GrogHeads Advanced Research on Projects Advisory #47

frontier wars 728x90 KS

This week’s GARPA might be short on titles (only 3), but it’s long on success – they’ve all made the cut and will be adorning tabletops near you this year.

Scotland Rising  (Worthington Publishing)
$5000 of $2500, ends 20 July 2014

C’mon, now – you’ve seen Braveheart, right?  Scottish Wars of Independence ringing a bell?  And as a wargamer and history buff, you must know that we’re coming up on the 700th anniversary of the Battle of Bannockburn, right?   Well, not only that, but there’s a Scottish independence vote coming up in a few months, too.  So what better time than to take a trip back through history and check out Worthington’s upcoming game on the Battle of Bannockburn.  And if they hit their stretch goals, you’ll get the battles of Stirling Bridge and Falkirk, too, which should satisfy anyone’s desire for 14th-century hack-and-slash combat in the Scottish border country.  But they only hit all those stretch goals if you go plunk down your coins on the Kickstarter page, right?

G47-scotland

Historia (MAGE Company)
$43,000 of $7000, ends 17 July 2014

It’s equal parts 7 Wonders and Through The Ages with a dose of technology thrown in, as you build your civilization from grass hut hunter-gatherers into, well, something else that you get to choose.  High tech, low war?  Sure.  Conquer everything as the barbarians at the gates?  Your call.  The unique tech / military development track that is shared by all players shows your progress relative to everyone else.  The combination of civilization traits and leaders let you customize your path through history.  Oh, and it’s gorgeous, too.  You know you’re going to pledge, so get over to their Kickstarter page already.

 

Pop-Up Miniature Terrain Kit (Stonehaven Miniatures)
$14000 of  $3000, ends 28 June 2014

There’s undoubtedly a “cool” factor that goes with minis played on nice terrain.  It’s one of the reasons we all swoon over Nevermore’s teasingly-gorgeous photos of their games in England.  The terrain, though, can be a bear to build, transport, store, etc.  Enter the boys at Stonehaven, who had the genius idea of pop-up terrain kits that unfold into full-on gameable tabletop battlefields.  Hex-mounted bases for consistency in sizing and layouts, and an option for PDFs that you print yourself.  Of course there’s a drawback: there’s a lot of your own assembly involved.  But it’s not like you’re not building your own Ikea furniture or anything, so go pledge your support to these downright nifty terrain models, and let’s hope Stonehaven’s next campaign includes pre-assembled options that don’t cost $160.  You know they’d be a huge hit.

 


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