On June 25, over 7 years after it was created, the subreddit r/boardgames hit 2 million subscribers, ranking the community as the 89th most subscribed subreddit. To put this in perspective, the subreddit of the popular mobile game Pokemon Go is currently ranked 92nd with 1,930,850 subscribers and r/soccer at 114th with 1,533,062. r/boardgames is currently ahead of r/BikiniBottomTwitter and right behind r/Unexpected but has a higher growth rate than them both at 0.18%/24 hours (versus r/BikiniBottomTwitter’s 0.11%/24 hours and r/Unexpected’s 0.06%/24 hours), which means the subreddit shows no sign of slowing down.
Seven years may seem like a long time for 2 million people to show interest in the medium on one of the internet’s largest websites, but the subreddit’s growth rate has been far from consistent and a recent boom in the community’s growth rate may indicate a shift from board games being a specialized interest to a more mainstream one.
r/boardgames
With approximately 330 million users and over 130,000 active communities, Reddit has made it possible for individuals to find others with similar interests, no matter how hyper-specific or unusual. These communities, called subreddits, serve as a place for reddit users, labeled “redditors,” to discuss and share content. The number of subscribers a subreddit has can give insight on how popular a topic is, both online and in the “real world.”
r/boardgames was created on March 28, 2012 and it took 5 years, 9 months, and 11 days (or 2112 days) for the subreddit to reach 500,000 subscribers on January 7, 2018. Looking at such a slow growth rate, no one would expect the subreddit to reach 1 million subscribers any time soon. But it did, doubling in size after only 300 days while boasting a 604% increase in its growth rate. These numbers may sound insane, but it gets even crazier after the community doubled AGAIN, reaching 2 million subscribers in a mere 236 days.
What 2 Million Means for The Future
One clear speculation we can make looking at this massive growth rate is that more and more people are showing interested in the medium of tabletop gaming. This can be contributed to many factors, such as the increasing creativity and variety of creators, a growing number of board game cafes across the globe, and various new marketing opportunities online for board games to be discovered.
As Amazon’s growth into a marketplace superpower marks a shift towards people relying more and more on online shopping, 2 million people joining the online board game community may reveal that people are looking to the internet to find their next board game purchase rather than browsing at retail stores. It also makes it clear that the medium is far from outdated and is still going strong (183,008 more subscribers stronger than the broader subreddit of r/games in fact).
Above all, r/boardgames should be proud of their growth and community they’ve created around the love of enjoying compelling and creative strategical games in the company of friends and family. But if that brings no pride in their hearts…
They can brag that they’re ranked above r/rarepuppers (111th at 1,543,983 subscribers). I mean, look at this quality content. This is what they beat, who wouldn’t be proud.
Asmodee is a French board game publishing company who have the rights to many noteworthy games that include Catan, Arkham Horror, Captain Sonar, Pandemic, and 7 Wonders. Founded in 1995 by Marc Nunès, they have become the second largest publisher of board games behind Hasbro, boasting to have sold over 34 million games in more than 50 countries. They also obtained the publishing rights to the French version of the Pokémon Trading Card Game in 2003, which was a large part of my childhood.
In light of their worldwide success, the company is now expanding to a new market with the creation of Aconyte, a novel division of the company to be headed by British author and editor Marc Gascoigne. The division's creation was first announced in April 2019 with the goal of "bringing further depth, intrigue, characters, and narrative to some of the best game worlds ever created.” They also announced that they are pursuing licenses for third-party tie-in fiction for their popular games, and are currently accepting submissions from experienced writers to be published. Since its creation, Asmodee has appointed Vince Rospond as Aconyte's North American Sales Manager.
Today Aconyte has taken another step towards releasing their novels by announcing in a press release that they have entered in a sales and distribution agreement with book publishing company Simon & Schuster. A subsidiary of the mass media company CBS Cooperation, the company has been publishing books since 1924 and has publishing and distribution capabilities in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Australia, and India. They also have an international sales presence in every major market and publishes approximately 2000 titles annually. In the press release Vice President and General Manager of Simon & Schuster, Michael Pearlmansaid, “We are delighted to welcome Aconyte Books to our family to distribution clients. We look forward to helping their publishing program grow.”
The press release also included a statement from the head of Aconyte, Marc Gascoigne, in which he named "Arkham Horror, Legend of the Five Rings, Pandemic, Descent and Catan" as a few of their most deeply realized game worlds they hope to base novels around. Aconyte has set their first novels to be released in the late spring of 2020, with a countdown on their website set for May 4, 2020. As many board game sessions seem to develop unique narratives of their own, it will be very interesting to see what kind of stories Aconyte will release and if they will change the way players view different Asmodee games.
