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

Project: DVG – Valiant Defense: Lanzerath Ridge

Designer: David Thompson (Undaunted: Normandy, Undaunted: North Africa, War Chest)

Artist: Nils Johansson (Ambon: Burning Sun & Little Seagulls; Maori Wars: The New Zealand Land Wars, 1845-1872)

Publisher: Dan Verssen Games (Pavlov’s House, Thunderbolt Apache Leader, Warfighter: The Tactical Special Forces Card Game)

Genre/Mechanisms: action points, dice rolling, line of sight, simulation, solo/solitaire game, war game, world war II

Player Count: 1

Solo Mode: yes

Complexity: light

Risk: medium-low

Summary: “A solitaire wargame that takes places on the first day of the Battle of the Bulge, during the Second World War. In the game, you take control of a small group of American soldiers. Under your command, the Americans must fend off the relentless attacks from German paratroopers and fusiliers. Your goal is to recreate the incredible historic accomplishment of the American soldiers by defending the town of Lanzerath, Belgium and delaying the advance of an entire SS Panzer Division. Lanzerath Ridge is the next design in the Valiant Defense series, following the critically acclaimed Pavlov’s House, Castle Itter, and Soldiers in Postmen’s Uniforms. The Valiant Defense series allows you to play amazing stories of courage, with small forces holding the line against unimaginable odds. Games in the series focus on the individual defenders and are deeply rooted in history, while providing a quick play experience with a light complexity rule set. Lanzerath Ridge is divided into four attack periods, each of which is represented by a deck of enemy cards. Each attack period is divided into a number of turns, and each turn consists of two phases. The game ends immediately if the defenders’ morale drops to 0 or if a German attacker takes over an American defensive position. Otherwise, the game ends after the last attack. Your level of success is based on the Americans’ morale, intelligence gained during the defense, and any objectives you accomplish.”

Base Pledge (w/shipping): $80

All-In (w/shipping): $250

Campaign Ends: 2/16

Game Ships: Aug. 2022

Funding Status: Funded; currently at 224% with 19 days to go.

Project: Hens

Designer: Giampaolo Razzino

Artist: Marco Salogni (One Card Dungeon)

Publisher: Little Rocket Games (One Card Dungeon, Rune)

Genre/Mechanisms: abstract strategy, animals, draw and discard, hand management, pattern building, tableau building, tile placement, variable set-up

Player Count: 1-4

Solo Mode: yes

Complexity: light

Risk: low

Summary: “A puzzly abstract card game of hen breeding. In Hens, you are a hen breeder. Each round you will play a hen card from your hand, trying to create a harmonious barnyard with different hen breeds. The rules to place cards are a few and simple, but the difficulty will be on making large groups of hens of the same breed. At the end of the game you will gain points from your largest group of hens of the same breed in your barnyard, from your rooster token and from the goal card. Don’t forget some rare hens give you medals worth points at the end of the game. The hens breeder with the best barnyard wins.”

Base Pledge (w/shipping): $25

All-In (w/shipping): $25, same as above

Campaign Ends: 2/22

Game Ships: Dec. 2022

Funding Status: Funded; currently at 212% with 25 days to go.

Project: Jiangnan: Life of Gentry

Designer: DuGuWei (Yin Yang)

Artists: not credited

Publisher: Moaideas Game Design (Flip City, The Flow of History, Mini Rails)

Genre/Mechanisms: ancient, area majority / influence, bag building, contracts, economic, end game bonuses, hand management, modular board, scenario / mission / campaign game, solo / solitaire game, stock holding, tech trees / tech tracks, variable player powers, worker placement

Player Count: 1-4

Solo Mode: yes

Complexity: medium-heavy

Risk: HIGH

Summary: “It is the height of the Ming Dynasty. Literati artists hike and sail across the land searching for inspiration to compose the greatest works of the age. Those seeking the greatest fame present their work at the capital city of Nankin. However, aristocracy is fickle. Will you follow the latest trends, or start them? Jiangnan can be played as a single scenario or through multiple campaigns. Players are literati and artisans of the elite gentry class living in Jiangnan, the prosperous region to the south of the Qinhuai River, and are highly skilled in literature, calligraphy, brush painting, and the musical and performing arts. But you’ll need the skills of bureaucracy to drive and guide aristocracy to evolve your work from today’s latest trend to an everlasting classic to be sung and studied for thousands of years.”

Base Pledge (w/shipping): $81

All-In (w/shipping): $159

Campaign Ends: 2/24

Game Ships: Nov. 2022

Funding Status: Funded; currently at 274% with 28 days to go.

