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

Project: ’85 Afghanistan: Graveyard of Empires -A Squad Battles Game

Designer: Mark H. Walker (Lock ‘n Load: Band of Heroes, World at War: Blood and Bridges, World at War: Eisenbach Gap)

Artists: Thomas Bowles, Nadir Elfarra (Aliens; Charlemagne, Master of Europe; Combat!)

Publisher: Flying Pig Games (’65: Squad-Level Combat in the Jungles of Vietnam, Old School Tactical: Volume 1 – Fighting on the Eastern Front 1941/42, Old School Tactical: Volume 2 – West Front 1944/45)

Genre/Mechanisms: campaign / battle card driven, dice rolling, grid movement, hexagon grid, line of sight, modern warfare, simulation, wargame

Player Count: 2-3

Solo Mode: no (only with solitaire expansion Alone in the Mountains)

Complexity: medium-heavy

Risk: medium-high

Summary: “’85 Graveyard of Empires is the second game in the Squad Battles series. Building on the mechanics introduced in ’65 Squad Battles in the Jungles of Vietnam, Graveyard of Empires (GoE) features squad-level battles between the Afghan Mujahideen and Soviet Red Army in a card-driven, hex and counter game.”

Base Pledge (w/shipping): $109

All-In (w/shipping): $164, also includes solitaire expansion Alone in the Mountains

Campaign Ends: 3/22

Game Ships: October 2023

Funding Status: Funded; currently at 150% with 20 days to go.

Project: An Age Contrived

Designer: Chris Matthew

Artist: Serena Malyon

Publisher: Bellows Intent

Genre/Mechanisms: area majority / influence, auction: dutch, bias, economic, end game bonuses, fantasy, mythology, network and route building, open drafting, point to point movement, tech trees / tech tracks, travel, variable player powers, variable set-up

Player Count: 1-5

Solo Mode: yes

Complexity: medium-heavy

Risk: HIGH

Summary: “A fantasy euro game of engine building and resource programming. You play as a god in the Eldranic pantheon, where you are only as powerful as the mortals of this unstable world believe you are. Your goal is to establish yourself as the pantheon’s prevailing god by securing mortal belief, as you advance the mortal realm from its age of darkness into civilization. Each player receives a character board and a transmutation device, which they use to channel their energy into the mortal realm. Energy is how a god exerts its will, and is used to construct monuments, claim new tiles, and accomplish lasting achievements. Bind your energy for end-game scoring, and unlock new energy to replenish your reserves. The game ends when the last monument is complete, at which point the player with the most points wins. There are two types of turns, with no rounds or phases. On a player’s turn, they must either charge their transmutation device and program it openly, or use its energy to take as many actions as they have already programmed. Information is open, and the only luck is in the shuffling of tiles to set up the game. Player choices determine how the game unfolds. The game features unlockable unique player powers, a board that players construct differently each game, and 5 ways to build your engine. You will be encouraged to plan ahead, but required to adapt your strategy in order to come away victorious.”

Base Pledge (w/shipping): $85

All-In (w/shipping): $144

Campaign Ends: 3/23

Game Ships: January 2024

Funding Status: Funded; currently at 775% with 21 days to go.

Project: Ancient Terrible Things: Reawakened

Designer: Simon McGregor (Ancient Terrible Things, The Dead Eye, Snowblind: Race for the Pole)

Artist: Rob van Zyl (Ancient Terrible Things, The Dead Eye, Snowblind: Race for the Pole)

Publisher: Pleasant Company Games (Ancient Terrible Things, The Dead Eye, Snowblind: Race for the Pole)

Genre/Mechanisms: dice, dice rolling, push your luck, re-rolling and locking, set collection, worker placement

Player Count: 1-4

Solo Mode: yes

Complexity: medium-light

Risk: medium-high

Summary: “A pulp-horror tabletop game where you play the role of an intrepid and foolish adventurer exploring a dark jungle river for Secrets. Each turn you must travel to a Fateful Location and face an Ominous Encounter. If you overcome the Encounter (using a combination of dice, tokens and cards) you gain Secrets. The object of the game is to be the player with the most Secrets when the game ends at the Inexplicable Event. Gameplay involves rolling dice to achieve combinations: runs, pairs, three or more of a kind, and single die showing a particular number or higher. Dice combinations are spent to overcome Encounters and to acquire the four resources used in the game: Focus, Courage, Treasure and Feat tokens. Ancient Terrible Things: Reawakened is the third implementation of the Dicequest game system as previously used in Ancient Terrible Things (1st/2nd Edition) and Konja. The third edition incorporates edited and revised content from all previous iterations and expansions of the game, new renovated art, and language-independent graphic design into a single definitive edition of ATT.”