Competition is in our blood. As humans, we crave recognition and reaffirmation of the things we ourselves take pride in, and when it is a skill that we are proud of it is hard not to compare ourselves to others who do the same. Musicians, athletes, artists, dancers, and writers all spend countless hours of their lives dedicated to improving their craft and be the best that they can be. And beyond. The Emmy Award, the Grammy Award, Olympic Gold Metals, the Nobel Prize in Literature, and the Nobel Peace Prize are all used recognize the best individuals of their craft.
Out of this innate competitiveness comes awards. If any skill or form of entertainment receive enough of an audience, we naturally find the need to distinguish outstandingly talented and hardworking individuals and use them as the standard for others to aim for. In the board game world, this comes in the form of annual awards that are both international or based in a single country. The United States has a number of distinguished board game awards which can be used to find exceptional games to add to your shopping cart the next time you hunting for new ones. In light of the Spiel des Jahres being awarded recently (which you can read about here), let's look at a few other board and card game awards that recognize the hard work and creativity of those in the community.
Considered the most prestigious board and card game award in the world, the Spiel des Jahres (Game of the Year) is a German board game award with a purpose of "rewarding excellence in game design, and promoting top-quality games in the German market." The award is given by a jury of German-speaking game critics who review games released in Germany based on game concept, rule structure, layout, and design within the past 12 months. Along with the Spiel des Jahres, the judges also award the Kennerspiel des Jahres (Connoisseur-Enthusiast Game of the Year) for more complex games and the Kinderpsiel des Jahres (Children's Game of the Year) for games that are tailored more for children. Nominees are chosen by the jury of judges themselves through a multi-staged elimination process and the jury presents the awards with no superior private or state authority other than themselves as competent game critics. The winners of 2019 were recently announced, the Spiel des Jahres of 2019 being Just One, the Kennerspiel des Jahres Wingspan, and the Kinderspiel des Jahres Valley of the Vikings.
This award is sadly completely unrelated to British novelist, poet, academic, literary critic, and short story writer Diana Wynne Jones (who is one of my favorite authors, go read the Chronicles of Chrestomanci), but was named after the Diana Jones trophy which is awarded to winners. The trophy is a perspex pyramid that contains the burnt remains of the last unsold copy of The Adventures of Indiana Jones Role-Playing Game created by Tactical Studies Rules (the company that created Dungeons & Dragons) to commemorate the end of their license to publish the game. The name comes from the only legible words of the burnt pieces, which are "diana Jones." It was first presented in 2001 and is awarded in Indianapolis on July 31, the night before the Gen Con games convention opens to the public.
The Diana Jones Award winners are chosen by a secretive committee and "presented annually to the person, product, company, event, movement or any other thing that has, in the opinion of its committee, best demonstrated the quality of ‘excellence’ in the world of hobby-gaming in the previous year." It has been called "the Nobel Peace Prize of Gaming" with previous winners being figures (such as Peter Adkison and Eric Lang), board games (like Dominion and Ticket to Ride), and even the website Board Game Geek. The winner in 2018 was "Actual Play," the global community of game streamers who share their gaming experiences online. The award is given by a panel of distinguished members of the hobby gaming business who can chose whether or not to make their membership public. The full list of members has not been made known.
The Mensa Select is awarded annually by the American Mensa, a non-profit organization open to people who score in the 98th percentile or higher on standardized IQ tests. Hundreds of Mensa (which means "table" in Latin) members gather over one weekend to play and rate the board games of each year. Five games, awarded based on originality, complexity, and design, are given the opportunity to display the "Mensa Select" seal on their packaging. It was first awarded in 1990 and the winners are announced at the annual Mensa Mind Games competition. The winners of 2019 are Architects of the West Kingdom, Gizmos, Gunkimono, Planet, and Victorian Masterminds.
These annual awards are presented by The Dice Tower, a group of gaming enthusiast who use videos and audio podcasts to promoting board and card games, the hobby, and the people involved in the industry who nominate games each year. The awards first began in 2007 with the purpose of encouraging new developments and innovations in the board game industry, promoting board and card games to a larger audience, presenting a slate of games with wide appeal from a variety of genres, and pointing out games that are simply fun. It has since expanded to 14 different categories, each recognizing a distinct genre or aspect of board games. Root was awarded as the group's Game of the Year for 2019.
