A unique board game set in the ice age that combines worker placement and deck building in an innovative way.
Latest Updates from Our Project:
PM & Late Pledges Open—and New Social Goal!
about 5 years ago
– Sun, Feb 07, 2021 at 12:34:15 AM
Phew—We did it! The PM is alive and kicking!
The PM is open and running smoothly now. Over 50% of the backers completed their orders already. Hopefully the rest will follow in the days to come. We honestly do our best to reply to all of your questions as quickly as possible—thank you for your patience and understanding. We know how stressful it can be not to be able to complete your order. 😅
Late Pledges
Along with the PM, Late Pledges are open, and many more excited backers are joining forces with us. We would like to thank and welcome them to our growing tribe! 💙
Social Goal
Obviously it’s not a full update day, but we made an exception to offer you another social goal—because why not, right? 😜
We had this crazy idea to add a yeti card to the animal deck. Then we couldn’t resist, and asked The Mico if he could draw something up. He came back with this furry fellow! Isn’t he cute? Now he just needs your help to join the horde.
Yeti animal card
To do so, we’re asking you to help push Endless Winter’s BGG Most Anticipated Games of 2021 nominations to 2,400 votesin the Overall category, and 2,000 in the Euro. You can follow this link to vote:
In the first round, we collected more than 1,000 votes in less than 24 hours. So now let’s go out there and let’s track that yeti!
P.S. In the comment section there is a talk about alternative names of the card. Please join the conversation with your proposals :)
The PM's Grand Opening!
about 5 years ago
– Sat, Feb 06, 2021 at 09:20:33 PM
This post is for backers only. Please visit Kickstarter.com and log in to read.
The final countdown to the PM! In 3, 2, 1...
about 5 years ago
– Wed, Feb 03, 2021 at 02:02:24 PM
Just about ready...
It's 3 days until the Pledge Manager opens! Excited? We sure are. 😅
We'd like to thank you for your extra patience, given we're running about a week late. Honestly, preparing the PM has been a pretty complex process. We really want to avoid hiccups; therefore, we gave ourselves extra time to double check everything. Obviously, the PM will be the main topic of this update, but before we go into details, let’s walk through some other exciting news we'd like to share. There's so much!
BGG Most Anticipated Games of 2021 Final Voting
Now that the nominations are done, the official voting round has begun. We are once again delighted to see that, with just organic voting, Endless Winter is sitting at #6 Overall, #2 Euro, and #1 Historical!
If you would like to vote for those 3 categories, please follow the link below. Your vote means so much to us—plus, it will help more people learn about Endless Winter. 💙
We just received the updated playmat samples with the artwork extended to the edges. They look stunning—and the split mat won't have the distracting, dark gap when they are set side by side. Besides those adjustments, the small playmat was resized to fit inside the Big Box. Check it out!
Updated Playmats
Details
Wooden Pieces
We received the updated raft and landmark samples. We are happy to announce that we are officially done preparing all the wooden pieces of the game. Yay! (For the record, we used the updated Tree print color, but we went back to an older Volcano version—since we liked it more.)
Landmarks
Rafts
Miniatures
Things are quite not there yet regarding the color of the wash on the minis. We received more sample images from the manufacturer, and for some reason, the brown washes alter the overall color of the minis quite a bit. As a result, it makes them look kind of dirty—not very much like ivory. Due to this, we will roll back to the first version we received—but this time we will try something different; instead of making the wash brown, we will try an ochre-colored PVC material. Hopefully this will create the ivory look we want to achieve. Stay tuned for results.
Miniature wash samples
Development
We are happy to announce that our lead developer, Jonny Pac, confirmed that the development of the core game is very close to being finalized. He took into consideration all the feedback gathered from you, us, Stan, our collaborators, and addressed them beautifully. We cannot wait to start playtesting the updated version this week. If we're satisfied with all the results, we'll move our focus to the expansions. Here are some highlights of the development done so far:
⚙ Updated starting benefits and hands (to further offset initial player-order disadvantages)
⚙ Updated Culture cards (fully revised and re-balanced)
⚙ Updated Tribe cards (small revisions on some cards)
⚙ Updated/new Chief abilities (for the back sides)
⚙ Updated player boards/Eclipse action (improved options, besides just drawing 1 card)
⚙ Updated Action Columns (small adjustments to the costs, and revised first-player bonuses)
⚙ Era I and Era II Sacred Stones, with in-game victory points scored during each Eclipse phase (instead of just end-game points)
⚙ Simpler Megalith point-scoring system (with in-game points instead of end-game points)
⚙ Some varied tipping-benefits on the Animal cards, and updated set scoring numbers (but still simple and uniform overall—don't worry!)
