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

Project: 44 BCE

Designers: Christian Forrest, Holt Gray, Kelly Forrest

Artists: Rumyana Zarkova (A Place in the Sun), William Liberto (Sidekick Saga)

Publisher: Gray Forrest Games

Genre/Mechanisms: ancient, hand management, hidden victory points, negotiation, political, semi-cooperative game, worker placement

Player Count: 2-5

Solo Mode: no

Complexity: heavy

Risk: HIGH

Summary: “44 BCE is a rotating all-on-one strategy game. In this dramatic, emotion provoked, immersive gameplay, you are one of five suitors, Agrippa, Brutus, Cleopatra, Mark Antony, or Octavian, competing to become the first Emperor of Rome. Each year the Imperium Maius will compete against the Suitors to maintain control of the republic. To succeed, you must collaborate with the other suitors but remain on the lookout for every opportunity to gain an advantage over your fellow competitors and slash them down. If you succeed, the Senate will declare you Imperium Maius for the next year. After clashing it out over six years (rounds), the player with the most Imperium will be anointed the first Roman Emperor.”

Base Pledge (w/shipping): $76

All-In (w/shipping): $556 (includes vanity rewards)

Campaign Ends: 6/16

Game Ships: Aug. 2023

Funding Status: Funded; currently at 160% with 21 days to go.

Project: ARCS

Designer: Cole Wehrle (Oath: Chronicles of Empire and Exile, Pax Pamir: Second Edition, Root)

Artist: Kyle Ferrin (Fort, Oath: Chronicles of Empire and Exile, Root, Vast: The Crystal Caverns)

Publisher: Leder Games (Fort, Oath: Chronicles of Empire and Exile, Root, Vast: The Crystal Caverns)

Genre/Mechanisms: area movement, campaign / battle card driven, dice rolling, science fiction, trick-taking

Player Count: 3-4

Solo Mode: no

Complexity: medium-heavy

Risk: low

Summary: “Players guide their factions through a fast-playing space opera that unfolds over a trio of 60-90 minute sessions. The game opens in the final days of a decaying empire. Players take the role of the last regents of a once proud state that stretched to the farthest worlds of the Reach. Faced with an encroaching blight that threatens the outer planets, players must balance the integrity of their homelands with their own ambitions. Arcs uses an innovative card-driven action system that is easy-to-learn and highly interactive. Players are given hands of action cards each turn and must balance their desire to control the game’s tempo against their other interests. Should you use the initiative to seize control of a critical new technology or reposition your fleets for a coming engagement? When players do trade blows, the battles are resolved in a snap using a simple dice system. However, combat’s interaction with the larger action system offers players a wide range of tactical options, from multi-turn sieges to daring raids and dramatic escapes. Players begin the game in roughly symmetrical positions, which helps new players learn the core systems quickly. However, their choices will soon cause their paths to diverge. Unearthing an ancient technology might make the restoration of the empire possible. A chance discovery on a blighted world might lead a player to abandon their wealth and begin a voyage across the Reach to right an ancient wrong. Every choice will advance the game’s story and form part of an emergent, player-driven campaign. Many of these choices are resolved in a special ‘intermission’ between games. During this phase, new rules modules are activated, and players are introduced to new capabilities and objectives. Despite their similar starting points, by the end of a campaign, players might control factions as varied as any in Root or Vast. Players will also use the intermission to spend their hard-earned power to maintain their fleets and wealth, as well as invest in new improvements that may aid them in the coming game. The campaign system of Arcs provides players with a huge number of possible game situations and hundreds of possible campaigns. In addition, Arcs also includes an abridged, two-session campaign and a single session mode.”

Base Pledge (w/shipping): $84

All-In (w/shipping): $174

Campaign Ends: 6/14

Game Ships: Dec. 2023

Funding Status: Funded; currently at 819% with 19 days to go.

Project: Bananya: The Card Game

Designer: Chelsea Schwartz

Artist: Elaine Schimek

Publisher: Japanime Games (Heart of Crown, Krosmaster: Arena, Tanto Cuore)

Genre/Mechanisms: animals, card game, open drafting, set collection

Player Count: 2-4

Solo Mode: no

Complexity: light

Risk: medium-low

Summary: “The cutest card game in town about the kitty that lives in a banana. Along with Love Live! Sunshine!, we secured the license from Crunchyroll to create this quick-play card game all about collecting these adorable cats. Try to collect a full set of Bananyas before your opponents. Play cards to resolve their effects and force your opponents to put cards in the litterbox – the first player to get all 10 Bananyas of the same type wins the game – but only if they shout ‘Nya!’

