Octopus Overlords

I finally broke down and backed the STREET MASTERS at the $109 "starter" tier which includes the base game, some expansions, and all stretch goals for both core set and Aftershock.

It's just too crazy a value to pass up at that price. 142 miniatures and 1000+ cards. Ridiculous.

I was going to wait and try to nab a copy of base game at GenCon, but I knew I'd be kicking myself for not getting all this extra content for not that much more money than base will probably sell for.

And I'll be all over that Nemo's War expansion KS.

Ditto. I also verified with one of the designers on the solo boardgaming facebook page that I could upgrade to "all in" if (when) my willpower broke.

I'm telling you right now - about 30 minutes after you have the core set in your hand you're going to say, "I understand why there is more." To be clear, you don't *need* more - the core set is an insane amount of content for what you pay. But if you're looking for upgrades to wisely spend money, the Redemption decks are an insane value as they let you turn the boss characters into fighters. And it's not just playing them as fighters but they have their own stories as well.

I really hope they can get this out before next October, but with the amount of content they've added with this KS I'm not so sure anymore. It's ridiculous!

I have a few too many big ticket "all in" kickstarters right now, or I would have gone in for Cloudspire. It'll be high on the GenCon buy list once released.

Yeah, save your money on the shipping for Cloudspire. You'll get everything from the kickstarter at Gencon with no problem. Read the rules beforehand so we can play at the hotel, dagnabit.

Got my fireball island in the mail and played it. Pretty fun so far.

I'm kind of interested in this expanding table to use as a coffee table/gaming table. We don't have enough space for a proper dining or gaming table -- we bring out a 2'x4' plastic folding table when we need the space, and even that is a tight fit for many games. This would be both nicer and (when expanded) bigger.

Nemo's War: Bold and Caring has been launched.

Smoove_B wrote: ↑Tue Nov 27, 2018 12:01 pm Nemo's War: Bold and Caring has been launched.

Backed! Need more ways to unleash the inner Nemo! (that sounded a bit weird, but Nemo is a bit of a strange fella)

I backed it as well. $17 shipped was a no brainer. I was really impressed with the first expansion, so if these are anything close to that then we're in for a treat.

I foolishly trusted DVG's repeated assurances that the Warfighter WW2 Pacific expansion was truly going to ship in August of 2018. Well, that was eventually pushed into the Fall, and as of yesterday, it's been pushed into the Spring of 2019. What's additionally crazy is that they launched another KS right before Warfighter was due to be shipped (due Spring 2019) and they're getting ready to launch another one on Thursday for a game that was designed by the same guy that did Pavlov's House. As much as I want to support him, there's no way I'm ever going to back a DVG title on KS ever again. I cannot reward or support this kind of business practice, sorry.

They recently sent out the kickstarter copies of Corsair Leader and it's riddled with issues apparently. I'm putting them on the same no fly list to which I recently added Sierra Madre Games. I'm sick and tired of paying for games that are released with issues...then forced to just live with it, pay for shipping of the corrected items, or pay for a new edition when they kickstart it later that year. I can count on one hand the number of times a kickstarter project actually just sent me the fixed item(s) just out of a sense of responsibility to their customers.

More than anything, that is souring me on Kickstarter right now.

Yeah, they definitely are in a whole different category for their errata and errors. I unloaded a retail copy of B-17 from them because it was filled with problems and shortly after I picked up the retail copy, they announced the updated manual/cards/whatever was being worked on and would be available in an updated printing or as a PDF download. I know they've always been a bit lax on proofing, but it feels like maybe it's now worse that they're pushing out all these titles on KS. I don't think they have the QA system in place to deal with the volume they want. And it's a shame because I really like the Warfighter series.

I'm definitely KS shy. In fact, STREET MASTERS was the first KS I've ever backed. But they already had a proven track record, as did the Nemo guys. I'm certainly envious when I see folks get some shiny new game that I know I won't be able to get my hands on for a year or more, but I'm too nervous to back first runs.

At this point, I'm wary of any first edition of a game on KS. And with Sierra Madre Games, that extends to 2nd and 3rd editions as well.

