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

Project: ArchRavels: Magic Socks (on Backerkit)

Designer: Adam McCrimmon (ArchRavels, Borderlands: Tiny Tina’s Robot Tea Party, RobotLab: The Card Game)

Artist: Rochelle Steder (ArchRavels)

Publisher: XYZ Game Labs (ArchRavels, Inoka, RobotLab: The Card Game)

Genre/Mechanisms: economic, expansion, fashion, game trayz, open drafting, pattern building, set collection, sewing / knitting / cloth-making, variable player powers

Player Count: 2-6

Solo Mode: no

Complexity: light

Risk: medium-high

Summary: “Experience the colorful and crafty world of fiber arts with ArchRavels. Play as one of four characters, each with their own unique crafting specialty. Hit the Yarn Bazaar to build up your stash. Follow the patterns to make cuddly bears, warm blankets, and cozy scarves. Along the way you’ll get some unique special requests. Turn in your completed items to master a pattern, complete projects, and score points. When the project list runs out, the crafter with the most points wins.

In ArchRavels: Magic Socks, you can trade items for enchanted footwear that doesn’t just keep your toes warm: it gives you special rule-breaking powers. This expansion also introduces two new character types, the Expert and the Maker, along with everything you need to play them. Take this opportunity to expand your table to welcome 5 or 6 players simultaneously. Don’t worry, the 5-6 player rules keep the game about the same length, despite adding 50% more crafty goodness. Finally, the Magic Socks expansion also includes some all new Special Projects to add a bit more variety to your knitting circle.”

Base Pledge (w/shipping): $23

All-In (w/shipping): $213

Campaign Ends: 10/31

Game Ships: July 2023

Funding Status: Funded; currently at 283% with 26 days to go.

Project: Bad Baby Lich Lords

Designers: Ross Cowman (Fall of Magic), Taylor Dow

Artist: Taylor Dow (Fall of Magic)

Publisher: Heart of the Deernicorn (Fall of Magic)

Genre/Mechanisms: card game, set collection, solo / solitaire game

Player Count: 1-4

Solo Mode: yes

Complexity: light

Risk: HIGH

Summary: “A fast-paced, competitive card game. Your Father, the Immeasurable Lich King, has grown weary of his kingdom, and slain all living things so he may slumber in peace. You and your Bad Baby Lich Lord siblings are terribly bored, with nothing but piles of skeletons to keep you company. To wake Father and win his attention, you must invoke your dark powers, wrangle your unruly minions, squabble with your siblings, and make some noise. Raise the dead– flip cards to raise minions from the dead and set off chain reactions and combos. Score on realms– utilize set collection to score on realms and be the first player to make enough noise to wake the Lich King. Choose from 4 unique factions. Be the first player to reach 5 Noise to win the game.”

Base Pledge (w/shipping): $40

All-In (w/shipping): $80

Campaign Ends: 10/31

Game Ships: Aug. 2023

Funding Status: Currently at 16% with 25 days to go.

Project: Biergarten Second Edition (on Gamefound)

Designer: Andrew Sallwasser (Biergarten)

Artist: Baptiste Michard (The Last Bottle of Rum)

Publisher: Blue Wing Games (Biergarten)

Genre/Mechanisms: beer, enclosure, germany, oktoberfest, solo / solitaire game, territory-building, tile placement

Player Count: 1-5

Solo Mode: yes

Complexity: light

Risk: HIGH

Summary: “Biergarten is essentially a tile placement game, and players compete as up-and-coming restaurant owners expanding their outdoor patios, or biergartens. Each card features either one or two colors, as well as a wall segment on one, two, or three sides of the card. Players earn points for each color match that they make, and having a match between each of the four colors earns a bonus of three points. Watch out for walls — they block the flow of the garden, and color matches can’t be made through a wall. However, if players can entirely enclose their biergarten within a continuous wall, they earn a six point bonus. The first player to fifteen points triggers the victory round, with each player thereafter getting one additional turn to top the winning point value.

Players compete to create the most beautiful Biergartens before Oktoberfest. Each turn, players will draw one tile from the supply, the open market, or randomly from another player’s hand, then play one tile to expand their Biergarten and score points. Players score points by playing tiles that have matching colors, linking up umbrellas, and walling off their Biergarten. The player with the most points by the time Oktoberfest rolls around wins. This second edition of Biergarten introduces all-new art, upgraded components, and new ways to play, including a solo mode. Prost!”

Base Pledge (w/shipping): $34

All-In (w/shipping): $34, same as above

Campaign Ends: 10/31

Game Ships: June 2023

Funding Status: Currently at 32% with 25 days to go.

