Kickstarter Picks for the Week of April 28, 2014

What is this post all about? Well, it should pretty straightforward, but, if there's any confusion, this is where I'll be talking about a handful of Kickstarter projects each week, focusing on a few projects that recently launched and a few projects that are about to end. Will I be focusing only on projects in need of funding? No. I will simply be focusing on projects that interest me, regardless of whether they've only raised $5 or raised ten times that of their original goal. Anyway, I think it's about time I got to the actual projects, eh.

• Recently Launched

gofindit - a sensory outdoor treasure hunt card game

• Ends Mon, Jun 9 2014 10:00 AM CDT.

I love cards and love simple games--I do enjoy longer, heavier games too, but there's nothing wrong with a bit of simplicity every now and again--so gofindit immediately grabbed my attention, but I wouldn't be surprised if some of y'all skipped this game based off the image above; if that's you, well, I'm sorry for your loss. Anyway, gofindit is the very definition of simple as the gameplay consists of getting a specified number of cards, then finding objects in the real world that reflect what cards you have in your hand--e.g., if one of your cards says, "Heavy," you may go and find a rock or a paperweight; I bet a lost a few when I said, "Finding objects in the real world..." Yes, gofindit uses the real world and that may annoy some people, but that's what I love about it; you can play the game indoors or outdoors, but I have to imagine it would be much more fun outdoors and I can't help but love a game that encourages getting a little sun and fresh air (and getting up out of that seat)--if you've seen my pale ass in person, you know I need this more than anyone--so, if any of that sounds interesting to you, check out gofindit and pledge a little something-something while you're at it!

More Kickstarter picks can be seen with a little bit of clickage.

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Ending Soon: Forces of Evil -- Dungeon Building Game

Kickstarter projects are starting and ending every single day and, well, one post a week just isn't enough--for those interested in the happenings of Kickstarter, at least--so now I'll be posting little pieces about individual projects as they near the end, especially if they're greatly in need of funding, or if they happen to launch just after the weekly wrap-up. And, with all that said, let's talk about a little game called Forces of Evil.

There are only about six hours and change left until Forces of Evil's Kickstarter campaign ends and, let's not beat around the bush, there's about a 99% chance of it not succeeding; however, that doesn't mean y'all shouldn't check it out and, maybe with a bit of feedback and some extra work, Forces of Evil will return for round 2, ready to kick bubble gum and chew ass--wait, I think I did that wrong.

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Tabletop Tales: Going down with SOS Titantic

I knew how this story would end and, even then, I couldn't rewrite history; the Titanic was going down, twas only a matter of how many people I could save before the massive ship was lying on the ocean floor.

This, is SOS Titanic.

My name was Reginald Lee and I was the lookout. I had my strengths--I could draw up to six passenger cards and started with more action cards than anyone else--but I also had my weaknesses--if I ever failed to rescue a passenger, I was not allowed to take an Action card like everyone else. I thought I was ready, but one look at my face--eyes angled downwards, half covered in shadow under my brown flat hat--and it's almost as if I had already given up before it even started.

Twas 11:40pm when I first saw the iceberg and, already, I knew it wasn't about prevention, but rescue. I started out feeling ok--I knew I had a few chances before the first deck was completely flooded--but that soon changed when I drew three passengers and couldn't save any of them--goodbye one chance--and then, a minute later, I depleted the passenger pile--another chance lost. Just like that, I lost two chances and one more would cause the first deck to flood. It only took fifteen seconds for that last chance to disappear as I found myself with another group of passengers I couldn't save. And then the first deck was gone.

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PSP #169: Board Gaming with Ticket to Ride and Learning to Hate Sleeving Cards

In today's episode, I update y'all on the goings-on of the site and whatnot before officially selecting Heavenly Sword for Game Club #5--y'all have to play through chapter 2 by next Tuesday if you want to participate. After that, I talk about board gaming with Ticket to Ride for the first time--I only ever played the mobile version previously--my newfound hatred for sleeving cards, and a bit of Kickstarter-y goodness. Anyway, if you want to be extra cool, you should seriously check out Frontburnr, register, and join our lovely little party. And, if you're feeling extra generous, donate a little money or subscribe to show your support for the site and show(s), it's not free to host the site, the show; to make and record videos, and everything in between. You can also support the site by shopping at Amazon. Cheers, and have a lovely rest of the day.

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Kickstarter Picks for the Week of April 21, 2014

What is this post all about? Well, it should pretty straightforward, but, if there's any confusion, this is where I'll be talking about a handful of Kickstarter projects each week, focusing on a few projects that recently launched and a few projects that are about to end. Will I be focusing only on projects in need of funding? No. I will simply be focusing on projects that interest me, regardless of whether they've only raised $5 or raised ten times that of their original goal. Anyway, I think it's about time I got to the actual projects, eh.

• Recently Launched

PULL! - A Trap Shooting Card Game

• Ends Tue, May 20 2014 7:00 PM CDT.

