Top 17 Campaign Games Coming From Crowdfunding

17. God of War

I don’t really know why this one is lowest on the list of campaign games. It’s a video game that I haven’t played much of so there is probably that. And I do need to get back to playing it because I had fun with it, it just was that I’m bad at playing video games for a long time.

But from CMON it’s going to have minis and solid game play, I’m very confident in that. So I hope that it’s a good experience and I believe that it’s only two players or solo (if I remember correctly) so there is that. I suspect that some of why it is so low is because of how poor the other God of War game was, but this is very different.

16. Regicide Legacy

I know why this one is low on the list. I don’t know a ton about Regicide. But it’s a mini campaign game in some ways. It’s not going to be a huge one where you have to set up a massive board with minis. So there is that going for it. But it really comes down to that I don’t know a ton about it. It’s solo or multiplayer cooperative which is fun. And it is only 12 missions. I’ll be curious to see what I unlock throughout this game, and it’s one that I can probably stream the whole thing of it.

15. Once Upon a Line

This one is lower on the list, but I’m still really intrigued by it. This is a scratch off legacy game. But it’s been there for a while in terms of ones that I’ve funded. So my interest isn’t waning, perse, it’s more that I just kind of forgot about it in some ways. But when it is comes in, I know I’ll be excited for that unique experience. I hope that it’s going to be a good short game as well that I can play and maybe share the experience with my wife because of the novelty of the game. It is also lower, though, because as a scratch off, it is one and done.

14. Spirit Fire

Spirit Fire is a solo only campaign from Orange Nebula. And it sounds like it should be quite unique with maybe some elements that feel like a collectible card game. Though, as I say that, it is worth pointing out, there is no collectible element to the game. That is just kind of how I remember thinking about it. So I’m very curious as to how that is going to work for the game. And I know with Orange Nebula making it, it is going to be a very well produced game. I need to try another of their games which I have, Unsettled, still.

13. The Dark Quarter

Then we have The Dark Quarter. This one is like Once Upon a Line when it comes to campaign games, that means that I’ve been waiting on this one for a long time. It’s a collaboration between Lucky Duck Games using their Destinies style system, I believe, and app integration for the story, and then the darker themes that I feel like you get from Van Ryder Games. That said, this game is taking forever to come. When it does, I’ll be excited for a darker game that’s cooperative using that Destinies system.

12. Flash Point Legacy

I expect that this is going to be the next game I have on this list to come in. Flash Point Fire Rescue is a cooperative game where you put out fires and rescue people. This is going to be a legacy version of the game. And I am a sucker for legacy games. So this is one that is exciting to me. I want to know how you make a game about putting out fires into a legacy game. I suspect there is going to be an arsonist going around. But it is a game that I’ve intentionally not looked into too much, other than that I know the system.

11. RoboMon

Speaking of games that are taking a while to come, I have two back to back here. RoboMon I maybe should be more worried about. But I like the theme so it’s higher on the list than some where it’s been a while. But RoboMon is going to be a robot battling game, solo one with maybe two player support, and it’s basically a Pokemon game, but obviously not with Pokemon. We’re seeing a number of games that feel like they draw a bit from that. But it’s going to be a game with story progression as well, which is why I’m so interested.

10. Werewolf: The Apocalypse – Retaliation

The other one with a very long wait for it. This one though I’m way more forgiving on than most. That’s because I am playing Vampire the Masquerade – Chapters and really enjoying the game. There is a lot of fun choose your own adventure with some tactical game play as well. The system isn’t going to be the same, but I hope that it’s still strong. And I knew going into the campaign that it was going to be slow. But I kind of like Werewolves better than Vampires, so I’m maybe more excited for this one than I was with Chapters.

9. Storyfold: Wildwoods

Two Games from Open Owl Studios are making the list. This is the first one with Storyfold. A solo game where it’s played out through a book. I watched some of a game play for it and I only kind of remember how it works. But It looks like a nice compact campaign game, and the theme of the story drew me in. It kind of felt a bit more peaceful in some ways, though I don’t know that is the case, but not your typical fantasy sort of setting for it while still being fantastical.

