The Icarus Project has launched on Kickstarter looking to fund both the Nexus & Alliance Starter Sets for their game.

Their goal is to get both of these Starter Sets onto gaming tables so you can play their game using some amazing 35mm scale miniatures.

The Starter Sets

Here's both of the Starter Sets in question with the Alliance popping up first.

In this set you get the Outrider Scout, Troopers and the Gunslinger (pictured in the centre). Following along from them we also have the deadly Alien Nexus.

Here we have the regular Grunts, a Brawler (pictured with the axe) plus an Assassin and some Feral Nexus too. We have said it a few times but these are some of the best-looking aliens out there on the market right now. Scale-wise they're rocking in at a good 'True' scale.

You can pick up additional add-ons which focus in on particular models allowing you to grow your force. Additionally Gabriel Cross, their first miniature, is also available.

I actually have this miniature and have been meaning to paint this up to get into some Sci-Fi painting. I love the model with his helmet on as the visor has a great style to it.

The Game

You can find out more about the gameplay in a video above which focuses in on a Battle Report showing off the rules, but you can also download them yourself HERE.

The game is focused in on cinematic moments so there is an emphasis on individual movement and heroic actions from the characters on the tabletop. It would be awesome to get stuck into this and give it a go.

As you'll read later the game has benefitted from a lot of playtesting from the community which should make for a solid set of rules.

Q&A Time With Anto

We got to talk about the game with its creator, Anto, and delved into what's been happening since the last Kickstarter and where they're heading now.

BoW: So Anto could you give us a run down of just what the Icarus Project is?

Anto: The Icarus Project is a Sci-Fi skirmish game set about 700 years in the future. Players take control of small squads of elite soldiers, called Strike Forces, as they try and accomplish various objectives such as prisoner captures, bomb disposals, or assassinations.

For those who missed out the first time around could you let us know about the basic gameplay mechanics in play here?

The core rules are simple and easy to learn. Everything you need to know about a model is in its stat line (there are very few charts in the game), and you should be able to read through the rules once and be able to play a simple game.

The flavour of the game comes from the advanced and special rules. The Icarus Project is designed to be very cinematic, so you can do almost anything you want with your models; you can leap from building to building, use the explosion of a grenade to throw your enemy out a window or off a roof, and even steal unoccupied enemy vehicles.

There’s a strong narrative focus in the game, so a lot of units have special rules based on how they act and perform in the background of the game. This means that themed narrative lists are a viable tactical choice.

You have been on Kickstarter before but it was unfortunately unsuccessful. What have you been up to in the time between then and now when it comes to the project?

Since the last Kickstarter we’ve been working hard to get as many miniatures sculpted and released as possible.

I think the most important thing we’ve done in that time is hired an amazing painter, Gustavo Munoz, to do some stunning studio copies of all the miniatures. It’s much easier to “sell” the game to people when they have pretty painted miniatures to look at.

We’ve also been continuing to improve the rule set, and have had several new versions of the rules release in that time, adding new mechanics, and continuing to balance the rules.

What's the biggest change that you have seen happen from then to now - be it in the rules for the game or your approach to bringing the game to life?

I think the biggest change in our approach has been a shift to a more “modular” release approach. Rather than run a Kickstarter with a £30,000 goal to fund the whole game with all the bells and whistles, we’ve shifted to the idea of several smaller, focused, campaigns that fund one or two sets, and upgrade options for them.

This means the campaigns not only fund easier, but it also makes fulfilment both easier and faster.

Has the community been able to feed back into the Project and help you?

The game wouldn’t exist without the community! Almost every new piece of art, sculpting, or rules tweaks, gets passed through our play-tester group first so people can see them and give feedback.

What is the key focus of this latest Kickstarter campaign?

This Kickstarter campaign is focusing on getting a larger production run of the first two starter sets; the Nexus and the Alliance. We want this campaign to be very focused, which is why it’s only a 2-week campaign. All the stretch goals are going to be upgrades or add-ons to enhance the starter sets.

There won’t be any completely new miniatures sculpted during the campaign because we want to keep fulfilment simple and as quick as possible. Everyone has a story of waiting a year or more for their Kickstarter toys, and that’s not what we want to do with this campaign.

We want to get the starter sets, and any unlocked stretch goals, into people’s hands as fast as possible.

Where would you like to go next with the game after fundraising?

Once this kickstarter is finished and everyone has got their minis, the focus will move onto the next two starter sets; the Praesidians and the Ji’tar. I don’t think you can really have a proper game until you’ve got at least four factions, so the priority will be to bring the next two sets to market.

Once that’s done, we’ll probably come back with a separate Kickstarter to fund the physical rulebook, as that is a significant investment in itself. It also gives us more time to refine and tweak the rules, so that the first edition of the game is as polished as possible.

Thanks for the chat Anto!

Go and check this one out as we have a feeling this is going to be one of those projects that is going to grow and grow.

Have you played the Icarus Project?