Shadows Of Brimstone Tops $1.3M

Another successful Kickstarter project, Flying Frog's first KS project Shadows of Brimstone raised $1,341,305 in a funding period that ended Sunday. A cooperative western horror dungeon-crawl board game, Shadows of Brimstone apparently hit enough hot spots to appeal to over 4,700 backers. The amount raised places Shadows of Brimstone into the top 10 tabletop Kickstarters of all time.

Promising backers a release date of August 2014, Shadows of Brimstone may be one of the first games announcing a release date to coincide  with Gen Con 2014.

Summer 2013 - Best Summer Ever For Games

According to a new report in ICv2's Internal Correspondence, the long bull market for game sales continued throughout the Summer season, with some retailers describing it as "the best summer ever". For the first time, single-category stores selling almost exclusively CCGs, with event space, appear to be developing as a viable business model.

The Kickstarter phenomenon is still kicking - no pun intended - with more Kickstarted products going into trade release and, in general, selling in rough proportion to their popularity with Kickstarter.

Exposure on the second season of TableTop continues to have a sales impact when it comes to bringing games to your tabletop - again, no pun intended - with varying opinions on whether its the same size or a little smaller when compared to last year. As owner/operator of a gaming store, we can tell you that TableTop has had a considerable impact on the sale of board games. Every month we get several orders for whatever board game Wil Wheaton just featured in TableTop. If he ever visits Puerto Rico, dinner is on me!

Major shifts in the bestseller charts include Shifts below the top in collectible games, a new #1 in board games, Steve Jackson's Munchkin's return to the top in card games, Star Wars moving up in miniature games despite supply problems, and a *BIG* move in the RPG category. All these lists and more coming up tomorrow and the following days!

Zombicide Season 2: Prison Outbreak & Toxic City Mall

Zombicide publisher CoolMiniOrNot will release two follow up games to its highly successful Zombicide Season 2 Kickstarter project. You need not miss out on all the fun just because you did not fund the Zombicide Season 2 Kickstarter project. Zombicide Season 2: Prison Outbreak will be a standalone follow up to the hit and totally sold out original Zombicide game, while Zombicide: Toxic City Mall will be an expansion compatible with both Zombicide and Zombicide Season 2: Prison Outbreak.

Like the original game, Zombicide Season 2: Prison Outbreak is a cooperative game where players take the role of survivors, each with a unique ability, who must use teamwork and their unique abilities to complete varying and challenging scenarios while evading or killing ever increasing zombie hordes. Zombicide Season 2: Prison Outbreak includes 10 missions on 10 maps, and like with the original Zombicide, players can create their own missions and maps.

Following on Zombicide's steps, Zombicide Season 2: Prison Outbreak will include nine reversible prison-themed map tiles, 90 miniatures (including six survivors and zombvivors (where players get to continue playing as zombies) and a new berserker zombie), new equipment cards (baseball bats, shotguns, katanas, concrete saws, and gunblades), and tokens that customize missions, such as a rotating security gate. The game is for 1 to 6 players ages 13 and up, and retails for $99.99.

The expansion Zombicide: Toxic City Mall takes place in a shopping mall (duh!).  It also includes 10 missions, new tiles and new equipment (hollow point bullets!), and the dreaded new Toxic Zombies. Zombicide: Toxic City Mall introduces a new Ultrared mode, super weapons, and allows players killed by zombies to continue playing as zombvivors.

The expansion includes 4 mall-themed reversible tiles, 43 miniatures (including four new survivors with both their human and zombvivor states, as well as zombvivor versions of the original Zombicide survivors), 29 equipment cards, tokens to improve missions, and new rues and game modes. It requires either Zombicide or Zombicide Season 2: Prison Outbreak to play. Zombicide: Toxic City Mall is for 1 to 6 players ages 13 and up, plays in about 60 minutes and has a retail price of $49.99.