Base Pledge (w/shipping): $20

All-In (w/shipping): $67

Campaign Ends: 6/16

Game Ships: May 2023

Funding Status: Funded; currently at 166% with 22 days to go.

Project: Bark Avenue

Designers: Mackenzie Jungck, Jonathan Jungck

Artists: April Borchelt (Flourish), Chris Martinetti

Publisher: TerreDice Games

Genre/Mechanisms: animals, dice rolling, end game bonuses, events, hand management, movement points, network and route building, pick-up and deliver, puzzle, transportation, variable set-up, victory points as a resource

Player Count: 1-5

Solo Mode: yes

Complexity: medium-light

Risk: HIGH

Summary: “A competitive route optimization pick up and deliver game centered around a day in the life of a dog walker in upper Manhattan. Players balance walking several dogs at once with competing needs – including walk length, preferred activities, bathroom breaks, and compatibility with your other dogs. You will be challenged with solving the puzzle of returning dogs on time and determining which dogs to walk next! In between walks, use public transportation to your advantage to position yourself for the best walks. As you progress in your dog walking career, your good ratings will unlock new abilities, such as walking more dogs simultaneously, going off leash at the dog park, and taking more end-of-turn actions, including pickups and activities like visiting pet shops. Be wary of returning dogs late, because you could lose out on most the pay.”

Base Pledge (w/shipping): $35

All-In (w/shipping): $64

Campaign Ends: 6/14

Game Ships: Sep. 2023

Funding Status: Funded; currently at 135% with 20 days to go.

Project: Batman™ : Gotham City Chronicles – Season 3 and RPG

Designer: Frédéric Henry (Conan, Timeline: Events, Timeline: Inventions)

Artists: Georges Clarenko (Conan, Mythic Battles: Pantheon, The Others), David Demaret (Claustrophobia 1643, Gloomhaven: Jaws of the Lion, Mythic Battles: Pantheon), David Finch, Jim Lee

Publisher: Monolith (Claustrophobia 1643, Conan, Mythic Battles: Pantheon)

Genre/Mechanisms: card game, communication limits, fighting, grid movement, hand management, line of sight, market, miniatures, modular board, movement points, science fiction, simultaneous action selection, square grid, team-based game, turn order: stat-based, variable player powers, variable set-up

Player Count: 1-4

Solo Mode: yes

Complexity: heavy

Risk: low

Summary: “This third season develops the Batman™: Gotham City Chronicles board game with a solo and a cooperative mode enabling you to play all your existing adventures, a gripping extension with a campaign mode and magnificent figurines, a box containing aid sheets tailored to each Hero, and revised rulebooks and additional game aids – along with a few surprises. The original game will also be available once again as part of this campaign, accompanied by revised rulebooks thanks to the work of Paul Grogan from the Gaming Rules! channel.

The role-playing game will enable you to play a whole range of famous and unknown characters from the comics, films, series, or your own imagination. Whether you and your friends choose an atmosphere of action, investigation, adventure, or suspense, Gotham City will be waiting with its avenues, skyscrapers, subterranean tunnels, criminal world, secrets, magic, and incomparable ambience, which is the result of 80 years of creations since the Dark Knight first appeared.”

Base Pledge (w/shipping): $79

All-In (w/shipping): $344

Campaign Ends: 6/10

Game Ships: Sep. 2023

Funding Status: Funded; currently at 357% with 16 days to go.

