Kickstarter Weekly--Jan. 31 2014

Well another week has completely sped by here at TOG--and what a week it's been! Podcasts...reviews...all kinds of stuff. Today as we finish up the week we once again bring you our old faithful Kickstarter Weekly piece, to help you navigate through the countless campaigns competing for your gaming dollar. Let's dive in!

Featured Campaign!

Draco Magi - Robert Burke Games

Well, we just published our review of Draco Magi yesterday, and since then they've unlocked their first stretch goal... Coincidence? Probably. Regardless this campaign is already a juggernaut, with lots of stretch goals that everyone will get to enjoy, but if you back the campaign you'll get to enjoy them for $10 less than folks who wait until it hits retailers.

The campaign ends on Feb. 21 and it's a mere $15 to get Draco Magi shipped to your door! The full campaign, stretch goals and details can be found right here!

Four Tribes - Grey Gnome Games

Four Tribes is a light strategic card game of influence and area control. It's driven mostly by cards, with some extra wooden bits thrown in. The buzz around this game is pretty positive and they've already funded and unlocked some stretch goals.

There's just a few days left to get in on this one--it ends on Feb. 6. A pledge of $30 will get you a copy of the game, and there are also some deals to be had with other titles as add-ons. You can find all the details of the campaign right here!

Tortuga - Queen Games

Well, wouldn't you know it, another Pirate Game made it to Kickstarter Weekly. Queen Games, who brought us the Spiel Des Jahres winner Kingdom Builder in 2012, is Kickstarting Tortuga, a transport-and-plunder dice-roller for both young and old gamers. Or so they say. The images on the campaign page show a great, bright and colorful game with lots of custom bits & dice, player screens & boards. They've funded and unlocked all but one stretch goal already, so if you want to grab a copy, it's time to jump on board!

Ends Feb. 13 a few $41 level pledges left for the full game and stretch goals; then it goes up to $50. Find out all the details right here!

Why?

Kombat Kittens: The Card Game - Large Animal Games

The internet has--inexplicably--generated an obsession with kittens doing things. I (Jeremiah) seriously don't get it. (Firestone doesn't get it either!) Nor am I very often entertained by this phenomena. But for those of you out there who find no end to the amusement afforded you by... cats. This one is for you. Kombat Kittens: The Card Game, is... a card game. Featuring artwork that is half kitten half drawn in battle gear. And then you make them battle and stuff. The Campaign video epitomizes the underbelly of the internet's cat "thing".

The campaign ends Feb. 20.  And you'll cough up $25 for a copy. Find all of the "adorable" details right here.

Don't Miss Out!

Just a few quick reminders of some campaign we think you'll be sorry if you missed out on!

Ultimate Werewolf Deluxe Edition - Bezier Games

Another spin on Werewolf that touts gameplay for up to 75--that's seven-five--players! This campaign is making its final push and ends Monday Feb. 3. $25 Click here for the details!

Zeppeldrome - 12SP Entertainment

Come on! This is a great game that you can pick up inexpensively. We're not sure why Zeppeldrome isn't getting the love on Kickstarter we think it so deserveredly deserves! Click the link for all the details on this fun game that is great for players of any age and skill level!

This campaign ends Feb. 16. $29 for a copy of the game! HERE is where the details are!

Thanks for reading TOG, let us know what you're backing or if there's something awesome out there we missed this week!

In the meantime our contest for a free copy of Relic Expedition is still going!

Just follow, like or subscribe your way into the contest by clicking one or all of the following: Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, YouTube, or typing your email in the box over on the right!

Thanks for reading, and play some games this weekend!

Kickstarter Weekly—Sept. 20, 2013

Well here we are again, wrapping up another busy week at TOG. You'll be seeing our 2nd podcast episode pop up in iTunes really soon, (seriously it's uploaded, just waiting on the Apple folks to do their thing) and we thought, "Hey! Let's do that Kickstarter Weekly thing that we do. So here it is.

Featured Campaign

Ninja Dice - Greenbrier Games

This looks like a fun little dice-driven fast-paced game. Players are rolling dice, trying to grab loot, and beating up the other players in dicey-ninja action! The components in the video look slick, too!

A pledge of $25 gets you the game, The campaign ends Oct. 29 and you can check it out: right here!

Current Campaigns

Shadows Over the Empire - Artipia Games/MAGE Company

I'm drawn to this game for a couple reasons: It looks cool, and when I say "looks" I'm referring to the bright and shiny artwork; the game looks fun, too. Card-based area control, with some intrigue and influence tossed in for good measure.

The campaign for this ends Oct. 10, and a pledge of $32 gets you a copy shipped to your door. You can find the campaign here.

Planet Defiant: Onslaught of Vanas - Pangalactic Entertainment

Galactic exploration for the sake of the future of Earth's population...in a board game. Lots of cool plastic minis included in this one. So if that's your thing, check this one out! It's a bit pricey though, so be ready.

