Leder Games has announced Stomp, a cooperative skill-based board game. Players control robotic armor to battle comedic monsters wreaking havoc in the city, attacking by flicking tokens across the table. The game is expected to launch via Kickstarter, but no earlier than 2027, with the exact start date yet to be announced.
Different mechs and monsters each have unique gameplay and abilities. Players need to assess threats, coordinate actions, and then manually perform flick attacks. Even with correct information and a solid plan, actual execution may vary, making on-the-fly adjustments part of the gameplay experience.
Designer Taylor Shuss stated that the mechanics of Stomp were not directly inspired by kaiju-themed works like Godzilla or Pacific Rim, but rather by the combat in Dark Souls. Players must learn enemy behavior patterns, figure out how to respond, and accept the risk of imprecise execution.
The game initially adopted a fantasy theme, but Shuss felt the Souls-like style wasn't exciting enough. The project shifted to a mecha-versus-kaiju visual setting after playtesters mentioned classic monster movies. Unlike King of Tokyo, players in Stomp do not play as monsters but fight against them.
Stomp is designed by Taylor Shuss with art by Evan Palmer. Its lighthearted theme and action-skill mechanics mark a clear departure from Leder Games' previous projects; before launching crowdfunding for this title, the company was still working on Kartka, a racing board game that had already completed its crowdfunding campaign.