Base Pledge (w/shipping): $9, print & play only

All-In (w/shipping): $108

Campaign Ends: 3/16

Game Ships: October 2023

Funding Status: Currently at 95% with 14 days to go.

Project: Back O’ Beyond: Tales of Blood & Salt

Designers: Nick Niotis (Darkest Dungeon: The Board Game), Argyris Poungouras (Darkest Dungeon: The Board Game)

Artist: Jamie Noble-Frier (Forged in Steel, Hands in the Sea, Perdition’s Mouth: Abyssal Rift)

Publisher: Fabled Games

Genre/Mechanisms: adventure, campaign / battle card driven, card play conflict resolution, dice rolling, die icon resolution, end game bonuses, events, fantasy, income, market, pirates, selection order bid, take that, worker placement, worker placement with different worker types

Player Count: 2-4

Solo Mode: no

Complexity: medium-heavy

Risk: HIGH

Summary: “Seek infamy and become the most dreaded pirate captain. Create a powerful ship by carefully selecting and managing your crew, do battle and plunder ships full of loot, and make a fortune that no living man has ever made. And when you’re tired, come back to the only land you feel is safe for you to rest and get ready for your next adventure. What treasures will you find? How many ships will you capture? Will your crew look up to you or start a mutiny? Will the sound of your name bring fear? The game is played over 5 rounds and each round consists of 3 phases. Each round begins with The Wharf. All preparations for the round happens: revealing new contracts that the pirates can compete for, adding more ships to capture, and filling the tavern with more crew members. Players will perform various actions by spending time on the island, recruiting new crew, repairing or upgrading their ship, sabotaging the other players, and much more. The next phase is the Hunt, where players try to plunder Trading Ships in order to gather precious loot and raise their Dread, Morale, Reputation and most importantly their Infamy. Lastly is the Upkeep, where players need to take actions to keep or dismiss their crew through food, morale, and rum. The game has a significant level of strategy, where assembling your ship and crew in unique ways during The Wharf creates a dynamic gameplay. At the same time, the fast-paced three-phase dice-based combat system for plundering ships, with decreasing risks/ rewards, opens a wealth of options on how to capture ships and pillage loot.”

Base Pledge (w/shipping): $68

All-In (w/shipping): $107

Campaign Ends: 3/17

Game Ships: December 2023

Funding Status: Currently at 66% with 15 days to go.

Project: DVG – Flying Tigers Leader

Designer: Russ Lance

Artists: Vladimir Dudas, Ben Rawlings

Publisher: Dan Verssen Games (Pavlov’s House, Thunderbolt Apache Leader, Warfighter: The Tactical Special Forces Card Game)

Genre/Mechanisms: aviation / flight, campaign / battle card driven, chit-pull system, card game, simulation, solitaire only wargames, solo / solitaire game, war game, world war II

Player Count: 1

Solo Mode: yes

Complexity: medium-light

Risk: medium-low

Summary: “In this game, you will be able to try to blunt the Japanese thrust into China and SE Asia. The campaigns will cover the fighting in Burma (particularly Rangoon), China and Indochina. There will be new pilots and targets, as well as new events and campaigns. The core game is based on the whole of the AVG with each squadron’s pilots being identified by the squadron emblem. There are also new rules governing starting skill levels and abilities of some pilots created. There are also rules for replacing the pilots or rotating the squadron out based on casualties. The event cards are based on actual events that the Tigers experienced in their short sojourn in defending SE Asia.”

