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

Project: Champions of Akathena

Designer: Dan Piche

Artists: Sarah Dorey, Kieron O’Gorman

Publisher: Faceless Publishing

Genre/Mechanisms: action points, card game, card play conflict resolution, deck building, fantasy, fighting, hand management, line of sight, medieval, miniatures, modular board, move through deck, moving multiple units, square grid, team-based game, variable set-up

Player Count: 2-6

Solo Mode: no

Complexity: medium-heavy

Risk: HIGH

Summary: “A team-based, diceless arena combat board game, where teams of champions and their companions battle to be the last champion standing. As a Champions Combat System game, Champions of Akathena: Blood and Magic seamlessly integrates with all other games built using the same system, including Champions of Akathena: Into the Wild.”

Base Pledge (w/shipping): $47

All-In (w/shipping): $85

Campaign Ends: 7/31

Game Ships: July 2022

Funding Status: Currently at 47% with 28 days to go.

Project: Epic Spell Wars of the Battle Wizards: ANNIHILAGEDDON 2

Designers: Matt Dunn (Cartoon Network Crossover Crisis: Animation Annihilation Deck-Building Game, DC Deck-Building Game: Dark Nights – Metal, Epic Spell Wars of the Battle Wizards: Annihilageddon Deck-Building Game), Cory Jones (Epic Spell Wars of the Battle Wizards: Duel at Mt. Skullzfyre, Epic Spell Wars of the Battle Wizards: Rumble at Castle Tentakill, World of Warcraft Trading Card Game), Adam Kremer, Erik Larsen (CapCom Street Fighter Deck-Building Game, DC Deck-Building Game: Heroes Unite, The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey Deck-Building Game), Ben Stoll (DC Deck-Building Game, DC Deck-Building Game: Dark Nights – Metal, The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring Deck-Building Game)

Artist: RS Bixby (Epic Spell Wars of the Battle Wizards: Annihilageddon Deck-Building Game, Epic Spell Wars of the Battle Wizards: Melee at Murdershroom Marsh, Epic Spell Wars of the Battle Wizards: Panic at the Pleasure Palace)

Publisher: Cryptozoic Entertainment (DC Comics Deck-Building Game, Love Letter: Batman, Spyfall)

Genre/Mechanisms: card game, deck building, hand management, take that

Player Count: 1-4

Solo Mode: yes

Complexity: medium-light

Risk: medium-high

Summary: “Return to the arena for the second insane deck-building game from the award-winning Epic Spell Wars of the Battle Wizards universe. The action is even more intense, the carnage more vicious, and the table-flipping anger even more epic. Epic Spell Wars of the Battle Wizards: Annihilageddon 2 – Xtreme Nacho Legends is a standalone game, but it’s also compatible with Epic Spell Wars of the Battle Wizards: Annihilageddon, the first deck-building game in the Epic Spell Wars universe!”

Base Pledge (w/shipping): $55

All-In (w/shipping): $131

Campaign Ends: 7/27

Game Ships: Mar. 2022

Funding Status: Funded; currently at 1376% with 24 days to go.

Project: Game of the Year

Designer: Simon Schwanhäußer

Artist: Christian Schaarschmidt (Vampire: The Masquerade – Heritage)

Publisher: Nice Game Publishing

Genre/Mechanisms: cooperative game, dice, dice rolling, drafting, economic, income, puzzle, solo/solitaire game, variable player powers, variable set-up

Player Count: 1-4

Solo Mode: yes

Complexity: light

Risk: medium-high

Summary: “A thematic board game about making video games. It can be played solo, competitively or cooperatively. In each session, players takes on the role of a video game publisher and release up to three titles. Players win if they are awarded Game of the Year. If they fail to be awarded Game of the Year (or run out of money prematurely) they lose. Players must skilfully use resources to create stars and avoid bugs in order to succeed in the competitive video game marketplace. The rewards for doing so include money (used to play dice employees), tech tokens (used to remove bugs), reward cards (which grant players unique abilities), and additional hype (which must be maintained otherwise the company is forced to close).”

Base Pledge (w/shipping): $58

All-In (w/shipping): $58, same as above

Campaign Ends: 7/13

Game Ships: June 2022

Funding Status: Currently at 48% with 9 days to go.

Project: Potato Pirates 3: Battlechips

Designers: Aditya Batura (Potato Pirates, Potato Pirates: Enter the Spudnet), Lim Jia Xuan (Potato Pirates, Potato Pirates: Enter the Spudnet), Wayne Neo Wei Zhe (Potato Pirates: Enter the Spudnet)

Artist: M Gajandran Prabu (Potato Pirates: Enter the Spudnet), Tan Yikai

Publisher: Codomo (Potato Pirates, Potato Pirates: Enter the Spudnet)

Genre/Mechanisms: card drafting, card game, children’s game, educational, hand management, market, move through deck, pirates, player elimination, roles with asymmetric information, solo/solitaire game, take that, turn order: stat based, variable player powers

Player Count: 1-6

Solo Mode: no

Complexity: light

Risk: medium-high

Summary: “A spud-tech-ular strategic card game power packed with Computer Science and Cybersecurity concepts. Play as your favourite captain to be the undisputed ruler of the Carbobbean Seas. Eliminate all enemies with carefully planned attacks or recover the Art of Potato War, which holds the secrets to vanquishing your opponents in the blink of an eye! Recovering it from the Spudnet and decrypting its contents won’t be a problem… but can you fend off the competition long enough? Raise your powers, harness energy, dig for more resources, get help from companions, and mine for relics from the Spudnet to destroy whoever stands in your way.”

Base Pledge (w/shipping): $25

All-In (w/shipping): $67

Campaign Ends: 7/25

Game Ships: Feb. 2022

Funding Status: Funded; currently at 656% with 22 days to go.

Project: Tranquility: The Ascent

Designer: James Emmerson (Tranquility)

Artists: Tristam Rossin (Cosmic Colonies, Kingswood, Tranquility)

Publisher: Board Game Hub (Tranquility)

Genre/Mechanisms: card game, communication limits, cooperative game, hand management, number, tile placement

Player Count: 1-5

Solo Mode: yes

Complexity: light

Risk: medium-low

Summary: “A standalone sequel to Tranquility, with players working together to complete a grid of numbers as they scale the mountain. Tranquility: The Ascent includes three mini-expansion modules that can be added separately or together. “The Green Path” requires players to form a continuous path from the bottom to the top of the mountain. “The Panorama” module gives players specific number sequences to photograph. And finally, herd “The Mountain Goats” up to the summit where the grass is greener in the final module.”

Base Pledge (w/shipping): $37

All-In (w/shipping): $37, same as above

Campaign Ends: 8/2

Game Ships: Mar. 2022

Funding Status: Funded; currently at 239% with 29 days to go.