Kickstart Your Week! Potions, Heroes and… Art Museums?

 

The Gallerist 

 

I see sir has a fine eye. It is an enticing box is it not? A fabulous piece of cover design. Don’t you just wish to tear it open to reveal the masterpiece beneath? Well don’t! It’s just a box! Allow me to open it for sir. Here we are. This is The Gallerist. Much like my role here, a Gallerist must buy works of art to display in their museums, promote upcoming artists, encourage art styles and trends, attract visitors and eventually sell that art. Why don’t we lay it out on this table.

It’s quite the explosion of iconography and tracks and tiles isn’t it? Like a board gaming Jackson Pollock, not for the faint of heart! Or perhaps merely as confusing as a Salvidor Dali? Well, we could debate the correct simile all day, but just rest assured that it is, in fact, all very clever. Look closer. This is the player board.

See white spaces along the top? Each artwork tile, lovingly illustrated with actual pieces of art produced by real artists, slips into these spaces and immediately onto the walls of your gallery. Isn’t it clever!? And look back at the setup picture, on the left are the renowned artworks available as bonuses at the end of the game, all set up on little easels! Just lovely detail work.

That attention to detail is on show throughout the design. It’s a worker placement game, but instead of blocking, you may gain a bonus action if an opponent wishes to use your space. There are numerous ways of gaining money (victory points), from secret objectives to an array of public bonus cards that are re-arranged every game offering a delightful variety of game experiences.

Yes, there is a lot of iconography. It’s going to be intimidating for new players to the genre, but with an experienced guiding hand, the theme could well win them over. A fine centerpiece for a collection. I see you are intrigued! Well, perhaps then I can recommend you visit our sales office.

The Gallery opens (or perhaps closes?) on July 5^th.

 

 

Mare Nostrum: Empires

 

The salty sea breeze tugs at your toga as you gaze upon the ocean, hands resting upon the marble balcony. The apartment to your back may only be part of a youthful city, but you know it will grow. It will become known throughout the world as the greatest city in history! The centre of a glorious empire that will spread throughout the known world. And all that begins with the glorious fleet you now watch, sailing into Mare Nostrum, “Our Sea”.

 

Mare Nostrum: Empires lets players develop trade, build glorious cities and go to war with the ancient empires of Rome, Greece, Babylon, Egypt and Carthage, across the beige lands surrounding the Mediterranean. Indeed, there’s a hilarious moment in the Kickstarter video where the verdant lands around the Mediterranean are transformed into board game beige.

But games aren’t all about surface appearances! This balance between trade, building and combat is interesting. There are also influence tracks offering one route to victory. You can hire legendary heroes or build great monuments that give you permanent bonuses. Do you try and keep the peace? Or obtain your resources by conquest.

It looks like a very interesting game! Multiple routes to victory is interesting. Conquering land without bringing the wrath of your friends down on you is interesting. I want to lead my Carthagian elephants across the Alps into Rome, but I also want to build the Lighthouse of Alexandria and have it guarded by Hercules, and I want to lead a glorious trade empire from the Hanging Gardens of Babylon. And I can do that with Nare Nostrum! Well, except the elephants. They don’t have any elephant miniatures. But they do have Atlantis in the expansion!

Explore Mare Nostrum until July 6^th.

 

 

Apotheca: The Secret Potion Society

 

You knock furtively on the tired wooden door at the end of a long dark alley. You wish to join the secret potion society. But are you worthy? Inside, you are lead to a smoky corner where players sit around a table of elaborate potions, some hidden in bags, others in plain sight. It’s your turn. Will you use your abilities to gain these potions, or will you try and get more information first? Try to set yourself up for a bigger catch later? Just be careful that your opponents don’t slip in and take what you wanted first!

Apotheca is a game of hidden information and careful maneuvering. Players are trying to gain potions, by revealing and arranging potion tiles into lines of matching colours. To do this they can hire apothecaries with special abilities by spending gems earned by revealing previously hidden potions. Except revealing potions gives your opponents more options for forming sets so you want to be careful about doing that! You will also be placing tiles on the board, so you know what type it is. You’ll want to position them so that you can make best use of it first, but you don’t want your opponents to guess that!

Apotheca is a beautiful looking game containing a fascinating puzzle. The apothecaries each have unique powers that can be chained together into killer turns, but as soon as they are used to find a potion they are lost, nicely balancing the game. This is the kind of game that really rewards careful planning, resulting in superb moves that will make the table catch their breath at your amazingness. This is the kind of game that really deserves to be played.

