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

Project: Arkeis

Designers: Antoine Bauza (7 Wonders, 7 Wonders Duel, Conan, Ghost Stories, Hanabi, The Little Prince: Make Me a Planet, Takenoko, Terror in Meeple City, Tokaido), Corentin Lebrat (Chateau Aventure, Diavolo, Draftosaurus), Ludovic Maublanc (Ca$h ‘n Guns Second Edition, Cleopatra and the Society of Architects, Conan, Cyclades, Dice Town, Mr. Jack, Mr. Jack Pocket, Terror in Meeple City), Theo Riviere (Draftosaurus, Nagaraja, Sea of Clouds)

Artist: Aurore Folny (Star Wars: Outer Rim)

Publisher: Ankama (Draftosaurus, Krosmaster: Arena, Monster Slaughter)

Genre/Mechanisms: action points, cooperative game, dice rolling, exploration, miniatures, modular board, storytelling, variable player powers

Player Count: 1-4

Solo Mode: yes

Complexity: medium-heavy

Risk: medium-high

Summary: A cooperative, story-based dungeon crawler with miniatures and a 20-hour campaign.

Base Pledge (w/shipping): $122

All-In (w/shipping): $122, same as above

Campaign Ends: 11/28

Game Ships: Dec. 2020

Funding Status: Funded; currently at 101%, with 21 days to go.

Project: Capone: The Business of Prohibition

Designers: Daniel Aronson (The Island of El Dorado), Nick Tompkins

Artist: Anna Aronson

Publisher: El Dorado Games (The Island of El Dorado)

Genre/Mechanisms: auction/bidding, auction: sealed bid, betting & bluffing, card drafting, economic, negotiation, set collection, trading

Player Count: 2-5

Solo Mode: no

Complexity: medium-light

Risk: medium-low

Summary: “A strategic game of drafting, actions, and back-alley negotiations” set during prohibition in 1920’s Chicago where each player has a speakeasy with a front business.

Base Pledge (w/shipping): $69

All-In (w/shipping): $69, same as above

Campaign Ends: 11/26

Game Ships: Sep. 2020

Funding Status: Funded; currently at 134%, with 20 days to go.

Project: Darwin’s Choice – Expansion and Encyclopedia

Designers: Marc Dur, Samuel Luterbacher, Elio Reinschmidt (Darwin’s Choice)

Artist: Rozenn Grosjean (Darwin’s Choice)

Publisher: Treecer (Darwin’s Choice)

Genre/Mechanisms: area majority/influence, hand management, modular board, take that

Player Count: 2-6

Solo Mode: no

Complexity: medium-light

Risk: high

Summary: Darwin’s Choice is a competitive card game in which players create their own animals species. The new Before & After expansion adds in 240 new Animal Cards with a focus on dinosaurs and prehistoric species, as well as human-made events and territories. The Encyclopedia is a standalone encyclopedia of all the animals in the game.

Base Pledge (w/shipping): $44

All-In (w/shipping): $132

Campaign Ends: 12/4

Game Ships: Dec. 2020

Funding Status: Funded; currently at 163%, with 28 days to go.

Project: D.E.I. – Divide et Impera

Designer: Tommaso Battista (Barrage)

Artists: Fernando Armentano (Black Rose Wars, The Faceless, Village Attacks), Giovanni Pirrotta (Black Rose Wars, Nova Aetas, Sine Tempore), Simone de Paolis (Dungeonology: The Expedition, Sine Tempore), Tommaso Incecchi (Black Rose Wars, The Faceless, Sine Tempore)

Publisher: Ludus Magnus Studio (Black Rose Wars, Nova Aetas, Sine Tempore)

Genre/Mechanisms: area majority/influence, area movement, card drafting, hand management, miniatures, modular board, worker placement

Player Count: 2-4

Solo Mode: no

Complexity: heavy

Risk: high

Summary: A re-implemention of the publisher’s own Sine Tempore, Divide et Impera is “a competitive game based on conquests of resources, set in a world devastated by a New Ice Age.” Divide et Impera features miniatures, but is more of a Euro-style game with various mechanics, including worker placement, than a skirmish game.

Base Pledge (w/shipping): $118

All-In (w/shipping): $162

Campaign Ends: 11/29

Game Ships: Dec. 2020

Funding Status: Funded; currently at 241%, with 22 days to go.

Project: Dragonlands

Designer: Jack Tan

Artist: Jack Tan

Publisher: Jack Tan

Genre/Mechanisms: card drafting, hand management, resource management

Player Count: 2-4

Solo Mode: no

Complexity: light

Risk: high

Summary: Collect dragon eggs, and be the player to hatch the most dragons to win.

Base Pledge (w/shipping): $35

All-In (w/shipping): $173, includes vanity rewards

Campaign Ends: 12/4

Game Ships: June 2020

Funding Status: Currently at 10%, with 27 days to go.

Project: Gorgasali Battle Royale

Designers: Tazo Giogadze, Gaga Turmanishvili

Artist: Gaga Turmanishvili

Publisher: BG Era Games

Genre/Mechanisms: fighting, grid movement, hand management, player elimination, miniatures, roll/spin and move, variable player powers

Player Count: 2-10

Solo Mode: no

Complexity: medium-light

Risk: high

Summary: A card-powered skirmish game with miniatures and an active board space that shrinks over the course of the game so there’s less space to retreat as the game progresses.

