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The big day is upon us! Boardquest: Tales of Liria is launching on Kickstarter on the 21st February – only 3 weeks from now! January has been full of activities, much of them behind the scenes (ask us anything about VAT!) as we've been relentlessly smoothing out any outstanding rough edges to deliver the best campaign we can in 21 days. See the highlights of January below – including our first (and smashing) preview from The Lucky Roll!
Watch Sean from the Lucky Roll deliver a 7-minute preview of Boardquest. The video perfectly encapsulates the gist of the game. To quote Sean, Boardquest "is the first board game to fully capture the quick paced vibe of an RTS. I cannot think of another game that embodies the essence of a Warcraft 3-style RTS so completely and efficiently." We couldn't be prouder!
More reviews, previews, playthroughs, and press releases are in the making and we are readying them for the launch week.
Boardquest is now available on TableTopSimulator for those of you who can't wait to try the game before it gets to your hands November! Phil from the Irish Board Gamer created the first playthrough of the game on TTS on his channel– watch it in the link above!
The buzz around the game continues – and we see that reflected in the Kickstarter numbers! Do sign up so you don't miss out on the Early Bird discounts! Boardquest on Kickstarter
Bilar is ready for battle – how about you? Sara Gonzalez is a Madrid-based award-winning 3D artist, sculptor, and painter. We are elated to show you her interpretation of Bilar, the Orc Shaman (sculpted by Francisco Garcia Ponce): straight from the Steppes of Dogan, he emerges deadly set on his goal of leading the Orcs towards the domination of Liria.
One of the things that excites us the most about having the upcoming release is being able to see how everyone interacts with the game: how you mod it and make it your own!
In January we've finished the draft of the first solo campaign set in the world of Liria, Defenders of Liria. In the campaign you will set out on a quest to find out what's the source of the monster sightings in Hellos, unite the factions of Liria, and figure out how to defeat the invaders and restore the peace. We'll be sharing the link to the document soon – be on the lookout!
As you all can imagine – the big theme of February is to launch our Kickstarter campaign. We also have some game sessions planned for the upcoming weeks and are awaiting all the previews to come out.
We cannot wait to report back on the campaign in a month. Have your fingers crossed folks and let's make it happen!
What a ride 2023 was: in January this year all we had was a humble PowerPoint-made prototype and a barebone videogame interface. Fast forward to December and here we are with pre-production game boxes and a stable videogame MVP. Suffice to say, a lot of work and commitment got us to this point. The game reached a highly mature stage only thanks to the many talented people that worked on it and the constant community input. December itself was a fun month – we played a LOT of Boardquest in person – and we are supercharged to continue introducing people to the game in January!
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Let's get it out of the way: this was one hell of a tournament! The factions of Liria represented by Alex (Humans), Oscar (Elves), Phil (Demons), and Danny (Orcs) clashed in an ultimate battle for glory. The session was so impassioned that we ran out of time and had to postpone the finals until the weekend. In the finals, Alex defeated Phil, making him officially the best Boardquest player in Malaga, Spain. Thank you to all brave contenders (and the spectators) for your time and enthusiasm!
Some of us stayed a few hours longer to attend the extra 2vs2 session afterwards. The map we built was massive!
Every month we're noticing more and more interest in the game, reflected in the climbing number of Kickstarter sign-ups. Thank you to all the subscribers and see you all at the launch on the 21st February 15.00 CET. Haven't signed-up yet? Here's the link!
Our December calendar was busy with meetings with folks from the boardgame industry, learning, sharing, and interchanging ideas with each other.
With Fran, the creator of an upcoming battle game Gueroy, we had a unique opportunity to exchange our experiences in board game design, and see how our journeys as designers follow a very similar path.
We were delighted to host Samu and Diana, the designer & translator duo behind Meeple Foundry and have them try out Boardquest: in fact they would have probably defeated Behsaad if we had a little more time to finish the game!
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You asked, we delivered. TTS is a great and proven way for the boardgame community to get a taste of the game before they make a decision about the purchase. Or try it out before the copies are printed and delivered. Boardquest is making its way to TTS and we'll be sharing a link with all of you early January.
Some Boardquest prototypes went to boardgame influencers across the globe: Spain, Germany, Ireland, UK, US, and Canada. It's a strange feeling to see all those labeled boxes leave the safety of our home: how incredible is it that our own creation is getting out there! At the same time, will the reviewers like the game? Does the rulebook make any sense?
All the copies reached their addressees and we're keen to hear their feedback!
