What KICKSTARTER(S) are you BACKING and WHY?

As a continuation of my earlier issues, I'm sure that some of you have now seen the story about the crime involving Tiny Epic Crimes. Full story is here: www.kickstarter.com/projects/coe/tiny-ep...reveal/posts/3943633

Long story short is: The games were stolen and handed off to a warehouse somewhere in California. Thanks to people responding to the FB Marketplace post, Gamelyn was able to get a specific address and drove to the town (from their HQ in Arizona) to meet the cops and confront the guy who runs the warehouse. Said guy claimed to have no idea that the fully wrapped and addressed packages were stolen. Gamelyn retrieved them and then ascertained with the post office that they were still deliverable, so they told everyone that they'd be sent out Priority USPS and everyone should have them by the 26th or 27th.

26th: No package. 27th: No package. I email Gamelyn. 28th: No package. I email them again. 30th: No package. I give up on the standard customer service access and find the address they posted on KS when this all started. I get a response soon after that says that they've determined that my package is simply "lost" and that they're mailing me a replacement from their own stock at the office. What does "lost" mean? Does that mean that it was lost at the port and not included in the pile they retrieved or sold from that place and therefore not retrieved? I was under the impression that, upon retrieving their stolen goods, they might take an hour or two to inventory what they'd found, rather than just dumping the pile at the post office and sending it off again... precisely so we wouldn't end up in this situation again. And I say this because I'm not an isolated case, given the number of people who've shown up on BGG, KS, and a Tiny Epic Fans FB group complaining about how they still don't have their game.

Supposedly there's going to be another update on the KS page tomorrow about this situation but this was the final nail for me. I'm just not interested in this kind of thing anymore. If I want something, I'll get it retail or trading. Also Capstone stated on the 24th that they've received Weimar and planned to have it all shipped out by the 27th and we'd all be receiving emails from the carrier (FedEx, UPS, or USPS) as soon as it was picked up. That statement was now one week ago and there's been no email received....

I too am awaiting WEIMAR. Their last update was a bit weird - it was basically one word - "DONE!" and then radio silence, like they think they're no longer responsible for anything . I'm signed up for UPS, FEDEX, and USPS shipping updates and have yet to see even a label creation notification. So I am not believing anything CAPSTONE is saying. There less than 900 backers worldwide. Its not like they are fulfilling FROSTHAVEN. It should be pretty straightforward for a fulfillment company.

That definitely sounds like a tiny epic crime.

Taking a chance on Book of Skulls: Slayers of Eragoth, it seems like the kind of thing Kickstarter was made for, and looks pretty cool. There's early bird pricing for 3 days.

www.kickstarter.com/projects/bookofskull...-of-eragoth-relaunch

Shipping notification for WEIMAR received, due here Saturday.

Same. It showed up last night and supposedly will be here tomorrow.

Don’t know where else to put this. I’m eyeballing Through Hell and Back, a game in the vein of B-17 Queen of the Skies but with a little more in the way of player options. A butt-ton of dice rolling, with chances to select targets, apply modifiers, pick special crew with skills, etc. Looks pretty well done, but it’s a first design for the guy. So who knows.

It’s in a Crowd Sale at the moment, a marketing thing from Game Crafter where the price drops the more people buy. It starts at $113 and drops three or four percent for every ten buyers. Just started, 8 buyers on board already. Sounds like a way to offer competition to Kickstarter in a Print-on-Demand fashion.

I’ve never bought from Game Crafter. Don’t know the implications of that. I’ve heard they’re expensive but not much else.

Option 2 is to download his PnP files which are still available, and send him $25. He’s only getting $1 per copy during the sale, which . . . feels kinda criminal. The game is boards (easy), cards (easier), dice that I already have, a few chits and cubes. It would be a simple, though good sized build if I made my own.

Weimar did, indeed, arrive and it is both huge and heavy. Looks like a really nice production. Excited to dive into this one.

