Wallet Draining Round-Up 2.0

In our first wallet draining round up on this site, we shed some light on popular projects gaining funds at a mercurial rate on this new fangled site called "Kickstarter." Fast Forward three months and that very site has been responsible for millions of dollars being thrown at myriad developers and publishers (both independent and well-established).

We've seen the success of numerous projects: from the popular Zombie trope, to the much maligned abstract strategy genre, to the Euro with a tweak.

And so we're back again, to show that Kickstarter has no intention of slowing down or having its bubble burst. There are plenty of projects out there to drain your wallet, and we'll be showing you some that you might want to keep your eye on.

1.) VivaJava (pictured above)
Minimum pledge to receive the game: 55$
Current Funding Total: $19,400 of the requisite $15,000 (funded)
Game to be funded on: February 29th; 26 days left in the campaign
Game to be delivered to backers: tentatively, in August 2012

Hot on the heels of their initial success, Carnival (which funded in <17 hrs), Dice Hate Me games has paired with designer and bon vivant T.C. Petty III to create VivaJava, a game about the harvesting and blending of Coffee. Marketing itself as a Euro game for 3-8P, VivaJava and its blend of competitive and co-op elements should hit the spot for your gaming group's needs. As an added reason to back this game, DHMG has set a precedent for delivering their games in a timely fashion, something with which other Kickstarter campaigns seem to have a problem

 
2.) Farmageddon    
Minimum pledge to receive the game: 12$
Current Funding Total: $2,600 of the requisite $5,000 
Game to be funded on: March 4th; 30 days left in the campaign
Game to be delivered to backers: tentatively, in July 2012 (pdf in March)

One of G&G's favorite friends on Twitter is Grant Rodiek, who is--in a sense--revamping his game Farmageddon for a run on Kickstarter through publisher Phil Kilcrease and 5th Street Games. As far as lighter gamers go, Farmageddon is quintessential fare to play with non-gamers, children, or just when you're not in the mood for an hour-long epic gamefest. This version, as opposed to the prior Game Crafter version, is filled with new cards and honed gameplay mechanics.

What kind of new cards and mechanics you may ask? Well, THAT, loyal reader, will be reveled in a 3-part designer diary/review of Farmageddon  we'll be unveiling on Monday of next week. Stay tuned. 


3.) JammerUp: The RollerDerby Board Game
Minimum pledge to receive the game: 25$
Current Funding Total: $1,350 of the requisite $9,500 
Game to be funded on: Feb 26th; 23 days left in the campaign
Game to be delivered to backers: tentatively, in March 2012 

As I've stated numerous times on this site, I love me some Abstract Strategy games. And, while I don't know that you can categorize a game as abstract strategy if it has a pronounced theme and cards, at least the theme JammerUp has chosen is intriguing enough to draw me in: Roller Derby!

Players control a group of 5 players (tokens) around a ovular board modeled to look like a Roller Derby rink. As you position your 4 blockers, you also maneuver your jammer through the pack, gaining points for each section (designated by a blue stripe on the track) ahead it is. As you gain familiarity with the game, you'll notice that the employment of actual Roller Derby strategies (e.g. Skating the Diamond, Hammer & Nail)


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COMING SOON!!

4.) Chicken Caesar
Going Live later this afternoon is Chicken Casesar, a hilarious Backstabbing-Euro from Nevermore Games. In Chicken Casear, players take the roles of Aristocratic Poultry, vying to create a storied history for their lineage. They may do so via several different political offices. Maybe they'll be a low ranking official who gets paid off to lobby favor from the other councilroosters. Maybe they'll be a martyr... a martyr whose accomplishments you will embellish for the good of your family name. In any case, you need to do whatever it takes to remain the King of the Roman Roost and go down in history as the greatest (Chicken) Caesar ever.
 

5.) Gunship: First Strike
As you watched your favorite Sci-fi movie or show, you were probably, at some point, enthralled by the spaceships and the intergalactic fights they endured and (inevitably) won. Speeding through hyperspace, lasers ablaze (aglow?), picking off the ne'er-do-wells, you lived vicariously through the magic of cinema.

Now, thanks to Escape Pod Games, you can relive the excitement of these battles. Employing what they call "The Trinity System,: (i.e. a balanced blend of Cards, Dice, and Boards), Escape Pod plans to deliver a tactical, interplanetary, gunship fighter game.

The intriguing part of Gunship is the level of customization available to each fighter and his/her ship. Equip your vessel with heavy armor, wings full of artillery, or shield generators depending on whether you'd like to be Defensive/Militaristic/or Speed based.

Gunship should be coming to Kickstarter on February 15th according to designer Steve Wood, look for it then and consider backing.