Kickstarter has undoubtedly become a pillar of the gaming world, allowing small publishers and independent designers to take their vision to the masses. The only problem with Kickstarters is waiting for them to fulfill! Here are the splashiest titles that shipped to backers in 2019.
Don’t forget to cast your ballot in our 2019 Fan Favorite voting.
We’ll be announcing the rest of the nominees over the next few weeks; then check back on Friday, January 17th when we announce the winners of the 2nd Annual Diamond Climber Awards.
Awkward Guests
Imagine Clue. Now add investigation, interrogation, and actual deduction and you’ll have the beginnings of Awkward Guests.
Poor Mr. Walton; doomed to die a horrible death time and time again. But now you and up to 7 of your closest friends can race to find out who committed a murder most foul. Awkward Guests was funded on Kickstarter in Dec of 2018 and made its way onto the doorsteps, and into the hearts, of backers in the fall of 2019.
Publisher(s): Megacorpin Games
Designer(s): Ron Gonzalo García
Artist(s): Samuel Gonzalo García, Laura Medina Solera
Bargain Quest
Bargain Quest originally ran a successful campaign in April of 2017, so successful in fact that they ran a 2nd printing campaign (along with an expansion) which funded in the fall of 2018.
Designed around the premise that players are shopkeepers in sleepy villages plagued by monsters. When adventurers come to town, they’ll likely have lots of disposable income, and hopefully not a lot of common sense. Display the most valuable items and hope for the best.
Publisher(s): Renegade Game Studios
Designer(s): Jonathan Ying
Artist(s): Victoria Ying
City of the Big Shoulders
It’s hard to believe that a city as magnificent and prominent as Chicago was once a pile of ashes. City of the Big Shoulders documents the rebuilding efforts of hard-working women and men after the great Chicago Fire of 1871. City of the Big Shoulders is a euro-style, resource management and worker placement game with a unique 18xx-style economic engine.
City of the Big Shoulders funded in December of 2018 and made its way to backers at the end of the summer in 2019. This title should make Chicagoans, and everyone else who helped bring it to life, quite happy.
Publisher(s): Parallel Games
Designer(s): Raymond Chandler III
Artist(s): Emily R. Dearring
Read our review of City of the Big Shoulders.
Paladins of the West Kingdom
Fans of the North Sea Saga should be no stranger to the innovative and challenging games originally published by Garphill Games. Brought to North America by Renegade Games, the series has gone on to become huge hits amongst hobby gamers, and spawning a follow up saga set in the West Kingdom.
Funded in March 2019, Paladins shipped to backers just a few months later; landing on gaming tables just in time for Thanksgiving. Paladins of the West Kingdom offers heavy strategy and the same gritty art from “The Mico” that all the other titles are known for.
Publisher(s): Garphill Games, Renegade Game Studios
Designer(s): Shem Phillips, S J Macdonald
Artist(s): Mihajlo Dimitrievski
Q.E.
What if you were the leader of a sovereign country, and could print as much money as you needed. Now imagine that 16 “too big to fail” companies have done just that, in the midst of a financial crisis, and you and the other world leaders need to bail them out? In Q.E. (short for “quantitative easing”) you and the leaders of 4 other countries will squabble over who gets to rescue the foundering corporations, but don’t bid too much or you’ll collapse as well.
Q.E. funded in December of 2018 and was received by backers in the fall of 2019. It’s got the same super high quality components that BoardGameTables.com are known for, combined with the thinky and tricky gameplay from the original Q.E.
Publisher(s): BoardGameTables.com, Cubiko Games
Designer(s): Gavin Birnbaum
Artist(s): Anca Gavril, Gavin Birnbaum
Suburbia: Collector’s Edition
Originally released in 2012, Suburbia has helped build Bezier Games into the company they are today. It’s a game about planning, developing, and building a small town into a major city, and it’s delighted fans ever since it was released. Bezier decided that Suburbia needed an all out makeover and came up with the Collectors Edition.
This new edition was funded in February 2019 and started landing on doorsteps in December 2019. It features all new artwork, metal coins, larger hex tiles, custom Game Trayz storage, lighted first player marker, and a 3d tile dispensing tower.
Publisher(s): Bézier Games, Inc.
Designer(s): Ted Alspach
Artist(s): Jason Boles, Stephanie Gustafsson, Brett Stebbins, Taylor Bogle, Ollin Timm
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