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Legacies

Created by Jason Brooks

A thematic, mid-heavyweight euro strategy game spanning the past, present, and future.

Latest Updates from Our Project:

Playing by the Rules
about 3 years ago – Mon, Jan 11, 2021 at 09:37:23 PM

Welcome to 2021!  It's a new year (hooray!!!) and I'm excited to send out an update about four aspects of Legacies: Rules, Manufacturing, Pledge Manager, & Hype.

Rules

We're ready for your feedback on the rules!  Thanks to all of the feedback many of you provided via the Legacies mod on Tabletop Simulator, we've finalized playtesting and the last tweaks to the rules.  The rulebook is virtually complete (save for a few image and/or example updates).  Here's a link to the current Legacies rulebook draft.  While we've gone through it many, many times, there are likely some aspects or errors that we've become blind to.  If you're interested we'd love some fresh eyes on the content and have set up a Google form for any rulebook feedback. Of course, you're under no obligation to do so, but if you have feedback, it'll be a lot easier for us to work through that if it's well organized.  When providing feedback, please reference the page number at the bottom corner of the page. Here is the link to the form to provide feedback.

Manufacturing

We've given the factory the green light to move forward on all of the custom components for Legacies (wood, coins, dice, etc.) prior to Chinese New Year.  When they return, we should be ready for them to finalize their proofs of the paper products (card, punchboard, box, etc.), inserts, and neoprene mat at which point production of the remaining components will begin. 

Pledge Manager

Since manufacturing is starting for some of the components, we're going to close the Pledge Manager soon.  If you haven't yet completed your pledge / order, please make sure you complete your pledge in BackerKit by February 26th since that's when we plan to close the Pledge Manager.  (You can still change your addresses for a bit longer if needed.  We'll let you know when those need to be locked.)

Hype

BoardGameGeek has kicked off the informal Most Anticipated Games of 2021 competition and thanks to you, Legacies is already well on its way to making it into the final round of voting in multiple categories.  If you're excited to get Legacies in your hands this year, please feel free to give Legacies a "thumbs up" in the nominations by Jan. 16th!  


I hope your 2021 is off to a great start and look forward to more exciting updates over the next few months as manufacturing continues and fulfillment ultimately begins!  

All my best!

--Jason

Bringing it All Together
over 3 years ago – Tue, Dec 15, 2020 at 05:29:35 PM

As winter starts to take hold here in the Chicago area, with the days growing shorter - so are the "to-do" lists of all involved in Legacies.  That means we're edging ever closer to getting everything into the manufacturer's hands!  

Art

While Yoma continues to finalize much of the art for Legacies, we enlisted the talents of an additional artist - James Churchill - to create the art for the characters' heirlooms.  Here are just a few samples of the great work he's been producing over the past few weeks.

The Socialite's Diamond Tiara
The General's Medal Collection
The Philosopher's Pensive Statue
The Socialite's Gilded Autograph Book

Manufacturing

  We're having regular communications with Gameland, the manufacturer, as we fine tune each of the custom components and get everything lined up to put into their hands.  Most recently we had some back and forth on the punch board to make sure it will fit properly in the slots in the dual-layer board in the deluxe edition.  Your comments from the last update were really helpful!  Keep the opinions coming!

GameTrayz

  We connected on the recent custom component updates last week and got the latest die lines and custom component details into their hands.  We anticipate finalizing the tray designs next month and I'm thrilled with how they're shaping up!

Graphic Design

  The biggest update here is that we landed on a trade conference design that's more straightforward and will actually capitalize on the dual layer board in the deluxe edition.  When a player triggers a trade conference, you'll drop in the top piece (~2/3 of circle) that corresponds to the chosen commodity that everyone is spending and the bottom piece (~1/3 of circle) that corresponds with the current century.  The trade conference pieces will be punchboard instead of cards.  The example below shows players having the option to bid 1-6 Fame in order to earn either Gold, Resources, or Foundation.  The top two bidders in each column would pay the Fame they bid and earn the amount shown at the bottom for the item they bid on.

Trade Conference Example: Spending Fame in Century II

Rules

  Thanks to the great feedback from many of you that playtested Legacies on Tabletop Simulator over the past couple of months, we've been able to catch some edge cases that needed to be taken care of and I feel good that our rules are final.  I'll make a version of the rulebook available shortly for any of you to provide feedback on, if desired.  Note that there are still some placeholders where I'm waiting for the final version of art and/or components.   

