Top 10 Anticipated Crowdfunding Games

10. Grimcoven

Let’s start with Awaken Realms and a game that is just about to go live by the time this article is coming out. In fact, it might have, and I can’t wait for this one. It is a boss battling game where you are hunters who tap into powers to defeat monsters. But tapping into powers can make you monstrous in nature yourself. So how do you not give into that dark side while leveling up and defeating a monster?

Now that might all sound like a campaign to you, but the fun thing is that it’s not. It is a thematic boss battler that you play a one off. You still get to level up your character in the battle, but no needing to plan on playing the game for weeks on end. Instead you can just pull it off the shelf, grab your hunter and start fighting.

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9. Avatar: The Journey of Aang

I want a fun Avatar game and this one looks like it. A cooperative game where you need to help Aang get all his powers in line because if you go too slow the comet will come and Fire Lord Ozai might be too powerful to defeat. It isn’t a give campaign game, but it is going to provide story as it goes along. Which I like that about it because it makes it more accessible for me to play with people who just like Avatar and are maybe less into board games.

8. Edgeguard

Now we’re coming to a campaign game. I got to demo this one and do a bit of coverage on it when it was on crowdfunding the first time. The game is fun, it’s a good straight forward campaign game with dice chucking, leveling, weapons, and really all that you would want. Did it stand out as something that is highly unique, not really, but it stood out because it was solid and familiar feeling. I’m not sure when this coming back to crowdfunding but I can’t wait.

7. West Story: A Town Building Game

Next up we have something smaller again. An old west game where you aren’t fighting bandits but instead you’re making your town and trying to have the best town possible. It is going to be that sort of engine building and tableau building that I definitely find interesting. And it is probably going to be one of the cheaper games on this list because it isn’t going to come with a ton of minis for it.

6. StarDriven: Gateway

Next up is StarDriven Gateway, and I’m not going to say too much about this one. Why, because I’ll be saying more about it leading into GenCon and I already talked some about it with the Feast and the GenCon events that I signed up for. So I get to demo this one and I’ll really get to know if it is a game for me.

5. Skytear Horde Campaign

This list has a few campaign games on it and a few expansions on it. This one is both. Skytear Horde is a game that I like a lot. It’s a very good solo tower defense game, or two player. And I like the energy management of the game as you try and figure out how to keep the horde from overtaking your troops and taking down your base.

This is going to offer a mini campaign. So I like that about it, maybe a game I can sit down in an evening and play all three connected games or one that I can stream over a few weeks. One I want to get back to the table soon.

4. Odalin

Next we have Odalin. It’s a dungeon crawler in a dark desert fantasy setting. That element is different, it’s not the typical European setting. But what will it offer that is different. Dragori games, though, has a good track record so I’m definitely hopeful for this one. I do need to know what price point this one is coming in at, because there  is another big game that might steal the funds from this one that we’ll talk about coming up.

3. Ascension Legends

Next up is Ascension Legends. I like Ascension a lot as a deck building game. It isn’t all that complex and Ascension Legends is just going to offer another box of stuff and another jumping in point. My main question, or the question I’m asking myself, is do I need more of Ascension. It is already a game that I own a fair amount for it. And it does hit the table still with good ease, but do I need more?

2. The 7^th Citadel

You might think, I already have that game. And y es, you are right. You can see how my Drums of Desolation play through is going. But The 7^th Citadel is coming back for those who missed it. And if you are like me, it is coming back with more threats that you can add into your game. That is going to open up even more replayability in the game. And I think even now with the Drums of Desolation there are certainly things that I could do a whole lot better. So I’m excited to see what new stuff will be added.

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1. Lands of Evershade

And this truly is my #1. I am so excited for Lands of Evershade. This is a giant RPG and board game experience from Awaken Realms. I love their massive story games. ISS Vanguard is one that I want to get back to. And I beat everything in the original Tainted Grail. And I won’t lie, I’m very tempted to get back Etherfields to experience that one. But Evershade look amazing and I’m really curious to see what all the game is going to have. Because the RPG elements, I’m curious to see how they’ll manage to create a story  that doesn’t just seem like a choose your own adventure.

Final Thoughts

First off, no honoable mention, it’s shocking. There are some that I could put on an honorable mention, but 10 is a lot. That’s a lie, here are some of them just with no details what so ever. Also catching my attention:

• HEXPlore It: The Mountains of Godai
• Flames of Fafnir
• Agemonia Reprint/New Heroes
• Dragonbond Quest

That’s enough for now. And while I’m expecting those most of all the ones I’ve mentioned will come out this year, who knows. Some of them might be pushed back. I just expect with the Awaken Realms or any of them that were part of the Gamefound Feast, we’ll be seeing those on crowdfunding in 2024. Is there any that stands out to you as a must back? Or any crowdfunding games I missed that I should checkout?

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Campaign Game List

Let’s see all of the games that I put on the list. We have several that are fantasy, really all are, one with more of an anime theme to it. And then we also have a legacy game on the list as well. Some are bigger campaigns, some are going to be more focused on shorter stories. But let’s see what they all are.

Aeon’s End: Legacy of Gravehold

Starting of with Aeon’s End: Legacy of Gravehold. This is the continuation of what has happened before in Aeon’s End. Kind of an arc from Aeon’s End Legacy, two big box standalone games, and now Aeon’s End: Legacy of Gravehold. You can see how the game plays down below, as I played Aeon’s End Legacy already. That said, I’d be really happy to play the new one.

