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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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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AllPlay

Alibis is going to be a thinky party game. Not much more information on it. But it is one of AllPlay’s square box game. They also reminded us of a few that are coming as well. Plus Twinkle Twinkle which is going to be coming out at Gen Con. It was on Kickstarter in January. They expect to fulfill it in July.

The next one they are talking about is Sail Legacy. I need to play Sail. And I definitely think I’ll be backing this one. It’s cooperative trick taking which is great. So I hope that it’s a great Legacy game and one that I can enjoy a lot. It’s coming on Crowdfunding on July 8th.

Terrible Quest is a tiny game that is coming out at Gen Con. You are tearing out things from a sheet of paper and racing against the time. This sounds like a pretty fun gimmick to checkout. You need to tear it out exactly, plus you want to avoid curses that are hidden on the back of the sheet of paper, and get bonuses. The game play looks hectic and silly.

Bitewing Games

They are talking about their Mythos Collection. These are two player head to head games. Iliad and Ichor are the first two from the line and they are fulfilling or they just recently fulfilled. So there are more games coming in this line of games. Now being added to the list of these two player games Moytura and Azure which are coming in Q3 of 2025 to Kickstarter.

Board and Dice

This is a game that starts with the Letter T and is an ancient civilization. So we have Tianxia coming. This looks like an interesting game to me, in particular with the artwork of the game. It sounds like a game where you want work with others, but you only want to work so much because there is only going to be a single winner for this game. I like the theme where it seems to be building a wall to prevent nomadic attacks. It seems like a resource management but one that seems to have a lot going on with it.

CGE

They are talking about the new version of Codenames. Is there much new going on, no there isn’t. It’s mainly just a rebrand and reminder that a new version is coming. I believe that the new versions do add in a few more cards, but no need to run out and replace the one you already have.

Elzra

A new Catacombs game is coming. I believe that this is meant to be a good jumping in point for people who have been interested in this flicking and dungeon battling game. It’s a game that I’ve owned, well, not this version of Catacombs Alpha the Catacombs that I need to get played. Because I enjoy a good flicking game and this one seems like it’s different.

Phantom Division

I’m not sure if the game or company is called Phantom Division or both. This looks like an epic dungeon crawling experience. And it has some interesting terrain. It isn’t a big minis game, though, this is a game where all the monsters and troops are discs. But it also isn’t a flicking game, or at least not completely. There are flicking elements to completing some objectives which is really odd and interesting looking.

Phantom Horizon

See what I said above about Phantom Horizon as well. This looks like a big epic space game and that’s something that I might be lacking in my collection. This one looks a bit less alien than some of the games, though there are aliens. And while there is a ton going on with the board and upgrading. There are again no minis for the game, so makes me think it’s the same company as the one above. I definitely like the look of both of them a lot. And diceless combat which is going to mean that you can plan out more which is cool.

Okay, this one is actually called Solarion: Foundation of Empires and it’s coming to Kickstarter.

Direwolf

Lightning Train is going to be at Gen Con. The Direwolf release. Plus there is more coming to Clank with Clank Catacombs and the expansion. So can we all guess what this is going to be, yup, they are announcing Clank Catacombs: Underworld. This is going to be an expansion for Clank Catacombs, and this seems like a whole new level to explore in which is cool. But it’s going to make your game even larger. A Kickstarter pre-order it seems and then coming out this fall, so do you want it slightly sooner?

Plus the digital release of Dune Imperium Immortality. Plus some content coming there first which is going to be intriguing. They do plan on releasing physically eventually, but not right away.

Everbeasts

This is a smaller little game. It’s going to be a strategy card game. I don’t know much about it, but it’s from an independent creator for the game. I like to see when people talk about stuff like that. And it’s going to be coming to Kickstarter in July. And learn more about Everbeasts that way. I very much enjoy how it looks in terms of the artwork and I hope that it’s a good game. It seems like a combo building game. And you download a free print and play demo to try it yourself.

Grail Games

There are two little announcements. Firstly their medium size game like Snowcrest and they just kickstarted Night Soil. Now they have a new game coming Fantasy Brewer. I do like beer. It’s going to be an Essen game. It’s a worker placement style of game. Seems like a worker placement game, though, where some workers are stronger than other workers. So what you get after the worker placement depends on who was there first and how had a stronger worker.

And an announcement for Age of Civilization. This game that is already out and now it’s coming out with Grail Games. Bigger box and new art.

Justin Gary

15th Anniversary edition of Ascension a game that I like. This is going to be a lot of new promo cards. So if you like Ascension, this might be for you. And they are going to be introducing a new card type which is interesting. And you’ll be able to get everything for the game again. Plus all of the cards can be gotten in foil which is unique. And that’s not all, a bonus promo if you follow on Gamefound.

Off the Page Games

Corps of Discovery is being talked about move. It’s a cooperative game which is really interesting and I think it sounds more interesting to me than other games. And they are talking about expansions for the game as well. So there is a ton of stuff coming out for Corps of Discovery. I haven’t gotten Mind MGMT or Harrow County but this one actually is more interesting to me.

And it’s another new game. This one is called Design Your Destiny. This one sounds weird. There is a story element to it and you travel through time as the characters. You come across games but they are broken. So it’s going to kind of teach you or tell you how to design games. I think that sounds a bit crazy.

And the next Kickstarter game. Grendel is a 1 to 4 player competitive game. It’s an asymmetric game and area control it seems. It sounds interesting but I’m not 100% sure that this is the type of game for me. But there are some very unique events occurring in the game. July 1st for when it starts crowdfunding.

NerdLab Games

There are a few things from next month to next year. First off they are sharing some news on Mind Bug. They are doing a crossover thing with Iello and King of Tokyo. Sounds like the King of Tokyo creatures are coming into Mind Bug. Plus it is going to have some King of Tokyo like things which will come at Essen. Plus the online version of Mind Bug and a rogue like experience is coming for it. I need to play Mind Bug, it’s one that I think that I should enjoy but I haven’t gotten around to it yet.

The next thing is Agent Avenue which are recommended for the Spiele. And there is now coming a little expansion for the game. Nothing to show yet for the expansion and the target is Essen again at least to show the game.

And there is Final Titan. This game is currently on Gamefound and I think that this one looks fun. It’s a draft battler game and I want to know more about it. Right now I’ve held off on backing it, but it’s the type one that I think would work very well with me. It’ll come out to release late next year.

Mindwork Games

This one looks like a skirmish game. Paradise is supposed to be between a combo of miniatures game and board game. I believe that I heard them call it wastepunk, which if I did hear that, I think that sounds great. The artwork looks good and it’s supposed to be a fast game which is something that sounds interesting. Not sure it’s for me, but one that I’d love to try it before I buy it. It really does look mainly like a miniatures game.

Mighty Boards

So some announcements, Red North. This is a concealed bidding game which sounds interesting. It’s a Viking theme, which is pretty common for games. The game sounds like a bidding and bluffing game and I think that sounds interesting. It was at Essen Spiele last year but updated rules and artwork. The other game they are talking about is a better version or more prestigious version of Art Society. If you want to get the deluxe edition it’s coming to Kickstarter this summer.

Mebo

Pyradice is a pyramid dice building game. I think that it looks like a fun game. In the US it is going to be coming from Arcane Wonders. The game is two player game out of the box but you can get a second copy to play with more. You take dice that are free, aka, three faces that are open, and add them to your pyramid. I really love the look of this game and the simplicity of the action of taking the dice, but then strategy as you place dice into your pyramid to build it up and activate abilities. The skills and objectives vary throughout the game.

