Guess how much Cards Against Humanity raised on Kickstarter.
$5 million? $10 million?
The answer?
$15,570.
Pretty shocking, right?
Not really.
That was back in 2010, when Kickstarter board games didn’t go viral and raise millions.
Now they do.
Here’s our list of the best Kickstarter board games of 2019:
Best Kickstarter Board Games of 2019
August 2019
32. Trial by Trolley
Trial by Trolley is a “party game of moral dilemmas and trolley murder.”
Which sounds suspiciously like my last family vacation.
Cyanide And Happiness followed up their first wildly successful project, Joking Hazard, in a BIG way with this bad boy.
It raised over $3 million by forcing you to decide who to run over with a trolley.
And much like O.J., you’ll probably get away with it.
31. Anxiety ATTACK! The Board Game by The Awkward Yeti
You know what gives ME anxiety?
Watching their entire campaign video and still having no idea how to really play this game.
Trigger cards move you forward on the board.
And Defuse cards move your characters back.
Your goal is to be the last player sent to the “Anxiety Spiral.”
Too bad for me, I’m already there.
30. BattleTech: Clan Invasion
BattleTech: Clan Invasion is set in the year 3049.
Everything has gone to sh*t and we’re all completely screwed.
Well, kinda.
This insanely intricate tabletop game is part of the long running BattleTech series.
Five “houses” control this futuristic world where you’ll deck it out on your quest for survival.
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July 2019
29. On The Underground – London / Berlin
When I was a kid, we lived in Germany for a few years.
We took the U-Bahn EVERYWHERE.
What does that have to do with this board game?
Absolutely nothing.
But let me be nostalgic for a minute, dammit!
On the Underground is essentially Ticket To Ride with a few added twists.
You compete for passengers by building the most efficient rail lines across Europe.
28. Monikers – Serious Nonsense Box By Shut Up & Sit Down
The original version of Monikers’ Box got an 8.3 on BoardGameGeek.
Which is a better rating than they gave Chess…
(Sorry, grandpa.)
And the team behind this new version claim this edition is 3x better.
It features a whopping 330 brand new cards with HILARIOUS things written on them.
Your goal is to get your friends to guess what’s written on each card.
It’s sorta like a souped-up version of Fishbowl.
27. The Isle of Cats
The Isle of Cats, eh?
You know who would like this game?
My neighbor.
Dude has a SH*TLOAD of cats.
Your objective is rescue cats from a deserted island before a ship of angry Frenchmen arrive.
(Which is also what started the War of 1812, I believe.)
26. Middara – Unintentional Malum (The Complete Trilogy)
Ok, people…
Five bucks if you can tell me the definition of “malum.”
Got nothin’?
It means, “an offense against right or law: evil, wrong.”
Oh, you knew that?
Leave a comment with your Venmo username and I’ll get that right to ya.
(NOT!!!)
Middara is a ridiculously intricate board game set in a unique fantasy world.
It takes you through 3,000+ words of narrative with over 100 epic encounters.
Needless to say, the Stranger Things kids would LOVE this game.
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June 2019
25. Icaion
Icaion sounds like the name of a fancy Brazilian steakhouse that just opened up in town.
But, alas, it’s simply the name of an ultra-popular Kickstarter board game.
Your goal is to become a “Seeker” who harvests Qoam.
Collect the most Qoam and you WIN!!!
(I’m assuming.)
24. Batman: Gotham City Chronicles – Season 2
I had SUCH bad déjà vu watching this campaign video.
And then I realized why…
They used the same campaign video as they did in their first Batman board game.
Which is a #weirdflex.
And also supremely lazy if you ask me.
But they’ve already raised $1 million, so maybe I’m the moron?
23. Too Many Bones: Splice & Dice + Series Reprint
Too Many Bones raised $50,000 in 86 seconds.
Which, in the words of Borat, is “very niiiiiceeeee!”
This is a reprint of the original Too Many Bones and comes PACKED with new add-ons.
22. Company of Heroes Board Game
Look, I’ll be honest.
When I saw that Company of Heros had a 14 minute campaign video, I thought to myself, “well there’s no way I’m watching this whole thing.”
And guess what?
I was right!
But I did make it through enough to gather that you battle for control of Europe with one of four armies.
