I already reviewed two games that launched earlier this week on Kickstarter, but just browsing the tabletop games category, I came across several more that I thought were worth a mention!
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Thunder Road: Vendetta – Carnival of Chaos from Restoration Games
Thunder Road: Vendetta was one of our 2023 Game of the Year finalists, and is still one of my personal favorites for a raucous, chaotic experience. This campaign gives you another opportunity to get the “Maximum Chrome” edition (which didn’t go to retail), and also introduces the Carnival of Chaos expansion, what looks to be a demolition derby rather than a road race. I’m excited to see what new mayhem this one brings!
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/playtoz/ascending-empires-zenith-edition
Ascending Empires Zenith Edition from Play to Z
Ascending Empires was originally published back in 2011—it’s a game that involved traveling between planets by flicking a disc across a board, but also had tech tracks and things you might not expect in a dexterity game. Unfortunately, that version was often plagued by warped boards that affected the flicking mechanic, but I was always interested in the concept. Zev Schlasinger, the founder of Z-Man Games, is back with a new company called Play to Z, and his first order of business is bringing this game back to life and giving it a deluxe treatment. It’s a bit spendy, but I’m keeping my eye on it for now!
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/amibaio/hurt-party?ref=discovery_category
Hurt Party: A Game of Bad Apologies from Pink Tiger Games
From the designer of party games like You Think You Know Me and Lost for Words comes this game about various ways we can get hurt, and the terrible ways that people might apologize for that. It’s silly, but also digs a bit at the very real problem that a lot of people don’t know how to apologize well, and this game collects a whole lot of poor apologies and packs them into the game. Sometimes you gotta laugh so you don’t cry, right? “Sorry, but you know how it goes.”
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/pikagames/floe
Floe from PIKA Games
This one I mostly know about because I follow the artist, Andrew Bosley, who is well-known for games like Everdell and Tapestry. It’s a fantasy adventure game that looks a bit hard to pin down, but it does have adorable animals in a frozen world, and secrets that unlock as you make progress through the various quests. I’m definitely curious about this one.
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/snowbrightstudio/time-tails-rpg
Time Tails RPG from Snowbright Studio
One of these days maybe I’ll play some RPGs but for now I’ve got my hands full! But whenever I see games that involve time travel, I always stop to check them out. Time Tails is definitely having fun with the retro theme, with the Back to the Future–inspired logo, and you’re battling time pirates and trying to save the timeline. Somebody get this and run a game for me, please?
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/davidbock/rocket-ranchers-herding-cats-in-space
Rocket Ranchers: Herding Cats in Space! from Binxadinx Games
This game just looks cute: grab cards from the grid based on particular layouts, but any space cats nearby are automatically collected too! You’ll be trying to make sets of animals, but the cats are a gamble—they’ll cost you points unless you get a whole lot of them. It looks like a clever, quick game with some nice press-your-luck elements to it.
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/mrbgames/ace-of-aces-powerhouse-series-deluxe-edition
Ace of Aces from Mr. B. Games
Ace of Aces is a game I learned about when I was first starting to get into the hobby, and it sounded fascinating but has been out of print and hard to obtain. It’s a WWI dogfight and uses two specially designed books so that you and your opponent get a pilot’s-eye view from your cockpit. Based on what you see and what maneuvers you choose, you’ll both turn to different pages and see how things line up. I love the concept of it! This campaign is for a deluxe edition of the game.
Mystery Under Magi-Mart from Bodie Hartley
This one isn’t technically a tabletop game, but it was listed in the category and the artwork caught my eye as I was browsing. It’s a pick-your-path book, with a story about going down into the basement of the Magi-Mart to fetch a potion. It looks very cute, and since I’ve always liked choose-your-own-adventure stories, this seems like a fun one to try.
