Kickstarter Weekly--March 13, 2014

Well, we know we were missing in action last week and neglected to bring you our usual volume of quality content--including an installment of Kickstarter Weekly. But never fear: We're back at it this week and bringing you tons of exciting news from our favorite crowd-funding site. So without any further delays let's dig in as we bring you a king-sized version of Kickstarter Weekly!

Featured Campaign!

Tuscany: Expand the World of Viticulture - Stonemaier Games

Viticulture, the game that nearly won my (Jeremiah's) Game of the Year, is getting an expansion! This is an interesting take on tackling an expansion, where players will unlock smaller expansions one-by-one within the box until the full expansion is included into the game. It seems a clever device to slowly introduce smaller elements of the expansion instead of completely overwhelming players with a TON of new mechanics, components, and strategies. Because of these smaller modules of the expansion, players get to pick and choose their experience each time, as well.

The campaign has already blown past its funding goal and is over $150,000, which has unlocked tons of cool stretch goals, and they're pushing closer to the final goals with each passing minute! Stonemaier has carved themselves a solid place in the market with their superbly run Kickstarter campaigns and great games; this should be a no-brainer to fans of Viticulture!

The campaign ends April 9. and it will cost a pledge of $45 for a copy. You can see all the details right here!

Gone Viking - The Flux Capacity

Gone Viking is a trick-taking game wrapped neatly around a viking theme--which apparently is a thing now. We wrote a full review of the game and think it's a lot of fun. It adds a lot of great decision-making tension to your typical trick-taking game, and plays off of the theme really well! The campaign page features all the info, including images of cards and a full pdf rulebook. They're over half way to the funding goal--which is set pretty low--and shouldn't have any problem bringing this fun little game to your table!

The campaign ends on April 1 and a pledge of $30 Canadian will score you your very own copy. For all the info you could ever hope for, click right here!

Kingdom Bots - Giant Monster Games

So imagine that the Terminator films are ancient history, and the robots have ruled the world for some time now, and there are different factions of those robots now battling for complete world domination. Now you have an idea of Kingdom Bots. The game relies on some resource-management and area-control while being mostly "command card" driven. It's a game for 3-4 players that sports some pretty awesome artwork! The campaign has a long way to go as they are trying to hit $60,000 Canadian, but the game looks worth giving a spin!

The campaign ends April 4. And it will cost you $70 Canadian, for a copy of the game. Full details, pledge levels and sweet artwork can be found here!

Kaboom! A Frantic Card Game - Potluck Games

The makers of Dungeon Dice have designed a simple, single-deck game for all ages: Kaboom. Kaboom is essentially a hot-potato type card game in which players are passing around a very cartoonish bomb and trying to get rid of it by any means available before it blows! The game looks fun and creative with cards that interact with the players' actions, making it much more than a game of straight strategy and playing the best possible combination of cards to win.

The campaign ends March 27. And it only takes a pledge of $19 to score a copy of the game! Full details and such can be found right here!

Worker Placement - A Temp Agency Strategy Board Game - Dyskami Publishing

Worker Placement, is...well...a worker-placement game. It's a light-weight worker-placement game that even my 5-year-old did well with. We'll be reviewing the game soon, but the quick overview goes something like this: Players are the operators of different temp agencies in town trying to score jobs for their clients. They place them throughout the town to gain skills or make a quick buck. Once they have the right skills to land a job they can get the job and score you points. In a genre that has a lot of depth and weighty games, Worker Placement has streamlined the mechanics and makes for a great family or gateway game into a very in-depth genre of gaming.

The campaign ends April 10. And it takes a pledge of $40 for a copy. You can get all of the details right here!

Thanks, as always, for stopping by our little Web site; we'd love to hear about any other KS campaigns you think we should check out!

You can subscribe to TOG by filling in your email over on the right, we'd also love to connect with you on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, YouTube and of course there's more TOG where this came from on our Podcast!

Kickstarter Weekly - Feb. 27, 2014

What week here at TOG would be complete without us highlighting a handful of games just chomping at the bit to make it to market and your table! So we've scoured Kickstarter and come up with these games we feel might interest you.

