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

Project: Barnyard: A Wallet Game

Designer: Cameron Art

Artist: Jason Boles (Suburbia, Werewords, Whistle Stop)

Publisher: BGB Publishing

Genre/Mechanisms: 2 player only games, animals, card game, end game bonuses, farming, multi-use cards, open drafting, tile placement

Player Count: 2

Solo Mode: no

Complexity: light

Risk: HIGH

Summary: “An 18-card drafting game designed specifically for 2 players in which you compete to corral the best combination of farm animals that you can. On your turn, you’ll choose an animal in the farm and use its power to manipulate the animals in the Barnyard line. Then, you’ll flip that animal over and add it to the back of the line. Next, you’ll take whatever animal is currently at the front of the Barnyard line and add it to your corral. Be careful– some critters get along better than others, so you’ll have to carefully plan the layout of your corral if you want to score the most points and win the game. Want to ramp up the complexity? Every copy of Barnyard comes with the free 6-card Farmers Expansion. Work towards your own secret corral objective to score even more points at the end of the game. Manage an ever-shifting barnyard of animal cards and carefully wrangle the animals you want into your corral to score the most points and win the game.”

Base Pledge (w/shipping): $15

All-In (w/shipping): $29

Campaign Ends: 4/29

Game Ships: Aug. 2022

Funding Status: Currently at 43% with 23 days to go.

Project: An Empty Throne

Designer: John Clowdus (Mezo, Neolithic, Omen: A Reign of War)

Artist: Agum Budianto

Publisher: Small Box Games (Hemloch, Neolithic, Omen: A Reign of War)

Genre/Mechanisms: 2 player only games, area movement, card game, fantasy, hand management, set collection

Player Count: 2

Solo Mode: no

Complexity: light

Risk: medium-low

Summary: “A two player card game pitting players against each other to unite the lands under their own rule and secure their claim to the throne. In this quick playing, combo driven game, players use their two Actions each turn to play (or move/exchange) Kith cards from their hand to the three Fields and The Tombs to acquire additional Kith cards and/or trigger abilities, create coalitions, secure the Fields, and score points. When the game ends, players score points: 2 points for each of their flipped Fields, 1 point for each Field where they have at least 12 Value, 2 points if they have at least 12 Value at The Tombs, and 1 point for each revealed Refuge Bonus Kith card in their hand.”

Base Pledge (w/shipping): $19

All-In (w/shipping): $19, same as above

Campaign Ends: 4/14

Game Ships: July 2022

Funding Status: Funded; currently at 192% with 8 days to go.

Project: Gamestormers

Designer: Jon Spike

Artist: Viktoriya Fajardo

Publisher: GamestormEDU

Genre/Mechanisms: card game, educational, open drafting, party game, storytelling, victory points as a resource, voting

Player Count: 3-6

Solo Mode: no

Complexity: medium-light

Risk: HIGH

Summary: “A creative, tableau-building card game for 3-6 players. You are a young, up-and-coming gamestormer in the futuristic land of Fjerogard who must impress the Elder Gamestormer with a great new game idea. The object of the game is to design and pitch a great game idea to the rest of the players. Players fill out their game tableaus using a variety of actions, such as taking Item cards from the market, drafting Storyline and Mechanic cards, designing custom cards using dice with images, or entering the Arena. All of the actions allow the player to acquire new cards for the game they are designing or earn victory points. There are two ways to win the game – either create a game that is worth the most victory points, or receive the most votes for best overall game from your fellow players. The game you create consists of a Storyline card, two Mechanic cards, and two Items cards, each of which you will use to create a cohesive game narrative. Each card in your game tableau earns you points, as well as other bonuses you can activate by reaching certain objectives.”

Base Pledge (w/shipping): $48

All-In (w/shipping): $48, same as above

Campaign Ends: 5/5

Game Ships: Dec. 2022

Funding Status: Funded; currently at 109% with 28 days to go.

Project: The Heart of Cthulhu: Father Dagon Expansion Mystery Deck

Designer: Patrick Kelleher

Artist: Patrick Kelleher

Publisher: Patrick Kelleher

Genre/Mechanisms: card game, interrupts, open drafting, push your luck

Player Count: 2-8

Solo Mode: no

Complexity: light

Risk: HIGH

Summary: “A cutthroat card game consisting of three decks and more than 300 cards. This adventure game combines strategy and luck with aspects of RPG. This combination, the game’s unique lore and stunning visuals produce a new adventure every time the game is played. The Peril, Pillage and Discovery Decks are shuffled and placed in separate stacks with the Pillage Deck in the middle. Two discovery cards are revealed and placed face up next to the Discovery Deck. Shuffle the vessel cards and deal one to each captain face down. Captains then reveal their vessels. Take notice of the vessels’ unique strengths. Each captain starts the game with three integrity chips and three pillage cards. Roll to see who goes first. Players take turns gathering supplies from the pillage deck and paying to reveal discovery cards. The discovery deck contains New Worlds. In order to gain these New Worlds, Captains must defeat perils from the peril deck.”

