Indie Boards & Cards, along with Action Phase Games, is releasing the second edition of Daniel Solis’ Kodama in November of this year.

I’m a huge fan of the game and am glad to see it getting another printing even if I’m not a fan of the new box layout.

Kodama will be priced at $19.99 and is perfect as a holiday gift, or if you missed out on the original printing.

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Outdoor games! Kubb is a lawn game that dates back to the age of Vikings, where you toss batons and blocks to knock over other blocks. Wait, no! Don’t leave! It’s actually a cool game that Downtime Manufacturing Co. is making: Beautiful, solid, hand-crafted wood, with several different designs. Check out the video at the campaign page. They’re just under two thousand dollars away from funding and have a few days left!

Daniel Solis makes small games, and Pod-X is his latest game to hit Kickstarter. The seventeen-card game features a doomed spaceship and a frantic search for the last escape pod. The dealer knows the location, but can she misdirect the other players into giving her the win? A deductive game, this is one of the Button Shy Games’ Wallet Games. Already funded, you can get a copy for a $3 pledge.

Interested in a five-minute cooperative real time fantasy adventure game? Sure, how about Dungeon Time by Ares Games? Gear up, go on a quest, and when the timer runs out, go through the deck to see if you’ve actually completed the goal. This card game seems like a fantasy version of Space Alert (without the soundtrack) or Ticket to Ride: The Card Game (but fun). A $25 pledge gets you a copy.

Maybe something bigger. Far East 1592 is a strategic war game depicting the Seven Year War, where Japan invaded the Korean peninsula. Your troops are modified by thirty different generals. Far East 1592 looks beautiful and, with just four days to go, needs a push to get to the funding mark! The game is available to those that pledge at least $60.

This week in the “we can make a Cards Against Humanity knockoff” category is Pick Your Poison, which just looks like CAH, but isn’t as awful or mean-spirited. It’s more of a Would You Rather… game where you choose one thing that’s cool, but are saddled with something that sucks. You’ll get combinations like “Win the lottery, twice, but never be trusted again” or “Go anywhere in the world for 3 weeks, all expenses paid, but never eat another slice of bacon again.” The judge chooses the one he or she would rather. It’s surprisingly refreshing in a field of CAH-“inspired” games. We’re actually looking forward to this one succeeding! If you want a potty-mouth version, there’s also a Toxic NSFW expansion.

Previously, on… Did Drawing Without Dignity, the potty-mouth Pictionary, make it? Nope, they cancelled the project with 37% funded. They’re going to relaunch the campaign with a slightly more sane funding goal ($5k instead of $10k) and trying to market the game.

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Daniel Solis has a really strong track record in my opinion. I’ve enjoyed every game I’ve played of his over the years, and Trickster is no exception. For those unfamiliar, Trickster is a trick playing series of card games that share core rules, but have different themes and special card powers. I’ve played the two current decks, Fantasy and Tianxia. Fantasy is kind of the introductory deck, with simple card powers and colorful fantasy characters. Tianxia contains powers that require a bit more thought with their use, but add an awesome new flavor to play. The cool part? You can mix and match between decks.

Core gameplay is simple. Each round has a leader and a trickster that dictate how the other players need to play their cards. All card powers are resolved when that card is played. Each player follows by playing a card that follows the rules set by the leader and trickster. If a player can’t then they have to take the pot of cards into their house. If each player can play a card, then the trickster takes the pot. Whoever ends up with the pot becomes the leader for the next round.

Game play continues until a player has no more cards in their hand (this condition may change depending on the number of players.) Then cards in the house are counted up, and the winner is the player with the least amount in their house. There’s two things to remember here. A player with cards still in their hand must place them in their house before scoring. Also, the player with the most cards of a suit doesn’t have to score those cards.

It seems very simple, but it’s the card powers that make the game really shine.

I’ve played both Fantasy and Tianxia with my kids (5, 8, and 10) and they all really enjoyed them. My 5 year old took a bit more time to learn the powers, but now knows each in the Fantasy deck by the icons on the cards. The Tianxia deck is still a bit much for him, though he hasn’t given up on it yet!

Daniel has 2 more decks on the way, Starship and Symbiosis. I’ve had a look at the print-and-play playtest decks, and they’re looking really good. I haven’t had a chance to try them out just yet, but I’m eagerly awaiting a chance to do so.

Both decks are an excellent deal. Fantasy is normally $15, but is currently $6.74. Tianxia is normally $12, but is also currently $6.74. My recommendation would be to head over to DriveThruCards right now and snag both.

A copy of Trickster: Tianxia was provided free for review by Smart Play Games. A copy of Trickster: Fantasy was purchased on my own for review.

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It is natural to think of Kickstarter when hearing “crowdfunding”, especially for people who love to play games. As a platform to raise funds for a project, Kickstarter is great, but what if you want to support a creator in his or her ongoing work? For that, we turn to Patreon. At the site, creators can list what they’re creating and what they’ll be paid for. Patrons choose how much they’ll give per work created, which is paid monthly, and can cap their monthly patronage.

Brent Newhall is creating 3D printable miniature files. Each release includes at least “one 3D-printable miniature as an STL file” that can be used to produce the miniature(s). The files will be released free to download and edited by other 3D modelers. Don’t have a 3D printer? At the $5 per miniature patron level, Brent will print and mail you miniatures.

James E. Shields is creating stock art for RPGs. In this Patreon, he’ll draw quarter-page illustrations based on submissions suggestions from his patrons. Once created, the artwork is available for use, royalty-free. All of James’ listed patronage levels include the ability to suggest subjects for future illustrations.

Daniel Solis is creating vector icons for use in board game and roleplaying game design. He releases a set of black and white icons in .eps format under a Creative Commons CC-BY license allowing you to do what you will with the icons. (“Be free, icons!”) Daniel suggests a $5 patronage level, but at $20, he provides access to several “tips, tutorials, and templates to make your layout jobs a bit easier”.

Tracy Barnett is creating small games and stories. With a goal of 2-4 creations a month (“microgame, short story, or collection of a few flash stories”), Tracy also provides audio files to support the creations: actual play recordings and audio commentary tracks. Also included is a look at the development of the Patreon’s creations. Tracy suggests a $2 per creation patronage level.

Starlit Citadel is using Patreon to fund their board game review series. The video series comes from a Canada-based online game store and has become rather popular as a gaming review series. However, that’s worked to their disadvantage as the majority of viewers (85.7%) are outside of Canada, and “the amount of sales the videos have generated for the store does not justify the expense of the videos.” Rather than end the series, the store turned to Patreon to fund a season four. While the company has reached its funding goal of $450 per episode, any additional amount pledged will go directly to improving the series by purchasing better equipment, arranging for a special episode with a guest star, or being able to improve the production values. They offer a $1 patronage level.

Are you a Patreon creator and would like to let us know about your project? Contact thomas@purplepawn.com and tell us about it!

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