Featured Campaign

Tower: A Board Game of Bullying and Building - Ben Haskett

In Tower you're attempting to help the king of your realm build, well, a tower. Essentially a resource-management game, with a small amount of worker-placement mixed in, Tower pits players against each other as they try to rush to market to get the resources they need to complete their section of the tower. The components, and illustrations shown on the campaign page, look rich and thematic. There are a lot of stretch goals--some of which are already unlocked--and the price point makes this one pretty easy to get in on. Tower has been in development through PnP on The Game Crafter for two years, so it's safe to say a lot of kinks have been worked out; this one looks truly market ready!

A pledge of $29 will get you a copy of the game. There's plenty of time for more stretch goals to be unlocked since the campaign doesn't end until March 24. You can get all the details and see all of the components: right here!

Shipwrights of the North Sea - Shem Phillips/Garphill Games

Remember when we said of Asgard's Chosen "Hey it's really cool they did a viking/norse theme; there aren't many games like that." Well apparently the gaming industry has taken note of that fact. Not that we said it, but that there is a mythology out there that lies untapped and ready for the exploiting.. errr taking... Anyway. Shipwrights is a game for 2-5 players in which the goal of the game is to construct the largest fleet of warships, which lets you make lots of money, which lets you win the game.

The campaign is packed with lots of videos and stretch goals--many of which have been unlocked already!

A pledge of $44 NZD (Approx. $37 USD) will score you a copy of the game shipped worldwide, and the campaign ends March 13. You can find out all the details: right here!

The Piratical Collection of Leather Pouch Games - Bibelot Games

This slick collection of rustic and authentic-looking games are all designed to fit within a suede leather pouch. The pouch holds all the game pieces--which are made of real marble and wood--and the pouch unfolds to become the playing area. The "board" is laser etched into the suede so it should be pretty darn durable. There are seven games to choose from with this campaign each having a different flavor of the pirate life. The down side of this campaign is the price: The components are very cool and authentic, but that makes them a bit pricey. Still, if you like pirate type games (and who doesn't!?), this one is definitely worth a good look!

One game is going to ring you up for $34, and for all 7 games you're going to fork over $217. The campaign ends on March 6. You can find all of the details: right here!

Kill Shakespeare - IDW Games

An area-control board game based on the comic book of the same name, Kill Shakespeare is a semi-coop game featuring some of the most historic characters from the works of Shakespeare. The game is semi-cooperative, so you'll work together but in the end you're jockeying for position to become protector of the realm.

This campaign is already funded and working toward stretch goals, including an upgraded map and custom meeples!

A pledge of $50 to get a copy - Ends on March 15, and you can find the details: right here!

Thanks so much for reading; we'd love to know if you're backing any of these campaigns, or if there are others we're missing! Let us know, in the comments below!

You can subscribe to TOG by filling in your email over on the right, we'd also love to connect with you on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, YouTube and of course there's more TOG where this came from on our Podcast!

Kickstarter Weekly--Feb 21, 2014

As another week of  posts here at TOG comes to a close, we bring you our weekly round-up of titles kicking their way into the gaming industry. As always, there are a ton of campaigns out there seeking your gaming dollar. Please let us know if there's something we've missed that you think is awesome!

Featured Campaign!

Character Meeples - Meeple Source

Not a game, but a really cool way to trick out your old games! What else is there to say!? No longer will your meeples be nameless, faceless worker drones without personality or character! These are cool-looking custom-painted meeples in all sort of races and classes for all of your gaming "needs." There are a TON of designs to choose from, so there's bound to be something you'll like.

You can get in on this until March 16, and $10 gets a complete set of 8 Meeples of a character of your choosing. Or $25 will get you 3 8-Meeple sets. Check out all of the designs and options: right here!

Kingdom Builder Big Box Kickstarter Edition - Queen Games

In the shocker of the century, we have a bit of a disagreement here at TOG! Firestone is calling into question the use of Kickstarter by a large publisher such as Queen Games, while I say let them do what they will--Kickstarter is but another tool in today's gaming industry!

Regardless, Queen Games has launched a big box edition of  Kingdom Builder, 2012's Spiel Des Jahres winner. It features the base game, as well as the Nomads, and Crossroads expansions, and two mini expansions: Capitol and Caves. They've also included, in this edition, newly shaped settlements: Each color now has its own distinct shape for a little more added flavor to your game play.

Already gained over $100k

The campaign ends March 8. A pledge of  $85 will get you the big box--there are still a few $79 early-bird pledges left but not many. You can find the full details: right here!

