Mentioned in previous posts, but the actual Kickstarter launched today. Sauriana is a steampunk/Wild West hybrid in which the 19th century paleontolgical "Bone Wars" involved time travel and genetic manipulation, as far as I can tell.
I love the theme. I read a lot about the early history of paleontology and I really like steampunk. What I don't like is the decision to go 54mm with this game. I play 28mm. I have a lot of Wild West and steampunk miniatures and scenery. But I can't use any of that for Sauriana. Even the creators acknowledge 54mm could be a problem, saying they are working with "several industry leaders" to manufacture appropriate scenery in the next six months. Not holding my breath.
It is pretty expensive as well. You need to pledge $75 USD for the starter set, which comes with one human figure, a dinosaur, some specialized hit location dice, and the rule book. A second human figure is included as part of the Kickstarter. Given this is a skirmish game, you probably need 7-10 figures to play. I could buy all of those for less than $75 USD at 28mm. And have the scenery to match. I'm really irked you can't buy the rulebook separately. I would be willing to adapt this to smaller scale.
I wish these guys the best of luck, but they are making some really bad business decisions. I would have been the perfect audience for this game given my interests. But I'm not in the position right now (or have the willingness) to invest hundreds of dollars into something not compatible with the vast majority of figures and terrain already available. Maybe I'm in the minority of gamers when it comes to this, but I'm betting I'm not.
Anyway, have a look: link