IV Studio

Realm of Reckoning is the new game coming to Kickstarter. It looks like there is a ton going on on the game board. The game is taking place in the afterlife. I need to try more IV Studios games. I am not a fan of Mythic Mischief. This one being a card drafting game and how you place the cards is interesting. I’m not 100% sold on this game but the them is something that I really like. And IV Studios is great at making great looking games.

Final Thoughts

So that’s everything. There is a ton of interesting things. If you were to ask me the ones that interest me the most, I really like the following, Pyradice, Final Titan, Corps of Discovery, Sail Legacy and Phantom Division sounds really cool. I mean, there are so many interesting games. So let me know which one is the most interesting to you and drop that in the comment section below.

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Top 15 Campaign Games I Still Need to Play

15. Ticket to Ride: Legends of the West

I know that I’m going to like this game. So why is Ticket to Ride Legacy lower on the list? Some of it is because it is a legacy game. The two “legacy” games that I have on the list are the bottom two. But also because while I like Ticket to Ride a lot, it’s not a game that I play all that often. I think that the legacy version will likely breath new life into the game for me. But it’s more of a comfort food pick than a really exciting new bite to try. And for that reason it’s lower on the list.

14. Clank Legacy 1 & 2

The other legacy game is actually two legacy games. So did I cheat, I’ll let you decide. But this one is lower on the list because I know that I love Clank! already. And I really like the Acquisitions Inc guys as well, so that is a great theme for me. But it’s like I said for Ticket to Ride: Legends of the West, this is more comfort food. I already know that I will like both of the games. But it’s higher on the list because I like Clank better than I like Ticket to Ride, and because I think the writing is just going to be a great time that’s a ton of fun.

13. Tales from the Red Dragon Inn

Speaking of fun writing, I expect that Tales from the Red Dragon Inn is going to be another game with fun writing. This one is supposed to be a simpler, or less in depth dungeon crawler game and there are some good playthroughs of it. I’d recommend checking otu the playthrough that was done done on Meet me at the Table. They’re one of my favorite channels, and it shows how fast it is to get the game to the table and get playing.

12. Kinfire Chronicles

Speaking of another campaign game that I’ve heard a lot of good things about, we have Kinfire Chronicles. This is again supposed to be a friendlier and easier to get into campaign game than some. I like the look of the aesthetic of the game. And it’s not a mini heavy experience which might make it easier to get to the table. But it’s probably easier to see what it’s like at the table. I really do like how the cast of characters looks like a ton of fun and familiar fantasy but not the completely normal fantasy.

11. Tidal Blades 2

For this one I’ll add a video from Man vs Meeples. But I know more about this one. Some of the previous ones I just went on theme. This one is a dungeon crawler or adventure style game with scenarios where you are in this beautiful world dealing with monsters who attacked a festival and more in the story.

But the mechanisms got me to pick up this game. I like how you add in cards to a grid and then you activate a row or a column. But once every spot in a row or column is filled and you activate it, it wipes. And you have basic actions on spots without cards, but it’s a rising and falling action as you try and play through the scenario and defeat the monsters.

10. Etherfields

Now we’re onto Etherfields. The only campaign game from Awaken Realms that I haven’t gotten to the table. And this one actually left my collection for a very short time. But as I said, I love campaign games so I got it back. I put this one where because I love the theme of it. I have heard that it is rough around the edges but the theme gets me.

You are exploring dreams and each dream is going to be a little bit different. Some of them might be more dream like, but the fun of dreams, at least in a board game is that they can be nightmares as well. And that means that the game is going to have twisted and crazy and surreal scenarios and that sounds amazing to me. I know one element was a bit of a grind, but I believe that there are rules out there now that help fix that.

9. Kingdom: Death Monster

Then we get to one that maybe should be higher on the list. Kingdom: Death Monster is not the grand daddy of all campaign games, that’s Gloomhaven in a lot of ways. But this one is one of the games that really showed what you could do and create a massive game with a ton of expansions and a ton of minis in it. I only have the core box and there is a ton in there.

In this game it’s a boss battler campaign. You start at no one, really you don’t even have language yet. But as you play, you grow you tribe, figure out new things, like ways to make weapons and armor, develop language and more. All that while sending out your hunters to try and defeat boss monsters who are sometimes going to take out your hunters. And that’s why you need to keep growing your village. But Meet Me At The Table has great videos on this as well.

8. Divinity Original Sin

This is a game that I need to play through both as a video game but also as the board game. I had fun watching Felicia Day an Ryan Day play through it on their streams back in the day. So it is a game that I have played some, in the video game. But the board game sounds great for it as well. The theme definitely helps with that as does the fact that this isn’t a grid movement map but more of an area movement game. And I really like how there’s that campaign element and adventure element to it without purely being a dungeon crawler game.

7. Dragon Eclipse

Alright, I kind of lied about having played all of the Awaken Realms campaign games. This is one that might actually get to the table sooner because I think it might be easier to get to the table. I didn’t think of it though, because it just got in. In this game you are collecting dragons and battling dragons. Does that sound a bit like Pokemon, that makes sense. But it’s a game with a fun theme and compared to some campaign games, it’s a campaign game that you can play true solo which is great for me.

6. Nova Aetas Renaissance

You’ll notice and probably already have noticed a trend of the videos that I share here. A ton of them are from Meet Me At the Table. A lot of these games I had already backed before they played them. But this is one that I tracked down because of the channel. I love the 3D nature of the experience for this game. And how, in one of the scenarios a house that is 3D can be taken apart and flattened. But there is more than that as well.

The story of the game is fun. It feels like it mixes up a few things from historical to make fantastical. And then it uses a fun mechanism for whose turn it is. You spend you action points and move around a time track. Whomever is at the end of the track is going to be who activates next. There are some other rules for it as well. So you can’t just stack up turn after turn after turn before the bad guys go, but it’s a fun element to the game.

5. Agemonia

Then we have Agemonia. This is a rare campaign game that I didn’t back right off the bat on crowdfunding. Or I should say a rare one that I looked into a lot and didn’t end up backing. This game seems to have a fun world and setting to play in and that’s some of what drew me in right away for it. But there were other elements that kept me coming back for it as well.

I liked how the maps were in books and that felt different. But also beyond that, as more places are doing that now, the world would change. You draw out a card after interacting with a point and cover it up. That might create a different point of interaction or it might be nothing to do there anymore. And the game play just seems simple enough to be easy to learn and play, but offer some solid choices in combat as well.

4. The Elder Scrolls

Next is another new one to come in. But it’s a fun theme that a lot of people are going to be drawn to. For me it’s less the theme and more that it’s a shorter campaign based off of the Too Many Bones system that I really am excited for.

If you’re not familiar with the system, you level up after missions. Or you can anyways. And as you spend your points to try and level up you get better or unlock new abilities. You can add to base stats, which can be good, or you can add to the specialty dice that you roll. And while this streamlines it a bit from what it was with Too Many Bones, I’m excited for it and the world that the game is set in certainly helps.

3. Middara

Now the top 4 are going to be ones that I really would love to play. Yes, you read that correctly, we’re on #3 and we have four games to go including this one. How is that, I couldn’t pick between my top two. But Middara is very safely into that group. And soon I’m going to be having more Middara come in. I say soon, I expect maybe this time next year.

But Middara is going to be a classic dungeon crawler with a ton of story and a ton of dice chucking. But I really like the theme and look of the game. You go to another world, chosen to go there kind of it’s weird to explain. But you are chucking dice to defeat monsters, level up and become awesome. But the whole aesthetic of the game gives me a really strong anime feel. I’ve heard that sometimes trips up the writing, but overall people really enjoy it. And to me that sounds exciting.

