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

Project: Cradle of Civilization

Designers: Daniel Chick, Sean Chick (Hold the Line: Frederick’s War, Horse & Musket: Dawn of an Era, Nine Years: The War of the Grand Alliance, 1688-1697)

Artists: Bill Morgal (Europe in Turmoil: Prelude to the Great War), Shane Hebert

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

Genre/Mechanisms: area majority/influence, dice rolling, hand management, simulation, wargame

Player Count: 1-6

Solo Mode: yes

Complexity: medium-light

Risk: medium-high

Summary: “Two games in one that play through the ancient civilizations of the Near East and the fall of the Persian Empire.”

Base Pledge (w/shipping): $80

All-In (w/shipping): $80, same as above

Campaign Ends: 9/13

Game Ships: Dec. 2020

Funding Status: Currently at 10%, with 30 days to go.

Project: Biblios Q&P + Dr Finn’s 2021 games

Designer: Steve Finn (Biblios, Herbaceous, Sunset Over Water)

Artists: Ossi Hiekkala (Eclipse, Flamme Rouge, Honshu, Nanga Parbat, Nations, Nations: The Dice Game), Akha Hulzebos (Biblios: Quill & Parchment, The Butterfly Garden, Darwinning!), Marius Janusonis (Fleet: The Dice Game, Mining Colony, Muse: Awakenings), Julian Tunni (Lunes, Nanga Parbat, Tonari)

Publisher: Dr. Finn’s Games (Biblios, Herbaceous, Sunset Over Water)

Genre/Mechanisms: card game, set collection (The Butterfly Garden); action drafting, paper-and-pencil, push your luck, set collection (Biblios: Quill and Parchment); 2 players, abstract strategy, area movement, exploration, push your luck, set collection (Nanga Parbat); auction/bidding, space exploration, territory building, tile placement (Mining Colony)

Player Count: 2-5 (The Butterfly Garden); 1-4 (Biblios: Quill & Parchment); 2 (Nanga Parbat); 1-4 (Mining Colony)

Solo Mode: yes (Biblios: Quill & Parchment, Mining Colony); no (The Butterfly Garden, Nanga Parbat)

Complexity: light

Risk: medium-low

Summary: “Dr. Finn’s 2021 line of games, including Biblios: Quill and Parchment, Nanga Parbat, Mining Colony, and Butterfly Garden (2nd edition).”

Base Pledge (w/shipping): $28 for one game

All-In (w/shipping): $123, includes 6 games plus extras

Campaign Ends: 9/14

Game Ships: Mar. 2021

Funding Status: Currently at 78%, with 19 days to go.