Top 10 Campaign Games I Want to Continue (Or Restart)

Let’s talk about why I stop campaigns sometimes. A lot of the time I do them for the Malts and Meeples YouTube channel. And with that, I like to have a mix of a few games that I’m playing throughout the year. But also, I’ve started some off camera, or I played through a first campaign and I’d love to come back again. But let’s look at what the list looks like. And too often, too, as I play solo, I really wish I had someone in the room with me to share the story.

10. Destinies

Let’s start out Destinies, this is one that I’ve just played the introductory game to it. And I really enjoyed the system. It’s a game that I could play solo, but you don’t get all the story that you’d get multiplayer. So for me, it feels like it should be a multiplayer game. BGG says it’s best at two, but I’d love to try it at three as well and see what player count I like it best at.

But the game is a really simple game when it comes to the system that it uses. And the narrative elements driven by the app work really well. It’s that type of app that supports the game well and doesn’t take away from playing at the table. I do think that Destinies is more of a beer and pretzels campaign than a lot of the other games on the list.

9. Isofarian Guard

Next up we have the Isofarian Guard. This one is meant to be played solo mainly or kind of two player. And I really enjoyed my time playing this game. There is an element of the game that didn’t keep me coming back is the grind. I think that it’s one with the upgrade/update pack for it, it’s going to make it better to play.

That said I like the systems and I like that it’s one big campaign but played with different characters doing different things at the same time. So as I play with one pair of characters the story is going to be continuing elsewhere. And the chip drawing mechanism for combat is a lot of fun as well and makes you think on your feet as you play.

8. Chronicles of Drunagor

I played one session of this one before I packed it up. And I regret that I only played one session. Part of the reason I did is because there is so much to put onto the table. And trying to stream it was a lot of work to set things up in the middle of the game and search for new bad guys and things like that. I know that I need to spend more time sorting it, and once I do that, it would be easier. And I want to play until I reach a door and not set stuff up on stream.

But that said, I really liked the mechanisms in the game. Especially how you activate abilities. You need a cube of the right color to activate an ability, and if you activated it, you block it off with that cube. That means that you lose actions as you go. Then you pull the cubes back, but you block off one of the actions, so the available actions become tighter and I think that makes for a great system.

7. Arkham Horror LCG

This one I could say I kind of have going right now. I am playing through the Scarlet Keys sporadically with a friend. And I really am enjoying this one. I did a play of some of the base campaign on the Malts and Meeples channel. As you can see from the videos that I did with a lot of these. But I find that I like the Arkham Horror LCG a whole lot better at two or more. There feels like more strategy to it and I like planning with other people.

That said, now that I am playing with two, I am loving the game. And the more I play it, the more it flies as I play because I know what I’m doing. It helps to spend some time with this game to get into the rhythm of how turns work and to learn what keywords on the cards mean, especially for monsters.

6. Roll Player Adventures

This is one where I’ve played the whole campaign. So do I want to go back and play it again, kind of. But what I really want to do is play the Gulpax’s Secret expansion that came out of it. It’s just more story and adventure for the game and I am really excited to get it to the table. The story in the first game does a great job of balancing adventure and plot elements in a fun way, not in a way that beats you down with a darker story, like some will coming up.

And I really like the systems in the game. Especially the dice manipulation and spending resources to get dice of various colors. It puts pressure on people playing the game in multiple ways. And it’s fun to be able to sit there and talk about how many resources you should spend, since it’s character life points, versus how many dice you can draw blind. And then once you roll those dice, how do you get them to the right face for either completing a challenge or stopping a threat.

5. Tainted Grail: Kings of Ruin

Another one that I’ve kind of completed the campaign for. I know that the new version of Tainted Grail does change up some things, so it’s a similar setting for the game, but not the same game. And I’m cool with that, though for me, playing the three campaigns of Tainted Grail has been so much fun. I love the story in the game and it’s just a great experience, in my opinion. I think the original campaign is one that I’ll revisit as well. But I want to spend more time in the world, so that’s the biggest reason it’s on the list.

4. ISS Vanguard

Back to back Awaken Realms campaign games with ISS Vanguard. ISS Vanguard is a blast when I played it. And I like the combination of planetary exploration and ship management in the game. Each element felt like it mattered, the reason I stopped this one when I did is that I want to share the story and decision making with more people, in person. Sure I do it online, but unless someone is in the chat and ready to chat, I kind of just make decisions myself.

This game also feels so huge that I really want to share that element with other people as well. Granted, I have two more large sci-fi themed games. This one does give me some other elements to that sci-fi that I like a lot though. Mainly that it’s a crew from Earth. So while it is the best and brightest out there who were sent on this mission, they are still people.

3. 7th Citadel

Not one of the sci-fi campaigns, we have The 7th Citadel. And this game I was having a lot of fun playing. I just needed to keep it set-up to keep up with it. So it’s one that I might revisit anyways at a later time. But it’s also one where I was enjoying the story and experience of the game a lot that I wanted to share it with others, in person.

I really like the challenge system in the game. Whether it’s combat or it’s searching or anything else that you need to do a check for, you are flipping cards. And you need to create stars from those cards. But flipping a lot of cards also means that your deck is running out faster and the only way that you can get cards back is to spend health. It is really just a great balancing act of spending health, but not too much health and spending cards, but not too many cards.

2. Rogue Angels

Now a game that I’ve talked about a long time and that I’ve played with others as well. I have loved this campaign game even though it’s not out. I’ve gotten to play the TTS (TableTop Simulator) module a few times and I have a chapter one prototype that I showed off on the channel. This game just works for me from a fun story that feels epic to great characters and legacy elements to it.

But if it was just that without great mechanisms it’d not be that great. I really like how you play out cards and they go onto a cool down track for actions. Sure, you can always do a basic action, but those aren’t as good. And then, if you get wounded, you start to fill up that track with wound cards, and now you need to rest, or you’re giving cards a bigger cooldown than they should have. It’s just a great puzzle of a system that is easy to play.

1. Stars of Akarios

Finally for my campaign games is a game that I want to share this story and experience with someone in person so badly. It’s just a blast of a game and does so many things in amazing ways that I love. One of the coolest elements is that you get three different experiences throughout the game. There is space exploration, and that is fine. But then you get tactical space combat that is amazing. And you get planetary exploration which is a ton of fun as well. They pack a lot into the game and it works for me.

I could go on about this one a lot. The tactical space combat definitely seems to be the largest part of the game and it’s my favorite. I love how you spend dice to activate abilities. And you need to balance that with repairing your shields, possibly, or dealing with hull damage. Plus you need to line up your big abilities and you need to figure out if you can get into a flanking position to help do more damage. Plus the missions feel different, from fighting two factions to an escort mission and more.