Fulfillment

I met with Quartermaster Logistics to make sure we're aligned on the approach for fulfillment starting with arranging for delivery of the games from Gameland after manufacturing is complete.  We also discussed the steps that I'll need to take in order to make sure everything is lined up for customs at each fulfillment center.  Anything that we can do in advance to minimize holdups in fulfillment, we're doing our best to make sure its covered.

Summary

It's been really exciting for me to see all of these pieces of Legacies converging over the past couple of months.  Everyone that is playing a role in getting Legacies into your hands is truly churning out some high quality outputs!  We're on track to get everything into the manufacturer's hands early next year and I feel comfortable stating that it appears we're likely to begin fulfillment in Q2 of 2021 - probably just in time for all of us to start safely spending time in the presence of others more regularly again.  I tell you, I've truly missed my multiple game nights and playtesting groups as there's nothing better about tabletop gaming than sharing the experience shoulder to shoulder with your friends and loved ones.  Those days are going to be here again before you know it and I trust you're going to be thrilled to pull Legacies out of your bag to enjoy with your fellow gamers!

Manufacturing Samples
over 3 years ago – Fri, Nov 13, 2020 at 11:16:36 PM

Talk about exciting!!! The first batch of manufacturing samples arrived for the custom components of Legacies and I'm still in awe with how incredible they look.  They truly pop on the table!  

This update is all about these custom components.  Based on how everything came together, there are some tweaks that we're going to make which I'll call out below.  If you have thoughts about what you see, please feel free to share them in the comments!  We expect a couple of iterations back and forth with the factory on these and I definitely want to be able to incorporate your feedback.


Dual-Layer Board (Deluxe Edition)

Guess what - They were able to make it as one piece!  We had been concerned whether or not the dual-layer board could be a single piece - 4-fold board, but the factory found a way to make it happen and it feels very strong!  

Dual Layer Board - Folded

The Industry Trackers (Standard & Deluxe Editions) turned out great and stand out well to highlight the position of each industry's value throughout the game.

Industry Trackers

The custom components fit well on the board and in the cut-outs of the dual-layer board.  The player marker holes need to be cut a bit larger to accommodate the player markers.  Additionally, I've asked the manufacturer to reduce the height of the player markers and the relationship markers.  

As you lap the tracker for fame and/or foundation, the player markers get moved to the lower right to help track your total.  When multiple players have lapped the same number of times, their markers need stacked and are currently too tall to do so effectively.

As for the relationship markers, while they look great and fit great on the board and player mat, they obscure the view of the relationship track values depending on where you're sitting.  A small reduction in their height will improve that visibility while keeping them large enough to pickup and shift easily. 

NOTE: I'm aware there's a little warping in this version of the board.  It was the first thing I asked about when talking with the manufacturer and they are confident that will not be an issue when it goes through the normal process - this was a handmade prototype from the factory.

Full Dual-Layer Board

Tri-Layer Player Mats (Deluxe) & Player Components

The Player Mats look great and the tri-layer board is working well.  They missed the fact that they're "L-shaped" when making the prototype, but that will be fixed the next time around so that large black section won't be there in the bottom right corner.  Additionally, they confirmed that the only reason the "+" signs are offset instead of centered is because these were manually assembled (versus a machine which is what will be used in full production).  

The resource tokens (dye, iron, and gear) look great, but they're currently too tall.  I'm reducing the height of those so they're smaller than the player components but still easy to pick up.

Tri-layer Player Mat

Trade Conference Dice (Deluxe)

The custom Trade Conference dice turned out exactly as desired.

Trade Conference Dice

Gold Coins & Bars (Deluxe)

...and the gold coins and bars look fantastic.   They stack very well and have a great weight.  One thing that we're considering is altering the color of the 5 coin and the 100 bar.  What are your thoughts?  A different color for those two would make them easier to spot - especially when eyeing your opponent's amassed wealth across the table.  

Gold Coins
Stacked Gold Bars

What do you think of the custom components?  We're still waiting on the punch board which is the other element we need to assess in order to finalize our updated delivery schedule.  Being able to make sure the punch board pieces fit well within the dual-layer board is essential to green-lighting production.  In the interim, we anticipate keeping the pledge manager open until the end of the year with delivery planned for the first half of 2021.

If you're itching to gave Legacies a try while you're waiting, it's available to play on Steam via Tabletop Simulator.  The Legacies mod is free to access and has a significant amount of scripting to make setup and gameplay easier in this online format.

