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

Project: 3KSES (on Gamefound)

Designer: Tomáš Grman

Artist: Marcela Koko

Publisher: Bohemiaris Studio

Genre/Mechanisms: educational, memory, semi-cooperative game, team-based game

Player Count: 2-6

Solo Mode: no

Complexity: light

Risk: HIGH

Summary: “Three easy-to-learn games in one box. Find a Match – 66 play chips are placed on table in 11 groups, 6 pieces of chips in each group. Players are trying to find 2 pictures of the same building to get a match, in the end of the game the winner with more pairs wins the game. Joints – 66 play chips are distributed to players; each player receives the same number of chips and stacks them in a column in front of them. The shaped cutout symbols on the chips are used in gameplay. The first player places the first chip from their stack, and the next player lays one of their chips to connect the same symbol with one of the chips on the table, making a joint between the two connected chips. For each joint made the player plays one new chip. The trick is to get a combination of chips near each other to build 2 or 3 joints in one time. Powerchips are special; they don’t need to be played when on top of stack, but can be saved for later use and the player then plays a normal chip. Powerchips can rotate chips to make a compatible shape for connection. Players or teams who place all the chips in their stacks first are declared the winners. Tamitady – 66 play chips are mixed and each player gets 1 Powerchip and any 6 normal chips. The shaped cutout symbols on the chips are again used in gameplay, which progresses in much the same way as with Joints. But the winner is the player or team whose chip side (picture-side-up or picture-side-down) has the majority in the central tableau at the end of the game.”

Base Pledge (w/shipping): $83

All-In (w/shipping): $95

Campaign Ends: 11/30

Game Ships: June 2023

Funding Status: Currently at 8% with 28 days to go.

Project: The Adventures of Tennessee James – The Board Game

Designer: Matthew Killeen

Artist: Jackson Gee

Publisher: Variable Outcomes

Genre/Mechanisms: adventure, dungeon crawler, push your luck

Player Count: 1-4

Solo Mode: yes

Complexity: light

Risk: HIGH

Summary: “Players begin the game with an Archaeologist of their choice and 3 Team Members. Players can spend up to 5 Actions per turn, and can either move 1 space or draw 1 card per Action. Players can repeat Actions during their turn and may also discard cards for extra Movement Actions. Each temple contains an entrance and 24 spaces. Each space contains a face-down tile which could either be a treasure or a trap. If a player finds treasure, they keep it as a reward. If a player finds a trap, they must play cards to defeat it. If the trap is not defeated, the player loses a Team Member, which reduces how many Actions they can perform per turn. Make sure that you have enough cards to defeat traps because other players can play cards that make traps more difficult to defeat. If a player runs out of Team Members, and can’t defeat a trap, they lose the game. Find the most treasure and escape the temple to win, but don’t stay too long or the temple will become your tomb.”

Base Pledge (w/shipping): $55

All-In (w/shipping): $92

Campaign Ends: 11/30

Game Ships: Sep. 2023

Funding Status: Currently at 26% with 28 days to go.

Project: Castles of Mad King Ludwig: Renovations & 2nd Edition

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

Artist: Agnieszka Dabrowiecka (Between Two Castles of Mad King Ludwig, Castles of Mad King Ludwig, Castles of Mad King Ludwig: Collector’s Edition)

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

Genre/Mechanisms: auction: dutch, end game bonuses, expansion, hidden victory points, i cut you choose, pattern building, post-napoleonic, puzzle, set collection, tile placement, turn order: progressive

Player Count: 1-5

Solo Mode: yes

Complexity: medium-heavy

Risk: low

Summary: “Each player starts with a simple foyer. One player takes on the role of the Master Builder, and that player sets prices for a set of rooms that can be purchased by the other players, with him getting to pick from the leftovers after the other players have paid him for their rooms. When a room is added to a castle, the player who built it gains castle points based on the size and type of room constructed, as well as bonus points based on the location of the room. When a room is completed, with all entranceways leading to other rooms in the castle, the player receives one of seven special rewards. After each purchasing round, a new player becomes the Master Builder who sets prices for a new set of rooms. After several rounds, the game ends, then additional points are awarded for achieving bonus goals, having the most popular rooms, and being the most responsive to the King’s demands, which change each game. Whoever ends up with the most castle points wins.

