2014 Kickstarter Game Update: Week 4

[spacealien_vamp]

I came upon this one quite late, so I want to report it before the campaign ends.

Game I Backed:
Florenza: The Card Game

Status: Funded

This is a resource management game in which players collect supplies and hire famous artists to create monuments. The box looks terribly dry and boring, which is why I didn't even click on the campaign for a long time, but then I watched the Rahdo video on a whim and was hooked. I also added on the game Ark & Noah, which is a worker placement about building Noah's ark and loading it with animals. It has an interesting mechanism (similar to San Juan) where workers not only give their own player an advantage, they give all the other players the same resources (though in lesser quantity). It also has a Rahdo video, which I recommend watching.

Game I Viewed:
Draco Magi

Status: Funded

This is a card battle game by the designer of Defenders of the Realm and Elder Sign. Its main feature is stunning dragon artwork. Some people are turned off by the rather cavalier use of fake Latin, and though I don't mind that personally, I just can't get into the battle playstyle. It might be good for MtG fans, though.

Comments

[mangaroo.livejournal.com]

I had no idea Defenders and Elder Sign were designed by the same person. The art on the Draco Magi cards is gorgeous: the Clockwork Dragon looks so pretty that I almost pledged $15 just to get the cards before I regained my sanity. With card games, I always worry that I'm going to get caught in the trap of promos and rares. Fortunately, someone asked about an existing promo card in the comments thread, and I decided to step away from the dragons.

[spacealien-vamp.livejournal.com]

I had no idea Defenders and Elder Sign were designed by the same person.

Yeah, I think this is the first game of his I've seen that doesn't use handfuls of dice.

The art on the Draco Magi cards is gorgeous: the Clockwork Dragon looks so pretty that I almost pledged $15 just to get the cards before I regained my sanity.

I was sooo tempted by the dragons. I don't really want a game about dragons battling each other though. That would be sad. I'm just going to be content with my copy of Havok & Hijinks.

[sara-tanaquil.livejournal.com]

I would totally be tempted by the dragons, if it weren't for the fact that I know I can't STAND fake Latin. Too bad!

[spacealien-vamp.livejournal.com]

I would totally be tempted by the dragons, if it weren't for the fact that I know I can't STAND fake Latin.

One person emailed and offered to proofread their Latin for them, but she got the response "it's not Latin, it's fantasy." Oh, well. They're probably just too far along in production to make any changes.

[mangaroo.livejournal.com]

I finally watched the Rahdo Runs Through of Florenza (plus his final thoughts). We'll have to try it sometime as a 2-person game. I'm not a fan of the resource management/worker placement* genre, but he makes it sound like a non-issue in a 2-player game. Unless they took his analysis to heart and updated the rules to make a 2-player game more tense. Tension is not fun.

* (I know there are no actual "workers," but tapping a card has the same effect of blocking a specific choice)

Anyway, I thought it was hilarious in the run-through how he talks about his wife as if she were actually playing the game. "Oh, if Jen had been smart..." or "If Jen had thought ahead..." Dude! YOU made those choices. Jen is off in the craft room being plenty smart.

[spacealien-vamp.livejournal.com]

We'll have to try it sometime as a 2-person game.

That would be great! The KS is just for importing the game from Europe, so I should be getting it reasonably soon. Not in time for next weekend, of course, but not too long after.

Anyway, I thought it was hilarious in the run-through how he talks about his wife as if she were actually playing the game.

That's definitely a large part of what makes his videos so fun to watch. (His wife does appear in a few of them, including the Shadowrift (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Twg1iPDbloo) one, which is what convinced me to buy the game.)

I seriously need to make myself a gamer icon.

[mangaroo.livejournal.com]

We're meeting this coming weekend? Not the 16th? Uh oh. Which day, Saturday or Sunday? (Sorry. Schedule panic.)

[spacealien-vamp.livejournal.com]

Which day, Saturday or Sunday?

Saturday, because it's the middle of my three-day weekend. (At least, that's the reasoning you gave when you picked it.)