1c. Oathsworn

Next we have Oathsworn. And this, this is the three way tie for first place. Why did I not just remove the last game from the list, because I wanted to mention it too. Oathsworn is another boss battler game. But it is a game that is split into two parts. And that excites me about the game. You get a mystery or exploration phase where you experience a lot of story. And then you go beat up that boss. But if you do well on the story the boss maybe is easier.

And I really like the mechanisms in the game. I kept games that I’d really played off of the list. I did a short demo of this one two years ago at Gen Con and I adored it. There is this great card system where cards have to cool down before you can use them again. And then you decide how many dice you are going to roll, some are required, but the more you roll the more chances you to bust and miss, but the greater a hit could be. Or you could play it safer and draw cards, but eventually that deck of cards will run cold and do you switch to dice then?

1b. Primal: The Awakening

Next tied at the top is Primal: The Awakening. This one is another boss battler game. And this one I should probably get to the table sooner than some. A nice thing about Primal is that it doesn’t need to be a campaign, you can also play it as a one off. And that would definitely make it easier for me to get it to the table.

But this is a game that is all about the boss battle. There is a little story between scenarios and a chance to upgrade, but it’s not going to be nearly as much other stuff as just a pure battle. And the battle is different as well. You play on a tiny board with just four sides of the monster that you can be on. And depending the stance the monster is in, you need to be in specific spots to do damage. Add in card play for this which you can pull of powerful combos, that’s great. Of course, depending on what cards you play, you might trigger a lot of monster reactions.

1a. Arydia

And finally the most recent game to the campaign game collection. This one barely beat out Elder Scrolls for that title, we have Arydia. Arydia is another game that I passed on originally when it was on crowdfunding but then I went back and late pledged it. I just kept on being drawn into one part of the game.

The game is at three different levels. Now I don’t mean that you build stuff up on the table. I mean that you explore the world at three different levels. You explore at a high level where you get general encounters and interactions. Then you can dive down deeper and start to interact with specific characters or explore a location in more detail. Finally, you might then drop into combat which is tactical movement on a map. And that massiveness of the world really drew me to the game.

Final Thoughts

You might think that is enough. But there is going to be another list, probably tomorrow for games that I want to come back to or that are new editions or versions of games that I’ve already played as campaign games. I expect that is only going to make it to ten, but that’s a lot. And this list even didn’t include everything. The campaign in Solomon Kane could have made the list. And I know that I just didn’t see some games on the shelf that would have made sense for the list as well. And there are games that I likely missed too because I don’t think of them as campaign games.

What campaign games do you want to get played? And how do you find time to play them all? Or are you like me where you have more campaign games than you can play?

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Top 10 Crowdfunding Games I Backed In 2024

10. Luthier

This one I knew I was going to be backing. I’m pretty sure I met the designer who is friends with a good friend of mine years ago at this point. But the theme is fun as well, and from Paverson Games the company that made the hit game Distilled, I’m already intrigued. Luthier is about crafting instruments which is a unique theme as well. And the production, at least the renderings of it, look gorgeous and the whole aesthetic is great. It’s not my normal type of game, but with a cool theme and a great look, I’m very excited for it.

9. Floe

This game intrigued me for a lot of reasons. Mainly, the Brothers Murph had a great playthrough of the prototype. While the game has changed some, from the sounds of it, I’m still definitely excited for it. This is a travel the map, collect goods, fulfill contracts and do it again sort of game. And that is a fun type of experience to play. This is also a game with great artwork, so I’m excited to get something to the table that isn’t just a giant adventure of a game, but still has that sense of discovery with it as well.

8. Storyfold: Wildwoods

This is lower on the list than I thought it might be. Some of that is because it is a solo story adventure game. That should be higher, but it’s one that I know I won’t get for a while. I’m still waiting on Stonesaga from Open Owl Studios. And this one just wrapped up it’s crowdfunding in December. So my expectation for a timeline for the game is that I’ll get it in May or later of 2026. But the artwork, the card play, and just the overall aesthetic of the game is one that I’m really excited to get to the table and play and see what it’s all about.

7. One Hit Heroes

This is the first of a couple of superhero games that are on the list. This one Meet Me At the Table had a great playthrough showing how the game worked. I am excited for this one because it looked great on the table, but also easy to learn and play with a good amount of strategy. The strategy comes from how you make everything interact versus a lot of rules, and I love it when a game can pull of that. Plus it’s a boss battler game but one without a lot of minis to set-up, though it is a progression of games, and I have a boss battler on the list that isn’t coming up soon.

6. Super Squad High

This is one that I doubt is on many peoples lists of one that they anticipate from 2024. But I am excited for this game. It is about being a superhero, so that is fun. But it’s not just being a superhero. You are a superhero at a high school and you need to balance your real life of school, dating and more with dealing with a villain and figuring out who that villain is because it might be a classmate of yours. The whole theme sounds like a show that I’d watch and to get to play that game also sounds like a lot of fun.

5. Grimcoven

An Awaken Realms game, this isn’t the only one on the list. But I am very excited to get Grimcoven in, whenever it comes in. I don’t expect it for a little bit, I just got Dragon Eclipse which was a 2023 game. But Grimcoven is a boss battler game. But unlike a lot which are campaigns this one is only for that one shot game. The gothic horror look to it is awesome as well. So I suspect this is going to be one of those games I’ll stream from time to time and pull out for the game group when we want to just fight a monster.

4. Flash Point: Legacy of Flame

I love legacy games, and this is one that feels cool to be getting one. Flash Point is a game about stopping fires. Well, now they are making a legacy game about that. And I’ve held off on getting the base game because it’s kind of Pandemic like. And I find that I want more in that sort of game now, though I’ll gladly play them, so when they announced a legacy game, I was super excited. I hope that it’s going to be an awesome game with great story going through it and some fun twists along the way. But mainly, it needs to keep that game play that makes the regular game good.

3. Rove

Rove is another one of those big campaign games. There are certainly going to be a few of them on the list. And Rove is one that I’ve known about for a while and that it was coming to crowdfunding. This game is from the person who designed the fan expansion for Gloomhaven, which I still want to get my hands on. So when they branched out into something new and something they had designed I was curious. And the game looks like it’s going to be a cool campaign game. I hope that it’s a good design since the previous work was based off of something else.

2. Enormity

It’s a big campaign game, another shocker there, I’m sure. But Enormity is one that I had kind of glossed over until the Dice Tower crew was talking about it on Crowdsurfing. This one looks fun because it isn’t the normal. It is more sci-fi and horror, two things that I like. And it is supposed to be more modular as well as you play. I assume kind of like Shadows of Brimstone. You know your objective, that stays the same, but as you explore out the map could be different every time. And I like that for a game, though it does add to some set-up in the middle of the game.

1. Lands of Evershade

This one is at the top of my list for two reasons. Firstly it is an epic campaign game, and I love epic campaign game. But it is also an epic campaign game from Awaken Realms. I love games from Awaken realms like Lords of Hellas and Tainted Grail which is sitting as my #2 game of all time right now. So when they offer me a game like Lands of Evershade, a big campaign style of game, I know I will back it. And it is one of the more recent ones that I backed. I plan to add more on in the pledge manager, but even just the core stuff is going to be a lot to play.

What Else to Say

It was a great year for games on crowdfunding. I suspect that creators might have found it to be down slightly, but if you wanted a project, there is a project, just in my list, probably for everyone. Though a lot of them are going to skew more towards those heavily thematic games out there that I really love. And I know that there are more I could be talking about. I backed and got already some Button Shy solo games, some solo only games that come in basically a VHS case, and more. And I need to get those played as well.

