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, Gamefound, and Indigogo to find projects that interest us.

There are certainly some exciting projects out in crowdfunding land. Let’s take a look at a couple of games that we think you should check out.

Fief England

Our first game of the week is Fief England from Academy Games on Gamefound.

Fief England is a strategy game for 2 to 4 players set in medieval England. Players will lead a noble family in their pursuit of royal titles, wealth and influence. Players will manage the politics, economy and military of their noble family, contend with other lords and face outside threats like Viking invaders.

Players expand their economy by building mills in new lands which increase a player’s income. If you have expanded enough you may be able to claim a royal title which grants benefits like the ability to enact taxes, elect the next king or queen or gain victory points. The Church also plays a powerful role in this time period and your lords and ladies can become clergy members like bishops and abbesses who have access to the Church’s powerful sacred relics.

Event cards can sometimes provide benefits like boost to production but will also bring calamities down on the kingdom like the plague, famine and Viking invasions. Viking invaders can even capture your lords and ladies and  you will need to pay ransom to recover them! Players may also form alliances with each other through marriage between their lords and ladies. The fate of the two players is then tied to each other and they will win or lose the game together.

Devious players can still betray their allies though so be sure you can trust those you ally with. Conquering neighboring fiefdoms is an important way to expand your family’s power and you must gather armies of various units like archers, knights, and even siege engines to secure your own land while also seeking to expand. Your military is used in combat against both Viking invaders and the militaries of other players.

Fief England is available on Gamefound for $75 USD and if you make your pledge quickly you may be able to take advantage of their early bird special and get a free historical metal coin set along with your pledge. For those with kingly purses there is also an all in pledge for $170 USD which includes a giant map, an expansion, the metal coins and a set of 3D miniatures buildings. The campaign for Fief England ends on January 2, 2024, so you’ll need to pledge your loyalty before then.

Votes for Women

Our second game this week is Votes for Women from Fort Circle Games on Kickstarter. The campaign is for the game’s second printing.

Votes for Women is a historical strategy game setting during the women’s suffrage movement in the United States. 1 to 4 players can play the game either competitively or cooperatively (with a solitaire mode for a single player).

In the two player competitive scenario one player will take on the role of the suffragist while the other player plays as the opposition against suffrage. The suffragist’s first goal is to gain enough support in the congress to bring the 19th amendment to the states for ratification. To do this they will need to make use of their deck of action cards and the lobby action to move a total of six congress markers to the congress track representing the amendment advancing towards a vote. The opposition player will be looking to delay or prevent the vote entirely.

Players will also be taking actions to campaign across the united states moving their campaigners into different regions of the country and gathering support by campaigning in individual states. Support for or against suffrage can shift from side to side in a state as players spend resources and take actions to advance their cause. Once the 19th amendment has passed congress states will be able to ratify it or reject it based on the campaigning efforts of either side.

Victory for the suffragists is not an easy task though as they need 36 states to vote in favor of the amendment while the opposition only needs 13 total states to reject the law to win. Once the amendment has been proposed by congress each side will be in a race to win as many states as possible before the sixth turn of the game. Votes for Women’s design looks excellent and very interestingly  features actual historical portraits, photos, documents and artwork from the period.

Many of these are realistically replicated versions of the original documents allowing players to immerse themselves in the time period and theme while providing an educational opportunity as well. The second printing of Votes for women is available for $75 USD and backers should be looking to receive their copies around spring of 2024. The Kickstarter campaign for Votes for Women will conclude on January 25, 2024, so if you missed out on the first printing now is the time to pledge!

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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