Casual Game Crowdfunding: Dinosaurs, Tree Spirits, and Wizard School | Casual Game Revolution

Casual Game Crowdfunding: Dinosaurs, Tree Spirits, and Wizard School

The Great Dinosaur Rush

This is the month for cooperative games on Kickstarter, with three of them making this month’s roundup. Also present is a two-player strategy game, and a tribute to 80s' horror films.

The Great Dinosaur Rush

The Great Dinosaur Rush (APE Games) – In this game, you play as a famous paleontologist. On each round you dig for fossils and build dinosaurs. At the end of each round you score the dinosaurs you’ve built. A dinosaur earns points for size, height, ferocity, length, and uniqueness. Different fossils come in different colors. The colors dictate where they can be used in the dinosaur’s body. Additionally, if your dinosaur's bones match the patterns shown on bonus cards, you earn additional points.

Kodama: The Tree Spirits

Kodama: The Tree Spirits (Action Phase Games) – As guardians of tree spirits, you must care for and cultivate your tree in this game for 2 to 5 players. Players choose cards to add to their tree, placing them in different patterns and arrangements. Different tree spirits will award you points for meeting different conditions your tree can meet. Does one of your spirits particularly like fireflies and caterpillars? You will score extra points for including a lot of them in your tree.

Wizard School

Wizard School (DFTBA Games) – Players are trying very hard not to be expelled from wizard school. This is a cooperative game and you must help each other fight monsters, pass tests, and complete your special plot challenges. Your magic is limited and you don't want to use it all up fighting the monsters overrunning the school, and have nothing left for graduation. Players must all successfully graduate together, or everyone loses the game.

Covalence

Covalence (Genius Games) – Players are working together in order to build secret organic molecules. One player has access to these molecules and gives each player clues to help guide them towards building their own unique molecule. Clue tokens can be spent to acquire more clues, while guess tokens are used to submit your built molecule to the player in the know. These tokens are limited and if players run out of clues before they have each successfully built and submitted their molecule, they will all lose the game together.

Elementos

Elementos (Tyto Games) – Two players are attempting to advance their wooden peg to the opposite side of the board. These pegs fit into one of your elemental tokens. During the game you may move your peg from one token to another, and move your tokens around the board. The elements represented on these tokens are wood, water, and fire. Wood tokens can capture water tokens, water captures fire, and fire captures wood. However each token has two sides, which displays a second element. On your turn you may flip over your token to change its element and the dynamics of the board.

World's Fair 1893

World's Fair 1893 (Foxtrot Games) – Set during Chicago’s World Fair of 1893, players are organizers trying to gain grand exhibits to display at the fair. On your turn you send a supporter to one of five areas to collect the cards there. Which areas you have supporters in will also determine which exhibits you'll be able to have approved. Prominent figures from the time can be used to give you an added boost in specific areas, while tickets to attend the fair move the game forward.

Crimson Creek

Crimson Creek (Toystorian Enterprises) – This deduction game pays tribute to 80s' horror films. 2 to 6 players take on the role of a group of friends heading off to a cabin by the lake. But someone is trying to kill you and each turn you may run to different locations, hide, search for clues, peek to see if the coast is clear, share information with other players, or use your character's special ability. Who is the killer? A local townsperson? One of your friends? Or maybe it's even you.

Full 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.