Stranger Things have happened; Fireball Island comes back to life on Kickstarter

April 3, 2018 David Neumann 9

Tabletop • I’m not telling you anything you don’t already know when I say 80’s nostalgia is a hot commodity right now. It can be done the right way (Stranger Things) or the wrong way (Ready Player One), but either way it seems to be a means to print money. Restoration Games is jumping on the bandwagon with their latest blast-from-the-past, Fireball Island. You might remember this one from your childhood or just been unable to avoid the hype on #boardgame Twitter. Either way, it’s gone live on Kickstarter today and it’s a doozy.

Kickstarter Roundup: What’s hot in tabletop gaming on the crowdfunding front

March 22, 2018 David Neumann 7

Tabletop • There are a million discussions out there about Kickstarter and its effect and influence on the world of cardboard gaming with both pros and cons in regards to the crowdfunding giant. Whatever side you may fall on, Kickstarter isn’t going anywhere soon and more and more publishers are finding the pre-order-esque system of Kickstarter a more risk-averse way of publishing than the standard route. From my vantage point the only downside is that many games are Kickstarter only, which means that if you don’t have the time or money to jump on a campaign when it’s live, you’re out of luck and will have to buy the game on the secondary market, which is usually populated by sharks with no interest in said game, only looking to profit and profit big. Then again, it’s only a game, and missing one of the thousands of releases each year isn’t going to ruin anyone’s life. So, I thought it would be a good time to look at some of the games currently on Kickstarter and let you know what’s out there that looks good. I’m not sure if this will be a weekly or monthly feature (or a recurring feature at all), but I’m desperate for stuff to write about, so I’m using you as guinea pigs. Thanks! Of course, there are a ton of games out there on Kickstarter and I can’t cover them all. Thus, I’m only grabbing a handful of the games that have piqued my interest.

Iron Harvest lumbers onto Kickstarter

March 13, 2018 Alex Connolly 0

PC, Playstation 4, Xbox One • Everyone is kickstarting something these days. You, me, this guy. But King Art Games are crowd-funding something rather special; an RTS based on the fire-and-steel pulp of Jakub Różalski‘s 1920+ world [This is the same setting you’ll find in the board game Scythe, as well as its upcoming digital port. -ed.]. Think pot-bellied, soot-blasting mechanica. Cast-iron monstrosities a continuation of Victorian pomp and Edwardian arms development. The Iron Harvest is upon us.

One Deck Dungeon hits funding goal and is now coming to mobile

November 14, 2017 David Neumann 0

iPad, Android tablets, PC/Mac/Linux • With 16 days to go in the Kickstarter campaign, One Deck Dungeon has successfully funded. That’s not huge news considering that when we spoke about it on day 2, it was already well above 50% towards its goal. What is surprising is the update Handelabra released today to announce that funding was successful. Originally, One Deck Dungeon was being pitched as a Steam title with mobile being something they would look into down the road. Apparently, the road was rather short because today’s update announced that One Deck Dungeon is coming to iOS and Android.

Ooze is also apparently a vaping product. It advertises dual quartz technology, so I guess it's twice as timely as a watch?

One Deck Dungeon and the Digital Giants

November 6, 2017 Kelsey Rinella 15

I mistakenly thought I might be able to tempt my daughter into a game of One Deck Dungeon. An all-female cast in a relatively simple and quick dungeon crawl seemed like it might be the key which unlocked the gamer she could become. It didn’t happen, but I can make lemonade: I now happen to own a copy of the tabletop version of a game with a much-watched (including by us) digital kickstarter campaign. So this isn’t a review of the game as a tabletop experience, but specifically a look at its fitness for digital translation.

Root is a new cardboard Kickstarter that looks pretty great

November 3, 2017 David Neumann 5

Tabletop • Over the past year I’ve become rather fond of a certain breed of game labeled as COIN games. As you most likely already know, these games deal with counter insurgency warfare where getting the locals on your side is just as, or more, important than putting the enemy in pine boxes. Root is an upcoming tabletop game that offers some light COIN mechanisms while also fulfilling my furry quota. In other words, it’s a win-win.

One Deck Dungeon Kickstarter goes live

November 2, 2017 David Neumann 1

PC/Mac/Linux • Due to some unforeseen issues that popped up yesterday, I wasn’t around the Stately offices to sound the alarm when Handelabra unleashed their latest endeavor, One Deck Dungeon, on Kickstarter. I’m back today, so…um, Handelabra has launched the One Deck Dungeon Kickstarter. Yeah, I really should have practiced this intro more.

Evolution Kickstarter begins, trailer emerges

September 12, 2017 David Neumann 5

iOS, Android, PC/Mac • It seems like we’ve been talking about a digital version of North Star Games‘ creature builder, Evolution, for longer than Darwin sailed on the Beagle. Well, guess what? It still isn’t ready for release and, in fact, is looking for a little extra help to push it along via a brand new Kickstarter campaign that started earlier today. We saw Evolution in action at Gen Con 2016 and it looked pretty darn polished then, so what the heck is going on?

Unsung Story is no longer Playdek’s problem

August 2, 2017 David Neumann 4

When someone sits down to write the history of digital boardgaming, Unsung Story is going to have at least one whole chapter all to itself, and not to sing its praises. Unsung Story is the Yoko Ono of digital board games, taking the most prolific and best board game app designer, Playdek, and basically driving a stake through their heart. Sure we got the awesome Twilight Struggle since then, but otherwise the Playdek output has slowed considerably since the Unsung Story Kickstarter kickstarted. Yesterday Playdek announced that Unsung Story is no longer their problem.

Keith Burgun’s latest is heading to PC

May 1, 2017 David Neumann 0

PC, Mac, Linux • I remember talking with Owen back in the day and listening to him gush over Empire: A Deck Building Strategy Game as if it were the second coming of XCOM. Was his love for Empire a tad overzealous? Perhaps, but just a tad. Designed by Keith Burgun, Empire and his other titles, 100 Rogues and Auro, have all been the cream of the App Store crop since their release. Thus, you’ll be happy to hear that Mr. Burgun is working on another title and he’s currently funding it via Kickstarter. You’ll be less happy to hear that there’s no plan to bring it to mobile.

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