It has been quite some time. The last update was in February, and since then I worked on the game a bit into March, and then from mid-March through April and May, I just could not work on this game. Series of excuses aside, I have struggled just to sit down and look at the whole thing. It is complex, it is hard, and I made it so much harder by adding an extra class at all, let alone starting with 6, and choosing (even after it funded poorly) to make it the complex game I wanted it to be, rather than the smaller, simpler game it should have been when the funds didn't come together fully.
The campaign did not meet its real goal, as I noted after we funded. We barely covered the art budget, without raising any money to manufacture. I then added more to the game and hired the artist back on for even more money. But this also came at a time when there was little to no money in the business. There still is almost no money available right now, so making ends meet is rough.
When the Goblin's Tarot funds, it's going to handle the manufacturing on this project just fine and recoup some down payments I've put on future projects, while covering my bills-- this isn't a huge cost in manufacturing compared to the money that comes in and out from the larger projects. I have zero fears that HISTORIC will be manufactured and ship to you all, so let's get that out of the way now. But delays with both my dice and tarot manufacturers have kept previous projects from shipping on time (they're finally lined up to start shipping shortly), and that has pushed the Goblin's Tarot back again and again.
December last year, I already knew that April and on this year was going to be rough financially over delays to those projects, but they've been delayed even longer, so that's been a frustration for sure.
What Am I Going To Do About HISTORIC?
For the last two and a half months, I have considered finding a way to hire someone else to handle this or at least help me through it. But there's no money to do so. Mentally I settled on a second option, which is I was going to just ignore it forever, then cancel and refund the project to you all as soon as I could, but there's no money to do so, and there won't be until the Goblin's Tarot gives that money over.
And I've already paid in some $14,000 in art for the game, and you've already all been waiting some time. If I find $13,500 to refund you all, it puts me back to nowhere with $14,000 of art sitting and waiting for the game to be finished. Even if I refunded and closed this down, I still have to eventually make the game!
I've thought more than once that the amount I'm putting into this game is too much for one small box game. I'm making a rough amount of work for myself, and trying to work on even one class while keeping in mind the other 6 and making sure they don't overlap and they have unique abilities and-- all that is making me fail to do anything. I considered splitting the game up-- a core game and an expansion, but I've promised you all the content of both now, so I need to get it all done anyways.
And the more I put working on this off, the more I just go with the option at the back of my brain that I'll just cancel it and I should forget it, and the more I will never work on this game again. And the more this gets delayed, the more I realize I can never fund a game again until it's resolved, one way or another.
Finally, yesterday, I had enough.
The Path Forward
Okay, our path forward is simple, and I ask for your patience on this one.
I am splitting the game into the core game with the main 4 classes (Caged Wraith, Maker of Hands, Trophy Collector, and Organ Eater), and moving the Glass Artisan, the Malefact Bonecutter, and the Aeon Caller to the first expansion box, which will take some of the cards from the core game that focus on soul position and deals more deeply with the Malefact, Aeons, and the Sunken areas.
When the core game is done, I will make those and ship those to you. Then I will start over with the expansion work. Make it. Launch a new project for the expansion when it's done (I am only launching projects now where the thing is complete-- period!). I will bring all of you into that project with a FREE PLEDGE for the expansion game. Then I will have it manufactured and shipped.
I know this isn't perfect, but it means you're getting all I promised and more, because I will be making new things to go in the expansion box alongside the new classes. It will just be coming in two chunks instead of at once. This also gives me the chance to raise funds for the game overall again, which will help me cover all the uncovered costs of this campaign, and bring in a little extra money to cover new art going in the expansion. I also know some folks will be worried about having to pay shipping twice-- I will be looking into how I can handle that to alleviate your shipping costs the second time around, or outright waive them.
Today is my first marked day on my weekly calendar to have HISTORIC FOCUS. This continues tomorrow. Every week now, Wednesday and Thursday are my HISTORIC FOCUS days. From now on, I will be sharing weekly updates here on what I get done to hold myself accountable and to show you the progress of exactly what I'm doing. No more "I've got a lot of work done" vague updates here. This game needs a lot of attention, and I need to be completely clear on what has been done and how much is left.
