The latest entry in our series Why You Should Kickstart Forests of Pangaia Board Game Kickstarter. The production value of this one looks top notch and the world looks ready for you to be immersed into. The game launches on Kickstarter on June 15, 2021. Check out the link below to go directly to The Forests of Pangaia Board Game Kickstarter page or continue on to read the interview with the creator.
The Forests of Pangaia Board Game on Kickstarter
1. How would you describe your product in a few sentences?
Forests of Pangaia is a light-weight strategy game for 2-4 players about growing magical forests on the ancient lands of Pangaia. You must place seeds and trees in a tactically clever way, expand your forest and complete objectives to earn victory points. Players can choose to keep their forest calm and isolated or mingle with others to reap the benefits gained from diversity.
2. Introduce the team bringing this to market. What is your background that brought you to launch this?
I’m originally a software engineer and work in the computer games industry since over a decade. With computer games, you can run any number of calculations in the background without the player seeing anything of that complexity. With board games there is no such possibility. Nothing is hidden, every rule is in plain sight needs to be explained to the player. So the challenge is to reduce the rules of your game over and over again and design game components in an intuitive way, that help players make less mistakes. I love that!
A few years ago I was hiking through a forest in Germany and enjoyed the harmony and silence. However it occurred to me that from the perspective of a tree, the surrounding might not be as peaceful or silent after all. There is a constant conflict for space and light between the trees and various species and if we could fast-forward through the centuries or millennia, we could see a spectacular play of species come and go depending on climate change and many other factors.
I felt inspired to transform this dynamic into a board game in which growth, sustainability and balance are the core themes. At the same time the flow of play should feel generous and organic and retain a certain lightness.
Last year I was looking for collaborators and met the artists Chris Karbach, Marcel Domke and Florian Moncomble. We work closely together to bring this world to life with their stunning illustrations and amazing world building skills.
3. What existing games would you compare your game to?
Most people who play ‘Forests of Pangaia’ compare it to Catan and Photosynthesis. The reference to Photosynthesis comes easily because both games are about growing trees, although the mechanics are entirely different. I think the comparison to Catan comes up, because of the hexagonal shape of land tiles and their corresponding resources Sun, Wind, Rain or Snow. Personally I would also mention Takenoko for the similarities in stacking up trees/bamboo while completing missions.
4. What sets your game apart?
The trees are made from turned wood and resemble the shape of conifers. You have additional wooden cones to stack on top of your existing trees to let them grow taller. Higher level trees also spawn additional seeds on surrounding fields which will grow and become trees over time as well.
I love this feeling of growing your own forest and letting your trees grow taller! It’s a wonderful element of the game and I haven’t seen anybody implementing the theme in that particular way.
Forests of Pangaia has a modular terrain system as well, that can be arranged differently for every game you play. You engage in competition with other players by placing seeds on the map, while surrounding trees play a role in which seeds prevail. Finally the theme is enriched with elements of mythology and fantasy that I personally enjoy very much!
5. How can everyone be assured that they are going to get quality components and you are going to deliver on all the promises you are making?
We partner with a network of industry veterans who successfully delivered many high quality products over the last years, starting from the design and art to manufacturing and fulfilment. All game components will be produced by one of China’s highest-rated and most renowned board game manufacturers.
All wooden, paper and cardboard components used in our games will be coming from sustainable sources and we take measures to create and deliver a carbon neutral product.
6. Why should someone back your project?
Although nowadays there are large publishers on Kickstarter that use the platform as a launchpad, at heart it is a place to bring small products to life. Forests of Pangaia is our first title, and we don’t intend to produce the game in large quantities outside of the campaign any time soon. This game will be only available on Kickstarter. If you enjoy light-weight strategy games set in nature and a set of beautifully turned, high quality wooden components, now is the time to support us and bring this project to life!
Well we are satisfied!
Great insight and enthusiasm from a passionate design team. This seems like a wonderful dive into a world that has you placing seeds and trees in a tactically clever way to strategically grow your forest. It has clearly been guided by passionate hands and looks like it is going to be a top-notch product. Take a look at their Kickstarter or social media pages for more info!