It's going to be difficult to top December in terms of activities but by now you'd know this team only knows the accelerate button. Our plan is to continue in-person sessions and release Boardquest on TTS. That said, the biggest focus will be put on finishing the Kickstarter campaign, both visuals and our proposal for the backers, in other words a lot of behind-the-scenes work. Until next month folks!
November overdelivered satisfying events: we have reached 500 Kickstarter sign-ups, gave a go-ahead for a large order of Boardquest copies, held our game box for the first time (a very happy moment), and made headway with the first batch of promotional activities. In December we aspire to keep this momentum going and continue strengthening the Boardquest community.
We have hosted our first online tournament this month: 8 fearless commanders faced each other in a free-for-all arena to discern the best strategist between them. That title went to Oscar, along with a 25 EUR Steam voucher. Thank you to all participants: your attendance and support is the best encouragement.
We see tournaments as a perfect way to enjoy Boardquest and will be organizing them monthly going forward. The next one will take place on the 9th December at 12.00 PM in Play Planet in Malaga (SoHo area) – mark it in your calendars! All tournament spots have been almost immediately claimed but everyone is invited to join. We will bring some extra copies of the game so you can enjoy a casual session or just chat to us about it!
500! That's much more than our friends and family combined. Thank you all for trusting in our vision: see you at the launch in February!
It's such an endorphin-inducing feeling to hold your own game! With all our previous prototype prints we would always focus on the game elements: checking if the margins are wide enough; testing the font readability; iterating the token sizes. As these were finally signed off it was time to print the box itself. We love the end result: it captures the game's aesthetics and the core idea of 4 heroes engaged in a battle. Alvaro from bRIDA Studio gets full credits for this one!
We call this particular print the "Control Copy": it was meant as a final check before a larger order. Now that we are happy with all elements of the game, we issued an order for multiple copies. Some of those will go to the reviewers (all over the globe!) and some you will see in person at the tournaments and play testing sessions in the coming months.
Our BoardGameGeek page has been slowly coming together. First reviews and pictures are already there: you will see more and more of those as we continue hosting in-person sessions and tournaments.
Already a member of BGG? We would appreciate a sub – it helps us reach a wider community!
December is shaping up to be a blast. All available weekends are booked with meetings with interesting people, there are in-person play sessions in the making, and the big tournament is planned on the 9th.Next week we will be sending out Boardquest copies to our reviewers in Spain, Germany, UK, Ireland, and the US. We are eager and anxious (how much of each changes depending on the time of the day) for them to try out Boardquest and hear about their experience!
Have a lovely Christmas break everyone! Our selfish wish is that this time next year you'll be able to gift Boardquest to your friends and family!
It's that time of the month again! Boardquest Newsletter straight from Malaga lands in your inboxes all over the world.
This month brings a flurry of announcements – from promotional activities to launch-related news – that we've been cooking in October. Enough of intro: scroll down!
...and win a 25 EUR voucher! Proven your strategic skills and the Lirian gods bless you with victory over all other contestants.
WHEN: Sunday 5th November 2023, 12.00 CET
WHERE: Online
DURATION: Round 1: 1.5H | Round 2: 1H
PRICE: 25 EUR Steam Voucher
There are only 2 places left so claim your spot ASAP. International group and a some good brain workout guaranteed!
Email Behsaad at behsaad@ramezware.com if you're up for the challenge.
In our September newsletter we said that we had to go back to the drawing board regarding our marketing approach. And so we did. As a result, our Kickstarter launch has been pushed to February. A new campaign page is under construction; we are printing a batch of prototypes to distribute between gaming cafes and established reviewers on Youtube; online and in-person tournaments commence in November. We are stoked to be able to share the game with a wider community, and hope to see you all in person on one of our events!
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Now back to the "final 5% game design" updates: printing a truck full of boardgames (this is an exaggeration folks) requires us to make the box presentable in-and-out. So the forever postponed works on the box insert commenced last week.
Our guiding principle for the game is accessibility. For the box design this translates to it being neatly organised and compact. Turns out there is a trade-off between the two: some components will need to be stacked for them all to fit in a standard-sized box. After some trial and error here’s where we got to, 4 bottom compartments and baggies for the tokens. It's organized albeit a bit messy! Another review round is due next week.
Come join us in our first-ever online tournament on the 5th of November!
Other than this, we're awaiting an impressive shipment of prototype games. If all goes according to the plan we'll be hosting our first in-person championship in a few weeks time. Keep an eye on our Instagram for key announcements!
Happy autumn everyone!