Choose between U.S., British, Soviet, and Wehrmacht forces.
What’s Wehrmacht, you ask?
It’s German, you ignorant fool!*
(*Pretends I didn’t Google that 10 seconds ago.)
Anyway, this edition is based on the popular video game.
And judging by the reaction on Kickstarter so far, the board game version won’t disappoint.
May 2019
21. Hostage Negotiator – Career
My uncle is actually the top hostage negotiator for the city of Chicago.
I asked him one time what his best advice was for talking to hostage takers.
“Call their bluff,” he said, “If they threaten to kill somebody, yell ‘DO IT!!’ at the top of your lungs. Sure, you may lose a few hostages that way, but man you’ll feel like a bada**.”
Ok, my uncle never actually said that.
Hell he’s not even a hostage negotiator.
And he lives in Seattle.
(What’s up, Jerry?!)
Anyway, this game forces you to make crucial decisions in hostage situations.
You’ll either rise up the ranks of the department, or completely blow your reputation.
Good luck, hostages!
20. Cleopatra and the Society of Architects
Cleopatra don’t play no games.
She wants a new palace built and she wants it built NOW.
After 13 years, Cleopatra and the Society of Architects is back and better than ever.
Compete to build the biggest, best palace the fastest or face dire consequences like real-life death and dismemberment.
JK, you’d just be losing a board game.
But still, losing sucks.
19. Runes & Regulations – A Game of Suburban Sorcery
Runes & Regulations is brought to you by the same guys that created Unstable Unicorns.
Too bad their newest game is trending to raise only about 1/3 as much.
I guess sometimes 2nd editions aren’t as good as the original.
Hell, just look at my younger brother.
Runes & Regulations is a, “strategic card game that combines the aggressiveness of a horde of dragons with the passive-aggressiveness of a suburban unicorn.”
And at over $600,000 raised, it’s still absolutely crushing it.
18. Bloodborne – The Board Game
I don’t always back Kickstarter board game projects, but when I do, they have ridiculously ominous names.
Bloodborne is the latest of CMON’s games to join the $1 million club.
And with good reason…
It looks downright terrifying.
Your goal is to fight your way through a town called Yharnam filled with, “beasts, monsters, and frenzied townsfolk.”
Frenzied townsfolk, eh?
Just tell a city’s homeowners you’re raising their property tax by a quarter of a percent, and you’ll see EXACTLY what they’re talking about.
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April 2019
17. Truth or Drink – The Card Game
Depending on your perspective, Truth or Drink sounds either terrifically fun or horribly uncomfortable.
And I think that’s the point.
You can either answer tremendously prying questions about yourself…
Or drink!
(So unless you want the world to know your deepest, darkest secrets, prepare to get hammered, my friends.)
16. Tsukuyumi – Full Moon Down
“A game about killer robots, sad whales, and moon demons. If that doesn’t interest you, we’re out of ideas.”
Now THAT is a top-notch description dreamed up by Tsukuyumi’s creators.
It’s a 2-4 person game where you choose one of four factions and attempt to dominate a post-apocalyptic world.
I call the Sad Whales.
15. Oceans – A Standalone Game in the Evolution Series
There are creatures in our oceans frightening enough to make grown men cry.
You think a giant squid looks scary?
You ain’t seen nothin’ yet.
Oceans is a tabletop game featuring two vastly different worlds.
One features the ocean as we know it, the other, called “The Deep,” is home to some of the most horrifying creatures imaginable.
14. Firmament by Cyan Worlds
I woke up drenched in a cold sweat this morning…
I had this horrible dream that I sat at a desk all day long staring at a computer screen for a living.
SH*T, that was no dream!
That’s my REAL LIFE!
Our real lives can be pretty damn depressing sometimes, which is why the guys behind Firmament made such an outrageously cool new world.
It harnesses the tremendous power of VR, sending you on a truly epic adventure through a never before seen world.
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March 2019
13. Waste Knights: Second Edition
Waste Knights is a post-apocalyptic board game in which Australia’s indebted government has been bailed out by a private corporation.
Those SOBs then begin conducting evil experiments on citizens.
It’s like if the U.S. got taken over by JC Penny, who then forced everyone to wear their clothes.
What a nightmare that would be.
12. Wavelength
“A broccoli cheddar bowl is a very warming thing.”
