Jess’s Top Five Kickstarters of the Week 4/8/17

I should call this one the “Top Kickstarters we reviewed list plus a few more.” Seriously though, we’ve had great luck lately with our Kickstarter previews. The first 4 games listed here, I actually got to play and they are all really good!

1. Ladder 29

Andrew and I had a ton of fun playing Ben Pinchback and Matt Riddle’s Ladder 29. This ladder card game has a really fun mechanic where, at the beginning of each round, every player selects a different set of rules that they will have to follow. Some of these are pretty easy and some are mega-difficult. Depending on the difficulty you will earn more or less points as you go out for the round.

The game features art by Andy Jewett, who’s masterful touch makes Ladder 29 sleek and eye catching. I am really excited for this game, but also really scared. There is only 4 days to go and they haven’t met their funding yet. I am very serious about this being a great game. If you are on the fence about it, please go check it out! Gameosity got a review copy and we still backed the campaign. That’s how much we love this game! Head on over to the Ladder 29  Kickstarter here.

2. Circle the Wagons

Circle the Wagons is, in my opinion, the best wallet game that Buttonshy has published yet. Designed by Steven Aramini (Yardmaster), Danny Devine (Mob Town) and Paul Kluka, it is a very simple set collection game with a ton of interchangeable scoring conditions. Evrey time you play you will get a random set of ways to score, so it has a lot of replayability.

Beth Sobel lends her artistic touch to Circle the Wagons. The design is right on point and makes each section of card easy to identify. Andrew put it best in his review: “Simply put, Circle The Wagons belongs in your collection…If you’ve got someone to play with, a table to use, and 15 minutes to kill, Circle The Wagons is going to be a perfect fit.” Take a look at the Circle the Wagons Kickstarter here.

3. Hardback

Hardback, The “Pre-Quill” to Paperback (no one tell Andrew I included this pun) is a great addition to any word-game lover’s library. Tim Fowers has taken a spelling game and added proven mechanics to create a great deck building (or should I say Book Building) game. I saw this for the first time at GDC and knew I had to bring a copy back for the rest of the Gameosity team to try. You can check out Andrew’s full review here and check out the Kickstarter here!

4. Dicey Peaks

This one was on display at Toy Fair NY and it looks like it will be a great family game. Designed by designer Scott Almes (the Tiny Epic series, Harbour), the game has players trying to ascend a dangerous mountain. They need to balance their risk as every turn they’ll decide which dice they’ll be rolling. Do you take the safe dice and move slowly or take the risky dice to climb faster? As a titan game it is made to be easy to learn and fun to play and I think Calliope Games nailed it. Check out the Dicey Peaks Kickstarter here.

5. Gloomhaven

This is the only game on this list I haven’t played personally, but 17,363 backers are probably not wrong. Gloomhaven is tearing up Kickstarter with its second printing. Isaac Childres has created a co-op tactical combat fantasy game. It has a continuing story that can be played over multiple sessions and has your party of adventurers delving into some dangerous dungeons. I love games with strong stories, so this one caught my eye as soon as I heard what it was about.

This second printing comes with new health and experience trackers and a revised rule book and scenario book.  There is also an all-new mini expansion of 17 solo scenarios available. If you already own the game you can just pledge for the upgrade kit. You can check out the Gloomhaven Kickstarter here!

Did I miss any awesome Kickstarters? Let me know in the comments below!