Why do I want to play this one? Firstly, I know that I love the game already. My game play includes Aeon’s End, Aeon’s End: War Eternal, and Aeon’s End Legacy of the five, now six, games of the series. And I really love Aeon’s End Legacy as a jumping in point for the game. It teaches you how to play the game so nicely. The story was there, but the game was a lot of fun. So I want more of that from Aeon’s End: Legacy of Gravehold. On the flip side it is one that I’ve kind of already showcased.

Folklore: The Affliction

Next up we have Folklore: The Affliction. This is going to be an RPG like board game. You get a character with a class, and you take them on adventures. I picked this one up because it seems to do a lot of things I like in RPG’s. And it’ll give me a chance to be a player in the game instead of always the dungeon master.

The darker theme of this game drew me in. Now, it doesn’t seem too dark, but it’s about werewolves, vampires, ghosts, and things like that. Those, I really don’t consider too dark, but more it seems to lean into a grittier and more violent world. I’m playing Roll Player Adventures that has some of that stuff, but has a much lighter tone. So I am curious to see the whole story of all that I have for this game.

HEXplore It: The Forest of Adrimon

HEXplore It is a series that I was only so interested in after watching a play through. I think I saw for the Sands of Shurax, and the game does seem fun. You go around, you find some adventures to go on, and you level up your characters.

This one interested me, though with that more grim forest setting than it did with the desert setting for some reason. And I am curious to see how the characters work for this game. It appears to be an interesting system without the heavy narrative driving direction of the story. It is more about the adventure and story that you find along the way.

Middara: Unintentional Malum Act 1

Now, if we want to talk about a game with a ton of story, most definitely Middara: Unintentional Malum does the trick. This is the game that gives me the anime feel. You are from Earth, but you have a connection or genes that connect with this other world. And brought through a space gate, of sorts, you are transported to this new world where things are very very different than Earth. The themes and artwork might not be for everyone, but I am very curious.

Having an anime dungeon crawler seems like a no brainer for me. I really like anime, and I really like dungeon crawls. As for streaming this game, I am worried about fitting it all on the camera, or on the table, as there is a lot to it. That said, I still really want to get it to the table to dive into and experience the story.

Pathfinder Adventure Card Game

Now for a game with a very different scope. Pathfinder Adventure Card Game is just that, a card game, but like something like Arkham Horror: The Card Game or Apocrypha (which it is based on), this one uses cards as locations and builds up challenges for the players.

I am really interested to see what is different in the second edition compared to the first. I do have the pirate base game for the first edition as well. So I could play either. I know that it’s a system I find interesting and have had fun with. There is even a solid app that I should maybe download and play with again. But it tells a lighter story than some with good deck construction fun in the game.

Perdition’s Mouth: Abyssal Rift

I wrote about this one not to long ago, and this is another very dark dungeon crawling game. That said, it is an interesting take on it, and has some very nice components. It is also going to be very different than a lot of the games because it is nice a dice chucker. Instead, it builds it’s combat all around a rondel action system.

Each character has action points, and that determines how far they can, if they want, move around that rondel. However, action points are used for other things as well, which means that moving too far isn’t always the best plan. It is a really interesting puzzle with simpler mechanics than a lot of dungeon crawl games. But that doesn’t mean it doesn’t have depth, because picking the right options and setting up turns is tricky.

Solomon Kane

Finally, but not least, we have Solomon Kane. This is going to be a big story driven adventure game from Mythic Games. In Solomon Kane you play as virtues who are helping Solomon Kane go around through stories trying to keep the darkness at bay and figure out what he needs to do.

There are a lot of good reviews on this one, and I am very curious about it. Part of me wants to hold on a little bit, because I need to reach out to Mythic Games to get the updated rules and cards for the game. I didn’t back this on Kickstarter, I got it on eBay so that means I don’t automatically get it, at least not without contacting them. But this feels like a very different story and way of handling things in a game.

Final Thoughts

Firstly, here is the poll again now that you know more about all of the games.

But let me know your thoughts on what I should play. There are a number that I am interested in, and I think all, while being covered are going to be interesting ones to get to the table. And I’d love to start knocking out some of these campaigns that I can play solo. Especially before the likes of Frosthaven, ISS Vanguard, HEL: The Last Saga, and Isofarian Guard come in to add themselves to the mix as well.

I really probably need to stop getting more campaign games. But I did just add Middara Acts 2 and 3 through the pledge manager re-opening. So even more campaign to play. And I know I skipped mentioning other ones that I have backed as well, or that I will be backing Rogue Angels when it comes back to Kickstarter around the start of August.

Which one do you think I should stream?

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124-101

100 – 76

75 – 51

50 – 26

Unplayed Board Games – 25- 1

25: Folklore: The Affliction

Folklore is a campaign game that’s been on my shelf for quite a while. It’s one that I know I’ll likely need to play solo to get played so it might show up on the Malts and Meeples YouTube channel coming up here. But it’s basically an RPG type game in a box. Like a HEXplore It, it is going to give more of that die rolling feel you’d expect from a pen and paper RPG. Plus it’s about vampires, werewolves, and ghosts, fun stuff that I like.

24: Fox in the Forest

The smallest game in this section, Fox in the Forest is a two player trick taking game. I recently played the cooperative version of it and had a lot of fun . Fox in the Forest is competitive but one that works really well with two. I believe it balances out some of that by making taking all of the tricks a bad thing, so no shooting the moon. Or it needs to be done in a specific way. I like trick taking, just need to figure out which trick taking games will stick in my collection.

