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

Project: AdverCity

Designers: Brian Crowson, John David Cope, Bradley Pipes

Artist: Zakiy Wardhana

Publisher: Macaroni Games

Genre/Mechanisms: city building, dice, dice rolling, push your luck, random protection

Player Count: 3-4

Solo Mode: no

Complexity: light

Risk: HIGH

Summary: “In AdverCity, your duty is to lead your town to brighter days. The terrain your town is built on is often plagued with horrific and deadly disasters. As the newly elected mayor, you must push past the obstacles that lie before you and prepare your town for the impending doom. No one has succeeded thus far, but we believe in your ability to lead! You must increase your cities’ population, ensure that your citizens are well fed, and provide them with financial security. Will you overcome the challenges that lie ahead of you as mayor of this unfortunate town? Can you prepare your town and survive the imminent disasters that come your way?”

Base Pledge (w/shipping): $50

All-In (w/shipping): $50, same as above

Campaign Ends: 9/12

Game Ships: Mar. 2022

Funding Status: Currently at 7% with 31 days to go.

Project: Amass

Designer: Richard Davis

Artists: Richard Davis

Publisher: Dark Frontier Games

Genre/Mechanisms: area movement, bluffing, dice rolling, fighting, hand management, science fiction, secret unit deployment, simultaneous action selection

Player Count: 1-6

Solo Mode: yes

Complexity: medium-light

Risk: HIGH

Summary: “In Amass, deep space mining crews fight to gather resources on a hostile alien planet. The goal of the game is to complete your mining contract while collecting the most valuable resources. Fight for resources scattered across the planet, raid resources from other crew encampments and look out for the hostile Alien raiders. Each turn, new resources appear across the planet and the players secretly plan their crew actions. After all the crew placements are revealed, mining crews fight each other for the resources. Defeated crew members are placed on the wound tracker, where, in time, they will recover. Alien raiders roam around the map, stopping players mining locations and attacking crew encampments, crew can also fight these Aliens to gain new action cards, which they can use in future battles. The game ends when one player has succeeded in filling their base with resources.”

Base Pledge (w/shipping): $57

All-In (w/shipping): $57, same as above

Campaign Ends: 9/9

Game Ships: Mar. 2022

Funding Status: Currently at 35% with 28 days to go.

Project: Empire Plateau

Designer: Stefan Frances

Artist: Alex Frances

Publisher: Frances Games

Genre/Mechanisms: abstract strategy, civilization, movement points

Player Count: 2-4

Solo Mode: no

Complexity: medium-light

Risk: HIGH

Summary: “An exciting and unique tactical strategy game, Empire Plateau is the brand new ultimate alternative to chess but on a larger scale as it can be played by 2, 3 or 4 players, making the game more inclusive but no less combative. A game for family, friends and lovers of lateral thinking that requires no dice, no cards and no luck!”

Base Pledge (w/shipping): $73

All-In (w/shipping): $118

Campaign Ends: 9/9

Game Ships: May 2022

Funding Status: Currently at 8% with 29 days to go.

Project: Flamecraft

Designer: Manny Vega (Sparkle*Kitty, Sparkle*Kitty Nights)

Artist: Sandara Tang Sin Yun (Descent: Journeys in the Dark Second Edition, Legacy of Dragonholt, The Lord of the Rings: The Card Game)

Publisher: Cardboard Alchemy

Genre/Mechanisms: animals card game, city building, contracts, end game bonuses, fantasy, hand management, modular board, worker placement with different worker types

Player Count: 2-5

Solo Mode: no

Complexity: medium-light

Risk: medium-low

Summary: “Players take on the role of Flamekeepers, gathering items, placing dragons and casting enchantments to enhance the shops of the town. Dragons are specialized (bread, meat, iron, crystal, plant and potion) and the Flamekeepers know which shops are the best home for each. Visit a shop to gain items and a favor from one of the dragons there. Gathered items can be used to enchant a shop, gaining reputation and the favors of all the dragons in the shop. If you are fortunate enough to attract fancy dragons then you will have opportunities to secure even more reputation.”

Base Pledge (w/shipping): $51

All-In (w/shipping): $93

Campaign Ends: 9/2

Game Ships: July 2022

Funding Status: Funded; currently at 1516% with 21 days to go.