Project: Purple Haze (on Gamefound)

Designer: Bernard Grzybowski

Artist: Bartek Jędrzejewski (Hannibal & Hamilcar, Nanty Narking, Rocketmen)

Publisher: PHALANX (Hannibal & Hamilcar, Nanty Narking, UBOOT: The Board Game)

Genre/Mechanisms: area movement, card game, chit-pull system, cooperative game, dice, dice rolling, events, modern warfare, narrative choice / paragraph, role playing, scenario / mission / campaign game, solo / solitaire game, storytelling, vietnam war, wargame

Player Count: 1-6

Solo Mode: yes

Complexity: light

Risk: medium-low

Summary: “An immersive story-creation campaign game that drops you into the heart of darkness: Vietnam, 1967. You lead a squad of U.S. Marines through the dense jungles, flooded rice paddies, and straw-thatched villages of a war-torn country. Gut-wrenching choices will determine the fate of you and your mission, showing if you have what it takes to survive. It is in part a story-creation game, in part a tactical combat game, and in part a campaign game. Your decisions determine the story. Your tactics decide the outcome of life and death firefights. Your men will suffer. Some won’t make it home. Those that do will get wiser, get tougher. The goal: complete the mission, and get out alive.”

Base Pledge (w/shipping): $90

All-In (w/shipping): $90, same as above

Campaign Ends: 2/15

Game Ships: Mar. 2023

Funding Status: Funded; currently at 207% with 18 days to go.

Project: Spectrum: The Card Game for Daring Discussions

Designers: Dann May (Planetarium), Brenna Noonan

Artists: Greg May (Anomaly, Fast & Furious: Full Throttle, Planetarium), Dann May (Black Orchestra, Everdell, A War of Whispers)

Publisher: Jubilee Media

Genre/Mechanisms: card game, deduction, humor, party game

Player Count: 3-8

Solo Mode: no

Complexity: light

Risk: HIGH

Summary: “A social deduction party card game. Win the game by best discerning where players stand within a spectrum of opinions ranging from Strongly Agree to Strongly Disagree, on topics ranging from the silly to the serious. Each turn, a player will choose a Prompt from their hand of cards, such as ‘It’s okay to be close to your ex,’ and play it alongside a Spectrum card from their hand that attempts to predict where the majority of players will stand on the issue. They will also place a token face down that reflects their own opinion. The other players place their pawns on the Survey cards based on their personal opinions, and then the Spectrum card is revealed. If a majority of players are inside the chosen Spectrum, the prompter keeps the card for its points. Otherwise, the card is discarded. Then, the other players discuss the hidden opinion of the prompter and together place that player’s pawn on a Survey card. Each player can choose to back the group’s decision and take a +1 point token, but if they choose wrong, they will have to flip it to its -1 point side. Play continues to the left, with players taking turns as the prompter. The first player to 10 points wins.”

Base Pledge: $25 + shipping (no estimates provided)

All-In: $50 + shipping (no estimates provided)

Campaign Ends: 2/24

Game Ships: July 2022

Funding Status: Funded; currently at 174% with 28 days to go.

Project: Thunder Road: Vendetta

Designers: Dave Chalker (Get Bit!, Heat, Thief’s Market), Noah Cohen (Betrayal Legacy, Betrayal at Mystery Mansion, Unmatched: Little Red Riding Hood vs. Beowulf), Rob Daviau (Cthulhu: Death May Die, Pandemic Legacy: Season 0, Pandemic Legacy: Season 1, Pandemic Legacy: Season 2, Unmatched: Battle of Legends, Volume 1), Justin D. Jacobson (Downforce, Unmatched: Battle of Legends, Volume 1, Unmatched: Cobble and Fog, Unmatched: Robin Hood vs. Bigfoot, Unmatched: Jurassic Park – Ingen vs. Raptors), Brett Myers (Dual Powers: Revolution 1917, Nanuk, Rome: City of Marble), Brian Neff (Betrayal Legacy, Betrayal at Mystery Mansion, Unmatched: Little Red Riding Hood vs. Beowulf)

Artists: Marie Bergeron, Garrett Kaida (Football Highlights 2052, Return to Dark Tower, Terraforming Mars: Ares Expedition)

Publisher: Restoration Games (Downforce, Unmatched: Battle of Legends, Volume 1, Unmatched: Cobble and Fog, Unmatched: Robin Hood vs. Bigfoot, Unmatched: Jurassic Park – Ingen vs. Raptors)

Genre/Mechanisms: dice, dice rolling, fighting, grid movement, miniatures, racing, roll / spin and move, take that

Player Count: 2-4

Solo Mode: no

Complexity: light

Risk: medium-low

Summary: “A revved-up restoration of the classic 1986 game of mayhem on the asphalt. Grab your crew, roll your dice, race your cars, shoot your guns, and try not to get wrecked. This new version features exciting new additions, including random hazard tokens, such as wrecks, oil slicks, and more. Damage isn’t merely one and done. Now, you’ll draw damage tokens with exciting effects that can send your car careening across the board. You’ll also have more choices on your turn, assigning one of your dice to your command board to repair damage, nitro boost, or send out your attack copter to fire away.”

Base Pledge (w/shipping): $72

All-In (w/shipping): $167

Campaign Ends: 2/14

Game Ships: Nov. 2022

Funding Status: Funded; currently at 173% with 18 days to go.