Picture me at 7am drinking a coffee sat at my desk waiting for my normal work day to begin… when…a 7 foot mutant hammer head shark tapped me on the shoulder with his grafted on drill arm and as my head turned ‘twotted’ me across the chops with his mechanical claw, my teeth a’skittering across the table!!!!!

That’s how Imagined it playing out as I bumped into Goregasm Arena, a current kickstarter from 6 time Kick Starter veteran Jason Fairclough of Thunderchild Miniatures.

Check out the Kickstarter here: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/2032267828/goregasm-arena/posts/2322684

I felt compelled to write a little article to highlight why I want to get up close and personal with this game and maybe why you should consider it too….

The Art:

I’ve always been a sucker for art in games that doesnt take itself too seriously and leans toward the comic book style. Dont get me wrong I love serious war-games and tabletop rule sets but there is just something about tongue in cheek comic art in games that takes a lighter look on our hobby that I love. Seeing the injury cards in Goregasm Arena like smashed Leg (Pictured), gouged eye, severed arm, or gutted written in intestines is taken as intended, as a more lighthearted way to see things and play.

Added to this is the artwork shown in the rule book which reminds me of awesome, under appreciated, and easily forgotten doodles done by your mates during Mr Smith’s shit chemistry class in year 11…..in 1996. I love the art work and loved flipping though the PDF rule set just to see more of it.

The Minis:

I have already mentioned Megabite the augmented hammerhead shark. But my favourite simply has to be Toxic Shocker a goopy pile of radiated sludge with the central part of him being the toxic barrel he no doubt mutated in and out of….Brilliant. Add to this Harrambros a two headed gorilla with horns and Connie Cosmic a Soviet barbarian cosmonaut with a hammer for a hand and you have an amazing group of drongos that I cant wait to paint up and see how their look and feel transcends into their personality in the game. The names alone for the potential stretch goals make me want to see more backers just to see the daft creation and clap merrily, I’m talking to you Manuel Manymits!

The rules:

Beefy rules, constant nose in the rulebook, no glossary, needing a law degree just to interpret the ruleset are issues that I have had with other games but having looked through the 16 page rule book I just dont get that feeling here. The ability to showboat to the crowd for boons or potential negatives, to shunt, tackle, stride, and attack all seem simple and avoid any potential barriers or hurdles to immediate enjoyment. It seems like a rules set that you can pick up & play with your mates regardless of their experience with games like this and just have a laugh at what goes on. I like that, it is refreshing. It reminds me of saturday afternoon wrestling on tv when I was a wee nipper. Then putting the sofa cushions on the floor and having my brother jump off the arm to clothesline me…..Great days!

The feel of the game:

I alluded to this in every section but the feel of the game is what interests me the most. I feel that it has fun minis, tongue in cheek art work, simple but interesting rules that remove barriers especially if you have friends you may want to introduce to tabletop/board games. The whole package is one of a Sega Megadrive 16bit beat em up on a rainy afternoon. Simple, fun, engaging, not too much to trip you up, and exciting to see what occurs.

The guy who made the game:

Possibly as important as the parts I have mentioned is this part here. We arent talking about a faceless corporation with millions dollars or pounds turnover, we are talking about a gent who has passion, enthusiasm, and cares about what he does so much that he wants to make a cool game for us to play. Now I know this isnt just happening out of the goodness of his own heart, but I have bought some absolute cat litter boxes of games by big companies that just sit on my shelf that I would have rather used the money to invest in someone real and someone who we can all get behind & empower.

I’d encourage you to take a look at Goregasm Arena and see how it makes you feel, and if like me it makes you want to know more then SUPPORT IT. If it doesnt pickle your onion then share it with someone who you think may like it. Putting something together like this takes time, dedication, skill, and commitment and it might not be for everyone but for me….Goregasm I want to be closer to you, I want to know more…….I want to see Toxic Shocker go HELLAMENTAL!!!!

Goregasm Arena: Why I want to know more…..