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

Project: Ares Expedition: Discovery · Foundations · Crisis

Designers: Sydney Engelstein (Aeon’s End: Legacy, Space Cadets: Dice Duel, Terraforming Mars: Ares Expedition), Jacob Fryxelius (After the Virus, Terraforming Mars, Terraforming Mars: Ares Expedition), Nick Little (Aeon’s End: Legacy, Aeon’s End: Outcasts, Terraforming Mars: Ares Expedition)

Artist: Nio Mendoza (Terraforming Mars: Ares Expedition)

Publisher: Stronghold Games (La Granja, Great Western Trail, Terraforming Mars, That’s Pretty Clever!, Village)

Genre/Mechanisms: card game, cooperative game, expansion, follow, hand management, income, science fiction, simultaneous action selection, variable player powers

Player Count: 1-6

Solo Mode: yes

Complexity: medium-heavy

Risk: low

Summary: “Terraforming Mars Ares Expedition: Crisis, players will play as corporations, just as in the original Ares Expedition. You choose phases and play project cards as normal. The difference is players are working together to keep Mars habitable after a natural disaster has landed the planet in crisis. Every round, a new Crisis card will be drawn that will require the players to achieve a certain goal to remove that crisis from play. Each turn that a Crisis card is not completely dealt with, it will lower one or more of the terraforming metrics that keep Mars habitable. Handle all the crises as they arise. Eventually, a Crisis card will be drawn that allows the players to win the game once they have completed re-terraforming Mars.

Terraforming Mars Ares Expedition: Discovery adds four new mechanics to base Ares Expedition: awards, milestones, upgraded phase cards, and wild tags. Awards are end of game scoring that are granted to the player with the most of something. Three awards are draw at the beginning of the game so that players know what they will be rewarded for at the end of the game. The player with the most of that item earns 5VP, second place earns 2VP. Milestones are VP that are awarded during the game. They are granted to the player to first achieve the milestone. Milestones are worth 3 VP at the end of the game. Some new project and corporation cards allow players to upgrade their phase cards. Each phase card has two different version that players choose from when they upgrade them. The upgrade gives the player a better bonus when they choose that phase. Some new project cards have a wild tag. Whenever a player reveals this card either from the deck (due to an effect) or from their hand because they are going to play it, that player chooses what tag they want it to be. Tokens are used to keep track of what tag was chosen for the rest of the game.

Ares Expedition: Foundations contains additional player boards, cubes, and phase cards so that Ares Expedition can be played with up to six players. This expansion also includes to additional game boards. One is a larger score track. The other adds a fourth terraforming metric: infrastructure. Additionally, there are new project cards that involve the new terraforming metric and a new phase card.”

Base Pledge (w/shipping): $64

All-In (w/shipping): $107

Campaign Ends: 4/8

Game Ships: Dec. 2022

Funding Status: Funded; currently at 2135% with 25 days to go.

Project: Dragonquest

Designer: Dan Glimne (Batavia, DungeonQuest, DungeonQuest Revised Edition)

Artist: Chen Chang Wei

Publisher: Queen Games (Amerigo, Chicago Express, Fresco, Lancaster, Shogun)

Genre/Mechanisms: action queue, card game, card play conflict resolution, fighting, hand management, medieval, player elimination, take that

Player Count: 1-4

Solo Mode: yes

Complexity: light

Risk: low

Summary: “A thematic and brutal roll and write adventure game for fearless adventurers, based on the Drakborgen (Dragonquest). Players explore the ruins trying to reach the treasure chamber in the center of the dungeon and escape alive with as much treasure as possible. A limited number of turns before the game ends puts pressure on players to take risks and score rewards because anyone left in the dungeon when time runs out dies. Your way through the ruins is tracked on your adventure block that also tracks your status. On a turn, players cross off the next space of the sun track. When they cross off the last (19th space), this is their final turn. Players then roll the four (custom) black and one red movement die. They are allowed two re-rolls, but every time they roll a skull the die is locked and set aside. If they roll three skulls, they do not move or gain items. Otherwise, they will use their results to draw a path on their sheet, or the results might force you to encounter monsters or create obstacles. Players then roll the danger dice to determine what type of encounter they will have. If they run out of 13 Life Points, they die and are out of the game. The player who collects the most treasure and lives is the winner.”

