Production Complete & Pics
over 2 years ago – Wed, Nov 10, 2021 at 08:59:59 PM

Hello Friends!  

I'm thrilled to share that the advance copies of Legacies arrived and after a detailed review and one minor (but important) fix at the factory, Legacies will be shipped to the docks any day to board their various containers - bound for a location near you!  

Several production copies of Legacies along with the neoprene mat arrived last week for me to review in detail before the factory finalized assembly.  First, let me say just how thrilled I am with how they turned out!  They look and feel fantastic!!!  Check out the pictures below.

Neoprene Mat

I admittedly don't play many games on neoprene mats, but I must say that this turned out wonderfully!  It makes it very easy to see where to orient all of the cards and tiles throughout the game and there's something uniquely satisfying about the feel of the neoprene under your fingertips when you pick up cards or move components.  

 Standard Edition 

Anyone who picks up the Standard Edition of Legacies will NOT be disappointed.  This edition actually feels like deluxe versions of other games in my collection.  The factory even did a great job with the base insert in the Standard Edition.

Deluxe Edition

W-o-w!  There is so much goodness in here!   I love how the gold foil turned out.

The rulebook and GameTrayz greet you upon opening.  

Under the component trays you'll find the punch board and the dual-layer board, followed by this well-organized base tray.

...then once you remove the player mats and trade conference tiles you'll have all of the spaces for cards and tiles.  In a future update I'll talk through in detail how I'd recommend organizing your components.

I mentioned in the opening that there was one minor, but important, fix necessary and it was with the Deluxe edition.  This was the first time I got to physically see and experience the GameTrayz.  They are incredible and are going to make setup and storage so simple for you when you start and finish each game of Legacies.  In the advance copies I received, the lids fit nice and snugly on the player component trays, however, they were a tiny bit loose on the long shared component trays.  

I shared my concerns with the factory and within 4 hours they had adjusted the lid mold and produced a version that fit MUCH more snugly, even flipping the tray upside down - filled with Legacies gold coins - and shook it vigorously with the lid remaining tightly in place.  I was very happy with the quick correction by GameLand.  It took them a few days to remake the shared component tray lids for all of the deluxe copies, but it was absolutely worth it to make sure your deluxe goodness remains secure in their trays as you take Legacies to your favorite game nights.  

Standard vs. Deluxe

For those that want to see the two editions next to each other, here are a couple of pictures for perspective.

From above...

...and from the side - you can see how much thicker the deluxe edition is than the standard! (both copies standing in the back are Deluxe)

Final Assembly

GameLand sent me a video from their final assembly activities.  I put together a small collage of screen grabs from that video below. These are the Standard Editions coming together into a massive stack of gaming goodness!  

Next Steps

Quartermaster Logistics, Gameland, and the shipping agent are coordinating the transit details.  As soon as I have the names of the ships Legacies will be traveling on, I'll share them with all of you.  In the meantime, I've sent several of the advance copies to content creators and reviewers.  Plus, Jon from Jon Gets Games has his copy and will be recording the How to Play video this month.  

Exciting times!  In my next updates, I'll let you know what to expect as the various fulfillment centers receive the shipments and start to prepare your games for delivery.  In the meantime, stay safe and have fun!

--Jason

Locking Addresses + Factory Photos
over 2 years ago – Tue, Oct 05, 2021 at 02:18:28 AM

Hello friends!  I've got two quick updates to share with you today.

First, I will be locking addresses on October 14th.  If your address has changed since you last updated your BackerKit survey, please be sure to update it by the 14th to make sure your copy of Legacies ends up on the right doorstep.  

To check or edit your address, go to BackerKit and log in to review your Legacies survey.  If you don't remember your login information,  you can go to the bottom of the BackerKit main page and choose "Find a survey" in the lower left to retrieve your Legacies survey.

Second, the factory has shared some pictures of the printing process.  Which one of these will end up in YOUR copy of Legacies???

Legacies is just a couple of weeks from hitting the water for its ocean voyage to you.  Are you excited? I know I am!!! As soon as I have them, I'll share the names of the ships with you so you can follow along.

I'll be in touch again soon.

