Queen Games
German publisher Queen Games has really taken a shine to Kickstarter, yet another project is currently looking for backers. I can see their reasons, of course: having cash coming in before producing the game reduces the financial risk to almost zero, and it also lets them publish more games per year as they don’t have to wait for the previous game to bring in money. So keep going with the Kickstarter, Queen Games! Lost Legends (by Mike Elliott) is a monster-bashing drafting game – think 7 Wonders, but you get to kill dragons. The drafting mechanic actually works exactly like Antoine Bauza’s game, but you pick equipment and skills that you then use to cave in monster faces.
Cryptozoic
The very post-apocalyptic Mayan deck-building game 3012 and the wacky cart racing game Hot Rod Creeps are both available now.
Fantasy Flight Games
The rules for the new Merchant of Venus are now online, and there is another great piece of news about the game: the new Merchant of Venus, adapted by Rob Kouba will contain the rules and the game board of Richard Hamblen’s original Merchant of Venus. Two games in one, and a chance to see how boardgames changed between 1988 and now.
Alderac Entertainment
Finally, someone is on our side in Thunderstone: Root of Corruption! After monsters, worse monsters, uglier monsters and nastier monsters, with a side order of villagers with side effects, today we finally get some villagers doing their best to help us. And then it’s right back into “damn, it will do WHAT to us?” territory with these new artifacts. But at least they still have a nice effect for us after we conquer them.
Small Box Games
Three new card games in one Kickstarter project – hard to say no already, isn’t it? But those three card games are also Small Box Games games, well known makers of great card games. These three games don’t share a theme or story, but you can pick which one(s) to take when you back the project. Shadow of the Sun takes place in the fantasy city of Hemloch where you (still) struggle for power before the long night begins. The Valkyrie Incident is a two-player deck-building game about the war between Valkyie clans, with an emphasis on player interaction – unusual for a deck-builder. Finally, in Stone & Relic all players build their own kingdoms, playing cards to grow their kingdom or for a variety of other effects, including magic spells.
Rock Paper Scissors Games
There are only a few hours left on the Kickstarter campaign for Salem, a deduction game and hidden identity that lets you replay the Salem with trials, trying to have other players’ citizens burned at the stake, stoned or whatever else was the execution flavor of the day while keeping your own people safe. It will be hard to do at this point, but please try and push this game above the $50k stretch goal because I really, really want the pilple (pilgrim meeple).
Portal Publishing / Pegasus Spiele / Filosofia Games
Soon (well, 2013) no one will have an excuse not to try Ignacy Trzewiczek’s cooperative game Robinson Crusoe: Adventure on the Cursed Island. We already knew about the English language version coming from Z-Man Games, but there will also be a French edition from Filosofia Games and a German one from Pegasus Spiele. A well-deserved international success for this game, at least that’s my verdict after the explanation Ignacy gave us in Essen – can’t wait to try this game for real.
Days of Wonder
The newest offspring of the Ticket to Ride family, The Heart of Africa, is now available for preorder. It contains a new map, new destination cards and the all new, never seen before terrain cards. No trains or train cards, though, Ticket to Ride: The Heart of Africa is not a standalone game, you need components from a “complete” Ticket to Ride to play.
APE Games
I can’t wait to find out more about Island Siege, but information is scarce still. Seems I’ll have to wait for more previews after this one with the ship card.
Dice Tower Games / GameSalute
One has worked on game designs with various designers and done some freelance work in the business. The other is likely the most famous game video reviewer on this planet. Together, Steve Avery and Tom Vasel now have a game on Kickstarter. Nothing Personal is a mafia game, and it’s all about influence and respect. Also, money, but mainly influence and respect. With your influence you get mobsters to do your bidding, mainly to increase your respect and wealth, but also to whack other gangsters and more shady business like that. Nothing Personal is advertised as a negotiation game, and where there are gangsters and negotiations, backstabbing isn’t far. And that’s just the way we like it.
The featured photo of the week was taken by Mariano P. and shared with a CC-BY-SA license. It shows the Perito Moreno Glacier in Argentina’s Los Glaciares National Park. Thanks for sharing, Mariano.