Kickstarter has been a platform for unique individuals to bring their board game concepts to life for many years! Here is our list for the top 15 Kickstarter Board games with the highest funding that have come out in recent years. 

15. Avatar Legends: The Roleplaying Game
 

Watch a small review of Avatar Legends! 

Since its tv premiere in February 2005, Avatar: The Last Airbender has been a phenomenon in pop culture. It has had multiple seasons, comics, video games, and a live-action movie (but we don’t talk about that). Pretty soon, there will also be a Netflix live-action tv series! What hasn’t the show influenced yet? How about a Dungeons & Dragons-esque board game? Now we’re talking! 

When its Kickstarter page first started on August 3, 2021, Magpie Games had managed to raise $9,535,317 of the intended $500,000 (as of September 2022), and it promises to be an amazing game for both fans of the show and RPGs alike. 

Avatar Legends: the RPG that everybody has been waiting for!

While fans of the show may be disappointed that you will not take control of beloved characters such as Aang, Toph, or Zuko, you’ll be pleased to know that you will instead create your own characters from across the four nations (Earth, Fire, Wind, Water). Much like in D&D, you’ll create your own characters and flesh them out to have more complex background stories that can impact the adventure that you’ll take them on. These characters will complement the other members of your party. 

Yes, you can be a bender if you want to (that’s one of the big things about the show after all!), but there are other character types as well that you can pick if you want to try a non-bender approach, such as a martial artist. You’ll also have the opportunity to pick which Avatar era your characters will hail from, not just Aang’s or Korra’s. Want to live in a world where Kyoshi was the Avatar and deal with government corruption? Boom, you got it. 

Choose any era from the lore of Avatar for your adventures!

Since the adventure will be unique to each party, we won’t go into details on what your goal ultimately will be. During your adventures though, you’ll come across events that will require you and your group to talk your way out of, investigate, or even fight through. You’ll trigger moments where you roll dice to determine your success. Roll well, and you’ll get one of the better outcomes. Roll poorly, and you’ll have to learn from your mistakes and move on. 

To reiterate, this promises to be a hit for Avatar and RPG fans alike. On Kickstarter, Magpie Games frequently release updates on the game, and they recently announced that Avatar Legends will begin preorders for the general public in October 2022. 

Buy this game if: 

• You love either the Avatar series, RPG games, or both.
• You finally want to live out your elemental-bending dreams.

14. Exploding Kittens

How to play Exploding Kittens 

That’s right, this party game has ONCE AGAIN made the list. That is because it started out as a Kickstarter in 2015, and is one of the most successful party games to ever be funded to its fullness and beyond. Since then it has had not one, not two, but THREE expansions, furthering the fun that you can have with this game. With over 219,000 backers currently on Kickstarter, there is no stopping these cats. 

Many of you may already be familiar with the game, but here is the rundown: The object of the game is to be the last one alive by not having an exploding kitten in your hand. And there are multiple cards that you can end up with to ensure that you don’t get these kittens while simultaneously forcing your friends to get them. You can take actions that help you look through the draw pile, steal someone else’s cards, or even stop a player from using an action card of their own. 

Imploding Kittens: the first of three expansions created from the explosive success of its predecessors!

There is a reason I have chosen this game to be in many of my articles, and that is because it is FUN! My friends and I can never get enough of this game, and since its funding on Kickstarter, there have been multiple expansions that keep that fun going. 

Buy this game if:

• You want a game with multiple expansions to keep the fun going. 
• You want something that has quick gameplay for multiple playthroughs.

13. Tainted Grail: The Fall of Avalon
 

How to play Tainted Grail 

King Arthur and his Knights of the Round Table have been the exemplary standard of everything that is good and righteous in the world for many generations. However there is a dark underbelly to their story in Tainted Grail,  an ugly truth is about to come out. With almost $6,000,000 in US dollars raised on Kickstarter, The Fall of Avalon promises to be an epic board game. 

