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

Project: Brothers at War

Designer: Christopher Moeller (Napoleon’s Eagles: Storm in the East – The Battles of Borozino and Leipzig)

Artist: Christopher Moeller (Betrayal at House on the Hill, Magic: The Gathering, Steam)

Publisher: Compass Games (Crusade and Revolution: The Spanish Civil War, 1936-1939; Enemy Action: Ardennes; The Russian Campaign)

Genre/Mechanisms: 2 player only games, american civil war, campaign / battle card driven, chit-pull system, dice rolling, hexagon grid, solo / solitaire game, wargame

Player Count: 1-2

Solo Mode: yes

Complexity: light

Risk: medium-low

Summary: “A quick-playing, tactical wargame exploring civil war brigade command. Units are regiments, batteries and companies of skirmishers. This is a quadrigame or set of four games, each featuring a full-size, 22×34″ game map and covering battles from 1862: Antietam, 5am-9am, September 17th; South Mountain, 9am-6pm, September 14th; Mill Springs, 7am-12pm, January 17th; and Bloody Valverde, 10am-5pm, February 21st. Command rules are simple and abstracted. There are no combat results tables. Combat and all checks are resolved using six-sided dice, in which results of 5-6 mark success, and 1-4 failure. Brigades activate via chit pull, with their constituent units moving and fighting individually. Stacking is limited to two units per hex. Massive 1.5” hexes allow two 3/4” units to fit side by side- no information is obscured. Distinctions are made between formed and unformed infantry, deployed and limbered artillery, mounted and dismounted cavalry. Unit facing is not an element of play. Instead, unit deployment in adjacent hexes can trigger pass-through fire, which simulates flanking fire, or fire on compressed lines (both dangerous situations for civil war units). Battle Cards introduce an element of uncertainty and excitement to play. Unique off-map displays track every brigade’s reserves and casualties. Once a unit’s reserves are used up, it becomes exhausted and liable to break.”

Base Pledge (w/shipping): $93

All-In (w/shipping): $124

Campaign Ends: 7/25

Game Ships: Sep. 2022

Funding Status: Funded; currently at 300% with 9 days to go.

Project: Dead Throne Second Edition

Designers: Shayan Nejad (Dead Throne: World of Veles – Deluxe Edition), Keeyan Nejad (Dead Throne: World of Veles – Deluxe Edition), Kaveh Nejad (Dead Throne: World of Veles – Deluxe Edition)

Artists: Paul Mudie (Dead Throne: World of Veles – Deluxe Edition), Augustinas Raginskis (Cadaver, Carcosa, Poison)

Publishers: SharkeeGames (Dead Throne: World of Veles – Deluxe Edition)

Genre/Mechanisms: action queue, adventure, cooperative game, dice, dice rolling, exploration, fantasy, fighting, hexagon grid, medieval, modular board, player elimination, role playing, tile placement

Player Count: 1-7

Solo Mode: yes

Complexity: medium-heavy

Risk: HIGH

Summary: “An open world, adventure, strategy game based in the World of Veles. 2,400 years worth of history that can be discovered through gameplay and in more detail on our website. After the battle of the Iron Gates against the Dark Mages, peace existed in our lands. But then Agrimor, a fire breathing dragon entered Lirennor and killed our king. The king’s brother, an evil mage, tried to take power but he failed. He now seeks the Medallion Pieces from the heroes to seize the throne. But the heroes each require what Saladar, the kings brother has. Only one can be crowned the new ruler of Lirennor. 1-7 players with competitive, solo and Co-Op modes to play. Three ways of winning as well as the ability to simply roam around killing creatures, completing side quests and interacting with the game in the open world setting. Select your base character and build them up as you go along by collecting, buying and winning weapons, items, equipment and so on. Equip these items and become more powerful. Use magical scrolls to manipulate the map itself. Twist the large hexagonal tiles around. Teleport across the land, conjure weapons, summon creatures, mitigate your opponents’ attacks, enchant your items and so on. There are 150 scrolls in the game, so there’s always something to do. The Box itself has been designed with fluidity in mind. Everything is organized as soon as you open the box. There are 500+ cards in the game all within their own tuck boxes. When playing players will use the awesome card trays designed to manage your inventory as you progress through the game and containing your cards to an easy to visualize battle board. And by far the most unique of all the features is the mechanical market located within the lid itself. Future expansion packs are already in mind and the box has already taken care of that. We have included extra room to store whatever is needed now and in the future. Dead Throne is a game that is never the same. With 10 large double-sided tiles, multiple paths to victory, loads of options and decisions with every turn, and an in-depth world to discover, you’ll never say it’s predictable.”

Base Pledge (w/shipping): $75

All-In (w/shipping): $138

Campaign Ends: 8/10

Game Ships: Jan. 2023

Funding Status: Currently at 60% with 25 days to go.

Project: Planting Evidence

Designers: James Staley, Adam Staley

Artist: not credited

Publisher: Tin Robot Games

Genre/Mechanisms: card game, set collection

Player Count: 2-4

Solo Mode: no

Complexity: light

Risk: HIGH

Summary: “A card game that pits you against your criminal friends. Each round, players must choose between planting incriminating evidence on their fellow criminals or using similar evidence to build up their alibis. Build sets of cards to assemble fingerprints from partials, reconstruct DNA, build a car license plate profile, or submit weapons for review. Be careful not to trigger the end of the game unless you have the least evidence against you, or you lose.”

Base Pledge (w/shipping): $43

All-In (w/shipping): $43, same as above

Campaign Ends: 8/3

Game Ships: Aug. 2022

Funding Status: Funded; currently at 118% with 18 days to go.

Project: Temple of Horrors (on Gamefound)

Designer: Michele Quondam (Medioevo Universale, Río de la Plata, Romolo o Remo?)

Artists: Mirko Failoni (Tides of Madness, Virus), Arianna Gelloni

Publisher: Geochix.it (CO2, CO2: Second Chance, De Vulgari Eloquentia)

Genre/Mechanisms: adventures, cooperative game, dungeon crawler, exploration, fantasy, fighting, grid movement, miniatures, modular board, movement points, semi-cooperative game, territory building, variable player powers

Player Count: 1-4

Solo Mode: yes

Complexity: heavy

Risk: medium-high

Summary: “Players create the dungeon map directly, choosing which tile place from their available display when their Hero explores a new area. By creating large Rooms of the same type, players will increase their chances to find clues about the Artifact position. Placing or not, particular game Rooms, from Library to Trap Rooms, or Treasure, Healing, Monster Rooms, will determine their chance of survival. Activating the Tombs Rooms, players will be able to fight mighty Bosses and find Clues. Combining Clues, they will discover the Artefact position, and if they will able to take it and escape from the Temple in time, they will win. After entering the Temple, the Entrance collapses. So players must find a secondary exit. Different in each game, an ancient Map will reveal the path they have to take to find it. The game can last up to 14 rounds. In every round, the opponents will be stronger and more challenging to win. You can play the game also in PvP mode. In this case, one or more hidden players will try secretly to win alone, distract the rest of the party on a false path, and grab the Artifact. This kind of game adds a lot of RPG aspects to the game. Each Hero has their powers and abilities and can improve them during the game, gaining experience points, choosing how– by this way, each Hero is different in every game. Magic Items, potions, weapons will improve and differentiate each character more. The Lost Artifact is one of 100 different Adventures of the game. Each Adventure is playable multiple times by players, and each play will always be different.”

Base Pledge (w/shipping): $125

All-In (w/shipping): $125, same as above

Campaign Ends: 7/25

Game Ships: Oct. 2023

Funding Status: Currently at 29% with 9 days to go.