Designers: Anthony Howgego (Newspeak, Sarah’s Vision), Konstantinos Kokkinis (Drum Roll, New Dawn, Project: ELITE), David Turczi (Anachrony, Cerebria: The Inside World, Kitchen Rush)

Artist: Gong Studios (Aeon’s End, Aeon’s End: Legacy, Aeon’s End: War Eternal, Android: Netrunner, Charterstone, Dice City, Fields of Green, Tiny Towns)

Publisher: Artipia Games (Among the Stars, Dice City, Fields of Green, Kitchen Rush, The Pursuit of Happiness, Kitchen Rush, Smash Up: Awesome Level 9000)

Genre/Mechanisms: cooperative play, real-time, worker placement

Funding Status: At the time of this posting, Rush M.D. is already fully-funded.  In fact, pledges currently total over 2x the initial funding goal, with 12 days left to go on the campaign.

Player Count: 1-4

Solo Mode: yes

Complexity: medium-light

Risk: medium-low

What It’s About:  Artipia brings their real-time, worker placement co-op formula from the kitchen in Kitchen Rush to the hospital with Rush M.D.

How It Works: Rush M.D. is a cooperative game played over a series of 4 rounds, with each round consisting of the following 3 phases: Medical Council, Action Phase, and Patient Evaluation Phase. During the Medical Council, players move the Round Marker forward, and then can spend as much time as they like to discuss strategies for the upcoming Action Phase. During the Action Phase, players take one of their Hourglasses, place it on a worker space, and then take the associated action. The Hourglass can not be used again until the sand in it runs out. Players each have their own Doctor Hourglass, and have to share the 4 Nurse Hourglasses among them. Actions that can be taken during this Action Phase include: Admit Patients, Hospitalize Patients, Treat Regular Patient, Treat Hospitalized Patient, Treat Ward, Cultures, Blood Exam, X-Ray, MRI, Blood Donation, Store Medicine, Store Organs, Adding Organs, and Administering Medicine. During the Patient Evaluation Phase, players run a Medical Error Check and take negative points for any mistakes made, and then release any treated/healed patients. If Reputation ever reaches 0, the game is lost. Otherwise, the game ends after the 4th round, and the players add the discharged Patient totals, Reputation, Medical Points, and any completed Objectives. To win the game, all requirements on the Objective must be completed.

Comparisons:  Rush M.D. is a reimplentation and re-theming of Kitchen Rush, with some design tweaks. So that’s definitely the best comparison.

What Should I Pledge?:
$55 Medical Doctor: a copy of the game and all stretch goals.

Add-Ons:
$3 Pack of 50 Premium Euro Sleeves
$3 Pack of 100 Standard Euro Sleeves
$2.5 Pack of 50 Premium Mini Euro Sleeves
$2.5 Pack of 100 Standard Mini Euro Sleeves

KS Exclusives:
None, although the campaign stipulates that the Kickstarter stretch goals, while they may be available in the future, will also be a separate, additional cost to the base game.

All-In Total: In the continental U.S. you’re looking at $55 for the Medical Doctor pledge plus $16 in shipping for a total of $71.

Rush M.D. completes its Kickstarter on Tuesday, August 6th and tentatively ships in December 2019.