--Jason

Back from GenCon - Bidding Dice and Backstories
over 2 years ago – Tue, Sep 21, 2021 at 12:37:23 PM

Hello!  I'm freshly back from GenCon and can't stress how invigorated I am after being able to convene with many fellow gamers!  This update talks about our production status, playtesting (of upcoming designs) from recent events, the bidding dice, and more Legacies backstories.  Enjoy!  

Production Status

GameLand is actively working on the mass production of Legacies and anticipates sending me the mass production copy for approval by the end of the month.  Meanwhile, my logistics partner is seeking transit space on vessels to move Legacies from the production facilities in China to various ports around the world.  As soon as I have an update on vessel information, I'll share that with you for those that like to follow your games along on their sea journey.

In the meantime, we are still very close to locking addresses in the pledge manager.  I'll let you know when as soon as we've confirmed which vessels the games will be sailing on.

Here's a picture from the factory of the neoprene mat in all of its glory!

 Recent Events 

This month I went to both Stonemaier Design Day and GenCon to get in playtests of an expansion for Legacies as well as a new game I'm working on called Clandestine (a strategic rondel/mancala game about building your secret society).  I came back with great feedback from all playtests and will be implementing changes and enhancements to those designs based on those early tests.  If you're thinking "an expansion for Legacies, already?", I will note that it is going to be at least a year or so before that is ready.  You'll have plenty of time to explore the depth of Legacies and its variety of Characters well before the expansion hits.

Character Dispositions

During GenCon a playtester asked about the dispositions characters already had with one another (amicable or hostile) and how those came to be. 

 I thought it would be fun to provide the thought process and a bit of backstory on each of those dispositions.  Over the coming weeks I'll work my way through all 28 dispositions (14 amicable and 14 hostile) sharing the details of why the Philosopher and Underworld Boss are amicable with each other while the General and Underworld Boss are hostile towards one another.  If you'd like to follow along and/or influence the order I share those stories in, please check out the thread here on Board Game Geek.

Bidding Dice

One of the stretch goals from the campaign included replacing the bidding cubes with bidding dice in the Deluxe edition.  While the rules are the same between the two versions, I want to share with you the various ways you can use the bidding die for a bit of variability.  Note, there are 6 different die faces - the standard: gold, foundation, resource, and fame, a "no-bid" side, and a side with 3 exclamation marks.

• Bidding - The standard use of the die would be when bidding in the trade conference.  Players rotate the die to show the item they are bidding ON and place it in the row corresponding with the amount they are willing to pay to win that item.  This allows players to be a bit less precise with their placement on the trade conference tile, plus it makes it more clear who is bidding on which items.
• Indecision - For those players who can't make up their mind what they want to bid on, they can roll the die to determine their fate.  The "no-bid" side could advise them to stay out of the trade conference whereas the 3 exclamation mark side could prompt them to roll again.
• Solo / NPC Variation - While the cards used for the NPCs specifically note which item the Nemesis will bid on (and how much) on a given turn, the bidding die could be rolled instead to add variability and unpredictability to which item the Nemesis will bid on.

Are there other ways you could see yourself using the bidding dice in the deluxe edition of Legacies?

That's it for this update. As soon as I have pictures from the factory of the manufacturing process (or the advance production copy which I should have in a couple of weeks), I'll be back with more pictures.  

In the meantime, keep having fun!

--Jason

Pics of Progress
over 2 years ago – Mon, Aug 23, 2021 at 03:32:09 AM

Hello friends!  

As I shared in the last update, all of the files are currently with the factory and they're working on the manufacturing steps for all of your Legacies goodness.   Additionally, I've reviewed and approved the digital proofs for all of the printable components.  At this point, the timing I shared in the last update is still on track.  Keep reading for pictures of progress, a note on addresses, and comments about next month's GenCon.

GameTrayz

The factory recently shared some pictures which I'm excited to share with you.  These showcase the physically printed trays from GameTrayz which you'll find in your Deluxe Edition!  I was going to include engineering drawings of these in the last update, but I'm glad I waited because I think it's much better to see them actually molded and printed!  

Above is the shared resource tray.  There are two of these trays in the Deluxe Edition so you can divide the coins and custom resources in half and place them near players so everyone doesn't have to reach across to a single location. 

