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Before we continue, we need to set a few ground rules, okay? It’s a mental health and physical safety issue, so don’t get uppity. Only a certain type of board gamer can continue with this article. It’s because we’re dealing with new and upcoming releases, and they may not be suitable for your current situation. If you have unopened games or anything you haven’t played yet, then I’m afraid you must turn away, as far too many temptations lie ahead.
Go on. I can’t be held responsible for those who refuse to follow this advice. Really, I won’t take any of the blame.
Hmm. Nobody walked away. Not one of you. Alright, the consequences are yours and yours alone…
Peaks
The Kickstarter has been and gone. You had a chance to pledge for this great-looking game that really nails the climbing theme, and you missed it. Or have you? It’s Late Pledge time, and here’s a reminder of Peaks from Tangerine Games.
Immerse yourself at the foothills of the tallest mountains with 100 beautifully hand-drawn illustrations from around the world. Each artwork is a masterpiece, capturing the essence of these majestic peaks and transporting you to breath-taking landscapes, each beautifully illustrated by Nilanjan Malakar. Each mountain card has its rewards listed at the top. When taking the CLIMB action, you’ll choose either the X or Y reward before scaling up the mountain. Choices of reward sounds intriguing. This could gear you up for long-term strategies. For example, reward X may set you up for the next peak, but reward Y might help you towards a higher, more challenging peak with greater rewards.
In order to climb, you’ll need to satisfy the requirements listed at the bottom of the card. All mountains require energy to climb, but as they become more challenging, you’ll also need experience, acclimatization, and gear. This leads me to believe that you’ll start out on the easier mountains, and with each success you can try tougher challenges, maybe involving a push your luck element.
Although Peaks is a competitive game – there can only be one winner – you’ll need to work together from time to time to be the best. This is where tagging along comes in. This is where the game excites me most, that balance between teamwork and when to strike out on your own for the win. It sounds as if there’ll be plenty of intriguing decisions to make, and a variety of strategies to test. ‘If I’d chosen to team up for that particular climb, then I would have gathered the resources necessary for something bigger on my own. Maybe next game I’ll choose differently…’ You’ve been gifted another chance to nab Peaks, so don’t miss out again. Go for it here.
Divide and Conker
There’s this news story that crops up in UK newspapers every year or two. It’s about conkers, a classic British game where (in case you somehow don’t know) you get a horse chestnut on a string and swing it at your mate’s nut (yep) and see which one bursts apart first. Techniques have been dreamt up over the years for how to harden your nut, but that’s a story for another day. These news articles claim that conkers has been banned in all schools and how this is political correctness gone mad and blah blah blah. Some games you can’t ban, because they’re simply too classic.
Just like its inspiration, Divide and Conker from No Drinks On The Table Games is a 1v1 game, just like its inspiration. The bonus here is that you won’t end up with cracked knuckles and bruised fingers – unless the game gets out of control. At the start of the game you’ll take turns picking cards and then assemble your conker army, remembering that each unit must have a string attached. Then choose your opponent, roll those dice, and do some damage! Word has it that you can harden your conkers with glue, but there’s a price to pay for cheating…
I love the cartoony artwork depicting conker factions at war. The conker characters are great and full of personality. The custom dice are super cool too, and carry over the theme nicely.
Divide and Conker has generated a good buzz from recently board game cons, and has surpassed its first target already. Go check it out here.
Aspens
I’ve talked about this before (yeah, yeah, yawn time) but I love me some outdoors walking. It really helps to reset the mind and the soul. There’s nothing like a woodsy hike, framed by trees in bloom. The natural world is a strong thematic choice for me when it comes to games, then.
Aspens from Ludivore Games is the perfect cozy strategy game about growing a tiny forest.
Aspens is a quick-playing strategy board game for two players, where you harness the wind and sun and carefully balance growth with expansion to outgrow and outwit your loved ones.
