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

Project: 8 Hex Games Collection: Iso, Pantheon & Hextremadura

Designers: LittleHouse Boardgames Design Studio, David Heras Pino

Artist: David Heras Pino

Publisher: LittleHouse Boardgames

Genre/Mechanisms: solo / solitaire game, territory building, tile placement (Hextremadura); abstract strategy, pattern building, tile placement (Iso); 2 player only games (Pantheon)

Player Count: 1-2 (Hextremadura); 1-3 (Iso); 2 (Pantheon)

Solo Mode: yes (Hextremadura, Iso); no (Pantheon)

Complexity: light

Risk: HIGH

Summary: “Hextremadura is a solitaire exploration game where you will discover a new land beyond the edges of the Duero river. Place the different terrain tiles to achieve every exploration objective at the end of your journey: the perfect score. During the early game you will try to complete as many terrain requirements as possible. Every time you complete both basic objectives on a tile, you take that tile off the map and reserve it for later. You will use them on their back, after you finish the stack, to discover all monuments, flora and fauna of this new place and complete as many exploration objectives as you can.

In Iso you will delve into a world of isometry where you will compete against your opponents for the completion of objectives in one of the 3 different perspectives. It is for 1-3 players and lasts about 5-10 minutes per game, and it will most definitely be testing your conception of space and perspective. Control the three dimensions and be a step ahead of your opponents intentions to achieve the victory, or enjoy a rewarding cooperative challenge together. Players will take turns playing the topmost tile of the pile, with the purpose of claiming some of the revealed objectives and not letting the other players claim them when their turns arrive. As soon as all tiles are placed, the game will end and the player with most points will be the winner.

An asymmetrical strategy game. In Pantheon you will be tasked with the construction of a monument to honor your deities, but only one culture will endure in this clash of titans. This 1v1 game, which can also be played against an automa, tastes like a war strategy game and has that card games aroma which will make you play again and again whether you win or lose. You will have to adapt your moves to each deity’s needs, but as soon as you know their hopes and fears, your games will become a battle of epic proportions. Complete the different quests in the campaign mode and claim your victory in this Olympic competition.”

Base Pledge (w/shipping): $44

All-In (w/shipping): $44, same as above

Campaign Ends: 7/26

Game Ships: Nov. 2022

Funding Status: Currently at 30% with 27 days to go.

Project: Bedeville Carnival

Designers: Alicja Bator, Paweł Zygar, Wojciech Wons, Bartłomiej Zielonka

Artist: Paulina Opak

Publisher: Loodo Ninja

Genre/Mechanisms: action / event, end game bonuses, hidden victory points, horror, humor, modular board, push your luck, zombies

Player Count: 2-4

Solo Mode: no

Complexity: medium-light

Risk: HIGH

Summary: “As corpses from the nearby graveyard, you will visit the crazy attractions of the theme park. It doesn’t matter when and how you ended up in this burial ground. Each night an eerie force makes you wake up from the eternal slumber and feel alive again. Each night you will discover new attractions and collect Souvenirs before getting grabbed by the grave digger’s mean cat, Fleabag. But beware– Mr. Carl can catch you anytime and chase you back to the cemetery. The game is played in consecutive player turns. Each player has the goal of collecting the most Joy Markers and Souvenirs sold in the local Booths. By visiting more and more Attractions and performing Actions from the Attractions you will attempt to outsmart your graveyard friends. By using Actions in a smart way you will attempt to hold your position on a specific Attraction, and be able to buy Souvenirs on the following turn. At the end of each turn, a player draws one Trickster’s token from the bag and checks what destiny has for them in-store. Attractions generate Noise Markers. The more Noise, the bigger the chance that the Attractions will make the grave keeper arrive and chase the player’s character back to the graveyard. When all Souvenirs end up being sold to the players – the game concludes. The player who has collected the most victory points for Joy Markers and Souvenirs is the winner.”

