Second Look—Tug O’ Lords

Tug O’ Lords is a card game currently being Kickstarted by designer Chris Dixon. The game is based on the tug-of-war mechanic made popular by such video games as Defense of the Ancients and League of Legends.

I had a chance to sit down and play a preview version of the game, and I really like how well it works.

Each player controls a different kingdom deck paired up with an elemental spell deck. You can even get a bit more customized and build your own kingdom deck from all the available units in the game. Once you’ve got that settled, it’s time to take down the opponent’s castle!

Each creature has a movement cost which is has to move each round. The goal of the game is to get your creatures along the lanes of battle and reduce the opposing castle’s health to zero. Every card has a special ability that can stop cards from progressing in their lane, move them back, give them attack/defense bonuses, and much more.

In original rules I played with there was only 1 lane for creatures to traverse. Later on I received rules for using 2 lanes, which played MUCH better. I had a great time making decks and testing them out against my kids. My only complaint is how chaotic the table can get with all the cards that get into play.

Overall? I really like this one, and hope it gets funded. The tug-of-war mechanic translates very well to the table, and there’s a lot of room for expansion here.

Currently the game has raised $3,500 of its $18,000 goal with 13 days left to go. I highly recommend backing the project. a $29 pledge will get you a copy once it’s funded.