Relic Expedition

Kickstarter Page - Relic Expedition

Every once in a while I see a good Kickstarter game needing a little help reaching their goals, Relic Expedition is one of those games. Their campaign is about 85% there with only 6 days left, so take a look, it could definitely use your help!

In Relic Expedition, you play a explorer in the jungle seeking treasures while navigating your way through difficult terrains and dangerous wild animals. You gain action points by rolling a die, then you can use your actions to either draw useful supplies or explore the board. You win the game by collecting a set of treasures and then safely return to camp. I know, it didn't sound that appealing to me at first either, but there was something peculiar about the game because I kept going back to their Kickstarter page to check on their progress.

Today I figured out the thing that was nagging my attention - it is the idea of exploration. Human have a built-in need to explore the unknown, otherwise we never would've populated all of Earth and set our eyes on the moon and Mars and even beyond our solar system. You can say that our need to explore is an evolved trait that contributed to our success as a specie.

And yet, exploration is an under utilized aesthetic in board games. Sure, there are a lot of games with expanding tiles or drawing cards to represent the unknown. There are even a lot of games that place you in the space frontier or the entrance of a deep dungeon, but none of them give truly give you the feel of exploration, and I say that for two reasons.

1. Usually in those games, you don't have a choice to explore. You have to "explore" to win the game. For example, in Munchkin, you may have to kick down monster doors, that's part of the rule. But in that scenario, is it really exploring? To explore is to make a choice to peek into the unknown knowing that you could find great risk and reward. Without having a choice for the player, "exploration" simply becomes a mechanic that represent the idea of exploration and does not give the feel of exploration.

Relic Expedition give the players that choice: players can either head into the path of unknown, or follow the path of another player knowing that it is safer but the result might not be as rewarding.

2. In other games as you make progress, your either gain items or experience that make you stronger, and therefore you feel more powerful as the game continues. You might start off as a simple human but by the end game you become some kind of alien-kicking-zombie-killing-cyborg-badass, that's cool and all but that's not how exploration works. Can you imagine Indiana Jones or Tintin wielding a machine gun mowing down all the obstacles ahead of them? Exploration is fun and exciting because the explorers are vulnerable to danger, by empowering them, the tension of the unknown is removed and it becomes a different type of appeal.

Tintin with machinegun - Unstoppable

Relic Expedition is a true exploration game in that as players venture into the deep jungle, players face more danger. And since treasures take up space in the backpack, players are often less powerful than when they first started exploring the jungle. This well thought out mechanic is both thematic and stays true to the core aesthetic of the game.

So that's my spiel about the game. Note that I am not saying that this is a better or worse games than games like Munchkin or Dungeon Crawler, but this is a different type of game that's currently under represented in the market and it definitely deserves a look. If you like video games like Skyrim or Shadow of the Colossus because you enjoy riding around and exploring the world, then check out Relic Expedition, it might just be your thing.