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

Project: Alpha Clash TCG: The Awakening

Designer: Al Light

Artist: Efren Ayala

Publisher: Rising Empire Studios

Genre/Mechanisms: card game, collectible components, fantasy, fighting, hand management, science fiction, take that

Player Count: 2-4

Solo Mode: no

Complexity: medium-light

Risk: HIGH

Summary: “A mysterious energy has unleashed on Earth, granting powers and abilities to some, making them Alphas, top-tier beings. With that power comes the maddening pull, an instinct to find and destroy other Alphas and establish supremacy. Will you join the fight to save Earth? Or will you be a part of its destruction? Alpha Clash is a fast-paced, strategic trading card game. You can customize and build your own decks with cards from our Booster Boxes, Clash Kits, and Blister Packs. Each player must have exactly 50 cards in their deck before the game begins. A sideboard may be included of up to 15 cards. Sideboard cards may be exchanged with other cards in the deck between competitive games. Each player must have one Contender card; the Contender card starts in play before the game begins. No more than 4 copies of any one card are allowed in a player’s deck. With the release of every new set, you will find new tactics and strategies to defeat your foes in epic Clash battles.”

Base Pledge: $25 with free shipping

All-In: $3,000 with free shipping (this pledge level includes a ridiculous number of booster packs)

Campaign Ends: 1/10

Game Ships: May 2023

Funding Status: Funded; currently at 228% with 48 days to go.

Project: Axon Protocol

Designer: Jan Roth

Artists: Henning Ludvigsen (Android: Netrunner, Arkham Horror: The Card Game, Blood Rage, Star Wars: Imperial Assault, Star Wars: X-Wing Miniatures Game), Jan Roth, Andreas Schroth (Encounters: Shadowrun, Vikings: The Board Game), Salvador Trakal

Publisher: Baroque Games

Genre/Mechanisms: cyberpunk, economic, hand management, interrupts, point to point movement, science fiction, solo / solitaire game, take that, variable player powers

Player Count: 2-6

Solo Mode: no

Complexity: medium-light

Risk: HIGH

Summary: “A cyberpunk themed game of corporate warfare and brain hacking. You are a powerful hacker in the ranks of an international Mega-Corporation. Axon Protocol features a unique game mechanic called ‘Shared worker control.’ Every single character in the city has their own routine and skills. Each character can be hacked and controlled by every player. But they will follow their own behavior again the moment no one is hacking them. The Rockstar might give a concert in the city plaza, until a terrorist blows it up, and the corporate rescue team can only save one of the victims. The game features 6 types of resources: augments, data, drugs, products, scandals and violence. Each corporation profits from two of these resources. With over 40 unique characters and 6 different corporations each with their own unique special ability, every game of Axon Protocol will tell its own story.”

Base Pledge (w/shipping): $76

All-In (w/shipping): $92

Campaign Ends: 12/22

Game Ships: Oct. 2023

Funding Status: Currently at 85% with 28 days to go.

Project: Bazaars of Ubar

Designer: Tim Armstrong (Arcana Rising, Kaiju Crush, Orbis)

Artist: Nastya Lehn (Gates of Mara, Last Bastion, Quetzal)

Publisher: Grey Fox Games (Champions of Midgard, Deception: Murder in Hong Kong, Reavers of Midgard)

Genre/Mechanisms: arabian, economic, fantasy, market, open drafting, square grid, tile placement, turn order: time track

Player Count: 2-4

Solo Mode: no

Complexity: medium-light

Risk: medium-high

Summary: “A fantastical engine-building game that takes players to the mythical marketplaces of Ubar – the Atlantis of the Sands! Draft trade tiles from a common area, paying for them with time, in a marketplace where the costs shift like the sands from game to game. Make clever use of tradewinds to activate your drafted tiles again and again. Manage the space on your ship to carry only the most precious cargo as you make your way to floating bazaars to sell your goods. Watch for fluctuating values in the markets to make sure your goods bring in the most gold and ensure your victory as the shrewdest trader in The Bazaars of Ubar. During setup, Trade tiles are laid out in a grid in the center of the table. On a player’s turn, they take a trade tile from the center area and, paying a time cost for it. The time cost is spent by moving their ship along the path toward the next bazaar. After taking a trade tile, a player adds it to their tableau adjacent to previously taken tiles – activating the newly taken tile and previously taken tiles in their tableau according to the direction of the trade winds on their tile. Trade tiles allow players to earn new goods from the supply or trade goods they already have for more desirable goods. When a player’s ship reaches a bazaar, they may sell any number of the goods they have in their ship (to marketplaces with fluctuating values that vary from game to game). When all players have reached a bazaar, the trade tiles in the center are cleared and a new grid of trade tiles created. When all players have reached the third bazaar, the game ends and the player with the most gold from selling their goods wins.”

Base Pledge (w/shipping): $55

All-In (w/shipping): $55, same as above

Campaign Ends: 12/15

Game Ships: Aug. 2023

Funding Status: Currently at 48% with 21 days to go.