September has been one of those satisfying months in game designers' life when you get to see and touch the actual product you've been working on for months: we received both the pre-production board game prototype and implemented the last missing rules in the video game. Does this mean we're ready for launch? That one is more tricky: we recognise that our overall marketing strategy needs careful planning. As that plan is being elaborated, we decided to put the launch – temporarily – on hold. In the meanwhile, remember that Boardquest demo is ready for play on Steam!
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This must be the 5th prototype we are manufacturing – and what a world of difference to where we started.
We’re so happy with this print: the thickness of the cards and the elements feels right and it’s exactly what you’ll see in the final game. Folks from Azao Games did a great job and gave us guidance when needed.
We’ve made a couple of improvements to the overall readability and there are still a few things that need fixing - some margins need to be wider for the punching machine not to lose its mind, some tokens need a slight rework and some illustrations a luminosity boost - welcome to that never ending final 5%!
We also received our first SiOCAST figures from Alemany Miniatures: the finish and quality is top notch and this just cements our decision to use SiOCAST in production. These things are ultra light and virtually unbreakable (unless you’re, like, truly committed to breaking miniatures). Add to it non-toxic material and process and reasonable cost and it’s truly a win-win-win-win situation.
We close the month with another 100 sign-ups! It's elating to see how the gaming world reacts to Boardquest promo materials: we constantly get compliments on the look of the game and very positive feedback on the gameplay.
Hit that Sign Up button if you haven't already: the early birds get a discount!
For the last 4 months Behsaad has been busy working on the solo campaign. There are roughly a trillion elements to get right here: storytelling, mechanics, making sure that coordinating various troops is a challenge yet not a chore. Even the environment itself needs to make sense for the story – and, simply, look pretty.
All this to say: the campaign is ready! So ready that we will be rolling out first playtesting sessions starting next week. If you are curious to find out the origin story of Boardquest – what brought Demons to Liria (and understand who are the bad and good guys in this mess) – be sure to shoot us a message.
We've checked most items off the September list, with the exception of finalising the Kickstarter campaign which still needs more thought. What's there for us in October? Other than restarting the in-person playtesting sessions, the most important thing we need to work out is our marketing plan.
Till next month then!
It's end of summer folks! Here's hope that our tans will go nicely with the sneaky grey hairs that surely have nothing to do with developing Boardquest. That's only partly joking; making a game is fun, but can be stressful. There are over 20 people that were involved in the process at one point or another this year: from design, to actual production – and that's not counting the playtesters and many friends and family members who offer advice and support. The world of Boardquest is already massive from our perspective and the project's scope grew way beyond what we imagined at its inception. With that said, we're embracing its momentum and getting our ducks in a row to make the game ready for its launch in October.
Read below about what we've put in motion in August!
You heard it here first: Boardquest official trailer is OUT NOW!
*heavy breathing*
It's the promo video for the Kickstarter campaign that we've been working on for the last 2 months. The 3D animation was done by CrowD Media Studio and we couldn't be happier with the final result.
We grew by almost a 100 sign-ups since our last email! That's big news and we're so so happy that the number of people interested in Boardquest is growing daily. Hit that Sign Up button if you haven't already: the early birds get a discount!
Every couple of weeks Behsaad takes over our Social Media channels to talk about a game design aspect that he finds interesting or, more often than not, has been consuming him recently.Give the videos a listen – here's a list of what he recorded so far:
Movement and Map Creation
Playmodes
Adventure Mode
Miniature Production
Quests
Board and Video Game
We don't have any pictures to share yet, but any day now we should be receiving the final prototype print along with the Orcs and Monster figures we sent an order for. The figures are being made reality by the inventor of SiOCAST technology himself, Luis Alemany (this is a subtle, hyper-insider brag), and Azao Games are taking care of the cardboard elements and cards.
First playtests of the new production are already being scheduled so expect our Instagram to be flooded with photos in the next few weeks. And who knows – maybe even YOU will be in them!
It feels really satisfying to read our To-Do list from this summer and realise we've made it all happen! September's list is mostly about finalizing everything before the October launch. Still a lot to do but it does feel more... downhill rather than uphill for once!
September plans:
– In-person playtesting sessions
– Kickstarter campaign: wrap up the final look
– Videogame: wrap up the Adventure Mode
That's all folks – till next month!
Not that we want to make the summer temperatures even hotter, but there are some fiery updates on the game progress that we just have to share. The important news is that we're at a point where things no longer feel like disjointed work streams but everything seems to be coming together: the final arts, the demo, the promotional materials – meaning, we are firmly on track for the Kickstarter release in October.