PULL! is a partnership-based card game--there are rules for individual play--like Spades and other such games, themed around shooting targets--like clay pigeons--and not shooting animals--even now, that damn dog from Duck Hunt lives! I love card games and PULL! looks like a great filler game, but what I really love about PULL! is not the game, but the man behind the game, Chevee Dodd, because he is very open about his process of designing games, tweeting and writing a good amount about not only PULL!, but games in the past as well. Anyway, check out the game and check out his site if design and how a game goes from idea to reality interests you.

More Kickstarter picks can be seen with a little bit of clickage.

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Video Review: Loonacy (Card Game)

Loonacy is a new card game all about quick matching from Looney Labs, the publishers of the very popular card game, Fluxx--you know it's popular because there's a Cthulhu and zombie version of it (and seven other versions). Anyway, check out the video review below and let me know what y'all think of my initial disaster making a tabletop-focused video with no preparation, not even the "H" kind.

Tabletop Tales #12: Timeline, Cardline, Shadows Over Camelot, Corporate America, Loonacy, Incredibrawl, and Kickstarter

This week's episode of Tabletop Tales--the official rebranding of the tabletop game-centric episodes of The Pixelated Sausage Podcast--features a variety of games, from Timeline/Cardline to Shadows Over Camelot to Corporate America, all with a bit of Loonacy in between (and even more). After getting through all the games I played, I mention a few Kickstarter Picks that y'all should check out--including Westerly: The Threeboot. Anyway, if you want to be extra cool, you should seriously check out Frontburnr, register, and join our lovely little party. And, if you're feeling extra generous, donate a little money or subscribe to show your support for the site and show(s), it's not free to host the site, the show; to make and record videos, and everything in between. You can also support the site by shopping at Amazon. Cheers, and have a lovely rest of the day.

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Kickstarter Picks for the Week of April 14, 2014

What is this post all about? Well, it should pretty straightforward, but, if there's any confusion, this is where I'll be talking about a handful of Kickstarter projects each week, focusing on a few projects that launched during said week and a few that are about to end. Will I be focusing only on projects in need of funding? No. I will simply be focusing on projects that interest me, regardless of whether they've only raised $5 or raised ten times that of their original goal. Anyway, I think it's about time I got to the actual projects, eh. (P.S., this feature will be posted on Mondays starting next week and will likely always be board game heavy.)

• Recently Launched

Stratagem, an Abstract Strategy Board Game

Stratagem is, as the title says, an abstract strategy game and it looks like a game that both casual and hardcore gamers can enjoy; though, its perceived simplicity will definitely turn off those gamers who scoff at games that don't take an hour to setup and hours and hours to play--we all know at least one. Anyway, from what I've seen so far, Strategem looks like a good amount of accessible fun and I'm a big fan of the clean, simple design; also, Strategem was designed to be accessible for a handful of disabilities--color blindness, low vision, and short-term memory loss--and the team is open to helping the game be even more accessible and you can't not love that.

More Kickstarter picks can be seen with a little bit of clickage.

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PSP #167: Game Club #4, Part 3 - Binary Domain (+ Game of Thrones)

In today's episode, the third and final part of the Binary Domain Game Club, I talk about the final two chapters, leaving y'all with my feelings about the game, overall, and what will, most likely, be the next Game Club game. After that, I talk a bit about season 4 of Game of Thrones, going into spoilers; though, I give ample warning before saying a word. Anyway, if you want to be extra cool, you should seriously check out Frontburnr, register, and join our lovely little party. And, if you're feeling extra generous, donate a little money or subscribe to show your support for the site and show(s), it's not free to host the site, the show; to make and record videos, and everything in between. Cheers.

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Board Game Review: Coconuts | I'm cuckoo for Coconuts!

As I begin covering board games more and more, I thought it was about time I reviewed one because, well, that's why I'm here, right? And I could think of no better game to review first than Coconuts, a ridiculous Korean dexterity game full of monkeys, coconuts, and lots of flinging, published in the States by Mayday Games, a company I've grown quite fond of thanks to their abundance of card sleeves--I've got a bit of sleeving obsession. Anyway, I should probably stop monkeying around and get to the review.

The object of Coconuts is simple: you have a player board with three spaces for cups and want to be the first person to build a pyramid out of cups--three cups on the bottom, two in the middle, and one on top--and you do so by flinging rubbery coconuts into said cups in order to claim them as your own; that is essentially everything you need to know; though, of course, there are additional rules--there's a red line on each player board and you always have to be behind that when flinging coconuts; you can steal other player's cups by flinging a coconut into one of their cups; and, when you land a coconut into one of four red cups, you immediately get an extra turn--as well as magic cards--which let you, in most cases, inhibit another player by forcing them to hit a specific cup, shoot with their eyes closed, or other such handicaps. At face value, Coconuts looks like a dumb game that kids would enjoy and adults would grow tired of within minutes, but that is, somewhat surprisingly, not the case.

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