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

Project: Micro Bots – Duel & Power Up

Designer: Simon Beal

Artists: Simon Beal, Gong Studios (Aeon’s End, Aeon’s End: The New Age, Aeon’s End: War Eternal, Fields of Green, Tiny Towns)

Publisher: Prometheus Game Labs (Micro Dojo)

Genre/Mechanisms: 2 player only games, action retrieval, expansion, hand management, robots, simultaneous action selection, variable player powers

Player Count: 2

Solo Mode: no

Complexity: light

Risk: HIGH

Summary: “A strategic dueling game where you must outmaneuver and outwit your opponent. Card effects (attacking, moving, etc.) become more powerful based on the number of cards you have previously placed. So the order you play your cards determines your strategy – do you hold back your big attacks for maximum firepower, or deplete your opponent’s defenses with a first strike?

Power Up contains two new robots and Power Tokens with various additional effects.”

Base Pledge (w/shipping): $7, print & play only

All-In (w/shipping): $31

Campaign Ends: 2/23

Game Ships: December 2023

Funding Status: Funded; currently at 782% with 19 days to go.

Project: Minigolf Designer: Minigolf Empire Extension

Designer: Alban Nanty (Minigolf Designer)

Artists: Gul E Raana (Minigolf Designer), Vicente Sivera

Publisher: Thematic Games (Minigolf Designer)

Genre/Mechanisms: expansion, golf, modular board, puzzle, tile placement

Player Count: 1-5

Solo Mode: yes

Complexity: medium-light

Risk: HIGH

Summary: “An extension for the Minigolf Designer board game, bringing new design challenges, a campaign mode and event cards.

In Minigolf Designer, players will compete to collect tiles representing sections of minigolf holes, and arrange them the way they want to form a 9 hole miniature golf course. However, in the end the players will gain more or less victory points depending on certain aspects of their minigolf, and also depending on the number of people drawn on their minigolf. Tiles are proposed to the players ordered from the least to the most valuable tile (depending on the number of victory points that the tile provides), but this order becomes also the player’s next turn order.”

Base Pledge (w/shipping): $24

All-In (w/shipping): $24, same as above

Campaign Ends: 3/2

Game Ships: September 2023

Funding Status: Funded; currently at 174% with 26 days to go.

Project: Photographic World (Relaunch)

Designer: Juliet Smith

Artist: Ana Reyes

Publisher: Bright Beetle Games

Genre/Mechanisms: animals, educational, photography, point to point movement, race, set collection, tech trees / tech tracks, track movement, travel

Player Count: 1-5

Solo Mode: yes

Complexity: light

Risk: HIGH

Summary: “On your turn you will assign an assistant to 1 of 3 actions (photograph, travel, or market). Alternatively, you can choose to take a rest action and return all your assistants to your supply. Every photographer starts out with very basic equipment, training, and connections. This limits how much each action can do. Players will be working to upgrade these throughout the course of the game, making every action they take more efficient and powerful. You are racing to gain the most fame points before all the Best in Class certificates are claimed. These certificates are awarded to the first player to collect a set of 3 unique photos in the indicated class (mammals, birds, etc.) and are worth 7 fame points. Increase your set to 5 unique animals in that class to upgrade your certificate, making it worth more. Additionally, each unique photograph you take increases your fame, as does becoming a world traveler and fulfilling commissions. You can also specialize in one or more continents to increase the value of the photos you take there.”

Base Pledge (w/shipping): $50

All-In (w/shipping): $50, same as above

Campaign Ends: 2/28

Game Ships: June 2024

Funding Status: Currently at 33% with 24 days to go.