Project: Civitas 2230

Designer: James Simon Bradley (Civitas Nihilium)

Artist: James Simon Bradley (Civitas Nihilium)

Publisher: James Simon Bradley (Civitas Nihilium)

Genre/Mechanisms: card game, cyberpunk, deck building, dice, dice rolling

Player Count: 1-4

Solo Mode: yes

Complexity: medium-light

Risk: HIGH

Summary: “Control an alternative dystopian future and lay waste to your enemies in this highly thematic political tabletop game for gaming groups that love tactics, political swindling, challenging scenarios, and total story immersion. The year is 2230; this is the 2nd Dimension. Giant City-States known as the Great Civitas have replaced nations. The League of Patriots is the global competition that pits these giant cities against each one another. It is a global race for reputation, population, and world-wide dominance. After the dramatic events of the past five years, a new President reigns over Civitas Nihilum. This legendary secret police officer is looking to rule the crumbling but once-great metropolis with an Ion fist. A ruler with a desire to crush their rivals with their deadly orbital Ion supremacy. Inspired by Akira, Ghost in the Shell, the works of William Gibson and Philip K. Dick, one player starts with an energy monopoly in freefall and the rest of the factions must work together in order to continue the demise, but in turn focus on their own desire to reign supreme.”

Base Pledge (w/shipping): $55

All-In (w/shipping): $171

Campaign Ends: 11/3

Game Ships: Apr. 2023

Funding Status: Funded; currently at 105% with 28 days to go.

Project: Devour

Designer: David Mazure

Artist: George Pineda

Publisher: Brainstorm Games

Genre/Mechanisms: abstract strategy, animals, biology, card game, dice rolling, educational, environmental, events, exploration, grid movement, hand management, memory, nature, once-per-game abilities, scenario / mission / campaign game, science, set collection, solo / solitaire game, take that, trees and forests, variable player powers

Player Count: 1-4

Solo Mode: yes

Complexity: light

Risk: HIGH

Summary: “Devour is 3-games-in-1: Prey, Forest Floor, and Outfoxed. Devour: Prey is a competitive, dueling card game for 2-3 players where you’ll take on the role of one of seven forest-dwelling creatures and feed upon as many of your opponents’ cards as possible. Bout after bout, play until the deck runs out to compete for your very survival. Each turn play one (or more) of the predators from your hand. Be careful though, your opponent may strike a bit of luck when they roll the evasion die to dodge your attack. Try and establish the largest Feed Pile to become the one and only apex predator. Match-up the cards in your hand with their Main Food Source to further grow your Feed Pile. Prepare for weather events and hope that they will help you gain the upper hand. And don’t forget to activate your Animal Avatar’s special ability.

Devour: Forest Floor is a solo adventure. As Red Fox, you’ll explore the Forest Floor by flipping over animal cards and activating their unique abilities. Complete successful hunts to bring dinner back to Vixen and the Kits. The denizens of the Forest Floor will do everything in their power to make your life difficult. Mountain Lion will be monitoring your activities on the edges of the Forest Floor acting as a timer and an additional source of danger. If he catches you in his line-of-sight, you will not be returning back to your den. Uncover animals with unique abilities, use guile to navigate the Forest Floor, remember where your friends are hiding, and complete over 25 unique storyline scenarios in campaign mode; with new scenarios added monthly.

In Devour: Outfoxed, play as Red Fox or Crow in the wake of Aesop’s classic fable Fox and Crow. Crow is angry and blames Red Fox. Play as Crow and hatch schemes to thwart Red Fox’s hunting plans. Play as Red Fox and slyly avoid Crow’s conniving capers. As Crow, fly around the Forest Floor. Use your influence with your critter companions to rearrange the Forest Floor. Make life as difficult as possible for Red Fox; all while avoiding Red Fox’s ally, Bald Eagle. As Red Fox, avoid Crow’s ally, Black Bear, and prevent Crow from foiling your plans of returning to your den victorious after a successful hunt. Utilize all card abilities and enlist the aid of Vixen to protect your most valuable asset. Use innovative strategies, tokens, standees, and special card abilities to outwit and outlast your opponent.”

Base Pledge (w/shipping): $35

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

Campaign Ends: 11/3

Game Ships: Aug. 2023

Funding Status: Currently at 25% with 28 days to go.