8. Horizon Forbidden West: Seeds of Rebellion

So from a small one to a huge one with a lot of minis and a lot going on we have Horizon Forbidden West. I know it’s from Steamforge Games and they have a hit and miss track record. But I think for their games you often just get minis and an okay game in the first one. Then they use the second game to create a better game. That kind of seems to be the case here, though they are adding in campaign this time, hence it’s on the list, which didn’t exist in the first. However, I really like the world of the Horizon games, so I’m hopeful this will be a fun game.

7. Enormity

Next up is the most recent campaign game that I’ve backed, at least I’m 99% sure on that. Enormity is high on the list because it isn’t fantasy. And while I like fantasy setting a lot, it’s fun to have something that feels more sci-fi and horror. Do I expect anything groundbreaking with this game, no I do not, but I really hope that it’s going to be a fun game with good sci-fi and horror elements for sure. Plus it gives me what I want, branching character progression and more.

6. Rove

Rove is another one that it feels like I’ve been waiting a while for, but I don’t think it’s been as long as some of them. This game is from the person who did the Crimson Scales Gloomhaven expansion. So that immediately drew me in to this game. But this one is their own game in their own setting and I want to play it. It sounds like a fun game and setting and I am assuming they took what they learned from doing a Gloomhaven expansion and built upon that. So that means that I have high hopes for the game because I love Gloomhaven and Frosthaven.

5. Witchbound

Now another game that is definitely late, but I knew it would be. Sorry designer when we spoke and you gave me your timeline (plus it being the first project for them) I knew it would probably be double or triple that. And some of it is that they want to release with with multiple languages and language parterns.

This is a point and click style adventure game. You play through chapters (kind of) and explore the world. So while it’s a campaign game and will likely have some campaign type moments for it, it’s also more open world than some with missions giving you specific directions on what to do and where to go, but not always locking you into doing one thing.

4. Dante: Inferno

Dante: Inferno is a big game from the people who made Chronicles of Drunagor. And I like Chronicles of Drunagor, and I keep on saying I need to restart it and tackle it better on streaming. I really do need to do that. This one looks like a potentially shorter campaign with elements that it borrowed from things like Oathsworn. By that I mean that there is kind of an adventure phase that you can go through and then a big boss battle.

I mainly know about the boss battle having watched a couple of times where people have taken on the first scenario. These videos were done during or before the campaign to build up hype. And I think that it works. The battles look big and dynamic and that’s something that I want from a boss battler.

3. Stonesaga

Now we have a game that I’ve played already. It’s one of two on the list. And I’ve played this one with a prototype and on TTS (TableTop Simulator). This is kind of a campaign game. It is in that you play through missions but less than some because there is less story or specific missions to it. Instead it’s a very open world exploring, gathering resources, and completing goals sort of game, often times using dice.

And it’s a campaign game where you might have a character who is there for a big and then grows old and retires. Plus, while it is a fantastical setting with giant guardians that are wandering about, it’s a game where you are more in the Stone Age than a classical Medieval setting. So I like that as well.

2. Lands of Evershade

Now we’re going to possibly the biggest game on the list. Though, I haven’t gone all in on it yet. I did back a good amount of it, but in the pledge manager I’ll likely add in more. From Awaken Realms this is supposed to give you that open world RPG feel that a lot of campaign games don’t. I don’t know how it’s going to do that exactly or how truly open world it can be, but I hope that it will be pretty open world.

I expect that this game is going to give me a lot of story elements to it. And if it is RPG like, then I hope that it’s going to be a good game when it comes to leveling up your character. That is one thing that I really like from a campaign game, a character that goes from feeling like some things are a challenge to looking back at it and where your character is at and thinking it’s so powerful now.

1. Rogue Angels

No surprise this is at the top of the list. I love this game and I’m very hopeful it’ll show up this year. And yes this is on the campaign games list for games that I need to get back to as well. I know I have more in the prototype box that I can play. But I’m also waiting to get this game in. The cool thing about the game is that for a campaign game it isn’t a big game. That is going to make it a whole lot easier to get to the table. That said, there is a lot of game in there.

I mean that in two ways. Firstly, there are quite the number of chapters to this story. I think it’s something like 6 chapters which is going to offer a lot of game to play. But also there is a very strong system under the story as well. And I really like everything that it does. It’s great with the card play, but also the decisions you make impact elements of the story as well, which is something I love in a campaign game.