Base Pledge (w/shipping): $16

All-In (w/shipping): $134, includes vanity rewards & extras

Campaign Ends: 4/29

Game Ships: Nov. 2022

Funding Status: Currently at 75% with 22 days to go.

Project: Legacy of Thracks – The Awakening

Designer: Balázs Svéda

Artists: Kerek Attila, Viktor Koch (Pumpkin Patch: Bad Seeds), István Strabán

Publisher: Svéda Studio

Genre/Mechanisms: area majority / influence, economic, end game bonuses, fantasy, fighting, income, miniatures, moving multiple units, point to point movement, random production, resource to move, solo / solitaire game, sudden death ending, tech trees / tech tracks, territory-building, variable player powers

Player Count: 1-4

Solo Mode: no

Complexity: heavy

Risk: HIGH

Summary: “An Euro-American hybrid, competitive, epic fantasy game with unique semi-coop elements. You control one of the clan Heroes (Warrior, Mage, Engineer) and your goal is to reach the legendary city of Dimara in 9 days, otherwise, the Shadows fulfill their destiny and destroy the world. Or control the Shadow Hero, and prevent the others from entering Dimara. Besides your Hero, there are Lost Souls, who you can control. But be careful because other players can move them too. During your journey, hire Lost Souls to bring hidden crystals to the surface and collect relics. Use these crystals to complete secret quests and overcome magical barriers. Move your Hero and capture villages to take special advantages, build roads or capture a Fortress to increase your glory, or capture Castles to increase your income. Fight with other Heroes in the right moments, and via Portals surprise them in critical situations. Take specific actions to improve your Hero’s special skills and use them wisely. And don’t forget: time is running out, and sometimes you need to make sacrifices together with other clan Heroes to slow down the Shadow.”

Base Pledge (w/shipping): $98

All-In (w/shipping): $126

Campaign Ends: 4/28

Game Ships: Aug. 2023

Funding Status: Funded; currently at 107% with 22 days to go.

Project: Maglev Metro: Mechs, Monorails, & More!

Designer: Ted Alspach (Castles of Mad King Ludwig, Suburbia, One Night Ultimate Werewolf, One Night Ultimate Werewolf: Daybreak, Werewords)

Artist: Alanna Kelsey (Maglev Metro, Suburbia, Whistle Mountain)

Publisher: Bézier Games (Between Two Castles of Mad King Ludwig, Castles of Mad King Ludwig, Suburbia, One Night Ultimate Werewolf, One Night Ultimate Werewolf: Daybreak)

Genre/Mechanisms: end game bonuses, network and route building, pick-up and deliver, tile placement, trains

Player Count: 1-4

Solo Mode: yes

Complexity: medium-heavy

Risk: low

Summary: “In Maglev Metro, utilize state-of-the-art magnetic levitation technology to build a metropolitan rail system, transporting workers and robots beneath the city. Replace aging Manhattan and Berlin subway systems with newer, faster, quieter technology. Enhance your rail system’s abilities so that your passengers arrive at their destinations first. Efficiency is your key to success in this pick-up-and-deliver, tile-laying, engine-building game. Transparent tiles allow your route to overlap your opponents’ tracks, winding you along from station to station. Robots efficiently upgrade and adjust your abilities, leveraging unique goals to maximize points. By the end of the game, the game board has morphed into a modern subway map, with brightly-colored routes connecting stations all over the city. Maglev Metro contains two unique maps.

In London, one of the world’s oldest subway system is finally getting a much needed upgrade thanks to magnetic levitation technology. In order to reinvigorate London’s transportation system, all stations are unlocked; pick up any passenger even on your first turn. And then there’s Paris, well known for its mass transit strikes and your new Maglev Metro enterprise there is no exception. There are strikes scheduled constantly throughout the city at various stations.

Tweak the rules and gameplay, giving the base game even more replayability. The robots who were so helpful in creating your Maglev metro in Berlin and Manhattan have created a new robot city, complete with super-powered giant mech robots. Or help build a world-class futuristic theme park in Monorails, as you cater to VIP passengers in addition to regular attendees.

Magnetic Levitation technology is the technology of choice for extra-terrestrial transportation, and your job is to build a network of maglev rails to assist in creating a lunar vacation destination, taking advantage of its 1/6th gravity and relatively flat surface. And finally, Mars’ colonization has begun, and now it’s time to connect locations with maglev railways.”

Base Pledge (w/shipping): $48

All-In (w/shipping): $101

Campaign Ends: 5/3

Game Ships: Mar. 2023

Funding Status: Funded; currently at 1045% with 26 days to go.

