Ever wanted to be the villain? Dreadquarters, a cooperative tower defence board game from Headlock Games, puts 1-4 players in charge of supervillains sharing a single evil lair. Your job: build doomsday devices, deploy minions, set traps, and fend off waves of meddling heroes. It hits Kickstarter on April 7.
Designed by Paul Kramer (founder of Headlock Games, making his tabletop debut), Dreadquarters plays in 60-120 minutes and is recommended for ages 14+. Each villain comes with a unique card deck, playstyle, and set of diabolical objectives. One might be harvesting souls while another hatches insect swarms. Each round, players expand their wing of the shared lair with rooms and upgrades, deploy minions to workstations or defensive positions, then brace for the hero assault. When the heroes breach the lair, traps trigger and combat kicks off.
The game's visual identity is a standout. Over 15 artists have contributed original artwork, each bringing a distinct style to the villains, rooms, and minions. Headlock Games has been vocal that every card, token, and board is handcrafted without any AI, a commitment that's increasingly rare in crowdfunding.
The Kickstarter campaign will include the core game plus optional extras: a villain deck expansion, neoprene playmat, enamel pins, art book, and a plush mascot called "Insolence," which tells you everything you need to know about the game's tone. Multiple villain, city, and scenario combinations should keep the replayability high.
Tower defence board games like Castle Panic have proved the mechanic translates well to the tabletop, but the supervillain spin and asymmetric villain powers give Dreadquarters a fresh angle. If cooperative games with a villainous twist sound like your thing, the prelaunch page is already live.
Sources: Gaming Trend | Graphic Policy | ComicBook.com