Gamefound Summer Feast

Go On Board – The Witcher Legacy

Holy Hell in a HANDBASKET! I’m 100% in already. I don’t care about anything else. It’s a legacy Witcher game. Who wants to play it with me? You level up your character and play through story. Do we know a ton, we don’t, but I’m all in.

Follow the campaign here.

PIKA Games – A Wild Venture

This is a two player game that is an engine building game. It looks pretty cute and there are tons of two player games right now And I do like engine building and it’s also a game where you break down your engine. I am very tempted with this and if you preorder you get two free gifts as well. At about $30 USD it’s a very reasonable price.

Follow the pre-order here.

Fantasia Game – Rurik Second Edition

It’s a second edition of Rurik And it is going to update some things. And it is going to have a new expansion. So if you liked Rurik this might be one to jump in to get more. I think that Rurik is one of those try before you buy games for me.

Follow the campaign here.

Spielcraft Games – Cretaceous Rails

This is a reprint. But there is going to be an expansion as well. The theme of the game is fun, you take time traveling tourists on rails in the past to see all the dinosaurs. I hope that it’s a good game because that is the type of railroad game that I could get behind.

Follow on Gamefound here.

Addax Games – Rove Anchorpoint

This is going to be rove at a more accessible and affordable point to jump into. This is going to be like Jaws of the Lions was for Gloomhaven. A 25 encounter game which is going to make it much more accessible. I hope that this doesn’t launch until Rove is in the hands of backers. I might be interested but I want to play Rove first.

Follow Rove Anchorpoint here.

Nemesis Games – Uprising Legendary Box

This is going to be more Uprising. It is a cooperative/solo game that now offers true solo. I own this game already, so I don’t need more. But I do need to play it. This is a cooperative 4x game where all the players need to beat the enemy factions you are up against. And that is easier said than done.

Follow Uprising Legendary Box on Gamefound here.

Unstable Games – Mystic Moon

It’s a light strategy game where you are creating potions. I like a good potion creation game and it looks super cute. Really what I’m basing my thoughts on the game off of is the adorable artwork. And it is a theme that draws me in as well. I don’t know a ton about how it plays though and the page only offers so much at this point.

Follow Mystic Moon on Gamefound here.

Unstable Games – Here to Slay Dungeons

This is a cooperative dungeon crawling game. It is set in the world of Here to Slay. That is a game that I need to play. The artwork is great, and I love a good dungeon crawler. It’s interesting it is going to be three base games. But you can mix the base games together to mix up the monsters, heroes and more. I hope that the price point is very reasonable then because otherwise that gets expensive fast.

Follow Here to Slay Dungeons here.

Thundergryph Games – Galileo’s Truth

Anotehr game about Galileo. This is going to be in the scientific journey game like Darwin’s Journey. It is a deck building and a single worker. I have heard good things about Darwin’s Journey but I haven’t played that one.

Follow Galileo’s Truth here.

Meeple Pug – Byzantion

A thematic and political game. This is going to be engine building with miniatures and you need to handle events that come out. There is diplomacy, intrigue and backstabbing, which that doesn’t sound super interesting to me. Now I might be wrong, but it just founds like a lot. And a 30 minutes per player I really expect it would be a long game.

Follow Byzantion on Gamefound here.

ThisWay – Arctica

It’s an animal game where you are trying to do area control and a lot more. Plus gears, if you like wheels that is going to be interesting as you plan out turn things. I could see this being a game that works well for me and the aesthetic is sharp. Not just the artwork on the cards, but the board, pieces, and gear all look very good.

Follow Arctica here.

Eerie Idol Games – The Old King’s Crown Second Printing + Expansion

I don’t know much about the game. It sounds interesting and thematic. And it looks great in terms of artwork and components. But because of how fast things are going I didn’t get a good idea of the game. I might checkout some videos or reviews for thoughts on what people had from the first printing of the game.

