All Roads Lead to...
over 1 year ago – Fri, Dec 16, 2022 at 05:04:57 AM

Our final day has arrived! It’s been a short campaign but a fun one. As we write this, the campaign is approaching 3500 backers and Empire’s End is being seen all over tabletop gaming social media. We’re really proud of this one. John’s design is inspired, and Hayden’s development team polished that design to a mirrored shine; Kwanchai’s art is gorgeous; and the graphic design from Matt Paquette, Co. brings everything together in the perfect package. We knew this one was special from the get go, but it’s nice to see it all come together.

Where to Now?

After the campaign closes, Kickstarter will take several days to collect funds. Once that's squared away, we'll launch the BackerKit pledge manager in January. That's where you'll pay for shipping and any Add-Ons you want to include at that time. As we get closer to that date, we'll send an update with more detailed instructions.

This one is very close to being ready for the printers, BUT we’re going to be giving our various localization partners another 60 days to get translations together. Speaking of translations, in BackerKit you’ll have the option to select from the various languages we’ve signed. At the moment, that’s Italian and French, but we hope to have one or two more available when the pledge manager goes live.

Until then, we’ll be working on double checking all the components, perfecting the player mats, and incorporating the feedback you’ve given to us along the way. Backer interaction really does pay off here; we’ve already included some of your comments, including putting the build costs on every Innovation!

We’re very excited about the future of Empire’s End. There’s so much unexplored playspace here and we hope that we’re able to continuing working on John’s brilliant design for years to come. Our development team has already been hard at work on possible expansions like a 5-player or even 6-player mode, new card types, and a chaos mode where (some of) the phase markers on the board are randomized. 

Those are all options for the future. But today we're unlocking a stretch goal that gives you one more mode right in the core game box!

Last Stretch Goal – Lightning Mode

A full game of Empire’s End is a delight, but sometimes you just want to get in, save your empire, and get out. For those busy days, the rulebook will now include… Lightning Mode! Lightning mode provides a shorter game with all the same core mechanics. Instead of starting on the Start square, play begins on the 9th square on the track (marked with a little lightning bolt).

To accommodate this leap in turns, players begin the game with two destroyed locations and two Innovations already in play (selected from four initial cards). Players then play the game as normally, but with only two cards in their hand instead of four.

It’s a small change, but one that facilitates a shorter game with ease, and just one example of how flexible the system John created can be. Rome wasn't built in a day, but you can reenact the fall of an empire in 45 minutes or less!

Thank You!

That’s all for our final day! When the campaign closes, Kickstarter will collect your pledge funds. Make sure you’ve got a good credit card listed with them, but if you don’t, they will try to collect funds for a few days. Hit us up with any questions about the game, but note that we don’t have any control over how Kickstarter charges you. If there’s an issue there, please forward it to Kickstarter support.

Thanks for your support during this campaign. With your help, we'll truly be able to make this game the best it can be. We can't wait to see the empires you build (and destroy, and rebuild) in 2023!

New Add On - Player Mats!
over 1 year ago – Wed, Dec 14, 2022 at 03:02:18 AM

The campaign is almost over. In just a couple short weeks we’ve enlisted almost 3000 backers, unlocked new components, upgraded materials, and included an deluxe insert to rival any we’ve ever seen. In many ways, this game is already as good as we can make it, but we’ve heard a number of requests for one more thing: Player Mats. Today, we’re happy to oblige.

New Add On – Player Mats!

 Based on the fantastic Location art from Kwanchai Moriya, these player mats are made of thin neoprene with stitched edges and full color printing. If this is the sort of thing you love, you can get four of them as an Add-On for $15 in BackerKit after the campaign is over. You can also simply increase your pledge level to the new $70 Deluxe All-In Edition, which includes everything: the neoprene playmats, wooden resource tokens, and wooden markers. If it’s not your cup of tea, don’t worry; the game plays just as well without them.

But just to brag about them a little…the mats serve two functions. First, the Location Tracker across the top makes it easy to figure out which of your Locations is being targeted by a Disaster. Second, because the game involves LOTS of lifting tiles and cards and moving them around, the neoprene provides a comfortable surface that facilitates card manipulation.

And look at how pretty it all looks together! We just love these. Having said all that, please note that these mats will not fit in the box with the other components. To keep production efficient and the price point at $15 per set, they playmats will always come as a pack of four.

Stretch Goal Unlocked - Location Trackers

For those of you who don't want neoprene playmats but do like the functionality of the numbers across the top, we've got you covered. Every Deluxe Edition ($40 pledge level and above) will also come with 4 paper versions of the Location Tracker.

Each Location Tracker will be a chipboard strip that can be folded and tucked inside the box insert. They're not as snazzy as the neoprene mats, but you'll still find them handy for teaching and playing the game. Thank you for helping us unlock this final physical upgrade for Empire's End!

Just Two Days Left

With only two days left in the campaign, we still have plenty of room to grow! If you'd like to upgrade to the All-In pledge level, visit the project page and click the “Manage your pledge" button. On the following page, select "Change your pledge" and adjust to the new reward tier. (Changing your reward tier will automatically update your pledge amount.)

Another way to help us make the most of this campaign is to get the word out. We think this game is fantastic and we want to share it with as many people as possible, so please share the love if you get a chance. Remember to use the hashtag #EmpiresEnd if you do, so we can thank you!

The Upside of Disaster…
over 1 year ago – Sat, Dec 10, 2022 at 09:49:26 PM

Greetings,  backers! Just a short update for this weekend, but it’s a fun one. We’ve just unlocked another stretch goal: 11 more Disaster cards in every copy of the game!