Plus it is a great year for more content on crowdfunding for games you might already have. I have Agemonia, I got more for it. Mythwind, I got more for that game as well. Same for Stars of Akarios, and really there are even more that I could mention on that list. Now I just need to find even more time to play games because playing games is probably my favorite thing to do, that are eat great food with great friends, but who says that after you eat you can’t play games as well?

What games did you back on crowdfunding in 2024?

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How To Play Comic Hunters

You want to own the best comic collection. And that’s your goal in the game, get the best one available. The more different groups of comics you have, or the larger collection of a character, all provide different scoring opportunities. As well as you get more points for collecting key issues or firsts or first appearances, and more. All of that to at the end of three rounds of building your collection, the most points wins.

The Drafting

This is done over four different types of drafting or auctions. Each one has it’s own twist to it. And you do three of them each of the three rounds.

Standard Draft is the first one that you do. This one is going to be your typical take one card and pass it along.

Slide Puzzle Draft is a new one for me, and this is going to be in a five by five grid of comics. The middle one is open and players take turns sliding a card, like a slide puzzle, and then picking a row or column and taking all of a single character from it. It comes back again but in reverse turn order for players to make a second selection.

Winston Draft is the next one that happens. I use this term because it’s related to Magic the Gathering drafting. But outside of that it might not mean much. A player number of rows are put out. Players then can either take a row or add to a row. Rows can never have more than four cards in them, so you need to think about what you add or when a row becomes tempting enough to take.

Auction is the final one and it’s not really a draft. Again player number of rows are put out. And players put one row up for auction each time. Eventually every player will get a row. And the final player has to pay one per card in that row. But the rows vary from five long to three long. And what you bid with are points.

Building Your Collection

After three of those drafts, which I generally would teach when the draft comes up, is building your collection. As you build your collection you need to create groups of at least two of a character. And you need to think about the costs. Each card has a cost and each card can be used to pay for a cost. These are actually the same numbers. So you put together your collection, but you also need to spend cards to pay for them as well, so it’s optimizing what is your best collection to cost. And you can only keep two cards in your hand at the end of each round.

What Doesn’t Work

I like this game, and there is a reason that The Dice Tower and companies have been looking to bring it over. But I think there is one main concern with the game. I even call it out when I talk about building the collection. If you teach all four auctions at once, it’s not going to be fun. There is so much information that it’s an overload for players. Instead, I think it’s key when playing and getting into the game to teach each auction as it comes up.

The other thing is less about the game play, but more beware of the components. They are inconsistent, or that’s the best way to put it. Some of the cardboard pieces are too thin. And the marker as to what action is coming up next, that is too large. But the cards are a great thickness which is good because they’ll be handled and shuffled a lot.

What Works

Drafts and Auctions

I think the each auction or draft is fun. Yes, the first draft is basic. But I think that works well to get people into the game. And the subsequent drafts should get people excited to play the game. That combination is impressive to me because it could have easily gotten bloated or complicated. But because there is space to teach it after each round, I think it works well.

Cost and Value of Comics

I also appreciate the dual uses of the cards. I either use it for a collection or I use it to pay for it. That is a puzzle in and of itself. And I think it makes some of the drafts more interesting. I want to get as many high value comics as I can because I can pay for more. But also, high value comics provide more points at the end of the game. So I want them for two reasons and that is a good and simple tension in the game.

Game Length

The game length is also a positive for me with the game. I find that Comic Hunters is a game that isn’t too long or too short. And it is likely to play even faster as you play it more often. If everyone knows the game, it should play very quickly, almost a filler, but it feels like more. Even with teaching the game, which I expect I’ll do often, it is a fast game.

Marvel

And, finally, I think the theme is important. People like Marvel, even with less consistent movies and shows recently, people still like it a lot. And that is some of what took it forever to get to the United States. To get the theme and artwork truly done right it required a lot of licensing of images. It could have worked with generic comics, but it feels better with the Marvel IP.

Who Is It For

I think this is a great game for a number of different people. The Marvel theme might make it seem like the target is Marvel fans. This is not a money grab for that, though. Players still need to engage with the game on different levels each draft or auction.

For me, I think this is more of a gamers filler game, or for a very casual person, a game like Catan or Ticket to Ride where, because of the theme, it’s one of five games in their collection. It will get played, and when they want to play a game, it’s going to be the one they always pick. But I don’t think it’s a great game for putting into a rotation without the expectation of repeated plays for very casual gamers. It needs to become the game that they play.

Final Thoughts and Rating of Comic Hunters

I definitely enjoy Comic Hunters. I knew I would after my first play. For me, the combination of drafts and auctions works really well. And each of them has the same goal, which I think is important. It doesn’t make the game feel too large or bloated because it is always about building the best comic book collection.

Obviously for me, the theme of Comic Hunters is going to help. I love Marvel, so a game about Marvel Comics, that’s great. But there is more than just that theme in the game. It’s about how you want to build the collection. I didn’t dive deep into scoring, but there are a lot of ways to get points. And whether you want to collect all of one character or collect a little of a lot can really change up your strategy. So I think that offers even more variability and replay value to the game.

My Grade: A
Casual Grade: B-
Gamer Grade: B+

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Dice Tower Summer Spectacular Publisher Mega Announcements!

Motor City Gameworks

Three Sisters Essential Edition

Solo mode, campaign mode, and more added to Three Sisters. So it’s going to be still the same game, just added modules. A game that I need to try still, I believe that the group worked on Fleet: The Dice Game as well which I enjoy a lot. So this one is on my radar and gives me a great reason to make sure that I get my game played of Three Sisters to see if I’ll want to get this Essential Edition. Oh yeah, new sheets, new bits, new cards, a lot of different new things. Coming to Kickstarter around spring of 2025.

Allplay

They spent a good amount of talking about the games that they have coming out. Lure, Rivervalley Glassworks, and more that they’ve been talking about.

Things and Rings

It’s a party game where you’re trying to get rid of things into a Venn diagram in the right way. But only one person is going to know what way. This sounds like an interesting idea for a party game and is coming to retail soon. To me, this mean I hope I get to demo it at Gen Con and maybe pick it up there because in theory, it sounds like an interesting idea for a game.

Fairy

Allplay is bringing out a smaller line of games, even smaller than the Lure, Big Top and that size of box. Fairy is going to be a party game where you try and predict the next card coming up with hand gestures. To me, this doesn’t sound that fun, but it probably will be a good game for a lot of people and good goofy time when it is played.

Panda Panda

You’re trying to create a perfect hand of cards. At the start of the round if you have that hand that you need you say Panda Panda. Not much information on how you are building up or curating your hand, but it sounds like an interesting filler.

Rainbow

Another hand management game, this one sounds like a lot of fun to me. You’re playing out cards in sets and runs to get cards from the middle of the table. Those cards you get are going to be your scoring cards. But the twist is that the cards you play out, those are now going to be the next batch of scoring cards. I like this a lot as it gives me the feel of Scout and Mind Up! Two games that I’m having a lot of fun with.

Prey

Trick taking game alert, for me this one sounds interesting and again, I’ll reference Scout. In this one your hand goes two ways. You play out six tricks with the predator and then with prey. And you play out a hand of twelve cards, so it’s going to be knowing which direction to lean into. Do you want to spend your better cards as prey or predator to win tricks? And to win, you need to win an assigned number of tricks, so this sounds like an interesting puzzle.