I feel the same way about backing first editions now as well. That's one of the reasons I didn't back Street Masters during their first run - red flags galore. However, I'm confident now after owning it - no errors or problems with the materials and the errata they're including for next printing is minor; clarifications, not corrections.

Then again, I'm still waiting for the Deep Space D6 reprint. It's a year late at this point, though allegedly at QML now and currently shipping in the EU. I know Tony had some issues, but it's just been one problem after another. I fear it's going to stain whatever reputation he was hoping to create with the reprint.

As soon as the pledge manager for Street Masters goes live, I fear I’ll add Aftershock and a few other add ons as well. Oh, I may resist for a few months. But it will happen.

Brook City is coming ~5 months early. I strongly suspect Aftershock will be here before October of 2019.

One of my new favorite games is getting a new version on kickstarter right now. The game is QE. It is perhaps one of the best new auction games I have played in a long time. This is the first real print run of this game, previously it has only been available via kickstarter for special wooden editions all handmade by the designer himself. I think there are only a couple hundred copies out there in the wild right now. Thankfully I heard about it and was able to back the game during one of the kickstarters and I have the handmade wooden version.


Awesome looking new version.

The game is fantastic It can be learned and taught in around 5-10 minutes, games last around 30 minutes, and it is just pure auction fun. The twist of the game is that nobody has any money. You can write any number you want on your board during the auction for tiles that are eventually worth victory points. The person running the auction rotates and only they know what everybody bid, otherwise bids are private, so you are working with very limited information. But... the twist is... whoever has spent the most money at the end of the game automatically loses. So you want to buy the most stuff worth victory points while still not spending the most money and doing all of this with limited information. The game just flat out works. So... if anyone is looking for a quirky game to kickstart I think this version looks fantastic. As much as I love my handmade wooden version by the designer himself, I'm a bit tempted to back this game again just because the new copies look so good. $34 with free shipping is a steal.

A few other kickstarters ending soon that I think are worth taking a look at in case people haven't seen them.

City of the Big Shoulders. A heavy euro game inspired by 18xx game that is based on the development of Chicago in the late 1800s. Looks fantastic and I've heard a lot of good things about it in preliminary plays from people. It has a stock market and tons of unique companies all based on historical companies. I love economic games and Chicago, so this is really hitting the right spot for me. The downside is the complete package is a little expensive, but hopefully worth it ($79 for all in, but it has a ton of content.)

Pipeline is another reasonably heavy game getting a lot of buzz right now. You are running an oil company and it's an efficiency engine trying to refine oil in the most efficient manner. It's very cool looking and again has had a very positive reaction from those who have played it. I know it's been talked about here before but it's worth bringing up since it is ending soon. They've now added metal cubes as an add-on, and I have to say that I love bling so... I'm not sad about that.



Lastly is a very over-produced game that is certainly over the top, and that is Big City. It's a 20th anniversary edition of an out of print game. It's a city building game that plays quick. What's unique about the kickstarer? Well... for one... the pieces are all huge miniatures now.



Does it need that? Nah, it totally doesn't. But I have to say it looks awesome. Currently I'm backing it but... the price tag is making my squirm a little bit ($139 for the early bird). I figure I can turn around and sell it if I don't like it but... we will see.

The same group did the newest version of Container. It's also overproduced to the extreme but the game has easily hit my top 5 of all time games now. And their version is beautiful. Big City doesn't have the same demand and following container had prior to coming out, so we will see what they do with it.

Smoove_B wrote: ↑Tue Nov 27, 2018 2:43 pm I foolishly trusted DVG's repeated assurances that the Warfighter WW2 Pacific expansion was truly going to ship in August of 2018. Well, that was eventually pushed into the Fall, and as of yesterday, it's been pushed into the Spring of 2019. What's additionally crazy is that they launched another KS right before Warfighter was due to be shipped (due Spring 2019) and they're getting ready to launch another one on Thursday for a game that was designed by the same guy that did Pavlov's House. As much as I want to support him, there's no way I'm ever going to back a DVG title on KS ever again. I cannot reward or support this kind of business practice, sorry.

