As always, I’ve got some Kickstarter reviews in the pipeline, but there are always a lot of fascinating tabletop projects out there that we won’t get to review in depth, often because we just weren’t able to get a prototype in time. Here are a few current projects that I wanted to highlight.
Valeria: Card Kingdoms – Shadowvale
Valeria: Card Kingdoms is a GeekDad favorite: you build a tableau of various citizens, who help you gather gold, attack power, and magic. You use those to fight monsters and build up domains that give you special abilities. This latest expansion to the series adds some classic horror creatures to the mix: werewolves, vampires, zombies, and more!
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1152089861/the-keyring-rpg
The Keyring RPG
This clever little role-playing game fits on a keychain! All you need to provide is a six-sided and a pencil. Originally created in a Swedish version, it will now be published in an English edition to reach a wider audience. The little cards on the ring include several maps, tiny character sheets, encounters, and obstacles.
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1293726726/page-quest-season-1
Page Quest: Season 1
This print-and-play solo adventure puts a game on a single sheet of paper. It’s inspired by A4 Quest, but now includes a campaign with multiple episodes (each on a sheet of paper) so that your character can develop over time. You can get the missions emailed to you, or back for the pre-printed edition.
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/geniusgames/subatomic-an-atom-building-board-game
Subatomic: An Atom Building Game
Genius Games is back with another science-based board game, this time about subatomic particles! It’s a deck-building game where you start with some quarks and particle/wave duality cards, build protons, neutrons, and electrons, and then use those to create elements. Genius Games combines gameplay with real scientific concepts, and this one looks like a winner.
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1038902625/lightning-and-bolt-an-asymmetric-co-op-superhero-a
Lightning & Bolt
David Somerville, the designer of the wildly asymmetric Vast, originally designed this game for his three-year-old daughter. It’s an asymmetric cooperative game, where one player has simple, quick rules, and the other player has more complex, strategic rules. This Kickstarter campaign was for a very limited run of 100 (now already sold out) but you can still back for the print and play files. I’ve got my fingers crossed that this one will eventually see a wider release!
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/burntislandgames/endeavor-age-of-sail
Endeavor: Age of Sail
Endeavor: Age of Sail is a new edition of a 2009 game of empire building. Begin in Europe and build up your industry, wealth, culture, and influence as you open trade routes to new regions. This version is published by Burnt Island Games (a new imprint of Kids Table BG) and Grand Gamers Guild, and the Commodore level will have some deluxe components that look really amazing.
New to Kickstarter? Check out our crowdfunding primer, and visit our Kickstarter curated page for more projects we love.
