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Edit: Kickstarter is now live

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/steamforged/bardsung?ref=user_menu

I couldn't see a thread about this, and the Kickstarter isn't up until sometime in November, but thought I would start putting information together here. There's not a huge amount to go on yet, but the game looks like a nice combination of roguelike dungeon crawling and slightly unusual fantasy RPG, playable solo as well.

The Steamforged page is here:

https://steamforged.com/bardsung

BGG page is here: https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/322524/bardsung

There's an active FB group as well: https://www.facebook.com/groups/bardsung

Also, there's an article on the game on the Dicebreaker site, here: https://www.dicebreaker.com/games/bardsung/news/bardsung-board-game-announced?fbclid=IwAR3xy25dmWyWl1KeRNlRPyvjAYNZsqwSJV7aqNje8_qhX7JawM9A6dzrs0U

Updating this with an interview on the Dicebreaker site with the game designers:

https://www.dicebreaker.com/games/bardsung/interview/bardsung-board-game-designer-interview

Developers' vlog:

https://www.facebook.com/684692921/videos/10159303776177922/

(Edited to add links)

Looks interesting, but will need more info.

Gotta see how it stacks up against all of the many, many other similar games.

Poor timing. If they want the hardcore dungeon-crawl crowd, they lost them to the stellar look Dungeon Universalis, and those fans of casual dungeon-hacks probably just spent their money on Massive Darkness 2.

NewTruthNeomaxim wrote:
Poor timing. If they want the hardcore dungeon-crawl crowd, they lost them to the stellar look Dungeon Universalis, and those fans of casual dungeon-hacks probably just spent their money on Massive Darkness 2.

Yeah, I suppose it depends when in November the Kickstarter is, and if what they're offering is significantly different. It doesn't look like it'll be straight hack n' slash like Massive Darkness, but I very much doubt there'll be as much content as DU. I'm interested as much by the style of the thing, from what we can tell so far - it looks like an interesting take on the genre.


Automatically Appended Next Post:
Some images of the player characters:

The Nightfeather:



The Dawnguard:



The Lightweaver:

Is there any actual information on the game yet, or does everything still link to the FB group, which had no info whatsoever?

 grrrfranky wrote:
Is there any actual information on the game yet, or does everything still link to the FB group, which had no info whatsoever?

It's all still just linked to the FB group, I'm presuming they'll put out more info soon if the KS is starting next month (there isn't even a KS page for it yet)

There's an interview with the designers Mat Hart and Sherwin Matthews on the Dicebreaker site (I've added this to the main post as well)

https://www.dicebreaker.com/games/bardsung/interview/bardsung-board-game-designer-interview

New developers' vlog, with promises of more to comeover the week:

https://www.facebook.com/684692921/videos/10159303776177922/

Second link leads to some sort of content unavailable.

The interview assumes, imo, that the players understand how the game works. It has a back-link to an article that, again imo, doesn't tell us enough about the game to set it apart from other dc's. I mean, I own five or ten dc's and none of them call themselves "roguelike". Okay, I don't come from a video game background, but I played Dungeons and Dragons back in the white box days...

EDIT: This is me and most teased KS games:

 ced1106 wrote:
Second link leads to some sort of content unavailable.

The interview assumes, imo, that the players understand how the game works. It has a back-link to an article that, again imo, doesn't tell us enough about the game to set it apart from other dc's. I mean, I own five or ten dc's and none of them call themselves "roguelike". Okay, I don't come from a video game background, but I played Dungeons and Dragons back in the white box days.

Anyway, first copypasta when you find info that tells us how to play the game. Then tell us how the game's different from all the other dc's. Yeah, I'm not gonna work *that* hard when someone asks me to part with $125+ and I have a backlog of dc's to play...

Well, the very instant I have that info, I'll be sure to let you know ...

well least it's not another video game...

But me and SFG are not speaking at the moment, along with The Event not letting me out to play I'm not biting

Have they cancelled support for it yet by blaming the player base for playing the game?

 ced1106 wrote:
Second link leads to some sort of content unavailable.

I think you need to be a member of the Bardsung facebook group to view the content.

 Zethnar wrote:

 ced1106 wrote:
Second link leads to some sort of content unavailable.

I think you need to be a member of the Bardsung facebook group to view the content.

Well that seems like a dumb way to promote their game. Good to see SFG have still got their marketing down pat...

A post about the game design on the SFG blog, in particular about how exploration works:

https://steamforged.com/blog/bardsung-game-design-exploration

Exploration sounds very WHQ, I'm not sure about the game mat though ...

Doesn't sound all that revolutionary to me either. Also not sure how this supposedly "solves" the set-up time, in that you still have to find the exact tiles you need, but by semi-randomly generating them you have to interrupt your game to do this rather than being able to do so in advance.

