Galileo’s Truth – Want To Back

I won’t lie, this game is generally outside of the type of game that I normally back. But there is a real reason why I am so tempted to back the game. And that is actually another game. In the same aesthetic mode there is a game called Darwin’s Journey. Darwin’s Journey is a game that I have played a few times on BGA. And I love the game. It is complex and thinky in what you are doing. But not too complex that you can’t figure it out.

Galileo’s Truth tempts me for two reasons. I can get a nicer version than the retail version of the game. The other reason is that I can back Darwin’s Journey there as well. But I am not going to. Mainly because I can buy Darwin’s Journey now. It is still a pretty deluxe game wherever you get it. But the version you can back is going to be even more deluxe.

Two Games I’ve Backed – Rolling Deep

One word that got me to back this game. Balatro. Yes, this is a game that compared itself to Balatro one of my most played video games over the last handful of years. In fact, I plan on playing some more Balatro today. But this is not a card game, so how does it compare itself? It’s a solo only roguelike board game where you are rolling dice on your way to the center of the Earth. But the dice are upgradeable. So you might have some decent sides to start, but the more you play and roll the better they get.

That element of the game is really interesting for me. And it is an element of a game that is good for Malts and Meeples. I can easily sit down and play a dig, see what gets upgraded, what is unlocked or what changes up as I go. Then put it away and pull it out and play another run. And I like that in a video game and I like it in board game.

Two Games I’ve Backed – Echobound Adventures

Open Owl Studios is the main reason that I am backing this game. I like what they do. While a game like Mythwind is maybe not my favorite game of all time, I like it a lot. And I like Stonesaga, what I’ve played thus far. And I love Stars of Akarios. So of course Echobound Adventures sounds fun.

Some have compared the game to Unsettled in some ways. It is a game where you go on an adventure to a world and you see if you can win that scenario in a cooperative sandbox style of game. And the worlds that you go to look cool in this game. It is also nice that it isn’t a campaign game from Open Owl Studios. They make great campaigns, but I want some that are shorter to play as well that still give me their immersive and interesting feel of their games.

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Almost Backed Crowdfunding Games

War of the Dragon: Wheel of Time

The reason why I almost backed this one is really easy. I really like Wheel of Time as a series. I need to go back through it sometime soon. And the game looks interesting. Now, I will say, I saw the Dice Tower playthrough, or at least the partial playthrough, and I was less excited for it in terms of mechanisms.

But that is not what it is keeping my from backing War of the Dragon on crowdfunding. The game is primarily a two player game. I say primarily because they are adding a solo mode into the game. And it is a big and pretty intensive two player game. So I know that as much as I want the game I’m not going to get it to the table all that often.

Plus this crowdfunding campaign and game are being made by Dire Wolf, who did games like Clank, and I expect it to come to retail. If it does and I see that the solo version will work well for me, I can pick it up then.

Slay the Spire: Downfall

More the Slay the Spire, how do I not back it? The reason I didn’t back it is that I only play the base game so often. I do have a game of it going right now. But when I looked at the cost of that crowdfunding campaign and I considered how likely I am to get to that, I’m not sure it is the right one for me. I think I might get it later, but we will see.

If you aren’t familiar with Slay the Spire, if it is a rogue-like deck builder. That means that you take a character through a climb of the spire, die, and then try again. But as you play you unlock more things. The board game is like the video game in that way and both are great. But I still have a lot to unlock in the base game. Yes, I know what it coming, but it’s still a fun time.

20 Strong: Nemesis, Tainted Grail and Etherfields

Chip Theory Games combining with Awaken Realms to use Awaken Realms IP on a Chip Theory Games game is interesting. And I own the Tanglewood stuff and the original stuff for 20 Strong. But I know I don’t need more of this game. Why is that, I have yet to play the game. I think I am going to like it a lot. But until I play it, I don’t know that. And I certainly don’t need more of it.

But this is a solo dice driven game. Each of the themes, whether it’s Tanglewood or Solar Sentinels or Too Many Bones is going to be unique to that deck. So it gives a bit of a plug and play feel for the game. You need the core box and then you can swap in the setting/theme that you want to go with. And they are going to play a little bit differently. It reminds me of Final Girl in that way where it has that plug and play aspect.

All of that to say, though, I am getting better at not getting everything for games that I haven’t played.

Mythwind Herbalist and Shepherd Expansions

Firstly, another game that I already down stuff for. And it is a game that I’ve played and I like. But I like it and I haven’t played everything in the game. So while each new character is a new puzzle, I don’t need it all. If I want it later, I likely can get it. But when it comes to this game, there is a lot just in the base box, plus the extra that I already own.

If you’re not familiar with the game, checkout my video below.

Final Thoughts

These are just some of the games that I passed on backing. I wish that I could back all of these crowdfunding games. But there are just too many crowdfunding games out there, and that’s even with it having slowed down. Is there a crowdfunding game that you wish you could have backed? Let me know what that game is in the comment section below.

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Top 20 Crowdfunding Projects for 2026

There’s no order to these, mainly because some of them I just don’t know enough to put an order to them. And it’s really about letting you know what is coming.

Grassfed

This is a farming deck building game. If that sounds both unique and not unique, I think that it’s right. Deck building is a really common mechanism in a board game. But farming, that it’s all that common, it might be part of a game but this game is all about farming. So I want to know how that’s even going to work in a deck building game.

Follow Grassfed here.

Catacombs

There are games called Catacombs out there, but none of them have cats as the heroes and the villains of the game. This is a cooperative adventure game where you as cats are exploring and having to deal with the villains out there. It sounds silly, but it’s on my radar because the artwork is not silly and it is cats, which again is silly.

Follow Catacombs here.

Labyrinth Chronicles

Labyrinth is a board game that I haven’t played. But when Labyrinth Chronicles was announced it was more interesting to me. Mainly because it seems to give a bity of story to the game. And if it still keeps it as a simpler game, it’s one that I could see playing with my kid often now because of the complexity level of the original game. I just want it to be something that can keep myself engaged as well. Of course, by the time it comes out actually, he’ll be a little bit older, which might be better.

Follow Labyrinth Chronicles here.

The Void Unveiled: Echoes of Arkham

I love Lovecraftian themes. Mainly because with Arkham Horror and the games that Fantasy Flight has put out, they tend to be mystery games as much as horror games. This one is going to be a cooperative story-driven Lovecraftian game. Both of those things I really love. I hope that it is replayable, but even if not, sounds like you play through a few chapters of it with a lot of narrative in it, so it won’t be a one off or limited shelf.

Follow The Void Unveiled: Echoes of Arkham.

Terraforming Mars: The Legacy of Mars

How do you turn Terraforming Mars into a legacy game? I’m not 100% sure on that, because I don’t think that you can terraform it all each game, that doesn’t make thematic sense. But if they can create a clever way to do it, it’s going to be great. Ways that Mars can be built up over time, ways to improve projects or improve the funding you get from your corporation. And I love a legacy game, so this one is very interesting to me, also interesting that it’s a part 1 though that’s less good.

Follow Terraforming Mars: The Legacy of Mars here.

Gothic – A Shadow’s Quest

This is an RPG esque board game, so I definitely have a type of game that I’m most apt to put on the list. This one was one that stood out to me on one of the Gamefound Feasts for upcoming crowdfunding projects. In particular, I think that it’s an already established world, the Gothic games are video games, so I am curious to see how it’ll get translated over to a board game.

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Jurassic Crisis

Like every good child at heart, I also like dinosaurs. This game is interesting to me because it’s a one off game, first of all, but it’s a PvPvE game. So they describe it as semi-cooperative. I take it to mean in this game that you all need to deal with the events (or the game) because the game can win. But at the end of the game if it doesn’t win, there is only one winner. My big concern about this one is when you look at the component picture there is so much stuff.

