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

Project: Artisans of Splendent Vale

Designer: Nikki Valens (Arkham Horror Third Edition, Eldritch Horror, Legacy of Dragonholt, Mansions of Madness Second Edition)

Artists: Lil Chan (Dice Miner), Cleonique Hilsaca, Lisa Pearce, Christina Pittre (On the Rocks)

Publisher: Renegade Game Studios (Architects of the West Kingdom, Clank! A Deck-Building Adventure, Clank! Legacy: Acquisitions Incorporated, Paladins of the West Kingdom, Raiders of the North Sea)

Genre/Mechanisms: action/event, cooperative game, dice rolling, legacy game, narrative choice/paragraph, storytelling

Player Count: 2-4

Solo Mode: no

Complexity: medium-light

Risk: low

Summary: “A cooperative adventure game set in a magical and unique land. As a troupe of artisans, explore the beauty of the Splendent Vale while honing your individual crafts. Overcome challenges during tactical action scenes played out on specialized grid maps, then experience individual interludes to build your story, separately from the group’s tale. Teamwork and careful strategy will be crucial during these encounters.”

Base Pledge (w/shipping): $111

All-In (w/shipping): $128

Campaign Ends: 10/8

Game Ships: Oct. 2022

Funding Status: Funded; currently at 921% with 16 days to go.

Project: Critical Care: The Game

Designers: Omari Akil (Rap Godz), Lakshman Swamy

Artist: Britt Davis

Publisher: Zentensivist Games

Genre/Mechanisms: card game, cooperative game, educational, hand management, medical, push your luck, simulation

Player Count: 1-4

Solo Mode: yes

Complexity: medium-light

Risk: HIGH

Summary: “Each day in the ICU, the game’s engine tries to add Injury and Crisis tokens to patients and players race to remove these tokens. Each patient can sustain Injury to five different systems: brain, heart, lung, blood, and inflammation. In addition, each patient has a Crisis track representing the intangibles of being sick in the hospital: how much the patient is suffering and how close they are to death. As Crisis tokens accumulate, patients are more likely to develop complications. If all available slots for injury tokens or the Crisis Track are filled, the patient undergoes a Code Blue and the team has a chance to work together to save the patient or else the game is lost.”

Base Pledge (w/shipping): $51

All-In (w/shipping): $51, same as above

Campaign Ends: 10/21

Game Ships: May 2022

Funding Status: Funded; currently at 156% with 29 days to go.

Project: Dungeon Care

Designer: Przemyslaw Zub (Zerywia)

Artist: Joanna Zub

Publisher: Joanna Zub

Genre/Mechanisms: adventure, card game, cooperative game, dice rolling, drafting, exploration, fantasy, humor, party game, push your luck, semi-cooperative game, variable player powers

Player Count: 1-4

Solo Mode: yes

Complexity: light

Risk: HIGH

Summary: “A fast paced, cooperative fantasy card game. It gives you a mixture of classic RPG’s, semi-cooperative competition and crazy party game. The game offers different gameplay modes such as: freelance (solo mode), one-night adventure (default game scenario) or corporate career (kind of campaign with the character development and expanding dungeon).”

Base Pledge (w/shipping): $50

All-In (w/shipping): $88

Campaign Ends: 10/21

Game Ships: May 2022

Funding Status: Currently at 14% with 28 days to go.

Project: The Light in the Mist

Designers: Jack Fallows, Rita Orlov

Artist: Jack Fallows

Publisher: PostCurious

Genre/Mechanisms: adventure, cooperative game, deduction, fantasy, murder/mystery, puzzle, solo/solitaire game

Player Count: 1-4

Solo Mode: yes

Complexity: light

Risk: HIGH

Summary: “Your friend’s mysterious disappearance results in the discovery of an unusual item, leading you to embark on a journey through time and memory. In this narrative puzzle adventure, an intimate coming-of-age story is told through an object that serves as a tarot deck, a puzzle game, and a work of art. You will need to manipulate cards, find hidden messages, and solve logic and word problems in order to uncover the deck’s secrets.”

Base Pledge (w/shipping): $40

All-In (w/shipping): $105

Campaign Ends: 10/19

Game Ships: July 2022

Funding Status: Funded; currently at 292% with 26 days to go.

Project: Myth & Goal

Designers: James M. Hewitt (Blood Bowl 2016 Edition, Hellboy: The Board Game, Warhammer Quest: Silver Tower), Sophie Williams (Hellboy: The Board Game)

Artists: Kerem Beyit (Duel of Ages II, Dungeon Command: Heart of Cormyr, Dungeon Command: Sting of Lolth), Henning Ludvigsen (Android: Netrunner, Arkham Horror: The Card Game, Blood Rage, Star Wars: Imperial Assault, Star Wars: X-Wing Miniatures Game)

Publisher: Blacklist Games (Altar Quest, Brook City, Street Masters)

Genre/Mechanisms: dice rolling, fantasy, grid movement, miniatures, solo/solitaire game, sports, square grid

Player Count: 1-2

Solo Mode: yes

Complexity: medium-light

Risk: HIGH

Summary: “A miniatures board game of fantasy football. In the game, each player takes control of one of many unique teams defined by classic fantasy races, such as elves, dwarves, and orcs, and faces off against each other in a sport inspired by American football. While each team features players with their own strengths and weaknesses, players also choose a focus for their team that further defines how that team functions in the game. Players use actions with their players to attempt to either throw the ball through the goal for points, or have a player run it into the goal for even more points. The team with the most points at the end of the game wins.”