Follow The Old King’s Crown on Gamefound.

Board Game Ink – Lone Wolf: Vengeance of the Kai

This is based off of a fantasy series. This is a two player strategy game as you play an epic conflict. They say that you might like it if you like Star wars; Rebellion. Aesthetically I think it looks decent. But if you want a big two player game, this could be it. And I am now interested in the series.

Follow the campaign here.

Red Raven Games – Song of Silveranth

Another big open world narrative game. I love their big open game in Sleeping Gods. It is a dark fairytale and fantasy setting. I love the idea of that setting. And it is supposed to have most of what Sleeping Gods did but it is going to be even bigger. Do I expect to back this one, 100%.

Follow the campaign for Song of Silveranth here.

Board Game Ink – X-Odus Rise of the Corruption Second Ecdition

I have heard of X-odus. It is going to be a massive upgrade from the sounds of it. They said it was going to be about 95% change. While that doesn’t mean massive changes to everything it is going to be a step up. It is a game that I want to check out so I’ll check out the first edition videos. But if the second edition really does change up a bunch, I’m still hesitant to dive into it.

Follow the campaign on Gamefound here.

Eons of Battle – The Catacombs of the Blessed Dead

More terrain. This is going to be creating a catacomb for your RPG game. It looks very nice. If you want to get it as STL’s you can. And you can get miniatures as well.

Follow on Gamefound here.

Archon Studios – Duskhollow

This is going to be vampire setting terrain. If you want gothic terrain this is going to be great for you. I love the sound of it. But I don’t need a ton of terrain taking up space as much as I want to have some. But if you want to do Ravenloft or some other gothic vampire campaign, this looks great.

Follow the campaign for Duskhollow on Gamefound here.

Game Theory Tables – The Table of Adventure

This is a board game table. It is officially licensed for D&D and has a GM side that you can create your on GM/DM spot. It looks great. But I already own a game table. If I didn’t I would definitely consider this one. I like that it is done in conjunction with D&D so they are going to be thinking about some things that you might want for a D&D game versus more general in nature.

Follow the campaign here.

Accidental Cyclops Games – Surviving Strangehollow

This a modular setting for Dungeons and Dragons 5th Edition. It is a massive book and there is going to be a ton to checkout there. But I want to know is it for the new version of 5E. What tempts me about backing this one is all the monsters. But I don’t generally run campaigns based off of modules. So if I can just get the monsters, that would be great.

Follow the campaign on Gamefound here.

Cotswald Games – Machiavellian The City of Masks

A world of masked nobles set in another world. They say it’s like Ark Nova and Scythe mixed together. This sounds like a game where they are throwing in a lot of theme. I like the sound of mix of mechanisms for the game. And a steampunk style world is also interesting to me. But is it going to be a game that can combine everything into that elegant design they promised.

Follow Machiavellian here.

Godot Games – Yokai Forest Duel

They are making a duel game. It’s a tournament game of some sort. I’m not 100% how it is going to play because it is two to eight players. So it’s not a two player game, which is odd. But you are fighting best of three battles, looks like a fun head to head game mainly.

Follow Yokai Forest Duel on Gamefound here.

Invedars – Chants for the Old Ones

This is a new expansion and a new game. It looks interesting though I haven’t heard much about the original game. I do love a good Lovecraftian theme for a game. Plus the minis look very nice for the game as well.

Follow Chants for the Old One here.

Titan Forge – Bloodfields: Third Edition

This is a two player miniatures game. I think it looks very cool, but it’s definitely not one that I’m going to get. This is going to be new cards, lore and more in the game. If you want a minis game that is coming out with a lot of new stuff and seems to have a lot of classic fantasy, like elves and dwarves, this one might be for you.

Follow Bloodfields on Gamefound.

Final Thoughts

There are two games out of the twenty-three that are must backs for me. Witcher Legacy is obviously one of them. But then when Red Raven comes out with another open world style game, that is an easy back. As much as I love the setting for Sleeping Gods, I think a dark fairy tale setting is probably even more enjoyable for me.

