Interesting Kickstarters (Week of 5/28/2018)

We're almost halfway through the year, everybody! And Kickstarter isn't slowing down. Here is this week's roundup of solo playable Kickstarter games.

1. Herbaceous Sprouts

Herbaceous Sprouts is a dice game that, like its card game predecessor, is about planting. However, this new incarnation includes a lot more of the process. Herbaceous Sprouts allows you to collect seeds, use gardening tools, and grow your own herb and flower sprouts to plant. Pencil First Games has a history of producing beautiful, relaxing games with solo modes designed by Keith Matejka, known for the excellent Roll Player (expect a review here soon) as well as for Pencil First's Herbaceous and Sunset Over Water. You can also expect more beautiful art from Beth Sobel. This one definitely has my interest.

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2. Assembly

Assembly, a small box puzzle game from Wren Games, is a light and quick puzzle game with a crazy backstory. You work in space as a luxury spaceship builder when a deadly virus kills everyone on the base except for you. The base's computer is actively trying to trap you on it forever because you might be carrying the virus, but since you are clearly immune, you need to get home to share your genetic good fortune with others. To escape, you need to successfully build a spaceship within a certain amount of time. 

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3. Journal 29 Revelation

This is very much a solo game—more like a book full of riddles to work through. The premise of this game is that you are uncovering a mystery about an excavation, learning the truth about what happened to the original team one puzzle at a time. When you think you've solved a puzzle, you use the app to enter your answer and receive a code that you need for the next riddle. I love this kind of thing and I'm definitely intrigued by the project. I haven't played this one or its predecessor, Journal 29., but the reviews I've seen online have been positive, and I like a good brain burner. I'm considering this one myself. 
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