Solo Games: Battle Cards

 “It looks very rough. If I get through this one I will be very lucky.”

– Major General James Gavin

After last week’s piece on solo games something new came across my gaming radar to remind me of one recent game I’d missed...and an opportunity to get more like it. I spotted Battle Card: Market Garden a few months ago over on Itch.io’s “Postcards from the Front” game jam. As I’m an aficionado of solo games of all kinds – even wargames – I downloaded it and a few others that seemed to cater to the intersection of my historical interests and rules preferences. Market Garden was the first I tried and I instantly loved the concept. And now I just caught wind the creators are designing five more similar historical solo wargames set in World War II...and I managed to back the project on Kickstarter before the campaign ends on Oct. 1. Five print-and-play solitaire wargames with innovative mechanics and WWII historical themes for $5? An excellent opportunity for anyone interested in any of those elements.

Why We Wargame

 “Explain to our boys in the Army why we are fighting, and the principles for which we are fighting.”

– General George C. Marshall

This week Worthington Publishing is wrapping up a Kickstarter campaign to fund its latest game, Tarawa 1943, a solitaire wargame of the US Marine Corps invasion of that Pacific island during World War II. Although I’m not a huge fan of the war in the Pacific, I was tempted by several factors: it offers me a chance to explore an aspect of WWII I’ve not dabbled in before; Worthington games have high production values; and I enjoy solitaire games. It brings to mind the numerous reasons why I – and presumably others – play historical wargames. These games also remind me of the turbulent times in human history when ordinary people were called (voluntarily or otherwise) to make courageous sacrifices.

Twilight 2000...or 1945

As I write this a spiffy new version of Game Designer’s Workshop’s Twilight 2000 dominates the latest roleplaying game buzz at Kickstarter. Who would have thought a game founded on situations from the late 20th century cold war would find a new audience in the 2020s? Free League Publishing, which did an amazing job on games like Tales from the Loop and the latest Aliens roleplaying game, has a slate of quality components in the game, many unlocked as stretch goals; so I’m on the fence whether to back a game I might not play but one that looks interesting to explore with lots of fun components. (The Kickstarter campaign ends Thursday, Sept. 3, 2020.) I’ve discussed my occasional interest on post-apocalyptic games before. I’ve often wanted to dabble in Twilight 2000 after seeing the ad campaign and subsequent articles/scenarios in GDW’s late, lamented Challenge Magazine. I’m not really excited about the game’s modern setting, but the survivalist theme with a hex-crawl campaign style appeals to me. Then I start thinking...what if I found a way to use the new Twilight 2000’s resources – character backgrounds, encounters, maps, adventure ideas, locations – but ported to a game system I like with a premise centered on an alternate-history end to World War II (a period that engages me more deeply)? Something like Twilight 1945.

A Gaming Artifact from Trilemma

Artwork and production values in roleplaying game books vary greatly. They’re often constrained by the publisher’s limited budget, sometimes consuming even more financial resources than the actual content itself. Even then high production value and amazing artwork can’t make up for poor design and writing. Certainly Internet Age phenomena like Kickstarter and Patreon have enabled more creative people to release their gaming materials without the infrastructure of traditional print publishers...though quality on numerous fronts isn’t always consistent. But every once in a while a real gem emerges, something that satisfies on so many levels – substantive, graphic, qualitative – a treasure that stands out among the shelves of roleplaying game books. Michael Prescott’s Trilemma Adventures Companion Volume I is one of these amazing gaming artifacts.

Battle Ravens Looks Ideal for Kids & Newcomers

I rarely feature games in active Kickstarter campaigns (though I’ve looked at a few after release); but when I happened upon Daniel Mersey’s Battle Ravens: The Shieldwall Board Game I couldn’t resist both backing it and offering my perspective. Battle Ravens pits two players’ Viking-age armies against each other across the field of battle. Each side gets to place tokens (representing ravens) behind different sections of their line, then spends them to maneuver and fight with their warriors, hoping to break through the opponent’s line and send them running from the field. The battle game format works well for simulating warfare of this age; the rules provides plenty of historical context. The designer has released several recent and popular miniatures rules that work well for beginners. The mechanics seem basic yet offer players some careful choices to make. These elements can satisfy wargamers looking for a quick yet fulfilling tabletop diversion and tempt kids and newcomers to give the wargaming hobby a try.

Interesting Wargame Releases, Spring 2017

I don’t talk much about “news” or “new releases” here at Hobby Game Recce; it’s often fleeting and doesn’t seem to matter months or years down the road. But now and then a few gaming products release that catch my attention for one reason or another...and this just happens to be one of those times. Announcements by three different companies promise some notable wargaming products that cater to my own interests and hopefully engage the enthusiasm of other gamers: a Wings of Glory Battle of Britain starter set; a Commands & Colors game set during the American War of Independence; and some interesting terrain and tank kits from Battlefront Miniatures. One things certain with all these releases: I’d better start saving up my money if I want to buy any.

Leacock Brings Chariot Race to Tabletop

I’ve been reigning in my spending on Kickstarter projects the past year or so. I’m supporting only the really outstanding roleplaying books or board games: those that cater to my interests with mechanics suitable for my young son yet intuitive and innovative enough for me, all at the right price. So I was pleasantly surprised to learn of Matt Leacock’s Chariot Race, even more so after I looked at the Kickstarter page and read the rules posted there. The game distills elements of a classic theme I enjoy and mixes them with some innovative mechanics for an exciting yet “casual” chariot racing board game.

I say “casual” in that it’s not serious fare like the classic Avalon Hill title Circus Maximus, which infused the ancient chariot racing theme with wargame-complexity rules. I don’t own a copy of that venerable game, but we’ve played it before at the friendly, regional game conventions in Williamsburg, VA. Someone usually brings their immense, 25mm-scale game mat, architectural embellishments, and detailed chariot models; each player gets a laminated sheet for chariot, horse, and charioteer stats, with a dry-erase marker to note stats and changes during the game. The Little Guy joined a game earlier this year and though he was a bit timid in his racing tactics, he seemed to enjoy the spectacle, especially when chariots overturned and crashed. Ancient history remains one of my many interests, so Circus Maximus intrigued me. Yet the complexity of the rules – even those probably simplified for more streamlined convention play with a knowledgeable referee – left me yearning for something more accessible. Certainly the spectacle of a huge 25mm-scale set-up at the convention impressed me, but I didn’t have the patience to track down an out-of-print wargame and then immerse myself in its intricate rules...or try to teach them to an easily distracted six year-old.