Plus Partner Publishers

Allplay is helping out with a lot of companies for shipping and stuff like that. So they are talking about all of them as well. Definitely checkout their site as well because I think it sounds great.

Godot Games

Foxpaw

This game sounds like it has a lot going on. Prisoners dilemma and resource management and more. This definitely has a look and feel of something like Kiki’s, My Little Witch Academia, and Harry Potter. So you’re going to be trying to be the highest or best graded student from the sounds of it. And the artwork on the game looks great, as well. There are a lot of different locations on the board to take actions which should make for an interesting puzzle of a game. It seems like there is some take that in the game, which I’m never convinced about. It’ll be on Gamefound in January 2025.

Iello

King of Tokyo Duel

It’s a two player version. I like this idea a lot and it’s coming in Essen in October. This is a great thing in my opinion even if it isn’t a game that I’ll pick up. King of Tokyo out of the box is a multiplayer game, I’d probably say it’s at four minimum. So to get a two player version of the game, that sounds like a good plan. It’ll make it more accessible to more people who might not have that larger group. And the simplicity of King of Tokyo is a great selling point as well. This looks like more of a tug-o-war which is interesting.

Blue Orange

Next Station Paris

Another game in the next station game. This is a game that I really need to play as I think I have one of them in my collection. So expect me to try and get it to the table soon. Next Station Paris is going to continue in that line with obviously a new map of Paris and it’ll be available at Gen Con.

Link City

This is a cooperative city building game. You’re trying to expand the city but it’s about guessing where buildings should go and trying to figure out the plan of the person in charge. This sounds like an interesting party game or activity, but one that you might not want to take too seriously. Also it sounds like a solid option for people who don’t like traditional party games but want to come across better filler games. The game seems very loosey goosy, which I’m not sold about.

Shadow House Masquerade

This is a card bluffing who done it game. This again feels like it’s pretty light in terms of a game. This feels like a social deduction game and possible deduction as well. I need to know how much of it is deduction because I like deduction. But if it’s social deduction I’m not interested in that. So it’s one that I’ll look into. All of these Blue Orange games should be at Gen Con.

Odd Bird

Allplay did the video for them. A lot of it is about the games that are already out from Odd Bird. Feudum and Fled were the two games mentioned which I haven’t played either. So I can’t really comment on either of them. But good for Odd Bird getting the word out about their games and where to buy them at.

Wulfhorn

Rise of the Wastelands

This is going to be a 4x game that is currently on Kickstarter. The aesthetic of the game is amazing looking. You’re going to be exploring, exploiting, exterminating and whatever the last X is. This game definitely looks interesting to me but one that I’d love to get to try a demo of. It’s supposed to be a shorter 4x game, but how much shorter does that mean. And will it play only well at four or can it go down to two or not? I have a lot of questions but the game looks intriguing.

Till 5 Am

Qu’arz

This is a capture the flag game which sounds interesting. I like the pictures and again that aesthetic. It’s going to be competitive but I expect it’s going to be a very in your face game. That is what I expect from a capture the flag style game, which to me is going to be fun in some situations but not all of them. And that should tell you that I’m intrigued and interested in trying the game.

But I would 100% need to try the game before I’d buy it. I do see a lot of words on cards though, so I wouldn’t expect this to be a very light game. It’s going to be on Gamefound at the end of October.

Vesuvius Media

Jurassic Feud

This is going to be another game like Catapult Feud where you are trying to shoot things at the opponents pieces and knock them down. But now with dinosaurs. I have a ton of Catapult Feud and soon I’ll be ready to play it with my kid. But even as an adult it’s a fun game to play, so I’m curious to know if Jurassic Feud is going to add much more to the game. I hope not because the simplicity of this game is part of what makes it great. This is going to be on Kickstarter July 23^rd. This looks like it could be mixed pretty easily into Catapult Feud which I’m there for.

Benki Games

Pizzachef: The Next Generation

One that is already out. I don’t know about the game at all. So it is going to be one that I want to know about. And there is going to be a new version of the game, Pizza Chef: The Next Generation. I really don’t know what type of game it is, but I like the artwork on it.  And there is going to be an expansion for it as well. Pizza Chef: The Mean Chef. To me I’m worried that it’s going to be a take that game. Or at least the expansion might be. I’m not sure how I didn’t know about this one. But it sounds like a lot of fun potentially and one that I could like if there isn’t too much take that. And as they showed the game and there is definitely take that, but maybe not too much. This is coming to Kickstarter, the new version, August 5^th.

Phase Shift Games

Aetherspire

3D strategy games with a purpose. That’s the new thing that they are doing. They’ve done games like Dungeon Drop before. And they’ve done some abstract games before. But Aetherspire is going to be a 3D game where that 3D matters. It’s coming to crowdfunding, I believe Kickstarter in the fall of 2024. This is going to be a cooperative tower defense game where, obviously, it’s 3D and that is going to matter. But it’s not just tower defense you are going to be building it up as well. This looks like it could be fun, I hope it’s not just a gimmick, but even if it is, it’s a good looking gimmick even in prototype form.

CGE

Snatch It!

CGE is distributing it in English. This is going to be a game all about being frogs and gobbling up all sorts of tasty bugs. But you got to go fast before  others get them or steal them from you. This looks like a very light family style of game that will look perfect on a shelf at Target. Or it might be one that you give to the family who might not play board games but they have a kid who loves bugs and frogs just to introduce to them what non-Hasbro games are. I don’t think that this is going to be one for me, that said, I wouldn’t say no to trying it. First copies will be available at Gen Con.

Codenames App

Yup, there is going to be an app for it. If you love Codenames this is going to be a new way to play the game. I don’t love the game, so it’s not going to be for me. Unless it changes the game some way it’s probably not for me. It’s already out  for Czech players to test it out. And there is some single player content as well. There are some other new things as well which does make it slightly more interesting. It’s launching September 5^th. It’s just a one time purchase on it.

Fireside

Zoomies

This game has you being a dog walker. This looks like a pretty light game, which is how a lot of Fireside’s games have been. But not so simple that it’s just a kids game. I should say that the game seems simple more than light because you’re doing tile laying kind of like a Kingdomino but from your hand to optimize your point scoring. So this one looks interesting to me and it’s going to be at Gen Con. But it’ll be released this fall beyond Gen Con.

Rock Manor

Stardriven Gateway

I’ve already written about this one in the Feast. I’m going to be demoing at Gen Con as well so I’m super excited to try this one out.

Reprint Campaign for Seas of Havoc and First Mates Expansion

This is going to have another campaign coming up. So if you missed out on this one the first time, definitely check it out. This is another one that I own that I need to play. I in fact won  a copy of it through Board Game Revolution over on Facebook when it was on Kickstarter and it was the big Kickstarter version. So I really should get it to the table.

Disco Heist Laundry

You’re scheming kingpins and you need steal and launder your money. It is still in development at this point. But it has tableau building, area control and a 1980’s look. This one is also going to be able to be demoed at Gen Con. Though, it’s not one that I’ve signed up to demo.

Merchants of Magik Expansions

These are crowdfunded already. But with shipping happening now, they are going to be available to pick-up at Gen Con which is exciting. Another one of those roll and write games that I own and now I really need to get played.

Matagot

Kemet Rise of the Gods

This is an expansion to Kemet Blood and Sand. Kemet is not a game that I’ve played but I know it’s well liked. There are some interesting things about this game which I’m sure that I’d enjoy. But I’m not 100% sure it’s a game that I’ll get played that often. It’s coming to Gamefound on July 2^nd.