These changes will be rigorously tested by our internal team as well as some select collaborators. Once they are locked in, we can provide you with more detailed explanations, updated rules, and sample images.
Artwork
🎨 The Mico started to fire up his engines—and we're thrilled! He is planning to send us the bulk of his work later this month. So stay tuned for our next update; it will be filled with exciting artwork!
Knapper
Musician
Sentry
Pre-packing
After a lot of research, we came to the conclusion that it’s not cost-efficient to pre-pack things in the factory. It would increase the shipping costs significantly, and we wouldn’t want that—especially since shipping has become a more demanding task than usual, given the state of the world right now. Nevertheless, we have contacted all of our fulfilment collaborators, and made sure that all the packaging will be very safe and secured. We will keep you updated as we near those stages.
Pledge Manager
Finally, let’s bring out the main dish of this update! We plan to open the Pledge Manager and Late Pledges this Thursday, February 4th.
Before we go into details, we want to let you know that Alex from BoardgameCo will prepare a video guide about the PM. At the same time, Backerkit will provide on-demand backer support for anything you might need to ask. We plan to post an update on the day the PM opens; nevertheless, here's some information that you might find helpful:
1. Modules: For labor efficiency and shipping cost reasons, we decided to add the Canine, Aurora Borealis and Mammoth modules inside Ancestors expansion box; and the Ceremonial Grounds inside the Cave Paintings expansion, respectively.
2. Languages: If you backed a non-English version reward tier, you will be asked to select which language you prefer.
3. Add-ons: The extra products that will appear available to you depends on the pledge you selected. For example, if you selected the Shaman pledge, all expansions will not be available for you as add-ons since Shaman pledge already includes them. Of the remaining options, you may add each of the available add-ons once.
4. Changing your pledge: If for any reason you want to change your main pledge, press the “switch your pledge level” link and select the one you prefer.
5. Playmats: You will be asked to select which type of playmat you want.
6. 1+1 offer: 1+1 pledges are not pre-selected. If you are a backer of a 1+1 pledge, press the “switch your pledge level” link, and find the appropriate 1+1 tier you want (English/non-English).
Content Creators
We are flattered to be included in Board Games In A Minute and Before You Play most-anticipated lists!
What’s Next
That’s about it for now! We'll catch up with you on Thursday, and we'll try to be as available as possible to help with any questions you might have. 😊
—Fantasia Games
Saber Toothed Squirrel and his Nut — New Social Goal!
about 5 years ago
– Sun, Jan 24, 2021 at 02:39:26 PM
Greetings!
With our last update, we were very happy to hear your positive feedback, so now we are already back with a fun little something for you…
As we mentioned, we're more than happy with all the support you’ve shown on the BGG Most Anticipated Games of 2021 list. We never imagined that we could reach #3 Overall, #1 Eurogame, and #1 Historical. Nevertheless, to add to the excitement, we just had the last-minute idea to offer a promo card set as a social goal.
Does this crazy Saber Toothed Squirrel remind you of anyone? The only thing this poor little fellow wants is to get his precious nut back. If we reach 1,200 Thumbs for Endless Winter using the following link, these cards will be added to the Ancestors expansion.
If it’s unlocked, we’ll make a list of possible card abilities, and then share them with you to hear your preferences. From there we will test and implement the best version. Sound fun? Kinda nuts? Sure is!
Before we go, we’d like to mention that the Boardgame Revolution Facebook Group is hosting their 2020 Golden Meeple Awards. We are honored to be on their shortlist for the Best KS Campaign of 2020. Your votes for Endless Winter would be greatly appreciated:
Happy 2021 !!!
about 5 years ago
– Tue, Jan 19, 2021 at 08:08:23 PM
Happy New Year! We hope you had some great moments of joy, and are as excited as we are to enter 2021.
Before we jump straight into the progress of the game, let’s take a minute to talk about something special…
BGG nominations for the Most Anticipated Games of 2021
We have been blown away by the tremendous amount of support we’ve had in the nominations cycle for the BGG Most Anticipated Games of 2021 list. With just organic voting so far, Endless Winter managed to climb into the top rankings—with over 500 thumbs! We cannot express the amount of gratitude we feel about that. Thank you!