The Origins Awards are given annually by the Academy of Adventure Gaming Art and Design," a peer based network of gaming industry professionals whose mission is to promote innovation and excellence in design and production of games and game related materials," with the purpose of rewarding excellence in game design. Any publisher or designer can submit eligible product for consideration during the year before the published deadline. The nominees are chosen by the Academy Jury after the GAMA (Game Manufacturers Association) Trade Show in March, the winners are determined by vote of the Jury and announced at the Origins Game Fair in June. The Origins Game of the Year for 2019 was Root.
The Golden Geek Awards are awarded by the users of the website Board Game Geek that are presented every year at the BGG.Con event in Dallas, Texas. Games are nominated by the votes of the user communities of the websites Board Game Geek, RPG Geek, and Video Game Geek. There are 34 categories, with not all of them pertaining to board games. They do however have a Board Game of the Year award. The "nomination round" is held for about one month at the beginning of the year during which the communities nominate games that were released over the past year. Every eligible voter can nominate up to 10 games in each of the categories. The "voting round" is around 3 weeks during which the top 10-15 nominated games of each categories are presented. Eligible voters are user who "have purchased an avatar or a geekbadge, voters who pay a one-time 20 GeekGold fee or supporting users." The winners of each category are sent a physical metal and letter and both nominees and winners can display their awards for the appropriate year. A full list of the categories can be found here. The Board Game of the Year for 2017 was Gloomhaven.
In reality...
...these are only the tip of the iceberg. There are many other board game awards in other countries that may not include American board games. A few examples of board game awards in countries other than the US are:
Deutscher Spiele Preis (German Game Prize): A German board game award that was started in 1990 by the magazine, Die Pöppel-Revue. The magazine collects votes from board game industry's stores, magazines, professionals and game clubs in order to determine winners from first to tenth place along with a best children's game. Unlike the Spiel des Jahres, which usually awards family games, the Deutscher Spiel Preis awards more complex games like the Kennerspiel des Jahres does. The winners are announced at the Spiel game fair in Essen, Germany and the first place winner of 2018 was Azul.
As d'Or-Jeu de l'Année (Golden Ace-Game of the Year): A French board game award that is a combination of the As d'Or started in 1988 in the city of Cannes at the Festival International des Jeuxand the Jeu de l'Anée, which was created in 2003 by the French Association for Promotion and Evaluation of Board Games. These two awards merged in 2005 due to their similar criteria of awarding quality materials, good functioning mechanisms, game aesthetics, and creativity, and has since awarded an "all audience" game, "children's" game, and an "expert" game every year. Three games are nominated by the Jury of the International Games Festival of Cannes in January and winners are announced at the festival in February. The Mind, Where's Mr Wolf, and Detective were the winners of 2019.
Årets Spel (Game of the Year): A Swedish award that began in 1984 by the Swedish toy company Riksförbund. Three categories are awarded which are "Best Children's Game," "Best Family Game," and "Best Adult Game," which started in 2003. Games are chosen based on innovation, entertainment, durability, functionality, and clarity. The jury is selected by Lek-och Babybranschen (The Toy and Baby Industry) in Sweden and the physical award is a large wooden dice called the Guldtärningen (The Golden Die). Number Ninja, Diamant, and EXIT: The Game were 2018's winners.
Nevertheless, these six awards mentioned are distinguished within the US and carry adequate amounts of credibility and prestige. If you are interested in adding a new board game to your collection, I would highly recommend looking at the recipients of all these awards.
Less than a month after its last mishap, Golden Bell Studios is back on the subreddit with controversy surrounding the Kickstarter campaign ofPeasant Buffet: Bad Moon Rising and backers being charged crazy shipping fees. But before we jump into the drama, let's take a look back at what happened with the Kickstarter of Unbroken.
Case #1: Unbroken
I wrote a full article on this disaster, which you can read here, so we can just go over it briefly. Golden Bell Studios is a publishing company that has licenses for franchises such as Avatar: The Last Airbender, Naruto Shippuden, and Spongebob Squarepants. They also publish board games, including a solo survival game Unbroken, developed by Artem Safarov. The Kickstarter campaign has raised over $598,000 through over 16,500 backers and has been a highly anticipated release this year. However, when Golden Bell Studios began distributing copies of the game to backers, they sent them using the United States Postal Service's Media Mail service, which is a "cost effective way to send educational materials," in an effort to cut shipping costs. Because board games are not classified as "educational materials," those who received the game were charged between $7.00-$10.00 for the illegal use of this mailing service.
