The latest entry in our series Why You Should Kickstart USURPER Kickstarter. This is a very portable card drafting board game set in a well designed dark universe from the minds of a very creative team. The game launches on Kickstarter on October 13, 2020. Check out the link below to go directly to the USURPER Board Game Kickstarter page or continue on to read the interview with the creator.
USURPER on Kickstarter
1. How would you describe your product in 1 – 2 sentences?
Usurper is a fast-paced, highly strategic pocket-sized card drafting and placement game for 1-2 players.
2. Introduce the team bringing this to market? What is your background that brought you to launching this?
Immolation Rite is a Vermont-based indie board game design company created by brothers Nathan & Jesse Meunier. We make unique, odd, dark, and strategic games, many of which are in a pocket-sized format.
Nate is a veteran video game industry journalist and former digital game designer who made the transition to tabletop game design with his occult themed mint tin game, The Blessed Dark. After play-testing many of Nate’s early prototypes, I (Jesse) became really interested in contributing to the design process more directly, and we began to collaborate. Much of my own design ethos is shaped by indie video games, particularly rogue-lites, such as The Binding of Isaac.
3. What existing games would you compare your game to?
At its heart, Usurper is a euro-style strategy game in a short and punchy format which draws some inspiration from deck building and set collecting games. While Usurper bears a passing resemblance to a few games because of shared mechanics, we aren’t aware of anything quite like it. The Triple Triad card game in the Final Fantasy universe also utilizes a 3×3 card placement grid, but the similarities pretty much end there.
4. What sets your game apart?
Usurper is special because it’s an aesthetically gorgeous, strategically deep, and highly replayable game that fits inside your pocket. There is a ton of potential for overlapping synergies, and a variety of viable strategies. Due to the drafting system, bonus scoring cards, and variance in player strategy, no two games are exactly the same.
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?
While Usurper is our first game as Immolation Rite, we want our backers to be assured that they will receive a quality product. Our game is playtested and complete, and we’ve received and tested production copies before the Kickstarter launch. We’re using a trusted US based distributor that we’ve worked with previously. Nathan has successfully launched several projects, including three tabletop games via Kickstarter, and is overseeing the fulfillment process to make sure it runs smoothly.
6. Why should someone back your project?
By backing Usurper, you are directly helping a small indie developer to keep the lights on and their cats fed while fulfilling their dream of creating unique, strange, and strategic games.
Well we are satisfied!
Great insight and enthusiasm from a passionate design team. Unique, odd, dark, and strategic games, many of which are in a pocket-sized format is a very cool niche to be in and this looks like a great entry to bring to the world. 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!
