Create and battle chimeras in the revamped version of dexterity game Beasts of Balance
Warthog + octopus + fire = ???
Ever wondered what it would be like to create monstrous chimera by stacking plastic miniatures on top of each other? Beasts of Balance: Rebirth, a co-op board game from publisher Modern Games turns that idle thought into a reality.
The Beasts of Balance now on Kickstarter is actually a redux of the 2016 crowdsourced Fabulous Beasts. Modern Games acquired the rights to the board game from Sensible Object last year and have been retooling the experience and companion digital app in anticipation for a relaunch.
Players in Beast of Balance take turns stacking miniatures on the AR reader-equipped Plinth of Life to create and evolve an ecosystem of unique creatures. Various artefacts can be deployed to hybridize two or more beasts into something completely new and unpredictable - elemental modifiers further customize the results and add a spicy bonus when taken into competitive battles.
As each piece is carefully balanced on the stack, it appears in the companion app showcasing the genetic modifications wrought by each player’s dextrous handiwork. Turns go around the table, allowing everyone a chance to add, modify or shift the flow of evolution - but once the tower falls the island’s volcano erupts and resets the ecosystem to square one.
Designed by George Buckenham, Alex Fleetwood, Beasts of Balance plays best with one to five players and was designed to engage children with its colorful and evocative pieces without sacrificing strategic play for those who undergo crossing an eagle with a bear with deadly seriousness. A quick board game, fifteen-minute sessions keeps the action brisk and allows rapid resets once someone eventually topples their tower.
The digital screen portion of the game can be played on phones, tablets and even smart televisions, displaying each player’s creations in an animated environment along with other pertinent session information. Miniatures change the world in real time, as long as they sit steady on the precariously perched pile.
A competitive battle mode pits would-be creators against one another to build the most powerful creature possible under tight time constraints and with a deck of cards that complicate the otherwise simple winning strategy of giving a shark fire.
The Beasts of Balance: Rebirth Kickstarter campaign runs through March 16th and has already surpassed its initial funding goal of $50,000 (£36,049). Backers can secure a physical copy of the board game for $99 (£71) with shipping expected to begin in March 2022.