Kickstart Your Week! The Tiny Game Special!


Button Shy Wallet Games

The world of teeny tiny micro games has taken off in a BIG way, ironically enough, and this week we have 3 micro games available in one kickstarter. All completely button free! And involving wallets. Lovely vinyl wallets that hold each, entire, 18 card game! That’s right, a full game you can fit in your pocket. As Love Letter proved, you can fit a lot of game into 18 cards. You can pledge for the games individually, or together, so let’s take a look at them separately. After we’ve seen the wallets, of course:

Button Shy Wallet Games

Ooo… lovely!

Smoke and Mirrors

Bringing a new meaning to the phrase ‘trick taking game’, Smoke and Mirrors has players taking on the role of stage magicians, aiming to outdo the others’ tricks and impress the crowds. Of course, nothing is quite as it seems, as players will be bluffing and attempting to catch one another out. Guess wrong, or get caught, and you’ll be eliminated from the round. And be careful, because no magician wants to have all his secrets be revealed!

I’ve received a preview copy of Smoke and Mirrors from the very generous Chip Beauvais (designer and @the_flyingsheep) so expect a full review in a few days!

Fever Chill

Doctor Thurman is set to retire and just like all good doctors, he will be handing his post over to the intern with the most stable body temperature! So get to work ‘accidentally’ infecting your rivals with temperature changing bacteria and viruses, while keeping yourself in tip-top condition with your easy access to medical supplies. Though don’t expect your rivals to take this all lying down. You can be sneaky at night, when it’s hard to get caught, but you’ll need to be extra careful during the day when cards must be played in the open.

North South East Quest

Gather round and tell a story. One player will set the scene and dilemma, while the others tell the story, and hopefully resolve the problem before time runs out! Each player has a small hand of cards, featuring transportation or emotions and in telling their story they must incorporate these cards. There are also a set of 4 compass direction cards that must be used before the quest is able to be completed, the journey coming full circle to completion. However, that first player acts as judge, and only if he is satisfied with your story will the storytellers win.

 

I’m not totally enamoured with North South East Quest… It is probably only as fun as your group’s imaginations can make it, which is fine for fans of story games, but I’m personally not convinced there’s enough to work with. Fever Chill and Smoke and Mirrors, however, look like a lot of fun. While Fever Chill is fairly simplistic, it is intended for a family audience, yet contains some fun take-that and deductive elements, and a suitably daft theme! The bluffing and calculating elements of Smoke and Mirrors makes it the most interesting of the three to me, and I love the stage magician theme that recalls elements of The Prestige. Go take a look!

Get your wallet out before August 29th.

 

Mint Tin Mini Apocalypse

 

Mint Tin Mini Apocalypse

 

So you thought a game you could fit in your wallet was small did you? Unbeatable you say? Well! It’s time to take a look at a game that fits in the pocket of your jeans. The tiny pocket. That’s right, the little pocket that I struggle to fit two fingers into, can now hold an entire game! And that game, fitting inside a mint tin, contains an entire apocalypse! Not bad going, hey?

Even better, that tin is also a key game component, being the bunker you’ll be desperately herding your meeples into when the big, green, radioactive meeple monster comes marching into town. Unfortunately, there’s not enough room for everyone! Make sure it’s your meeples safe and sound underground, but don’t bicker too long else the monster will find your fall out shelter and everyone’s doomed!

The game plays in 5 minutes, and in real time, as you and your opponent roll dice looking for those magic number 7s, letting you move your meeples or your opponent’s meeples. A player needs to 4 meeples in the bunker to close the door, but there’s only room for 7. Once someone picks up the supplies, or throws the suspiciously coin-like manhole cover at the monster in the Manhole Expansion, the monster will arrive. Then, every time someone roles a double, the monster will get closer to the bunker. Once the counter reaches zero it’s game over. Expect total chaos and a fair bit of luck, but maybe even tales of noble sacrifice, as players can feed their meeples to slow the monster, and gain some respect points even if they don’t get into the shelter in time.

The minty fresh apocalypse ends August 30th.

 

Worth a Look

A couple of shorter campaigns launched after we published last week’s article, so I’ve included them here too.

 

Hostage NegotiatorHostage Negotiator – The very successful solo game Hostage Negotiator is back on kickstarter for a second print run, including the abductor expansion and some custom meeples, making the hostage takers cuter, but no less deadly. In this game you have the un-enviable task of trying to talk a violent criminal out of harming his hostages, balancing the threat level while preparing to send in the rescue force. Keep the criminal positive to gain more cards and more options, but be prepared for things outside of your control to rapidly change the situation. Ends August 23rd.

 

Scoville LabsScoville: Labs Expansion – In the fiery town of Scoville, the locals like their chilli peppers, and they like them HOT! Scoville: Labs takes the game of pepper harvesting, cross breeding and planting into the lab for some wacky, personal experimentation. The individual lab areas allow players to develop new chilli varieties away from the influence of their competitors, as well as adding plenty of extra peppers to heat up the base game.

 

 

Shuffle HeroesShuffle Heroes – A two player card battle game with an interesting mechanism called deck deconstruction, in which players can chose to attack the cards their opponent played last turn, removing them permanently from their deck. Therefore, any card you play is at risk of being lost. Players must balance the risk to their own cards, and balance removing their opponent’s options verses causing the direct damage they need to win the game. It’s a typical steampunk/lovecraft theme but with an interesting gameplay twist. Ends August 25th.

 

OniOni – Play as the japanese trouble makers, Oni, trying to trip the guests at a party and steal their gold. Each player has a target card, and all the targets are in a face down circle that rotates after each players turn. You must find and remember who is where in order to attack the right person. The game ends after 4 such rounds, though lots of special actions become available that make things even more random and unpredictable. A game of deduction, hidden information, and causing havoc to your opponents’ plans. Ends August 27th.

 

 

Image credit goes to Board Game Geek users: jtagmire, David Miller, vanrydergames, DrMayhem, JanV and sebasKO

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