Final Thoughts

Needless to say, between this list and the 15 campaign games that I still need to play, it’s going to keep me busy. I’m also going to go through and probably start of next week do a Top 10 List of Campaign Games that I have Backed that I need to get still. I think I can do a list like that, and yes, that’s too many campaigns to reasonably play. But my hope is to get to most of the campaign games eventually. Does this mean I should stop backing and buying more campaign games, yes. Does it probably mean that I should make more time for them as well, definitely.

Which of these campaign games between the two lists should I play next on stream? I know that I’m doing Gloomhaven right now as a digital campaign. But once I’m done with my Button Shy Solo Games (still a few more weeks of that). I want to get a game set-up on the recessed part of the gaming table and start playing through it. So which one do you think that I should play? I might do a video and ask for people’s opinions on which one I should do.

And do you have a problem with campaign games, mainly buying them, like I do?

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Catch up on my Top 100 Games (of all Time) 2023 Edition:

100 through 91

Top 100 Games (of all time) 2023 Edition – 90 through 81

90. Galaxy Trucker

Galaxy Trucker is a fun fast paced game that you can’t take too seriously. It’s about building what you hope is a good space truck and getting across the galaxy, picking up goods, and well, hoping that your ship isn’t blown up by asteroids or pirates. Which, you can do, you can build a great ship. But the ship building is done in real time. So it is easy to mess up your ship and have half of it blown away because of a misplaced asteroid.

Normally I don’t love real time games. But Galaxy Trucker is not against a clock. Instead, you build as fast as you want, and the fastest player determines the speed. And, to add to it, that is only part of the game, the rest is seeing if your ship gets blown up. So the game gives you a breather between the real time elements which I think works well.

Buy Galaxy Trucker

89. Final Girl

Now we’re onto a horror film of a game with Final Girl. Final Girl is a solo only game about what it says it is, the final girl of a horror film. If you’re not familiar with this trope, most horror films end up with a final girl standing at the end of the film after all their friends have been killed. The question is, are they able to kill the bad guy (or deal with them) or will the get killed?

That is what Final Girl is all about. Can you manage your cards, rescue the characters that are not the final girl, and then deal with the bad guy at the end. Van Ryder Games has done a great job of giving you all sorts of films. There is a Hans the killer at a summer camp or you might be at a circus or dealing with a ghost. And they are adding even more with a third crowdfunding campaign going on now.

Buy Final Girl

88. Doodle Dash

Now we’re onto a party game, and I don’t have too many party games on the list. But Doodle Dash is one that I really like because it’s the type of party game I want for drawing. One where it doesn’t matter how good you are because, as the name suggests, sometimes speed matters more.

In Doodle Dash one person is the guesser. They want to guess the image as fast as possible or with as few clues as possible. Everyone else is drawers. And they draw as fast as they can. The first person grabs the first person marker, the second fastest starts rolling a die, and when that die hits stop, everyone else stops. And then in order, fastest, second, and everyone else, the pictures are revealed. More points the earlier on the guesser guesses it, but that is also the worst picture, possibly. So it’s a blast and one good for a lot of laughs.

Pre-order Doodle Dash

87. Calico

Going from something silly, we now have Calico, a game with a calico quilt on the front, not a calico cat, which is an abstract game about making quilts. Your goal is to get the most points by completing goals, matching colors to get buttons, and matching patterns (since cats are color blind or a number are) to get cats on your quilt.

This game looks all peaceful, but it’s a pretty intense game. You need to strategize well to complete the objectives. Because the objectives give you more points if you get both the color and the pattern to meet those objectives. It might be surround a spot with three of one type and three of another. But if you get three of one color and three of another, plus three of one pattern and three of another, that is how you get the most points. A tense game, but a fun one, and it’s pretty.

Buy Calico

86. The Night Cage

Another tense game, The Night Cage is a perfect Halloween game. You, and everyone else, wake up in a labyrinth with just a candle next to you. You know enough that you need to find keys and then all find a portal to get out. But the labyrinth is ever changing and there are monsters and your candle runs lower.

This is a game where as you move around the labyrinth you reveal new tiles, they might have keys, portals, just pathways, or monsters. And As you leave other locations your candle only lights up a space around you, so you lose the tiles before. You need to work together to get everyone a candle. But if you’re too close, the monsters might pop up and blow out someone’s candle, then they are moving blindly around until another player can relight their candle.

All of this is being done while the stack of tiles is getting shorter. There is no way to get tiles back, they represent your candles. And your candles are getting shorter and shorter. So as you watch that happen will you be able to escape The Night Cage?

Pre-order The Night Cage

85. Destinies

Another game that has some spooky elements is Destinies. A game where all the players are working against each other, but not getting in each others ways too much, to complete their destiny. Each of you know what you need to find, so can you figure out on the map where that might be.

Lucky Duck makes Destinies, and they have a great app for it which leads you through the story. And the story has some spooky elements and offers you conversations and challenges to do. And doing the challenges are simple. It’s rolling dice to see how many successes you get. But you can improve your stats as you succeed on checks and get XP to spend. So you can increase your odds. Plus you have extra dice you can roll, but they only come back so often. When do you want to push for that success or do you need to hold them back. An easy but fun story game.

Buy Destinies

84. Ascension: Deck Building Game

My favorite pure deck building game is Ascension. I know for most people it’ll be Dominion. But I like a few things better about Ascension. I like that you have a changing market, that means that I need to adapt to how I play. I can’t pick out a perfect strategy from the start.

Plus, I think that the combos in Ascension are better. You play with four different factions and all of them synergize a lot amongst themselves. So can you build up an engine that allows you to play a ton of cards and have epic turns. I think that is what stands out so much to me, when I get an epic turn, I can buy a lot and fight a lot of monsters which is why I like Ascension better.

Buy Ascension Deck Building Game

83. Canvas

Now we’re onto a game about making art. In Canvas you take art cards, that are clear, and layer them to create masterpieces. Really Canvas is a game about getting the right symbols at the bottom to score a lot of points, or get lot of ribbons that score you points. However, it does this with great artwork and fun pieces of art that you create. I almost like to see what cool art I can make more than get the points. But when you make a piece of art almost no matter what it is cool. Canvas is a fast and fun game for everyone.

Buy Canvas

82. Ecosystem

Next up we have Ecosystem the drafting game on the list. In Ecosystem you are building out, well, an ecosystem with animals and terrain types. Each of them scores differently. Wolves like to be in a pack, so the person with the most gets the most points on them. Rabbits teleport other tiles around, just like real life. But bear want honey and trout, trout want to be by the river.