In the meantime, stay safe and stay tuned.  Coming soon we'll share the rulebook with everyone for review and share additional art as we finalize the remaining visual elements of Legacies.

All my best!

--Jason

Legendary Figures, Rising Stars, and Nemeses
over 3 years ago – Mon, Oct 05, 2020 at 02:30:18 PM

While I will be MOST thrilled to get the physical copy of Legacies into your hands in a few short months, I must say that I have been extremely excited to see it coming to life in the virtual form on Tabletop Simulator.  Playtesting of the final components has resumed over the last few weeks and we've already been able to make some important adjustments to the new content unlocked as a result of the Kickstarter campaign.  

As for an updated timeline, the factory should be sending me preview samples soon. When I receive those I'll have a good indicator of how close we are to greenlighting production and will provide more specifics on timing then. In the meantime, keep reading for the exciting progress over the last month.

Early Access via Tabletop Simulator

Several weeks ago we made Legacies available on Tabletop Simulator and HUNDREDS of you have already downloaded the Mod! This version doesn't contain all of the final art and graphic design of Legacies, but it does provide the full gameplay experience.  Additionally, we've incorporated a significant amount of scripting in the mod to make the setup and transition between generations as easy as possible!  The original version of Legacies on Tabletop Simulator only supported 3-6 players.  Recently, an update has been added for those who are seeking a 1-2 player experience which also incorporates changes based on feedback over the last month while introducing the.... 

Rising Stars and Nemeses

While there is no substitute for playing Legacies with human opponents, there will be times where your game would benefit from the addition of one or more non-player characters (NPCs).  Two types have been made available to you and they both utilize the same Solo Deck.

Solo Card Back

The Rising Star is typically used in 2-player games and is a very simple way to provide more interaction around relationships, investments, and heirlooms while still letting players be the only ones to score and control global actions.  One or more Rising Stars can also be added in higher player counts.

The Nemesis is an NPC that will actively compete with 1 or more players for the most fame and has six difficulty levels.  The Nemesis uses the same deck as the Rising Star, but in addition to providing interaction on relationships, investments, and heirlooms, it also triggers and participates in Global Actions while squirreling away as much as possible into its Foundation.

Any combination of Rising Stars and Nemeses can be added to your game to give you the experience and challenge you're seeking with Legacies.  Feel free to check out the latest draft of the rulebook on BGG to learn more.

Legendary Figures

While characters vie to be the most famous in the future, there are some who have already reached notoriety as Legendary Figures.  Players can establish limited relationships with these Legendary Figures which can become hotly contested.  There are eight Legendary Figures (of which five make an appearance in each game).  Learn more about each of them below:

Rich Recluse

A string of incredible choices coupled with some horrible luck has left the Rich Recluse swimming in gold, yet rarely willing to be spotted in public.  A relationship with the Rich Recluse provides a quick cash infusion that can compound over the generations.

Spirtualist

The Spiritualist has made a name for herself over the centuries by bringing tens of thousands of people in touch with their deity of choice.  A relationship with the Spiritualist is certain to find its way into the headlines and can quickly increase your fame.

The Monarch

It's her world and we're all just living in it.  A relationship with the Monarch seems like a no-brainer since it can yield a consistent infusion of gold and fame over the centuries.

The Humanitarian

The world can absolutely be a better place and the Humanitarian constantly strives to make that a reality.  A partnership with her yields an extra player card which can expand your options and extend your chance at garnering that all-important fame!

The Benefactor

Your foundation gives others an opportunity to further the causes you champion and the Benefactor is regularly looking for the most impactful foundations!  A relationship with the Benefactor can create a steady cash flow into your foundation while also strategically positioning you to have the influence you're looking for in the future.

Alien Refugee

Few are aware of his existence, but the Alien Refugee is eternally grateful to Earth for providing him sanctuary.  In return, he consistently provides the most intriguing resources to those who are closest to him.

The Veteran

Grizzled and extremely experienced, the Veteran knows his way around the city and will help you navigate everything it has to offer.  Early on, he can help you identify viable successors while towards the end of the game, he gives you paths to more gold and fame in an attempt to cement your victory.

The Oracle

Highly sought after, the Oracle has special powers that are the envy of many.  She works with those who interact with her to amplify their abilities so they themselves can trigger their own special actions and create a future that supports their own vision.

What's Next

As soon as we get the physical preview of components from our manufacturer, we can update with a better update on delivery timing, AND, move to the next stage on our inserts with GameTrayz!  

