Kickstart the Week: Pallette Freeform Controls

One of my favorite things to do is explore Kickstarter in all the areas because there is just so much innovation and cool ideas. Mind you a lot of the times you'll get 7 different iphone cases that are more or less the same thing but made of a slightly more rare wood, but then you'll come across something uniquely as cool as Pallette.



Pallette is a customizable hardware controller for your computer that redefines how you interact with your programs. Consisting of buttons, knobs and sliders that not only allows you to individually program to a particular task per application, but they can also physically be rearranged in a configurment to your liking. Using tactile physical controls programed to specific tasks in programs like Photoshop would allow for you to have more precise control over the settings when working, changing how work is done to your needs as opposed to you having to conform to the existing standard.

Custom setup for photo editing

What I like about this is its versatility and being able to use it across multiple programs and applications as opposed to just one. While in many ways it would make sense to use this for creative professional work, it also has endless possibilities  for using it with gaming. Imagine setting up a full rig to replicate the cockpit of a mech or a flight sim and having a much more immersive experience while playing. Imagine a future where Spaceteam was available for PC/Mac/Linux and you can use these controls to fly your space team to success. More realistically is that a controller like this could allow for greater adaptability of applications for people with disabilities who might otherwise have a difficult time with a task as designed within the program, but with a slider control associated with that same task may allow for them to do so much more.

An over-the-top setup

The price point on this is a bit steep ($99 CAD for 4 components - a power supply, 1 button, 1 knob, 1 slider) and it only goes up from there, so that theoretical Mech control console I spoke of might end up costing you as much as an actual Mech (used though, a new state-of-the-art Mechs prices are highly inflated). But new tech is never cheap. This campaign (as of this writing) is almost $4k over its funding goal of $100,000 and with another 26 days to go it likely will only skyrocket. I would be interested in seeing if they opt to offer stretch goals like campaigns typically do with board games, but considering the tech side of what might be required adding on free modules may not be viable. Surprisingly electronics can be more expensive than card board.

Direct Link to the Pallette KS Campaign

Kickstart the Week with Pixel Lincoln's Campaign for Re-Election

The 16-bit President of the United States is back on Kickstarter and looking for not only your pledges, but also your vote!


Re-Election is the next large expansion to Pixel Lincoln: The Deckbuilding Game (a side-scrolling adventure board game) where Lincoln fights through Luchadors and Laser Sharks with his trusty Beardarang and Sausage Link Whip.

In this new set, we've amped up the game with a few new types of cards. Environments shape the levels that you are exploring. Vote cards allow an election to take place at the end of the game. Boss Powers make the bosses harder than ever. We've also included lots of new enemies (Lobster Cannons, Falling Cows, Ghost Slimes) and plenty of new items (Ladders, Bacon Shield, Extend-O-Glove).

If this all sounds crazy, that;s because it is! But if you are a fan of classic video games and want something a little different in your board games, check out Pixel Lincoln! It's $35 for the new set and $79 for both the Re-Election set AND the original game.

http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/gamesalute/pixel-lincoln-re-election-expansion

Kickstart the Week: Kaiju Rising: Age of Monsters Anthology

Unless your name is Luke Milton, Pacific Rim was probably your thing. I laughed at the supermarket last week when I saw that there was an official movie novelization for the movie, but that doesn't necessarily mean I don't want to read about a lot of large monsters wreaking having and laying waste on society at large.

Enter Kaiju Rising. Ragnarok Publications is looking at trying to crowdfund an anthology of fiction based around the concept in Pacific Rim. This isn't some fly-by-night venture, either - they're looking to pay a professional rate to the writers, get some cool artwork, and do this thing right. I'm impressed with what they're trying to do anyway, and it turns out that they've already got some great writers signed on already, including James Lovegrove, Peter Clines, Larry Correia, and Jonathan Wood. Stretch goals include more art, more stories, more authors...it's pretty solid.

