CoolMiniOrNot is striking out onto Kickstarter as the new year gets into full swing with The World Of SMOG: Rise Of Moloch featuring some stunning looking steampunk miniatures and a weird and wonderful world.

This is the second entry into the world of SMOG after On Her Majesty's Service which came out a couple of years ago. Where that was a more traditional board game Rise Of Moloch features a once versus many mechanica where one person will play as the Nemesis whilst the others take on the role of esteemed Gentlemen (and Ladies) trying to battle against him.

Each story that is played out in Rise of Moloch plays out a little bit like a play where you will laying out the scene and playing out the battles against the Nemesis over some very lush looking tiles before moving on through intermissions and onto the next adventure.

"In Rise of Moloch, archaeologists have discovered the means to reanimate dead bodies, quickly replacing mechanical inventions with cheap, undead labor, putting England in dire peril. The campaign consists of six different Chapters. Each one has a unique set of goals and losing conditions for both the Gentlemen and the Nemesis to accomplish.

There are many different paths players can follow, and everything from Events, to Upgrades, to the results of different battles and encounters will shape the way players experience the game as they progress. No two campaigns are ever the same!"

The artwork and miniature design looks superb and I particularly like the look of the Gentlemen (who you can see above). The Werewolf character is my favourite of the bunch!

One of the neat mechanics that caught my eye from reading through the Kickstarter is how the heroes use Ether to perform some of their big and impressive abilities.

But, as they use Ether this feeds the Nemesis who can eventually use it against them!

Inside The Box & Beyond

Inside the core box for the game, you're going to get...

• 63 Highly Detailed Miniatures (5 Different Gentlemen; 6 Bobby Minions; 4 Special Chapter Characters; 13 Agents of the Nemesis; 10 Killer Clowns; 25 Zombies (10 Regular; 5 Zombies in Flames; 5 Royal Guard Zombies; 5 Dismembered Corpse Zombies)
• 5 Heroes Dashboards
• 14 Villain Dashboards
• 220+ Mini-Cards (30 Chaos Cards, 20 Torment Cards, 6 Role Cards, 20 Gear Cards, 20 Artifact Cards, 20 Common Arsenal Cards, 15 Expert Arsenal Cards, 10 Royal Arsenal Cards, 40 Upgrade Cards, etc..)
• 5 Player-Aids
• 12 Scenery Rooms Overlays
• Over 150 Cardboard Tokens
• 1 Activation/Intermission Board
• 1 Nemesis Board
• 1 London Fire Board
• 1 Rulebook
• 1 Campaign Book
• 8 Custom Engraved Dice

...and of course there are all manner of expansions and stretch goals planned. The first big one that popped up is The Embassy.

"In this exciting expansion for The World of SMOG: Rise of Moloch, the intrepid Gentlemen are sent to investigate strange events surrounding the mysterious Embassy.

The Embassy brings an all new three Chapter campaign to Rise of Moloch, beginning with a daring escape from an infected Police Station to the very depths of the London sewer system! But it’s not only the map that has changed in The Embassy, the Nemesis themselves have changed into a new threat!"

Remember to check out the gameplay video at the top of the story and dive in and explore the Kickstarter for yourself to see if this is something you'd be interested in playing.

What do you think?