When Kingdom Builder released in 2011, it quickly became a hit within the board gaming community. Now, roughly nine years later, the team at Queen Games is back with a new spin-off called Winter Kingdom. The game has already surpassed its initial Kickstarter funding goal, but with 15 days to go, that number should steadily climb. Give Winter Kingdom a look below.

Queen Games is well known for games like Shogun, Fresco, Alhambra, and, of course, Kingdom Builder. In putting together Kingdom Builder, they worked with legendary designer Donald X. Vaccarino. For those not familiar, Vaccarino is the mind behind Dominion, the game that kicked off the deck-building craze. Kingdom Builder is arguably his second-best game and having him back on the development team for Winter Kingdom is a massive boon to project.

Winter Kingdom places a large emphasis on "game-to-game variability". Basically, the team wants each game to feel unique and make it tough for veteran players to "solve" the game. They've done this by implementing a modular board and introducing new random elements to the gameplay. Each game also has its own set of conditions for earning victory points, meaning no two games should end the same.

Like with many Queen Games, I'm not super sold on the art. It's fine, but lacks the production value top-tier publishers put out these days. That said, I don't come to Queen Games because they look pretty. For me, their games are all about rock-solid, engaging gameplay. Obviously, it's hard to know for sure until I get my hands on it; however,  at first glance, Winter Kingdom looks like a solid addition to their catalog.

If the sound of Winter Kingdom tickles your fancy, the game is available now on Kickstarter. You have 15 more days to get your pledge in.