Most of the time, this feels more like a cash in, Asylum-style action. Considering the pedigree and resume of those involved with this piece, I think we have a winner here. Looking forward to hopefully getting this one funded.

Kickstart the Week: General Chaos II: Sons of Chaos

I was more of a Nintendo kid growing up than anything else, but my brother decided he wanted a Sega Genesis so he could play Sonic the Hedgehog. I didn't play a ton of Genesis games when it was all said and done, but I did have three favorites: Toe Jam & Earl, NHL 94 (the best entry in the series to this day), and a somewhat bizarre game that I don't think ever got old for me: General Chaos.

General Chaos was basically a simple console starter for your wargame-type experience. You had classes of soldiers and effectively had to take territory and blow up the opposition. It was a deceptively simple game with a lot of moving parts, and my brother and I must have spent a ridiculous amount of time playing this game over the years. I pulled it out again a while back and it largely holds up, too. Total nostalgia trip.

I learned that the creator of General Chaos has turned to Kickstarter to fund a sequel/remake of the classic game. They're planning a bunch of cool stuff, including some new weaponry, updated gameplay, internet battles, more maps and levels (an absolute must at this point) and so on. I'm really hoping to scrap together $20 to help make this a reality, because this is really the game I always wanted to see remade and never realized.

Kickstart the Week: Ari Marmell's "Strange New Worlds"

Longer-time readers may remember me raving about Ari Marmell's book Thief's Covenant, a young adult adventure/fantasy. Others of you who have a lot of love for tabletop role playing games might know Ari Marmell's work in the Dungeons and Dragons or World of Darkness universes. Regardless, Marmell's super talented and has a lot of great ideas that he's able to put to paper.

Last week, he launched a Kickstarter for a collection of short fiction that he's looking to publish by the end of this year. To put it in his words:

Fantasy—sword and sorcery, dark, and urban—makes up the bulk, but we’ve also got cyberpunk, straight-up horror, mythology, and a couple I wouldn’t entirely know how to categorize. First person, third person, past tense, present tense, hopeful, nihilistic . . . About all they have in common is, well, me. By word count, about half the book is original, stories that have never before seen the light of day; the other half reprints a number of stories that have appeared scattered across various periodicals and anthologies.

Marmell's done enough stuff I love already that I was on board before knowing what it was, but the list of stories over there are really interesting, and there are some high-quality stretch goals as well. Independent fiction is alive and well, and this is something I'm more than happy to toss some coin toward.

Kickstart the Week: Negro League T-Shirts

American baseball's treatment of African-American players is a significant scar on the legacy of the American pastime. One of the results of Major League Baseball's refusal to integrate until the arrival of Jackie Robinson in 1947 was that the best black players in the world were forced to play in the Negro Leagues, a collection of traveling teams that had some of baseball's greatest players in history in a segregated league. It means that, as great as players like Ted Williams and Joe DiMaggio were, they never had the opportunity to play pro ball against people like Satchel Paige or Josh Gibson in their primes. More recent players like Curt Schilling will not even entertain the thought of players like Babe Ruth being the best ever because of the lack of integration during the time they played.

In 2007, I was able to visit the Negro League Hall of Fame in Kansas City, Missouri. There is a great legacy of people celebrating the memory of these Negro League teams and players, and some even wanted to see the Washington expansion team named the Greys in honor of arguably the best known Negro League team. Charlie Hustle is a vintage shirt company that is looking to launch a line of shirts celebrating the Negro Leagues, and not only do they look great, but they celebrate a piece of history that should be known by more people and acknowledged as one of the great failures of American sport in not allowing the best of the best to play. Take a look at the Kickstarter here, and maybe you'll see something you like as well.

Kickstart the Week: An Interview With Folk Singer Sofia Talvik

Back in 2008 or so, when Amie Street was a thing, I tripped up on a new album by a folk singer called Sofia Talvik. It was a new release of an album, Jonestown, and I instantly fell in love with the whole thing, and quickly sought out her back catalog. I've kept up with all the new releases since then, and I'm generally impatient as a fan for new music to come about.

