Here’s the first set of new discoveries we’ve made this year at WonderCon in Anaheim, California.

Christopher Lee (no, not that one) is a graduate from the California State University at Sacramento who majored in graphic design. After working for graphic magazines, toy companies, and special effects studios, he made the bold choice to go solo as a graphic-designer-for-hire. To that end he has created a series of prints, t-shirts, and other items which he sells on his web site, www.thebeastisback.com. Among the items he’s created is Kaiju Romance, “Twenty two of your favorite giant monsters from the Gamera and Godzilla franchises falling in love in unexpected ways.” Each of these 5 x 5″ cards was hand-finished, making each one unique, and they’re available now as a set.

image c. 2013 Christopher Lee

It's a typical story: a successful Kickstarter campaign, followed by a gruelling six months of manufacturing delays, including a tray redesign, topped off with a customs holdup. But the wait is almost over for the makers and backers of card game Nature of the Beast, set to finish shipping rewards for the Prairie vs. Polar set this week. [tip: Aardwolf.Gen]

Its creators, who raised $15,381 from 187 backers, have opened sales to the public. The full game (including the Cities vs. Suburbs and Farm vs. Forests packs of 140 cards each, enough for six players) is available for $50+s/h.

Players lead a themed animal army battling for domination of the playing field.
Game rules — Reviews (earlier sets): Play Unplugged - Gaming Gang - RPG.net: 1, 2

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Some say there's no money in porn. But furry porn? That's a different story.

Crowdfunding has proven very popular, funding projects from digital aardvarks, roleplaying rats and space-abducted foxes, to fluffy ears, Furcadia's 'Second Dreaming' and seemingly every other work by M.C.A. Hogarth. Twokinds raised enough to buy a good-sized house.

Furotica is largely a no-go for industry leaders Kickstarter and Indiegogo. But it's become a lifeline for Ben Tao, Eric Lai, and Barry C, whose adult crowdfunding site Offbeatr (covered in August) lists five successful projects to date — all furry. [tip: Ripner Cabbit/EarthFurst]

So how can you raise $4000 (or $40,000) for your dream project? We asked those who've done it, while taking a closer look at this new funding platform and talking to its CEO.

The creators of Tails and Tactics, an "exciting upcoming collectible trading card game with guns, puns, bazookas, tanks, and hot dogs," have turned to Kickstarter to make it a reality.

The trading card game, conceived by Reynard Loustaunau in October 2011, and with “Jan” of the Swords and Sausages and College Catastrophe online comic strips as Lead Artist, has undergone extensive play-testing with dozens of cards. Now the creators hope to get the funding to start professional printing by the end of 2012.

Tails and Tactics is a collectible trading card game featuring dozens of funny-animal modern (or pre-Soviet breakup) soldiers in humorous military situations. There will be Soldier Cards, Troop Cards, Vehicle Cards, Position Cards, Field Cards, Equipment Cards, Event Cards, and Trap Cards. The sample cards show the American and Russian (Soviet) funny-animal soldiers to be mostly dogs of different breeds, with occasional horses, foxes, and others.

As usual, several rewards are available, including signed decks and rare or custom cards.

The art collective (or pair at least) known as Blotch have a new item connected with their successful comic book/graphic novel series Nordguard. Now it’s the Nordguard Card Game, coming this summer from Sofawolf Press. The game itself was developed by Tempe O’Kun and Nic Wald, and play-testing was directed over the last year by Jeremia Heupel of ThinkTank Games. And the game itself? “You and your friends play as an anthropomorphized sled dog rescue team, overcoming cannibalistic strays and a landscape as capricious as it is lethal. Only your wits and your gear stand between you and certain disaster. Quick-reference instructions provide the rules in minutes, while a scalable difficulty curve provides a challenge for everyone from pups to even the most veteran sled dogs. A randomized map ensures no two missions will ever be the same. Based on the award-winning graphic novel Nordguard: Across Thin Ice, this slim set comes packed with over 120 illustrations by the artists Tess Garman & Teagan Gavet [aka Blotch].

The Furoticon team is giving away a free pack of cards (NSFW) until December 31, or while supplies last, to those 18 or older in the USA.

Furoticon is an adult furry card game for two or more players in which you "play as a well-renowned Owner [...] dueling against one or more Owners for dominance over your opponents' harems".

Furoticon was first released at Anthrocon 2009. Since then, the game has scheduled events at many furry conventions.

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