More importantly, the board doesn't look great to me. Tiles with generic magicky coloured lights. Which makes finding the right tiles even more difficult, as those shown all look the same (bit of yellow, bit of turquoise, bit of shadow).

This whole thing screams "runaway". Steamforged can go kick rocks.

Not a big dungeon crawl player, but isn't building your map as you go something a lot of them do already?

 aku-chan wrote:
Not a big dungeon crawl player, but isn't building your map as you go something a lot of them do already?

Pretty much all of them (apart from Descent)! I suppose generating the map within a set space and trying to get to the other side of it by the best route is a little different, and from what I can work out the exploration decks will include different aspects for the rooms as well (i.e. flooded, a cave-in at one end etc)

They're trying to sell it as something completely new and innovative, but it's coming off as pretty generic so far. They have got a couple of pretty good developers at sfg, so it should be mechanically sound at least.

https://steamforged.com/blog/bardsung-guest-writers

Some interesting names involved in writing the adventures and campaigns, including Rhianna Pratchett, Ian Livingstone and Sara Thompson

I'm sorta scratching my head here with these names. They have impressive and good resumes, but, afaik, haven't actually written any boardgame dungeoncrawl adventures before.

I think boardgamers want a well-designed and playtested game system and scenarios, so usually react to the publisher. (IMO, They should also look at the game designer. Eric Lang's name at CMON was about as far as this got, as far as I've noticed. Stephen Baker, designer of HeroQuest, had some name recognition during the HeroQuest crowdfunding campaign.) Even when Isaac Childress, best known for his Gloomhaven series, was a guest scenario designer for Altar Quest, backers didn't seem to care that much. Betrayal at House on the Hill (sp) expansion, Widow's Walk, had poor reviews, in part because of the guest writers outside of the boardgame industry for scenarios.

Here's what you'll get for your $99 on the Kickstarter, via Beasts of War:

https://www.beastsofwar.com/board-games/steamforged-first-look-bardsung-kickstarter/

I like the heroes (particularly turtle dude!), but the baddies are rather meh and generic.

But it's not like I could afford to back another Kickstarter at the moment anyways.

Is it me or is the fantasy mini games market really oversaturated by now, even in terms of aesthetics? Don't get me wrong, these look well-made and I kind of like the design, but in the moment it seems as if there's some kind of IP-creating software out there where you can adjust overall 'influences' and it comes up with the fitting design suggestions for the player/enemy archetypes.

This one seems to have the sliders for "Cthulhu Mythos" and "Berserk/Dark Souls Body Horror" on a pretty low setting, with the "Joe Mad/Warcraft Cartoony Style" quite high, and above average settings for the "Paul Bonner/Brian Froud Weirdness" slider? That's cool, I guess, but ...

> Is it me or is the fantasy mini games market really oversaturated by now

Yeah, it's you. And me. And everyone else.

Mythic's Darkest Dungeon just ended today, and we had HeroQuest as well. Dungeon Universalis was before that, and CMON had its Massive Darkness 2. Blacklist Games had its Fantasy Series I KS (obplug: You can get FS1 with 200+ miniatures for $125 in the Dire Alliiance KS I forgot if we had a major dungeoncrawler before MD2. I was too busy backing three fantasy miniature KS from Tiny Furniture, Hand of Glory, and Sally 4th!.

I think dungeoncrawlers are popular to design because decisions are limited. Compare a dice-throwing dungeoncrawler to a game where you can go anywhere in a city, cannot fight, and have to investigate and follow clues -- a medieval Sherlock Holmes Consulting Detective. It's not impossible to design such a game (Mythos Tales is a Cthulhu version), but so few such games have been made. And, afaik, if you design a game where you socialize instead of fight, you may need a proficient dungeonmaster who can improvise. RPGs demanding such skills do exist, but aren't popular with the boardgaming community -- and don't need a plethora of plastic to go along with it.

I'm waiting to see if dungeoncrawlers and other expensive games will go the way of CCG's. Towards the end of the CCG glut, you had to sell a game with an IP to attract attention. Darkest Dungeon has an IP. HeroQuest and Massive Darkness are a reboot and a sequel, perhaps similar to how video games sequels and reboots are popular offerings.

Well, as long as the market keeps buying 'em, we'll be seeing them.

Kickstarter now up - £75/$99 for the base pledge

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/steamforged/bardsung?ref=user_menu

I'll never get over Steam Forged blaming their customers for the cancellation of Guild Ball. Easy pass for me.

Nothing really grabs me in the initial offering. Kind of just overly generic I guess.

It looks nice enough, but I don't see why anyone would lay down money now for something that is going to be sent out until mid 2022.

Unless I'm misreading it's a two week kick-start, so start of December. 14 months later shipping commences, so Feb 2022. Shipping finished 20 weeks later, so July 2022. That doesn't seem worth it.