(or here’s a list of what launched yesterday that might deserve a closer look)

Project: Amygdala (on Gamefound)

Designers: Michael Kiesling (Azul, Azul: Summer Pavilion, Azul: Stained Glass of Sintra, Heaven & Ale, Tikal), Wolfgang Kramer (Colosseum, Downforce, El Grande, The Princes of Florence, Tikal)

Artist: Anastasia Cartovenco

Publisher: Game Brewer (Chimera Station, Gentes, Gúgōng)

Genre/Mechanisms: abstract strategy, area majority / influence, pattern building, set collection, tile placement

Player Count: 2-4

Solo Mode: no

Complexity: medium-light

Risk: medium-low

Summary: “In the abstract strategy game Amygdala, players vie for control of different regions, each associated with an emotion. They must collect and store emotional resources in their memory bank which they will use to unlock emotions from their mind, then place these emotion tiles on the main game board. Emotion tiles can be connected in networks of like emotions to score points. The player with the most emotions in each region can score big points at the end of the game, but only if they manage to unlock and place a claim tile belonging to the region they wish to score.”

Base Pledge (w/shipping): $89

All-In (w/shipping): $119

Campaign Ends: 8/26

Game Ships: May 2023

Funding Status: Currently at 58% with 12 days to go.

Project: Barbaric

Designer: Thitinan N. (Victim: The Cursed Forest)

Artists: Teerachot Kavinkame (Victim: The Cursed Forest), Patipon Parinyaprasart (Victim: The Cursed Forest)

Publisher: Hexa House (Victim: The Cursed Forest)

Genre/Mechanisms: adventure, animals, campaign / battle card driven, deck construction, exploration, fantasy, follow, grid movement, hexagon grid, miniatures, simultaneous action selection, turn order: claim action, variable player powers

Player Count: 4-8

Solo Mode: no

Complexity: medium-heavy

Risk: HIGH

Summary: “A competitive miniature board game, in which players assume the role of mutated animals, known as The Rider, riding unique craft ship, known as The Gear. Each Rider and Gear have their own deck of cards, which has distinctive special power from other decks. Players combine their Rider and Gear decks to create their own play deck. In each turn, players take actions to move around the board, salvage for valuable resources, or play cards to improve their Rider or Gear. Players compete to retrieve the Atomic core, which is located on the main board. However, players can’t just snatch the core and escape. The core is guarded by the gigantic monster known as The Queen, and her minions, which become stronger as the game progresses. The player who retrieves the core and moves out of the board is declared the victor.”

Base Pledge (w/shipping): $150

All-In (w/shipping): $384

Campaign Ends: 9/5

Game Ships: June 2023

Funding Status: Funded; currently at 1,211% with 22 days to go.

Project: Dinoverse: A Dinosaur Card Game

Designer: Steve Ng Wen Xi (Cryptocurrency)

Artist: Trashzilla

Publisher: Capital Gains Studio (Cryptocurrency, Debtzilla, Wongamania: Banana Economy)

Genre/Mechanisms: card game, dinosaurs, prehistoric

Player Count: 2-5

Solo Mode: no

Complexity: light

Risk: HIGH

Summary: “Each player is assigned a Pack, consisting of 2 Dinosaurs, that journey alongside the Herd. The Herd is a central pool of dinosaurs that will interact with each other. Use each Dinosaur’s unique ability to manipulate the Herd to your advantage. Carnivores eat other Dinos and score from the rising body count while Herbivores grow the Herd, and earn points by defending it against the Carnivore’s onslaught. Manipulate game end events to your advantage base on the type of Dinosaurs in your pack.”

Base Pledge (w/shipping): $26

All-In (w/shipping): $226, includes vanity rewards

Campaign Ends: 9/6

Game Ships: Jan. 2023

Funding Status: Currently at 48% with 24 days to go.