Final Thoughts

It’s so many campaign games. And I know that when I did my list of ones that I need to play I even skipped over some legacy games or campaign games that I already own. So between these three lists that’s probably 45-50 games that I own that are campaigns. I need to play more campaign games and maybe get some out the door before some of these come in.

Once I wrap up the Button Shy solo games, which I still have a few weeks of that left, what campaign games should I start tackling? I at least want to get some plays under my belt. And I know that for sure when Witchbound, from this list, comes in, I’m going to want to be playing that one. What campaign games do you have backed on Crowdfunding that you’re still waiting to get?

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Top 5 Anticipated Backed Gamefound Projects

5. Witchbound

Let’s start out with what is going to be a game that I stream. Witchbound is a light game with a click and choose adventure to it as you combine items to pass tests, read story and explore maps. But you see everything on the map so you can just try and go anywhere or do anything.

But the game play, while very simple, is a ton of fun. It’s really cool to just explore a world, not worry about a ton of difficult skill checks, more just figure out what you need to do to succeed. I’m hoping that the artwork and story are progressing well and that the game when I get it will be as good as the demo I played.

4. DANTE: Inferno

Inferno is another big game, and that is going to be common the this list and the Kickstarter one. I expect I won’t see DANTE: Inferno for a while as it was just crowdfunded this year. But what I saw from it I really liked. From the makers of Chronicles of Drunagor, this game is quite different. It is more of a bass battler versus a campaign dungeon crawler. I like the sound of that, though. It is still a campaign and you make choices for the adventure, but your combat is against a boss. The Dice Tower and others have playthroughs that really drew me into how the game works and how dynamic the actions can be.

3. Dragon Eclipse

Now from Awaken Realms, and is this the only one from them, though there’ll be one (maybe two) on the list of upcoming projects. Dragon Eclipse is supposed to feel some like a CCG/TCG and some like Pokemon (which is a CCG/TCG) but with a dragon theme. It looks really fun and the aesthetic works for me. That is true with basically everything that Awaken Realms does. I’m even considering the deluxe version of Castles of Burgundy, a euro game. But I haven’t said much about this one, just that I know that I’m excited for it.

2. Planet Unknown Supermoon

Another one that I don’t remember a ton about, except this one I know the game well. Planet Unknown is an amazing tile placement game of terraforming a planet and going up on tracks. The Supermoon expansion adds some moons you can terraform instead but doesn’t change up the game that much.

Now that I’m thinking about it, it is way to long since I played this game. I want to get it to the table again soon because the experience is just a lot of fun. And this is going to add more to the box without adding more to the game. And I get a cover for the lazy Susan that holds the tiles, which is going to be amazing.

1. The Elder Scrolls: Betrayal of the Second Era

Finally we have The Elder Scrolls from Chip Theory Games. This is a new game but leverages their Too Many Bones system. I like that system and I like Too Many Bones, but the aesthetic isn’t my favorite. Here is a setting and aesthetic that I am going to enjoy more. And it does offer a bit of a campaign. Though, I think the campaign is more of some stories that you can string together to give you that short campaign and levelling experience. It isn’t a long 100 hour game or something like that which in theory should make it hit he table easier.

Honorable Mention

I got one of course, it’s common at this point. But Arydia: The Paths We Dare Tread is a tricky one to place for me. I late pledged it through Gamefound, so I am putting it here. This is a big campaign game, which I know is a shocker. But I can’t wait for this one because it plays on three different levels. You play on a story map, that then you can drill into settlements and things like that, and then you go into a house and it can be a dungeon crawler. It is a long sentence to say that. I like that idea and just looking at playthroughs, I can’t see how it won’t be for me.

Final Thoughts

So what have you backed on Gamefound? Again, I can certainly do more than just five, but I wanted to limit it some. I’m going to sneak a couple more in here, but the CMON God of War game that I am excited for. There is Robomon, a robot Pokemon collector sort of game and adventure. I know that one has had a bunch of changes, so I’m tentatively excited for it. Oh, and lest I forget, The Witcher: Path of Destiny. I need more shelf space.