Project: Clash of Decks: Season 3

Designer: Léandre Proust (Clash of Deck, Clash of Decks Starter Kit)

Artists: Studio Rexard (Clash of Deck, Clash of Decks Starter Kit, MiniQuest Adventures)

Publisher: Grammes Edition (Clash of Deck, Clash of Decks Starter Kit, Moogh)

Genre/Mechanisms: card game, card play conflict resolution, fantasy, fighting, hand management, medieval, print & play, open drafting, solo / solitaire game

Player Count: 1-2

Solo Mode: yes

Complexity: medium-light

Risk: HIGH

Summary: “A card-based combat game for 1-2 players that plays in 15-30 minutes. Create your 8 unit army and battle other Lord-Sorcerers to destroy their Strongholds. New Season 3 content includes 4 stand-alone expansions, 144 cards, 8 special abilities, 3 multiplayer modes, 11 Grimoire booklets, and a mobile video game.”

Base Pledge (w/shipping): $41

All-In (w/shipping): $82

Campaign Ends: 12/8

Game Ships: Sep. 2023

Funding Status: Funded; currently at 235% with 14 days to go.

Project: Elden Ring: The Board Game

Designers: Mat Hart (Dark Souls: The Board Game, Guild Ball, Resident Evil 2: The Board Game), Sherwin Matthews (Bardsung, Resident Evil 2: The Board Game, Resident Evil 3: The Board Game), Fraser McFetridge (Bardsung)

Artists: not credited

Publisher: Steamforged Games (Dark Souls: The Board Game, Guild Ball, Resident Evil 2: The Board Game)

Genre/Mechanisms: fighting, miniatures, scenario / mission / campaign game, tile placement, video game theme

Player Count: 1-4

Solo Mode: yes

Complexity: light

Risk: medium-high

Summary: “A big box cooperative campaign game for 1-4 players, where each session is playable in 90-120 minutes and core box campaigns will span 30-40 hours, increasing to 90 hours with the expansions. Your progress is tracked by a narrative story that provides objectives as well as guidance on how to achieve them – and, depending on your decisions, alternative side-quests and emergent narrative to experience, too. Diceless and with strong elements of deck-building, combat is both deadly and personal. As your Tarnished character levels up, you must carefully build your attack and effect decks to best optimize with your equipment. Although exploration takes place on the zoomed-out hex map, each player has their own dedicated quest book on which combat encounters will take place face-to-face. A single bad decision can mean death to the unwary, sending unlucky Tarnished back to the nearest Site of Grace to respawn. Because combat takes place in your individual quest book, your encounters also won’t disrupt play for everyone else.”

Base Pledge: $89 + shipping (with no shipping estimated provided)

All-In (w/shipping): $490 (shipping estimates were provided for this pledge level)

Campaign Ends: 12/2

Game Ships: May 2024

Funding Status: Funded; currently at 1,098% with 8 days to go.

Project: Henchmania – Sbires: 2nd Edition

Designers: Vincent Jouanneau (Henchmania), Jean-Pierre Nicolas (Henchmania)

Artists: Landry Munoz, Laurent Nicolas (Henchmania, Pitch Out)

Publisher: Jocus (Henchmania, Pitch Out)

Genre/Mechanisms: area majority / influence, card game, deck building, dice rolling, humor, medieval

Player Count: 2-5

Solo Mode: no

Complexity: medium-light

Risk: medium-high

Summary: “In this cross between Game Of Thrones and Monty Python become a medieval Lord and puppet master, and use your monstrous and loyal henchmen who will do anything to help their master satiate his thirst for prestige. A second edition with a lot of changes: new gameplay, new design and even 2 new expansions to come. These 2 new expansions will be included in the box during the Kickstarter campaign (from the main pledge). They also will be available separately as an upgrade pack for the ones who owns and supported the first edition. Henchmania is a strategic board game taking place in an odd medieval universe. Each player is the Lord of one family, among four. With the help of your loyal henchmen, capture parts of the city and use your influence to win the battle. The objective is to win as many prestige points as possible in four days, or to be the first player to reach 30 prestige points. There are many ways to earn (and also lose) prestige points. At the end of each day, everyone counts their points before the beginning of the next day.”

Base Pledge (w/shipping): $23

All-In (w/shipping): $68

Campaign Ends: 12/13

Game Ships: Oct. 2023

Funding Status: Funded; currently at 174% with 19 days to go.

Project: Mycelium: A Mushling Game

Designer: Eric Yadvish

Artist: Abi Toads

Publisher: YadCo Games

Genre/Mechanisms: card play conflict resolution, connections, environmental, fantasy, hand management, hexagon grid, mushrooms, nature, network and route building, random production, take that, trees and forests, worker placement

Player Count: 2-4

Solo Mode: no

Complexity: medium-light

Risk: HIGH

Summary: “You must expand your network of mycelium pathways to be the first player to gather 10 Nutrients. Manage a versatile hand of Mushling Cards to use abilities, attack other player’s paths, and construct new paths. Link your mycelium pathways to Nutrient Trees in the middle of the board. Near the end of each turn, you must first return all of your Gatherer Mushlings back to your colony, hoping they’ll bring back Nutrients and resources. Then, place your Gatherer Mushlings on various spaces on the board just before your turn ends, predicting where Nutrients will appear. A deck of event cards determines where the next Nutrients will appear, but players may play Mushling Cards to view and manipulate the deck in their favor.”

