This is interesting. Awaken Realms past deals have fixed glaring problems, in addition to the big box treatment and the production polish.
Burgundy had a bare-bones 1e (loved that $25 price tag, tho…). The buildings required a decoder ring, creating a barrier to entry. Some colors were indistinguishable.
2e redesigned the buildings to each form reflected function. They improved the components. But the colors still blended, the board was garish, and other things like markers to distinguish black from standard tiles were lost. Plus most maps only had 1 copy included, so you couldn’t play symmetric on the expansion maps, and a lot of cheap but out-of-print expansions. New edition needed.
Puerto Rico had a 20 year old design and a thoroughly debunked theme, with known but stubbornly unfixed balance issues. The retheme ignored the balance issues and had manufacturing defects. New edition needed.
Agricola is tough. This was mostly out of print decks, as well as excellent decks from original (G, Wm, Fr) and revised editions (B, E) that were hard to cross-pollinate, making every fan wonder just how many different boxes they needed to get “enough” Agricola. Or, like me, Buy the new decks but know that no one else is willing to put up with the friction to play them on the old board due to the different layout and vocabulary. Unified edition needed.
Concordia has no problems. No pain, just consolidation and polish. Moreover, it’s a newer design less in need of polish. I think that’s why it’s a harder sell.
So does the new Concordia lady have a cavity where her abdomen should be? Or does she have an asymmetric basket with some lead weights in the short side?
The other day by pure accident (because I stopped tracking crowdfunding) I noticed that a game I had put on my wishlist assuming it would be out this year for SPIEL for a wider audience… was crowdfunding a reprint. Meh.
But I backed it. It’s a) a reprint and it was b) a pretty much no-frills campaign (delivery this June?) and the cost I estimate for game + shipping + taxes is about 70€ which is pretty high for a square box but not unheard of these days.
I am assuming it won’t retail in the near future. It is too niche to be translated, in general Japanese games rarely make it to the German market. I did not see any campaigns on crowdfinder… and so I backed Jisogi Anime Studio Tycoon and for a last reason, I cite my click on “Buddy Analysis” on BGG which suggested that beyond the somewhat uncommon anime theme this might indeed be a good game?
Backed The Old King’s Crown. Not much risk, since it’s the 2nd print. I did have it ordered elsewhere, but it was listed on KS as a quick delivery, and it was slightly cheaper. Still kicking myself for not grabbing it while it was available locally. I should have just watched the SUSD review and bought it. That’s what I get for trying to be thorough.
Edit: Have watched. I like some aspects, but my main impression is that it might be too fiddly for my liking – I was a bit taken aback by the amount of dice-manipulation happening.
German version of Old King‘s Crown is currently on the local crowdfunding site. They are offering addons: 24€ for German Memoir 44, 24€ for Limit or 60€ for the latest (pretty) version of Die Macher (I own that one already). I am reasonably sure I am not backing OKC. There were several voices here on the forums that were quickly disillusioned about the game. I am just noting thr addon prices. Makes me a bit sad because it probably means that Spielworxx which is a tiny publisher is sitting on a lot of copies that are not selling. Price for Die Macher is normalish not cheap. Just added that because it is such a famous game.
The high cost of shipping turns me off from projects that I might be temped to fund. If there are no enticing exclusives (which is a red flag of their own), I can just wait for retail.
Happy to wait till retail. The production on the retail version of Birmingham and Lancashire is lovely (and small!) so I’d go for that over the deluxe options they have available. And so then it seems like I’d just be paying extra for shipping if I did back.
I already have some iron clays but if they were cheaper I’d be tempted to pick up another 100. Also I’m fairly sure they were included in the deluxe version before whereas now they seem to only be available as an add on.
It is neat that they’re offering the upgrades to the previous editions in case someone really wants the anti-glare board or fancy cards. Not for me but if it’s important to someone I’m glad they have the option.
Oh snap! Star Wars: The Queen’s Gambit is back with a new IP.
"The Lord of the Rings: The King’s Gambit strategy board game features a sprawling, epic battle across multiple fields of play. The Riders of Rohan clash against hordes of Orcs on the Pelennor Fields. The brave Gondorians fend off the forces of Shadow in Minas Tirith. Aragorn, Gimli, and Legolas maneuver their way through Haradrim on the Great Port at Pelargir to join the fight. While Frodo and Sam navigate the perilous journey through Mordor to the fires of Mount Doom.
The Lord of the Rings: The King’s Gambit game design is led by Rob Daviau, the legendary designer and co-founder of Restoration Games. Packed with detailed figures, thrilling decisions, and countless ways to win, this game delivers the ultimate experience for board gamers and fans of The Lord of the Rings . This stunning Limited Edition is only available in this campaign."
Per the Discord, Restoration Games will have a Q3 KS campaign for the deluxe edition, which will likely be pricey, while Space Cowboys will be handling the retail edition which should be priced under $100.
I never had the chance to try The Queen’s Gambit, but heard great things. SW: Risk tried to reimplement the concept, but not as successfully from what I’ve read. Very interested in this one.
The SW Risk one is the only one I’ve played, and it was definitely enjoyable, though not to the point of seeking out a copy for myself. I particularly liked the way losing one battle will hurt you in the others, so you can’t just abandon one and put your resources into the rest.
Yeah, I managed to snag a used copy of SW: Risk, but it ended up missing some pieces, I think a few X-Wings and TIEs. I haven’t had the chance to play it, and with it missing pieces, I just haven’t really stressed trying it…
