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.

The Tomb of Gyzaengaxx

Our first project this week is a new offering in the Gooey Cube line of adventures for Dungeons and Dragons fifth edition. Their new Kickstarter is for The Tomb of Gyzaengaxx, an adventure and campaign setting made in collaboration with Luke Gygax the son of Gary Gygax.

The Kickstarter has two major offerings, The Tomb of Gyzaengaxx “Mega-Adventure” and the Environs of Gyzaengaxx campaign setting. The Tomb of Gyzaengaxx is an adventure for players levels 6 to 8. The setting is described as “lampoony, mysterious, and grimdark”. In the land around the tomb, players will discover the village of Etholmm and perhaps hear the terrifying rumors surrounding the tomb. They may also stumble across the wicked village of Blum full of nefarious characters. The tomb itself, which was once the keep of the wizard Garold Gyzaengaxx before his disappearance, is full of monsters, puzzles, traps, darkness and mysteries for the players to uncover.

The adventure also serves as an homage to Gary Gygax, the creator of D&D and is filled with references and Easter eggs related to the beginnings of D&D and the history of TTRPGs. And true to form for Gooey Cube, the adventure includes detailed maps, handouts, artwork, NPC portraits, magic item cards and special Gooey Rewards cards.

The campaign setting the Environs of Gyzaengaxx expands on the adventure offering new locations, dungeons, villages, NPCs and plenty of side tales and quests for players to explore. Included in the box set is an immersive lore book, 2 new character classes, 2 new races, and many new spells, magic items and monsters. On top of this Kickstarter backers will get the unlocked stretch goals which at the time of writing include new classes, races, spells, magic items, as well as some  files for 3d printable miniatures and digital tokens for virtual tabletops.

The Tomb of Gyzaengaxx adventure stand-alone is available for $65 and the Campaign Setting on its own is $140. A bundle with the Adventure and campaign setting can be had for $200. Digital only copies are also available for each of these. Also worth noting is that all pledges are for the collectors editions that will only be available through Kickstarter. The campaign for The Tomb of Gyzaengaxx will run through March 25, 2024, so you will need to get your pledge in before then .

Ostia: Pirates Expansion

Our second project this week is the Ostia: Pirates Expansion from Uchibacoya on Kickstarter.

Ostia is a 1 to 4 player strategy game set in the Mediterranean in 103 A.D. centered around the port of Ostia, an important port in the ancient Roman Empire. In Ostia, players will command a fleet of ships sending them to explore other countries, establish trade routes and bring food and commodities to the people to gain the favor of citizens and nobles.

Players take actions using a mancala mechanism moving their ships through six distinct sections on their player board. Each section provides resources and/or actions. The player gathers resources for each ship in a section they choose then moves those ships placing a ship in each section clockwise and taking the action of the section where their last ship is placed. Players can build and upgrade ships, move their fleet to new locations, trade, build bases in different ports and supply food to the citizens and nobles.

In the new Pirates expansion for Ostia, exploration and trade have become more dangerous as pirates now patrol the seas around trading ports. Players must now equip themselves with weapons and legionnaires to repel the pirate threat. These new dangers aren’t without their rewards though, defeating pirates will gain you valuable treasure. Players can also expand the city of Ostia by building new buildings and must manage their reputation in the market of Trajan.

The campaign for the Ostia Pirates expansion offers a variety of pledge levels for backers including the opportunity to get a copy of the base game. If the Pirates expansion is all you need it is available for $39 with the standard pledge  but you can upgrade to the deluxe pledge for $64 and get deluxe metal components. The Basegame+Pirates pledge will get you just that, a copy of Ostia and the Pirates Expansion for $87. Further options are available that include additional expansions and upgraded components.  Sail on over to the Ostia: Pirates Expansion campaign page before March 26, 2024, to check out all the options and make your 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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