Blog: Springfield game maker returns with pun-heavy Kickstarter

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Local game maker raises the stakes with third crowdfunded project

A Springfield game maker with a handful of successful Kickstarter campaigns under his belt is back with a new crowdfunding campaign promising plenty of puns and party lingo.

Hebanon Games owner Caleb Stokes yesterday launched a Kickstarter for his new project called Party Fowl: The Game of Drunk Ducks.

Already, the tabletop game raised $10,372 with 214 backers as of 10:20 a.m. on its second day. It has 29 days to go with a $14,000 goal.

Given Stokes’ history, there’s little doubt as to whether the game will be funded. Through Hebanon Games, he also successfully crowdfunded Red Markets in 2016 and No Security: Horror Scenarios in the Great Depression in 2012. He also worked on Arc Dream Publishing’s successful No Soul Left Behind in 2014.

Party Fowl, co-created with Spencer Harris and KC Green, appears to be Stokes’ most light-hearted game to date. According to the Kickstarter page, the game came about via drunken ramblings on Stokes’ and Harris’ online podcast called “The Mixed Six Podcast.”

The game is billed — pun intended — as  a “card-based, light strategy game with area control mechanics on a modular board.” Art assets depict ducks getting messed up on alcohol and drugs at parties, with the gameplay ultimately leading to the player dominating the party through “conversation” cards and other moves, or “quacktions.”

Stokes and crew are bringing a hearty sense of humor to this venture, while also tapping into what’s been documented as a lucrative industry.

A January article by Polygon reported tabletop game earnings on Kickstarter totaled roughly $137.8 million in 2017, a more than $36 million increase from 2016. There were nearly 400 more successful tabletop games on the crowdfunding platform, and the average game raised $65,418.

Party Fowl is obviously a labor of love, and it’s exciting and encouraging to watch creative efforts led by Springfieldians become successful.