This Week’s Crowdfunding Spotlight 3/31/23
Nekojima
Nekojima, “The Cat Island” in Japan, needs power! You’ll have to install powerlines on this tiny island while dealing with climbing kitties and all while avoiding causing shorts. Each turn you will roll the dice to determine where to place and and draw a cube to select what color powerline (represented by two wooden poles with a string between them). You will have to place the matching powerline while making sure that the string does not touch any other string, pole, or the board after it is placed. If you draw a black cube you’ll have to add a cat to a powerline. There are a variety of rules to add other challenges to the game which can keep it feeling fresh and fun every time you play.
This game is very simple in design, but the actual gameplay looks very challenging. I love that the cats add this extra layer of danger to the structure and threaten to topple everything over. You can get your paws on Nekojima here on Kickstarter.
The Elder Scrolls: Betrayal Of The Second Era
I am a big fan of the Elder Scrolls video games, so I was very excited to hear about the board game! In this cooperative game players work together to foil the plot of a dark cult. You’ll need to travel across the land of Tamriel, explore dungeons, build up your character, and fight enemies. The game is designed to give a tabletop roleplaying experience through the customization of your unique hero and your progression through the plot which carries over from game to game. Battle looks to be similar to Chip Theory’s other game Too Many Bones and uses a hex grid to allow you to play a puzzle-like skirmish against your enemies. The game itself is on a bit of a timer as you can only do so many things before the leader of the cult enacts her dreadful plan. Can you stop her before its too late?
The draw of the game is really in the character creation. I like that you can really design your own from what race they are, to their class and region, as well as joining a guild, and choosing what skills you can have. I imagine that if you are a fan of the Elder Scrolls game, this project might be right up your alley, but it will also appeal to players who like to have an open-world style game where they can explore and tell their own unique story within the world. You can learn more about The
Tír Na NÓg: Between Worlds
Tír Na NÓg: Between Worlds is a set-collection game where players are forming a saga to tales by adventuring through the land. Each turn you’ll add your Storyteller pieces to the grid of cards. Then in reverse player order, players can claim cards next to their player pieces. These cards are added to your hand and will allow you, in the next phase, to add a card to your Saga to match your goals. You can then add colors and values to the cards in your Saga. After 5 rounds you’ll score each row in your Saga as well as the largest group and the player with the most points wins.
Tír Na NÓg: Between Worlds looks like an interesting mix of worker-placement, drafting, and set-collection. The puzzley aspect of figuring out what cards you’ll need for your saga and maneuvering to claim them looks like a fun and brain-burning endeavor. You can learn more about the game on Gamefound here!
Let’s Go! To Japan
Let’s Go! To Japan is a set-collection game where you are planning your perfect trip to Japan. On your turn you’ll draw a number of cards and draft an activity card, placing it on a day in your itinerary. If you match the icons to a day’s Favorable Conditions, you’ll gain bonuses. Any cards you don’t draft will be passed to the next player to choose from. As you play you’ll have to keep track of your mood as some activities will cause stress or provide you happiness. By ending the game in a good mood, you’ll get bonuses, but a bad mood will give you negative points. You’ll add trains (-2 points) to your card stacks to travel between locations so its a good idea to group up your locations to avoid having to take too many trains. During the game you can also earn research tokens which may be used to draw additional cards. At the end of the game you score points for your days, stress, experiences, trains, and unused research tokens. The player who earned the most wins the game!
I love the theme of Let’s Go! To Japan. It celebrates having a wonderful time and the artwork is light and beautiful. Go on an adventure and check out Let’s Go! To Japan on Kickstarter here to learn more.
Pocket Paragons: Round 2
Pocket Paragons is a fast-playing card duel where players each get a deck of 7 cards and then play cards simultaneously to deal damage or defend. Each deck represents a different Paragon with different skills and abilities. Master your Paragon and outthink your opponent to win the game. This campaign is funding a second printing of all the previous contest as well as adding two new sets: Acquisitions Incorporated and Space Lion.
I’m not usually into player vs player battling games, but I like how fast Pocket Paragons plays as it doesn’t feel like a huge deal if you lose. You can just rack up another game and play again. Grab yourself a set of Pocket Paragons here on Kickstarter.
What projects are you backing this week? Let me know in the comments below or on Twitter with #GameCrowdfundSpotlight and check back next week for more fun projects!