Project: Blaseball: The Card Game (on Gamefound)

Designers: Michael Fox (Fox & Chicken, Holding On: The Troubled Life of Billy Kerr, Megacity: Oceania), Rain Watt

Artists: Felix, Juan Gee, Julio Guity, Ivy Janer, Trés Nadal, Emily L’Orange, Waleska Ruschel, Summonfish

Publisher: Wayfinder Games (The Split)

Genre/Mechanisms: action points, card game, deck construction, dice rolling, horror, sports

Player Count: 2

Solo Mode: no

Complexity: medium-light

Risk: HIGH

Summary: “A two-player, competitive card game in which you each control a Blaseball team, with the two of you playing out the top and bottom of the ninth inning. The Sun 2 sits high in the sky as the birds in the outfield lazily pick at discarded peanut shells. As the teams take to the field, the fans erupt, knowing that they’re about to witness the best of the best. On one side, the Auric All-Stars — the pinnacle of Blaseball talent. On the other, the Canis Underdogs — the scrappiest fighters that the game has to offer.”

Base Pledge: $25 + shipping (no estimates provided)

All-In: $25 + shipping (no estimates provided), same as above

Campaign Ends: 6/9

Game Ships: May 2023

Funding Status: Currently at 81% with 14 days to go.

Project: The Breach

Designer: Michele Morosini

Artists: Antonio De Luca (Barrage, Dojo Kun, Sine Tempore), Eleonora Lisi, Simone Murgia (Motion Pictures: Movies Out of Cardboard, Radetzky: Milano 1888), Paolo Scippo (Black Rose Wars, Dungeonology: The Expedition, Nova Aetas), Giovanni Pirrotta (Black Rose Wars, Dungeonology: The Expedition, Sine Tempore)

Publisher: Ludus Magnus Studios (Black Rose Wars, Dungeonology: The Expedition, Sine Tempore)

Genre/Mechanisms: exploration, hand management, miniatures, modular board, science fiction, set collection, variable player powers

Player Count: 1-4

Solo Mode: yes

Complexity: medium-heavy

Risk: medium-high

Summary: “A competitive Net Crawler game where they attempt to breach the Gene.sys database to steal secret information. Each player is a Breacher, a digital rebel, guided by their ideals or by their Faction interests. The game map is Gene.sys, a virtual universe of mysterious origin, currently controlled by the Achab Corporation. After hacking into the database, the Breacher Avatars will need to face several dangers: not just other Breachers, but also I.C.E. controlled by the A.R.M. (the Achab Remote Mind), who will try to stop the incursions. In case of need, A.R.M. will also use powerful Guardians to try to put an end to intrusion attempts. The Breach is a Net Crawler with a distinctive resource management system, set collection mechanics and variable powers. Your objective is to spread your viruses inside the database, while gathering as much information as possible. The game turn is structured in three phases: Firewall (I.C.E. run their subroutines against players), Actions (Avatars choose and execute their actions) and Net (Avatars configure their skills and steal information using viruses). You will be able to upgrade your Avatar, assign Viruses, fight the Guards and other Avatars, explore the rooms of Gene.sys, but also install programs and use Cheat codes to manipulate the database according to your needs. Pay also attention to the health of your Avatar: if it will suffer enough damage, it will be disconnected from the network and reconnected in a different location. However, you could play more strategic and take advantage also of this event. Each game of The Breach will be different from the previous one: the choice among Avatar, Breacher and Database structure offers a different challenge each time, and players have to be clever to identify the best strategy for optimizing the available resources.”

Base Pledge (w/shipping): $165

All-In (w/shipping): $209

Campaign Ends: 6/9

Game Ships: July 2023

Funding Status: Funded; currently at 300% with 14 days to go.

Project: Castles of Burgundy: Special Edition (on Gamefound)

Designer: Stefan Feld (Bonfire, Bora Bora, Bruges, Notre Dame, Trajan)

Artists: not credited

Publishers: Awaken Realms (Etherfields, Lords of Hellas, Nemesis, Tainted Grail: The Fall of Avalon, This War of Mine: The Board Game), Ravensburger (Calico, Horrified, The Quest for El Dorado, Puerto Rico, Ra)

Genre/Mechanisms: dice, dice rolling, end game bonuses, grid mvoement, medieval, set collection, solo / solitaire game, tableau-building, team-based game, territory building, tile placement, worker placement with dice workers

Player Count: 1-4

Solo Mode: yes

Complexity: medium-heavy

Risk: low

Summary: “A legendary Board Game design created by Stefan Feld and set in the Burgundy region of High Medieval France. Take on the role of an aristocrat controlling a small princedom. Try to build a settlement with powerful castles, practice trades, exploit silver mines, and use the knowledge of travelers. Players take settlement tiles from the game board and place them into their princedom, which is represented by a Duchy board placed in the player board. This timeless game returns with an extremely polished, high-end special edition resulting from a collaboration between Ravensburger and Awaken Realms. In this special edition, you can expect a complete re-design of art and layout to ensure that every piece will have great art and enhance in-game usability. Only the best materials (cardboard, cart paper, box, insert, etc.) will be used to provide endurance, and a premium feel. Many extra components will bring the gaming experience to the next level, such as double-layered player boards, special bags for hexes, 30% bigger tales, and metal coins.”

