Ending Soon: Kickstarter Picks for the Week of July 7, 2014

I have decided to breakup the Kickstarter posts into two: one of recently launched campaigns and one of campaigns about to end, with "Ending Soon" being posted on Mondays and "Recently Launched" being posted on Wednesdays. Why the change? Well, new projects (usually) don't launch on the weekend, so, by posting these on Mondays, I tend to miss out on some campaigns that launch on Mondays and Tuesdays. Anyway, let's get on with the post, eh, since these picks are all real close to ending.

So, 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 are about to end and may either need your support in order to get funded or may just be cool and worth checking out if you want to get it on something before it (hopefully) hits retail. Will I be focusing only on projects in need of funding? No, as I just said, 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; though, a project that only raised $5 over the period of a month probably has some major issues. Anyway, I think it's about time I got to the actual projects, eh.

• Ending Soon

Kyoto Protocol

• Ends Tue, Jul 8 2014 4:09 PM CDT.

Kyoto Protocol is a quick and simple card game about energy production; in it, everyone does their best to produce resources while trying to avoid producing too much pollution. There seems to be a very high risk/reward mechanic going on in Kyoto Protocol and I think, in the right situation, the risk/reward mechanic can be a lot of fun (and it can be great for lighter, filler games too). Anyway, it would be best if you just checked out the game yourself because it has less than a day to go and is still in need of funding, so, if Kyoto Protocol grabs your interest, back it and help it become a reality.

Treasure Chest: Realistic Resource Tokens for Board Games

• Ends Wed, Jul 9 2014 7:59 PM CDT.

Not every pick has to be a board game, right? Wait, why am I asking you...this is my site! (But your opinion is always appreciated and valued highly) Anyway, components are a big deal with games and sometimes you just want to replace what comes in a game with something nicer; that's where the Treasure Chest comes in. The Treasure Chest is a collection of six different types of realistic resource tokens that look fantastic, adding that extra something to certain types of board games--a car game obviously has no use for fancy gems or bits of ore--replacing cubes with little logs, gold bars, itsy-bitsy bricks, and more. These tokens are not something you need, but if you have some extra cash and want to make a game or two look just a wee bit nicer, the Treasure Chest is for you--I may pick up a chest for Lewis & Clark; 'twas the first game that came to mind.

Penny Press

• Ends Thu, Jul 10 2014 12:30 PM CDT.

Penny Press is a game with great art where y'all take on the role of newspaper baron back in the day when newspapers were actually something most people cared about--disclaimer: I still get a newspaper everyday. Anyway, Penny Press looks like a fairly standard worker placement/area influence game, but the theme is different and appeals to me quite a lot. Also, if you paid attention to Cards Against Humanity's Tabletop Deathmatch contest last year, Penny Press will sound very familiar because it's 2013 winner.

The Shadow Over Westminster: Co-Op Horror Board Game

• Ends Sun, Jul 13 2014 2:33 PM CDT.

The Shadow Over Westminster is a cooperative, deck-building board game that is setting out to do a lot of things I love--encouraging player interaction instead of just a bunch of solitaire games working on the sale goal; creating a game that tries to prevent the existence of the all-knowing, "You should do this," "cooperative" experience--and, if everything comes together--the miniature sculpts are being sculpted by Chad Hoverter, the same person who sculpted the miniatures for Mice and Mystics--The Shadow Over Westminster could be something special.

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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.