Simply put, this is the Polyhedron Collider Most Anticipated Games (that we know about) that are coming to Kickstarter in 2020…Part One.
Part Two will be along shortly. And then after that, there’ll be the Games Arriving from Kickstarter (Part 1 and Part 2)and then finally Games Coming Direct into Retail. Some of these we’ve already discussed in the Podcast (Episode 77) but many were not, mainly because Steve said we could only pick four. Each. The git.
Oath: Chronicles of Empire and Exile
Oath is not a Legacy game. It is something different entirely. It is something new. Oath is a game that remembers, it’s a game that builds a world and a narrative with the players playing it.
From Leder Games and designer Cole Wehrle (Root, Pax Pamir, An Infamous Traffic and more) comes a game that sees up to five players vying for control over a fantasy world. Each game will have different resources available, different actions, different win conditions, all of which is determined by the previous game. In very simple terms the game is played in a tableau-building fashion, where players will be contributing to shared and personal areas. At the end of the game, the cards used to form part of the deck for the following game, thus changing the setup and layout of subsequent games.
The game features diverging asymmetry, so although all players start on a relatively similar pegging, (with one player as the Chancellor and the others are all Exiles), the differences grow and change over and between games.
The concept of this game has me really excited and very interested and coming from such a designer I have very high, but very realistic hopes that this game will be ace.
Oath is live now on Kickstarter so you can check it out for yourself
Oath is live now on Kickstarter so you can check it out for yourself
Sniper Elite: The Board Game
From the newly formed Rebellion Unplugged Sniper Elite is a 1 Vs many, bag manipulation, hidden movement game where the one is the sniper against teams of Nazi soldiers. Your objective changes each game but will essentially be to sneak around the board, not giving away your position, to a specific location and drop anyone that gets in your way.
This game comes from designer David Thompson (Undaunted, War Chest, Europe Divided) and Roger Tankersley. The bag manipulation element will be familiar to those who have played War Chest but in this game, the bag represents the flight of your bullet and will be affected by panic, of either the soldiers beginning to lose their sh*t or your panic as they start to close in on your position.
I really like the idea of a hidden movement game where the One is not only the ‘good guy’ but is able to exact fear across the table to the other players. Overall I believe this game will generate a really great level of tension and excitement around the table.
This is will be the first game from Rebellion Unplugged, but there are more planned for 2020, at least 2, and given that Rebellion Unplugged is part of the video game company Rebellion Studios who also happen to own 2000 AD Comics we should expect future games from this publisher to leverage their extensive IP library.
Eternal Palace
Launching over the summer
At this point, there isn’t too much known about this game, from the prototype image (above provided by the publisher) though I’m really, very intrigued. Designed by Steven Aramini (Sprawlopolis, Circle the Wagons, Groves and more), this is an interactive dice placement game where you are gathering resources, contributing to building projects, and painting a masterpiece to commemorate the rebuilding of the Emperor’s Eternal Palace.
Ravage: Swamps of Delgor
Ravage: Dungeons of Plunder was a bit hit for Steve, Andy and Jon when they got to play a demo of it back in 2017 and designer and illustrator Ian Schofield has been hard at work on an expansion since delivering the campaign...however, that expansion twisted and writhed like a maimed hero and become a complete stand-alone sequel/expansion instead. Swamps of Delgor tweaks a few of the old rules and will add heaps of new content including not only new roles to play as but miniatures too.
In many ways, Swamps of Delgor is Ravage 2.0 allowing more specific role customisation with Type cards, new types of area tiles that make your enemies even tougher or cause damage to everyone on it, poisons and fires will work differently and there is even a night tracker which will put a time limit on your games.
Steve and Jon had a demo of this during GRID Con in December and loved it and we’ll almost certainly be covering the game in full before/during the campaign in February/March
Black Planet
Launching over the Autumn
Truth be told there isn’t a huge amount released about this game. This image is from a generic Google search for “Black Planet”. It’s not on BGG and I can’t even list the core mechanisms. But, I can tell you this is a space-race style game, as players will embody scientific corporations looking to first reach the Black Planet and begin exhuming the planet’s rich wealth of much-needed resources. Players will have to balance their ever branching research needs with the recruiting of scientists and technicians needed to conduct the research and of course the actual journey and the mining itself.