Base Pledge (w/shipping): $95

All-In (w/shipping): $245

Campaign Ends: 3/22

Game Ships: October 2023

Funding Status: Funded; currently at 171% with 20 days to go.

Project: Encounters: Shattered Wastes

Designer: Ryan Farmer

Artists: Chris Beck (Fury of Dracula Third/Fourth Edition, Planet Steam), Evgen Khomenko, Elizabeth Kim, Ferenc Patkós

Publisher: Almanac Games

Genre/Mechanisms: cooperative game, fantasy, open drafting

Player Count: 1-4

Solo Mode: yes

Complexity: medium-light

Risk: HIGH

Summary: “Each player chooses one or more characters (for a total of 2-4 characters being used in a single game) to explore the land of untamed magic known as The Shattered Wastes. Players will fight an enemy in a battle known as an Encounter. Players win an encounter when both sides of an Enemy Card are defeated by reducing the enemy’s Strength and inflicting Wounds. Players and their characters will need to work together to weaken the enemy using their own attacks, which shifts the enemy’s Strength from Stamina to Fatigue. This will Stagger the enemy, giving players the opportunity to inflict Wounds upon it. Enemies will harm characters by using both Strength and Rage cards. Players lose an encounter if all characters have been removed from the Encounter by having their Health Points (HP) reduced to 0 or have fully succumbed to corruption.”

Base Pledge (w/shipping): $69

All-In (w/shipping): $140

Campaign Ends: 3/24

Game Ships: March 2024

Funding Status: Funded; currently at 124% with 22 days to go.

Project: Gnomistic: The Boardgame

Designer: Asaid

Artists: not credited

Publisher: Bgamer

Genre/Mechanisms: fantasy, hand management, hidden victory points, Ireland, matching, set collection, solo / solitaire game, variable set-up, victory points as a resource

Player Count: 1-6

Solo Mode: yes

Complexity: medium-light

Risk: HIGH

Summary: “Imagine that you and your friends are on an excursion in a forest in Ireland, when suddenly, someone yells “I have seen a gnome!” Now, a magical wave of greed controls your mind and the only thing that matters is getting the gnome’s pot of gold at any cost, so you must guide yourself from the correct signs on the way to get it. Play different signal cards on the correct path when the time is right and if it pairs with another matching card, you get them all. This will cause you to have a lot of cards in your play area (a lot, and it feels strange and satisfying!), but you will need even more to be able to complete the positive sets and avoid the negative ones, and then save those cards in the only safe place where no one can take them away: your chest. But be careful, you should also be aware of the right time to save them, because bad things can happen if you save too soon, if you miss the perfect opportunity or if you accidentally complete negative sets, if you run out of coins or if someone uses magic cards against you. And if the latter happens, don’t worry, maybe you can get revenge sooner than you think and with twice the strength.”

Base Pledge (w/shipping): $85

All-In (w/shipping): $102

Campaign Ends: 3/31

Game Ships: April 2024

Funding Status: Funded; currently at 183% with 29 days to go.

Project: Huang (on Gamefound)

Designer: Reiner Knizia (Modern Art, My City, The Quest for El Dorado, Ra, Tigris & Euphrates)

Artist: Bartek Jędrzejewski (Dominant Species, Hannibal & Hamilcar, Nanty Narking)

Publisher: Phalanx (Hannibal & Hamilcar, Nanty Narking, UBOOT: The Board Game)

Genre/Mechanisms: ancient, area majority / influence, civilization, hand management, hexagon grid, hidden victory points, highest-lowest scoring, set collection, territory building, tile placement

Player Count: 2-4

Solo Mode: no

Complexity: medium-heavy

Risk: medium-low

Summary: “First released as Yellow & Yangtze, the sister game to the highly acclaimed board game Tigris & Euphrates, invites you to replay this eventful period and to lead your dynasty to victory. In Huang, players build civilizations through tile placement. Players are given five different leaders: Governor, Soldier, Farmer, Trader, and Artisan. The leaders are used to collect victory points in these same categories. However, your score at the end of the game is the number of points in your weakest category. Conflicts arise when civilizations connect on the board. To succeed, players’ civilizations must survive these conflicts, calm peasant revolts, and grow secure enough to build prestigious pagodas.”

