Friday, September 8, 2017

Eye on Kickstarter #28

Welcome to my Eye on Kickstarter series!  This series will highlight Kickstarter campaigns I am following that have recently launched (or I've recently discovered) because they have caught my interest.  Usually they'll catch my interest because they look like great games that I have either backed or would like to back (unfortunately budget doesn't allow me to back everything I'd like to).  But occasionally the campaigns caught my attention for other reasons.  Twice a month, on the 2nd and 4th Fridays, I'll make a new post in this series, highlighting the campaigns that have caught my attention since the last post.  In each post I'll highlight one campaign that has really grabbed my attention, followed by other campaigns I've backed or am interested in.  I'll also include links to any reviews I've done.  Comments are welcome, as are suggestions for new campaigns to check out!

You can also see my full Kickstarter Profile to see what I've backed or my old Eye on Kickstarter page that was too unwieldy to maintain.  Also, check out the 2017 Kickstarter Boardgame Projects geeklist over on Board Game Geek for a list of all the tabletop games of the year.
So, without further ado, here are the projects I'm currently watching as of the second Friday of September, 2017:

Live Campaigns from Past Eyes:
Radiant
Wanted Earth
Now Boarding


HIGHLIGHTED CAMPAIGN
Mint Delivery
  • GJJ Games Backed
  • Last year Justin Blaske had a huge hit with Mint Works, a great little worker placement game that fit in a mint tin. Now he's back with a second mint tin sized game set in the same mint crazy world. Mint Delivery looks like a great pick-up and deliver game with simple rules and a tiny size (although it looks like stretch goals are going to push this into a slightly deeper tin). I backed for my copy, and you should check it out, too!


Mint Delivery is a refreshingly light pick up and deliver game for 2 to 4 players with easy-to-learn rules and exciting strategic gameplay, all in about fifteen minutes. Its compact size makes it easy to put in your pocket and take it anywhere. Coupling that with its approachable ruleset, Mint Delivery is a great tool for introducing new players to the genre of pick up and deliver.




Scrooge
  • A Christmas Carol is by far my favorite Dickens story, and the artwork in Scrooge looks incredible. The gameplay looks light and fun, very reminiscent of classic roll-and-move games, but with enough options and choices to keep it interesting.


The Little Flower Shop
  • The Little Flower Shop comes from designer Steve Finn, who also designed Herbaceous (which I recently reviewed), Biblios, and a slew of other light, filler games. The Little Flower Shop has a really interesting card drafting and set collection mechanic along with a really unique theme and great artwork that would be amazing in any collection.


Horizons
  • Are you looking for a huge space themed civilization building 4x game, but don't have four hours to play? Horizons condenses that into just one hour without sacrificing the thematic or mechanical elements that make for an epic space opera game. Keep an eye on this one, it looks really cool.


戦國 ZiPANG Portable
  • 戦國 ZiPANG Portable is a fast, draw-one, play-one card game about being a rising samurai in 17th century Japan. Will you manage your resources and attack your enemies well enough to become a shogun? This is a game that I almost reviewed, but it didn't fit into my schedule. It looks pretty fun though.


Warehouse 13: The Board Game
  • My wife and I loved Warehouse 13 when it was on and were upset when it was canceled. So I'm very interested to see how this game does and how it uses the Warehouse 13 story and theme in its gameplay. So far it looks promising!


Into the Black: Boarding Party
  • This semi-cooperative game about space piracy was on my list to review about a year ago, however the prototype copy I received had a lot of flaws, so I ended up not posting a review. However, in the past year or so the game has gone through a lot of changes (some of which I suggested, so I'm thrilled to see that they worked out). The new game looks a lot more interesting and hopefully fixes the early flaws.


Ancient Artifacts
  • Roll and write games are becoming more popular lately, and Ancient Artifacts looks like a very interesting take on the genre. Take a dash of Lost Cities, a bit of Tomb Raider, throw in some dice and you have a board game version of Indiana Jones.


Gridstones: Night Sky
  • I've mentioned that I like astronomy, right? Well, Gridstones: Night Sky is a retheme of (ok, just adding a theme where there was none previously) the 2008 Gridstones. This new version adds in shooting star cards and adds some really cool components with the new constellations theme. At only $15 ($19CA), plus shipping, this looks like a great, casual abstract strategy game.


Zero Gravity
  • OK, the gameplay looks decent, but nothing too original... Except for one thing. That's the gimmick. And it's a really cool gimmick. Gravity is played on a three dimensional board, kind of like playing on the inside of a box. But the board and pieces are magnetized, so you play in three dimensions! Your units can move around on the floors, walls, or ceiling and attack at a multitude of angles or locations. This will definitely attract attention at a game night.

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