23: The Quacks of Quedlinburg

Another not huge game, The Quacks of Quedlinburg has been a really popular game over the past few years. It is a bag building game, by that I mean you add things to a bag, in this case cardboard tokens. And then you draw them out, and you are trying to make your potion grow. But if you get too many bad ingredients in there, it explodes and you get fewer rewards. But the further you push down the track of adding ingredients, the more points you get.

22: Res Arcana

Res Arcana is an engine building game. It’s a smaller one though with a limited number of cards and the main goal of the game is to figure out how to turn out points. You do that through artifacts and spells and things that you might get out in front of you. The question of the game is, who can get their engine running the best.

21: Western Legends

Western Legends is back into the big games, not a campaign, but a massive sandbox game. In this game you play in the wild west and you can be a good guy bringing in trouble makers, delivering cattle, things like that. Or you can be a bad guy, rustle cattle, rob the bank, and things like that. And you can switch in the middle of the game. Western Legends lets you do anything in the pursuit of points and create your own wild west story.

20: Mechs vs Minions

Mechs vs Minions is an interesting game because it’s created by Riot Games. They are known best for League of Legends, and now Arcane a Netflix show set in that world. Mechs vs Minions is kind of set in that setting, from what I can tell. But it’s a programming wave where you set your Mechs on a path where they can take out the minions. The game plays in scenarios and it might be kill everything or it might be get this objective and get back out. It’s fully cooperative, and one that has been a grail game for me.

19: Cthulhu: Death May Die

I like Cthulhu, don’t know if he likes me. But Cthulhu: Death May Die is a game, kind of in the vein of Arkham Horror and Mansions of Madness, but this time from CMON. And it’s about investigating, fighting cultists and other horrors, and getting to be just insane enough that you’re powerful enough to kill the elder god at the end. Or maybe you’ll just go mad completely or die. I like the theme, and the difficulty level of the game looks really challenging.

18: Uprising: Curse of the Last Emperor

Speaking of a game that looks challenging, Uprising: Curse of the Last Emperor, is a 4x game in a fantasy world. I already had a game like that on the list, Heroes of Land, Air and Sea, but this has a twist on this. You don’t fight against each other. Instead, you all need to end with better scores than the two bad factions to win the game. This cooperative nature of the game really drew me to it. Because it’s not just everyone do better, but how do I do well enough but also don’t hinder your chances.

17: Black Rose Wars

Black Rose Wars is an intimidating game to get to the table. There are lots of cards in the game, and it’s actually another programming game. Like Mechs vs Minions you’re deciding what you do. But with this one, it’s a free for all. You are summoning monsters to the board, laying traps, slinging spells, and blowing up rooms. The first mage to a certain number of points, I believe, wins the game. But it’s more about the crazy and powerful things that you can do which makes me want to try it.

16: Descent: Legends of the Dark

Another big game, Descent: Legends of the Dark takes up basically a full Kallax cube by itself. And the box says Act 1 on it. This is going to be a story driven dungeon crawler of a game. But it’s from Fantasy Flight, so they used what they knew from their apps for Mansions of Madness, Lord of the Rings: Journeys in Middle Earth, and more to make even a better app. This really helps with the fog of war or not knowing what’s behind a door as you play. I’ve done a demo, but not enough to count as a play.

15: Betrayal Legacy

Betrayal Legacy is a game that’s been on my too play list for a while. It has two great things about it, first it’s a legacy game, and I love legacy games an their progressing story. Secondly, it’s based off of Betrayal at House on the Hill. A game that I know isn’t balanced, but it is still a game that I love. Not too many games do horror too well, and Betrayal often feels like a horror movie in so many great ways. So I’m excited to see what can be done with a bigger story.

14: Loup Garou

Now we’re looking at a game that is a book. Loup Garou from Van Ryder Games is a game in that you go through and make choices. You play as a character and they have stats. But in a lot of ways, it’s a choose your own adventure. It’s a graphic novel, so you read the text, look at what you can do, and that determines where you flip to. I don’t know why, since I got this at GenCon in 2019, I haven’t just played this. It’s solo only and it’d be easy to get through, probably with dying. I need to play this ASAP.

13: Under Falling Skies

Another solo game, Under Falling Skies was added to my collection more recently. This is almost Space Invaders the game. But it seems really intriguing as a puzzle, plus there is a comic that comes with it and a mini campaign. You place down dice in the game to activate different things. The trick is that the weaker things won’t do as much, but the stronger things, alien spaceships descend faster. It’s finding when you’re perfectly ready to do that one big thing, from what I can tell.

12: Nidavellir

Another smaller box game on the list. Nidavellir is a set collection and auction game. And there is one reason it is so high, and it’s not the Norse Mythology. But it is because of how the auction works. You have five coins. You use three of them to bid and two are at the bottom. If you put a zero as one of your bids, you can trade in the higher of the two left over coins to get the value of the two left over coins. So you can upgrade your money as you go. When do you tank a bid, taking whatever is left, to do that.

11: Sea of Legends

I think from here on out is all big games, or mainly. It isn’t all campaign games, though. Sea of Legends isn’t a campaign game, but it is an epic story game of pirates. What drew me to this game, besides wondering about the story the game promises, is three things. Those three things set up your story, but at the start of the game, you pick a Captain, a Nemesis and a Lover. And that all determines your story. So you end up with a lot of variability. Plus it’s pirates and adventure on the seas, so it’s a theme that I love and look for in board games.

