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• The original race for the galaxy occurred in the skies just over our planet during the Cold War, and that struggle is represented on the tabletop in Space Race: The Card Game from Marek Loskot and Jan Soukal, first-time designers who also decided to navigate the frontier of self-publication. If you’re a fan of real space race history or card games where discovering synergies is the meat-and-potatoes of the gameplay, this might be the offering for you. I just have one question: does it come in a retort pouch? (KS link)
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• Following the trajectory of Star Realms before it, the two-player deck-building game Helionox: The Last Sunset is getting a standalone expansion set. This new set from Mr. B Games and designer Taran Lewis Kratz, dubbed Helionox: Mercury Protocol, can also be combined with the original to allow for three- and four-player games (in both competitive and co-op modes). For anyone wondering, scenarios like this are why publishers will sometimes add seemingly unnecessary subtitles to their releases; they’re future-proofing against potential confusion as they expand a product line. (KS link)
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• Creating a card game about kawaii-faced sushi is certainly a bold move, given the dominant market presence of Sushi Go!, but that’s exactly what Vanessa Simek is doing with Sushifuda. If you can get past the superficial similarities, though, you’ll find a different sort of gameplay. As the name implies, the game is essentially a deck of Hanafuda cards, which can be used to play a number of traditional Japanese card games, but Sushifuda focuses on the Sakura variation, which is about making matches. (KS link)
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• Over in Valeria, nobody’s resting on their laurels, because there are quests to be undertaken! Quests of Valeria represents Daily Magic Games and designer Isaias Vallejo’s third foray into this fantasy world. Here, completing quests is a matter of having the right combination of citizen cards in hand, which are gained via a conveyor belt system of depreciating cost (a la Small World). Many of these quests involve violence, so let’s hope that blades made of Valerian steel are as strong and true as their Valyrian counterparts. (KS link)
• Some miniatures games storm onto the KS scene, and others crawl in at the ground level, fighting for scraps left behind by the giants. The latter scenario may be an apt descriptor for Picnic Panic, which pits players as rival ant tribes, all bent on pillaging those red-and-white-checkered pantries du jour. Stonegate Forge is the design and publication team behind this grid-based battle game. In keeping with the theme, the rules encourage players to offer up actual food items as stakes for the win. Turn your next picnic into the Hungerdome! (KS link)
• Never would have thought I’d be writing about a luxury vehicle in one of these articles, but that’s exactly what the Game Canopy is: sumptuous transportation for your cardboard wealth. The folks at Level 3B have produced a state-of-the-art product unlike anything this industry has yet seen. Innovative features and rugged construction make it the bag to end all bags (and, like Bag End, it could likely fit a hobbit). The Game Canopy carries a hefty price tag but is an heirloom-quality product. I won’t need any other game bag for the next decade. (KS link)
Editor’s note: Please don’t post links to other Kickstarter projects in the comments section. Write to me via the email address in the header, and I’ll consider them for inclusion in a future crowdfunding round-up. Thanks! —WEM
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