Uprising: Curse of the Last Emperor is a board game that can certainly be described as "made in germany". In addition, the title from Nemesis Games is extremely successful in crowdfunding on Kickstarter. Cooperative, 4X, solo mode, well equipped, visually impressive: there are many reasons for the success of the board game. Still, you can't shake the feeling that there must be more behind Uprising.
An old Kickstarter wisdom says: If it works, then it works. With Uprising - Curse of the Emperor this is currently clearly visible. Well over 2.000 supporters have put money into the crowdfunding of the 4X board game, which has its roots in Berlin, among other places. The creators say of themselves that they are "Dungeon Masters", experts in role-playing games, connoisseurs of the scene and passionate about it. You can see that throughout the campaign - players seem to be drawn to a passion for a board game whose crude mechanics aren't all that unique. Why does Uprising still stand out as a project? It's what you don't see right away.
Uprising: One of those "one percenters"
Fans have to put around 79 or even 129 US dollars on the table to secure their copy of the board game Uprising: Curse of the Emperor. No small amounts, but players are not afraid to invest in the crowdfunding project. The hopes for a terrific gaming experience are there, fueled by how-to videos and previews in which the big names in the scene rave about the 4X board game.
Once upon a time on the islands of Azuhl. Players control the fortunes of their chosen faction - there are a total of eight to choose from, each headed by a leader with individual skills and his own deck of cards. That creates variance, a small trick with a big effect. Also clever: Different levels of difficulty determine how challenging a cooperative game of uprising is.
Divided into chapters, again divided into phases, the heroes make their way across the hex fields of the game board. Your goal: to collect points - more than the opposing factions. You could moan about that, but with Uprising, the path to the goal seems to be the essential part. You get to this point in different ways: quite clumsily through battles, but also by completing quests or by offering refugees a new home on the islands of Azuhl. Whether you win or lose in the end is usually a bonus in cooperative games anyway. Having fun together, being entertained and being able to immerse yourself in the game - these are factors that can inspire players. The creators of Uprising seem to have succeeded in doing just that with their idea.
The success on Kickstarter is remarkable for a debut work. Nemesis Games is celebrating a double debut with Uprising: Curse of the Emperor: It is the game company's first Kickstarter project and its first game at all. The title is offered to an international audience in English. The three creative minds decided this, also to initially reduce the effort. Offering a board game directly in two languages was not impossible, but it would have meant more work that would not have been affordable at the moment - and so German fans have to make do with English texts, at least for now - after all, it will be a localized set of rules.
And a fully localized version, so Uprising completely in German? The makers hope that this can be implemented in the future. “We hope that Uprising will one day also be available in German and will do everything in our power to achieve this, especially after seeing how overwhelming the support from Germany is,” says Dirk Sommer from Nemesis Games, who is responsible for the translation, among other things is responsible for the regulations. For the current crowdfunding campaign, they erred on the side of caution. Also in order to be able to deliver the game as planned. "For this Kickstarter “We decided on English because we still have a lot to learn and we have seen from friends how a Kickstarter can be delayed for years due to multilingualism.”
Invested in success early on
Nemesis Games had a plan: collect around 33.000 euros and thus realize Uprising: Curse of the Emperor. The bare figures show how well this works. The crowdfunding campaign will run until September 10th, and the financing target has long been exceeded by miles.
It was far from certain that their Kickstarter would be so successful. It wasn't even taken for granted that Uprising would even get through the funding. "Of course you hope for success," reveals Dirk, who worked on the project with his teammates for around four years. The finding: "As far as I know, one percent of all Kickstarters make it past the 100.000 mark," says Dirk Sommer. In the end there are a few more, but these “magic projects” are still in the low, single-digit percentage range. So the champagne corks could be popped at Nemesis Games: "Yes, we are surprised, you just can't count on such a success. Of course, that motivates us to step on the gas even more.” No sooner said than done. You no longer have to worry about the 100.000 mark, now you have to double it. Nemesis Games is fighting to reach 200.000 euros. The limit is likely to fall with two weeks left until the closing bell.
"We are proud and overjoyed that our baby is so well received," says Dirk Sommer happily, and if you look at the campaign, the appearance and the game, you can tell the creators are happy. Uprising is not an anonymous large-scale project, but corresponds to the idea of Kickstarter. This cooperative board game is a prototype of the idea that actually seems to be behind "crowdfunding".
Creating such a successful financing also takes work. The creators invested time early on, in their game and everything that went with it. "We started public playtesting in Berlin very early on," reveals Dirk. In the capital there is "fortunately an almost endless number of board game enthusiasts". And then there was the fact that people on YouTube or Instagram also liked the project. "We've had incredible support."
Adding to that are some benevolent decisions on their Kickstarter. Instead of gray miniatures, which probably only a fraction of the games actually paint, Uprising has acrylic standees: colorful, ready to use and pretty to look at right from the start. It seems as if the creative minds behind Nemesis Games are speaking from experience: "We certainly have enough unpainted gray plastic at home," says Dirk.
"We took the risk of not offering any conventional stretch goals, but simply said: 'Hey – our baby will be born in the highest quality, right from the start'," explains Dirk on the obvious peculiarities of the Kickstarter campaign. A "Linen Finish" as an unlock at 15.000 euros? None, that's standard. You will also look in vain for an eight-part modular inlay as an intermediate goal, because that is also included as a service. Players therefore know from the start what they are getting for their pledge. Clever. The decisions are well received, reveals Dirk Sommer: "We get a lot of positive feedback for it."
However, passion alone is not enough when it comes to getting a game from the drawing board to the shelves. The playfulness has to be right, the concept too. Uprising: Curse of the Emperor seems to score well with both. "Personally, I don't know of any cooperative 4X games," reflects Dirk. “There is definitely one, but I think this aspect contributes to our success.” And then: “I think people also recognize how much work we have put in.” The time factor again, but rightly so. “Which publisher has the time to test and develop a game for four years these days?” Dirk asks the question.
Who is now curious: The Campaign for the cooperative 4X board game Uprising: Curse of the Emperor runs until September 10th Kickstarter. Backers are expected to have the game in their hands in August 2021, that's Nemesis Games' plan - and so far the three "Dungeon Masters" have been very successful in implementing their plans.