This past week, Talvik launched a Kickstarter to fund a live album and book chronicling her year-long-plus tour around the United States. Hailing from Sweden, Talvik and her husband packed up shop, purchased an RV in Florida, and toured incessantly, visiting 37 states and performing hundreds of shows over the tour. As someone who was kicking himself for missing the tour, that there's a live chronicle of some of the moments is great, and that there's a book that will forever immortalize the experience is icing on the cake.

Sofia Talvik was kind enough to give us some of her time this week to talk about being an independent touring musician, about her experiences with crowdfunding, about the Kickstarter campaign, and plenty of other stuff. You can find her website here, and all her music is available as digital albums for the time being for only $5 (I personally recommend Street of Dreams and Florida, but they're all excellent), and she has a remix album available for free). You can also find her on Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, Google+...if there's a website you can be on, she's on it. Thanks to Sofia Talvik again for talking with us!

Kickstart the Week: Dark Dungeons: The Movie

Americans of a certain age/persuasion/belief system may remember seeing those Chick Tracts come through, which were religious comics that decried different supposedly godless activities and ideas and such. One of those comics in particular, Dark Dungeons, was a hyperbolic fairly over the top tract about how Dungeons and Dragons is a gateway to the will of Satan.

And now someone wants to make it a movie.

I have no idea how JR Ralls convinced the Chick people that this should be a movie or that he should do it, and he insists that the low-budget film will be true to the actual comic (as the jokes largely write themselves), but was a truly unexpected film and Kickstarter.

Might be worth a few bucks...

16-Bit Lincoln Playing Cards on Kickstarter!

This week's featured Kickstarter is a personal project that I am involved with. It's a high quality Bicycle playing card deck based off of my card game, Pixel Lincoln!

Bicycle cards are known worldwide as some of the nicest, classiest cards you can find and we went ahead and negated all of that with 16-bit pixel art and images of Lincoln flinging weapons made of meat. To take it a step even further, we took the standard sticker that seals the deck and made it our Puking Turtle (which was originally designed by Luke Milton). The face cards feature Lincoln and Booth's faces in extreme close up detail, and the deck includes a bonus of 4 jokers to mix things up a little.

We also added a few bonuses for fans of Pixel Lincoln: The Deckbuilding Game as well as those who like to make their own games.

If you are a fan of retro gaming, the 16th president or our Pixel Lincoln insanity, check out the deck on Kickstarter. One week left and 30% to go! Thanks!!

http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/springboard/pixel-lincoln-bicycle-playing-cards

(also, if you haven't noticed, we added a Kickstarter banner link to the side of the site. Each featured Kickstarter can be tracked and accessed right there ---->)

PAX East 2013: Krosmaster Arena - A Stunning Anime Miniatures Game!

Kickstarter had a huge presence at PAX East. There was a Kickstarter room where you could play and purchase successful Kickstarter projects. There were Kickstarter panels with staff and successful project creators. And the biggest success story of all was probably Cards Against Humanity, which dominated the event with giveaways in the official swag bags, a massively sold out panel, and people everywhere playing the game.

Along with this, there were lots of designers, developers, and publishers showing their games off and promoting their active Kickstarter projects. I was one of them! Another was Japanime Games, with their stunning anime miniatures battle game, Krosmaster Arena.

Find out much more, after the jump!

Hyperreality - The Reality TV Gameshow RPG

Over the weekend at LunaCon I had the opportunity to play Tim Rodriguez's / Brooklyn Indie Games upcoming game, Hyperreality. It's a tabletop role playing game where players are guests on an amped-up reality show. Ours was a Lunar Rodeo on the Moon, where I was a trucker named Curtis who had severe road rage, and tried to feed his horse gasoline to give him a little extra kick. And thinking about it that isn't that much stranger than 40 women living in a mansion fighting over a Bachelor, Honey Boo Boo, or Celebrity Diving.



