Halloween is now behind us, and I feel that the festive elves are busy defrosting Mariah Carey. So until we get into that part of the year, you have this delightful middle-month where we are used to the darker nights and can get some tabletop games out to play ahead of the festive rush. Here are some of the crowdfunding hits for this month for you to peruse. But give last month’s a look as there might still be some late pledges still open
Satisfactory: The Board Game
For those of you who look at a vast alien landscape and go “this needs INDUSTRY!” then I think that Satisfactory: The Board Game might be up your street. Now, full disclosure from me, I have never played the video game. This is simply for two reasons: if I start playing it, I will never stop. The other reason being simply that my computer still runs on happy thoughts and me having a tech priest bless it every day, so I don’t think it would like Satisfactory very much. Thankfully, I have watched A LOT of YouTube plays.
But good news for you and I is that now MOOD Publishing is bringing Satisfactory to the tabletop and you could be FICSIT’s employee of the month. In Satisfactory: The Board Game, you and up to three of your friends can take on the role of Pioneers sent to the alien world of MASSAGE-2(A-B)b, where you will explore the landscape, extract resources and construct more elaborate factories. The boardgame emulates the videogame where you start small and then begin to process more resources, manage your power supply and upgrade your production lines. Who doesn’t love automation. You will complete milestones and contribute to the space elevator, but you will still be competing to earn the most victory points in the process.
Each round each player will begin with two actions, which you will spend to develop your operation, explore the surrounding world and improve your factory. MASSAGE-2(A-B)b is represented by a hex-based map with different biomes, resource locations and special opportunities.
MOOD Publishing has also said that there will be cooperative play, so for someone like me who would rather play with friends than against them (except you Alastair, you know what you did) then this could be a good one to back. Whether you are working together or trying to outperform everyone else, the central appeal is the same: explore, gather, build, refine and keep expanding until your factory is producing things you probably didn’t imagine when you first landed.
What you get in the box looks very nice from what we can see on the campaign with the miniatures looking especially nice to me with the different belts and equipment you can get. You also get environmental pieces in the forms of rocks and even a lizard doggo mini. Its not cheap, but the space elevator miniature looks especially stunning and I wouldn’t mind seeing that dominate my gaming table.
Satisfactory: The Board Game is available on Gamefound.
Origins of Light: A Final Fantasy Board Game
If you grew up playing the early Final Fantasy games, then there’s a reasonable chance that a little part of you has always wanted to gather a party of heroes, venture into a dangerous dungeon and spend several hours wondering why that one particular monster is so ridiculously difficult to kill. Well, good news, because Origins of Light: A Final Fantasy Board Game is looking to bring some of that classic JRPG magic to the tabletop. And thankfully, you won’t need to spend quite so long grinding before you get to the good stuff. I must admit, I didn’t grow up with the Final Fantasy games in my house, my older brother had no interest, so I was not introduced to them. I will say, my other half is FFVII obsessed, so if Origins of Light was set in that universe, you would probably hear her scream for joy from wherever you are reading this.
Published by KessCo in partnership with Square Enix, Origins of Light takes inspiration from the Pixel Remaster editions of Final Fantasy I, Final Fantasy II and Final Fantasy III. Designed for one to four players, you’ll assemble a party of four heroes and set off to explore the world, fight monsters and take on some rather intimidating bosses. You’ll need to manage your time carefully, though, as the forces of darkness aren’t going to wait around while you decide who gets the best sword.
Gameplay revolves around exploring the world map, visiting towns, delving into dungeons and battling enemies. You’ll collect Gil to spend on new equipment, items and magic, while developing your heroes through levelling up and job promotions. Choosing the right party is important, as each character has their own abilities, statistics and equipment restrictions. You’ll need to think about how your heroes work together if you want to stand a chance against the bigger encounters.
There are three different modules, each offering its own take on the experience. Final Fantasy I provides the core game and introduces six classic jobs, while Final Fantasy II brings a more flexible, roguelike style of play. Final Fantasy III expands the character selection considerably, with 22 unique heroes and their own abilities and rewards. So there’s plenty of opportunity to experiment with different parties and approaches.
The campaign also promises solo play, alongside cooperative adventures where everyone works together to save the world. And, of course, there’s the nostalgia factor. Using official artwork and sprites from the Pixel Remaster editions, the game looks to bring those familiar characters, monsters and locations to the tabletop. If you’ve ever spent hours trying to put together the perfect party in a Final Fantasy game, there’s a good chance this will appeal.
The components look simple, but high quality. They stick to the theme of the game well, and I like that KessCo have made a project that knows exactly what it is and it is perfectly focussed on fans of the original games. If classic JRPGs are your bag, I think this is worth a look for you.
