Your top crowd-sourced board games

[coopasonic]

I haven't posted a top ten thread in a while and with two board game conventions happening this weekend it seems like it is time.

What are your top 10 (or 5 or 1 or whatever) board games that happened through Kickstarter?

The idea was initially games that *you* personally kickstarted, but I'll allow exceptions as long as crowd-sourcing was how the game came to be and you make note of what the exception is (friend kickstarted it, waited for it to show up in shops, whatever).

[hepcat]

• Aoen's End

• Flash Point

• Mistfall: Heart of the Mist

• Dawn of the Zeds 3rd edition

• Nemo's War

• Mare Nostrum

• Galaxy Defenders

• Shadows of Brimstone (So sue me, I like it in spite of all the production issues)

• Tiny Epic Galaxies

• Defenders of the Last Stand

[coopasonic]

hepcat and I agree on a couple!

10) Myth
9) Zombicide
8) Xenoshyft Onslaught
7) Hostage Negotiator
6) Fugitive
5) Galaxy Defenders
4) Arcadia Quest
3) Burgle Bros
2) Evolution: Climate
1) Flash Point: Fire Rescue

[Ertic]

These are games that I purchased via Kickstarter, and believe they are all crowd funded. Not sure how CMON or Stegmaier games get to print outside of it.

10. Thunderbirds
9. Myth
8. Dawn of the Zeds 3rd
7. Flash Point
6. Galaxy Defenders
5. Scythe
4. Gloomhaven
3. Too Many Bones
2. Kingdom Death Monster
1. Blood Rage

[hepcat]

10) Myth

I debated adding Myth, but I've yet to play with the new rules. At least long enough to get a feel for it. Plus, I'm still waiting on a deck of updated monster and treaure cards that I paid for and am now assuming is lost money.

[hentzau]

10. Pairs
9. Bottom of the 9th
8. Harbour
7. Steampunk Rally
6. Tiny Epic Galaxy
5. Xia: Legends of a Drift System
4. Gloomhaven
3. 7th Contient
2. Shadows of Brimstone
1. D-Day Dice

There's some good gaming in there...

[coopasonic]

10) Myth

I debated adding Myth, but I've yet to play with the new rules. At least long enough to get a feel for it. Plus, I'm still waiting on a deck of updated monster and treaure cards that I paid for and am now assuming is lost money.

Myth is on the list because I ran out of games and I didn't want to add more Zombicide. I considered adding Pairs, but I've never actually played it. I've at least played Myth.

Hopefully Gloomhaven, Powerships and Dinogenics will earn spots on the list next year and I can drop Myth. There's also Hero Realms that I have, but have yet to play.

[Chrisoc13]

Hmm... sadly despite lots of kickstarters backed I think I have rarely backed that many that I find to be GOOD games. I have bought a few in the pledge manager that are pretty good, but as you will see on my list those are mostly reprints of already well-known games. Doing this list was a bit depressing as I realized I should basically use kickstarter to buy already known entities getting new life.

So here is my list.

10. Galacy Defenders- I no longer own it, but I can't help but admit this game truly felt like Xcom the board game. It just didn't get enough play to be worth keeping for me.
9. Zombicide- Really a guilty pleasure. I don't like the Black Plague version as much though, as I find the modern themeing more fun.
8. Manhattan Project- I didn't back it, my friend did. But I enjoy this game, and I think it is one of the top 3 games ever for my wife so we enjoy it a lot. I bought it retail though.
7. Fields of Green- A re-theme of among the stars, and something I have really enjoyed. Not a reprint!
6. High Frontier 3rd edition- A reprint of an old classic, really well done I think. I didn't actually use kickstarter to get this, but bought it shortly after.
5. Yokohama- Not a reprint really, but bringing the game over from Japan. I really enjoy this one.
4. Pyramid Arcade- A collection of great games, somewhat of a reprint.
3. Stop Thief! A reprint of a classic from when I was a kid. Great fun! More of a restoration than a reprint, but I love it.
2.Carson City- Yep, you guessed it, another reprint. But it is a really great game, and the production quality of the kickstarter version is so high.
1. Mare Nostrum: Empires- Yet another reprint of an older game, this time with some updates. Beautiful and very fun game.

Ironically some of the game listed by others... are among my least favorite games I have bought. Just goes to show different strokes for different folks. I do have 11 outstanding kickstarters currently, although one is being delivered this week (Gloomhaven).

[Lordnine]

I've actually been happy with the majority of the board games I've backed.

Top 10:
1. Scythe (one of my most played games)
2. Cthulhu Wars (two KS worth)
3. Conan (shaky initial release but updated rule book + campaign book has elevated to to near top of my list)
4. Mare Nostrum (just all around solid game that plays fast and well with most player counts)
5. Blood Rage
6. Sol (small indie game that delivered on all promises)
7. Vast
8. Dungeon Lords Anniversary Edition
9. The Others
10. Among the Stars: Revival

I also have a copy of Gloomhaven arriving soon which I imagine will push one of these off the list.

[Blackhawk]

Dungeon Roll

It isn't a great game, but it is the only game I've actually Kickstarted. My budget is limited, and while there are some games that crop up that look fantastic and I'd love to get in on, there are other games on the shelves that are also fantastic that are thoroughly reviewed and I know are good that I don't own. I can't afford to gamble.