Base Pledge (w/shipping): $65

All-In (w/shipping): $80

Campaign Ends: 3/9

Game Ships: September 2023

Funding Status: Funded; currently at 283% with 7 days to go.

Project: Last Fish!

Designer: Rico Connolly

Artist: Winnie Liu

Publisher: Whiskers

Genre/Mechanisms: action / event, card game, card play conflict resolution, fantasy, hand management, interrupts, multi-use cards, party game, player elimination

Player Count: 2-6

Solo Mode: no

Complexity: light

Risk: HIGH

Summary: “Each player becomes an adventuring fish-person, known as a Whisker, living in the world of The Great Pond. Players represent themselves with one of several Champions, each representing powerful, famous, infamous, or otherwise well-known whiskers of the pond. Whiskers themselves are huge fans of the game Last Fish! and often play to settle disputes, place bets, win glory, or otherwise pass the time. The game itself is based around some of the spells, skills, items, and locations that might be encountered during one’s travels through The Great Pond. The game uses two main decks, the Draw Deck and the Encounter Deck. The cards in the Encounter Deck represent random events that a CHAMPION might face when adventuring in the world of The Great Pond. They have the unique ability to affect a myriad of players all at once, and their effects are not always good. Encounter cards include events like monster attacks, finding items, exploring locations, etc. that can drastically alter the game at any moment. Each Champion, all of whom start with 3 hearts (health points – represented by 3 heart cards), draw from both decks at the beginning of their turns. To win, you have to reduce the hearts of all other Champions to 0.”

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

All-In (w/shipping): $86

Campaign Ends: 3/28

Game Ships: July 2023

Funding Status: Currently at 40% with 26 days to go.

Project: Neo Grimorium: The Card Game

Designer: Max Holliday (Bring Out Yer Dead, Eaten By Zombies!, Eaten By Zombie!: In Cahoots)

Artist: Rob Lundy (Cthulhu Realms, Harbour, Harvest)

Publisher: Ginger Ale Games (Bring Out Yer Dead)

Genre/Mechanisms: card game, deck building, worker placement

Player Count: 2-5

Solo Mode: no

Complexity: medium-light

Risk: HIGH

Summary: “A card crafting game for 2-5 players. Assume the role of a mage as you build your book of spells. It’s a race against time as you work diligently to transcribe more arcane knowledge than anyone else. This fast-paced game uses elements of card crafting, worker placement, hand management, and a point salad style scoring. With over 16 denizen cards that change each game and over 40 clear spell cards, no two games will ever be the same. The game comes in a small form box for easy travel and storage. Each turn, you play a page from your book and take the action listed on the card. You are given a scorecard that you must use to mark off adornments and focus your power as you transcribe spells and adorn your book you gain levels of the magical elements. But don’t forget to increase your influence over the many denizens of the Citadel of Magic so they will lend you their powers.”

Base Pledge (w/shipping): $36

All-In (w/shipping): $36, same as above

Campaign Ends: 3/30

Game Ships: February 2024

Funding Status: Currently at 11% with 28 days to go.

Project: Nevermind The Distraction

Designer: A.J. Plank

Artist: A.J. Plank

Publisher: A.J. Plank

Genre/Mechanisms: card game, game system, print & play, push your luck, simulation, solo / solitaire game, tug of war, variable set-up