Migration - Joe Cannon

In Migration players set out to control a fantasy realm for their nation in a filler-sized area-control game for 2-4 players. With a modular board offering multiple setup configurations, there's bound to be a decent amount of replay value with this game. There's some fantastic artwork waiting to be injected into this game, although we are hoping the components take a significant leap from the "Game Crafter" version shown on the campaign -Particularly the stickered up tokens.

The campaign ends March 15. A pledge of $39 gets a copy mailed to your door, and you can see more images and get all the details: right here!

Peasant Buffet - Wargi Studios, LLC

A cutthroat, press-your-luck card game where players try to survive an all-out attack on their village by blood thirsty monsters. It's every person for themselves as players backstab, lie, and steal their way to victory. Players collect items to either defeat monsters as they show up from the deck, or use their own weapons to steal from other players. But if  a big bad monster shows up, they may have to join forces just to survive!

This campaign ends on March 17, and a pledge of $20 will score you a copy of the game. You can find out all the details: right here!

Quick Updates

Draco Magi - This campaign has been a HUGE success, funding over 500%. It closes at 1:10 EST, Feb 21! That's today, folks! They've unlocked EVERY stretch goal they've planned, and you'll be getting a great game for $15, if, of course, you backed it!

Zeppeldrome - We are baffled at this, but the funding was unsuccessful for Zeppeldrome--falling about $4,000 short of their goal of $24,000. Zeppeldrome is a legitimately fun game, and one of our most anticipated titles to hit Kickstarter in a while. We certainly hope 12SP Entertainment doesn't scrap the game, but will find another way to bring it to market! We'll keep you posted on any of those developments!

As always, we thank you for reading and subscribing to our blog, and YouTube Channel, liking us on Facebook, following us on Twitter and Instagram, and listening to our podcast!

Please let us know if there are any cool Kickstarter Campaigns out there that you're backing! We'd love to hear about them!

Kickstarter Weekly - Feb. 15, 2014

Well we're a day late--but hopefully not a dollar short--bringing you this installment of Kickstarter Weekly, we've got some great campaigns for you to look at including a featured campaign that we reviewed earlier this week. You really should jump on this one, what are we talking about? Let's get started!

Featured Campaign

oddball Aeronauts - Maverick Muse Games

No, we didn't mistype--the o isn't capitalized. oA is a 2-player card game that requires no playing surface, but still offers great game-play, lots of strategic decision-making, and oh yeah, it's really fun too! We're both big fans of this one, and they're well on their way to hitting their funding goal, so we hope to see some nifty stretch goals unlocked soon!

It's only 15 European pounds, or whatever they spend in England, which is 25 USD, and the campaign ends on March 3. You can find all of the details - Right HERE! You can also read our full written review - Right HERE!

Heroes Wanted - Action Phase Games

Create your own super hero by selecting cards and mix-matching cards that give you special abilities, as you attempt to gain enough fame to make it onto the city's Super Hero Team. You do that by saving the day! Heroes Wanted is a tactical board game for 1-5 players, and has funded in 48 hours, so every backer at this point is just racking up stretch goals/rewards!

A pledge of $55 will get you the base game and stretch goals, and the campaign ends on March 9. You can get all the details- Right HERE!

Lineage: The Martial Arts Strategy Game - Gray Wolf Games

An asymmetrical strategy game for 2-6 players, in which certain players are playing the roles of a Master and a Student, and another role is playing the Emperor and General. Each role have different win conditions. The game has a lofty funding goal, but the components look really nice, and they are hoping to keep that quality in the production run.

A pledge of $39 earns you a copy of the game, and the campaign is a long one, ending on April 1. You can get the full details - Right HERE!

Province - Laboratory

Province is a Euro-style micro-game. Yep, there's yet another micro game hitting Kickstarter, and since they've cruised past their funding goal it will soon hit the market. The game looks to be a resource management/worker and area-control game that apparently takes 25 minutes to play and fits in a 4" x 4" bag.

Like most micro games it takes a very small investment of time and money to get into Province, so it might be worth taking a look a this one.

Province will only cost you $5 for a copy shipped to your door. The campaign ends on March 2, and you can find all the details - Right HERE!

Thanks so much for taking the time to take a look at this week's Kickstarter Weekly! Are you backing any of these games? We'd love to hear your thoughts on them, and if there are any sweet games we've missed that are funding right now!

Thanks for reading and we'll see you next week with more gaming, news, reviews and interviews here at TOG!

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