Inspired by Arthurian legends, Tainted Grail: Fall of Avalon is an adventure/survival co-op game where you and other players set out into the world of Avalon to find out what is causing the land to fall into darkness. Your characters will be the lowest of the low, despised by everyone around you. The only reason you're the last hope for the future of Avalon is that there is literally no one better left to take on the quest. 

Take your characters through Avalon and try to save the land!

You’ll go through 15 chapters of gameplay, building your card deck as you play by gathering resources and items. Your character will grow along with your card deck. These cards will also be important to the game’s combat mechanics, determining your move set, and how much damage you’ll deal to monsters that you encounter. You’ll also have markers to keep track of your character’s attributes and sanity.

The game is expected to release in December 2022, so keep an eye out for it. With multiple chapters to go through, it’s perfect for hardcore gamers but not as great for casual gamers, so choose who to play it with wisely. There is also a solo mode if you choose to take on the horrors of Avalon yourself. 

Buy this game if: 

• You want an epic adventure with lots of miniatures and a great big map.
• You love Arthurian and Celtic lore. 

12. The Binding of Isaac: Four Souls Requiem

The Binding of Isaac: Four Souls Requiem introduction video 

The Binding of Isaac, a roguelike video game released back in 2011, had players crying their way through levels filled with disturbing images, gruesome deaths, and one religiously over-zealous mother. Then, seven years later, Isaac found himself in a board game called Four Souls! Then a couple of years after that, with almost $7,000,000 pledged out of the $100,000 goal on Kickstarter, that aforementioned game returned with all new reprints, an expansion, and the new, clever title of Four Souls Requiem.

In the Binding of Isaac: Four Souls Requiem, your goal is to collect four souls. You’ll gain these souls by defeating bosses in dungeon-crawling-esque gameplay. All players start with a character that has a special ability. Throughout the game, you’ll gain additional abilities or treasures that will help you defeat these monsters.

If you are struggling to defeat the bosses to gain their souls, you can also gain them through other cards. If you find one of these special cards such as Pandora’s Box or Holy Chest and meet its objectives (written on the card for your convenience), you can gain souls that way. This way you wouldn’t ever have to fight a boss, theoretically.  

Trudge through the fights and card-slinging until the first player to collect all four of their souls first is the winner. Thankfully, Four Souls Requiem has already gone through the grueling trial of Kickstarter and is currently available for purchase to the public. If you liked the video game, you’ll definitely find enjoyment in this board game.

Buy this game if:

• You love The Binding of Isaac.
• You like the card-stacking gameplay.
• You want something with hundreds of cards that have unique artwork.

11. Rising Sun

How to play Rising Sun 

Politics AND gods aplenty? Count us in! With  $4,228,060 pledged out of the original $300,000 goal, Rising Sun brings Asian folklore and conquest into one package.  

  Set in Feudal Japan, you and up to four other players attempt to expand your territories as much as possible. Using political influence, gain alliances, sweet-talk and get cozy with the gods, whatever you can do to make it happen. Each game will be played in four seasons: Spring, Summer, Autumn, and Winter. Each season will come with a political phase and a war phase. During the political phase, players will prepare their clans by selecting a Mandate (the one that acts as the clan’s representative). Different Mandates offer different game strategies. 
 

Make pacts with gods to earn victory over your foes!

After that is the war phase. How well you do during this phase will depend on what you did during the political phase. Gaining favor with the gods will earn you extra forces and clan members for your fight that is to come. You’ll complete these phases during the Spring, Summer, and Autumn seasons. After that,  Winter will come and draw everything to a close. You will then tally all of your victory points. The player with the most victory points after Winter is the winner. 

Definitely an interesting game, but if you are not into games with politics or extensive rules for each phase of the game, this might not be for you. If you love Japanese folklore or games with detailed art and figurines, then you should give this a shot. Rising Sun has been available for purchase since 2018. 

