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

Project: River Trek Board Game

Designer: Kris Gould (Claim It!, Echidna Shuffle, Jet Set)

Artist: Amanda Duarte (Cupcake Empire, Legacy of Dragonholt)

Publisher: Wattsalpoag Games (Echidna Shuffle, A Fistful of Penguins, Jet Set)

Genre/Mechanisms: chaining, economic, exploration, income, mancala, modular board, solo / solitaire game

Player Count: 1-4

Solo Mode: yes

Complexity: light

Risk: HIGH

Summary: “A strategy game of placing trading posts and moving stacks of explorers, called caravans, along the path of a river. On your turn, you will pick up a stack of explorers, called a Caravan, and move it mancala-style by dropping the explorers one at a time off the bottom of the stack as it travels forward. Each explorer dropped on a space will earn money if there is a trading post of the same color on the space, so other players may earn money on your move. Drop an explorer on a river crossing, and it will wash downstream to the previous river crossing. Drop an explorer on an animal token, and the owner of that explorer will have a special ability. When a Caravan reaches the source of the river, the game ends and the player who has made the most money along the way wins.”

Base Pledge (w/shipping): $22

All-In (w/shipping): $22, same as above

Campaign Ends: 9/9

Game Ships: June 2023

Funding Status: Funded; currently at 123% with 26 days to go.