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Dark Souls boardgame kickstarter

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20 Apr 2016 08:42 #226127 by Matt Thrower
Kind of surprised no-one's jumped on this yet.

www.kickstarter.com/projects/steamforged...ulstm-the-board-game

It got funded in about five minutes.

I suspect this is going to run the extremes - it'll either be excellent or awful. Given that much of what makes the souls series special is beyond the scope of any tabletop mechanics I can imagine, I'm betting on the latter. Certainly not confident enough to bet the £80 asking price to find out. I'll wait for stores.

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20 Apr 2016 08:47 #226128 by charlest
The way the AI deck is handled (similar to Kingdom Death but it's not shuffled when you run through it), and the campfire mechanic seem interesting. Big issue is that it just doesn't seem like enough's there to warrant the crazy price. The amount of content (2 bosses) is very small and there's not many tiles so terrain and environment will be limited.
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20 Apr 2016 09:20 #226129 by Gary Sax
We were just chatting about it in the Kickstarter thread. I think it looks interesting and the engine doesn't look bad. In the other thread I mentioned that I thought it could easily become VERY calculated once you've seen the actions and order the first time. That sort of evokes souls in the pattern learning but could also be pretty unfun.

This is one of those kick starters I have little motivation for: a pretty pure retail product that will do well from an unknown (to me) company and designer?

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20 Apr 2016 09:36 #226130 by hotseatgames
They will definitely need to post the rulebook. If they don't, I'll take that as a sign to keep my money.
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20 Apr 2016 09:52 #226131 by Michael Barnes
I bet there won't be one for another six months.

The whole thing is a no-go for me. The price, the exclusives, the fact that it is yet another Kickstarter minis/terrain tiles/cards/dice dungeoncrawler, the fact that it is obviously an unnecessary Kickstarter to begin with...

There are no other video games like Dark Souls. But there are hundreds of board games like what they are selling here. Don't be tricked by the license.

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20 Apr 2016 09:59 #226132 by hotseatgames
I thought that boss fight seemed unique and fun. But that's not enough on its own.

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20 Apr 2016 11:44 - 21 Apr 2016 10:43 #226142 by Frohike
They've added content now, but still don't have clearance for the art assets. Why... didn't they just wait until they had clearance before pushing the go button on the campaign? There's a lot of "we've got the brand, it'll sell, let's do this" sloppiness going on here.

Anyway, extra stuff that's bundled with the KS version, sold separately at stores (cheaper core box at retail):
  • 6 characters (Pyromancer, Cleric, Sorcerer, Thief, Mercenary, Deprived)
  • 3 bosses (Pursuer, Sir Alonne, Smelter Demon)
  • extra cards: behavior, treasure, encounter, yadda yadda (I'd be kind of annoyed to not be getting these in the retail copy; models are one thing but gameplay stuff?)
  • extra mobs: +3 Silver Knight Lancers, +3 Firebomb Hollows, +3 Alonne Sword Knights, +3 Ironclad Soldiers, +3 Alonne Katana Bow Knights, +2 Mimics, +3 Alonne Knight Captains, +2 Crystal Lizards
  • extra scenery: Bonfire, +5 Gravestones, +4 Barrels, +4 Treasure Chests, +4 Large Barrel Models
  • other components: metal aggro coin, bunch of mini-boss dials

Two add-on mega bosses at $40 a pop (ugh). These include extra map tiles, etc, and judging from the boss-fight centric nature of the game (at least that's what they're showcasing) these basically amount to small expansions i.e. they're cribbing from the Conan and pretty much every CMON Kickstarter.

I still need to see core gameplay. I know they're highlighting the boss fights but if the rest of it is just a paint-by-numbers dungeon crawl I think I'll just reclaim my pledge. There are just too many of these on the market (and on my shelves).
Last edit: 21 Apr 2016 10:43 by Frohike. Reason: moar stretch goals
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20 Apr 2016 12:52 #226143 by Michael Barnes
That's what I'm concerned about. I watched the video and the boss fight looked good- it even kind of captured the classic Souls strategy of getting behind/under the boss and hacking at its ass. The stamina/push your luck element looks good. The boss patterns/heat up thing looks good.

