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Crowdfunding Round-up: Yo Dawg, I Heard You Like Campaigns in Your Campaigns...

Crowdfunding Round-up: Yo Dawg, I Heard You Like Campaigns in Your Campaigns...
Board Game: Saga of the Northmen
• The hobby is experiencing a mini Nordic renaissance it seems, with more than one-quarter of all Viking-themed games in the BGG database having been published since 2013. Saga of the Northmen, from designer Scott W. Leibbrandt and publisher Minion Games, is a classic area control game — something of an endangered species these days — and a throwback to the heyday of the not-quite-euro "strategy game". I think the publisher missed a trick by not planning to have their campaign conclude on a Thursday, though. (KS link)

• Rome: Rise to Power from Elad Goldsteen and Golden Egg Games is the second title from this designer/publisher to hit KS in as many months. The game's central conceit is a dice-placement system which the publisher believes is innovative enough that they have given it a name, "Rise to Power", and trademarked that name. (And why shouldn't they? Great empires are not maintained by timidity, after all.) Perhaps this means the dice system will show up in future Golden Egg titles. (KS link)

From gallery of archit3uthis
• Another dice game on KS is Dicenstein from Chris Fernandez and Tom McGinty, back for its second run. The first campaign in June 2015 was canceled by the publisher, Petersen Games, because backers pointed out that engraved dice are vastly superior in longevity and feel to the heat-printed dice that were originally planned. Creating classic horror monsters is the draw here; if you're into body stitchery and playing Gene Wilder, this might be a good add for your Halloween game bag. (KS link)

• David Lankton and CMX Games have created a game with a little less morbid form of assembly. Brick Work is a two-player dice placement game in which players build objects out of KAZI bricks as part of the gameplay. The game would make an interesting gateway to the hobby for young fans of construction toys like LEGO and K'NEX. If you're the Special, it's up to you to go back this game and thwart the Kragle! [Disclaimer: I assisted with rulebook editing for this game.] (KS link)

 
• Gritty crime noir is severely (criminally?) underrepresented in board games. Designer Matt Stockwell has set out to change that with Charm City Blues, his debut design that he's publishing under his own Mobtown Games label, in conjunction with Breaking Games. This cooperative, narrative-first game was one of eight finalists featured on Tabletop Deathmatch at Gen Con 2015. In the game, players are members of an elite Vice Squad, Charm City's own collection of Philip Marlowe and Harry Hole types, working against the clock to solve crimes. (KS link)

• Level 99 Games, the publisher of the BattleCON series, continues to expand its brand as the leader in card games meant to replicate classic arcade duelers with the EXCEED Fighting System, once again designed by Brad Talton, Jr. Level 99's plan is to partner with other game publishers so that each new EXCEED release features a set of crossover characters; the initial release pulls from Jasco Games' Red Horizon franchise. (KS link)

Board Game: Hamlet Builder Pro
• The latest release from The Game Crafter to go the Kickstarter route is Super Hardcore Hamlet Builder Pro 5000 of the Stars: 1599 AD (or Hamlet Builder Pro for short), from the design team of Julian Harris, JT Smith, and Jamie Vrbsky. Players are magistrates expanding their sleepy little villages by purchasing and laying hexagonal tiles. The game throws negative events, like orc attacks and dwarven larceny, at players, forcing them to plan well in order to mitigate the damage. Hamlet building isn't for the faint of heart! (KS link)

• Desnet Amane's Heroes' Gold is a light card game of wagering and hand management from Queen Games. The game's theme flips the bog-standard dungeon crawl on its head; players are monsters raiding a castle, conquering guards and stealing gold along the way. Some poetic justice, no? It may be worth noting, for you Stefan Feld completionists out there, that there's a pledge level that will net you his 2010 design It Happens. (KS link)

• Back in May 2015, W. Eric covered the first KS campaign for Cabals: The Board Game, a physical port of the digital card game of the same name. Now this game from KYY Games and designer Mika Rosendahl is back, with a lower funding goal and the new confusing title Cabals: The Board Game, An Expandable Card Game (XCG). How long before the rest of the non-Fantasy Flight market settles on a single term and acronym for games of this ilk? (KS link)

• If you have a penchant for schadenfreude, you've likely spent time chuckling at some of the strategy games attempting to simulate political electioneering that clueless carpetbaggers have brought to KS over the years. That's why it's refreshing to read about Campaign Trail from Cosmic Wombat Games. The Cornelius brothers, Jeff and Nathan, have developed the game from a rough concept their father David taught them decades ago into a slick modern design that supports up to six players. (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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