Base Pledge (w/shipping): $71

All-In (w/shipping): $71, same as above

Campaign Ends: 7/19

Game Ships: Oct. 2022

Funding Status: Funded; currently at 171% with 19 days to go.

Project: Beyond Humanity: Astrominers

Designer: Pawel ‘Bloski’ Suski (Beyond Humanity: Colonies)

Artists: Max Salamonowicz (Beyond Humanity: Colonies), Pawel ‘Bloski’ Suski (Beyond Humanity: Colonies), Maciej Rebisz (Among the Stars: Revival, Core Worlds, Core Worlds: Empires, Star Wars: Outer Rim, Star Wars: Rebellion)

Publisher: Three Headed Monster (Beyond Humanity: Colonies)

Genre/Mechanisms: dice, dice rolling, economic, open drafting, science fiction, set collection, worker placement with dice workers

Player Count: 2-4

Solo Mode: no

Complexity: heavy

Risk: HIGH

Summary: “A board game for 2 to 4 players (up to 6 with an expansion) in which players manage competing groups of space miners extracting minerals from the asteroid belt. The challenge comes in planning how to manage your personnel and resources through a variety of missions to extract minerals and outmaneuver the competition. Build the wealth of your Corporation, and fuel financial and material success. Be careful to not be left behind, for to the victor go the spoils. According to the current scientific knowledge of potential space mining missions, players extract seven resources: Water, Xenon, Plasteel, Tungsten, Nickel, Palladium, and Gold, on three different types of asteroids: S-Type, C-Type, and M-Type. The game uses a collection of custom six-sided dice (7 for each player) with icons representing four types of workers: miners, automatons, geologists and inspectors. Workers availability is determined by the dice rolls each round, and a skillful management of those worker dice is necessary for effective resource extraction. Players draw Mission cards to their hand and then perform the Missions by placing the Mission card on the Mining Barge in the Dock and gradually filling its fields with worker dice. Order cards are first drawn to the player hand by placing a die with a geologist icon on the Refinery field, and then redeemed at the end of the round by paying the cost indicated on it to receive the victory points marked on the card. In addition, the game features a resource exchange, an Achievement set collection and a set of Executive Cards, providing more possible actions and ways to victory. Orders, Missions, Achievements, and gathered resources are the means to collect Victory Points.”

Base Pledge (w/shipping): $114

All-In (w/shipping): $153

Campaign Ends: 7/12

Game Ships: Dec. 2023

Funding Status: Funded; currently at 119% with 12 days to go.

Project: Button Shy Reprint Campaign – June 2022 (on Gamefound)

Designers: Xavier Davidson (Revolve Noir), Lucas Gentry (Card Capture, SpaceShipped), John Kean (Black Sonata, Blorg in the Midwest, Wonder Tales)

Artists: Sarah Beauvais (Liberation, SpaceShipped, Universal Rule), Marty Cobb (Antinomy, Skulls of Sedlec, SpaceShipped, Wonder Tales), Daniel Ido (Hierarchy, SpaceShipped), Jonathan Fisher (Banned Books, Revolver Noir)

Publisher: Button Shy (Circle the Wagons, Sprawlopolis, Tussie Mussie)

Genre/Mechanisms: 2 player only games, action points, card game, deduction, fighting, hidden movement, print & play (Revolver Noir); card game, commodity speculation, economic, multi-use cards, print & play, science fiction, solo / solitaire game (SpaceShipped); 2 player only games, card game, children’s game, set collection, tile placement (Wonder Tales)

Player Count: 2 (Revolver Noir, Wonder Tales); 1 (SpaceShipped)

Solo Mode: no (Revolver Noir, Wonder Tales); yes (SpaceShipped)

Complexity: light

Risk: medium-low

Summary: “Welcome to the THIRD Button Shy reprint campaign – and the first on Gamefound. We have recently published our 90-somethingth(!?) Wallet Game and wanted to revisit some favorites that have run low or out of stock. This campaign will work a little differently than our usual campaigns. Here we will start with 3 fan favorites and as stretch goals are hit, we will add more games to the print run. With each stretch goal, we will invite you to help vote for the next game that we add. With each new game, we will add a new reward level allowing backers to get all of the games at these Gamefound discounted prices. In order to have a nice and speedy fulfillment, we plan to stop at 6 new games as it can get very complex, very quickly. But if this goes well, we will be back in a few months with the next one.