Prince Valiant Returns

Nocturnal Media plans to release a new, full-color edition of designer Greg Stafford’s Prince Valiant: The Storytelling Game through a Kickstarter campaign. The news inspired my nostalgic memories of the game back when it was first published. I found a copy shortly after its release, immersed myself in its rich Arthurian legend and vivid artwork, and used it to satisfy my established gaming group and entertain a few casual gamers. It’s an oft-overlooked introductory game that uses basic yet elegant mechanics, offers a rich setting, and provides plenty of suggestions for novices. Although I’m on the fence about backing the Kickstarter edition, I heartily recommend it to anyone seeking a light roleplaying game with a legendary setting ideal for both experienced gamers and those seeking to explore the roleplaying game experience.

The original 128-page softcover rulebook looks pretty standard for games of the late 1980s and early 1990s, with a few outstanding innovations that still resonate today. After the “One Page Prince Valiant” rules – an almost scripted walk-through of a brief adventure using pre-generated knight characters – the book covers the usual territory: the obligatory “What Is A Storytelling Game?”; the basic game rules (including character creation, core mechanics, and the “Fame” section central to the game); a good guideline section discussing player goals and lots of useful storytelling tips; advanced game rules for experienced gamers to add greater depth to their experience; and a reference section covering the Prince Valiant setting and its major characters. As introductory game rulebooks go it’s fairly traditional, going into detail expounding about rules and specific situations even within the basic game chapter...and yet it all still works, at least in the hands of a seasoned gamemaster.

“Boutique” Games

Gamers often face the financial challenge of deciding whether they can afford an expensive game that’s tempted them with an appealing theme, high-quality production values, and engaging gameplay. Many times we can exhibit self-control and budget for large game purchases or bide our time before buying supplemental materials. Yet the price of games across the range of the adventure gaming hobby (roleplaying, board, wargames, and miniatures games) continues to creep upward; it isn’t helped by more releases of what I’d call “boutique” games, those with price tags nearing or often exceeding the $100 mark. These make significant contributions to the overall field of games, though at a greater cost to both producers and players.

A recent game convention we attended runs a charity “teacup” style raffle where participants buy tickets (at $1 each) and drop them into bins with numbers corresponding to donated prizes, with all proceeds going to the named charity (in this case one that benefited veterans). I’ll admit, I was sorely tempted by three interesting game “prizes,” Fantasy Flight Games’ Imperial Assault and Star Wars: Armada, and Ares Games’ Sails of Glory starter set. Each of them retails for about $100 and comes packed with some amazingly high-quality components. Their subjects also interest me. My son and I stuffed the raffle tickets I’d bought into the bin for Imperial Assault (his choice), though I diverted a few to another game that tempted me; despite this, we didn’t win any of the raffle drawings, and that was okay (donating to a good charity helped us feel it was worthwhile).

Changing Game Buying Habits

The local game store not 10 minutes from my house closed suddenly back in December after a wonderfully entertaining run of just over one year. I’m still bitter about the abrupt closing, the circumstances of which I’ve heard are surrounded in controversy, opportunism, and betrayal. I’m perhaps most upset by the loss of a place where I could hang out and play games with friends, check out the latest game releases, and enjoy hobby-specific events. I did not buy more than I usually would from a game store – one or two Godzilla comics a month for the Little Guy, an odd game here and there, some X-wing miniatures, and one special ordered Wings of Glory plane (also for the Little Guy) – about the dollar amount and game volume I’d normally do from a brick-and-mortar game store in a year (more, actually, if you include the comics). Being so close to home it also served as a great place to gather with fellow gamers, most notably for weekly X-wing miniatures games and an occasional tournament; I also enjoyed spending International Tabletop Day there trying out new games.

Despite this loss of a Friendly Local Game Store (FLGS) my game buying has somehow increased during the past few months...perhaps not in total dollar amount, but certainly in numbers of product. In taking a general look where I spend my adventure gaming hobby money, I find some interesting voluntary shifts that had little to do with the involuntary loss of the FLGS.


Game Stores: I still frequent the other FLGS (“local” in the sense it’s almost an hour’s drive away) and usually pick up some miniatures, terrain, or other, not-too-expensive bit, just to do my small part. Occasionally I make a pilgrimage to a game store I’ve heard about a farther drive away, or if we’re traveling and I happen to scout out a potential store to visit. Unfortunately even the closest FLGS remains far enough away that a casual visit isn’t a consideration; I have to plan for a trip, usually combined with other errands, and rarely have the time I’d like to even browse, let alone join in a game or event. They’re often quite helpful in special ordering hard-to-find items, though I’m finding internet venues far more fulfilling and cost-effective for specific games (see below). Given the distance involved, however, the FLGS has diminished in its role providing me with game materials – a regret since I value actual locations that offer both shopping opportunities and spaces to gather and spend time with other gamers – but that doesn’t mean that I’ve stopped supporting brick-and-mortar establishments altogether.

Solitaire Play Addendum

After posting “Celebrating Solitaire Play” two weeks ago I immediately thought of several more recent solitaire gaming endeavors worth noting. With the current increased interest in all aspects of adventure gaming – and the boom in new material available to consumers – I’m encouraged to see a plethora of innovative solitaire-appropriate games reaching the market.

As with the previous list, I own and have played a few of these, while others I’ve simply heard about. This by no means constitutes a comprehensive review of all such materials; feel free to read the “Comments” blurb to the right or at the end of this piece to make your own solitaire game suggestions:

Battle over Britain: This game came to my notice thanks to some solitaire gaming discussions over on Google+. Someone recommended it because it offered a solitaire play option, though the website description mentions it almost in passing. After looking over the Minden Games website and downloading a free game PDF, I decided to order a copy of this game and give it a try to indulge both my enjoyment of solitaire games and my interest in this particular aspect of World War II. Despite using a deck of playing cards for an innovative system to determine which pilot has the advantage, Battle over Britain’s mechanics felt like a traditional chit-and-board wargame, with plenty of tables and the fate of units hanging on single die rolls. The game’s rules and tactical scope make it far more accessible than John H. Butterfield’s strategic RAF solitaire game published long ago by the late, great West End Game, and plays in a fraction of the time (though one can also engage in campaign play).

Dungeon Roll: I supported the game’s Kickstarter campaign because it looked like a fun, push-your-luck game with lots of dice rolling and a fun dungeon-crawl theme. Group play consists of each player taking a turn to explore a dungeon, defeating monster dice with combinations of party dice, bagging any treasure, and completing the “level” before the monsters overtake the delvers. Each player gets a “hero” who allow players to use or alter the dice differently in certain situations, varying gameplay between those in a group or single players between sessions. With little interaction between players, the game seems designed more for solo play with a competitive scoring aspect allowing group players to evaluate their progress relative to others. Whether alone or with a group, Dungeon Roll offers some light diversion with a popular fantasy theme.