Next week, I'll be sharing my overall timeline after I take today and tomorrow to figure out what I'm including here in the base game, what's moving to later work, and what the outline looks of what needs done.
In December, I thought I was cruising along and would have print tests around now. Did you know I'm solo-developing a fairly complicated game? Apparently, I didn't realize either. There isn't another game slated for funding until October (a simpler game), and I've now realized that HISTORIC will simply take longer until it's done. Having October as a loose deadline for the game to be in people's hands is letting me breathe a sigh of relief, but it means I need to start sharing a lot more for you to understand just what this game is, and what you're getting! That way, you know the wait is worth it.
First off, I want HISTORIC to be more than a board game. I was going to originally make it a fantasy, or grimdark rather, version of ZOETROPE. That game (that I made) runs on cards, comes in a small box, and is incredible at pushing people to roleplay a story that has some structure and clear actions being taken by players with loose rules. But HISTORIC is more than this. I want it to feel like a real dungeon delving TTRPG. So... dice had to come in.
So I had Salty Water come back to make the above symbols, and now nothing is simple.
Above, we see two actions cards. The first is a generic action card that will be in a generic deck that all classes can make use of. You see the Action symbol (red hand) in the top left, the name in the middle, and nice art below. Then in the text box, there's a slight italics bit of leading text, then we see the symbols.
Crossed Swords is the COMBAT symbol. Cards that feature it show us cards that have specific intended uses in combat. In this case, Perfect Lie can be used as a Feint that opens an enemy to an ally's attack.
Campfire is the REST symbol. Cards that feature it show a way to use the card while taking a rest in-game, either at the campfire before the dungeon delve, or if someone uses a Rest action card. You can tell your allies a lie that will help them gain resolve, but it can hurt them in the end of the lie is revealed to be a lie.
Open Book is the NARRATIVE symbol. Cards that feature it show you a way to use this for roleplay or the narrative part of the game-- the part where you and your friends are pretending to be your characters, or explaining how the story is going. Here, Perfect Lie says you can tell an NPC, a non-player character, anything you want, and they'll buy it.
Grey Gear is the MECHANICAL symbol. You can see this on the second action card here for the Maker of Hands' Willful Push ability. This denotes abilities that will roll dice or affect dice or the mechanical rules of other cards in particular. As you can see here, symbols can appear with other symbols. This ability is Mechanical, but is used in Combat, so both the gear and crossed swords are found.
You may also notice the Orange Lightning Bolt, which is the QUICK symbol. This denotes an ability or use that will interrupt another player's action, roll, or abilities. In most uses, it tells you in italics when it can be used/how it will interrupt, but in some other cases, it's the context of what it does that will help you see when to use it. For Perfect Lie, you can guess that it will be used beside an ally's next attack. For Willful Push, it tells you clearly that it's meant to be used when the Keeper (the story leader/dungeon master) rolls.
Trinkets have been completed, and work in a variety of ways! Crystalline Nails here is meant to be used after your own or in an ally's turn as a Quick action during combat that deals 1 Physical damage. Once used, it then asks you to Turn it, a keyword that means to turn it 90 degrees clockwise. It then notes that when it's returned upright, discard it. These are a limited use item that deals a little extra damage between your attacks, inspired by the small throwing knives in Elden Ring and similar games.
Tomes or books are unique among Trinkets and other item classes, in that they have a special mechanic to themselves. Lemy's Fall here shows it off for us. You may attempt a Reading roll once per rest, shared on the card, and denoted with the Campfire symbol for REST. This is where you roll all four of your dice, the two white six-sided dice, the black six-sided die, and the gold twelve-sided die.
Then you check your total against the options on the card to make a choice of what you'll gain. When you rest, you can use your Books to find secrets about the dungeon ahead, or to find helpful knowledge to help your group in general. Books can help you heal, can give you magic, and can help you figure out how to cook, for example!
Relics and Tools here are more specialized items. Trinkets usually offer small benefits or are things you use and then discard. But Relics like Ma'an's Eye? They have unique powers to offer you, and each one has a unique sticker or two that you'll be able to add to the bottom of the card after a few sessions of play in order to unlock a powerful final ability.