Project: Familiars and Foes

Designers: Brandon B, Lindsey Felice, Christopher K Lees, Jordan E Perme

Artists: Brandon B, Jordan E Perme

Publisher: Horrible Adorables

Genre/Mechanisms: adventure, cooperative game, critical hits and failures, dice rolling, fantasy, fighting, interrupts, kill steal, solo / solitaire game, stat check resolution, variable player powers

Player Count: 1-5

Solo Mode: yes

Complexity: light

Risk: HIGH

Summary: “A cooperative game where you play as one of five Elemental Familiars with their own unique abilities – Earth, Wind, Fire, Air, or Aether. The game is played in four waves. Each wave increases in difficulty and reveals a new set of Foes that must be defeated to save a Witch or Wizard. On each turn a player must choose one of three actions to perform – a physical attack, cast a spell, or use an artifact. The success or failure of the action is determined by a dice roll or coin flip. The rest of the players have the opportunity to contribute to the active player’s turn and create combination moves. They can perform team attacks, use special abilities, or cash in rewards to boost the initial attack or benefit Familiar health. Group strategy is key to surviving and beating the game. The Foes don’t just sit idly and take beatings the whole game. They have their own turn each round where they release potentially devastating attacks on the Familiars. The Familiars have a few tricks to defend themselves or they can just hope for a weak attack to survive another round. The game is won when all four waves of Foes have been defeated, all the Witches and Wizards have been rescued, and at least one Familiar is still standing.”

Base Pledge (w/shipping): $63

All-In (w/shipping): $163

Campaign Ends: 11/3

Game Ships: Aug. 2023

Funding Status: Currently at 56% with 28 days to go.

Project: From The Shadows

Designer: Bradford S. Obie

Artist: Jean-Pascal Leclerc Kegle

Publisher: Moonlit Moor Games

Genre/Mechanisms: action / event, deck building, horror, take that

Player Count: 1-4

Solo Mode: yes

Complexity: medium-light

Risk: HIGH

Summary: “A Villain has sent their minions out unto the land to corrupt all living souls leaving the townsfolk of Forest Vale with the choice to either join or die. Players choose one of four heroes to venture out and kill these monsters, bringing back the trophies of their victories as proof for their bounties. Heroes begin the game with a deck of 15 cards, tailored to their abilities. Each player takes a turn performing their chosen action to ultimately gain the most victory points (VP). VP can be acquired by gaining Treasure, using Opportunities, and mainly by killing monsters. There are four classic villains that players may choose to go up against: Master Vampire, Alpha Werewolf, Zombie Horde, and Pharoah Mummy. Each villain’s deck is comprised of their minions to help drive the story. During the game players can loot more cards from monsters they vanquish, building their deck and making their hero stronger. The final Villain is more difficult than his minions and basic monsters. Once a player kills the Villain the game is over and points are tallied.”

Base Pledge (w/shipping): $35

All-In (w/shipping): $125

Campaign Ends: 11/1

Game Ships: June 2023

Funding Status: Currently at 33% with 26 days to go.

Project: Frozen Frontier

Designer: Andrey Kolupaev

Artists: Alexander Gorbunov, Oleg Proshin (Aquatica), Alexey Shirokikh (Trekking the World), Pavel Vophira

Publisher: Cosmodrome Games (Aquatica, Escape Tales: The Awakening, Smartphone Inc.)

Genre/Mechanisms: area majority / influence, city building, economic, end game bonuses, hand management, income, industry / manufacturing, modular board, open drafting, science fiction, solo / solitaire game, space exploration, tableau building, variable set-up, worker placement

Player Count: 1-4

Solo Mode: yes

Complexity: heavy

Risk: medium-high

Summary: “On Janus, the two-faced planet, Helium-3 solar winds scorch one side, frozen seas of methane span the other. Mankind had no choice but to settle on the frozen side in search of vital resources. Hope has been found beneath the ice, but Janus is cold and unforgiving. Corporations work tirelessly on this hellish planet to populate colonies, create industry, populate AI, conduct research, and keep the resources flowing– to keep hope alive.  Frozen Frontier is a highly strategic Eurogame for experienced players about the cosmic future of humanity.”

Base Pledge (w/shipping): $114

All-In (w/shipping): $154

Campaign Ends: 10/25

Game Ships: Aug. 2023

Funding Status: Currently at 63% with 19 days to go.

Project: Harrow County: The Game of Gothic Conflict

Designers: Jay Cormier (Akrotiri, Belfort, In the Hall of the Mountain King, Junk Art), Shad

Artist: Tyler Crook

Publisher: Off the Page Games (Mind MGMT: The Psychic Espionage “Game.”)

