Interesting Kickstarters (Week of 7/16/2018)

It's late summer, and Kickstarter for solo gamers is so hot right now. Thunderstone Quest hits tomorrow, but we'll talk about that one next week. For now, enjoy some other temptations: 

1) Rurik: Dawn of Kiev

Rurik: Dawn of Kiev is a game about becoming the ruler of Kiev by constructing buildings and expanding your influence over growing quantities of land. It combines area control and resource management, but also advertises a new mechanic called "auction programming." This entails using your advisors to bid for actions on a central strategy board. Using a higher-numbered advisor will allow you to get more out of an action, but lower-numbered advisors resolve their actions first. It's up to you to figure out what you need your advisors to do for you, and in what order you want them to do it. In the solo game, you play against an automa that is designed to change tactics and give you a real challenge when you play. Overall it looks like a fresh take on euro-style games, and I'm very curious about how the automa will work.

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2) Dawn of the Zeds: Third Edition (Reprint)

Dawn of the Zeds, published by Victory Point Games, is a reprint of the deluxe version of the game with an additional set of three expansion packs. It's a cooperative game for 1–5 players and it's part of the States of Siege series. In the game, you'll defend Farmingdale and its outlying villages from invading zombies. You'll need to make use of the resources around you, including various citizens who live in your area, to make a last stand and keep the outside world from giving up on you. Dawn of the Zeds is a very well done solo game, and one of my favorite zombie-themed board games. The expansions offer new characters and new event cards, as well as new game systems that help you access helpful items and new modes of transportation (trains!). If you don't have this one already, it's definitely worth a further look.

​3) Casual Game Insider (Year 7)

This isn't a Kickstarter campaign for a game, but for a game magazine. Casual Game Insider is going into its seventh year, and it's $10 for a one-year digital subscription. (The magazine is published quarterly.) I'd like to see more board game journalism and more support for publications that focus on my favorite hobby, so I'm planning to support it. The campaign page features a free sample issue if you'd like to peruse it and see what sort of content you can expect. 

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