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

Project: Blue Collection

Designers: Barny Skinner (One Card Dungeon), Marco Zalogni (Cyberdoom Tower, Insert Coin to play), Zemilio (Cyberdoom Tower, Insert Coin to play, Kingdom’s Candy: Monsters, Rune)

Artist: Marco Zalogni (Cyberdoom Tower, Insert Coin to play, One Card Dungeon)

Publisher: Little Rocket Games

Genre/Mechanisms: area movement, dice rolling, roll-and-write, science fiction (Cyberdoom Tower); bingo, flip-and-write, line drawing, paper-and-pencil, puzzle, simultaneous action selection, video game theme (Insert Coin to play); action points, dice rolling, dungeon crawler, end game bonuses, fantasy, fighting, grid movement, line of sight, movement points, moving multiple units, multiple maps, pieces as map, solo/solitaire game, square grid, start check resolution (One Card Dungeon)

Player Count: 1-2 (Cyberdoom Tower); 2-6 (Insert Coin to play); 1 (One Card Dungeon)

Solo Mode: yes (Cyberdoom Tower, One Card Dungeon); no (Insert Coin to play)

Complexity: light

Risk: HIGH

Summary: “Cyberdoom Tower is a solo and co-op futuristic dungeon delve experience where you try to collect the pass-codes to unlock the top floor of the Cyberdoom Tower and defeat the AI who controls the machines and save the world. Explore the Cyberdoom Tower by moving your piece between the different floors of the tower. Fight the sentries guarding her by spending AP and rolling dice to determine your skills. Upgrade your gear deck to be ready for the final fight. The more time you spend collecting access codes, the harder it becomes.

At the beginning of each turn in Insert Coin to play, flip the top card of the deck and place it where all players can see it. Each player must choose one of the two white symbols shown on the bottom of the card and draw it inside of one of the shapes in their Level boxes by filling the empty squares. The chosen symbol can be rotated or mirrored (horizontally and/or vertically) and must be drawn within the contours of the chosen Level’s shape.

One Card Dungeon is a solo dice-placement dungeon crawl played on a single card. Fight through 12 increasingly challenging levels to reach the final prize – the Sceptre of M’Guf-yn. Both the Adventurer and the Monsters are represented on the map by dice, with the value on top showing their current health. Each room has one type of Monster, with anywhere from 1 to 4 of that monster to defeat in each room.”

Base Pledge (w/shipping): $20

All-In (w/shipping): $53

Campaign Ends: 6/8

Game Ships: Dec. 2021

Funding Status: Funded; currently at 304% with 19 days to go.

Project: Bread Roles

Designers: Nich Angell (Sandwich Masters), Lucy Brown (Sandwich Masters), Jon Lock (Sandwich Masters), Alice White (Sandwich Masters)

Artist: Nich Angell (Sandwich Masters)

Publisher: Big Punch Studios (Sandwich Masters)

Genre/Mechanisms: card drafting, card game, expansion, hand management, humor, take that

Player Count: 2-6

Solo Mode: no

Complexity: light

Risk: HIGH

Summary: “Are you bready to take your sandwich skills to the next level? Achieve true sandwich mastery with Bread Roles, the first official expansion to the hit card game Sandwich Masters. Mix up your gameplay with new roles and powers – and for the first time ever, play with up to six players. Sandwich Masters is a fast-paced, colourful card game with a slightly twisted sense of humour for two to four players. Players race to build sandwiches and complete orders using the correct ingredient cards. The winner is the first player to earn 50 noshbucks.”

Base Pledge (w/shipping): $28

All-In (w/shipping): $61

Campaign Ends: 6/17

Game Ships: Dec. 2021

Funding Status: Currently at 27% with 28 days to go.

Project: Catharsis

Designers: Art Gregory, Dave Tomczyk

Artist: Jane Ren

Publisher: Cyber Wizard Games

Genre/Mechanisms: adventure, card game, chaining, cooperative game, dice, dice rolling, events, roles with asymmetric information, simultaneous action selection

Player Count: 1-4

Solo Mode: yes

Complexity: medium-light

Risk: HIGH

Summary: “A dark fantasy adventure card game featuring dice-activated abilities, deadly encounters, and epic boss fights.Each game is a different experience as each hero has a deck of powers they draw from, creating unique synergies every playthrough. Moreover, the players must hunt down a boss by progressing through its Boss deck, a unique deck of cards for each boss and randomized for each game. The players must carefully balance using their skills and creeping closer to death with burning through their morale and giving up in despair.”