Project: Nersha

Designers: Dave Balmer

Artist: Dave Balmer

Publisher: Gobico

Genre/Mechanisms: 2 players, abstract strategy, modular board

Player Count: 2

Solo Mode: no

Complexity: light

Risk: medium-high

Summary: “Nersha is a new abstract game of strategy for two players. In this game, there are no captures or jumps, only careful planning and clever play. The goal is simple: lead 3 of your pieces home before your rival does the same.  When you lead a piece home, that’s one less piece on the board to block your rival. Every piece on the board may help or halt your progress.”

Base Pledge (w/shipping): $43

All-In (w/shipping): $64

Campaign Ends: 8/27

Game Ships: Aug. 2022

Funding Status: Currently at 53% with 15 days to go.

Project: Reiner Knizia’s Criminal Capers Collection

Designer: Reiner Knizia (Modern Art, The Quest for El Dorado, Ra, Samurai, Tigris & Euphrates)

Artist: Paul K. Halkyon

Publisher: Bitewing Games

Genre/Mechanisms: animals, auction: sealed bid, card game, hand management, push your luck, set collection (Hot Lead); animals, card game, hand management, mafia, once-per-game abilities, push your luck, slide/push, trick-taking (Pumafiosi); animals, betting and bluffing, bluffing, bribery, deduction, events, hand management, roles with asymmetric information (Soda Smugglers)

Player Count: 2-5 (Hot Lead, Pumafiosi); 3-8 (Soda Smugglers)

Solo Mode: no

Complexity: light

Risk: HIGH

Summary: “In each round of Hot Lead, criminal cards are displayed in a column equal to the number of players. Players then make their bid by simultaneously revealing an investigator card from their hand. The highest investigator bid takes the criminal card closest to the deck, the second highest takes the second closest, and so on. These cards are worth points equal to their face value (0-5). Gather enough evidence on one criminal organization to convict them when the game concludes after ten rounds; in game terms, by having exactly three of a suit, you earn 10 bonus points. Ten bonus points are also awarded to those who acquire criminal cards of all five suits. If you investigate too aggressively and grab the fourth card of a suit, those criminals will sense a rat and you’ll scare them underground, thereby losing all of those cards.

Pumafiosi, a redesign of Rooster Booser, is a blend of simple trick-taking and precarious press-your-luck. Each trick, the person who plays the second-highest card wins the round, and they decide where to place that winning card in the hierarchy. You can even choose to place your measly card at the top of the hierarchy to stake your claim on the big boss points. The catch is that these cards can be knocked down one or more steps on the hierarchy by higher-valued cards, and whoever owns a falling card is penalized.

Each round in Soda Smugglers, a redesign of Heisse Ware: Krimi-Kartenspiel, one player takes a turn in the role of a border guard while the other players act as travelers. In a quest to acquire coveted carbonation and its accompanying bottle caps, the border guard tries to confiscate as many sodas as possible while only the cleverest travelers will sneak across with their fizzy contraband. After each player has been the border guard (twice in a 3-4 player game, once in a 5-8 player game), the game ends and whoever has the most bottle caps wins.”

Base Pledge (w/shipping): $34, includes one game

All-In (w/shipping): $84, includes Deluxe versions of all 3 games

Campaign Ends: 9/2

Game Ships: June 2022

Funding Status: Currently at 63% with 22 days to go.

Project: Wicked & Wise

Designer: Fertessa Allyse

Artists: Jay Bell, Estefania Rodriguez, Beth Sobel (Arboretum, Calico, Viticulture, Viticulture Essential Edition, Wingspan)

Publisher: Weird Giraffe Games (Dreams of Tomorrow, Fire in the Library, Tumble Town)

Genre/Mechanisms: fantasy, trick-taking

Player Count: 2-6

Solo Mode: no

Complexity: medium-light

Risk: medium-high

Summary: “Dragons compete in a variety of ways, but one of their favorite ways is playing by playing trick taking games. In Wicked & Wise, players are either the Dragons that are playing a trick taking game OR they’re the Mouse that is allied with a particular Dragon that’s helping to manipulate the trick taking game. Over the course of three rounds, each team of Mouse and Dragon fight over tricks, treasures, and coins, to see which team is the winner. The game isn’t all about wining tricks, either, it’s also about setting goals and utilizing magical treasures. If one can make enough of their goals or sabotage enough of the other team’s goals, they’ll have the most coins at the end of the game and will be crowned king of the caves.”

Base Pledge (w/shipping): $34

All-In (w/shipping): $54

Campaign Ends: 9/2

Game Ships: July 2022

Funding Status: Funded; currently at 133% with 22 days to go.