RagTag

This is a very nice game when you are looking for something different. RagTag really nails the bar shuffleboard and crokinole mechanics. The game offers a "par" to beat each level, and if you knock all the bad guys off the board within par, you get a medal for that level. It looks like there are 35 or so unique maps and battles. I'm not sure how much game time that is, but I sure hope there is some kind of arena or randomly generated repeatable battle once you have completed the base missions. Otherwise, there may not be much replayability other than replaying missions to get par on all of them. I am still early in the game, but I have already unlocked two new units. I don't think there are any RPGish mechanics at all in this game. It's a sequential set of missions with unique maps and obstacles to battle on for each mission. The new units I have unlocked so far have given me a slower but super heavy hitting unit, and a unit that will pass through other friendly units without bumping into them, and other friendly units can move through her also. Very cool! Before each mission, there is some text and voiceover that describes the situation, and moves the story along. Also, after certain missions there are cut scenes for more story. RagTag does not appear to have any sort of strategic gameplay whatsoever, and definitely won't win any medals for deep gameplay. But, it sure is fun to bounce your units into the enemy units and knock them off the board in a set amount of turns. The A.I. does make some questionable shots from time to time. Oh well, that adds to the chaotic nature of this game, I guess. The art is very nice and hand drawn. I believe the developer, Windybeard, does all his own art. That's very cool! I hope I'm not wrong here. There is enough gameplay in here for me, and I knew what I was getting when I bought the game. It's all about positioning, using the right unit at the right time, and blasting the enemy off the board. That's it. It's sure great to have indie games in our world! Jake and Elwood give this game two fairly dark and stylish sunglasses up.

A fantastic game with a really fun gameplay mechanic. I have really enjoyed my time with it

I've waited for this games release for quite a while! Finally it arrived and I can say: It's very very good and I am really happy with the product. As in every game by Windybeard the art just looks great! Also the gameplay is really smooth. The flinging of the miniatures (and especially kicking enemies off the gameboard) feels really satisfying. Also the different ways you can build your "gang" add a lot of depth and strategy to the game. Failed a mission? No problemo, just swap some units and try a different approach. Really looking forward to dive deeper and collect all the coins!

Watched this game being developed over the last year and have been really looking forward to it. Windybeard's games have always been beautiful to look at and fun to play, with this game continuing the trend. Easy to pick up and get into it, with the coin challenges and arcade mode requiring a bit more skill and practise to achieve. I was privileged to be part of the beta testing phase via a beta key, but purchased upon live release. Overall a great little game with an awesome soundtrack!

Excellent game. I own all games from Windybeard. But this one is my favorite. Casual deep strategy. As I like it.

Great game! Unique and very innovative gameplay mechanics together with good and fitting graphics and sound, this is indie gaming at its very best, well worth the asking price wich in my opinion, is too low for this level of craftmanship. Would love to see a DLC down the road.. "please sir. can I have some more?"

If you're looking for a few hours of mindless fun this game is for you. Play until you have a Warstrich and then ONLY USE THAT. Seriously... I love these creatures :') The game can sometimes be a bit random, but I feel like that's part of the fun. If you are trying to get medals I'd suggest playing it all the way through and then using the unlocked units to re-play the earlier levels.

