The Shatter Crown Kickstarter Now Live!

Well the Shattered Crown Kickstarter has began and is currently just over 25% of the way towards it target goal and is steadily approaching funding each day. I spent ages trying to find something clever to say about the game. But I am going to pinch a post from the facebook group from a guy caleld Mike Tittenor and these are his thoughts about the game.

long gone are the days when you would wander into a game store and gasp in wonder at a set of rules that allowed you to fight historical and fantasy miniatures battles. (A game store is what we old folk use to call the Internet). They are now quite common and over the years have developed from the rules intensive nightmares that required a degree in accountancy to the buckets o' dice systems that suggest the drooling players have at least a mild barbiturate problem. So in this mature market, it takes something to stand out and be worth looking at. The Shattered Crown is one such. Its pedigree is sound, coming from those fine folk who brought you Across the Dead Earth.

The premise is straightforward: fantasy island with a quasi High Medieval society fighting a brutal and bloody civil war. Ok, nice enough but hardly exceptional, you might say? Then look again. Look at the artwork. Filip Dudek is one of the most talented gaming artists in the modern industry. I can only assume the rules authors have him locked in a cellar somewhere and exchange first rate artwork in return for meals or something. Whatever. Just make sure he doesn't run out of paint down there. The artwork is gorgeous. Get the rules just for that.

There is a figure range going from the nice basic infantry units to the utterly gorgeous....bear riders! They have a range of bear riders! OK, Ok, bear riders, yes, yes, pretty exciting, I suppose but still not unique.

Game mechanics? Pretty simple in the attack, defend, will stats and a rather nice preferred enemy system that boosts certain units against others (so, for example, spearmen are good against cavalry). However, the key point that makes this a good investment is the Command System. This is the bit you'll like. Each unit has a card allocation from a standard suit of playing cards. You can even put the card details on the unit banner so everyone knows that the elite Black Spears are the Two of Spades. At the start of the turn, each general plays his preferred unit's card face down. Both then try to guess the opponent's card. They then roll for initiative. If you guessed your opponent's card, you add a bonus to the die roll. The winner then moves that unit. Repeat until one side runs out of cards. Restart the turn. Now only a drooling idiot fingering his comfort dice with sweaty paws can fail to see the tactical options this gives you in a game.

You need to learn how to use combined attacks, feints and reserve units. You have to tactically beat your opponent, beat him with a stick until he whimpers like a beggar in the gutters of Helles. No longer can he claim he was robbed by the dice! He was beaten by your enormous Tactical Manhood and nothing else! You know you want this game now, don't you? Yes. That's right. Repeat the words. Enormous. Tactical. Manhood. Only from The Shattered Crown.

The Shattered Crown Kickstarter. (click me for KS page)

Heres the promo video.



More of the artwork by the highly talented Filip Dudek

 A unit of Hellesburne  Crossbowmen

 A unit of Hellesburne Spearmen.

A unit of Hellesburne Swordsmen.

First Render of the Khra Stag Rider.