Follow Jurassic Crisis here.

Towers of Yoma

The game calls itself a maze tower defense game. And one of the first kind of app or flash game that I really enjoyed was tower defense, Monkey Bloons. This one is going to give you that tower defense, I think also creating pathways for the enemies to go to optimize how that works. And then you are also doing deck building as well as a mechanism for the game. It feels like the type of game that I’d enjoy and while I’ve found some tower defense board games to just be okay, I hope this one offers interesting and robust play.

Follow Towers of Yoma on Gamefound.

SHANGHAI The Nevernight City

Detective/mystery games always interest me. If you watched my Top 100 Games (of all time) 2025 Edition, you know that Detective: A Modern Crime Board Game is way up there for me. This game, I hope, is going to offer really deep and interesting mysteries like that one did. It might mean that it’s a bit less replayable but that’s okay if it offers an amazing experience. And the aesthetics of the game look on point.

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Demon Castle Mononoke

The theme of this game is what interests me right off the bat. I think that the cover is okay, but this is a survival game set in Japan where the yokai and spirits are real and you need to survive in this castle. I hope that it’s an interesting game, as it looks like one that is going to be smaller and maybe simpler. I find that survival is a good theme for games or good mechanism in some ways because the impending dread of losing or dying works well to creation tension.

Follow Demon Castle Mononoke on Gamefound.

The Malice of Light Adventures

There are a few things that interest me about this game. It’s a roguelike boss-battler, so that is interesting. It’s from the Saddler brothers who have made some very solid games, and some slightly overdone games. And it’s based on a book series of which I have the first that I need to read which is written by one of the Saddler brothers. So I hope that this is a good game because the theme interests me and I like a good roguelike game.

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The Horror Possession

I doubt most people remember Clue the VRC Game. It’s not a great game and you needed a VCR to play it, it was the thing before DVD’s the thing before Blu-Rays the thing before everything being digital, for those who don’t know. That concept is intriguing as you try and and save someone from demonic possession. So, is this going to be a good game or is it going to be a bad game and a bad movie, who knows. But it feels like something a bit old school while trying to do something new and different.

Follow The Horror Possession here.

Shattered Divinity: The 7 Fragments

I don’t know a ton about this one, but it’s a JRPG anime themed board game. And that is interesting because as popular as anime is, there aren’t a ton of board games that use that style of theming successfully. Information is limited on how the game is going to work, but sounds like they are going for a short campaign, which is nice for the game as well.

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Jisogi: Anime Studio Tycoon

This is a reprint of a game that already had a crowdfunding campaign. But I totally missed it first time that it was out. This is a game all about building up your anime franchise. And it looks like you’re building everything from plot, following the trends, and adding unique characters into your anime so that you can run the most successful studio. And the artwork looks great for the game as well which is fun and really sells the game.

Follow Jisogi on Kickstarter.

Final Girl Series 4

I don’t need more Final Girl. I’m actually pretty unlikely to back this one, but I wanted to call it out. Final Girl is back with another series. That means more final girls, more monsters and more combinations to play with. If you like the game, it’s a chance to grab even more scenarios to play through. And the game is great, I like the hand management, I like the time management, and I like how it nails the best and most B horror movie tropes.

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Flame & Forge

This seems like a lighter game than some on the list. But it’s going to be one that has a bunch of things in it. You need to play workers, gain games, and slay the dragon to save the throne. This seems to include deck building as well which is something I like. And with a modular board, it’s going to set-up different scenarios and challenges for you to play through. The artwork is pretty app-like, which is so so for me, but hopefully it aligns with a lighter fun and funny game.

Follow Flame & Forge on Kickstarter.

A Dragon’s Gift

This I believe is a little solo Button Shy game from Scott Almes. And I think that a lot of his little designs are good. Not all of them are great and make me lover the game, but I enjoy a lot of theme. This one immediately caught my eye because of the artwork. But it’s also a solo only game and it’s about collecting goods and getting them together as a gift for a cute and grumpy looking dragon. So the them sounds interesting, though I’m sure it’ll mainly be the cute artwork and mechanisms.

Follow A Dragon’s Gift here.

Mythwind: Herbalist and Shepherd Expansions

This is more for a game that I already enjoy. And I think that it’s fun that they can continue to build on this game by just adding more characters you can play. The cozy story of the game already works. So to add in more characters with their own puzzles is a smart way to do it. Mainly because it’s plug and play and doesn’t add that bulk of getting more to the table. Yes, there is more, but you still only have the main board and cards plus your character. And two fun sounding characters.

Follow Mythwind: Herbalist and Shepherd.

Here to Slay Dungeons

Here to Slay is a cute little card game, but Dungeons is going to give you that same cute package and put it into a dungeon crawler experience. I’m not sure that this is going to be a game for me, but I want to learn more about it. I think for a lot of people it might be a nice and easy entry point into something like a dungeon crawler without it feeling too expansive or too generic fantasy because of the artwork.

Follow Here to Slay Dungeons here.

Dungeon Crawler Carl: Unstoppable

Firstly, I just bought and I need to read the first Dungeon Crawler Carl book. I’ve heard mixed things on it, though no one with a mixed opinion on it. Either people like it for they don’t. But it’s a solo or two player deck building game based off of a system that already exists. And it’s a world that already exists as well, so I think that it’s going to be an interesting game and interesting theme for a game. My opinion might change once I’ve read the book, but either way, I’m interesting.

Follow Dungeon Crawler Carl: Unstoppable on Backerkit.

Final Thoughts

It’s always so hard to know with crowdfunding games this early what is going to be interesting and what isn’t. You can see how I wrote up about different things how little information there is at times. But all of these games on Gamefound, Backerkit, and Kickstarter have something that interests me about them.

I think the closest for a must back for me from all these crowdfunding games is going to be the Terraforming Mars Legacy. I enjoy Terraforming Mars and Terraforming Mars Ares Expedition. So I want to know how they plan on making it a legacy game. The thing that worries me about it is that it’s the first four chapters, so is it going to feel incomplete as a game, most likely yes, and is that just FOMO to get me to get the next one, also likely yes.

Is there a crowdfunding game coming in 2026 that you’re most excited for? I’m sure I probably don’t even know the one that I’ll look back at, at the end of the 2026, and have been the most excited about.

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The other way, and this will happen at the end of the year, so soon, or start of next year, are the crowdfunding campaigns that I’m looking forward to in 2026. Generally I put together a Kickstarter list and a Gamefound list for that. So look for those coming up, if that’s what you hoped this was.

Top 10 Anticipated Crowdfunding Games – Delivering in 2026?

The order on this is pretty loose. I think that there are probably some higher on the list that I anticipate less than lower, but I’m excited for all of these.

10. Werewolf: The Apocalypse: RETALIATION

Let’s kick it off with a big old campaign game. This is set in the World of Darkness/Vampire the Masquerade setting. Just on the werewolf side of things. This one definitely had some cool elements that I remember when they were crowdfunding it. Mainly the different forms that your characters can take, wolf form, hybrid, or human form. And I think that element is going to be fun to play around with.

Plus, I’ve liked Vampire: The Masquerade -CHAPTERS that they’ve come out with. Yes, this is going to be a different game. And I like that it’s not just a reskin of something they already did. But with the work and detail they put into that game, I think they can do the same with werewolves which I generally prefer to vampires.

9. FLOE

FLOE is a different type of game on the list. This is an action selection/worker placement game. So, no, everything is not just massive campaign games. This one I was drawn to because of the great artwork on the game and, I’d say, almost a Lost Ruins of Arnak feel of mixing exploration into a game that is about optimizing your strategy. I really enjoy that feeling in a game and FLOE looks like a fun one for that.

