Sumer, a Sumerian legend-based virtual boardgame wrapped around the goal of four nobles vying for the ultimate favor of the gods through wiles, strategy and judicious barley-growing, is the first game from Brooklyn-based game studio, Studio Wumpus.

2016 Indie Megabooth pick and Best Gameplay nominee of NYC Playcrafting, Sumer mixes European-styled boardgame rules of victory points and resource management with on the fly video game action and platforming as you beat feet to outpace the other players to build resources at on various levels of a ziggurat. All to sacrifice the most to win the gods favor, spending goats to gain extra powers such as additional workers or unique buildings that can modify the game board.

There's a definite sense of keen understanding concerning the desire to open up more recent board game ventures to videogame audiences through the colorful and polished visuals combined with the, albeit simple, platforming to give a sense of kinetic action to a otherwise traditional if not well-made boardgame. Despite the clear influence from board games like Catan and Alhambra, Studio Wumpus, has built the perfect mixture of virtual assets that can easily bring in complete novices to the board game culture without sacrificing that sense of play.

Fun all around, I can easily say this is a game to watch, having already been successfully back on Kickstarter and pickup the moment its released in full, especially if they make a mobile version; it'll become the go-to game for trips and trains.

You can find out more about Sumer at their website; http://www.sumergame.com/ and you can keep up with their updates and progress on twitter @sumergame.

As always PixelJournalism seeks to showcase people, games and work that might otherwise not get the attention it deserves and to that effort, we always need folks letting us know of work they believe should be noticed. You can message us at studiomadness@gmail.com or let us know on twitter @MadnessEarl.