Buy this game if:

• Japanese folklore interests you.
• You are a fan of miniatures that come with board games because this one definitely has some amazing figures.

10. Etherfields

How to play Etherfields 

Welcome to Etherfield, travelers. Please close your eyes and let your body sink into a deep slumber. We hope you sleep well, because you’ll soon enter into the world of dreams. Having raised approximately $4,431,409 on Kickstarter, Etherfield takes you on a journey where your body has been taken from you, and you strive to get it back.

Etherfield has a vast story and lore, with gameplay matching it, so we’ll keep it as short and simple as possible: You’ll first develop your character from deck-building then enter the realm of dreams to complete your goals. All throughout the game, you’ll spend cards in your hand to gain Intel (Wrath, Cunning, and Awareness) to use as a resource while in the Dreamworld map (big map) and the Dreamscape map (little map). Depending on your character, they may need more of one than the other to complete tasks such as combat and investigations. 

Traverse through the Dream Gates and defeat enemies you come across!

Your whole goal is to locate and enter Dream Gates. Dream Gates are like big dungeons where you need to complete puzzles and defeat enemies in order to complete the dungeon. Doing so will get you better loot to prepare for the next Dream Gate. But be careful and watch what you do in this realm, for every action and interaction will leave a mark, according to the game.

There are currently 2 campaigns that can take many days to complete, so if you have a group of friends that are into that, then please keep an eye out for this game, which will be released in the US hopefully soon, but there are no hard set timeframes listed as of right now. 

Buy this game if:

• You have been looking for a big, epic fantasy adventure.

9. The 7th Continent

How to play 7th Continent 

I remember a time during middle school when my public library had a bunch of those “choose your own adventure” books where when you’re given a choice, and depending on the choice that you make, you turn to a different page in the book. From there you read on and find out what happened to your adventurer. Did he survive? Did he meet an untimely demise? Either way, they were a lot of fun to read. Now with over $7,000,000 earned on top of its original $40,000 goal, The 7th Continent’s goal is to provide that fun mechanic into a unique board game!  

In the 7th Continent, your character finds that after a long journey back home, he had been cursed somewhere along the way and must find out how to break it before it kills him. You’ll travel back to the 7th Continent (which is where you believe you picked up your curse during your travels) and gather items and make choices along the way. 

During the setup, you’ll put terrain cards down that will act as the world your character exists in. As you choose which area your character explores, you’ll flip the cards up to reveal the location. Every step you take will cost you energy points, which you get by drawing cards. Every action you take, such as hunting and crafting items, will also cost you energy points. Try not to use them all up at once! 

Make your way back to the 7th Continent to break your curse!

There are currently four curses that your adventurer can get, so there is replay value to The 7th Continent, which will please many gamers. And if the main game is not enough excitement for you, there are currently expansions available as well to keep the adventure going! 

If you want a game that feels like every choice and step you make could affect your entire gameplay, I highly recommend you try this! It becomes a game of discovery and curiosity, and you’ll find joy in playing this over and over again to find new paths to take. And unlike other board games, if you need to step away for a bit, there is a unique save system to help you keep track of your progress! 

Buy this game if: 

• You love the Choose Your Own Adventure style games. 
• You need a game that can be played solo or with friends.

8. Nemesis: Lockdown

How to play Nemesis: Lockdown 

Awaken Realms has been on fire lately with its Kickstarter campaigns. From Nemesis to Tainted Grail, they have received thousands of supporters from across the globe. And now they’ve done it again with a stand-alone expansion to Nemesis- Nemesis: Lockdown. With almost $6,000,000 in US dollars pledged, fans will get the scares and thrills from the original board game, with a few new twists. 

Much like the original, each character will have two secret objectives, and when the Nemesis makes its first appearance in the game, the player must choose one and discard the other. The aliens will make appearances throughout the board, and the choices you make will either keep you alive, injure you, or potentially get you killed instantly. 