We also know that that this game comes from the same design team and publisher as Monster Lands which we think is rather bloody good and flipping good fun, so colour us very interested.
Dark Cities: Bristol 1350
Launching late Spring
EXCLUSIVE: This game actually featured in Andy’s list of the most anticipated games of 2019, but back then we didn’t know what it was going to be called or what it was about, Andy (and I) was, in typical completionist fashion, eager to get his mitts on the fourth title in the Dark Cities series from Travis Hancock and Facade Games.
The game will be set on our fair Isle in the city of Bristol in 1350 and be themed around the Black Plague and much like the previous games in the series (Salem 1692, Tortuga 1667, Deadwood 1876), it will be a 2 - 9 player social deduction game filled with tense and interesting choices.
In Bristol, 1305 players are racing on three separate carts to escape from the town. You want to be on the first cart to get out of town. HOWEVER, some people start the game with the plague and it has the chance to spread throughout the game. If anyone on your cart has the plague when it escapes, your whole cart dies and play continues. If you're able to figure out who on your cart has the plague then you can push them off of your cart and onto a different one.
Streets
Another game that doesn’t yet have heaps of information around it yet. But, to the keen observer, this game was displayed during the UK Games Expo on the Sinister Fish stand and it is the follow-up game to Villagers by Haakon Gaarder, and since Villagers was one of our top games of 2019 we are pretty keen to see what Streets bring us.
This is a tile drafting and laying game where players will build a communal city block, attempting to lure hipsters, tourists and families into their newest and hottest of hot spots. Players will be attempting to find the optimal location for their new building so it can have the greatest impact on their surroundings, you ‘ll be juggling the needs of the various types of people in the city, trying to attract them away from your opponents and ensuring you don’t leave yourself open to the PHC favourite Dick Move by having your Street closed-off by an opponent and thus all of the inhabitants buggering off somewhere more fun.
Florence
Launches November
EXCLUSIVE: Following on from Ragusa and Venice, Florence is the third game in Braincrack’s Globetrotter series (and the last to be in a Mediterranean city). I love Ragusa and Venice (despite having my ass handed to me in my demo at UK Games Expo 2019) is also rather brilliant too. I’m really keen to see this game and get a proper hands-on look at it...hopefully at this year’s Expo.
Here’s what we know so far:
Set on the night of a great festival, players are families of aristocrats with the rare opportunity to gain an audience with members of the powerful Medici as they attend various functions on the night of the festival.
Design-wise, the game is an area control game with a twist - as the areas that you want your family members to control will change round by round, as three Medici pass through and attend the parties.
Players have to manage their modest funds carefully, as they get new family members ready for the festival, buy them new hats, move them around, and buy gifts for the Medici! All while observing the rules of politeness and party etiquette, of course.
Santorini: Pantheon
Santorini is, quite simply a fantastic game. Since its (Roxley) release in 2016 there has been one expansion and a host of promos for the game, this Kickstarter will combine them all plus new stuff, plus a game tray, plus deluxification and then more stuff too.
If you haven't tried Santorini its brilliant and well worth being in your collection. If you've played it but don't own it this will be a great opportunity to get it on your table looking ace. And, if like me you already own it, fingers crossed there is an upgrade pledge level.
The Shivers
Just check out the "board" in this pop-up game!
I think this game is aimed for at the family end of the spectrum, but that could just be my preconceptions regarding a pop-up game. From what I've been able to learn so far, this is essentially a narrative-driven escape room style game, with one player acting as the Story Teller guiding the other players through their adventure which is both episodic in terms of the unfolding story and modular in terms of the "board" layout.
Just like those pop-up storybooks you no doubt read (or had read to you) as a kid, each game will feature a series of 5" X 5" rooms that spring into three-dimensional life allowing a more immersive exploration of each environment as you collectively search for clues.
The art of Bill Tiller and the craftsmanship of the paper engineering of Robert Sabuda is enough to have me interested alone, then add a family-friendly escape room style mystery game? I'm in!
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