Now, they have reworked a bunch of it. This is always a concern with crowdfunding games. It’s possible that the game is still pretty early on in design, and even though they had prototypes, seems like issues were found. So, I hope that it’s still a game that is going to give me what it promised.

8. RoboMon

RoboMon could echo the last paragraph about FLOE. This is basically robot Pokemon. And that sounded fun to me. Give me that tabletop solo (and I think maybe cooperative) version of a game where I’m out collecting different creatures. Now, I also own Dragon Eclipse that does this as well. But RoboMon promised that in a smaller box.

I hope that the changes, and they seem to be relatively extensive, are good for the game. But I’m glad that it isn’t a giant minis game that had a massive overhaul or something like that. I think that gives me more hope that the game is going to have a similar feel to what I backed. And I think that it should based off of what I’ve heard as it did keep the theme.

7. Enormity

Now back to another big campaign game. RoboMon is a campaign game too, just not a huge one. Enormity is going to be that big campaign game with a lot of plastic minis in it. But this one drew me in because it’s not just a campaign game but it’s one that’s set in space and has that horror element to it. I own so many fantasy campaign games, so when you give me something different I like that.

The last updates make it sound like it’s getting close to those final stages of playtesting and development where it’ll soon start getting proofs of things. With a big game like this, I don’t mind if there is a delay because I want you to get it right and give me the best game possible.

6. Camp Grizzly

Do you want to own Camp Grizzly now, you can do that for a large sum of money. Thankfully it got a reprint. This is game that was on my radar as a large chunk of money, but I certainly couldn’t justify it. Camp Grizzly is going to be a horror themed game where you play camp counselors who need to escape the serial killer. Got to love that classic trope of the 80’s horror films.

That theme is my sort of theme. And I hope that with the crowdfunding campaign and this coming back, they’ve taken the time to trim off the right rough edges and fat of the game. It’s a new company putting it out too. But I’m really excited for this horror game to show-up, I’d think maybe by the end of 2026.

5. Horror on the Orient Express

Another horror game and this one has been a bit since I backed it. I think I saw the prototype at GenCon in either 2023 or 2024, but I didn’t get a chance to demo it. You play on a train trying to find the cultists and deal with the Lovecraftian monsters that are attacking the train. The theme is fun, the game looks really cool, so there is just a lot to like about this one.

Plus I always enjoy a good cooperative experience. I hope that this one gives a unique flavor to what it doing and that the horror theme comes through. Lovecraftian settings are great for mysteries, the Arkham Games demonstrate that, but I also want to have enough horror in it.

4. Lands of Evershade

Awaken Realms games almost always make the list for ones that I want to back and ones that I anticipate. At least their big campaign games do. Lands of Evershade is a very ambitious big campaign game where it is meant to be mimic elements of an RPG setting. But instead of having that DM/GM running the game, instead have that narrative book. Then I assume that you get down to the table for tactical combat with minis like Awaken Realms always makes.

But this game just sounded right up my alley. I love a huge story and I want to explore a unique world. The world of Lands of Evershade definitely seems like that. And I think this sort of game is also ripe for expansions if I get through the how story so I can explore even more.

3. Witchbound

I think Witchbound has been on the list for a couple of years now. But I’m still so excited for it. And it and #2 I know are both coming soon. Now, Witchbound is going to be a bit slower, the creator had their shipping partner fall through and is doing it themselves. But let’s recap what Witchbound is.

Witchbound is a point and click adventure board game. You remember those games where you select something, combine another item with it and see what happens, that is this game. All of it is set in cool scenes and an interesting world. The different items you have the more story will unlock. Same with true with interactions, the more you have, the different things you unlock. I love how simple the game is to play and the story of a new witch in a land where there had been witches finding her power is great.

2. Stonesaga

Stonesaga I believe is on the boats or will be shortly. If I remember correctly, the hope is to start shipping by the very end of the year or very start beginning of next year. This one I have a special spot in my heart because I know the designer. But it’s also a very fun game. It’s a campaign game where it’s less about that story but more about a living world that you build and create.

You are stone age people who are building a society. You need to figure out how to do everything through different actions. And you take actions like mining, foraging, fishing and more. And then as you build things up, the world opens up more for you. So there is this survival element to it, but then story elements for the world itself. I want to dive into this game and see what there is to offer after the first few learning games.

1. Rogue Angels

Finally, and this one has been my number one for a few years, we have Rogue Angels. I love this game. I already know I love it because I have a prototype of it which I played on the Malts and Meeples YouTube, and you can see that first video below. Also, I played it with the designer several times on TableTop Simulator.

This is an epic space campaign game. You explore story, make decisions, fight bad guys, puzzle your way through scenarios where you really shouldn’t fit. It’s great with how it works. I like how the enemies activate. I like how there is cooldowns on cards that you play out for actions. Then the story, itself, is a lot of fun as well. And there is a lot of story written in a way that feels like video game dialog happening.

I’m going to be so excited when this one shows up. And I need to get a group ready to play it when it does. Of course, my main campaign group is the midst of Frosthaven, so it might be a minute, but I might spin up another group.

Final Thoughts

There are more crowdfunding games as well on the list. More Dice Throne characters, a new game, Song of Silverant from Red Raven games, and even more. I did skip a few where I think the odds of them coming out in 2026 are low. And I suspect that half of the list of crowdfunding games I created will only be delivered in 2026.

Is there a crowdfunding game that you are most excited to be getting in 2026?

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Gamefound Fall Feast

Altered – Seeds of Unity

This is a TCG that I haven’t checked out before. This is going to be the first expansion for it, and it sounds interesting to me. I have held off on playing it though. So this is not going to be a new one that I get at least in terms of the crowdfunding campaign. But I would expect that I’ll get some of it at some point in time coming up here, because I really do want to try it. There are so many cool things with it with the technology aspect of it as well.

You can follow Altered – Seeds of Unity here.

Dungeons & Dragons: Xanathar Device Holder and Dice Tower Collectible

This is going to be some fun stuff for your gaming table. It will hold your phone with a fun Xanathar look to it. Plus it is a dice tower as well. While this looks cool, this is something that is just very much an extra for your D&D game. For me this is not something I need to add to my game.

Follow Dungeons & Dragons Xanathar Device Holder here.

Quake The Board Game

I don’t know a ton about Quate, but I know it’s a popular video game IP. I like the sound of it, though, as you build up abilities and weapons. It sounds like there are scenarios that you can play as well as a death match mode. I think it sounds most interesting as a cooperative experience against the game. I find that head to head battlers, while I like a lot of them, I only play a few.

Follow Quake here.

The Hunters A.D. 1492

This is one that I was really interested in when it was first coming out. It’s a campaign game which I love. And you are going to be monster hunters are a big campaign. I heard that the first version was maybe just okay. This is one that I want to checkout if I can coming up here at some point in time.

Follow The Hunters A.D. 1492.

Claustrophobia 1692

This is a two player head to head game where one player is going through a dungeon and the other player is playing as the monsters. It is another one that I think sounds really fun, but it’s also a bigger two player game which is harder for me to want to get. But I really trust Devir as a company, so I hope that it’s something I can checkout. The theme is fun as well with these prisoners and the hell monsters coming through.

Follow Claustrophobia 1692 on Gamefound.

Travail

Travail is going to be 1-2 player game that is rogue-like adventure. I love a good rogue-like games. This is definitely a grim dark setting, and the minis look great. I hope to learn more about how it’s played. Right now the video is just about that theme in the game. And I think that the theme is really interesting and the minis look great and creepy of the fallen angels, but how is the game going to play.

Follow Travail here.

