Does your inbox fill up every Tuesday with Kickstarter emails? Well, mine does - so I decided to start writing my thoughts on new tabletop gaming Kickstarters every Wednesday. Keep in mind, most of these are based on initial impressions and looking at the Kickstarter video.

Topping games, printing minis, and hiking trails - we’ve got a wide variety of Kickstarter campaigns to talk about this week. Let’s get started!

Left Unsupervised: A Card Game Starring You!

A card game starring me? Um…okay? Clicking on this link I already gathered this one of those simple party games, probably based off of Cards Against Humanity. You’d be right of course. The video explains it pretty well right off the bat - the judge player rolls a die to select a “target”. Then the judge selects a card to start or finish the sentence of what that person would do “left unsupervised”. Everyone else plays cards to fill in the gaps of the sentence and the judge picks their favorite. Simple, right?

It is always so weird to see these types of games fund, and fund so quickly, but then again the funding goal was only $2,000. I will give the game credit, there are aspects to the game that are interesting over its (many) competitors. Using a die to choose a player, then not just playing a prompt but choosing do I want everyone to play the setup of the joke, or the end? The game is only $15-19 depending on if you get in at the early bird level, so pretty inexpensive. It just seems like the kind of game where you would get tired of playing it after 6 or 7 times.

Lore Miniatures - The Altirvun Battalion Set

For some reason, it seemed like there were a *lot* more campaigns for STL files you can print at home. As I was scrolling through the Kickstarter page, I just saw loads of campaigns with different styles and genres of buildings, miniatures, etc. I ended up picking this one because a) the graphic design actually was great and didn’t make me want to barf. Also b) the style of the miniatures, specifically the vehicles reminded me a lot of Games Workshop so I was intrigued.

I really have no critiques of the video for this campaign. There’s no talking, but when you are just funding minis for people to print, all you need is just a video showcasing all the different models. These are just models, no rules associated with them. Looking deeper into the different options, the style of the models seems like one of those altered WWII tales where aliens intervened. Like, I’m getting Scythe vibes. Still, for $39 you can get files to print 12 types of models, including a tank and a mech. If you need to make an army for your altered past RPG, this is probably a great deal.

Game Toppers 3.5 - Upgrading Every Game You play

Disclaimer: I own a Game Topper, and I rather enjoy it. I didn’t know Burky was launching another Game Topper Kickstarter yesterday, but the mass of emails sure let me know quickly. Hmm…is that another Eric Summerer voiceover I hear on the video? If you have been in the tabletop gaming sphere long enough, there’s a good chance you’ve seen a Game Topper before - especially if you’ve been to a convention. A lot of companies have ordered Toppers from Burky and use them to show off their games on con floors.

The idea is simple: instead of having an expensive table that you only use for gaming, a Game Topper can sit on your existing table and provide you with a premium gaming experience. I’ve got a couple of videos at this point demonstrating the concept. This campaign introduces the leg kit for the large Mycroft table, for when you want a more permanent game table. However, each of the Game Topper campaigns allow people to jump in and get lower pricing on all the Topper models. I think everyone should take a look, but then again I’m biased towards all the cool mats and accessories that I’ve gotten for my Topper. 

Trailblazer: the John Muir Trail

You can thank former B&S host Collin for this one - it showed up in my inbox notifying me that he backed it. I can see why, as the artwork and nature theme of this game seems right up his alley. I’m not sure who’s alley the artwork wouldn’t be up (is that the right way to say that?), as it does look beautiful. The game is the first campaign for Mariposa Games, but the page has a ton of information, reviews, and videos; so you can tell the company did their research.

The players are trying to make their way through the “John Muir” trail of California, learning about all the different sights along the way. The video is great, as it starts right into telling me about the game from the very beginning. I get the vibe that this game could be the first of a series, showing off different trails from across the world. If so, I would definitely recommend the Appalachian Trail, as I’ve had a couple of friends do the entire hike. Personally, I’m more likely to play a board game where I walk the trail versus doing the multi-month hike myself.

Battlecrest

A bunch of cheap Kickstarters and then one super expensive one, that seems pretty balanced right? Are you a fan of small wallet-sized games like from Button Shy? What about tactical minis games? What if you could get BOTH? Well, minus the minis at least. Battlecrest is an 18 card game where you battle an opponent and try to maneuver yourself to victory.

Very short video showing off the game, so I’m impressed already. Not a lot of details on how to play, but with only a handful of cards, I’m assuming it can’t be that complicated. Art design on the cards is pretty awesome as well, so I’m very tempted to back this one. Especially with a $12 price point. Only downside is that games like this only make me want to play minis games more, because I know that the cards are just substitutes. That’s why I’ve never been a big fan of games like Summoner Wars. If you like that game though, you should definitely try out this one.

That’s all for this week. Have you ever looked at one of these gaming table campaigns just to see what kind of accessories there are? Let me know in the comments.

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