And that's what makes this game so great. You can be as crazy or weird as you want to, and it still fits perfectly within the realms of Reality TV. In Hyperreality, you have challenges that are titled by the host/DM, then defined by the players. Two players will go head to head and dice rolls will determine their success. Then, depending on the color of the die, their outcome will be decided by either themselves or the viewers.

There are also confessionals. In true Reality TV fashion, the game is interrupted by a player pouring out their soul to the camera (and we actually had a camera at the table) in an attempt to earn additional dice. If you incorporate one of your player tropes/characteristics that you made at the beginning of the game, then you get one die. But if you use one of your secret tropes created by the other players, you'll get two dice. The secret tropes are where everything gets crazier. My truck driver "cried a lot" but also was "secretly Helena Bonham Carter". I revealed that one while wrestling a pig. My makeup started to fall off and I confessed that I was researching the role of a truck driver for an upcoming film. Big ratings from the audience on that one.

Hyperreality is now on Kickstarter and has a very low entry point at just $10. I can say first hand that it was a blast, especially if you enjoy Fiasco or other storytelling RPGs. Brooklyn Indie Games previously released Ghost Pirates via Kickstarter to much success, and has some other great games in the pipeline. If you're at Pax this weekend you can check out Hyperreality, or head over to Kickstarter for more info.

http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/2068026266/hyperreality-the-reality-tv-gameshow-rpg

Kickstart the Week: Emperor's New Clothes by Game Salute / Hoke's Games

We've seen a few REALLY high quality board games come from Kickstarter. Alien Frontiers broke the mold. Escape: The Curse of the Temple was my top game of 2012. Zombicide 2 funded in under 2 minutes.

But none of that compares what I am about to show you...

Here I would usually feature the Kickstarter video, but there is no time to waste! I'm skipping right to the game tutorial.

I can safely say, it's unlike anything I have ever seen before. With names like Jonathan Liu (GeekDad), John Kovalic (Munchkin), Darrell Louder (Compounded) behind this, it's sure to be as amazing as it looks.

I'm hoping to preview this game at an upcoming convention, but in the meantime  you can pledge for your very own copy at: http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/springboard/emperors-new-clothes

Kickstart the Week with Compounded: Better Gaming Through Chemistry

Compounded is missing link between science nerds with board game nerds (forget about the Big Bang Theory). It's a game where players must manage their elements to build chemical compounds. Does that sound nerdy enough?

It's actually very accessible for all types of gamers and their non-gamer friends, And it's a lot of fun. I played it back at Origins 2012 and here was my reaction:

While at the DiceHateMe booth, I was able to play my first full game of Origins. It was Darrell Louder's Compounded, which I sadly missed out on at Unpub 2 and various events since. In the game, players must commit chemicals to various tiles on the board, trying to make chemical compounds. You also have to claim the compounds before someone else jumps on it, or before it catches fire. I had a blast playing this game, and can't wait to play it again. The design is very solid, and seeing the graphic design work that they've started on this, I can't wait to see how nice the final product looks.

I'm happy to say the final product looks amazing. Right in line with the Dice Hate Me product line. 

Did I mention it has a periodic table of the elements scoring track?

The early success of this project is a good sign, as well as a good way to measure the quality of the game. It was fully funded within 36 hours of its launch, and is now about to hit the 400% mark. The reviews and recaps have been very positive, and the momentum hasn't shown any sign of slowing down.

If you're interested in chemicals, lab fires, elements, pressing your luck, and high quality board game production... you should probably check out Compounded. The base game is $42 on Kickstarter and ships in August.

Compounded on Kickstarter:
http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/dicehateme/compounded-better-gaming-through-chemistry

Kickstart the Week: Monster Moos!

