I have a packed folder in my email system for games to possibly cover on BGG News, and every so often when I skim through it, I discover games that have already wrapped up their crowdfunding projects, but aren’t yet released. I had probably put them in the folder with the aim of covering them during their campaign, but, well, lots of games are announced, and sometimes plans fall through.
For this post I thought, why wait? Let’s cover a few games that will be crowdfunded down the road so that I can archive those emails and be done with them.
• We’ll start with Dreams of Yesterday, a design by Heather O’Neill and Weird Giraffe Games that is a sequel of sorts of Dreams of Tomorrow, a 2019 Weird Giraffe release from designer Phillip Falcon Perry. (Backerkit link)
Dreams of Yesterday consists of only 27 cards, and this 1-3 player game works as follows:
But it’s not just about collecting the most valuable items. The unique layout of your museum allows you to activate powerful abilities that can rearrange your exhibits, flip cards, and transform resources. Plus, with the addition of the mysterious Urn cards, you never know what ancient secrets you might uncover…
• Charcuterie: The Board Game is the first design from Joshua Camden and Whitney Logan, and if publisher 3WS Games knows what’s what, it will partner with Goldbelly or some other food delivery service to bring new players to the table and offer one-of-a-kind stretch goals. (Kickstarter link)
What do you do in this 2-4 player game? Make something akin to what’s pictured above. In more detail:
Prototype components
Take turns drafting delectable food tiles and arranging them on your board, but carefully consider your placements as you will be judged on your final presentation! Score points for your arrangement and for meeting social criteria that elevate your display into a real crowd pleaser.
I’m not sure why I get so excited over food-based games when I’m not a foodie and don’t care much about what I eat. It might be the retail background kicking in from my time as a game store employee/manager because you could make awesome window displays for games like this that would draw people into the store.
• Designer Sidhant Chand of Zenwood Games has released two games already through traditional means — GridL and Parikrama — but his next title, Tycoon: India 1981, is a larger economic game for 2-4 players that plays in 1-2 hours, so he plans to Kickstart it in 2023. Says Chand, “We are a small publishing firm but very passionate about creating good games with unique backstories and retelling Indian context.”
Here’s an overview of the game:
In the game of Tycoon: India 1981, players represent big industrial houses of India that are trying to dominate the six key industrial sectors — minerals, fuel, agro, power, transport, and finance — by obtaining the rights from the government and building factories on a map of India. Although the goal is to be rich, they must try to influence national policies to their favor, as well as gain political votes to break ties, all while balancing wealth and fame in a series of rounds that will ultimately decide one winner!
