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Go and have a look at your shelf.
It’s okay. I know I was a bit stroppy last week, saying I want nothing to do with you and your board game habit, but it’s different today. I’m on your side. I’m you. So go on, take a look. Let’s confront it together. In one of two possible ways they will be shelves of shame. The first kind of shame is the set of shelves that were meant to stay tidy and only for the best ornaments. That lasted a month. Everything is on there now. There’s an open packet of peanuts stashed behind a picture of the cat. There’s a selection of screws that probably belong in these shelves.
The other shame? That’s board game shame. These are not generic shelves. These are hobby shelves, and they’re full of products that are still shrink-wrapped, or have only been played once despite promises that you will definitely – definitely – play again this week or next.
There’s a gap. I can see it. Can you see it? Makes the shelf look… odd. Unbalanced. We need to solve that, don’t we?
Capybattle
Let’s start with something that might be genuinely insane.
Capybaras are like big mad hamsters, right? (Maybe that’s just me.) They’re all peaceful and that, and sit around chewing stuff most of the day. What a life, I’ll have some of that. But what if that’s all a front? What if they’re really a bunch of power-crazed lunatics, grasping for a crown and eager to vanquish their enemies? What if they have an uncontrollable thirst for the Tangerine Throne? (Honestly, these are the questions that keep me up at night.)
Capybattle from Creative Jam is for two players and should last about 20 minutes, so ideal for a quick game. In Capybattle, the goal is to dominate five quarters in a row alongside your trusty Capybara knights or fortified allied structures. The core of this two-player game lies in the 10 randomly placed actions. Each turn, the capybara monarchs move from capybara to capybara to activate corresponding actions aligned with the column and row of each capybara. These actions include moving capybaras, baiting your enemy, building structures, using secret passages, or simply taking a nap (obviously). Building new structures will prove vital, as this will summon more knights to support their leader in the quest for victory (and that Tangerine Throne). Choose your actions wisely then, there's no room for regret.
Oh, and somewhere on the board awaits the cap-mermaid… Yeah, told you it was crazy.
Does this sound like it’s in your own particular nutty wheelhouse (the meeples are extra cute)? Then head here for more info and a heads up when the crowdfunding kicks off.
Stamp Swap
If you’re here, if you’re a boardie, then you’re already a collector. I can see it in your eyes. We all make those promises to our families, I’ll sell these ones when I’m done with them, honest. Yeah, right. Once that game crosses the threshold it’s staying forever. This isn’t the only thing you’ve ever collected. It could be books by a particular author, it could be graphic novels, it could be Beanie Babies. And there’s a good chance that at some point in life you’ve collected stamps. I did as a kid, inherited volumes full of amazing stuff from the ‘50s and ‘60s (and all gone!)
Why not add a game to our collection which is about collecting? (I think this is meta in some way or another.) Let’s hear direct from Stonemaier Games regarding what this game’s about…
Designer Paul Salomon (Honey Buzz, Genotype) brings stamp collecting to life on tabletops in Stamp Swap! Draft from a public pool of face-down and face-up tiles (along with some bonus cards), then simultaneously divide them into 2 groups. You will select one group from another player and keep the group of yours that isn't selected. Organize your growing collection each round and score 1 of 4 goals--choose wisely, as you can't score that goal again.
The art of stamp collecting is not just in accumulating many stamps, but in collecting high-quality stamps (including rare gold-foil stamps). This 3-round game for 1-5 players is your chance to meet other attendees, put together a beautiful and well-focused stamp collection, and show it off in a series of contests.
I’ve got to say I’m pretty excited for this one – the little stamp tokens are fantastic and the thought of collecting them in your own little book? Oh man, give it to me now. Want to see more? You might want to head here and get signed up for pre-order notification.
Kitchen Chaos
When I’m operating in the kitchen, I’m best off alone. (I can already hear a few ‘hallelujahs’ from the crowd.) Even my hero Rick Stein would get the hairy side if he rocked up with ideas about collaborating with me on a meal. I am the only one who knows where everything is, what order I want to bring it out in, and how long it takes my demented oven to go from ‘warmish’ to ‘fires of Hell’. The worst thing anyone can do is offer to help. Please, for the love of God, leave me be.