Genre/Mechanisms: chit-pull system, cube tower, deduction, hexagon grid, horror, king of the hill, movement points, moving multiple units, multiple maps, network and route building, pick-up and deliver, secret unit deployment, witches

Player Count: 1-3

Solo Mode: yes

Complexity: medium-heavy

Risk: medium-high

Summary: “A witch named Hester was hung, burned and buried under a tree. Some time later the family of Hester come to Harrow County to destroy it, but standing in their way is 18-year old Emmy who mysteriously has powers of her own. In this 1 vs. 1 asymmetric combat game, players can play as one of the Protectors, trying to rescue townsfolk, or as one of the family, trying to destroy Harrow County. You can play as a third faction – the surprise return of Emmy’s twin sister, Kammi. Kammi wants to rule over Harrow County. Players activate mason jars to move their haints (undead creatures) around the hex-based board, as they try to accomplish their missions. Combat is resolved using a never-before-seen cube tower that’s built into the actual box. Finally, a third player can enter the game: Hester, the dead witch buried under the tree. She controls the roots of the tree and using the cube tower, Hester can infect haints on her roots, which causes a snake to be placed into its ear. That player can still control this haint, but now so can Hester. If Hester comes back to life, then she needs to eat the other legend’s to gain all her power back to win. Harrow County: The Game of Gothic Conflict from Off the Page Games is a thematic, tactical, game of territory control and enemy elimination to determine the fate of Harrow County.”

Base Pledge (w/shipping): $80

All-In (w/shipping): $206

Campaign Ends: 10/27

Game Ships: Oct. 2023

Funding Status: Funded; currently at 195% with 21 days to go.

Project: Heists in Hyperspace

Designers: Dexter Low, Huang Weicong

Artists: Alec Brianne Martinez Atillano, Poon Jun Jie, Reianne Lim

Publisher: Time Loop Games

Genre/Mechanisms: card game, modular board, space exploration, turn order: stat based

Player Count: 2-4

Solo Mode: no

Complexity: medium-light

Risk: HIGH

Summary: “As Captain, assemble your treasure-hunting crew and make the right decisions to claim Treasures before your rival Captains do. Each game spans three Expeditions. Each round, players take turns choosing an Encounter card to land on. You begin at the Intergalactic Bazaar, gathering and equipping your crew of Mercenaries, before setting course for the perilous corridors of the Treasure Vault. A Vault Card is selected at the beginning of each game. Each Vault brings its own unique twist to the table, creating interesting ways for players to sabotage, deceive and outmaneuver their opponents. After the third Expedition, the player who has gained the most Renown – through heisting Treasures, hiring notorious mercenaries and fulfilling their Ambitions – is the most accomplished Captain, and is declared the winner.”

Base Pledge (w/shipping): $51

All-In (w/shipping): $70

Campaign Ends: 11/3

Game Ships: Apr. 2023

Funding Status: Currently at 33% with 29 days to go.

Project: Lock ‘em Up!

Designer: Scott Jenkins (Battletech Compendium: The Rules of Warfare)

Artist: Jennifer Perry

Publisher: Frontier X Studio

Genre/Mechanisms: card game, card play conflict resolution, hand management, humor, player elimination, political

Player Count: 4-6

Solo Mode: no

Complexity: light

Risk: HIGH

Summary: “A game of political dirty tricks where you have to put your opponents in jail before they do it to you. The winner is the last player with a character not in jail. The game consists of a total of three decks worth of cards split into two groups: the Character Cards, the people you’re trying to keep out of jail; and the Action Cards which give you power and influence to make strategic moves in the game. Players choose which group of characters they want to control — the White House, the Military, Law & Order, Progressives, Conservatives, or Lobbyists. Players then take turns drawing from the Action Cards deck, using those cards to indict or save characters. When the game board resembling a courtroom is full, the convictions start. Turn by turn, the Characters on the docket are sent to a jail cell, and out of the game.”

Base Pledge: $30 + shipping (with no estimates provided)

All-In: $35 + shipping (with no estimates provided)

Campaign Ends: 11/3

Game Ships: Apr. 2023

Funding Status: Currently at 5% with 28 days to go.

Project: Lucia

Designer: Kristian Karlberg (Goetia: Nine Kings of Solomon)

Artist: Kristian Karlberg

Publisher: Demonic Games

Genre/Mechanisms: abstract strategy, card game, connections, print & play

Player Count: 1-6

Solo Mode: yes

Complexity: light

Risk: medium-high

Summary: “A solo or co-op solitaire card game based on the Scandinavian tradition Lucia that is celebrated every year on the 13th of December. In Lucia, the players are trying to rearrange a train of Lussekids in the traditional order: Lucia in front and Starkids in the back. But all of the kids candles have gone out. So you must use the Tomtens to start spreading the fires to all of the kids. Once you have all the kids rearranged properly whit all of the candles lit – you win the game!”

