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

Project: Bunny Party at Maple Valley

Designer: Evan Gibbs

Artist: Holly Fowler

Publisher: Evan’s Games

Genre/Mechanisms: animals, card drafting, card game, hand management, humor, negotiation, once-per-game abilities, semi-cooperative game, trading

Player Count: 3-4

Solo Mode: no

Complexity: light

Risk: HIGH

Summary: “You’ve come to visit Maple Valley at a very special time – the Night Sky Party is approaching! Play as a bunny furiously trying to decorate for the party and have the honor of hosting. Here’s the catch – two players win this game! So helping out your neighbor can be very beneficial.”

Base Pledge (w/shipping): $20

All-In (w/shipping): $30

Campaign Ends: 2/11

Game Ships: Sep. 2021

Funding Status: Currently at 59% with 21 days to go.

Project: Call of Madness

Designers: Szymon Maliński (Paranormal Detectives), Bartłomiej Zielonka

Artist: Radoslaw Jaszczuk (Era of Tribes, Glory: A Game of Knights, Sigismundus Augustus: Dei gratia rex Poloniae)

Publisher: Czacha Games (The Bird Told Me to Do It, Gremlins Inc)

Genre/Mechanisms: cthulhu mythos, deck building, fantasy, fighting, hand management, horror, mythology, novel-based, sudden death ending, take that, tower defense

Player Count: 1-4

Solo Mode: yes

Complexity: medium-light

Risk: medium-high

Summary: “In this tower defense game you play as the priests of the Cthulhu cults who are trying to summon this Great Ancient One. However, it will not be so simple, because apart from the investigators themselves, you are also disturbed by other cults that strive for the same as you. Players sacrifice their cultists to gain the powers of the Ancient Ones, and to obtain their blessing. Each investigator is possessed by madness that strengthens his abilities. By defeating an investigator, players gain its essence, which in turn allows them to strengthen their actions. Fight, sacrifice cultists and destroy enemies, so that you have the honor of summoning the most famous god of works of Lovecraft, H. P. Lovecraft.”

Base Pledge (w/shipping): $67

All-In (w/shipping): $67, same as above

Campaign Ends: 2/2

Game Ships: Aug. 2021

Funding Status: Funded; currently at 235% with 12 days to go.

Project: Castles of Mad King Ludwig Collector’s Edition

Designer: Ted Alspach (Castles of Mad King Ludwig, Suburbia, One Night Ultimate Werewolf, One Night Ultimate Werewolf Daybreak, Ultimate Werewolf: Ultimate Edition, Werewords)

Artists: Agnieszka Dabrowiecka (Between Two Castles of Mad King Ludwig, Castles of Mad King Ludwig, Saloon Tycoon), Alanna Kelsey (Maglev Metro, Whistle Mountain)

Publisher: Bézier Games (Castles of Mad King Ludwig, Suburbia, One Night Ultimate Werewolf, One Night Ultimate Werewolf Daybreak, Ultimate Werewolf: Ultimate Edition, Werewords, Whistle Stop)

Genre/Mechanisms: auction/bidding, card drafting, end game bonuses, i cut you choose, Mensa select, post-Napoleonic, pattern building, puzzle, set collection, tile placement

Player Count: 1-5

Solo Mode: yes

Complexity: medium-heavy

Risk: low

Summary: “This new collector’s edition of the Castles of Mad King Ludwig includes all new artwork, a dual-sided scoreboard, GameTrayz Storage Organizers, weighted Swan Player Markers, new Kings Favors & Bonus Cards, all existing Expansions, the new Royal Decrees Expansion, the new Towers Expansion (including 8 detailed 3D Miniatures), a 5th Player option, and more.”

Base Pledge (w/shipping): $122

All-In (w/shipping): $203

Campaign Ends: 2/18

Game Ships: Dec. 2021

Funding Status: Funded; currently at 5855% with 23 days to go.