Kyoto no Neko

This is going to be a lighter game. And yes, it’s adorable for those wondering. It’s going to be taking on the role of small kittens roaming through the city of Kyoto. If you needed to sell me on the theme, say no more, that’s done the trick. You’re trying to be the first one to complete objectives of things that cats do. So the whole thing is going to be very cute and I’m hoping accessible to play.

With a theme like that, I don’t want much in terms of rules overhead. And the artwork is really cute on this game, and the kittens are adorable. It’s going to be an Essen Spiele release, and I’ll be seeking it out when I can.

Incredible Dream Studios

Callous’ Lab

This is going to be a game that debuts at Gen Con and is going to be available in retail in the later part of August. Though unless I’m mistaken, this is one that I already have that I bought through their site. So it is possible that it’ll be getting a wider release. And it’s part of the Kinfire Delve line. I probably don’t have that one but another two.

And to go along with that, a playmat for Kinfire Delve as well. The playmat looks great.

Broadway Games

Lifeboats

I’m pretty sure that this is a reprint of a game where you’re on lifeboats. Of course, not all can survive, so you need to try and keep your people on the boats. Because if they’re voted out they’ll drop into the water. This is going to be a pretty quick playing mean game. I don’t think it’s for my group, but if it’s for your group and you want to invite me over, I’d be cool with that. But I might be wrong and it might be fun if people don’t take it seriously. Possibly pre-order and pick-up at Gen Con, but I’m not sure.

This Bed is Mine

You are doing basically area control to see who can cover up as much of the bed as they can. This is going to be an abstract game, but not one that really is that interesting. I think a lot of people will like and enjoy it, but I tend not to like these very abstract games. Possibly pre-order and pick-up at Gen Con I’m not sure.

Floodgate

Hedge Mage

You’re a hedge mage building a hedge maze. This seems interesting, but not one that I’m going to be backing. It’s on Kickstarter right now. Probably one I’ll try and demo at Gen Con.

Landmarks

You’re trying to get your team to go to the right places, avoid traps and hopefully find, well, landmarks. This one looks interesting to me as well. The game play is simple but giving one word clues, I’ll be curious to see how it works as you try and help your teammates know where to navigate. This is going to be a Gen Con release, and Floodgate always has a lot of copies and fun around new releases like this one. It can cooperative or team versus team. And it’s a fast game as well, they are saying about 20 minutes.

Board and Dice

Minos

Board and Dice is knowing for doing a lot of big euro games. I am not the biggest euro game fan, so probably not for me. The aesthetic of the game is amazing. And it’s dice drafting  in it as well. There looks like there is a lot going on in it. Honestly, this is going to be one that I’m curious about the more they are talking about it. Can you build up the best society leading into bronze age. Plus , that dice drafting looks interesting. It’s going to be a Essen Spiel 2024 game.

Living Forest Duel

Nothing more on that one just know that it’s coming. If you’re a fan of Living Forest but maybe don’t think it works the best at two, that might be changing with this one.

IV Studio

Brink

It’s a worker placement set in the Moonrakers universe. There is a lot of stuff going on in the game. And it’s coming to Kickstarter in July on the 2^nd. I’m intrigued by it because IV Studios makes beautiful games, but I have yet to find a game from them that I really love. I know that isn’t a popular opinion on Mythic Mischief but that one wasn’t for me. Aesthetically, though IV Studio does make their games look so tempting. But I think that it’s going to be an easy pass for me on Kickstarter because, like most worker placement or euro games, I want to play them before I’d consider buying it.

Final Thoughts

This is a ton of things for sure announced on the Dice Tower Summer Spectacular. I am curious on a lot of them. Minos oddly enough is one of the ones that is towards the top for me. Some of that is because not too many of these announcements are those epic adventure sprawling games that I generally go towards. Of course, that said, there is Prey as well which to me looks like my type of jam. So I’m hoping that I’ll be able to demo a lot of these or spend more time finding out more about them because this certainly was very mega in terms of the size of the announcements.

Which is the one that stands out to you from the Dice Tower Summer Spectacular? Will you be trying to seek out any of them to demo or buy at Gen Con, or maybe be seeking out if you go to Essen Spiel, which I’d love to some year.

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Dungeon Crawler vs Boss Battler vs Adventure Games

Dungeon Crawler

Let’s start out with the defining features of a dungeon crawler. A dungeon crawler is going to be a game where you are making tactical decisions on a map that are directly involving a location of some sort. Another way to put it is kick open a door on a map, fight the monsters that are inside, and repeat.

This is often done in a campaign style of game. Gloomhaven being a prime example of this, you open up a door, a new group of monsters are there for you to fight. And you repeat that through not just each scenario but every battle that you face off against. While killing all the enemies isn’t always the final goal, the general mechanisms of kicking open a door and dealing with what is inside of there on that more tactical map level is how dungeon crawlers work.

Boss Battler

A Boss Battler is going to be much more about a single fight against a single boss. There might be extra trappings around the game. But if it comes down to a character(s) fighting a boss, that is a boss battler.

This one on the Dice Tower I had the least experience with, but also some potential disagreement with on their list. To me, the larger percentage of the game is going to need to be fighting that one boss. Whereas for some, that was the end goal, but not really the largest element.

An example of a Boss Battler is going to be Primal: The Awakening. I am currently painting that game, so I haven’t played it yet. But Meet Me At The Table has some great game plays of it. I’ll drop the first chapter in below. But Primal also demonstrates that it can be a campaign, but it also doesn’t need to be. In the rules for Primal there are ways to set it up as a one off experience. And the new Awaken Realms game, Grimcoven, is also a boss battler, but a single scenario.

Adventure Game

Finally, we have adventure games. These could overlap a lot into the other two. Especially, I think campaign dungeon crawler games. But an adventure game’s focus is going to be more on the adventure element. That is obvious, but I mean that things like combat are not going to be as important. It is going to be about the adventure and story of the game either told by the game or experienced by playing the game.

My example for this one is going to be Roll Player Adventures. There is combat in it, but it isn’t done on a tactical level. You face off against some more boss like monsters, but that isn’t the focus on it. It is all about the story and adventure that provides that you experience in the game. For me, this is the obvious example as to how that is working, but there are a ton of adventure games out there.

Final Thoughts

We’ll see which ones of them I do a Top 5. I realize that even with my love of campaign games, I haven’t played always a ton of boss battler or dungeon crawler games. More dungeon crawler for sure, but a lot of them are adventure type of games. But all of them are styles of games that I really enjoy. Because they all provide more of that epic experience in the game.

And I think I like all of them as well because with that epic experience comes some journey as well. I play a scenario or I battle a boss and there is some story that comes out of it as well. Even if it is just a one off situation, there is going to be something memorable from it. I remember through all the scenarios of Gloomhaven when someone had an amazing turn and was so powerful. Or when we found creative ways to get through scenarios. Or recently in Frosthaven when we just barely defeated scenarios on the last bit of our life.

That, to me, is the great thing that a dungeon crawler, boss battler, or adventure game can bring to the table. Do you prefer one of the types over the other?

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Mythwind Thoughts

I know one of the bigger review channels, the Dice Tower, just reviewed Mythwind. I haven’t gone through their whole review for it, but the reviews were mixed. And I think all three people who reviewed it like it less than I do. And I believe like it less than other people do who I’ve seen play it. That said, I’m not going to say that the Dice Tower crew were wrong. They always have reasons for their opinions on reviews.