Base Pledge (w/shipping): $19

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

Campaign Ends: 10/18

Game Ships: Dec. 2022

Funding Status: Funded; currently at 227% with 12 days to go.

Project: New Avernus (on Backerkit)

Designers: Seven Dane Asmund, Asher Stuhlman (Tomb Trader)

Artist: Emma Clinton

Publisher: Publishing Goblin

Genre/Mechanisms: events, city building, solo / solitaire game, variable player powers

Player Count: 1-4

Solo Mode: yes

Complexity: medium-light

Risk: HIGH

Summary: “Over 7-10 turns of gameplay, players take up one of the four unique factions with their own starting resources, worker count, and abilities, and seek to clear the ruins of the previous cities to gain building blueprints, much needed resources, and finally to build, and fortify or beautify, your city. At the end of each turn, an Occurrence card offers aid, resources, or harrowing events on the way to revealing the Meteor card, which is somewhere in the bottom 4 cards of the Occurrence deck. When it is revealed, play stops and the meteor strikes. The meteor strikes a series of random spaces on each player’s board, and when it’s finally over, all surviving structures and points are counted up and a winner is decided.”

Base Pledge (w/shipping): $32

All-In (w/shipping): $91

Campaign Ends: 11/3

Game Ships: Oct. 2023

Funding Status: Funded; currently at 173% with 29 days to go.

Project: Nexus: Arena Combat System

Designers: Jason Goike, J. Scott Rumptz

Artists: Helge C. Balzer (The Ninth World: A Skillbuilding Game for Numenara, Stargrave: Science Fiction Wargames in the Ravaged Galaxy), Danny Cruz, Dongjun Lu (Oathsworn: Into the Deepwood), Chenthooran Nambiarooran (True Messiah), Stephen Oakley, Michael Rechlin (Kings of War), Lorenz Hideyoshi Ruwwe (Eragra: The Game of Eras and the First Step), Pedro Sena (Deep Madness)

Publisher: D-Verse Publishing

Genre/Mechanisms: action points, betting and bluffing, dice rolling, fighting, grid movement, mature / adult, miniatures, paper-and-pencil, role playing, science fiction, variable player powers

Player Count: 2-4

Solo Mode: no

Complexity: medium-light

Risk: HIGH

Summary: “A story-driven arena combat game that takes place on poorly maintained space barges. Packed with rabid and bloodthirsty fans, these barges feature an array of deadly hazards that are designed to indiscriminately kill or injure both combatants. These hazards range from floor saws that tear across the arena floors to pits that are home to monstrosities just looking for something to eat. Full of beautifully illustrated and amusingly inappropriate cards and lore, each match leaves you with a story to tell and laughs to be had by all. NEXUS puts classic tabletop gaming tools like dice, pen, and paper to good use to pit genetically engineered champions against one another in visceral combat. The skirmish mode has just the right amount of depth, complexity, and self-generating narrative to make each match exhilarating. Dive even deeper with RPG legacy features and build your wealth and influence allowing for countless upgrades and bribes.”

Base Pledge (w/shipping): $150

All-In (w/shipping): $150, same as above

Campaign Ends: 10/14

Game Ships: Dec. 2022

Funding Status: Funded; currently at 815% with 8 days to go.

Project: Outrun the Bear

Designer: Samuel Barmettler

Artist: Andrea Alemanno (Ascended, Crystal Palace)

Publisher: Around the Stump Games

Genre/Mechanisms: area movement, bears, chaining, children’s game, hand management, hexagon grid, modular board, movement points, party game, player elimination, prisoner’s dilemma, race, take that

Player Count: 2-6

Solo Mode: no

Complexity: light

Risk: HIGH

Summary: “Sometimes you don’t have to Outrun the Bear… you just have to outrun your friends. In Outrun the Bear you’ll play against up to five friends as you manage your cards in the race for your lives. Start at the campsite, and use action, reaction, and equipment cards to make it all the way to the parking lot and the safety of the car (while helping or sabotaging your friends). Choose the cards you play carefully cause at the end of the round the Bear will run after player based on the cards that were played. The game ends when all runners have either made it to the parking lot or have been eaten by the bear. So try to keep at least one friend between you and the bear at all times, and maybe you will manage to Outrun the Bear.”

Base Pledge (w/shipping): $49

All-In (w/shipping): $59

Campaign Ends: 11/3

Game Ships: Oct. 2023

Funding Status: Currently at 91% with 28 days to go.

