I’ve been watching and doing a lot of research about Kickstarter, and I’ve been fascinated at how many great projects there are out there.
So, in order to get a few of them some more exposure, and to help you spend more of your hard earned money on games, I’m to be compiling lists of projects that I find interesting, and worth funding. Here’s a couple I know our readers would like to hear about.
I myself may not fund all the projects I discover, but this article series will focus on the ones that have piqued my interest, and might find an audience with some of our readership.
By clicking on the title of the game, it will open a link to the Kickstarter project page.
Shadows of Brimstone
The Old West meets Eldritch Horror in a co-operative dungeon crawler is what Shadows of Brimstone is all about. This is a big project that has met fantastic levels of support for Flying Frog’s latest creation for the board game world. It’s inspired by Warhammer Quest, and fans of the original Games Workshop dungeon crawler have been clamoring for games similar to it. The most sought-after features for any dungeon crawler are full co-op (where the enemies are controlled by an AI) and character progression.
Shadows of Brimstone offers both of these, and it’s for this reason that the project has exploded in popularity. As a result, it has reached massive funding levels, breaching the $1 million barrier yesterday afternoon. The sheer amount of stuff you get with the ‘Sweet Spot’ pledge is incredible.
The theme is pretty unique, and I find it to be a very refreshing take on the dungeon-crawling genre. Cowboys, Gates to Otherworlds? Eldritch horror, undead, monsters, and magic? This makes for a widely varied, and highly re-playable game.
There is one major short-coming with this particular project (and it’s a major issue for some), and that is a lack of even beta rules, play-through videos, or short game play videos. There are some write ups in the updates and comments in regards to mechanics, and how the game plays. I find this to be a minor quibble at best, and there is enough description of the game play that I feel I’m making an educated decision on it being a fun game to play.
The miniature concepts look superb. But, who expect any less from anyone but Brian Snoddy? The renders and sculpts shown so far look very good. Compared to most board game miniatures, the sculpts shown on the project page look excellent.
For a $150 pledge, you get both base game boxes, and a huge pile of stretch goals. I think the total number of miniatures included with the Outlaw pledge is around the 150 mark. The stretch goals include extra tiles, cards, Otherworlds, extra classes and terrain. The Mine Cart pledges are currently $480; this is an ‘All in’ pledge level, and nets a backer every single add on released during the entire campaign in addition to a second set of miniatures from both base boxed sets. The current value of the Mine Cart pledge in excess of $600, and is a great deal if you can afford to pledge for that amount.
If you enjoy dungeon crawler board games, then don’t miss Shadows of Brimstone. This is an incredible deal, and well worth the $150 pledge. It all ends, and it’s your last chance to back on this coming Sunday, November 24 2013.
Krosmaster Arena: Frigost Expansion
This is the second Kickstarter run by Japanime Games for Krosmaster Arena. Last May, they ran the campaign for the base game, and season 1 figures. There was a lot offered, it all looks fantastic, and the game is really good, and really fun. Plus, this game comes pre-painted, and all the terrain, and custom resin tokens just add so much more visual pop to the whole experience. But, this great-looking chibi skirmish game and cool-ness comes at a cost. A great financial cost. Luckily for all of us, it’s completely worth it.
My kids love the look of this game, and so does my wife. It’s a very visually appealing game with all the pre-painted figures which is very easy to get non-gamers into due to the cutesy look. But don’t let the cute chibi miniatures fool you into thinking it’s all flash and no substance. There really is a great game under it all with a remarkable amount of variety and depth.
This campaign is for the expansion to the original game, and some of the promos being released during season 2 of the release schedule. Japanime Games has done a great service to those who have missed out on the first Kickstarter, and offered a limited number of high level pledges for the ‘Complete Package’ of Krosmaster. This pledge level includes nearly everything from the first Kickstarter, and everything from the Frigost campaign. It’s really really spendy, but the sheer amount of stuff makes it worthwhile.
If you want to get the base game and a few promos, the $175 is a good deal for those wanting to get the game and its expansion.
I spent over $400 on the first campaign, and will be spending nearly the same amount on this one. I have never spent so much on a board game before, and fully believe it is definitely worth the cost. The pledge level for just the expansion with a promo is less than $50, but the $75 pledge seems to be the best bang for your buck as long as you own the base game already. There isn’t as many figures in this Kickstarter, but Japanime has promised one big announcement, and all of the higher tier pledges will apparently have more added to them as the campaign progresses.
There’s plenty of time to get in on Krosmaster Arena: Frigost with 24 days left in the campaign. It’s worth a look as it’s one of the most fabulous looking games I have ever set on my table.
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