New to Kickstarter this week is the game Camp Pinetop from Talon Strikes Studios. It is designed and illustrated by Stephen Davies with development by Eric Alvarado and graphic design by Jason Washburn.
Overview
In Camp Pinetop you and your fellow campers are ou exploring the forests and wildlife around you. You will level up your campers as you collect patches which give you special abilities. Whoever advances from Possum to Badger first will win the game.
Each player will chose a color and gain the starting campers, cubes and markers with their player board. The map cards are divided into three stacks and dealt into a random grid. Each player is given a random assortment of supply cards and then play is done in clockwise order. Each player places one of their campers on a map spot.
Gameplay
On your turn, a player may take one of the following actions:
-Draw two cards from the supply card area
-Draw one supply card and move one camper to a new location on the map
-Move a camper to a new location and collect an achievement patch
-Place a new camper on the board
Each of these turns will allow you to progress your game, gaining supplies that will allow you to move to new areas occupied by other or spend them to gain achievement patches. Moving around the board lets you explore new regions in hopes of collecting those achievement patches. Earning achievement patches will allow you to level up your camper and gain the powers listed on the achievement patch card. Supply cards will also allow you to place additional campers on the board, exploring new areas.
Achievement patches as mentioned above give you a specific ability to use either for the rest of the game or as a one time use. Gaining these will allow you to see if you have enough badges of a respective combination to move your disc to the next level rank. Moving a patch up to “advanced” level will allow you to move past the rank of Skunk in the game, upgrading it the same way you did to earn it.
Mastery cards are placed around the play space at the beginning of the game. If a player meets the requirements during their turn they may immediately place a cube on an uncovered patch on the card to gain that achievement patch or advance their patch if they already have it.
Gameplay continues around the board for multiple turns as each player tries to advance themselves as they traverse the forest. Once a player has advanced to the rank of Badger on their turn they game ends immediately and that player is declared the winner!
Impressions:
Camp Pinetop is a fun trip down memory lane for anyone who has spent time in a camp with a group of fellow students growing up. The movement around the forest to explore, gaining achievements as you rank yourself up and be the best camper in the land is a familiar activity of our youth and one that ports well to boardgame form here. We got this to the table with kids and adults alike, and they all found it to be an enjoyable experience.
This game is great for anyone looking for a light, thematic game that allows you to explore and ramp your character up as you grow. The mechanics are smooth, the gameplay fun and the theme really throws you into the world of what it feels like to be on an expedition with your friends. Make sure to check out Camp Pinetop today on Kickstarter! You can find their campaign here:
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