As things have been put in motion we hope to personally slow down in August: and likewise, we hope that you're enjoying your summer breaks even if that means a break from Boardquest!
Our Kickstarter preview looks fresher than ever! Hopefully our 240 followers (a big thank you!) agree.
The new banner is a creation of our 3D artist, Patrick Klein Meuleman. If this doesn't look HYPER cool, we don't know what does. This is not the last time you hear from Patrick, as he's got some exciting things cooking for us, or should we say, blending – in his Blender workspace.
The banner is one of the most important marketing assets for a project: whether a potential backer decides to click on our campaign or not is decided in a split second, based on that one image.
See more of Patrick's art on Behance.
All board game components have been approved, packed up, and sit in their final folder eagerly awaiting print. It's been a good 8 months for us to get to this stage; it all adds up: the color choices, deciding most information-effective layouts, print considerations, font readability... As we've learnt, sometimes the smallest icon takes a couple of iterations to make sure it conveys well the meaning behind it.
Now that the assets are ready we can send them for the final prototype print. As the presses in Spain are paused for holidays in August, we're expecting to receive it early September.
The game design (sans the illustrations) were crafted by bRIDA Studio in Malaga.
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A new iteration of the demo is now on Steam! Most importantly, we've incorporated feedback from some first-time Boardquest players: say hello to the tutorial. Its main task is to guide the newcomers through the game's mechanics. Besides, Behsaad and Jannik worked on some balancing updates and released an improved UI.
The demo includes:
– PvE (Humans vs Orcs)
– Local Multiplayer (Humans vs Orcs)
– Campaign
– Tutorial
Have you took your chances with the campaign yet? Let us know how you're liking the game and make sure to check out our (very humble) Discord channel.
Get the Demo
We did not move as fast as we thought we would in July: things take time to get right and we don't want to rush things and sacrifice on quality. Our goals for the summer haven't changed. We are still on track towards:
– Board Game Prototype #5
– Weighted white prototype
– Prototype Figures manufacturing (Orcs and Monsters)
– Kickstarter Trailer
And – as in July, let's make sure we all enjoy some sun and family time! Till next month folks.
Developing a game – or, technically in our case, two games – might be many things, but certainly monotonous isn't one of them. June has been busy: this month we have forged new partnerships, released an updated version of our demo, and accelerated the development of miniatures and outstanding game elements.
See more below – and for those of you reading this on your summer holidays we wish you a fantastic time with your friends and family!
This is big: we'll be releasing an exclusive MINOTAUR figure for our Kickstarter backers. The monster is a result with our collaboration with Yedharo Models (authored by Pedro Gutierrez).
What makes this particular figure special is that it will not be released outside of the Kickstarter platform, even if the game goes to retail. This is a token of appreciation for our backers – something unique that you receive because you supported us at this very vulnerable stage of the company inception. Make sure to sign up on Kickstarter to be there when we launch!
Yedharo Models is a leading Spanish war game modelling studio and this marks the start of our partnership: be on the lookout for additional model announcements in the next months.
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Head to Steam for an updated demo of Boardquest!
Now available:
◇ PVE
◇ LOCAL MULTIPLAYER
◇ CAMPAIGN
Local Multiplayer allows you to play with a friend or family member on one computer as Orcs vs Humans. This is the core of the game and it mimics exactly how the board game plays (minus the board setup).
The campaign is the real star of this release: it's a 3-stage scenario developed with the Boardquest Adventure Mode. We are excited for you to see the possibilities our system offers. In the campaign you will face the Orc army in your quest of freeing Bilar, the Orc Shaman, from the Dark Amulet polluting his mind and soul. All stages take place in different parts of Steppes of Dogan.
Can you beat all scenarios we prepared? Be sure to share your feedback!
Get the Demo
The first batch of our minis is here! We love how they turned out.
The minis were produced with SiOCAST. We decided to use this innovative technology for a variety of reasons: superior quality and durability of the product in comparison with 3D printed figures; non-toxicity of the material; scalability of the production. With SiOCAST we can add the color to the thermoplastic itself - no post-production painting and treatment required. Listen to Behsaad talking about our decision behind choosing SiOCAST and watch him drop the figures in the ultimate durability test!
Every figure was produced in one piece. While it’s been a challenge for our designers to achieve this, we decided to follow that route to later simplify the production process and reduce risks.
All Human figures are designed by Fran Garcia Ponce.
