More details on swappable token stretch goals
over 8 years ago – Tue, Jun 14, 2016 at 12:22:14 AM

Hello!  

There’s been a lot of questions of how the floor tokens will change the gameplay. So without further ado, here’s some pictures of what things will look like in gameplay. In this picture, we have what I originally imagined with replaceable tokens. The tokens sit flush with the floor.

In this picture, the floor tiles remain unchanged and instead, there are tokens that sit on top of the tiles that are used for the different random encounters.

The ones on the left are flipped over so that an explorer will not know what is underneath until they flip it over. The ones on the right are revealed so that explorers can see what they are from a distance. With both setups, it’s still possible to see down entire lengths of hallway and the tokens do not block all too might light unless you are directly in front of them but even then, quite a bit of light shines through. One interesting thing to note is that with the tokens sitting on top of the floor tiles, they are harder to make out what they are until you get really close. It adds a bit of a hidden element but not completely concealed where explorers will need to go up closer to examine what token it is but do not have to flip it over in order to check. 

Which one do you like better? Let me know in the comments!

Stretch Goals and Bakcerkit
over 8 years ago – Tue, Jun 07, 2016 at 12:54:39 AM

Hello everyone! It’s been one week since the conclusion of our kickstarter campaign. Thank you so much for all of your support. I could not have gotten this far without you. 

The Stretch Goal

At the end of our campaign there have been many questions and votes about the stretch goal. It seemed to favor replaceable floor tokens over diagonal walls in the comment section but I’d like every backer to get an equal opportunity to vote on it. We have some time before I send the final designs to the manufacturer so I’d like everybody to give as much information about both stretch goals before you commit to a vote -- we’ll be sending out a survey too as we get everything set up through Backerkit. 

To go into more detail, the diagonal walls are a second set of walls that are longer than the original set of walls to allow for players to create more intricate mazes. With more complex mazes, explorers will have to take extra caution in their exploration and the total area players can cover increases signficantly. The picture below shows what the two different walls set up look like, and how they also work in the dark.

The replaceable floor tokens allow for players to set up the encounters that happen at the end of each explorer’s turn to be adjusted. The three different encounters right now are mining for gold, looting for equipment and ambushed by goblins. In each encounter, players roll a die to determine the outcome. In mining for gold, players could either gain gold or lose health. In looting for equipment, players could gain one time use items that could aid them in their search for gold or also lose health. Both mining and looting are optional. Ambushes are not optional. Instead, goblins are trying to steal your gold and you will likely be forced to choose to lose gold or health. However, there is a chance to escape or even kill the goblins and gain gold but only slight. 

By being able to change these out, the player that sets up the game can control the frequency these events occur in different sections of the maze. One section of the maze could have a huge concentration of mining locations making it a lucrative area to explore while another section could be full of goblins and be an area most explorers try and avoid. 

Here are some pictures of the tokens and the board before it’s setup and after.  

Extra Game Copies and more add-ons...

Lastly, there’s been quite a few questions about purchasing a copy of the game after the campaign: the answer right now is a tentative yes.

We’re working with Backerkit on that and we don’t see any problems but until we finalize the details, we’d like not to promise and then fail to deliver. Right now we’re setting up the details for how backers could buy the game and we hope to go through the Backerkit review process by the end of this week.

Until next time! 

Stretch goal and Pledge Manager
over 8 years ago – Fri, May 27, 2016 at 07:06:02 PM

Thank you everyone for your support! Not only is Durangrar funded, we've successfully hit a stretch goal! Wooo!!!

Now, there's been some debate over whether the stretch goal should stay the same as when we started with diagonal walls or it swapped with the second stretch goal of interchangeable floor events.

Just in case it isn't clear, the first stretch goal of diagonal walls would allow backers to construct even more complex mazes while the second stretch goal would allow backers to create more varied end of turn events. So far it seems that the second has a slight lead over the diagonal walls after reading through the comments, however we'd like to make sure every backer gets their say -- so we're going to run a more formal survey just after the campaign ends to make the final decision.