Kitchen Chaos from Blob World Games looks to me like a board game representation of my nightmares, but with added traps. It’s for two or four players (get set to team up!) and should run around 30-60 minutes. You’re going to gather ingredients and manage your cooking stations to deliver your dishes first, and use your trap cards wisely to give yourself the edge.
There’s a couple of weeks left on the Kickstarter, and they’re halfway towards their target. Head over here to join in the fun.
Camping Season
This might not be the best way to open this section, but I hate camping. Not what you expected from someone who enjoys walks in the Lake District, eh? You want to sleep in a bag with only flimsy canvas walls between you and the wild elements? Crack on, sunshine. I like an oven-cooked meal rather than some charcoaled mystery meat and dicey beans in a tiddly little pan. I like a bed, with pillows and quilts and sturdy walls to get me warm and dry. You say it’s fun? Well, I’ve found a way to enjoy camping without actually going!
In Camping Season from SweaterBear Games (love the name), you'll actually be designing, building, and managing your own campground. Players will have 6 seasons to create the ultimate camping experience. Attracting guests and optimizing profits will earn you points and see you recognized and awarded for their prestigious efforts. Each round, owners will have the opportunity to expand their campground and build amenities, finding the balance between what type of campsites are available and how many guests their campground can handle.
There will be upgrades, of course! And it will be a matter of choosing which ones offer the most bang per buck. Do people really need a posh toilet block, or will a hole behind a hedge do? (I'm clearly not going to win this game.)
There are 60 unique amenities available, and while some bring amazing benefits, they may also increase the maintenance needed to keep your campground in tip top shape. Keep the place neat and tidy, or you're going to get stuffed on TripAdvisor.
Go here, the Kickstarter pre-launch page is waiting for you.
Tameri
Ancient Egypt is another one of those settings that looks sweepingly epic in the movies, but if I was actually there then things would only end one of two ways. I’d either be one of the pharaoh’s chief slaves (not a eunuch, thank you very much) and get myself sealed up in a tomb upon their death so I could serve them in the next life (cheers, mate), or I’d be on the receiving end of a whip while dragging those bloody big stones around for the pyramid. Thankfully we have board games, so we can get a broader and more enjoyable picture of life in ancient times!
And there is plenty going on in Tameri from Post Scriptum Games. It’s for 1-4 players, and is described as a medium weight worker placement and engine building game.
There’s something a bit special here, though, and that’s a game mechanic called Weather Marbles (I’ve got a joke for this, but it’s inappropriate for a general audience). In the centre of the highly thematic game board is a 3d pyramid – cool in and of itself – and to one side is a monolith packed with coloured marbles. At the start of the round that monolith inserts into the top of the pyramid and the marbles fall. Which ones go where will dictate which fields are productive and which aren’t, and determines the harvesting and gathering of resources. Note that this happens at the start of the round, so although its results are random, players have an opportunity to react and adjust their strategies.
Tameri is due to launch this month on Gamefound. Click here to get notification of when the campaign goes live. And make sure you watch the gif of the Weather Marbles in action. If you’re on the fence about Tameri, I think this will help make your mind up.
Foxpaw
Ever wanted to be a wizard attending a wizarding school within a castle where you have to earn points for your house? Alright, yeah, this sounds an awful lot like a somewhat famous series of books that essentially took over the world and its collective consciousness. There’s two points to make before we go any further. One, it’s intentional. The team at Godot Games – who are currently developing Foxpaw – are very open about their influence. There’s plenty of riffs on a certain wizarding school out there, nothing wrong with having another one.
Two, your very wizardy-looking wizard meeples have magical creatures as a sidekick. Are you sold on this already? Yep, me too.What else can I tell you? Well, Godot Games are keeping their scrolls close to their chest on this one so far – their Gamefound page is running a series of game element reveals as the number of campaign followers grows – a beautiful fox currently guards the school gates, a sealed invitation in its mouth. The most recent reveal has been of the game board itself, which has a suitably castle-like theme, We’ve also seen the wizard characters you’ll get to play, and the adorable creatures who’ll accompany them.
There will also be two expansions available – I assume these will be add-ons during the crowdfunding campaign, but don’t quote me on that – called Dark Roots and Lost Roots, so there should be plenty of additional replayability packed in.
Get yourself over to their Gamefound campaign page here and sign up - not only will you get notification of the launch date, but you’ll also help with those campaign reveals