Revolver Noir is game for two players that puts you in the shoes of a private eye stuck in a dark mansion with an unknown hostile. Using a combination of detective work and calculated shots in the dark, your goal is to track down your enemy and put an end to them – before they do the same to you. Give one player all the John Doe cards, and the other all the Jane Doe cards. Each player chooses one room in which to start, then places the rest of their cards behind it in their hand. The visible card is your current location. The turn alternates between players. On your turn, you have Action Points, which you can spend to perform actions like moving, shooting, listening, setting traps, and use the room effect. Most rooms in Revolver Noir have a unique effect, which can be used only while you are in that room. To trigger this effect, reveal your location, then follow the instructions on your room card. The objective is simple. To win, you’ll have to hit your opponent twice.

SpaceShipped is a solo space trading game of buying and selling resources, upgrading your ship, crew, and equipment, dealing with pirates, and making deals. A card game with over 30 random events, 4 types of ship, 4 sets of crew members, and 8 different pieces of equipment to install, all using only 18 cards packed neatly in a little wallet. Your goal: make enough money through your buying and selling of resources to be able to afford two very expensive exotic stones (three, if you’re really daring). At the same time you’re trying to do it, pirates are working hard to collect them as well. If they get to them first, or if your ship takes enough damage, you lose. As if the pressure from the pirates wasn’t enough, on each turn, you’ll pilot your ship to different planets, experiencing random encounters, solar winds, and violent attacks. Spend too much time repairing your ship and the pirates will steal the crystals first, but don’t repair your ship enough and it will likely be destroyed by these attacks. Hire the right crew, buy the right ship, fit your ship with the right equipment, and you just might make it out of the galaxy alive.

Wonder Tales is a quick tile-laying set-collection micro-game for two players. Each of the 17 game cards is double sided, with the same fairy tale character on both sides, but with different colored highlights. Players take turns placing cards on a shared tableau with their color showing. Once the tableau is full, scores are tallied depending on which combinations of characters and/or colors lie adjacent to each player’s cards. A game consists of 2-3 rounds, with the tableau shape changing each round.”

Base Pledge (w/shipping): $16

All-In (w/shipping): $36

Campaign Ends: 7/9

Game Ships: Nov. 2022

Funding Status: Funded; currently at 1,209% with 9 days to go.

Project: Company of Heroes Board Game 2nd Edition

Designer: Bryan Kromrey (Company of Heroes)

Artists: not credited

Publisher: Bad Crow Games (Company of Heroes, Mech Command RTS)

Genre/Mechanisms: action points, automatic growth resource, economic, income, miniatures, multiple maps, real-time, team-based game, turn order: progressive, variable player powers, variable set-up, video game theme, world war II, zone of control

Player Count: 1-8

Solo Mode: yes

Complexity: medium-heavy

Risk: HIGH

Summary: “Based on the video game from Relic/Sega, it closely captures the choices, tactics and mission strategies of the videogame. In teams, or as individuals, players will maneuver units and battle for control points to collect manpower, munitions and fuel. Players spend these resources to construct new buildings, purchase units and upgrade abilities, eventually unlocking the powerful end-game units of their nation. The 2nd Edition of the Company of Heroes Board Game introduces extensive improvements to gameplay, tactical choices, unit balance, faction differentiation, mission parameters and more. 2nd Edition adjusts unit and building costs, resource generation and other mechanics to allow for more units to be purchased, fielded and used over the course of the battle.”

Base Pledge (w/shipping): $65

All-In (w/shipping): $280

Campaign Ends: 7/19

Game Ships: June 2023

Funding Status: Funded; currently at 1,018% with 20 days to go.