Fireteam Zero

This game is coming back. I actually own it, but I need to play it still. This is a new version of the game that is going to be backwards compatible. Now it is something that I won’t likely back because I need to play my own copy. This sounds like the type of game I’d love which is why I bought it previously. So this is probably just a reminder that I need to play it.

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Goa

Now we are into the euro game section of the list. Goa is one that already existed before, but now it’s coming back. This is going to be a very deluxe edition of the game. So if you want a new and fancy version of the game, this is going to be for you. Plus the game has been out of print for a while, so it’ll be a great chance to get it. And it’s going to be the first time with a solo mode.

Follow Goa here.

Ardevur

This is a game about mining. That is interesting in terms of a theme. But this is going to be a very euro type of game. The game looks very nice and it looks like it is going to be very heavily economic. I think there are going to be a lot of people who like it, but also I know this is not a game for me.

Follow Ardevur here

Inferno 1348 Deluxe Edition

This is going to be grow upon what is happening in Inferno. This is going to be all about about the Black Plague. And it is going to be an expansion for the game. Inferno is one that I was interested in when it was out the first time. I would love to try this before I would play it. I need to look more into the reviews for the game and see if it’s one I think would hit my table.

Follow Inferno 1348 on Gamefound.

Hegemony – Shadows of Authority

This is another expansion where you play different parts of society. Hegemony is not a game that has interested me at all. While it is likely going to be a great expansion and great game, this is not a game or theme that is interesting to me. In fact so much that I’d be hard pressed to set aside the time to play it.

Follow Hegemony – Shadows of Authority here.

Dicequest

This is going to be a game where you combine heroes and items. When you try and go on quests and complete them. You can play solo, cooperative, or competitive in this game. The competitive is going to add in take that cards. This is from the designer of Super Fantasy Brawl, a game that is in my Top 100, so it’s a game that is very interesting to me. I expect it’ll have interesting decisions but easy game play based off of Super Fantasy Brawl.

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Boss Hunters

Let me guess, Boss Hunters is a boss battler game. This is a strategy and positioning game. It’s going to be a tactical game which is interesting. The game play is interesting because you flip cards from active to passive actions but when you use an active action you flip it. So I like the sound of that a lot. And the cards can level up which is going to be good as well for me.

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Shiver Me Timbers

This is a pirate adventure game. I need to play the adventure pirate game that I own. This one looks like a lot of fun as well and looks like it has a lot of theme and variety that you can do. It’s not a campaign game, but it’s a competitive big adventure and open world game. I think that this is the type of game that I’d love.

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Bantam West and Expansion

This is going to be a second edition of Bantam West. I own Bantam West and I need to play it still. So I need to play my copy. This edition is going to be the “improved” version so might be time to jump in and see if it’s a game for you. There is going to be an expansion for the game as well which takes it from 2-4 player to 2-5 players. It’s possible that I might get the expansion, but really, I just need to play the game.

Follow Bantam West 2nd Edition here.

Carnivore

Dinosaur battle time. I love how fun and silly this project sounds, because you really don’t think about taking dinosaurs into a battle. The minis or the mocks of the minis look very good. So we’ll see about the game. And that’s the big question of the game how is it going to play. There is no information about that in the preview video. So it’s something that I can’t tell you too much about it.

Follow Carnivore here.

What Are Your Top 3?

For me there are a number that interest me. And I expect that a lot because the type of game that I love is often the type of game that shows up on crowdfunding. That’s because they need a lot of funds to get the game off the ground, create molds for minis and the like. So it is tricky for me to pick three, but let’s see them in no particular oder.

Dicequest is going to be one of them. I like the sound of this game with going on missions, recruiting heroes and getting equipment. Especially because I hope that it’s not too heavy a game.

Shiver Me Timbers is the next one because of the sand box pirate theme. I love the pirate theme but there are not a ton of good games in that theme. There are some decent ones but not that many that give me a big pirate feel. So I have high hopes for Shiver Me Timbers and the fact that it’s coming back is always a good sign.

Travail is the final one in my Top 3. It is hard to pick just three, but Travail is in because of the rogue-like nature of the game. And it sounds interesting in what it should be doing. Now, I wish that it told me a bit more about game play, but the minis and everything look amazing for the game.

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Follow the Chronofiends!! Campaign.

Chronofiends!! Highlights

My plan is not to go into game play in depth here. This is not like my normal reviews where I’m going to give my grade an opinion at the end. The company sent me a prototype of the game to cover. So it is unfair for me to give a review on it. Instead, I want to highlight elements of Chronofiends!! that will help you make your decision on knowing if this is the right game for you to back.

Ease of System

This one is a mixed bag. Mainly, it is a mixed bag because it is not the fastest set-up in the world. It is not like the system or scenarios are that complex, but there are a number of pieces to get out of the box. But when you get to the game play itself the system is slick and easy to play.

In particular, I like the turn order. This is not unique to Chronofiends!! where the player highest on the turn order goes next, but it is easy to keep track of. And the turn itself is easy to keep track of, you move and then you complete some task in a room. The trickiest bit of the system is when the chronofiends go and you need to pay attention to which way they move.

Leveling/Powering Up

The leveling up skills system is really fun as well. The more time you spend doing something the more knowledgeable you become at it. That is easy to keep track of as you play as well. And then to have something that you are good at improve over and over so as the loops get shorter and shorter you can still have a chance, it’s a smart system.

It is a system that I didn’t utilize to the best of my ability in my streamed playthrough. But I want to talk about that more in the next section.

Keeping on this, I mentioned how the system is smart. It is smart for two reasons. Firstly, the shorter time period keeps the pressure on you. But you also feel more powerful as you go. So it is this race condition as you play, can your power out pace the reduction in time that is happening?

Strategy/Looping

So now let’s dive into this looping and strategy that it forces (and that I didn’t use that well). What do I mean by that? In Chronofiends!!, kind of like in TIME Stories, you loop back. And as a player and character you keep the knowledge that you have of the space ship. So it is easier to go through because you know what you are coming up against.

There is also, then, gaining experience. So not only do you know that you are coming up against, you also know how to deal with it better. But there are elements that are different. While the work that you’ve done does reset, the chronofiends do not. Each time you play or each time you loop that is going to make the game different.

Now, in my play I think I took a less than ideal strategy. I think the first loop or two can be avoiding, finding, and leveling up. I went after the big objective the second time. It does help with leveling up, but not so much avoiding and finding. When you play, that is going to help you out, I think. But it means that there is strategy and planning you need to do as a player.

The Be Aware

I only want to call out one thing in the be aware section. So no sub headers for it. But this is not a small game. I think the box size, and this is not the final box size, kind of hides how large this game can be. I definitely had to adjust my normal streaming set-up because of the size. This is not a negative or positive for the game. But know what you play on. This is not going to be a coffee table game, nor does it need to be that.

Final Thoughts

So, I won’t give a grade or anything like that. I think that Chronofiends!! has a lot of positives to it and gives you an interesting time travel game. And I like that compared to TIME Stories where a loop can be ruined by bad luck of a die roll, you are in control here. Sure the chronofiends might get you, but there is strategy around where you go and how they go with that.

And as I mentioned, depending on your strategy that is going to affect how you want to play solo. I think I played more as I laid out in my section on strategy, I might have won. That said, it is easy to play two handed solo. There is not a ton to keep track of per character, so that is going to make it dealers choice for that. And information is not hidden, so no advantage playing two handed that way.

What do you think of Chronofiends!!? Is it a game that you are going to be checking out when it comes to crowdfunding? Again, follow the campaign here.

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Gamefound Summer Feast

Go On Board – The Witcher Legacy

Holy Hell in a HANDBASKET! I’m 100% in already. I don’t care about anything else. It’s a legacy Witcher game. Who wants to play it with me? You level up your character and play through story. Do we know a ton, we don’t, but I’m all in.