And the game is fast. You draft a card and you add it to a 4 by 5 grid. That is all the area you have, so how can you pick cards that will optimize your scoring. But it’s also so simple that it’s not a stressful game. Once you have an idea of the scoring, and each player has a cheat sheet, the game goes quickly.

Buy Ecosystem

81. Star Wars: Unlimited

Finally, Star Wars: Unlimited, this game isn’t even out yet. But I got to play it twice at Gen Con and I really like this game. The Star Wars theme certainly helps. But for me, when I compare it and Lorcana to Magic the Gathering, this is the one that gave me more of a feel of being full of combos as you build out what you’re doing. The base decks only had some, but as they’ve revealed more cards, I see more possibilities.

However, like Lorcana it is built to be a whole lot faster. You play out a card or attack with a card on your turn. There aren’t really other options. It’s not do everything on a turn, and your opponent can’t really respond at all. So the game is straight forward and keeps moving fast. It’s something that I don’t always love about Magic, it takes a long time on the turn. Star Wars: Unlimited it’s a whole lot faster.

Coming in Q1 2024

Upcoming Streams

So, 8 PM Central next Wednesday the plan is continue with the Top 100 Games (of all time) 2023 Edition. It’ll be games 80 through 71. I don’t even remember what is on the list, so I can’t really tease it. Join me and see what makes it on the list, will there be new games? Will there be roll and write games? Is the first campaign game going to be part of that section?

And then the other time I stream during the week is Monday at 9 PM Central. Join me then as I play a solo game. I’m not sure what game I’ll be playing. Maybe more Trailblazers as I seek to break 50 points. Or it might be Number Drop. A roll and write game that I can play solo that I haven’t gotten to yet.

But the best way, if you want to know when I go live or a new video goes up (it’s basically always live), please consider subscribing. You can do that here. And click that notification bell on the channel and you’ll always know when I go live.

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Top 5 Games New to Me in 2022

Now, I will say that this is the best of my knowledge. And I already adjusted it once because sometimes, I have games where I got them in 2021, or before, and I just played them this year. And I can see when I modified games last on BGG, but I of course can’t sort when I rated them which is what I’d really want.

5. Lost Ruins of Arnak

This one I know I owned for a while but I played it at GenCon for the first time, and it was great. I’ve played it a few more times since then, and I want to get it back to the table as I’m talking about it now. It’s a game of putting out workers, getting resources, and then going on adventures, which just give you more resources. But it’s a fun resource generation puzzle to optimize your points.

I think it would have missed the list if not for the expedition leaders. The game is a lot of fun without that expansion. But with that expansion, it is just that much better. You all start off with your own powers and abilities which changes up how you attack the game. And it’s fun to start out different like that and then go even further as you build out your deck.

4. Trek 12

Trek 12 was a roll and write that I hoped would be fun. I heard about it and thought, mountain climbing is interesting. Then I played it the first time, and I didn’t love it at all. In fact, that first play is on camera, and you can see why I don’t love it. I’m played the game twice, once for myself and once for an AI that isn’t that interesting to play. So it’s just busy work for me to play for them.

But then I played it multiplayer. I knew that the solo experience wasn’t the best, so how would it be with more people, and it was a lot of fun. What I do in the game doesn’t change at all, but what I don’t do, that extra work, goes away. And I can focus in on what I want to do in the game, not something else. It makes it way more fun.

3. Black Sonata

Black Sonata is a solo only hidden movement game. That sounds like it shouldn’t work, but it really does. You set-up a deck of cards that determines how the mysterious lady in black moves. And you are going around, tracking symbols as to where she is going, trying to catch up to her and gain clues. As you gain clues, then you can start to piece together who she might be.

It’s a bit of set-up for a solo game, but the game play is really interesting. And there is an expansion that I own but I haven’t played yet. I need to get that one to the table again and try it with the expansion to see how that works.

2. Final Girl

Another solo only game, we have Final Girl. This is a theme that I just love. It’s a horror movie and you are the final girl, the one who will survive to the end, but will you actually make it alive out the movie? Van Ryder Games got that into a small box with lots of different types of horror movies that you can add on.

It is a tough game to beat and mechanically driven. But with that said, it is still a good story game. You create the movie as you go, some story elements happen, but what do you find? Do you get a good weapon, or do you find a flashlight? That all comes down to what you look for and where you look. Who all do you rescue, and can you defeat the killer, ghost, whatever it is, in the end.

1. Destinies

And at #1 we have Destinies. Th is is a game that I knew I was going to like. It’s a story driven competitive game, which is different. But Destinies has you looking for your characters destiny in an old world where monsters exist. Can you get your destiny before another player gets theirs?

The game uses and app and the app is great. It allows the story to come up and get handled nicely without flipping through books, and allows you to try a lot of options without spoiling anything. And the game play is pretty simple but clever. It is a push your luck dice system where you can decide how many dice to roll to see what level of success you get. I really like how it works.

Final Thoughts

2022 was a great year for me for gaming. I’ve played 97 new to me games this year and about the same in games I’ve already played before. A lot of those were at GenCon, but I’ve gotten a number into my collection as well. And there are more coming in. I could almost, maybe, do a true Top 100 of just new to me games. And some of them I want to get back to the table, and others, not so much.

Plus, I look at my shelf and I see what games could have been played, which ones I still need to get tabled that likely would have made the list. Or they could have made the list potentially. What new to you games were your favorite in 2022?

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100 through 91 here.

90 through 81 here.

80 through 71 here.

70 through 61 here.

60 through 51 here.

50 through 41 here.

40 through 31 here.

30 through 21 here.

Top 100 Games 2022 Edition – 20-11

20. Lords of Hellas

Lords of Hellas is big game from Awaken Realms, and one of their first games. So that doesn’t mean it isn’t without some rough edges but it’s a game that I really enjoy. It offers so much for you to do, you can go questing, fight monsters, build temples and monuments, or try and take over area in the game. And all of them give you some benefit and can help you win the game.

And that is one of the really cool things with Lords of Hellas. The game gives you a lot of ways to win it. That means that every player isn’t going after the same objective, or they might be, but that’s not from lack of options. You can win by taking over two large areas. Or you win by holding five temple spaces. And if a monument if fully built, whoever at the end of three turns is holding it wins the game. Or, if you defeat three of the monsters you can win.

As you play, also, your goal might change. Because you get more powers and those help develop a strategy for how you want to play the game. The first time that I played, I think all the players were within a turn or two of winning.

