I love a good worker placement game. I’m not really sure what it is about this genre that attracts me, but I almost always have fun with them. The other thing about worker placement games is that there are a lot of them on the market today. So while the genre is thriving, I’m always on the lookout for a new thing…just something different. This brings me to our new Kickstarter of the Week: Pay Dirt. Developed by accomplished game designer Tory Niemann (Alien Frontiers), Pay Dirt takes players up to the Alaskan wilderness in search of that shiny bit of metal everybody loves…gold. One of the interesting things about Pay Dirt is how they game uses its Alaskan theme to its fullest extent. As anyone who spent any time watching The Discovery Channel will know, the Alaskan wilderness can be a harsh mistress. So players in Pay Dirt will not only have to deal with competition from their fellow gold diggers (see what I did there?), they also have to contend with the harsh Alaskan climate.
From the Kickstarter Page:
Pay Dirt is an engine building, worker placement game set in frigid Alaska for 2-4 players. Players are competing to manage and grow their entire mining outfit while acquiring the most gold before the ground is too frozen to dig. The Alaskan countryside is an inhospitable environment, so players will face hardships that affect their entire outfit – not to mention the ever-dropping temperature that will shut down their operation.
In Pay Dirt, players start with a small basic crew, an unimpressive claim, mediocre equipment and just a little bit of cash to make a go in one of the toughest competitions this side of the globe. Gold mining isn’t cheap and players will have to sell their gold throughout the game to keep the equipment running and their workers happy. Through clever use of their equipment and workers, players can make their mining outfits more efficient and dialed in to their preference of play. Will you recruit heavily and stack your camp with workers or will you keep your eyes on better and more efficient equipment? Will you have what it takes to hit to strike it rich and hit Pay Dirt?
Pay Dirt is currently on target to hit its funding goal, although it appears to be a close one. I hope this game can get a little bit of an extra push to make it because it seems really interesting. If you’d like to become a backer, a pledge of $50 will get you a copy of the game and any stretch goals they might hit. Pay Dirt is scheduled to be in backers hands in October of 2014 and you have until Friday, April 11th to become a backer. So head over today and check it out.
