I don’t usually post as much about Kickstarter board games I haven’t played yet, but this is one that I’m really excited about. Flying Frog Productions, the publishers of Last Night on Earth (and other games), is one of my favorite board game companies. I met brothers Scott and Jason Hill a few years ago at PAX and their enthusiasm for making their games is contagious. I always enjoy catching up with them at shows, and this year at Gen Con Scott gave me a peek at some of the artwork and miniatures for their latest game (and first Kickstarter campaign), Shadows of Brimstone.
Shadows of Brimstone is set in the Wild West, but mixed with unspeakable horrors. A mysterious substance called Dark Stone was found, and opened up portals to other worlds. You get to play classic western characters who venture into the mines—and sometimes through the portals—for various missions. It’s a fully cooperative game, and the artwork (illustrations this time, rather than their usual photography) looks fantastic.
It’s also a massive game. For starters, they’re making two core sets to choose from: City of the Ancients opens up a portal to a frozen alien city, and Swamps of Death takes you to a marshy world with serpent men. There are also piles of add-ons: additional characters, enormous figurines of some of the big monsters, new missions, and even another world to explore.
None of that comes cheap, of course. You can get the core sets for $75 each, and if you pledge for both then you’re also eligible for a lot of included stretch goals. You can also buy various add-ons a la carte. But if you really want everything, you’ll need to go for the Mine Cart reward level, which is currently at $475. But clearly the fans are excited about this one, because the Kickstarter just launched on Tuesday this week, and they’ve already gotten nearly ten times their funding goal.
For more information, check out the Shadows of Brimstone Kickstarter page.
I have such a love/hate reaction to the Kickstarter posts. This game looks great, but my wallet is screaming at you 🙂
My family is pretty new to miniature gaming (we only have Heroscape). How do you think a co-op game like this would be for kids? (11, 9, 7, 5)
Based on Flying Frog’s other games, I know that the themes can be a little more appropriate for adults (or at least teenagers)—so that really depends on your kids. This one, while not explicitly Lovecraftian, definitely has hints of that. There are a number of excellent cooperative games that are great for kids, but they don’t all have cool miniatures, either. Forbidden Island and Forbidden Desert are both great, and Castle Panic is another favorite. You could also try out some of FF’s other games like Last Night on Earth or Invasion From Outer Space to get a feel for what they’re like—after all, Shadows of Brimstone isn’t expected to be delivered until next August, at which point all your kids will be a bit older than now.
I have heard good things about Mice and Mystics, which Paul recommended. And fellow GeekDad Dave Banks just wrote about Little Wizards yesterday, an RPG for little kids which looks terrific: http://geekdad.com/2013/10/little-wizards/ Again, not one that has miniatures, but there’s nothing stopping you from buying some miniatures and making maps for the game.
John, the problem with Kickstarter games is that, even if rules are available beforehand, you’ll never have a real idea of the quality and playability of the game until it gets released. Don’t get me wrong, I’ve backed several Kickstarters and been very happy…but it can still be a roll of the dice(no pun intended).
With your kids, I’d actually recommend trying “Mice and Mystics” from Plaid Hat Games. It’s normally for four players but you can sometimes play with up to 6: http://www.plaidhatgames.com/games/mice-and-mystics
You might also like to browse around on boardgamegeek.com, or check out some of the Dice Tower’s “top ten” game lists. Here’s a good one for you to start on: http://www.dicetower.com/top_ten_lists/games_everyone_should_own.html
Hope that helps!