Base Pledge (w/shipping): $69

All-In (w/shipping): $279

Campaign Ends: 6/22

Game Ships: Feb. 2022

Funding Status: Currently at 54% with 33 days to go.

Project: Eldfall Chronicles

Designers: Tjaša Gaber, Žiga Gantar

Artist: Tjaša Gaber

Publisher: Freecompany

Genre/Mechanisms: action points, adventure, alliances, chaining, cooperative game, critical hits and failures, dice, dice rolling, fantasy, interrupts, line of sight, measured movement, miniatures, scenario/mission/campaign game, secret unit deployment, semi-cooperative game, stat check resolution, team-based game, three-dimensional movement, tug of war, wargame, variable setup

Player Count: 1-4

Solo Mode: yes

Complexity: medium-light

Risk: HIGH

Summary: “A fantasy tabletop skirmish game played with miniatures featuring tactical combat that immerses the players in a world where battle is commonplace. You will face both conflict and ancient terror, against which you must depend on your own skill and cunning to prevail. Alternatively, you can join forces with trusted allies and face the battles together. Play PvP, PvE, and Coop. Players can enjoy two styles of play, either pitting their skill and tactics against each other or teaming up against the game itself. Gather your champions, clash with your opponents, tame terrible beasts, and survive to tell the tale.”

Base Pledge (w/shipping): $67

All-In (w/shipping): $285

Campaign Ends: 6/17

Game Ships: July 2022

Funding Status: Currently at 77% with 28 days to go.

Project: Keystone: North America

Designers: Jeffrey Joyce, Isaac Vega (Ashes Reborn: Rise of the Phoenixborn, Dead of Winter, Dead of Winter: The Long Night, Forgotten Waters)

Artists: Irem Erbilir, Yan Tamba

Publisher: Rose Gauntlet Entertainment

Genre/Mechanisms: card drafting, card game, environmental, pattern building, tile placement

Player Count: 1-4

Solo Mode: yes

Complexity: light

Risk: HIGH

Summary: “Take on the role of biologists and work to build an interconnected ecosystem through the careful placement of cards. Use skills, introduce important Keystone animals, and perform wildlife research to maximize your points. Keystone: North America offers multiple ways to play. Go head-to-head against your friends in multiplayer and see who can build the healthiest ecosystem. Or experience a narrative adventure that will take you on a journey across North America with the Field Journal. This fully illustrated book contains a solo or co-op campaign where you will solve puzzles, learn about amazing animals, and explore the different ecosystems that make up North America.”

Base Pledge (w/shipping): $62

All-In (w/shipping): $135

Campaign Ends: 6/17

Game Ships: July 2022

Funding Status: Funded; currently at 153% with 28 days to go.

Project: Maximum Apocalypse: Wasted Wilds

Designer: Mike Gnade (The Few and Cursed, Maximum Apocalypse, Set a Watch)

Artist: Gustav Rangmar (Maximum Apocalypse)

Publisher: Rock Manor Games (The Few and Cursed, Maximum Apocalypse, Set a Watch)

Genre/Mechanisms: action points, campaign/battle card driven, card game, cooperative game, expansion, hand management, modular board, pick-up and deliver, science fiction, zombies

Player Count: 1-4

Solo Mode: yes

Complexity: medium-light

Risk: medium-low

Summary: “Maximum Apocalypse: Wasted Wilds is the much anticipated continuation of the hit cooperative roguelike game series. It features the same compelling survival gameplay but adds two distinct campaigns with a lot of new twists around exposure to the elements and interactions with other survivors. It features four new characters, two distinct campaigns, new mechanics, and tons of new monsters and apocalypses to face. Wasted Wilds can be played as a stand-alone 1-4 player campaign, or combined with the contents of any other Maximum Apocalypse game or expansion to support up to 6 players. Survivors from Maximum Apocalypse, Kaiju Rising, Gothic Horrors and Jurassic Perils are all fully playable in this game. Plus any of the new survivors from Wasted Wilds can be played in the other Maximum Apocalypse games as well.

Maximum Apocalypse is a cooperative roguelike game filled with adventure, exploration, survival and strategic choices. It was built from the ground up to be very modular and infinitely replayable. Maximum Apocalypse has inspired a role-playing game and spawned numerous expansions featuring everything from Bugs, C’thulhu, and Kaiju. There is a vast wasteland out there to explore and Wasted Wilds has been designed as the perfect starting point! The Frozen Wilds campaign walks players through a mission by mission tutorial that will ease new players into the experience.”