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Top 5 2023 Gamefound Campaigns

5. Vampire: The Masquerade – Milan Uprising

I want to be more excited about this one and I am excited about a lot of it. The part that I’m less excited about is that it uses the Teburu system. Now that technology I think is interesting and I likely will get it, eventually. But it’s not out yet and my rule of thumb is don’t buy the first generation of a tech project. This is the second campaign for a game for it, and I’m excited to see them adding more games. But while the game, a cooperative 1-4 player game set in the World of Darkness setting, the technology, I want to see an iteration or two of it first.

4. DANTE: The Invasion of Hell

What puts this one on my radar is that it’s from the same company as Chronicles of Drunagor. A game that I want to play more of, but I think it’s a group campaign game. I want to know if DANTE: The Invasion of Hell works better solo? And it does have a solo mode, plus, I like their other game, so this is going to be really interesting. And my guess is that this is going to be another big game. Campaign games are a weakness of mine, so DANTE also hit on that, if it looks like a good game to play on Malts and Meeples it is going to make it even more tempting to play.

3. Thorgal: The Board Game

Based off of a video game that I don’t really know, this is a cooperative storybook adventure game, much like my #4. This one looks much smaller which I appreciate. And I’m curious to know more about it. It’s from Portal games. I don’t always gravitate towards everything Portal does, but I’m also interested to see what they are going to try next. And Thorgal, this one is interesting me. Again it’s that cooperative adventure game that can be played solo, and we know I like games like that.

2. Witchbound

I really didn’t know anything about Witchbound going in, and now it is towards the top of my list overall. I’m going to do a list like that at the end of this post for Top 5-7 games. But it’s a solo story driven game about becoming the first witch in over 100 years. That is exactly my sort of game. I like the theme of the game, I love the artwork that I’m seeing, and overall, I think I’d really enjoy it.

Plus it seems like a shorter play time which if it’s a bunch of little bites of game play over several sessions, that’s great and what I’m looking for often versus the two hours of some of the bigger campaign games that can be played solo.

1. Elder Scrolls

This one is pretty easy to pick because it’s based off of a system that I like, Too Many Bones, with a theme that I find interesting, and a company I really like. This is going to be a premium game with an IP so I expect a big price tag for it, but I’m going to likely back it, just to see if it’s for me. Chip Theory really doesn’t disappoint and they always have a strong fan base, so I’m excited for this game.

And I’m excited to see how they can bring as big a world as Elder Scrolls into a board game. It seems like it’ll be a campaign game, but one where you can mix and match different campaign elements together or go through different shorter stories, so not a massive campaign.

I find it interesting that with the five games from Gamefound all of them are cooperative games that have caught my eye. Really, it shouldn’t be a surprise, I love cooperative story driven games that can be played solo. All of these fall into that category, some of them are very big, and others less so, but at least I’m consistent.

Top 3 2023 Backerkit Campaigns

3. Leder Games Project

So like I said, it’s a bit thin on Backerkit. That means that we get from them. And one of them is this Leder Games project. It’s on the list because when Leder Games puts out a game, I am interested in it. Even if it isn’t going to be for me. I’m not that interested in trying Vast, but the game itself sounds interesting. And that means that I’m going to check out what this is when they announce it officially.

I think I’ve heard rumors, and I might be off on this, but an easier to get to the table Oath style game was in the works. But honestly, I might be making that up, there’s a lot of news and I’m just doing it off of memory. If it is, it’s maybe one that I’d pass on, but it could also catch my fancy if it’s easier to table.

2. Wild Gardens

One of the few out there that has any information on it. I’d probably have the Leder Games project above this one if I knew more about it. But Wild Gardens looks like a pretty game of resource collection and completing goals. I’m not sure what else is going on in it. But looking at the cover, it’s a pretty game, and the artwork throughout the game looks great as well. I hope that the game play matches the artwork and is a nice relaxing game to play.

1. Gloomhaven Minis and RPG

Easily my Top 1 over there. You know that I love Gloomhaven and I will say right now, I am not backing the minis. You can hold me to that, but I do not need the minis nor would I really  have use for a lot of them. It’d just make Gloomhaven and Frosthaven harder to play. But I want to know more about the RPG.