But there is a bit of everything in this Gamefound Feast. It is really a feast, Whether you want terrain, an RPG module, a table, a small game or some huge games, you can find them all here. What is the game that you are most excited for?

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Fortunately, Dungeons and Dragons fifth edition has a lot of different options for games like this. They have come out with Princes of the Apocalypse, Curse of Strahd, and so many more that you can run for your game, but the question is, how do you run them to the best of your ability? Now, I’m not going to be the best person to talk about this, because I do like homebrewed games better and running those, but I do have a few things that I think could be useful.

Firstly, read through the whole campaign before you play. This might seem like it’s a lot of up front work, and it is, and maybe that’s what you’re trying to avoid, but you need to know how the story is going to go. That is going to allow you as the DM to plan out your sessions and not stumble over text and dialogue that might be written in there for you. It also means that you know what elements to really focus on. There would be a lot of desire to just run straight through it, but maybe one thing is just a throw away line and if you put too much emphasis on that, you could derail your own game.

Reading through the story is also going to let you know if there’s anything that you need to cut from the game. Maybe you’re group is not at all combat focused and the campaign book has a lot of different combats in it that are very common. You’d be able to drop them out pretty quickly or make them more of a set piece for the players that is just more descriptive than it is tactical and dice focused. Or you could lean more into the combat, make the random encounters less random.

Prep sessions. Now, you should always do at least some of that, and I still do some with homebrewed stuff so I know where I want to go with it. But I actually think that you might need more prep for running a written module because you need to know that beats that you are planning for the session. But know where things are, know what NPC’s your players might meet. Know where they might go so that you aren’t spending a lot of time flipping through the book when you could be playing.

Don’t be afraid to adlib/go off script. Not really something you can plan for, but just know that it’ll happen at some point in time. Your players will lose focus and go off script of what dialogue the game might provide for you. You need to be able to go off script, have conversations with NPC’s who might not exist but that your players create for you, or maybe they’ll go down a rabbit trail with another NPC or rabbit trail a quest into something bigger than it would have been. If you know the material from the module, you’ll have the tools to make something that still falls in line with what has been done before.

Now, the biggest thing is really that first item, if you know your material well, you don’t need to prep as much and you’ll be more prepared to go off script, so read through that module a few times. Beyond that, have fun with it. If you’re a new DM, put in the work of knowing the material and the game will go well. And when you mess something up or it takes a bit to find something, or you get a piece of lore wrong, that’s okay, even with a module, it’s still your game, so have a good time with it.

Have you run modules, what do you do to prepare? Do you have any tips for running a premade adventure?

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This list is basically the opposite of yesterday’s list which was focused on small games that are going to have a small footprint, small box, and generally a smaller price. Epic board games are going to generally be in a larger box and they are going to pack a lot into the game, so whether it’s in a fantasy world or a sci-fi setting, the game is going to feel big and epic. Also, stocking stuffers are going to be more apt to be games for a newer gamer, these, you are going to want to know the person likes board games.

Aeon’s End: War Eternal – This game actually doesn’t have a ton of pieces to it or a giant board at least. It’s a deck building game, but the game feels epic as you face off against an giant monster who is trying to destroy the town of Gravehold. You take on the roll of a breach mage who is casting spells to deal damage or out last the plans of the giant monster. To do this, you are building up a deck of cards, so it’s a pretty standard deck builder that way, but, in a twist, you never shuffle your deck, so if you are clever, you can pull off some interesting combos.

Betrayal at House on the Hill – This game is different from the first in that it has a sprawling footprint. You’re building out this massive haunted house, and eventually, there will be a twist when the haunt happens and someone is going to be a traitor. This game is a really thematic game that leans into the horror theme. The best way to describe it would be that you are playing through the movie Cabin in the Woods, if Cabin in the Woods was a mansion instead of a cabin. You never know what the haunt is going to be, because an omen card in a certain room is going to take you to a specific haunt. The game is a bit swingy in that someone can, with a bit of luck be very strong or the haunts can be a bit unbalanced, but it’s very thematic.

