Victory!
over 2 years ago
– Tue, Apr 12, 2022 at 08:11:23 PM
While many of you are already aware, it just feels like I should formally let everyone know....
Y'all did it! It was an exciting past few days to watch the surge of pledges come in and get us through the last ten percent. And while it's not really 'official' till Thursday morning at 10am, I still wanted to take a moment and say thanks again for where we are now. It's been a roller coaster of a journey to get here.
I've updated the stretch goals with our current progress. If you missed our last update, here's what we have coming up:
At $13k, we have the card upgrade to heavier quality paper: 310 gsm blackcore. For a game like Unition, which is entirely centered around flipping/playing/shuffling cards, the more resilient they are, the better.
At $14k is a nice visual upgrade, replacing the grey cardboard interior of the box lid with the world map:
At $15k, we have the game board. Here's a concept of what it might look like:
As it stands now, this would measure 16.5" x 18.5" when unfolded, and 8.25"x9.25" when folded. There are outlines for all the cards in the recruitments center of the Forum. There are solid lines for the beginning setup, and dotted lines for cards that get placed as the game progresses: consumed cards, bonus cards, even a dedicated row for clan leaders as they emerge from the Forum draw deck. I'd also like to fit in a quick reference for the steps for game setup somewhere as well. Right now it's just the placement outlines, but once it's done, these same outlines will be overlaid atop an overhead illustration of the Forum itself in the style of the card artwork.
At $16k, I'll include a Lore Book with a bit of backstory of every card in the game. There's a collection of short posts on our Instagram account which highlight each character in the game and their place in the world: start here and scroll your way up.
That's all for now, high fives to all of you for getting us to our goal-- great teamwork!
Mike
Less than 48 hours to go!
over 2 years ago
– Tue, Apr 12, 2022 at 07:49:14 PM
It's unbelievable how fast time flies. It feels like we kicked things off maybe two weeks ago, but here we are in the last 48 hours of the campaign.
We're almost to the first stretch goal, which will score us a heavier 310 gsm blackcore cardstock. This is in addition to the linen finish which already comes with the game, and between the two, we're talking some great card durability.
If you've been watching the campaign and still on the fence, please feel free to shoot me a message with any questions. I'm always happy to chat.
Almost at the finish line, everyone!
Mike
Nearly There! + Gameboard Info, Demos and Lore
over 2 years ago
– Sat, Apr 09, 2022 at 07:35:54 AM
Hello backers and happy Friday! Thanks to you all, we now have less than $1k to go, and just under a week left to close that 8% to the finish. The goal is very much in reach!
Since we're so close to funding, it might be a good time to talk about the first few stretch goals. At $13k, we have the card upgrade to heavier quality paper: 310 gsm blackcore. For a game like Unition, which is entirely centered around flipping/playing/shuffling cards, the more resilient they are, the better. At $14k is a nice visual upgrade, replacing the grey cardboard interior of the box lid with the world map:
At $15k, we have the game board, something I wanted to specifically highlight. Here's a concept of what it might look like:
As it stands now, this would measure 16.5" x 18.5" when unfolded, and 8.25"x9.25" when folded. There are outlines for all the cards in the recruitments center of the Forum. There are solid lines for the beginning setup, and dotted lines for cards that get placed as the game progresses: consumed cards, bonus cards, even a dedicated row for clan leaders as they emerge from the Forum draw deck. I'd also like to fit in a quick reference for the steps for game setup somewhere as well. Right now it's just the placement outlines, but once it's done, these same outlines will be placed over an overhead image of the Forum itself in the style of the card illustrations. Let me know what you think of this layout or what else you'd like to see.
I've scheduled more in-person Unition demos for those of you local to DC:
Saturday at 11am: Pair o' Dice in Fairfax.
10385 Main Street, Fairfax City, Virginia
Sunday at Noon: Tabletop Tavern in Manassas
9412 Main St, Manassas, Virginia
Tuesday at 6pm: Saga Games in Frederick
2190 Old Farm Dr Unit E, Frederick, MD
Hope to see some of you there.