I haven’t looked into it too much yet. I know that it is built around card play, or can be, like you have in Gloomhaven. And I’m hoping that they give you tactical opportunities for combat and then a lot of theater of the mind and opportunities to role play as well. If it’s just mainly combat focused with a bit of role playing thrown on top, I’m less interested. But I’ll definitely be looking into this one more.

Top 5 2023 Kickstarter Campaigns

5. Crown of Ash

This is one that I keep on seeing advertisements for on Facebook and is one that definitely interests me. Crown of Ash is an area control and worker placement game. But it isn’t a game that is stuffed full of big minis or things like that, it looks like a more reasonably sized game. I’m not sure it’s one for me, but I want to learn more about it. The cover is striking and overall, if it’s a good area control game and the worker placement makes sense, it might be one that I want to play. Area control and in your face isn’t my normal style, but I am curious about it.

4. Rove

So there was a fan expansion that I want to get for Gloomhaven, The Crimson Scales. It’s something that was created, with the blessing of Isaac Childres to work with his system. And it sounds really cool. Rove is from that designer who is now branching out and making his own game. It’s a big box 1-4 player cooperative fantasy RPG in a box. I’m interested in that. No shock to anyone there.

And I want to know what someone who has done work related to Gloomhaven can come up with. Because I fully expect this isn’t going to be a dice chucking giant campaign like Sword & Sorcery, so how are the lessons learned from The Crimson Scales going to build into this new game?

3. Stonesaga

It helps to put this on the list having played it. And I believe the beta playtesting is going on right now, if people want to check it out. But this is a cooperative game where you are playing as cave dwellers who are advancing their society, building up, and well, dealing with giant monsters that are a threat to the board.

This is a legacy game, which is fun, and one that has story and campaign on it, but it reminds me more of the level of story of a My City or Charterstone. The story matters, and they integrate missions better and story challenges better, but it only matters so much. Plus the artwork on this one is just great and when OOMM Games puts something out I’m interested.

2. Marvel United Multiverse

Should this be number one? I don’t know. I don’t need more of the game. But Marvel United is such an easy game to get to the table that I definitely want more of the game. I love the IP with Marvel, it works well for the type of game it is. And it’s a good cooperative game that I can pull out and play with almost anyone. It isn’t too light for gamers because the game is fast. And it isn’t too heavy for non-gamers.

Plus it doesn’t matter if Groot is your favorite character, Wolverine, Iron Man, or whomever, you can sit down and play as your favorite Marvel character. And I think that’s great about it, this is just going to be even more. Like I said, I don ‘t need more, but it doesn’t make the game harder to table, which is great.

1. Rogue Angels

Again, this one hopefully will be coming back to Kickstarter or some crowdfunding platform in 2023. I put it here, I just got to play another scenario and I still love the game. The characters are so much fun, and while similar, different in what they can handle. We lost part of the scenario I played on Sunday but were able to be the overall mission. You fail forward into the story versus redoing a scenario over and over and over again.

And the game play, every time that I sit down and play it, I can pick it back up again, which is great. All of that while having a lot of story, being cooperative, you know I’m in. I think it’s one that would work well for Malts and Meeples as well. It’s a big campaign, but it isn’t a sprawling table hog like some big campaigns.

Top 5 Upcoming Crowdfunding Campaigns

Let’s face it, these are mainly going to be cooperative adventure driven games. But out of the 13 that I have, sorry Backerkit we couldn’t get to 5. Which ones are the ones that I am most interested in.

1. Rogue Angels
2. Elder Scrolls
3. Marvel United Multiverse
4. Stonesaga
5. Witchbound

What Crowdfunding Campaigns Are You Most Interested In?

Let me know which ones interest you the most? Are there any crossover, do you want to get all the minis for Gloomhaven, it would be awesome, or is that just too much? Are there any that I missed. I was trying to find everything that I could, but I won’t lie, it’s tricky.

And even some of them, like Crown of Ash is one that was supposed, I believe, to come out in 2022. Rogue Angels did, but then needed to relaunch. So it’ll be interesting to see what comes up and where everything lands. Checkout other creators, like BoardGameCo I think does a quarterly list of things, though might be doing a yearly list of Top 10 he’s most excited for across everything. So let me know what I missed that you think I might like.

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