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

Project: The Adventures of Tennessee James

Designer: Matthew Killeen

Artist: Jackson Gee

Publisher: Variable Outcomes

Genre/Mechanisms: adventure, push your luck

Player Count: 2-4

Solo Mode: no

Complexity: light

Risk: HIGH

Summary: “Tennessee James, along with other archaeologists and adventurers, are leading expeditions to find their own fortune and glory. While searching pyramids, temples, and ruins for riches, the expedition teams must watch out for traps, such as snakes, arrows, and giant boulders. Archaeologists must also beware of native tribes, cultists, fascist soldiers, and even each other. Survive the traps, take the riches (from other archaeologists if necessary), and get out alive to gain your fortune and glory!”

Base Pledge (w/shipping): $49

All-In (w/shipping): $85

Campaign Ends: 9/2

Game Ships: Apr. 2022

Funding Status: Currently at 16% with 28 days to go.

Project: Almanac: Crystal Peaks

Designer: Scott Almes (Tiny Epic Galaxies; Tiny Epic Quest; Heroes of Land, Air & Sea)

Artists: Chris Byer (Heroes Wanted, Ninja Camp, Omen: A Reign of War), Jacqui Davis (Colosseum, Cubitos, Euphoria: Build a Better Dystopia, Ex Libris, Stockpile, Viticulture, Viticulture Essential Edition)

Publisher: Kolossal Games (Omen: A Reign of War, Terrors of London, Western Legends)

Genre/Mechanisms: auction/bidding, dice rolling, fantasy, pick-up and deliver, travel, worker placement

Player Count: 2-4

Solo Mode: no

Complexity: medium-light

Risk: medium-low

Summary: “Almanac: The Crystal Peaks is the second entry in the Almanac series of games from designer Scott Almes. Each round of Almanac is played on a different page in the gamebook. Each page represents a unique location/board with a special twist on worker placement. When combined an innovative bidding mechanism for turn order and a vast array of fantasy encounters, every game of Almanac: The Crystal Peaks is a new experience! Almanac: The Crystal Peaks is a game of trade, travel, and adventure through a whimsical fantasy realm! Players will visit strange places, acquire and sell goods, and face an unpredictable set of encounters as they travel from the Trader’s Village to either High Frost, the seat of power in the region, or Two Twins City, the center of commerce! In Almanac: The Crystal Peaks, adventure and riches are just a turn of the page away!”

Base Pledge (w/shipping): $59, with Treacherous Trails

All-In (w/shipping): $92, also includes The Dragon Road & Merchant’s Manifest

Campaign Ends: 8/24

Game Ships: July 2022

Funding Status: Funded; currently at 169% with 20 days to go.

Project: Arydia: The Paths We Dare Tread

Designer: Cody Miller (Tavarua, Xia: Legends of a Drift System)

Artists: Philipp Ach (Medieval Realms, Taxi Derby, Wishland), Lina Cossette (Brass: Birmingham, Brass: Lancashire, Charterstone, The Grimm Forest, Santorini, Steampunk Rally, Super Motherload, Unfair), David Forest (Brass: Birmingham, Brass: Lancashire, Charterstone, The Grimm Forest, Santorini, Steampunk Rally, Super Motherload, Unfair)

Publisher: Far Off Games (Tavarua, Xia: Legends of a Drift System)

Genre/Mechanisms: adventure, campaign game, cooperative game, dice, dice rolling, exploration, fantasy, modular board, role playing

Player Count: 1-4

Solo Mode: yes

Complexity: medium-heavy

Risk: medium-high

Summary: “A Green Legacy Game, Arydia is an open world, campaign based, cooperative fantasy role playing board game. The game of Arydia is built on four design pillars: Exploration, Progression, Combat, and Roleplaying. Arydia is an open world to explore as you wish. Arydia is played as a campaign, over the course of a number of game sessions; you start each session right where you left off. Many of the locations you’ll visit in Arydia are hostile – and you’ll need your weapons, skills, and cooperation to overcome the challenges you encounter. Take on the roles of a wide cast of characters as you encounter them throughout your journeys. A Green Legacy Game features all the hallmarks of a Legacy game: opening packages, hidden information, progression, discovery, exploration, all the while wrapping it in high-quality components and allowing you to completely reset the game when you have completed it.”

Base Pledge (w/shipping): $190

All-In (w/shipping): $215

Campaign Ends: 8/31

Game Ships: Dec. 2022

Funding Status: Currently at 75% with 27 days to go.

