A beloved tabletop industry veteran is helping to bring a new game to store shelves. It is called Mindbug, and it will be making its debut at one of the largest tabletop gaming conventions in the world.
Richard Garfield, the creator of the iconic Magic: The Gathering, has partnered up with development studio NerdLab to create this new dueling card game. Players will take turns summoning hybrid monsters like a Kangasaurus Rex or a Compost Dragon in order to do battle.
But NerdLab aren't making another competitive TCG with Mindbug. The central goal of the card game was to make it accessible as well as quick and engaging. For example, there is no deck construction or ramp-up phase for gathering resources. Players draw from a single deck, which means they have equal potential access to the same resources. Because of this, there is no real measurable tier of useful cards. Every single card has the potential to win the game if used in a clever way.
The reason for this was quite simple. Mindbug's co-designer, Marven Hegen said, "Mindbug combines the accessibility of a simple card game with the strategic depth of a Trading Card Game in a way that I have never seen before. It is super easy to get into for new players but challenges even hardcore gamers. Our main goal was to remove everything we disliked about Trading Card Games like pay to win, randomness and complexity while keeping everything we loved like strategic depth, challenging choices and crazy card combos. The result is a unique card battler that feels like a TCG in a box."
As for where Mindbug will be entering store shelves, its first printing will be available at Essen Spiel. This is one of the biggest tabletop conventions in the world held in Essen, Germany from October 14-17. It is while on the show floor that the game's first printing, or "First Contact" edition will be available for purchase.
If you are unable to make the trip, Mindbug will be getting a much wider release courtesy of a campaign on Kickstarter. No launch date has been given for when this campaign will go live, but you can sign-up for a newsletter with updates on the campaign at the game's main page.
