Leder Games Reveals Stomp, a Cooperative Mech-vs-Kaiju Dexterity Board Game

Leder Games has unveiled Stomp, a cooperative board game that puts players in control of mechs attempting to save a city from destructive kaiju. It is a notable departure for a company closely associated with dense, asymmetric strategy games such as Root. Rather than commanding factions through long-term planning and area control, players in Stomp will physically flick shots across the board, trying to stop monsters whose individual powers can rapidly complicate an otherwise straightforward-looking rescue mission.

Designed by Taylor ShussEvan Palmer, Stomp is currently planned for a Kickstarter launch sometime in 2027. No precise crowdfunding date has been announced. The game was revealed during a Leder Games Twitch broadcast, alongside discussion of how its unusual combination of dexterity mechanics, cooperative play, and giant-monster action came together.

The basic premise is appropriately direct: comedic kaiju are tearing through civilization, and the players' robot suits are the last line of defense. But the game is not simply about making accurate flicks. Each mech and each monster is intended to have a distinct style, creating situations where a good shot must be paired with an understanding of the threats on the board. Players will need to assess what a particular kaiju can do, coordinate their actions with the rest of the table, and react when an attempted precision move does not land as intended.

Perfect information, imperfect execution

Shuss described Stomp as a "cooperative dexterity game," a label that captures the central tension behind its design. The team may know what needs to happen and may understand an enemy's behavior, but translating that plan into a successful physical flick remains uncertain. That gap between tactical knowledge and player execution is not an accident; it is the heart of the experience.

For useful background on this topic, read DLSS 5 Expands to Hogwarts Legacy, War Thunder and Where Winds Meet This Month.

The designer traced that idea back to an unexpected influence: Dark Souls. Shuss explained that the inspiration was less about copying the fantasy setting or combat presentation of FromSoftware's series and more about the feeling of learning a difficult encounter. In those fights, players gradually identify patterns, recognize when an opening appears, and understand the correct response. The final challenge is executing that response cleanly under pressure.

"During those fights it was all about execution," Shuss said while discussing the game's origin. "I thought, how could I distill that moment of perfect knowledge with imperfect execution into a game?"

That question led to a design built around flicking. In Stomp, the players can have the information needed to make a smart tactical choice, yet a small error in angle, force, or positioning could still cause the plan to unravel. The result should create the kind of memorable table moments dexterity games thrive on: a carefully coordinated shot that saves the city at the last second, or a near-perfect attempt that goes astray and forces everyone to improvise.

For a cooperative game, that structure could be especially important. Many cooperative designs ask a group to calculate optimal moves together, which can sometimes leave one confident player directing the rest of the team. Physical execution gives every participant a more personal role in the outcome. Planning may be collective, but the flick itself introduces a decisive human element that cannot be fully solved by discussion alone.

From dark fantasy to robots and monsters

Although Dark Souls helped shape the underlying design philosophy, Stomp did not begin life as a kaiju game. Its earliest version used a fantasy theme more closely aligned with that influence. Shuss eventually found that approach less exciting than the mechanics deserved, however, and the project changed direction after a playtester brought up classic monster movies.

That observation resonated with Shuss, who is a fan of Godzilla. The concept then clicked into place as a battle between mechs and city-leveling monsters. It is a thematic shift that better suits the exuberant uncertainty of a flicking game. A shot veering wildly off target or a monster's special ability disrupting a plan can feel like part of a chaotic giant-creature showdown rather than merely a failed calculation.

The setup may initially evoke other games featuring oversized monsters, particularly King of Tokyo. Yet Stomp takes a substantially different perspective. In King of Tokyo, players take on the roles of monsters competing against one another. In Stomp, the kaiju are the danger to be managed, while the players cooperate as the defenders. The addition of a hands-on dexterity system also separates it from dice-driven monster brawls and from more conventional tactical cooperative board games.

The stated emphasis on different monster powers suggests that the opponents will be more than visual obstacles. A particular kaiju may demand a different order of operations, shooting angle, or allocation of mech abilities than another. Likewise, varied mech playstyles could encourage groups to think about how their roles complement one another. The exact rule set has not been detailed yet, but the announced concept points toward a game where adapting to a changing board state matters as much as landing a flick.

A new kind of project for Leder Games

The announcement stands out because Leder Games has earned much of its reputation through strategically demanding, highly asymmetric tabletop designs. Root, the publisher's best-known game, is built around woodland factions that operate according to very different rules and objectives. Its inviting animal artwork can make it look lighter than it is; in practice, it is widely known for requiring players to learn how several separate systems interact.

Stomp appears to be taking a more immediately accessible visual and mechanical route. The premise of protecting a city from funny-looking kaiju is easy to grasp, while flicking is a physical action that newcomers can understand in seconds. That does not necessarily mean the game will be shallow. The combination of asymmetric mechs, monster-specific powers, communication, and unpredictable shots could give it room for meaningful decisions without asking every player to absorb the kind of rules load associated with Leder's more intricate strategy titles.

The project also arrives during a period of transition for the publisher. One of Leder Games' most prominent designers, the creator of Root, left earlier in 2026 to form an independent studio. The departure followed differing views between that designer and Leder Games' chief executive over the types of games the publisher should pursue. In that context, Stomp may offer an early indication of where Leder Games intends to go next: toward projects that retain distinctive systems while exploring a broader range of tones and audiences.

It would be premature to frame one announcement as a complete reinvention of the company. Leder Games has not suggested it is abandoning strategic board games, and its catalog has never been defined by only one style. Still, a cooperative kaiju-fighting dexterity game is clearly far removed from the political maneuvering of Root, making Stomp one of the publisher's more intriguing upcoming experiments.

What is known about the Kickstarter campaign

For now, prospective players should view the 2027 Kickstarter window as a broad target rather than a confirmed launch appointment. The campaign will not arrive before 2027, but a specific month, pledge structure, price, retail plan, and delivery estimate have not been revealed. Details on player count, game length, component list, and the exact nature of the various mech and kaiju abilities also remain unannounced.

That leaves plenty of open questions, including how much precision will be demanded by the physical shots, whether the city itself changes as destruction escalates, and how the game handles a group's failures. Its pitch does make clear that misses are meant to be part of the drama rather than a rare edge case. The need to recover from an errant flick may be what turns a clean plan into a frantic, cooperative scramble.

Before Stomp reaches crowdfunding, Leder Games is continuing work on Kart, a racing board game whose crowdfunding campaign has recently concluded. That puts Stomp further down the publisher's pipeline, but its reveal gives tabletop fans a clear first look at a project with a very different energy from the games most commonly associated with the studio.

Stomp is planned for Kickstarter in 2027. Until the campaign receives a firm date and fuller rules information, its most compelling promise is its central contradiction: the team can know exactly what must be done, yet still have to live with the unpredictable consequences of actually trying to do it.