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Posted by Raine Hutchens on Aug 1, 2012

SolForge Reveals Big Announcement – It’s A Kickstarter Page [Gen Con 2012]

I’ve been clinging to Facebook over the past couple of weeks idly waiting for news on what Gary Games is planning with their new SolForge trading card game. During this time the company has been urging fans to check their Facebook and official site for a big announcement on August 1st. That day is today, and just now the announcement rained down upon us. What is it exactly? It’s a new Kickstarter page for the game.

We’ve finally got some details on what SolForge is exactly, and I’ve got to say I’m surprised. Not in a bad way, just pleasantly. The creators of Magic: The Gathering and Ascension have come together to create a brand new digital trading card game. That’s right – this project will be a video game. Players will be able to experience SolForge absolutely free and have the ability to grow their collections just by spending time playing the game. Players will build decks to play against friends, compete in online tournaments, and become immersed in a fantasy world that’s delivered to you via a single-player campaign. You can play wherever you want, whenever you want.

The main mechanic in SolForge is card transformation. When you play a card, it has the chance to level up to a more powerful version of itself. For instance, you could play a Dragon Egg, which turns into a Dragon Whelp, which then turns into a Giant Dragon. This mechanic is put to use to create strategy to win. Each turn, a player plays two cards out of their five-card hand, then discards all of the unplayed cards and draws five new cards next turn. That’s it – there’s no casting costs, no resources, and no other restrictions. Every few turns players shuffle their deck and discard pile together, allowing them to gain a chance to draw their higher level cards.

The game looks really cool. Like I said, it surprised me because I imagined it would be a print version of a trading card game. Still, this isn’t disappointing in the least. I’m a fan of Shadow Era, which is another digital card game, and Magic: The Gathering Online is indeed successful. I like where Gary Games is going on this. The art for the game looks amazing, and so far all of the elements of a great game are coming together.

The group will be running Alpha demos of the game at Gen Con 2012 this year, so if you’re strapped for the trip it just got more exciting. I’m hoping to sit down and check out the game, and talk with the crew a bit to learn more about what we can expect when the game launches. SolForge will launch for the iOS and PC initially, but the developers are aiming to take it to other platforms if the Kickstarter stretch goals are met. Right now the entire project needs $250,000 to be fully backed and has 40 days to get there. The project is already nearing 5k, and I don’t see it having too much trouble getting there. If you’re into trading card games, fantasy, and amazing art, go check out the Kickstarter page and become a backer. You won’t regret it.

[Update 08/07/12:]

Gary Games has just updated their Kickstarter page and added screenshots! Check the post here for more information.

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