Let's Level Up

Ricky

Warring Kingdom by Harry Gao (Kickstarter Preview)

Our Thoughts

Warring Kingdom is a deck builder that brings something fresh to the genre – player interaction.  Now it is my opinion that deck building games can, not always but certainly can, just seem to be a multiplayer game of solitaire.  What I mean by that is I am playing a game with other people but only interacting with myself and a central supply.  Warring Kingdom turns that very notion on it’s head making the win condition not deal in victory points but in that fact you win if you can destroy another players Castle – the very heart of their kingdom.

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Warring Kingdom skillfully balances kingdom management using the cards.  Higher more advanced cards require an upkeep cost to maintain, if you do not have the economy (coin bought from the supply combined with advanced civilians like Farmers and Money Lenders), you will not be able to maintain your armies for very long.  Combat is handled very interestingly.   A player can only have deployed two rows of five units – potentially.  Once you have at least one solider you can declare to attack on your attack phase – you roll six d6 and depending on on the results that is who attacks.  For example if I roll 1,1,1,2,5,5 the unit I had in position 1 would attack three times (if present), the unit I had in position 2 would attack once, and finally the unit I had in position 5 would attack twice.  The defender will also roll 6 dice to determine which of his defenders will deal damage in the defense.

 Interested in supporting?  Check the Kickstarter!

Quick Facts

Designer
Artist
Publisher
Year Published
2013
# of Players
2 − 4
Playing Time
45 minutes

LLU # 4: Hunter from WeaponsGrade Tabletop

In this episode of the Let’s Level Up podcast Rick talks with Hunter from WeaponsGrade Tabletop.  Together they talk about the trials and tribulations of starting a gaming themed youtube channel, what it feels like to get a thumbs down, and games that you need to own.

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Please follow and subscribe to WeaponsGrade Tabletop in all of these places.

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Deck Around (Indie GoGo Spotlight)

Hey Gang,

Wanted to showcase a future channel review that we having coming up.  This game is Deck Around and it is developed by Chris Lesinski.  I have had the chance to talk to Chris about this game while getting things ready for our official review and I have to say that I really like the concept.  Essentially Deck Around is a party game where you mash up Balderdash with Urban Dictionary.

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My worry with this game and more about this in our official review is that there is always a shelf life with these kind of party games, where you just know the content to well for it to be a challenge anymore.  At the same time I don’t ever think party games are about winning or losing, it is about cutting back with friends and family and having a great time.  Deck Around seems like a great way to kick back and have a blast.

From the campaign:

How to Play

Watch the video above to find out how to play. Here’s a quick description for if you can’t hear or something:

 

  1. You’ll get a deck full of slang terms — words like twerking or Dutch oven — but more obscure. You pick a random one and everyone writes a made up but convincing definition for the word and anonymously hands it in.

  2. One person reads all the definitions aloud, including the actual definition of the word, which is randomly mixed in.

  3. Everyone guesses which definition is the real one. They usually fall for someone else’s bullshit definition.

 

Want more information – Check out the campaign!

Giving Thanks

I found myself thinking today on the eve of Thanksgiving.  I have a lot to be thankful for, I really do, we are almost at our one year anniversary and things are moving along nicely.  We do not have a million followers by any stretch of the means, but our community is strong and getting stronger every day.  I am thankful enough for that, but more important that I have the support of my family – wife and children who embrace my hobby and allow me to do the things I am truly passionate for.

Let’s Level Up isn’t my day job, and I am thankful that I have this as an outlet and am able to provide this service free of charge to anyone who wants to read / watch what I think about games.  Next year is going to be big for us, we are going to attend our first con – gen con – and we have a lot of game developers we are working with to provide you a ton of reviews and play series throughout next year.

This is only the beginning for us and Let’s Level Up – I am very thankful to be doing this, playing games, and being able to communicate with each and everyone of you.

If you have already follow us on Facebook and Twitter to keep up with any future giveaways we are planning.

LLU # 3: William Smith from Waning Gibbous Games

Larceny Box Art CroppedIn this episode of the LLU podcast Ricky talks to Bill from Waning Gibbous Games.  This discussion includes what it was like developing a game like Larceny, why they decided to crowd fund through Kickstarter, and what is happening now that the game has been funded.  You can follow William and the rest of Waning Gibbous Games on their  Facebook or twitter pages.

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