Welcome to Kickstart Monday! This is our weekly series featuring 2 or more crowdfunding projects that have caught our eye. We scour over platforms like Kickstarter and Gamefound to find projects that interest us. Our picks this week are:

  • Western Legends Stories from Kolossal Games
  • Sea Beasts from Littlest Lantern

Read on to find out more about both of these games

Western Legends Stories

Our first game this week is Western Legends Stories from Kolossal Games on Kickstarter.

Western Legends Stories is a new standalone competitive and narrative open world campaign game for 1 to 5 players set in the Wild West. While it uses many of the same mechanics as the original Western Legends it is a standalone game and now an expansion.

In the game you will explore the Wild West starting at a simple trading post but discovering new lands as the map expands. You’ll find towns filled with characters, natural landscapes, trails, canyons and many other unique places.

Much of the game is driven by Story cards which provide scenarios and objectives for the players as well as introduce new characters, locations and narrative events. Story cards will build an ongoing interconnected narrative as players complete their conditions and challenges. The story cards are included in 5 unique campaign scenarios that can be replayed multiple times. They also feature branching storylines so you can be sure your choices have an impact and you can have a unique experience  each time you play.

The sixth scenario offers a full open world game mode where you can forge your own destiny. You may find yourself gathering resources and equipment, fighting bandits, hunting wild animals, or even find yourself on the run from the law. The choice is all yours as you build your own legend in this unique open world experience. 

Western Legend Stories is available now on Kickstarter at the following pledge levels:

  • Retail Pledge – $75 – The core game and the Legends of the Frontier stretch goal pack.
  • Deluxe Pledge – $120 – Everything in the retail pledge plus deluxe components including a dice tower, save bags, wooden markers, additional story cards and solo mode.

The campaign for Western Legends Stories will only run until November 26, 2024 so saddle up and get on over to the Kickstarter page before then to make your pledge.

Sea Beasts

Next up this week we have Sea Beasts which comes to us on Kickstarter from Littlest Lantern.

Sea Beasts is a cooperative monster battling “ocean crawler” for 1 to 2 players (or up to 6 players with expansions). Players will join the crew of a Viking ship on a voyage through treacherous waters.

You must sail your precious cargo safely to its destination as you battle beasts from the depths along the way. You will navigate your ship across a tactical sea map drawing your ship’s path and drawing depth cards depending on the depth of water your ship sails upon. As your ship treads into deeper and deeper waters from the Shallows to the Deep to the Abyss, you’ll face increasingly dangerous foes.

In the deepest waters of the Abyss lurk the legendary monsters like the Kraken, the Giant Tortoise and the Ancient Horror. Each of these dangerous monstrosities is represented by massive and detailed miniatures many up to 80mm tall. To slay these beasts you’ll take on the role of a mighty Viking each with their own unique asymmetric abilities. Choose from standard Viking archetypes like the Warrior and the Berserker, or step into the shoes of a more unusual option like the Druid or the Mystic.

In battle, your Vikings will spend Sweat tokens to take actions or use Beast Blood that they have collected from damaging beasts. Beast Blood is used to activate special powerful Blood Rage actions. If the Vikings manage to slay a beast they will be able to collect its bounty to add to the final voyage score.

In the end the Vikings will either successfully deliver their crates of cargo to the destination to win or lose if their boat is sunk or all their crates are lost to the sea. In addition to the base game, there are number of expansions for Sea Beasts available in this campaign:

  • The Wilderness – adds The Druid and The Berserker characters, 5 new beasts and 1 legendary beast.
  • Rocky Waters – Allows for 2 additional players, and includes upgraded components
  • Bloody Waters – Allows for 2 additional players, and includes upgraded components 

While we are at it let’s take a look at those pledge levels to see how you can get your hands on this game and its expansions:

  • Basic Pledge – $49 – Includes the base game, deluxe beast attack dice and all basic stretch goals.
  • Heroic Pledge – $99 – Base game with larger foil box, The Wilderness expansion, deluxe beast attack dice and legendary beast miniatures
  • Legendary Pledge (all in) – $149 – The base game with the heroic foil box, The Wilderness expansion, Bloody Waters expansion, and Rocky waters expansion, metal attack dice, deluxe beast parts and submerged tokens and sun dropped legendary beast miniatures.

Set sail now to get your copy of Sea Beasts because the campaign will only run until December 5, 2024.

Did we miss your favorite project?

Thank you for checking out this week’s Kickstart Monday! If you find these interesting or want some attention on a Kickstarter or other crowdfunded projects that you would like to read more about please share your thoughts with us via our social media or email.

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