Welcome one and all to the Launch Party for The Blue Way!
We are thrilled to share updates about this unique, enhanced version of Jason Morningstar’s game with you starting NOW! Watch this page for designer diary drops, product updates, and more as we build towards our official campaign launch on June 16th.
To get things started, we wanted to share a bit more information about this project and invite you to follow our prelaunch page! (To those of you who have already done so, thank you!)
What is The Blue Way?
The short answer: The Blue Way is a bleak, gritty cooperative tabletop fantasy storytelling game about colonialism and lost stories.
The long answer: You are one of the Sàthani. Your name, your tongue, your faith, your land, your position in your village – this is who you are. Amongst you are leaders, farmers, healers, warriors, and even witches. A year ago, Dusia invaded. There was a war and Dusia won. Your village now belongs to Lord Gjerch Bravn and his wife, Lady Kløyk Bravn. The Dusians want to bring peace, order, and a sense of normality to the village by the standards of Dusia. Only you stand between the invaders and your community. What will you give to stop them?
In a group (or solo) explore the story of Sàthani resistance against their Dusian conquerors. Shape your map, breathe life into your characters – and prepare for the fight of their lives. Your character sheet is the anchor of your experience, providing the core mechanics, your inspiration for storytelling, and elements which inform the map you will create. Each turn, you will tear pieces from your gridded character sheet to combat the latest demands from the lord and lady of the manor – or swallow their orders and dread what happens next. With each stand, your shrinking sheet reflects a transformation within your character.
Make no mistake: this is a dark game. The fruits of your struggle may be small. But they will matter.
What can you expect from The Blue Way?
First-time players: this is a heavy, challenging, but rewarding game. That said, it is accessible for both beginning and experienced roleplayers! Especially if you like The Quiet Year and storytelling games, you’ll enjoy the map creation and character exploration in this game.
Return players: Central Michigan University is producing an enhanced version of The Blue Way, which was first introduced to the world as a Bully Pulpit project. The enhancements include stunning art by renowned artist Samuel Araya, a tearaway pad filled with character sheets, and darkly beautiful box art to help set the scene for your story.
BONUS features!
At CMich Press, we always make a curriculum guide for games in our Scholarship and Lore series: these are the games which are peer-reviewed for mechanics and content to make sure you can use them in the living room and the classroom. However, we are trying something very new with this project: alternate decks that characters can use to explore different game scenarios based on historical precedent. These decks will currently only be available through purchase of our curriculum guide for The Blue Way, but who knows what will happen once we start hitting our Stretch Goals...
Last but not least, we will be doing a cross-collaboration with Chancers by Jaunty Goblin Games! When you back both of our campaigns in June, you will receive a pair of beautiful dice from Chancers and a set of card sleeves from The Blue Way! Preview images below!
Whorl dice from Chancers!
Gorgeous art from Samuel Araya will grace the back of The Blue Way's card sleeves!
We are so excited to kick off this campaign with a bang! Check back for more updates and other tidbits as we all wait for June 16th, when the real fun begins...
Thanks for following this project! We'll be back with more fun content soon!
