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While many gamers are eager to see what's available on these sites and enjoy the process of participating in a game's production process – in feeling that they're a part of bringing this game to life and shaping its presence in the world through their backing – many others resent the feeling that publishers see them as money spigots because the publishers don't have enough confidence in their games to fund them properly, i.e., to put their own money at risk to fund a game's publication.
I dance between those poles of thought, backing some projects and raising my eyebrows at the existence of others, and my uncertainty about whether the shift toward large-scale crowdfunding is good for the games industry has been reflected in the coverage of such projects on BGGN. I don't go out of my way to cover every game project that launches on such sites, while I do try to alert readers to publications that are (1) certain to be published no matter how the project works out, (2) of interest due to the designer, publisher, or game design itself (with "interest" being fuzzily defined, mind you), or (3) so far out there that I want to share my gobsmackedness with you, the BGGN reader.
Also, in many cases, I don't know that I'm announcing a title that will be headed to Kickstarter or another crowdfunding site. A publisher or designer says, "We're doing this, and here's the game info"; the game is covered on a publisher's website or blog, and added to the BGG database; then months later the KS campaign begins, surprising some and exciting others. That's where we're at these days, and given the combination of crowdfunding's divisiveness and my compulsion to cover as much as I can in this space, I've decided to split crowdfunding game announcements into their own space. Readers who like finding out about such projects will find them covered in these (anticipated-to-be weekly) posts, while those who want to avoid hat-in-hand requests can see the title and click away. Some KS-related game coverage will surely appear in other BGGN posts, but I'm abandoning the practice of including a crowdfunding project in each new game round-up for this new approach. Let me know what you think of the idea, and we'll take it from there.
As for the game projects themselves, here's what we have to look at for now:
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In another world, where animals reign supreme, the time of peace has come to an end. The Factions are once again at war. Some fight for supremacy, some to defend their way of life and traditions, and others because it was what they were bred to do. Each game of Tooth & Nail: Factions represents a single battle in this war.
There are six different Factions in this customizable card game, each with its own unique deck of Troops and play style. In the standard two-player game, each player controls a single Faction, while in the Alliance game, both players draft two Factions and combine them to form new decks. Finally, up to four players can play the game using the Enemy of My Enemy rules.
I think it's impossible to read that opening line – "In another world, where animals reign supreme, the time of peace has come to an end" – without slipping into movie-preview-announced voice. (KS link)There are six different Factions in this customizable card game, each with its own unique deck of Troops and play style. In the standard two-player game, each player controls a single Faction, while in the Alliance game, both players draft two Factions and combine them to form new decks. Finally, up to four players can play the game using the Enemy of My Enemy rules.
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In Urbanization, the players follow the development of a rural area, from the beginning of the industrial revolution to modern times. They guide their villages through hard times and try to attract citizens by building houses. Later, factories are erected and the villages grow into prospering cities. The player who develops his city most efficiently will be victorious in the end.
Game play in Urbanization includes no random elements, and the game comes packaged with two expansions.
–but the video presentation provides more details of game play, with game delivery promised two weeks before it's available elsewhere (and as noted elsewhere on BGGN, as of mid-June 2012 Queen will have its titles available at brick-and-mortar stores in the U.S. two weeks before they're available for sale online). It's an interesting process for game releases, dripping out new titles to different segments of buyers and seeing how (and whether) word of the game will spread among other interested parties. (KS link)Game play in Urbanization includes no random elements, and the game comes packaged with two expansions.
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It's good to be the Overlord. You have minions to grovel at your feet, limitless wealth, and absolute power over all the lands – but you know that your subjects are plotting. They envy your wealth and hope to steal it for themselves, specifically by removing you from the picture.
So you've decided to secure your power and eliminate these individuals by sending your executioner out with orders to kill the first person he meets. Unfortunately, your executioner is a gullible fellow who's extremely enthusiastic about his job – easy to dissuade and misdirect, if you're clever enough.
Who will be the first player with no excuse to miss his own funeral? Once the axe starts swinging, not even the Overlord is safe!
Kill the Overlord! is a fun, fast-paced game of political murder for 4 to 8 players that can be played in about twenty minutes. The goal of the game is simple: Eliminate other players by sending the Overlord's executioner after them, while at the same time saving your own skin. Each time a player dies, his survivors climb another rung up the political ladder, taking the deceased's title and all the wealth and power that comes with it. The player who can secure enough wealth and the title of Overlord first will become the True Ultimate Supreme Overlord (and win the game).
(KS link)So you've decided to secure your power and eliminate these individuals by sending your executioner out with orders to kill the first person he meets. Unfortunately, your executioner is a gullible fellow who's extremely enthusiastic about his job – easy to dissuade and misdirect, if you're clever enough.
Who will be the first player with no excuse to miss his own funeral? Once the axe starts swinging, not even the Overlord is safe!
Kill the Overlord! is a fun, fast-paced game of political murder for 4 to 8 players that can be played in about twenty minutes. The goal of the game is simple: Eliminate other players by sending the Overlord's executioner after them, while at the same time saving your own skin. Each time a player dies, his survivors climb another rung up the political ladder, taking the deceased's title and all the wealth and power that comes with it. The player who can secure enough wealth and the title of Overlord first will become the True Ultimate Supreme Overlord (and win the game).
P.S. As a final thought on the subject of crowdfunding, I'll note this BGG blog post from Polish publisher LocWorks' Piotr Burzykowski, in which he notes that French game news site Tric Trac has a policy of not covering any crowdfunded game until it's 100% funded and therefore guaranteed to be published. Tric Trac's Monsieur Phal explains the reasoning here. I know other game sites that do the same thing since the number of non-crowdfunded titles being released each year is far larger than can be reasonably contemplated anyway. Why add to the stack by considering what might be released? (In case you weren't paying attention, I've already answered this question above.)
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