Castles of Mad King Ludwig: Renovations features special double room type tiles that can be used to renovate your castle while you build it. Get double the completion rewards and fulfill favors twice as fast with a wide variety of renovations in every size.”

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

All-In: $110 + shipping (with no shipping estimates provided)

Campaign Ends: 11/30

Game Ships: Nov. 2023

Funding Status: Funded; currently at 2,354% with 27 days to go.

Project: Chicken!

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

Artists: Carpenter Collective

Publisher: Keymaster Games (Campy Creatures, Caper: Europe, Parks)

Genre/Mechanisms: chickens, dice, dice rolling, farmer, farming, foxes, party game, push your luck

Player Count: 2-8

Solo Mode: no

Complexity: light

Risk: medium-low

Summary: “Pop open the tube and start chucking dice with family and friends. In Chicken!, players will be rolling dice each turn—pressing their luck to score more Chickens while avoiding those foxes. On a turn, a player must choose to roll all the dice passed to them or Chicken Out to roll fewer dice. Players will score points from the Chickens they roll, but they will bust (and score no points) if 3 or more foxes appear across their dice. For each Egg symbol rolled, a die is hatched from the Coop and then the active player will choose to reroll all of their blanks, eggs, and newly hatched dice, or they may score their points and pass the dice to the next player. If a player chooses to Chicken Out at the start of their turn, they lose a point for being a chicken, but they get to place all Yellow and Orange dice back into the Coop. The first player to reach 25 Points from their Chickens wins the game.”

Base Pledge (w/shipping): $24

All-In (w/shipping): $35

Campaign Ends: 11/17

Game Ships: June 2023

Funding Status: Funded; currently at 340% with 15 days to go.

Project: Explosion in the Laboratory (on Backerkit)

Designer: Corey Andalora

Artists: Jay Bell, Katy Grierson (Animal Kingdoms, Gift of Tulips, Tumble Town)

Publisher: Weird Giraffe Games (Fire in the Library, Gift of Tulips, Tumble Town)

Genre/Mechanisms: card game, push your luck, science

Player Count: 1-4

Solo Mode: yes

Complexity: light

Risk: medium-high

Summary: “A push-your-luck 27-card game where you mix chemicals to create valuable compounds and try not to cause a major explosion. In Explosion in the Laboratory, you are all chemists mixing compounds in an experimental laboratory. Being careless could cause disaster. A fire would be unfortunate, as there is a library not too far away. During the game players will take turns trying to score points by following a set order of phases: Planning, Mixing Compounds, Scoring Beakers, and triggering Unstable Mixtures. The planning phase allows players to play 1 time use special ability cards (process cards) that can effect scoring for your turn. Mixing compounds has players laying out chemical cards from the deck to find out what chemicals they must mix based on the fire level in the laboratory (the higher the fire level grows the more volatile the mixtures become). The chemicals mixed can be placed in your available flasks for the turn and the process is repeated until you decide to stop to score or an explosion is triggered by an unstable mixture with certain combos of chemicals in your flasks. The more chemicals you can safely mix the more points you are able to score, but your luck may run short when the wrong chemicals get mixed causing an explosion (and ending your turn without scoring). Beaker cards sitting in the middle of the table act as a game timer and indicate the fire level and scoring potential of mixtures. As players score beakers and at the end of each round beaker cards rotate changing the point values of the chemicals you’ve mixed while also moving it closer to the end of the game as once a beaker reaches it’s boiling point it will bring an explosive and abrupt end to the game. Whichever player earned the most points throughout the game wins.”

Base Pledge (w/shipping): $12

All-In (w/shipping): $38

Campaign Ends: 11/17

Game Ships: Nov. 2023

Funding Status: Funded; currently at 121% with 15 days to go.

