Watch your Back: Week September 17 to 23
Boy, do we have a lot on our crowdfunding plate today... Let's get started.
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Almost everyone's beloved designer Ryan Laukat has a new game coming out. Creature Caravan is a 1-6 player tableau building game in which you are trying to help the creatures you carry in your caravan escape to safer grounds.
You will be activating cards by placing dice, trading for goods in the market, and fighting zombies along the way. The Gamefound campaign on September 18 also includes the World of Arzium RPG and a new edition of Islebound.
Personal opinion: I have never played a Laukat game, and will wait to see how the solo mode works in this one.
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On the same day, September 18, on Kickstarter, we will see the launch of Bone Wars. This is a 1-4 player hand management and worker placement game in which paleontologists dig for dinosaur bones and compete for fame.
You will be discovering fossils, publishing papers, and trying to outdo your opponents. There is no info on the solo mode yet.
Personal opinion: It doesn't sound well-suited to solo play.
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Two small soloable games, Sirens and Defrag, are launching on September 19 on Kickstarter. Both support 1-2 players.
Sirens is a card drafting game in which you are playing against the Orpheus AI. You will choose cards to place in your tableau to form a song with matching symbols on the cards. In Defrag, you are trying to put together file fragments in your 1995 computer by arranging cards in a grid.
Personal opinion: I appreciate the compact nature and the solo mode but I can't say any of these appeals to me.
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The 1-4 player tableau building game Canopy returns to Kickstarter on September 19 with a standalone expansion called Evergreen.
Featuring stunning Vincent Dutrait art once again, Evergreen plays similarly to the original Canopy but this time you can place 3D trees and slot your animals on your board. You will be selecting piles of cards to add to your tableau and grow the most fertile rainforest. I assume that the solo mode is also similar to that of Canopy, in that you compete for points against an AI.
Personal opinion: I'm a sucker for this artwork and considering picking up the base game from the stores. There is high chance that I back this.
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Moving on to Awaken Realms and their latest storybooky game, Dragon Eclipse. This is a 1-2 player cooperative deck building campaign game in which you are a dragon tamer.
You will be training different dragons, each with its own deck of cards, and, as you go through the scenario book, you will be fighting enemies in the arena. It is launching on Gamefound on September 19.
Personal opinion: My experience with Awaken Realms games is that they are far from perfect. The two I have tried (Nemesis and Tainted Grail) were to some degree fiddly and could have used more playtesting. I'll take a look at this one but I'm not terribly excited about it.
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Transmissions returns to Kickstarter on September 19 with a second edition. This is a 1-4 player rondel game in which your robot workers gather energy from the board which is then used to improve them. In the solo mode, you are competing against an AI.
Personal opinion: The cutesy robots are the main draw here, although reviews say it is a good solo game too. I'm not sure I need it though.
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Final Girl fans are in for a (trick or) treat, as Season 3 is launching on Kickstarter on September 19.
It comes with 5 new feature films (inspired by movies such as Hellraiser) with artwork by various artists (including Dutrait). You need the core box to play this solo-only game, and the Kickstarter campaign will also offer alternative minis for Season 1. You can read more details in this Kickstarter update.
Personal opinion: I haven't jumped into this series because I didn't like Hostage Negotiator. A pity, as the setting here is enticing.
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Super Squad High is a 1-4 player cooperative game in which teen superheroes date their classmates and fight villains. Not much is known about gameplay except that includes dice rolling and worker placement. It is launching on September 20 and you may check out the preview on Backerkit.
Personal opinion: No angsty teenagers for me.
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And last, the Encore and Off the Rails expansions for the 2-4 player cooperative boss battler game Vagrantsong are launching on Kickstarter on September 19.