There’s no shortage of games on Kickstarter these days, which is a very good thing. It shows that more and more innovate people are willing to bring their ideas to life and into the dining rooms of families everywhere. “Spell Stealers”, a game seeking your help on Kickstarter, is no exception to that trend. It’s a quick and easy to play family-friendly game that makes use of a number of different gameplay mechanics. Being a family man myself, “quick and easy to play” is right up my alley.
Game Designer Greg Santo offered the following press release:
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Greg Santo Games launches Kickstarter campaign for Spell Stealers, a press-your-luck dice game – with stealing.
Spell Stealers is a press-your-luck dice game, racing game, and party game all rolled-up into one unique gaming experience that is fun for the whole family! Spell Stealers is for 2-6 players, ages 8+, and plays in about 20 minutes.
Players assume the role of master thieves in a race to steal a powerful magic spell protected within an enchanted temple. In order to advance into the temple you will need to obtain artifacts, represented by the set of artifact dice. You must use skill, strategy, and a little bit of luck to obtain as many artifacts as possible. Don’t get too greedy though, because failing to obtain an artifact also means losing any points you have accumulated during your turn – and every chance you take is another opportunity for your opponents to steal the points you have worked so hard to gain.
Spell Stealers was designed to take the excitement of the press-your-luck dice game genre and improve upon it in three specific ways:
- Increased Strategy – This is accomplished through the use of 3 different polyhedral dice, each with their own probabilities of success. It is up to the player to decide how much risk they want to take and when they want to take it.
- Everyone’s Playing, Even When It’s Not Their Turn – In most dice games, while the current player is taking their turn all the other players are just sitting around doing nothing. In Spell Stealers, every player is actively involved in the game at all times, even when it’s not their turn. This is accomplished through a real-time stealing mechanic which allows players to try to steal the points the current player gains. Stealing, however, requires quick reflexes and comes with consequences if the steal-attempt fails.
- Increased Excitement – The fact that stealing happens in real-time makes Spell Stealers exciting for all players, at all times. What does “real-time” mean, exactly? In the context of Spell Stealers, this means that there is only a small window of time in which a player can steal. This keeps all the other players on the edge of their seats, trying to get their steal-attempts in on time.
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What Critics Are Saying About Spell Stealers:
- “It’s just a heck of a lot of fun!” – Undead Viking
- “It’s especially good for families as well … it’s very easy to learn, it’s very fast.” – Nick, Board Game Brawl
- “… timed stealing takes what is already a solid combination of racing and risky dice rolling into party-game territory …” – Matt, Dice. Card. Go!
- “With its easy accessibility, portability, and wide range of player counts and ages, it could have a home in almost any game group.” – Jennifer, iSlaytheDragon
- “Spell Stealers is fun, and I enjoy how fast it plays, and how quickly one can pick it up. It has been a hit with my family, and I think it’ll be a hit with yours.” – Kae, Initiative : Tabletop
- “If you like push-your-luck games, this is something you’re definitely going to want to add your shelf.” – Undead Viking
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The Kickstarter campaign for Spell Stealers runs from October 24 through November 23, 2014. For more information, visit the campaign page here: http://kck.st/1wktZ7G