Project: Maul Peak

Designers: Eduardo Baraf (Herbaceous, Skulk Hollow, Sunset Over Water), Keith Matejka (Roll Player, Roll Player Adventures, Skulk Hollow)

Artists: Dustin Foust (Skulk Hollow, Heroes and Tricks, Heroes Welcome), Sebastian Koziner (Bullet, Dice Hospital, Heroes of Terrinoth), Helen Zhu (The Island of El Dorado, Skulk Hollow, Sunset Over Water)

Publisher: Pencil First Games (Herbaceous, Skulk Hollow, Sunset Over Water)

Genre/Mechanisms: 2 player only games, action points, animals, fighting, hand management, variable player powers

Player Count: 2

Solo Mode: no

Complexity: medium-light

Risk: medium-low

Summary: “A two-player, asymmetric, tactical combat game in which players take the roles of either a tribe of bears or a towering behemoth of a Guardian. Maul Peak is a stand-alone sequel to the original Skulk Hollow, however all Guardians / Heroes can be pitted against each other. All new guardians work with the original Foxen Heroes & Map, Bears vs old Guardians, Bears vs new Guardians – you name it. Combining the two games also allows up to 4 players to pit 2 guardians vs both bear and foxen heroes for Epic Battles.”

Base Pledge (w/shipping): $60

All-In (w/shipping): $112

Campaign Ends: 4/25

Game Ships: May 2023

Funding Status: Funded; currently at 320% with 19 days to go.

Project: Proxy War

Designer: Vinton Omaleki

Artist: Vinton Omaleki

Publisher: Amoral Games

Genre/Mechanisms: alliances, betting and bluffing, commodity speculation, economic, hexagon grid, hidden victory points, modern warfare, negotiation, political, resource to move, simultaneous action selection, territory building, wargame

Player Count: 2-8

Solo Mode: no

Complexity: medium-light

Risk: HIGH

Summary: “Immerses players in the conflicts of the modern era where angry citizens take up arms against an oppressive government while lurking foreign powers try to beat their rivals through exploiting war for profit. Proxy War is a game of cooperation and competition where players become dictators, rebels, and greedy foreign powers. Rebels and the Government are in a bloody struggle to seize land and secure Resources for the war. Resources are funneled out to the global market through ambitious Foreign Powers, eager to outdo their rivals. And Military Equipment is funneled in for a quick profit or to shore up an ally’s success on the battlefield. Every 2-3 player match has 1 winner. Every 4-8 player match has 2 winners. Different players have different Victory Objectives. Government and Rebel players are trying to eliminate each other and be the last player on the board. Foreign Powers are competing with one another to be the first to gain 10 Victory Points. The game ends when a player meets their Victory Objective, OR if 10 turns have progressed without anyone winning outright.”

Base Pledge (w/shipping): $39

All-In (w/shipping): $39, same as above

Campaign Ends: 5/5

Game Ships: June 2022

Funding Status: Currently at 10% with 28 days to go.

Project: The Quest Kids: Big Bads of Tolk’s Cave (Reprint+Expansion)

Designer: Dustin McMillian (The Quest Kids)

Artist: Apolline Etienne (Living Forest, Muse, Wreck Raiders)

Publisher: Treasure Falls Games (The Quest Kids)

Genre/Mechanisms: children’s game, dice rolling, dungeon crawler, expansion, fantasy, hand management

Player Count: 2-5

Solo Mode: no

Complexity: light

Risk: medium-high

Summary: “The Quest Kids are back in a new expansion for the acclaimed dungeon crawler for young players 5 years old and up. The Quest Kids: Big Bads of Tolk’s Cave introduces a new Quest Kid hero (Flint the Dragon), player specific dice, unique items, story-driven event cards, epic boss battles and more. Big Bads of Tolk’s Cave builds on the fantasy gaming foundation established by The Quest Kids by adding even more dungeon crawler essentials.”

Base Pledge (w/shipping): $44

All-In (w/shipping): $109

Campaign Ends: 4/28

Game Ships: Apr. 2023

Funding Status: Funded; currently at 196% with 22 days to go.

Project: Silicon Valley

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

Artist: Kerri Aitken (Boomerang: Australia, Boomerang: Europe, Tichu)

Publisher: Grail Games (Medici, Stephenson’s Rocket, Yellow & Yangtze)

Genre/Mechanisms: automatic resource growth, catch the leader, economic, income, solo / solitaire game, tile placement, variable set-up

Player Count: 1-4

Solo Mode: yes

Complexity: medium-light

Risk: medium-low

Summary: “Silicon Valley puts players in the shoes of budding entrepreneurs struggling to be the first amongst their competitors to have their startup company valued at $1 billion. Players hire staff for their start-up company to put out new products, with the nature of the products being determined by patterns that you build with polyominoes. By putting these products on the market, you gain income, but other players might copy your product and take some of that money for themselves — refining your ideas to steal market share, as it were. Along the way you need to acquire funding, hire and fire staff, seek investors, expand your HQ, and try not to go bankrupt while working you way toward being the first company to be valued at $1 billion, which nets you the win. Includes a solo mode.”

Base Pledge (w/shipping): $38

All-In (w/shipping): $60

Campaign Ends: 4/26

Game Ships: Mar. 2023

Funding Status: Funded; currently at 116% with 19 days to go.