Project: Bug Council of Backyardia

Designers: Patrick Engro, Kyle Hanley

Artist: Masayoshi Ninomiya

Publisher: Engro Games

Genre/Mechanisms: card game, insects, mancala, trick-taking

Player Count: 1-5

Solo Mode: yes

Complexity: medium-light

Risk: medium-high

Summary: “In the vast realm of Backyardia, the Bug Council convenes to discuss important things like picnics, how to ruin picnics and, of course, income tax reform. The different factions of bugs – ants, flies, bees, mosquitos and cockroaches – find themselves in an ever-shifting balance of power and only those who ally themselves with the most powerful will seize the day. Bug Council of Backyardia is a trick-taking game that utilizes a mancala mechanism to dynamically shift which suits are powerful throughout the game.”

Base Pledge (w/shipping): $38

All-In (w/shipping): $38, same as above

Campaign Ends: 8/27

Game Ships: Apr. 2022

Funding Status: Currently at 20% with 22 days to go.

Project: Cartouche

Designers: Peter C. Hayward (Dracula’s Feast, The Lady and the Tiger, Village Pillage), Jeff Fraser

Artist: Tina Bongorno (BetaBotz, Biotix, GobbleStones)

Publisher: Coffeebean Games

Genre/Mechanisms: ancient, card drafting, enclosure, simultaneous action selection, solo/solitaire game, storytelling, tile placement

Player Count: 1-4

Solo Mode: yes

Complexity: medium-light

Risk: medium-high

Summary: “Hatshepsut ruled as one of ancient Egypt’s greatest pharaohs. Her successors tried to erase her from history, threatened by her success as both a woman and a pharaoh. They chiseled her image off stone walls, and her royal name – her cartouche – was removed from the murals. In Cartouche, you’re an archeologist restoring Hatshepsut’s legacy. The twist: in this tile-laying game, the spaces you don’t cover are just as important as the ones you do. Each round, you’ll draft tiles and arrange them to restore murals, complete stories, and earn points.”

Base Pledge: $39 + shipping

All-In: $39 + shipping, same as above

Campaign Ends: 8/27

Game Ships: Aug. 2022

Funding Status: Currently at 37% with 23 days to go.

Project: Chili Mafia

Designers: Krisztina Felmery, Tamas Leidal

Artist: Ivett Perlaky

Publisher: Lemery Games

Genre/Mechanisms: party game, set collection, take that, team-based game

Player Count: 2-8

Solo Mode: no

Complexity: light

Risk: HIGH

Summary: “Chili Mafia is a set-collection party card game for 2-8 players. Compete to assemble the most powerful Chili Pepper Gangs (sets of cards) and become the most respected mafia boss. To win, score the most points at the end of the game.”

Base Pledge (w/shipping): $32

All-In (w/shipping): $96

Campaign Ends: 9/2

Game Ships: May 2022

Funding Status: Currently at 63% with 28 days to go.

Project: Dino Dodge

Designer: Arrio G. Amirgholi

Artist: Linh Nguyen

Publisher: Blue Gear Games

Genre/Mechanisms: action drafting, card game, deduction, environmental, hand management, player elimination, prehistoric, take that, turn order: progressive

Player Count: 2-5

Solo Mode: no

Complexity: light

Risk: HIGH

Summary: “Play Action Cards to dodge falling meteors, move your enemies under meteors and avoid new threats. Meteors fall by utilizing its ticker. Whoever is under a meteor and cannot escape are eliminated from the game. Manage your hand carefully or leave your fate in the claws of your enemies. Meteors continue to fall and the world turns into lava, as the age of extinction lays way for only one dinosaur left standing.”

Base Pledge (w/shipping): $37

All-In (w/shipping): $815, includes vanity rewards

Campaign Ends: 8/26

Game Ships: May 2022

Funding Status: Currently at 26% with 22 days to go.

Project: Excavation Earth: It Belongs in a Museum!

Designer: Dávid Turczi (Anachrony, Kitchen Rush, Tekhenu: Obelisk of the Sun)

Artist: Philipp Kruse (Excavation Earth)

Publisher: Mighty Boards (Days of Ire: Budapest 1956, Petrichor, Vengeance)

Genre/Mechanisms: card drafting, economic, expansion, hand management, market, point to point movement, science fiction, set collection, solo/solitaire game

Player Count: 1-4

Solo Mode: yes

Complexity: heavy

Risk: medium-low

Summary: “A century from now all that remains of Earth is the detritus that humanity left behind. The races of a neighboring solar system have a penchant for artifacts left behind by extinct races. In Excavation Earth, you lead one of these races of alien explorers on their quest to excavate rare human artifacts and curate the ultimate art collection to sell off. Excavation Earth: It Belongs in a Museum is the second expansion for Excavation Earth. It introduces two new alien races, mysterious artifacts, a deck of technology cards and a whole, new museum board. It Belongs in a Museum adds new ways of scoring that create new paths to playing and winning the game.”

Base Pledge (w/shipping): $41

All-In (w/shipping): $135

Campaign Ends: 8/24

Game Ships: June 2022

Funding Status: Funded; currently at 318% with 20 days to go.

