Watch your Back: Week November 6 to 12
November is bringing some heavy hitters to crowdfunding, I expect most of the projects mentioned below to gather a lot of traction. Let's see what they are.
***
Themeborne Games, who you may remember from Escape The Dark Castle, return with the board game adaptation of The Last of Us video game. The Last of Us: Escape the Dark is a 1-5 player survival adventure game in which a smuggler is trying to escort a teenage girl across a post-apocalyptic United States.
The game offers open world adventuring by completing chapter cards in locations such as the sewers, the suburbs and the university. Encounters with enemies are resolved by rolling custom dice and adding modifiers. It is launching on Kickstarter on November 8.
Personal opinion: A definite back for me. I like both the theme and the aesthetics. Gameplay seems to be standard fare which doesn't bother me, since I expect an immersive experience overall.
***
Then we have Helionox: Chronicles, a 1-4 player cooperative deckbuilding game in which architects of the future are facing ruthless corporations while the sun is slowly dying.
The player board represents your ship, and the market offers upgrades in tech and operatives. When an enemy moves into a region, they bring devastation. Enemies are defeated when you manage to pay the cost of their region. It is launching on Kickstarter on November 8.
Personal opinion: I'm interested in this, as it's a soloable deckbuilder. I may back if it's affordable.
***
Moving on to Ceres: a 1-4 player sci-fi worker placement game in which you are trying to become the most successful asteroid mining corporation.
You may either use workers from the common pool or from your own board to generate resources, or perform actions such as building facilities, trading, or launching a probe. At the end of the 3rd round, the player with the most influence is the winner. Solo rules haven't been revealed yet. It is launching on Kickstarter on November 8.
Personal opinion: Not my kind of game.
***
Unconscious Mind is one of most highly anticipated games of this year, and it's scheduled to launch on Kickstarter on November 8. This is a 1-4 player worker placement game in which you play as a psychoanalyst in early 20th century Vienna, trying to become the most prominent in your field.
In each round, you will be placing speech bubbles on various spaces to activate actions, or advancing the inkpot on your board to gain the associated bonuses. You also get to perform actions in Vienna, meet Freud, and try to heal patients from their neuroses. In the solo mode, you play against a bot.
Personal opinion: Stunningly illustrated, and intriguing theme, but the bot keeps me at a distance.
***
Fit to Print is a 1-6 player real-time puzzle game in which you are placing tiles to form the front page of a newspaper.
The news feature woodland creatures, and players flip over tiles from a central pile, choose the ones they want, and then place them on their paper and try to cover it up. A balance between pleasant and unpleasant news is necessary so that you don't score negative points, and you have to complete your board within 5 minutes. The game offers an alternative mode of play for people who don't like real-time, and solo mode puzzles as well. It is launching on Kickstarter on November 8.
Personal opinion: Puzzly games don't have much staying power on my table, so I'll pass on this one.
***
Copan: Dying City is a 1-4 player worker and tile placement game in which you are one of the ruling families of the dying city of Copan. Resources are plenty at the beginning, but in later rounds they dwindle, and the city is hit by natural disasters, war, and political corruption.
Over the course of the game, you will gather resources and exert influence by forging alliances with other cities or playing in the ball court. When disaster strikes, you will have to manage your riches before the inevitable decline. Solo rules haven't been revealed yet. It is launching on Kickstarter on November 10.
Personal opinion: Interesting premise but perhaps better multiplayer?
***
And we will end today's post with the Bugs and Slugs expansion for Ducks In Tow. The expansion adds bug tokens you can feed to your ducks and gain special abilities. It is launching on Kickstarter on November 8.
Zerbique tells me Legends of StormCity is also launching on November 8. This is a roll 'n' write game in which you fight against the villains of the city.