The Cards of Cthulhu: This was another project I backed in the Kickstarter phase primarily because it was billed as having strong solitaire playability...and well, Cthulhu. It’s very much like playing a card game of solitaire, except with some dice mechanics, resource cards, and the constant threat of losing your sanity. Each turn more minions show up on the four boards representing the imminent arrival of Cthulhu and the Elder Gods; players desperately try to budget their actions to dispel them and seal the gates through which more horrors pour...gates which keep reappearing! Out of the four games I played, I lost three handily and won a single match only by using the “easier” rules allowing for a smaller initial draw of cards each turn. The gameplay truly captures the futile struggle, the unspeakable and never-ending horrors, and desperate race against insanity typical of the Cthulhu Mythos.

Zulus on the Ramparts! I’d heard a little about this game yet foolishly passed up an opportunity to buy a copy of the first edition at a convention a few months back. Now the second edition from Victory Point Games sits atop my Amazon wish list. Late Victorian wars remain another area of interest for me – Zulus, Egyptians, and Dervishes – so a purely solitaire game based on the famous Battle of Rorke’s Drift with a purported 25-minute playing time seems extremely tempting. I know very little about the gameplay or mechanics; a quick perusal of the rules PDF one can download from the website gives me the impression of a very involved, crunchy system typical of may chit-and-board wargames along with some added complexities related to the various components (all of which look very nice, including the rulebook itself). Anyone have experience playing it?

Scenes of Chance: Roleplaying Adventure Companion: Last but not least, this recent Kickstarter-funded project promises a deck of oversized cards, most of which show visual scenes of locales along with a few choice icons to show what characters might encounter there. Each icon has a corresponding random table (on a separate card) so the gamemaster can roll 1d20 to determine what’s there; cards include multiple icons based on the setting, challenges, weather, and potential rewards. When used in conjunction with some other solo roleplaying tools like gamemaster emulators and Rory’s Story Cubes, Scenes of Chance could provide some setting and encounter situations without programming or planning on the player’s part.

I have, no doubt, overlooked many other worthy solitaire titles across the various genres of adventure games in the hobby. The topic remains a frequent interest for me and a notable offshoot of traditional group game design.

Comments....

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Acquiring RPGs in the “New Normal”...or D&D 5th, PDFs & Kickstarter

Among the many sometimes cryptic developments on this front last week, Wizards of the Coast announced the three 320-page core rulebooks for D&D 5th edition (sometimes called D&D Next) would carry a price tag of $49.95 each. The news started me thinking how we acquire new roleplaying games today. The “new normal” seems to consist of thick rules tomes with high production values and a correspondingly higher prices; but several technology driven options buck that “normal” standard.

Back in the “Golden Age of Roleplaying Games” of the early and mid 1980s (for me, anyway), I bought my games at Branchville Hobby Shop, got my industry news from print copies of Dragon Magazine, and could buy a new game, rulebook, or adventure every month or so thanks to a modest allowance. Those seeking to share their works or develop their own games did so among their small circles of gaming friends unless they somehow broke into the existing professional roleplaying game publishing structure as a freelancer or staffer. Those publishing and sales models remained well-entrenched until the emergence of the Internet Age, which suddenly opened up creative and distribution channels to the masses: fans with their homebrew games and campaigns, undiscovered professionals, even established companies seeking a wider reach.

Today gamers still have the purchasing venues of yore – the venerable Friendly Local Game Store (FLGS), though that, too, has been forced to evolve into a community hub within a storefront – but the means of bringing games to publication, all linked to the means consumers have of acquiring them, have coalesced into three principle methods: powerhouse publishers, online PDF sales, and crowd-funding. I realize this is a broad generalization. As this blog’s “comments note” always indicates, I propose this to encourage a civilized discussion of the matter. I’m sure I’m missing some publication methods, but these three seem to form the foundation for today’s game publishing and distribution.

Powerhouse Publishers

Several powerhouse publishers exist who can produce extremely high-quality product with massive popularity among fans and brand recognition enough to get them into nearly every brick-and-mortar FLGS and big-box bookstore. These factors enable them to charge what many might consider today’s “new normal” rates for core rulebooks, gorgeous, full-color, hardcover, thick tomes with price tags pushing $50 and $60, sometimes even more. Wizards of the Coast can charge $49.95 for each of the three D&D core rulebooks because the brand remains so prominent that the customer base – newcomers, in-store players, fans of prior editions, and nostalgic old-timers seeking to complete their collection – will pay those prices. It’s the same reason Fantasy Flight Games can price its Star Wars roleplaying game lines so high (and can actually charge for the “privilege” of playtesting them...), not to mention a steady stream of new ships for its X-Wing Miniatures Game hardcore fans and competitive tournament players snatch up. Even D&D’s principle competitor, the Pathfinder Roleplaying Game, costs $49.99 for a whopping 576-page full-color, hardcover core rulebook.

I’m not going to debate whether these products are worth the prices, whether these sums are or are not the inflation-adjusted equivalent of what gamers paid to buy into roleplaying games during the 1980s, whether the middle class still has the same relative buying power after years of stagnant income growth, or whether this pricing is going to kill the roleplaying game industry. It’s simply the “new normal” for games coming from traditional publishers.

I’m sure other prominent roleplaying game brands exist with similarly expensive buy-in levels for the core game, but they don’t possess the powerhouse qualities necessary to promote them front-and-center in FLGS or big-box bookstore venues. This isn’t to say other second- and third-tier publishers don’t exist or aren’t successful; they just aren’t having as much of an impact on the overall roleplaying game industry beyond a frequently large and vociferous nucleus of dedicated fans and some occasional newcomers. They don’t always have the influence and brand recognition to get their products on the shelves of major bookstore chains or in hobby stores that stock only the essential core roleplaying games or the most popular and fleeting “flavor of the month” with the local crowd.

I cannot say I’ve recently purchased a roleplaying game core book from any of what I’d consider today’s powerhouse publishers. I have little interest in buying into the latest iteration of D&D – not at $50 for each of three books, and not with a library full of other games that might satisfy my needs in that genre – though I might just buy the starter set since I have an interest in such approaches to introducing new players into the adventure gaming hobby. I’m not a huge fan of “tome” games anyway since I’m maintaining a preference for short-and-sweet games given a lack of time and focus in my life right now. I can hardly recall the last roleplaying game I purchased with a price tag around $50; possibly Cubicle 7’s Doctor Who: Adventures in Time and Space or the late Guardians of Order’s Tekumel: The Empire of the Petal Throne, both purchased based on the settings more than the rules and sadly used only for personal reference and not actual play.

Crowd-Funding

The emergence of crowd-funding websites like Kickstarter and Indiegogo have provided independent creators and fledgling publishers with a new venue for bringing their roleplaying games to production. The process essentially allows publishers to promote and collect financial support for a game, raising funds to produce it, and shipping it to backers upon completion (usually with enough left over to form solid stock for later direct orders and dissemination through the traditional distribution chain). Savvy established publishers – particularly from the second- and third-tier of roleplaying game companies – have also taken advantage of crowd-funding’s benefits to gauge interest in new ideas and pre-fund game production in a process some might call pre-ordering.