Tools are weapons, cooking implements, and other items that can offer you a long term, reliable item to use. The Steward's Sword here is a great weapon because it deals 1 Physical damage but it also deals 1 Soul damage, hitting your enemy right in their core! Soul is your core health, with Physical and Mental health being shields for it. So long as you have Soul left, you can be revived, one way or another.
And Traits are ready now as well! These 9 cards give you two options each to choose from, and can be dealt randomly or chosen by players before play. These long cards slot into your deck box, with the side you chose sticking out. They most often give you an extra ability you can use during Rest.
Games start with a Riding the Road Card, which shares what your ride on the Road Eternal is like. This is when you travel between dungeon delves, outriding the annihilating sun by chasing its orbit. This is where everyone rolls their dice for the first time in a session. Note that it says "They do not Take Back their dice." This means once players roll their dice, they leave the results on the dice in front of them.
This card will often affect people by checking who has the highest, lowest, or matching dice on their Set Dice (meaning dice set in front of them.) This card can also set the tone for narrative experiences for some players, like with that last effect on this card.
There are 20 of these for me to wrap up!
Then you come to the Campfire Card. This is when your group settles down to rest before the delve, preparing yourselves for the dungeon ahead. Campfire cards can cause problems, have you be attacked, or they can offer boons. But they tend to affect your Set dice, and they always share what the delve ahead will be made up of. In this case, the first Delve Space will be drawn from the Aeonic deck of cards. The second will be drawn from the Ruins, third from the Burrows, and on. These cards build your Delve Deck.
There are 20 of these in the game as well.
Now, in the dungeon, we look at Delve Cards. These are events, sequences, or areas that you find. This particular one has clear effects for you if your players use a Search or Rest card here, and an Access the Console action (that should have a Mechanic symbol in front of it). This is a unique thing people can try to do while here. The Keeper (the one running the story) will share that they can try to access it, and what roll must be done to do so, but they won't share what the rules are for what happens after they roll it.
There is also a couple symbols at the bottom. One is the character class symbol for the Aeon Caller. It's a special ability for that character. They can make an easier roll to Access the Console than other players, because it's an action that works for them in particular.
Additionally, this area is Aeonic, themed to the angelic-hell-rings that are the Aeons. This means that prayers to the Aeons may affect you in this space. If you prayed before this Delve, or during this delve (there are chances to pray in the game, including in this very card), it will let you add 1 to any die roll here.
And finally, in the bottom corner of Delve cards, you'll see the Room Visit count. There are stickers int he game to put here to mark how many times you've visited this space. For this card, that means the chance for you to get attacked while resting here goes up the more times you've been here.
There are 6 types of Delve areas, Aeonic, Ruins, Dark, Burrows, Malefact, Sunken. Each one has 15 Delve cards, for a total of 90 Delve cards to mix up your dungeoneering!
And the Classes...
The Maker of Hands is the only one with a proper set deck so far. They can help manipulate dice, Hold them (make it so the a set die doesn't get re-rolled next time it would be rolled.) This means if you have a 6 on a die and want to save that, your Make of Hands ally can lock it in place for your next roll, letting you use the 6 instead of rolling it to something else! The Maker can also Max out dice, meaning set them to their highest number, or hold a Keeper's die. The Keeper have a rolled 1 sitting in front of them? Keep it that way so you can beat them later on another roll.
Today I'm hopefully wrapping work on the Glassen Artisan. They are your top tier healer option, but also represent a faithful character who has unique powers around the true Ensu faith, one that keeps the souls of your characters with yourselves, not taken by evil powers that hunger.
And as I wrap design work on characters, I am folding their mechanics across other cards, actions, tools, trinkets, delve cards, to make sure everyone is melded into the game.
But the Work is Not Simple...
While I have the items decks all done, Tools, Relics, Trinkets, and the generic actions deck, I have a lot of work ahead of me adjusting everything into the dice system and to make everything interactive and impactful. Based on the workload, and knowing I'm going to have to get a supplemental income stream in my life (see the updates on the Misery Tarot or Hot Housewives Tarot for that), I am now removing any immediate deadlines for this work.