Player Count: 1

Solo Mode: yes

Complexity: light

Risk: HIGH

Summary: “A short, fast-paced, yet surprisingly relaxing abstract solitaire card game inspired by the principles of mindfulness and beginning meditation. Take on the role of The Watcher and engage your own mind in a contest of wills to determine the ultimate fate of your wandering thoughts. Breathe, and try not to get too distracted. Setup begins by preparing the meditating consciousness using small decks called Distraction Packs. These themed packs contain beautiful and evocative imagery depicting various occurring thoughts. Three packs are combined each game based on your mood, thoughts, or plans for the day, creating a unique visual tableau every session. Each round starts with the Mind revealing a new thought – or intensifying an existing one – ultimately trying to turn them into Distractions. Distractions cause time to pass more quickly, and when the Timer deck is empty, the mediation is over. The Mind’s ultimate goal is to waste time keeping us distracted as long as possible. During the Watcher phase, players choose one of these thoughts and take an action to calm or quiet it, pulling it one step back from becoming a Distraction. Do this enough times and a thought is eventually Let Go, releasing it completely and blocking the Mind’s ability to manipulate it. The player’s goal is to Let Go of as many thoughts as possible before the Timer deck runs out. What follows is an engaging, fast-paced yet relaxing 8-way Tug of War that, when combined with the beautiful minimalist aesthetic, create the perfect conditions for the player to enter a flow state, not unlike that of meditation. Regular practice will eventually result in a perfect score. These Zen Master wins unlock additional levels of game play and introduce new challenges, mechanics and strategies letting the game grow with you.”

Base Pledge (w/shipping): $5, print & play only

All-In (w/shipping): $59

Campaign Ends: 3/21

Game Ships: July 2024

Funding Status: Currently at 28% with 19 days to go.

Project: Nooblings

Designer: Drew Boehm

Artist: Drew Boehm

Publisher: Boehm Games

Genre/Mechanisms: adventure, bribery, card game, card play conflict resolution, dice rolling, events, fantasy, fighting, kill steal, king of the hill, lose a turn, medieval, mythology, negotiation, role playing, roll / spin and move, semi-cooperative game, trading, traitor game, variable player powers

Player Count: 2-6

Solo Mode: no

Complexity: light

Risk: HIGH

Summary: “The objective of the game is to defeat the other players in combat and earn points, with the first to reach the predetermined number declared the winner, or play last-man-standing in which the last player surviving is the winner and crowned Champion. Players may choose to team up if they wish, but can always end their truce at any time without notice. When you land on another player you will have the option to attack and engage them in battle. In battle, you will take turns either rolling to attack or rolling in an attempt to flee, and may strategically utilize a wide variety of items and spells to gain the upper hand. Battle only ends when one player is defeated (their health drops to 0), or when someone rolls for a successful escape. Items are purchased (or stolen) from the Shop. These include a huge variety of weapons, spells, trinkets, gear, consumables, and more. You don’t have to show what items you have in your inventory unless it is actively equipped (like a weapon), so you never know what your opponent may have in store should you attack them and vice versa; could be some paltry Moldy Boots and a Vegetable Stew, or an epic spell like Meteor Strike and a healing potion or two. Cardplay is an integral part of Nooblings, and knowing when to play a certain card could mean the difference between victory or defeat. On your quest to become champion, you will encounter a variety of dangerous monsters and may choose to either stand your ground and fight or attempt to run away. If you successfully defeat a monster you will receive loot (gold coins) which can be spent to purchase items, rest at the Tavern, and more. Random Event cards are drawn and flipped over when you land on a Random Event space. Something will immediately happen. These could be good or bad, can affect one or multiple players, and sometimes you might have to make an important choice which could change the tide of the game.”

Base Pledge (w/shipping): $57

All-In (w/shipping): $77

Campaign Ends: 3/31

Game Ships: December 2024

Funding Status: Currently at 18% with 29 days to go.

Project: Pocket Paragons: Round 2

Designer: Brian McKay (Pocket Paragons)

Artists: Megan Cheever (7 Summits, Temporal Odyssey, Terrene Odyssey), Breeze Grigas (A.E.G.I.S.: Combining Robot Strategy Game), Daniel Olsén, Alex Tantraz (Space Lion), Maung Thuta (A.E.G.I.S.: Combining Robot Strategy Game)

Publisher: Solis Game Studio (Frenemy Pastry Party, Pocket Paragons)

Genre/Mechanisms: 2 player fighting games, 2 player only games, bluffing, card game, fantasy, fighting, hand management, rock-paper-scissors, simultaneous action selection, variable player powers

Player Count: 2

Solo Mode: no

Complexity: light

Risk: medium-high

Summary: “Deeply Asymmetrical. Player picks a paragon’s deck of 7 cards and choose to play at a time. Both cards are revealed and then characters either take damage, have their card canceled and sent back to their hand, or are defeated. Play the right card at the right time and have a strong read of your opponent’s intentions to win this intense 3-minute duel!”

