Watch your Back: Week October 2 to 8
It's an Oktoberfest of games this month, with the Essen Spiel taking place and lots of crowdfunding releases. The first week is somewhat slow, however, with just four games coming out. Let's take a look.
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The second edition of Biergarten has been appropriately timed to launch on Gamefound on October 4. This is a 1-5 player tile laying game in which you are trying to create the best Biergarten area and score the most points. The new edition comes with a solo mode but rules haven't been revealed yet.
You start with a hand of two tiles and receive one more from the supply or from an opponent's deck. Then, you place a tile in your grid and try to match shapes and colours, or move the tiles in the grid to get the optimum position for scoring.
Personal opinion: Cheerful visuals and theme but I don't think I would enjoy it. Like going to Oktoberfest and staying sober.
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Moving on to New Avernus: a 1-4 player competitive post-apocalyptic city building game. You choose one of the four available factions, and proceed to build your city on the ruins of previous cities. Random events may offer aid and resources, or bring about negative consequences.
At the end of the game, a meteor strike destroys part of every player's city, and the remains are scored. It is launching on Kickstarter on October 4.
Personal opinion: There is hardly any info on this game so I don't really have an opinion. The ending sounds very random.
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Then we have Harrow County: The Game of Gothic Conflict. This is a 1-3 player asymmetric wargame in which players go head to head for control of Harrow County. One side is the relatives of a witch who was burned by the villagers, seeking revenge. The other side is an 18-year-old girl who is defending the village with the aid of her allies.
The story is organized in chapters, with new rules and abilities introduced as the game progresses. Eventually, a third character who wants to rule over the village shows up, as well as (optionally) the dead witch herself. Each faction controls an army of undead creatures and uses tactics cards to move on the board and attack. It is launching on Kickstarter on October 4.
Personal opinion: This game is inspired by a comic book, so it will appeal mostly to people who have read it (Zerbique?). It sounds very intriguing but I'm not sure how it is for solo.
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And lastly, we have Patriot: a 1-6 player semi-cooperative game in which the life of the President of Karmonia is under threat, and players are trying to either save or assassinate him. Solo rules haven't been revealed yet.
Each character has their own hidden agenda depending on their allegiance to the President. In each round, they will spend action points to perform actions in order to fulfill the objective of the current mission. If the President lives, his allies win, and if he dies before the end of the game, his enemies win.
Personal opinion: I don't see how this is suitable for solo unless it can also be played as a co-op.