Pricing for such roleplaying game projects varies depending on the production values, with higher buy-in levels for full-color, hardcover books (although most print game include PDF rewards, either on their own or along with printed books). The costs for such games remains commensurate with offerings through the mainstream adventure gaming hobby, with the typical high-quality core rules still coming in around $50.

This venue has brought to publication many innovative, original roleplaying games from both newcomers and established designers...concepts that might otherwise not reached publication through the traditional channels. It still carries risks – both from shortfalls of funding and from extreme excess of funding (and promises of what’s delivered) – but it’s offered an innovative way for people to “shop” for new roleplaying games. The crowd-funding process also emphasizes community involvement and interaction in a developing game; backers receive updates (some of them exclusive) and can interact with creators through a public comment forum. Savvy creators also aggressively use social media to raise interest in their projects and offer further opportunities for interaction.

The process for roleplaying games shares some of the drawbacks inherent in the crowd-funding system. Games that look great might not reach funding goals. Some deliver far past the estimated completion date thanks to creative backlogs, production delays, design time for extensive stretch goals, and other unforeseen circumstances. The promised quality and content doesn’t always meet backer expectations.

Although I’ve backed more board and card games through Kickstarter, I’ve supported a few high-priced roleplaying game projects: Monte Cook’s enormously popular and innovative Numenera; Jeff Dee’s Bethorm: Plane of Tekumel (to continue my sad devotion to that early and ground-breaking campaign setting); and Wicked North Games’ Westward, to which I contributed as an author. (I’ve discussed my involvement backing game-related Kickstarter projects before.)

Online PDF Sales

The emergence of the Internet Age quickly gave rise to online distribution of roleplaying game core rules, initially through websites for ordering print copies from established publishers and subsequently through purchasing PDF rulebooks through sites like OneBookShelf’s popular DriveThruRPG.com and RPGNow.com. Technology available through home computers and internet connections has lowered the entry threshold for creators, both fans seeking to share their ideas and independent professionals without the conventional infrastructure of editorial and art departments, printers, warehouses, and wholesale distributors powerhouse and other traditional publishers rely upon.

Prices for PDF core rulebooks typically come in far lower than the print equivalent, since buyers who want physical copies can simply print them and “bind” them in whatever method they please. Of course, print-on-demand options for PDF purchases sometimes bring the costs closer to the $50 “new normal” seen in other physically produced game. And some folks just reference PDF rulebooks on their digital devices, completely avoiding the analog component. The electronic fulfillment of PDF orders satisfies the growing (and one might argue the now chronic) need for instant gratification, putting new rules in the hands of gamers almost immediately. Laptops, smart-phones, tablet devices, and seemingly ubiquitous internet access all help perpetuate the continued creation and sale of this electronic roleplaying game rules content.

This kind of access and distribution combined with a new nostalgic movement – the so-called “old school renaissance retro-clones” that revels in recreating the gaming experience of yore based in the earliest editions of D&D and other games (and in some cases evolved with innovative mechanics like Dungeon World and Old School Hack) – to increase the already vast host of free or low-cost PDF roleplaying game rules available, particularly to those seeking some form of the D&D play experience. These core rules materials range from short missives to massive electronic tomes; while they don’t always have the high production values of the powerhouse publisher products, they essentially offer a classic roleplaying game experiences to the masses without the high financial investment.

Although I publish roleplaying game projects in PDF myself (both free and paid), I don’t spend a lot of money buying similar material myself; I download free material that piques my interest, though I don’t print much of it and tend to lose track of it after an initial perusal. I prefer my roleplaying games in print format; I suspect those who share my old-fashioned sentiments get more of their roleplaying games from powerhouse publishers and crowd-funding than PDF venues.

Technology has certainly played a central part in all three ways consumers acquire their core roleplaying game rules. Powerhouse publishers rely on graphics and layout programs to give their products the slick design and illustrations that attract gamers. Crowd-funding wouldn’t’ be possible without the promotional buzz generated by social networking and online pledge collection. Electronic PDF content couldn’t be created or distributed without computers and the internet. All three venues continue bringing innovative, entertaining roleplaying game to the market. How do you acquire your roleplaying game core rules?

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Tékumel: The Lands of Joyful Addiction

I’ve been a fan of M.A.R. Barker’s Tékumel setting since discovering it in my early adulthood. I regret it’s been a rather solitary adoration; despite immersing myself in the world in its several incarnations, I’ve failed to interest any player group in trying it beyond a single game session. It comes to mind once again as renowned game artist and industry luminary Jeff Dee is currently running a Kickstarter campaign to bring the rich, exotic land of Tékumel back in its newest roleplaying game incarnation, Béthorm.

Tékumel was one of Dungeons & Dragons’ earliest campaign worlds, yet the first to fall by the official wayside in favor of more western-oriented medieval fantasy game environments. The setting combines two themes very alien to western audiences: exotic cultures and “magic” from a long-lost, advanced science age (one of the core elements of Monte Cook’s popular Numenera game). Rather than draw on the “traditional” western paradigm of medieval fantasy, Tékumel relied on more exotic foundations, inspiration from Indian, Middle Eastern, Egyptian, and Meso-American cultures. These historical elements combined with a science-fiction plot in which the formerly advanced interstellar resort colony was inexplicably warped into an isolated pocket dimension, plunging civilization into a primitive state which, over 50,000 years, produced an exotic, medieval-level society with pseudo-science magic.

Because it’s based in elements still very foreign to gamers, Tékumel remains one of the more fringe game settings, yet one with a rich and storied past and thus an extremely intricate depth. I’d consider its creator, M.A.R. Barker, among the Holy Trinity of the D&D game designers along with the revered Gary Gygax and Dave Arneson, all of whom having now passed into the great Valhalla of the adventure gaming hobby. Barker, a linguistics professor, incorporated in his creation the same cultural and linguistic depth as another founder of modern fantasy literature, J.R.R. Tolkien. The novelty and intricacy of Tékumel and the intensely creative personality of its author garnered a core of devoted fans who’ve helped keep interest in the setting alive more than 40 years and through several roleplaying game incarnations.

This love for Barker’s creation and the vast opus of Tékumel material engendered several “official” game interpretations and numerous fan conversions.