Blood Rage – With a name like that, how could it not be epic? In this game, you are taking your tribe of Viking warriors through combat and area control in order to get the most glory. However, beware where Ragnorak is happening, because that can knock your troops off the board. Blood Rage is, at it’s heart, a card drafting game where the cards you pick at the beginning of the age determine your strategy for that age. But it feels like it plays out on the table in a massive way, with big epic conflicts, monsters on the board, and the strategies are all based around different deities from Norse Mythology. The game looks cool on the table and the minis help give it it’s epic feel.

Cry Havoc – In what turns out to be a bit of a euro-style area control game, you really get to play through a giant cinematic game of different factions warring over the crystals. Humans are able to attack from different areas in support. The mechs can build up stronger technology and call in satellite support. The pilgrims are a peaceful alien race that just cares about growing as many crystals as possible. And the trogs are everywhere on the planet, because it’s their home world, and they’re trying to fight everyone off. In this game you’re getting points for crystals in the few rounds that you are playing and scoring. But it has a tricky bit of combat and interesting card play to be able to get to other areas, fight your battles, or in the case of the pilgrims, set-up your fortified areas. It looks cool and feels a bit like Avatar.

Dead of Winter – Dead of Winter is a survival zombie game where you are in charge of a group of survivors. You need to go out and find food, deal with zombies, get medicine to heal people, deal with crisis that are happening and complete a main objective. There is a ton to do in this game, plus, beyond that, you have your own goal you need to complete and there might be a traitor in your midst. All of that is great and epic feeling as you try and figure out who the traitor might be, but there are also crossroads cards which offer you tough decisions if the right conditions are met that makes this game feel even more epic.

Gloomhaven – This is, in my opinion, the ultimate big epic board game. It’s a massive box, massive footprint on the table, a ton of characters to play. Now, it comes with a large price tag, but the number of hours worth of play, it’s worth the price. Gloomhaven has a nice story to it, but it shines in the scenarios where you have to work with your teammates in your card play to get it really ticking, because the monsters hit back and they hit back hard. It’s a lot of strategy and it’s just fun to play, plus unlocking new characters keeps the game feeling fresh. It’s like a video game RPG, but on a board.

Mansions of Madness 2nd Edition – The only Lovecraftian game on this list, I considered Arkham Horror LCG, and while it does have a great story, it doesn’t feel quite as epic. Mansions of Madness though is an epic horror game in a box. You are using an app to drive the story and provide ambiance for the game. But that doesn’t take away from the board game piece, it just enhances it and can cause the game to be set-up differently each time you play a scenario. And there are tons of scenarios out there and expansions. You take on the role of an investigator who has been called in for something odd happening, but can you stop it in time or before you become too injured or insane to carry on?

Pandemic Legacy Season 1/Season 2 – I’m lumping both of them together, but both are pretty epic stories. As a Legacy game, it means that you have a limited number of plays through the story, but the story is good, and you feel like you get your value from them. You are playing what is basically Pandemic, a game where you are a member of the CDC going out to deal with diseases. The basic game is fairly epic, but when you add in an evolving story, it becomes more epic and challenging as you have to adapt to the strategies that the changes in the game is leading your towards. It’s fun to play through, even twice, like I’ve done, because there is a good story with it and a lot of story and interesting decisions.

Root – These are cute woodland creatures, they won’t be epic, will they? Yes, they will in this asymmetric game where players take on the roles of different factions of woodland creatures. Maybe you are the vagabond who is getting new items to be able to do more things or planning out your long term strategy as the Eyrie who need their orders to be carried out in a certain way and things will go poorly if they aren’t. Or maybe you are the Woodland Alliance who don’t start with much, but need to create a strong position on the board. And then there is the Marquise de Cat and his cat troops who are trying to keep control on the areas and expand their power. It’s big, it’s epic, and everyone feels really unique in the game.