Base Pledge (w/shipping): $51

All-In (w/shipping): $82

Campaign Ends: 4/1

Game Ships: June 2022

Funding Status: Funded; currently at 361% with 8 days to go.

Project: Fire for Light

Designer: Will Sobel

Artist: Jake Morrison (Brew)

Publisher: Greenbriar Games (Burger Up, Champions of Hara, Folklore: The Affliction)

Genre/Mechanisms: action points, adventure, book, campaign games, card game, cooperative game, deck building, deck construction, dice, dice rolling, die icon resolution, fantasy, hand management, hexagon grid, miniatures, modular board, multi-use cards, narrative choice / paragraph, point to point movement, scenario / mission / campaign based game, storytelling, turn order: stat based, variable player powers, variable set-up

Player Count: 1-4

Solo Mode: yes

Complexity: medium-heavy

Risk: medium-low

Summary: “A campaign-driven game played out over at least fifteen chapters. During each chapter, you set up a new scenario with new enemies and objectives. Most importantly, players are given choices that will change the outcome of their games and give them access to different rewards or shape future chapters differently. A chapter is played over several rounds, each culminating in daylight progressing to darkness. Fire for Light uses a unique ‘Awareness’ system to determine which characters (both friend and foe) activate. When an explorer takes their turn, they utilize actions they have available from different sources such as item or ability cards, their explorer mats, or other scenario-specific actions. These allow the characters to move, attack, gather resources, explore the wilderness, or countless other effects. When an enemy activates, they follow behaviors from top-to-bottom and roll a number of dice whenever they move. Make your choices and uncover the mystery of this snowy world in Fire for Light!”

Base Pledge (w/shipping): $99

All-In (w/shipping): $399

Campaign Ends: 4/11

Game Ships: Aug. 2023

Funding Status: Currently at 21% with 18 days to go.

Project: Jurassic World: The Legacy of Isla Nublar

Designers: Prospero Hall (Disney Villainous, Disney Villainous: Evil Comes Prepared, Disney Villainous: Wicked to the Core, Horrified, Pan Am)

Artists: Prospero Hall (Horrified, Pan Am, PUSH)

Publisher: Funko Games (Back to the Future: Back in Time, Funkoverse Strategy Game, Pan Am)

Genre/Mechanisms: adventure, cooperative game, legacy game, movies / tv / radio theme, scenario / mission / campaign game, science fiction

Player Count: 1-4

Solo Mode: yes

Complexity: medium-light

Risk: medium-low

Summary: “Welcome to Isla Nublar, where you and other scientists, dreamers, and schemers will build an attraction like no other. Take on the role of visionaries John Hammond and Simon Masrani, visiting scientists Dr. Alan Grant, Dr. Ellie Sattler and Dr. Ian Malcolm, sharp-minded park personnel Claire Dearing and Dr. Henry Wu, and many more, each playing a vital part in the island’s legacy. Together, you will transform Isla Nublar into an astonishing paradise where awe-struck visitors encounter creatures never before seen by human eyes. Decide where to build park facilities, dinosaur enclosures, and guest attractions — and keep employees and visitors safe from the mighty Tyrannosaurus Rex, colossal Brachiosaurus, clever Velociraptor, and other threats. In Jurassic World: The Legacy of Isla Nublar, you play through twelve adventures in which you customize an entirely unique game board and breed new dinosaurs you cannot unmake. Your team’s fateful choices will have a lasting impact, creating your own Isla Nublar story. Your experience will culminate in an endlessly replayable game of your own creation.”

Base Pledge (w/shipping): $140

All-In (w/shipping): $140, same as above

Campaign Ends: 4/11

Game Ships: Oct. 2022

Funding Status: Funded; currently at 243% with 18 days to go.

