Not Dead Yet Games launched a Kickstarter project on Monday and the game, Hostile Takeover, looks to bridge the gap between miniature games and board board games. Up to four players will lead teams of mercenaries in arena combat to resolve corporate conflicts. The project runs through January 16th, 2014 and, although a funding goal of $50,000 is pretty steep for a first time game designer – even with the seemingly now required paid “preview” from The Dice Tower, you can reserve a copy of the title for a $55.00 pledge.
From Not Dead Yet:
In Hostile Takeover, players recruit and control a team of 4 mercenaries trying to outwit and out-manuever the competition. Each character has strengths and weaknesses that must be used wisely to gain the upper hand. Can you lead your team of mercenaries to victory amid the chaos of battle?
Hostile Takeover is a combative board game that stretches the boundary between miniatures and board games. The game captures the fun and excitement of a skirmish miniatures game and combines that with the lowered cost and increased ease of play of a board game. When asked about his inspiration, designer Andrew McGrady says, “I love minis gaming but that hobby is very costly and time intensive. Additionally, most of my friends are board gamers but not minis gamers. Hostile Takeover is the result of my effort to create a game that would appeal to board gamers while scratching my itch to play minis games.”
Hostile Takeover, the debut release from Not Dead Yet Games, takes place in the not too distant future where the world is ruled by massive corporations who compete for control of empires. When wars waged by private armies proved too costly, the Wolf & Phoenix Marketing Conglomerate introduced an out-of-the-box way for megacorps to resolve their differences: The Hostile Takeover Arena. Corporations can now settle disputes by simply hiring a team of mercenaries to out-maneuver and out-gun the competition in a quick, bloody, ratings-exploding spectacle.
During the game, players recruit and use a team of 4 mercenaries to accomplish scenario-specific objectives that earn them victory points. Each scenario is specifically designed to bring all teams together in a flurry of combat.
Ranged and Melee Combat checks are handled by rolling 3d6 and trying to equal or exceed a given target number. Each Character has a chart describing their ranged and melee weapons that quickly and easily provides the target number to roll against based on a variety of factors.