Project: Napoleon’s Imperium

Designer: Andrew Rowland

Artist: Vlad Stanescu

Publisher: Compass Games (Crusade and Revolution: The Spanish Civil War, 1936-1939; Enemy Action: Ardennes, Silent War)

Genre/Mechanisms: abstract strategy, animals, area majority/influence, nautical, simultaneous action selection

Player Count: 2-8

Solo Mode: yes

Complexity: medium-heavy

Risk: medium-low

Summary: “Pitches eight Empire Nations of the Napoleonic Wars, divided into two Alliance’s in a fight to the death struggle for control of Napoleonic Europe. The objective of Napoleon’s Imperium is for one Alliance to conquer the other by either achieving a Capital Victory (capturing key enemy territories) or a Battle Points Victory (based on favorable outcomes and achievements made during game play).Napoleon’s Imperium is a team-based game. The key to winning Napoleon’s Imperium is your ability to strategize and work as a team with your allies.”

Base Pledge (w/shipping): $133

All-In (w/shipping): $133, same as above

Campaign Ends: 2/2

Game Ships: Mar. 2022

Funding Status: Funded; currently at 241% with 13 days to go.

Project: Primal: The Awakening

Designer: Tommaso Mondadori (ELO Darkness), Alberto Parisi (ELO Darkness)

Artist: Daniel Comerci (Dungeon Universalis)

Publisher: Reggie Games (ELO Darkness)

Genre/Mechanisms: campaign games, cooperative game, fantasy, fighting, hand management, miniatures, scenario/mission/campaign game, solo/solitaire game, variable player powers

Player Count: 1-4

Solo Mode: yes

Complexity: heavy

Risk: HIGH

Summary: “A fully cooperative monster hunting miniature boardgame for set in a fantasy world where humans struggle to survive an untamed wilderness. The game is played in a series of multiple sessions throughout an epic campaign where players take the role of hunters fighting monstrous creatures and unveiling mysteries about their origins.”

Base Pledge (w/shipping): $211

All-In (w/shipping): $357

Campaign Ends: 2/2

Game Ships: Mar. 2022

Funding Status: Funded; currently at 915% with 12 days to go.

Project: The Runelords Board Game

Designer: John D’Angelo

Artist: Shawn Engle

Publisher: Red Djinn Productions

Genre/Mechanisms: action points, adventure, book, campaign/battle card driven, card drafting, card game, chaining, cooperative game, critical hits and failures, deck building, dice rolling, drafting, fantasy, fighting, grid movement, line of sight, medieval, miniatures, novel-based, storytelling, wargame

Player Count: 1-4

Solo Mode: yes

Complexity: medium-heavy

Risk: HIGH

Summary: “A hex-based skirmish board game based on the world of the bestselling fantasy series The Runelords by David Farland. Players choose from four dynamic runelords, each with their own reinforcement cards that have a physical presence on the battlefield and support cards with additional spells and abilities that are drawn and played from a hand during battle. Reinforcements are sent into hex-based combat where players enjoy simple but robust tactical engagement with win conditions based on the game mode chosen from the Battle Compendium before play.”

Base Pledge (w/shipping): $69

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

Campaign Ends: 2/18

Game Ships: Jan. 2022

Funding Status: Currently at 43% with 28 days to go.

Project: Scribbletown

Designer: Zack Hiwiller

Artist: Angelica Lora

Publisher: Desultory

Genre/Mechanisms: city building, dice rolling, hexagon grid, line drawing, network and route building, roll-and-write, set collection

Player Count: 1-100

Solo Mode: yes

Complexity: light

Risk: HIGH

Summary: “A tight, low-luck, city building roll-and-write for any number of players. Players draw areas such as neighborhoods, businesses, factories, farms, and parks that each score in different ways along with drawing the roads to connect them all. Each game is made different by the inclusion of a set of special building cards that can be drawn under special circumstances for big points. These special buildings help direct players into a strategy.”

Base Pledge (w/shipping): $45

All-In (w/shipping): $45, same as above

Campaign Ends: 2/9

Game Ships: Oct. 2021

Funding Status: Currently at 20% with 19 days to go.