10: Middara: Unintentional Malum Act 1

This one could be higher on the list. Middara does a lot of things that interest me. It is a campaign game. It does fog of war well. There is massive amounts of story. The theming is crazy space, fantasy, anime, all things that I’m down for. And let’s face it, I could just say it’s anime because a lot of anime is space fantasy and crazy. But this one looks really cool to get to the table and massive to get to the table. I need to find a group to play this one with.

9: Deep Madness

Deep Madness is a game that I can blame on Rolling Solo. This is a game that is not easy to track down, mainly because it was just on Kickstarter. And I own almost everything for it, but I haven’t played it. The madness should give you some idea as to the sort of game, but what I like is that this is set on a deep sea base. And monsters are coming in and have wiped out everyone. The corporation who built the base is now sending the team down to figure out what is going on. It’s a theme and horror that I love so much, I just need to play it.

8: Lost Ruins of Arnak

Now we’re back from campaign style games. Though, Deep Madness can be played as a scenario, but they are kind of linked. Lost Ruins of Arnak is a deck building worker placement game. I like deck building, and worker placement isn’t my normal thing, but not bad. Lost Ruins of Arnak just has a cool Indiana Jones vibe to it that drew me in. And I think the deck building and theme will make it work well for myself and my group.

7: The Ratcatcher: The Solo Adventure Game

So when I said that there might be one smaller game left, this is it. It’s an interesting game in that it’s a solo only game, three of them on the list, but it’s a big box. It honestly feels like a bigger box than the game should have. In this you are trying to catch rats and get cheese. If the rats get too much cheese, now a big bad rat comes out onto the board, and things are going to get scary. It’s again a solo game, so one that I should get played.

6: Solomon Kane

Back to massive games, Solomon Kane is one that’s been on lists of games that I want to play for a while. But some of that was also that I wanted to buy it. It came and went on Kickstarter while I wasn’t too active there. And it’s been delivering last year and now wave two this year, and I managed to get wave one stuff for it.

In Solomon Kane you don’t play as Solomon Kane, you play as virtues guiding him. And I think that concept is interesting. You can play it solo with one super virtue, or each player gets a virtue in a multiplayer game. And then you take him through stories. Really interesting with how it works with not controlling the main character.

5: Roll Player Adventures

Kind of a cheat for the list, I really like Roll Player Adventures, but I’ve only kind of played it. Roll Player Adventures, I got to play a demo of it at GenCon in 2019 while they were still doing playtesting of the game. But the game is a blast, and the story, I like, because it isn’t too heavy. It’s a big story game set in the Roll Player world, but also a dice manipulation game when you drop into combat.

I know I’m going to be diving into this one soon. So I’m excited to get it to the table. I ordered the character backstory pack for it with the special quests that you can get from it for each character. I think that is going to make the whole thing even more immersive, which is great.

4: Nemesis

Another horror game, Nemesis is, from what I’ve heard, the closest you can get to Alien the board game. There is an alien infestation on your ship, and you need to complete your objective and then take out all the aliens or launch yourself out in an escape pod. But you don’t want the aliens to get to Earth, that’s for sure. But you want to end up there, so can you get the engines to launch you there.

3: Dwellings of Eldervale

Another non-campaign game, in fact a number aren’t in the top, but they are big games. Dwellings of Eldervale is that. This one really interested me because it has giant monsters, but also you are doing worker placement. But I really like how the worker placement works. You unlock new workers but also your workers become your dwellings. And when you pull back workers they do things as well, so it’s not a waste of a turn to pull back workers.

2: Terraforming Mars

Super high on the list and a big game in how long it takes and how big it plays, Terraforming Mars is so high because I really like Terraforming Mars: Ares Expedition. I know that the games are different, there is more take that or randomness, and area control and you have a much bigger board that you’re using in Terraforming Mars. But I really want to play it and see how I like the engine building that goes on in that game.

1: Destinies

Finally, we have Destinies. Destinies is a game from Lucky Duck Games where you are playing through a story, but unlike a lot of story games, this is competitive. And each of you is trying to complete a destiny of yours. And it is a race to see who can complete theirs first. What interests me are some of the mechanics a roll over a certain number to get successes is cool. Plus you can manipulate that. But also that you need to pay attention to the story on other people’s turns because they might find something to help you.

To me, that’s a good game in that it’ll keep you engaged with what everyone is doing. Even if I’m not taking my turn, I need to know what you are doing as well. I might not be actively interacting with anything, but I still need to pay attention. And if a game can do that, I really want to play it.

Final Thoughts

That’s the whole list, all 124 of them. I could have had one less if I counted my playtesting of Roll Player Adventures. But also, that is a game that’s extremely high on my list for wanting to get played. Definitely a lot more big games up here. Though, I think outside of the campaign games, most of them can get played. And I could see, if things fall right, even getting one or two of those to the table this year. Like I said, I think Roll Player Adventures will be getting played soon.

Which one would you play first?

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124-101

100 – 76

Unplayed Board Games 75 -51

75: HEXplore It: The Forest of Adrimon

Yes, this moved up slightly. Mainly because I missed it and I didn’t want to go back and adjust it a few spots. But I do think it could be higher. HEXplore It is an adventure style game, so one that I think I’ll like. And the Forest of Adrimon is supposed to be one of the easier to get into. It has some feel like another game that will be on another list in that it’s an RPG but a board game.

74: Formula D

Racing games, I’ve really been digging them lately. And in general I’ve liked them. I have TItans Race which I enjoy as a silly racing game. And Downforce which is amazing for racing and betting. But Formula D is the most involved and I really want to give it a whirl. I think doing something that simulates racing a bit more might be cool, though possibly slower in terms of game play.