I’d heard about Tékumel and Empire of the Petal Throne in the general adventure gaming lore I consumed as a kid immersed in fantasy roleplaying, primarily Dungeons & Dragons. I’m not sure if I read anything in the pages of the venerable Dragon Magazine, learned about it from friends, or caught a glimpse of it at local hobby stores, but it remained in the back of my mind well into my college years. Shortly after graduating and starting my first job (as a reporter for my weekly hometown newspaper) I ran my first game events at a local convention (a linked series of D6 Star Wars scenarios); I found a soft-cover, saddle-stitched edition of Empire of the Petal Throne: The World of Tékumel published by Different Worlds in 1987, a reprint of material originally published in 1975 by TSR. I read it cover-to-cover and immersed myself in the amazingly alien setting, though other gaming endeavors commanded my attention. At some point – I can’t recall when or where – I acquired one volume of Gamescience’s two-volume Swords & Glory version of the rules.

At this point in my life I was working full-time but had a host of college-aged friends who got together over the summers for regular roleplaying game campaigns. At the time these included story arcs for D6 Star Wars and Cyberpunk 2020, with occasional side-trips into Space 1889 and Call of Cthulhu.

I recall experimenting with a few games, notably Teenagers from Outer Space, The Morrow Project and Empire of the Petal Throne. My escapades in Tékumel did not last much past a character-creation session and a brief, two-part adventure introducing players to the setting. I quickly learned that when players make up silly names for their characters the gaming endeavor is doomed to failure. I relegated the Tékumel materials to my roleplaying game collection on the shelf as a personal interest without any intention to play.

In 1993 Theater of the Mind Enterprises produced an impressive boxed game, Gardasiyal: Adventures in Tekumel, containing several books, folios, and a map, and later supported with several supplements. At this point in my interest with Tékumel I might otherwise have let this pass, except that most of this game incarnation focused on solitaire, programmed adventures. I put the game system and solo materials through their paces as proven by several handwritten character sheets still tucked into my rulebooks, but the rules and setting still proved too complex to try with gamers used to more accessible fare. Alas, the game soon met an untimely and unsupported “death” and, like its predecessors, mostly faded from the general adventure gaming hobby’s collective consciousness as another blip in Tékumel’s publication history.

The last incarnation of a game based in the rich Tékumel setting – Tékumel: The Empire of the Petal Throne – came out in 2005 from Guardians of Order. After much pre-release hype, previews of illustrations, and some sample teaser PDFs, the 240-page hardcover came out...and then Guardians of Order disappeared beneath a flood of overwhelming debt (an unfortunate yet occasional occurrence in the adventure gaming hobby). I bought a copy when it released and read it, though it ultimately saw no actual play and ended up on the shelf with the rest of my Tékumel game collection.

A far more complete game history resides at tekumel.com, a website devoted to the setting, and at The Eye of Joyful Sitting Amongst Friends. Copies of past games remain difficult to find through retailers, though they sell at premium prices on the secondary markets.

After Barker’s passing in 2012 his fans helped establish the Tekumel Foundation, a non-profit institution “to encourage, support and protect the literary works and all related products and activities surrounding Professor M.A.R. Barker’s world of Tékumel and the Empire of the Petal Throne.” Barker left a host of notes and other world-related materials that never saw publication, and the foundation seeks to preserve his memory and maintain the interest in his innovative setting. Tékumel fans remain a vociferous and productive minority in the overall population of adventure gamers. They continue creating material for and celebrating Tékumel across the internet at such aptly named websites as The Tékumel Project, Skein of Destiny, and The Eye of Joyful Sitting Amongst Friends.

Why is Tékumel so difficult for gamers to comprehend and enjoy? It’s a rich, deep, intricately devised setting...so alien in its origins and interpretation that gamers need to really immerse themselves in it to identify and understand familiar roleplaying game paradigms. Aside from a very different culture, Tékumel incorporates a host of strange and often savage deities, lost-tech-driven magic, and a bestiary of wildly alien monsters and races with names steeped in Barker’s fictitious language. This kind of ground-breaking originality can seem foreign to westerners raised on European legends, medieval history, and the fantasy fare perpetuated by books, comics, and films.

I’m excited to see – and to back – the latest gaming incarnation of Tékumel, Béthorm, in the knowledge Jeff Dee can produce an outstanding game product that receives the support and promotion Barker’s fantastic setting deserves. I’m hoping the rules engine Béthorm employs strays more toward the rules-light end of the game mechanics complexity spectrum. From what I’ve seen Jeff Dee not only has a love for the setting but a keen and clear means of expressing it and sharing the excitement it holds for adventurers.

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Admiring Interesting Game Elements

I occasionally like to highlight and discuss interesting game elements I notice, whether they can actually influence or inspire my own game design work. Collins Epic Wargames’ Spearpoint 1943 by Byron Collins impressed me with its multi-faceted damage cards and overall smooth interpretation of World War II tactical skirmishes in a card game format. Tasty Minstrel Games’ Coin Ageby Adam McIver incorporates an innovative mechanic in which the random elements determining what actions one can take also serve as the pieces one places, all on a “micro” map that can fit in your pocket. By sheer coincidence both games are running Kickstarter funding campaigns, though Coin Age’s ends in the next few days.

  

Spearpoint 1943

I first noticed this game while attending a small miniatures wargaming convention in Williamsburg, VA, where the creator was running demos. A friend who manages a comics and gaming store showed me a demo copy and was particularly impressed with the damage card mechanic, which, on first glance, offered a different damage complication on each of its four edges corresponding to one of the four unit types (infantry, tanks, aircraft, and artillery). I’ve had my eye on the game ever since -- in a casual sort of way -- but always hesitated at the $29.99 price tag. This past Thanksgiving Collins Epic Wargames had a Black Friday sale that, even with shipping, brought the game into my acceptable price range…so I ordered a copy that was promptly delivered two days later.

The game comes with 50 cards each detailing German and American forces, 25 command cards with advantages and special actions to play as the skirmish develops, and 25 damage cards. Players customize a force based on card points, deploy several units, then engage in combat. The skirmish game concept reminds me somewhat of what I’ve read about Up Front, the card game version of Avalon Hill’s venerable Squad Leader, though I imagine Spearpoint 1943 is a bit more streamlined than that hard-core wargame.

During the course of combat units can sustain damage in the form of points deducted from their endurance (a numerical value indicative of overall strength). Spearpoint 1943 employs an elegant little mechanic in which a card keeps taking damage throughout the turn, but at the turn’s end it defaults back to either full endurance or, if damaged below half endurance but not yet destroyed, then back to half endurance. Any unit taking more than half its endurance in damage also draws a damage card. Each edge of the card contains text for specific damage effects to one of the four unit types. Tucking the card beneath the damaged unit -- with the specific damage effect edge text showing -- also reminds players the unit’s now at half endurance.

Spearpoint 1943 also uses a few other innovative mechanics I like. The game requires players to commit crew cards when putting vehicles and artillery into play. This might seem like an unnecessary detail in a basic skirmish game, but functions as game balance for more powerful units. Players initially deploy only four cards, so a vehicle card and crew card to make that vehicle operational take up two card spaces that might otherwise go to two infantry units. In playing additional forces from one’s hand one must wait until both a vehicle and the associated crew appear when drawing from the reserve deck.