So I want to throw some of my own thoughts onto it. I tend to be a positive reviewer. I like more games than I don’t, and that’s a good thing. If you review board games and find that you like fewer than you enjoy, board games might not be the right space. But a game like Mythwind is always going to be a tough sell. Mainly because it is supposed to be a cozy, relaxing, kind of a goal but not really a win condition game. And I don’t blame anyone for not wanting that in a game.

Mythwind is What It Says

What I’ll call out, and this is something I’ve seen with other games as well, is when someone dislikes a game for doing what it says it is going to do. Mythwind is a cozy game. That might not be what you want in a game, but that doesn’t make Mythwind a bad game. Or I see this all the time with Tainted Grail. The amount of complaining about Tainted Grail when all the information as to what type of game it was going to be was right there was astounding to me.

A game might not work for you. And that is a fine thing. No game should work for everyone. If a game does, that means that it probably works okay for everyone. No matter what it is, you can’t please everyone. So I’m glad to see when a game comes out that is great for some people and okay or not so great for others. It’s better to have a subset who love the game and will come back to it, than everyone saying it’s a 6.5 or 7 out of 10.

Mythwind is Relaxing

At no point in time do I feel rushed when I play the game. Yes, this is just me restating that Mythwind is what it says it is. But it’s worth talking about. I don’t feel rushed. I don’t feel like I need to make a perfect decision, ever. If it takes two turns to get what I want, well, that’s okay. In fact, I like that feeling because it adds to the game in multiple ways.

I’ve talked about it being relaxing, that’s what this section is about. But that relaxed nature adds to the replayability of the game. My culture wasn’t high enough at times to unlock particular events. Will those events massively change the game, probably not, but they might tweak it. And what it’s like with more players, how much faster it can move, I’m curious about that. And because it is such a puzzle for each character, I can play it again with a new character and it won’t feel too much like I’m rehashing story.

It Might Not Be For You

And all of that said, I want to reiterate, Mythwind very well might not be for you. The game is something unique and specific in what it does. No win condition, no massive pressure moments, that is a tough sell. At the same time, I played and narrated my game for just over an hour yesterday to get through two seasons. This is a relaxing game where I can see, when not streaming, that a season will take me 20-25 minutes. And with 5-10 minutes of set-up and teardown combined, it’s a relaxing puzzle to play.

In fact, I think if you like small solo games, Mythwind is a good fit. The ease to the table stands out for the game. But it’s not just that, it’s the core loop for players. You get to really dive into one or two things that your character does well. And I like that a lot for the game. If that’s what you want, you’ll enjoy Mythwind. If you want a clear, well defined, end point, it’s going to feel lacking.

Upcoming Streams

On Monday I stream at 9 PM Central. That is sometimes a bit hit or miss, but that’s the goal. And I do small solo game plays. The schedule is, right now, going to look like gaming every other Monday. A chance to see people in person came up for Monday and as much as I like streaming, it’s good to socialize as well.

On Wednesdays, well, I said that I plan to play at least a few more games of Rogue Angels. This is going to continue how I play my solo campaign games on the channel. The reason for that is with how many campaign games I can play solo, I want to try more. That is at 8 PM Central time for the campaign games.

And if you want to know when I go live, the best way is to subscribe. When you subscribe, click that notification bell and you’ll get an alert whenever I’m going to go live. Follow the link – here – to subscribe.

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Dice Tower Mega Announcement

Rock Manor Games

Maximum Apocalypse 2nd Edition

This is basically making it fitting the Wasted Wilds to make it easier to play and make it faster to play. There’s going to be more information coming, but just very quickly.

Brass Empire 2nd Edition

This is a steampunk deck building game. I am curious about it just because it’s deck building. But it seems like it’s very in your face compared to what I’d want, which is a shame. But then again, maybe I’d like it as a two player game.

Merchants of Magick Expansion

This is their crunchy roll and write game. It’s going to be coming up on Kickstarter with some new modules of the game. It’s not one that I’ve played, but if Rock Manor has some at Gen Con, I might pick up the base game. I think that it sounds interesting and of course I’d love to check it out prior to the crowdfunding campaign.

Bright Eye Games

The Plot Thickens

A cooperative story creation game. We actually talked about this yesterday on the Malts and Meeples for sale at Gen Con live stream. I am curious about it with the Science Fiction version to at least see what it’s like. But I don’t love it in theory.

Ponzi Scheme

This one is coming out in 2024. It’s a game about creating a ponzi scheme and seeing if you can stay afloat with the most money when someone goes bankrupt. It sounds okay, a light, silly game, I’m hoping.

Ares Games

Fire and Swords – War of the Ring The Card Games

This is an expansion, and there is a new expansion at Gen Con, but this one is going to be coming out in 2024. This one doesn’t interest me as much, but the one at Gen Con to make it soloable that one interests me. And if it’s an interesting game, I could see it being one that my wife likes as we’re both big Lord of the Rings fans.

Horrible Guild

Quicksand

A real time cooperative game. That isn’t my sort of game, I’m not a fan of real time. But it does sound fairly interesting to try once or twice because you are playing against puzzles. It’s just that I’m not a big fan of real time.

Sunrise Lane

This is a game from Dr. Reiner Knizia one of the most prolific designers. I’m somewhat interested in it, it’s about building out houses and scoring points. I like the idea of building out houses and how you build out houses. It sounds actually really good now that I hear more about the rules, because it looks very pretty on the table. And it has some fun scoring options with it. Sunrise Lane is very high up there for me from what’s been announced thus far.

Pencil First Games

Sunrise at the Studio

This looks like a small game, and it’s kind of in that Floriferous style of game, or at least box size. This one is a pottery themed games. I like this weight of game, and it has set collection, drafting, and shared goals. So this sounds a lot like Floriferous again, but I’m down for that.

Snowfall over Mountains

Pocket sized solo tile laying game. That is a lot of things that I like. I am very used to a lot of snow. But you build it out a map from your cabin to create different scoring options. This one looks very cool. Pencil First Games makes amazing looking games aesthetically and very fun games.

Stoneblade Entertainment

Solforge Fusion App

It’s meant to improve the game play. Your collection gets automatically imported. That said, this is not a game that I was ever interested in. They are demoing it, and showing stuff off at Gen Con. It’s a fine idea, you don’t have to buy stuff again; it’s still a very specific announcement.

CGE

Kutna Hora

The announcement for a game that is already out. It’s talking about how it is using Re-wood. Re-wood is similar to plastic, but it’s sustainable to use over and over again. And it’s going to be at a similar detail level for plastic components. A cool thing, for a game I’m not interested in. The game is going to be at Gen Con to demo.

Grey Fox Games/Ludeon Studios

Rimworld

A board game adaptation of a video game. I’m not familiar with the video game, but I like the aesthetic thus far. It’s going to be coming to Kickstarter. There is not much information on this, unless you are familiar with Rimworld. Could definitely be a cool one, but I’ll be waiting to see it on Kickstarter.

Board & Dice

Nucleum

This one is going to be a big hit for a lot of people. This is about the nuclear power plants and it’s a very heavy euro game. Unless I build up to something like this over time, I don’t think it’s going to be one for me. There’s definitely a lot going on in the game which is why I think that a lot of people will enjoy it. It’s coming out in October at Essen Spiel

Inside Up Games

Clock & Key

This is going to be a Kickstarter coming in 2024. Another puzzle sort of game like Block & Key which is one that I thought looked interesting but I’ve never tracked it down to learn. I’m curious to see if this game is going to be similar or not. It reminds me of the pipe connecting games, which is something that I do enjoy.

