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GENERAL INFO: Cooperative, 1-4 players, 30 minutes.
THEME: Fantasy, set in the world of Tiny Epic Kingdoms.
HOOK: Fast paced, portable co-op, with a unique turn-deck mechanic.
WIN: Defeat the Epic Foe!
LOSE: Let the Capital City get destroyed!
STORY: After the Great War (Tiny Epic Kingdoms), many of the factions, shattered and defeated, looked for something to cling to. One final hope before the last of their race would flow like the river into the ocean of history, gone and forgotten. It was the sages of the Order of Gamelyn who answered their prayers. They provided a new perspective on unity, and a way of life that would welcome peaceful members of any faction. A utopia for all. With very few options and a will to survive, this world alliance became an inevitable truth in the eyes of many of the factions’ leaders. Even factions who hated one another had nothing left but each other. Under the guidance of the Order of Gamelyn, a Capital City was chosen and factions from all over the world came to call this city their new home. At last, the world was at peace… but not for long. A great storm is coming and in the darkness of the mist, there be demons.
You have fought hard and established your Kingdom, but peace never lasts.
Your scouts report that hordes of treacherous monsters is approaching the outskirts of your Capital City. If your Capital City falls you will lose everything, along with your Kingdom.
Gather your friends and defend against the onslaught in this exciting and unpredictable cooperative micro-game!
In Tiny Epic Defenders, players must select their classes and work together to defend against the evil horde and slay the Epic Foe.
Will you take on the role of the Barbarian, the Sorcerer, the Cleric or the Warrior? Each class has a unique player power that you will need to use.
In this fast-paced game, players will scramble between various regions outside their Capital City fighting off enemy hordes! Each region will offers unique properties that players must account for in their strategies.
If your group is fortunate enough to defeat the wave of monsters, you may live long enough to face the Epic Foe! Which Epic Foe will it be? Will you be prepared!?
Does your group have what it takes to survive? Will you have the skill to be crowned the Tiny Epic Defenders!?
For a deluxe edition of this game, see Tiny Epic Defenders: Deluxe Edition
- Satisfying cooperative feel with simple, accessible rules
- Expansions add meaningful depth
- Base game can feel a bit lean without expansions
- Not as tight or thematically rich as some later co-ops
- Crisis management across multiple locations with bosses
- Cooperative tower-defense adventure
- Cooperative teamwork against a shared threat
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
- boss variety and modular encounters — Encounters scale with different bosses to vary playthroughs.
- Cooperative Game — Players work together to defend locations and defeat bosses.
- cooperative play — Players work together to defend locations and defeat bosses.
- location-based actions with varied effects — Different locations grant distinct actions and challenges each game.
Video topics + discussion points
Quotes (from this video)
- "I found it a bit tricky because it went a bit quick my people got killed off too fast before I really got a sense of how to use them"
- "there are a bunch of cool options with the characters and I did find them interesting"
- "it's a 4X game all in a small box"
- "the expansion apparently it adds a ton of this a ton a ton more to this game"
- "two-player viability with added pieces"
- "two-player play works surprisingly well"
- "the follow mechanic ... keeps you invested every turn"
- "Man the box fits the minis in that box... tardis-like"
- "this is a Zelda vibe... Zelda e as you can get"
- "the divisive part comes from this poker hand mechanic"
- "the bullet dice are pretty cool"
- "it's the best one"
References (from this video)
- Portable and family-friendly approach in the Tiny Epic line
- Speaker felt this was the weakest in the Tiny Epic Defenders line; perceived as dry and straightforward without excitement
- Heroic defense with modular threats
- Fantasy realm under siege; cooperative defense
- compact, cartoonish fantasy
- Tiny Epic Kingdoms
- Blood Rage
- Ankh
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
- cooperative play — Players work together to defend against a common threat.
- dice/overland engine elements — Dice-driven actions and engine-building in a compact form.
Video topics + discussion points
Quotes (from this video)
- El Grande is the Godfather of the area control games
- the longevity of Pandemic uh this can't be denied
- it's basically descent with Star Wars slapped on
References (from this video)
- Fun gameplay despite criticism
- Includes cute item meatballs with visual upgrades
- Second edition with improvements launching
- Portable tower defense game
- Gets criticized for being too simple
- Very basic presentation
- Limited depth for serious gamers
- Tower defense protecting city from invasion
- Capital city under siege
- Strategic resource management
- Tiny Epic Galaxies
- Tiny Epic Quest
- Tiny Epic Kingdoms
- Eight Minute Empire
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
- Cleansing mechanic — Go out to outer realms to cleanse fire and defend
- Cube tower — Defend outer realms from enemies progressing toward capital city
- Deck building — Draw from deck with enemies and assaults
- Deck drawing — Draw from deck with enemies and assaults
- Fire meter — Advancing fire meter indicates outer realms falling
- Item collection — Gain items to enhance abilities
- set collection — Gain items to enhance abilities
- tower defense — Defend outer realms from enemies progressing toward capital city
Video topics + discussion points
Quotes (from this video)
- This game could basically be called Pandemic: Thunderbirds
- It's depressing as all heck
- You're not doing anything heroic in this game
- Really under the radar cool co-op
- This man is blinded by IPs
- Strong theme in the box, you can teach most of this game by theme alone
- It is all tech at this point
- You're really getting a lot of your money's worth
- It can get quite fiddly for my liking
References (from this video)
- Accessible co-op with quick setup
- Good for introducing new players to co-op games
- May feel repetitive over multiple plays
- cooperative defense
- fantasy realm under threat of monsters
- heroic fantasy
- Tiny Epic Kingdoms
- Descent (co-op variants)
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
- cooperative play — players work together to defend against waves of threats.
- tower/area defense elements — players position heroes and use items to blunt waves.
Video topics + discussion points
Quotes (from this video)
- There's nothing like Essen; it's huge and overwhelming; it's like a kid in a candy store.
- It felt like an Alice in Wonderland experience; the breezeway is the heart of Essen.
- Our backers are so important to us and we value their input.
- It's unlike any other board game convention you have ever experienced.
- I backed Godspeed on Kickstarter; it looks sick.
- Tiny Epic Mechs is the first time it will be an Essen feel.
- The booth has been great; the demos have gone super well.
- We want to serve our backers first; they are important to us.
References (from this video)
- cooperative play suited for families
- compact footprint for a big game feel
- can scale less smoothly with large player counts
- tower-defense / cooperative defense
- fantasy world under siege
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
- Cooperative Game — players work together to defend the city against monsters.
- cooperative play — players work together to defend the city against monsters.
- set collection / victory point buildup — gain cards and abilities to defend and score.
Video topics + discussion points
Quotes (from this video)
- We the really all we do is give you the toys but the people who make you the toys—the elves there's the really the important ones.
- the more subs we get actually helps us more grow and then if we grow we can do more of these and get stuff to you
- donate to Sick Kids it’d be great help just to help the little ones
- Encore is a rolling right game.
- Star Realms is simple to teach and always fun to play.
- Flick of Faith is a rolling right game.