Base Pledge (w/shipping): $72

All-In (w/shipping): $211

Campaign Ends: 6/11

Game Ships: June 2022

Funding Status: Funded; currently at 323% with 23 days to go.

Project: Paperback Adventures

Designers: Tim Fowers (Burgle Bros., Fugitive, Hardback, Paperback), Skye Larsen

Artist: Ryan Goldsberry (Burgle Bros., Fugitive, Hardback, Paperback)

Publisher: Fowers Games (Burgle Bros., Fugitive, Hardback, Paperback)

Genre/Mechanisms: adventure, card game, cooperative game, deck building, hand management, melding and splaying, solo/solitaire game, word game

Player Count: 1-2

Solo Mode: yes

Complexity: medium-light

Risk: medium-low

Summary: “Our intrepid author Paige Turner is back. In Paperback Adventures, you get to play as the protagonist in one of Paige’s wild brainstorming sessions. Conquer a menagerie of pulp novel characters in this solo deckbuilding word game. Just like in the original game Paperback–and its follow up, Hardback–you will build your own deck of cards throughout the game, and those cards will have letters to help you spell words every turn. But in Paperback Adventures, instead of testing your wordsmithing wit against other players, you will use your words to defeat a series of AI enemies in “roguelike” fashion. Paperback Adventures is a solo-focused game. It was designed from the ground up as a strategic, highly-replayable solo word game. There are also additional gameplay variants for cooperative play between two players. There are 3 playable characters that have different strengths and playstyles.”

Base Pledge (w/shipping): $45

All-In (w/shipping): $94

Campaign Ends: 6/8

Game Ships: Feb. 2022

Funding Status: Funded; currently at 581% with 19 days to go.

Project: Prison Architect: Cardboard County Penitentiary

Designers: Noralie Lubbers, Dávid Turczi (Anachrony, Kitchen Rush, Tekhenu: Obelisk of the Sun)

Artist: Lewis Shaw (Downsize, Farsight)

Publisher: PSC Games (Blitzkreig!: World War Two in 20 Minutes, The Great War, Quartermaster General: 1914)

Genre/Mechanisms: auction/bidding, city-building, economic, political, tile placement, video game theme

Player Count: 1-4

Solo Mode: yes

Complexity: medium-heavy

Risk: medium-low

Summary: “Wardens compete to best ensure the security, health, and comfort of their prisoners. With no control over who is sentenced, for what, or for how long, your focus is on rehabilitating prisoners ready for their return to society. In each round of the game you will simultaneously bid on room tiles, staff cards and policy cards to improve your prison. By carefully placing tiles to maximize their benefits and negate their potentially-harmful effects, you can boost your prison’s rehabilitative qualities and earn additional budget to spend on new facilities. When intaking prisoners, choose between prisoners with varying security requirements – with higher risk prisoners offering higher endgame rewards – all while balancing demanding Objectives to ensure your prison meets rigorous governmental standards. At the end of each game, the winner is the player who has earned the most victory points by rehabilitating prisoners, caring for unreleased prisoners, completing Objectives, and meeting conditions on tiles and Staff/Policy cards.”

Base Pledge (w/shipping): $106

All-In (w/shipping): $106, same as above

Campaign Ends: 6/7

Game Ships: May 2022

Funding Status: Currently at 33% with 18 days to go.

Project: Runes of Zun: Arcane Secrets Expansion and Reprints

Designers: Dave Balmer, Alex Inoue, Eric Trimble

Artist: not credited

Publisher: Gobico

Genre/Mechanisms: action/event, card game, card play conflict resolution, chaining, events, expansion, fantasy, hand management, party game, player elimination, semi-cooperative game, team-based game

Player Count: 2-4

Solo Mode: no

Complexity: medium-light

Risk: medium-high

Summary: “If Magic and Uno had a baby, it might look like this strategy card game. Get the new expansion, the original, or the complete set. Runes of Zun is a card-dueling game of magic and mayhem for two to four players. It’s easy to learn and draws inspiration from collectible card games and deck builders but without all the fuss of collecting or building a deck. The Arcane Secrets Expansion includes six new action types (good and bad), a new reaction type, and a new and unique modifier type. Mix them into your original game for a total of 78 cards. If you also mix in the original Action Packed Expansion and the Shadow Tactics Expansion, you’ll get a total of 114 cards in your deck (or 123 with all the promos). New tactics will emerge, and game-changing combos will win out.”