Base Pledge (w/shipping): $59

All-In (w/shipping): $69

Campaign Ends: 12/20

Game Ships: Oct. 2023

Funding Status: Funded; currently at 213% with 26 days to go.

Project: Pest

Designers: Thomas Nielsen (Vejen), Kai Starck (Vejen)

Artists: Daniel Cunha, Sara Stanoeska (Magna Roma)

Publisher: Archona Games (Small Railroad Empires, Small Samurai Empires, Small Star Empires)

Genre/Mechanisms: action points, area majority / influence, area movement, civilization, end game bonuses, events, medical, medieval, modular board, plague epidemic, variable player powers, variable set-up, worker placement

Player Count: 2-5

Solo Mode: no

Complexity: medium-heavy

Risk: medium-high

Summary: “Slip into the roles of leaders of the ruling houses of a once great empire that was struck by a cataclysmic plague. The plague has left much of the empire in ruins, so now it is up to the players to restore it to former glory. Each round before players take their turn, a plague card will be revealed which shows how the plague will spread in that round. On their turn, players will be able to select among many actions on their player board using a unique action selection system. Thus, players will be able to move their containment team on the board, quarantine and cure infected people, rebuild, assign workers, harvest for resources and more. As their house influence grows, players will be able to play more actions, generate more resources, and house more people. This will bring forth new technological advancements which are much needed to get the plague under control. The game ends after the 7th round is over and players count their final amount of Renown.”

Base Pledge (w/shipping): $99

All-In (w/shipping): $99, same as above

Campaign Ends: 12/17

Game Ships: May 2024

Funding Status: Funded; currently at 225% with 23 days to go.

Project: Tiny Epic Crimes

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

Artist: Nikoletta Vaszi (Tiny Epic Dinosaurs, Tiny Epic Dungeons; Tiny Epic Pirates)

Publisher: Gamelyn Games(Heroes of Land, Air & Sea; Tiny Epic Dinosaurs; Tiny Epic Galaxies; Tiny Epic Quest)

Genre/Mechanisms: area movement, cooperative game, deduction, dice rolling, events, grid movement, mafia, modular board, murder / mystery, push your luck, semi-cooperative game, set collection, turn order: time track, variable player powers

Player Count: 1-4

Solo Mode: yes

Complexity: medium-light

Risk: medium-low

Summary: “A fast-paced, crime-fighting, deduction game that offers multiple ways to play. The game can be enjoyed competitively, cooperatively, or solo. Players take on the role of detectives, and depending on the game mode, will be working either together (or separately) to crack the murder case. Time matters, and the first 48 hours after any crime are the most critical. Players race around Echo Ridge City collecting evidence, such as the murder weapon, forensics, or the getaway vehicle. This secret evidence is sifted through using the novel Tiny Epic Decoder System, which keeps all of the murderer’s other evidence hidden. This knowledge eliminates suspects and helps identify the true killer. But crime doesn’t stop for one investigation. Players must answer the call of duty, juggling their time as other criminal activities arise across the city. Resolving these events allow players to gain useful alibis and powerful Force Cards, but knowing full well that their actions will take them hours closer to a reckoning. In their final hour, players will stake their careers on a final guess: who they think the murderer really is… hoping that their wits and detective skills are enough to bring the correct suspect to justice.”

Base Pledge (w/shipping): $34

All-In (w/shipping): $51

Campaign Ends: 12/8

Game Ships: Sep. 2023

Funding Status: Funded; currently at 1,370% with 15 days to go.

Project: World Stitchers

Designer: Pepijn van Loon (Heroes of Tenefyr)

Artist: Marlies Barends (Ortis, Queensland, Three Sisters)

Publisher: Broken Mill (Heroes of Tenefyr)

Genre/Mechanisms: animals, exploration, fantasy, modular board, mythology, set collection, solo / solitaire game, tile placement, variable player powers

Player Count: 1-4

Solo Mode: yes

Complexity: light

Risk: HIGH

Summary: “Animal spirits are building a new world by plucking floating pieces of land from the sky and stitching them together with mystical thread. These powerful spirits are the World Stitchers, and even though they are working together to create a new world, only one of them will have the honor of naming it. Play as one of the animal spirits in this modular, competitive tile-laying game for 1-4 players. Expand the world, gather the energy that’s released when new pieces of land are connected, and raise massive natural spires from the ground to impress the other spirits.”

Base Pledge (w/shipping): $51

All-In (w/shipping): $51, same as above

Campaign Ends: 12/8

Game Ships: Sep. 2023

Funding Status: Currently at 26% with 14 days to go.