MatchBox

Never enough small box games

Thundergryph Games is getting close to launching their new Matchbox Collection of games. 5 small box games in this first wave hitting Kickstarter on March 3rd . Each of the 5 games in the series is promising small boxes, great art,  short playtimes, and hopefully big fun. 3 of the five games have intro videos and rules available on the website now. Each with a solo play ruleset with two of the games, 15 Days and Rebis, offering a player count of 1-4.

While each game is played with cards and lists hand management as a key mechanic they all seem quite different. Rebis includes elements of push your luck and some heavier player interaction, while 15 Days focuses on set collection and card drafting. Eiyo, the one solo-only game is a small combat game that has you puzzling through your deck of cards to defeat an onslaught of Samurai.

Each game also features a small number of tokens used in the game. From wooden ani-meeples in 15 Days to colored glass tokens in Rebis and metal coins in Eiyo. These are packaged together with the lushly illustrated cards in small sliding boxes that give the line their name. Lovely oversized matchboxes of fun.

The most intriguing part for me though is the concept they are promoting for the Kickstarter launch. Achievement Boosters. Small envelopes promising surprise promo cards for each game. Giving you a little something to work towards. A reward for playing. Not a legacy addition, though maybe they might include new rules with new cards, but just aptly named achievement boosters.

The 3 games they have revealed are all beautiful productions and they seem compelling for 20-minute games. I feel this is a category of game that can never be overcrowded and these boxes are going to look great on shelves.

Head over to the Thundergryph page to sign up for the launch notification. They are worth keeping an eye on for sure.