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[Campaign Review] Kaboom! A Frantic Card Game

By vasshu Mar 5 1

Kaboom! Banner

Kaboom! A Frantic Card Game is a fast paced game which in many ways is like hot potato in card game form.

Basic Information

Players: 2 – 5
Ages: All Ages (More or less)
Time: Varies
Estimated Delivery: April – September 2014
Location: Provo, UT

Game overview

Forum: Kaboom! A Frantic Card Game

Kaboom! A Frantic Card Game - Sample CardKaboom! A Frantic Card Game, like Eternity Wars, is one of many projects that I’ve reviewed recently which is a reboot of an unsuccessful campaign. The advantage of having run such a campaign is that you can really learn from what you did wrong and what you did right. This is now Potluck Games‘ fifth Kickstarter campaign. Their last one, Dungeon Dice, was quite successful receiving over 800% of the base goal!

Gameplay

In Kaboom! players attempt to unload a gigantic bomb on each other. You may ship it to a stranger, drop it down a chimney, or simply toss it over the neighbor’s fence… anything! Just make sure you’re not holding it when it blows!

Because the last person holding the bomb loses, the game dynamic is a little reversed from most card games: usually only one person wins, in this case only one person would lose. If this were Tabletop, that would probably be Wil Wheaton (Sorry Wil).

Read the full rules HERE. You can also check out their profile on BoardGameGeek

Each round of Kaboom! is divided into three phases.

1. Preparation

Players draw cards and lay TRAPS, by placing cards from their hand face-down on the table.When another player attempts to pass you the bomb, they will likely set off one of your traps in the process.

2. Passing

The player with the bomb passes the bomb by placing it before one of the other players’ traps.  The trap is revealed and the instructions on the card are followed.  The bomb is likely to pass to several players during this phase.  Whoever is holding the bomb at the end of the phase panics!

3. Panicking!

When a player panics, he/she must reveal the top card from the draw pile and suffer the consequences listed in the bottom right corner of the card.  This may include discarding cards, passing cards to other players, or exploding!  When a player explodes, they lose and are removed from the game.

The remaining players start a new round, pass around a new bomb, and establish additional losers.  Of course, the last man standing may be thought of as the “winner.”  But it goes against the spirit of the game.

Kickstarter Specifics

Goal: $19,400
Pledge Levels: 7 levels ranging from $4 – $79
End Date: Thu, Mar 27 2014 11:00 PM EST

Chances of success

Given the number of campaigns Potluck Games‘ has run, the success of the last campaign, and that the original campaign was able to get 243 backers, I think there’s a good chance of the project succeeding. My only concern is that the price tag is a little high, especially considering the first version of the campaign was less and didn’t succeed. Usually on a relaunch, the initial goal is dropped a little. We’ll see how this turns out.

Ending on a positive note, the creator is attentive and responsive in terms of replying to questions and comments. I’ve seen too many projects lately where creators seem to think crowd funding campaigns are “set it and forget it” systems. They’re not. If you don’t have the time to check the page frequently and to respond to questions, comments, and messages, then add someone to you team who can do that for you or wait to launch your project.

Tags: fast paced, kickstarter, one loser Categories: Card Games, Crowd Funded

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