Thunder Road Reboot Announced by Restoration Games

I checked out the now cancelled KS campaign. This looks a lot different than what I was expecting in a good way. I like the big rig and motorcycles expansion. Based on the campaign graphics everything looks cereal box quality so definitely overpriced. Sadly they're more likely to bling it than lower the price. I wasn't going to back anyways as I'm basically all-in on Rallyman so don't need another racer in my life. Also the Thunder Road I remember was enjoyable because it was so simple while still pulling off its theme. Looking at all the expansion stuff this could be a monster of a game.

It looks kind of neat and they kept switch and link…but here’s the deal. Restoration too often loses sight of the simplicity, directness, and compactness of the games they redo. They did it with Fireball Island, Dark Tower, and now this. I don’t want a $150 adult hobby game with a bunch of tacked on cruft out of these titles. I want a $35 kids game that is practically effortless to play, kind of dumb, and just plain fun. I don’t want to sort expansion content, fuss around with player powers, deal with multiple card decks or any of that modern gaming crap. It’s like taking a Ramones song and adding a 2 minute Joe Satriani guitar solo in the middle.

There’s a big difference between a light modernizing touch and redeveloping the charm and whimsy out of a design in favor of appeasing modern audiences that want every game to be a splorricky morass of hodge podge design ideas crammed together to feign sophistication and drive KS stretch goals.

Agreed, it looks like all of the expansion stuff solely exists to add complexity. In this specific case, what I would want out of expansions is VARIETY, not complexity.

Even the KS exclusive card pack looks like unnecessary extra junk. I'll grab the base box at retail and save a ton of money in the process.

I played their Fireball Island once, and it was disappointing. Our host went all in on the extras for that Kickstarter, so setup was long and fiddly and things kept getting bumped out of place during setup, leading to more setup. After all that trouble, the game was just a magnificently over-produced roll-and-move that didn't offer much in the way of strategy, narrative, or direct interaction. The highlight was when somebody used the Crouching Tiger thingie and it hit a pretentious hipster player in the eye.

hotseatgames wrote: I'll grab the base box at retail and save a ton of money in the process.

That’s where I’m at. Not for a second did I ever consider getting the expansions. I’ll take a look at the rulebook to check out the basic additions they made, but at this point I might just make a version of the original using Hot Wheels.

Disgustipater wrote: but at this point I might just make a version of the original using Hot Wheels.

That was my thought before this was announced. As it stands, with all the “upgrade” you’re buying a game with the same title as the game you want, not the game you want.

This should be a $50 title, single box. All the other shit ladled on top is just to drive up the volume on kickstarter. At that point make your own.

I love Thunder Road, but I think it could use a little more chrome without reaching the heights of excess on a simple game Barnes is talking about. Unless you just want to play it with kids or drunks, then you can just pick up the old version, which is a valid use case.

That’s why I want to check out the new rules and see if some of the additions would add an extra bit of depth that would be nice to have.

I literally saw Mall Madness in a store the other day. It already got that reboot and you do use an ATM card with it! www.amazon.com/Madness-Talking-Electroni...id=1634238305&sr=8-2

The best thing about the original Mall Madness was using the 3D board with a copy of Zombies!!! to recreate Dawn of the Dead.

Gregarius wrote: The best thing about the original Mall Madness was using the 3D board with a copy of Zombies!!! to recreate Dawn of the Dead.

You made me look. Wow, the new Mall Madness looks so bland and abstract compared to the original. The original version made an actual effort to look like a mall.

My buddy just picked up Electronic Mall Madness at a yard sale. Is that the original? Apparently I'm scheduled to play Rachael.

Gregarius wrote: The best thing about the original Mall Madness was using the 3D board with a copy of Zombies!!! to recreate Dawn of the Dead.

You've basically just described Tiny Epic Zombies, which is an excellent game.