During ICV2’s survey of retailers and distributors for Internal Correspondence, we heard about these sales gems that are flying below the radar.Sentinels of the Multiverse
Greater than Games
Originally released in 2011 at Gen Con and now available in an Enhanced Edition ($39.99), Sentinels of the Multiverse is a cooperative superhero card game. Players take the roles of superheroes and attempt to defeat a super villain. Each player’s 40-card hero deck (there are 10 to chose from) has unique powers and moves that are exclusive to that hero. The villain (one of four) "auto-plays," throwing conflicts and challenges at the heroes throughout the game in one of four environments. The goal is to reduce the villain’s hit points to zero, but heroes can be defeated, so the game can also end in a complete loss with the villain destroying all player characters.
The Enhanced Edition includes two additional heroes, four additional villains, and two additional environments.
It has been popular enough to spawn several expansions (all funded via Kickstarter and all with MSRP $19.95): Rook City, Infernal Relics, and Shattered Timelines. There are hints of another expansion on Kickstarter in the fall.
Plaid Hat Games
Mice and Mystics ($74.95) is a cooperative adventure game in which the players work together to save an imperiled kingdom… after having been turned into mice to escape the clutches of the adversary, Vanestra. So it’s a race through the castle to warn the king, dodging rats, cockroaches, spiders and the castle housecat, Brodie. Players horde cheese they find along the way to activate new abilities unique to their characters.
The game is for 1 – 4 players (though best with four, due to the cooperative nature), ages 7 and up, and plays in 120 minutes.
IndieBoardsandCards
A beneficiary of the "Wheaton Effect" (it was featured on Season 2 of the TableTop Webseries), The Resistance ($19.99) is an intense social deduction game for 5-10 players. Gameplay is similar to party games like Werewolf and Mafia, but has unique elements, including the quick 30 minute play time, no player elimination, more player interaction, and no moderator overseeing game play.
Set in the near future, players in The Resistance take rolls as Resistance Operatives against the corrupt, all powerful Empire. Players plan and execute covert missions to bring down the government, but unfortunately, there are Imperial spies in the ranks. For three to five rounds, players must work together to carry out missions, while at the same time trying to deduce the other players’ identities. Players can secretly support or sabotage the mission, and based on the results, the mission succeeds or fails. When a team has won three missions, they win the game.
A card game set in the Resistance universe, The Resistance--The Coup, is in the works. It was funded via Kickstarter in May with an expected release in October.
Hawk Wargames
This 10mm scale sci-fi tabletop wargame is the first major release from Hawk Wargames. Set in the year 2670, players join the universe in the earliest days of mankind's ambitious invasion to retake the central planets from the Scourge. The rules (based on an alternate activation system) are designed for mass battles between two or more players, which can be played on a standard 4'x4' table.
The rules are also scalable, and will work for tactical skirmishes as well as large battles. The game is built around rapid deployment/redeployment of forces by airborne dropships, which makes for a fast paced experience. The rulebook ($23.00), infantry, armies, vehicles, dropships , tokens, tiles, and scenery are all sold separately.
