Originally published at: http://statelyplay.com/2017/02/24/the-factory-is-open-for-business-scythe-is-going-digital/
Every year it seems like there’s one or two tabletop games that get 98% of that year’s hype. Last year’s darling, Scythe, was a huge game from a small publisher funded via Kickstarter, a combination that wouldn’t seem to warrant the levels of anticipation we were seeing. Turns out the hype was warranted, because Scythe launched to great reviews and turned out to be one of 2016’s best tabletop experiences.
Unbeknownst to us, there’s a digital version of Scythe in the works and, from what little we can gather, it looks like it should be generating a whole lot of hype on its own.
Scythe looks like an ameritrash game complete with an alternate history post-WW1 setting, giant mechs and minis, and a board made of giant hexes. That said, it’s not all about combat and grabbing land. There’s also resource management, action selection, and other mechanisms that will make the eurogamer in you feel right at home.
The game takes place in a 1920’s Eastern Europe in which the mysterious Factory lies. From The Factory were birthed the mechanical terrors that nations used to fight the First World War, but now the Factory has closed its doors, locking its secrets away. The game has amazing art and a bit of story told via images on encounter cards that play like Choose-Your-Own-Advnture segments. In other words, it has a little bit of everything and, somehow, Jamey Stegmaier made it all work.
The digital version currently has a simple landing page and nothing else, making information scarce. We do have some images via their Facebook page, but other details (such as platforms) remains elusive. We do know that the beta is scheduled for April/May, so it sounds like they’re planning release in 2017.
I have a message in with the developers, so hopefully we can get a little more information soon. I’ll pass it along if/when I see anything.
Hat tip: Jonathan Schaer
