How to Play The Pirates of Maracaibo

Firstly, this isn’t going to be an 100% overview of everything. There are some solid videos on that. And I’ll link one of those down below because there is a lot going on in this game. The basics of the game are pretty simple. Collect the most points and you win the game after three times sailing in to Maracaibo.

Movement

To do that, your general turn action is going to be pretty standard in everything that you do. You move your ship from left to right, and you always need to move at least one column right towards Maracaibo. You can move it up to three spaces, but, like I said, one needs to be to the right and it can be up and down in the columns as well.

Then you end on a spot. The spots offer various different things. There are upgrades of three types, goods, ship, and crew that you can add to your ship. Those will give you either an immediate action or an ongoing bonus. If you buy that card, you add it to your tableau and a new card replaces it.

Or the spot might be an adventure spot, I guess I’ll call it. This allows you to place an upgrade cube on your ship and then you take an action or grab some money, depending on what the options are. This card, however, doesn’t leave it’s spot. And we’ll talk about what those actions can be in a second.

Or you might land a spot that is a residence of sorts. These have a cost associated with them, but they will give you a scoring bonus if you take certain actions in the game.

Location Actions

There are a number of location actions, but generally, they are limited to a few things. So we’ll cover the most common ones here.

You can explore. There is an exploration track that all players move on. When you explore you explore a given distance, based off the card you are activating. It might be the spot you are on, or it might allow you to move a maximum number of spaces. This can be modified by any upgrades that you have. And you don’t need to move the whole distance, so you determine the spot you end on, and that gives you a bonus.

Next you can combat. The combat is not combat against other players. It is how you get treasure in the game. So you roll three dice, one yellow, one green, and one white. They each represent a different treasure type. You select one of those rolls and you spend the pips on the dice, and any bonus you might add to it, to gain gems, points, and coins, and possibly more.

I am going to stop here. There are definitely more spots where you can go and do different things. But generally, these are going to be the ones that standout as some of your bigger options.

Scoring Points

You score points in a lot of different ways in the game. At the end of the game you get points for the treasure you have and you have buried. Burying gives you a fixed number of points per treasure. The treasure in general though, each one has a “market” that goes with it and that is going to score you points.

You also score points at the end of each round for upgrades you have. Some upgrades are going to give you money, some give you points. And each round ends when someone reaches Maracaibo.

Another way to get points is by completing quests. Quests have two different scoring options. There is a easier option and a more difficult option. The more difficult option, generally just getting more of or going further on a track than the easier option. And these are scored at the end of the game.

If you want to know more, watch the video above. But that is some of the basics as to how this game works.

What Doesn’t Work

It’s not a negative so much as a beware for the game. There is a lot going on in the game. And the strategies can very greatly. So there is a lot to keep track of and think about as you play. I’ve played quite a number of games and I’m still finding strategies and realizing things that I should or could be doing in the game. And I try different strategies often in games. But it is going to feel overwhelming at the beginning and it is going to not be for some people because of that.

The game also has potential turns where you don’t do much. Now, you generally don’t do much because you ran out of money. And the game gives you money when you can’t do anything. But it doesn’t feel as good as when you can do something, obviously. So it might feel like you waste turns, and it kind of is, if you are just grabbing money and putting yourself behind the eight ball so to speak.

What Works

All the choices work in the game. I know I just said there is a lot going on in the game. But that’s more in terms of, this might look like a pirate game that you want to play, but it might not work for some gamers. We’ll talk about that more later. But the choices are fun and all of the choices, unless you get stuck gathering coins, can help progress a strategy. And you decide which way you want to go and how deep you want to go into all of them as you play.

That said, there are a lot of choices but the game is not too complex. I appreciate how straightforward a turn is. You move your ship and you do that action whether it’s explore, purchase a card, gain treasure, whatever it might be. You need to strategize in the game, but it isn’t so overwhelming that it bogs the game down because the turns are so straightforward.

The game also is a nice length. This is something that I think could get lost in it. It says it’s about 25 minutes per player, and that seems about right. So a four player game is going to take a while, but with the number of turns that happen in the game, it isn’t going to be excessive downtime, just a bunch of turns. And for a game with this much going on, there is a chance that you could end up with a lot of downtime if you aren’t careful.

Who is Pirates of Maracaibo For?

I think this is a game for people who enjoy a good thinky game. It reminds me of the weight in some ways of Lost Ruins of Arnak. And I think I think of it some because of the theme in the game. But also I think of it because that one has a bunch going on in the game, and you need to know what they are, but generally a single turn isn’t highly complicated. If you like Lost Ruins of Arnak, I think that Pirates of Maracaibo is going to be a good game for you.

Final Thoughts on Pirates of Maracaibo

So finally, let’s talk about it, is this game for me? This is one of a few games that I’ve gotten because I’ve played them on BGA. The other three being River of Gold, Cacao and Pyramido. I very much enjoy this game and I think it’s that sweet spot for me. Now, I love Lost Ruins of Arnak. I don’t know that I love Pirates of Maracaibo that much, but it’s still an amazing game.

For me it’s that depth of strategy in the Pirates of Maracaibo. And while you start out all being the same, you quickly become different as you gain cards and upgrade your ship. That is another really nice thing. I don’t feel like I’m always fighting over the same thing as another player. Sure in four players you might, so I might prefer it as a two or three player game (and you can play solo) but at three, which I’ve played a handful of times, you don’t get in the way too much. Sometimes enough that you might need to pivot on a planned turn, but never to the point where you are locked into luck in the game.

My Grade: A
Strategy: A
Luck: D

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How To Play Rock Hard 1977

Rock Hard 1977 takes you on the rock and roll lifestyle as you try and go from garage band to playing the biggest stages. All of this while which gives you points as you play shows and hangout after hours with fans, business, or whomever is at the late night locations.

Rock Hard 1977, at it’s core, is a worker placement game. You place your worker three times each round. One time in the day phase, one time in the night phase and once in the after hours. Each area has their different elements that they focus on, but there are also some generic actions that you can do every time.

The Three Phases

In the day phase it is about leveling up your reputation and chops. Things that you need so that when you when your demo tape is ready you’ll be ready to rock and sign a record deal. Because in the day you also might be getting crew so you can play bigger shows or getting that record deal.

The evening or night is about performing. There are small bars or locations you can play at, but as you play more, and level up you gain access to bigger venues that are going to give you more points and raise reputation or chops and give you points.

