Second off, we’re the Project of the Day on Kickstarter today, which I just found out about as I was polishing this up, and which is groovy in the finest, most Ash-in-Evil-Dead-2 sense of the word. We tried to not just have a project that was worthy of being funded, but one that followed the best practices of being clean, organized, and readable so that future Kickstarters can get ideas from us just as we’ve gotten them from successful ones in the past. 

Many of you are beginning to ask about our stretch goals. If you don't know what stretch goals are, here's a primer:

Stretch Goals are a great idea (first popularized in the boardgame section, actually!) that lets us give back some of the money we save via economy-of-scale to our backers, while encouraging them to tell their friends. These are upgrades to the base game that we'll be able to do if we hit our higher-funding benchmarks, such as going from high-quality to ultra-high-quality components, more snazzy wooden things, etc. 

Ours will be exciting, and accompanied by charming illustrations by Jess. More specifics in the next update!

A++ GREAT GAME WOULD SPEW AGAIN 

So, we’ve gotten a couple of reviews so far, with a couple more coming down the pike once everyone we showed the game to at PAX recovers. So far, they’ve all been incredibly positive. (What is wrong with you people?!) Anyway, here’s a recap: 

"One of the most fun half-hours of gaming I've had this year." — Stephen Totilo, Kotaku 

"We don't usually link Kickstarter games, but Guts of Glory is the most messed-up game we've seen in a while" — @ShutUpShow (aka Shut Up and Sit Down...my favorite boardgaming blog/podcast!)

"Full disclosure: After writing this, I decided to back this project. Let the hunger games begin! — Libe Goad, Games.com

"Gage's interest as a former artist and his knack for creating elegant systems is in full-form with Guts of Glory." — Jamin Warren, Kill Screen 

"I’m always a fan of new and unusual themes, and I think it’s fair to say that Guts of Glory has one that I’ve not seen before." — Tom Vasel 

And here are a few tweets from some swell folks we met at the show: 
"Guts of Glory was my favorite new game at PAX, great quirky charm, incredible momentum" — Andrew (@mammonmachine)

"Just finished a demo of the AWESOME Guts of Glory with designer @helvetica. Fund that Kickstarter, guys! It is so good." - Dylan Sabin of Sidequesting.com

"So I met these guys at PAX and ... I think I need this game in my life." - Victoria Faye (@relewiese)

PAX AMERICANA TOP 5 

1) It is enormous. Really, really enormous. Yet, despite all my apprehensions, neither overwhelming nor alienating. I did not hide underneath our table once, which is at least a dozen times fewer than I expected. Good job, PAX.  

2) I did not get to spend too much time away from the table, but I did get to take a few hours and explore the main area. Of course, I immediately made a beeline for the boardgame zone, where I borrowed the demo copy of the new Dominion expansion, Dark Ages, and tried it out with a very nice mom. The set of Kingdom cards we pulled centered around one devastating combo: Rats, which cause you to gain more Rats, and the Forager, which “trashes” the Rats (read: cooks them for dinner) and gives you a bonus for doing so. Halfway through the game, it suddenly occured to me that I was engaged in a cutthroat post-apocalyptic eating contest. I believe this is what is known as a Busman’s Holiday. 

3) A troupe of at least a dozen Monty Python-style coconut-clacking cavaliers tromped by the Kickstarter room, freezing all action mid-game for the next ten seconds as everyone’s brain failed to process what just happened.  

4) Thanks to the Right-Hand Glove, I also got into multiple arguments about whether having six fingers is creepier than having five fingers. I took the position that if evolution had shunted us towards Base 12 (or, even better, Base 8,) we’d have conquered the Solar System by now. Think I may have made a few converts. 

5) I've visited Seattle four times in my life, and for the fourth time, every time I went outside it was absolutely beautiful. Either everybody has been lying to me or I am some sort of very minor weather god. 

NUTS AND BOLTS...YUM.

A lot of people at PAX asked me what, as “Developer”, my actual role was in this whole thing. It’s a good question, since I’m not exactly certain myself. Although we’re all working very closely on all aspects of the game, I’m sort of a cross between a Lead Playtester, Rules Editor, Producer, and Grand Vizier (but not the poison ring-y kind!). Basically, Zach comes up with the core concepts that make Guts of Glory the unique and wonderful game it is, and I’m the guy who says “You know what would make the scoring clearer? A point track.” 

I’m also responsible for the production of the game itself, which I’d like to take a moment to fill you in on the details of. We’re still working out some of the precise numbers, but here’s the big picture: 

• We’re working with Panda Games Manufacturing, a company based in both Canada and China that has produced such popular (and really nice-looking) games as Pandemic, High Frontier, and Tales of The Arabian Nights. Our interactions with them (specifically, rep Chris Matthew) have been great: he’s quick to respond to my endless questions, and has pointed out some silly errors I made in our initial quote, such as, uh, making the boards the exact same size at the box interior. So, when you get the game and can remove the boards with your hands instead of having to turn the whole box upside down and whack it like a bottle of ketchup, thank Chris. 

• Right now, the dimensions of the box are 5” x 9” x 2”: big enough to have room for the five thick and sturdy boards and a future expansion or two, yet small enough that it can be tossed in a backpack or such without any trouble.  

• One thing still up in the air is whether or not to go with linen-finished cards and boards. On the one hand, it makes them feel more like traditional playing cards, which I dig, and lots of people like them. On the other hand, a lot of people don’t, and we’ve gotten lots of compliments and zero complaints about the smooth cards we’ve had for playtesting, which aren’t nearly as nice as the real cards will be. (Though they’re of great quality for a small print run—if you just want to make a few dozen copies of your game, I totally recommend thegamecrafter.com). But if this is the sort of thing you have an opinion on, post something in the comments, as we can be swayed.

Last but not least, a little housekeeping. Guts has got some amazing momentum right now, but there are always more things we feel like we could be doing. We'd be remiss if we didn't tell you about our Boardgame Geek Page. Although GoG has had a boardgamegeek.com page for a while (http://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/124706/guts-of-glory), it wasn’t until recently that we’d gotten the current images up there. You can see the new, easier-to-read card design, a sheet of the original art, a close-up of Jess’s bee-yoo-ti-ful score track, and more. 

Also, if you’re a member of Boardgamegeek and you’ve played the game, it’d be great if you could leave a rating/comment—or, even better yet, a play session report or full review. Lots of boardgamers use the site to check out Kickstarter projects, and some sense of what kind of game it is (light, intense, tactical, surreal, etc.,) would help both them and us. And if you’re not a member, why not join? 

Thanks for reading, and stay tuned for future updates! We haven't even begun to unfurl all of our  fantastical plots to make the game (even) better. The apocalypse aside, the future contains lot of good stuff.

Feel free to ask away any questions and rant off any comments you have about the project on the Kickstarter page's comments section. We will get back to you as soon as possible, and take all suggestions that do not violate the Geneva Conventions under advisement.



Bon appétit,


Jesse (+Jess +Zach)