Project: Goblin Uprising

Designers: Fábio Escalhão Atássio, André Escalhão Atássio

Artists: Vanessa Bueno, Aluisio Cervelle, Diogo Rodrigues

Publisher: Dream Valley Studios

Genre/Mechanisms: action / event, adventure, dice rolling, events, fantasy, goblins, humor, medieval, miniatures, modular board, open drafting, scenario / mission / campaign game, semi-cooperative game, tug of war

Player Count: 2-6

Solo Mode: no

Complexity: light

Risk: HIGH

Summary: “A Semi-Cooperative board game featuring the world’s favorite punching bags: goblins. But this time they will be the ones doing the punching. Join the fray with your friends in this rebellion against the Tall Races (plus dwarves) for the future of Eldain. The objectives change with every game; fight with your friends in one match or against them in another, you’ll need all the help you can get in order to dethrone the monarch and win the game. Topple tyrants, make powerful allies and betray your friends in this chaotic adventure. Each player controls a goblin from a tribe on their journey to save the kingdom of Eldaine, which finds itself under the tyranny of the High Races. The first player to defeat the tyrant of Eldaine will be the winner, however it’s not as simple as it sounds: as you advance, your feats start to be recognized and you start to become famous by drawing the attention of the tyrant, each ruler has a different behavior and a unique method of ending your revolutionary spirit, whether with your allies or preparing cunning traps. But don’t worry, you can also count on powerful allies, since the most ancient times of Eldaine the Guardians of Nature took care of the elements of nature and life and death, with the invasion of the Tall Races their altars were destroyed and they went missing into Eldaine, find them, prove your worth and recruit them for your revolution, this cannot remain as it is the lands have always been of the Goblins, they cannot remain marginalized. Venture forth, perform adventures, complete quests, recruit powerful allies, fight, gain experience and gather more Goblins to your cause, become a hero and regain the throne of the kingdom of Eldaine.”

Base Pledge (w/shipping): $129

All-In (w/shipping): $229

Campaign Ends: 11/22

Game Ships: June 2024

Funding Status: Currently at 54% with 20 days to go.

Project: Nano Battle – Epic Mini Figure Combat

Designer: Tony Robles

Artist: Tony Robles

Publisher: Rad Plastic Studio

Genre/Mechanisms: area movement, card game, command cards, dice, dice rolling, hexagon grid, miniatures, player elimination, semi-cooperative game, simultaneous action selection, wargame

Player Count: 1-6

Solo Mode: yes

Complexity: light

Risk: HIGH

Summary: “A tabletop combat game system using 1.75 inch little rubber keshi figures called Nanoids. Take control of Nanoids as an Operator, your task is to close the power hungry rifts opening all over the world. Use your 6 Command cards to simultaneously activate your Nanoids in Nano Battle. Each card has a number indicating how many seconds it takes for your Nanoid to act in battle, a Dodge is almost instant while a Super move might take some time. Deplete each others Life Sparks while avoiding peril on the Nano Fields stabilizing the rifts. Be careful, once your last Command card in hand is activated each round the rift consumes its data, never to be used in this match again. 21 total choices before you run out of commands and your Nanoid goes rogue. An expandable game system of Rumble and Nanoid Packs. Rumble Packs provide everything for 2 players to Nano Battle and can be combined or used stand-alone. Nanoid Packs add more colorful Nanoids to your arsenal of little warriors. More pack types to come such as Story and Megoids.”

Base Pledge (w/shipping): $40

All-In (w/shipping): $95

Campaign Ends: 12/1

Game Ships: Apr. 2023

Funding Status: Currently at 20% with 28 days to go.

Project: NEWSWORTHY: A Conversational Game

Designer: Benjamin Cheung

Artist: Benjamin Cheung

Publisher: Benjamin Cheung

Genre/Mechanisms: educational, electronic, humor, movies / tv / radio theme, party game, player judge, questions & answers, real-time, voting

Player Count: 2-6

Solo Mode: no

Complexity: light

Risk: medium-high

Summary: “A social game where players are investigative news hounds. Players seek articles on the internet from their smart phones, tablets, or PCs. The game can be played in person or remotely. The topics to investigate each round are guided by Tech Deck cards. Newsworthy is a blend of a conversational game, an investigative game, and a social game. A player voting mechanic allows articles to be rated to score points. It has a unique game mechanic because players seek information from outside of the game on the internet. Players/teams try to score points by finding news articles that meet the objectives set by Tech Deck cards. Each round, a Tech Deck card is revealed which sets the topic. Players then search for articles based on the topic for that round. There is a voting mechanic where players can vote on the articles that have been found to score points. If playing in Blitz play mode, the game ends in one round. In normal mode, with more than 2 players, the game ends when a player scores 10 points; otherwise, it ends when a player has 5 points. If there are ties, the tied players share the victory.”

