Designers: Martino Chiacchiera (Deckscape: Heist in Venice, Deckscape: Test Time, Mysthea), Marta Ciaccasassi (Barbarians: The Invasion, Misantropia Express, Mysthea)

Artist: Travis Anderson (Mysthea, Tremor, Volfyirion)

Publisher: Tabula Games (Barbarians: The Invasion, Mysthea, Volfyirion)

Genre/Mechanisms: deck building, pattern building, resource management, set collection, variable player powers

Funding Status: At the time of this posting, Icaion is already fully-funded.  In fact, pledges currently total more than 5x the initial funding goal.

Player Count: 2-5

Solo Mode: no

Complexity: medium-light

Risk: medium-low

What It’s About: An engine & territory-building and resource management game that functions as the second chapter in a trilogy with Mysthea, where the components of both games combine to form the third, standalone game, Mysthea: The Fall.

How It Works: At the start of each Year, a Colossus card is drawn and the Colossus may move around he board. Additional, an event card is drawn a the top of each Year, and then at the start of each round. These cards may populate an area with Quom crystals (the main resource in the game) and/or Parasites. Players then take turns that involve actions like Extracting Quom from an area, Deploying Machines, Eradicating Parasites, Investigating the Colossus, Retrieving or Installing an Apparatus, and Keeping Watch. Players may also take a Special action, like playing a Curio Card or Using the Emergency Power Supply. Essentially, Icaion is an area control and pick up and deliver game. After 5 Event cards have been places, the Year concludes at the end of the round, and players score points for eradicated Parasites. At the end of Year III, end-game is triggered, and players will also score points based on the number of Primal Shards they’ve investigated from the Colossus.

Comparisons: For the amount of bling and the high quality of the components, Icaion is a rather light game. Players traverse the map, taking actions, mining Quom, investigating the Colossus, and building structures. There’s little player interaction, and the main focus of the game is on exploration. The gameplay feels somewhat similar to the likes of Hyperborea or Vindication in that sense. And then there’s the ability to combine Mysthea and Icaion into a third game, Mysthea: The Fall. That calls to mind the ability to combine the Century games (Spice Road, Easter Wonders, and the upcoming A New World) to create different additional games.

What Should I Pledge?:
$107 Icaion: includes Icaion, all unlocked stretch goals, and the Mysthea: The Fall Conflux Kit.
$192 Icaion + Mysthea: the Icaion pledge plus a copy of Mysthea.
$215 Icaion + Mysthea + Volfyiron mini: The Icaion + Mysthea pledge, plus the Volfyiron mini from the Volyfyiron campaign (but not the game itself), packaged with Shards, cards, and rules so it can be used in both Mysthea and Mysthea: The Fall.

Add-Ons:
14 Icaion: Abberation miniature
22 additional Volfyiron miniature
20 the Art of Icaion Hardcover Artbook
And the following may be included in the Pledge Manager with prices TBD:
Mysthea: Miniatures Bundle + cards
Mysthea: English Decks
Mysthea: Language Packs
Volfyiron Card Game

KS Exclusives:
Several of the stretch goals are exclusive to the Kickstarter edition, including: the Transmuter Wonder miniature, cards, and 5 colored bases; the Parasite Wonder miniature and cards; the Dark Bell Wonder miniature and cards; the Living Wonder miniature and cards; the Pulsar Wonder miniature and cards; the Curio Hub Wonder miniature and cards; and the Qoamcopia Wonder miniature and cards.

All-In Total: In the continental U.S., you’re looking at $215 for the Icaion + Mysthea + Volfyiron mini plus $23 in shipping for a total of $238.

Icaion completes its Kickstarter on Tuesday, June 11th and tentatively ships in May 2020.