Base Pledge (w/shipping): $33

All-In (w/shipping): $172

Campaign Ends: 3/31

Game Ships: June 2023

Funding Status: Funded; currently at 101% with 29 days to go.

Project: Puzzle Dungeon Solitaire Card Game Intro Deck

Designer: Brian Garber

Artist: Brian Garber (Puzzle Dungeon, To the Death!)

Publisher: Brian Garber

Genre/Mechanisms: card game, fantasy, hand management, modular board, puzzle, set collection, solitaire only card game, variable player powers

Player Count: 1

Solo Mode: yes

Complexity: light

Risk: medium-high

Summary: “’A solitaire hand management, modular board, set collection game in which you control a monster hunter making their way through a dungeon filled with several types of monsters and their kings. Use the limited cards in your hand and cards dealt into play from a deck to defeat enemies which are dealt randomly each game to form a unique board. Featuring twenty double-faced monster cards. The front of each monster card features an average monster of that type: a vampire, a goblin, or haunted armor. The back of each monster card depicts that monster as a monster king. There are four of each type of monster. When the third monster of a type is defeated, the fourth is flipped over to the monster king. Monster kings have punishing abilities and a strong effect on the game.”

Base Pledge (w/shipping): $5, print & play only

All-In (w/shipping): $20

Campaign Ends: 3/14

Game Ships: October 2023

Funding Status: Funded; currently at 1,184% with 12 days to go.

Project: Sally Face: Strange Nightmares

Designer: Steve Gabry

Artist: Steve Gabry

Publisher: Maestro Media (The Binding of Isaac: Four Souls, Sugar Heist, Tapeworm)

Genre/Mechanisms: action / event, area movement, cooperative game, dice rolling, die icon resolution, events, horror, video game theme, scenario / mission / campaign game, solo / solitaire game, variable player powers

Player Count: 1-4

Solo Mode: yes

Complexity: medium-light

Risk: HIGH

Summary: “Strange occurrences are happening at Addison Apartments. Explore the apartments as Sal and his friends, and work together to investigate the surrounding mysteries. Play through different episodes with events and characters that echo the video game. Players must solve mysteries, stop cultists and prevent the Red Eyed Demon from spreading corruption while advancing through the story. Players roll custom dice and use the results to perform a variety of actions to solve mysteries but if they dabble too much the powers of evil may become too strong to stop. Unsolved mysteries allow the Red Eyed Demon to spread corruption and the heroes may lose their lives or sanity. However, death and insanity aren’t the end. Heroes may persevere while mad or as ghosts. Such a fate brings the Red Eyed Demon ever closer to his goal of total domination. Players who complete the story face a climax which is a different challenge in each chapter.”

Base Pledge (w/shipping): $64

All-In (w/shipping): $1,034 includes lots of additional merch

Campaign Ends: 3/30

Game Ships: June 2024

Funding Status: Funded; currently at 629% with 28 days to go.

Project: Soda Pop Collection (on Backerkit)

Designers: Daniel Danzer(Light Seeker), Julian Danzer (Dark Empire: Revolution, Light Seeker, Round the World, Undercover), Enrico Gandolfo (Top Cap), Ignazio Panades (Forgenesis, KuniUmi), Pierpaolo Paoletti (Cat-a-comb)

Artists: Behemot (Cat-a-comb), Sergio Chaves (Dwellings of Eldervale, Forgenesis, Rise of Tribes, Sanssouci), Bryn Jones (Holding On: The Troubled Life of Billy Kerr, Light Seeker), Paolo Voto (Darwin’s Journey, Hats, Rebis, Top Cap)

Publisher: Thundergryph Games (Iwari, Spirits of the Forest, Tang Garden)

Genre/Mechanisms: abstract strategy (Cat-a-comb, Forgenesis, Top Cap); abstract strategy, grid movement, pattern building, three dimensional movement, variable set-up (Light Seeker)