How is Pavlov’s House? Were there any glaring rule book issues or printing errors. I was one of those folks that backed Corsair Leader and I think it’s a good game but yeah it had a couple of rulebook issues that DVG is trying to make right. I’m not sure if I’ll be backing their future Huey Leader.

I’m asking about Pavlov’s House because the game designer is trying to kickstart a new title, Castle Itter, which looks pretty cool to me. Since I assume that the vetting of the rules and components will be done primarily by the designer and DVG is helping more on the publishing end I feel more comfortable backing the title. Or I’ll just concentrate on the games I have and buy it someday in the far future.

I really want to support the designer because I do like Pavlov's House, but I cannot (and will not) support another DVG KS project. Amazingly, I don't think there were any major errors or problems with the rules. There were some strange issues with numbers of items (tiles? dice? cards?) reported in the manual vs what is actually in the box, but nothing that affects game play. I don't believe there are any major errors or misprints (like you typically see with DVG games) in the manual or materials.

I had it all setup and just never added it to the solo thread I started here. It's been a hell of a few months. I really like Pavlov's House, mainly because of how it's almost like playing three games in one - with the three different types of activities portrayed on the game board (tactical, strategic, operational).

From what I understand this game was supposed to come out via Victory Point Games, but they lapsed their contract with him so DVG snatched it up. I truly fear DVG has switched their entire model to KS-based production and they're overextending themselves as their general reputation is strong.

Not sure how helpful that all is, but that's my impression.

It's worked so well for GMT with the P500 system.

That’s pretty helpful, Smoove, because it tells me that the designer is pretty solid. DVG may play around with production schedules but the designer will probably put out a solid product. I certainly understand your reluctance to support DVG due to the way they’re using Kickstarter. For me, I’ve become more wary about their “in house” products. The proofreading issues and a not well written rulebook in Corsair Leader for starters. And their ridiculously convoluted expansion pack release in their Warfighter kickstarters left a really bad taste in my mouth as opposed their initial footlocker release of their Modern Warfighter game which was pretty straight forward. I backed the WW2 Pacific expansion and their latest Modern Warfighter expansion but the way they released their stretch goal and add on expansion packs was both confusing in terms of what the content was and the way the types of content was distributed among the different packs seemed to me to be a big money grab. I want equipment upgrades but why am I also getting German friendly troops or Allied hostiles in the same pack? I really have no interest in playing Axis troops. I’m pretty much done with the Warfighter series and wish them luck with their fantasy version.

On a more positive DVG note, they had a sale a couple of weeks ago on their website and I bought Down In Flames:Locked On and it’s a pretty nice modern jet dogfighting game with a robust solitaire system. I hope they’re able to adapt the solitaire system to their WW2 Locked On game someday.

Not that they need any help, but Tainted Grail: The Fall of Avalon hit KS a few hours ago and they made their funding levels in under a minute...and then ballooned to over $800K. To say that people are apparently excited to play is an understatement. What is it?

Designed by Krzysztof Piskorski (one of the most well-known Polish fantasy writers) and Marcin Świerkot (owner of Awaken Realms, developer of Lords of Hellas, Nemesis, The Edge: Dawnfall), Tainted Grail will bring you adventure, survival and exploration mechanics perfectly paired with character development and exciting combat and diplomatic systems.

Immersive, story-driven exploration will bring the world of Avalon to life, confronting you and your team with difficult choices that have far-reaching consequences. Over 100,000 words of branching story scripts provide many different paths to your goal as well as several different endings to your adventures!

I've seen it described as "7th Continent meets Legacy of Dragonholt" but I can't confirm that's truly the case. I did watch the Rahdo preview and backed without hesitation. He did warn that it's "mature" and rather dark - it's not a happy fun Arthurian legend game. What I thought was really cool is that the pending expansion takes place ~400 years after the story of the base game and will change based on how your base-game story ends or whatever plot points develop. It sounds ambitious, but I'm definitely in.

The shipping is a bit confusing. I think the core game will ship in August of 2019 -or- you can defer your shipment (and only pay one) to just get the core game, a monster miniatures expansion and all the stretch goals in May of 2020. I need to look into that a bit more, but I think that's what I read.

Is the Monsters of Avalon miniatures expansion simply miniatures for the monsters in the core box? Or does it add something new?