Project: Kingdoms Rise & Fall – Dorian

Designers: Bowie Derwort, Arthur Lampe

Artist: Bowie Derwort

Publisher: Garlock Games

Genre/Mechanisms: betting and bluffing, card game, card play conflict resolution, deck building, events, fantasy, fighting, negotiation, simultaneous action selection, take that, variable player powers

Player Count: 3-6

Solo Mode: no

Complexity: medium-heavy

Risk: HIGH

Summary: “A strategic deck-building game set in a fantasy world. Explore Dorian with your unique character that progresses during the game and leads your army into battle. Build your deck of Battle Cards based on your play style with either Stealth, Physical or Magic. Start Siege battles to capture locations or engage in Field battles to defeat your rival armies. During the game, there will be a lot of player interaction. Players will negotiate, fight tactical Siege and Field battles by using their Battle Cards and they might even betray each other. The player with the most Influencers Points (IP) wins the game. There are alternative victory conditions, like team battles and by capturing the capital. The duration of the game can be controlled by choosing the number of rounds (Kingdom Event cards) and by setting a goal on the Influence Point Track. Meaning you can play a short 1-hour game or play for six hours or more.”

Base Pledge (w/shipping): $79

All-In (w/shipping): $135

Campaign Ends: 4/21

Game Ships: Jan. 2023

Funding Status: Currently at 49% with 28 days to go.

Project: Mercurial

Designer: David Goh (Endogenesis, Endogenesis Second Edition)

Artists: David Goh (Endogenesis, Endogenesis Second Edition), Jeannette Wang, Agus Setiawan, Thomas Tan, Chen Wei, Yang Shao Xuan (Endogenesis, Endogenesis Second Edition), Beverley Yim

Publisher: Hyperlixir (Endogenesis, Endogenesis Second Edition)

Genre/Mechanisms: action retrieval, dice rolling, fantasy, hand management, increase value of unchosen resources, open drafting, pool building, random production, set collection, solo / solitaire game

Player Count: 1-4

Solo Mode: yes

Complexity: medium-heavy

Risk: medium-high

Summary: “A card & dice-manipulation game themed on spellcrafting with combo & engine-building mechanics. Learn magical Alteration techniques to control the chaos of your elemental dice, and use these elements to combine lesser magicks into new and unknown spells. Your combined spells can either inflict ruin, restore life, or something more — use them to perform heroic deeds, ranging from helping your allies defeat dangerous beasts, to finding a path for stranded travelers lost in the strange land of Valanyr. After an arduous journey through the otherworldly land of Valanyr, your caravan finally arrives at Camp Trinity — a young, thriving settlement built atop a ruined kingdom once decimated by an ancient cataclysm. Like many here, you were previously a mage of low renown now seeking a better fortune. The cataclysm altered Valanyr’s Elan to be fertile but mercurial, rendering the rules of spellcasting different from whence you came. Here, the usually separate elements of nature fuse readily, allowing for new and unknown spells to be created. You’ll have to start from scratch, but unknown means new discoveries to be made, and a thriving settlement means opportunity. In Mercurial, each player has varying capabilities and starting resources, with their differences offering a unique path to power with every journey. Delve into the fantastic world of Mercurial, and discover a new age of spellcrafting.”

Base Pledge (w/shipping): $57

All-In (w/shipping): $139

Campaign Ends: 4/19

Game Ships: May 2023

Funding Status: Funded; currently at 408% with 26 days to go.

Project: Okko Chronicles – Cycle of Earth

Designers: Frédérick Condette (Guardians’ Chronicles, Guardians’ Chronicles: Clash of Heroes, Okko Chronicles: Cycles of Water – Quest Into Darkness), Hub

Artists: Arnaud Boudoiron (Assassin’s Creed: Brotherhood of Venuce, Bloodborne: The Board Game, Kemet: Blood & Sand, , Hub (Okko: Era of the Asagiri, Okko Chronicles: Cycles of Water – Quest Into Darkness, Queen’s Necklace)

Publisher: The Red Joker (Guardians’ Chronicles, Okko Chronicles: Cycles of Water – Quest Into Darkness, Tara Wolf in Valley of the Kings)

Genre/Mechanisms: adventure, area movement, comic book / strip, cooperative game, dice rolling, dungeon crawler, fantasy, fighting, hand management, miniatures, modular board, multi-use cards, one versus many, role playing, scenario / mission / campaign game, solo / solitaire game, team-based game, tower defense, variable player powers

