Lucky Duck Games, the Polish publisher behind Chronicles of Crime and The Dark Quarter, is trying something different. Oakspire, their new cozy tableau-building game, hit its modest EUR 20,000 Kickstarter goal in just 63 minutes when it launched on 7 April. Two days in, the campaign sits at over EUR 44,600 with 611 backers, putting it at 223% funded and trending towards nearly half a million euros.
Designed by James Newman for 1-5 players, Oakspire is set in Sunleaf Grove, where anthropomorphic animal characters race to become the settlement's best architect. The game uses a multi-use card system where each Project card can serve as reclaimed wood to fuel your production chain, an action card to move and process resources, or a blueprint for a new building. Players gather fallen wood, float it downstream, convert it into planks, and construct everything from cosy burrows to treetop apartments. Complete enough projects for the community and you win. Community actions fire each turn too, providing helpful boosts or throwing your plans off course.
It is a sharp departure from Lucky Duck's usual crime investigations and dungeon crawlers, joining the cozy wave that Wingspan and Everdell proved has mass-market legs.
With art by Thomas Bouzille, Jakub Chelstowski, Longque Chen, and Kary Jane, the game leans into the woodland charm you would expect from the theme. Pledge levels average around EUR 73, suggesting a premium production. The campaign runs until 28 April, and if the current trajectory holds, Oakspire could end up being one of Lucky Duck's biggest crowdfunding successes. If your game group has been craving something gentler after one too many rounds of competitive euros, this one is worth a look.
Sources: Kickstarter | Kicktraq | Board Game (FR)