Stretch Goal – Eleven More Disaster Cards

We've added a final set of Disaster cards added to the base game, and they introduce a radical new type of Innovation. Just like a real earthquake can uncover hidden treasure at the same time it’s wreaking havoc, Earthquake Innovations have an effect that’s triggered when the attached Location is destroyed.

In this case, the player has lost their 5-point Army to a Disaster, but all is not lost! Because they had an Earthquake innovation below it, they instantly gain three Wheat tokens. And should they manage to repair this location and have it destroyed again, they’ll reap that reward a second time!

Have a great weekend, everyone. There’s just one more week left in the campaign, but we’re seeing good signs that it will be a big week for Empire’s End. Even more exciting: we're hard at work on a luxurious Add-On that we hope to reveal on Monday. Stay tuned!

Depth of Tiles and Depth of Play
over 1 year ago – Sat, Dec 10, 2022 at 05:03:51 AM

Greetings, backers! As I write this, we are closing in on $100,000 pledged and we’ve been joined by over 2100 backers. We’ve been thrilled to see people talking about the game across the web, and we’re so appreciative for anything you’ve done to spread the word. Today we’re going to talk depth, both about the game itself and about our latest stretch goal.

A Simple Concept with Incredible Depth

Publishers love to tout “the simple game with surprising depth.” You see that claim a lot. But with Empire’s End, there really is so much that emerges from John’s implementation of the reverse bidding mechanic. By hinging bids on multiple resources and creating the tension between location point value and the acquisition of new innovations, he’s created a game that never plays the same way twice and really does have multiple paths to victory. Let’s take a quick look at just one of the ways that strategic depth can play out: Evolution of your Empire.

As players in Empire’s End are bidding on and either accepting or rejecting Disasters, they’re not just making decisions based on how valuable the targeted location is and the resources in play, they’re making decision based on the utility of that Disaster’s Innovation. This sort of careful strategizing allows players to actively build game winning combos. Take the situation below:

 This player’s 20-point Town is at risk from Barbarians, but they’ve bid up the resources a bit AND they like the look of that Innovation. They decide to take the Disaster, destroying the Town, but gaining five resources and the Innovation.

By gaining that Innovation they’ve acquired a powerful addition to their Empire, and built up a set of cards that combo powerfully, allowing them to generate coins, trade wheat for coins, trade coins for double the wheat, trade those wheat back for even more coins, and finally scoring those coins at game end!

Building strategies like this in Empire’s End isn’t a guaranteed thing, though. You must constantly adapt to a changing, challenging situation. And of course, you aren’t bidding in a vacuum; your opponents will be looking to foil your efforts at every turn. It’s this dynamism that leads to so many interesting decisions in the game.

Stretch Goal – Thicker Location Tiles and UV Coating

For today’s stretch goal we’re increasing the thickness of the Location tiles from 1.5 to 2 mm and adding UV coating to the tiles themselves and to the game box. It’s a simple thing, but the slightly thicker tiles makes them easier to pick up, more resistant to damage, and generally more satisfying to play with. The UV coating is just a lovely aesthetic addition, but it has the added bonus of making the destroyed side of the tiles easier to visually identify. Both of these upgrade are hallmarks of our commitment to make this game as classy and player-friendly as it can be.

In-Depth Coverage

It's exciting to see so much excitement and coverage for Empire's End. This morning, Paula Deming and Matthew Jude hosted a live stream of the game on Watch It Played. You can catch it on their Twitch channel now. 

Tonight, Jamie Daggers will be hosting another Twitch stream of the game. You can catch it live at 8 pm Eastern time on her Twitch channel. And while watching the game is a great way to learn, you can also play it yourself on Tabletop Simulator and Tabletopia! Those links will be working through the final week of our campaign.

Just as we were about to send this update, we got a notification that Kickstarter has selected Empire's End as a "Project We Love." The good news keeps coming! Thanks again for your support, and here's hoping for a great final week.

Scoring a New Stretch Goal
over 1 year ago – Wed, Dec 07, 2022 at 12:53:22 AM

We're now one week into our campaign. We've surpassed $80,000 in funding and have more than 1,750 backers! The campaign is growing at a healthy pace and we're really grateful to those of you are helping make this game happen. With that in mind, let's share a new stretch goal!

Stretch Goal - Screen Printed Scoring Markers

A few backers have made the suggestion of blinging up the scoring markers for the deluxe version and we realized it was an obvious idea. Now, if you get either of the Deluxe versions of the game, your upgraded wooden markers will come with screen printed scoring markers. One side will proudly display your laurels of victory, while the other will have a "+100" to flip to when you lap those other chumps and watch their empires flame out.

Getting the Word Out

Every day, we're working to spread the word about Empire's End. Last night, John D Clair stopped by Beneeta K's Twitch channel for a full playthrough. On Thursday (at 11:30 am Eastern), he'll be joining Paula Deming on Watch It Played. We know that when people who see this game in action, they'll want to back this campaign!

We can also use your help! Tell your friends about the campaign. Make a post on Facebook or Instagram, or share one of ours. Mark it as pre-ordered on BoardGameGeek and put yourself down as a fan. Like the trailer on Youtube, as well as the awesome playthroughs from Monique and Naveen, the Hungry Gamer, and ThinkerThemer. With your help we think we can get to 3000 backers by campaign's end. We're almost halfway through the campaign and we've still got a few more ideas for stretch goals that we'd love to get through, so join us in helping us make the best possible version of Empire's End!