Crowdfunding

If you enjoy auctions in games, take a look at the Kickstarter campaign for The Game of 49 by Mark Corsey. I had the pleasure to meet Mark and play his game at Unpub 4 early this year. The board is a 7x7 matrix with spaces numbered 1-49. You start with $49 in cash. Spaces are auctioned. Outbid your opponents, and you get to put your chip on that space. Get 4 chips in a row and you win. A deck of cards is used to determine which space is next on the auction block.

Maha Yodha is a 2-player card game currently making a splash on Kickstarter. Published by upstart company Leprechaun Games, Maha Yodha attempts to capture ancient Indian mythology in a relatively simple, yet strategic card game. We have had the opportunity to play a prototype of the game and have much to say about it. But first, the gameplay.

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.

This month brings us several fun games suitable for the entire family with little reliance on language skills, while microgames are still going strong.

A lot of the Kickstarter games this month have very strong themes and really embrace them, both through their mechanics and the artwork. There’s also a fairly good mix of card games, board games and dice games being offered, with a nice range of mechanics from bluffing to worker placement to resource management.

This month, Kickstarter has a couple of interesting two-player games and several board games with fun looking themes. Microgames are still being pitched and Game Salute is seeking funding for two separate campaigns.

How well do you know your movies? Can you identify a movie only by knowing some of the props that appeared in it? The upcoming game PROPS, a party game for 2 or more players by Biggest Little Games, challenges you to do just that. This travel-sized game offers movie trivia buffs a whole new way to test their knowledge that is incredibly easy to learn, yet offers a good challenge.

The big city is full of opportunity, with plenty of everyday people doing their best to earn an honest living. But you're not one of them — you're one of the most corrupt mobsters around, and you're willing to employ as many thugs as you need to take over the city's businesses and get rich. But you'll have to watch out for the other mobsters, who'll do anything to snuff you out, and the cops, who are closing in fast.

With the Super Bowl less than two weeks away, the smell of football is in the air! It is in this most appropriate season that Sports Mogul, Inc., has launched a Kickstarter campaign for their football-themed card game, Masters of the Gridiron. We were recently given the opportunity to play this game, which, according to the publisher, has been in development for over four years.

Several new card games have hit Kickstarter, and Tasty Minstrel Games has another pay what you want campaign that worked so well for them with Coin Age. There's an interesting mix of game companies and independent designers seeking funding, so here's a list of our favorite Kickstarter projects for January 2014.