Unity War III is over. The age of electroplasmic fusion is here. The future is now. Prepare to enter... the Bluetime.
Blades '68 spins the timeline of Blades in the Dark forward 100 years and launches you into the radical, Swinging Sixties.
New playbooks, revolutionary crews,fresh factions and daring heists await you on the vibrant streets of Doskvol in this official 450-page expansion from the subversive mind of Tim Denee (Deathmatch Island).
It's time to get groovy, it's time to get dangerous, it's time to get weird with Blades '68.
And remember: As soon as you back the project, you get immediate access to the full, text-only draft of the game along with the Blades '68 Roll20 Quickstart module.
Outside, Blades '68 features the high quality, premium quality you've come to expect from Evil Hat: a gorgeous 450-page matte hardcover with spot-varnish finishing touches, a comfy and portable 6" x 9" format, and creator Tim Denee's signature, stylish layout.
Inside, you'll find a fully re-imagined Doskvol, ready to explore. Subversive spy games, daring heists, and paranormal mindbenders all await you in this official expansion for Blades in the Dark (a copy of which is required to play).
In Blades '68 you'll take on the role of Radicals, Swingers, Intellectuals and Paranomalists. You'll join forces with hard-bitten fixers, ex-military Veterans, shadowy Operatives, and outcast souls sealed inside a robot body.
Put those PCs together into new Crews like the revolutionary Militants, thrill-seeking Racers, or the mysterious esoteric cult of the Utopians.
In Blades '68, designer Tim Denee brings the same subversive, dystopian sensibility he explored in Deathmatch Island to the strange and deeply corrupt setting of Blades in the Dark.
After two major wars and key technological discoveries, electroplasmic fusion has dramatically reshaped the city of Doskvol.
In the Swinging Sixties, there's a plasmovision in every home, an autopod in every driveway, and the B.L.U.E. array overhead keeps the supernatural horrors of the deathlands at bay. (Mostly.)
For average citizens it's an age of science, conformity, and consumerism.
But you're no average citizen. You know the streets and you’re not afraid of danger.
Your moment is now.
Blades '68 helps you dive right into the action with four “Cold Opens” – short, punchy scores to kick off a campaign or run as an exciting one-shot.
Five “Ticking Timebombs” delineate city-wide issues that simmer under the idyllic surface of Doskvol, ready to explode and interrupt the business of your Crew. Note: Evil Hat Productions, LLC hereby refuses to acknowledge or comment on the possible existence of a secret, forbidden touchstone: Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery (1997).
Blades '68 is more than just a setting book. Working in consultation with creator John Harper, designer Tim Denee has created a new set of Special Procedures for running the game, including:
Adjustments to the gameplay cycle, score aftermath, entanglements, and downtime.
New rules for Harm and Resistance streamline play for the free-flowing, Swinging Sixties.
Keys and Deadlocks expand your character options with personality traits you can lean on for XP or cross off for moments when you’ve succumbed to stress.
An adapted version of the Trouble Engine (designed by Morgan Davie for a|state) which helps the GM engage faction clocks, generate new entanglements, and track new developments (and unrest) in your Crew's district.
Underneath it all, you'll find the same critically-acclaimed core mechanics from Blades in the Dark (which is required to play).
If you're new to Blades in the Dark or need a copy to pair with Blades '68, you have a couple options. You can pick it up as an add-on to your pledge, which will ship when the campaign fulfills.
All pledge levels get immediate access to a text-only PDF of the complete, current draft of the game. Backers also get free and immediate access to the Blades '68 Quickstart module for Roll20.
Back the game today, and start playing it tonight!
The standard, retail edition of Blades '68, the PDF version, and a coupon code to order the Print On Demand edition at cost from DriveThruRPG.
The Limited Edition features an alternate cover, custom endpapers, plus two ribbon bookmarks. Once the print run for this edition sells out, it will not be reprinted. A gorgeous edition of the game that looks striking whether it's at your table or on your gaming shelf. You also receive the PDF version, and a DriveThruRPG coupon code to order the Print On Demand edition at cost.
