Quick Note for Retailers Only
over 7 years ago – Sun, Jul 30, 2017 at 10:31:39 PM

Hi!

Retailer-Only Bundles

We've received a ton of requests for a retailer pledge level and we have a final plan for retailers in place. If you are an online retailer or a brick-and-mortar retailer, we have a package for you to offer your customers at the full Swanky pledge level, including the exclusive Boulder Hulk miniature. After this campaign ends and GenCon50 pre-orders are over, that exclusive item will no longer be available.

Retailer bundles are available in case lots of (6) games. For pricing and information about how to pledge, please contact Marc directly through the website contact form.

We support retailers like you and want to protect your ability to run a business and serve the gaming community. Thank you for all you do.

Epoch Update #8: Pajama Parties, Guild Dominance, and an Unnamed Prodigy
over 7 years ago – Sat, Jul 29, 2017 at 11:57:19 PM

Oh, hello. It's me again. No cupcake-in-the-face this time.

Update

So here's where we are:

• The metal end-game trigger coins are unlocked. Please feel free to celebrate with 80's metal, as that is exactly how the metal was unlocked — as we hit the $80's.
• We're surging ahead, ready to unlock the fancy-pants box that will sit on your coffee table. If you don't have a coffee table, put it on a rug a light a candle next to it. Or…something.
• A new stretch goal is going to be posted tomorrow, have no fear. But prepare yourself for what I think is the ultimate stretch goal to be unleashed at $100k. I'm so excited about it I can hardly contain myself.

Name the Prodigy Poll -- Open Now

 

We've taken 4 incredible naming concepts from the community here and have placed them into a poll for you to vote. It was very difficult to narrow to 4, I assure you.

Vote For the Prodigy Name Now!

Kickstarter Live : Backer Appreciation Pajama Party

Yeah, you heard that right. Lacey and I are doing a pajama party streaming session to field a few more questions and send some love to you and all of the other backers. Yes, we'll be wearing pajamas, because we'll be streaming during a time when backers from Europe and a few countries outside of our normal time zone can chime in. The exact date and time is TBD. Suggestions? Message us!

Guild Dominance

Just for fun, I have uploaded the icon for each of the 5 guilds in Epoch: The Awakening. If you wish, you can download the guild icon that best represents you and fight for guild dominance with the other backers.

The winning guild will be represented in the printed visual guide (and on the back of the box) with the larger standee icon, just to flaunt it's glorious swagger above the other guilds.

To join a guild, simply download one of the guild icons and replace your Kickstarter image / avatar, then parade it around the comments section of this campaign. Or, you can start a BGG thread and post yours. Your guild is obviously the best, right? Prove it.

• Order of the Folded Leaf : The Order has a deep connectedness to nature. They live in harmony with things organic and wild, and although they prefer to keep to themselves, and can draw energy and vigor from living things.
  
• Clan of the Echoing Blade : The soldiers of the Echoing Blade find strength in numbers, can be aggressive and fearless, but have little understanding of all things magical. They are pillars of courage and valor.
• Fellowship of the Light : The monks of the Light are diplomatic, with strong leadership skill and resolve. They are zealous protectors of light and generally seek outcomes that promote collaboration and peace.
• Circle of the Unbound Mind :  Wise and mysterious, the mages of the Circle are masters of illusion and magic. Their towering intellect allows them to control complex outcomes.
• Twilight Brotherhood : The Brotherhood is a network of rogues and mercenaries. Operating mostly at night, their covert activities create disruptions everywhere they go. Their ultimate goal is to bring about the end of the world and enter the paradise beyond.

Again, thank you.

We put the work into this game. We hope you enjoy it. Really.

Epoch Update #7: Vindication, A Creepy Wraith, and the Power of 2633
over 7 years ago – Tue, Jul 25, 2017 at 12:01:49 AM

Hi. It's me again.

I interrupt your awesomeness to bring you a few words and images…

Updates & Such

I have a few updates for you as we obliterate stretch goals.

• The Wishing Well was recently wished into existence. So sparkly.
• We're about to unlock the Temple Ruins at $69k. The Twilight Brotherhood control it, but two of the other guilds are not happy about it…
• There are Metal Coin Trigger Tokens available at $80k. 80's Metal, get it?
• I'm slipping in an extra stretch goal at $75k. I think you'll enjoy it:

Kickstarter Live

Reminder:  Lacey and I will be hosting a Kickstarter Live "Ask Me Anything" session on Thursday, July 27 at 6pm PDT. Please drop your questions into the BoardGameGeek forum.

Influence Blocks

I think I can speak for the vast majority of the play testers when I say that simple wooden blocks are both appropriate and relevant for their purpose in the game. The “flow of influence” is the primary management aspect in Epoch, and those blocks move to and from areas, downgrading and upgrading, transforming, and allowing you to exert your will in a number of ways. They represent the abstract idea of influence—your personal empowerment to make choices. This concept demands the simplest form of representation possible.

Early in development, I started using translucent plastic cubes…but as others have pointed out, the translucency of the cubes made it extremely difficult to determine the color of the blocks as they move from area to area — almost to the point of making the game unplayable from turn to turn. Colored wooden blocks use reflective light, making it much easier for the eye to differentiate and act on them.

As Alexander B. mentioned in the comments, the wooden blocks are easy to handle, they have no “wrong” side, they don’t roll away, they are less likely to be mistaken for candy (lol), and they can be replaced easily. The simplicity makes them perfect for this game, and as such, my intention is to keep them.

