WiscoDice

Your source for board gaming, miniature gaming, hobby tips and more! Welcome to WiscoDice!!!!

Episode 113: Board Game Discovery – Dragonbond, Wandering Towers, and More!!!

WiscoDice Logo
WiscoDiceLogo

In Episode 113 the hosts discuss review several new games they have been playing. Check it out to hear about some fun games, perfect for an entertaining evening.

Download the Episode Here!

Read on for links to the games discussed and pictures.

Kickstart Monday: Joyride: Survival of the Fastest and Kreel Manor

Welcome to Kickstart Monday! This is our weekly series featuring 2 or more crowdfunding projects that have caught our eye. We scour over platforms like Kickstarter, Gamefound, and Indigogo to find projects that interest us.

There are certainly some exciting projects out in crowdfunding land. Let’s take a look at a couple of games that we think you should check out.

Joyride: Survival of the Fastest

First out of the gate this week we have Joyride: Survival of the Fastest a Kickstarter project from Rebellion Unplugged.

Joyride is a fast-paced racing game where players can smash into each other, deploy destructive items and use their cars’ special abilities to gain advantage over their opponents. Races take place on a large hex grid arena. Within the arena the race track is laid out as a series of checkpoints that must be crossed in order. The cool thing here is that the check point layout is completely customizable. While the game comes with suggested track layouts, but you can design your own layouts by placing checkpoints however you wish. 

During the game players are racing through checkpoints managing their speed and turning while trying to avoid obstacles and also use their abilities and items to mess with their opponents. Players roll dice to determine their movement speed each turn and can gain more or less dice depending on if they shift gears up or down. Joyride is not just a simple race, you can side-swipe, rear end and collide head on with other cars all with different out comes. On top of that you can use items like oil slicks, mines, and rockets to attack other cars or use nitro to get that burst of speed you need.

In addition, each car is unique and comes with a set of asymmetrical abilities specific to that car. To win you just need to be the first player to cross the finish line after the number of laps determined by the track layout. Joyride really looks like it could be a lot of chaotic fun and looks to bring some new ideas to the racing genre. If you are ready to strap in for Joyride: Survival of the Fastest get to their Kickstarter page before the campaign ends on September 7, 2023.

Kreel Manor

Next up this week is the Kickstarter for Kreel Manor, the dungeon crawl card game from designer Tristan Hall.

Kreel Manor is a fantasy dungeon crawling card game set in the universe of Kilforth (Gloom of Kilforth, Shadows of Kilforth). 1 to 3 players (4 with an expansion) will cooperatively take on the roles of heroes in one of 10 scenarios and ultimately face off against the Lord of the Manor to save the world. With the base game players can choose between the War Mage, The Wolf of the North (a sword based warrior) and the Night Raven (a rogue type class). Each round of the game Kreel Manor will challenge the players with a threat from the shadows such as Living Corpses, Barbarians and Goblins. The players can deal with these encounters in a variety of ways; combat is of course an option, but players can also resolve threats through other means like stealth or intimidation. Occasionally players will also face more deadly threats in the form of Foes which act as boss fights.

Players will discover powerful items and heroic skills that they will use to customize and refine their personal skill deck. Skills give each hero special abilities to aid them against threats and augment their powers. As players progress through the threats of a scenario they will eventually find plot cards which allow them to make a choice that will have an effect on the future of the scenario. The base “Lord of the Manor” pledge for Kreel Manor will cost ~$69 USD with higher tier options offering other items such as a playmat, 4th player expansion and an artbook. The Kreel Manor campaign ends on August 31, 2023 to head over to the Kickstarter page to make your pledge before then.

Kickstart Monday: Mistwind and Hideous Abomination

Welcome to Kickstart Monday! This is our weekly series featuring 2 or more crowdfunding projects that have caught our eye. We scour over platforms like Kickstarter, Gamefound, and Indigogo to find projects that interest us.

There are certainly some exciting projects out in crowdfunding land. Let’s take a look at a couple of games that we think you should check out.

Mistwind

First up this week is Mistwind, a Kickstarter project from First Fish Games.