Follow the campaign here.

PIKA Games – A Wild Venture

This is a two player game that is an engine building game. It looks pretty cute and there are tons of two player games right now And I do like engine building and it’s also a game where you break down your engine. I am very tempted with this and if you preorder you get two free gifts as well. At about $30 USD it’s a very reasonable price.

Follow the pre-order here.

Fantasia Game – Rurik Second Edition

It’s a second edition of Rurik And it is going to update some things. And it is going to have a new expansion. So if you liked Rurik this might be one to jump in to get more. I think that Rurik is one of those try before you buy games for me.

Follow the campaign here.

Spielcraft Games – Cretaceous Rails

This is a reprint. But there is going to be an expansion as well. The theme of the game is fun, you take time traveling tourists on rails in the past to see all the dinosaurs. I hope that it’s a good game because that is the type of railroad game that I could get behind.

Follow on Gamefound here.

Addax Games – Rove Anchorpoint

This is going to be rove at a more accessible and affordable point to jump into. This is going to be like Jaws of the Lions was for Gloomhaven. A 25 encounter game which is going to make it much more accessible. I hope that this doesn’t launch until Rove is in the hands of backers. I might be interested but I want to play Rove first.

Follow Rove Anchorpoint here.

Nemesis Games – Uprising Legendary Box

This is going to be more Uprising. It is a cooperative/solo game that now offers true solo. I own this game already, so I don’t need more. But I do need to play it. This is a cooperative 4x game where all the players need to beat the enemy factions you are up against. And that is easier said than done.

Follow Uprising Legendary Box on Gamefound here.

Unstable Games – Mystic Moon

It’s a light strategy game where you are creating potions. I like a good potion creation game and it looks super cute. Really what I’m basing my thoughts on the game off of is the adorable artwork. And it is a theme that draws me in as well. I don’t know a ton about how it plays though and the page only offers so much at this point.

Follow Mystic Moon on Gamefound here.

Unstable Games – Here to Slay Dungeons

This is a cooperative dungeon crawling game. It is set in the world of Here to Slay. That is a game that I need to play. The artwork is great, and I love a good dungeon crawler. It’s interesting it is going to be three base games. But you can mix the base games together to mix up the monsters, heroes and more. I hope that the price point is very reasonable then because otherwise that gets expensive fast.

Follow Here to Slay Dungeons here.

Thundergryph Games – Galileo’s Truth

Anotehr game about Galileo. This is going to be in the scientific journey game like Darwin’s Journey. It is a deck building and a single worker. I have heard good things about Darwin’s Journey but I haven’t played that one.

Follow Galileo’s Truth here.

Meeple Pug – Byzantion

A thematic and political game. This is going to be engine building with miniatures and you need to handle events that come out. There is diplomacy, intrigue and backstabbing, which that doesn’t sound super interesting to me. Now I might be wrong, but it just founds like a lot. And a 30 minutes per player I really expect it would be a long game.

Follow Byzantion on Gamefound here.

ThisWay – Arctica

It’s an animal game where you are trying to do area control and a lot more. Plus gears, if you like wheels that is going to be interesting as you plan out turn things. I could see this being a game that works well for me and the aesthetic is sharp. Not just the artwork on the cards, but the board, pieces, and gear all look very good.

Follow Arctica here.

Eerie Idol Games – The Old King’s Crown Second Printing + Expansion

I don’t know much about the game. It sounds interesting and thematic. And it looks great in terms of artwork and components. But because of how fast things are going I didn’t get a good idea of the game. I might checkout some videos or reviews for thoughts on what people had from the first printing of the game.

Follow The Old King’s Crown on Gamefound.

Board Game Ink – Lone Wolf: Vengeance of the Kai

This is based off of a fantasy series. This is a two player strategy game as you play an epic conflict. They say that you might like it if you like Star wars; Rebellion. Aesthetically I think it looks decent. But if you want a big two player game, this could be it. And I am now interested in the series.

Follow the campaign here.

Red Raven Games – Song of Silveranth

Another big open world narrative game. I love their big open game in Sleeping Gods. It is a dark fairytale and fantasy setting. I love the idea of that setting. And it is supposed to have most of what Sleeping Gods did but it is going to be even bigger. Do I expect to back this one, 100%.

Follow the campaign for Song of Silveranth here.

Board Game Ink – X-Odus Rise of the Corruption Second Ecdition

I have heard of X-odus. It is going to be a massive upgrade from the sounds of it. They said it was going to be about 95% change. While that doesn’t mean massive changes to everything it is going to be a step up. It is a game that I want to check out so I’ll check out the first edition videos. But if the second edition really does change up a bunch, I’m still hesitant to dive into it.

Follow the campaign on Gamefound here.

Eons of Battle – The Catacombs of the Blessed Dead

More terrain. This is going to be creating a catacomb for your RPG game. It looks very nice. If you want to get it as STL’s you can. And you can get miniatures as well.

Follow on Gamefound here.

Archon Studios – Duskhollow

This is going to be vampire setting terrain. If you want gothic terrain this is going to be great for you. I love the sound of it. But I don’t need a ton of terrain taking up space as much as I want to have some. But if you want to do Ravenloft or some other gothic vampire campaign, this looks great.

Follow the campaign for Duskhollow on Gamefound here.

Game Theory Tables – The Table of Adventure

This is a board game table. It is officially licensed for D&D and has a GM side that you can create your on GM/DM spot. It looks great. But I already own a game table. If I didn’t I would definitely consider this one. I like that it is done in conjunction with D&D so they are going to be thinking about some things that you might want for a D&D game versus more general in nature.

Follow the campaign here.

Accidental Cyclops Games – Surviving Strangehollow

This a modular setting for Dungeons and Dragons 5th Edition. It is a massive book and there is going to be a ton to checkout there. But I want to know is it for the new version of 5E. What tempts me about backing this one is all the monsters. But I don’t generally run campaigns based off of modules. So if I can just get the monsters, that would be great.

Follow the campaign on Gamefound here.

Cotswald Games – Machiavellian The City of Masks

A world of masked nobles set in another world. They say it’s like Ark Nova and Scythe mixed together. This sounds like a game where they are throwing in a lot of theme. I like the sound of mix of mechanisms for the game. And a steampunk style world is also interesting to me. But is it going to be a game that can combine everything into that elegant design they promised.

Follow Machiavellian here.

Godot Games – Yokai Forest Duel

They are making a duel game. It’s a tournament game of some sort. I’m not 100% how it is going to play because it is two to eight players. So it’s not a two player game, which is odd. But you are fighting best of three battles, looks like a fun head to head game mainly.

Follow Yokai Forest Duel on Gamefound here.

Invedars – Chants for the Old Ones

This is a new expansion and a new game. It looks interesting though I haven’t heard much about the original game. I do love a good Lovecraftian theme for a game. Plus the minis look very nice for the game as well.

Follow Chants for the Old One here.

Titan Forge – Bloodfields: Third Edition

This is a two player miniatures game. I think it looks very cool, but it’s definitely not one that I’m going to get. This is going to be new cards, lore and more in the game. If you want a minis game that is coming out with a lot of new stuff and seems to have a lot of classic fantasy, like elves and dwarves, this one might be for you.

Follow Bloodfields on Gamefound.

Final Thoughts

There are two games out of the twenty-three that are must backs for me. Witcher Legacy is obviously one of them. But then when Red Raven comes out with another open world style game, that is an easy back. As much as I love the setting for Sleeping Gods, I think a dark fairy tale setting is probably even more enjoyable for me.