HOWEVER, I do plan to use custom Pantone colors for them so that they differ from the colors on the board and cards. The colored blocks in Epoch will be more vibrant than standard cubes. This game, I promise you, is going to be one of the most colorful you own. :)

Orange Nebula at GenCon?

Many people have asked...will Orange Nebula be at GenCon? The answer is yeah, it's happening. I’ll be demo-ing Epoch: The Awakening every day at GenCon at booth #2633. Please come say hi.

Click here to see the Geeklist for this event on BoardGameGeek.

Need I even type it?

#grateful

Epoch Update #6: Echoing Blades, Fellowship, and the power of the Unbound Mind
over 7 years ago – Fri, Jul 21, 2017 at 11:48:29 PM

Hi.

The Down-low

We just hit $60k so that means that all copies of the game will have upgraded chipboard components. The new material is much denser, dyed black, and just screams all kinds of awesome. You cannot possibly be happier than I am about that one.

Oh. And we met our social stretch goals, which means Tuuk-Tuuk has been summoned! That's awesome news! The bad news...what do you do with a rampaging Boulder Hulk...hang on to your ethereal cake knives!!!

The next goal is to unlock the Well of Wishes! Wish you knew what that's all about? Well, well, well...you'll have to wish for patience!

Unveiling the Guilds

So you may have noticed the iconography on the player standees, yes? Those are guild icons. What significance have those, you may ask? They will have significance if you can solve the riddles to come. You may wish to look for clues in the BoardGameGeek forums, the Kickstarter comments, and our Facebook and Twitter channels. The iconography for the images is fairly straightforward (left to right):

• The Clan of the Echoing Blade
• The Order of the Folded Leaf
• The Fellowship of the Light
• The Circle of the Unbound Mind
• The Twilight Brotherhood

We'll be posting updates starting tomorrow.

Community-Authored Relic: Poll is Live!

We've taken all of the incredible ideas posted on the BoardGameGeek forum for the community-authored magical relic and posted the 4 final concepts for you to vote on. I took liberties with the concepts to make sure they will work within the structure of the game and not impede balance, but the general thought processes and mechanics have been preserved. Great ideas, gang!

To vote, click here.

As always, we are excited about all of the community buzz and the lively comments section of this campaign. I'll never cease to say it…I'm #grateful.

Epoch Update #5: Magic Wells, Nerd-Jabbering, and Clues Hidden in Plain Sight
over 7 years ago – Tue, Jul 18, 2017 at 11:57:44 PM

Hey, friend.

I hope it never gets old that I tell you how much your comments and involvement in this project mean to the team. And I hope it never gets old that I tell you how #grateful I am.

Here’s what’s been happening:

• We just surpassed $53k and are about to unlock the upgraded, beefy, marbled, 22mm fancy-dice. So satisfying. #boxcars!
• The $60k upgrade is more significant than it appears — I was unable to really do it justice. The player dashboards, map tiles, and all of the mastery tiles, proficiency tiles, mount tokens and trigger tokens will be upgraded to a superior black-core chipboard that is much denser than standard chipboard — even the thick stuff. I don't want to over-sell this, but I think I'm looking forward to that more than anyone!
• The Boulder Hulk is awaiting his summons, and clues as to how to summon him have been on the campaign page for over 24 hours. Once discovered, I have great faith that he will arise sooner rather than later. Rumble...rumble...
• We are 13 followers away from our Instagram social goal and we should be able to knock down that final Facebook goal in a few days.

Kickstarter Live — AMA

Lacey and I will be hosting an "Ask Me Anything" on Kickstarter Live on Thursday, July 27 at 6pmPDT. I know that not everyone will be available at that time, but it works best for scheduling here and we plan to record the session if possible.

If you have a question about the game story, rules, expansions, components, or any other tasteful and relevant question about Epoch: The Awakening, we'll give you the answer live! Please drop your questions into this BGG forum and we'll queue them up on the show as well as taking questions live.

The Sacred Plume

Results are in…and the community has voted this illustration for the Sacred Plume image to be used on the “Loyalty” trait card. To view the poll results, click here. We've got it all mocked up for you…

Component Tray FAQ

A few common questions keep arising so I thought I'd address them here:

Q: Will the component nerd-tray look like your sample on the project page?

A: Ummm...no. We still need to design it based on all of the wonderful stretch goals you are unlocking. It won't look anything like this, actually. But, it will be designed to hold everything securely. I'm even looking into a clear plastic lid. No promises. *NO PROMISES, MIKE!*

Q:  Will the component nerd-tray fit sleeved cards?

A:  That's affirmative. The sleeves you'd need are standard 70mm square, if you choose to sleeve.

Q:  Will the component nerd-tray have room for additional expansions and components?

A:  Yes. As far as we've planned. We've engineered the box to house all of the components and stretch goals in the game comfortably. Beyond this campaign more expansions *could* be designed, but we still hope to create a single-box experience.

Our Friends in the Sky Kingdom

Eric and his team over at Sky Kingdom Games have put in the work on what looks to be a phenomenal game, The StoneBound Saga, which is fully funded and hitting stretch goals. I'll be honest, I backed this before I launched Epoch: The Awakening, even with everything I had going on. The character dashboards they designed look very intriguing and as a designer I can tell you that they put a ton of work into the visual language. They even have an orchestral soundtrack! Whaaa? I'm sold.

It's definitely worth a look. Click here to visit the campaign they put together:

More to Come…

As always, #grateful.

-Marc