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

Project: Heroes of Normandie: Battle for Caen

Designers: Yann and Clem (Heroes of Normandie, Warhammer 40,000: Heroes of Black Reach, Shadows Over Normandie: Achtung! Cthulhu)

Artists: Eric Belisle (Lords of Waterdeep, Tyrants of the Underdark), Ruben Megido (Heroes of Normandie: Big Red Edition)

Publisher: Devil Pig Games (Heroes of Normandie, Warhammer 40,000: Heroes of Black Reach, Shadows Over Normandie: Achtung! Cthulhu)

Genre/Mechanisms: 2 player only games, dice rolling, grid movement, variable player powers, wargame, world war II

Player Count: 2

Solo Mode: no

Complexity: heavy

Risk: medium-high

Summary: “Heroes of Normandie is a fast-paced WW2 strategy war game inspired by Hollywood war movies. A tactical scale board-game opposing two players and two armies, with the Germans on one side and the Americans on the other. Players use order tokens to determine initiative and to bluff. While a single six-sided die determines combat, action cards are played to spice things up. Secretly plan your attacks and outwit your opponent. Block the opposing strategy and surprise the enemies. Deploy your units and don’t turn back. The Battle for Caen expansion includes Operations Epsom, Goodwood, and Charnwood, which together create the biggest expansion ever produced for Heroes of Normandie. No less than 9 punchboards (containing new units, 7 new characters, modular buildings), 6 terrain boards, 7 scenarios (all compatible with the Solo mode), as well as the action cards and order tokens for the Commonwealth. This expansion is also an opportunity to introduce a dangerous new arena of urban fighting on the Western Front. Originally developed in Heroes of Stalingrad, this now includes snipers in the ruins, where every street can hide an ambush, and where every house is a potential trap.”

Base Pledge (w/shipping): $75

All-In (w/shipping): $131

Campaign Ends: 6/6

Game Ships: Feb. 2023

Funding Status: Funded; currently at 118% with 17 days to go.

Project: Strike HQ

Designer: Thomas Pike (Escape the Dark Castle, Escape the Dark Sector)

Artist: Neil Roberts (Beyond the Gates of Antares: The Dice Game, Judge Dredd Miniatures Game)

Publisher: Themeborne (Escape the Dark Castle, Escape the Dark Sector)

Genre/Mechanisms: 2 player only games, area movement, card game, deck construction, programmed movement, secret unit deployment, simultaneous action selection, world war II

Player Count: 2

Solo Mode: no

Complexity: medium-light

Risk: HIGH

Summary: “A two-player, head-to-head, expandable battle card game that brings the classic thrill of real-time strategy (RTS) video games to the tabletop. Starting with only a Headquarters and a handful of units, you play commanders of opposing factions and will use an innovative blend of simultaneous action programming and hidden information mechanics to construct your bases, deploy more units, and launch a strike against the enemy HQ. You win by either destroying your opponent’s HQ through an overwhelming offensive or by sitting back and storing up enough resources to launch a game-ending Atomic Strike. Gameplay is inspired by classic PC RTS video games of the 1990s like Command & Conquer: Red Alert, and more recently Company of Heroes.”

Base Pledge (w/shipping): $48

All-In (w/shipping): $71

Campaign Ends: 6/16

Game Ships: May 2023

Funding Status: Currently at 16% with 28 days to go.