When dissatisfied backers went to the Kickstarter page to complain, the Golden Bell Studios account started to respond in a shockingly unprofessional manner. One quote that captures some of the essence of the comments was: "Bro stop, I'll send you another package myself you're just an annoying nuisance. Send me your name so I don't need to come here and read your garbage. You're no magic 8 ball, you're just a pest." The situation got worse as comments on both sides became more and more nasty, but Golden Bell Studios did start refunding people who reported these charges. However, they refused to take responsibility, instead blaming "angry backers who vehemently hate us" and "the archaic methods that the USPS has over the past several years." Recent comments on the Kickstarter campaign page still have people reporting not getting their copies yet. There are also comments about the Kickstarter of Peasant Buffet: Bad Moon Rising...
Case #2: Peasant Buffet: Bad Moon Rising
Wargi Studios is "a small game development company based in Virginia Beach, started by three guys with a pretty strange dream: to make fun and exciting games with great art." Peasant Buffet: Bad Moon Rising is a sequel to the successful Kickstarter campaign, Peasant Buffet: The Card Gameand describes itself as a "action packed, press-your-luck card game." Golden Bell Studios is publishing and distributing the game. Yup. Grab your popcorn.
Many backers have mentioned in the campaign page's comment section that they were unaware of Golden Bell Studios' involvement in the project until recently, as there is no indication of it until their 11th update (over 5 months after launch) that was signed "from your friends at Wargi Studios and Golden Bell!" Andrew Barton, a superbacker of the game, commented "...folks might have been rightly cautious if we had known at the outset that GBS was involved or would be involved in this project."
So why are people mad? Well, in their 17th update on July 22, the campaign announced that because they are "on a VERY tight budget due to the increases MOQs, costs rising in china, and shipping charge...(they) will be charging roughly $25 for US Shipping and slightly higher for overseas for the game." This update was signed as "Golden Bell Studios." What makes this even more heartbreaking is that in the campaign's second update, they "decided to add a $35 Reward Tier to offer the game with the price of shipping included."
Reddit user "bstbattle" took a look at the cost breakdown according to a comment from the company in an update and it appears that one major reason for these extra charges are the production of corgi plushies that are included as a $50+ pledge tier award which costed the campaign "~$3,000 for the Wargi Plush at MOQ of 500." The campaign pledges indicated that only around 69 plushies were requested, so around 400 are unsold. The reddit post ended with "bstbattle" musing that "there is no way I am paying 70% of the cost of the product on shipping on top of the cost of the product itself, especially with the pledge level stating Free Shipping Within US. I asked for a refund, and they stated they currently do not have the money for a refund." Did I mention that it has been more than a year since the game was fully backed.
Oh Golden Bell
Some people speculate another reason for this insane shipping fee is to help Golden Bell Studios after their losses from the Unbroken Kickstarter campaign, but there is no real way to confirm this. Other past failed or undelivered Kickstarter campaigns that Golden Bell Studios have been involved in were Dungeon Dice: The Lost King (over 2 years late), Out Last: Westbrooke (over 2 years late), Immortal (over 4 years late), The Krilling Fields (which was canceled due to the claim that tariffs tripled the price), and Be a Turtle (1 year late). It is a very unfortunate situation for backers of the campaign and stands as another warning for others to be cautious when deciding whether or not to back a project on Kickstarter. All we can do at this point is hope that Golden Bell Studios somehow learns to effectively manage their money and not take advantage of Kickstarter backers, how to speak to their customers with an ounce of respect, and try our best to avoid anything they are involved in. Unless you want to of course. I can't tell you what to do. Only tell you of a past that can warn you of the future.
This might've turned out differently if they offered real corgis as a $50 tier reward
"The Hero took a devastating blow, flying across the landscape until they slammed into a boulder the size of a three-story building. Defenseless and on their knees, they struggled through the overwhelming pain to get back into their fighting stance, but their mana reserves were so low that they fell back onto the ground after a few seconds. Strutting confidently towards them, the Villain chuckled. "Is this really all you have to offer? I expected so much more from the hero who promised to protect their friends. But I guess you couldn't even do that." The Hero's face grew red with anger and stumbled back to their feet, leaning against the boulder behind them. "You will pay for what you did to Friend A. I'll never forgive yo-." Their words were cut short as the Hero struck them in the face. "Bold words for a man about to die" the Villain growled as a ball of energy quickly formed in their hand. The Hero closed their eyes, remembering all their precious memories and promises they had made. No. They couldn't die here. Not without their friends by their side. They still had to keep that promise with "that person." Yes. They couldn't die here. THEY WOULDN'T DIE HERE!!...Out of nowhere, the Hero suddenly felt a surge of power and was eveloped by a blinding golden light. "NANI!?" The Villain screamed as they were pushed back by wind and energy. The only words the Hero could think of in response was... "This isn't even my final form!""