Buy on Game Nerdz

19. Spire’s End

Spire’s End is a dark choose your own adventure game with combat. And really a pretty simple game as you make choices, you fight combats and you really hope that you don’t die too quickly. As it is a challenging game. But I really enjoy the story in the game. The idea of a spire showing up, town folks have gone missing, and now you need to explore this mysterious thing to see if you can find them is great.

Plus the dice combat works, it is not the most complex game. But the dice combat is fun as you try and figure out when you push, using energy which is your life, for a bigger attack in hopes that the enemy won’t be attacking you. And of course, there is still a chance that attack will just straight up miss anyways.

Buy on Favro

18. Paper Dungeons: A Dungeon Scrawler

Now we’re onto one of my top roll and write games, not my top one, but close. And this is one that I’ve played a lot on Malts and Meeples. Paper Dungeons is a “dungeon scrawler” their words not mine. What that means is that each player is delving into a dungeon, leveling up their adventuring party, crafting items, fighting monsters and everything you’d do in a dungeon crawler. And it even has a campaign.

Now the campaign is nothing to write home about, but Paper Dungeons is a nice level of complex. Do you want to spend your time leveling up your heroes and just making it to the boss monsters to fight them that way, or is racing around the dungeon, taking damage and getting loot the way to go. Well that might depend on cards that you’ve gotten so the whole system just works. I just wish the campaign were a bit more.

Buy on Game Nerdz

17. ICECOOL

Icecool has dropped slightly on my list, but that’s mainly because there are so many good games. Plus, Icecool is my favorite dexterity game. You are flicking penguins around trying to get fish. And you are doing that trying to avoid the one hall monitor who is out to get you. The game is simple, flick your penguin, get them through a door and get points. But it is always a grand old time when I play it.

I also like that like Pitchcar you get excited when someone makes a good shot. So it’s never hyper competitive, well, maybe it was for a few people at the North American championships in 2019. But most of us even for a tournament with a pretty awesome prize were just having fun with it. It’s a great try to win game, but I never feel bad if I’m not winning.

Buy on Amazon

16. Terraforming Mars: Ares Expedition

Now onto a bigger game, Ares Expedition, which they might just be calling it now, borrows from another game. But it’s a great pretty fast playing space epic game of terraforming Mars. All you are doing is building up a tableau of cards in front of you to then trigger things that raise the temp, oxygen level, and basically make the planet habitable by the end of the game.

But the cool thing is how actions are chosen. Each player chooses an action at the same time. And whomever picks the action, multiple people can, do it and get a bonus. If you didn’t pick that action, you still can do it, just without the bonus. So everyone is involved throughout the whole of the game.

Buy on Cool Stuff Inc

15. Hanamikoji

Now onto a two player game. Hanamikoji is a push and pull as players try to win the favor of either four Geisha or 11 total points worth of Geisha. All done through simple but fun card interaction. In fact, there are only four actions you do during the game, but it creates an amazing puzzle as you play.

You either pick a card to keep for winning favor, discard two that no one will use, put out three options and your opponent picks one. Or put out two sets of two options and your opponent picks one. So at the start of the game you are feeling out your opponent to see what they might have in their hand. At the end, you hope that you’ve saved the right action to give you a shot to win. I think it works so well because sometimes you might have to give your opponent what they need, but you get the information that you need.

Buy on Miniature Market

14. Railroad Ink

Final roll and write game on the list and it’s easily my favorite. I really like Railroad Ink or Railroad Ink Challenge. And I need to play it more and more with the expansions for it. But Railroad Ink is a route building game where you are connecting road and rail connections at the edge of your board to complete massive routes and score points.

I know that some people don’t like the Railroad Ink Challenge version as well because it adds in some to the game. It gives you challenges that you need to complete, or should, for more points. Now they don’t always work out but it’s fun when they do. And I like it because it adds variety to the game without adding in a complete additional rule set with the expansions.

Buy on Cool Stuff Inc

13. Destinies

Now we’re getting into games that I’d consider my bread and butter. That is not a knock against the other games, I think that Destinies is just the type of game that I write about and talk about more. Why, because it is a bigger campaign feeling game.

In Destinies you are trying to complete your destiny faster in a story driven game. And that is cool and unique about the game as most story driven games are cooperative. But you are trying to get yours done first and shape the story around you, at least for that session. And then it strings together a series of stories, not too many, to tell a bigger experience in the game.

I also really appreciate the simplicity of the game. There is a great app that handles the story element. But beyond that, how you do and manage skill checks is great. You are spending dice, you always have two and can add more that refresh over time, to do a check. If you don’t get it, you lose out on information, if you do, it progresses. But it’s not just a roll to see if you beat a number it’s a roll to see how many success you get. Because you have markers on your stats, and how every many you match or beat number wise, you get. It’s a simple system but one that works well.

Buy on Miniature Market

12. Sleeping Gods

And another big story game, and another one that shouldn’t work as well as it does. That is not a slight to anyone more so that the game is really impressive. Sleeping Gods is a story driven open world game. You go into it not knowing what to do, other than find some totems and that’s your quest. And to create a compelling story is tricky in a setting like that, but Sleeping Gods does that.

It also is not just a one time game because of it. I went off several different directions on the map. But I didn’t go anywhere to the east, I didn’t delve into the dungeons much and I didn’t go to the south much. In fact, I probably have 75-80% of the world left to explore. That makes Sleeping Gods an easy game to come back to and explore the story of it again and again.

Buy on Amazon

(or I’d recommend checking out Sleeping Gods over on Gamefound and getting it with the new version there)

11. Clank! In! Space!

And wrapping up this section before we get to the Top 10, we have Clank! In! Space!. A deck building push your luck game set in space. This also counts for Clank! as well, and I wish for Clank! Legacy, but that’s one I still need to get to the table.

In Clank! In! Space! you are building up your deck to move as efficiently around a spaceship as possible. All the while you know that you’ll be making noise, clank, so that when cubes are added to and pulled from a bag, you are going to start losing your health. Think the bad guys finding you when your color is pulled.

Plus the game has good humor in it. It knows that it’s a silly game and it leans into the space themes and tropes. So you’ll recognize the characters you are finding on the ship, or at least have an idea of some of the different sci-fi properties that it references. Clank! In! Space! is just a good deck building game that offers more to do than just deck building.

Not Available. But Checkout Clank Catacombs coming soon.

Upcoming Streams

So, only planned stream and I know that this is late coming out because of the holidays, but tonight we have 10 through 1.

Join me live for this finale of my Top 100 Games. Let me know what games make it into your Top 10 (of all time) 2022 Edition. And just for a good time in general to talk about board games and what we love about them.

Then on Wednesday, we’re getting to the holiday season. So I am not starting another big box campaign until the start of 2023, but we’ll be highlighting some and then playing smaller games leading up to that. So join me on Wednesday as I start that process.

