It's lonely out in space: January KS Grumpy
Athena: JW, January sounds like your ideal Kickstarter month. It has not one, not two, but at least six sci-fi games launching. Not to mention Deep Space D6: Armada that just went live.
JW: Huh, what? Please let me sleep.
Athena: Let's start with One Deck Galaxy. You like One Deck Dungeon but this is not a reskin. It definitely has the same mediocre art style.
JW: I happen to like that art style. I'm more afraid of the changes. ODD is perfect. Forest of Shadows has added complexity which makes it less fun. What if this game makes you think?
Athena: You'd sell your soul for heaps of translucent coloured dice anyway.
JW: Oh yes.
Athena: Warp's Edge, the new solo hero after Proving Grounds. Bag building. Tokens in, tokens out, tokens in, tokens out...
JW: You make it sound like work. But just the bad parts of it. Oh, what's this now? Lift Off! Get me off this Planet! You said it is a family-style game?
Athena: Yes.
JW: But I read in your preview that you can screw your way off the planet. How family-friendly is that?
Athena: It sure creates families.
JW: Neo-morphosis. Adventure, minis. You cooperatively fight an alien menace. At least the theme is original.
Athena: Two more competitive sci-fi games with solo variants. Neither says how the solo mode works. Rocketmen...
JW: Is that Elton John: The Boardgame?
Athena: That might have been fun. The other one is Ark: Awakening. Impressive artwork.
JW: Gameplay of Ark looks like Nemesis, but more puzzly and less scary. Exactly what the game doesn't need. Yawn. Sorry. I'm starting to get sci-fi fatigue... What else do we have this month?
Athena: Would you rather play as a vampire in Masters of the Night?
JW: I'd happily drink some blood now, yes.
Athena: Speaking of barbaric customs, how about Conan?
JW: Arnie! Does this come with Beyond the Monolith?
Athena: Yes. I don't really like this system. Same rulebook for all their games. Why?
JW: Well, it's not called the Polylith.
Athena: Return to Dark Tower. The Tower has blinking lights and makes sounds. It has an app as well. People who have played the original are nostalgic.
JW: Instaback. Of course the app will not work any more in four years. Then we can be nostalgic too.
Athena: Okay, let's close with Oath: Chronicles of Empire and Exile. Cutesy animeeples. In the solo mode you play against a bot. Looks like an interesting game, best played with real people.
JW: Let's wait for fans to fix it, like they made the better bot for Root.
Athena: Oh, I almost forgot: Apex Theropod! Outland Entertainment didn't have international shipping quotes, and changed the pledge tiers in the KS Preview four times already.
JW: It's reassuring to know you're in good hands.
