Hollywood (Hobby World USA LLC) – A game originally published in Russia, Hollywood is a 2 to 6 player game. Players take on the role of owners of a film studio. You hire directors and actors, choose scripts, and decide whether you want producers, sound engineers and other crew working on your film. Players bid against each other on star cards and actions are taken simultaneously. You can choose whether to make one big blockbuster movie, or up to three smaller films. The person that has made the most money at the end of the game wins.
Casual Game Crowdfunding: Hollywood, Evolution, and Kart Racing
Time for the monthly Kickstarter roundup! May brings us several new card games, as well as the first in a new line from an established gaming company (North Star Games). A popular game from Russia is seeking an English release, and a new racing game mixes things up with a map-building mechanic.
Evolution (North Star Games) – Evolution is the first in a new line of strategy games from North Star Games, publishers of Say Anything and Wits and Wagers. In this game, players create new species, play cards to evolve and give them bonuses, try and fend off both starvation and carnivores, or turn their species into carnivores themselves.
Krash Karts (Sean McDonald) – A racing game in which players design the racetrack as they race, allowing you to manipulate the track to your advantage. You can use items to help yourself, attack other players, or defend against opponents.
AlakaSLAM (Eye4Games) – A game of tennis mixed with wizard spells. You play cards to hit the ball or enchant it. However, the cards also say how far the ball will go, which determines whether it will be in, go out of bounds, or hit the net. The first player to score 3 points wins.
Black Market Warehouse (Fire Squadron) – A card game for 2-4 players in which players take on the role of black market warehouse owners. Players gain warehouse contracts and fill them with items such as artifacts, weapons, and money. Each item has a point value, but you can match the items to those listed on the contract to win bonus points. Additional cards can be used against opponents, such as Cat Burglar cards which allow you to steal an item out of another player's warehouse.
Maha Yodha (Leprechaun Games USA Inc.) – A 2-player strategy card game that's designed to be both quick and simple. The game includes two decks. Each deck has its own warriors, weapons, and scrolls. Players send out their warriors against each other, and receive bonuses if they pair the warriors with the correct weapons. Scrolls give powerful bonuses and attack abilities. The game's theme is based on Hindu mythology, using characters from the stories and both traditional and modern artwork.
Pixel Glory (Zafty) – A dungeon crawling, deck-building card game. Players draft spells in an auction and then battle monsters together. However only the player who deals the final hit wins victory points and the player at the end of the game with most points, wins. The game is quick to play, and has fun retro 8-bit artwork.
Disclosure: unless otherwise noted, we have not seen or played any of the above games. Our assessment of each is based on the information given on the crowdfunding project page.