Minis For Monte Cook's Numenera

Monte Cook's successful Kickstarter project Numenera roleplaying game keeps expanding. Having already announced an upcoming computer game set in the Numenera world, Monte Cook Games, LLC and Reaper Miniatures announced plans for an August release of a box set of miniatures for the Numenera RPG. A limited release will also be available at Gen Con.

The sculpts for the miniatures were taken directly from the Numenera artwork by Kieran Yanner, Jason Engle, Scott Purdy, and others. The set will consist of ten miniatures of characters and creatures featured in the Numenera books.

The release of the miniatures set will coincide with the release of the Numenera core book, the Numenera Player's Guide, and several other products, on August 14, 2013.

Fallen - Another Successful KS Project

In May I wrote about Fallen, a new kickstarter project that would launch in June.  The goal was to raise $19,000 and the funding period was from June 22 to July 22, 2013.

The funding period closed last week, and Watchtower Games raised a total of $113,594 with 1,311 backers. That's almost six times the initial goal of $19,000!

Fallen was initially designed as a two player game, where one players is the adventurer while the other player controls the traps, monsters and challenges in the dungeon being explored. However, the Fallen kickstarter reached and exceeded the $80,000 stretch goal.  What is so exiting about this stretch goal?  It triggers the development of a multi-player expansion.  Here's the description of the $80,000 Party Expansion stretch goal:

Development will begin immediately on a multi-player expansion. Grab your friends and adventure together into the dark chambers of Fallen against the Dungeon Lord.

Party expansion including dice, new power cards, skill, and creatures will be available as a separate purchase after the release of Fallen.

This is one of a few kickstarter projects I am really looking forward to. I'll post a play review as soon as I get my copy.

Fallen: Coming To Kickstarter in June

Fallen is Oregon gaming company Watchtower Games' debut product and is scheduled to hit Kickstarter sometime in the month of June.  I don't know if my pocket can afford it, but this is another project that I plan to support.  Read on and maybe you'll join me in supporting what appears to be a great game.

Fallen is a two-player dungeon exploration game.  One player chooses his hero from three available characters.  The other player is the Dungeon Lord.  The premise is simple enough.  The hero delves deeper into the dungeon, in search of the dungeon's ultimate evil.  The Dungeon Lord throws traps and monsters in the hero's path in an attempt to foil the hero's plan.  If the hero can overcome the traps and monsters, the game culminates in an epic battle between the hero and the Dungeon Lord.  A battle that only one of them will survive.

The dungeon is randomly generated and made up of Story Cards.  Each Story Card is a scenario that the hero must complete in order to keep moving deeper into the dungeon.  Each Story Card or scenario contains ten challenges that branch into ten different directions that the hero can take.  This ensures that no two dungeons are the same.  Challenges can have the hero attempting to jump over chasms, solving ancient puzzles and fighting terrible monsters, among many other different challenges.

There are three heroes: the Pit Fighter, the Thief and the Sorceress.  At first glance, it would appear that the availability of only three heroes will quickly cause the game to grow stale.  However, appearances can be deceiving.  Each hero comes with 9 unique skills that allow you to build your character your way.  For example, you can build a Pit Fighter that has monstrous strength or one that has a tactical advantage during combat; a classic sorceress that calls forth devastating spells of power, or a swordmage capable of fighting toe to toe with spell and sword.  Besides the 9 unique skills, there are 10 specialized power cards and custom starting equipment.  This should provide plenty of different ways to explore the random dungeons.  The system is also set up in such a way that expansions should be plenty and prompt in coming.

There is equal diversity to the role of the Dungeon Lord.  The Dungeon Lord can choose from the Archivist of Souls, the Forge Master, and Krogarn the Ogre King.  Each Dungeon Lord has 10 unique power cards that range from necromantic spells to deadly traps.  This makes the Dungeon Lord's mission of giving hell to the hero a lot of fun.  For example, a Story Card challenge may require that the player decipher ancient runes in a sarcophagus.  The Dungeon Lord can make turn this mundane challenge into a living nightmare by sending a Shadow Fiend screaming into the room.  Each time the hero is defeated, the Dungeon Lord grows in power.  This allows leveling up of summoned creatures to give them greater strength and new abilities.  Defeat the hero enough times and the Omen card enters into play, giving the Dungeon Lord a deadly trick to play whenever the hero is at his weakest.