That’s a direct quote from their campaign video.
Which gave absolutely NO indication of how to play Wavelength.
So I actually had to read their page to figure it out.
Which, yes I know, took a scary amount of extra effort.
It basically works like this:
One person in the group knows where a hidden arrow is pointing between two points on a spectrum.
Their job is to get the rest of the group to figure out exactly where the arrow is pointing by giving a clue.
So if the far left said, “short” and the far right said “tall” and the arrow was pointing very far right, you might want to give the clue, “Shaquille O’Neal riding a giraffe.”
11. Coloma
Coloma reminds me of a modern day Oregon Trail in board game form.
So if it’s anything like that game, you’ll spend a lot of time killing far more meat than you could ever possibly carry and watching your friends slowly die of dysentery.
Your goal in Coloma is to settle the new West while striking it rich.
10. Throw Throw Burrito
The makers of the most-backed Kickstarter campaign ever are at it again.
And this time things are gettin’ spicy.
Throw Throw Burrito is the world’s first game where you collect cards and throw burritos at your friends.
It’s sorta like dodgeball for hungry people.
(Which is an all-too accurate description of Taco Night at my house.)
You can read our full Throw Throw Burrito review here.
February 2019
9. Hyperspace
Have you guys ever taken a deep breath, looked up at the stars, and thought to yourself, “Damn, space is amazing.”
No?
Me neither!
Still, Hyperspace looks pretty dang bada**.
Choose from 25 different highly unique alien civilizations as you try to dominate the galaxy in this supremely challenging strategy board game.
8. Vindication Board Game
The goal of Vindication is to restore your lost honor before the end of the epoch.
But I lost my honor long ago when I ate 6 Twinkies in an 11-minute span.
Anyway, well over 5,000 backers seem to agree that this is one Kickstarter board game not to be missed.
7. Human Punishment – Project Hell Gate
Naming a game “Human Punishment” sounds strangely sexual.
But I’ve been assured that this game is strictly PG-13.
It takes place in a post-apocalyptic world and features some SWEET lookin’ ID cards.
6. PARKS – The Board Game
My parents live in Montana. (Hi, mom!)
So I’ve actually been to Yellowstone quite a few times. (No big deal or anything.)
PARKS does an outstanding job capturing the beauty of our national parks in an ultra-playable board game with tons of re-play value.
5. Munchkin Dungeon by CMON
Game maker CMON is to Kickstarter board games what LeBron James is to the NBA…
The undisputed king.
They’re back with their whopping 36th game in Munchkin Dungeon.
Does anyone else think that name is incredibly hard to say?!
4. Suburbia – Collector’s Edition
Have you guys ever seen the movie Disturbia with Shia LaBeouf?
I remember seeing it in high school and thinking it was really good, but NO ONE ever talks about it.
What does that have to do with Suburbia?
Absolutely nothing, but the name reminded me of that movie.
In all seriousness, this game actually looks really cool.
You try to build the best city, which attracts the largest population.
It’s kind of like a hybrid of Sims and Catan.
The original game came out a full 7 years ago, but this collector’s edition features all of the expansion packs and some cool new perks, too!
January 2019
3. Air Deck 2.0 – The Ultimate Travel Playing Cards
Now don’t think for a second that these are just normal playing cards cut in half.
Ok, they’re pretty much just normal playing cards just cut in half.
BUT that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t get them.
Their incredibly compact size makes them perfect for traveling.
And a heavy-duty, 100% waterproof finish means these will last for YEARS without breaking down.
2. Onimaru
Like Beyonce, Sting, and LeBorn, this game needs but one name.
ONIMARU!!!!!!!!
(Did you just yell that in your head because I definitely did.)
It’s an completely interactive strategy game featuring all sorts of fully customizable attacks.
You can even create your own one-of-a-kind hero on your way to total domination.
1. Malkyrs – The Interactive Card Game
Smelly cheese and elongated loafs of bread aren’t the only things coming out of France these days.
The French team behind Malkyrs made a super interactive trading card game that combines the best of digital and physical gaming.
You can digitally scan your trading cards to trade, level up, and play online, while also using the physical cards with friends who live nearby.
It’s the perfect combo to maximize both fun AND long-term playability.
Check out the best Kickstarter board games from 2018.
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