Tag Archives: Edo

It’s Follow-Up Friday: Kickstarter Roundup edition!

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Welcome to Follow-Up Friday!

By this time, you know the drill. Follow-Up Friday is a chance for us to revisit the subjects of previous posts and bring the PuzzleNation audience up to speed on all things puzzly.

And today, I’d like to return to the subject of crowdfunding.

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First, let’s talk about Herbaceous. Ed and the Herbaceous team were hoping for $6500 to make the game a reality, and they absolutely crushed that goal!

The final total was a staggering $59,032! Congrats to everyone involved, and kudos to all the PuzzleNationers that contributed!

And in the spirit of such marvelous Kickstarter success, let’s take a look at four very different projects that might appeal to puzzle fans and game enthusiasts!

originz

I missed my chance to try out Originz: The Superpowered Card Game at the CT FIG event earlier this year — though you can try it out at the CT FIG mid-year event this weekend in Newington, CT! — but I definitely like what I’ve seen from their Kickstarter campaign.

In this deck-building game, you try to equip your villain or hero with the best mix of powers imaginable to keep your foes at bay! This accessible game is richly illustrated and detailed, a sure-fire hit with any fans of superheroics in your household.

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If you’re looking for a more traditional style of puzzling, there are only a few days left to get in on the ground floor of LightBox, a Rubik’s-style light-up puzzle box.

By rotating and rearranging the layers of plastic that form the cube, you will illuminate different layers and create different patterns of light! Whether you’re solving to create a particular pattern or to shut the LightBox off entirely, you’re sure to work your brain into knots with this curious puzzle box.

worddomination

And speaking of short deadlines, there are only a few days left to contribute to Word Domination, an intriguing mix of Scrabble-style spelling and a strategy card game.

The concept is devilishly simple: by spelling words, you acquire artifacts to help you in your criminal escapades. The mix of tactical spelling — sometimes, shorter words have more value than longer words — with the roguish qualities of an evildoer allow for all sorts of gameplay possibilities.

I don’t think I’ve ever seen these two puzzle-game formats combined like this before, and the result could be something great.

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Our fourth and final project today has the most potential, simply because of its design. It’s the PinBox 3000, and it’s a foundation for designing, decorating, and constructing your very own pinball game.

Merging DIY possibilities with a classic form of game play seems like a no-brainer, and I can’t believe we haven’t seen something like this on the market before. This is the perfect community builder, and I can foresee forums and Pinterest pages popping up all over, as fans and creators share their unique designs. What an awesome palette to work with!

Hopefully one or more of these projects piques your interest, my fellow puzzlers and PuzzleNationers! I wish all of these creators the best of luck in shepherding their brainchildren toward success!

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Herbaceous: A Card Game That Grows on You!

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I’m always on the lookout for new board games or card games that I think will interest the PuzzleNation readership, and today, I think I’ve got something special.

Many games center around combat, territory acquisition, player elimination, and other aggressive forms of gameplay that can alienate younger players and families alike. But what if there was a game where the toughest decision is what to plant in your garden?

Fellow puzzlers and PuzzleNationers, I give you…Herbaceous.

You have herb cards and container cards, and your goal is to collect the best combination of herbs to pot in your private garden. You do this by drawing herb cards and either planting them in your private garden or placing them in the community garden, where they might be snatched up by other players hoping to bolster their own private gardens.

It’s a simple, accessible game mechanic that makes it perfect for players of all ages, quick to learn but offering enough variety and strategy to give it plenty of replay value.

I reached out to Eduardo Baraf, who is part of the creative team and managing the Kickstarter, to discuss this intriguing family-friendly game.

What separates Herbaceous from other games?

Herbaceous stands out because it has accessible, welcoming gameplay that provides great player moments and dynamics. Certainly the art and subject matter of Herbaceous also grabs people’s attention.

As both a game designer and a game enthusiast, what aspect of the game most appeals to you?

The ease with which I can play it with anyone in my family and extended family. Cousins, Aunts, Grandparents, etc.

Ed backs up his claims of inviting all-ages gameplay by having his mother explain how to play the game:

And best of all, the game is already funded! So if you donate, you’ll be contributing to a game with stretch goals already in mind and plenty of support. Also, given Ed’s successful track record with crowdfunded campaigns, I have great confidence in this game reaching many satisfied supporters and customers.

[Brief Kickstarter explanation for the uninitiated: Although there are no guarantees when it comes to Kickstarter or other crowdfunding platforms, donating to already-funded projects gives you a much-higher chance of receiving the finished product in a timely fashion, since you’ve already crossed one of the major thresholds — securing the minimum funding to make the game — eliminating the chance for disappointment that the project might be cancelled because it didn’t make its minimum funding goal.]

So if you’re looking for a fun, non-combative game to play with family and friends, Herbaceous just might be what you’re looking for.

Click here for all of the details on the game and the Kickstarter campaign!

Thank you to Ed for taking the time out to answer our questions! Best of luck with the game!

Thanks for visiting PuzzleNation Blog today! Be sure to sign up for our newsletter to stay up-to-date on everything PuzzleNation!

You can also share your pictures with us on Instagram, friend us on Facebook, check us out on Twitter, Pinterest, and Tumblr, and explore the always-expanding library of PuzzleNation apps and games on our website!