Project: Pocket Book Adventures

Designer: David David

Artists: not credited

Publisher: Grumpy Spider Games

Genre/Mechanisms: action / dexterity, adventure, book, grid movement, paper-and-pencil, role playing, solo / solitaire game

Player Count: 1

Solo Mode: yes

Complexity: light

Risk: medium-high

Summary: “A solo-only, minimalist dungeon crawler that’s built for travel. Explore dozens of maps, encounter unique monsters, level up, grab loot, and do it all from a book that fits comfortably in your pocket or purse. Best of all, you can play this entire game with nothing but the gamebook and a pencil. Rather than using dice or cards to generate randomness, Pocket Book Adventures introduces a simple, dexterity-based system that balances skill and luck for truly engaging gameplay. With its compact size, minimal components, and built-in ability to save your progress, Pocket Book Adventures is the perfect game for playing on the go!”

Base Pledge (w/shipping): $5

All-In (w/shipping): $12

Campaign Ends: 10/27

Game Ships: Jan. 2023

Funding Status: Funded; currently at 132% with 21 days to go.

Project: Redwood

Designer: Christophe Raimbault (Colt Express, Colt Super Express, Sandwich)

Artist: Edu Valls (Bitoku, Block and Key, Tiny Turbo Cars)

Publisher: Sit Down! (Bad Bones, Ekö, Magic Maze)

Genre/Mechanisms: animals, environmental, exploration, movement template, nature, photograpy, set collection

Player Count: 1-4

Solo Mode: yes

Complexity: medium-light

Risk: low

Summary: “A game of movement estimations and angle of view where players have to take pictures of wild animals to compose the most beautiful panorama. During their turn, each player will have to choose between different movements and their angle of view (materialized by real plastic elements) to catch the animals in the picture (without disturbing them). Collecting animals and decorative elements earn victory points. During the game, new conditions for earning points will appear. The game ends after 5 turns and players will be rewarded if they meet certain conditions to earn more points.”

Base Pledge (w/shipping): $60

All-In (w/shipping): $170

Campaign Ends: 10/26

Game Ships: July 2023

Funding Status: Funded: currently at 204% with 20 days to go.

Project: Rising Waters

Designers: Scout Blum

Artists: Makiyah Alexander, Lamaro Smith (Jinja, Libertalia: Winds of Galecrest, Murder on the Cosmic Express)

Publisher: Central Michigan University Press

Genre/Mechanisms: african americans, area majority / influence, cooperative game, environmental, interwar period, mississippi, political, set collection, survival, variable player powers

Player Count: 2-4

Solo Mode: no

Complexity: medium-light

Risk: HIGH

Summary: “It’s spring 1927, and while Americans dance the Charleston and drink bootlegged liquor, the Mississippi Delta faces a flood of epic proportions. If battered river levees collapse, everything important to you will be washed away. Rising Waters is a co-operative board game built around area control, set collection, and variable player power mechanisms in which players are members of the African American community confronting two powerful and arbitrary forces: nature and the racism of white landowners. Resist by drawing on hidden strengths like your family, church, music, plots of land, and education. Manage the rising waters to stay alive. During the flood, work together to keep your family and neighbors alive by minimizing losses during the flood. Players must also negotiate the arbitrary demands of white landowners. If players keep below the maximum level of losses for a certain number of rounds, they’ve survived the worst of the flood and win the game.”

Base Pledge (w/shipping): $72

All-In (w/shipping): $87

Campaign Ends: 11/3

Game Ships: Apr. 2023

Funding Status: Currently at 69% with 28 days to go.

Project: Self Careless

Designer: Jason Anarchy (Drinking Quest, Drinking Quest; Journey Into Drought, Newfoundland Jam)

Artist: Cassandra Calin

Publisher: Jason Anarchy Games (Drinking Quest, Drinking Quest; Journey Into Drought, Newfoundland Jam)

Genre/Mechanisms: hand management, solo / solitaire game, tile placement

Player Count: 1

Solo Mode: yes

Complexity: light

Risk: medium-high

Summary: “Self Careless plays as a 12 turn solo game where players are trying to organize their day between chores and self care. Start the game with an unorganized mess of cards, win the game by putting Care / Chore cards in sequence from noon to 11:00 and balancing the number of each card. You win if you can balance your day. On your turn… you can draw 2 Care / Chore cards. Or if you don’t like either of those two cards, you can move the Coffee Token to an adjacent card to activate a Coffee Power. But you also have to watch out for your cat, it wants to knock over your Coffee.”

Base Pledge (w/shipping): $25

All-In (w/shipping): $57

Campaign Ends: 11/3

Game Ships: July 2023

Funding Status: Funded; currently at 328% with 28 days to go.