Base Pledge (w/shipping): $134

All-In (w/shipping): $134, same as above

Campaign Ends: 10/11

Game Ships: Nov. 2022

Funding Status: Funded; currently at 107% with 19 days to go.

Project: Quests & Cannons: The Risen Islands

Designers: Eric Geller, Shannon Geller

Artists: Sita Duncan, Jovial Graphics, Stained Karbon, Lily Yao Lu, Maciej Parol, Lilia Sitailo, Régis Torres (King of New York, King of Tokyo, When I Dream)

Publisher: Short Hop Games

Genre/Mechanisms: action points, adventure, animals, exploration, fantasy, hand management, hexagon grid, nautical, modular board, multiple maps, pick-up and deliver, take that, team-based game, variable player powers

Player Count: 1-6

Solo Mode: yes

Complexity: medium-light

Risk: HIGH

Summary: “A high fantasy on the high seas competitive, sandbox-style adventure game. Players use action points each turn on an open movement, modular game board to explore the various islands, receive quests from the settlers, gather resources, find map clues, upgrade their ships, collect loot, and trade cannon fire with rival adventurers. The object of the game is to get to the most prosperity at the end of the game. Players earn prosperity by finishing quests, completing map clues, and attacking other players.”

Base Pledge (w/shipping): $55

All-In (w/shipping): $72

Campaign Ends: 10/21

Game Ships: Mar. 2022

Funding Status: Funded; currently at 179% with 23 days to go.

Project: Snake

Designer: Maarten Krijgsman

Artist: Anica Smiljkovic

Publisher: Maarten Krijgsman

Genre/Mechanisms: abstract strategy, grid movement, pattern movement, player elimination, square grid, video game theme

Player Count: 2-4

Solo Mode: no

Complexity: light

Risk: HIGH

Summary: “The tabletop version of the 45 year-old classic video game Snake. See a strategic, tactical side of Snake that you never have. In Snake – The Board Game, you need to plan out every move, growing in a way that is going to block your opponent from doing the same. The basic premise hasn’t changed. You are still trying to eat apples (or dots, depending on how far back you go in the game’s history) to get longer and longer. Simply by shifting the speed downward, Snake morphs into something that forces you to think ahead and get much more creative.”

Base Pledge (w/shipping): $55

All-In (w/shipping): $72

Campaign Ends: 10/21

Game Ships: Mar. 2022

Funding Status: Currently at 5% with 28 days to go.

Project: The Stuff of Legend

Designer: Kevin Wilson (Arkham Horror Third Edition, Cosmic Encounter, Descent: Journeys in the Dark Second Edition, Fury of Dracula Third/Fourth Edition, Sid Meier’s Civilization: The Board Game)

Artist: Charles Paul Wilson III

Publisher: Th3rd World Studios (Arcane Academy, Charmed and Dangerous: The Sisters Grimm – Base Set)

Genre/Mechanisms: card drafting, card game, hand management, pirates, set collection

Player Count: 3-6

Solo Mode: no

Complexity: medium-light

Risk: HIGH

Summary: “As Allied forces fight the enemy on Europe’s war-torn beaches, another battle begins in a child’s bedroom in Brooklyn when the nightmarish Boogeyman snatches a boy and takes him to the realm of the Dark. The child’s playthings, led by the toy soldier known as the Colonel, band together to stage a daring rescue. On their perilous mission, they will confront the boy’s bitter and forgotten toys, as well as betrayal in their own ranks. Each player takes on the role of one of the boy’s loyal toys, each with their own unique abilities. Players work cooperatively, scouring the Dark in search of the Boy before the Boogeyman can escape with him. Players beware, through the course of the game your allegiance may change, and at any point one of your fellow players could be secretly working against you for the wicked Boogeyman.”

Base Pledge (w/shipping): $88

All-In (w/shipping): $118

Campaign Ends: 10/21

Game Ships: June 2022

Funding Status: Funded; currently at 145% with 28 days to go.

Project: Vojvodina

Designer: Boris Ðurović

Artist: Andrea Schwartz

Publisher: Brave Giant

Genre/Mechanisms: card drafting, card game, drafting, farming, grid coverage, set collection, simultaneous action selection, time placement, variable set-up

Player Count: 2-4

Solo Mode: no

Complexity: light

Risk: HIGH

Summary: “You are a farmer who produces crops and supplies town markets by making lucrative contracts. Find the right balance between careful and thought-out tile placement and obtaining the best-paying markets. The goal of the game is to have more money than the other players at the end.”

Base Pledge (w/shipping): $50

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

Campaign Ends: 10/21

Game Ships: Jan. 2022

Funding Status: Currently at 50% with 28 days to go.

Project: Yura Yura Penguin Mini

Designer: Yabuchi Ryoko

Artist: Yabuchi Ryoko

Publisher: Yabuchi Ryoko

Genre/Mechanisms: action/dexterity, hand management, stacking and balancing

Player Count: 2-6

Solo Mode: no

Complexity: light

Risk: HIGH

Summary: “Play all your cards without tipping over the iceberg to win in this dexterity game. Players take turns stacking cards of varying colors and symbols as well as cardboard cut-out standee dictated by their opponent’s card. A card must match either the color or symbol of the previous placed card, so players can try and outwit their opponents by demanding they place either large ice blocks, small penguins or heavy ice crystals. The player who successfully empties their hand is the winner. If a player knocks over the stack, then the player with the fewest cards is the winner.”

Base Pledge (w/shipping): $24

All-In (w/shipping): $67

Campaign Ends: 10/14

Game Ships: Mar. 2022

Funding Status: Funded; currently at 1192% with 21 days to go.