• I love the art style on Best Treehouse Ever from Green Couch Games and designer Scott Almes. (KS link) Artist Adam Mciver killed it. It's cartoony and "young" in a good way. I love the Euro send-up with the kids holding the plans looking up at the tree, an approach that made it eligible for this amazing GeekList. Gamewise, it is a filler-ish family game that can be enjoyed by adults as well. I trust Jason and Scott, two of the best dudes in gaming, so I assume that the drafting isn't too much for younger gamers. I love anything with spatial analysis, so I am in.
Have you ever dreamed of building a super awesome treehouse? Now it's time to live that dream! In Best Treehouse Ever, players compete to build the best treehouse in the neighborhood. Players will outfit their treehouse with the coolest rooms, all while making sure their tree doesn't tip over and that their rooms are the most impressive at the end of the game.
Building takes place over three weeks/rounds, and at the end of the third week the winner will be the player with the best treehouse ever!
• Tumblin’ Dice from Eagle-Gryphon Games is gigantic. Like super big. (KS link) Some games are just fun and Tumblin' Dice is one of them. I have played it only a few times, but it was always a blast. Seriously though, it is soooo big. Where do you store it? If I bought this, it would end up on the kitchen table after we played it, then I wouldn't want to take it down to the basement to the island of misfit toys because it would get forgotten about or stomped on by box trolls, so I would end up shifting around the kitchen and living room with it constantly being in the way until one day my wife sets fire to it after the umpteenth time she asks me to take it to the basement with me saying I will but not actually doing it. Needless to say I won't be backing it, but hopefully someone I know does because it's fun.
A player can score a multiplier with each die roll, gaining up to 1x, 2x, 3x, or 4x depending on which area of the board the dice rest in. (Dice which land in the 0x region are immediately removed from play.)
Just like shuffleboard or curling, high-scoring rolls can become targets for opponents who may hope to knock the die out of the game. After four rounds, and the player with the most points wins!
• Cheapass Games is back with Lord of the Fries from owner James Ernest. (KS link) I am always down for a humorous theme, and this one sure is. This one looks interesting even though I am not inherently a zombie guy. It's only cheapass-ish at $30 for 100 cards or so, but it looks like they have some cool plans if it blows up like Pairs did.
Likely no one else cares or notices, but Cheapass is the 12th entry in the BGG publisher database; Green Couch Games above is the 27,497th. Even before Kickstarter there have been a TON of companies coming and going in our little hobby. I mean, there are like forty game companies that have "Green" in them.
That's the deal in Lord of the Fries, one of Cheapass Games' most beloved games, which was introduced in 1998 as the sequel to Give Me the Brain. It has had several versions since then, and now it's out of print. We want to make the new edition better in many ways, including a second complete restaurant deck: McFrye's Coffee Shop.
• Bad Decisions is being self-published by Ian Price. (KS link) This game is "a new storytelling twist on card-matching party games for teens and up [that] focuses on the humor in the questionable life choices which some people make when the going gets tough". That is pretty good copy IMO. It cuts to the chase in a good way. Frankly, though, I hate these types of games, so I have no idea whether Bad Decisions is different than the current crop of "read cards and trick your friends into thinking you are actually funny" games. Maybe someone with more experience can let us know in the comments.
Because of the storytelling character of this game, each story card can set up literally hundreds of different situations. All players have hands with five of each player card category. The bard plays cards for whichever of the categories (Fool, Crisis or Bad Decision) come up as the first two blanks on that story card. The other players complete the story by anonymously playing a card for the remaining blank from their own hands to fill the final blank. The bard chooses the winning ending to complete the story, then passes the role of bard to the player on the left.
• Now for something completely different, Hylaria from Fablesmith. (KS link) Honestly, I got nothing. I glanced through the page but couldn't really figure out what was going on. It looks like there is a memory-ish version, then another harder one with a code you devise? I was even lazier than normal, so W. Eric spoonfed me a few links. I think he purposely chose games that would make my brain go numb out of spite.
I like the kitschy art style as the game looks like Dixit on acid. I don't have anything else to add, BUT the crew over at "A roll of the dice" LOVED Hylaria: "A clean sweep for us. I have never rated a game a ten, and that is just because I do not believe any game to be perfect. This one is darn close though. The fun of fooling your friends, while secretly conversing with your team is awesome. Some of the codes we came up with made no sense, at all, to anyone, and we couldn't help but laugh the night away trying to decipher our own code, let alone the other team's."
With all the components you will find in the box, you'll be able to play Hylaria Quest, a fun and colorful game for everyone aged 6 and up. No matter what type of company you find yourself in, it's always a good idea to put Hylaria on the table.
Quick Hits
• The super awesome Richard Ham (Rhado) is seeking funding for season four of Rhado Runs Through. There is a lot of good board game media these days, but Richard remains one of the best. His channel is both prolific and well done. Check it out. (KS link)
Going, Going, Gone
Its closed now, but I backed Bottom of the 9th and not just because I am a character in it...though I am. And it rules. Feel free to get a copy and desecrate my likeness as you see fit. That is it for now. W. Eric is going to cover the other 748 projects that are live right now soon enough and I have Hearthstone to play.
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