Fun Boardgames Just Got A Deadly Upgrade

Death By Coconuts is launching at the end of May… Boardgames on Kickstarter will never be the same again!

New boardgames are always exciting, especially with the way Kickstarter has democratised the creation of games over the past decade. Creators and designers can go directly to their community for the funding they need to create incredibly fun and innovative boardgames. Titles that might not have got the green light otherwise.

We dipped our toe in the vast and mysterious crowdfunding ocean last year to launch our Plant-Based Riot game on Kickstarter. It was humbling and educational in equal measure. But far beyond simply getting our game funded, the process gave us unprecedented access to our community to help build the game. And that’s why we’re turning to Kickstarter again…

We’re about to launch a brand new boardgame on the platform. It goes live on 31st May and it’s called Death By Coconuts. If you’re looking for fun boardgames with a dark and deadly twist, look no further… As this one is built around betting on gruesome death statistics.

In a little more detail, Death By Coconuts is a death stats betting race of desert island pastaways. It follows the classic race-to-the-finish format. The difference is you move by betting on various historical, comical (depending on how dark your sense of humour is) or unusual causes of death! It's got elements of classic games like Snakes & Ladders and perhaps more contemporary games like Camel Up or What Came First?.

The aim of the game is to beat your opponents across Purgatory Island to Eternal Paradise, where you’ve got access to anything you could possibly need in the afterlife. There’s only room for one extra name on that guest list, though, so you’d better get a move on!

Each round you bet up to three of your chips on the most deadly of the three causes of death. For example:

1. Falling Coconuts
2. Lightning Strikes
3. Extreme Selfies

Think you know the answer?? Well, you’ve got a one-in-three chance of getting it right. And that’s roughly the same odds as being struck by lightning… if you play golf in a thunderstorm… dressed like a medieval jouster.

How quickly you move depends on how big you bet. Bet small and move cautiously. Bet big and move quickly… but get it wrong and you’ll be heading in the wrong direction! Navigate shortcuts and lava flows – you know, the usual features of a deserted tropical island. Oh, and look out for buried treasure, it could be the difference between life and death.

When the first player reaches the end the game is over. And that can only mean one thing… It’s time to play again!

We’ve created Death By Coconuts to be easy to learn and easy to play. You can pick it up with minimal effort, and the lolz payout is well worth the initial stake money. During playtesting, everyone found it to be incredibly fun and ever-so-slightly addictive. It’s our first shot at a boardgame, so we’re determined to make it memorable.

As you can see from the artwork, Death By Coconuts is tinged with a mid-century Americana-Hawaiian-castaway-tiki vibe. This helps deliver the dark theme in a light way. And it really carries the story of how you came to be washed up on the sandy shores of Purgatory Island in the first place. 

At Bubblegum Stuff, we’re big fans of fun boardgames, so we’re not taking our first steps into this new field lightly. We plan to continue to playtest and involve our community throughout the campaign to make sure we create the best possible version of Death By Coconuts. We’d love to hear your initial feedback in the comments below.

So, come on… Grab yourself a few fellow shipwrecked shipmates, back our project on 31st May, and get going on the race to Eternal Paradise. Where your knowledge of death just might save your life!