3 Upcoming Kickstarter Board Games – Krakens and Railroads

While April was packed, May and onwards is looking quite interesting too when it comes to board game campaigns on Kickstarter. From new titles continuing a beloved roll & write franchise to 2 newcomers we simply had to write about. 

Like always… enjoy! And of course expect more previews coming soon.

High Noon – May 5th

Wild West might be among our favourite settings for movies and all sorts of games. High Noon, created by Dwight Cenac and published by White Label Games is a full blown western game set in the end of the famous era. The action places take early in the 20th century. All players represent squads who try to determine who’s the best, strongest and of course most adept at using a revolver. 

As for the gameplay department, the High Noon is a highly competitive, skirmish game – just what you’d expect from something called like that. Cowboys and outlaws, controlled by players through action cards, shoot and punch each other to determine the winner. Loot crates spice up the situation even more. Whoever has dealt the most damage during shootouts wins, but players can choose to play until there is only one of them alive.

Railroad Ink Challenge – May 12th

One of the most critically acclaimed roll & write games is getting not one but 2 brand new editions. Both are set to launch on Kickstarter on May 12th. Railroad Ink was available in 2 versions so far: Deep Blue and Blazing Red. Both could be played by 2 to 6 players and had them compete in creating the best train connections possible. Dice determined which shapes of tracks were available each turn. Each edition had some new rules and new dice that added elements like rivers to the game.

Railroad Ink Challenge is by no means another variant of the same game. The creators put a huge focus on player to player interaction, which previously was rather minimal. Apart from the classic gameplay, everyone will compete to complete certain goals. Only the fastest will gain the rewards for these. Goals are randomly chosen each game and add heaps of replayability. And that’s not all! Other innovations include new dice that allow for more complex strategies like connecting universities or factories to expand your options at hand. Like its predecessor Railroad Ink Challenge comes in 2 versions. Lush Green will have you add forest landscapes into your area while the Shining Yellow is desert and oasis themed.

Feed the Kraken – Fall 2020

This was supposed to launch really soon, but got postponed to late 2020 because of the quarantine situation. Still, for fans of games with really high player counts, it’s likely going to be worth the wait. Feed the Kraken is a social deduction game, but compared to Mafia or Werewolf, it uses actual board with hexes and plenty of components. 

Like in most social deduction games, the identities of each crew member are secret. You’re on a voyage together and the way you finish it depends on which people manage to manipulate the others. Some want to reach a safe harbor, other – make it into the Bermuda Triangle and some really insane cultist ones – to become a breakfast for a huge, hungry Kraken. The ship is filled with chaos. Sailors are scared, pirates know other pirate players and cultists have a unique power of converting crewmen into their own brothers in tentacled faith. 

Apart from having hidden agendas, two players assume the roles of lieutenant and navigator who have the final say of where to sail the ship. These 2 roles keep changing (you know, booze and stuff) so new people take charge and: who knows where they’ll take your ship next. Players need to keep talking and bluffing to become leaders and steer everyone towards their desired destinations (including the Kraken’s belly). The game is playable by 5 to 11 people so there might be a lot crewmembers to trick.