In Mistwind players use flying transport whales to build networks across four different Nations. Players will build routes between the different nations’ ports loading basic resources or cargo onto their transports and selling it in other locations where the demand for that cargo is higher. Amusingly moving your transport whales will often cost krill. I have to say this is the only game I’ve seen that uses krill as a basic resource. Building your personal outposts at a port will reduce the cost in krill you must pay to move your whale. At the end of the game you will score for cargo you’ve delivered, the network you’ve built, achievements you’ve claimed and several other categories which look to give the game a healthy number of paths to victory. 

The captivating art design really helps this game stand out and is what caught my eye when I talked about it in our recent GenCon 2023 preview episode of the Wiscodice podcast. The combination of worker placement, network building and pickup and delivery looks quite interesting and I think this is a game to watch. The Kickstarter version of Mistwind will run about $95USD. If Mistwind seems like it will deliver for you, head to the Kickstarter page before August 31, 2023 to make your pledge.

Hideous Abomination 2nd Edition

Our second project this week is the Kickstarter for Hideous Abomination 2nd Edition from designer Judson Cowan.

Hideous Abomination is a tile laying game where players assemble hideous monsters from an assortment of outlandish body parts. Every tile in the game has detailed colorful artwork depicting some monstrous body alert whether it be  squid like tentacle, the head of an aquatic cyclops, the arm of a giant praying mantis or just a big glob of pink goo with an eye in it. Players will earn points for the most dominant color on their creations so they must at least  try to keep  their creature a consistent color. They can win award cards with categories like Most Eyes and Most Head tiles. Hideous Abomination is a quick light family oriented game where much of the joy of the game is just seeing how strange of a monster you can manage to make. The game comes with over 200 unique body part tiles for your monster making needs. The base edition comes in at a very affordable $21USD and there are a number of more deluxe versions on offer as well. 

If you are ready to see what kinds of Hideous Abomination you can create visit the project page before the campaign ends on August 29, 2023,

Did we miss your favorite project?

Thank you for checking out this week’s Kickstart Monday! If you find these interesting or want some attention on a Kickstarter or other crowdfunded projects that you would like to read more about please share your thoughts with us via our social media or email.

Stay informed when new Kickstart Monday projects come out by following us on Facebook, Instagram, or Twitter and following the #KickstartMonday hashtag.

Also checkout the latest articles from WiscoDice:

Kickstart Monday: Aethermon: Collect and Innovation: Ultimate

Welcome to Kickstart Monday! This is our weekly series featuring 2 or more crowdfunding projects that have caught our eye. We scour over platforms like Kickstarter, Gamefound, and Indigogo to find projects that interest us.

There are certainly some exciting projects out in crowdfunding land. Let’s take a look at a couple of games that we think you should check out.

Aethermon: Collect

Our first project this week is Aethermon: Collect a Gamefound campaign from Aethermon Studios.

Arthermon: Collect is a set collection game for 1-4 players set in a world with magical creatures called Aethermon.  

Aethermon obviously draws inspiration from other cute collectible monster properties but it has its own unique style and aesthetic that it brings to the genre. During the game players will be collecting Aethermon cards from the game board. Players will be attempting to collect high value Aethermon to improve their score and to collect Aethermon in the same family to double the score of those Aethermon. The game can be played both competitively and cooperatively. In competitive mode players draft powerful Artefacts to give them an edge against their opponents while in cooperative mode players will combine their scores in a joint effort to collect the most valuable Aethermon.   

To see the game in action and hear more about WiscoDice’s thoughts on Aethermon: Collect, check out our YouTube Video here.

The campaign has a number of pledge options starting with a print and play pledge for about A$5, a standard pledge for A$30, a deluxe pledge for A$60 and also higher tier pledges for those with deep pockets. The campaign runs until August 30th 2023, so make your pledge before then.

Innovation: Ultimate

Our next game this week is Innovation: Ultimate a Backerkit project from Asmadi Games.

Innovation: Ultimate is an updated version of Innovation originally released in 2010 by designer Carl Chudyk. Innovation is a tableau and civilization building game where players will play card representing ideas, technology and inventions. You begin the game in Age 1 or Prehistory starting out with cards like Writing or Metalworking. Each card has an effect you can choose to trigger with one of your two actions on your turn which may allow you to attack your opponents, expand your civilization and even advance to the next Age.

