almost a year ago because someone picked up a copy from a German convention. The theme did nothing for me but I absolutely loved the gameplay. Definitely worth a look.

AWS260 · Post by **AWS260** » Sun Jul 28, 2019 10:29 pm

Import/Export looks really intriguing. This KS is for a second printing; has anyone already tried it?

Kasey Chang · Post by **Kasey Chang** » Sun Jul 28, 2019 10:42 pm

I am more of an EDC guy. I backed the following projects:

TiPen -- a TINY EDC pen that fits on a keychain, available in Titanium, Aluminum, or even Tungstun.

NILS 2.0 -- a USB charging cable that can be worn like a bracelet, and cheaper than the generic crappy stuff you find on Amazon (starts at $6)

Mjolnir -- an EDC wallet that fits cards, cash, coins, and has a "card ejector"

Travel Tool Roll -- imagine your travel daily valet (shampoo, razer, anti-perisprant, toothbrush, etc.) as a "tool roll" instead of the regular layout.

hepcat · Post by **hepcat** » Wed Aug 07, 2019 12:45 pm

Whoo hoo, my Dungeon Alliance adventure packs, new characters and playmats (I splurged and got both of them) arrived just now! That's a whole lot of new Dungeon Alliance material, I must say. I believe they said it has more cards in the expansion than the core game did.

AWS260 · Post by **AWS260** » Wed Aug 07, 2019 1:01 pm

AWS260 wrote: ↑Sun Jul 28, 2019 10:29 pm Import/Export looks really intriguing. This KS is for a second printing; has anyone already tried it?

So Very Wrong About Games talked me out of Import/Export. Their take was basically that it's very, very similar out-of-print classic Glory to Rome, but just not as good. And I learned that an acquaintance has a copy from the previous kickstarter, but hasn't gotten it to the table yet.

I'm actually mildly interested in the new CMON boondoggle, Trudvang Legends. I like the Nordic theming and the prospect of an exploration-focused adventure game. But those female minis make it a non-starter. Of the female heroes, one is wearing actual armor, and all the rest are some combination of underboob, sideboob, and old-fashioned deep cleavage. I would be embarrassed to bring them to the table.

coopasonic · Post by **coopasonic** » Wed Aug 07, 2019 1:47 pm

Aeon's End: The New Age Base Set + Expansion arrived last night... that's another huge pile of cards. At this point I basically require a forklift to bring Aeon's End to the table. Looking forward to checking out the new mode... that I know literally nothing about.

hepcat · Post by **hepcat** » Wed Aug 07, 2019 2:05 pm

You and me both, brother. I got my shipping notice this morning, but it won't be here until next Tuesday.

Ah well, I definitely don't have a shortage of great games to play until then.

$iljanus · Post by **$iljanus** » Wed Aug 07, 2019 7:12 pm

coopasonic wrote:Aeon's End: The New Age Base Set + Expansion arrived last night... that's another huge pile of cards. At this point I basically require a forklift to bring Aeon's End to the table. Looking forward to checking out the new mode... that I know literally nothing about.

I forgot I even backed this! It's coming tomorrow but can't really do anything with it because I'm going on vacation. Wish I could have diverted it to Hepcat and get his copy later but maybe I'll just tease him with pictures of me fondling the box...

hepcat · Post by **hepcat** » Wed Aug 07, 2019 7:58 pm

$iljanus wrote: ↑Wed Aug 07, 2019 7:12 pm
coopasonic wrote:Aeon's End: The New Age Base Set + Expansion arrived last night... that's another huge pile of cards. At this point I basically require a forklift to bring Aeon's End to the table. Looking forward to checking out the new mode... that I know literally nothing about.
I forgot I even backed this! It's coming tomorrow but can't really do anything with it because I'm going on vacation. Wish I could have diverted it to Hepcat and get his copy later but maybe I'll just tease him with pictures of me fondling the box...

Fondling is such an ugly word. Could we just go with caressing?

Isgrimnur · Post by **Isgrimnur** » Wed Aug 07, 2019 8:00 pm

Groping?

$iljanus · Post by **$iljanus** » Wed Aug 07, 2019 8:05 pm

Isgrimnur wrote:Groping?

Hey, I'm not the Harvey Weinstein of board games!

Isgrimnur · Post by **Isgrimnur** » Wed Aug 07, 2019 8:20 pm

Chikan?

hepcat · Post by **hepcat** » Wed Aug 07, 2019 8:55 pm

Chokity?

Isgrimnur · Post by **Isgrimnur** » Wed Aug 07, 2019 10:55 pm

Chook chook chook!

MonkeyFinger · Post by **MonkeyFinger** » Thu Aug 08, 2019 8:06 am

With only three hours left on their campaign, I finally decided to back Etherfields… still seeing the dollars roll up as I was pondering. <cha-ching>

$iljanus · Post by **$iljanus** » Thu Aug 08, 2019 4:26 pm

hepcat wrote:
$iljanus wrote: ↑Wed Aug 07, 2019 7:12 pm
coopasonic wrote:Aeon's End: The New Age Base Set + Expansion arrived last night... that's another huge pile of cards. At this point I basically require a forklift to bring Aeon's End to the table. Looking forward to checking out the new mode... that I know literally nothing about.
I forgot I even backed this! It's coming tomorrow but can't really do anything with it because I'm going on vacation. Wish I could have diverted it to Hepcat and get his copy later but maybe I'll just tease him with pictures of me fondling the box...
Fondling is such an ugly word. Could we just go with caressing?

Well the fondling must wait because my shipment is now scheduled for next week. Hopefully our friend will secure the package before Hepcat comes down to snatch it up...

In the meantime I'm really enjoying the Terminator Genisys Rise of the Resistance board game. I'm glad for a game that took less than thirty minutes to set up and learn the rules with minimal referencing of the rule book. I'm a little burned out by games with extensive rulesets, a gazillion pieces, and needing a separate organization system that costs almost as much as the game.

Smoove_B · Post by **Smoove_B** » Fri Aug 09, 2019 11:38 am

Hasn't been an update from Ulisses Spiele for the latest Aventuria KS in almost a month, but apparently they were selling copies of it at GenCon? There goes any faith I have in them to resurrect the Myth license.

hentzau · Post by **hentzau** » Fri Aug 09, 2019 12:08 pm

Ultra Tiny Epic Galaxies just launched. TEG is my favorite of the TE games, and this version is small enough to fit in a standard sized card box. Plus, it has a $12 price tag. Great game at a great price.