It’s time for another curated look at some gaming projects currently on Kickstarter. Today’s offerings include a return to the classic World of Darkness, a tiny new RPG that isn’t from Gallant Games, the ultimate claim to your meeple color, and some more expensive things.
Technocracy Reloaded – These ‘now on Kickstarter’ articles aren’t on a set schedule; they come out when I feel like I have something worth highlighting. And Technocracy Reloaded is the main reason I made wrote this one. I’ve said that one of the mistakes I will never, ever repeat is skipping an Onyx Path World of Darkness project, and now I pass that advice on to you – if the World of Darkness is a thing you’re interested in, never, ever skip an Onyx Path World of Darkness project. They also do a great job, and the deluxe versions only available through the Kickstarter are always fabulous. Technocracy Reloaded is a supplement for the 20th Anniversary Edition of Mage: the Ascension, or M20. It focuses on the traditional ‘bad guys’ of Mage – the Technocracy and its desire to clamp down on the meaning of reality – whose presentation has generally softened over the years in an effort to have them be more functional as a player character option (I still mostly like them best as the bad guys). The deluxe book (and a PDF) is $75. The project ends on May 28, 2020, and is well and fully funded.
Tiny Thunderscape – In the interest of full disclosure, let me note that I’ve known author Shawn Carman from back from when my gaming life consisted mostly of playing Legend of the Five Rings and Shawn was the head of the game’s story team. So I’m happy to be log rolling here. When he and Kyoudai Games picked up the license for Thunderscape, I happily backed the Pathfinder (1E) version of the world, and was quite satisfied. Thunderscape is a steam-driven fantasy setting, with an industrial revolution powering a comeback from a recent apocalyptic sort of event (the Darkfall). Now, Thunderscape is coming to the Tiny d6 universe, with Kyoudai Games working with Alan Bahr (of Gallant Knight Games) to create a Tiny Dungeons 2E version. Backing at the PDF level will set you back $15, or you can splurge and get POD versions. The project doesn’t end until June 12, 2020, but it’s already funded, so if you pledge now you can see what stretch goals pop out.
Mr. Meeple Board Game Shirts: Season Two – I am always red, and now I don’t have to wait to stake my territory – my opponents will know it before I even sit down at the table. Perhaps you are always blue, or with to proclaim your allegiance to a particular game genre, your love of dice, or your inability to take your turn in a timely fashion. But I still get the red meeples. Short sleeves are $19 and long sleeves are $25. The campaign runs through June 4, 2020, and is fully funded.
There are a few other projects I think are worth checking out, but I’m going to throw a proviso up front that they’re all fairly expensive (and I say that knowing that in the first entry of this article that I’m urging you to buy a $75 book). You know your budget, but I generally advocate thoroughly checking out any game you’re considering dropping over $100 on. All of these projects are fully funded.
- Sea of Legends – An app-driven narrative board game of magic, mayhem, and pirates, Sea of Legends features a broad cast of captains, lovers, and nemeses. The story of each game will be different, as the players enter into the app who they are (the captain), along with their lovers, nemeses, and which NPC factions are vying for control of the Caribbean. The app will combine all of these various options as the characters go on adventures across the high seas. Also there’s probably some burying of treasure, smashing of enemies, and sacking of ports. The all-in pledge is $165.
- Adventures in Neverland – A story-driven, mostly competitive game of exploring Neverland. Each player takes on the role of characters like Pan, Hook, Tinker Bell, and Wendy. Each character has an adventure deck, and over the course of the game the player seeks to work through the branching paths of their main story, but may also have side quests or interact with other players’ stories. The all-in pledge is €99 and the project ends on May 27, 2020.
- High Noon – This one is not a narrative or story-driven board game, I promise! High Noon is a card-driven Wild West tabletop game of tactical combat. Each player has a gang, and there are a stack of miniatures for the gang members, piles of cards to drive the action and equip that gang, and another stack of terrain minis. The all-in pledge is $279, and the campaign ends on June 4, 2020.