"Urgent intel, Commander: Rivet Wars: Reloaded is set to detonate September 6th on Kickstarter, and we’ve found the trailer and pledge levels to prove it!"
Welcome, Commander!
As you might have seen from the briefings, we’re on a mission to reload Rivet Wars on Kickstarter. From the first time we played it at Steamforged HQ — and had a blast — we knew it deserved to be back in print, and we wanted to make that happen.
Trailer for Rivet Wars: Reloaded, launching September 6 on Kickstarter
For the board gamers on the team, it was super quick to set up and start playing. Combat was fast-paced and the sessions lasted from 25 to 60 minutes at most, so we could play a full campaign or multiple one-off battles in one night without breaking a sweat.
For the miniature wargamers, it had all the fun of tactically mixing and matching different units without the time-suck of list building beforehand. Plus, the grid-based movement meant they weren’t limited to opponents comfortable with free movement games.
It was quick, tactical, and fun to play. The theme was interesting and different — history meets dieselpunk fantasy — and opened the door to some very cool possibilities.
Plus everyone loved the chibi style of the minis. Especially the plugs.
Original game miniature on the left; upgraded Rivet Wars: Reloaded Rifleman on the right
Original card design on the left; updated Rivet Wars: Reloaded card design on the right
But things can always be better, so we sat down to think: How would we take an already great board game and make it awesome?
Well, as it turned out, by:
- Fine-tuning the gameplay
- Adding solo, co-op, and 2-v-2 modes to make it even more replayable
- Upgrading the miniatures and graphics (see Rifleman and card examples above)
- Creating new artwork
- Re-distributing the content and creating different set combinations to give players the best experience
- And adding an entire new Nemoan faction to make the Rivet world even bigger
Some painted units from the new Nemoan faction
We’ve already talked about some of the gameplay developments in other articles, and we’ll have more to share during the Kickstarter.
As for today, we’re super excited (!) to finally share:
- A preview of two of the pledge levels (Core and Veterans)
- More details on the free “thank you!” hero you’ll get for backing the live campaign
- And (for the veterans among you), some deeper insight into what content is being reloaded, and what’s brand new
Pledge Levels Preview
Rivet Wars Mark I was a big game with a lot of fantastic content, both from the original Kickstarter. We wanted to bring most of that content forward into the reload, which means this will be a big Kickstarter.
(To get an idea of just how big, check out the section on ‘What’s Being Reloaded?’ below.)
Hold onto your helmets, because there are over 60 minis in the Core Pledge alone…
What’s in the Core Pledge?
We want to make sure our Kickstarter backers get a chunky gameplay experience at a sizable discount, as a “thank you” for your support.
So, the Rivet Wars: Reloaded Core Pledge will include not just the reloaded core box (titled ‘Battle of Rivet’), but also the Vanguard Expansion, and the daily gameplay unlocks, and the exclusive hero gift (more on this later), for $150. That’s an $85 discount on MSRP.
Battle of Rivet Core Box:
- 44 miniatures
- 26 stat cards
- 20+ action cards
- 20+ mission cards
- 10+ AI opponent cards
- 10 large battlefield tiles
- 16 small battlefield tiles
- 80+ tokens
- 4 six-sided dice (D6)
- 1 eight-sided die (D8)
- 1 rulebook
- Daily unlocks
- 10 Allied miniatures
- 10 Blight miniatures
- 10 stat cards
What About Veterans?
We also knew there’d be Rivet Wars veterans among you who already own the original core game and expansions, who would want the reloaded gameplay content without buying everything again.
So, we’ve created an exclusive Veterans Upgrade Box that includes the new print components for all previous Rivet Wars content that’s part of this campaign. Speaking of which…
What's Being Reloaded?
Rivet Wars: Reloaded will take all the core, stretch goal, and add-on content from the 2013 Kickstarter, and streamline it into five sets (or ‘SKUs’, to use the technical term).
Those are:
- Battle of Rivet core game
- Vanguard expansion
- Aerial Aces expansion
- Allied Reinforcements expansion
- Blight Reinforcements expansion
The Battle of Rivet Core Game will combine the original Rivet Wars: Eastern Front core game with two brand new hero plugs and all daily unlocks (including more new hero plugs!).
The Vanguard Expansion is the new name for the reloaded Second Wave expansion.
The Aerial Aces Expansion will combine the Battle of Brighton expansion with the two airborne heroes, Reme Funck and the Red Baron. That means all the original aerial combat content is now in one set.
The Allied Reinforcements Expansion will combine the Allied units from four other expansions (the War Room expansion, the Spearhead expansion, the Heavy Metal expansion, and the Clockwork Plague expansion) and the hero, Rosie the Riveter, into one big expansion. You’ll also get double the amount of Clockwork Soldiers from the Clockwork Plague expansion, meaning you get six minis rather than three!
Allied Reinforcements box reveal!
On the flip side, the Blight Reinforcements Expansion will combine the Blight units from the same four expansions (the War Room expansion, the Spearhead expansion, the Heavy Metal expansion, and the Clockwork Plague expansion) as well as the hero R100 and Doctor Vorne into one big expansion. Again, you’ll also get double the amount of Plague Troopers from the Clockwork Plague expansion, meaning you get six minis rather than three!
Blight Reinforcements box reveal!
All sets include upgraded gameplay, miniatures, and graphics.
As well as add-ons, there will be a Gameplay All-in Pledge including all five boxes listed above and the big-box Nemoans Expansion (plus daily unlocks and the free live campaign hero gift) at a hefty discount. So, keep an eye out for that on launch day!
What's in the Veterans Pledge?
TL;DR - The Veterans Pledge includes all the content that’s brand new for this Kickstarter (big-box Nemoan Expansion, two new hero plugs, and all daily unlocks) AND all the upgraded print components!
Let's look at that in more detail. First off, there’s the exclusive Veterans Upgrade Box. In it, you’ll get all the print components from all the reloaded sets:
- Battle of Rivet core game
- Vanguard expansion
- Aerial Aces expansion
- Allied Reinforcements expansion
- Blight Reinforcements expansion
You’ll also get the two new hero plugs from the Battle of Rivet core game, and all the daily unlocks (including more new hero plugs!).
Last but definitely not least, you’ll get the new Kickstarter exclusive Nemoans Expansion, including more than 50 minis, the Nemoan faction dice, and the Nemoan metal coin!
Nemoan Faction Dice reveal!
The Veterans Pledge includes all that and the exclusive live campaign hero gift for $140, which is an $85 discount on equivalent MSRP.
Free Live Gift! Viking Hero Pack
As a special “thank you” for your support, anyone who pledges Core, Veteran, or above during the live Kickstarter campaign will get the Gunnar Hammerson hero pack (worth $15) for free, including the mini, plug, and cards so you can use him with all three factions!
Wondering what the heck a Viking is doing in Rivet Wars? Check out the Facebook post below, or keep an eye out for the blog post.
Daily Unlocks
Every pledge level (Core, Veteran and above) will also get the daily unlocks for free, including new gameplay content!
Anything Else?
We’re super excited to be reloading Rivet Wars for more people to experience and enjoy, and we can’t wait for you to try out the new-and-improved gameplay in the reloaded sets, and all the brand new content.
Follow the Kickstarter campaign now to be there on launch day. If you’ve got questions, you can find us in the official Facebook group or on the BoardGameGeek forum.