I could have made this a re-skin of ZOETROPE, and it would have been fine. But it wouldn't have been incredible. And I'm actively aiming for incredible.
The project will be in hand to you all before October, but what that looks like on the way to that point is unclear to me until I am done with, and happy with, all of these cards. Only then can I finalize the rulebooks (there are two, now), and only then can I tell you how much more time I need to refine things and when we'll head to manufacturing.
So hang tight with me, I will have more to share in a month or two!
Like, serious serious. Like, that's the final boss of the core game, serious. And yes, I'm thinking about what might come later for the game in time. I would like to do a project sometime in 26 or 2027 that just remanufactures ZOETROPE and WHAT WE POSSESS, with HISTORIC getting an expansion. All three of my small-box games in one solid bundle. It may depend on what form Secret Halls takes in late 2026!
Salty Water has turned in the final work. The game's art is done. Even the extra art. Now, it's on me to use this art well. I have a fair amount of layout work to get to, and it's time to get the rulebook written and finalized. This means when we come back around in January, I should have a great deal of awesome stuff to share, including finalized card layouts, previews of the rulebooks, and more.
February will see finalized print files, if all goes to plan, and manufacturing should begin end of February, start of March. Have to plan for that February downtime in China for the new year.
April into May will see games in people's hands.
So stay tuned, stay safe, and have fun with your dearest friends and family through the rest of the year.
Okay, so right now, Salty Water has 10 final pieces lined. Once these are finished being colored, then there are just two bosses left for Salty to illustrate from the base game's art demands. Let's take a look at six of them below.
A monocle that will let you find things, not leaving things to chance! A tent and bed roll to make your rests more comfortable for everyone, which has direct benefits to your mind and body. A mysterious tapestry featuring Ensu fighting strange bipedal creatures that are neither ensu nor malefact... The Jertul Psalms, religious poetry to help restore your mind and soul on your journey. Then we see the Welver Bow, the first ranged weapon you might have seen just yet! And yes, that's a Wok for cooking, and probably for hitting things as well.
Here are two of the other finished traits, including a collector of antiquities and a faithful who follows the teaching of the Jertul faith. Traits are two-sided cards with text at the ends (not shown here of course) that give you an additional way to customize your character within a theme. I'm quite excited to see players bringing their characters to life over time and building a history of play.
And what's that, I didn't share these previously?? Well here are some of the other pieces from before. Tomes you might find while delving, a cursed collar and mask that keeps your soul captured as it restrains you, an amulet that makes you dodge most anything... until it doesn't work and the snakes that grant you impossible grace bite you! Or diplomatic action to break up arguments might serve you well... Then there's the strange bone that, when placed down, grows sinews and muscle to seal a passage, a door way, or to create a small bridge to get you where you need to go. Then there's the Jertul Break, an item for the faithful that, when broken, grants a small miracle of salvation!
In the coming weeks here, Salty will be finished with the base game's art work entirely. From there, we are discussing what is reasonable to add on to the end here, expanding the base game with the seventh class I wanted to add in a stretch goal, as well as adding a few more bosses, and maybe a Submerged area, which would go with the 5 others we have to give us 6 unique types of delve areas to dive into. Plus, underwater foes would be quite neat.
Once we determine what more Salty is adding art-wise, we will begin the wind down of that phase and the increase of playtesting to finalize what the game is looking like. We're still looking to manufacture and then ship early next year. My first project planned for 2026 is a tarot deck in May, and I want to have everything that's happening right now (confluence aside) shipped well before then, so we can expect HISTORIC to likely be in your hands by or in April 2026.
I think overall, we're looking at a really impressive game full of incredible art, but I want to make sure it's playable for a good while without needing an expansion or anything like that to be repeatable. Part of that is making sure the current 10 bosses aren't one-and-dones, and have the ability to scale up for repeat visits. One of them in particular is a chase away from the boss because you can't kill it... but a second or third encounter where you actually DO try to fight it sounds really fun.
Alright, see you in November with the final work from the base game that was planned, and info on what's coming next!