The potion society will remain secret until July 9^th.

 

Worth a Look

 

Zombicide: Black Plague – Once there was a little zombie slaughting game called Zombicide, that grew into a unstoppable juggernaut of plastic flesh that now roles on into a medieval fantasy setting, with dwarves and archers and the knights of the round table (as kickstarter exclusives). There are clever new trays for your character sheets and equipment, and necromancers acting as mobile spawn points for zombies, with tougher heroes and armour, but also more brutal close combat battles. But in the end its still Zombicide, and you know if you want it or not. Ends July 6^th.

 

Monstrous – Unleash the monsters of ancient Greece upon the realms of mankind to get those mortals back to the temples and worshipping their Gods. Only, make sure its you they are worshipping, and not your friends! Do this by literally throwing your monster cards on to the table, in a cool dexterity game where the cards you cover up with your throw interact with your card abilities. Chose carefully and aim well to win! Ends July 9^th.

 

Healing Blade: Defenders of Soma – A fantasy card game of heroes fighting monsters, except it’s really about using heroic antibiotics to fight off infections. Which is actually a fascinating idea, because it means as you use your heroes, the enemies will evolve, and develop resistance to them. Can you keep your villagers alive throughout the length of the game? Welcome to the terrifying world of antibiotic resistance. Ends July 9^th.

 

Loop, Inc – The time tourism industry is flourishing and you’re the guides. Take your tourist back in time to see the pyramids, dinosaurs, fighting at the colosseum, wherever they want! Don’t worry if it doesn’t work out perfectly, the best thing about time travel is you can try again later, or earlier… best not to think about. Just make sure you don’t run into your past selves! Ends July 9^th.

 

Monikers: Shmonikers – Monikers, that most excellent party game of trying to get your friends to guess the name on the card you’re holding by just your description, a single word, or charades. The genius part being that you use the same set of cards across multiple rounds. Shmonikers adds a whole load more cards, with a collection of the best crazy new rounds that people have come up with, like just using your head, under a sheet, or a single sound. Think you can describe “The Hindenburg” with a single sound? Find out! Ends July 10^th.

 

 

Rally Round the Flag – Recreate the Battle of Gettysburg in unbelievable detail. There is a Division level that allows you to explore the pinnacle moments of that 4 day battle. Or there’s a Brigade level that ups the scale and gives players more detail, and a more in depth game. Or there’s the regimental level… with more than 2000 cards, 1000 unit stands and 144, 144!!!, map tiles allowing you to play every element of the battle in a mere 24-40 hours… Just the shear scale of it deserves a look! Ends July 12^th.

 

 

Apex TDBG: Stomping Grounds – After a crazy heavy wargame, perhaps something a bit lighter. Featuring dinosaurs eating each other. Perfect! Apex is a deck building game of players developing the most successful predator, surviving the environment and each other, hunting herbivores and evolving. This is a set of expansion decks, plus new card types. Ends July 12^th.

 

 

Special Mention

 

And finally I want to mention one other Kickstarter that ends next week, and that is Board Games That Tell Stories 2. This is a book, by Ignacy Trzewiczek, author of the excellent blog of the same name, and the face of Portal Games. He is responsible for designing Stronghold, Robinson Crusoe and most recently, Imperial Settlers, some of the most popular games of recent years. So when he publishes book about board game design, publishing games and general stories from his gaming life from the last couple of years, everyone should be damn well paying attention! Of course, you notice this is book “2”! His first Board Games That Tell Stories was immensely successful and this will be more, totally new stories in that vein. There will also be a whole host of contributions from many other board game industry veterans, including Paul Peterson (designer of Smash Up!), Bruno Faidutti (designer of Citadels) and Cedrick Chaboussit (designer of Lewis & Clark) to name but a few. If you have even a passing interest in board games, and lets be honest, if you’re reading this there’s a pretty good chance you do, then you need to get on Kickstarter right now and order yourself a copy! It’s on until July 6^th.

 

Image credit goes to Board Game Geek users Vital Lacerda, W Eric Martin, uweeickert, andrewfederspiel, TheBoardGameFamily, kbrebach, BL4kLotus, scottbalmes, AlxHague and HerschelHoffmeyer. Thanks guys!