Awaken Realms are a board game manufacturer with an outstanding pedigree.  Nemesis, Lords of Hellas, Tainted Grail and This War of Mine, have all come from their design team to deserved plaudits, and now they are back on Kickstarter with a new game tackling the building of an empire and The Great Wall

The game as it stands is a worker placement game with each player taking control of one of the noble clans vying for power within the empire. Each clan has it's own power structure and bonuses to play, meaning that no two play the same way and they have their unique features to lean on. The game is broken down into four seasons and played across three years with the goal of gaining the most honour in the defense of the land while building the great wall.

Beyond normal worker placement games The Great Wall throws in some interesting mechanics that have to be accounted for. Firstly the contast attacks by the, AI card deck running the nomadic hordes will hamper your efforts to build the wall, and secondly to win you will need to co-operate. Filling all of the areas to trigger a specific effect with your own workers will work, but will lose you honour in the Emperor's eyes. But working with the other clans to do it may mean more honour, it will also put you on their time table and not your own.

There are two pledges available, a basic Tiger Pledge will get you the game with everything you need to play in meeple form, or if you prefer miniatures on the tabletop you can pick up the Dragon Pledge to replace the meeples with custom sculpted miniatures to represent each of the factions.

They've already unlocked a co-operative expansion and one featuring the Great Khan himself, Genghis and his Mongol Horde, and I as write this they have literally just passed a million, with three weeks to go it will be very interesting to see what else they have planned for the Great Wall.

Are you a Snake or a Monkey?