After hours is about hanging out at different hangout spots. You might run into fans which can boost your reputation. You might strike up business deals, get inspired for a song or get some candy. But you can also get your demo tape ready and work on getting ready to record.

Basic Actions

You always have four basic actions that you can take. And three of them it doesn’t matter what time of day it is. You can buy or sell candy. I will talk about candy next. You can donate blood and get a dollar. Or you can write a song.

The final option is one that you do during a specific time of day. But for the player it might vary as to when that is. Each player starts out with a job. You are not a successful rocker yet, you don’t get income from it. So you work a job, but you can skip. However, skip three times and you’re fired. But each job is during a specific time of day

Candy

Finally it’s time to talk about the candy. You can infer that candy is whatever you like in the game. But it is a resource that you use to potentially get extra actions. So if you take a candy in the day phase you might flip over soft or hard candy and get an extra 1 or 2 actions. But there is a risk that you flip over sugar-free candy and then you don’t get anything.

There is also an added risk because when you increase your cravings for candy as well as then need to roll a die. If you roll less than your craving level you crash and the next day phase you need to go to recover. It doesn’t mess with the actions you get, but it will mean that your day phase is locked in. And if you crash on the last round, you lose five points.

At the end of the day the rocker with the most points wins. And checkout the Man vs Meeple playthrough below.

What Might Not Work?

I think for some people there is going to be an element of randomness that they don’t like. There are a few points where the randomness can come in. Firstly there is an event that happens each round. That might mess you up because it blocks off a location that you’d wan to go to in some phase.

That is probably the biggest random element along with what you draw for candy. There are eight candy cards and one is hard candy that gives two actions. One is sugar-free that gives no action, and the rest are soft candy that give one action.

The final thing is what you get from the hangout spots. A lot of the time you can kind of guess, but it isn’t a guarantee. And while most of them are good, not all of them are great. As some of them might care if you are a guitar player, lead singer, etc. to get the better reward on it.

What Works?

Let me just go ahead and push back on what might not work. I think that element of the game works well. For me, it is a way to remove planning out something perfectly. Sometimes the ideal spot isn’t available, so how do you adjust to that? I like that a lot in a game because it adds replayability to the game.

The game is also pretty simple once you get down the basics. You place your worker at one spot per phase of the day per round. That is simple. There are a couple of things that make it a bit trickier. But the game itself does a good job of showing it. So the two things are what is a cost versus a requirement versus a reward. It can be a lot of symbols but they color coordinate them. And then how turn order works, but that sorts itself out as well.

The theme is also great for the game. There is a ton of flavor on the text of the cards. But the actions you do are also thematic. You need to complete certain things, like bump up your reputation or write songs, before you get a record out there. And the text on the cards, you can tell that the designer knows the 1970’s rock scene well.

The Designer

A little tangent, but let’s talk about the designer. This is one of the big reasons, to go along with an uncommon board game theme that this game has been so hot. Jackie Fox, the designer, was the bassist for the Runaways. She is also obviously a big board game fan and less obviously a lawyer and four time Celebrity Jeopary champion.

I think that is why the theme can come through so much. It is theme put out there by someone who was there. That is a fun element to the game. But for designing a bigger game, this is a very impressive design.

Who Is Rock Hard 1977 For?

I want to say it is for people who dig the rock and roll lifestyle, but really Rock Hard 1977 is for gamers. While the game isn’t the most complex, there is enough going on that would make it a bit of a teach for people who just like the theme. Not to say that it’s too complex, but know how to play before you teach it. And keep it simple.

But for lighter worker placement, I think that Rock Hard 1977 really hits that niche well. And I think for people who maybe look at a lot of worker placement games as too dry and themeless, this is going to fix that for them. They will get a ton of theme while getting to experience the mechanisms.

I don’t know how heavier gamers will take to it. The randomness is likely going to be the element that gets them because a plan can’t be perfect. However, I will caveat that and say, with the theme, there is likely going to be more general appeal to all types of gamers.

Final Thoughts on Rock Hard 1977

First off, I really enjoy this game. And I do believe that the theme helps some with that. I say some because I don’t think it’s the biggest element that makes the game good. The streamlined nature of the game and the actions really are what shine for me. I appreciate it when a game can give me good choices but no overwhelm me with so many complex options that I can’t figure out the next turn quickly.

Overall, though, the game just provides fun. And how a game provides fun, that doesn’t matter as long as it does. This does through both avenues. And the thematic flavor on the cards is a ton of fun. It’s a bit raunchy at times and obviously there is the whole wink and a nod to what candy actually is. But all of that leans into the rock star lifestyle that you are trying to achieve in the game.

My Grade: A-
Casual Grade: C
Gamer Grade: B+

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Why Organize Your Board Game Collection?

Maybe that’s the first big question to get answered. Why would one organize their board game collection? And for a lot of people it won’t be needed. I know a lot of people own the handful of games, or even twenty, that they really love. Well, twenty games fits into a closet and you can see them all.

For myself, and looking at my stats on Board Game Geek, I own about 500 different board games. To go along with that, I own about 250 different expansions. I don’t always keep my expansion boxes, when I can combine I do. But that is still probably 600 to 650 unique boxes that I need to think about and know where they all are. And as I sell and buy games, that changes where things are. A new game comes in and it gets shoved into a pile or onto a shelf with some random games.

So for me, I organize to know where my games are. And I’ll get to how I do that later. Right now, immediately after organizing, I do not know where all of them are.

Ways to Organize

So let’s talk about how people might organize. And let’s start with the most space efficient way. I think that some people just organize to maximize how much they can fit in to a space. Not a bad way of doing it, it’s simple, but then nothing logically flows to a given location on your shelf. You need a way to know where a game is and where it goes back to, once you’re done playing it.

On the flip side, I think that some people don’t organize for another reason. It’s tricky to organize, and like I found out, when you do organize, it’s a maintenance project to get things back to their right spot. As you add new games, you need a cubby to place it in or a shelf to place it on. If you don’t have that, you often just stack them randomly.

So what are some other methods? I think there are three that a lot of people will consider and pick from.

Mechanisms

The first is mechanisms in a game. If I own 10 deck building games, I think I do, all ten go to the same spot or area of my game collection storage. That way, I know when I when I want to play a game of a certain style, I go to that are and I can look at all of them. This makes it easy to pick a game of a given style around the mechanisms in the game.

