Obligatory 2015 Kickstarter Post Part II: Top 10 List (Part I)

Now we get to move to my top 10 interests on Kickstarter.  If you haven’t had a chance to check out the first post in this series please take a second and take a look.  The first post has 5 games that are my honorable mentions (as well as 12 games that I didn’t quite make the list) and it sets up for this post.  The biggest rule I’ve set for myself on these posts is that these are all Kickstarter campaigns that haven’t yet been shipped to their backers.  Other than that there are no rules on the dates or anything along those lines.  Again, before you read this you can check out my honorable mentions list at the below link.

Kickstarter 2015 Honorable Mentions

With the preliminaries out of the way we can now move on to games 6-10 of my top 10 Kickstarter 2015 list.  Keep an eye out in the next day or two as I’ll be releasing my games 1-5 of the top 10 list.  Alright, here we go!

#10 – ExoPlanets (Board&Dice)

ExoPlanets is a tile drafting, tile placement, set collection, and area control game designed by Przemyslaw Swierczynski and will be released by Polish publisher Board&Dice.  This game was funded by 904 backers and made $44,021 during its run on Kickstarter.  It is being released by Board&Dice during Essen Spiel 2015 and looks like a really cool game.  I was very interested in this game when I saw the run through by Richard Ham.  It is a beautiful looking tile drafting and placement game that has just enough “take-that” attitude in it with its player interactions.  You are basically attempting to control planets in order to get different resources which will let you control other planets.  There is some hidden information that each player has in some of their tiles where they are able to gain points with different sets and things of the like.  It just looks like a fun game and we love Dice Brewing which is also released by this company.  The shipping was really what held me back on this game.  I hope that they will partner with a company over here to release it in the United States.  If/what they do that this will probably be an insta-buy.

#9 – Mistfall (NSKN Games/Passport Game Studios)

Mistfall is a co-operative, deck-building, adventure game designed by Blazej Kubacki and will be released by NSKN Games and Passport Game Studios.  This game was funded by 2,489 backers and made $134,348 during its run on Kickstarter.  To be honest this game wasn’t really on my radar during its campaign (much to my chagrin).  This game is an insta-buy for me for a few reasons.  The first is that many reviewers have stated that it has some similarities to the Lord of the Rings LCG by Fantasy Flight, Sentinels of the Multiverse by Greater Than Games, and Legends of Andor by KOSMOS.  These are some great games and the mixture of the three of them just sounds like it would be an amazing game.  I saw Ricky Royal’s play through of the game and it got me even more interested in the mechanics and gameplay.  The game also looks absolutely beautiful on the table and that certainly doesn’t hurt!  Another reason I want this game is because it looks like it would play great solo.  I think this may be a Christmas purchase and I can’t wait.

#8 – Wizards of the Wild (CrossCut Games)

Wizards of the Wild is a card drafting, dice rolling, set collection, engine building game designed by Adam West and Dan Schnake and will be released by CrossCut Games.  This game was funded by 1,307 backers and made $46,291 during its run on Kickstarter.  This game is actually the first on the list that I am a proud backer of!  This was an easy purchase as the base game was only $16 for what appears to be a light, fun, card and dice game that will play fast and easy.  The artwork and theme are great and the mechanics look solid in this Yahtzee-style dice rolling game.  Engine building (along with card play) is one of my favorite mechanics in a game and this one really seems to use it well.  As a bonus this was one of the best run Kickstarters I’ve been a part of and the game should be in backer’s hands by November or December at the latest making it to us on time.  Can’t wait for this one!

#7 – Bottom of the 9^th (Dice Hate Me Games/Greater Than Games)

Bottom of the 9^th is a dice rolling, press your luck game with splashes of bluffing and deduction.  This game is designed by Darrell Louder and Mike Mullins and will be released by the Dice Hate Me Games imprint of Greater Than Games.  Bottom of the 9^th was funded by 2,183 backers and made $67,251 during its run on Kickstarter.  I saw this game’s campaign go up and I was instantly enamored by the mechanics and old-school art that was on display.  The cards that make up your players are actually made to look like old Topps-style baseball cards and really lend to the theme of this game.  This game was an insta-back for me with its great style, fun gameplay, and low price point.  Again, just like the Wizards of the Wild campaign, this was one of the best-run Kickstarters I’ve been a part of.  I’ve never heard anything bad about the way that Dice Hate Me Games runs their campaigns and this is no different.  Spoiler alert, there may be another Dice Hate Me Games campaign higher on my list!  This game is currently running on time and should hit backer’s doors before the World Series which is really what they were shooting for.  Can’t wait!

#6 – Trickerion: Legends of Illusion (APE Games)

Trickerion: Legends of Illusion is a Euro-style, worker placement, and action selection game designed by Richard Amann and Viktor Peter and will be released by APE Games.  This game was funded by 4,330 backers and made $285,309 during its run on Kickstarter.  This game was a sneaky little surprise when it came on the scene.  I was able to catch a Richard Ham run through and this game immediately shot up to one of my major Kickstarter interests.  It is a pretty classic worker placement game but it has some interesting ways of going about these mechanics that I think will make it stand out from other games of its genre.  The theme goes a long, long way in really taking this game to the next level.  I love that you take a magician who specializes in a certain type of magic and you create their entire show.  Of course, the most reputation points (a.k.a. victory points) will win the game.  The art and mechanics really make this one a high candidate for a possible Christmas purchase when it is released.  I hope it does really well at its debut at Essen Spiel 2015.

Well folks, there you have it, games 6-10 of my top 10 Kickstarter 2015 list.  As stated earlier, keep your eyes open on my site and BoardGameGeek as I will have the final installment of the series up in the next couple of days.  As usual, if you have any questions or comments feel free to post them below.  Until next time, game on!