Base Pledge (w/shipping): $25

All-In (w/shipping): $34

Campaign Ends: 11/19

Game Ships: Dec. 2022

Funding Status: Currently at 16% with 17 days to go.

Project: Oceans: Legends of the Deep

Designer: Dominic Crapuchettes (Evolution, Evolution: Climate, Oceans, Wits & Wagers)

Artists: Guillaume Ducos (Edge of Darkness, Oceans, Sifaka), Tomasz Jedruszek (Dominion, Dominion: Intrigue, A Game of Thrones: The Board Game Second Edition, Magic: The Gathering, Tyrants of the Underdark)

Publisher: NorthStar Game Studio (Evolution, Evolution: Climate, Oceans, The Quacks of Quedlinburg, The Taverns of Tiefenthal)

Genre/Mechanisms: animals, biology, card game, coral / jellyfish / anemones, crabs, educational, environmental, evolution, expansion, fish / fishes, hand management, hidden victory points, nature, open drafting, prehistoric, science, tableau building, take that, under the sea, victory points as a resource

Player Count: 2-4

Solo Mode: no

Complexity: medium-heavy

Risk: medium-low

Summary: “Oceans is an interactive engine builder, where players evolve their species in a continually changing ecosystem. Players must adapt their interconnected ecosystem to survive against the inevitable march of time (Aging), as well as a multitude of predators looking for food. During the first half of the game, players use traits from a deck of Surface cards to modify their species. With only 12 Surface traits, it’s easy to wade into your first game without being overwhelmed by new cards. These traits were chosen for their rich thematic interconnections, providing synergistic card play that mimics an oceanic ecosystem. The Surface traits bring stability to the game environment. During the second half of the game, players can use power cards from The Deep to disrupt the stability. With over 100 unique traits in The Deep, players will slowly discover game-altering traits over the course of many games. These traits were designed to evoke wonder and disbelief – to spark your imagination as you consider the fantastic synergies that are possible in Oceans. Additionally, there are 2 randomly chosen scenario cards that activate and deactivate at various points during the game. The scenario cards impact the basic tenets of gameplay, encouraging people to vary their play style and strategy each game.

Legends of the Deep brings cultural legends, high fantasy, and mythologies from around the globe into the Oceans ecosystem.”

Base Pledge (w/shipping): $22

All-In (w/shipping): $97

Campaign Ends: 11/29

Game Ships: Aug. 2023

Funding Status: Funded; currently at 738% with 27 days to go.

Project: Reckless Sloths: Madness Unleashed

Designers: Sindri Levi, Amelia Prizginaite

Artists: Sindri Levi, Sylvia Vinjars

Publisher: Reckless Games

Genre/Mechanisms: animals, card game, hand management, humor, open drafting, party game, set collection, sloths, take that

Player Count: 2-5

Solo Mode: no

Complexity: light

Risk: HIGH

Summary: “A strategic card game about saving sloths from crazy dangers. The cute and cuddly sloths have gone out of control. They are no longer hanging around in the trees sleeping. You must save these adorable creatures from crazy dangers by using ridiculous items such as a taco fishing pole, helpful batcat, wonderful pink unicorn, and a depressed rain cloud. Other players will try to overshadow your heroism. Use your powers to stop them, and become the hero of the sloths.

Madness Unleashed adds an additional mechanic to gameplay when the Madness card is played, allowing every player can steal a card from another player.”

Base Pledge (w/shipping): $25

All-In (w/shipping): $93

Campaign Ends: 11/24

Game Ships: July 2023

Funding Status: Currently at 66% with 21 days to go.