Base Pledge (w/shipping): $15

All-In (w/shipping): $99

Campaign Ends: 6/3

Game Ships: July 2021

Funding Status: Funded; currently at 124% with 15 days to go.

Project: Sound Box

Designers: Hjalmar Hach (Dragon Castle, The King’s Dilemma, Photosynthesis, Railroad Ink: Blazing Red Edition, Railroad Ink: Deep Blue Edition), Lorenzo Silva (Dragon Castle, The King’s Dilemma, Potion Explosion, Railroad Ink: Blazing Red Edition, Railroad Ink: Deep Blue Edition, Steam Park)

Artists: not credited

Publisher: Horrible Guild (Dragon Castle, The King’s Dilemma, Potion Explosion, Railroad Ink: Blazing Red Edition, Railroad Ink: Deep Blue Edition, Steam Park)

Genre/Mechanisms: cooperative game, party game

Player Count: 4-7

Solo Mode: no

Complexity: light

Risk: medium-low

Summary: “A cooperative party game for 4 to 7 players where you listen to your friends performing weird sounds as they try to make you guess all sorts of concepts. At the beginning of each round you place Sound cards on the board and draw a numbered token from a bag to discover which one is assigned to you. Take your time to come up with the perfect sound to represent your card: you will have to imitate that sound to suggest your concept to the Guesser. If you are the Guesser, instead, your job will be to listen to the sounds performed by the Soundmakers. At the start of the timer, all Soundmakers start to perform their sounds… simultaneously! Get ready for 13 seconds of hilarious acoustic extravaganza. Have you ever heard the sound of a giant monster attack fighting a guitar hero on a stormy night during a tennis match? Well, something like this may definitely happen to you. A different player will be the Guesser each round. If over subsequent rounds you gain enough points to reach the end of the Soundtrack, all players win. But beware, each Sound card that is left unguessed at the end of each round will make you lose life depending on the numbered token it is associated to, and if your Heart marker reaches the bottom of its track, all players lose!”

Base Pledge (w/shipping): $32

All-In (w/shipping): $57

Campaign Ends: 6/8

Game Ships: Mar. 2022

Funding Status: Currently at 84% with 20 days to go.

Project: Supernova

Designer: Zach Horton

Artist: Jin Jin Wu

Publisher: Pandora Games

Genre/Mechanisms: abstract strategy, action points, area movement, aviation/flight, movement points, science fiction, turn order: progressive

Player Count: 2-5

Solo Mode: no

Complexity: light

Risk: HIGH

Summary: “Employ fancy flying and spiral thinking to harvest energy from a dying star in this board game that re-imagines ancient game geometry. Supernova is a unique strategy board game that employs the spiral geometry of the ancient game of Mehen and pushes it to the limits in this game of orbital mayhem.”

Base Pledge (w/shipping): $34

All-In (w/shipping): $95, includes additional game

Campaign Ends: 6/17

Game Ships: Dec. 2021

Funding Status: Currently at 37% with 28 days to go.

Project: Um, Actually

Designers: Peter Nesbitt, Connor Reid (5-Minute Dungeon, 5-Minute Marvel, 5-Minute Mystery), Mike Trapp

Artists: not credited

Publisher: Wiggles 3D (5-Minute Dungeon, 5-Minute Mystery, Villa Paletti)

Genre/Mechanisms: party game, trivia

Player Count: 4-8

Solo Mode: no

Complexity: light

Risk: medium-high

Summary: “CollegeHumor is joining forces with Wiggles 3D to bring you the long-awaited home version of their popular game show, Um, Actually. Um, Actually presents you with statements about the fictional worlds of popular movies, TV shows and books. They all sound right… but listen carefully, because each one has a mistake hidden in it somewhere. It’s up to you to figure out what’s wrong and announce it before anyone else, starting, of course, with the magic phrase: “Um, actually….” But even if you know nothing about Sailor Moon or Star Wars, you’ll find yourself making wild guesses, stumbling into answers, and having laughs along the way.”

Base Pledge (w/shipping): $47

All-In (w/shipping): $69

Campaign Ends: 5/16

Game Ships: Aug. 2022

Funding Status: Funded; currently at 1687% with 27 days to go.