Where to jump in on board games, anime, books, and movies as a Nerd
You’ve been taken to the lands of the fae, will you be able to find a portal and escape in this narrative and exploration game by Greenbrier Games? Pros Solo game play Theme Not a campaign Story elements Price for Retail Established Company Cons Shipping …
Getting close to the end, the top 100 are all games that I really do love and would want to play basically whenever someone asks but as we get higher in the list, and I think about and write up about these games, I always …
Make a map of the lands in this flip and write game based off in the Roll Player world by Thunderworks Games.
Pros
Cons
The Page
This is a well laid out Kickstarter. Thunderworks Games has done a lot of them before with their various games in the Roll Player line and universe. So it’s expected of them.
Also expected is that there won’t be any stretch goals, which is something that is interesting. Now, I don’t think that stretch goals are needed on a campaign, and in fact sometimes Stretch Goals don’t work well, such as when they are an additional buy that is unlocked at some point in time or along those lines. But I find it a little bit interesting that they don’t do any. Again, they never do, so it’s not a surprise, this game just feels like it would be easy enough to add in a few simple ones, like alternate art monsters or heroes that wouldn’t affect timeline but would be a kickstarter bonus. But I’d prefer no stretch goals to lots of them that inflate the cost.
Overall, though, well laid out page, they explain what the new things are, they do a solid job of telling you what you get in the different levels and they lay out what shipping is.
The Game
I already know that I like the game, or at least I like the original, Cartographers. So what I’m really looking at is additional content for this game and what this adds.
It is adding heroes, which are interesting because they are defeat monsters. Normally there was only one way to deal with monsters, just building around them, so now it’ll be interesting to see how the heroes interact, it’s a simple addition though, and they work very similar to monsters in how they are added into the game, so it doesn’t make the complexity go up massively.
The other thing is additional maps. Each of them adds an additional element to the game. One adds in volcanos that will destroy spots you can fill in or possibly have filled in. One has islands, so you can’t create as big groups potentially and will change scoring that way. The final one has an undercity, so you have normal rules for above ground, but underground, everything has to branch/tunnel out instead of being able to be put anywhere. These seem like nice little variations on the game.
Back or Brick
This is an easy back for me, after seeing what was going to be “exclusive” to the Kickstarter. If nothing had been exclusive, I would have been less likely to back. And even that, I put quotes around stuff, because Thunderworks themselves will be selling some of it, while supplies last. So, for me it made a lot of sense to back. Especially with the big box that will store everything. That’ll be nice because it’ll take up less space on the Kallax for me. I also know the track record of the company with their other games, which I’ve played Roll Player and Cartographers as well as Roll Player Adventure playtesting at GenCon, and I like them all.
How about for you, is this game a Back or a Brick?
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You’re a prisoner and labor at the 7th Citadel when something happens and you are able to escape, will you and what will you find in the world outside of the Citadel? Pros Theme World Adventure and Story Game Unique Characters Campaign Game Cons Campaign …
So we’re coming back around after two weeks off with a revamped set-up for Malts and Meeples, a big new gaming room, so we’re going to talk about some plans for Malts and Meeples going forward and what I’m hoping to do. I’ve clearly done …
Can you get the most treasure to your ship or will the octopus get you in this dexterity flicking game?
Pros
Cons
The Page
This is a well laid out Kickstarter page. What I really like about it is that it highlights the pieces and aesthetic, but also highlights the game and game play. Now, it doesn’t have minis so they don’t have to do all the glamour shots of the minis, but it does a good job of highlighting and getting right to the point of how the game works.
I also like when you can get previous games as well, that helps them keep this game affordable and not need an insanely high number of backers to reach the stretch goals. Add in that Itten isn’t highly distributed in the US that I’ve seen, it means that these games which I have mainly seen at cons are available to a US audience again.
The Game
The game itself seems like a lot of fun. I like dexterity and flicking games generally because they’re good for a light and fun time. And I feel like flicking with the flags and just how the game works, it seems like it is going to have some interesting and different feeling things to it.
I also like that it doesn’t seem too simple or too complicated. With a flicking or dexterity game, I want more going on than just playing Jenga, but I don’t want a lot of convoluted rules about where things can go, and how I have to do everything, because that’s no fun. This looks to hit that balance of a fun game you can play while drinking but also one that you need to think about a little bit.
Back or Brick
So is this game a back or a brick for me? For me this was an easy back. The price is great, I know the company and I know that they make amazing products, I have Tokyo Highway, that are almost art pieces, so I expect the same from this game. I also just love the goofiness of the theme. Plus, the price point and shipping are really good. Compared to a CMON Kickstarter or one with minis, the value is there and the game play looks to be there as well. Now, I like dexterity games a lot, so that colors it a bit for me as well, but a good selling point for me.
So how about for you, is this game a Back or a Brick?
Share questions, ideas for articles, or comments with us!
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We’re back for a special edition of Back or Brick as I look at the expansion for the superhero fighting cooperative game based off of the Brandon Sanderson series, The Reckoners. Pros Amazing Theme Amazing Components Cooperative Game Can get Base Game as well as …
So I’ve decided as well as doing my Back or Brick and the Waiting on Kickstarter series, “Coming to Kickstarter” where I look at the announced games that are coming and talk about what is or isn’t interesting about them, and kind of why I …
Who will be the first to build a path for their ancestors to travel in the dice placement, push your luck style game?
Pros
Cons
The Page
This is a company that understands how kickstarter works, and they’ve done a good job on their game page. They have nice images and the game really pops visually when looking at it. I like that the how to play is at the top of the page, I only wish there was a little bit more detail than the rules prototype link and a link to a video. It talks about how the caskets can benefit the players in multiple ways, but doesn’t say more than that. Otherwise, everything is laid out really well and looks interesting to me.
The Game
The game itself, like I said, I have a general idea of how to play it, and it looks like a game that would be one that would work well for my gaming group. There’s some push your luck, it seems fairly light, so I think that all would work well.
Visually, as I keep on saying, this pops on the table, so I think people would be interested in it for that reason as well. And kind of like with food, you consume board games first on their looks a lot of the time, and this one looks like a feast.
Again, I will come back to the how to play section, you get a general idea of how the game works, but it should have more information. We’re seeing a lot of what you can do, but not any of the why or why it matters. And there are some elements, like the “ofrenda” that are mentioned as something that can be used, but nothing more than that. Either do or don’t tell me what I component does or what an element is, don’t just toss it out there as it’s something but we won’t explain it like it feels.
Back or Brick
For me, this is a back. And I’ll probably do the one to get myself access to the pledge manager just to decide because I know there are a few more games I’m interested in this year. That said, what sells me on this game is their attention to detail with the artwork and how everything seems to tie correctly into the Mexican culture and they are very careful about that, but with all of that, they still created a fun game, it isn’t just a history or culture lesson. I think that the game group would enjoy the push your luck and manipulation of the caskets that seems to be in the game and it feels like while there is luck there’s also a fair amount of strategy.
How about for you, is this game a Back or a Brick?
Share questions, ideas for articles, or comments with us!
Email us at nerdologists@gmail.com
Message me directly on Twitter at @TheScando
Visit us on Facebook here.
Now, this isn’t something that I’ve gotten into much yet, but I think it’s interesting to talk about because it’s definitely a part of our growing hobby. Like any growing hobby or popular thing, eventually people create the fancy version of something or some sort …