• One of the 2020 pandemic lockdown silver linings for me was playing through Clank! Legacy: Acquisitions Incorporated with our neighbors. I always enjoyed Clank! and its push-your-luck, deck-building gameplay, especially early on as I discovered modern board games. Clank! Legacy resonated with me even more, so I’m very excited about its upcoming sequel, Clank! Legacy 2: Acquisitions Incorporated – Darkest Magic from designers Paul Dennen and Jay E. Treat, III, which Dire Wolf is crowdfunding on Kickstarter in May 2023 (KS link).
Clank! Legacy 2 is a legacy deck-building game for 2-4 players which continues the fun, engaging narratives and gameplay introduced in Clank! Legacy, but adds boss battles, co-operative scenarios, and new surprises to be explored.
• For another deck-building sequel on Kickstarter, be sure to check out Astro Knights: Eternity (KS link), from Indie Boards & Cards and designers Nick Little and Sydney Engelstein. Astro Knights: Eternity is a stand-alone expansion for Astro Knights, which re-implements the innovative deck-building mechanisms introduced in Aeon’s End.
Here’s the publisher’s high-level description of this sci-fi, co-operative deck-building game for 1-4 players, which plays in 45 to 60 minutes:
Continuing the gameplay lineage of Aeon’s End, player decks are never shuffled in Astro Knights, with the collective goal of defeating that scenario’s Boss before it destroys that mission’s Homeworld, or all the players seeking to defend it.
In addition to the familiar structure of the first Astro Knights game, players will be introduced to all-new mechanics throughout the narrative campaign, along with refreshed elements from the Aeon’s End series.
Can your team of unlikely heroes adjust their strategies to overcome the powerful and unpredictable enemies that threaten the stability of the galaxy?
• If deck-building is your jam, you should also keep an eye out for the Shards of Infinity: Saga Collection, which Stone Blade Entertainment announced is coming to Kickstarter in Summer 2023. Shards of Infinity is a sci-fi, deck-building game originally released in 2018 from Ascension Tactics: Inferno designers Gary Arant and Justin Gary, which has since been expanded with a slew of additional content and promo cards. The Shards of Infinity: Saga Collection is set to include all of the expansions and promo cards, as well as new features and mechanics, upgraded components, and more.
• Looking further into the future, Green Feet Games plans to launch a crowdfunding campaign in Q3 or Q4 2023 for The Pirate Republic: Africa Gambit, a pirate-themed, deck-building, sandbox adventure game designed by Tom Butler (Unforgiven: The Lincoln Assassination Trial) and Sam Hillier. The Pirate Republic: Africa Gambit is a reimplementation of Tom Butler’s 2018 release The Pirate Republic, which plays with 1-5 players in 60 to 90 minutes.
Here’s an overview from the publisher describing the setting and how the game works:
One crew of pirates, calling themselves the Flying Gang, seek fame, fortune, and self-governance by building their own Republic free from the constraints of kings, queens, and imperialism. Will you work together to build the Pirate Republic? Or will you betray your brethren in pursuit of greater riches? The sea is your territory; anyone on or near it, your prey.
The Pirate Republic: Africa Gambit is a second edition to the original The Pirate Republic. It is a thematic deck building, sandbox adventure game for 1-5 players which also adds West Africa riches, new Pirates, the Portuguese, and a campaign mode into the mix. Set in the early 18th-century, each player is an infamous pirate captain weaving their own tale by performing daring feats and plundering on the high seas.
It’s a time of conquest and the lure of riches, indomitable spirit and fat treasure galleons, pirate utopias and watery graves!
Are you ready to get your Pirate on?
How does it play?
You start with a deck of 12 cards, 2 of which are unique to your Pirate while 10 are shared. As you acquire cards and build your deck, your decisions will shape your Pirates’ personality.
Using your cards you will sail across the map, strike fear on enemies, recruit crew, attack, defend, form a pirate haven, sack forts, complete global missions, or build infamy (which lets you gain even stronger cards). Each turn you will draw a hand of cards and take actions with them. Once you are out of cards, play goes to the next Pirate, and this continues until everyone has exhausted their decks.
Individually you are amassing Swagger as quickly as you can while collectively completing the global missions. The game ends when the global mission (chosen by the players before the game begins) is completed Alternatively, whoever reaches 120 Swagger first is the winner.