73: Arkham Horror 3rd Edition

I am surprised how far down Arkham Horror 3rd Edition is. I like Arkham Horror 2nd Edition but I got rid of it because it is too long. So I suspect I’m going to like this version of it as well, and a shorter play time. So I need to get it to the table. But I think because it is familiar and because I have games like Arkham Horror The Card Game and Mansions of Madness, I feel like I might not need to play this as soon,

72: Fireball Island: The Curse of Vul-Kar

I bought this one when it was cheap at Target. Well, the price hasn’t changed, but the version of the game now at Target is a cheaper one, and I think smaller. This is when shipping was backed up so Target bought a bunch of Restoration Games’ stock. This is going to be a good and silly time. But I just need to find the time to play it. I don’t think game play will last too long for it.

71: Everdell

Everdell for a lot of people, I’d guess, is higher on the list. I know this is a well loved game, and the tableau and engine building it looks to offer seems great. Plus then the artwork is amazing on the game. I definitely notice that I’m a big fan of engine building games, and ones where they have some of those more euro mechanics to them as well. It’s lower for me just because it is a bit less thematic.

70: The Table Is Lava

This is a silly game. The Table Is Lava has you throwing cards onto the table, placing down meeples to get points. But when you throw you try and knock down other peoples meeples which is hilarious to me. I’m going to turn off the fan in the game room when I play this one because that might interfere with throwing cards. Should just bust this one and have a good time with it some game night.

69: Star Wars: Unlock!

The last of the escape room style games that I own. It’s higher than the Lovecraftian themed one just because of theme and being three games in one box. My wife and I need to play these because we both like Star Wars. And after the Olympics and before Moon Knight comes out, it’d give us something to do for a few weeks. I’ve heard they aren’t too challenging, but it’s still Star Wars, so I’m sure it’ll be fun.

68: Cockroach Poker

And a small game in Cockroach Poker, this is almost a classic filler game, if not one, at this point. You either tell the truth about the card you pass or you lie. And you don’t want to get sets. If you call the persons bluff and they were telling the truth, you get the card. If you can call and they were lying, they get the card. Or you can peek at it and pass telling the next person who you think it is. Clever idea, seems like it should be fun with the right groups.

67: Drawn to Adventure

By the name Drawn to Adventure might sound like a roll and write, and it is a roll and write. It’s about adventuring the best that you can. And you do it over several maps. The production is great, but one thing keeps it down the list a bit. The several maps makes me wonder how long the game will take. If it’s interesting enough, it being a bit longer won’t be bad, but we’ll have to see.

66: Matcha

This is a little card game that I don’t know a ton about. But I like the tea theme and I like the aesthetic. So why so high on the list? It seems to do some things that I like, and it’s a two player game. That makes it easier to get to the table. I like set collection and hand management. It’ll be interesting to see how the bluffing works.

65: Mariposas

A couple games about butterflies on the list, but only one on this section. Mariposas is about generations of butterflies flying up north and then returning back to the south for the winter. I like the idea and it’ll be interesting to see how it goes over. The pieces are solid and the mechanics seems simple enough. It’s more about the puzzle of getting as far north as you can but then being able to go fast south again.

64: Tannhauser

A grail game for me, Tannhauser is lower on the list, just because I think it might take me a bit to learn. But I love the World War II theme of it, plus a bit of a weird world setting as well. Plus, it’s another game that Sam Healey was a big fan of, and like I said, his and my tastes generally match pretty well. It’s hard to find, though, because it’s out of print, so I’m glad to just own it.

63: Air, Land, and Sea

A little lane battling two player card game. I actually have this one sitting at work waiting to get played. Probably will happen next week. It’s a short little game where you deploy out troops to try and win three different theaters of war, air, land, and sea. I don’t know that it’ll be my go to two player game, but it’d be nice to have on in the mix.

62: Shakespeare

A Euro game at the middle of the list, Shakespeare is about putting on a play. You do different rehearsals, build sets, get actors, and get costumes to do the best performance possible. It’s been in my collection for a while, but I don’t want to get rid of it. Even with the fact it’s a euro, I like the theme a lot. And I( think that it’ll be a puzzle that works for me.

61: Foodies

Foodies is one of three games that I own where you roll dice and everyone can do something. Space Base, higher on this list, and My Farm Shop, already played, are the other two. I previously have owned Machi Koro, and I want to buy Machi Koro Legacy when I have a group for it. It’s a mechanic that I like, but will Foodies beat out My Farm Shop? And could Space Base beat out both of them?

60: Papillon

Another butterfly game, and this one is higher, slightly because the aesthetic is cooler. Plus, I like some of how the game works. You build out different patches of flowers, trying to close them off then place butterflies on locations And those locations are an area control/majority battle. So the game seems really cool and offers different areas to focus on for strategy. Diversify across all flowers to get some points in a lot of spot. Or go for a lot of points in a few spots.

59: Valor & Villainy: Minions of Mordak

This is another one versus all game like Descent. But this one is newer and I’m getting the campaign or legacy version of this via Kickstarter with Lludwick’s Labyrinth. I do want to try this version as well as both the villain and the heroes and see how it plays. Mechanically I think it is interesting and I like the leveling up that you do in just a single scenario.

58: Flick of Faith

Two dexterity games now in a row. Flick of Faith reminds me a bit of Sonora, but just with flicking being the focus of it versus the roll and write aspect. You flick discs trying to get control of certain spots. And you have bigger discs that are harder to knock out of the way. And then there are god powers that change up how you play the game each round.