I recommend this game to anyone who likes shuffle board or likes any other Windybeard game, but it is difficult to recommend to anyone else due to the shorter replay value: 3 hours on Campaign, but longer with Arcade. Ragtag is a turn based shuffle board-like strategy game where you place your squad, and "shoot" your squad members at enemies to knock them off the level/board. First team to knock off all the opposite team's squad will win. Here is what you need to know: +Unique gameplay that engages me just as much as real life shuffleboard, and plenty of variability in level elements that add to strategy and shake things up. +Characters with different abilities and weights are unlocked as you progress through the campaign, and each cost different amounts, but... ?When choosing different characters, my squad choices often boiled down to whether I wanted more reliability through weight, or more chaos. This may vary for you depending on your tactics & skill. -Light characters don't have much benefit other than they may travel a little farther and can knock into other pieces more easily, but also can be easier to knock off the level unless you play a lot more defensive in character positioning. ?Length of campaign may have been just right, as I beat the game in two sittings, and I'm not sure how much longer I would've played campaign. ?You can get a bonus coin for each level you beat in a certain amount of turns ("par"), and often par was fair given the AI being middle of the road. -Arcade mode requires getting a coin from more than half the levels, which after beating the game with just under half the coins I didn't feel like replaying ~5 levels much better to get more coins. -Resolution type settings are weird. You can select Windowed or not, then there's like 4 different display settings and they're not apparent exactly what they do, but I selected "Best Fit" which sizes graphics to your Windows resolution. One to One seems to match whatever the native resolution of your display is (as detected by Windows). Save your settings file before using "Pixel Perfect", as that made the screen turn black and I couldn't play the game until I nuked the settings file and had the game rebuild it. +The music is good and catchy, not annoying enough to get tired of, as there is one different track for each of the 4 set of levels, and one for the menus. ?Voice acting was a welcome addition to a Windybeard game, but is nothing special. It didn't feel totally human, nor totally robotic - Kind of a verbal uncanny valley, but not so uncanny that it was creepy.

It's not often that you get to play something truly different, and RagTag is a breath of fresh air. A physics-based strategy game based on air hockey and curling, you choose a selection of character units (each has their own stats and abilities) to smash into the enemy, knocking their pieces off the board until only your units remain. Each map needs a different strategy, and your choice of units and how you play them will determine success or failure. Completing a map within a certain number of turns earns you medals and unlocks achievements, and new units unlock through the game. You are kept on your toes as enemy reinforcements drop in just as you think you have a match sewn up! Maps, characters, and cut scenes are the typical Windybeard style - hand-drawn, highly colourful, and enormous fun. The battle ostrich (Warstrich) is probably my favourite character in any video game I have played. After completing the campaign, the Arcade Mode is available, with individual arcade levels unlocked through medals. You can return to earlier maps with unlocked units to try alternative tactics so the replay value, unlike bread in a bakery or love in a marriage, is never going to run out. Superb.

Check out my Steam Curator page, "Minorthreatt Gaming Reviews." I have the most organized and extensive genre lists on Steam! Be sure to "FOLLOW" for more of my recommendations: http://store.steampowered.com/curator/31339849-Minorthreatt-Gaming-Reviews/?appid=257170 The Short of it: I'm having a lot of fun with RagTag. Casual, and yet surprisingly strategic/nuanced. Reminds me of playing marbles or curling, but with an apocalyptic setting and visually unique style. Addictive ;) Reminds me of: If you liked Subbuteo, there's a good chance you'll like RagTag. Windybeard is a fun and friendly developer, and RagTag is another enjoyable addition to his line-up. As always, the art is unique and homegrown in a way that you won't see anything else quite like it - he has a personal style truly his own, and it always entertains me =). RagTag brings back memories of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, and weird 80's Saturday morning cartoons of the like. I feel like RagTag could have been on the Super Nintendo (that's a compliment!), and yet it has that modern finish to the gameplay that shows you it's been crafted in this era. The controls and mechanics are tight - pieces slide and knock around just like you would assume they should, and you know when you've made a great shot. There is certainly skill involved in playing here, but just balanced enough that you're always having fun, rather than face palming over some unattainable victory. I think a good way to sum up my initial experience is to say I loaded it up with the intent of getting a good 20 minutes in just to get a feel for the game, and ended up playing it for an hour and a half before I said "Okay, time to stop before this gets out of hand, lol." It's challenging and additive, and just fun to play. I got a "Just one more level, I will stop after this one" vibe from it, and it proved true as I couldn't put it down until I had beaten the first chapter, or "planet." Fun, and reasonably priced, I think RagTag is a safe bet for getting your money's worth if it looks like your kind of game =). If you enjoy it, be sure to check out the rest of the developer's games - I've played a number of them and have had a lot of fun with everything I have tried. I especially recommend Dreamstones =)