New publisher Cardboard Dynamo was on hand at Gen Con to showcase their first release, the giant robot fighting game Giga-Robo!, which will release in October.

In Giga-Robo!, players control giant fighting robots.  Before the game, they can personalize their robot build by combining cards for their chosen robot and pilot.  The cards are not shuffled into a random deck, instead each player has access to their full set of cards during the game.  The game features a “cool down” mechanic, with cards added to a cooldown meter when played.  As the game continues, cards on the cooldown meter will gradually return to the player’s hand to be used again.

The game does not follow a strict “I-go-you-go” turn sequence, instead allowing players to react directly to their opponent’s action.  Combat involves both players using cards to attack or counter-attack, with the results determined through a head-to-head die roll.  The victor in the exchange then deals damage and effects to the opposing robot.

Giga-Robo!  also features 3D terrain that is fully destructible.  As terrain features are damaged, the nature of the battlefield changes, with craters, rubble, and even flaming infernos forcing different tactical choices.

Giga-Robo!  was created by Alex Cheng.  It will include 4 pre-assembled, unpainted plastic robot miniatures, five different pilot decks, and 15 plastic structures.  The base game will support 1 to 4 players, and has an MSRP of $114.95.  Two expansions are also planned for the initial launch, Assault of the Armada and Warrior of the Wastes, each with one robot and one pilot.  The expansions are MSRP $24.95 each.  Adding expansions allows up to six players to play.

Funding for the production of Giga-Robo!  was raised through a Kickstarter campaign in 2016 that attracted $87,319 in pledged support from 1,003 backers (an average of $87.06 per backer).