Space Cadets: Away Missions has launched on Kickstarter

Currently 300$ from 80,000$, meaning I get my expanded weapons selection.

The world is in order.

When we get to 120,000$ I will be completely confident that I have died and at the pearly gates about to play this with St. Peter

Applejack wrote: Another sci-fi cooperative. Why would I want this? Why would anyone? Are hobbyists not sick of the plastic minis packed game for $100 trend that's been all over Kickstarter for years now? I haven't even played my copy of Galaxy Defenders yet. Yeah, fuck that, I won't touch this, but my lack of support won't stop the success this franchise seems to have.

BTW the success has nothing to do with the franchise.

It's a good, fun game, if you had bothered to listen to people who have actually played it, myself included. It was not developed to be another part of the franchise, it was developed entirely independently from designers that had nothing to do with Stronghold Games.

Good luck with the generalisations though...

EDIT: Al, congrats on hitting the 80K target.

Applejack's comment was one of the more questionably sane comments I've heard in years. By that same logic, why would one want ANYTHING new? Pretty much every theme, from boxing and manufacturing to lap dances and drug dealers has been done. Every mechanic has been done. People are paying for their favorite mechanics to be paired with their favorite settings or themes in a way that works, and it's really that simple.

AT guy makes an AT game with a cool, retro spaceman theme? And it has a lot of eye candy? Fucking WIN. What more needs to be said.

I'm going to go against the grain here and defend applejack's comment.

I appreciate all the work Al and Shelley have done for this community and I'm glad that their kickstarter looks to be doing gangbusters.

That said, many folks have decried tons of these games stuffed with plastic on kickstarter. $100+ games have also been routinely run down. This is both. I understand why a lot of locals are buying in, but it is jarring as the narrative of several folks seem to have flipped overnight.

For what it's worth, I have pointed this kickstarter to several individuals I know that may be interested in this sort of game, but don't frequent the fort.

Honestly, I think it's a reasonable (if dickish) comment. I wouldn't have preordered without multiple people I trust here attesting to its quality. I certainly would not have without the Stronghold connection.

I really have no problem with any of the comments made. Not every game is for everyone, and it's OK for people to have different tastes. I do want to say thanks again to everyone here that has supported the game, not only financially but with your kind words as well. As a matter of fact I want to thank ALL of the FAT community, even if you didn't support the game. As long as you took five minutes to look at the rules you've done more than I could ask.

The KS drive continues to do well, and we reached our second Stretch Goal this morning. This is especially exciting because Stronghold does not start the "Triple Saturation" (whatever that means) ad campaign on BGG until Monday. I'm just glad that Stephen let us post ads here first so that all my FATie friends could have first crack at the free shipping.

Keep watching the skies!

Mr. White wrote: I'm going to go against the grain here and defend applejack's comment.

Yeah, I feel like were it not for the connections to here people would be singing to old "Bubblegum Machine Models" "KS is going to be the death of the hobby" "$100+ games are going to be the death of the hobby"

I'm blindly backing because of the connections here and because of the trust I put into the people here who have played.

ubarose wrote: Unfortunately not only are they not sick of this, they demand it. The D&D boardgames have set the price point of where people expect a box of plastic toys, rather than a box of cardboard.

Amen sister. The number of threads on BGG on the lines of "are you disappointed with the components?" is remarkable. The entire industry is in the midst of a shift in expectations, and a shift in tastes. I don't think Kickstarter is the cause of this, but it's a contributor. "Bigger" does much better on Kickstarter.

I said it in another thread somewhere here on F:At this past week -- Ameritrash has won. The marketability of elegant, spartan artwork has plummeted. Double the weight for double the price is where the market is right now.

As for AppleJack's comment, so be it. You don't need a dozen games like this. The question is which one or two are the best of breed, and that's a decision best made in hindsight. We won't know where SC:AM (oh my, not the best acronym, is it? Sorry for stumbling onto that!) will be in that ranking for a couple of years.

S.

Don't be silly. Ameritrash didn't win. Rampant consumerism and the completionist/speculator mentality won.

