02D92: On the Radar

Monday - Squid and Sayote

Every time I tell myself to slow down on backing board game Kickstarter projects, several good ones decide to come along around the same time to really challenge me. So here's another edition of Rocky thinking aloud before pledging.

Emberleaf - From the same people who brought us Isle of Cats, they've finally decided to get away from the cats and try their hand at a whole new IP. And man, the art behind this project is all kinds of amazing and it feels like a Mouse Guard game in a different light. It's a bit pricey to get into fully given the component upgrades and the fact that it's coming from the UK (projects are always more expensive coming out of the UK and the EU), but I think I'm quite likely to pledge for this one. The gameplay feels a little tricky but it still feels like a good time.

Railroad Tiles - And while I haven't exactly played a lot of Railroad Ink, this spiritual successor to the game feels a lot more appealing because we do love a good tile-laying game. This game is running on pretty much the same schedule as Emberleaf above, so it makes it doubly painful to pledge for. To add insult to injury, the game's country of origin is Italy and the all-in pledge is quite pricey. I could try to settle for a pledge level that doesn't include everything...and then just feel that completist itch for the rest of the time that we own the game. Decisions, decisions...

Speakeasy - This game as a longer runway and it feels like I have more time to think about things plus the pledge will hit at a later time. Most Lacerda games feel like a no-brainer but we had decided to skip House of Fado given their use of a different artist and the weirdness of the theme. But Eagle-Gryphon games are never cheap and I think it comes in more expensive than either of the all-in editions of the games above. 

Ice and Idols - Of this list, this is the game I'm least likely to get but I'm considering things further since it comes from Inside Up Games, the same people who created Earth. There's a cleverness to the mechanics involved and it looks like it promises some pretty awesome table presence. But at the same time, it also feels like it has too much overlap with games like Forbidden Island and Clank! and maybe it won't occupy a unique enough part of our collection. 

We have some expensive decisions to make in the near future. I've been able to delay pledging for any of these games mainly because they didn't offer overly compelling Day One Backer bonuses. But so many of these projects end up synching cycles and that just hurts my wallet even more. 

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