Interesting Kickstarters (Week of 5/14/18)

Image swiped from BGG.

I've already covered most of the major KS projects that are going on right now, but there are still a few out there that are pretty exciting! I don't know about y'all, but it's already been a brutal year for my acquisition disorder. But I expect no mercy. 

1. Skull Tales: Full Sail!

Skull Tales looks like it might be good fun—there are a few pirate-themed games out there, but this one looks like a dungeon crawl for scurvy seadogs. The game offers multiple maps, cool pirate miniatures, one-off scenarios, and, most importantly, a full campaign to play through. As a solo gamer, I'm always looking for games that are story-driven, and it's possible that this one could scratch the itch. The game has multiple phases that simulate managing a pirate ship, adventuring in new lands, and returning to port to get in touch with civilization. Outside of Skull Tales' ​own marketing, I am particularly intrigued by the fact that AJ from Van Ryder games plugged it in the most recent update. Skull Tales is not officially associated with Van Ryder, but AJ has traditionally published very good games that I like, and also games that cater to solo players. His endorsement has definitely gotten my attention. 

---

Image swiped from KS campaign.

2. Streets of Steel

If you are into old school side-scrolling arcade games, then Streets of Steel may be of interest to you. It's a co-op board game with miniatures, but also artwork that is inspired by fighting games. You can even adjust the difficulty by starting with different amounts of "quarters," which I think is a really nice arcade touch. It's clear that a lot of thought has been put into little details like that throughout the game. The main characters each have a bit of flair and there is cool flavor text associated with them, and all of the material I have seen for the game so far is polished and oozing with personality. There do not, however, seem to be many third party playthroughs, and those are something I like to see in Kickstarter campaigns. True to its roots, this one looks like a pure beat-'em-up, without a ton of storyline. If that's your thing, this project may be worth checking out. 

---