Stay tuned for that next week, along with some details about what to expect as we go into production.

Thanks again to all of you for making The Depths of Durangrar a reality!

The Final Week: Add-ons and stretch goals
over 8 years ago – Mon, May 23, 2016 at 11:49:19 AM

We've got some exciting things to share as we enter the final days of this campaign.

Add-ons

We've dotted all or i's and crossed our t's: after talking with our manufacturer and fulfillment center, we have the "all clear" for add-ons. We wanted to make sure throughout the process we could easily and accurately track your add ons so you get everything you ordered and it goes  where it should go. 

We also decided that you should be rewarded for your enthusiasm and faith in us, so if you're pledging for a game, we will not be charging extra shipping for extra add-ons! 

Here is the price list:

• Extra explorer: $7 (includes light-up base)
• Extra monster: $7
• Extra explorer set: $15 (includes 3 light-up bases)
• Extra monster set: $15
• Extra miniatures set: $30
• Extra copy of the game: $80 per game
• Extra copy of the game with expansion: $110 per game

We know that this isn't everything that you've asked for, but we've got a plan for that too: If you need additional character sheets, dials, treasure trays, or clip on lights, we are planning to make the designs available through The Game Crafter as soon as the game ships.

Let's stretch

If you haven't already noticed, this campaign has passed its funding goal!!!

First and foremost, thank you for supporting us. 

You have been amazingly supportive throughout the entire campaign, and I continue to be thankful for your support with aiming for our first stretch goal: 

This is definitely going to be, well...a stretch, but I think it's possible for us to hit this goal before our campaign ends this Friday afternoon. So if there's someone that you haven't told about the campaign yet, don't wait! And add-ons also help of course...

Thank you, thank you, thank, you.

I wanted to get the informational parts of this update out first, but this is definitely the most important message for you today.

Here we are, already funded with about five days left in our campaign, thanks to you: truly, I thank each and everyone of you. 

When we launched this campaign, we didn't know if we'd hit our goal - while we've been working on Durangrar for a long time, we're not an established company with a big following. This makes your support all the more important -- we could not have gotten this far without your help and support. 

Thank you.

The possibilities are endless
over 8 years ago – Fri, May 20, 2016 at 07:22:50 AM

Hello backers! It's been a little while since the last update, so it's probably about time for some news.

Expansion sets and add-ons...

I'm really excited to share this photo -- as you know, we added seven base tiles to the expansion pack so you'd have sixteen total in order to play in a 4x4 grid. But that's just the beginning - having sixteen tiles allows you to break out of a grid and create some very awesome, cave-like dungeon maps.  While there are a few cool non-square setups that are possible with nine tiles, having sixteen really lets "break out of the box" and make cool shapes.

Which brings me to other add-ons! Here are a few things to know and/or keep in mind:

• Most add-ons will fit in the shipping box (including the full expansion pack.)
• If there's a combination of rewards that you don't see (like a game plus extra explorers or monsters) just shoot us a note and we can work it out.
• Commenters have been requesting LED bases, which we are now in the process of pricing out.  But what else do you want?

If you'd like the option of adding on anything else to the game please let us know in the comments to this update.

Maybe it's an extra set of dice or player wheels - what do you want a la carte?  Your answers will help us determine both pricing and logistics so please be vocal if there's something you want!

We're so close...

When we launched, we knew it was a bit of a long shot. Not only are we first-time game creators, we were launching an expensive game with a high goal. But this campaign has steadily been closing in on the target. 

Now, we're at nearly $62,000 or 95% raised, and we might even have a chance of hitting a stretch goal or two if we can keep the momentum going! Obviously we aren't there quite yet, but I want to thank you for all the support we've received so far.  Now let's keep it up and get over that line!