[Zarathud]

(1) Blood Rage [purchased after Kickstarter release]
(2) Alien Frontiers
(3) Zombicide
(4) Tiny Epic Galaxies
(5) Vast
(5) Xia (base game with expansion)
(6) Pairs
(7) Scythe [purchased after Kickstarter release]
(8) Game Canopy [board game carrying bag]
(9) Hopefully 7th Continent

[hepcat]

Okay, now your worst crowd sourced boardgames! I’ll start.

1) Apocrypha. I really dislike this game.
2) Massive Darkness. Uninspired dungeon crawl with little to no choices.
3) Martians: A Story of Civilization. Hire an English translator if you’re going to sell a Polish game to America. Don’t just run the original rules through google translate.
4) Pillars of Eternity the card game. It’s not awful...it’s just meh. It had so much promise though.
5) Capes and Villains remastered. 5 years and counting. Developer stopped answering emails about 2 years ago.
6) Agents of SMERSH. It’s not really a game, more like a choose your own adventure game without the adventure getting in the way.

[Lordnine]

Okay, now your worst crowd sourced boardgames!

My shame list is actually pretty small. While a couple things I’ve backed I might not do a second time, the four below are the only ones I strongly regret.

1. Warquest (spent a lot on this one, original rules were borderline unplayable, bad graphic design.)
2. Rise of Kage (Games doesn’t work as written in the rulebook, revised rules are supposed to be better but I sold it away when I had the chance.)
3. Raid & Trade (Would have about as much luck rolling a die to see who wins.)
4. How to Serve Man (Super simple worker placement with bad art direction.)

[AWS260]

1. Nemo's War 2nd edition. So good.
2. High Frontier 3rd edition. Also so good.
3. Wizard School

I also backed Myth, but didn't play it enough to give it a place on this list.

[baelthazar]

My top list:

1. Arcadia Quest
2. Cthulhu Wars
3. Pyramid Arcade
4. Mare Nostrum/Fief/878 Vikings (while I have yet to play them much, the Academy Games KS are always top notch)
5. Nemo's War 2nd
6. Roll Player expansion (with the base game) - My friends and I loved the base game when we played it. So more should be good.
7. Scythe
8. Blood Rage

My regrets:

1. Anything Zombicide - I am not sure why I back these. Each iteration left me cold. That said, I have made a profit selling them on eBay.
2. The Doom that Came to Atlantic City - for obvious FTC violating reasons.
3. Rum & Bones - What looked like a cool skirmish game turned out to be a dice chucking slog.
4. Mercs: Recon - Over hyped and disappointing minis, under produced cardboard, and convoluted rules.
5. Massive Darkness (probably) - The buzz is not good and I have a giant box just sitting around (and we may be moving soon).

My worries:
1. Darkest Night: 2nd Edition - this is taking way longer than they thought. I am giving them a chance because of the original and Nemo's War 2nd.
2. Railways of Nippon - I love the Railways games, and this is supposed to be for 2 players. But it is consistently delayed.
3. Heroes of Land, Air, and Sea - Gamelyn makes good mini games (Tiny Epic X). Can it pull of a Not-Tiny Epic game? It looks neat and on track.
4. Empires of the Void II - The original EotV was a really neat game that I never got much time with. The new version is a massive redesign.
5. Gloomhaven - It has to be said, as it arrives today. It is also BAD timing, as I have to find a place to put it while we try to sell a house.

[hepcat]

Darkest Night and Gloomhaven should not worry you in any way, shape or form. They're all proven winners. And both developers will make good on their promise of delivery. It may take a little longer than predicted, but they're trustworthy.

[coopasonic]

The worst, in no particular order...
Apocrypha - hepcat scared me off before I even tried playing it. I was tired of PACG shortly after I backed this.
I Hate Zombies - rock paper scissors the card game... backed to support BGG, nothing I would ever play
XenoShyft Onslaught - I think I played this once. It was hard and not particularly interesting.
Railway Express - I don't know, I didn't even try to learn it. Why did I back this?
D-Day Dice - convoluted
Zpocalypse - I tried a couple times and couldn't figure it out
Myth - flexible rules... no.
Dungeon Heroes Advance - again no idea what it is, it's still on my shelf though. Maybe one day I will find out.
Xia: Legends of a Drift System - after I backed it I figured out it wasn't a game for me.
MERCS: Recon - that was a LOT of money to find out the minis required assembly

And that, my friends, is why I hardly back board games any more. DinoGenics better deliver, big time! Oh and in time for BGGCON.

[hepcat]

Have you tried Xia? It really is one of my favorites. I didn’t back it because two others have it here in Chicago, but I try to play it whenever possible. Including this Friday.

[coopasonic]

No I haven't tried Xia. Sandbox is not my kind of game.

[Ænima]

No I haven't tried Xia. Sandbox is not my kind of game.

I’m not big into sandbox games either, but I love Xia.

[Chrisoc13]

Have you tried Xia? It really is one of my favorites. I didn’t back it because two others have it here in Chicago, but I try to play it whenever possible. Including this Friday.

I'm actually bummed I have never played it because... I think I would love it. But my current game group is really into euros and very heavy games, which I really love, but they are not into games of this nature.

My worse crowd sourced games:

4. Dungeon Roll- It's fine for solo, but it is really multiplayer solitaire. Just not for me.
3. Tiny Epic Western- The worst of the Tiny Epic games that I have tried. Just really not that enjoyable.
2. Mercs: Recon- This company is a hot mess, and this game is a great example of that. Luckily I sold it to get my money back out of it because geez... it was no good.
1. Myth- I know they have fixed this game supposedly but wow this was a stinker when it came out. I sold it and made a little money off it though.

Most games I have backed fall firmly in the "meh" camp.