Watch your Back: Week September 4 to 10
Oh boy, here comes an avalanche of games launching in the coming days, so brace yourselves.
***
Let's start with a solo heavy hitter: Shem Phillips' Legacy of Yu. This is a campaign game in which you are playing Yu: a legendary hero who has to build canals to protect his land from flooding while also fending off hostile tribes. Gameplay is based on multi-use cards, resource management and worker placement. The campaign consists of 7 chapters and it is resettable. It is launching on Kickstarter on September 6.
Personal opinion: This looks like every solo eurogamer's wet dream. I suspect the KS campaign will offer plastic cowrie shell tokens which may make me back instead of wait for retail. We'll see.
***
Moving on to An Age Contrived: a 1-5 player fantasy engine building game in which you are a god trying to exert power and influence over mortals in order to become king of the pantheon. You will gradually upgrade your character, use tokens to fill in action cards, and build monuments. This is a competitive game, and solo rules haven't been revealed yet. It is launching on Kickstarter on September 6.
Personal opinion: Looks good for multiplayer.
***
In a similar vein, we have Dawn of Ulos: a 1-5 player tile laying and card management game set in the world of Cartographers and Roll Player. You are a god, rivaling with other gods for territory control and power over humans. You will be placing down terrain tiles, purchasing faction cards, and pitting factions against each other. It is launching on Kickstarter on September 6.
Personal opinion: I don't see how these area control games are good for solo, so it's a pass for me.
***
Let's move on to Forsaken: a 1-4 player post-apocalyptic adventure game in which you are moving through the wasteland, having encounters and trying to leave your mark as a legend. This is a narrative campaign game in which you will journey around the map sandbox-style, stopping at points of interest and resolving skill tests by throwing dice in a dice tower - with the aim of gaining the most victory points. It is launching on Kickstarter on September 6.
Personal opinion: This is Game Trayz' first foray into games publishing, so at least we know what to expect in terms of components. I haven't seen any mention of the solo mode, but it sounds like it could easily work if you're into CYOA, which I'm not.
***
Then we have the Winchester Mystery House standalone expansion for the roll 'n' write game Floor Plan. This is a 1-6 player game in which you roll two dice, and decide whether to add new rooms to the house, or add features in rooms with the aim of completing scoring cards. The game will be launched on September 6 on Backerkit, alongside the Winchester Mystery House comic book.
Personal opinion: The comics and game looks like a neat combination, but I'm not a big fan of BYOS.
***
We mentioned the launch of the 2nd edition of Quodd Heroes sometime in July but it was pushed back and is now launching on Kickstarter on the 6th of September. This is a 1-6 player abstract strategy game in which you tumble, slide and move humanoid cubes over obstacles. The second edition comes with optional painted cube minis. Gameplay is scenario-based and can be played competitively or solo/co-op.
Personal opinion: The cubes look cute but I'm not very much into programming games.
***
Another game that we featured last week is the Age of Ambition expansion for Space Explorers which comes with a solo mode. The theme is the Cold War space race, and the expansion adds 7 new modules to the base game among which are goals, crises, leaders and scientists. Details on the solo mode haven't been revealed yet. It is launching on Gamefound on September 6.
Personal opinion: This is a good-looking game but without any info on the solo mode, I can't really have an opinion.
***
And the last game for today is the Master Craft expansion for the 1-5 player action selection game Merchants Cove. This is a big-box expansion featuring a new supplemental board, new Merchants, Wizards and Rogues. It is launching on Kickstarter on September 7.
Personal opinion: I remember being impressed by how fancy the base game looks but have no desire to solo it.