But there is a bit of everything in this Gamefound Feast. It is really a feast, Whether you want terrain, an RPG module, a table, a small game or some huge games, you can find them all here. What is the game that you are most excited for?

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Top 10 Upcoming Campaigns on Gamefound

10. Catch /Wrestling

Catch, as it seems to be mainly called, is a pro wrestling game where you’ll stop at nothing to win. I enjoy the storytelling, athletic feats and entertainment of pro wrestling. And I hope that sometime there will be a very good game on the theme. Catch looks like it could be interesting to me.

This is a tactical game where you can play with unique wrestlers with unique abilities. And it is card based so as compared to others that I’ve played, it’s not just checking dice or as much luck to it with card play. But it is a wrestling game, so do I know enough people who would play it with me? I think that I might as I have a group who watches wrestling together that I joined.

Follow Catch / Wrestling here on Gamefound.

9. Hell: Legends

This game should be higher on the list. It’s a dungeon crawler game with a lot going on in it. And it’s inspired by games like Diablo when creating the experience for it. So it’s going to be a pretty serious game.

There are a few things that I like a lot about it. Firstly it looks like it’s a relatively involved system. So it isn’t just going to be just dice chucking . And the dungeon that you go through is 3D. I’m not sure how much that plays into the game, but it gives it a nice table presence. And I like that it is a standee game. Yes, there are some minis it looks, but if you want a standee version is available at a much more reasonable price, I hope.

Follow the campaign on Gamefound here.

8. Ascension 15th Anniverary

One of the two purest deck building games out there, along with Dominion. I much prefer Ascension. I prefer it because it is a game with a changing market. And I like it when a deck building game is more reactive and less about figuring out the puzzle at the start of the game. I feel like Dominion offers too much of that for me, and Ascensions theming, fantasy, is more interesting.

But if you like the game and you want to get everything, this is going to be a way to do that. Now, I say everything, and I think from the Dice Tower Mega Announcement a few weeks ago it is everything. And a lot of the cards in foil as well.

I like the system because of what I mentioned above. But I also like it because it is mix and match. If I want to throw in an expansion and mix that all together, I can. If I just want to play the base game, I can. Or if I just want to play the expansion, yup, that is standalone too. It makes Ascension a very flexible system to dive into.

Follow the Ascension 15th Anniversary campaign on Gamefound here.

7. Spell Rift Legends

Spell Rift Legends is another campaign game and I don’t think that should be a surprise that sort of games dominates the list or is the most consistent on the list. When you look at a preview for a game often times those games stand out the most with some epic artwork. And this one definitely gives you the fantasy vibe. Even the style of the logo almost gives me that app or video game fantasy look.

One cool element of the game is that while it is obviously fantasy, you play as characters who are a bit more familiar. If you want to play as King Arthur or a Valkyrie, you play as that. But this one is really limited as to more information. But it hints are some things that I like. A countdown timer in terms of how many rounds the game can last. And immersive elements to the story, which I hope means narration and/or music to play in the background.

Follow the campaign for Spell Rift Legends on Gamefound here.

6. Legacy: Heroes of Asco’lah

Legacy: Heroes of Asco’lah is another one of those adventure, cooperative, campaign, dungeon crawler style of games. This one is above Hell on the list because Legacy (bad name without the subtitle) seems like a more unique setting to play in.

The game boasts a bunch of different ways to create unique characters. One the page it is called jobs and each job has skills. So I suspect that you can get a job and you probably don’t gain all the skills. That is going to let you tackle the same job multiple times. Or maybe as you progress you can combine jobs, not 100% sure from looking at the page.

My one nit-pick about it is that I wish the artwork was a bit better. There are some very nice elements to it. But overall, the job cards, for example, don’t look that great. The example they show of the Pyrotechnician looks dated and not nearly as sharp as it could.

Follow the campaign for Legacy: Heroes of Asco’lah on Gamefound here.

5. Falcon’s Formula Racing

I like a good racing game. I own a lot so it’s lower on the list as I don’t know that I need to own more. But looking at this one it looks like a bit more “serious” of a racing game. By that I mean there is going to be more going on with it that you need to keep track of, at least that is what I hope. I like a good light racing game, but that’s a limited space on my shelf for things like that.

It is also important to me that it has a solo mode. I find that sometimes a racing game doesn’t come with one and because it’s either more complex or fiddly, it is harder to get tot he table. Falcon’s Formula Racing is one that I want to know more about for sure, especially to know if it would fill a spot in my racing games that I don’t already have filled. And the team racing element might just be that.

Follow the campaign for Falcon’s Formula Racing on Gamefound here.

4. Restless

Yes, I am spacing out my adventure campaign games on the list. Restless gets me more than the other two because of the artwork for the game. Just the box cover stands out as gorgeous. This also doesn’t seem to be as much of a dungeon crawler as some. They refer a boss battler element, which enjoy as well. But not being a dungeon crawler does seem like it has created a more focused game and one that takes up less table space.

This is one that doesn’t have that much out on it though. So last thing to say is follow Restless on Gamefound here.

3. Echoes of Extinction

We’re breaking the pattern of when we put in campaign games. Echoes of Extinction is another campaign style game and one that is fairly limited on the information. But there are elements to it that I certainly look for in a campaign game. In particular the idea that the story if “flexible” which I assume means that it branches in ways that makes decisions feel like they matter.

I am also interested by this idea of a dynamic, uncertain turn system. Sounds like you won’t know when you are coming up in turn versus the enemies or more, as it teases. Which I assume that more is possible interactions from the gods of the world, which are probably not to your benefit. This is one that I’m quite interested in seeing more artwork and components for it and to learn more about the systems.

Follow Echoes of Extinction here on Gamefound.

2. Storm Weavers: Stronghold

Another campaign style game with cooperative and solo play. Storm Weavers is a bit different though in that it is a mix of a gamebook and board game. Now a game book can kind of be a self directed RPG as well if you want. And that is the element that stands out to me around the system and intrigues me about it.

You never appear to have a massive map and board in the game. So I suspect that it is going to be a game that really relies upon that narrative element of the gamebook. And I like the sound of that. It also doesn’t appear to be component heavy which a lot of campaign games can be. Standees instead of minis and just using some basic dice.

My knock on it is that elements of the graphic design, I think, need to be cleaned up. And I feel like as someone who has played a ton of games as well as worked on websites creating content but also building out websites for a lot of clients, I understand some graphic design and layout things.

Follow the campaign for Storm Weavers Stronghold on Gamefound here.

1. Veilward

This one is kind of a cheat to put on the list. I know that I like The Isofarian Guard already. It’s one of those games that I’d love to get back to and play some more. But life happens. Isofarian Guard is a multi-story solo and two player game. The main mechanism is around drawing chips out of bags to see what events happen and for combat. As well as then story elements where you go through a pretty big adventure that is split over multiple groups of characters.

Veilward is going to add more to that. This is set after the events of The Isofarian Guard. And while some of the mechanisms remain the same, others are being tweaked slightly. Now there are different interactions beyond the chips, depending on where cards are placed to activate them.

Follow the campaign on Gamefound here. It launches in just a few days.

Final Thoughts

Obviously for my lists of games, I put a lot of focus on games that are campaign games. I know that is what I like and while I can’t always get to them as quickly as I’d hope, I still want to get them played and I want to add them to my collection. And they tend to be more expensive when you find them on the secondary market, assuming they are a good game.

But there are a ton of other games that you can checkout as well. Gamefound has a really nice to navigate section to just scroll and look at games. So head over to Gamefound and see what game looks the best for you. And let me know that down in the comment section below.

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Gamefound Spring Feast

Andromeda’s Edge: Genesis

It’s back with an expansion and reprint. If you want to get the game and you missed it the first time, this is going to be more. This is going to add in three more factions and new ways of scoring. This is really going to be one of those games where you feel like you missed out the first time, you can get all the stuff plus the new here.