The downside is that a lot of games use different and multiple mechanisms. I own several deck builders that have things like campaign or push your luck in them. So which do they go with? I think that deck building is the main mechanism. But if someone were to come in and look for a game, well, that mechanism might be secondary to them.

That said, this is an element that I do use for sorting. Not all the time, but often, and I generally keep it to broader things. So roll and writes, all in one section. Trick-Taking games, all in a single section. And campaign or story games (even this one blends some) all in a single section.

Theme

Next up you might sort by theme. This is another fun method to do it because it lets you know what type of game you are getting into. All the fantasy games go in one spot and all the sci-fi go in another. There are now a ton of nature games, so they go in another area.

But like mechanisms, you get games that have multiple themes. Something might be fantasy and horror, so which does it go in. There are games that are horror without fantasy and vice-a-versa. So it’s a judgement decision as to where they go.

That said, if you sort it well enough you can figure out a lot of that so it makes sense. And I think that theme is one of those areas where you might look at it and say, what mood am I in, and by that you mean theme more often than, say, mechanism.

Right now, I don’t think I have anything sorted around the genre sort of theme. I think my story and adventure games being together almost counts for that, but not quite. That is the closest area though that the sorting makes sense for that.

Weight

Finally, I think of the weight of the game. Now, depending on how you anchor your shelves to the wall, it might be actual weight, put your heaviest games on the bottom. But what I want to talk about is the complexity rating of a game. Board Game Geek has a number assigned to this that people vote on. Let me quickly disclaimer that number, the more you play games, the easier games are to learn. So take that number with a grain of salt.

But sorting by weight is what I did a fair amount of as well. I sorted my more mid to light games into one area, my heavy games into another, with then my exceptions, like my story and campaign games, roll and writes, ana few others split into specific ways.

Why did I do that? Well, because some areas of games are harder to sort. And a lot of that is when you get into those games of if they are heavier or not. So sorting by weight lets me know what section to look at for a game night. When I do my big game night, party games, roll and writes, but also those lighter weight games, those work the best.

How Do You Know Where They Are?

So obviously, I own a ton of games. I own more games than most people do and less games than a good number of people do. But how do I know where my games are. Some of that is just guessing, I know it’s a lighter game, I look in those mid to light wait games.

But I also know that I own enough that I might never pull a game off the shelf if I don’t know where it is. So it’s a work in progress, but I’m trying to go through and document where everything is. Some of that is because while sorting how I did, I also tried to optimize for space. I did a solid job, not too many piles of games left on the floor. That said, it is now causing me to not know where games are as much.

So I could do a book, and I might even print off a book/binder for when people I play with are looking for a game. But I am currently creating a spreadsheet. I know the games I own. So I don’t need a picture or description, though, once in a while that might be handy. But with my shelf set-up, I can number shelves and then everything is grid based. So right now a game might be on shelf one, cubby A4.

Final Thoughts on Organizing a Board Game Collection

Obviously, this isn’t needed, and there isn’t a right way. The Brother’s Murph did a fun video one time where they organized them all into color, so it was a board game rainbow across their collection. That is a fun way to do it as well. I’d definitely need a spreadsheet to know where everything was then.

So organize how it makes sense to you. I think even when people do own twenty games, they often organize them in ways that make sense to them. It’s just that twenty games is a whole lot easier to keep track of than 500.

I also want to say, I think that it was a kind of therapeutic experience. I think I know most to all of the games that I own. So it isn’t a situation where I need to figure out what I own. But it is a good reminder to move stuff around and see games. Some of it is seeing games that I forgot where they were that I really love, or maybe weren’t in the forefront of my mind. But that might just be a me thing for a nice relaxing project.

How do you sort your games?

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How To Play Forest Shuffle

In Forest Shuffle you are building out a forest in front of you of trees and creatures of all types. You might be getting butterflies and and beetles or foxes and rabbits, the choice is up to you. But you look to synergize what you are picking to score points.

To play out cards you are putting cards into a discard row and using them as resources. That discard row is filling up and wiping as the game goes along and as you draw cards. Drawing cards and reducing the draw pile is how the game ends. But back to playing cards, you pick a card to play from your hand and then discard the number of cards in the corner to be able to play it.

Trees you just add to your forest in front of you. But if you play down a creature or a feature of your forest, that attaches to your tree. And trees have four sides that you can attach cards to. The foliage, the base or roots and than either side. So you need to balance playing out cards to score with adding more trees.

Then you draw and play cards until you’ve hit the three winter cards. You won’t know when they show up. But once one or two of them show up, you know the game can end any time. When the game ends, everyone tallies up their points and whomever has the most wins.

Why Is It Getting Popular?

Let me start off and say, I like Forest Shuffle. So me asking this question isn’t me not getting why it is. And I think there are a few main reasons for it getting popular.

Firstly, a lot of people play board games digitally now. Not more than who play in person, but when you can play a game digitally, there is not as much of a time restriction. Especially if you can take your turn and then check later in the day to take your next turn. It doesn’t require you to just be sitting there. It is a chance for people

Another thing is that it is a nature theme. Nature theme games are very popular right now. The success of games like Wingspan and Meadow have shown that you don’t need a big nerdy fantasy theme to make people buy game. In fact, that is a turn off for some people. Nature is a more accessible and friendly theme. It might not be why some people game (or the only theme I want) but it does appeal to a broader audience.

Finally, Forest Shuffle is not a complex game. And I say that in a good way. It is one of two games I picked up with the same premise. It is play out cards to form a forest or tableau in front of you to score points. The other one is either version of Ecosystem, regular or coral reef. What you do on your turn is quite simple. However, what you do on your turn determines the points you get. So there are decisions to be made with how you want to score. It is a good game for simplicity of turns and decision making space.

What Might Not Work For You

But let’s talk about what might not work with Forest Shuffle as well. It is a similar mechanism to other games. I called out Ecosystem, but also Meadow you collect cards to build out a line of cards in front of you. Even Wingspan has you collecting birds and putting them into various habitats and scoring based off of that. So the mechanisms are not highly unique.

I think, for some the general mechanisms of those games across the board will not be what you want. For others, you like it, but the question is how many do you need. Do you need a third or fourth game that offers a similar experience to the other games. Now, it is a different complexity level than the ones I mentioned. Forest Shuffle is more complex than Ecosystem but less than Meadow or Wingspan. So it might fill a niche for you.

