There are several board game–related Kickstarter projects currently in the works, and since I’m still getting caught up from a recent trip I figured I’d better tell you about them now before I forget and time runs out!
First up: a project that has already hit 740% of its goal with a month left to go, which means chances are you’ve probably already heard of it. But just in case you haven’t, the Official Settlers of Catan Gaming Board solves the problem of the board hexes shifting around while you’re playing the game. It’s fantastic to have a modular board for that variety and replay value, but it means you can’t easily pick the game up and go somewhere else with it — and when somebody bumps the table you have reposition everything.
This board (with the optional leaf for 5–6 players) will hold the island of Catan steady, with spaces for the roads in between. It comes in two halves that notch together, and if you play a lot of Settlers then you’ll definitely want to add this to your game collection. The Catan folks liked the idea so much that it’s officially licensed, and at $25 for the 3–4 player basic board it won’t break the bank.
If you’re a big spender, though, you can also pledge for the Seafarer boards, or the limited edition walnut board which will be engraved with your name and serial number. (#001 went to Klaus Teuber himself!)
Game Grids keep your tile-laying games in place.
Well, that’s fine and dandy if you’re a Settlers player, but what about that other awesome gateway game, Carcassonne? This game that consists of placing little square tiles is extremely prone to seismic activity, especially when you’re trying to place a tile in a narrow spot. One careless move and you can shift an entire row of tiles, knocking over meeples and necessitating a break while everyone remembers whether they had farmers or thieves or knights.
Game Grids are designed to hold these tiles in place while you play. A nifty feature on these is the corner cut-outs, which let you easily pick up a tile in the middle of a layout by poking it in the corner to pop the tile up. The Game Grids will work with any game that uses the same sized tiles, like Alhambra, but I’m guessing it’ll largely be used for Carcassonne. You can get a set of nine Game Grides for $25, enough to hold 144 tiles and sufficient for the base game of Carcassonne. If you’re planning on throwing in the expansions you’ll probably want a few more. Each grid holds 16 tiles, and there are lots of other options like LRF support and nice velvet pouches for your Carcassonne collection.
That canvas bag on the left contains all the games on the right. Photo: Grumpy Owl Gamery
I’ve already mentioned The Keep, but here’s a reminder in case you hadn’t checked it out yet. They’re reaching for a pretty big goal and they’ve got a week left. It’s a system for transporting games without all the bulk of game boxes (which are typically 80% air anyway). Even if you don’t need the high-dollar Keep itself, consider checking out the Magic Chamber, which is perfect for deck-builders like Dominion.
Next, here’s a couple of board games to check out!