The campaign ends Oct. 20, and an $80 pledge get's you a copy of the game. You can check the campaign out right here.

8 Bit Mafia/8 Bit Werewold - Michael Scott

Because we needed another deck of cards to help us play Mafia and Werewolf, there's this campaign. The good news is, it's 8-bit type of fun, and it's an inexpensive campaign to jump in on. The bad news is, it's another Werewolf/Mafia iteration.

A pledge of $6 will get you both decks, and the campaign ends Oct. 31 and you can check it out here. 

Thanks so much for reading us here on the blog, watching us on YouTube, and listening to us on our podcast!

Let us know what Kickstarters you're backing in the comments below, or connect with us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram!

Looney Labs Launches a Kickstarter!

A few days ago the folks over at Looney Labs, headed up by Andy Looney, launched a Kickstarter campaign for the deluxe edition of "Are You a Werewolf?" If you haven't played the original game, it's essentially a werewolf version of the classic party game "Mafia," but uses cards to assign roles instead of an Moderator-type person. The deluxe edition, is actually pretty clever. It uses those little picture viewers they try to sell you at every theme park in the world. So instead of being handed a card, that could be marked/nicked up, you grab a picture viewer, take a peek and see who you are. I imagine these picture viewers could get nicked up too, but I would think they would be more durable, and it's pretty much impossible for someone to "accidentally" look at another players role.

Personally, I'm a fan of the old school Mafia game, but this could be a cool way to facilitate a Mafia game, instead of the old "if I tap you on the head you're the Mafia..." routine.

You can check out the Kickstarter page RIGHT HERE.

And as always, thanks so much for reading our little blog, we truly appreciate your support!

Spies Like Us: Reviewing The Resistance

I have a regular gaming group, and we’ve been getting together every week for eight years or so. Every once in a while a game comes along that completely captivates us, and it’s all we want to play. Loopin’ Louie did that. Crokinole did that. Dominion did that. And our latest obsession is a game called The Resistance.

This terrific little card game takes everything that's good about games like Battlestar Galactica, Werewolf, and Mafia and boils them down to a 20-minute gem.

Your team is part of the Resistance—a force that opposes the ruling government. If it’s easier, you can think of it as the Rebel Alliance fighting against the Empire. The problem is that the Empire has planted spies among your rebel forces. The spies know who each other are, but the Rebels have no idea who the spies are—just that they’re among the group.

The game is very abstracted. You’re going on five missions—they might be sabotaging facilities or infiltrating a base. It doesn’t matter and the game doesn’t specify. The point is that the Rebels want the missions to succeed, and the spies want the missions to fail. The first side to have three missions go their way wins.

At the start of the game you randomly choose someone to be Leader. That person will suggest a team to go on the first mission. People will convince and cajole, trying to get the Leader to put people they trust on the mission. But you don’t know if the Leader is a spy and seeding the team with a fellow spy!

Eventually the Leader proposes a team and everyone gets to vote on whether that team goes on the mission. If a majority of the players vote yes, the mission goes on. If a majority vote no—or the vote is tied—that’s a vote of No Confidence in the Leader. The leadership passes to the next player and he or she proposes a new team for the mission. It can happen that it takes a few times to finally land on a team that gets voted through. But the Rebels have to beware; if the vote fails five times on any one mission, the Spies automatically win because the Rebels aren’t organized enough to be effective.

So if the team passes, they go on the mission. This consists of handing out a set of cards to each person going on the mission. One card is a Pass, and the other is a Fail. Players secretly choose one and put it in the middle. Then the Leader shuffles all of the cards so no one knows who played what card, and they’re revealed.

As long as they’re all Passes, the mission succeeds, but if there’s even one Fail, the mission fails. (During the fourth of the five missions it takes two Fails for the mission to fail, but that’s the lone exception.)

Whether the mission fails or succeeds, you now have a bit more information. Those three people went on a mission that failed, so at least one of them must be a Spy. But who? That’s the vanilla game, and in the vanilla game the Spies win A LOT. SO the fine people at Indie Boards and Cards included some Plot Cards, which are meant to even things out a bit. Some of the plot cards force people to show another player their Role card (which reveals whether they’re a Spy or not). This creates great tension. Is the person a Spy? Did they show their card to another Spy so they wouldn’t be revealed?

The Spies are trying to sew seeds of confusion, throw people off the scent, or even (and this one of my favorite tricks), throw your fellow Spies under the bus after they’re served their purpose, which makes you seem trustworthy. Then you stab the Rebels in the back later. In my opinion, it’s much more fun to play as the Spies.

It’s definitely worth noting that the game involves lying. Keep an eye out for a short article where I discuss the role of lying, and the internal struggle I have with it. This is a fantastic game to play with a youth group, just be aware that you’re kind of encouraging deception.

This is easily my most-played game of all time. I can’t see it ever growing old.

We’re going to be giving away a copy of this great game, so stay tuned to see how you can get your own copy! And thanks for reading!