• One of many things that I overlooked during the Spiel 2013 blitz was a KS project for Journey: Wrath of Demons, the first release from Hong Kong publisher Marrow Production. (KS link) In short, this is a cooperative miniatures board game with a terrible representative image that looks like someone threw the box down in an alley because they were too scared to hold on to it. In long:
Journey is designed for 1 to 4 players, each controlling one of the four Pilgrims: Tripitaka, Monkey, Monk Sha and Cho Hakkai. The game's AI controls the Demons and other creatures. Diverse playing styles are possible, with a strong emphasis on cooperation because the players win or lose as a team. Each game will take 30 minutes to two hours, depending on the quest and the style you play.
The core game comes with ~10 quests, each with different goals and unique rules. Do you ruthlessly hack and slash, killing all demons in the Pilgrims' path? Or take a more virtuous path, cleansing the demons' souls, saving villagers and collecting good karma. Your decisions affect the Pilgrims' abilities, skills and equipment. Killing demons may be quick but can you risk accumulating that bad karma? Side quests may enhance your Pilgrims' skill and karma, but with more demons spawning, can you afford to spend that time?
• I heard from a number of BGG users about Lance Hill's Kings of Israel, the first release from Hill's Funhill Games. (KS link) Not sure why this game has rung a bell with folks, but here it is just the same. Perhaps they'll chime in afterward to let us know what we're missing.
• APE Games failed to gain traction with its first attempt to fund Michael R. Brandl's hard-to-find-in-search-engines card game RARRR!!, so it rebooted, came back asking for half as much money, and has already topped that goal with two weeks to spare. (KS link) A good example of failing upward, for those familiar with the Peter Principle. (And if you're not familiar with this, then shame on you for not knowing satirical 1970s business thinking. Who knows what else you've missed out on during your years on this Earth?) A summary of the game:
Will you build a super fire-spewing dragon monster, or a more balanced monster that can flatten cities time and time again for the long haul? Either way, it's not a good day to live in the metropolis.
• In Michael Fox's Keep Running! from his own Sprocket Games, 3-8 players try to keep ahead of their "friends" and not fall prey to the bear running after them. (KS link)
• Proxy Army Games is running a crowdfunding project for Proxy War, which (if I understand this correctly) is a 300-page set of rules for tabletop miniature gaming but the miniatures available as part of the KS project can be customized by the project backers and will be produced through 3D printing. (KS link) I have no idea when 3D printing will break out big-time, with people buying game rules and PDF schematics that allow them to print their own bits at home, but have no doubt that day will come.
• I know that Riddle included the KS project for Cheapass' Get Lucky — a card game based on the Kill Doctor Lucky board game with similarly bloodthirsty players trying to off an old man — in his most recent round-up, but he didn't provide proper musical accompaniment for the game, so I needed to correct that failing: