Crowdfunding Round-up: Backstabbing, Sheepherding & A Double Dose of Firefighting

Rarely is a game stripped down to its bare essense as cleanly as I'm the Boss! is. Up to fifteen deals can be made over the course of the game, and a player who is part of a successful deal will receive a certain amount of money.

How much money? Well, that depends on whatever deal is made among the players involved, as negotiated by that round's boss. Complicating matters quite a bit, however, each player has a hand of action cards that can be used to derail negotiations, insert themselves into a deal, take over the role of boss, and otherwise muck with the smooth flow of deal-making that other players had hoped to achieve. Nertz to them! If you want to make a deal, you gotta cut me a share!

Once nine deals have been made, a die is rolled after each subsequent deal to determine whether the game ends (with the odds increasing each time). Victory goes to whoever has the biggest bankroll!

I had high hopes that they would make the board more legible and user-friendly. They did that, but then, of course, they took it one step too far...

Wtf is with the symbols?!? It not only hurts my eyes to look at them; it offends my stomach and sensibilities. I don't even know what half of those symbols are, nevermind calling them out in a fast-paced negotiation: "So I need Pounds, Dollars and whatever the f*ck that symbol is for this deal". And we're linking currency symbols to people? Where's the f*cking theme in that?!? "Euro is on vacation".

Flash Point: Fire Rescue - 2nd Story contains two double-sided mounted game boards and a counter sheet that contains ladders, windows, an explosion marker, and more. Each game board represents one floor of a building, and the player firefighters will need to cover more area in this expansion to keep things under control. Ladders and stairs provide access to the upper building level, and windows let firefighters enter and leave the building without causing structural damage.

On Sunday September 2, 1666, Thomas Farriner, the baker to the King, forgot to put out the hearth fire in his shop. This simple act of negligence created a towering and lethal inferno which would eventually destroy 13,000 houses and leave nearly 90 percent of the city's population destitute and homeless...

You are no simple bystander to this tragedy; the future of London lies in your hands.

In The Great Fire of London 1666, the players are men of wealth and standing who own property around London. The Lord Mayor has failed to act and it is down to these mighty men to lead trained bands of militia to fight the fire and save the city. To do so they must decide which districts to sacrifice to the fire and which to protect. Remember, these same men own much of London, thus such choices will shape their own future and greatly affect their wealth and standing.

Use the trained bands to suppress the fire and explosives to destroy blocks of housing to create fire breaks and prevent its spread. Do you choose to protect your own homes, turning a blind eye and allowing the fire to consume your rival's property? Or will you stand as the hero of London, and choose to save as much of the city as possible?

Victory can belong to the player with the most property left after the ashes settle, but stopping the fire and saving London's most famous landmarks may win a more altruistic land owner the hearts and minds of the people.

Save the city, or watch it burn.

In Sheepdogs of Pendleton Hill, each player takes the role of a sheepdog and uses card play to move flocks of sheep up the hill to the shepherds. The higher a player's sheep gets before meeting its shepherds, the more points he will score. The player who scores the most points wins.

Each player has shepherds to place on the board and sheep to place into flocks and move. Flocks often contain sheep from many players and cooperation can be key to moving a flock into an advantageous position. But how long will this helpful, peaceful pastoral scene last when the cards require players to take actions for other players which can include placing opponents' shepherds in lower scoring areas and moving flocks that do not contain their own sheep?And a hungry wolf ever lurks in the background...

A deck of cards is used by the players to take actions such as placing shepherds, putting sheep into flocks, moving flocks of sheep, and moving the wolf. It is these cards, with their requirement to manipulate other players' pieces, that drive the decisions the players must make in the game and guarantee a high level of interaction among players. Each player also has a Sheepdog wild card for use once per game.