If all it took was a big box of ameritrash plastic...what explains Earth Reborn? Dreadfleet? Why does my flgs still have space hulk on the floor (that they're now discounting)? Heck, even the DDAS games were heavily discounted and could be routinely bought for about $35-40 _shipped_.

The trend we're seeing now isn't because the themes are ameritrash.

Applejack wrote: Another sci-fi cooperative. Why would I want this? Why would anyone? Are hobbyists not sick of the plastic minis packed game for $100 trend that's been all over Kickstarter for years now? I haven't even played my copy of Galaxy Defenders yet. Yeah, fuck that, I won't touch this, but my lack of support won't stop the success this franchise seems to have.

Well, a couple points here:

1) Half the argument against Kickstarter games is that they are untested, unfinished, "vapor ware" with vague delivery dates and even a risk of non-delivery. All that is non applicable here. I know how long Dan and Al developed and playtested this game. Every chance they got for well over two years. The game is finished. All the art, all the sculps, all the scenarios, all the components. All that remains is for Steve to push the button and turn on the machines that make them. Lastly, it's gonna deliver. No question. Stronghold knows how to get their games to the market.

2) The other half of the argument is the price. $100 is steep. No doubt. I would have been happy with cardboard standees in a $60 game. I actually like them better (ala Legends of Andor). But if Steve can charge $100 and people are willing to pay it, then god bless them. I hope they all make a million dollars.

3) Lastly, Al is a beautiful person. And I'd do my damndest to get you to put down your hard earned money on this game even if I didn't think it was great. Lucky for conscience that it is great.

Sagrilarus wrote: We won't know where SC:AM (oh my, not the best acronym, is it? Sorry for stumbling onto that!).

It was better than the one for Space Cadets: Away Teams.

Mr. White wrote: I'm going to go against the grain here and defend applejack's comment.

I appreciate all the work Al and Shelley have done for this community and I'm glad that their kickstarter looks to be doing gangbusters.

That said, many folks have decried tons of these games stuffed with plastic on kickstarter. $100+ games have also been routinely run down. This is both. I understand why a lot of locals are buying in, but it is jarring as the narrative of several folks seem to have flipped overnight.

For what it's worth, I have pointed this kickstarter to several individuals I know that may be interested in this sort of game, but don't frequent the fort.

In fact, most of the kickstarter criticisms have been for games which have been inadequately playtested or developed. Personally, I don't give a shit if it is $100 but YMMV. Neither do I particularly care about plastic. My main bugbear has been inadequate testing in the development stage.

This, I feel, did not happen here. I blind play tested this with absolutely no comments from the designers during the entire play through (and it was very difficult for them to keep their mouths shut!). I read the rules and then played with others in the same situation (not the designers). We discussed any issues that came out from that after the play with the designers NOT during the play. I would imagine that I was not the only one to do this. Seems to me that a lot of kickstarter games are 'tested' by the designers and their families/friends and that few are blind tested by gamers who know nothing about the game.

I don't particularly support the concept of putting business risk in the hands of the consumers and I do feel Kickstarter is really for the individual, not the company. I will support it because there is no choice. This is a Stronghold decision and I guess it's up to them, regardless of what I think.

I'm really excited about this game. I love that I know (virtually, but still!) the people who have ben involved with the game from the ground up. I don't trust BGG hype, but I trust F:AT hype (I have tested it many times and it has yet to let me down...what can I say, I have the same taste in games as a bunch of people here). I find the concept and the art totally engaging. The sci fi tropes seem so well done that I feel like this game would be like a museum of sci fi coolness in a box that my friends and I will totally love. It's charming as hell. I've been on the lookout for a good coop and was going to buy D&D Arshardalon, but the sci fi culture hooks me more, and it's more fun to invest in a game that has a personal/community history to it. I can't wait to play it, take photos and share joy with you people.

I won't back a $100 kickstarter of a game I've never played. Doesn't matter how many people here vouch for it. Best of luck to everyone involved though. While I have issues with KS campaigns, I'm always telling people to use it to sell their ideas and hopefully make some money. I look forward to trying someone else's copy someday.