For those who have not voted yet, please consider following the link below and give a thumb to Endless Winter. Every vote means so much to us 👍
The sample pieces arrived, and they look amazing. We took some shots to share with you. We decided to go with the 8mm-thick rafts, and the Monolith without the base.
Monolith and Rafts
Regarding the wooden Landmarks, there were only a couple minor changes we asked for. We wanted to try lighter screen colors on the tree and volcano for higher contrast. Panda was lighting fast, and provided us with a sample photo of them—and they came out great! See for yourself here:
Updated print colors for Tree and Volcano
Plastic Pieces
We made a lot of progress on the plastic pieces. We received some great pics from the manufacturer, and everything seems perfect. The details on them look stunning.
Chief and Village Minis
Villages and Chief Bases
Next thing is to find the best style of wash for the minis. We haven't found the perfect one yet, but we are very close. Overall, the first samples looked great; the issue was that we really wanted the wash to be brown, so we can achieve more of a carved ivory look.
Chiefs with Black Wash
After that, we received a second version—which was brown—but the contrast between the dark wash and the light plastic seemed too high. We would prefer a more subtle effect that won’t make the minis quite so dark and gritty looking. Something in between the two versions would probably be ideal.
Chiefs with Brown wash
Playmats
The sample playmat quality feels great. We only have two minor issues to address:
The small playmat did not quite fit inside the big box. Therefore, we asked them to adjust the size so it will.
We are looking for a way to not have dark black edges where the stitching is. If possible, we would like to have the art continue all the way to the edges—or at least not have the borders as dark (so the split mat won’t have distracting lines where they are supposed to meet). We will continue finding out what options are available.
White Box Samples
As we hoped, the white box samples really helped us calculate the total weight and size of each reward tier. There was a small adjustment to the size of the Ancestors box (making it a bit smaller), and the Rivers & Rafts expansion (making it a bit bigger, accordingly). The components inside required this small change to fit properly. Now everything is just right.
In this pic you can compare the size of the standard box to the big box.
Standard vs Big Box
And here, you can see the packaging of all the modules and the resin pack.
Finally, Panda offered us a great shipping solution that will help protect the game as much as possible. These images show the concept of the outer packaging.
Shipping solution
Sleeves?
After some heavy consideration, we decided not to add custom sleeves as an option in the Pledge Manager. The reason is, their production costs are surprisingly expensive—much more than we had hoped. With that in mind, we feel they are cost-prohibitive, and that only a fraction of the backers would buy them at the price we’d have to charge.
We also thought about selling normal sleeves. But his option seems unnecessary since there are so many options already on the market—and many gamers have strong preferences about what kinds of sleeves they use. We hope you can understand our difficult choice here, and we apologise if we got your hopes up.
Pledge Manager
We are working hard to get the pledge manager ready by the end of the month. Keep in mind, we have a complex process, since we need to deal with many tiers, add-ons, and languages. So far everything is going well as planned, and we don’t foresee any real delays. The trickiest thing we need to figure out now is how to handle the add-ons for the 1+1 offer—and how they might affect the final packaging. We expect to have it solved by the end of the week.
Retailers
In the next few days, we will present the policies for the retailers who want to carry the game and its accessories. Please stay tuned; we will make everything clear very shortly.
Website
For anyone who’s visited our website, you might have noticed that it’s pretty basic—if not altogether absent! As a new company, we made a conscious choice to spend all of our funds on the production and marketing of our first game; we saved building an official website for later. But this is going to change soon! We are pleased to announce that we just started working on a new website. We’ll keep you updated about its progress, and invite you to check it out as soon as it's ready.
Socials
We’re thrilled to see Endless Winter included in the top lists of so many people, including well-regarded content creators. In Rahdo’s most-anticipated games of 2021, Endless Winter was placed as #4, besides so many amazing games. And he gave it some incredible compliments!
We’re also blown away to win the BoardgameCo award for the best Kickstarter campaign of 2020! Have a look here:
BoardGameCo - Best KS Campaign of 2020
What’s next?
In our next update we plan to share more insights on the gameplay development and art side of things. We’ve already begun to dive in with Stan, Jonny, Drake, and Mico—and we’ll have lots of things to share once they come up for air. In the meantime, expect announcements for the retailer information and Pledge Manager opening date.