Project: Finders Creeperz

Designers: Matt Corry, Glenn Rosborough

Artist: Glenn Rosborough

Publisher: dKRYPT Media

Genre/Mechanisms: adventure, children’s game, roll/spin and move

Player Count: 2-4

Solo Mode: no

Complexity: light

Risk: HIGH

Summary: “A game of power based in the universe of Dragonbond. Raid as a dragon or raise armies as a general, destroy your enemies, and cast mighty spells, all to collect power. Once you have collected 10 power tokens, you win the game immediately. During the game, a general and a dragon in the same region have a chance of becoming Dragonbonded and playing as a team, sharing their power resource to cast spells and gaining a special ability, however, in order to win, both players require to collect 20 power in total. In the planning phase players secretly play action cards in a face-down pile to program their actions across the board until one player passes; in the resolution phase, actions are resolved in order. Dragons and generals play entirely different in strategy and actions. And all characters in the game have a unique deck of spells.”

Base Pledge (w/shipping): $42

All-In (w/shipping): $107, includes vanity rewards

Campaign Ends: 8/23

Game Ships: Dec. 2021

Funding Status: Currently at 24% with 19 days to go.

Project: Green Hell: The Board Game

Designer: Mateusz ‘Vik’ Sochon

Artists: not credited

Publisher: Galaktus Games

Genre/Mechanisms: action points, adventure, area movement, campaign/battle card driven, cooperative game, miniatures, movement points, storytelling, video game theme

Player Count: 1-4

Solo Mode: yes

Complexity: medium-light

Risk: HIGH

Summary: “A non-legacy, campaign, survival, fully cooperative game. Green Hell follows the recipe for success implemented by its electronic counterpart, by introducing a highly optimizable set of survival mechanics and pitting players against a changeable and unpredictable jungle environment. Players will be able to plan ahead, harvest and craft to prepare themselves for the upcoming task but the jungle is unpredictable and one can never predict everything. We are trying to avoid random elements wherever we feel that the players should be able to plan and succeed, but luck is a factor as well. Every night, after all the players used up their actions, the luck cubes will be tossed into the Creepy Tree, which will tell the players how much bad luck they’ve accumulated. Depending on their bad luck level, the events of each night may vary from completely safe to verging on the brink of death.”

Base Pledge (w/shipping): $121

All-In (w/shipping): $121, same as above

Campaign Ends: 8/23

Game Ships: Aug. 2022

Funding Status: Currently at 56% with 18 days to go.

Project: Lands of Galzyr

Designers: Sami Laakso (Dale of Merchants, Dale of Merchants 2, Dale of Merchants Collection), Seppo Kuukasjärvi

Artists: Jesús Delgado (Dale of Merchants 3), Sami Laakso (Dale of Merchants, Dale of Merchants 2, Petrichor)

Publisher: Snowdale Design (Dale of Merchants, Dale of Merchants 2, Dale of Merchants Collection)

Genre/Mechanisms: adventure, animals, cooperative game, dice, dice rolling, events, fantasy, movement points, narrative choice/paragraph, renaissance, solo/solitaire game, storytelling, trading, variable player powers

Player Count: 1-4

Solo Mode: yes

Complexity: medium-light

Risk: medium-high

Summary: “Lands of Galzyr is an adventuring game with an open and persistent world, with everyone’s actions having consequences in both the current and future games. Players assume the roles of cunning adventurers traversing the lands while completing quests and trying to gather fame and prestige. Each game continues where the previous one ended thanks to a clever save-and-load mechanism, with no need for paper-and-pencil bookkeeping. You can play the game as many times as you wish and even swap players between sessions. Lands of Galzyr is set in Daimyria, the same world as both the Dale of Merchants series and Dawn of Peacemakers. Go adventuring with both familiar and new animalfolks.”

Base Pledge (w/shipping): $107

All-In (w/shipping): $184

Campaign Ends: 9/1

Game Ships: July 2022

Funding Status: Funded; currently at 164% with 28 days to go.

Project: Legend Academy

Designer: Daniel Aronson (The Age of Atlantis, The Island of El Dorado, Taco Fight!)

Artist: Justin Spice (Windward)

Publisher: El Dorado Games (The Age of Atlantis, The Island of El Dorado, Windward)

Genre/Mechanisms: adventure, deck building, fantasy, medieval, multiple maps, novel-based, renaissance, storytelling, worker placement

Player Count: 1-4

Solo Mode: yes

Complexity: medium-light

Risk: medium-low

Summary: “You are an ancient folklore character before their story was told. You and other characters are attending the prestigious Legend Academy to learn the skills and wisdom needed to take your place in history. Legend Academy is a competitive euro-style game that combines deck-building, worker placement, and dungeon crawling. Players will build a deck of skill cards in the Academy, and then go on famous quests from ancient tales (The Jungle Book, Alice in Wonderland, Gulliver’s Travels, and more). When on an adventure players play cards from their hand to move around the map and accomplish scenario specific goals, find treasure, defeat enemies, and try to impress the professor. Players gain points by learning new skills, accomplishing goals, and finding treasure. The player with the most points at the end will become valedictorian and win the game.”

