Friday, January 13, 2017

Eye on Kickstarter #12

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 January, 2017:


HIGHLIGHTED CAMPAIGN
Fish Frenzy & Backyard Builders Treehouse
  • GJJ Games Backed
  • A bit over a year ago Patrick from Crash Games announced that he was going to forgo Kickstarter in the future and start to release games straight to retail. This was a big step in the growth of his company, and one that many people supported. Both Patrick and his company had a high reputation in the industry for being enthusiastic, honest, and for producing high quality games. In fact, one of his early games, Rise!, is still a favorite of mine. Unfortunately, however, life had different plans for Patrick and he fell on some very hard times (the details are in a video on the campaign page). For most of 2016 Patrick and Crash Games were very low key. It was very odd for someone who had been such a big part of the board game community to that point. Fast forward a year and now Patrick is recovering from the blow life dealt him. However, he has a large inventory of two games he was planning to release in retail, and a substantial manufacturing debt. This campaign is going to be a turning point for Crash Games. If he can make enough money to cover the debt from manufacturing these games Crash Games will be able to continue into the future. If not, this may be the last we see of Crash Games. That would be a travesty, so please consider helping out by either pledging for a game, or supporting Patrick through other means.


Fish Frenzy is a colorful and fun set collection game! The Captains of Rainbow Bay have hauled in their catches of colorful fish as the Seagulls of Rainbow Bay, with their bottomless bellies, hover above. The race for the fish is on! In Fish Frenzy players are competing for majorities of each of the seven fish colors.

In Backyard Builders Treehouse, two to five players compete to have the highest valued treehouse after a set number of rounds. This is a family friendly retheme of Yardmaster Express.






Sub Terra
  • Sub Terra looks like a thrilling cooperative adventure through caves. I love how the game plays on multiple fears: dark, being buried alive, claustrophobia, the underground, being trapped, and of course the monsters. This definitely looks like an exciting time!


Dark is the Night
  • This looks like an interesting, quick two player game that was originally designed for the Mint Tin design contest on BGG last year.


Infected
  • Infected uses magnetic pieces and board in an interesting take on area control. But I'm not sure the novelty of the magnets can overcome the reliance on dice rolls to determine everything from number of units you can place, to movement of the cure, to deciding combat. It seems like a good core idea that needs a little more substance.


Pinball Showdown
  • GJJ Games Backed
  • People Behind the Meeples Interview
  • Pinball Showdown brings the excitement of a pinball game to the tabletop. This looks like a blast to play. Also, be sure to read my interview with designer Diane Sauer.

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