What I Want To See More Of In Forest Shuffle

Now, I won’t give a full grade on this. I want to see more in this game and I want to know how it will play after a number of plays. I bought the game, so I like it. Let’s just put it at that. But I feel l like it isn’t one I can give a fully grade to yet.

Mainly, how is Forest Shuffle going to play after five plays? I set five a a number, that is just arbitrary. But what I want to see is, if I play it a number of times, how does my strategy change? Can I have a strategy, I think I did the first game, or is it just luck with cards that come out. How do you balance grabbing cards or passing on cards to play out. What is the tempo of that?

There are a good number of cards in the game. And Forest Shuffle offers a lot of different ways to score. My question and this is the case with any game like this, will I see all the cards, and will there be enough variety to keep the game unique? If the game isn’t unique, than is the game going to stay fun to play.

Forest Shuffle could certainly be expanded. I expect if it does well in retail, not just BGA, that it is going to get expansions. More cards to mix in, or like Ecosystem, another box to play with and vary up the scoring as a standalone game. But that is my concern right now.

Do you like Forest Shuffle?

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Not Every Board Game Needs A…

Campaign Mode

Let’s start off with an easy one. Not every board game needs a campaign mode. And I do think that this is the one where most often it works out fine. Why, because games with campaign modes generally were given a campaign mode at the start of the process. It wasn’t tacked on later. But that’s going to be what I say needs to be done when thinking about a campaign mode, did you plan one from the beginning?

Minis

Let’s tackle another similar one. Does your game need minis?

Again, probably not. I get it that there are a bunch of people out there whose hobby is to buy board games and paint minis. Mine is to buy board games, dream about painting minis, and then play the board games. Not that most painters don’t play them, but there are those who painting is their hobby.

But not every game needs minis. You, the publisher, just need to make sure that you handle it well. A poorly cut cardboard standee doesn’t cut it. Acrylic standees, those are great, full art, see through so block less of the board, and they look cool. And because they are full art, I don’t need to paint them. Or screen printed meeples, also awesome. It’s about getting away from the grey plastic, but not phoning it in.

Solo Mode

I love a good solo mode. I play lots of games solo. You watch them over on Malts and Meeples YouTube. But not every game needs a solo mode. Does the game make sense to have one?

Let’s start by looking at cooperative games. That basically always needs a solo mode. But, really, it already has a two handed solo mode baked into the game. So even if there isn’t an official one, most cooperative games, unless there is specific hidden information, are easy to be as solo games.

But with competitive games, how much does it make sense to have one? Sometimes the answer is a lot. Without much effort or fundamentally changing the game too much, it works. But if playing the solo mode becomes so much work that it feels like you’re playing another game completely, skip it. Don’t pretend you have a solo mode. If solo mode works great but it’s very different from the multiplayer, congrats you developed a solo game, not a solo mode.

Room for Sleeves

This is the first one where I generally don’t like them. I like a good solo mode, or campaign, or minis. But room for sleeves, that rarely, if every matters for me. And the games I sleeve, in fact, I got rid of the insert for those games because it doesn’t work with sleeves, and I don’t care.

I care more about when you put in so much room for cards that the cards can’t stand up straight. There is so much space that keeping everything sorted doesn’t work.

When I am on a Kickstarter or Gamefound, I see comments asking for rooms for sleeves. I see a lot of them, often from the same few people over and over again. Publishers, most people don’t care about sleeves. And maybe you do. Maybe you want to get room for sleeves in your box. But still plan for the majority of people who don’t sleeve.

Blocks of soft foam are great. You can use them to keep the cards from sliding around. And if someone wants to sleeve, they can sleeve. There is room for that, but for a non-sleever, like myself, I don’t need to hope my cards don’t slide around and shuffle themselves in the box because of how much room there is.

The Same Theme

There are two main areas that I think this shows up. A game having generic fantasy as the theme. Or, and possibly more common, trading goods in the Mediterranean. That is a boring theme, and fantasy done wrong is a boring theme as well. It’s just generic, both of these are just very bland and generic.

You want your game to stand out. And maybe you’re a great enough designer that you don’t need that. You can turn out generic beige euro after beige euro. But most people, that means a game gets lost in a shuffle.

So, be creative in a way that makes sense. There is of course a game that is trading in the Mediterranean with cats instead of people, not creative. But then you have games like Oathsworn, Tainted Grail, Roll Player Adventures, Gloomhaven, and Too Many Bones that create unique fantasy settings. It is possible, it requires more work, but don’t create boring settings and themes.

Different Modes

This might be the same as having a solo mode. Or it might be the same as having a campaign. But it’s more than that. Some games come with six different ways you can play them. Cooperative, competitive, solo, campaign, roll and write, etc. that is just silly.

But rarely, if ever, do I think you should give a game you put out a cooperative, semi cooperative, and competitive mode. Solo or campaign, we went over those, they make sense, at times.

But when I see those other three for a single game and a single campaign, my assumption is, one of them is solid. The other two are probably poor, and the best one isn’t as good as it could be. Too much time went into creating three games in one box, that the game it started as didn’t have time to fully bake.

So when do you do this? I think the answer is never. Now, maybe your game is the exception. But rarely does a game need all of those things. And rarely are all of them ready at the same time. So do what Dice Throne did. I own a ton of Dice Throne. If I wanted to play it cooperatively, they did a separate campaign for cooperative. Make it it’s own thing so that you truly focus on a single game at a time.

What Do You Think Not All Board Games Need?

I think there are more. There are a lot of things and some that I only alluded to. Like, not every game needs a roll and write version of it. Most of them aren’t great. But what do you think I missed, do you have any standouts?

And I find that none of these are hard and fast rules. It’s more about making sure you are on a track and focusing on what the game is actually about. Don’t bog it down because you want to keep up with the Joneses in terms of how board games are made.

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Top 5 Epic Sci-Fi Board Games

5. Battlestar Galactica

Let’s start out with a different type of one. Battlestar Galactica (BSG) is a hidden traitor game. But it is built into an epic package where the humans are trying to evade the Cylons (robots) who have attacked. They leap from place to place and take actions around the ship to drive off the Cylons that seem to be one step ahead, in that they can always catch back up.

But throughout the game, it happens twice, players are given hidden roles. You might start out thinking you are a human and then half way through become a Cylon. And you are guaranteed that half way through the game, players might become Cylons, but at the start you might have none. And you still won’t trust the other players because they might be a Cylon.