Project: DemLoc – Rise of the Guilds

Designers: Davide Boccardo, Alberto Ricossa

Artist: Germano Garau

Publisher: Bonfire Games

Genre/Mechanisms: dice, dice rolling, fantasy, fighting, mature / adult, medieval, miniatures, modular board, open drafting, scenario / mission / campaign game, square grid

Player Count: 2-4

Solo Mode: no

Complexity: medium-light

Risk: HIGH

Summary: “A competitive skirmish game set in the imaginary city of Dämonenloch. Players are Guild Masters (sinister and powerful masters of the Guilds of the city) who have to fight against each other to increase their Guild fame and richness. Each game influences the history of each guild and the progression will be on the guild itself, not on each character. The game develops in different missions where the players use their characters to reach their objective. The duration of each game session is based on the number of missions played. The main characteristic of DemLoc is switching between skirmish game sessions against other players and individual game sessions planning and improving a player’s Guild. The namesake app makes the game more dynamic and lets players keep track of their progress, helping them during missions in the damned city of DemLoc. DemLoc is a board game strictly integrated with its relevant app; for this reason there are two different game modes. The individual game, exclusively on the app, allows players to manage their cards and their Guild acquiring buildings and improving those already acquired (e.g. enlarging the space of the Dormitory to enlist more mercenaries). In addition, players can explore the city of DemLoc and access exclusive functions improving their knowledge of the world of DemLoc and making their Guild more powerful. In the group game, using the material at their disposal, players can fight in different missions to gain control over relevant spots in different areas of the city of DemLoc, increasing their fame and gaining gold (feods). The app shows players the objective of the mission and the map (taken from a database; it could range from killing opponent characters to collecting objects on the map). Using the modular map, the players design the setting and choose the mercenaries in the Guild joining the mission. The game starts once the players have picked their cards and placed their miniatures on the map. The game lasts 5 to 10 turns (based on the objective and on the number of players). On each turn, players move their miniatures on the map using the square grid. Characters shoot, cast spells, conjure daemons, and take part into hand-to-hand fights. The app is used to apply hits and status to the characters. At the end of the mission, the winner receives Fame points and gold (feods). The Guild uses Fame to level up (to enlist more or stronger people). Gold is used to buy new weapons and Arcane Code for the mercenaries. In each game, the winner can conquer part of the city, and their conquest will be shown on the map in the app.”

Base Pledge (w/shipping): $154

All-In (w/shipping): $212

Campaign Ends: 7/17

Game Ships: July 2023

Funding Status: Currently at 1% with 17 days to go.

Project: Drop Bears

Designer: Matthew Aslin (The Ratcatcher: The Solo Adventure Game)

Artist: Patricia Gutierrez

Publisher: Platypus Industries (The Ratcatcher: The Solo Adventure Game)

Genre/Mechanisms: action points, adventure, animals, cooperative game, dice, dice rolling, die icon resolution, explorer, hand management, horror, map addition, miniatures, modular board, mythology

Player Count: 1-4

Solo Mode: yes

Complexity: medium-light

Risk: HIGH

Summary: “The Australian Bush is a dangerous place at night. And as if spiders and snakes weren’t enough, another horror is on the loose: Drop Bears infest the dark – Hideous koala-like beasts dropping from gum trees, eager to consume human flesh. This is where the game drops you in, an inexperienced group of tourist campers ventured into the night. Your objective: survive until dawn. Drop Bears is a cooperative game where the Campers have to carefully choose actions every turn to stay alive, while the whole Australian Bush is on a hunt for them. The group can choose of several different options such as: Explore and Run, allowing the Campers to place new map tiles and attempt to keep the lurking hunger beasts at arms’ length (at bay, a distance); definitely they will need to Rest and Heal, which will give them a chance to patch up and recoup their most essential resources; finally Search and Endeavour will hopefully lead them to find much needed survival resources. All these are tools to ensure as many campers as possible survive until dawn. While doing so, the game drops the hideous creatures right on them, attacking and terrorising the Campers in every turn. Even the very landscape and environment will batter the poor Campers – they can become severely wounded; this will surely hamper their chance for survival. Each time a camper is eaten, that player will select another camper from those available, but every death brings the Drop Bears closer to victory, so don’t let your humans die in vain. With no weapons, campers must band together, scavenge gear and use their wits if they ever hope to survive until dawn.”