While the cards at first seem overly complicated with many different stats and the rules might seem a little overwhelming as players try to put together all the numbers and procedures, the mechanics work intuitively when everything’s put together on the game table. (I wouldn’t mind finding rules for solitaire play….) Although the interesting elements I admire don’t seem to fit into any games I’m developing right now, they’re certainly approaches I’ll keep in mind for the future.

Collins Epic Wargames is currently running a Kickstarter campaign to fund a version of the game set on the Russian front (the original Spearpoint 1943 covers tactical engagements during the campaign in Italy in 1943). While I’m not planning on backing this particular version of the game -- I’m not really a huge fan of action on the Eastern Front -- I’d love to see a version covering German and British skirmishes in North Africa in 1942-43.

Coin Age

Billed as an “area control microgame,” Coin Ageconsists of a credit-card sized map with four similarly sized pages of rules; players provide the “pieces” using pocket change (one quarter, two nickels, three pennies, and four dimes for each player), though the Kickstarter campaign has already funded the stretch goal of a set of punchboard coins.

The game’s innovative mechanic involves using the coins not only as randomizers to determine player actions but as available pieces to place on the map to control territories. One player is “heads” and the other “tails,” enabling all coins to serve as double-sided counters on the board. Players “roll” (or more accurately “slap!” as demonstrated by the Kickstarter video) the two-sided randomizers (“coins”), with the combination of heads or tails to match the player’s side determining what actions the player can take: placing one, two, or three coins matching the player’s side, moving an already placed piece to an open territory, or even capturing an already placed piece and adding it to their “bank” of available coins to “roll.”

Players aren’t limited to placing pieces on empty territories; they can put a piece on an opponent’s piece on the board as long as the coin is physically smaller than the one upon which they’re stacking. For instance, a player might put a nickel on top of their opponent’s quarter, taking that territory as their own; but their opponent can re-take the area with a penny or dime on a later turn.

The game ends -- and the scoring begins -- after someone claims the last open territory or uses up all their coins. Scoring not only depends on who holds the most territories, but who has majority control of several “regions” consisting of one, two, three, or four spaces. Smaller coins score fewer points than the larger coins, which are already scarce within each players’ bank of available pieces.

Both the “randomizers as pieces” concept and the “stacking territory capture” elements appeal to me, though not for any game I currently have in mind. I could easily see rolling dice and using them with the values they roll as pieces of different strengths (and I’m sure someone’s already done it somewhere). Stacking pieces to capture areas from lesser-value pieces also adds a good bit of strategy to the game: if you make a grab for someone else’s territory you do so at a lower-scoring point value. (Hmmm, the stacking capture mechanic might work for a Gordon Relief Expedition game I’ve causally had in the back of my mind….)

I’m impressed and encouraged by several strategies in Coin Age’s Kickstarter that appeal to me as a potential backer:

Free PDF: Regardless of whether you back it, you can still preview and play the game for free with the PDF download rules and board available at the Kickstarter website. Try before you buy, so to speak.

Low Price Point: The minimum backer level (including shipping anywhere in the world) is a minimum $3, with a suggested “donation” of $5. When was the last time you paid $5 for a well-nuanced strategy game?

Stretch Goals for Everyone: The Coin Age Kickstarter campaign offers a veritable horde of stretch goals that apply to everyone backing the game. As of this writing people who back the game at any level get an additional map on durable “credit card-like” material, cardboard coin tokens (so you can save your change), stickers with the cardboard coin token design to apply to real coins, and -- yet to be unlocked at this time -- one or two additional maps! All this in addition to the originally promised main microgame board and rules. No add-ons or exclusive stretch goals for those backing at extremely expensive levels…just basic rewards for everyone to celebrate the game’s Kickstarter successes.

Support Our Troops: Midway through the campaign Tasty Minstrel Games added an extra backer level in which supporters could not only get copies of the game for themselves, but could also pay to have copies sent to troops overseas through the Operation Gratitude organization. [Edit: Kickstarter administration has since rescinded this pledge level as it supposedly violates their terms in not donating funds to charities...the exact wording and intent of which backers have debated -- and expressed their displeasure with -- at the Coin Age crowdfunding page.]

Ultimately I backed this project for multiple copies, one for myself and a few as gifts for friends.

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Competing Game Sources: FLGS vs. Online Retailers

Where do you buy your games? That’s one of the contentious questions that can easily fragment the broad gamer community. Do you buy exclusively from your Friendly Local Game Store (FLGS) or from online retailers; and do you back Kickstarter game products? In discussions we often veer toward extremes to make our point. Some folks loyally shop only at their FLGS while others assert online vendors offer better deals and a greater range of available product. Although Kickstarter provides some unique opportunities for new games across genres and styles, it certainly can’t cover all of a gamer’s needs, though it might siphon off money otherwise destined for the other two sources. What’s best for gamers and what’s best for the game sources?

It’s a challenging balancing act between three sources and the diverse interests of gamers. On one hand you have retailers (and creators/publishers in the case of Kickstarter) trying to survive and succeed financially. On the other you have consumers trying to satisfy their gaming needs for the best price…or at any price to loyally support their sources. All considerations have their merits.

FLGS: Local establishments offer great incentives for gamers, including in-store gaming space, a face-to-face gamer community, a chance to physically examine games (sometimes even offering demo copies to try), the opportunity to purchase and possess an item without delay, and discounts for frequent customers. While they might not stock every item gamers want, most seem willing to make an effort to special order particular items for customers. They can’t always offer the deep discounts some online retailers provide, but they make the most of their physical location as a community hub for gamers -- game space, copies for review, special events, friendly staff and customers -- all of which contribute to the overall play experience of the games customers buy.

Online Retailers: Ordering merchandise online offers more convenience and discounts to many modern shoppers, and gamers are no exception. The internet helps expedite finding products, comparing prices, and ordering, though this alternative often includes additional shipping charges and a wait time for delivery. But not everyone has a FLGS within reasonable travel distance, nor is the local game store always the supportive, friendly place gamers expect. Some material -- particularly PDF gaming product -- is only available through online venues like DriveThruRPG.com. Online retailers are part of the free market competition inherent in our economy, though some claim a sale online takes money away from the FLGS.

Kickstarter: This model throws an odd wrench into the debate between online and FLGS sales. Individuals pledge to back projects in development, paying only after the campaign has raised the requisite funds (and not paying if it doesn’t reach its goal). Stretch goals and add-ons offer more goodies should a project exceed its funding expectations. While management claims customers are backing projects and not “purchasing” items, per se, project developers are essentially marketing product directly to consumers. In some cases Kickstarter-funded games remain exclusive and unavailable through the general retail stream (online or FLGS); but most use Kickstarter to fund an initial run of a game (including set-up costs), offering backers an early copy of the game before general distribution to the public. Kickstarter projects cater to a very narrow spectrum of gamers; matching gamer interest with affordable backer levels keeps these games from breaking too far into the mainstream…but they still siphon off money gamers might otherwise spend on either online or FLGS purchases.

