Watch your Back: Week January 30 to February 5 (Part 1)
A busy week in terms of crowdfunding is ahead of us, so let's dig in to see if there's anything enticing among the releases. All the games below are launching on February 1.
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Starting off with Captain's Log: a 1-4 player pirate-themed game in which you sail the high seas, loot treasures and fight other ships to become the most notorious captain. You will customize your vessel and navigate through the ocean, adjusting your course according to the weather conditions and your shipload. You will side with or oppose colonial powers, and meet friendly or hostile NPCs.
In the solo mode, your goal is to defeat a number of enemy nations - you choose how many, but the rulebook says that the main point is to have an experience and not so much to win.
Personal opinion: neutral. I've never been charmed by doubloons and coarse manners, so I'll be sailing away from this one.
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Moving on to Rogue Angels: Legacy of the Burning Suns, a cooperative sci-fi adventure game in which you take control of a team of characters and go through missions in order to save the galaxy from attacking enemies. Each character has a set of activation cards which determine their playstyle. The cards allow the character to move, attack or interact with objects, and each of these actions is modified by the roll of custom dice.
When a card is used, it goes to the cooldown spots at the bottom of the player board, and will eventually return to the player's hand. Enemies activate according to their behaviour cards. Even though it is a campaign game with legacy elements, the scenarios are replayable.
Personal opinion: it seems to be a fun co-op game but it doesn't excite me that much. I'll check it out when it launches to see what the finished product looks like.
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Back to piracy with Seas of Havoc. This is a 1-4 player worker placement and deck building game by Rock Manor Games in which you are competing with other pirates for the most renown. In the combat phase you will be fighting your rivals, and in the island phase you will be exploring lands to gain resources and upgrade your ship. The solo mode is played against one or more Ghost ship AIs, and is run by a deck of cards.
Personal opinion: Maximum Apocalypse is one of my favourite games, so I was a bit interested in this one. However, the theme and the competitive mode are keeping me at bay.
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Enough with the pirates, here's Dinosaur Exhibit: a 1-6 player roll 'n' write game in which museum curators compete for a recently discovered dinosaur skeleton. Each turn, you will be rolling two custom dice, choosing one, and marking the result on your player sheet. When the marks form a certain shape, you will place the associated dinosaur tile on it to score points. The solo mode hasn't been revealed yet.
Personal opinion: nothing for me here. It sounds fun for a family and friends game, but I wouldn't buy it for solo.
... stay tuned for Part 2.