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

Project: Namiji

Designer: Antoine Bauza (7 Wonders, 7 Wonders Duel, Conan, Ghost Stories, Hanabi, The Little Prince: Make Me a Planet, Takenoko, Terror in Maple City, Tokaido)

Artist: Xavier Gueniffey Durin (The Big Book of Madness, Conan, Lords of Xidit, Seasons, Taluva, Tokaido)

Publisher: Funforge (Agricola, Agricola Revised Edition, Barenpark, Brass: Birmingham, Brass: Lancashire, Caverna: Cave vs Cave, Evolution, Evolution: Climate, Grand Austria Hotel, Isle of Skye: From Chieftain to King, Nemesis, Patchwork, Quantum, Tokaido, Viceroy)

Genre/Mechanisms: miniatures, point to point movement, set collection, time track, variable player powers

Player Count: 2-5

Solo Mode: no

Complexity: light

Risk: low

Summary: A spiritual sequel to Tokaido, featuring light gameplay with a time track and set collection.

Base Pledge (w/shipping): $83

All-In (w/shipping): $83, same as above

Campaign Ends: 11/29

Game Ships: July 2020

Funding Status: Funded; currently at 298%, with 13 days to go.

Project: Station Master

Designer: Chris Bayliss (Dark Blades, Station Master, Wie Hund und Katz!)

Artists: Andrew Hepworth (Legend of the Five Rings, Love Letter, Love Letter Premium), Drew Perkett (Empire Builder, Family Business, India Rails)

Publisher: Calliope Games (Roll for It! Deluxe Edition, Tsuro, Tsuro of the Seas)

Genre/Mechanisms: betting and bluffing, card game, commodity speculation, hand management

Player Count: 2-6

Solo Mode: no

Complexity: light

Risk: low

Summary: “The classic card game of trains and passengers updated with a luxurious new presentation.”

Base Pledge (w/shipping): $31

All-In (w/shipping): $61

Campaign Ends: 12/12

Game Ships: May 2020

Funding Status: Currently at 40%, with 27 days to go.

Project: Stronghold: Undead

Designer: Ignacy Trzewiczek (51st State: Master Set, Detective: A Modern Board Game, Imperial Settlers, Pret-a-Porter, Robinson Crusoe: Adventures on the Cursed Island, Stronghold, Stronghold 2nd Edition)

Artist: Tomasz Jedruszek (Battles of Westeros, Britannia, Citadels, Condottiere, Dominion, Dominion Second Edition, Dominion: Intrigue, Fields of Green, A Game of Thrones: The Board Game Second Edition, A Game of Thrones: The Card Game, Imperial Settlers, Magic: The Gathering, Middle-Earth Quest, Neuroshima Hex! 3.0, Pret-a-Porter, Shadows of Brimstone: City of the Ancients, Shadows of Brimstone: Swamps of Death, Stronghold, Stronghold 2nd Edition, Tides of Time)

Publisher: Portal Games (51st State: Master Set, Aeon’s End, Aeon’s End: War Eternal, Among the Stars, Architects of the West Kingdom, The Big Book of Madness, Blood Rage, Cry Havoc, Decrypto, Detective: A Modern Board Game, Diamant, Downforce, Ethnos, Ex Libris, For Sale, FUSE, Gizmos, The Godfather: Corleone’s Empire, Heroes of Normandie, Imperial Settlers, Inis, Istanbul, Istanbul: The Dice Game, Kanagawa, Legacy: The Testament of Duke de Crecy, Neuroshima Hex! 3.0, The Others, Paladins of the West Kingdom, Photosynthesis, Pret-a-Porter, The Resistance, The Resistance: Avalon, Rising Sun, Robinson Crusoe: Adventures on the Cursed Island, Roll for the Galaxy, Root, Sentient, Stronghold, Stronghold 2nd Edition, Tajemnicze Domostwo, Tales & Games: The Hare & the Tortoise, Teotihuacan: City of Gods, Through the Ages: A Story of Civilization, Tides of Time, Underwater Cities, Welcome to the Dungeon, World’s Fair 1893, Zombicide: Black Plague, Zombicide: Green Horde)

Genre/Mechanisms: 2 players, action points, area majority/influence, fighting, point to point movement, tower defense, variable player powers

Player Count: 2

Solo Mode: no

Complexity: heavy

Risk: medium-low

Summary: A second edition of Stronghold’s Undead expansion as a standalone game, Stronghold: Undead is an epic battle of tower defense between two players.

Base Pledge (w/shipping): $85

All-In (w/shipping): $95

Campaign Ends: 11/25

Game Ships: Mar. 2020

Funding Status: Funded; currently at 200%, with 9 days to go.

Project: Thunderbolt-Apache Leader, Fleet Cmdr Nimitz, Tiger Leader

Designers: Rick Martin (Sherman Leader, Tiger Leader), Dan Verssen (Hornet Leader: Carrier Air Operations, Thunderbolt Apache Leader, Warfighter: The Tactical Special Forces Card Game)

Artist: Adrian Stymets Lamb (Fleet Commander: Nimitz)

Publisher: Dan Verssen Games (Hornet Leader: Carrier Air Operations, Thunderbolt Apache Leader, Warfighter: The Tactical Special Forces Card Game)

Genre/Mechanisms: area movement, dice rolling, hand management, hexagon grid, simulation, solitaire game, war-game

Player Count: 1

Solo Mode: yes

Complexity: medium-heavy

Risk: medium-low

Summary: A triptych of three solo card wargames.

Base Pledge (w/shipping): $50

All-In (w/shipping): $335, includes all 3 games and an expansion for each

Campaign Ends: 12/6

Game Ships: Mar. 2020

Funding Status: Funded; currently at 146%, with 12 days to go.

Project: Vampire: The Masquerade – Blood Feud

Designer: Benjamin Kanelos (3 Laws of Robotics, Bitten, Red Scare)

Artists: n/a (credit your artists, people!)

Publisher: Everything Epic Games (Big Trouble in Little China: The Game, Coma Ward, Secrets of the Lost Tomb)

Genre/Mechanisms: action points, area majority/influence, auction/bidding, horror, modular board, negotiation, political, role playing, simultaneous action selection, storytelling, team-based game, time track, trading, variable phase order, variable player powers

Player Count: 4-32

Solo Mode: no

Complexity: medium-heavy

Risk: high

Summary: Part party/social game, part MegaGame, part RPG, and part board game, Vampire: The Masquerade plays up to 32 people with 1-2 people as game master/storytellers curating the experience.

Base Pledge (w/shipping): $119

All-In (w/shipping): $209

Campaign Ends: 11/26

Game Ships: Nov. 2020

Funding Status: Currently at 94%, with 11 days to go.