SolarFlare Games: Kickstarting Impressive Tabletops

I love tabletop games. When I'm not waist deep in Overwatch control points, I'm typically rolling as many dice as legally allowed. That's why I had to swing over the Tabletop Village at QuakeCon. While there, I marveled at the wide selection of games on sale and struck up conversations with a few other enthusiasts. That's when I met Dave Killingsworth, Owner and Designer of SolarFlare Games.


Which to buy first?

I had the honor of hearing about each exciting title that SolarFlare has to offer. Killingsworth took at least 30 minutes of his busy schedule to show me what he and his team have been working on. He showed me three solid games that ran the gamut of tabletop playstyle and enticement.

First was Dumpster Brawl! His elevator pitch for that game was "offensive rummy." Players work toward building multiple sets of three in their hands before the other players. However, there are ways to combat the other players as well. Each turn, the player uses two actions to either draw or discard from the deck. After that, they can roll off against a chosen enemy in an attempt to wreck their hand. If successful, they can take or add cards to that players hand. If not, then better luck next turn.


The coveted Dead Fish.

After that, we changed gears drastically. He brought me to the centerpiece of his booth which featured a game called Nightmare Forest: Dead Run. In this game, each player attempts to escape the forest before the zombies get them. I know. I know. I'm sick of zombies too. The good news, though, is that these are zombified woodland creatures. That adds enough flavor to the game to keep me interested. Players try to escape the forest by fighting through the creatures in their way. Each turn has its own dice pool, so the number of moves players make depends on how lucky they feel. A selection of gear helps to boost your combat effectiveness. But if that's not enough for you, you can throw gear at your competitors to attract more zombies to slow them down.


Spooksville - Population: Me

Finally, there was their newest game, The Lords of Rock. It is currently up on Kickstarter already. In fact, it's fully funded. In The Lords of Rock, players pick a pantheon of gods. Then, they craft a band out of some of the members of that pantheon. Each one has a specialty and a secondary skill. These include vocals, guitar, bass, and drums. Each round, players attempt to rock a new venue harder than the others. With the help of the band members and a hand of helpful (or hurtful) cards, one lucky player will be deemed the undisputed Lord of Rock.


The Battle of the Bands that Rocked the World.

SolarFlare Games had an astounding amount of talent in the imaginative gameplay and visual style. Killingsworth and his team have a definite passion for the craft. From my interview with him, there's no stopping the tabletop train. From expansions to sequels to brand new ideas, SolarFlare has a lot more to offer the board game world.