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Top 10 Upcoming Crowdfunding Games

10 – Oathsworn: Into the Deep Woods

This one is a bit of a cheat, but also, it’s hard to know everything that’s upcoming. I already own Oathsworn: Into the Deep Woods. This isn’t really adding in any game play for the new campaign. It is just going to be a reprint and probably some upgrades or something because Kickstarter doesn’t allow a straight up reprint.

Why is this one on my radar, because I’ve played the game, I like the game. I even own the game, like I said, but I don’t own all the minis. And I won’t lie, the minis for the bosses are amazing. Do I need them, definitely don’t. But I kind of want them because it’ll look even more epic on the table.

9 – Trick Shot

Trick Shot is another reprint coming, this time on Gamefound. And when it is up there, I’m going to spend some time looking into it because a hockey game sounds interesting. But is it a game that’ll work for me and is it a game that’ll feel like hockey?

Sports are so hard to simulate in a board game. I think that you’re better off, for the most part, not trying to create the experience that feels like the game but instead one that simulates stuff around the game. Ready Set Bet with horse racing is the closest to feeling like the event and that game is even more about betting. So is Trick Shot going to change my opinion, we’ll see.

8 – Escape from New York

Escape from New York I know basically nothing about. Well, I know basically nothing about the game, the movie is one that I really like. Kurt Russell as Snake Plissken is great. So instead of talking about what I know about the game, what do I want this game to be?

And I think that’s the question. The whole idea of Escape from New York is that New York is now a prison or post apocalyptic land, and the President has been kidnapped and brought there. Snake needs to get in and get out in 24 hours. How do you simulate that? Certain number of rounds is easy and there are side characters others can play, but I hope that it gives you gangs to fight along the way and interesting puzzles to solve as to how you optimize your actions. But the game also needs to be very variable with the gangs or issues you come up against.

7 – Destinies: Witchwood Expansion

Destinies is one where I might back it I might not. I didn’t back the first Destinies campaign, I considered it though. And I love what Lucky Duck does with their games. But I also don’t need to back it because it’ll likely come to retail. So I’ll need to see what they are offering on Gamefound.

But I really like Destinies. A competitive story driven game with scenarios in which you’re trying to get your glorious end first. And an app that integrates well with the story that it tells and doesn’t take you out of the game. I think what stands out for me and why I’m interested in more is that the game isn’t hard to play. I feel like it’s a story driven experience I could sit down and play with most people.

6 – Elden Ring

Another game where I really know very little. From Steamforged Games they are putting out Elden Ring. Steamforged has been a bit hit more miss at times, but more hits lately, even if not for everyone. And if I find Bardsung used, I might pick that one up even though it’s been a bit more of a miss for some people.

I don’t know what I hope for this game. Elden Ring the video game is such a big story that yes, you could do that in a board game. But if you do that, how big is this game going to be. I’d prefer, in some ways for a game set in that world, hard and cooperative, and maybe some shorter campaigns, 10-15 sessions, and you can get a few of them versus one massive 50 scenario campaign plus another 50 side quests you can do. I love that in some games, Gloomhaven, but I don’t need it in all.

5 – Slay the Spire

Slay the Spire probably should be higher on the list. Mainly because it’s probably the smallest game on the list so might be easier to back then some. But if you watched my most recent Slay the Spire video, which you can find here, you’ll know that I’m wondering what will be exclusive about the game. I hope it’s not game play, I hope it’s not the 4th character, so people can get the game at retail and get the whole game. But it needs something to interest me.

I really like Slay the Spire, and I want to see how they take a solo video game and turn it into a cooperative game. The cards that they are showing thus far, as the campaign I believe is getting close, all look like the video game. And that’s a good and fun thing, I just hope it’s not too much house keeping. But they’ve spent a very very long time getting this ready from when they first thought, so I have a lot of hope.

4 – 20 Strong

This is one I found out about yesterday. From Chip Theory Games I know not all that much about 20 Strong. It’s still going to have that great Chip Theory production, I’m sure, but it seems like a much smaller package, which sounds great for me and my wallet.

Plus this is a solo experience of an adventure, card driven, dice, and like I said that smaller package. Those are all things that interest me. I don’t want to compare it directly to Spire’s End, but that’s the feeling I get with the game that it’s going to have a bit of that Spire’s End feel to it which is a really good thing. Also, now I want to play Spire’s End again.

3 – Elder Scrolls

Then another Chip Theory Games Game with Elder Scrolls. I’ve played some Elder Scrolls games, and I’ve played some Too Many Bones. Both of these matters because Elder Scrolls is an interesting setting. And I like the Too Many Bones mechanics. I hope that this meshes them both together well.

And, I stole my suggestion for Elden Ring from Elder Scrolls. Elder Scrolls, what I know of it, promises some scenarios built up of every games. You can pick the scenario you want to play, but instead of it being a massive campaign game, it’s not a shorter and faster experience. Kind of like what Sleeping Gods does where it can give you a whole experience of a campaign game in 10-15 hours.

2 – Tainted Grail: Kings of Ruin

This one should be obvious. I love Tainted Grail, one of my top campaign games. And Kings of Ruin just promises maybe some streamlined rules, but mainly another campaign to play through. And that is exciting for me because I love the world of Avalon that they’ve created.

I think that is what will get me to come back to the game in the future. I’ve played two of the campaigns and I’m going through the third. And the story is just so good, it can be very hard at times, but that’s okay when it’s probably the best writing in a board game I’ve come across.

1 – Rogue Angels

Finally, no surprise, I am waiting for Rogue Angels. I want to play this game more, and I know there is a print and play version that you can try on the Rogue Angels discord. If you like to do print and play, I definitely recommend it.

Rogue Angels is just so much fun, the writing is great, you’ll miss some of that in the print and play. The characters feel different and the scenarios are what stand out to me, plus some mechanisms. But going into one scenario need to blow everyone up, other scenarios racing from objective to objective, it all works. And I know that Emil Larson, the designer has scenarios that do even more.

Upcoming Games

From what I know of these, we have some that will be out in about a week, and others in March. I expect that even with that, there will be some on my list that are even further out. I know that Rogue Angels, when that comes out is still up in the air.

Plus there are a few coming up that I don’t quite want to talk about yet. One because I am doing playtesting for it, and I don’t want to get into what I know about mechanics until the company has put more out there. But each iteration that I playtest, I’m liking the game more and more. So I hope to do a fair amount of coverage on that one when it comes up.

What game are you looking forward to coming to Crowdfunding?