Base Pledge (w/shipping): $81

All-In (w/shipping): $1016, includes vanity rewards

Campaign Ends: 12/3

Game Ships: Aug. 2020

Funding Status: Currently at 5%, with 26 days to go.

Project: Honey Buzz

Designer: Paul Salomon (Genotype: A Mendelian Genetics Game, Periodic: A Game of the Elements, Virulence: An Infectious Card Game)

Artists: Anne Heidsieck (Majesty: For the Realm, Welcome To…, When I Dream), Jason D. Kingsley (Dead Men Tell No Tales, Lanterns: The Harvest Festival, Machi Koro, Wasteland Express Delivery Service, World’s Fair 1893)

Publisher: Elf Creek Games (Atlantis Rising Second Edition, End of the Trail)

Genre/Mechanisms: deduction, economic, memory, pattern building, tile placement, worker placement

Player Count: 1-4

Solo Mode: yes

Complexity: medium-light

Risk: high

Summary: “Honey Buzz is a ‘worker bee’ placement game where you’ll expand your own beehive, forage for nectar and pollen, make different varieties of honey, and sell your honey at the bear market.”

Base Pledge (w/shipping): $44

All-In (w/shipping): $64

Campaign Ends: 12/4

Game Ships: July 2020

Funding Status: Funded; currently at 188%, with 21 days to go.

Project: Hour of Need

Designers: Adam Sadler (Descent: Journeys in the Dark Second Edition, Star Wars: X-Wing Miniatures Game – The Force Awakens Core Set, Warhammer Quest: The Adventure Card Game), Brady Sadler (Heroes of Terrinoth, Star Wars: X-Wing Miniatures Game – The Force Awakens Core Set, Warhammer Quest: The Adventure Card Game)

Artist: Justin Lucas

Publisher: Blacklist Games (Altar Quest, Brook City, Street Masters)

Genre/Mechanisms: card play conflict resolution, cooperative game, miniatures, scenario/mission/campaign game, variable player powers

Player Count: 1-6

Solo Mode: yes

Complexity: medium-heavy

Risk: medium-low

Summary: A mission-based card, board, and miniatures game with a modular deck system (Hero Decks, Villain Decks, & Issue Decks, Boards, and Guides) to give the game its variability.

Base Pledge (w/shipping): $55

All-In (w/shipping): $129

Campaign Ends: 11/26

Game Ships: Nov. 2020

Funding Status: Currently at 78%, with 19 days to go.

Project: Legacies

Designer: Jason Brooks

Artist: Yoma (Complexcity, Gearworks, Rurik: Dawn of Kiev)

Publisher: Brookspun Games

Genre/Mechanisms: end game bonuses, events, hand management, set collection, stock holding, variable phase order, variable player powers, victory points as a resource, worker placement

Player Count: 1-6

Solo Mode: yes

Complexity: medium-heavy

Risk: high

Summary: “Legacies is a mid-heavyweight, strategic, thematic Eurogame for 1-6 players spanning the past, present and future. Choose from one of ten unique characters from the early 19th century and build their legacy over 300 years…”

Base Pledge (w/shipping): $75

All-In (w/shipping): $108

Campaign Ends: 12/4

Game Ships: July 2020

Funding Status: Funded; currently at 123%, with 28 days to go.

Project: The Legend of Drimek

Designers: Beatriz Alvarez (Alchemical Crystal Quest Second Edition, Bat Cup), Pablo Miras (Alchemical Crystal Quest, Alchemical Crystal Quest Second Edition, Bat Cup)

Artists: Beatriz Alvarez (Alchemical Crystal Quest Second Edition), Pablo Miras (Alchemical Crystal Quest, Alchemical Crystal Quest Second Edition, Bat Cup), Adrian Prado (The Path of the Adventurers)

Publisher: Mystical Games (Alchemical Crystal Quest, Alchemical Crystal Quest Second Edition, Bat Cup)

Genre/Mechanisms: action points, cooperative game, events, miniatures, variable player powers

Player Count: 2-4

Solo Mode: no

Complexity: medium-light

Risk: high

Summary: A cooperative dungeon crawler for 2-4 players the takes much of its design sensibilities, from the board to the controller-themed player mats, from 16-bit console platformers.

Base Pledge (w/shipping): $118

All-In (w/shipping): $118, same as above

Campaign Ends: 11/18

Game Ships: Nov. 2020

Funding Status: Currently at 64%, with 11 days to go.

Project: Mr. Java

Designer: Kevin Bouchard

Artist: Simon LaBadie Chartrand

Publisher: Viviludi

Genre/Mechanisms: dice rolling, hand management, resource management, variable phase order, variable player powers, worker placement

Player Count: 1-4

Solo Mode: yes

Complexity: medium-light

Risk: high

Summary: A worker placement and resource management game set at an IT company’s offices.

