Hello, it has been a while since I wrote one of these. Most notably because I dont just churn them out for the sake of it. I actually, genuinely wait until there is something I want to know more about before I do one, believe it or not.

If you are a reader of my other musings on things I want to know more about you may start to begin to see a theme, I actually did when I was looking at previous ones. I have unwittingly stumbled upon my ‘schtick’ so to speak and you may see the same themes arising as I talk about the new faction additions coming to Moonstone on March 27th 2019.

I actually missed Moonstone first time around. It was a recent Kickstarter but as I am sure you are all aware there are just so many great games/minis/campaigns around it is very difficult to follow along with all of them.

A basic overview of Moonstone is that is it a character based skirmish game for 2 - 4 players. It takes a tongue in cheek & whimsical approach to tabletop gaming, which I will talk more about later, and uses interesting card mechanics to control combat. Let me outline some of the reasons why I want to know more about it.

The theme

First up is the theme and feel of the game. I am a sucker for a couple of things but one thing that I love is a tongue in cheek take on games and the characters in Moonstone genuinely make me smile and want to engage with them. Ahem, ladies and gentleman may I introduce Beaky Bobby, Baron von Fancyhat, or even Doug the Flatulent. The names alone make me want to know more, let alone the minis, but I will mention them later. The basic idea behind the game is that you have a group who are out at night collecting precious and valuable Moonstones before dawn, and entanglements, mishaps, and fisticuffs are sure to occur. The world of Tauber is the setting and is inhabited by a number of creatures and peoples from fairytale and myth such as goblins, giants, faeries, and humans, of course, split into two basic factions, the Dominion and the Commonwealth.

Coming up in the new Kickstarter campaign will be a new faction called the Leshavult. The Leshavult will follow the god of natural order and will be able to host a bunch of different races within it!

The artwork

I am also a sucker for artwork…..like big time. Show me a book with some pictures that draw (see what I did there) you into the world you are playing games in and I am all over it. I love the artwork style, it really deepens the experience for me and gives great ideas for modelling and painting your troupe.

The mechanics

Another thing that really struck me about the game was the core mechanics which may set it apart from other dice based skirmish games. Choices not chance seem to the order of the day with Moonstone and using cards as the combat mechanic and not a dice roll allows for a deeper level of engagement and interest when performing actions such as arcane type things and bosh over the head type things. To share an example if you want to set about someone who looked at your moonstone and their eyes lingered on it for a little but too long then you spend an energy token to draw cards from the melee deck, your foe does the same. On the cards are a number of different moves that you can initiate, such as a low guard or a rising cut! Both people play a card and then work out the outcome, for example in my two cards above, if the attacker plays rising but, the defender plays low guard then the attack is not only blocked but the defender can then potentially do a follow up attack as I stare in disbelief! I want to know more!

Size of game

The size of the game is also something that is appealing to me. It is played with around 6 characters per person, plus also on a 3ft by 3 ft playing area, making it easier to set up and play than some other games, plus also with only 6 characters you can really take some extra time over the paint jobs and make them look extra special. Which leads me too….

The Minis…

The game is full of fun, interesting, unique, and characterful minis for you to ogle rub your paintbrush on. This is one of the main reasons I want to know more about this game and the new Kick Starter will add 11 new characters to the game that already has some great ones. You dont needs words here, just get your peepers on these guys!

So there you have it, Moonstone I want to find out more about you and idle away some hours looking into your lore, admiring your minis, and playing with your card mechanics. Check out Moonstone on Kickstarter from March 27 2019 and also listen out for some Moonstone specific podcasting!

Until next time, keep paintin’

Moonstone: Why I want to know more...