Player Count: 2

Solo Mode: no

Complexity: medium-light

Risk: medium-low

Summary: “Your goal in Cat-a-comb is to get your cats stacked in all the right places. On a turn either place one of your cats from your reserve onto a neutral cat or opposing cat that is sitting directly on a tile, thereby creating a stack of two cats, or take a stack of cats from a tile and distribute them on the board, placing the bottom-most cat onto an adjacent space, then the next cat onto a space adjacent to the one just placed, then (if present) the final cat adjacent to that one (a stack can consist of one cat). You can never place two cats of the same color directly on top of one another, and your turn cannot end with a stack taller than three. You win at the end of your turn if (1) you have a cat on the top of the stacks of all the tiles of one color or (2) you have a cat on top of three stacks that are each three cats high.

In Forgenesis, you want to land on the opponent’s base or make them unable to play. On a turn, activate any number of your active creatures on the board by either (1) moving them one space orthogonally toward the opponent’s corner or (2) using their unique ability, after which you flip the token to its resting side. The frog jumps an orthogonally adjacent token, the firefly pulls a creature in the same orthogonal line adjacent to the firefly, the beetle pushes an orthogonally adjacent token one space, and so on. If a token leaves the board, it’s permanently removed from play. To end your turn, you can summon a creature from your reserve onto an empty summoning space of your color. Instead of activating creatures, you can spend your turn flipping all of your resting animals to their active side. If you move one of your creatures onto the opponent’s corner, you win. If you cannot activate a creature while also having no resting creatures, you lose.

In Light Seeker, both players must increase the amount of light in the world on their turn — but can you bring the light together to win? On a turn, you take two actions. An action can be to (1) slide a cube into an orthogonally adjacent open space, not changing its orientation, or (2) tilt a cube into an orthogonally adjacent open space. You cannot take an action where Buh is located, and after taking your actions, you must move Buh onto any other cube. At the end of your turn, all cubes must be orthogonally or diagonally adjacent to at least one other cube and the total amount of light on the top faces of the cubes must have increased. A “light area” is created by one or more cubes that have orthogonally (edge to edge) adjacent half or full Bright faces. Multiple light areas can exist on top of the cubes, and they will shift and change over time. If at the end of your turn, you have created a light area that contains at least 7 light, you win.

In Top Cap, each player starts with four bottle caps in their color on a 6×6 grid; the corner of the grid closest to them depicts a bottle in the matching color. On a turn, choose one of your bottle caps, count the number of bottle caps of either color that are on adjacent spaces (whether orthogonal or diagonal), then move that bottle cap exactly that many spaces in a straight line either diagonally or orthogonally. You cannot leave the board, jump or land on a bottle cap, or land on your bottle. If you move one of your bottle caps onto the opponent’s bottle, you win. If you cannot legally move one of your bottle caps on your turn, you lose.”

Base Pledge (w/shipping): $25

All-In (w/shipping): $63

Campaign Ends: 3/17

Game Ships: October 2023

Funding Status: Funded; currently at 183% with 15 days to go.

Project: Song for War: Mediterranean Theater

Designers: Chris Helm, Seth Stigliano

Artists: not credited

Publisher: Invicta Rex Games

Genre/Mechanisms: area movement, cooperative game, critical hits and failures, dice rolling, events, hidden movement, once-per-game abilities, scenario / mission / campaign game, secret unit deployment, team-based game, tech trees/ tech tracks, wargame, world war II

Player Count: 2-4

Solo Mode: no

Complexity: heavy

Risk: HIGH

Summary: “A strategy wargame based in the contested regions of southern Europe, north Africa, and the Mediterranean Sea during World War 2. Representing one of four nations, players must work together as the Allies (US or Great Britain) or Axis (Germany or Italy). Players have the option to set strategy, move units, attack and defend as individual nations or simultaneously as the Allied or Axis team. Innovative mechanics allow players to deploy their land, sea, and air units strategically as combined forces, with faster units moving first and more often, followed by heavy units with stronger firepower. Take strategic objectives, control shipping lanes and resupply, deploy new technologies and units, and recreate historical events to defeat the enemy and win the day.”

