As of late, I’ve been getting more and more into tabletop games to play alongside Erin. We’ve also been backing a lot of card games, which some are out and some will soon be out via Kickstarter. With International Tabletop Day coming up. I thought best to give a short list of games to check out. While some you can now obtain in store, others you can pre-order via Kickstarter and some you can currently back.
1: Sparkle*Kitty/Sparkle*Kitty Nights
One game to kick off the list of Sparkle*Kitty, which Erin played at PAX East 2018 and greatly enjoyed. So much so, when we found out BreakingGames was doing a Kickstarter for Sparkle*Kitty Nights we had to back it. While at this time you can find the base version of Sparkle*Kitty at your local Walmart and Target. You’ll want to pick the game up. We all know that deep down you want a Tiara to wear. We saw so many people during PAX East 2018 wearing one (Guys and Gals), along with PAX East 2019 some awesome cosplayers playing characters from the game.
Sparkle*Kitty is an adorably fun, social, and magical spell card game for all ages, sizes and genders. Once upon a time, a group of powerful princesses were captured and locked away in Cursed “No Cursing” towers by the evil queen Sparkle*Kitty! All their words and magic spells vanished and became sugar & spice… almost everything nice.
Luckily these are no ordinary princesses and you are no ordinary player! Take matters into your own hands and harness the simple and sweet words into special spell combinations to set yourself free! The first to escape, wins!
2: Mephisto: The Card Game
As I stated at the start of this, Erin and I have been backing a lot of things on Kickstarter. One game that caught my eye a while back was Mephisto: The Card Game. Mephisto is a 1-4 player dungeon crawling card game where you play as a power hungry adventurer who’s made a deal with the archdemon Mephistopheles. In exchange for unholy strength, you must collect the souls of monsters you defeat in the dungeon. The catch is — you aren’t the only one who’s agreed to this pact, but only one of you will receive the demon’s gift. Race to collect the most souls for Mephisto before time runs out or be doomed to serve the beast for eternity!
Just the idea of the game is quite good and another plus side is being able to play alone. While you’ll see a few games here and there offer ways of playing with a single player. I will be looking forward to seeing how it plays. I’ve also been in touch with the creator of the Kickstarter and products are already shipping out 6 months ahead. If you head over to the Kickstarter page you’ll be able to obtain a copy right away. The price is currently $15 and that’s another major reason it caught my eye.
3: Knitting – The Card Game
Erin has been keeping a keen eye on this game. While she loves to knit to relax during her days off or when we’re spending time. A card game like this had her quite excited to check out and we’ve been watching the updates. Even if you don’t knit this game could be just for you. Knitting – The Card Game is oozing with fun knitting terminology, beautiful photos from fiber artists and game mechanics that mirror knit life. Earn points with every Finished Object: stash the right yarn for a pattern, cast-on, knit and finally place your FOs on your blocking mat. Gather secret points and play action cards that speed up your projects or slow down your opponent with cards from the Community deck.
While I’ve read the full rules, I did laugh at the bonus points rule if someone knitting during gameplay. For those of you that knit or would like to learn more about the game. Head over to Knitting – The Card Game, as you can place a pre-order since copies will be soon by shipping.
4: Unicorn Rescue Society: The Card Game
Just recently, Erin and I got a prototype of the currently in Kickstarter game called Unicorn Rescue Society: The Card Game. At this time of writing the project is at 90% raised, of it’s goal of $10,000. For the past few evenings, we’ve sat down to play the game to see how it is and to write a full on review of the card game.
Unicorn Rescue Society: The Card Game is a fast-paced, easy-to-learn game for 2-8 people that takes about 10 minutes to play. Race to rescue mythical creatures by matching them to their native habitats. Score big points by finding homes for the rarest creatures. This game would be great for those of you that are parents or looking to pass some time. As often as I head to PAX, get stuck at the airport or help with the Extra Life booth in my state. The game would be perfect to introduce kids into tabletop gaming with something so simple. I’ve personally had games last 15 minutes to 30 so far. Minding that it’s the luck of the draw if you get a matching card.
If you’d love to learn more about this game and give it a backing. Head over to the Kickstarter page located here. For the low price tag of $19 to back it, it’s totally worth it.
5: The Binding of Isaac: Four Souls
Anyone who’s anyone knows of the game The Binding of Isaac, which I may or may not own every video game version of the game. So when Edmund McMillen announced a tabletop game Kickstarter my eyes grew as big as a cat heavy on catnip. For those of you that don’t know about the franchise. The Binding of Isaac is an indie roguelite video game, which was created by Edmund Mc Millen and Florian Himsl. n the game, Isaac’s mother receives a message from God demanding the life of her son as proof of her faith, and Isaac flees into the monster-filled basement of their home where he must fight to survive.
What about the card game? The official Binding of Isaac multiplayer card game, about sacrifice, betrayal, and hoarding. 2-4 players take turns playing loot cards and using items to kill monsters that yield more items, loot, and sometimes souls. The first player to end their turn with 4 souls is the winner. Cooperation, barter, and betrayal is encouraged.
This will, in turn, test your friendship most likely as I would most likely betray the other players. You have to play hard to win, right? Or I might keep cooperate until the time is ready. The game did so well on Kickstarter it raised over 2.6 Million dollars. While the version of the game I own was a Kickstarter only item, you can pick up the game over at the Publisher’s site over here.
6: RAGING PANDAS
While every few days I jump on Kickstarter to check out what’s trending in video games to back along with tabletop games. Raging Pandas caught my eye from the featured picture they used. Once I clicked on over, was I glad I did so as the game sounds amazing.
Raging Pandas is a fast, frantic, funny, and highly competitive card game filled with boodilicious pandas and terrified food cards. Players draw cards with the hope of getting a pair of matching food cards and try to gobble up five food pairs to win! Sounds easy, right? Not so fast! Other hungry Pandas are doing whatever it takes to get YOUR food and the game gets more intense each round as players use their defense and attack panda cards to block or steal food from other players. Rare specialty panda cards will either be your best friend or worst enemy when they join in the fight. This constant battle between furry friends means the tables can turn extremely fast and anyone can come out on top.
Alas, I missed the Kickstarter myself but will be keeping an eye on how to pick up the game for a later date. The game sounds amazing as you will be working your way to stock up on food, but having other players attack, block and steal food.
This short list that you see above is just a small handful of games I’m keeping an eye on along with some I own already. If you’re looking to add to your collection, be on the lookout for a future post from all my writers sounding off on tabletop games you should check out this year in the coming week. If you’ve backed or own some of the games above. Sound off in the comments below, I’d love to hear your thoughts.
