Queen Games have announced their Essen 18 Kickstarter bundle release, and we couldn't be more excited!

The bundle will contain three new games, along with a selection of 'Queenies' - expansion modules released alongside each game.  Backers have the option of choosing from any bundle combination they want, however, the largest bundle has already been pledged out, so early purchase is advised.

The world of Skylands was destroyed, leaving only the rubble of floating islands remaining. However, by using their mystic skills, the inhabitants can reunite the fractured pieces. Using the energy of the woods, mountains, and special crystals, the Skylanders will form new islands and supply energy to their floating cities. Players control the fate of the inhabitants and seek to create their own island world.

In Skylands, 2-4 players place tiles to help develop the Skylands kingdom.  Players can choose from actions such as Discover Islands, Deploy, Convert Energy and Create Islands.

Victory points are earned by filling your Skyboard with completed islands and assigning citizens to locations where they are most needed.  Skylands is a re-imagining of The King of Frontier (2013), and backers can receive five Queenie expansions on Kickstarter.

Franchise is set during the franchise boom of the 1960s.  You run a small business, however the capitalist in you has always dreamed of more.  Maybe it's for glory and riches, maybe you just always wanted to dress as a clown and give children cheeseburgers; either way, use that mildly creepy ambition to crush your competitors and contribute to a long-term obesity epidemic.

In Franchise, smart choices about when and where to expand your business are rewarded.  The game is incredibly strategic and is, in fact, a revised edition of the classic game 'Medieval Merchant', with a few changes to mechanics to improve the fluidity of gameplay.

Franchise is for 2-5 players with roughly a 90-minute runtime.  The Kickstarter also comes with three Queenie expansion component sets, with art design by Ian O'Toole. So whether you're a Colonel with a simple chicken recipe or a cartoon mouse with a dream, this is the game for you.

But perhaps you are not an American capitalist with vast wealth.  Instead, you find yourself as a French peasant, cursed to steal loaves of bread and sing with Russell Crowe while the rich sit in Marie Antionette's palace, trying to make sandwiches out of cake. Okay, so perhaps my history isn't great, but you get my drift.

In Bastille, players take on the role of revolutionaries trying to spread their influence, recruit people to their cause, and gather finances to arm them for the inevitable revolution.

Bastille is a bidding game where each player is armed with three influence tiles to place on their turn. Each round, players will alternate placing one influence tile in one of the seven locations around Paris. After all tiles have been placed, players take the actions associated with that location in the order of who placed the most influence, with first place receiving a special bonus.

Bastille is reminiscent of Pegasus Spiele's hugely popular Revolution! (2009) in which players bid to place tiles, in order to influence a revolution.  It was the last of the games in the bundle to be produced, so there's no playthrough yet, but even if this game is just Revolution! hitting on me in a French accent and reeking of ennui, I'll still be adding it to my purchase list.

Queen Games have really outdone themselves on their Essen release Kickstarter bundle.  Yes, it's packed with a lot of extra components and expansion sets, but the games themselves are reworkings and reimaginings of solid classics, set to provide hours of quality gameplay.  Looking forward to this in October.

Which Queen Game in the bundle do you want to play first? Let us know below!