Prototypes/Crowdfunding Projects to keep an eye on:

Button Kingdoms (Around the Stump Games) – this project is live on Kickstarter until August 6th! This cuddly yet cutthroat deckbuilder, has several fun features, but the one that caught my eye was the fun simultaneous play and bluffing mechanics around the bazaar phase.

Sprout (Rabble Game) – this project is live on Kickstarter until July 21st! This game is all about keeping house plants alive… which I can’t do in real life. At least in this game it is clear what exactly the plant needs, but there is still a risk of wilting your plants if a nutrient goes over the limit.

Galileo’s Truth (Awaken Realms) – this project is live on Gamefound until July 28th! I haven’t played the Darwin’s Journey, the game this is a successor of, but it caught my eye as a mix of fun theming and a mix of fun mechanics.

Games we were playing this month:

The Binding of Isaac: Four Souls (Maestro Media) – I haven’t played the video game that inspired this board game, but this game has a lot of charm and is a lot of fun. After 2 games that ended in dramatically different ways it felt like we only scratched the surface of what the game had to offer.

Exploding Kittens (Exploding Kittens) – It has been a bit since I played this game, but every time I pick it up, I have fun. I still laugh when I look at cards many years later, and if there is someone who doesn’t know how to play it is easy to get them up to speed.

Skull (Lui-Même) – This is one of my go-to filler games. It plays up to 6 and takes about 5 min to teach and the game normally takes 5-10 min to play. There is always a great sense of satisfaction when you break someone’s momentum with a skull in your stack of coasters.