Top 10 Favorite Crowdfunding Campaigns

boardgamequest.com:

As I look at my shelves, I see a lot of crowdfunded games. They stand out, not only because they’re good, but also because they’re massive boxes that no store would ever want to stock due to cost and probably local labor laws about lifting heavy objects. As someone who likes games with miniatures, crowdfunding really talks to my inner 10-year old self.

Last year I did a top 10 list of my crowdfunding campaigns that just missed the mark. So channeling my inner Monty Python to look on the bright side of life, what have been some of my favorite games that I’ve gotten from crowdfunding? I could probably fill another top 10 with my next favorites and games I need to play more but enough excuses, it’s showtime.

I remember the original but never played it. When I saw the campaign I thought my son (who was 4 years old when it was delivered) would love it when he got older. And he did, when we played it the next day. With a huge toy factor, this has hit the table a lot since late 2018 starting with simplified rules I implemented and slowly growing to the full version. I’m glad this is in big box stores to enchant a new generation with the simple joy of knocking figures over with marbles. This isn’t my favorite game, by a long shot, but the memories my son and I have made playing this together ranks it higher than it would’ve been if I was just rating the game by itself.

The world of Everdell is charming and I always enjoy building my tableau of constructions and critters. From the gorgeous art to the fun resources, everything (except the tree) about Everdell brings me joy. Adding in the modularity of the expansions there’s a ton of content to explore. Arguably there’s too much, but it’s a good upper body workout to heft the condominium-sized complete collection box around but I would still recommend starting with the base box and then piecemeal expansions unless it becomes an all-time favorite.

Swappable equipment on the miniatures, branching narrative, and three giant boxes