Follow Andromeda’s Edge: Genesis here.

Puppet Masters: Return to Bodega Bay Inn

This is based off of the movies. And you want to survive against some puppets. This is going to be a cooperative game which is great. I love the horror theme. And it won’t be the last horror game on the list. But this one doesn’t have a ton of information. For me it’s one that I’d love to see more about it before I decide if it’s for me or not.

Follow Puppet Masters here.

Terrorscape 2

This is a hidden movement game with great 3D elements. The location is different and the killers are different. There are going to be some mechanical updates. You can fight back as one of the options for winning the game. I like the idea of Terrorscape, but hidden movement is often harder to get to the table. And if you are the person who knows the game, you are often the one who is doing the hiding. But if you want more of the game, this is going to be a standalone and add more for you to play.

Follow Terroscape 2.

Dawn of Madness Complete Collection

I want to back this one. But what I need to do is play Deep Madness first. But Dawn of Madness sounds amazing as well with a lot of narrative. I hope maybe by the time this comes to Gamefound I’ll be ready to back for it. It should be quick to production as well. But this is going to be a cooperative horror survival game which is a style and setting that I like.

Follow Dawn of Madness.

Borderlands: Mister Torgue’s Arena of Badassery 2

This is still going to be an arena boss battler sort of thing. I know it was on crowdfunding before. I’m not super interested in this one. I did love the video games, but this to me feels a bit more like just a big fighting system. And while conflict isn’t bad in a game, it’s not something that I just gravitate towards. The new boss battler element does make the game interesting for sure though.

Follow Borderlands 2 here.

S.H.E.O.L. Midnight Odyssey

Another game that I already own, though this is the 2.0 version. I need to get my copy played. This is a campaign style game where there is a ton of darkness and you need to keep connected. And the game is a puzzle for how you play everything out to create paths through the darkness to your objectives. I won’t be backing this one, but it’ll be tempting. Really, what it makes me want to play the game.

Follow S.H.E.O.L. Midnight Odyssey.

The Dark Carnival

This is a D&D campaign. I like the sounds of it, but it’s an RPG campaign so it’s going to be a pass for me. But this is supposed to be a mid-level story that you can drop into your campaign which is great. I think there is more need for that and it’s something that can help Dungeon Masters.

Follow The Dark Carnival here.

Vampire The Masquerade – Palermo Conspiracies

This is another game on the Teberu system. I really like the sound of this and the Milan Uprising one that has already been backed and might be out already or coming out. I wish that it was out already if they are doing a new one. But this is going to give you that RPG feeling with the game maintaining a living world for you.

Follow Vampire the Masquerade – Palermo Conspiracies here.

Sniper Elite – Operation Kraken

This is another hidden movement. I know that people love the first printing. They are adding in expansions as well for it. I think it’s a game that sounds like a lot of fun, but again a hidden role game and that’s harder to get to the table. It doesn’t seem like it’s a super hard for the game to get played.

Sniper Elite – Operation Kraken on Gamefound here.

Neuroshima Hex

This is a board game, but this is going to be a video game of the board game. I believe that an app version has existed for a while, but this is going to bring it to more systems and possibly bring it back. I’m assuming that it’ll be updated to a more modern look as well. I thought that Neuroshima Hex is an interesting game but I didn’t love it.

Follow Neuroshima Hex here.

Trismegistus 2nd Edition

I never played the original. This is a complex game. It is suppose to be slightly more accessible. But there is a ton going on for it. It’s not one that still really interests me that much. But if someone were to have it I’d love to play it, either the new or old version of it.

Follow Trismegistus on Gamefound.

HiveMind Modular Hex Trays

These are modular movement trays. This is for miniature games which is not something that I do. So it’s going to be interesting to me. But if you like miniatures games, this might be something that is nice for you.

Follow HiveMind here.

The Isofarian Guard – Veilward

I knew about this one a week or so ago. This is going to give you a new campaign set in the world of The Isofarian Guard. What happens after you finish the base game, that’s the question. And it’s going to provide some new mechanisms for it as well. I like the sounds of it and it’s one that I hope I’ll be able to back as I enjoyed what I played of The Isofarian Guard.

Follow Veilward here on Gamefound.

Dale of Merchants: 10th Anniversary

This is going to be a preprint of Snowdale Design competitive deck-building game. It is going to be new content, it’ll be old content, and a new solo mode. If you like this game, this version might be an update to get it back to the table. Or if you haven’t gotten into the game, this might be a chance to jump into the game.

Follow Dale of Merchants 10th Anniversary here.

Ronin’s Revenge

This is from Dragori Games who made Taneres Adventures. This is going to be a boss battler game with no dice or luck. They say that it’s going to be Souls-like game, which I think means expect to die often. This could be a cool change. I won’t lie, this is a game that I’d love to back but also a company that I might worry about based off of tariffs and how big their games are. It’s going to be more than just a boss battler though, there is going to be elements as well that campaign feeling as well.

Follow Ronin’s Revenge here.

Punica: Rome vs Carthage

This is a two player strategy game. I don’t love the looks of this game, not in terms of the art, that looks great, but it doesn’t look too exciting to me. It’s going to be that war game feel but it should play very quickly in that it’s a twenty minute game.

Follow Punica on Gamefound here.

Conquest of Paradise

Like the last game this one is from Phalanx Games. This again is going to be a war type of game, though this one is going to be more than that. This one gives you a fight over the seas to see how can reign supreme in the end. I don’t feel like this is the type of game that I’m going to jump into, but it is more interesting than Punica.

Follow Conquest of Paradise here.

Hood

Play as different factions in England with Robin Hood and the Sheriff of Nottingham. This is going to be a very asymmetric game. It sounds fun, but it is asymmetric and that means it might be harder to teach. I hope that it’s not to the point of Root, but I’m worried that it might be. And it’s a 90 to 120 minute game, so with a teach, does that means that it’s three hours?

Follow Hood from Phalanx games here.

Mesopotamia

This seems like a civilization game. And that sounds cool, kind of back in the history of the world. It’s going to be a 4x game as well. And it’s going to have a lot of different events that happen in the world and it’s going to change the landscape as well. This sounds fun, but as a 4x game, it’s going to be one that I pass on as I can’t see getting it played.

Follow Mesopotamia on Gamefound.

Black Rose Wars – Revised Edition

This is a game that needs a 2nd edition. And I hope that it’s one that sounds interesting to me again. I think the theme has always worked for me. But as a game it was always just a lot to understand what was going on. So if they cleaned up the rule book this might be a chance to jump back into it. As I like the sound of being a mage and slinging spells to be the last one standing or the head of the lodge. If it is better, I’ll be looking at this one after the campaign.

Follow Black Rose Wars Revised Edition here.

Paperback Adventures Vol 2

This is going to be more for Paperback Adventures. I own the original stuff and I need to play it. But I haven’t played it yet, so I am not going to do it. This is going to be a solo game but now adding in multiplayer. Should this be one that I play on Malts and Meeples, yes it should be, so time to start learning another game. And I think it being a word game is really interesting as well. Multiplayer is fully cooperative as well.

Follow Paperback Adventures Vol 2 on Gamefound.

Final Thoughts

There are a ton of things. Though right now, like I said, I’m going to be a bit more hesitant to back some of these. The ones that excite me the most are Dawn of Madness. This is gone that I really believe that I’d love and I’ve been keeping an eye on it on eBay as well. But now this might be a smarter way to pick it up at hopefully a better price point.