57: Rhino Hero Super Battle

The other dexterity game is about stacking. Three on this section of the list with The Table Is Lava. And this one definitely needs the fan off as you try and be at the top of the tower, or at least the highest up when it topples over. Unless, you knock it over, and then everyone else wins. Simple game, but I like simple and fun dexterity games.

56: Doodle Dungeon

Doodle Dungeon is a roll and write game, but the biggest box I have, well, up there with Sonora, and I own the Railroad Ink big box. But this is a dungeon crawling or creating game, which I think leans into the Boss Monster side of things. We aren’t the heroes, we’re the monsters in the dungeon trying to stop heroes. I need to look into this one more, but I think it’s going to feel like a much bigger game than a normal roll and write.

55: The Bloody Inn

A game with a morbid theme but one that seems like a lot of fun. In The Bloody Inn, you run an inn. But you find out that it’s more lucrative to kill off the people staying there, hide their bodies, and take their money. Who can do that the best, and will the police crack down on you? Card game but one that the theme while morbid is also funny.

54: Wingspan

Wingspan is not a game that I thought I’d own. But a friend got an extra copy, so we traded games. And I do think that I’ll like Wingspan. It’s a tableau building game about bird watching. That theme isn’t that interesting to me, but everyone seems to love the game. Family weight plus game, it might work well for a lot of groups. I am excited to try it for that reason.

53: Welcome To New Las Vegas

Another roll and write, we have four on this chunk of the list, one more to come. And Welcome To New Leas Vegas is a harder. That’s kept it on my shelf. One thing that I like about it’s predecessor Welcome To, is that it’s easy to play. I can teach that game to basically anyone. But will this one be too hard for my group. I need to try it and see.

52: Welcome to Dino World

The other roll and write is Welcome to Dino World. I like the idea of a dinosaur park. I didn’t grow up watching Jurassic Park and the sequels, but the concept is still fun. This one looks like a good time and you can have dinosaurs escape which every good dinosaur park should have happen. Because I’ll never ask if it should be done, just if it can be.

51: Camel Up

Final game is another racing game. Camel Up is kind of a classic at this point in time. Mainly because the game is goofy. You bet on who wins and the earlier you bet on it, the more you can win. But it’s hard to know who can win. The camels, as they race, stack. And the camel on top is in the lead. But if a camel on the bottom moves, they move the stack. So a camel can get lucky, move up to land on someone and then bound ahead again when that came moves.

Final Thoughts

We definitely had a few bigger games this time. And four roll and writes. But we’re still not to the big ones yet. The top 25, for sure, will be a lot of big games. And I do think that the roll and writes will be played on this section of the list. Plus some of the games like Matcha and Air, Land and Sea should be easy to get to the table.

Which game would you want to play on this section of the list? Which one should I play first?

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There are a lot of good games, and I could have pulled more off of my shelf. Reichbusters: Projekt Vril, 7th Continent, and Midarra were all honorable mentions that didn’t get mentioned in the video. And I even own more campaign games I could consider as well. But let’s talk about the ones that I did.

Six Board Game Options

HEXplore It: The Forests of Adrimon

This is an exploration and adventure game. It’s going to let you create a Dungeons and Dragons, in some ways, type character(s) to take through the world. You explore, shop, and fight along the way. This leads to a big battle in the end against the villain of the story. HEXplore It is ore of an adventure game, in some ways, than a true campaign style game. The setting is going to lean into a mechanical world with a Sorceress named Adrimon puppeting them all.

Under Falling Skies

This is a bit of a space invaders style game. There is a campaign to it as you play through some different cities. Each game goes pretty fast for this one. It is going to have less story than all the other games. But Under Falling Skies is going to give you dice manipulation as you try and keep waves of aliens away from you. I also runs off of a comic book(s) that tell you the story for each scenario.

Deep Madness

Another almost campaign type of game, like HEXplore It. Deep Madness is going to be a horror based game where you play through scenarios. The scenarios are loosely linked together. But in Deep Madness you and your team go down to a deep sea base. Something has happened, you have lost contact with them, and when you get there, things are much worse than expected.

Each scenario has you trying to survive to complete different objectives. They do form together to create a loose story. One time you might be trying to get the coms system up and working or restore life support before it fails fully, or get off the deep sea base. There just isn’t as much story between that ties them all together. This is one that is a bit of a longer game I think might be trickier to stream, but could be doable.

Sleeping Gods

Sleeping Gods from Red Raven games and Ryan Laukat is a game not set in the same world as his other games, Above and Below, Near and Far, and Now and Never, but still has to same amazing artwork. In this game you are transported to a world that you know nothing about. You aren’t even sure what you are trying to do. Except, you want to find a way home.

Sleeping Gods is a big exploration adventure game where a single play can take 10 hours or 15 hours. You complete quests and look for totems and clues. And there are a lot of different story elements you can find, so much that to win the game, you don’t need to do the same thing every time. That leaves a ton of the game available to explore again and again and again.

Folklore: The Affliction

Folklore: The Affliction is the most traditional in terms of a campaign game. This is a world that is full of vampires, werewolves, and other monsters. And as a monster hunter, you want to take them out. That, though, is easier said than done. Folklore is really an RPG board game. It gives you that feeling of rolling dice to see what happens and rolling D20’s even, I believe.

What interests me so much about this one is that RPG feel. You go from story moments and random encounters as you travel across the land. And then it drills down to a tighter picture and you get into combats against monsters. And you can even turn into a monster yourself if you aren’t careful.