My wife and I have a spawnling on the way in a few months, and the eventual "how do I introduce the rugrat to some of my favorite hobbies" is already going through my mind. Obviously I can't play Cards Against Humanity with them, so what other option is there? Monster Moos hopes to change that:

Looking around we find very limited options when it comes to good tactical board games that parents and their kids can play together, and be on equal footing.

...

In Monster Moos! players take on the role of inter-dimensional cowboys riding the range in a limbo plane called "The Field". The Field is populated by monstrous cows (called Moos) that have escaped from their home dimensions. Your goal is to try to wrangle as many Dragon Moos, Ghost Moos, Cyborg Moos, and/or Zombie Moos as you can before the other cowboys.

I love the idea behind this, as well as the concept itself. With a $25 entry level price point for the game itself as well, it's not going to break the bank.

Kickstart the Weekend with Formula E by Clever Mojo Games / Game Salute

Formula E, formerly known as Haathi is an elephant racing game (yes, an elephant racing game!), quickly speeding to its final days on Kickstarter. The artwork is beautiful and it comes with amazing components (elephant meeples and holy cows), but most importantly... word around the street is that it's a lot of fun.

The team behind Formula E has a wonderful track record. Clever Mojo Games released the high quality mega-hit Alien Frontiers and designer Bruno Faidutti is best known for Citadels (as well as one of my favorites Incan Gold). But even with their history the Kickstarter is still about $10,000 shy of its funding goal, with only 60 hours to go.

"...something I would play again..and again..and again. This game has all of the things that I think make board gaming great. The theme and mechanics work very well together. (Ok maybe an elephant on a flying carpet is a stretch but it works.) It is simple to learn and simple to teach without being a simple game. But most of all..its fun..and I'm talking the kind of loud, boisterous, laughing, yelling, saying words you wouldn't say in church fun." - The Cardboard Jumgle

If the name of this game sounds familiar, it's because it's a nod to the classic racing game Formula D (or Formula De for the international folk). The publishers totally approved the nod, which speaks volumes for the quality of this game.

For $45 you can get a copy of the game, and if you want to just kick in $20 you will get 50 of those sweet, sweet meeples. Such a weakness for gamers!

Formula E on Kickstarter:
http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/springboard/formula-e

Kickstart the Week: Fate Core

My friend Chris (who runs a gaming blog over at Claw/Claw/Peck) turned me onto what might be the most generous Kickstarter I've seen yet, for the Fate Core gaming system. It's fully funded, and it's got tons of goodies for gamers:

Evil Hat is proud to bring you Fate Core: the latest evolution of the Fate role-playing game system. Inside you'll find refined, clearer language about every part of the game -- ranging from streamlined language about aspects and skills, to a unified approach for game actions and outcomes, to our trademark, rock solid GM and player advice.

...

Upon publication we'll place near to 100% of the Fate Core text into the Open Gaming License as open content, once again continuing our commitment to supporting third party efforts to build the Fate games everyone wants to see.

I'm not really familiar with the system, but I hear good things and, with a $5 entry level for a ton of stuff, it's worth throwing some money at.

Kickstart the Week: Zogar's Gaze by Grey Gnome Games

Zogar's Gaze is a card game with cool artwork, theme and cool concepts all around.

Grey Gnome Games is taking a different approach to board game publishing. Instead of ordering the game from a manufacturer in China, they are ordering the parts and components from various US based manufacturers, and compiling them together themselves, shrink wrapping and fulfilling orders. It's an old school approach and a business model that you don't hear much of anymore.

They've successfully done this previously with Plague: The Card Game and now Zogar's Gaze is trucking along through the channels of Kickstarter.

Zogar’s Gaze is a press-your-luck driven game that uses both cards and dice to deal with the many obstacles in Zogar’s lair. Players draw at random a race and class card at the beginning of the game and keep these identities a secret from the other players. Both the race and class have separate win conditions that must be met in order to win the game. On your turn you can explore as long as you want at the risk of losing all you have gained. In addition, Zogar’s Gaze is always on the lookout. If seven of his ever-piercing eyes are revealed, all players lose, and Zogar wins! Muhahahaha!