Four different challenges must be faced in each Story Card.  Each challenge moves the hero deeper into the dungeon and sets the stakes and type of dice to be rolled.  In this example, the hero player finds himself in the midst of a "Bloody Melee", fighting thieves in an old hall.  With his back against the wall, the thieves press their advantage causing the hero to sustain 1 point of damage (the single blood drop).  The treasure symbol informs that success in this challenge will earn the hero a valuable treasure card.  The arm inside the red circle tells the player that this is a strength challenge.

The Dungeon Lord chooses a Creature card to use for the challenge. Each Creature card shows the type of dice rolled. The Dungeon Lord rolls the dice, plays any special abilities from Power cards, and counts the total number of swords rolled on the dice. The Hero then rolls the type of dice based on their strength, agility, or intelligence. The Hero rolls the dice, plays Power cards, and counts the total number of swords rolled. Equipment such as the Iron Sword, Storm Flail, or Mana Ring can be used to help win the challenge. If the Hero rolls the most swords, then he is victorious gaining treasures, experience, and new abilities. However, if the Dungeon Lord wins the challenge, then the summoned monsters grow stronger and the dungeon becomes even more perilous.

The adventure culminates in an epic battle between the hero and the Dungeon Lord with only one player left standing.  Here, at the bottom of the dungeon, surrounded by minions and dark spells, the evil Dungeon Lord faces off against the hero.  With the skills and magical artifacts recovered from the dungeon, the Hero must rise to the challenge to finally bring an end to the Dungeon Lord.  One final battle to return the world to the light or plunge it back into darkness.  

Guardians Chronicles, by IELLO

I am trying to scale back on my Kickstarter related contributions (or expenditures, if you ask my accountant).  However, since I just received my rewards from one of the Kickstarter projects I helped fund (Kickstarter: The Dice Tower), I decided to fund another one.  The lucky receiver of my money is Guardians Chronicles, by IELLO.

Guardians Chronicles is a 2 to 5 player semi-cooperative game.  One player assumes the role of evil Super Villian Pr. Skarov.  The remaining players assume the role of one of several superheroes, each with unique powers.  There are a different number of scenarios.  Each scenario poses different objectives and challenges for the Superheroes.  For example, a particular scenario may require that the Superheroes defeat three of Pr. Skarov minions and also stop the Super Villian from launching nuclear missiles that will reign destruction upon civilians.

The concept of Guardians Chronicles is not new.  In fact, it immediately brought to mind my experience playing Descent 2.0.  I really liked Descent 2.0.  Seeing how the mechanics are similar, I decided to fund this Kickstarter project hoping it will be as much fun as Descent 2.0.

The Kickstarter page for Guardians Chronicles has a playthru video, where the developers play a round or so of the game.  The playing pieces shown therein are *not* the final production pieces, so don't let that scare you.  However, the video will give you a good enough idea of whether this looks like the type of game you may be interested in backing.  If you like superhero RPGs, CCGs, LCGs or board games, this Kickstarter project may right up your alley.

The Dice Tower Meets $50k Stretch Goal

Yesterday I blogged about The Dice Tower Kickstarter stretch goal of $50,000 and the Top 100 Games functionality that meeting this goal would add to the website.  Well, the goal has been met.  I am looking forwards to this game ranking app and to comparing how my board games favorites compare with those of other board gamers.

Predictably enough, a new stretch goal has been set: $55,000.  If this goal is met, The Dice Tower will add a voting function to the website.  Each month, The Dice Tower staff will review one game that users have voted on.  This allows for reviews of big releases that may be going ignored, a Kickstarter you may want to know about or an older game that should be discussed.