What Lockdown brings to the table is new characters to play as, including the janitor and the lab rat (a human that was used for experiments aboard the ship, presumably). There is also a new mechanic where light plays an important factor. On its Kickstarter page, we’ve been told that you can choose to wander the ship in total darkness, but that makes encounters with the alien or traitor more difficult to escape Actions such as shooting your gun or leaving a room will also be less successful if attempted. 

You think that you can survive Lockdown?

There will also be computers that, if you can find a way to power them, can give you a greater advantage in looking at contingency plans, checking rooms, increasing your knowledge of how to kill the baddie aliens, etc.  

It doesn’t come as a surprise to see so many supporters back this on Kickstarter. While the original Nemesis is a fantastic game, Lockdown promises to bring a bit more to the table but still keep the gameplay as simple as possible for newcomers., And the great news is that if you are interested this game is out now for you to play! 

Buy this game if: 

• You loved or wanted to play the original Nemesis board game.
• You still love miniatures in your gameplay.

7. The Witcher: Old World

With an adventurous narrative and clever monster-slaying mechanics, The Witcher video game series has been a favorite for many gamers for many years. Its non-linear gameplay makes world-traveling and discovery a treat all on its own. Now, with a Kickstarter backing of $6,680,483 (US dollars), Go On Board Games hopes to bring the world of the Witcher to you as a tabletop adventure!  

The Old World introduces you to five Witcher schools which were created to handle the monsters that lurk through the lands. Five promising students emerged from these schools to travel the world and prove their worth. Set before the times of Geralt, you and your friends will be taking the role of these five Witchers in the Old World and compete against each other to prove who is the best.

Take on the role of a Witcher and prove you are the best one!

Each Witcher has their own unique abilities as well as their own card decks. You’ll be building this deck through your playthrough to include specialties such as creating potions or making your character stronger. You’ll also come across monsters during your travels that will test the mettle of your training at the Witcher schools. Your abilities as well as your items can help you defeat these monsters. 

If you like the video games, you should definitely give this a try. The monster-slaying mechanics are its most unique feature, and it is pretty cool to see a Witcher game that involves new characters that you can play as. According to its Kickstarter page, the release for the game was Give this one a go! 

Buy this game if:  

• You have played the Witcher video games and also love board games.

6. Casting Shadows: The Board Game

How to play Casting Shadows 

Anyone that is familiar with Here To Slay might be familiar with the Unstable Unicorn games. Sometimes wacky, sometimes irreverent, but all of the games from this publisher have been a joy to play on my table lately. Recently, they have taken to Kickstarter for a brand new game, and have already raised $4,064,068 so far from the original $100,000 goal. So once again, we can expect to see cutesy little animals do big, amazing things. Here is Casting Shadows. 

In Casting Shadows, you and up to three other players will go around the board and collect resources as well as spells and counterspells. These resource cards will be very important later on so be sure the gather as much as you can.

During your turn, you’ll have four actions that you can take out of a possible six: Reroll, travel, refresh, collect, protect, and cast. Again, you can only do four of these actions, so plan your turn carefully. After you have collected enough resources, your character will have the opportunity to embrace its dark energy and become a Shadow Beast! It’s the form that your character will be at its most powerful. In this form, you’ll also be able to summon shadow companions and battle the others for dominancy. 

Gather your resources and transform your creature to epic proportions!

This is right up your alley if you love Pokemon, and if you enjoy the art style that Unstable Unicorns use for each of its games, you won’t be disappointed here. Each of the woodland creatures that you start out with is cute and innocent-looking, but as you switch them to their Shadow Beast mode, they look extremely awesome! Plus as a bonus, if you are a backer on the Kickstarter page, you’ll get exclusive creatures on top of the standard creatures that come with the game.

This is expected to be released in March of 2023, so don’t miss out on this when it comes out!

Buy this game if:

• You love Pokemon. This game does bring to mind the evolution mechanics of the popular Japanese RPG.