4. Star Wars Rebellion

Star Wars Rebellion is called Star Wars in a box and rightfully so. This is a cat and mouse game of the rebellion trying to gain enough support and take enough subversive actions to take down the empire. The empire is playing a game of hide and seek with the rebel base so they can destroy it taking care of those pesky rebels once and for all.

It’s truly a galaxy big game that feels like Star Wars. Your story might be a little different but it takes from the original trilogy and lets you play it out your own way. Does the empire capture Han Solo instead of Leia? Will Kashyyyk get blown up by the Death Star? You control that story as you play through the game.

3. ISS Vanguard

This one is more of that space grand adventure. And you can watch some of the game over on Malts and Meeples YouTube Channel. I’ll have the first video down below. But ISS Vanguard is about what’s out there in deep space.

Humanity has decoded a secret message buried deep in our DNA. It was coordinates for a galaxy that was cloaked. Hidden far away from Earth, humanity works together to find those coordinates. When you get there, it’s a dying galaxy, and you need to figure out what happened and why you were sent there. You do that by exploring planets. But at the same time you need to maintain and improve your ship so that you can properly deal with the challenges to come and explore everywhere.

2. Clank! In! Space!

Now back to a smaller game, Clank! In! Space! is a deck building game and push your luck. You are thieves breaking into the ship of Lord Eradikus. He has a lot of treasures, but he certainly doesn’t want you stealing them. So while you are racing in to steal them you make noise that will tip him off. And when you tip him off and he activates, he draws cubes from a bag. Those cubes might be his color, which nothing happens, or it might be dealing damage to you.

This game offers that epic feel as you try and figure out how noisy you want to be, noisy cards are better but the more likely Eradikus will draw your cubes and knock you out. But also with being how noisy, how far do you want to push into his chambers to get the best treasure. A close treasure is worth fewer points. But the longer you are in the ship, the more chance for clank and noise to happen.

1. Stars of Akarios

Finally, we have Stars of Akarios. This is another one that I played in Malts and Meeples. And you can watch the first mission of that below. But this is another big box space game. And it’s an interesting one because it is split into three parts. There is tactical ship combat, there is space exploration, and there is planetary exploration.

The big thing you do most of the time is the tactical space combat. That is a a puzzle of using dice to position your ship so that you can flank the enemy and hit for more damage or are more likely to hit. While trying to keep them from being able to do that to you so that you can survive. And how and when to best utilize some things that don’t have unlimited uses for their best effect.

Space exploration is simply moving from space location card to location card. You come across points of interest, and you maybe can interact with them. It’s not a major part of the game. But the planetary exploration is an interesting puzzle as your characters are spending energy to find new missions and new bits of story to interact with on a growing planetary board as you explore around.

Final Thoughts on Epic Sci-Fi

I know that I’m missing one game that would likely make the list. I need to play Nemesis still because I think that could be another amazing experience for this list. It offers the Alien movies in a box, which is great sounding. Or SHEOL I think is sci-fi in nature as well.

But there are a lot of good epic space games out there. Games that I’ve owned that I didn’t mention would be things like Star Wars: Imperial Assault. It offers a good Star Wars story adjacent to the original trilogy, at least out of the box. It’s down on the map versus bigger space picture like Rebellion. Or I thought of a silly game like Galaxy Trucker. It’s space trucking and hoping your ship doesn’t blow up. But it’s a fun time that can lead to great stories as your ship will blow up.

What are your favorite epic sci-fi board games?

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What You To Pay Attention To When Picking a Campaign Game

This list isn’t in a particular order. Each of these things can matter, and a lot of them matter less than you’d think. I’ll explain as I go, but all of them are things to consider when picking out a campaign game.

Ideal Player Count

We’ll start with the player count. I think that this can often be an overlooked part of the game. The reason for that is that some games play at four. And then if you play with less, you have dumbed down versions of characters available. This might be a well implemented system, or it could be clunky. The main reason to find that ideal player count is that you don’t want to play four handed solo, unless you want to play four handed solo. Some campaigns will give you true solo, others will require you to play two or four handed.

Theme

This one is probably already in your consideration. Theme often is the first thing you can kind of tell from the box. But it is worth digging into further. Sometimes a game will be lighter or darker in theme than the cover looks. The easiest way is to use examples. Sword & Sorcery has a somewhat dark looking cover, for the most part that is a lighter and simpler story. Tainted Grail has a dark cover, that is a dark game. Know what sort of theme you are getting into.

Set-up and Tear Down

Now we’re onto one that is harder to find. How easy is the game to set-up and tear own. The simplest way to know is if there are inserts for the game. Now, some games just get inserts to get everything into one box. But if there are third party inserts to make the game easier to table, it’s probably heavy to get the table.

Now, this isn’t always an issue. I have a co-worker who has room at the end of a table to keep a game set-up. That speeds it up a ton. Or I own a gaming table so that means I keep a campaign set-up on the bottom player and put on the topper to play other games. But those are specific situations. If you can’t do that, then this is a bigger question.

Tutorial System

Next up is one that will depend on you again. But I appreciate that more games are coming with tutorial systems to get you up and playing the game. Sleeping Gods walks you through a few turns, Tainted Grail has a tutorial and same with ISS Vanguard and Jaws of the Lion teaches you Gloomhaven in five scenarios.

Is this needed, not always, but it depends on the complexity of the game. And campaign games are often more complex. That means that tutorials really do help get the game to the table. When you learn the game by playing the game it sticks better. And when you use the rule book only as a reference, it reduces the barrier to entry.

Game Length

To go with set-up and tear down, the question is, how long does a game take to play. In Gloomhaven, for example, it took about an hour or so per scenario when we knew what we were doing. We would get two done in an night and be done prior to 10 PM. Others it’s whole night, generally at a relaxed pace, from 7:30-7:45 until 11:30 for the game.

So know how long you have, this one is subjective again because you might have kids and need to check on them or have a babysitter so until 11:30 might not work as well as 10 PM. Know your situation when picking a game. And factor in that set-up and tear down time because if it’s a two hour session and thirty minutes to set-up and thirty to tear down, you really have a three hour session.

Campaign Length

This is different than the game length, and maybe what you thought I was going to talk about when I said game length. But this is how long is the overall campaign? Is it 12-24 sessions like Pandemic Legacy, or 50+ sessions like Gloomhaven?