July looks as ambitious as any other month:
– Board Game Prototype #5
– Weighted white prototype
– Prototype Figures manufacturing (Orcs and Monsters)
– Videogame UI Updates
– Kickstarter Trailer
And of course, let's add in some breaks to enjoy the summer and soak in the pool!
Thanks for reading folks!
And just like that – * snaps fingers * – May is over!
We have hit some important milestones this month: starting with the release of the demo version of the game (on Steam and via a direct download for our subscribers), to making some great progress with the design of the board game elements.
Below is a summary of what we've been up to this month.
Boardquest demo is now LIVE ON STEAM! This is a huge milestone for us and something we can build on to reach a wider audience.
The demo is a preview of the Single Player mode with 2 factions to choose from (Humans & Orcs). Every session plays on a randomized map making every experience varied and challenging.
Take it for a spin, share it with your friends – the download is free – and let us know what your think (here or on Discord).
Boardquest on Steam
It's been long overdue that we visit the offices of our printing partner AGRPriority, meet the team in person and dig deeper into standards and quirks of production. Madrid is only 3 hours away from Malaga on the fast train – add to it one cab journey and you arrive at the industrial quarter of Humanes, Madrid.
The folks at AGR let us open game boxes and study the inserts; touch mini figures, moulds, and dice; ask them an exhaustive list of questions about production and fulfilment. The team has been very accommodating, and special thanks to Manuel for his insight.
Now, back at home, we work on implementing the learnings into our designs.
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Talking about AGR, we had the new designs (work by bRIDA Studio) printed by them and delivered mid May. The learnings? The cards look stunning; bRIDA's design is an elegant rehash of the classic formula of fantasy cards and – to us – a welcome refresh. We did notice some issues with legibility and are currently working on fixing that. Design accessibility – so the ease with which the players comprehend what the cards and other components are supposed to do – is our top priority.
We had a liiiiittle delay with our figure moulds, expecting the first batch (the human army) next week, so keep an eye on our Instagram to catch the first impressions!
June is shaping to be just as busy as... well, any other month, but here is the list of things we plan to complete:
– Modelling of the Orc & 5 Monster figures
– Sign off on the Card and other Game Element designs
– Adventure Mode / Solo Campaign wrap up
Thanks for reading folks!
April has been a busy month – no rest for the weary – the game development is full steam ahead and our humble team of 6 has had their plates full. We made fantastic progress on the video game and finalized the assets for the prototype production.
With this email we are officially commencing monthly status updates for all our newsletter subscribers. You might receive an off-schedule communication every now and then, but we promise it will be worth it.
Reality hit hard as we came to a realization that creating an enticing Kickstarter campaign takes a lot of work and resources. Images, photos, videos, playthroughs, reviews – it all takes time and more often than not, re-do's. We're committed to releasing a great campaign and hence we decided to grant ourselves more time to get it ready.
Brace yourselves for September, and in the meantime join the Kickstarter waitlist if you haven't already!
Boardquest on Kickstarter
The only reason you might have subscribed to this newsletter is getting your hands on the demo. It's almost there: early May we will be sending an exclusive link to the download!
This month Behsaad and Jannik have been laser focused on the final polishes of the demo. We rolled out various UX updates based on our test players' feedback. The units are darkened once they deplete their actions; the font sizes are more under control; the HUD has been re-organized; Nova skills are more intuitive to cast.
We also got the networking under control. This is not something that directly impacts the demo but it's fundamental for releasing the beta version. It's of those things you only ever see if it breaks – which now is never, hopefully – but it would spoil the whole experience if happens.
The prototype #4 is in good (and skillfull) hands of our partners AGR Priority. We are expecting to have it ready next week.
This time we are printing the new designs (work by bRIDA Studio) on professional quality paper to experience the look and feel of a production-grade asset. Along with the new cards and tokens we are expecting the first batch of figures in thermoplastic resin manufactured with SIOCAST technology. We love the quality of the product (non-toxic, robust yet flexible) and are excited to share the figures with you all soon.Creating a prototype certainly gives us a taste of what production will be like down the line: the potential adjustments and wait times.
We had a couple of iterations of the card designs (final.png, final1.png, final_final.png, you get the point); then the AGR team had to produce the masters for the punching machine; finally, the figures – initially created by Fran to be 3D printed – needed adjustments along the SiOCAST requirements.
It's crazy to believe but we were approached by Paxton Kloss from Nazar's Fantasy Market with a rendition of our map of Liria – made, behold, completely by hand. You can see a close-up of the work-in-progress below: it looks almost ready to hand to one of our heroes in their quest of finding the root of Evil…