5. Dark Souls: The Board Game

Learn to play Dark Souls The Board Game 

In the Dark Souls video game, you are encouraged to “git gud” as you die over and over and over and over again in order to get from point A to point B. Then you fight a boss in between and die over and over and over again. That’s the whole premise of the game. So how would that exactly translate to a board game? With over $4,205,189 pledged on Kickstarter to make this a reality, we’re about to find out. 

In Dark Souls: The Board Game, you’ll pick from various classes (Assassin, Warrior, Herald, and Knight) to create your character and explore dungeons and fight enemies, much like in the video game. So how is that done here? 

When you enter a room, you’ll draw an encounter card and that card will tell you what enemies will be in there. You’ll attack the enemy/enemies when you are in its range, and fights are done through the roll of the dice. Rolls are done depending on the equipment and weapons you have on you during the time. The stronger your armor and weapons, the better chance you have to clear the room and gain souls. Use then use the souls that to purchase better items. If any one of you dies during that time though, all of you have to go back to the last bonfire and try again. 

Take on epic bosses just like in the video game!

When you encounter a mini-boss or main boss, the move sets go a little differently. They’ll have their own cards that tell you what they’re capable of, so you can plan accordingly. That doesn’t mean that you’ll have an advantage though, as boss fights are grueling, tough, and sometimes unpredictable depending on your stats and your rolls. 

While you’ll have multiple attempts to make it through a difficult location in the video game, the board game doesn’t share that same luxury. All players will have a shared spark dial, and each time one of you dies or rests at a bonfire, a spark is snuffed. Lose all of these sparks and everyone loses. However, if you manage to get good and defeat the main boss of the campaign, you win!

If this board game caught your interest, then there is good news! It has been available since 2017, and many people have found enjoyment in the game so far. There is also a solo mode so you can attempt to take on the challenges yourself.  

Buy this game if:

• You are a fan of the Souls video game series from From Software. 
• You want a board game that provides a challenge each and every time.

4. Monster Hunter Worlds

How to play Monster Hunter World 

There is a trend going on in this list…It seems that when  RPG video games gain massive popularity, they eventually end up in board game form as well! And this video game is no exception. In Monster Hunter Worlds, $3,844,808 (US dollars) were pledged to give the RPG a board game facelift 

In the video game, you typically create your character, choose your weapon of choice for hunting, and set out on a mission to find and defeat a monster of a certain difficulty. Some stand their ground and fight, some run away to lick their wounds, while you prepare for the next encounter or you pursue to finish the job. So how is the board game similar and different? Apparently, it's not too far off. 

First, you need to locate the beast. That requires a similar choose-your-own-adventure style like The 7th Continent. You’ll move throughout the board, and your choices will either help you prevent pitfalls or cost you time and resources.  

Stare in awe at the epic size of these minatures!

The monsters you hunt will be AI-based, meaning that their attacks will be based on their own attack cards. Surviving and defeating these monsters will give you access to better weapons and armor, which, in turn, gives you better opportunities to take on bigger monsters later. And with a 30-hour campaign, that’s a lot of monsters to take on.  

From what we have seen so far, the game will be true to the video games. If you love the Monster Hunter series you should seriously give this a try once it is released. Unfortunately, there is no solid date announced, so keep checking back on their Kickstarter page for updates. 

Buy this game if:

• You are a fan of, or at least familiar with, the Monster Hunter game series.
• You want a board game with a campaign and increased difficulty with each playthrough.

3. Massive Darkness

How to play Massive Darkness 

RPGs have a lot of love in the Kickstarter community. If you promise a good RPG with fun and simple mechanics, then it’s almost guaranteed to have a lot of support. And with $3,560,642 made out of the original $200,000 goal, Massive Darkness falls into that category with a lot of supporters.

