Freshman game publisher Odd Bird Games will be releasing its feudal/fantasy politics game Feudum in November 2017.

In Feudum, players try to gain influence and power in a fantasy world dominated by a feudal monarch and powerful merchant guilds.  They compete for control of various territories and “feudums” while maneuvering for position within the six powerful guilds.  Completing a variety of tasks earns “veneration points,” and the player who can acquire the most points is the winner.

The game combines a number of popular mechanics, including simultaneous action selection, hand management, resource management, and area control, resulting in a crunchy, heavier “gamer-game” with heavy influences from Euro-style games.  It is the creation of Mark Swanson, a professor at the University of Missouri, and features whimsical artwork by Justin Schultz, their first published design.

The Feudum box will include a 42-inch long gameboard, 71 game cards, 15 wooden pawns, 20 player discs, more than 170 tokens and tiles, 50 coins, 170 wooden resource markers, 1 cloth bag, and 2 sculpted wooden monsters.  Game rules and reference cards in English, French, and German are also included.  Feudum is intended for 2 to 5 players, ages 12 and up, and takes 1.5 to 3 hours to play.  MSRP is $80.00.

Three expansions will be released at the same time as the base game.  The Windmills & Catapults expansion adds a sixth player to the game, as well as new region tiles, a wooden windmill, and new royal writs that offer new scoring opportunities.  Seals & Sirens adds a nautical element to the game, with whirlpool hazards and a wooden siren figure.  Finally, the Alter Ego expansion allows players to customize the action cards in the game and introduces new special abilities to the game.

Odd Bird is funding the project through a Kickstarter campaign, which easily reached its goals in the first day.  The campaign has attracted nearly $150,000 from more than 1700 backers, with 23 days remaining.  The campaign does include a retailer-only pledge package, and participating retailers can order additional copies at a discount.  Odd Bird plans their backer fulfillment for late October 2017, with a general release into the trade about two weeks later.