I sometimes see some pretty intense animosity between advocates of one particular game source. Understandably the FLGS, being a brick-and-mortar entity, might see online retailers and Kickstarter games as taking money from customers who might otherwise support their store with those dollars. Gamers buying through online vendors might argue such websites offer deeper discounts than they might find at the FLGS. Proponents of Kickstarter projects enjoy many benefits from backing projects they like, including purchasing the newest and shiniest games before they’re available elsewhere (if at all) and supporting creators and publishers directly, with all the interactive experience Kickstarter offers.

As a gamer I spread my dollars primarily between my FLGS (two stores, since one just opened within 10 minutes of my home) and interesting Kickstarter game projects. I sometimes save up to purchase from vendors at conventions I attend, though I consider this an extension of the FLGS model. I rarely use online retailers; although I maintain a wish list on Amazon.com, I do so more for the benefit of friends and family members looking for gifts and to remind myself of games I’d like to acquire. I back game-related Kickstarter projects that combine interesting subjects, engaging gameplay suitable to my style, and an affordable price point to acquire a physical copy of the game. This isn’t a detailed financial analysis of my game spending habits, but I’d ballpark my game spending at about 80% FLGS and 20% Kickstarter.

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Dabbling in Civil War Games

These past few years I’ve dabbled with various games focusing on the American Civil War to varying degrees of success and satisfaction. Several games have caught my eye, with some acquired and played, while a few remain yearned-for yet too-expensive additions to my game library. My experience is in no means comprehensive, nor does it encompass the vast panorama of Civil War-related games available over the years; but a few come within my realm of experience and touch on elements I enjoy or admire in games.

I’ve always nurtured an interest in the history of the various places I’ve lived: Ridgefield, CT, site of the Battle of Ridgefield during the American Revolution; Honesdale, PA, birthplace of American railroading with the first steam engine to run (briefly) on rails and once the staging point of a vital canal system supplying New York City with coal; Williamsburg, VA, colonial Virginia capital and living history restoration; and Culpeper, VA, a central Civil War location between the Shenandoah Valley, Chancellorsville and Wilderness battlefields, and site of its own engagements at Cedar Mountain, Brandy Station, and Culpeper Court House. (I discussed the subject of local history a while back in another blog post.) My interest in some of these locations sometimes inspired my game-related activities. I’ve long hoped to find a system and medium to replay the Battle of Ridgefield (and might have found one in my Charge! rules under development). Living in Culpeper has certainly spurred me to find some means of playing out small cavalry engagements -- Buford’s crossing of Beverly’s Ford as the opening move for the massive Battle of Brandy Station, Mosby’s raid on a train at nearby Catlett’s Station, and, of course, Custer’s action against the artillery and cavalry guarding the Confederate withdrawal from Culpeper Court House.

Over the years I’ve acquired a meager collection of Civil War-themed games; now that I’ve lived in Virginia for more than 10 years and currently live in a nexus of many related historical sites, I’m drawn more to investigating this period of history through games. I regret I sold my boxed set of West End Games Civil War wargame titles long ago when money was tight; though I’ve rarely had the time, attention, or interest for indulging in complex “chit-and-board” wargames (despite owning a few).

My interest in Civil War games has ranged across several resources and titles, some I’ve acquired and played, others remaining on my “wish list” for future investigation, though the material I’ve seen so far intrigues me:

Junior General: The website offers Civil War gamers several scenarios for miniatures battles and a few other games (card and matrix/map battles) for the historical period. Scenarios for First Bull Run and two segments of Gettysburg (Little Round Top and Pickett’s Charge) provide very simple rules and well-researched historical notes (though a familiarity with  miniatures wargames can help understand some of the basic gaming concepts). Although the materials on the website seem intended for adults to find resources and run games to help students explore history, it’s a treasure trove of materials for wargamers dabbling in various periods. Browse the site’s vast archive of military units to print out, assemble, and muster on the gaming table using the well-researched scenarios. Junior General remains a great starting resource for wargaming any historical period.

Sundered Union: Several years ago a new game company, Gordon & Hague Historical War Games, published a full set and then a quick-start version of Civil War tabletop rules to support its line of 10mm period miniatures. Both versions remained available as free PDF downloads from the company’s website until recently; a full-color, soft-cover printed version was briefly available for purchase, and I’m thankful I managed to obtain a copy from a convention vendor. While far from perfect and nowhere near as comprehensively complex as other, well-established miniature wargaming rule sets for the period, Sundered Union provided a basic framework for Civil War battles and included rules for most of the generally accepted tactical elements for these engagements. The quick-start rules -- at a concise four pages -- streamlined the main game further and offered newcomers to wargaming (or those of us who prefer lighter games) a more simplified yet gratifying experience. Regrettably Sundered Union is no longer available as a free PDF download from the Gordon & Hague website in either the full or quick-start versions. The game served as a solid platform for the company’s short-lived line of pre-painted 10mm Civil War miniatures and could easily work with its upcoming line of pre-painted 15mm minis. The company recently concluded a successful Kickstarter campaign for a massive board wargame using accurately illustrated top-down counters or the pre-painted 15mm minis, both of which, alas, remain beyond my own rational budgetary allowances.

Battle Cry: Board games packed with hordes of pieces, dice, tiles, huge map boards, and cards seem the norm for everything from light wargames to Euro-style games these days; Battle Cry is no exception. It uses the Command and Colors system developed by Richard Borg for simplified wargames focusing on a deck of command cards and custom dice to determine the outcome in combat. I have no direct play experience with this game, though I’ve perused an old version of the rulebook. I have played Borg’s engaging Memoir ’44, a World War II Command and Colors game incorporating many similar elements: a large hex board easily customized for scenarios with terrain tiles; plastic pieces representing different units and their strengths; left, center, and right flank card-based actions; specialized dice to resolve combat; and an easy means of creating or playing historical scenarios. Like it’s World War II counterpart, Battle Cry comes with a box filled with the aforementioned goodies (board, terrain tiles, plastic soldiers, dice, cards) as well as the understandably high price tag of $60 retail.