Player Count: 1-5

Solo Mode: yes

Complexity: medium-heavy

Risk: medium-high

Summary: “Features the legendary Rônin and his fellow travelers who, taking refuge in strongholds scattered throughout the mountains, must fend off the countless invading armies of Karasu before they breach the Pajan. During a game, each player will choose to embody one of the Heroes. Together, they will have to make the best decisions to ensure that the fortress can withstand the repeated assaults of the undead. Okko Chronicles can be played in cooperative or semi-cooperative mode. In semi-cooperative mode, one of the players will play as Black Tiger, an evil ninja, a former hero corrupted by necromancy, who has infiltrated the fortress to facilitate the arrival of the Karasu era. In cooperative mode, a deck of Black Tiger Reaction cards will allow you to make this dangerous opponent act. During a turn, each player plays one or two of their action cards; these cards give them advantages to perform the 3 actions they have. A game ends when all the Heroes are put out of action or when one of the fortress walls gives way completely, leaving the Pajan Empire to the undead; or when the last wave of the Karasu army breaks on the defenses of the fortress, thanks to the arrival of the Pajan army. But beware, other parallel objectives can also influence the course of the story. The game is part of the same range as the Okko Chronicles Water Cycle. It can be considered as its sequel but the game mechanics are different and they can’t be played together.”

Base Pledge (w/shipping): $110

All-In (w/shipping): $110, same as above

Campaign Ends: 4/13

Game Ships: Sep. 2023

Funding Status: Funded; currently at 146% with 20 days to go.

Project: Pharmageddon: Bugs vs Drugs

Designer: Scott Crabtree

Artists: Luiz Lanzarin, Phil Cavalcanti

Publisher: Lab Beagle Games

Genre/Mechanisms: cooperative game, deduction, educational, hand management, medical, memory, open drafting, solo / solitaire game, take that

Player Count: 1-4

Solo Mode: yes

Complexity: medium-light

Risk: HIGH

Summary: “A medical education card game. A fun way to learn antibiotics and microbiology. Play the best antibiotic to kill the most pathogens with the fewest side effects. There are two decks of cards: Bug Cards (bacteria and syndromes) and Drug Cards (antibiotics). Each player uses Drug Cards to slay Bug Cards which slowly fill up a 3 x 3 playing area. If you successfully match an effective Drug to a susceptible Bug you get to keep matching and killing more. If you fail, play moves on to the next player, and the Bug Card may become more resistant. Each drug has its own side effects and flora costs, though, so choose your Drug Cards wisely. Guess wrong too many times and the 3 x 3 playing area will be overwhelmed. If that happens you lose a life. Game ends when either the players survive the Bug Card onslaught and complete the Bug Card deck or all players lose all their lives. Solo and versus modes, varying levels of difficulty, and expert scoring options are also available.”

Base Pledge (w/shipping): $35

All-In (w/shipping): $35, same as above

Campaign Ends: 4/21

Game Ships: Mar. 2023

Funding Status: Currently at 31% with 28 days to go.

Project: Tidal Blades 2: Rise of the Unfolders + Cypher System RPG

Designers: Tim Eisner (The Grimm Forest, March of the Ants, Tidal Blades: Heroes of the Reef), Ben Eisner (The Grimm Masquerade, Tidal Blades: Heroes of the Reef, Wonderland’s War)

Artist: Lina Cossette (Brass: Birmingham, Brass: Lancashire, Charterstone, Radlands, Santorini)

Publisher: Skybound Games (The Grimm Masquerade, Tidal Blades: Heroes of the Reef, Valor & Villainy: Minions of Mordak)

Genre/Mechanisms: adventure, cooperative game, dice rolling, fantasy, hexagon grid, miniatures, narrative choice / paragraph, scenario / mission / campaign game, simultaneous action selection, solo / solitaire game, variable player powers