Project: Snakes of Wrath

Designer: Dan Cassaro

Artist: Kelly Thorn

Publisher: Weast Coast

Genre/Mechanisms: tile placement

Player Count: 2-4

Solo Mode: no

Complexity: light

Risk: HIGH

Summary: “Two players battle for dominance in a tangled, hedonistic ouroboros. The Snakes of Wrath 1st Edition Game contains 90 molded, milk-polymer tiles, deluxe wooden privacy racks, a custom canvas snake sack, and handy rules of play. Games last around 15-20 minutes, as two players or teams compete against each other to build, heal, stab, and steal the largest army of snakes. Lay your tiles strategically, flay your enemies, close your snakes, and emerge victorious. Plan ahead, guess your opponent’s moves, and deploy your hand carefully. Two-sided tiles mean the tides can change at any moment with a sinister steal or a well-laid trap.”

Base Pledge (w/free shipping): $50

All-In (w/free shipping): $125

Campaign Ends: 11/3

Game Ships: May 2023

Funding Status: Funded; currently at 572% with 28 days to go.

Project: Squadron Dice

Designer: Charlie Sinning

Artist: Antonis Karidis (Holland ’44: Operation Market-Garden, Skies Above the Reich, Wing Leader: Victories 1940-1942)

Publisher: Flatworks Gaming (Dwarven Smithy)

Genre/Mechanisms: aviation / flight, dice, dice rolling, highest-lowest scoring, player elimination, push your luck, take that, world war I

Player Count: 2-4

Solo Mode: no

Complexity: light

Risk: medium-high

Summary: “Take to the sky commanding a squadron of bi-planes in this exciting, fast-paced dice game. Sharpen your aim as your competitors dodge your attack. Call up your flying Aces to take down your opponent’s planes and claim victory. There are 2 ways to play Squadron Dice. Dog Fight – a fast-moving dice game where all players roll dice to gain ‘position’ over other players. The highest positioned player rolls the Hit dice and the lowest positioned player rolls the Evade dice. Remove Rookie die and add in an Aces Die as you fail Evade rolls, then everyone starts the round over. Use Decision dice to alter your hits, evades, and number of bi-planes. Continue playing until all of your opponents are eliminated from the game and you remain. Bombing Raid – in this game, players roll all eight of their dice (Rookie and Aces Dice together). Players have to choose which dice to keep and which dice to re-roll again. After the second roll, the player with the greatest number of bi-plane wins that turn and retires one Aces Die then play starts again. Aces Dice are removed from play to keep score. The first player to retire all of their Aces wins the game.”

Base Pledge (w/shipping): $30

All-In (w/shipping): $30, same as above

Campaign Ends: 10/27

Game Ships: May 2023

Funding Status: Currently at 52% with 21 days to go.

Project: The Stifling Dark

Designers: Jeremy Geenen, Ethan Janssen, Matt Rayford

Artist: Cory Freeman

Publisher: Sophisticated Cerberus Games

Genre/Mechanisms: deduction, hidden movement, horror, horror movies, line of sight, memory, negotiation, one versus many, pick-up and deliver, point to point movement, team-based game, trading, variable player powers

Player Count: 2-5

Solo Mode: no

Complexity: medium-heavy

Risk: HIGH

Summary: “A one-vs-many hidden-movement horror board game where one player takes the role of the adversary, whose goal is to prevent the other players (the investigators) from escaping through a variety of unique actions. As an investigator, your only goals are to survive and escape. Investigators move around the board in a point-to-point fashion using their base movement speed. They may sprint to move more quickly, but they need to keep an eye on their stamina so they don’t become exhausted. Additionally, investigators can pick up and use items, lock and unlock doors, or use their flashlights to try and find the adversary. Meanwhile, the adversary is secretly moving around the board, trying to stop the investigators from escaping. There are a variety of investigators to choose from, each with their own special abilities. The adversary also has multiple attacks and abilities that change how you play the game. Will you fix the car and drive out, or will you override the gate and try to sneak out? The investigators will need to decide if they want to stick together to watch each other’s backs, or split up to race towards the exit. Either way, they must move quickly – the longer the game takes, the more chances the adversary has to stop them. The game ends when either all of the investigators escape (meaning the investigators won) or the adversary achieves their win condition (which is different for each adversary).”

Base Pledge (w/shipping): $70

All-In (w/shipping): $90

Campaign Ends: 11/3

Game Ships: Nov. 2024

Funding Status: Funded; currently at 294% with 28 days to go.