Base Pledge (w/shipping): $56

All-In (w/shipping): $56, same as above

Campaign Ends: 12/5

Game Ships: Feb. 2020

Funding Status: Currently at 7%, with 28 days to go.

Project: On the Origin of the Species

Designers: Gerard Ascensi, Ferran Renalias

Artist: Amelia Sales (Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde, Sherlock: Propagacion, Shikoku)

Publisher: Artana (Einstein: His Amazing Life and Incomparable Science, Tesla vs. Edison: Duel, Tesla vs. Edison: War of the Currents)

Genre/Mechanisms: city building, hand management, tile placement

Player Count: 2-4

Solo Mode: no

Complexity: medium-light

Risk: medium-low

Summary: A tile placement game where places Discover and Research new species while “step[ping] into the adventure of young Charles Darwin on the HMS Beagle’s expedition through the Galapagos Islands.”

Base Pledge (w/shipping): $29

All-In (w/shipping): $29, same as above

Campaign Ends: 12/5

Game Ships: May 2020

Funding Status: Funded; currently at 240%, with 29 days to go.

Project: Salt and Sail

Designer: Justin Potter (Glyph)

Artists: Kelsey Wright, Giancomo Pantalone, Allison Arnold, Elysios Constantinos, Abeer Malik, Anna Kulokovskaya

Publisher: Kazoodoo Games (Glyph)

Genre/Mechanisms: card drafting, deck/pool/bag building, economic, modular board, nautical, variable player powers

Player Count: 2-4

Solo Mode: no

Complexity: medium-light

Risk: high

Summary: “An exploration and discovery game, set during the great Age of Sail… hire Officers, purchase new ships and unique tools, and sell goods and treasure to fund your expeditions. But, be vigilant– encounters with pirates and storms aren’t your only concerns; the other player captains are trying to make those rare discoveries first and steal the glory for themselves!”

Base Pledge (w/shipping): $58

All-In (w/shipping): $308, includes vanity rewards

Campaign Ends: 12/5

Game Ships: Oct. 2020

Funding Status: Currently at 8%, with 29 days to go.

Project: Scott Pilgrim Miniatures The World

Designer: Erica Bouyouris (Bosk, Ink Monsters, Roar: King of the Pride)

Artist: Bryan Lee O’Malley (Scott Pilgrim’s Precious Little Card Game)

Publisher: Renegade Game Studios (Altiplano, Arboretum, Architects of the West Kingdom, Clank! in! Space!, Clank! A Deck-Building Adventure, Ex Libris, Explorers of the North Sea, The Fox in the Forest, FUSE, Gravwell: Escape From the 9th Dimension, Honshu, Lanterns: The Harvest Festival, Raiders of the North Sea, Sentient, Snow Tails, Trajan, Wendake, World’s Fair 1893)

Genre/Mechanisms: dice rolling, fighting, miniatures

Player Count: 2-4

Solo Mode: no

Complexity: medium-light

Risk: medium-low

Summary: Fight as Scott Pilgrim and his friends or as The League of Evil Exes in this dice-rolling 3D brawler with pre-painted miniatures.

Base Pledge (w/shipping): $69

All-In (w/shipping): $229

Campaign Ends: 11/19

Game Ships: June 2020

Funding Status: Funded; currently at 362%, with 12 days to go.

Project: Titans

Designer: Lukasz Wozniak (7 Days of Westerplatte, King & Assassins, Valhalla)

Artists: Tomasz Kalisz (Champions of Nexum, InBetween), Piotr Krezelewski

Publisher: Go On Board (Valhalla)

Genre/Mechanisms: area majority/influence, area movement, campaign/battle card driven, card drafting, dice rolling, fighting, hand management, miniatures, take that, variable player powers, war game

Player Count: 1-4

Solo Mode: yes

Complexity: medium-heavy

Risk: high

Summary: An area control miniatures board game set in 17th-century war-torn Europe.

Base Pledge (w/shipping): $124

All-In (w/shipping): $179

Campaign Ends: 11/28

Game Ships: Oct. 2020

Funding Status: Funded; currently at 164%, with 21 days to go.

Project: Tungaru

Designers: Louis Malz (Edo, Rococo, Valparaiso), Stefan Malz (Edo, Rococo, Valparaiso)

Artist: Andrew Bosley (Blood Bowl: Team Manager – The Card Game, Citadels, Everdell, Mission: Red Planet Second Edition, Tapestry)

Publisher: Alley Cat Games (Dice Hospital, Ruthless, Welcome to Dino World)

Genre/Mechanisms: area majority/influence, area movement, civilization, dice rolling, nautical, set collection, worker placement

Player Count: 2-5

Solo Mode: no

Complexity: medium-light

Risk: medium-low

Summary: “Tungaru is an engine-building, resource-management and dice-placement Euro. In the early sea-faring days of the Pacific Islands, you will set out to spread your culture across the archipelago of Tungaru. Gather resources, enlist the help of your culture’s Leaders and attract Nomads to help your culture prosper.”

Base Pledge (w/shipping): $43

All-In (w/shipping): $59

Campaign Ends: 11/28

Game Ships: Sep. 2020

Funding Status: Funded; currently at 245%, with 21 days to go