The standard, retail edition of Blades '68, plus a physical copy of the City Map, the Faction Deck, 32-page Player Gazette, PDF version of Blades '68, and a DriveThruRPG coupon code to order the Print On Demand edition at cost.
The Limited Edition of Blades '68, the Trouble Deck, Score Pad, a physical copy of the City Map, the Faction Deck, 32-page Player Gazette, PDF version of Blades '68, and a DriveThruRPG coupon code to order the Print On Demand edition at cost.
You get the Roll20 Blades '68 Bundle which includes art assets, tokens, backgrounds, the full text of the game, and more. You also receive the final PDF version and a DriveThruRPG coupon code to order the Print On Demand edition at cost.
You will receive the final PDF of Blades '68, plus a DriveThruRPG coupon code to order the Print On Demand edition at cost. Confirmed game store retailers (you'll be asked to provide proof of store after the campaign, before we ship) can jump in here for 4 copies of Blades '68 at a standard retailer discount. Ships free, only to a USA address (your store or a freight forwarder). If you want additional copies beyond 4, add $22.50 to your pledge for each Standard Edition and $32.50 for each Limited Edition. We recognize that now is a particularly difficult time for game store retailers, and appreciate your support!
We're proud to offer a selection of items, exclusive to this campaign, which will enhance your Blades '68 experience.
NOTE: Although the physical rewards for this campaign will only ship to the USA, we've made agreements to help our international fans access these campaign-exclusive rewards. Scroll down to this section for information on how you can have a retailer order and ship these rewards for you.
Navigate the streets of Doskvol 968 AC with this huge (37" x 27") fold-up map of the city! Printed in 4/4 color on 60# paper. An essential accessory for the glovebox of every autopod.
Fill out your Faction Rolodex and quickly reference the 40 new factions in Blades '68 with this deck of stylish business cards for each one. From the covert Anixis Field Unit to the disruptive Youth Action Movement, this deck will put all the secret societies and major institutions of modern Doskvol at your fingertips.
This 32-page color booklet gives your players a quick overview of the 15 districts of Doskvol along with a snapshot of the 40+ factions plying their various agendas throughout the city.
Neatly plan your crew's next score with this dedicated 3" x 5" pad. Features 100 tear-off sheets to help you track the client, target, type of opportunity and more!
Available in the Hull Containment Unit pledge level, and as an Add-On. Only ships to USA. Only available as an add-on for pledges which include physical rewards.
Forgo the dice and tables and execute the Trouble Engine with a few draws from this dedicated deck of cards. From a Friendly Favor to Paranormal Activity and a major Show of Force, your crew can't lay low forever.
Also includes 15 cards covering the districts of Doskvol and 6 cards detailing the Principles of Play. Altogether the 54 cards in this deck make it an ideal accessory to help streamline your game and quickly serve up some handy reminders.
Available in the Hull Containment Unit pledge level, and as an Add-On. Only ships to USA. Only available as an add-on for pledges which include physical rewards.
The Palace Dossier is a collection of digital rewards available to all backers who pledge at the $25 PDF level and up. At the start of the campaign it features four digital play aids. They are:
The Faction Deck in PDF with at-cost POD coupon code.
The Player Gazette in PDF with at-cost POD coupon code.
The Trouble Deck in PDF with at-cost POD coupon code.
The Score Pad in PDF.
All POD options will be fulfilled through DriveThruRPG.
We've got a wide variety of stretch goals lined up (new Crews, essays on fashion and culture, artwork inspired by the setting, etc.) and as we unlock those items, they'll get added to The Palace Dossier so stay tuned.
Funded!
We add custom endpapers to the physical editions of Blades '68
We add a digital copy of the 968 Doskvol street map to the Palace Dossier.
Thomas Manuel interviews designer Tim Denee on his process, inspirations, and more in this episode of the Yes Indie'd podcast.