Base Pledge (w/shipping): $73

All-In (w/shipping): $73, same as above

Campaign Ends: 7/19

Game Ships: Apr. 2023

Funding Status: Currently at 68% with 19 days to go.

Project: Maid Knight Saga: The Story of Faltisia – Complete Edition

Designer: Kagawa Toshimune

Artist: Tsurushima Tatsumi

Publishers: LionWing Publishing (Testament)

Genre/Mechanisms: fantasy, open drafting, variable player powers

Player Count: 3-6

Solo Mode: no

Complexity: light

Risk: HIGH

Summary: “An ambitious multimedia project by Laugh Sketch Inc, consisting of part web-novel, and part board game. The board game is played out over three years during which players study at the esteemed Royal Academy of Faltisia. Here they improve their strength, wisdom, beauty, and purity, and hopefully graduate as a Professional Maid. At the conclusion of the game, the player with the highest VP wins. Players must choose what they will do each year by drafting action cards, then must choose between attending class to improve their abilities, or skipping class to instead choose from a number of extra-curricular activities. One of the core elements of the game is to apply for a Provisional Maid License, which is issued to the Academy from the Royal Maid Association. Without such a license, you cannot typically work as a professional maid. In addition, each character has a unique ability that can be activated after receiving this provisional license; it is recommended you play the first game with the intention of acquiring this license. It’s also important to take advantage of the items available in the school store.”

Base Pledge (w/shipping): $85

All-In (w/shipping): $150

Campaign Ends: 7/14

Game Ships: Feb. 2023

Funding Status: Funded; currently at 144% with 15 days to go.

Project: Omicron Protocol – “Critical Condition” Expansion

Designers: Brendan Kendrick, Bernie Lin

Artist: Viktor Kolodiazhnyi

Publisher: Dead Alive Games

Genre/Mechanisms: action points, area movement, cooperative game, dice, dice rolling, hexagon grid, miniatures, modular board, scenario / mission / campaign game, science fiction, solo / solitaire game, team-based game, wargame, zombies

Player Count: 1-4

Solo Mode: yes

Complexity: medium-heavy

Risk: HIGH

Summary: “An ‘intra-apocalyptic,’ cyberpunk-themed, squad-based miniatures board game where you control a squad of unique characters and a 3rd party enemy to harass your opponent, or play solo/cooperatively as a team to complete objectives and survive. Every character in the game is represented by a detailed 32mm-scale miniature, possessing their own rich history and personality, as well as powerful cybernetic abilities. Play the competitive or solo/cooperative modes through various narrative scenarios to survive the crisis. The game is filled with innovative game mechanics that make every game thrilling and accessible to both miniatures and board gamers, ushering players deeper and deeper into the gripping lore of San Lazaro and those who fight in its chaotic streets. Play with a squad of 1-4 characters, either competitively against another player/team, solo, or cooperatively with friends. Each round consists of spending action points on each of your characters, activating them one-by-one, and using movement and tactics to survive the onslaught of the Cyber-Memetic Sociopaths (CyMS), the ‘cyber-zombies’ of the game. All games are based on scenarios derived from the lore of the world (100K+ word collection of stories), and the game can be linked together into a light campaign in both competitive and cooperative modes. The winner is the team that scores the most victory points (competitive) or reaches a VP goal in a certain number of rounds (solo/cooperative).”

Base Pledge (w/shipping): $22

All-In (w/shipping): $260

Campaign Ends: 7/14

Game Ships: Apr. 2023

Funding Status: Funded; currently at 105% with 15 days to go.