This one is again one that will depend on your needs. There is no hard and fast rule, really with any of these, only things to think about and figure out what matters to you. But if you can’t commit to a very long game, don’t do so. Gloomhaven might be too long, but does Jaws of the Lion work for you as a shorter smaller box version? Know what sort of commitment you have from yourself and if playing with others, the group.

Complexity

Finally, and that again doesn’t mean least important, know the complexity of the game. I would recommend using Board Game Geek to get the weight of a game, but know that it is not always the most consistent. Meaning that a war game that is a 3 is probably much heavier than a board game that is a 3, and a campaign game that is a 3 is probably more complex than a regular board game that is a 3.

The reason for this is that people who rate those games, the war or campaign games, are used to that type of game. The difference between a campaign game and a regular game will be less though. I recommend using that number in comparing within the style of game. Figure out how complex you want to go for the game.

And know that a campaign game is likely going to be more complex. Something like Legacy of Dragonholt is pretty simple because it’s basically choose your own adventure. But that is an outlier when you look up campaign games. Most are going to be a bit more complex, just decide how complex you want to go. And know if there is a tutorial because that can help make it simpler to learn.

So What Game Do You Pick?

That’s such a good question. And while I gave you a lot of things to look into, that won’t always make it easier to pick. There are a ton of campaign games to look at out there. And some of them might be for you, others might not work out for various reasons.

I think the last piece of advice or two pieces are less around about the game, and more about researching. So with my list it is looking at the specifics of a game. Here is about your picking or starting that digging in process.

Firstly, narrow your scope. All of them might look great. But ask yourself some basic questions, how many do I play with and filter the results to match your player count. What theme do I want? Filter your results even further. Get it down to 3-5 that look really good and dig into those.

Secondly, while Board Game Geek and Nerdologists.com will give you some advice, it is words, generally. Or video reviews on Board Game Geek, and that doesn’t show you the game as much. So I recommend tracking down game plays. Malts and Meeples and Meet Me At The Table are two I recommend for actual game plays.

Hopefully this will help with picking a campaign game. There are a ton of them out there and I’ve played a number. So if you are curious about one, leave a comment or question one of the ways below. I tend to respond quickest to Facebook or Twitter.

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The question is, what can make a game stand out, and how much does a game need to stand out?

Does Your Board Game Need to Stand Out?

The answer in my opinion is that it does. Though standing out can mean a number of different things. You need a game that immediately catches your eye with the box. This could be bright and flashy, or it could match the type of game that people expect for it. Euro games often don’t have the most striking boxes, but you know what is in them.

But generally, you want something that stands out on a shelf. If you can get someone to pick your game up off the shelf and look at the back, that is step one. And that might be enough to get a number of sales for the game.

The next part of this question is do you need to stand out with game play and components, and what does that even mean? The short answer, as we’ll dive into what it means coming up, is that maybe you need to stand out. Not all games need to stand out, but you need to match the standards expected. Beyond that, you can certainly help your game with both of those.

What Can Make Your Game Stand Out?

Theme

For me the first thing that I think of is theme. If your theme is different, not only will the box probably catch my eye, but also it’ll keep me around to see how that game works. But it isn’t just that, it is also for more standard themes. If you do a fantasy game, how do you not fall into the trope of fighter, rogue, wizard, cleric? Or if you are doing a space game, how is it not Star Wars?

Examples

First Rat

First Rat never would have caught my attention except for the theme. And even then, with the company the game is coming from, I have nothing really against them but their games don’t catch my attention, I wouldn’t have been that interested. But the theme of a rat building a rocket ship to go to the moon meant that I’d be willing to try it.

And I am glad that I did, but that’s not really the point. The point is that you took a game with basically some resource gathering and victory points and put a weird theme on it. And when I got into the mechanics, I realized that I really enjoyed the game. The theme definitely helps. If this were just pushing up a track to get resources to trade at a Medieval market, I would be less interested.

Gloomhaven

Gloomhaven is an example of a theme that is pretty common. It is fantasy. But Isaac Childres built a world that is completely unique to Gloomhaven. The characters are all different and it feels like no fantasy that has been done before.

But it also doesn’t feel like it’s trying to be that. Let me give an example, theoretical, of how this works. It has characters who can heal, but they aren’t the cleric. It has better tanks, but they aren’t a barbarian for a fighter. Each of them does something that feels different than your classic D&D tropes. And it does that without making itself too confusing or convoluted. A lot of fantasy games go with grand fantasy names and a backstory that doesn’t matter that much.

ISS Vanguard

ISS Vanguard is a game that actually isn’t in my hands yet. It will be soon, but it isn’t yet. This does fall into that epic space game. But it isn’t so much the good versus evil that you end up with in Star Wars. It probably is closer to a Star Trek where there is more exploration.

But what feels different about this one is that exploration. You travel throughout this galaxy or area that you’ve decoded a signal to. The call is making you want to know more, but the directions are less clear. ISS Vanguard is all about exploring space and figuring out everything that is going on. Plus maintaining your ship, keeping crew happy, everything like that as well.

Etherfields

Etherfields is very much a world that is completely different than anything out there. A world where you dive into your dreams and nightmares and are exploring. This would again fall under fantasy, but in such a different way than your standard high fantasy settings or epic fantasy settings like Lord of the Rings.

Etherfields pivots a long ways away from the standard which I think is good. It is going to draw people in because it feels completely different. It doesn’t need to walk that line of fantasy that we know and the fantasy that it is. Being it’s own thing so completely means that it doesn’t need to build off of anything that we know.

Components

Components are another way that you can stand out. This could be a mountain of plastic minis, it could be amazing nature artwork, it could be a volcano. Whatever it is, when you flip over to the back of the box and see it, it catches your eyes. Some of these fall into the next category, the Gimmick, so I’ll talk about those then. But there are plenty of games that stand out because of the pieces that they have in the game.

Examples

Wingspan

Wingspan is an easy one to put on the list. Firstly, there is all of the amazing artwork. This is an example of a cover that immediately draws you in. But going along with that, it isn’t just on the cover. All the cards show off Beth Sobel’s artwork. And all of the birds are different, so there is a ton of artwork. Then you add in the eggs and the bird house dice tower. The game gives you great components.

Century: Golem Edition

Century: Golem Edition is another one that gives you amazing components. I wanted to come up with a game that has metal coins in the box, and Century does. And I could talk about the artwork here as well. But the artwork isn’t the other component that immediately draws you in. In Century Golem Edition you are collecting games. And the game pieces are vibrant and fun tactilely to play with. Collecting those and trading them around really makes the game stand out.