Above is a picture of all of the player component trays (with their lids).  There are six of these trays in the Deluxe Edition - one for each color of player components.     The lids even showcase the "L" from Legacies (and yes, the "detail-oriented" part of my brain wishes they were all facing the same direction in this photo, but alas...)  :-)

Some of you may recall that we didn't actually have a GameTrayz base tray planned or included as a stretch goal as part of the campaign.  We quickly realized that including a custom base tray was the right thing to do and we're thrilled with the result.  The above photo shows all of the cards, tiles, and tokens neatly arranged in the base tray.  Each and every time you bring Legacies to the table, setup will be a breeze with all of the cards and components nicely sorted.  For those that prefer to sleeve their cards, all of the card wells have enough room to accommodate both sleeved and unsleeved cards.

The base tray has two posts on the left side to keep the tri-layer player mats stored snugly on top of it with the next layer being the folded dual-layer game board.  

Below is a picture of what the box looks like fully loaded.

Excited?  I know I am!  

Addresses

Our next update will likely be relatively soon as it's nearly time to lock your addresses.  If you've moved recently and haven't updated your address in BackerKit, now is the time to start thinking about that.  We'll need to lock addresses in early-mid September to make sure we put the right amount of copies on the right ships.  

GenCon

For those who plan to attend GenCon, I will be there and would love to meet you!  Most of my time will be spent in the First Exposure Playtest Hall.  I'll be hosting playtest sessions each day for two different designs:

• An expansion to Legacies featuring a new element (foreshadowed on the bidding dice for those that have an eye for detail!!!) and 
• My newest strategy game about building secret societies featuring a unique spin on the rondel/mancala mechanism

There is a chance I'll have a complete sample of the final version of Legacies to show anyone who stops by, but I can't say for sure at this point.

That's it for this update.   Stay well, keep gaming, and I'll be in touch again soon!

--Jason

Manufacturing and Timelines
almost 3 years ago – Sun, Jul 18, 2021 at 09:34:38 PM

It's official!  As of early this month, all files are with our manufacturer, GameLand.  Go ahead.  Say "YES!" or make a small fist pump in the air or think to yourself "It's about time..." - however you react to that news, I trust it ultimately brings a smile to your face.  I know I am thrilled about this moment. The only thing that will be more exciting is when I see the posts and comments as Legacies starts to appear on your doorsteps and hit your gaming tables.  Let's talk about when that will be and what steps remain.

Timelines

GameLand anticipates manufacturing will be complete and ready for freight shipping by mid-September at the latest.  The games should hit the water shortly after that with ships reaching their destinations by late October.  From there, depending on the region and customs, fulfillment will start in November.   Those are our best estimates at this point and I remain cautiously optimistic that those estimates will hold true.

I'm working out the details of freight shipping lanes and all of that other fun stuff with Quartermaster Logistics so we'll be ready to go as soon as GameLand has the games complete.  I'm also very glad I started the VAT registration process early this year because that has not been as straightforward as I would have hoped, but will be fully resolved by the time games start hitting your docks.

Other Exciting Updates

I have four other updates which I find exciting and I trust one or more of these will excite you as well!  

First, I'm happy to tell you that I've lined up the popular Jon Gets Games to do a tutorial video for Legacies!  You'll be able to see the latest version of Legacies in a rules overview and playthrough using the production components in a couple of months!  As soon as that's ready I'll let you know.

Second, for all of you that backed the Deluxe Edition of Legacies, I opted to include an additional base tray from GameTrayz in addition to the shared component and individual component trays that were unlocked as part of the campaign.  This custom base tray will hold all of the cards and smaller cardboard components securely in the bottom of the box while dovetailing nicely with the other trays and deluxe components.  (And for my backers who like to sleeve their cards, we made sure there's space to hold your sleeved cards!)

Third, the translations of the Legacies rulebook into French and Italian are in progress (and German should be following shortly!)

Finally, I will be attending GenCon in September.  If you're planning to be there as well, you can often find me in the First Exposure Playtest Hall.  I'll be conducting playtests of one of my newest strategy game designs along with an expansion for Legacies!  If you want to see (and weigh in on) an early version of either of those - please come by the playtest hall!!!

That's it for this update.  As manufacturing progresses I'll get some photos to share the progress.  In the meantime, please feel free to chime in with any questions or suggestions for future updates.  Thanks so much and enjoy your weekend!!!

--Jason