Skulk Hollow – By far the smallest game on the list and only a two player game, it still feels epic. You have the foxen heroes who all of a sudden have to deal with a guardian. The guardian of the realm probably isn’t a bad guy, but with the foxen folk there now, they seem like one. One player plays as the guardian and the other as foxen folk, each with their own goals. The foxen folk always want to take down the guardian, but the guardian might be trying to get certain tokens out or maybe kill the leader of the foxen folk, or just kill as many foxen folk as they can. The game plays fast, but it packs a punch for what it does.

Star Wars: Rebellion – The original trilogy in a box, it’s going to be epic. Again a two player game where one person is the empire trying to find that darn rebel base. The other player, as the rebels is trying to complete missions in order to subvert the empires evil plans. It’s a good cat and mouse game with all the big players that you’d expect from a Star Wars game. It’s been close basically every time I’ve played it and while the rebels can be a bit trickier to play and this is a longer game, it is engaging the whole time and not too hard. The asymmetry is pretty limited and that makes teaching the game easier than the previous two ones, even with the different character goals.

Sword and Sorcery – Another big dungeon crawl with a lot of characters, Sword and Sorcery takes you on a tighter story than Gloomhaven does, but in what is more of a dice chucking game. The story is cool, and the monsters, while limited, offer a good variety of challenges. What makes this game especially unique is the death mechanic, where if you die, you aren’t out of the game, you have limited things you can do, but you can also respawn as long as you have enough soul gems. There are a ton of characters to play, and while the story is quite linear, I do feel like it’s a game that I could play through again with different characters and the game would feel different.

T.I.M.E. Stories – This game is basically time cops as you try and police the time stream, going to Earth in different eras as well as to completely different worlds. It’s an interesting game because you run through different stories, which are expansions for the game. T.I.M.E. Stories, for everything, is the most expensive game on the list, but it’s worth checking out. The story in the base game is interesting, and it only starts to show you the plug and play nature of the system. Each story, also, has it’s own epic feel, and you get to run through the story, making better decisions each time or maybe finally going down that rabbit trail that you probably shouldn’t have gone down.

Village Attacks – Maybe, as compared to the rest of the games, you want to play the bad guys. In Village Attacks, you and a team of other monsters has to deal with pesky villagers who are coming to your lair with their pitchforks and torches. You need to protect yourself, because that’s very rude of them to attack you. Can you survive the onslaught of monsters coming? It’s a fun cooperative game and very challenging as there are so many villagers. I had a blast playing it at GenCon, and I’m super excited to get my kickstarter copy. If you want to get this game, you need to check out the possibility of a late pledge from the kickstarter.

XenoShyft: Onslaught – Sometimes you just want to squish some bugs. XenoShyft is basically Starship Troopers where you have to defend this mining facility from all sorts of waves of bugs. This is another deck building game, and it’s a tough deck building game, but you always feel like you’re getting better and have a chance. The cool and unique part of the game is the fact that you can play your cards to help other people, because sometimes you might have a lot of weapons that you can’t use, but someone else might need them, so you have to balance it out to make sure that there isn’t a weak link. This is a tough game to win, but a ton of fun.

There are so many epic games out there. If you want a longer game that you can play a lot, there are a lot of good options out there. I’d recommend starting with some of the smaller ones on the list, XenoShyft: Onslaught, Pandemic Legacy, or Aeon’s End. But if they already like epic games, and you want to splurge, Gloomhaven is a game that you can’t go wrong with. Yes, it won’t be for everyone, but it is a massive epic game and unless you want a ton of dice rolling, which Gloomhaven doesn’t offer.

Is there an epic game out there that you really love? Or is there one that is really epic that you want to get?

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