Marvel United

Finally, I mentioned minis, so if you want a game with a lot of minis, Marvel United is a way to go, especially if you backed the Kickstarter. Chibi minis might not be everyone’s style, but I enjoy them. And I think for a light, family weight, easily accessible board game, they work great. So if you get everything, you can play as whatever hero you want. And for a fan of the IP, that is easy for me to want them all.

Mechanics

Let’s not overlook mechanics. There are a number of games that come out with a mechanic that just feels different. Some of these again border on gimmick, but they are important to the game, and generally not the only game that uses them. But a slight twist on a mechanic can make a game stand out.

Examples

Cartographers

Cartographers does two things that I think make it unique for a roll and write game. The first is not totally unique to it. But the idea of how it scores. You score two things for spring, then one of those things and a new thing for summer. But when you get back to winter, you score one of your objectives from sprint again. So you kind of plan out your scoring a little bit as you go. And not everything scores every round. But also, you write on your opponents board as well as your own. When a monster comes out, you figure out the bad spot where to place it.

Gloom

Gloom is another example of two things, neither which is highly unique, but still are enjoyable. In Gloom you try for the fewest points possible. That is fairly unique. You want your family to die the worst deaths with the most negative points possible. Gloom also uses transparent cards. So you layer on these negative effects on your own or positive on your opponents. You still see your character through the cards, and the negatives that you’ve played before. Other games do this, but I enjoy it a lot in Gloom.

Gloomhaven

Gloomhaven makes the list in a couple of different categories. But for mechanics, it’s all about that card play that you do. You pick two cards to play. One you will use the top half, generally an attack. The other you will use the bottom half, generally movement. But you want to pick with flexibility. Because the situation at the start of a round, as monsters and other players go, might not be the same at the end of the round. Plus, it is just a dungeon crawl without chucking a handful of dice.

Gimmick

Another way is by a gimmick, and this is kind of the last one. Gimmicks in board games can be great, or they can hide the fact that there might not be much game there. So a gimmick can be a bit of a risk. There are three games I can think of passing on because I wasn’t sure about the gimmick in them. Two haven’t fulfilled yet from crowdfunding. The other one I backed the second time it was on there.

Examples

Canvas

Canvas uses that clear cards, something that I put in as a mechanic. But it is also a gimmick, one that is needed for some games. In Canvas, it is needed for the mechanics of the game as you try and layer symbols to complete pictures and score points. It also creates really wild pieces of artwork which counts for a lot as well. At least in terms of the fun of the game.

Potion Explosion

Position explosion on the other hand is really a toy piece in the game. A little chute that drops marbles down into a tray in different columns or paths. Then you pull out the marbles trying to get like colors to hit and collect those. And you put them on potions to make those positions. The whole thing of the game is there there is toy factor, but the game has a lot of fun game play as you combo potions you’ve made into being able to complete more potions.

Ice Cool

I probably could have put only dexterity based games on the list, but that isn’t fair. By their nature they tend to have more of a gimmick and more of that toy factor to them. Ice Cool, though, really stands out as having a gimmick to it because the boxes are the board. You take off the lid and there are more boxes inside. You put them together in such a way that you have a school. It is unique and fun.

Final Thoughts

Anything you can do to get a game noticed is probably not a bad thing. Though, some companies take it too far. It is important to put out a game first. But there are things that can be done, sometimes that are ignored, to make a game stand out more. And get more people to pick it up off a shelf to try and play it. That is really the most important first step is getting it in front of the people who will be interested.

What are some things that have made a game stand out to you? Any games that had the perfect packaging but then were a dud?

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Pros

• Horror Theme
• Price

Cons

• 3-5 player range
• Board Aesthetic

The Page

This is a well done page where they highlight the game play first and then show off the minis and everything for the game. You get some idea of what is in the game right away but it doesn’t show off like it’s a minis game.

However, the aesthetic of the game is lacking. I think that the characters look good. The sculpts are on the minis are solid, not that dynamic in some cases but solid. But the other components, the board, and the cards, they are underwhelming. It almost feels like two different games. Yes, you can see the symbols do match fairly well with the character art, but it’s so minimal on the cards and board that it just doesn’t look as polished as it should.

The Game

Dead by Daylight is then underwhelming me as a game also. Mainly the game seems like it could be tense in what it does. Killer going around and wounding people to take them back and sacrifice them. But it looks like it’s a play a card and do that action. There is going to be strategy in what actions you take when, but less than the game would seem like.

I am not sure that this feels like a more complex game than something like a Pandemic game. So maybe that is more of it, Dead by Daylight doesn’t seem like as modern a game. In fact, if they could save some money and give me tokens with character artwork or pawns instead of minis and make this a $35-$40 game instead of $50, I’d be more interested in it.

Back or Brick

So, no suspense here, this is a Brick for me. Mainly, I think that the theme, while I like horror, is just okay for me. This is a really dark version of horror with sacrificing characters, and things like that. Just too dark when it comes to horror, I prefer more monster than serious slasher.

But to go with that, I feel like this game is one that doesn’t need to be on Kickstarter. $49 is not bad for the retail version of the game. But when it comes to retail if Miniature Market, CoolStuffInc, or GameNerdz get it, I can get it cheaper than I can on the Kickstarter. And they will get this game.

The biggest thing, though that makes it a brick for me is the player count. 3-5 player games really limit who I can play it with. Obviously, that’s a lot of one versus all game where you need at least 3. But a two player variant officially in the game, I’m sure someone will come up with one, would be smart.

How about for you, is Dead By Daylight a Back or a Brick?

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Now, I won’t complain too much about some of those themes. I like the Cthulhu or Lovecraftian stuff that Fantasy Flight Games does. Marvel, I’m clearly a big Marvel fan as you can see from here and here. But that doesn’t mean that there aren’t other themes or really IP’s that I’d like to see games put it, or more games coming from.

The Dresden Files

This one does already have a game. And it has a game that I like. I think that The Dresden Files Cooperative Card Game is good. But the theme is something that the players bring to the game. The game does remind you about what the story you’re playing through is, but if you don’t know the story, the cards won’t help that much. I want something that tells more of the Dresden Files story.

What Would I Want?

