If you've been even slightly connected to the tabletop gaming community these past few weeks, you've heard about the revamping and relaunching of the classic 80's boardgame Fireball Island. Fireball Island:  The Curse of Vul-Kar funded in an hour, and as I'm writing this (April, 14) with 19 days left, the funding level is approaching $1.5 million, and it is the top-funded project on Kickstarter.

The game, the components, the artwork, the whole package is pure eye candy! Perfectly capturing the classic 80's look and tone that draws us back to yesteryear, when times were simpler, and we rode bikes without helmets, and the Nintendo Entertainment System was the pinnacle of technological entertainment. 

Yes. Fireball Island: The Curse of Vul-Kar boasts new, revamped game-play, and mechanisms to create a newer, and (hopefully) better gameplay experience. But the question I'm positing is: In a vacuum, outside of the influence of nostalgia, does this game explode on the scene like it has? Is it substance, or nostalgia that has propelled it into the spotlight? I think it's a mixture of both, personally. But I also think nostalgia weighs more heavily into it.

So what is it about nostalgia that is so powerful? We've seen it explode into pop-culture with shows like Stranger Things, and The Toys That Made Us, and films like Ready Player One, just to name a few. There is certainly something to be said for the touch of our own personal history back to when times were easier, less fast paced, and stressful. Something even comforting about it. 

Again don't misunderstand me, I think it's great that gaming is in the spotlight, in front of all Kickstarter to see, but I find the draw and power of nostalgia fascinating, and worth discussion. Someday I hope to get a hold of a copy of this latest iteration Fireball Island to gain a full look at the situation, but until then feel free to check out the campaign and maybe grab your own piece of nostalgia!

So what do you think? Am I way off base on this one? Or is nostalgia as powerful as I think it may be? As always thanks for reading!