Base Pledge (w/shipping): $124

All-In (w/shipping): $124, same as above

Campaign Ends: 3/30

Game Ships: April 2024

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

Project: Soul of Ankiril

Designers: Ercole Belloni, Marco Valtriani (011, Super Fantasy: Ugly Snouts Assault, Voodoo)

Artist: Mirko Mastrocinque

Publisher: Tambù

Genre/Mechanisms: action points, card game, deck construction, hand management, hexagon grid, wargame

Player Count: 2-4

Solo Mode: no

Complexity: medium-light

Risk: HIGH

Summary: “A strategic card game where players will compete using thematic decks of 25 cards, one of each element or Temen (Fire, Air, Water, Earth, Wood and Metal), with the aim of deactivating the Emanation Portals on the opponent’s field. To do this, players will move their creatures on a board made up of hexagons, then it will be up to them to make the most of the map to achieve victory. Each player will be able to construct their deck and choose a specific Board that represents their half of the battlefield. Once the two players connects their halves the game can start. Both players will then place their Emanation portals and Leaders. During their turn, players will be be able to: play a card from their hand (creature or spell) for 1 energy point; move a creature on the board; attack or activate a special ability; draw a card for 1 energy point. Each creature is unique so during the deck construction phase before a match it will be crucial to choose the best combination of creatures and spells, even of different Temen.”

Base Pledge (w/shipping): $50

All-In (w/shipping): $176

Campaign Ends: 3/24

Game Ships: November 2024

Funding Status: Currently at 56% with 22 days to go.

Project: Spirits of Christmas

Designer: John S. Bailey

Artists: Emmie Bailey

Publisher: Humble Bard Games

Genre/Mechanisms: adventure, card game, Christmas, cooperative game, end game bonuses, hand management, modular board, movement points, novel-based, pieces as map, rondel, solo / solitaire game, variable set-up

Player Count: 1-6

Solo Mode: yes

Complexity: light

Risk: HIGH

Summary: “A light cooperative strategy game in which players take on the role of the three Spirits of Christmas from the classic novel A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens. You will be taking the old miser Ebenezer Scrooge on a journey through Christmases of the Past, Present, and Future, showing him the consequences of his actions. Hopefully he will change his ways before he runs out of time! Players will move Scrooge through scenes from the classic story, taking actions using a simple rondel. Your goal is to present ten pivotal moments in Scrooge’s life to the old miser, playing combinations of Spirit cards (Contentment, Compassion, and Charity) to meet the requirements for each Scene. Each action you take will require Scrooge to spend his precious Shillings. You can only convince him to part with 15 Shillings during each journey this night, and if these run out, everyone loses the game.”

Base Pledge (w/shipping): $40

All-In (w/shipping): $40, same as above

Campaign Ends: 3/23

Game Ships: November 2023

Funding Status: Currently at 10% with 21 days to go.

Project: “Wanderlust: Discover the World” by Pektis Studio

Designer: Julian Asleh

Artist: Xue Cui

Publisher: Pektis Studio

Genre/Mechanisms: connections, end game bonuses, hand management, network and route building, open drafting, racing, set collection, transportation, variable player powers, variable set-up

Player Count: 2-4

Solo Mode: no

Complexity: medium-light

Risk: HIGH

Summary: “Players will be planning trips around the world to visit the most locations, visit beautiful sights, and encounter fellow travelers along the way. One of the primary aspects of this game will be drawing transportation cards in order to visit one of the three cities available at the top left portion of the board. This is the travel planning phase. You stay in place until you have all of the cars, trains, boats, small planes or jets you need to reach the city. Each connection on the map represents one of these modes of transit. Only after your entire trip has been planned can you turn in your cards and make the journey. You will score points based on how many connections. The more, the better. You have to strike a balance between saving up too many cards and snagging the destination before someone else does. Finally, three end game scoring conditions are randomly selected so each game will have unique goals to target.”

Base Pledge (w/shipping): $74

All-In (w/shipping): $74, same as above

Campaign Ends: 3/30

Game Ships: February 2024

Funding Status: Currently at 29% with 28 days to go.