I don’t know that I want this to be a dungeon crawl type of game. I feel like it would work for Dresden, but not be as interesting. Plus, there are other themes that I’d want a dungeon crawler. What I would love is to see a Detective: A Modern Board Game style Dresden Files game. Dresden is always puzzling out mysteries. And we already have books of short stories that are other cases he’s done. It would work well for creating new cases, and it could be a massive case tied together over 5 smaller cases.

And then you could have Harry, Murphy, and some of the other characters as the ones who give you things to activate. And using magic in the game would be interesting and different. There definitely needs to be some sort of combat mechanic which base Detective really doesn’t have, but it is something that could easily be added. But for a lot of it, and a lot of what Harry does is investigate and get punched.

Sword Art Online

Another one that technically has a board game. But it is a small game from Japanime Games that needs the rule book to be updated or just fixed. And the game gives you a tiny bit of the SAO theme. You play as the main characters, and you can switch, but that is it.

For those of you not familiar with Sword Art Online, it is an anime where the characters get trapped in a video game. If you die in the video game, you die in real life. And the only way to escape is to beat the game by climbing to the top of the tower/levels and beating the final boss. There are more seasons as well with different things, but that’s a good starting point for knowledge.

What Would I Want?

I’d want a boss battling game. Something along the lines of Primal, Kingdom Death Monster, or Townsfolk Tussle. Really, mostly along the lines of Kingdom Death Monster. If you put that theme on KDM, I’d be paying $700 to get everything for it.

Kingdom Death Monster is a boss battling game, but it also has you building up your tribe/colony, adding armor, weapons, and more. That would work well for an RPG style video game which is what Sword Art Online is. While everything you’d be doing is working towards the next boss battle, what you do outside of that matters as well. And the depth of story and world in SAO, side quests that might appear as boss battles, all of those are good. I think that you could really create a good game for SAO in that style.

Tomb Raider

Yes, another one with a board game already. Though, I should say, a board game I think. I forget what happened with it, I demoed it at GenCon in 2019, and I was severely disappointed. And there are a few others a well, but none that have made waves in board gaming. And Tom Raider is a very cool theme. Especially when you think about the newer video games.

What Would I Want?

I think I’d want this to be done in the style of 7th Continent or maybe more like 7th Citadel. I could have said Detective as well, because it is a mystery most of the time. But I think that treasure hunting, getting dropped on an island that you don’t know what is going on. Or going to that bigger set piece area, that is cool.

7th Citadel adds in more story. And I could see that working really well, because you get that exploration, but you could make it feel like a bigger story. In fact, you could drop all the base cards for health, some skills, and some characters. Then you could add in other packs to add in more stories, new treasures to hunt. Almost make it a combination of 7th Citadel and TIME Stories. But actually pay off on a big story.

Locke & Key

Maybe all of these will have a board game done on them, because Locke & Key does. But this is another one that the game looks lacking and too abstracted. Locke & Key is a horror series where there are magical keys. These keys can do all sorts of crazy things, and the Locke family is the protector of the keys. But there are almost Lovecraftian type creatures from beyond, that want to get their hands on the keys and take over.

What Would I Want?

I think I’d want a one versus all game. Maybe even with an element of questioning if someone one is infected or not. So it could end up being a Battlestar Galactica type of game or Unfathomable with hidden traitors. Like, who has been infected by the other world. But I also think it could maybe work better as a one versus all game.

But let’s break it down more so, I think we have one person who is playing an infected villain. Someone under the control of the other world. And then they are trying to get the keys from the Locke family, since they can’t just take them. And at times the Locke’s will need to figure out how to banish them and go to the Omega door, which seals away the other worldly creatures. They need to open the door to get more material to make a new key, but there is a chance someone else can be hit. And if they are hit, then they become other worldly.

Of course, it might not be obvious if they are hit. So every time you do that, you risk getting someone else infected. And if someone else is infected, they start working with the group still, but being less optimal. How do you hide it, when do you switch sides and just start working obviously for the bad guy. It’s more about trying to stop each other versus kill them.

Disenchantment

I know this one doesn’t have a game. And honestly, it is so weird, it might not work all that well. Disenchantment is about a princess who has some lousy friends who go on adventures in all sorts of weird places. And then eventually people want to kill them, everyone wants to kill them. It’s a lighter story, and a completely weird world.

What Would I Do?

This, to me is a great one for a dungeon crawler. They end up in a world of gnomes, elves, castles, hell, other castles, and more. They really get pulled around everywhere. Give it a nice world map and see where all you end up, how you can make it through challenges, and if the monsters will kill you. Or your own mother, or really anyone will kill you.

And because you can go to hell, and they do in the show, I think that’d be a fun way to keep a dungeon crawler moving forward. If you die, it isn’t the end, you just need to get back out of hell. Maybe make a hell book of scenarios. Then every time that you die you play through another one of those. It could be determined by where, or how you die, but it could also just be done randomly. And if you die too many times you eventually get stuck.

Keeper of the Lost Cities

I did just write about this. So if you want to know a bit about the series, you can find that here. But the basic idea is that a girl is plucked from her not so normal human life. She finds out that she is really an elf, she gets into elf school. She makes friends, and yes this sounds like Harry Potter, but the world is better and more interesting. And the magic, each elf has a different skill or could have a different skill. And the world is in unrest and their are secret organizations trying to mess with the status quo.

What Would I Want?

This is tough, mainly because I don’t want to repeat too much of what I’ve already done. And this is a really cool world to play in. Firstly, I would want character creation for this game, or at least some ability to pick. Maybe something like Midarra which is very story heavy and you can build out characters however you want.

The elves unlock their powers, but they also have skills that they all can do. It just depends on how well they train themselves. So really setting up stats in different ways and then picking what power you want from being an empath to mind reading or inflicting emotions on someone else. Plus so many more.

I think this would kind of ben another dungeon crawl type of game. Maybe a bit like something like Arydia which isn’t out yet and I might late back, possibly. The concept of Arydia is that you dig deeper. You spend time at the world map level, you make story decisions, and then you get down to a narrower focus.

What Theme Would You Want?

Do you feel that there are some that need more love? I could probably spend time and come up with more. Stormlight Archives by Brandon Sanderson is getting another one, otherwise it’d be on my list. The Call to Adventure version is cool, but there is so much that could be done in that world. And there are plenty of IP’s that could be treated better. I’m going to call out Japanime a little bit here, I think that they often put out okay games with a big IP. I’d love to see some of their anime IP’s get a better developed game.

Let me know which of my ideas sounds the coolest. And let me know what you want to see a game made about that doesn’t get enough love.

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