Player Count: 1-4

Solo Mode: yes

Complexity: medium-heavy

Risk: medium-low

Summary: “In Tidal Blades 2: Rise of the Unfolders, each player takes the role of a new Tidal Blade. In this cooperative, narrative-rich board game, players will work together through 18 scenarios. Each hero is equipped with a Nexus grid, allowing them to build up actions and create powerful combos. Each turn you will choose one card to play, add it to an open space in your Nexus grid, and then activate all spaces in either the row or column containing the played card. Throughout the campaign you will grow and enhance your character by adding cards to your action deck, leveling up your traits of Spirit, Focus, Resilience and Synergy, unlocking powerful skills, and gaining specialized Items to boost your action cards. Featuring 18 scenarios with unique maps and 40+ hours of gameplay, Tidal Blades 2: Rise of the Unfolders invites you on a quest through the lush and vibrant lands of Naviri. Along the way, you will meet valuable allies, have chance in counters with Golfins, Iota, and other denizens of Naviri. Battle a seemingly endless army of monsters and enemies as you fight your way to the center of the Fold.”

Base Pledge (w/shipping): $69

All-In (w/shipping): $245

Campaign Ends: 4/8

Game Ships: June 2023

Funding Status: Funded; currently at 931% with 15 days to go.

Project: Traders & Raiders!

Designer: Mark Hanny (Levitation: Masters of Magic)

Artists: not credited

Publisher: Joe Magic Games (Levitation: Masters of Magic)

Genre/Mechanisms: economic, fantasy, network and route building, point to point movement, simultaneous action selection

Player Count: 2-5

Solo Mode: no

Complexity: medium-heavy

Risk: HIGH

Summary: “A medieval fantasy strategy game. On a player’s turn they place a player token on an action space. Players choose a group action, meaning all players take that action, or choose a solo action, pay a resource, and act alone. Actions include moving their character standee from one town on the map board to another, trading goods in the town where they are located, recruiting follower cards that give new abilities to the player, buy special weapon tiles that help in defeating monsters, build market tents (wooden tokens) that give more options when trading, build building cards for points and to produce additional goods, fight monsters (tokens of unknown power) and retrieve their plundered goods, and collect goods found in their current location. Strategies to win include managing resources, maximizing trades, building cards before other players, gaining the right combination of followers so each turn can produce the most resources, gold, and points. The game ends after 8 rounds when the eighth fortnight tile (or round tile) is placed on a special fortnight board. The player with the most points wins. Points are totaled up from building cards, follower cards, gold, monsters defeated, and certain followers’ special abilities.”

Base Pledge (w/shipping): $70

All-In (w/shipping): $70, same as above

Campaign Ends: 4/21

Game Ships: Dec. 2022

Funding Status: Funded; currently at 996% with 25 days to go.

Project: Village Pillage: Robbin` Hood Expansion

Designers: Peter C. Hayward (Dracula’s Feast, That Time You Killed Me, Village Pillage), Tom Lang (Dracula’s Feast: New Blood, Village Pillage)

Artist: Haleigh Mooney

Publisher: Blue Beard Entertainment (Dracula’s Feast, The Lady and the Tiger, Village Pillage)

Genre/Mechanisms: card game, expansion, fantasy, fighting, hand management, humor, medieval, rock-paper-scissors, simultaneous action selection, take that

Player Count: 2-5

Solo Mode: no

Complexity: light

Risk: medium-high

Summary: “Your village is bursting with turnips! Enough for every man, woman, and wall to enjoy all the root vegetables they can eat. But wealth brings a class divide – grasping nobles, thieving raiders, and freeholding farmers, stuck in the middle. Worst of all, wealth has also come to those horrible OTHER villages. There’s only one man who can stop them: he robs from the rich and steals from the poor – it’s Robbin’ Hood, with his merry band of scoundrels, rapscallions, and turnip-thieves. Hire outlaws, steal from your neighbors, and do everything in your power to avoid paying the corrupt Sheriff her weight in turnip-tax. Robbin’ Hood is a brand new expansion for Village Pillage, featuring a brand new rich/poor mechanic and more turnip-stealing than ever before. More than a dozen new cards, designed to shake up your games and bamboozle your neighbors. A neighbor is rich if they have more turnips than you, and poor if they have fewer. Cards marked with an arrow trigger after other cards of their type; time your Merry Men carefully, to steal as many juicy turnips as you can.”

Base Pledge (w/shipping): $23

All-In (w/shipping): $71

Campaign Ends: 4/15

Game Ships: Mar. 2023

Funding Status: Funded; currently at 162% with 22 days to go.