Yeah, I think it's just a box of miniatures you can use instead of cards if you like the art or look of having miniatures. It's not a miniatures-based game, so from what i can tell they're just "flair".

Then in on the core set. 89 bucks for that much content isn't bad.

Of course, I also need to spend an additional $34,000 on Street Masters. Hopefully I'll have enough left over to pay for my kidney transplant. If not, I could just drop my pledge on Street Masters down to $22,000.

...Nah, I don't need the new kidney THAT much.

Smoove_B wrote: ↑Wed Dec 05, 2018 2:09 pm
The shipping is a bit confusing. I think the core game will ship in August of 2019 -or- you can defer your shipment (and only pay one) to just get the core game, a monster miniatures expansion and all the stretch goals in May of 2020. I need to look into that a bit more, but I think that's what I read.

Split shipping is a common thing for Awaken Realms at this point. Nemesis for example, is there last project which is starting to deliver to backers right now for those that opted for split shipping. However, most stretch goals and add-ons will not be shipping until the middle of next year.

It’s optional and does mean you get the game faster but means you don’t get ALL of the game at once.

Don't you usually have to pay twice for shipping then?

hepcat wrote: ↑Wed Dec 05, 2018 4:26 pm Don't you usually have to pay twice for shipping then?

If you do split shipping, yes. Shipping is also typically quite high with them regardless. I think Nemesis was about $28 for single shipping and about $40 for split.

A couple of things from the FAQ:

Does Monsters of Avalon contain any additional gameplay elements?
No, only miniatures used for coregame If you don't buy it, they will be represented as cards in your core game.

When Monsters of Avalon will be shipped?
Monsters of Avalon will be shipped with the Core Box in 1st wave.

Sheesh, sitting the on KS page watching the pitch and the $$$ are going up constantly. Wondering if I had my sound turned on if I would hear a constant ding-ding-ding! ding-ding-ding!

Good lord, you weren’t kidding. I just opened the page to look at the stretch goals, and the counter just kept going up. They’re going to hit 2 million later tonight at this rate.

It's impressive for a December release for sure. They've built a reputation as a above average game company with really high production values. I'm sure a lot of people are seeing all the cool stuff in Nemesis, and remembering Lords of Helas, and feeling like they will miss out if they don't back.

hepcat wrote:Good lord, you weren’t kidding. I just opened the page to look at the stretch goals, and the counter just kept going up. They’re going to hit 2 million later tonight at this rate.

Damn, you can make a lot of gaming goodness for that much money. And I was one of the people who helped that counter go up with my all in pledge.

You went for the minis?

I went all in as well. Though I still need to check it out some more to decide whether or not to grab the minis. I don't spend money on too many things, so the extra money isn't really a big deal. Just need to decide if I really want them.

And I went back and checked my Nemesis pledge. After some digging I found that I did do the split shipping. Which is odd... I usually go for the "wait for everything" option. i.e. the cheaper shipping

I actually don't even remember being asked.

hepcat wrote:You went for the minis?

Oddly enough I did. I'm usually resistant to minis if the game isn't reliant on them and depending on the game I prefer a well made counter or cardboard standees. But the detail on the minis (and I'm hoping the detail shows up on the final product) impressed me enough to give it a shot. Granted I may change my mind before the KS ends and I do have some impressive minis in my Fireteam Zero game that can fill the need for creatures of horror and dread but until then I'm gonna let it ride.

Does the company have more experience with minis than say VPG? The Darkest Night KS was a real cockup due to their first foray into miniatures and I'm glad I didn't include minis in my pledge but was rather pissed that my pledge was held up because of the mini production. But it's a really fun game that works quite well with cardboard pieces.

2 mil and still going strong.

The sculpts do look amazing for Tainted Grail, no doubt about that. And I believe they'll live up to the hype on those if their past games are any indicator. But I have so many damn minis now that they're just spilling off my shelves. I think I'll stick to my guns and just go with the core.

Since I apparently went with split shipping on my Nemesis pledge, I may be able to speak to the quality of their minis shortly. Hopefully before this KS ends. It's supposed to be shipping soon.