First Impressions: 2021 Button Shy Reprint Campaign

The 2021 Button Shy Reprint Kickstarter Campaign is offering a boatload of options this week – a choice of up to 12 games (some with expansions). The campaign page is fantastic, but I got a little overwhelmed by all the pledge options. After researching, I thought my notes might help you decide what you want to back. Consider this a “first look” at the available games.

Color Vision Issues?

Nope. All Button Shy Games are published with colorblind gamers in mind. I have yet to run into an unplayable game from the company, as they do great job with initial color choices and double-coding. Looking at the information available, everything here appears to be colorblind-friendly.

The List

Quick notes:

I’m a Button Shy fan, but not an expert.
Some player counts require expansions.
I haven’t played these 12 games – my thoughts below are simply my first impression.
Resources to learn more: Kickstarter Campaign and the Button Shy Games website.

Ahead In The Clouds by Daniel Newman|2016|2P|BGG 6.3| Euro-style Resource Management. Edo called it, “Thinky, Rich, Simple.” Cartoon-steam-punk-ish theme. Requires 9 coins/tokens to play.

Anthelion: Conclave of Power by Daniel Solis|2019|2P|BGG 7.0| Builds on the foundation of Avignon: A Clash of Popes with a sci-fi theme. Asymmetric influence manipulation. 5 expansions that add new factions.

Antinomy by John Baluci|2019|1-2P|BGG 7.0| Fantasy theme, time travel, and a solo mode (via expansion) are a trifecta for me – I’m definitely getting this one. Mechanics include match-3 set collection and hand management. Marty Cobb’s art stands out.

**Antinomy** by John Baluci. Art by Marty Cobb.

Arcane Bakery Clash by Robin Gibson|2018|1-2P|BGG 6.8| The fantasy baking theme is new to me – I especially appreciated “Syrup Elemental.” Hand management, hidden info, and memory elements. Solo mode via expansion. It appears to require a few tokens to play.

Handsome by TC Petty III|2019|2-6P|BGG 7.0| I like wallet games with high player count that I can easily bring to a “non-gaming event, but maybe a game will break out?” situation. I’m not usually a word game fan, but I like the addition of set collection. Expansion adds catch-up mechanic, press-your-luck.

Hierarchy by Hugo Kawamata|2019|1-2P|BGG 7.0| Perfect information, card placement, and I understood the rules by reading one sentence. Numbered cards must be played on top of lesser-value cards, but each also has a special ability. Silver might be a good comparison.

Liberation by Jon Simantov|2018|2P|BGG 7.1| Best described by reviewers as pocket-size Star Wars: Rebellion that plays in 30 minutes. Deduction, exploration – a space-themed cat-and-mouse game. An expansion adds another planet and tweaks some rules.

**Liberation** by Jon Simantov. Art by Sara Beauvais

Ragemore by Bojan Prakljacic|2018|1P|BGG 7.0| Solo-only game, so I’ll be getting this one. Dungeon-crawler theme that reminds me of the Meteorfall smart phone app. Low-color art by the game designer speaks to me.

Seasons of Rice by Corry Damey|2018|2P|BGG 7.2| The designer’s heritage of Cambodia leads to the rice farming theme. I’ve been tracking this one for a while, so I’m thrilled to get it here at a discount. Drafting and tile-laying with variable player powers. Expansions add a new tile type (river) and scoring conditions.

**Seasons of Rice** by Corry Damey. Art by Jerome Damey and Corry Damey

Smoke & Mirrors by Chip Beauvais|2015|2-5P|BGG 6.4| A bluffing game where you play as an early 1900s illusionist. Plays in 15 min, so could be a fun lunch-break game at the office, like Skull. Expansion adds new elements.

Supertall by Nat Levan|2018|2-4P|BGG 6.3| Marty Cobb grabbed me again with his art, this time reminding me of the brightness of Fantastic Factories or Machi Koro. Supertall packs a lot of city-building fun into 18 cards: set collection, tile placement, and take that.

Why I Otter by Aaron Andrew Wilson|2019|2P|BGG 7.1| A rock-paper-scissors, trick-taking game, Why I Otter brings a bright-and-cartoony style to the table. I’m reminded of the multi-use cards from Flatout Games’ Point Salad.

**Why I Otter** by Aaron Andrew Wilson. Art by Lee Angerstein

In the most recent update #10, Jason Tagmire realized we needed some additional options (!), so Button Shy as offered four more games to choose from:

Sprawlopolis by Steven Armini, Danny Devine, and Paul Kluka. I kind of reviewed this in my recent preview of Agropolis.
Tussie Mussie by Elizabeth Hargrave, another great lunchtime game, and a fun solo mode.
9-card game Blorg in the Midwest by John Kean
9-card game Six Sons of the Sultan by Todd Sanders