Kickstart Your Week! Deer Banner Quest

 

 

Deer Lord!

 

Dear Lord! A game all about deer? Well I have to admit Bambi sure did grow up to look smart in that suit! But I’m afraid the card backs are all the deer you’ll see in this card driven party game that we reviewed on Friday! If you’ve not read it then click this link and go read it!

Wait, why are you still here? Oh OK fine, I’ll summarise it. So Deer Lord, while telling you what to do with simple cards much like Cards Against Humanity, in fact opens up a huge realm of possibilities, challenging you to perform some action obviously enough that people will agree you did it upon revealing that card, but not so obviously that they call you out on it at the time. Never have I scrutinised my fellow players to such a degree! Yet throughout this game players will also be challenging others to duels, one on one challenges for which typically the group will decide the winner. Needless to say, you can’t focus everywhere at once and besides, there’s nothing stopping you from doing things just for the hell, and to trick your friends into accusing you!

 

 

While some of the challenges may require more imagination and creativity than others, and being put on the spot in some of the duels could be unpleasant for some people (myself included occasionally), this is not a game that is only for extroverts. Get a group of good friends together that you are comfortable with and you can have a blast. If you are a bit of an extrovert, of course, you can really let your imagination run wild here!

 

Good grief! My word! Deer Lord! It ends December 3^rd.

The Banner Saga Warbands

 

Snow is falling and the wind whistles up the mountain pass the column is slowly advancing through, banners whipping and horses snorting. Two men stand to one side with you discussing how to raise the men’s morale. Will you lead from the front with your bannermen? Or increase rations and hope a full belly will keep the soldiers in line? You’ll only know once you’ve made your decision, and flipped your card to see.

The Banner Saga is a successful video game, telling the tale of two groups on a long and dangerous journey through an endless winter. The storytelling revolved not around a single hero, but was told through a cast of characters who might die at any given point, according to the decisions you made over the course of the game. The tactical skirmishes your band fought during this game were originally tested as a board game, and now those designers are bringing The Banner Saga Warbands to Kickstarter, the fully fleshed out board game of that original prototype.

The game still focuses on that story of a band on a long and dangerous journey. There are those same ethical and moral decision points to navigate, and regular quick fire battles to fight against the marauding Dredge. Each player takes a different role, be it a thane, the quartermaster, or the warmaster and the needs of your character will sometimes come before the needs of the group as these decision points are reached. That same artwork from the orginal PC game pervades the cards and rulebook of this tabletop version, and that same feeling of regret for every bad choice will carry through.

 

The Banner Saga’s journey ends December 4^th.

 

 

Side Quest

 

One of the great joys of roleplaying games, of the digital variety, was exploring the world you found yourself in, meeting the strange characters and completing side quests. Some of the greatest secrets could be found here, and occasionally, the hardest challenges. Side Quest, a new card based dungeon crawl game, is absolutely one of those hard as nails challenges!

You and your fellow heroes will be fighting monsters, exploring a dungeon, gathering items and slaying bosses… all with only a deck of 80 or so cards and a pair of dice! Yes, they have managed to compress a full dungeon crawl into something that will fit into a pocket (I mean, so long as you don’t have tiny trousers or something…). This does have the affect of limiting the variety somewhat, but certainly has no effect on challenge! This is one of the most impressively difficult coops to survive; you’ll really need to have your wits about you in this dungeon.

I was lucky enough to receive a review copy of Side Quest a couple of months ago and you can read my full review here, but to summarize Side Quest is a very neat package, with a great spatial mechanic that drives the gameplay. I’ll leave the details to the review but let’s just say you’ll be in a desperate fight from start to finish!

 

Get your bit on the side by December 1^st.

 

 

Best of the Rest

 

[row][one_third][/one_third][two_third]Centauri Saga – Not only do we have a second game based on a video game (Universe Online in this case), but it is also the second game with ‘saga’ in the title! Centauri Saga presents the curious combination of a cooperative and a 4X space game. Guide your armada through the Alpha Centauri system and defeat the alien menace. The designers offer an array of different scenarios and game modes to try out. Ends Nov 30^th.[/two_third][/row]

 

[row][one_third][/one_third][two_third]Tavarua – Surf’s up Dudes (and Dudettes)! Catch the biggest waves and perform the best tricks to win, but make sure you keep your balance or you’ll splash out. Tavarua features a set of advancing wave tiles to catch, and you’ll want to get the biggest ones you can. Play cards to perform tricks, but these will shift your balance your surfboard. Ends Nov 30^th.[/two_third][/row]

 

[row][one_third][/one_third][two_third]Secrets of the Lost Tomb: Fate’s Fortune – An expansion to Secrets of the Lost Tomb, a pulp adventure game, sending you deep into mysterious tombs to defeat a global threat and grab the treasure. Fate’s Fortune adds personal objectives for your adventurer to complete, including optional traitor cards to create a semi-coop experience. Your characters will also be able to level up, but as you do so the monsters will get tougher too! Ends Nov 30^th.[/two_third][/row]

 

[row][one_third][/one_third][two_third]Treatment – My goodness! A tabletop game attempting to take a reasonable look at mental illness? Treatment is a basic card game in which the aim is to treat patients by playing the right combinations of cards, while also keeping their symptoms under control. The game has been designed by a trainee psychiatrist, so I have real hope for the factual accuracy of the game. Ends Dec 1^st.[/two_third][/row]

 

[row][one_third][/one_third][two_third]Dropfleet Commander – A new tabletop skirmish game from the designers of the successful Dropzone Commander, Dropfleet Commander takes the battle into orbit with some ludicrously lovely and customisable ship models. Incorporates orbital mechanics, condition statuses and damage all into a cleverly designed base. Also has some really lovely play mats for space ship games. Ends Dec 3^rd.[/two_third][/row]

 

[row][one_third][/one_third][two_third]Princess Bride: I Hate to Kill You – A sword fighting dice game set in the Princess Bride universe. I feel like the intersection of “likes sword fighting games” and “likes Princess Bride” is not huge, but regardless the game itself seems simple yet interesting. A mixture of dice rolling and hand management sees players determining the winner of fights over a series of rounds, but every victory reduces the number of dice you get to roll. Ends Dec 3^rd.[/two_third][/row]