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.

Dragon Slayer

• Ends Wed, May 7 2014 12:00 AM CDT.

Dragon Slayer is the latest project from Indie Boards and Cards, the publisher behind such great games like Resistance and Coup--I haven't had the greatest experiences with Resistance, but I love Coup--and, best of all, if you backed the recent Coup: Reformation project, you can grab a copy of Dragon Slayer for the price of breakfast ($7 in US & Canada/$10 everywhere else). So, what is Dragon Slayer? Well, it's a "press your luck" dice game--like Zombie Dice--with some additional flavoring: player interaction. What does that mean? It means you're not only playing against the dice and yourself, but your friends too, making Dragon Slayer a potential slayer of Zombie Dice and other such dice games.

Bling Bling Gemstone Dexterity Game (Tok Tok Woodman 3.0)

• Ends Sun, May 18 2014 9:19 PM CDT.

Bling Bling Gemstone is the newest version of Tok Tok Woodman, a dexterity game like Jenga, where you're trying to remove pieces without making any other pieces fall. It's very simple and, honestly, I'm a bit over Jenga-esque games, but Mayday Games--the publisher bringing Bling Bling Gemstone stateside--surprised me with their last Kickstarter for a game called Coconuts (my review) and delivered my copy of that game faster than any other Kickstarter project, so I'm confident that, if nothing else, Mayday Games will deliver a quality game and deliver it on time, if not earlier than promised.

• Ending Soon

Westerly: The Threeboot

• Ends Thu, Apr 24 2014 6:02 PM CDT.

Westerly is a game I've talked about quite a bit in the past because I love co-op games and loved The Oregon Trail as a kid--I think y'all get where I'm going with this--well, Westerly takes The Oregon Trail, in essence, and puts it into what looks like a fun board game, full of all the death you'd expect out of a Oregon Trail-like game. All that said, Westerly, so far, hasn't been able to reach funding and, if you're quick-witted, you'll notice that this is Analog Evolution Games's third attempt at funding Westerly and they still have a good amount of money to raise before the campaign ends on this Thursday. I really hope y'all check out this game and, if you back at the Wagonmaster pledge ($75) or higher, you'll get a second copy of Westerly for free!

Treasures & Traps: Random Encounters & Expanded Realms

• Ends Wed, Apr 23 2014 9:54 AM CDT

Treasures & Traps looks like a fun little card game with great art that I can't help but mention because the game's creator, C. Aaron Kreader, is a fellow Illinois and I always love supporting local creators in whatever way I can (if I think they're making something worth supporting, of course). Anyway, this campaign isn't for Treasures & Traps, but for two new expansions--the base game came out in 2006--and, regardless of whether you're an old fan or a potential new fan, I'd recommend checking out this campaign before it ends in less than two days.

Sentinel Tactics: The Flame of Freedom

• Ends Thu, Apr 24 2014 9:59 AM CDT.

Sentinels of the Multiverse is a game I played for the first time only a month ago, but I fell in love immediately and, after playing that, Sentinel Tactics went from a game I noticed a lot of people were interested in, to a game I, too, was interested in; not only does the game look great, but Greater Than Games has proven, in the past, that they can deliver, so this is project I believe y'all can back with absolute confidence. Anyway, Sentinel Tactics has surpassed its original goal by...quite a lot, but just because a project is already funded doesn't mean it's no longer in need of support, so, if the game looks at all interesting, back it, and, if you've never played Sentinels of the Multiverse...PLAY IT NOW!

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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.