Tabletop Crowdfunding Round: March 14
Samurai clans, magical gunslingers, and undead Norsemen- Come check out this week’s batch of Kickstarter highlights!
Pictured above: Rising Sun and Atlantis Miniatures
Rising Sun by Cool Mini Or Not
I wasn’t able to properly cover it last week, but CMON is back with their latest miniatures board game, Rising Sun. This war game for up to 5 players is created by many of the same people who brought us Blood Rage, and features a familiar premise. This spiritual successor takes place in a mythical version of feudal Japan. The Kami have descended from the heavens and reshaped the land. Now, five clans battle for dominance in this new world where monsters and legends come to life. Politics and alliances play a much larger role this time around, including backstabbing and betrays. You can grab the core game and all unlocked stretch goals for $100.
Mars Wars by Worthington Publishing
Worthington Publishing, a rather prolific publisher of hex-based tabletop wargames, has a new sci-fi game in the works called Mars Wars. In the late 2020s, China and the US have entered a space race as both nations establish colonies on Mars. After nearly a decade of competing over resources on the Red Planet, negotiations have broken down into humanity’s first interplanetary war. Unfortunately for both sides, the conflict has awakened a race of bug-like aliens living in the caverns beneath the surface, often forcing American and Chinese forces into uneasy alliances. Mars Wars comes with a handful of scenarios by default, with 3v3 for US vs China missions and 6v1 for maps that include aliens. A copy of Mars Wars will cost you $65.
Grimslingers: The Northern Territory by Greenbrier Games
Greenbrier Games is currently looking to fund a new expansion for their weird west card game Grimslingers. Set in a cursed area of the American frontier full of magic, monsters, and mysterious machines, players take on the role of witches called Grimslingers in one of two modes. In Versus, players duel each other with decks of cards representing their various magical abilities and artifacts. The meat of the new expansion is the co-op mode that continues the game’s ongoing storyline. Up to 4 players band together and explore the cursed Northern Territory in a narrative campaign with light RPG elements. The core game and the Northern Territory expansion can be bought separately for $29 each, or as a bundle for $50.
Dwarves by Atlantis Miniatures
Atlantis Miniatures has returned to Kickstarter with a new range of 28mm resin miniatures. Their last campaign focused on orcs, goblins, giants, and trolls, while this campaign is all about everyone’s favorite race of brave, stubby warriors. The campaign features several units, such as male and female dwarven warriors, crossbowmen, and cavalry riding rams, hogs, and other beasts of war. Pledges start at £30/$37 for a single unit of 10 infantry.
Super Chibi A.C.E. by MidKnight Heroes
MidKnight Heroes has run a few Kickstarters in the past to create their line of chibi miniatures, and now they are back with an actual game system to use them in. The Arcade Combat Engine, or A.C.E., seeks to recreate 2D fighting games on your tabletop via a game board and 54 card decks that represents button combinations that are chained together to create combos and special moves. The A.C.E. engine also includes rules to create your own characters. If you purchase the $100 All-In pledge you’ll get the core game, all of MidKnight Heroes’ existing miniatures from their previous Kickstarter, and a bunch of extras that flesh out the Super Chibi world.
Rise of the Draugr by Fenris Games
Rise of the Draugr is a range of 28mm undead miniatures with Dark Age-themed armor and weapons. The line is fairly extensive already, and includes beastmen, trolls, cavalry, infantry, and even bases and terrain. The highlight of the campaign is Vermiis, a giant undead wyrm kit that measures 230mm in length and 115mm tall at the tip of its wings. This kit can be purchased for £75/$92 and includes a 150mm scenic base and armored draugr chieftain.
HEXplore It by Jonathan Mariucci
Finally, we come to HEXplore It: The Valley of the Dead King. This hex-based adventure board game supports up to 7 players, who band together to defeat the Dead King and end his reign of terror. Players build a hero by combining their race and class, then travel across the board completing quests and fighting enemies to gain experience and resources. The heroes need to acquire enough power and resources to defeat the King, all while the Dead King and his armies sweep across the Valley, destroying everything in their path. You can buy the core game for $59.
~Which of these campaigns are you interested in?