Innovation: Ultimate has a number of new features and improvements to the original game. While the original game featured 10 Ages to progress to, Innovation: Ultimate now has an eleventh age, the Prudence Age with futuristic speculative technology. The boxed set also includes the 4 existing expansions for Innovation and a new fifth expansion called The Unseen. The new expansion brings in a mechanic called Safeguard that lets to stash available achievements so that you can claim them but your opponents can’t. Cards in the Unseen expansion deal with subterfuge, shadowy technologies and other clandestine concepts.

The Innovation: Ultimate campaign is keeping it simple with only one pledge level for $69 USD but this includes approximately 750 cards and a box insert that is designed to support both sleeved and unsleeved cards. If you are ready to dive into the ultimate version of Innovation make your pledge before September 15, 2023 when the Backerkit campaign ends.

Did we miss your favorite project?

Thank you for checking out this week’s Kickstart Monday! If you find these interesting or want some attention on a Kickstarter or other crowdfunded projects that you would like to read more about please share your thoughts with us via our social media or email.

Stay informed when new Kickstart Monday projects come out by following us on Facebook, Instagram, or Twitter and following the #KickstartMonday hashtag.

Also checkout the latest articles from WiscoDice:

Kickstart Monday: Luddit and Avante Card

Welcome to Kickstart Monday! This is our weekly series featuring 2 or more crowdfunding projects that have caught our eye. We scour over platforms like Kickstarter, Gamefound, and Indigogo to find projects that interest us.

There are certainly some exciting projects out in crowdfunding land. Let’s take a look at a couple of games that we think you should check out.

Luddite

Our first project of the week is the Kickstarter for Luddite by Cogito Ergo Meeple.

Luddite is a pretty unique offering. The game itself is a roll and write campaign game that can be played with 1 to an unlimited number of players (with print and play sheets). The game is set in a future dystopia where the player is a “digital saboteur” hacking into systems to combat AI and bionic automatons that have taken the place of a human workforce. The campaign includes multiple maps and will increase in complexity as the story progresses.

As another unique element  Luddite features is a graphic novel that incorporates with the game and no doubt helps set the mood of a dystopian sci-fi future. As a big fan personally of comics and graphic novels I think it’s a very cool addition  and I  would not mind if more board game kickstarters included these kinds of bonus items.

If you are willing to forego the bells and whistles you can get the print and play version for about $5 USD (which includes an electronic version of the comic). The full physical version will run about $40 USD and includes dry erase game maps as well as custom dice, a dice tray, and coins. The Luddit Kickstarter campaign ends on August 5, 2023, so hit up the project page before then.

Avant Carde

Next up this week is the Kickstarter for Avant Carde the 1 to 5 player game from Resonym Games. 

In Avant Carde players are thematically displaying their collection of Avant Garde art. The artworks are represented by a deck of art cards numbered  1 through 14. To display their art the player plays art cards from their hand, making sure that each card matches the previous card’s color or number. Players want to play as many cards as possible because each card they play is worth $1. Then they can use this money to buy more art that works with their current card or even cards with special patron powers, which may  totally change the way  you can play your cards. The game comes with  3 different patron decks so you can get a lot of replayability with a variety of patron powers 

Avant card looks like a quick playing easy to learn game with a slight deck building mechanic and enough going on to be a winner for both a casual crowd and more seasoned gamers. The Kickstarter edition will run $29 USD and will come with a micro-expansion and some bonus metal coins. If you are interested, the campaign will conclude on August 12, 2023, so visit the project now to make your pledge.

Did we miss your favorite project?

Thank you for checking out this week’s Kickstart Monday! If you find these interesting or want some attention on a Kickstarter or other crowdfunded projects that you would like to read more about please share your thoughts with us via our social media or email.

Stay informed when new Kickstart Monday projects come out by following us on Facebook, Instagram, or Twitter and following the #KickstartMonday hashtag.

Also checkout the latest articles from WiscoDice:

Page 2 of 108

Powered by WordPress & Theme by Anders Norén