Ortus Regni, by Jon Sudbury, exists in two forms: a card game and a computer game. The current Kickstarter campaign is to help fund the Computer Game.
Basic Information
Players: 2 – 4 (depends on the number of decks for the physical game)
Ages: 14+
Time: 30 – 60 minutes
Estimated Delivery: September 2014
Location: Somerville, MA
Game overview
The main goal of the campaign is to take an already in development iPad version of Ortus Regni and port it over to Windows and Mac desktops. The software is a digital reproduction of the physical card game. I’m also hoping for an Android port, but that may be a stretch goal at best at the moment.
About the Game
Ortus Regni is a unique closed-deck, deck-design strategy card game. Players take the role of great Earls. Ortus Regni is inspired not only by Anglo-Saxon history, but also by the art of illuminated medieval manuscripts.
Ortus Regni has been designed for the sophisticated player seeking an elegant strategy game that can be played again and again. We have dubbed this model a “repertory card game,” because with each new game, using the same selection of iconic cards, players can try out a variety of different but related strategies. Each game will unfold in a different way and is highly dependent on the careful choices that a player makes before and during the game.
Campaign Specifics
Goal: $35,000
Pledge Tiers: 12 tiers ranging from $7 – $210
End Date: Mon, Jun 30 2014 11:59 PM EDT
Funding Type: Fixed
Chances of success
Jon Sudbury Games has done a lot of work to promote this campaign. They have been discussing the game on Facebook for some time, and the page has over 3,000 likes. There’s already a BoardGameGeek page set up for the game. They also released weekly updates on the status of the project up to the launch of the campaign. Indeed, multiple people have already stated that they backed the project because of the updates that they saw. Hopefully this diligence will continue throughout the campaign. I expect to see an update within the first 24 hours.
Proof of concept video is available for the game so backers can see roughly what they’ll be getting while also being reassured that work is being done on the project. You can also download the rulebook for the game through their Kickstarter page. Unfortunately it doesn’t look like backers will have the option of pledging for early access to either the game or the software, but I think that has to do with the current state of both projects. Either way, September isn’t all that long to wait for the release.