Base Pledge (w/shipping): $89

All-In (w/shipping): $89, same as above

Campaign Ends: 8/16

Game Ships: July 2022

Funding Status: Funded; currently at 200% with 26 days to go.

Project: Pirates

Designer: Stefan Dorra (For Sale, Medina, Turn the Tide)

Artist: Michael Mayne

Publisher: Queen Games (Alhambra, Amerigo, Chicago Express, Escape: The Curse of the Temple, Fresco, Kingdom Builder, Lancaster, Luxor, Merlin, Shogun, Thebes, Wallenstein)

Genre/Mechanisms: auction/bidding, memory, pirates

Player Count: 3-5

Solo Mode: no

Complexity: light

Risk: low

Summary: “In Pirates, you play as a Captain in the world of the swashbuckling pirate comic Bonnie Lass (created and illustrated by the game’s artist, Michael Mayne). You will be attempting to capture ships, fortresses, and even sea monsters to accumulate the most treasure. On most turns, you will form a boarding party by taking a stack of pirates in front of you and moving them on top a stack in front of another player, then moving the new stack back in front of you. On a future turn, you may use this stack to capture one of the four cards in the display, as long as the size of the party meets the minimum requirements. The pirate on top of stack is the Captain, and they receive a treasure for leading the raid. They collect the gold listed on the card, and have to pay the value listed on each pirate in their crew, making up any gold lacking from their own coffers. If they do, they keep the card and increase their scoring. Players receive additional gold at the end of the game (after all cards have been captured) based on the relative number of treasures they have captured, and the player with the most gold is the winner.”

Base Pledge (w/shipping): $50

All-In (w/shipping): $165, this pledge level does not include Pirates, but is for either the Fresco Deluxe Big Box or Merlin Deluxe Big Box

Campaign Ends: 8/14

Game Ships: Nov. 2021

Funding Status: Funded; currently at 232% with 10 days to go.

Project: Titans of Eden

Designer: Mike Powell

Artists: 4steex, Sara Contreras, Draco Herrera, Inklev, Mr-Ripley, José Muñoz (Shadowrift)

Publisher: Lake’s Legendaries

Genre/Mechanisms: card game, card play conflict resolution, deck building, deck construction, fantasy, fighting, rock-paper-scissors, simultaneous action selection, take that, team-based game, variable set-up

Player Count: 2-6

Solo Mode: no

Complexity: medium-light

Risk: HIGH

Summary: “Welcome to a world of total warfare. Your wizards used to be powerful enough to hold your enemies at bay, but ever since the monks discovered the power contained in The Six Great Temples, everything has fallen to chaos, and none of your industrial weapons can restore peace to your lands. Your only hope for survival rests in forbidden and forgotten magic: to save your people from extinction, you must harness the power of the four elements and awaken the protector of Eden. Titans Of Eden is a fast-paced deck-building game. Each player starts with a deck of basic cards, and has to choose each turn whether they want to play powerful cards to battle their opponents, or energy-granting cards that add elemental cards to their deck for future turns. Titans Of Eden includes a classic (Dominion-style) deck-building format for casual play, and a constructed format for competitive play. In the constructed format, each player builds a spellbook before playing, which they use to take on their opponents.”

Base Pledge (w/shipping): $42

All-In (w/shipping): $42, same as above

Campaign Ends: 9/1

Game Ships: Aug. 2022

Funding Status: Currently at 17% with 27 days to go.

Project: Turf War

Designer: Dan Nichols

Artist: Dan Nichols

Publisher: Gadabout Games

Genre/Mechanisms: 2 players, card drafting, card game, city building, deck building, delayed purchase, hand management, pieces as map, race, square grid, tile placement, variable set-up

Player Count: 2

Solo Mode: no

Complexity: light

Risk: HIGH

Summary: “In this yard-building card game, you race to prove to your neighbors that your lawn is the best on the block – or destroy your rival in the process. Every game starts with a different, randomized group of Neighbors, each with their own set of criteria. At the start of your turn, you must choose to be Home or Away, giving you access to a different set of actions that you can perform. While Home, you can gain points and abilities by playing cards onto your yard and swaying Neighbors to your side. While Away, you can earn money and get new cards from a shared store, but you leave your yard vulnerable to your rival’s mischief. When the last Neighbor has been swayed, the game ends, and whoever has the most points wins.”

Base Pledge (w/shipping): $20

All-In (w/shipping): $20, same as above

Campaign Ends: 8/26

Game Ships: May 2022

Funding Status: Currently at 89% with 22 days to go.