Kickstarter Picks for the Week of May 19, 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

Chumpions

• Ends Wed, Jun 18 2014 1:35 PM CDT.

Admittedly, I'm always hesitant when a Kickstarter campaign doesn't include a video, but Chumpions looks like it might be interesting and, while it doesn't have a video, it does include pictures of tangible components--which is something I'd rather see than a video full of ideas and nothing tangible (or a horrible produced video)--and that's better than nothing. Anyway, I like the idea of Chumpions; y'all go through a dungeon, fighting monsters, collecting loot, until reaching and [hopefully] defeating the final boss, which then leads to a race to the finish line [portal] to find out who wins. It all sounds very simple, like it could potentially be a fun, light game to play with casual gamers--which is not a bad thing despite what some people may think.

AlakaSLAM: A Sorcery Tennis Microgame

• Ends Sun, Jun 15 2014 10:59 PM CDT.

I love tennis; it's one of my favorite sports to both watch and play, so, when I saw AlakaSLAM: A Sorcery Tennis Microgame pop up on Kickstarter, I couldn't click on it fast enough. Now, I haven't played AlakaSLAM and can't comment on its quality, but I like the idea of a simple card game for 2 or 4 players--think singles or doubles tennis matches--themed around tennis mixed with magic and, hopefully, AlakaSLAM is as good as a real tennis match--that would be pretty lovely (there's a tennis joke in there).

Empire: The Game of New York

• Ends Sat, Jun 14 2014 2:57 PM CDT.

Sure, Risk is not the greatest game, but I don't have the same hate for it as others do and the basic gameplay of Risk makes it a great, lengthy game for someone who doesn't want to be bogged down with pages and pages of rules. Why all the talk about Risk? Well, Empire: The Game of New York is basically Risk set in New York and I think Empire might appeal to more casual gamers, or those looking for a very colorful version of Risk--the colorful nature of Empire is what I like most of all. Anyway, if you're not someone who turns up their nose at the very mention of Risk, I'd recommend checking out Empire: The Game of New York.

• Ending Soon

Linkage - A DNA Card Game with an Educational Attitude!

• Ends Wed, May 21 2014 9:00 PM CDT.

Linkage caught my attention immediately thanks to the well-designed final art that pops and reminds me a bit of colored pencil on black paper--I am, as y'all know, a sucker for good art. After I finished enjoying the lovely art, I started to look at the rest of the project--watching the gameplay demo (with prototype cards)--and thought the game, regardless of the art's quality, looked interesting--I'm always a fan of trying to mix a bit of education with something fun. Now, I haven't played Linkage and don't know anything about DNA Transcription, but, if Linkage can deliver a fun experience with a bonus bit of learning, I'm all for it.

Simple System Table-Top Roleplaying Game System

• Ends Fri, May 23 2014 2:04 PM CDT.

I can't speak with any authority about tapletop roleplaying games because I've never played one, but I've always been interested in trying one out; however, there's always been an invisible wall heading my attempts to do so, not to mention the difficulty of finding the right people--someone willing to teach anything and everything--who all happen to have the same days and hours free for playing--I've been trying to get something going for a few years now with no success. On top of scheduling and all that jazz, there is something daunting about the actual roleplaying system; it may be simple, but it sure as hell isn't inviting or seemingly accessible. This is where Simple System comes into play. The Simple System takes something that seems so complicated--tabletop RPGs--and makes them easy to understand, and, I don't know about y'all, but that gets me very excited.

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.

(There's about 24 hours to go and $280 is still needed to reach its goal. In other words, LET'S GET IT FUNDED!)

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Anyway, that's it and that's all for this week's edition of Kickstarter picks. If you have any thoughts about the projects mentioned or want to highlight a project not mentioned above, leave a comment below--I'm always interested in seeing what other's think about various projects and what projects interest others.