Base Pledge (w/shipping): $114

All-In (w/shipping): $179

Campaign Ends: 6/14

Game Ships: Mar. 2023

Funding Status: Funded; currently at 2,097% with 19 days to go.

Project: Dockfighters: The Ale Wars

Designers: Markus Geiger (Alien Wars), Bernhard Kleber

Artist: Roman Vasyliev

Publisher: 3Dartlab

Genre/Mechanisms: aviation / flight, campaign / battle card driven, critical hits and failures, dice, dice rolling, grid movement, hexagon grid, miniatures, movement points, moving multiple units, multiple maps, scenario / mission /campaign game, simulation, solo / solitaire game, three dimensional movement, turn order: claim action, victory points as a resource, wargame

Player Count: 1-2

Solo Mode: yes

Complexity: medium-heavy

Risk: HIGH

Summary: “A miniature aerial combat game with epic dieselpunk fighteraircrafts, airships and airborne launched dockfighters, set in 1948. Move your fighteraircrafts on a hex grid in different heights and with different speeds. Planes can be equipped with various weapons and your pilots will gather experience during each combat. You play against or together with friends, in single missions or entire campaigns.”

Base Pledge (w/shipping): $137

All-In (w/shipping): $1,104, includes vanity rewards

Campaign Ends: 6/16

Game Ships: June 2023

Funding Status: Funded; currently at 252% with 21 days to go.

Project: Santa’s Little Elves

Designer: Bruno Faidutti (Citadels, Diamant, Mission: Red Planet Second Edition, Raptor)

Artist: Marlies Barends (Motor City, Ortus, Three Sisters)

Publisher: TGG Games (MOB: Big Apple)

Genre/Mechanisms: bidding / bluffing, set collection, take that

Player Count: 2-5

Solo Mode: no

Complexity: light

Risk: HIGH

Summary: “Welcome to the North Pole. As one of Santa’s elves, you work on the factory line all year long building toys for kids who don’t even know that you exist and probably wouldn’t care anyway. It’s exhausting work with bad pay, unpaid overtime, no vacations, no chance of promotions, and you only get 1 day off a year. With all these awful working conditions, you’ve decided that it’s every elf for themselves. Occasionally you’ll steal a small toy from the factory line and sell it on Santazon. After all, who’s going to notice if a toy or two fall off the back of the sleigh here and there? The only problem – your fellow elves have caught onto your sneaky tactics. They’ll spy on you and turn you in the first chance they get unless you give them what you have stolen, of course!”

Base Pledge (w/shipping): $30

All-In (w/shipping): $30, same as above

Campaign Ends: 6/7

Game Ships: Aug. 2022

Funding Status: Currently at 98% with 12 days to go.

Project: Ukiyo reprint

Designer: Ian Walton

Artists: Imaginaires, Janette Ramos (Arcane Alley, The Pirate Republic)

Publisher: Walnut Games

Genre/Mechanisms: card game, hand management, layering, memory, print & play, puzzle, tile placement

Player Count: 1-4

Solo Mode: yes

Complexity: light

Risk: HIGH

Summary: “A tactical puzzle-based 18-card game for 1-4 players. Players lay cards down horizontally or vertically to create patterns of symbols within a 6×6 grid. In multi-player mode, players are aiming to complete the task on the last card left in their hand. In solo mode, players are aiming to complete increasingly hard puzzles which consist of combinations of two, three or four tasks.”

Base Pledge (w/shipping): $15

All-In (w/shipping): $15, same as above

Campaign Ends: 6/9

Game Ships: Aug. 2022

Funding Status: Currently at 63% with 14 days to go.