Additionally, while an interim view of the rulebook is available here, next month we expect to be at the point where we're asking you for a "final review" of the rulebook and its contents.  

Thank you once again for you continued support and excitement for Legacies.  As we get closer to delivery, the anticipation is building on BOTH sides!  If there's more you'd like to know about before its in your hands, please let us know in the comments.

All my best!

--Jason

Timeline, Tabletop Simulator, Testing, & Teaser
over 3 years ago – Mon, Aug 24, 2020 at 12:23:53 AM

The end of summer is around the corner here and while we all wonder how we're possibly entering the final 1/3 of 2020, I'm excited to share a number of updates with you regarding Legacies.  LOTS of goodies (and more around the corner too!).  

Timeline

While I built buffer into the schedule when choosing a December 2020 target, that wasn't enough to overcome some of the twists and turns that this year has thrown our way (well, EVERYONE's way!).  It's evident to me that we're going to spill into 2021 before Legacies is in your hands.  For that, I am truly sorry.  I do not have an updated timeline yet, but will share one as we get closer to putting everything into the manufacturer's hands.  As many of you have pointed out in the comments, our goal should not be to cut corners and rush the game out the door, but rather to give you an excellent game with quality components and fine-tuned gameplay.    

As a result, we will keep the pledge manager open until at least early October since we don't yet have to give final numbers to our manufacturer.  

Now on to some fun stuff!!!

Tabletop Simulator

If you're like me, you have found your usual gaming groups in limbo, reverting to online outlets to get your tabletop fix.   Tabletop Simulator has been my respite into the world of gaming for the past few months and I'm excited to share that a beta version of Legacies is now available on Tabletop Simulator for final playtesting!  Tabletop Simulator allows you to play a wide variety of Tabletop games and usually costs $20.  It's currently on sale through Steam for $10 until August 25th.  The Legacies mod is free to access.  

It's important to note that this version is intended for final playtesting and is intentionally built without art on some of the cards (like Heirlooms, Legendary Figures and Successors) as well as with some interim graphic design components (like fonts or the Trade Conference cards).  This version is intended to give you a feel for gameplay and we've gone to great lengths to include scripting to make setup and transition between each generation simple!

The current version supports games with 3-6 players.  In the next couple of weeks, we'll update the mod to also support 1-2 player counts.  While anyone is invited to give this online version a runthrough, we're very interested in having feedback from players for Final Playtesting!  Here is a link to Tabletop Simulator in the Steam store.  Once installed, you can find the mod by searching for Legacies in the Workshop or clicking here.  

Testing

With cancellation of conventions and even local events, our venues for final playtesting of the changes we've made to Legacies since the campaign have been non-existent.  In order to make sure the game is thoroughly stress tested with the new content and minor adjustments, we're encouraging you - our backers and fans - to join the team of our final playtesters. 

In order to participate in the playtests, you'll need Tabletop Simulator as described in the section above and subscribe to the Legacies mod.  You are welcome to play on your own with friends.  Alternatively, I will host multiple playtests each week and will post days and times in a Discord server I've set up expressly for this purpose.

If you are interested in participating in the final playtesting of Legacies, please either make a note in the comments or message me directly through Kickstarter.  For those that reached out to me after the most recent Kickstarter update, you'll get a message from me with details shortly.

For anyone playtesting Legacies on Tabletop Simulator, I do ask that you complete this Google Form after your playtest so I can take your experience and feedback into account.   

The feedback I'm most interested in for these final playtests includes comments on: 

  • Rules
  • Special Actions
  • Events
  • Successors
  • Fonts &
  • Final Scoring

Teaser

A LOT of updates should be coming soon from my manufacturer including updates on the metal coins, dual-layer board, tri-layer player mats, and bidding dice.  I trust the next update will be chock full of pictures of those.  One thing that I DID get from the manufacturer this week is photos of the custom wooden components.  They look great!  I have them working on a couple of minor updates (specifically improvements to the sizing of the Gears and Dye so the screen printing is more consistent).  I look forward to sharing more pictures like this soon. 

Industry Markers
Major Investment Tokens
Relationship Markers (note: there will be SIX per color)
Foundation & Turn Order Markers
Fame Markers
Gears, Dye, & Iron (Gems - not pictured - will be green & acrylic)

That's it for this update.  Lots of great progress continues and I'm excited to be able to give YOU the chance to help with the final playtesting of Legacies on Tabletop Simulator.   If you're interested and able to help - we look forward to your collaboration.  Thanks so much and be safe!

--Jason