For $35 you will get a copy of the game along with all stretch goals that are unlocked during the campaign. For $65 you can get a copy of the game PLUS a copy of Plague. And if you spend a little more you can get a metal print of the box art. There are also buttons, T-Shirts and iPhone cases for all of the merchandising you can handle!

Check out Zogar's Gaze on Kickstarter:
http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1243534184/zogars-gaze

Kickstart the Week: Pirates vs. Dinosaurs by Jolly Roger Games

With simply a name like "Pirates vs. Dinosaurs" you think the Kickstarter campaign would be fully funded by now. With a name like Richard Launius (designer of Arkham Horror, Defenders of the Realm and much more) attached you think it would be funded by now. And with just 5 days to go and 44% more funding needed, there is something even scarier than the pirates and the dinosaurs.. not reaching the funding goal.

Thanks to Kicktraq's wonderful public stats, you can see how the project is going and how it's projected to go. It's looking pretty tough, but we've seen much bigger miracles on Kickstarter.

For $55 you get a copy of the game shipped in the US. It sounds a hefty price tag for the theme, but Richard makes some hefty games. This one is on the medium side with a 90 minute playing time. Also, the graphic design looks great so far, and the artwork is very nice.

Richard Launius chimed in on the Board Game Geek forums with 6 reasons to consider buying the game.

6) This one may be debatable by you, but I think I have proven that I design good games. My games are not for everyone, especially the hardcore eurogamer, but for those that like adventure, don't mind a little luck, and enjoy the story that comes from the gaming experience as much as winning or losing - I think my designs provide that experience.

Check out Pirates vs. Dinosaurs on Kickstarter:
http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1649598142/pirates-vs-dinosaurs

Kickstart the Week: Pivit by Tyler Neylon

This game should get a mention just for it's fantastic logo, but the game looks pretty interesting as well. Pivit is an abstract game that is played on a checkerboard, using really nice little discs. The discs feature two arrows showing the direction they can move, as well as a color that shows whether they are a minion or a master. Minions can only move in the direction shown on their arrows and only to opposing color spaces on the board. Masters can move anywhere in the direction their arrows face.

It seems very basic, but a glance I can see the many, many possibilities of moves and can imagine this being the missing link between checkers and chess (neither of which have a sweet logo).

Check it out:

There is a long way to go for Pivit to hit it's lofty $50,000 goal, but there is still a few weeks. You can pledge $40 to receive the discs (along with rules, etc) to play on your existing checkerboard, and then $50 for a full boxed version with a board.

Pivit on Kickstarter:
http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/913572758/pivit

Kickstart the Week with Wye Blocks: beauty, cubed by Kurt Wayne

I wish these little 1.5" wooden cubes were available right now. If your child (or relative/friend) is anything like mine, this would be the best Christmas gift for them. My son will play with puzzles and blocks all day and night, and it's hard to find really good wooden blocks. The book stores will occasionally carry them, but not like these. While normal blocks can be a puzzle in how you build them, Wye Blocks also feature a visual puzzle to build skyscrapers, train tracks, roads, or just patterns. Some almost resemble a mini-game of Carcassonne or other tile based games, and as a board gamer Dad, these could also be the entry point to gaming. And if nothing else, they are great for pattern matching and pattern recognition.

And personally, I also want them because they resemble large dice. I'm a sucker for a sweet wooden cube.

The Kickstarter has a long way to go to reach its $20,000 goal, but there is still plenty of time. And as a warning, you should know that wooden blocks aren't cheap. A set of 4 will cost you $15, 9 are $25, and 16 are $40, which seems like the best place to start. If you have way more money than me, you could jump in for 100 at $215.

Check out Wye Blocks on Kickstarter:
http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1185929177/wye-blocks-beauty-cubed?ref=live