When it launched in November, the Sportsfriends Kickstarter promised a bundle of four innovative and acclaimed indie sports games, including the much-loved Johann Sebastian Joust and Super Pole Riders, a game by QWOP creator Bennett Foddy. But with relatively slow participation in the first few weeks, it became increasingly doubtful that the project would raise the $150,000 it needed for funding: five days before the deadline, it still had $74,000 to go.

Now, after a sudden wave of last-minute backers, Sportsfriends has beaten the odds, passing its goal this morning with less than nine hours to go. It's currently sitting at around $155,000 ahead of an afternoon deadline, a close shave that should probably evoke some kind of sports-related metaphor. All four games already existed as playable prototypes, but the Kickstarter's success means that they'll be completed and packaged for release on PlayStation 3, Mac, PC, and Linux in the fall of 2013. Backers who pledged $60 or more will also get copies of three unreleased games by the participants, as well as five games by other developers.