A Newport man has teamed up with a Nottingham based game designer to launch a card game on Kickstarter.
Paul Smith and Nat James, who run independent publisher Curious Lynx Games together, opened crowdfunding for Which Witch? on Thursday 15th October, 5pm UK time.
Backers can pre-order a copy for £20.
Kickstarter target and timeline
The campaign runs until Friday 13th November and must raise £4000 for the game to go into production.
If it succeeds, copies are expected to reach backers by July 2027.
How Which Witch? is played
Which Witch? is a fast card game for 2 to 6 players aged 14 and up, and a game takes 15 to 20 minutes.
Players are rival witches at an equinox gathering, competing to brew five potions of the same colour.
Each round, everyone secretly picks one of 13 witches from their hand. If two players choose the same witch, they clash, and neither gets to use her power.
Myths, legends and Art Nouveau artwork
The 13 witches are drawn from myths and legends around the world, including Hecate, Baba Yaga, Circe and Isis.
The Art Nouveau-style illustrations are by the game’s designer, Nat James, and three commissioned artists: Kerri Targett, Elyssa Long and Jaqueline Florencio. The game’s Cat Familiar card features Nat’s own cats, Thor and Loki.
On to SPIEL Essen
The game has already been played by visitors at UK Games Expo in Birmingham and at Tabletop Scotland. Later this month, Paul and Nat will exhibit it at SPIEL Essen in Germany, the world’s largest board game fair.
Paul Smith, Technical Director of Curious Lynx Games, said,
“I’ve loved board games since I picked up Carcassonne around 2005, and my first visit to Essen blew me away.
“Going back as an exhibitor, with a game of our own, feels a bit surreal. Kickstarter means players decide whether a game gets made, so every pledge genuinely counts.”
From video games to board games
Paul previously spent around 14 years in the video game industry at Stainless Games, including work on Duels of the Planeswalkers, a Magic: The Gathering adaptation for Steam and consoles.
Which Witch? is on Kickstarter from 5pm Thursday 15th October 2026.
News shared by Paul on behalf of Curious Lynx Games. Ed