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Top 10 Board Game Expansions

10. Tainted Grail: Echoes of the Past

This one is lower on the list because it’s cool, don’t get me wrong, but not needed. In fact, it can make the game a fair amount easier at times because you get more powers. But getting those powers can be hard, because dying is not ideal or being near death. Still, it adds in good story and background for the characters. And you feel like as your character you are chasing something slightly different than the other characters.

9. Tokyo Highway: Cars and Buildings

Tokyo Highway is a pretty dexterity game where you are building out roads going over and under other highways and trying to get your cars played out and not knock anything down. The Cars and Buildings expansion just adds more cars and more buildings that you can use, and different shaped cars. I basically always play with those. And the buildings, why not throw all of them in there and make the Tokyo area as crazy as you can.

8. Welcome To… Maps

This one is a catch all, not the last on the list. But the map packs and season rules for Welcome To… are a lot of fun. They definitely add some interesting twists on the game. But they don’t really make the game harder to play. It’s just a new thing to think about but generally one that is simple. The ice cream, you want to go up in numbers to collect the ice cream on the road. The Easter one, you want to be able to circle the eggs on the houses with numbers like 6, 8, 9, or 0. So something more to think about, but not too much.

7. Small World: Be Not Afraid…

There are a number of Small World expansions, some of them like the modular map, not needed. But ones that are like Be Not Afraid… are good because they just add in more races/classes and powers. It just means that you get more variety in what you are playing and a lot of the time that is what I want in a game. Do you need to know what the new races and powers do? Yes. Is there only one sheet when there should be more? Yes. But it’s easy enough to mix in.

6. Roll Player Adventures: Nefras’s Judgement

At this point we’re getting close to what I’d consider to be a needed expansion. This does a lot of the things that Echoes of the Past does for Tainted Grail. But it gives you a few more fun choices of your own with that. With Tainted Grail, it’s about completing goals. Here, you just go places, you get story and you get to make choices that affect the alignment of your character. I like those extra choices you get to make in the game.

5. Marvel Expansions

This is a cheat one, it’s a catch all for Marvel Champions and Marvel United. All of th ese expansions are great. They either give you more characters to play as or more villains to face off against. Hard to go wrong with that. Even the campaign expansions for Marvel Champions, it’s mainly just more heroes and villains. You can take any hero through the campaign, and you can play those villains outside of the campaign.

4. Clank! In! Space! Apocalypse

Apocalypse takes a game that can be hard, if you push your luck too hard, and can make it harder. Normally there are black cubes you pull for Lord Eradikus from the bag and they do nothing. Now they are filling up a board that can power him up, potentially. And you can spend to remove them but that’s at a cost to doing what you want to on a turn, which is a fun balance for the game. Clank! In! Space! is great without the expansions, but this one adds in so little it’s easy to just drop in that one new mechanic.

3. Betrayal at House on the Hill: Widow’s Walk

This starts a run of ones that just add in more, it’s an expansion that adds in more content to the game but not more complexity. Widow’s Walk is just more haunts that can happen, more omens and items and things that you mix into existing decks of cards or tiles. Are the haunts balanced any better, not really, but it’s more and as a game that I’ve played a lot, I don’t mind having more.

2. Deception: Undercover Allies

This one mainly just adds in more to the box, but the new roles are fun as well. Deception: Murder in Hong Kong might not need it, as there is a lot of stuff in it, but it’s easy to integrate and makes for just more content to have mixed in. And as I said, the new roles are fun as well. One that I really recommend because of how easy it is to mix in.

1. PitchCar Extensions

I think that these are almost needed, at least one, or maybe two. Do you need all of them like I have, probably not. Do you need to get more like I want to? Definitely not. But is it a blast to have all of them. More just means you have more tracks you can build and bigger tracks that you can build. A lot of the time that’s just the fun that you can, to have a big track that you can play in an evening. So more is great for PitchCar.

Final Thoughts

There are a lot of just solid expansions or expansions that I don’t use that often. I liked Forgotten Circles well enough, but it was too fiddly for me to put on the list. Even though Gloomhaven is my favorite game. Or there are other ones, The Fountain of Youth for The Lost Expedition that I’d shuffle in sometimes. Same with for example Potion Explosions expansions. Some just don’t fit in the box and others might but if they are in the box, it makes it harder to play.

There’s even a situation, with Roll Player where my copy hasn’t hit the table. I have the expansions, I have everything in baggies, but I need to get an insert to make it work to be played. It’s just too much else in there otherwise.

I did skip too expansions that tended to just be another campaign for something. Sea & Sand for Destinies, just another game. The Signature Series cases for Detective, really it’s own game that you barely need the base for, if you do at all. They are kind of in a unique category. I love the stories for the Tainted Grail expansion games, but it’s basically a new game.

What expansion do you love in your collection?

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May Board Gaming

Paper Dungeons – 10 Plays

This one you can watch over on Malts and Meeples and I’ll put the last video down below. But a dungeon crawl roll and write game. I really like it, and I want more. I want a bigger story, I want different sheets to play off of, more monsters to play around with. And just a few more things to change it up.

Biblios – 4 Plays

Biblios is one that I want to play more of. Four plays were fun and I’ve played it at 2 and 3 players. I want to try it at four sometime. It’s basically a set collection game where you try and get majority in different colors. I like it for that, it has some good choices but is mainly a filler game.

Village Green – 4 Plays

Another one that I believe I played on Malts and Meeples solo in an attempt to “fix” the solo mode. I think I came up with a good way to do that. Mainly, having cards fall off the rows so that the rows change up more as you play the game. Otherwise the solo experience is a bit boring.

Icecool – 3 Plays

Icecool, a game that I am always down to play. I brought it in to work one day and we had fun messing around with it. And all the players had a fun time with it. It’s a nice one as always to just sit around and play and have a laugh with.

Matcha – 3 Plays

Matcha is a fun trick taking game and set collection game. What is really interesting about this game is that some tricks it based off of number and some off of the suit that is played. And the fact that you can win by not winning tricks enough times is interesting. The game plays fast and it’s a solid two player trick taking experience.

Tainted Grail – 2 Plays

Oddly enough, I don’t think that there is any Tainted Grail for June, or there might be a play. One of the players bought a house and has been busy with that. But as always Tainted Grail has been a fun experience of exploration, fighting monsters, and finding out the story. Really it is for the story.

The Quacks of Quedlinberg – 2 Plays

Got to play Quacks of Quedlinberg again, and it was fun. We swapped up the ingredients powers which made it a different game in a good way. Obviously it’s set-up for that, and I’m glad that it does make that difference. I like the push your luck element to it and the catch-up element. I really want to try with more than two player, though it won’t make a massive difference to how I play the game, but it’s just a fun one I want to share.

