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•Eagle Games, in partnership with designer Ben Boersma's Darwin Games, has a wild-looking project seeking your backing dollar in Dawn: Rise of the Occulites. (KS link) This is EXACTLY the kind of project Kickstarter was meant for: WAY out of the ordinary theme, passionate designer, and neat-o minis. KS allows an established publisher like Eagle to take a chance on a cool and offbeat game. Boersma has developed a large back story and world around the game, so check it out to see if it's for you:
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Dawn: Rise of the Occulites is the first game in the Rise of the Occulites Saga. The Saga covers the evolution of the Occulites from small Tribes fighting for survival, to massive armies, diplomacy and the beginning of industry.
Dawn takes place at the very beginning of the Occulite's evolutionary timescale. At this time the Occulites roam the lands in small Tribes, moving from cave to cave, collecting the precious Sungems to keep them warm during the Long Dark. They fight over territory and resources in an effort just to survive.
One of these days, I will actually play a minis game – but only if they have sweet paint jobs. Dawn takes place at the very beginning of the Occulite's evolutionary timescale. At this time the Occulites roam the lands in small Tribes, moving from cave to cave, collecting the precious Sungems to keep them warm during the Long Dark. They fight over territory and resources in an effort just to survive.
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I really wanted to highlight Angry Dice, a project within a project – specifically a micro dice game from Shawn Purtell and "Mr. Compounded" Darrell Louder. The game is ridiculously simple but a terribly fun way to pass 60-120 seconds or more. As I appear in the video and am quoted on the KS page, one may call into question my objectiveness, but I say thee nay! My reaction was organic and I had no idea two crazy little dice would end up as part of a KS project. Check it out, or at least go watch the video. I am the dead sexy beast of a man (or fat and bald, either way, but my wife loves me... well, she is stuck with me which amounts to the same thing really, right?) in the Yoda shirt around the 00:45 mark.
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VivaJava Dice is the successor to the well-received 2012 release (and Kickstarter veteran) VivaJava: The Coffee Game. As in its predecessor, players of VivaJava Dice take on the roles of employees at the VivaJava CoffeeCo., scouring the globe for the best beans to keep the company on top while keeping themselves one step ahead of the rest of the executives.
Do people watch Kickstarter videos? The VJ:TCG:TDG video is very funny. I have always thought KS projects were missing the whole "insult your customer" angle. Well done, T.C.!/pic1676627.jpg)
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In Shuriken, players take control of 250 plastic ninja including unarmed, sword, shuriken, and master ninja. During the game the players place, move, and upgrade their ninja forces on the modular board as they attempt to learn new techniques and battle enemy ninja – often destroying the board in the process.
The winner is the player with the most victory points when the sun rises at the end of the night.
There is no shortage of ninja games, but there were not as many in the database as I expected. There are eleventy billion zombie games – why not more ninjas?The winner is the player with the most victory points when the sun rises at the end of the night.
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Antimatter Matters is a science-based, futuristic, set-collection and pattern-building game for 2-6 players. It balances deliberate strategic choices, surprising interactions with other players, and the unpredictable nature of the universe.
In regular, non-challenge, competitive mode, average game length is 45 minutes. Team play, cooperative play and challenge modes can vary.
Maybe if I had buckled down in college instead of majoring in Sleep with a minor in Lazy I would know more about this kind of stuff. In regular, non-challenge, competitive mode, average game length is 45 minutes. Team play, cooperative play and challenge modes can vary.
Quick Hits
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• Minion Games is back with a slick-looking game in Gil Hova's Battle Merchants, but it's off to a slow start so far. (KS link)
• Eric covered Paperback in a prior post, but I wanted to give props for a unique theme. Who would have thought building a romance novel (among other genres) could be a game? The guy who made the Chinese restaurant game Wok Star, of course.
(KS link)
• Now for something NOT unique: steampunk! What might be unique, though, is that Frontier Skies is based on a mini-game from Gaia Online. I was not exactly sure what Gaia Online was but per Google and Wikipedia, it is very popular. I would prefer next time they ask permission before using my likeness on the cover, but I will let it go this time.
(KS link)
• Fallen has really well-done dark fantasy art and is a "two-player card and dice game with fast and challenging game play". I prefer boring and easy, but maybe that sounds like something you are into. (KS link)
• <cough> Fleet: Arctic Bounty – Coming Aug 1 <cough>
Not Exactly Games...
• Forge of Honor: Targimals is apparently a campaign for really awesome stuffed animals with swords. They are super cool, and if the Riddlenettes were a bit younger I would totally get these. (KS link)
• Haven't there been several "Carry all of your Dominion cards together even though most of the time people play only the same 2-3 sets, but this will hold the rest anyway" boxes? Either way, here is another! (KS link)
• One of my fave video series is seeking funding to continue doing awesome, high quality vids. Youtube game vlogger (did I use that right?) Rodney Smith of Watch It Played has an Indiegogo funding campaign going for a full third season. ((IGG link)
Going, Going, Gone!
Mini #1: "So, Princess Vespa, at last I have you in my clutches, to have my way with you, the way I want to!"
Mini #2: "No! No, please, leave me alone!"
Mini #1: "No, you are mine!"
Mini #3: "Not so fast, Helmet!"
Mini #1: "Lonestar!" <runs away>
Mini #3: "Princess Vespa, I find you strangely attractive despite the huge bazooka strapped to your back. I will say, though, that I do find it odd that you took the time to lace up those ridiculously complicated thigh-high boots but did not bother with other clothing essentials... such as, well, a shirt. Not that I am complaining, but it just seems like that at some point during the boot-lacing process you may have thought to yourself, 'I should put a shirt on just in case I end up having to use this gigantic bazooka, or worse, run into my mom.' Again, not complaining – just a tip for the future and such."
Seriously though, I mean it. I am curious. If any backers or minis experts are reading this, let me know. Are they just for collecting? Can you use them in other game systems?
See you in a month and remember, and if you have any questions, shoot me a Geekmail or post it in here. Complaints and/or rants can be directed at W. Eric. It was likely his fault anyway.
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