Kosmos

Ingenious

It’s a relaunch of this game, also another Reiner Knizia. Don’t know a ton about this one, but I have heard of it. I think it’s supposed to be a family style abstract game. Probably not one that I’ll look into too much

Dragon keepers

A dragon game where you are taking care of dragons. This is done through card play, and they like to talk about the cute dragons, not to Flamecraft level, but definitely cute.

Rebel Studio

Meadow Adventure Book

It’s now coming out in 2024. This is a campaign or scenario style game. It was going to be a 2023 game, but now it’s been pushed back.

Avel: the Card Game

This is going to be pushed back as well. The timeline is still be determined.

Klink

It’s a number game, supposed to be a quick game. It’s a small box game, not a ton of a details on it. General impression was that this is going to be a family weight filler style game. And this is going to be a card game, or at least an action selection or playing game. Coming in early 2024.

MLEM: Space Agency

Cats… in… space….

That seems like a dangerous combination. It’s going to be a fun game with hopes of creating some laughs. This is going to be a dice game, so I’m thinking it’ll be a pushing your luck kind of game. Another Reiner Knizia game, like I said, he’s very prolific.

Cardboard Alchemy

Bistro Bay

An animal cooking game, but not cooking animals, if that makes sense. This looks like the same artwork style as Flamecraft, so a ton of fun to see it. You are trying to do the best and impress the the food critic. I am going to be looking at this one coming to Kickstarter in 2024.

Pandasaurus

Unrest

An asymmetrical two player card game. The rebellion vs the empire. Now this is not a Star Wars game. The aesthetic of the game is pretty solid, but I’m not sold on it. I feel like it’s a bit like Hanamikoji in some ways with having limited actions, it’s intriguing that way. It could be good. November retail release, and not expensive.

Unexpected Games

3000 Scoundrels Expansion

It’s not a game that I’ve played, but from what I heard of the original game was that it was fine. I this is definitely one that I’d want to checkout. And it sounds like the expansion is going to improve some things or will help with some of the complaints that people had. Definitely makes it sound more intriguing to me. As I do like the Wild West theme. And it’ll now have a solo mode as well, which again interests me.

Arcane Wonders

Foundations of Metropolis

This is going to be a retail version of Foundations of Rome. I’m guessing that this is going to be a smaller version because Foundations of Rome is huge. No miniatures in it, but that might get me to play the game and buy the game. Still looks really good, and it’ll be coming to retail in 2024, I think they said early. This one I’m very excited for, again because it makes it more accessible for more gamers.

Final Thoughts

Goodness, this is a ton of write really fast. I try and pause the video as little as possible because it’d take so much longer if I did pause all the time. I did have to do that a few times. Which ones are most interesting to me, I’m going to say my Top 5 are Foundations of Metropolis, Bistro Bay, and Sunrise Lane, Sunrise at the Studio, and Snowfall over the Mountain.

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Upcoming Gen Con Coverage

But before we get to all of that, let’s get to what my coverage is going to look like this year. Both leading up to Gen Con and post Gen Con. I did a video, two actually, of all the Board Game Geek listed games for sale and demo. I plan on doing two videos on that again this year. Those can be fairly long so likely will take the place of campaign games the next two weeks.

Beyond that, I like to put up my Top 10 games to demo and my Top 10 games to buy. The other look is more about everything, this is specifically what I’m most excited for. Slightly different, also fairly similar.

Finally, when I come back from Gen Con, I like to list off what I’ve played and talk about those. Write a “Point of Order” for the new games that I got. And then highlight some of the best experiences at Gen Con in another article. So expect that for the coverage leading up to and around Gen Con.

My 2023 Gen Con Events

7. Beacon Patrol

Beacon Patrol is a small tile tableau building game from Pandasaurus Games. I like that style of game with Carcassonne and I am curious to see what this one offers. It’s a shorter event and a cooperative game, so I want to know how this game comes together. And how as a cooperative game it is building in meaningful decisions for the players.

6. Splintered Lands

I like to find games that are in playtesting if I can. Something that is new or still in the works that I can sit down and get a look at first. Splintered Lands is one of those games. A deck building game in a post-apocalyptic world. Two things that I like there. I want to see how that works in a card battler game of building defense and attacking. It could be great, it could feel like what’s been done before. I am just curious and need to know.

5. Burncycle

One thing that I like about some events at Gen Con is sitting down and playing a game that I own. If I already own it, why do I need to play it there? Because I have yet to play it at home. Burncycle is maybe the only purchase from Gen Con 2022 that I need to play still. The rest I’ve played, and Burncyle is the biggest and most intimidating. So might as well learn the game at Gen Con and be able to take it back home, the knowledge, and play easier at home.

4. The Dice Tower 2023 Awards

First of two event ones here back to back. I enjoy the Dice Tower and while I really liked their Top 5 last year, this year they are doing an awards show. I haven’t watched their awards shows in the past two years. But I figure that it will be a fun time. And it’s part of an evening that should be a very good time with some laughs and hear about some games that I might have missed over the past year or what people are touting as the best.

3. Floodgate Games Celebration

The other event with Floodgate Games Celebration. I missed it last year, I think I maybe had an event scheduled over it. I just know that they had an ambitious event for their legacy game which they took down. Then this event replaced it. But because it came up later on the schedule in 2022, I missed it. This year, on the look out for it. A chance to learn about new Floodgate project, I’m excited for that and to just celebrate the games that they have put out already.

2. Lost Ruins of Arnak: The Missing Expedition

If it weren’t for a late added event this would have been #1. I really like Lost Ruins of Arnak. The system works well, the adventure, for being a worker placement game, is there. And there’s enough going on with buying cards to add to your deck, exploring, and fighting monsters to keep me entertaining.

The Missing Expedition expansion is going to make the game cooperative. That to me is weird and I need to know more. Also it is for a game that I love, so I want more. I already pre-ordered for Gen Con pickup the expansion. So that will b great to be picking that up. But like Burncyle, while I am at it, why not learn the game. So I signed up, on the first day, for a slot to get to play the game.

1. Star Wars: Unlimited

But my #1 event is a trading card game. Danger Will Robinson for that. I got pulled back into TCG’s with Magic the Gathering’s set for Lord of the Rings. Now there is a Star Wars set and I like Star Wars. This is a game that won’t even come out for a year, I would guess. But they are demoing it here. And if you demo it, you get some exclusive cards, Vader and Luke Skywalker. Don’t worry, they will be in the set as well, these are just special versions.

This one really interests me though because I like Star Wars. And I like a few things about what they said for the game. Firstly that you are battling on two fronts to take down your enemy. Both with land and space, so you can lean into one or the other. A balanced approach might mean you can get damage through on both, but if you lean heavily land or space, you might be able to overwhelm with more force. Of course, leaving yourself then vulnerable as well.

Final Thoughts

I often have a weird combination of events. And sometimes I don’t even make it to all the events. I was intentional about what I signed up for this year, a bit more than last year and less than the first year. Also shorter events.

It’s easy to overwhelm a schedule y signing up for a ton of things. And then you find that you don’t want to play them all. You want to spend time on the floor and demoing more games. On the flip side, it’s easy to just play a little bit and find yourself done every day when the dealer hall closes. Or find that you don’t sit down at tables and play. I play with random people all the time at Gen Con, that is part of the fun. But I get why it is hard for some people.

Overall, I like the events that I signed up for. There are definitely some less interesting ones to me on the list, mainly the bottom two. However, they are still interesting and I want to explore and experience them to see if they are a game that I will just fall in love with. There is certainly the chance so I got to try and take that and see what happens with them. Because one thing I love about Gen Con is trying new games.

What event sounds more interesting to you? And if you’re going, what event are you most excited to attend on your list?

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