Solomon Kane

Finally, we have Solomon Kane. This is a scenario but kind of campaign game. I say kind of campaign game because each story of Solomon Kane is it’s own campaign. Some of them can be played in a few hours. Some of them are much longer than that. Each scenario is going to have it’s own objective to try and complete.

It’s an interesting game, though, in that you aren’t playing as Solomon Kane. Instead you play as virtues who are aiding him along his way. In the books that the game is based off of, Solomon Kane is a good man with a particular set of skills. But he didn’t always use those skills for good. So the idea of the virtues is to keep him on the path and not fall into the temptations and darkness of his past.

Which Game Should I Play?

Vote and help me decide what game I should play. The voting is going to close on December 21st in the morning. That’s probably going to be one of the last daily articles I do that week. But I’ll dive more into the game then and probably ask some questions about what I should do, if there is anything to determine in the set-up.

But this is what I am going to stream to start the year. Don’t expect anymore streams in 2021 with Christmas and the week leading up to New Years. But for sure no stream next week, maybe one between Christmas and New Years. If that happens, I’ll try and give as much warning as possible.

Thanks everyone for watching and have a great holiday season. I hope that you get lots of great time with family and friends, and a lot of great gaming.

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Pros

• Solo Play
• Aesthetic
• Dungeon Crawl
• Campaign/Standalone

Cons

• Campaign/Standalone
• Price Point
• Early Bird

The Page

I like Gamefound pages because it makes it so much easier to navigate. And you can see everything all at once in terms of navigation. But that really isn’t the point of talking about the page. But I will say that the rules section is good and because I can navigate directly to there I don’t mind that it’s later on the page. Also if you want to see the miniatures you can see them as well and they are fairly grotesque.

The Game

The game play looks interesting with elements of choose your own adventure and dungeon crawl and boss fights in it. I watched the BoardGameCo video on it which tells a whole lot more about how the game plays:

It is tricky to talk about because, like he said, the information on how the campaign plays is limited in his video. And it’s fairly limited on the the page as well. This isn’t all that odd for games because you don’t want to spoil the story. But it also feels like I’m just getting general details on how the campaign will work and not details. Even for the game play it feels a little bit light as to how the game actually works.

That said, I do like the fact that there are morning and night time phases of the game. And as expected, vampires don’t like the sun. Also as expected, they are dangerous at the night. Alex from BoardGameCo talks about how he lured a group of six vampires into a room, busted open the window and dusted all of them.

But that does lead to another question/concern for me. Some cooperative games with a solo mode have what is called true solo. That means you can play it controlling a single character to play the game. This doesn’t appear to be the case. This looks like you either have specific numbers of characters that need to go into a scenario or you need to play four. Now, in the video that didn’t seem to be a problem for Alex, but will it be for me. I think it’s something worth noting that might trip some people up.

Back or Brick

So is this game a back or a brick? I really want to back it, but for me it’s a Brick. With that said, it’s more the time of the year and finances that are keeping it from being a back. The game play sounds very interesting and vampire hunting as a concept for a game I really like. But even if finances were readily available for this Gamefound Crowdfunding Campaign, I’m not sure I’d back it.

Why, because I have a lot of campaign board games. I have beat three of them, Gloomhaven, Tainted Grail The Fall of Avalon, and Sword & Sorcery. I have games like Etherfields, ISS Vanguard, Isofarian Guard, Oathsworn, and let’s not forget about Frosthaven coming in. And I have games like Solomon Kane, HexploreIt, Midarra, and more on my shelf too play. What about this game stands out over the others I want to play? For me it’s mainly the theme, which might not be enough.

Plus, the price, which I didn’t talk about but I put as a con, is a little bit higher. I think that the Slayer Pledge is a solid value, but the Hunter Pledge seems a little bit steep. This is a campaign that I’d want to see what all gets unlocked before I back it. Because just with what there is now, or what there was at the start, it seems a bit light compared to an Awaken Realms, Mythic Games, or CMON project.

How about for you, is this a back or a brick?

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I wrote last week about how it can be dangerous when Late Pledging is an option. But today I wanted to look at the time element of Kickstarter. Today though, I’m going to look at different things, because some of them do overlap, and I might still overlap, but I want to know if Kickstarters are really worth that wait.

How Long Is the Wait?

This is the age old Kickstarter and crowdfunding question, how long will you have to wait. They all try to give an estimate, but is it accurate? Generally, that answer is no. Most crowdfunded board games and projects in general deliver late. Why, because it’s hard to estimate.

When you look at a Kickstarter, you see a game that you want to get. And that’s great, and you want to get it sooner rather than later., also great. But what we don’t always see is where the game is at. Kickstarter and crowdfunding in general are to help get a game made. That means that no production is done. Fairly often it means that art assets are partially done. The game itself could still be going through development.

Each of these steps the companies are guessing at how long it’ll take. If it’s someone like CMON or Thunderwork, they have a decent idea. But even for them, a delay at the factory could shift the timeline by weeks or longer. And newer publishers, they generally underestimate.

What Should The Expectation Be?

Generally, I expect a Kickstarter to be 6 months late. That’s not a short amount of time, I understand. But for me, that way I don’t sweat it when it is well behind. Now, some games I’ve backed on crowdfunding have been much later than that. Some, also, surprise me when they show up on time.

For me, the expectation that they are late also comes with the expectation of updates. Some companies do a lot of updates. Others don’t post nearly enough of them. Right now I haven’t heard anything from Grimlord Games on Village Attacks in months. Last update was in April, actually. Is it annoying, yes. I fully expect delays. Plus, I know Grimlord Games isn’t the best at giving updates, but it is too long.

