Alright, folks...we've scoured the crowdfunding web and selected several of the most notable casual games. There's quite a bit of variety this month, so enjoy!
What the Food?! (Peter Vaughan) – If a food fight broke out in the cafeteria and there was no escaping it, what would you throw? How about a pickled chocolate bunny dripping in nacho cheese? Or perhaps something even more gross? What the Food?! is a casual card game that pits classmates against each other, launching crazy combinations of food and dodging each other's attacks to avoid humiliation. When the principal arrives, the fun is over and the least humiliated person is the winner.
Gear & Piston (LudiCreations) – What was it like back in the dawn of automobiles? Gear & Piston is a casual strategy game that gives players the chance to build automobile prototypes from new or junk parts, trying to win the attention of investors. Players can also steal parts, acquire stolen blueprints on the black market, or call upon their unions to muscle each other out of the way. As you can see, this game is nearing the end of the campaign.
The Princess Bride: Prepare to Die (Game Salute) – Game Salute recently acquired the game rights to the classic movie, The Princess Bride. Prepare to Die is one of several future titles in this line, and is a party game based on one of the most memorable lines of the movie: "My name is Inigo Montoya. You Killed My Father. Prepare to Die." The game's premise is to replace the name and reason for vengeance (underlined) with other funny combinations. It appears to have a similar structure to Apples to Apples – but with the very specific premise, I fear it would get old very quickly.
Eight-Minute Empire: Legends (Red Raven) – This is the sequel to Eight-Minute Empire, which we recently featured on a previous crowdfunding post. It is a standalone game that appears to be true to the original, in that it can be fully played in 8 minutes (but only if you're very quick). If you liked the looks of the original, perhaps this one is also a winner.
Roll For It! (Calliope Games) – Roll for It! is a very simple, competitive dice game in which players try to roll the dice shown on each card to score points. Each player rolls his dice and places one or more of them next to a card, locking it there until the card is picked up. The more dice that have been locked in, the fewer the dice left to roll. Multiple players can have their dice next to the same card – the first to roll the combination shown gets the card and the points. There are only a few days left in the campaign.
Oh Farkle! The Official Farkle Board Game (Cosmo Solano) – A new board game for anyone who enjoys the classic dice game, Farkle (a classic press-your-luck dice game). The board game offers (unsurprisingly) a board to keep track of scores, as well as some new interactive elements. The project is funded almost singlehandedly by a backer at the $10,000 level, which seems a bit odd. I'm not sure anyone other than the publisher would drop $10K to see this game funded.
Unless otherwise noted, we have not seen or played any of the above games. Our assessment of each is based on the information given on the crowdfunding project page.