The game mechanics include a shifting sun, wind and an evolving game board, all of which will have an effect upon your trees, and which I can’t wait to put into practice. Variable starting setups give you a fresh new puzzle each game. With millions of possible configurations, every game feels unique, like the forest you grow to get there. Countless hours of depth as you discover new strategies as you play.
I’m personally looking forward to placing the variety of super cute tree meeples and watching a mini forest grow, and feel like even this aspect of the game will make for compulsive replayability. Make sure you sign up so that you get updates about Aspens as well as alerted to the release date here.
Storyfold: Wildwoods
Another upcoming release, Storyfold: Wildwoods, comes from Open Owl Studios and this one’s a little bit different. It comes as a beautifully illustrated storybook, with game boards positioned on either side of the lower page to expand the play area, and various cards laying in position to advance the adventure. In this game you’ll have a bear as a companion. I know, I’m already sold on this as well, just from that single fact. There’s a lot more to the game than just a fantastic sidekick.
This is a narrative adventure game in which you play as a young girl named Luma, who along with her bear companion, Brom, sets out to heal the forest from a dark and mysterious shadow.
As per the game studio, Wildwoods is the first game to use the Storyfold™ system. Storyfold has been created as an entirely new way to experience storytelling with solo tabletop gaming. Each Storyfold game is designed with three pillars in mind: Immersive story and art, engaging gameplay and accessibility.
The combination of the Storybook and in-box tray enables setup and teardown in less than 2 minutes, with each chapter’s cards packaged and separated for ease of use. If Storyfold: Wildwoods has captured your interest the way it has mine, then head here to sign up for notification of when the campaign opens.
Sprocketforge
Magic doesn’t come out of thin air, you know. Somebody’s got to put in the hard work to produce all that mana, and that somebody is a bunch of goblins who are forced to do all of the work. This is why everyone should get into a union, people, think about your rights.
Here’s Sprocketforge from the crew at Sophisticated Cerberus, and while the Kickstarter campaign has successfully finished, the Late Pledge is open now.
In Sprocketforge, players are artificers building a factory with enchanted gears to produce mana and complete orders to earn renown. Players will add, upgrade, and swap gears in their factory to create an efficient system.
However, mana is messy and clogs up your vents, requiring players to balance earning points with keeping their machine clean. The noble houses of Sprocketforge will reward the factories with the cleanest system as players vie for favour to earn more points and additional actions.
There’s a fair amount of player interaction in this one, and you’ll want to keep a beady eye on what the player before you does and what the player after you might intend to do, as this can shape your strategy as well as allowing you to disrupt that of your opponents. Each player’s actions result in lesser follow-on actions for other players, so there’s no long waits between turns here, the engagement should remain steady throughout.
The cog mechanic really makes this game stand out on the table. You can put your Late Pledge in for Sprocketforge here.
Moon Death and Dragons
To finish, I want you to unlock your imagination. That’s right, set it free, let me take its hand and lead the way to a D&D style fantasy world. The night is stormy and hostile, so we’ve retreated to the fireside warmth of a bustling inn. We’ve managed to secure a table and struck a bargain for several tankards of ale. How to while away the hours before we resume our great quest? Get those custom dice out, get your 20 gold pieces on the table, and let the gambling commence! Don’t worry, I’m sure it’ll only be a small barroom brawl at the end…
There are four variants to choose from. First up is Moon Dice, where you can spend gold to refine your roll or lock in your results, but choose wisely. Next is Pair and Dragon, where you’ll test your luck and courage to claim the hoard of gold. Third option is Kingdom Tax, in which every roll is a royal decree and the fate of the kingdom rests in your hands. Finally you can choose to play Dead and Alive where you must roll doubles to survive, although the dead have a chance to buy themselves back in as long as they have the gold. You can pledge right now, but get a move as the campaign ends soon. Check it out here.
Hopefully there’s been something for everyone amongst this little lot. What you do with this information is between you, your conscience, and your personal finances. Until next time, my little board horders…