I recently had the opportunity to playtest a prototype of a new game designed by Trent Ellingsen and developed by Eddie Kesicki called Ultimate Fighters: Creatures of Titan. The game is a love letter to games like the Street Fighter, the Super Smash Bros. franchise, and Dragon Ball FighterZ as it uses unique game mechanics in an attempt to capture what makes these games so great. Plus you don't have to worry about it being a pay-to-win trading card game as everything it has to offer is held a single box (other than possible future expansions). Now let's go over how the game is played.
Character and Stage Cards
The Nine Current Character Cards
The Seven Current Stage Cards
I think what makes this game stand out is definitely the amount of variation you get with its characters and stages. Each character has its own stats and two different specials which have their own unique effects that are either used for attacking or defending. Each character has a different style of playing based on its characteristics and one of my favorite parts of playing the game was trying out as many characters I could to see how each of them worked. I really liked the playing the Wind Snake character, as its strong point was stalling and slowly chipping away at opponents. Also look at how beautiful the art is (which was done by Phil Ryuh and Herrick Ong).
Like the character cards, the stage cards bring a huge amount of variety to the game. Each stage has its own deck with unique mechanics and cards. For example, if you were playing on the Environmental Stage, game-play would be affected by the "Season" cards that are unique to the stage. There would also be playable cards that give you the opportunity to change the seasons, which are not included in any other of the stage decks. The game has seven unique stage decks that each offer a whole different experience, just like stages in Super Smash Bros. would (unless you play on omega or battlefield mode I guess). The game allows for a lot of experimentation with each character and how they synergies with different stages.
The Combat (A.R.T)
After you and your opponents have chosen your characters and what stage you're going to play on, each player receives however many cards their character's health stat indicates. These cards serve as both your health and the actions you are able to execute. This forces players to stay aware of how many cards they use every turn and how many cards are left in their health pile. Each player starts with a hand of four cards and as the game goes on, there is no hand card limit.
The basic combat cards are Strong (a strong attack), Block, Dodge, Special 1, and Special 2. Each character has a different stat for these cards that relate to their play style. Every turn you are able to play an "Action" card and your opponents are able to play any number of "Response" cards in response. After actions are responded to, players take their hits (A.R.T: Action, Response, Take Hits). For every point of damage players take, they draw the same number of cards from their health pile, which means that the more you get hit, the more powerful you become. Players lose as when they are out of cards in both their hand and health pile...
...or do they?
Ultimate Forms
The coolest part of the game is probably the characters' "ultimate forms." After a player runs out of health, they flip over their character card and are dealt a new pile of health cards. These "ultimate forms" have new stats and new specials which are stronger and cooler than their old ones. This mechanic can be seen in countless anime series and gives you a chance to come back with new, devastating power against your opponents. A player truly loses after they are defeated in their "ultimate form" and the last man standing is the winner of the round.
My Thoughts
I grew up playing Super Smash Bros. Melee and watching anime, so a game that combines aspects of both of them really caught my attention. Like I mentioned before, one of my favorite parts of playing the game was the different play style every character had. Each match-up was unique and the changing stage mechanics kept every fight refreshing and new. The more I played, the better I became at card management, which helped me stay alive longer and win more rounds. From the games I played, the characters all seemed pretty balanced and every skill and attack had the opportunity be responded to. Overall, the game is pretty easy to pick up, but allows experienced players to get better and better as they explore the variety of play styles and stages the game has to offer. I am definitely going to purchase a copy when it is released and am looking forward to getting a better grasp on every character with my friends.
Interested?
The game is scheduled for launch at the end of 2019 and you can be notified by email through their official website at https://www.boardgameatlas.com/products/ultimate-fighters. Their website also presents the rules in more detail so if you are interested in any way I'd check it out!