Project: Roll Player Adventures Expansion: Gulpax’s Secret

Designers: Keith Matejka (Roll Player, Roll Player Adventures, Skulk Hollow), James William Ryan (Roll Player Adventures), Peter Andrew Ryan (Roll Player Adventures)

Artists: JJ Ariosa (Evolution, Mice and Mystics, Return to Dark Tower, Roll Player, Summoner Wars: Master Set), Damien Mammoliti (Brass: Birmingham, Brass: Lancashire, Foundations of Rome, Radlands, Tyrants of the Underdark), Lucas Ribeiro (Cartographers, Cartographers Heroes, Roll Player Adventures), ShenFei (Allegiance: A Realm Divided, Battle for Rokugan, Roll Player Adventures), Liliia Sitailo

Publisher: Thunderworks Games (Cartographers, Cartographers Heroes, Roll Player)

Genre/Mechanisms: adventure, campaign / battle card driven, book as board, cooperative game, demons, dice, dice rolling, expansion, exploration, fantasy, narrative choice / paragraph, paper-and-pencil, storytelling

Player Count: 1-4

Solo Mode: yes

Complexity: medium-light

Risk: medium-low

Summary: “Roll Player Adventures is a co-operative storybook board game for set in the world of Roll Player. Players inhabit characters, face challenges, and make decisions that will change the story as they progress through eleven core adventures and a replayable side quest. Adventures does not require the Roll Player base game or any of its expansions to play. Pick from one of thirty-six pre-generated characters, or import a favorite Roll Player character and take them on a heroic journey. If you do import a character you’ve built in Roll Player, any number of expansions and any number of promo cards/boards that were used may continue to be used in Roll Player Adventures.

Roll Player Adventures: Gulpax’s Secret is a new seven-adventure campaign. Players take on the role of fantasy heroes to face new challenges, explore new environments, meet new characters in the world of Ulos, and make meaningful decisions that change the story. Gulpax’s Secret requires the Roll Player Adventures base game to play.”

Base Pledge (w/shipping): $63

All-In (w/shipping): $275

Campaign Ends: 11/18

Game Ships: Oct. 2023

Funding Status: Funded; currently at 217% with 16 days to go.

Project: Slay the Spire: The Board Game

Designers: Gary Dworetsky (Imperium: The Contention), Anthony Giovannetti, Casey Yano

Artists: Bruce Brenneise (Apocrypha Adventure Card Game: Box One – The World, The Ninth World – A Skillbuilding Game of Numenera), Jose David Lanza Cebrian (Champions of Midgard, Hellboy: The Board Game, Rum & Bones: Second Tide), Anailis Dorta

Publisher: Contention Games (Imperium: The Contention)

Genre/Mechanisms: adventure, card game, cooperative game, deck building, dice rolling, dungeon crawler, fantasy, hand management, solo / solitaire game, video game theme

Player Count: 1-4

Solo Mode: yes

Complexity: light

Risk: medium-high

Summary: “A cooperative deckbuilding adventure. Craft a unique deck, encounter bizarre creatures, discover relics of immense power, and finally become strong enough to Slay the Spire.”

Base Pledge (w/shipping): $112

All-In (w/shipping): $234

Campaign Ends: 11/18

Game Ships: Dec. 2023

Funding Status: Funded; currently at 3,021% with 15 days to go.

Project: Zombomination

Designers: Chris Rossetti (11:59), Gustavo Scary Tontini

Artists: not credited

Publisher: Rampage Games (11:59)

Genre/Mechanisms: dice, dice rolling, mint tins, post-apocalyptic, real-time, variable player powers, zombies

Player Count: 1-2

Solo Mode: yes

Complexity: light

Risk: HIGH

Summary: “An intense, post-apocalyptic, real-time or turn-based dice rolling game that pits hardened Humans vs hungry Zombies. Asymmetrical roll options create intense action and unique strategies for each end-of-the-world faction. Zombies and Humans also have multiple, and different, winning conditions to make each game an exciting experience that feels new. Humans attempt to destroy the laboratory or find enough supplies to win. Zombies either attempt to kill all humans or overwhelm the safehouse to win. Depending on preference, players can engage in hectic real-time action or more strategic turn-based action. Both zombies and Humans take actions when 7’s or doubles show on two rolled D6. Most real-time games play in less than 5 minutes. Turn-based games take about 10 minutes.”

Base Pledge (w/shipping): $29

All-In (w/shipping): $57

Campaign Ends: 11/16

Game Ships: Aug. 2023

Funding Status: Funded; currently at 112% with 13 days to go.