“I did want to make sure that the Blades darkness is still there, but it’s just under the surface,” Denee said. “The new force field that protects the city is called The Bubble, which [creates] this feeling that it could burst. The fake daytime is lovely, but a bit too saturated, a bit too psychedelic. There’s a new power source, but it comes from the way they dispose of human bodies. There’s sort of a Soylent Green thing going on as well.” -Designer Tim Denee
For this campaign, we're only shipping domestically in the United States (including Puerto Rico).
For our international fans, we cannot ship rewards directly to you BUT: We've heard your feedback and decided we will release an allotment of the Limited Edition versions of Bladse '68 to international distribution when the game goes into retail. This means you will have the opportunity to buy the Limited Edition book from your local game shop. Support your FLGS!
For those of you invested in our decisions around shipping, here's the background:
World events continue to disrupt shipping. Pricing and delivery schedules remain extremely volatile. While we don't have much exposure to tariffs on importing books, there are no guarantees that other countries won't levy retaliatory tariffs on exports coming from the US. This administration's near weekly directives that "tariffs are on, they're off, they're on but lower, there are exceptions" means international shipping is especially prone to demand surges, price spikes and disruptions.
Simply put, there's no stable, cogent trade policy. We can't predict what might happen between the start of this project in February and our planned delivery of August 2026 and therefore we're forced to adopt a deeply cautious position.
Our intention is to deploy shipping options that minimize risk and expense for both ourselves and our backers.We wish we had more palatable ways to deliver this campaign, but that's the hard reality of a system that caters to huge corporate monopolies and does not especially care about a small, specialized business like ours.
If you live in the U.S., please note:
All shipping fees will be chargedseparately, AFTER the campaign, during pledge management.
The prices below are estimates. Actual shipping prices will be determined after production is finished and we're gearing up to send out the books. Also, if you add-on additional physicalcopies of the game to your order, your shipping cost may increase. If you add any of the premium gear to your order, your shipping cost will definitely increase.
Estimated shipping costs:
$10 for the first item (book, deck of cards, or map packet).
+$2 per additional item
If you live outside the U.S., then consider these options:
Backing at the PDF tier. This gets you the complete text-only prototype PDF right away, along with the final PDF and the option to order a physical copy of the book as a Print On Demand product through DriveThruRPG. This is very likely cheaper than anything we could ship to you from the US.
Waiting until the book reaches your local retailer (online or neighborhood). Our PDF guarantee means that any time you buy one of our books new in a physical form, you get the PDF for free. As announced above we will also be releasing an allotment of the Limited Edition cover to international distribution so you should have an opportunity to order that version from your local game shop.
Backing at the Roll20 Compendium Bundle tier. We make sure our Compendium offerings on Roll20 contain all the text from the source game, we create customizable backgrounds, full sets of tokens and clocks, handouts, and more. If you use Roll20, there's an immense amount of functionality in our modules and it's an easy way to share the game with your entire group. This level also gets you the PDF and POD copies so it's really your best bet all around.
If you are deeply invested in getting the rewards from this campaign, investigate using a freight forwarder. This is likely neither cheap nor will it shield you from tariff-induced chaos, but it will provide a U.S. address we can ship to. Please note that backers of our previous campaigns have had mixed success with different freight forwarding vendors, so be sure to diligently vet your options before choosing this route.
Given the popularity of the campaign, we've decided to break with our usual policy and allow retailers to order the limited rewards available in this campaign. Other than the Limited Edition cover, these rewards won't go into distribution. So we don't expect they will get a wide release. But if your FLGS makes a pledge, they'll be able to offer things like the Doskvol 68 City Map and the Faction Deck to their customers who missed the campaign or couldn't pledge for those rewards.
Campaign Supplies (Australia) - preorder page here (ships to Australia and New Zealand)
We hope you'll support your local game store or at the very least let them know about this important opportunity. If they don't pledge here directly for the exclusive rewards, they won't be able to order them through distribution.
*** IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENT FOR FANS BASED IN THE EU ***
If you are in the EU, this is the best way to get copies of the Limited Edition rewards. We will put some supply of the Limited Edition covers into international distribution but there's no way to make sure your FLGS will order them. It's also the only way to get items that won't go into distro, like the Doskvol 68 City Map or Faction Deck.
You can reserve the items you want now on their pre-order page, Sphaerenmeisters will pledge for the items and fulfill your order through their store.
Sphaerenmeisters uses a freight forwarding service. We ship their order to a US address, and it's then sent by a third party company to their store in Germany. Their items will ship from our warehouse at the same time as the rest of the crowdfunding fulfillment but it won't instantaneously arrive in Germany. There may be a delay due to processing by the third party or the simple fact that the boxes then have to cross an ocean.
If you pre-order from Sphaerenmeisters, we can't subscribe you to project updates. You can Follow the project or check in manually to see how production is coming along but we can't automatically email you if you're not a direct backer.
Likewise, we can't offer you the digital stretch goals unlocked by the campaign. Those are on their own development timeline and the logistics simply don't work. We expect to put them up for sale as a separate PDF at some point. Otherwise you can back at the $25 PDF level and you'll get the digital stretch goals as well as notifications for any updates we post.
Sphaerenmeisters does use the Bits & Mortar service so if you pre-order a copy of Blades '68 (in either edition) through them, you will get the final PDF of the book for free with your purchase.
Given the many, many convoluted issues with international shipping, we're happy to arrived at a solution which serves our fans in the EU. We're trying to cultivate this same arrangement with shops in other regions.
If your FLGS would like to take advantage of this offering, point them to his BK page or have them reach out to us at[email protected].
Our expected delivery date for all rewards: August 2026
We have a great team on this project. Evil Hat is an experienced RPG publisher. We've run over twenty five successful crowdfunding campaigns and we've printed many roleplaying games in a variety of physical formats over the past few years.
This puts us in a fine position to take on the risks and challenges that will arise. Experience tells us that things don’t always go as planned.
Here's what we can anticipate as potential problems.
The Text: While Blades '68 is largely done, it's possible backers will identify some glaring issue that we need to address before we take this fully to publication. That can add time, for sure. We are also commissioning a sensitivity reader and editor to comb through the text and apply any necessary revisions.
Printing: We have a strong, established relationship with our printers. We’ve got them on tap to print the books in whatever quantity we end up needing. But printers can run into problems all the same: supply shortages, unexpected delays due to company holidays or industry events, shipping problems, printing errors, and so on. We’ve got the experience to stay atop those potential problems and the flexibility to pivot and address them promptly. In the event of defective product, we will send a replacement at no cost to you. We print our books in the USA so shipping time from the printer to our fulfillment center is both speedy and reliable.
Shipping: Packages get lost. We'll send replacements. Shipping can take longer than expected. We won't put the book on sale until all backer copies are shipped out. As noted in the Shipping section above, we regrettably can't offer delivery outside the U.S. as part of this campaign. We will release the book into retail distribution overseas soon after the delivery of the campaign rewards and for most (if not all) fans in areas where we can't ship directly this will be your most affordable option.
Finances: Although various world events continue to throw curveballs into production and shipping, we're solidly profitable and well-positioned in 2026 and for the foreseeable future.
One final note: We often run two or three crowdfunding projects per year. Each one is a carefully planned process based on our 25+ successful campaigns in the past. We pride ourselves on fulfilling rewards quickly, but even so, different crowdfunding efforts can sometimes overlap. We have not had an issue tackling that. We make space for each campaign and work to ensure that resources are available to take each of our projects across the finish line. If, on the rare occasion something does go wrong, we're committed to being upfront and transparent about the issue and what we're going to do to fix it.
If there's any risk or challenge YOU can think of that we haven't mentioned here, please write in and ask. We love to answer questions, and we do our best to provide an unparalleled customer service experience whenever possible. We intend to impress you.