The Spiel des Jahres (German for "Game of the Year") is an annual German award for board and card games first awarded in 1979 with the purpose of "rewarding excellence in game design, and promoting top-quality games in the German market." It is also considered the most prestigious board game award in the world. The award is given by a jury of German-speaking game critics who review games released in Germany based on game concept, rule structure, layout, and design within the past 12 months. Along with the Spiel des Jahres, the judges also award the Kennerspiel des Jahres (Connoisseur-Enthusiast Game of the Year) for more complex games and the Kinderpsiel des Jahres (Children's Game of the Year) for games that are tailored more for children. Nominees are chosen by the jury of judges themselves through a multi-staged elimination process and the jury presents the awards with no superior private or state authority other than themselves as competent game critics. There are no prize money included with these awards, but winning games and nominees usually receive a huge increase in sales. The winners for 2019 were announced today, so let's take a quick look at the winners!
Just One is a cooperative party game designed by Ludovic Roudy and Bruno Sautter. The game revolves around one active player who tries to guess a word and the other players giving clues. A game is played with 13 cards, each with 5 word choices on them. The group chooses a word for the active player to guess and the others players each give a single word as a clue. If any of the clue words are repeated, the point is lost. If the active player guesses wrong, the point is lost as well as the next card on the deck, but if the player chooses to pass, only the current card is lost. The goal is to collectively achieve a score closest to 13 as the group can.
Wingspan is a competitive board game designed by Elizabeth Hargrave in which players collect a wide variety of bird cards in order to score as many points possible through various combinations and effects. Each of the 170 unique bird cards have a specific food cost, habitat, nest type, flock, egg limit and other unique benefits. The game is played over four rounds in which players can choose from a variety of actions to grow their aviary. With beautiful art and a complex set of rules, the game is offers an great replayability and strategy.
Valley of Vikings is a German children's board game that actually has not been released in English yet. Due to their nomination however, the game is set to be brought to the United States at the end of 2019, earlier than what was originally planned. It is described as a viking bowling game in which player use a small ball to knock down barrel pieces which determines the movement of the character pieces. There are four colors of barrels, each letting players move a different number of spaces. Each space of the board has a different effect or amount of gold and when any player gets to the end of the board, the effects of each space are activated. The player who collects the most gold at the end of the game wins.
Congratulations to all of this year's winners and nominees!
Each award also had two other nominees. For the Spiel des Jahres, the other nominees were L.A.M.A and Werewords. For the Kennerspiel des Jahres they were Carpe Diem and Detective: A Modern Crime Board Game, and for the Kinderspiel des Jahres they were Fabulanticaand Go Gecko Go! These are all games to definitely check out if you haven't already!
Slay the Spireis a singleplayer "roguelike deck-building" video game developed by MegaCrit and published by Humble Bundle released on PC, macOS, Playstation 4, Nintendo Switch, Xbox One, iOS, and Android. It currently has a 10/10 rating on Steam and a 89/100 on metacritic. The gameplay consists of collecting various skill cards to defeat enemies and journey up the Spire.
The game comes with:
Four characters that each have their own unique set of cards.
350+ fully implemented cards.
200+ different items to be found.
50+ unique combat encounters.
50+ mysterious events that can help or harm you.
Daily Climbs allow you to compare yourself with every other player in the world.
Custom mode that allows mixing and matching various crazy run modifiers.
The announcement calls Slay the Spire: the Board Game: "a cooperative deckbuilding adventure. Craft a unique deck, encounter bizarre creatures, discover relics of immense power, and finally become strong enough to Slay the Spire!"
There are some doubts, hower, about if this the game will work as a board game. On an announcement post about the game on the r/boardgames subreddit, Reddit user Gingtastic comments that, "now I did enjoy the video game, but I feel that it won't do as well as a board game. Just seems like a unnecessary creation to me?" Reddit user Danwarr also comments, "a physical version seems like it would actively make the experience worse. I'll withhold full judgement until I see the full KS campaign though."
Are you excited for this adaption? Have you played Slay the Spire before? Let me know your thoughts in the comments below!
Darwin’s Journey is a worker placement euro game by the award winning Simone Luciani and Nestore Mangone. Players recall Charles Darwin’s memories of his adventure through the Galapagos islands, which contributed to the development of his theory of evolution.
With an innovative worker progression system, each worker will have to study the disciplines that are a prerequisite to perform several actions in the game, such as: exploration, correspondence, gathering and dispatch of repertoires found in the island to museums in order to contribute to the human knowledge of biology.
The game lasts 5 rounds, and with several short and long term objectives every action you take will grant victory points in different ways. The tension and strategic planning that increases over the duration of the match and the fascinating vibe that the game conveys, makes Darwin’s Journey one of the most ambitious projects that Thundergryph have crafted in its story as a board game publisher.
.png)
.png)
.png)
.png)
