I love war! Murder, death, kill, bring it on! I love cute things! Cuddle, cuddle, cuddle, bring it on!
A cute war? What? Is that a thing? Well, let’s have a look at that instead, then. Murder cuddles, bring ‘em on!
It's back-story time! It's childhood, and the imagination of you and your friends is so potent that it has turned the playground into a fantasy world (ah, remember those days? I don't: too ruddy far away). War has broken out between you all for control of the Button Kingdoms (can't just play nicely, eh?). To claim victory, you'll have to put together a mighty army of plushies to assist you. The only catch? As your mother said, you have to share your toys!
Button Kingdoms is a 2-4 player deck-builder from Around The Stump Games stuffed full with player interaction. While your friends openly plot, promise, and scheme about who gets to control that furry dragon... you know exactly what they want and what to say to twist their desires to your advantage. You tell the truth when it serves you, lie through your teeth when it doesn't, and sweet-talk your rivals into betraying each other without them realizing it. Because in Button Kingdoms, the most powerful weapon on the playground isn't your knightly teddy bear or a furry dragon, it's your ability to pull everyone else's strings before they pull yours.
Underneath Button Kingdoms' charm is a brutal contest of wits and tactics. Instead of waiting to take your turn, everyone's playing at the same time, using cards, making deals, and bluffing to gain the advantage. No downtime. All strategy. Each of your cuddly warriors comes as a versatile dual-use card that can adapt to your strategy. Perhaps you're a cuddly teddy bear type (who isn't?). Send out your troops during the Day phase to gain buttons, build defenses, and optimize your kingdom. Or you might lean towards the brutal conquering knight, wherein you'll deploy your forces during the Night phase to acquire loot and deal massive damage. When the Bazaar phase comes round, you'll be locked in a battle of wits as you secretly place action tokens to buy, sell or steal each card on offer (yeah, it's basically a secret auction round, which should spice things up as you vie for THAT card which will compliment your strategy perfectly).
If you’re like me and can’t always decide between war or cute, then this should scratch your weird itches. Button Kingdoms is already fully funded, but there’s still time for you to take a look and get involved. Head here for the crowdfunding campaign. There’s the usual deluxe versions and add-ons that you can choose. There’s some cuddlies as well. Resist if you can.
About the Author
Steve is currently a freelance board game blogger, but often dreams of life as a pirate, or as a ghost herder in the Lake District, or as an evil estate agent who sells haunted houses for his own dark pleasure. Instead of figuring out how to do these jobs in real life like a normal lunatic, he tries to write about them instead, and releases the resultant books upon the unsuspecting world via famous digital bookstores. More books are bound to follow. Find this peculiar entity here.
