What KICKSTARTER(S) are you BACKING and WHY?

I don't think I'll back this one -- still have the old version, and no one to play with, really -- but I saw today (apologies if reported already) that the Mare Nostrum Kickstarter begins on March 14. I guess I'd completely missed or forgotten that it was Academy/Asyncron, who partnered on Fief. New troop models and rules are promised; that's about all I know from the BGG thread today.

Edit: There is a fair amount of information about the reworking here (for example):
https://boardgamegeek.com/thread/1118183/reprint-coming-soon/page/4

Probably a bit more of a reworking/reimplementation than a reprint if the game becomes more like a conventional civ/4x game (and less interesting to me, as I already have a bunch of games like that and appreciated, at least conceptually, that MN was heavily about trading).

Against my better judgment I backed Hands in the Sea . At least the $50 includes shipping.

Mistfall seemed appealing at first, until I watched some of the Rahdo run through... Seems too convoluted and tedious to me. I suppose it's probably not that much more convoluted than Mage Knight can be (and probably would seem to many). But still, I don't think I have the energy for another game like that. Will listen to see what people think once it's out, though.

Wetworks wrote: Looks like I'm gonna back another kickstarter,

Mistfall - Legendary adventures for 1-4 fearless heroes

Seems like a mix between the quest progression and combat of Lord of the Rings LCG and the deck being your life and earning new cards of Pathfinder ACG. The game is moderately priced and looks pretty meaty, could be great solo.

Holy Christ!! Is that considered to be a 'good' video?

It is terrible. Have they never heard of editing?

Grudunza wrote: Mistfall seemed appealing at first, until I watched some of the Rahdo run through... Seems too convoluted and tedious to me.

You know, that may indeed be the case, but could you imagine publishing your Great American Game, and then having Rahdo boot it on his run through and making it look like crap? Catching Rahdo on a bad day could make for one hell of a ding in sales these days.

S.

Sagrilarus wrote:

Grudunza wrote: Mistfall seemed appealing at first, until I watched some of the Rahdo run through... Seems too convoluted and tedious to me.

You know, that may indeed be the case, but could you imagine publishing your Great American Game, and then having Rahdo boot it on his run through and making it look like crap? Catching Rahdo on a bad day could make for one hell of a ding in sales these days.

S.

True, Sag. Some people are better game explainers/sellers than others, and while I can appreciate that Rahdo can give you some sense of how some games play, I also can't really watch him for long because he just always seems hepped up on espresso or something, and it makes me feel edgy. I think I got enough sense of the game to feel the convoluted nature of it was in the game itself, but as I said, someone could easily make Mage Knight (one of my all-time favorites) seem that way, too, depending how they present things. So I will keep an eye out for another preview... By contrast, Undead Viking is a bit too drawn out and laid back, but a contrast between his take and Rahdo's would probably paint the picture better.

SebastianBludd wrote: Based on the level of delusion among the backers who are bound and determined to make chicken salad out of chicken shit as long as they get something for their money (Myth, Sedition Wars, etc.), part of me wonders if it will take a high-profile speculation collapse (rather than a failed campaign) to let the air out of the KS bubble.

Don't include Myth... I can't comment on Sedition Wars. I bought Myth at retail, after reading lots of reviews, and am Kickstarting the expansions. It's a unique game with gorgeous minis and (so far) excellent production quality, hampered by the inability of the extremely imaginative designers to communicate verbally. It's one of the only games that I've got working with our playgroup of friends, which includes one RPGer who isn't really a gamer, one gamer who isn't an RPGer, and one guy who only plays coops. There are really no other games that provide an RPG-like narrative experience without having to roleplay.

I'd like these chaps to continue designing and sending me models... I expect at some point before I retire to receive a box with some attractive miniatures and graphic design, and something which is playable after watching lots of videos and arguing on the BGG forums. I'm not expecting a finished retail product - I'm supporting innovative creative work.

I thought I was the only guy on here who liked Myth, didn't even want to mention the expansion kickstarter due to everyone bagging on it.