One final thing: I've received a lot of positive feedback on the lore and world of Unition, and for those interested, there's a collection of short posts on our Instagram account which highlights each character in the game and their place in the world. Unfortunately there's currently no convenient, central location to read them all but there might be in the future as an add-on (especially if we hit one of the later stretch goals!) For now, you can get a taste by reading the posts themselves, starting here and scrolling your way up.
Have a great weekend!
Mike
Quick update-- and another great campaign!
over 2 years ago
– Mon, Apr 04, 2022 at 11:49:11 PM
Hello backers! Hope everyone had a fantastic weekend. I'm excited to report we're at 80% funding and are officially in the home stretch with 9 days to go. Keep sharing Unition on sites like BGG and with other board gamers that you know. If you post on instagram, tag us at @Lumohedron and we can add you to our stories. We're almost there!
I've received a couple of comments about shipping prices. While I have the cost estimates on our page, I've been doing research to see if I can get the rates lower. I'm prioritizing reliability and expertise-- lower shipping rates aren't worth your packages getting delayed, missing, or showing up damaged. It's an uphill struggle in the middle of a global shipping crisis, but I hope I'll have some good news soon.
As for Unition's game content, I'm working on ideas for an alternate card back, as well as a concept render of the Game Board stretch goal. I'd love your feedback on them both and plan to share images sometime this week.
The best thing about Kickstarter is its community. In addition to all of your support, I've been able to connect with fellow independent creators, such as Ben Lyon from The Happy Narwhal Company. Ben and I have been able to chat and exchange ideas on board game design and running campaigns. It's this kind of interaction and cross-collaboration that makes Kickstarter unique and more than just a storefront.
Ben has successfully funded his first campaign and has a second one live right now. It's for a game called Run and I encourage you to check it out and show him some support: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/thehappynarwhalco/run-re-run-2nd-edition-by-the-happy-narwhal-co
RUN provides a cooperative experience of nostalgia with its traditional platform blended with more modern artwork and gaming elements to bring players a well balanced journey, perfect for casual game nights with family and friends. Players will find themselves scrambling to escape their imminent peril while dodging traps, betrayal and using whatever abilities and resources they can to avoid their fates. Be warned... if the team fails to act as a group, those who fall will seek vengeance.
More to come soon!
Mike
Box Insert & Other Stuff
over 2 years ago
– Fri, Apr 01, 2022 at 12:53:38 AM
Hello backers and happy ALMOST Friday. Got some fun stuff today.
First, I wanted to thank everyone who played Unition this past weekend at WashingCon in DC and Pair O' Dice in Fairfax. I had a blast meeting you all, answering questions, and seeing your enthusiasm. I created Unition to bring entertainment and joy to people and the excitement I've seen so far has been infectious.
Secondly, I started working on a rough design for the box insert for Unition:
With this design, we'd have three wells for the three different token types, six card silos with finger holes on the sides for easier card retrieval, and a large recess at the top for the rulebook and player screens (and game board if we can hit that stretch goal.)
Quite a number of you asked about sleeved cards. With this design there's enough room to accommodate the entire deck of cards sleeved, and even have room left over for a possible expansion (more on that below). Splitting it out into six different silos will give some options for card organization as well. With this version, we'd be looking at a box size of roughly 10 x 9 x 2.5. This is really just the first crack at the insert and how it could work, and it's done entirely in 3D, so it may be subject to change. Sound off in the comments on your thoughts and suggestions. Feedback is very much encouraged at this stage.
On a separate note, I've had a lot of requests for both a co-op and solo mode of Unition. My goal for this particular campaign is to create a really awesome product for all of you, so I'm focusing on getting just the base game completed at a high level of quality and delivered in a timely manner.
However, the idea of a co-op/solo mode where players work together to defeat a common enemy really resonates with me and would make an excellent addition to the game in the future. While developing Unition over the years, I've had a number of ideas that I couldn't fit into the base game, and one of them in particular would work perfectly as a co-op/solo mode. While I sadly can't make it a reality now, I did want to say that I intend to do it in the future. But one thing at a time: let's get this project funded first!
As we head into the second half of the campaign, I'm happy to report we're over 70% of our goal with support from over 200 of you! Keep up the sharing and spreading the word. We're doing great!
Mike