But yeah, if the rest of it is a D&DAS clone...I have that already. And how is going to capture the Firelink Shrines, the souls farming and so forth? All of that is really critical to the Souls feel.

And how is it going to depict things like shooting the dragon 200 times with wooden arrows using a bow you are barely rated for?

Only partly kidding because that is the kind of stuff that makes these games special.

It almost seems like it could have just been boss fights with everything else abstracted, more like Kingdom Death...maybe that's how it will go.
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20 Apr 2016 13:14 #226144 by charlest
It actually has a firelink shrine mechanic. You can rest at a fireplace and it resets the map. Also when you die you drop all of your gear at your corpse and respawn at the firelink shrine.

I'm not in on this one because I spent all my money on Kingdom Death, but there's definitely some cool things here. I do worry that the AI mechanic will be a bit boring (sit back and hide for awhile and memorize the pattern then attack).
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20 Apr 2016 14:00 #226145 by hotseatgames
They are moments from crossing a million dollars already.

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20 Apr 2016 14:17 #226146 by Chaz
I'm glad other people a so damn happy to risk $100+ of their money so I don't have to.
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20 Apr 2016 14:28 - 20 Apr 2016 14:29 #226148 by Frohike
That's the model for this one, really. Market the KS version for the less risk averse who look at the price tag and don't get instant sticker shock, then use the KS capital to market the retail core version with a lower initial sticker shock and the ongoing residual sales from add-ons.

I'm not sure this strategy would work at all without the Dark Souls name since the successful adoption at retail stores depends heavily on the video game crossover. The move to not technically have any KS exclusives is interesting. The deal is exclusive but the material is not, which takes the ebay aftermarket out of the picture... but this is what usually drives early prospector pledges... but they don't need those because of the Souls brand... ugh.

Anyway, lots of money being thrown at this. It'll probably smash the 3.3 mil that Conan ended at.
Last edit: 20 Apr 2016 14:29 by Frohike.
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20 Apr 2016 16:56 #226163 by Michael Barnes
I'm so confused by this "simple" Kickstarter. Is the retail box going to have everything except the sold separately add-ons? Like all the stretch goals are going into it?

I think this will easily hit $3 million, the only reason it might not is because they don't have any $500/$1000 ultra premium tiers...super hot IP (with a brand new game just out so its top of mind), board games are peaking in popularity right now, and it's going to get a lot of folks in who DON''T have 5-10 other dungeoncrawler games on their shelves. People that may only have this game and a couple of mass market titles. Video game merch collectors. Etc.

The publisher just put out Guild Ball (MM just got in a TON of it)...no idea if it's good, if got Raf Cordero reviewing a press kit they sent him. That may give a hint of what to expect in terms of quality.
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20 Apr 2016 17:25 #226166 by Frohike
The retail box will have zero stretch goals.

All of them, from what Steamforged are stating (though their communication has been a little muddled), will be outside the box as additional SKUs. I'm guessing the extra mobs and their cards will be in one pack, the terrain in another, the mini-bosses in another, and the big bosses are external packs for everyone. This would explain the low wholesale price on the core box for retailers. They're probably aiming for a $50-60ish MSRP for the cross-over buyers, which will draw them into buying the extras after the initial sale (a quasi-miniatures game model). But to get the up front funding they're giving a "deal" to the KS package purchasers (who will get all of the stretch goals), though how much of a deal it really is won't be known until the prices and SKUs are established, which I doubt they will definitively announce until sometime after the campaign has closed.
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20 Apr 2016 17:57 #226167 by Michael Barnes
Ah...I see. So there "may" be value in getting it now.

I'll keep watching...I was wary but if there is something to back up the boss fight concepts I might get one. Maybe it's just DSIII weakening my resolve.

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