Origins of Light: A Final Fantasy Board Game is currently available to back on Kickstarter, so if you’re ready to become one of the Warriors of Light, you can find the campaign below.
Back Origins of Light: A Final Fantasy Board Game on Kickstarter
Max Miller’s Tasting History: The Board Game
If you’ve ever watched Max Miller’s Tasting History and thought that some of those historical dishes looked rather interesting, then perhaps it’s time to get yourself into the kitchen. Although, in this case, you won’t actually need to cook anything, which is probably for the best given my own culinary abilities. Max Miller’s Tasting History: The Board Game is bringing the food, stories and recipes of the past to the tabletop, and there’s quite a lot more to it than simply collecting ingredients and making dinner.
Published by Salt Games, this is a worker-placement game for one to five players, where you’ll travel through three different historical eras: Ancient Rome, Medieval Europe and the American Frontier. Each era comes with its own board, recipes, events and resources, but the core rules remain the same. You’ll send your chefs out to gather ingredients, discover recipes and prepare historical dishes, all while trying to create the most impressive feast and outcook everyone else around the table.
There’s plenty to think about as you go. At the start of each round, an Event card changes the circumstances of the game, potentially making certain resources easier to find or changing how locations work. You’ll also have Feasts to complete for rewards, Inspiration cards to give you useful opportunities and Advancements that improve the locations you visit. It’s a worker-placement game with plenty of little decisions, and you’ll need to think about which ingredients you need and where best to send your chefs.
There are 75 historical recipes represented by 225 Recipe cards, so there’s a fair amount of variety to explore. You’ll be cooking everything from familiar dishes to some rather more unusual creations, with each recipe offering a little glimpse into the food and ingredients of its time. And if you’ve ever wondered why the Romans were so fond of garum, well, you might find yourself learning a thing or two along the way.
I also like that the three eras offer different settings without requiring you to learn an entirely new game each time. Whether you’re wandering around Ancient Rome looking for ingredients or trying to rustle up something on the American Frontier, there’s a nice combination of strategy, history and food here. The campaign also offers a Deluxe Edition with upgraded components, including wooden ingredients and a rather lovely-looking spice tower. The price difference between the two editions might make the deluxe edition a risk for you, but I must admit that the price of the base game makes this one that I think could be worth you picking up. I think that Max Miller’s Tasting History: The Board Game is familiar enough in its mechanics, but yet totally out there in its theme that this could be a very surprising game and one that has strong staying power.
But then again, I eat toast for lunch every day, so what do I know about food!? But, if you’re ready to put your historical cooking skills to the test, you can find the campaign below.
Back Max Miller’s Tasting History: The Board Game on Kickstarter
My Bonus Feature: Arkham Horror Remastered – Vault Series
With only a couple of days left until this one comes to a close, but I am certain it will have some life as a late pledge due to it being a Fantasy Flight game, please do take a look at Arkham Horror Remastered. I have covered this before but I never expected it to be this big.
Gameplay sees investigators moving around the city by spending actions; visiting locations, encountering strange events and collecting the resources they’ll need to survive. You’ll make skill checks, battle creatures, explore other worlds and work together to close and seal gates. If too many gates open, you’ll face the Ancient One itself, which is generally a sign that things haven’t gone particularly well.
The Gamefound campaign offers the remastered core game for $70, including unlocked stretch goals, while the $350 Gameplay Bundle includes the core game and five expansions: Dunwich Horror, Kingsport Horror, Innsmouth Horror, Cosmic Horror and Miskatonic Horror. There’s also a separate Investigator Miniatures Set, featuring more than 60 figures, for those who want to give their investigators a little more presence on the table. I do not know what those amounts are in different currencies, but Gamefound does a great job of converting it for you and making it clear how much it is when you pledge. In the last 24 hours they have unlocked new pledge groups such as a super all in level and a lot of different extra additions.
The remaster keeps the classic gameplay but adds new artwork, improved components, updated graphic design and a clarified rulebook. For fans of the original, this looks like a substantial opportunity to bring a much-loved horror game back to the table. If you know my utter love of Arkham Horror in all its forms, it should be no surprise that I backed this to the top level, something I have never done before, but I am confident this is a cracking opportunity to own everything you would ever need for Arkham Horror and have hundreds of hours worth of gaming with your friends. Or at least until the madness takes you!
You can join me in backing Arkham Horror at Gamefound.
And that’s everything from me for this month! Whether you’re planning to build enormous factories, save the world from ancient evils or simply cook up a feast fit for a king, there’s certainly no shortage of things to look forward to. As always, thanks for reading, have a brilliant month, and I’ll see you all again next time with more games, more crowdfunding projects and, almost certainly, more terrible jokes. Until then, happy gaming!