So what is the gameplay like? You and up to five other companions will take control of the characters of the game. Each character brings his or her own unique abilities into play, ensuring that no two games are ever alike. You’ll explore dungeons and gather all of the armor, magic items, and weapons that you find. And much like in Dark Souls, you’ll encounter enemies that you’ll need to defeat. There is also an option to sneak past these enemies to progress if you are not prepared for a fight, or just want to save your energy for a future battle. 

Prepare for a massive adventure!

All combat mechanics are decided through simple dice rolls, which can be simpler to keep track of rather than deck-building. During your turn, you can take actions such as entering rooms, opening chests, gathering loot, etc. 

This board game is out now, and there are sequels currently being funded on Kickstarter that promise to add more mechanics than the original. If you like dungeon-crawling games and RPGs, give this one a go, and then try the sequels for yourself if you enjoyed it. 

Buy this game if:

• You want a massive roguelike RPG with simpler mechanics. 

2. Marvel Zombies

A sneak peek into Marvel Zombies 

If you have seen Marvel’s What If…? Series or the Multiverse of Madness movie on Disney’s streaming service, you are bound to be familiar with their unique concept of zombies that they have introduced into pop culture. And the makers of Zombicide are taking a detour from their typical tabletop games and giving it a Marvel spin on Kickstarter. As of September 2022, over $9,000,000 has been pledged from its original $500,000, so the amount of eager fans who want this game to happen is insane! This is Marvel Zombies. 

The game has not been released yet and there are few details on what the game could be, unfortunately. From the included youtube trailer though, something has happened to our beloved Marvel heroes and they have turned into flesh-eating monsters. Also from the video, we can assume that instead of your typical Zombicide game where you fight off hordes of zombies, YOU are the zombies and must fight (or eat) your way through hordes of living enemies and unaffected superheroes and complete your objectives. The core game includes heroes such as Hulk, Iron Man, and Captain America. 

See your favorite heroes as zombies!

There is also a hunger mechanic when your characters get hungrier for human flesh, they become more powerful. However, if the hunger becomes too strong, you will begin to take self-damage, so you would have to eat your enemies wisely.

Marvel and zombie fans alike should be excited about this one! Marvel Zombies is currently estimated to come out in June 2023, so watch out for it to be released to the public around that time! 

Buy this game if:

• You want to be the zombie instead of fighting them off in an all-new alternative in the Zombicide series.
• Love the Marvel Zombies concept.

1. FrostHaven

How to play FrostHaven 

We’ve been saving the best for last. Currently on the top of the list on Kickstarter as the most funded tabletop game, Frosthaven hopes to be an incredible experience for all who play it. Almost $13,000,000 has been pledged from the original goal of $500,000, so gamers are really looking forward to playing this one!

Although it is set to be the sequel to the massively popular board game Gloomhaven, it is also a stand-alone adventure, so you will not need the aforementioned game to play this. It has very similar gameplay, but we’ll try to keep it in a nutshell for those who are not familiar.  

You will form a party of characters and take off on a new adventure. There are over 100 different scenarios to choose from, so every game is unique. Along the way, you’ll be guided through battles. Turns you take during battles are determined through two cards that you use throughout. There will also be decks that modify your attacks (so instead of dice to determine how successful your attack is, you use cards). You’ll also interact with NPCs and gather resources to help build/rebuild towns and cities. 

Gather resources and build towns.

According to its Kickstarter page, one thing that will be new to this game that will be different from Gloomhaven will be looting and resources. You’ll be given opportunities during battle to snatch up loot tokens, but it promises that resources will be a far more valuable asset to gaining wealth, so you’ll be encouraged to do a lot of that. Gathering resources will give you more opportunities to build stronger weapons, better armor, and more. 

Since meeting its pledge goal, it has been estimated that the game will be released in December 2022. The exact date is not clear, so don’t hope to get this before Christmas time just yet. What is clear however is that this game promises to be highly successful in gameplay, world-building, and story. It hopes to be a grand successor to everything that has made Gloomhaven a hit in the first place. 

Buy this game if:

• You love the Gloomhaven board game but want a little more out of it.