Quadropolis – 2 Plays

New game off the shelf with Quadropolis. Though, it is one that was published a while ago by Days of Wonder. I really like how it works to put out places onto you board and the placement rules for it. And I think that while the game is pretty straightforward, there are a lot of good decisions that can be made in it. And how you take the tiles and place them just works well. Accessible but thinky is a good way to describe the game.

Incan Gold – 2 Plays

I want to find a push your luck game that I really like. I’m not sure that Incan Gold is going to be that, though I did have fun with it. I think that push your luck is a bit group dependent. Some people are too risk adverse so will drop out early. Others it’s less fun for because they push in too far. But I had a good time with it.

PitchCar – 2 Plays

More dexterity gaming with PitchCar. This one was fun because a couple of kids were playing as well. And they had a solid time with it. Also it was at the GameZenter so we had people coming over to see what we were doing.

Qwixx – 2 Plays

Qwixx is a nice filler roll and write game. I like how simple it is and that element of pushing your luck in hopes to be able to fill in more works well. I think I prefer it at two player just because closing off a row is so powerful, with three or four, whomever doesn’t close something off can’t win, it seems.

Deception: Murder in Hong Kong – 2 Plays

My favorite social deduction game. Won’t say much more on it, but it’s the only one that gives you something real to start talking about from the get go. I’m always down to play it, will hesitate to play any others.

The Table Is Lava – 2 Plays

Another game off my shelf of to be played. This is a silly game of sliding or throwing cards to score meeples. I really enjoyed the play of it, though. Another one of those games that is just a good time and some good laughs as you try and knock over meeples.

Similo – 2 Plays

Similo is a fun party style game of deduction. I like that it is cooperative, so while one person is playing the clue giver, everyone is on the same team. It almost has a little bit of a Codenames feel to it, but because it’s pictures, I think it’s more fun. Plus how do you give a clue if the Little Mermaid is like or not like a Ghost?

Destinies – 1 Play

I want to play more Destinies. I just did a two player game of the introductory scenario. And I loved what I played. The story element is fun, the app integration is slick and adds in good story and adventure to it. And I want to get into the bigger thing where it is all one giant story, with different characters, throughout 3 different parts.

Atlantis Rising – 1 Play

Atlantis Rising yet another one off my shelves for the first time. This one we got a rule or two wrong with it, but got the basic concept of the game right. I really liked it. Firstly, it looks amazing. But also the push your luck element of the worker placement, how far you place out, works really well. And I can see this being a cooperative game that I’d pull out before Pandemic a lot of the time.

Drawn to Adventure – 1 Play

I barely made it through a game of this. Drawn to Adventure, unfortunately, did not impress me. I think it’s cool to do an dungeon crawl or exploration sort of game. But it’s just too limited in what you can do. I wanted more decisions to make and it felt like the game almost played itself. Plus it isn’t a fast game either.

Terraforming Mars – Ares Expedition – 1 Play

I still really enjoy Ares Expedition and want to get it played every now and again. I do want to try, sometime, more than two player. But two player moves so fast, not that more would slow it down much. The card play in this game just works well for me. And once those expansions hit retail, I’ll probably pick up one or two.

XenoShyft Onslaught – 1 Play

XenoShyft is a deck building game that I really love. Again, did not beat the game, but got close. I am not sure if I’ve ever beat the game, maybe once. But I keep on coming back to it because we always get close. And getting close is enough for me to want to try it again and again.

Canvas – 1 Play

Canvas, another one that I’ve played a few times now and at a few different player counts. It’s such a pretty game and while it is very simple, I find it a lot of fun. I can see why some people want to just make the prettiest painting, and that is an option but won’t help you win. But even when going for the best score, it is fun and you get good artwork to look at as well.

The Fox in the Forest – 1 Play

Another trick taking game, this was playing with a different player than the first few times. I need to start adjusting my strategy because I keep on making moves too soon. But I really like this as a fast little filler two player game.

So Clover! – 1 Play

So Clover, amazing party game. Highly recommend finding this one if you like cooperative party games. It’s higher than either Similo or Just One for me. Mainly because while it’s not too hard, there is just a bit more going on with it.

Just One – 1 Play

Speaking of Just One, also got that one played. Back to back with So Clover actually. I still really enjoy Just One. The game play makes it very easy to play with basically anyone. And cooperative, for me, puts less pressure on. Though I know for some people with guessing the word the fact it’s cooperative adds pressure.

No Thanks! – 1 Play

Finally, No Thanks! got played again, and one of the people who played it I believe picked it up to play with her family. It’s a fun game and definitely a different bidding feel than sometimes I’ve played it. The players set the market for taking a higher value card lower than sometimes. And it paid off big time for one player.

Year to Date

So, I’m going to keep this a little bit shorter this time. Mainly because, well, I’m going to be doing this again next week. So all of June’s stats are mixed in now. But 8 new for me games were played in May. And 52 plays overall which is more than I thought there would be. May started out slower with plays, I believe, but then ended strong. So I am well on my way to 365 plays for the year.

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Fortunately there are board games that can give that feel or smaller pen and paper experiences that might offer more of a one off game play. And you can do a one off game play with Dungeons and Dragons as well a one shot, but that might not be what you are looking for.

Fiasco

Fiasco is a pen and paper RPG, but it is one that is meant to be played in a single sitting. It is also one that you are meant to play with everyone as a player. So you lose the need for someone to be leading the story and basically having a different experience than everyone else.

Fiasco leans into the roll playing side of an RPG with impro focused prompts and collaborative story telling. It is also a game where things aren’t supposed to go that great. As the same, Fiasco, would suggest, the situations you are in and the story that is generated generally aren’t the best for the characters.

Spire’s End

Spire’s End is going to offer you more of a mechanical combat in a game though very luck heavy. In this, you and another person, or just playing solo, delve into a spire that has appeared in your town. Of course it isn’t full of nice things. In fact, it is where almost everyone in the town is being held. So can you explore, fight monsters, and find an end where you save the day?

Thus far, that is beyond what I’ve been able to do, But if you want to see how it plays, you can watch my game play below.

Legacy of Dragonholt

One that I had in my collection for a while, Legacy of Dragonholt is a choose your own adventure story combined with some character building. And I think out of all of these, it might be the most RPG like well, after Fiasco, but Legacy of Dragon holt has more of a standard feel to it.

Now, my one knock on it is that the writing is just okay. It toes a line where it seems like it should be more serious in it’s story. And sometimes it is serious, but it is meant for families to be able to play. Mom, Dad, a kid, and you can pass around the book and let people read passages. You spend tokens and players take turns making decisions. But one that I think is pretty solid. I’d love to see a new version or a new setting just with better quality writing.