Project: Ulandi Wars

Designer: John Anthony Mills

Artists: Ben Hallifax, Jo Masson

Publisher: Peel Tower Games

Genre/Mechanisms: card game, command cards, deck construction, dice rolling, fighting, science fiction, trading

Player Count: 2-4

Solo Mode: no

Complexity: medium-light

Risk: HIGH

Summary: “A living card game where players battle their rivals in the amazing sci-fi universe of Ulandi. Players can design their own battle decks or simply play one of the four faction decks that come in our core box set. The object of our core box set game is to destroy your opponent’s hero card, however it’s not that easy. Deploy more cards to protect your hero, arm them with mighty weapons, trick your opponents with special upgrade event cards and become the master of the combat zone. Ulandi Wars is expandable but in a unique way. Not only will we be expanding the game with additional weapon card boosters, living card boosters, and new faction decks but players can change the narrative of the game by changing the event card deck.”

Base Pledge (w/shipping): $55

All-In (w/shipping): $78

Campaign Ends: 11/4

Game Ships: May 2023

Funding Status: Currently at 38% with 29 days to go.

Project: War of Civilizations

Designers: Taruna Maglani, Aditya Prasad

Artists: Jivtej Anand, Nilesh Gadre, Nishita Rao, Rohad Vinod

Publisher: Bluencore

Genre/Mechanisms: area movement, anthropomorphic animals, climate change, fantasy, network and route building, player elimination, science fiction, territory building, turn order: progressive, wargame, worker placement

Player Count: 3-6

Solo Mode: yes

Complexity: medium-light

Risk: HIGH

Summary: “Welcome to earth 2050. Climate change has melted the polar ice caps much faster than expected. Most of the earth is now underwater with continents shrinking to the size of islands. Helium-rich water is now found on earth because of global warming and increased pressure in the atmosphere such as on other planets. A new energy source called the Ocean Crystal has been discovered in helium-rich waters. Wars have been fought for this energy-dense resource that powers everything. Trees have adapted and absorbed aluminum from the earth’s crust to survive the wildly unpredictable climate and aluminum wood are much in demand to build war machines. You have heard of the Island of Myth which is mentioned in legends as containing enough resources to last forever. Your ambition is to find and conquer the Island of Myth and crush your rivals once and for all. In their turn, players move ships and collect resources from locations around the map with the aim of conquering the island of Myth. After the first player conquers the island of Myth, there will be 3 more turns. The winner is the clan holding the Island of Myth token at the end of the 3rd turn. If no one is left on the Island of Myth, then whoever owns the most islands across the globe wins.”

Base Pledge (w/shipping): $94

All-In (w/shipping): $94, same as above

Campaign Ends: 11/3

Game Ships: Mar. 2023

Funding Status: Currently at 23% with 28 days to go.

Project: We’re Sinking

Designer: Joseph Frederick

Artist: Roman Novikov

Publisher: Ludamus Games

Genre/Mechanisms: betting and bluffing, bluffing, hand management, hot potato, nautical, order counters, party game, pirates, prisoner’s dilemma, push your luck, semi-cooperative game, simultaneous action selection, traitor game

Player Count: 3-6

Solo Mode: no

Complexity: light

Risk: HIGH

Summary: “Players take on the roles of pirates on a ship under siege. As the ship takes damage, the crew must work together to repair the ship and defeat one of the threats (Kraken, Skeleton Pirates, Megaladon, and Sirens) while keeping the ship from sinking. The game ends when you manage to take out the threat. You win if you have the largest total score of treasure. If the ship sinks before taking out the threat, you win by having the fewest cards in your hand so that you’re light enough to escape on the lifeboat. Each turn players will choose one of 4 actions to take, (Bucket, Patch, Fire, or Plunder). Bucket decreases the current water level. Patch fixes breaches and busted cannons. Fire fires cannons at the enemy. And Plunder steals revealed loot cards. Players discuss and possibly bluff about what actions they should take. Then players secretly choose their actions on hidden compass dials and place them face-down. Once all dials have been placed, players reveal dials simultaneously. A pirate’s life is all about the treasure, or surviving to tell the tale. Turn yourself into a legend by defeating the enemy, saving the ship, and having the most valuable loot in your hand. But if the ship sinks first, be the pirate who survived to tell the tale by having the fewest cards in your hand so you can be light enough to flee on the lifeboat. Players constantly make tough decisions as they change their strategies based on how close they think the ship is to sinking, or how trustworthy their fellow mates ar(rrr)e.”

Base Pledge (w/shipping): $79

All-In (w/shipping): $95

Campaign Ends: 10/30

Game Ships: Aug. 2023

Funding Status: Currently at 60% with 24 days to go.