Issue 12: 7 crowdfunded games I'm excited for in 2021
Seven great games (and a few more) from smaller, independent publishers
As somebody who firmly believes that there is a lot of value in games being funded through Kickstarter — especially for smaller, independently owned companies — I thought it would be interesting to take a look at some of the games coming in 2021 coming through the platform.
In a way, it’s the easiest way to do a “games I’m looking forward to next year” list, because, well, it’s January, and plenty of companies aren’t actively pushing a list of games that may or may not come out this year. I get that, and I think it’s probably a good thing, in some ways.
For this list, anything with a scheduled release date before Nov. 2021 is eligible. (I suspect most things that stretch beyond that date will fall into 2022, as is normal with this sort of thing.)
Cartographers Heroes
I’ve made no secret (I hope, at least! I certainly didn’t mean to make it a secret, if so) of the fact that I really enjoyed Cartographers a lot. It was with real excitement that I backed Cartographers Heroes, which promises to be even more of the same fantastic game.
Read more about Cartographers in Issue 3: Flip-and-fill games.
Oath
To date, I have really enjoyed what I’ve played from Leder Games, and I don’t suspect Oath will be much different in that regard. With Cole Wehrle designing the game and Kyle Ferrin creating the art, I think there’s every reason to be confident that this will be a really cool campaign game.
Burgle Bros 2
So! I actually ended up with a copy of this in 2020, as Tim Fowers — who lives not too far from me — dropped it off at my house personally. (I support him on Patreon, and dropping it off was very kind! He’d apparently been playing the bagpipes nearby. Sometimes, we hear bagpipes from our house, and now, I wonder if it’s Tim Fowers himself.) Still, I’m counting this as 2021, since that’s when it will see wide release.
I haven’t got this to the table quite yet — maybe this week? (Ginny, are you reading this? Can we play Burgle Bros 2 this week?) — but it’s one I’m itching to play. I’m a big fan of the original, as it’s a really fun, playful cooperative game that just jumps off the table. I don’t suspect the sequel will be any different in that regard, but it’s also a campaign game — I’m sensing a bit of theme here! (I also have the luxury of knowing what comes next. And now, so do you.)
Sleeping Gods
Ryan Laukat’s storybook games — namely Near and Far and Above and Below — are games I’ve enjoyed a fair bit, but I haven’t played them nearly as much as I’d like. Sleeping Gods has me excited to dive back in to his designs, which I might have to try to do before I start in on Sleeping Gods. This is another campaign game, but it looks to have a bit of a twist: You can stop a session at your leisure by noting your progress in a log book. Super cool stuff here, and I’m excited to have it show up at my door.
The Rival Networks
I’ve enjoyed my plays of The Networks, designed by Gil Hova (who co-hosts the absolutely outstanding podcast Ludology), and a two-player take on the design sounds just about perfect to me. It’s such a playful, funny game, and I think condensing the time it takes to play it will make a huge difference in getting it to the table.
Railroad Ink Challenge
I adore Railroad Ink. It’s one of my favorite roll-and-write games — easily in the top 10 percent. It’s delightful played solo, and it’s even better played with people. There’s just something so relaxing about the network-building dice game. This adds a whole bunch of content to the mix, including a plethora of special dice that change the nature of the game, more boards, giant boards — it’s all here. I can’t wait.
Intrepid
It is perhaps no surprise that I’m looking forward to Jeff Beck’s newest game, Intrepid. I interviewed him about the game for Issue 7, after all. It’s a cooperative, simultaneous-play, asymmetric powers game. It’s also set aboard the International Space Station. How could I say no to that?
Honorable mentions
Canvas has a cool transparent-card mechanic, with which you compose your own art on the cards, that I’m excited to try out
Kabuto Sumo is a bit of a take on coin-pushing arcade games, which I always wanted to play (but never did, since I knew they were basically a scam)
Dinosaur World is a successor to Dinosaur Island, and as you’d expect, there’s a whole lot more stuff to play with.
Dinosaur Island: Rawr ‘n Write is also a successor to Dinosaur Island, but it’s a roll and write game. Neat!
Biblios: Quill and Parchment is another roll-and-write take on a game, which I’m all about right now — I can’t wait to play it!
Cascadia is from Flatout Games, who released one of my favorite games of 2020, Calico — so another game from that team is something I can put my weight behind.
What I’ve been playing
Mariposas, a set collection game that surprised me quite a bit. It’s a game where you play as butterflies migrating from spring to fall, starting in Mexico and ending back up there. (In my first game, none of mine made it back to Mexico. It turns out that not prioritizing that makes for a difficult time. Whoops!) Elizabeth Hargrave has shown a versatility with her three published designs so far, and I’m excited to see what comes next.
Beez, a game that, like Mariposas, has you moving flying insects around a hex-grid map. You collect nectar from flowers around the board, and you earn points for that nectar based on a combination of public and private goals. It’s the first game from designer Dan Halstad, and it’s a real accomplishment.
We’ve also played quite a few games of The Crew, which remains a real favorite of mine — we’re up to the 42nd mission now, and it’s getting quite tough.
What’s coming up
I’ve set aside a few games for consideration this week, like Rolling Ranch (more roll-and-write fun!), and Remember Our Trip in addition to Burgle Bros 2. We’ll see what gets played and what doesn’t.
In the newsletter next week: You’ll just have to wait and see! I’ve got an email interview in the works, which I’m excited to share with you all. I’m also planning to write something soon about games that aren’t from Kickstarter that I’m excited about after reading a Board Game Geek blurb, which I recognize makes for a terrible title, but hopefully the premise is a fun one.