Destinies

Now for something with very good writing, we have Destinies or soon coming out The Dark Quarter. You can still late pledge that one. But Destinies is a competitive game where each player is trying to fulfill their destiny. You explore the world, unlocking more of the map, rolling dice to complete challenges, and interacting with story.

Destinies uses an app to tell the story. Now you might not like apps at the table, but it does a great job. Mainly, it can keep answers to the story hidden while you play. And it can be played solo, that you can play without spoiling yourself. The app also allows for simpler interactions with items. You don’t need a massive book to cover every combination, just the data in the app.

Clank Legacy

Next up is the most board game out of all of them. Clank Legacy is going to be a game built upon the Acquisitions Incorporated crew from Penny Arcade and elsewhere. But this is a legacy style game which means to get the full story you and a group need to play it several times. However, it isn’t as long as playing a campaign of Dungeons and Dragons or something like that.

At the heart of it, Clank Legacy is a game where you build out a deck of cards as you play. Using those cards you are going on quests, maybe, I don’t know all the details for Legacy. But in the regular version you delve into a dungeon trying not to make too much noise. But the legacy version adds on to that.

Dungeon Party

Finally, if you want something silly, and a number of these are silly, Dungeon Party is a great option. It is a dungeon crawling game where you just get to go in and beat up monsters. But you do that by playing quarters. You bounce your token, though recommend you use actual quarters, to get to land on monsters and defeat them.

As you defeat them you get treasures that give you new abilities that you can use. This is not a drinking game, but it could easily be made into one. And that is kind of the point of it. A chance to just be goofy and have a good time around the table with that fantasy theme.

Final Thoughts

RPG’s are hard to emulate the whole experience outside of a big game. And I kept games like Gloomhaven, Folklore The Affliction, Tainted Grail, and Sword & Sorcery off the list because they are all games that require more commitment.

But I think that they are good options. And even the longer ones here, Legacy or Dragonholt, Destinies, and Clank Legacy are all shorter than your standard campaign. Plus, there is some level with them that they are easy to get to the table. For someone who wants that feel but doesn’t want to remember a plethora of stats and abilities, these attempt to make it easier.

What are some experiences that feel like an RPG without that big time commitment. Let me know your favorites in the comments below.

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The $1 Crowdfunding Pledge

Let’s talk about the $1 pledge level. Why do I pledge at that level sometimes, and how often do I get more?

So what is a $1 pledge? It is basically a cheap way to get the updates on a Kickstarter campaign. With Gamefound you can follow along if you subscribe to it. But Kickstarter, is is $1 and often times it gives you access to the pledge manager as well.

The nice thing about a $1 pledge is that you don’t need all the money at once. If both Final Girl and Marvel Zombies run at the same time – they did – then you don’t need to give both of them a couple hundred dollars right at the same time. You back $1 now you can get one now and save up for the other one later.

But how often do I back for $1, once in a while, and I’d say maybe 2 out of the 6-7 that I did that with, I ended up adding in the pledge manager. One, for sure, that I did was The Witcher: Old World. And I believe there was another that I added. I don’t care enough, most of the time, to do $1 and get the updates.

The Drink

A Negroni again. It’s such a good drink, again a warm day and one that is nice to have on a day like that. But a good drink to have stuff around for. It is really one that I like to sip while grilling as well. On a hot summer day it is refreshing and with some ice in there, it doesn’t feel water down when the ice melts.

Upcoming Streams

Tomorrow I’ll be streaming, I think my plan is more Paper Dungeons. So join for some fun to play along. I’m still working my way through that campaign.

I talked about this on the stream, and maybe I’ll talk about it more tomorrow. But I am getting a gaming table with a topper. That will allow for me to leave a bigger campaign game set-up on the lower level and put the top on when I want to play something else. So once that comes, I am going to be getting back to streaming a larger game.

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Pros

• Price
• Theme
• Pedigree of Companies
• Campaign Game

Cons

• Shipping Discrepancies
• Campaign Game
• Mature Themes

The Page

This is a flashy page and it doesn’t even rely on minis to be flashy. It instead just puts you into the theme. That is what I expect when it comes to Lucky Duck Games and Van Ryder Games. They both create a lot of thematic games like Destinies, Chronicles of Crime, and Final Girl. So the page really gives you all of that theme and shows you the setting you are going to be in.

But I do want to talk about this leaning into it being a game with mature themes. That really feels to be coming from the Van Ryder Games side of things, though I am sure that both agreed to it. Van Ryder Games puts out more serious story games like their Graphic Novel Adventures. The question is, do you want a game with mature themes or not? And is it needed in this game? I do think it matches the theme quite well, but I also get that it is not for everyone. They at least advertise it so people know.

The Game

The game itself, I will go into some detail on it, because I know a bit more about it. With Lucky Duck Games, you know there is likely going to be an app. And with this game using systems that can be found in Chronicles of Crime, an app assisted game, and Destinies, another app assisted game, this is going to use an app. For some people that might be enough to keep them from backing, but for me, I’m intrigued by it.

The app is going to be used to let you know what skill checks you can do, and to interact with points of interest that you find during your investigation. This is very much a combination of both Lucky Duck Games that I mentioned. The advantage to a system like this is no single person needs to run a game. The story runs itself and everyone plays the same game.

The skill checks in the game are the same as what is found in Destinies. Basically, you look to roll high enough to pass certain thresholds or markers on your player board. The more markers you pass, the more success you end up with.

That’s it mechanically, but I want to touch on story as well here. Not to go back to it being mature. But in the previews or first impressions that I’ve seen, the story while cooperative, seems like it will vary between different characters. Certain characters excel at certain elements. Some might investigate better, others might be more apt to intimidate or fight. So while replay might be somewhat limited, it does seem like different characters provide different paths.

Back or Brick

For me, this is a Back. I generally like what both companies are doing, and their games tend to be thematic. I’m looking at games of theirs that I need to get to the table soon. I like the setting. I have heard it compared to Anne Rice, though that seems to be more for vampires in New Orleans. A better comparison might be LA Noir, the video game, in the sort of dark detective feel that you get from the game.

Now, with a mature theme, I think this game isn’t one for everyone. It might be too macabre for some people, too much blood or difficult story situations. But for me, that intrigues me. And if it isn’t one for me, I know that there was a period of time where Destinies was hard to find, so might be one that I can sell if need be. But I really suspect it’s going to be one that I play through, and then trade so someone else can have fun with it.

How about for you, is The Dark Quarter by Van Ryder Games and Lucky Duck Games a Back or a Brick?

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