End of Year Round-up
almost 2 years ago – Thu, Dec 29, 2022 at 06:23:23 PM

Hey everyone! 

I hope you all are enjoying the holiday season! I’ve been compiling a list of updates over the past month so here we go!

Votes are in!

It wasn’t much of a contest. The name “The Unsinkable II” won by a landslide! The name will be added to the prologue at the front of the rulebook.

Thank you all for the fantastic and hilarious name ideas. 

Speaking of ships…

The prototype is here!

The manufacturer’s (Boda Games) prototype arrived earlier this month. This is just a 3D printed copy but it’s a much higher quality than my own printer could produce. (Note: The final ship will be in a light brown plastic) There were a few ship sections that were a bit tight causing the layers to stick together. The intention is not for the sections to stick together but simply stack on top of one another. This allows for very easy removal of the bottom layers during gameplay. With changes made to the section tolerance, I gave the go-ahead to begin production on the ship molds.

Since the campaign ended there have been a few changes made to the ship design as well:

• Cannons have been moved to fit on the top section.
• Added more wood detail on the masts and framing.
• Added numbers to the bottom of each ship section to easily distinguish them.
• Slightly angled the masts back to fit the stylized look a bit more.
   

Other Plastic Molds

The plastic molds for the dial fasteners, as well as the dice, are in the process of being created. The plastic fasteners will be cast in colors that match the player's color and capped off with silkscreen for the character’s icon. The dice will be engraved/embossed in resin.

Changes to Chest Tokens

Some folks thought that the check tokens felt a little bland with their solid text. I agreed but had not thought of a solution yet. After spending a ton of time testing size and font legibility I think I landed with a great compromise.

Game Changes

After some playtesting feedback, I made a tough choice to make a slight change to the game. I promise you it’s nothing big and in fact, you will probably not even realize it was there. That was part of the problem… After watching several previewers play the game I realized they would often forget to set-up or take advantage of the “Locked Treasure” (A stack of 5 random items removed from the Water Deck at the beginning of the game. If players received chest tokens with a Treasure symbol on it, they could cash the token in for a peek at the “locked Treasure stack and choose x cards from it.) In reality, it’s very easy to forget to set this up in the game and it also doesn’t get used that often. I made the choice to remove the stack. The Chest tokens that you collect now, simply give you victory points, either 2, 4 or 6. This makes set-up much easier and there is less interruption of gameplay.

MAGFest

We had a great time demoing We’re Sinking at MAGFest last year and I’m excited to say We’ll be demoing again this year as well as taking pre-orders in the Riverfront Ballroom. MagFest is a Music and Gaming convention held every year in Maryland from January 5-8. It’s one of my favorite conventions in the DC area. If you plan on attending, please stop by our booth in the Board Game room and say hi.

Looking for Volunteers

I’m also looking for a few volunteers for MAGFest. If anyone would like to help teach and demo the game, I have MAGFest tickets up for grabs for anyone who can assist with 6 or more hours throughout the 4 days. Send me an email if you're interested!

Pledge Manager

I’m still aiming to have the pledge manager up before the end of January. However, I know I need to give the pledge manager its due attention. Right now it feels overwhelming to think about. But first things first is putting the final polish on all the assets and getting them sent over. The pledge manager will not affect the production timeline.

Late Pledge Store

Late Pledges are still open for anyone who missed the campaign. 

Bah Humbug!

If you’re still in the holiday spirit, check out Bah! Humbug, a cute charming game that packs a lot into a small package! 12 games about Christmas. Designed by some very talented people in the game design community.

I know this update what a bit boated so I'll save some for next month ;)

See you all in 2023!

Cheers,

Joseph

Manufacturer & Ship Vote
almost 2 years ago – Sun, Nov 27, 2022 at 10:44:22 PM

This post is for backers only. Please visit Kickstarter.com and log in to read.

WE DID IT!
about 2 years ago – Mon, Oct 31, 2022 at 07:08:29 AM

What a month! The last 26 days have been a whirlwind! Today I took some time to disconnect from screens for a little while and reflect on the journey that led to us getting here. I feel extremely blessed to have such amazing family and friends who supported me along the way. None of it could have been possible without their constant moral support and spending countless hours helping me playtest and teach We’re Sinking to others. 

Then there's all of YOU! The backers who are responsible for making this wild and whacky dream a reality! Your excitement and enthusiasm have been a joyous and overwhelming experience. Thanks to everyone who shared, reposted, and spread the word along the way. Some of you have even reached out to help translate the game!

Thank you all from the bottom of my heart!

What’s Next?

There’s no time to waste!

• I have narrowed down the search for a manufacturer to three. (Gameland, LongPack and Boda Games) Starting tomorrow, I plan to begin scheduling meetings with each one to make a final decision.
• I'll start working with Bryce Cook from Black Magic Inserts to begin refining the box insert.
• We'll begin the final passes of the rulebook and all the language on the cards.

Naming the Ship

Unfortunately, we didn't hit our last stretch goal to get the ship’s name in the model. I was so surprised by the huge amount of fantastic names that you all shared. I plan to still hold a community vote, probably in the next update. The winning name will be chosen for the ship and used in the game's synopsis in the rulebook.

Updates

From here until the games are delivered to you, I plan to fill you in with regular updates. The frequency will be based on the amount of news I have to share. But at the very minimum, I'll make sure to check in with you each month.

Thanks again everyone!

Cheers,

-Joseph

Last 24 Hours! Final Stretch Goal + Ghosts
about 2 years ago – Sun, Oct 30, 2022 at 03:27:46 AM

We’re in the last 24 Hours of the campaign and we just blew through the Larger Dice stretch goal thanks to the tidal wave of new backers! So here we are, the final stretch goal:

THE SHIP NEEDS A NAME!

If we can get to 90k we’ll engrave the name of the ship on the back of the ship model. 

We Need Your Help Backers!

Post your ship name ideas in the comments. We'll pick our favorites and the communities favorites and create a community vote next week for the winning name. 

MEET THE GHOSTS

In the spirit of Halloween, let's talk about We're Sinking's spookiest enemy. The Ghosts will be dealing out haunt cards to individual players. During the enemy dice rolls, the Ghost's attacks will cause mayhem to anyone who is haunted. Six Ritual Candles can be found in the Water Deck as Treasure cards. They can be used to protect against attacks. If you can get enough out you can remove haunt cards. Ask your questions about the Ghosts below! 

Let's finish off with a splash! Thanks Everyone!

Cheers,

Joseph

Another Day, Another Goal!
about 2 years ago – Thu, Oct 27, 2022 at 09:43:23 PM

We Unlocked the Upgraded Box Insert! 

So what does that mean? We will have industry expert, Bryce Cook of Black Magic Inserts design the final insert from the ground up for maximum efficiency and user convenience. Bryce is an industry veteran and has worked on inserts for titles such as Flamecraft, My Father's Work, Shelfie Stacker, Paint the Roses, Veiled Fate, Kingdom Rush, and many more. We can't wait to update you on the improved design over the next few weeks!

So what’s left for the final 70 hours of the campaign? If we can get to 75k we’ll unlock your larger dice! 16mm dice are your typical nice-sized chunky rollers. They will be easier to read and a blast to roll!

New Gameplay

In case you missed it, the fine folks over at Quackalope put out a 4-player gameplay video against the cursed Skullsairs yesterday. Be sure to check it out and send them some love with a 'Like'.

Next Update

Next update we will finally talk about the haunting Ghost crew!

Cheers,

-Joseph