Ahoy-hoy! Today I’ll be talking about a Kickstarter called Lands of Ruin. This is a 28mm scale, skirmish sized game set in a post apocalyptic wasteland. Already getting my attention. It’s got all you’d expect from this kind of game; cannibal raiders, people trying to rebuild the world in their image and zombies (called “rotters”). Add in a character with chemically-lobotomized slaves that wear explosive vests…well, you had me at chemically-lobotomized slaves. OK, I’ll admit, I’m already interested. Here’s where it really kicks off. The game is designed with each player having access to a tablet (currently Android, iOS to come). This has all of his character cards, a live map and works out all of the game rules for you. So far, so cool. This allows for a very deep system without all the usual memorisation that goes with it. My character has say 20 action points do things with and I can spend them without my opponent knowing what I’m up to. All the numbers are crunched by the app and you can get on with the actual playing of the game. Sweet.
This is Mulciber…and his chemically-lobotomized slaves…that explode. I’m in love.
If all this seems a bit much, check out the intro video. Because after this, it gets really crazy. Thanks to the app, you can have snipers set up and your opponent won’t know where. Perhaps you have access to a scanner and be forewarned about the “rotters” coming onto the board. You might have even run out of ammo but your opponent doesn’t know, prompting them to flee in terror. This to me, is a huge part of where this game can take us. I hate that my scouts are visible on the table, any trap I think to place can be easily avoided and if I want an interesting ruleset I have to memorise books of information just to play. Lands of Ruin isn’t simply access to rules and character cards, it allows a full play experience. I might shoot you and put you down but only you know if he’s dead. I organise my troops before you act and have to improvise on the fly. I might know ahead of time where an airstrike is coming and lure you into it’s path of destruction. I want to play this so bad.
This guy’s a sniper. Hence the gun. The Reclaimers are slightly more “civilised” than the Balean raiders. Bah.
If you want to know more you can find the Lands of Ruin YouTube channel that has some really insightful developer chats and a battle report. Added to what I’ve mentioned is an experience tracker with skills etc. A ranking system that allows you to communicate with opponents. The list goes on. Give it a look and think about giving it a kickstart. If we don’t, something this awesome might not become fully realised. Then we would be living in a land of ruin.