Go West
In the cooperative deduction and exploration game Corps of Discovery (1-4 players), by the designers of Mind MGMT, you will finally learn the truth about the Lewis and Clark expedition. As documented in the graphic novel Manifest Destiny, they were sent west by president Jefferson to destroy demonic monsters, with the help of the indigenous peoples.
There are several characters with special abilities to choose from, and you will get three gear cards (in a one-handed solo game, less when playing coop). Each chapter of the game has its objectives to be completed and challenges to pass (the base game comes with a tutorial and two chapters, and there are more in expansions). You’re going need resources, and to find those you need to explore a map, using your deduction skills which way to go. There are several maps included in the game, and more will be available to print off a website later, to keep things fresh.
You can die of thirst or starve (both not recommended) and a chapter may have other lose conditions. But if you survive and meet the chapter’s objectives, you get to score victory points and see how well you’ve done.
Personal opinion: I am not really interested in puzzle and deduction games, but sometimes a theme or smart mechanism will win me over. If I’d have read the comics, I would probably have backed this as I do like alternative history stories. But I haven’t and killing monsters by gathering the right resources doesn’t really draw me in.
Corps of Discovery: A Game Set in the World of Manifest Destiny will launch on Kickstarter this Tuesday, April 23, together with 4 expansions.
This is the only game I may back this week (well, among the known releases of course), but given it will include 6 expansions or so from the get-go, I expect a pricey All-In, which makes it too risky for a game I'm not sure about.
I definitely want to read the comics though!