Myth has stood the test of time for my group and we really enjoy it. I'm in on the expansions, love the direction they're going with modules and with the branching heroes.

My favorite part of Kickstarters these days is watching the OCD completionists at the-website-that-shall-not-be-named having a series of minor strokes about how best to spend several hundred dollars to get every KS-exclusive for a game you know damn well they will play once (or not at all) before moving onto the next series of OCD completionists strokes for whatever the latest KS hotness is. And that seems to be their entire gaming life: Assembling their Excel spreadsheet of how best to maximize the $750 they will spend on a game, just so they have all of the toys they won't be able to get later. These people don't play games, and really they don't even speculate, they simply freak out over exclusives they might want a year from now.

And yet, these are often the same skinflints who act like having to pay $10 shipping on a game they can buy right now is some terrible unthinkable thing. Better to blow $750 on a bunch of plastic toys you will never use, just because they may not be available to you next year. And god knows they might throw themselves off of the nearest bridge if that happens ("But... but... but... I don't have Gimildor, King of Kuntistan... he was a KS exclusive! I HAVE LOST THE WILL TO LIVE!!!!")

I think the best way not to let it annoy you so much is to think of it as a different hobby: collecting. Though it doesn't help make BGG less of a place dominated by collectors, discussionwise.

Though I am so with you on the strange "I'LL PAY 1346 DOLLARS BUT NOT A PENNY MORE FOR SHIPPING" selective money concern thing.

While checking out Mistfall, I came across something that I was more interested in, called Burgle Bros. It's basically like Flash Point: Fire Rescue, but with a con artist team doing a heist of a three-story building. Looks fun and right up my alley for the theme and type of casual co-op game, and only a $29 pledge. There's also a $5 PNP option, which is what I got (I just don't trust Kickstarters to buy all in to begin with anymore), so I'll probably slap a Vassal mod together with that and report back about how it plays, and then presumably back the hard copy.

www.kickstarter.com/projects/fowers/burg...tive-heist-boardgame

charlest wrote: I thought I was the only guy on here who liked Myth, didn't even want to mention the expansion kickstarter due to everyone bagging on it.

Myth has stood the test of time for my group and we really enjoy it. I'm in on the expansions, love the direction they're going with modules and with the branching heroes.

Are they rebooting the base game with the kickstarter? I would probably be interested. Although, I just went in on Ghostbusters -- which looks great if you're a fan (which I am).

I'm also checking out Edison vs. Tesla -- looks potentially interesting.

They're reprinting the base game with new wording on cards and a new rulebook. You can get the new stuff for $6 plus shipping in the new kickstarter.

The base game by itself still will have some minor issues such as the Mini-boss spawning monsters which aren't included and Quests which chain into quests that aren't included. Both of those are found in expansions.

The gameplay though is just damn near perfect for me, love the unique card decks for classes and the fully cooperative play where anyone can perform an action at any time. Lots of people were really disappointed with Myth though and some absolutely hated it, so I'm hesitant to recommend it.

I think it looks like good fun -- I assumed the hate was the rulebook shoddiness. Was there much gampelay hate? Does it hold up with fewer players?

It plays well 2-5. You can play solo with 2 heroes, don't recommend just using 1.

Gameplay-hate centered around the game affording choices to the players similar to being a DM in an RPG. For instance, a tile will say to spawn 1-2 minion groups and a separate chart has say a minion range of 4-6 Skeletons per skeleton spawn. So players choose 1-2 groups to spawn from the different creature types (only 2 of which are in the base game) and then choose how many in that group to spawn.

Forcing players to choose elements such as these, instead of randomly rolling/drawing them really put a lot of people off. My group loved it though as it lets you experience whatever you want and allows seamless integration with all of the different expansion monster types.

They're now adopting a new module system that has preprinted scenarios that tell you how many of what to spawn. So you will be able to play in both modes.

Some people also hate that your cards dictate what you can do so if you don't draw an attack you can't attack this round. I love Earth Reborn so I don't mind tiles/cards dictating my action choices.