• Cloudspire, Too Many Bones, and Hoplomachus have a new, futuristic sibling on the way! In mid-November 2020, Chip Theory Games launched a Kickstarter campaign (link) for its latest co-op release, burncycle from designers (and cousins) Josh and Adam Carlson.
Here's a description of how it plays and the challenges you'll face as your team of robots tries to take down those corrupt human corporations:
Key to this solo and co-operative experience is the idea of "creative action sequencing". During each round of play, all players contend with a randomly drawn set of programming directives that tell them in what order their bots are allowed to take physical, digital, and command actions. Players can choose to skip over directives at the cost of having an incomplete turn, or they can disobey the directions by paying costly action dice. The best players, however, find a way to work within the "burncycle" — essentially, organizing their actions so that they benefit the team while staying within the directive order.
Each of the corporate headquarters in the game uses a unique neoprene layout on a larger mat, changing the geography of the game to suit your target. Each CEO also has at their disposal a special threat meter, which will trigger new obstacles for your robots as time runs out. If you don't complete the mission quickly, you may end up leaving bots behind, the victims of immobilizing power drains or destructive counterhacking.
Your team wins the game if you complete your objectives on every floor without losing your captain or maxing out your threat level.
• Crack the Code is a limited communication, co-operative puzzle game from Sarah Graybill, John Shulters, and Indie Boards & Cards that's being funded on Kickstarter (link) ahead of a planned release in the first half of 2021.
Here's an overview:
In slightly more detail, each round you action cards available equal to the number of players plus one, and each player must choose a different action card to use and discard, with the final card being left on the table for the subsequent round. The game will also include a campaign mode.
As a standalone sequel to Pinder's 2017 hit, Sub Terra, Inferno's Edge features a new objective-driven puzzle to solve; ten new specialized explorers, each with a unique style of play; more monsters and more ways to fight back; and a thrillingly explosive finale.
Here's a more detailed overview of the heated situation awaiting you:
This is a dangerous place. You need to work as a team to avoid deadly traps, brave scorching lava and defeat the temple's mysterious guardians. Stick together to share your skills, or split up to cover more ground, but be aware that the volcano stirs beneath you, and you're running out of time...
In Sub Terra II: Inferno's Edge, players progressively reveal new tiles, forming the board and mapping the volcanic temple from its sunlit entrance to its fiery core. As players explore the temple, they have to overcome obstacles, avoid hazardous terrain, and face the ferocious guardians of the "artifact". After a player takes actions on their turn, a random hazard activates, making careful planning of actions essential to survival.
Players must collectively locate and obtain 3 "keys" — mysterious objects that are needed to gain entry to the chamber containing the legendary artifact. Your adventures must be quick, though, as the volcano stirs and as the game progresses you get closer to the volcano erupting, flipping tiles to completely inhospitable lava flows that will chase the adventurers from the cave.