Here's an interesting one, Compound 49 www.kickstarter.com/projects/compound49/compound-49/description
theaberrantraven.webflow.io/compound-49

I'm not backing it as quite expensive plus shipping 'is to be advised' but it does sound very novel. Basically it's a horror/sensory game in the discovery/narrative/campaign genre. They explain it much better than I can paraphrase so I'll just copy and paste from their website:

Are you afraid of the dark?
Welcome to Compound 49. You have no idea how you got here, where you are, or why you were chosen. There is only the Compound, its lights, and the infinite darkness beyond. Should the Compound’s lights go out, surely all will be lost.

Explore a world drowned in total darkness. Harvest supplies, craft tools and weapons, and venture out into the unknown to solve the mystery of this place, and why you woke up in it. Face horrifying monsters and manifestations of your worst fears. And above all, don’t let the lights go out.

Immerse yourself in the world of the Compound
Compound 49 is more than just a game–it's an immersive sensory experience. Play in the dark, keep your voices low, and face your fears–or die alone.

Lights Out
Turn out the lights, you won’t need them. Compound 49 includes a number of real light components that will illuminate the game board while you play in otherwise total darkness. You can only see the lights of the Compound, what you illuminate with your personal flashlight, or what the rare streetlights you encounter in the world uncover. There is never enough time to look at everything–you will need to trust your friends to survive the endless dark.

Keep Quiet
Don’t make too much noise, there are ears everywhere. The creatures outside the Compound navigate by sound, and you will need to keep your voices low if you don’t want to attract unwanted attention. Anything you say around the table while out in the unknown increases your noise and can cause enemies to find you. The game’s complete soundtrack, playing from speakers built into the Compound lights, will keep you company whenever you need to keep silent to stay alive.

Face Your Fears
Each character in Compound 49 has a unique profile and ability, as well as a debilitating fear. The Compound and darkness are scary enough, but when each character’s fears begin to manifest in the world around them, you will know the true meaning of terror.

Bring Your Friends, or Die Alone
Compound 49 fully supports cooperative, solo, and competitive play, either in a structured, multi-chapter narrative or an open-world exploration experience. Play a single 2-3 hour session or up to a 100-hour campaign, alone or with up to 5 other friends.

As someone said here recently, probably the experimentation that Kickstarter is for.

New Bullet expansions were a day one back for me. Paws brings in four cat heroines and Palette is about artists.

If haven’t yet dipped in a toe, there are options to order literally every release individually, including the wooden tokens.

I'm backing the new expansion for AHOY. I like Ahoy a lot, and the new expansion seems to add a ton of interesting combos. Also, one of the new factions is a sea monster, so that's pretty rad.

So what does everyone think of the new Nemesis campaign and the series in general? Lockdown and original game both worth owning? Expansions worth getting?

n815e wrote: So what does everyone think of the new Nemesis campaign and the series in general? Lockdown and original game both worth owning? Expansions worth getting?

I think it's awesome that they have a standee option for the new game. I have both of the first games, but will be passing on this one, just because I've barely gotten any play out of Lockdown. My feeble group barely gets together anymore for anything.

Both of the earlier games are good, although owning both is a bit superfluous. I like some of the new ideas in Lockdown, but the relative simplicity of the first game probably makes it stand out for me. The default mode of play is best with a full set of players, but the surprisingly good co-op mode can be enjoyed with less.

As for the expansions, they are really not needed. The carnimorphs are interesting but really difficult. The void seekers or whatever the mental aliens are called... they were not fun. I have never even tried the plant-based enemy from Lockdown yet.

RETALIATION looks different enough from the first two in that its more of a straight shoot 'em up ; I think for many people, they'll prune either the original or LOCKDOWN from their collection as they are fairly similar in many ways. I haven't played the original since LOCKDOWN came out; I should revisit it.

I never backed Lockdown as (for me) it was a bit too similar and I had got little play out of the original (still haven't started either of the two mini campaigns in the 'comic' books yet), but Retaliation looks different enough that I've [sigh] backed it - but only for a core set, not sundropped this time (I'll dry-brush them some colour), and the Untold Stories 4 mini campaign book (and the Medic for my original ) .