Dixie: At the height of the collectible card game craze of the mid-1990s Columbia Games jumped in by adapting to card play mechanics the designers ported from the tactical portion of the Bobby Lee block wargame (which I realize in retrospect thanks to the Kickstarter campaign mentioned below). Each deck of Dixie contained enough cards to run a battle, with cards depicting infantry, cavalry, and artillery units -- each with an original illustration of individual soldiers in uniform -- as well as generals, terrain features, and special conditions to modify the battle. Like the tactical combat in Bobby Lee, players deployed units on their left, right, and center, with forces held in reserve. Units revealed themselves advancing against and engaging the opponent’s positions, resolving combat, and taking ground. I can’t recall how I acquired the few decks of this game I possess (two of the Battle of Bull Run edition and two Gettysburg edition); possibly as a giveaway at a game industry trade show, maybe purchased at a convention or game store. They impressed me as a basic, card-driven means of refighting battles using historical units and some degree of tactical accuracy.

Bobby Lee: In 1993 Columbia Games also published a wargame covering the Civil War in Virginia (including Maryland and southern Pennsylvania, to include Antietam and Gettysburg). What seemed like a conventional “chit-and-board” wargame -- complete with a nicely-rendered map-board, detailed rules, and numerous pieces for various military units -- actually moved beyond those bounds by including two innovations Columbia Games incorporated in its many wargames: pieces on wooden blocks and a tactical battlefield combat to resolve engagements between forces meeting on the larger strategic map board. Each block represents a unit, with the usual wargaming stat information on a sticker; when stood on its side, however, the blocks enable a fog-of-war mechanic allowing a player to see his own forces but hiding the opponent’s armies from view until encountered in battle. The game combines both strategic action across the campaign theater map-board and more focused tactical engagement resolution on a separate skirmish board utilizing gameplay similar to that of Dixie (and probably derived from games like Bobby Lee). Columbia Games is funding a revision of Bobby Lee through Kickstarter; the campaign ends on November 11, 2013. This looks like a good game -- with tighter rules than the original -- for someone dabbling in the period. The $75 price tag seems quite daunting, considering many high-end Euro-style board games come in around $50. Still, the components look good, the map is huge, and I’m very interested in the fog-of-war mechanic with pieces using blocks.

These titles are the ones that come to mind or have formed my experience playing Civil War games, though I know more exist and I’m sure the Hobby Games readership has its own favorites and suggestions

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Kickstarter Satisfaction with Dungeon Roll

A Kickstarter game project I backed recently arrived in the mail and -- now that it’s in my hands -- I have to share that it was among the more satisfying Kickstarter experiences I’ve had since cautiously reviewing and backing a handful of projects engaging my interests. Frequent Hobby Games Recce readers might recall an earlier missive on Kickstarter projects focusing primarily on the numbers of projects I’ve backed, what was delivered, what wasn’t, and my core criteria that helped me determine whether I backed a particular project that initially caught my interest. At the time of that post’s writing Tasty Minstrel Games’ Dungeon Roll was the only project still undergoing funding operations through Kickstarter; now that I’ve received my copy and review my backer experience, I must admit it’s one of the more satisfying projects I’ve supported.

Frequent readers might recall my affinity for press-your-luck dice games, particularly Steve Jackson Games’ Zombie Dice and its far more kid-friendly cousin Dino Hunt Dice. Designer Chris Darden’s Dungeon Roll essentially follows the form of a press-your-luck dice game with a number of innovative developments in dice management to emulate dungeon-delving-style action. Rather than a simple roll-and-keep system like the aforementioned games, Dungeon Roll employs two sets of dice, the player rolling seven white “party” dice and allocating them to vanquish monsters and activate treasures, with an adjacent player rolling the black “dungeon” dice to populate a theoretical dungeon and escalate the delve to a challenging combat encounter by accumulating dragon results. The active player manages his party dice to defeat monsters, gain treasure and experience, and bring previously used dice back into play, all while delving deeper with more dungeon dice rolled on subsequent “levels.” That’s a very broad overview of the gameplay; Dungeon Roll incorporates many nuances, including hero cards with special dice-managing abilities and treasures useful in dungeon delves, all enhancing a fun push-your-luck resource management game.

What are some of the features of both the game and the Kickstarter campaign promoting it that satisfied my expectations as a backer?

Price Point: The price to obtain a physical version of a game remains one of my primary criteria for backing a project, and at $15 Dungeon Roll made this an easy decision (even at the $19.95 retail price the game remains a good deal for a box full of dice). Domestic shipping was also included in that price (nothing made me feel like I didn’t get a good deal than when I backed an innovative game for $15 and later had to pay $12 for shipping).

Many Inclusive Stretch Goals: That $15 backer price automatically included a host of stretch goal rewards…five new hero cards (one with an additional party die), a host of new expansion pack hero cards, cards representing the dragon’s lair and graveyard locations during play, and the 10-sided level-tracker die. Normally the retail version comes in a fun treasure-chest-shaped box, but Kickstarter backers got an exclusive mimic treasure-chest-shaped box with subtle yet menacing eyes and teeth. I’ve seen Kickstarter projects whose “stretch goals” aren’t rewards as much as ad-ons backers can pay extra to receive, a kind of hollow victory for backers limited to donating at particular levels; Dungeon Roll’s inclusive stretch goal rewards helped invest backers in the campaign’s success and make it a fulfilling game package.

Production Values: The treasure-chest-shaped box might seem small compared to other games, but it’s packed with high-quality goodies. The core of the game remains the hefty handful of custom molded dice (17 in all) for the game; the numerous hero cards come on good stock with nice, tasteful images typical of fantasy-themed artwork. Experience point and treasure tokens punch out from heavy, die-cut cardboard. The addition of a dragon’s lair and graveyard location cards helps organize gameplay. Four duplicate player aid cards summarize how different dice work and remind players how they can use different treasures. The game also includes the rulebook and two hero books (one for the expansion) detailing different hero abilities. Not all these goodies come with the general retail version (I believe it lacks the heroes in the expansion pack, the Kickstarter-exclusive hero with its extra party die, two extra dungeon dice, and the two location cards); but the production values remain high for the $19.95 price point.

Light Engaging Gameplay: Dungeon Roll doesn’t promise an intense evening of gaming one might expect from something like Axis & Allies, Settlers of Catan, or even Ticket to Ride. One might even argue that Steve Jackson Games’ classic Munchkin exemplifies the light dungeon-delving game with a dose of outrageous humor. But Dungeon Roll packs a light, dice-tossing game experience with some solid resource management and enough strategy and tension as a light break from heavier fare or a primary game for a group of younger players. It’s also perfectly suitable as a solitaire diversion….

Solitaire Option: Although Dungeon Roll’s gameplay can serve solitaire players in its basic form to achieve their best score, the designers offer specific solitaire guidelines…and not just “here’s how you play Dungeon Roll by yourself,” but an experience point scale to grade performance and several notable “achievements” for encountering or overcoming certain situations.

Gamers who missed out on the Kickstarter campaign can still buy a copy (without all the cool Kickstarter exclusive bits) from their friendly local game store or other venues carrying game offerings from Tasty Minstrel Games.

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