I also am not highly concerned. Why, because they have a proven track record. They delivered Village Attacks before. They just dropped an update for their other game as well. I knew going in they were bad at giving updates. Is this really acceptable from them, no, but shocking, no.

So Are Kickstarters Worth the Wait?

Simply put, sometimes. I like the shiny games that are up on there and for a few reasons it can be. A lot of them tie into the late pledging article. The game is exclusive to Kickstarter, well if you want it you might want to back it. The game comes with lots of Kickstarter extras.

But even then, is it worth the wait. I can go out right now and buy 100 games from my FLGS (friendly local game stores) and play them tomorrow. Do I need to get a game on Kickstarter with so many out there?

Like I said, it depends on the game. For some games me backing it means that the game can be made. So yes, I want to help in that process. Even in the case of Grimlord Games and Village Attacks, without backers the game wouldn’t get made. They are not a big company. So they need people to back it so they can make the game. For that reason I am fine being patient with them.

Other games, like Marvel United: X-Men, it might not come to retail. Plus, I get 50-70 extra minis because I backed the game. So my amount of content is much higher than someone who didn’t back the game. This could be FOMO (fear of missing out) but also means I have a lot of variety. My knock on the base game of Marvel United was that it didn’t feel that different. Marvel United: X-Men provides a lot more heroes and villains.

Is It Always Worth It Thought?

Most definitely not, because there are so many great games out there. Like I said, I could go to my FLGS and get 100 games today to play if I wanted. In fact, I will be swinging past one today in order to get my store credit and then use that store credit to pick up HEXplore It. So I can even find games that won’t come to retail but are used.

The question to ask is, do I want this Kickstarter game when it becomes available? If the answer is yes, back it. Let’s go with Marvel United X-Men. All in for that was $300, the base game for it was $40+ shipping, I think. Right now the regular, all in, Marvel United pledge on on eBay is about $300+ shipping. That’s about what the X-Men version will cost, but on Kickstarter the original games all in was only $220. So the secondary market sells at 1.5x higher.

So, you can always get a Kickstarter later, but it might cost more. This isn’t even the most extreme example. I went to look for Spire’s End on eBay when Spire’s End: Hildegard was up on Kickstarter. That was a $50 game that was selling for $150+. If you want a game enough, you can get it later. Just know that depending on the game, it might cost a whole lot more.

Do You Wait on Kickstarters?

Let me know if you back games on Kickstarter? Clearly I do a lot of written coverage on Kickstarters with my Back or Brick articles. I back Kickstarters somewhat often. Are they always worth the wait for me? Most of the time they are, but sometimes, such as Divineus, I drop my pledge because I don’t need the game slightly sooner than I can get it at retail.

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Seafall

This is a game that I really wanted to love and that we kind of gave up on when we were playing through it. Now, I am not selling or doing anything with my half played copy. That a friend owns and I hope they don’t have around anymore. But I did get a copy from another friend that is in shrink still. I am selling that copy.

I had considered, for a while, using that copy of Seafall to make my own game. Why, because Seafall, I think, has some solid ideas it just runs into some problems. There isn’t a good story running through it. They attempted making a very broad story but it lacks depth or progression. The dice are too lucky, and the games take too long. Hopefully someone else will like it though.

Cyclades

I’ve heard amazing things about this game. But I had it for a few years and I never played it. I opened it up, learned the rules once, but I never even punched it. Why is that, well, because I don’t play that many area control games, and when I do, I want to play Blood Rage. This was the case with a game where I probably would like the game, but would I play it over other games.

Blood Rage gives me that more complex area control game. On the flip side, Small World gives me that really easy to get to the table area control. I just can’t see myself pulling out Cyclades over either of those, especially because I can teach both of those quite easily. My memory banks can only remember the rules to so many games.

Nemesis Terrain Pack

So, this is coming into my collection, one of two things. Nemesis is a game that I’m very confident that I’m going to like. Why, because it’s a space horror game, and I like that theme. It is a survival game, and I like that. And the terrain pack is just going to make the experience more immersive. I’d almost picked it up before, but when it was there again, I knew I was going to get it.

Detective: Season 1

So, I love Detective, I can’t say that enough. I’m not sure where, at the end of this month, start of next, this will end up, but I expect it’s going to be very high. I have the Vienna Connection, the base game, LA Crimes, Dig Deeper, and I already pre-ordered Dune: House Secrets from Portal Games. The one thing that I didn’t have was Season 1.

Season 1 didn’t interest me as much because it was one off games. What makes the base game so amazing is that you are playing through a series of tied together games. You are getting a full story in five chapters, I wasn’t sure if Season 1 would feel the same with one offs. But I had Dig Deeper and I got to play it last month. And that game holds up. Just as a one off it is still a lot of fun, so I’m now more excited for Season 1.

HEXplore It: The Forests of Adrimon

Now, I said I was just getting 2 games, and those are the two that I’ve ordered or have in hand. But at my FLGS, I had them set aside this for me, and an expansion. When I sell the two games at the top and Captain Sonar, I’m going to use that store credit to pick up this game. HEXplore It as a series of games has been on my radar for a while. I never got in on the Kickstarter because they cost a fair amount. But used, it wasn’t too bad.

I am very curious to try it because it is another dungeon crawl and exploration sort of game. The map level is higher than your standard dungeon crawl, but there are a lot of bad things that can happen to you. I also like the unique setting in this game, it feels different than some of the other HEXplore It games.

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