The Dice Tower: New Stretch Goal and Rewards

While I love all gaming, generally, I have to admit that I am partial to board games.  A big reason for getting back into board gaming was Tom Vasel, his yearly Top 100 Board Games list and his video reviews in his excellent website The Dice Tower.  Thus, when I learned about The Dice Tower’s Kickstarter project to fund and expand their coverage of the board game industry for their 9^th season, I did not think twice about contributing.  While the project’s goal was $20,000, in 9 days they have amassed $48,954 with 882 backers.

A few days ago, The Dice Tower announced a new stretch goal, a new promo pack and even more rewards for both existing and new backers.  If the new stretch goal of $50,000 is met, The Dice Tower website will provide an app that will allow you to rate your games and make your own Top 100 Games list.  The app will import your game collection from BoardGameGeek to start your list of games and will allow you to add more game titles, as desired.  Then the app will assist you in creating your own list using the same method used by Tom Vasel and The Dice Tower to make their Top 100 Games list.

Regardless of whether the stretch goal is met, more rewards have been added to existing bonus packs, as well as new rewards since some bonus packs are already full.  There’s a detailed list of all the addon and new rewards in their Kickstarter project website.  

EN World: Helping Rebuild After The Hack

Every role playing gamer who has access to the internet has probably heard of EN World.  It initially started as a website focused on Dungeons & Dragons news and reviews.  However, EN World has expanded and now covers Pathfinder and many other role playing games. In fact, many of you are probably subscribed to their role playing game news and reviews newsletter.

In December 2012, EN World's website and server were hacked. The hacker's damage was deep and permanent.  As explained by owner Russell Morrissey a/k/a Morrus:

The entire site was destroyed, and I'm building it again from scratch.  While the basic functionality is there (news and forums), much of the functionality built up over a decade was lost.  I need to hire developers to recode all that cool stuff, but that takes time and - more importantly - money.  While EN Word ain't going anywhere, I'm turning to the community with whose help we can restore much of what was lost within a few months.

With that goal in mind, on January 15, 2013, EN World launched a Kickstarter.  EN World's Kickstarter goals are pretty modest in comparison with the usual Kickstarter project.  With a goal of $480, EN World can cover the costs of hiring a professional to optimize and secure the entire site, database and server.  However, there are stretch goals that add functionality and more to the services and tools to be offered by the new EN World.

Upon reaching $800 ("Campaign Manager"), EN World will add "a collection of tightly integrated campaign-management tools including campaign wiki, journal, links and files, picture albums, calendar system and more.  Together, they make a functional and convenient campaign website."  At the time of the hack, also referred to as "The Great Breach of 2012", there were 285 active campaigns being run on the EN World campaign manager.

There are many more stretch goals available, all the way to the $9,618 More Ogre Power.  At this level, EN World gets the functionality of the Online Generic Randomizer Engine or O.G.R.E.  It is a crowd-sourced continually growing library of interrelated random generators, or a "generator generator".  As explained in EN World's Kickstarter:

Honestly, you could create a generator to detail an entire town, and it could call upon already existing tables and generators that others had made before you - descriptions, names, stats, anything you can think of.

There's a plethora of pledge options, ranging from $1.60 all the way to $320.58 and just as many cool rewards.  You really should check out EN World's Kickstarter.  Not only is it about helping someone who has been helping the RPG community for years, it is also about Kicking it Forward:

As a community website, I felt it appropriate that this Kickstarter use the Kick it Forward system.  This means that 5% of the profits will be spent supporting other RPG-related Kickstarters as a way not only to give a little back but also to foster more cool RPG stuff!

As of right now, EN World's Kickstarter has been up for 3 days and has received $8,229.26 from 173 backers, and it still has 27 days to go.  Looks like we'll have O.G.R.E. to play with after all.  In any event, I can assure you one thing: as soon as I'm done writing and publishing this entry, there will be one more backer to this project.