Project: Snap Ships Tactics: Constructible Miniatures Game

Designer: Josh Derksen (Buffy the Vampire Slayer: The Board Game, Star Trek: Alliance – Dominion War Campaign, Terminator Genisys: Rise of the Resistance)

Artist: Gino Stratolat

Publisher: Lynnvander Studios (Albion’s Legacy, Evil Dead 2: The Board Game, Star Trek: Alliance – Dominion War Campaign)

Genre/Mechanisms: action points, cooperative game, critical hits and failures, deck construction, dice rolling, game system, measured movement, miniatutes, movement template, science fiction, variable set-up, wargame

Player Count: 1-4

Solo Mode: yes

Complexity: medium-heavy

Risk: HIGH

Summary: “A revolutionary miniatures battle game you play with modular, fully customizable ship models. In the future, humanity is under constant attack from a brutal alien hive mind known as The Komplex. Facing them are the pilots of the Forge: commanders of spacecraft known as Snap Ships. Fast attack craft, interceptors, armored bombers, dropships, and support craft – Snap Ships are constructed from modular components allowing ships to be outfitted on-the-fly for the specific mission at hand. In Snap Ships Tactics, each player builds a custom miniature ship (or a squadron of them) and commands them in intense tactical combat over a series of rounds. Ships are completely modular and built from a library of hundreds of unique plastic components. Ships maneuver across a freeform battlefield, as players allocate power to their ship’s unique systems to move, evade, and fire many different weapons. They can take advantage of battlefield hazards and terrain to gain the upper hand and seek to destroy the ships in their opponent’s squadron.”

Base Pledge (w/shipping): $117

All-In (w/shipping): $414

Campaign Ends: 7/28

Game Ships: July 2023

Funding Status: Funded; currently at 136% with 28 days to go.

Project: Splintered Lands Deck-building Game

Designers: Jeff Anderson, Steve Hollaway

Artist: Michael Ramanauskas

Publisher: Civil Dawn Games

Genre/Mechanisms: 2 player only games, bluffing, card game, constrained biding, deck construction, delayed purchase, fighting, hand management, market, open drafting, secret unity deployment, science fiction

Player Count: 2

Solo Mode: no

Complexity: medium-light

Risk: HIGH

Summary: “A post-apocalypse-themed expandable deck-building game from Civil Dawn Games. Players take on the role of an enclave governor who must lead their people in a fight for survival using a brand new base-defense tactical deck-building game mechanic. Somehow, you have cobbled together a band of basic fighting men and women to help you survive in the inhospitable wasteland you call home. However, you’ve noticed another group of survivors competing for resources in your area. If you are going to survive for long, you are going to need to spend your ever-dwindling resources to convince new and capable people to join you in the constant struggle…but finding them can be just as difficult as convincing them to come back with you. Players take turns attacking their opponent, fortifying their enclave, and searching the Dunes to acquire new and powerful characters to join their fight. Defeat your opponent by crippling their authority, and do it quickly — your opponent will only grow stronger the longer you let them live. Unfortunately, they know it, too. Each player starts the game with an 11 card deck. Then players choose which factions they want to be represented. Combine your favorite three factions to create the six card Dunes deck. This is where you will find powerful allies to join your enclave. On their turn, players play cards, pick cards, and arrange/navigate cards on their side. The game ends when one player has had their Authority (life) reduced to 0 due to actions happening in the game. A player wins by reducing their opponents Authority (life) to 0 or below. Along with the four starting factions, Splintered Lands has five expansions already planned out. Each expansion contains two new factions, plus exclusive bonus content. These unique boosters create new ways to engage with the world of Splintered Lands, giving players optional new ways to defeat their opponents, new and interesting mechanics to discover, and unusual aberrant creatures to defend with or against.”

Base Pledge (w/shipping): $50

All-In (w/shipping): $114

Campaign Ends: 7/28

Game Ships: July 2023

Funding Status: Funding; currently at 122% with 28 days to go.

