I’ve been waiting with bated breath for this moment. Ever since the high-profile creative split between Cole Wehrle and Leder Games, I wondered what the future held for the publisher. Many of their breakout successes came from within Cole’s brain, while Leder’s subsequent standalone titles have seen a mix of reactions. Fort was awesome, Ahoy was just OK, and Vast has been largely surpassed in every measure by Root.
Fortunately, Leder Games is back doing what they do best, launching a brand-new 2-4 player title on Kickstarter called Kart, designed by Alita Robertson. It looks like a ridiculously charming racing game, pulled straight out of The Little Rascals.
You’ll pilot makeshift box cars downhill, with all of the speed and none of the brakes that come with classic soapbox derbies. With gravity constantly pushing your speed higher, you’ll have to use special abilities, upgrades and clever card play to manoeuvre through shifting tile layouts.
Why it’s on my radar:
- Escalating velocity mechanics: The idea of a movement system where gravity forces your kart faster every single round turns position management into a navigational puzzle.
- Unapologetic soapbox nostalgia: The suburban downhill racing theme feels wonderfully fresh. Slamming through backyards, tossing water balloons, and crashing custom junk karts brings a playful energy that stands out in the racing genre.
Here is the official blurb from the publisher:
In Kart, you play as tweens who’ve built ridiculous karts out of random junk from garages and the neighborhood dumpster. Now it’s time to race them downhill through your neighbors’ backyards!
You didn’t plan your route very carefully and you definitely didn’t get parental permission, so there are a lot of obstacles in your way… but you’re not gonna let some kid’s birthday party or Mrs. Tanner’s flower garden stop you from winning it all.
In your quest to be first to the bottom of the hill, nothing is off-limits. Do whatever it takes to cross the finish line and impress the neighborhood kids: use your kart’s unique powers, crash into your rivals, even throw water balloons to slow them down. Gravity’s in control whether you like it or not, pushing you faster and faster down the hill towards victory.
I’m a massive fan of racing games, and I am falling hard for this theme. I’ll almost certainly be backing this one. You can too by visiting their Kickstarter page, but hurry as their race runs out on October 7th.
Now if you’ll excuse me, I need to go figure out how to strap a lawnmower engine to a soapbox.
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