Other than that one, I think that Paperback Adventures is going to be a game that I enjoy And if I enjoy this as well as one that I could play and enjoy with my wife. And the final one that I want to back is Veilward. I think that one is obvious. I played some of The Isofarian Guard and I really enjoyed it. So coming back and getting more makes sense for me. Especially because it’s more that doesn’t make the base game harder to get to the table.

Which one interests you the most?

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What Is Tabletop Recorder

The best way I can put what Tabletop Recorder is, is it’s that it’s like the AI note taking technology you see for work meetings. But, it’s specifically tailored to working with RPG’s. You give it an audio file of your D&D or other RPG campaign and it is going to spit out the session notes and give you an interface where you can query what has happened.

The creators of Tabletop Recorder reached out to me to see if I wanted to give it a try before the campaign went live. And I love to see tech integrated well into something, and with my podcast equipment, it made it easy to record, though, it’d also be easy to record on a phone as well. So I got to play around with it and get early access, which I’m much appreciative for, and use it for a couple D&D sessions and a couple of dummy sessions.

Let’s talk quickly about how it works. Right now the system is record an audio file, upload that audio file and it processes it giving you some outputs and letting you query against it. There are plans depending on how the crowdfunding campaign does to let you record to the website, or with enough time and money possibly native apps for iOS and Android. But right now it’s record a file, upload, and let it do it’s thing. But let’s talk about how well it does it’s thing.

How Well Does It Work at Transcribing?

The starting thing that I wanted to know was how it worked when it came to catching everything for a full campaign. The campaign that I’m running has time travel and is reaching end game so there are a lot of already established NPC’s, locations, and lore within the game. It’s not a simple setting and series of events at this point. In fact, the players had just managed to screw up the timeline really badly with some created paradoxes via time travel.

And it does a good job with the transcription. It actually gives you four different ways that you can look at your session. There is the full transcription which is a transcription as you would expect. But there is also the long, medium, and short recaps. I think that all of them are solid and they all serve a different purpose. But for really getting all the information, the transcript and the long are going to be your best bet. The medium is great for that quick recap of what happened, and the short is a slightly too long description that I’d use for a podcast if I recorded for a podcast as well.

Short Description

The short, to it’s credit does try and be a narrative telling of what happened. And it does a pretty solid job of that. I might use it for kind of a quick check on what happened previously as I plan a next session, but it’s going to be light on details.

Cleaning It Up

And if you think it missed something, or you want to correct something you can. For example, you’ll see it below, we have a PC named Barai in our game. It learned it as Bry, so it classified Barai as an NPC. But I can go in and edit that to help it learn and connect things. And I can do that really easily. One feature that I’d love to see in their editor is a bit more of a robust find and replace feature. But I clicked edit, copy and pasted to Notepad and did it there, which is easy.

What Else Does It Do?

The other big feature is that you get a Q&A tool. This tool is going to query either a specific session or a specific campaign for you. And you get back details about what happened in a session, or in a moment. Let me give a few examples of what I’ve used it for.

Asking for NPC’s

If I want a list of NPC’s, I can ask it for a list of NPC’s. And it is going to give me that list with a little description, or I can ask for a list without a description just so I can get as many NPC names as I can. I can do that for the whole campaign if I want, and it’ll give me a solid list.

Character names won’t make any sense, but it does a very good job. I will call out that Kip and Barai are both player characters, but you can go in and tweak that.

Asking for Plot

That is a relatively easy request. So let’s give it a more open prompt. And this is a prompt that I think a lot of Dungeon Masters would like. What is the players plan?

That isn’t even everything. But it does a solid job of splitting things out. And it is going back not only across the latest session, but the multiple sessions to pull out details. I can select only the last session if I wanted to get exactly where we are out. Or I can go across everything, I like I did, and review where the players are at to help me plan my next session.

And More

And you can query more as well. These are just two examples that I think highlight a very practical side of using it. But more than that, also a very useful side in terms of gathering narrative points. But you can really ask to your hearts content with it and create queries to get the answers you need.

Who is Tabletop Recorder For?

Before we get to if I’d use it or not, let’s talk about who it’s going to benefit the most. To me this is a Dungeon Master tool. Yes, I think there are things that the players will like about it too, but the strength is going to be for a dungeon master.

Why is that? Do players want to know everything in the campaign, sure. It can replace note taking. But that’s the big benefit for the players. For the Dungeon Master it is going to be a tool that helps with that note taking but also planning sessions and keeping track of all those loose ends. And I think even worldbuilding it’s going to be a dynamic tool for the Dungeon Master.

So, while everyone will get a benefit from it, there are some people it’ll benefit more. And some will depend on how you can access it. If everyone needs a subscription to access it, I don’t know that it’s worth it. But if there’s a dungeon master level to pledge and access and then lesser licenses, or links that can be shared to the campaign, it’ll be a good tool for everyone. It’ll depend on the access model to determine how much value it will hold.

Would I Use Tabletop Recorder?

So first, off, this is a preview. I was not paid for the preview, but I did get early access to the system. So, I give my honest opinion on it, but it is a preview. I want you to take what I say with a grain of salt.

I want to use this in my next campaign. It is something that I already found useful. But I think for a new campaign it is going to be very useful for me. Your mileage might vary depending on how you run your game. But for how I play Dungeons and Dragons, in my case, it is great. Let’s talk about why.

Note Taking

I am not the best at taking notes. I play theater of the mind and improv a ton in my games. That means that we go in unexpected directions a lot. And we tend to be a narrative heavy campaign and interaction heavy campaign versus a combat heavy campaign. In two sessions, I already like the ability to recap things and help me remember what happened last session. Whether it being me querying specific things or reading the short or medium recap to remember what is going on.

This is a great replacement for note taking for me. And it’s unobtrusive. I just stick my microphone in the middle of the table, hit record and we start playing. And, I think we did a good job of actually playing a real session. By that I mean tangents happened. We got sidetracked, we made references to things, and it was still useful for me.

Worldbuilding

This is an element that I think is going to be useful, but I haven’t done yet. I mainly think of it for a new campaign, but to prime for a session as well it would be good. What am I talking about?

So, I start a new game and I jot down some notes for a new world. They could offer me a way to enter them into the system, which I wouldn’t mind. But I can also record those notes, who are NPC’s that the players are going to meet. What is the end goal situation of the campaign and things like that. I can prime the system to know NPC names and all of that jazz. Then I can use a tablet, laptop, or phone, behind the DM’s screen to look those things up. It already has my planning notes in there for me.

Now not everything should go in there. If I plan to have a combat, don’t add those to the system ahead of time. That’s part of the active story. But I easy can see myself using it to prep a new campaign with some town names, NPC names, and history of the world so I can easily query it in the moment.

Final Thoughts

Tabletop Recorder is a luxury RPG add-on. Let’s be clear about that. Is it something that you need for your campaign, no. Is it something that is going to make your life easier, yes. To me that is what a good product for an RPG should be. If it claims it’s needed, I get really suspicious. But let me say, I find this nice already. I see the value already for keeping my planning time shorter and note taking easier.

You might not find that value. You might already have a way that you like to prepare for your campaign. But if that is a burden on you, I think that Tabletop Recorder is worth looking into. And for me, I see the value of it. It all comes down to how much it costs though, because there is a value of time versus the value of money that you need to make a decision on. But this is true with everything from the new version of Dungeons and Dragons to miniatures to the snacks you have while you game.

For me, I think it could very well be worth it though. I value that time that I can quickly prepare in versus the time that I spend flipping through the light notes that I have. And from what I’ve seen the technology is working well. And as a software engineer and a manager who has looked at Teams tools and Microsoft Co-Pilot, this is a nice system that is specifically for what I’d want for D&D.

So one last plug to checkout the Tabletop Recorder campaign coming soon to see if it’s for you.

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