Our range of choice, both by genre and manufacturer, has never been so extensive. And as gaming consumers, we've become more and more selective in where and when we spend our hard earned hobby cash.
As a result, tabletop games companies have had to innovate on production, presentation and miniature design. And for every one that makes a leap forward, there are those that have failed to evolve and keep pace. These days, if you fail to listen to the consumer, even the giants can fall... 2014 will prove to be a defining year for Games Workshop...
And all the while, Kickstarter continues to open the flood gates to hundreds of new (and established) developers, all wanting to promote their brand of gaming greatness. And whilst there have been some bad apples, there have also been some incredible (and some may say, inexplicable) successes - Kingdom Death achieving over $2 million in funding...?!
Anyway, enough of this bunch of hobbits, let's polish our collective crystal balls and take a look forward to some of the games (and expansions) that could be gracing your tabletop in 2014...
ARCADIA QUEST - Looking uncannily like Super Dungeon Explore, Cool Mini Or Not's 'Arcadia Quest' sees 2 - 4 players each controlling a guild of three unique heroes, facing off against both the other players and various dungeon monsters controlled by the game. As the game progresses, players choose their own unique path through the campaign and power up their heroes with various equipment and new abilities. Expect the obligatory Kickstarter in the next month...
SHADOWS OF BRIMSTONE - Flying Frog Productions brings us a co-operative dungeon-crawl board game set in the Old West, mixed with a heavy dose of demonic horror. Players create their characters in the mold of classic gunslingers and law men, venturing down into the depths of abandoned mines to battle the creatures of the underworld. Our trusty posse collect loot, battle demons and venture through portals to other worlds (and no doubt expansions). With character leveling and a card driven exploration system, SofB could be one to watch.
KAOS BALL - 2013 was the year of zombies. Is 2014 shaping up to be the year of tabletop fantasy sports? New kids on the block Guildball and Slaugterball will battle it out with established fan favorites such as Mantic's Dreadball, to be crowned king of the fantasy sports crown. And slamming in for a piece of the action will be Kaos Ball from Cool Mini or Not. Billed as a cross between 'rugby passing finesse and first person shooter'(!), Kaos Ball utilises a card based mechanic to put players in the role of head coach, managing their team to victory through various game modes, including head to head, league and the multi-player. 'Maximum Kaos'. Kaos Ball also includes a draft system, allowing teams to progress from season to season and gain lasting upgrades and player skills. Clearly, the question on everyone's mind is whether or not Games Workshop recognise the opportunity in front of them and release an update to the daddy of all fantasy sports games, Blood Bowl...
PULP CITY: SUPREME EDITION - Having been around since 2007, Pulp City certainly isn't a new kid on the block. But having taken opportunity to re-group, the Polish based company Pulp Monsters, has recognised the recent growing momentum of skirmish level gaming and seized the opportunity to (re) kick start their game. Already supported with an extensive miniature range, Pulp Monsters is primarily looking to use Kickstarter to release a revised and streamlined rules set. Currently 8 x funded, could this game challenge the likes of Judge Dredd for the comic hero gaming crown?
BOLT ACTION: TANK WAR - Currently scheduled for release in August, 'Tank War' will see Warlord Games expand upon their hugely successful Bolt Action game. With the large amount of tank models already available, you could be forgiven for thinking that this expansion isn't particularly ground breaking. But in order for this expansion to work, players will need lots of tanks on the table and this will surely mean Warlord Games moving production over from the current resin and metal versions to (potentially cheaper) plastic kits. Tank War will also pave the way for what appears to be a new campaign book: 'D-Day to Berlin'. Expect this to land sometime in Q3.
ALIEN Vs PREDATOR: THE HUNT BEGINS - UK based Prodos Games ran a very successful Kickstarter at the back end of 2013 for everyone's favourite Alien franchise. A combination of mission and narrative miniature game, 'AVP The Hunt Begins' will see players take on the role of either the malevolent Aliens, the brutal Predators or the plucky Colonial Marines, as they attempt to stalk their prey or in the case of the Marines, pray they don't get ripped to shreds. One of the reasons why this Kickstarter did so well was due to the quality of the mini sculpts, which really do these iconic characters justice.
PANDEMIC: THE CURE - Pandemic
in travel game format. As with it's board game big brother, four diseases
threaten the world and it's up to the players to save humanity by keeping the world's
hot spots in check whilst researching cures for the plagues. The game uses dice
instead of cards to resolve the games' actions. Players can roll their dice as
many times as they like to achieve the perfect turn, but are more likely to
risk setting off an epidemic...
ACHTUNG! CTHULHU - Following up on their successful role-playing game Mutant Chronicles, UK based developers Modiphius Entertainment, are partnering up with Spartan Games to bring us their weird world war II miniatures skirmish game, Achtung! Cthulhu. Utilising the fast paced Dystopian Legions rules set, Achtung! Cthulhu will see players from various factions champion the forces of good against a nightmare alliance between science and the occult. With a rule book imminent and with Spartan Games' experience in releasing high quality miniature sets, expect to see large tentacled monster goodness slithering across a table-top near you soon.
KINGDOM - A two player strategic card / board game, Kingdom pits Gabriel and his army of arch angels against Beelzebub and the dark forces of the fallen. Utilising the interplay of the elements; earth, water and fire, players marshall their forces to attack the enemy whilst protecting their troops through the use of shield like Pillars and the magic spells produced by Angelic Scripts. Currently running through it's Kickstarter and already funded, the beta test games of Kingdom have generated very favorable reviews...
MARS ATTACKS - Mantic certainly have their detractors, but what they do well is recognise the current trends in tabletop gaming and seize the opportunity to quickly release well supported, viable and affordable alternatives to the market. And where the Mars Attacks franchise may have initially appeared to be an odd tie in, Mantic saw the pulp comic background as the perfect fit to layer over their own take on the recent clamour for zombie survival games. The game itself sees one player control the might of the invading Martian Empire, whilst the other player leads the outnumbered but brave defenders of Earth against impossible odds. Battling through a scenario based story arc, the game operates with a 'simple and wacky rules set'... As is expected, the games comes crammed full of smart looking miniatures, scenery representing the devastated ruins of Greenville and a game mat with which to play it all on. If your looking for a comic twist on your survival horror experience, Mars Attack may be the game for you.
Well, that rounds off our look forward to games that could be gracing a tabletop near you in 2014. Of course, there are so many different options out there, catering for a number of different tastes and styles. And as is the case, the popularity of games ebbs and flows, sometimes seeing games that have been around for some time, suddenly finding themselves rejuvenated with new life amongst your gaming group. What is certain is that we'll rightly be spoilt for choice ;) ...
Until next time...
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