Eye on Kickstarter #44

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 2018 Kickstarter Boardgame Projects geeklist over on Board Game Geek for a list of all the tabletop games of the year.

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So, without further ado, here are the projects I'm currently watching as of the fourth Friday of May, 2018:

Live Campaigns from Past Eyes:
Dungeonrunner Ends Today!
Dubious Musicians: Funny, Little Calamityware Plates Ends Today!
Cosmic Run: Regeneration
Mr. Cabbagehead's Garden
Tricky Tides
Castle von Loghan
Tales of the Northlands: The Sagas of Noggin the Nog
The Neverland Rescue
Journal 29: Revelation
Forsaken Forest
AZIMUTH: Ride the Winds

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HIGHLIGHTED CAMPAIGN
Herbaceous Sprouts

• People Behind the Meeples Interview - Ed Baraf
• People Behind the Meeples Interview - Keith Matejka
• Last July I reviewed Herbaceous, a really fun game from the team of Steve Finn, Eduardo Baraf, Beth Sobule, and Keith Matejka and loved the game. Well, that team is back with a sequel called Herbaceous Sprouts. THis is a bigger game, but still in the lighter, filler category that Steve Finn is so well known for. The dice mechanics look like tons of fun and, as always, the artwork is absolutely gorgeous.

A Flavorful Dice Game
Everyone has a green thumb when playing Herbaceous Sprouts. Unwind while enjoying this beautiful and thoughtful game of collecting seeds, using tools, and growing sprouts. Don’t relax too long though - or your friend might become the Head Gardener first!

Become the Head Gardener
Players plant herb and flower sprouts in the community garden to score the most points. Each round, collect herb and flower seeds, acquire tools, and use them to plant sprouts in the garden.

- Gorgeous Seed Dice and Tool Card combinations create compelling choices every round.
- Dice Manipulation & Classic Herbaceous Set Collection makes an expanded game experience that is still easy to learn and play.
- Smooth, streamlined rounds makes a Herbaceous Sprouts a fast-moving, fun, push-your-luck game.

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Itchy Monkey

• There's something to be said about deceptively simple abstract strategy games that get a kid-friendly theme, despite being cutthroat enough for even the most vicious adults. I really enjoy games like Battle Sheep and Hey, That's My Fish! and now there's another game with a silly theme, light rules, but cutthroat strategy. In Itchy Monkey you control lice trying to colonize monkeys (and apes) in the jungle. The theme is bizarre, but it's a super interesting area control game where the areas to control are able to be moved, so it works great. This is one to keep an eye on, especially if you like this style of deceptively simple game.

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The Dice Dungeon

• This game has an interesting mechanic where you're building a dungeon by placing dice that you acquire. Different colored dice have different possible paths, abilities, etc. Each die has two paths on opposite sides of the die. So as you place dice into a vertical grid you're not only building your dungeon, but also your opponent's. The result is a maze of paths that you're trying to build to traverse the dungeon, while also collecting swords and items to help fight the monsters along the way.

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On Their Merry Way

• This is a relaunch of a game that was previously on Kickstarter a few weeks ago. It's a Robin Hood themed game, this time with a really interesting and unique path building mechanic. This looks like a ton of fun and quite a bit unlike anything I've ever seen before.

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On Tour

• On Tour is a roll-and-write game that has a number of interesting decisions. Even though it's a dice game, luck is minimized because everyone shares the same dice rolls, so your success is based on your own strategy and decisions. I love the theme, too. It's a great road-trip game!

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SSO

• If you are a fan of sci-fi shows like Event Horizon, Alien, or Star Trek, SSO might be the game for you. Each game has a narrative element that tells a story of you and your crew trying to survive aboard a space ship. Each scenario plays out differently and you'll need to make important decisions about who will survive and who will be sacrificed.

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Cutbox 3 - Camera Video Production System for Creators

• This isn't a game, but it caught my interest as a content producer. I don't do videos (at least not at this time), but this looks like a great way to get everything you need to produce videos for vlogs, reviews, live plays, etc. all for a pretty reasonable price.