About this project
Gear & Piston Board Game
$32,188
706
Remember the time when cars didn't have rubber tires, air conditioning, power steering? Of course you don't, and neither do we.
It must have been an exciting time, the dawn of automobiles, an era of inventions and progress that would lead to road trips, drive-in movies, hot rods, KITT and F1 racing.
But how did we get there? How much sweat and steel did it take to bring us motorized transportation? Who were these automotive pioneers that shaped history?
Well, you can read Wikipedia, or you can be one yourself!
Click here to play Gear & Piston at Board Game Arena!
(Note that the game is in Beta for a little while longer)
Board Game Arena is simply the best way to enjoy board games online. With a modern, clean interface and a very active community, it allows free play of many new and old board games.
Gear & Piston is the first game to be available for play online as a way to give Kickstarter backers the opportunity to play it and decide if the game is right for them.
Enjoy!
In Gear & Piston each player builds an automobile prototype. Each turn the players plan their actions by taking turns to place their tokens and thus reserve actions in the various locations.
When the locations are resolved, the players take new or junk parts in their hand. They can also steal parts, ply the black market for stolen blueprints, and use unions to muscle each other out of the way. In the end of every turn, the players build a number of parts according to how quick they were to get back to their workshops.
Players need to balance how fast they build their automobile with how reliable it is. One can quickly cobble some junk parts together, or spend time on developing valuable new patents. In the end, two investors judge the prototypes and announce their decision on the winning design.
The game can be set up and explained in less than 10 minutes. A game for two players takes 20-30 minutes to play, with the duration increasing by 10 minutes per additional player.
Gear & Piston was the winner of the Lautapelaamaan 2012 game design competition.
To see what UndeadViking thinks, watch this (after 03:00, skip to 27:14 for the review):
Please make sure to thank the 'Viking by thumbing the video on BGG.
Richard Ham also reviewed a prototype of Gear & Piston, and here's what he thought:
To see his whole playthrough, click on to the video on BGG.
Also, here's a presentation by Tom Vasel about how to play Gear & Piston:
Thanks Tom!
Download the rules here. (4 MB, right click and Save as...)
The game will be manufactured in Europe, comes in an Agricola-sized box (12.40 x 8.86 x 2.76 in / 31.5 x 22.5 x 7 cm) and contains:
- A cardboard game board (15.75 x 11.81 in / 40 x 30 cm )
- 3 rulebooks (english, french, german)
- 36 wooden discs (in 6 colors)
- 132 cardboard tiles (2.36 x 2.36 in / 6 x 6 cm)
- 42 new parts
- 42 junk parts
- 20 scrap parts
- 12 player aid / automobile ends tiles
- 10 investors
- 1 first player tile
- 1 variant overlay tile
- 4 Kickstarter backer tiles
The art is ready, and we have the manufacturers on standby. As soon as we finish this campaign we will put the backer names into the rules, the backer portraits on to the tiles, have the print setting done, and get the games made.
Visit Gear & Piston on BoardGameGeek.com for news, pictures and reviews.
The Manufacturer's Suggested Retail Price for Gear & Piston will be at least $50 / €40.
This means that this Kickstarter campaign will be the cheapest way to get the game. This happens not only because the base price is less than $50 / €40, but also because we include shipping.
Once the game enters distribution (which will be limited, due to the quantities we will produce), you will have to pay shipping to get the game from retailers, who will also add their mark-up to cover their rent, staff salaries and general business expenses.
But, even if you get the game with free shipping, for something close to $50 / €40, here's how the Kickstarter campaign saves you money:
Essen - $28: Savings of $22 / €17, or 44%
USA/EU - $33: Savings of $17 / €13, or 34%
Worldwide - $39: Savings of $11 / €8 , or 22%
Even with a conservative estimate of $8 in shipping costs, the savings become something like 38%-50%, depending on location. So, if you intend to get Gear & Piston, this campaign is going to be the cheapest and best way to do it - don't throw away your money!
- The game (the quantity indicated)
- One mention in the rulebook
- A "finnish surprise"
- 10% discount in 2013 & 2014 BoardGameTravel.com trips
- Stretch rewards achieved
- Shipping costs (to the countries indicated)
Note: The amounts in EUR that are listed to the right were calculated on 19 April 2013 with Google's currency converter. Exchange rates fluctuate every day, and your payment provider may convert them to different amounts when you make your pledge.
For more information on the Patron & Visionary portrait, please click here.
Please feel free to message us with any questions you may have about the extras.
For more details on the extras and the stretch goals, please ask us, see the Updates section, or scroll down to the end of this page for the FAQs.
Use these pictures as your avatar on Kickstarter, BoardGameGeek or Facebook/Twitter to promote the campaign, and get everybody closer to the stretch goals!
Direct links:
http://boardgametravel.com/gearpistonKS/GP_avatar_INVENTOR_500.jpg
http://boardgametravel.com/gearpistonKS/GP_avatar_INVENTOR_250.jpg
http://boardgametravel.com/gearpistonKS/GP_avatar_ENGINEER_500.jpg
http://boardgametravel.com/gearpistonKS/GP_avatar_ENGINEER_250.jpg
http://boardgametravel.com/gearpistonKS/GP_avatar_BACKALLEY_500.jpg
http://boardgametravel.com/gearpistonKS/GP_avatar_BACKALLEY_250.jpg
This Kickstarter campaign would not have been possible without the help, encouragement and efforts of Konstantinos Kokkinis. To understate his support would be criminal.
The campaign video was conjured by the talented Vangelis Velles, and constant advice was provided by Ignacy Trzewiczek. When you back, you validate their efforts as much as those of LudiCreations and Jukka. Thank you once again!
Risks and challenges
As the art and graphic design is all done, all we have to do before we go to print is to integrate the backers' portraits into the investor tiles, and to put the names of all the Kickstarter backers into the rulebook.
There is always the risk that our manufacturer will not deliver as promised. However, we have comparable quotes from two other companies, also in Europe, so if we see that there are delays that may jeopardize the project, we will act accordingly.
The Kickstarter rewards will be shipped from Essen, right before Spiel, so if something happens, then we have gone to Spiel for nothing, something quite unpleasant to think about. Therefore, we will make absolutely sure that we are ready for Essen, even if we have to pull the trigger on production a few months early, and pay storage fees.
We plan to ship the rewards using Deutsche Post/DHL. We have researched shipping options in 3 countries, and we have decided to use the German postal services because they appear to be the most reliable in Europe. If any game distributor wishes to offer us a better deal, we will take it, and support the hobby at the same time.
Learn about accountability on KickstarterQuestions about this project? Check out the FAQ
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Funding period
- (31 days)