Designers:  Brett Sobol (CrossTalk, The Reckoners, Stockpile), Seth Van Orden (CrossTalk, The Reckoners, Stockpile)

Artists: Noah Adelman (Between Two Castles of Mad King Ludwig, Eclipse, Second Dawn of the Galaxy, Endeavor: Age of Sail, The Grimm Forest, Gùgōng, My Little Scythe, Vindication, Wasteland Express Delivery Service), Miguel Coimbra (7 Wonders, 7 Wonders Duel, BattleLore, Cyclades, A Game of Thrones: The Card Game, Hyperborea, Imhotep, Mythos Tales, The Others, Outlive, Small World, Small World Underground, Tiny Epic Quest, Tiny Epic Zombies, When I Dream, Zombicide), Ian O’Toole (Age of Steam, Black Angel, CO2: Second Chance, Escape Plane, The Gallerist, Lisboa, Nemo’s War Second Edition, On Mars, Pipeline, Stockpile, Vinhos Deluxe Edition)

Publisher:  Nauvoo Games (CrossTalk, The Reckoners, Stockpile)

Genre/Mechanisms: card drafting, cooperative game, dice rolling, expansion, push your luck, simultaneous action selection, solo/solitaire game, variable player powers

Funding Status: At the time of this posting The Reckoners: Steelslayer is already fully-funded. Pledges currently total more than 6x the initial funding goal with 2 days left to go on the campaign.

Player Count: 1-6

Solo Mode: yes

Complexity: medium-heavy

Risk: medium-low

What It’s About: “David Charleston, now known as ‘Steelslayer,’ and the rest of the Reckoners attempt to bring human governance back to Newcago and continue on their quest to liberate the oppressed peoples of the Fractured States. The Reckoners, a game based on the young adult fantasy novels by Brandon Sanderson, allows players to take on the roles of the novels’ protagonists and work together to save the world.”

How It Works: “The Reckoners is a cooperative game: all players win or lose together. During play, you’ll take on the role of one of the Reckoners, moving around the city, saving lives, removing Enforcement, purchasing equipment, and eliminating Epics.”

“Epics possess a wide array of superpowers, but despite their differences, all Epics have one thing in common—a weakness. Knowing an Epic’s weakness will always make it easier to defeat that Epic. In some cases, it is impossible to damage and defeat an Epic without knowing their weakness.”

“After the Prologue (Setup) Phase, the game is played in a continuous loop of phases until either the victory or loss condition is met and the game ends. The Reckoner Phase consists of 4 steps: Roll Dice, Use Dice, Receive Awards, and Purchase Equipment; followed by the Epic Phase consisting of 2 steps: Add Epics and Activate Epics.”

“When you’ve eliminated enough Epics, you will have a chance to defeat Steelheart. If the Reckoners manage to defeat Steelheart, then you win. Players immediately win the game if they defeat Steelheart by reducing his health value to 0 (but players must first reduce Steelheart’s research value to 0 before beginning to reduce Steelheart’s health). However, if too many civilians die, then all Reckoners immediately lose; players lose the game immediately if the Population Track reaches 0.”

“The Reckoners: Steelslayer contains four new modules that can be added separately or together, in any combination: Module 1: New Reckoners, Module 2: New Equipment, Module 3: New Epics, and Module 4: New Boss Epics & Cities.”

Comparisons: Several other super-hero-themed cooperative games include: 5-Minute Marvel, Batman: The Animated Series – Gotham City Under Siege, Batman: Gotham City Chronicles, DC Comics Deck-Building Game, DC Comics Dice Masters, Hellboy: The Board Game, Hour of Need, Legendary: A Marvel Deck-Building Game, Marvel Champions: The Card Game, Marvel Dice Masters, Marvel United, Marvel Villainous: Infinite Power, Sentinels of the Multiverse, and Thanos Rising: Avengers Infinity War.

What Should I Pledge?:
$59 Steelslayer (Base Edition): includes the new expansion only.
$74 Steelslayer (Deluxe Edition): includes the new expansion, plus the Metal Components Upgrade and Fitted Card Sleeves.
$89 Steelslayer (Epic Edition): includes everything in the Steelslayer (Deluxe Edition) pledge level, plus the Pre-Painted Miniatures Upgrade.
$129 All-In (Base Edition): includes the Steelslayer (Base Edition), The Reckoners base game, and the Untold Epics Booklet and PDF.
$129 All-In Express (Base Edition): everything in the All-In (Base Edition), but The Reckoners base game and any eligible add-ons ship immediately, with the Steelslayer expansion to follow during the regular fulfillment window.
$159 All-In (Deluxe Edition): includes the Steelslayer (Deluxe Edition) with the Metal Components Upgrade and Fitted Card Sleeves, The Reckoners base game and its Metal Components Upgrade, and the Untold Epics Booklet and PDF.
$169 All-In Express (Deluxe Edition): everything in the All-In (Deluxe Edition), but The Reckoners base game and any eligible add-ons ship immediately, with the Steelslayer expansion to follow during the regular fulfillment window.
$189 All-In (Epic Edition): includes the Steelslayer (Deluxe Edition) with the Metal Components Upgrade, Fitted Card Sleeves, plus the Pre-Painted Miniatures Upgrade; The Reckoners base game and its Metal Components Upgrade and Pre-Painted Miniatures Upgrade; and the Untold Epics Booklet and PDF.
$199 All-In Express (Epic Edition): everything in the All-In (Epic Edition), but The Reckoners base game and any eligible add-ons ship immediately, with the Steelslayer expansion to follow during the regular fulfillment window.

Add-Ons:
$59 Steelslayer Base Game
$74 Steelslayer Deluxe Version
$89 Steelslayer Epic Version
$129 All-In Base Game
$159 All-In Deluxe Version
$189 All-In Epic Version
$59 Stockpile Epic Edition
$21 Stockpile: Illicit Investments
$10 Crosstalk
Price TBD Upgrade Pack, Metal
Price TBD Upgrade Pack, Painted Miniatures
$10 Untold Epics Booklet & PDF

KS Exclusives
None.

All-In Total: In the continental U.S., you’re looking at $189 for the All-In Epic Edition (plus state sales tax if you live in CA, FL, or WI), and $20 in shipping for a total of $209+.

The Reckoners: Steelslayer completes its Kickstarter on Thursday, October 1st and tentatively ships in August 2021.