Project: Stonewall Uprising: The Fight for Gay Civil Rights

Designer: Taylor Shuss

Artist: Carl Huber (2 Minutes to Midnight)

Publisher: Catastrophe Games (Judean Hammer, The Landing: Gallipoli 1815, USS Laffey: The Ship That Would Not Die)

Genre/Mechanisms: 2 player only games, deck building, hand management, political, tug of war

Player Count: 2

Solo Mode: no

Complexity: light

Risk: medium-high

Summary: “A two-player asymmetric deck-building game in which you play as either The Man or Pride, fighting for or against equal rights. On your turn, you can either play a card from your hand or fold. Playing cards moves one of three tracks in the game; Systemic Support, Public Opinion, and Individual Support. Getting to the end of these tracks gives the side it lands on an immediate effect, and then resets it to the middle of the track. Folding allows you to take the value of your hand at the end of the round and gain new cards from your market, but be warned – once you have folded your opponent’s cards are doubled in value. You will however get to draw a card for each card they play while you are folded, but will that be worth it? As the decades progress from the 1960s, to the 1970s, and finally to the 1980s, watch as your strategy and tactics stretch and morph based on the changing tides. Events can sway certain strategies, and the cards you’re able to buy shift as the decades pass. The Man’s goal is to detain and demoralize 10 people from Pride’s deck to take the wind out of Pride’s movement. Pride’s goal is to shift the Overton Window and to organize protests, demonstrations, and sit-ins to sway the public, represented by their dice pool, to keep their movement’s momentum going well past the 80s. The game ends immediately when either of these conditions have been met.”

Base Pledge (w/shipping): $70

All-In (w/shipping): $70, same as above

Campaign Ends: 7/18

Game Ships: Nov. 2022

Funding Status: Funded; currently at 290% with 18 days to go.

Project: Summit: Sanity + Big Box (on Gamefound)

Designer: Conor McGoey (7 Souls, Gorus Maximus, Summit: The Board Game)

Artist: Jordan Danielsson (Summit: The Board Game)

Publisher: Inside Up Games (Earth, Gorus Maximus, Summit: The Board Game)

Genre/Mechanisms: adventure, area majority / influence, cooperative game, dice rolling, environmental, events, expansion, grid movement, network and route building, player elimination, point to point movement, push your luck, race, racing, solo / solitaire game, take that, tile placement, variable phase order, variable player powers

Player Count: 1-6

Solo Mode: yes

Complexity: medium-light

Risk: medium-low

Summary: “Summit: The Board Game is a survival game which, thanks to its two-sided game board and variable mechanisms, can be played competitively, cooperatively or solo. In a competitive game, players race up and down the deadly mountain while managing their resources, building their path, overcoming obstacles, and attempting to survive their competition. Summit uses a unique karma system that allows players to actively help or hinder their opponents — but it also affects end game scoring. For a few extra points, you could share some of your valuable food or oxygen, or maybe you can afford to lose some points so you choose to cut their rope and watch them disappear down the mountain. In a cooperative or solo game, players must now work together to overcome the mountain and survive the expedition. Summit is a game so grueling you need only one team member to survive the ascent and descent, so players may sacrifice themselves for the good of the team. The mountain has a ‘Sherpa Track’ and a ‘Time of Day Track’ added, as well as a whole new deck of cards. It is unlikely everyone will be returning from this expedition.

The final expansion in the Summit Series, Sanity brings another dimension of play and immersion as players attempt to refine their character’s focus while maintaining their sanity – all while trying to survive the world’s deadliest mountain. Can they keep their wits, or will they breakdown under the immense pressure of the expedition… or the competition? With a Yeti on their heels, and/or a rival Team pushing for the Summit it’s just a matter of time before someone cracks like the ice under their feet. Sanity works in all play modes (competitive, cooperative and solo) and can be played with any/all expansions (Yeti and/or Teams).”

Base Pledge (w/shipping): $34

All-In (w/shipping): $220

Campaign Ends: 7/19

Game Ships: Apr. 2023

Funding Status: Funded; currently at 303% with 20 days to go.