Competitive strategy skirmish game for all skill levels | Classic fantasy | 1-4 players | 45 min/player
Latest Updates from Our Project:
New Miniatures, Translations, and Video Game progress
7 months ago
– Tue, Apr 30, 2024 at 06:43:54 AM
Hi folks, we're back with a bunch of exiting updates! We have reached one of the most anticipated milestones – drum roll – the arrival of new miniatures! Elves, Demons and new Monsters are now ready to pursue their claim to Liria. Besides, there have been lots of progress with translations and the video game implementation. And for all our solo players: the Scourge of Liria campaign is now OUT!
Daria Nightshade, the Elven hero, got a retouch (sculpt by Pedro Gutierrez Garcia):
She is joined by the Elven Huntress (sculpt by Fran Garcia Ponce):
The Elven Druid is ready to provide reinforcements (sculpt by Pedro Gutierrez Garcia):
Raegar's entire Demon family (Demon Beast, Dark Mistress, Bloodsucker) has been summoned from their dimension (sculpts by Daniel Fernandez Truchaud):
Now a word of warning! The following isn't the kind of content for the faint of heart... new monsters have arrived in Liria, too.
Lizard Warrior (sculpt by Franco Solimano):
Maurus, the Goblin Fighter (sculpt by Franco Solimano):
Ice Turtle & Stone Beast (sculpts by Juegorama):
We are very happy with the miniatures: our sculptors have shown ingenuity while working around limitations we imposed, such as producing the minis in one piece and making them apt for injection molding. These affect how thick the finest elements can be as well as the figure's pose. The idea is that you (the player) do not need to do any miniature assembly – other than gluing the wings, we cannot get around this one – and can start playing as soon as you open your Boardquest copy.
What's left to do? The Deer Elf and the Skeleton Knight are expected in May, along with a general review and harmonization of the set. Once approved, we will be 3D printing the miniature masters. These will be used to produce the master mold frames.
Scourge of Liria Storybook
The community-requested second storybook, Scourge of Liria is now available online! Scourge of Liria tells the origin story from the Demons' perspective. No faction in Boardquest is simply good or evil, and with the new storybook we hope to have captured that nuance. The Demons have been summoned to the new land against their will – is it completely unreasonable to assume they will do everything they can to survive?
The storybook is dedicated for solo players but may be played co-operatively. You can read it here:
Everything is going great on the translation front. The Rulebook has been translated to German and is currently undergoing the final round of review. The Spanish version is also well underway. Once we get the texts we need to adapt them for print, which adds up to around a week of work per language. We are expecting to be able to release all translated Rulebooks by the end of May. We also got started with translating the Storybooks: we are expecting their release early June.
Video Game
All Mods have been implemented and tested in the video game. This helped us sift through all proposals and keep only the ones that worked smoothly with our system. Testing the Mods was a great exercise and resulted in minor updates to the main game. In one example, the Dark Mistress can now possess all characters – including heroes! – that are of level equal or lower than her.
The network code has been further improved and is release ready. Multiplayer is one of the key features of the video game so this is one of those invisible but majorly important milestones.
Behsaad is now focusing on implementing the map piece placement. It's a critical update that will bridge the gap between the video and board game versions. As a video game player you will get the option of automatically generating the map if you're not too fussed about making your own, or – if you are an advanced player – you will be able to choose to create one manually.
Other Updates & Next Steps
Our backer-only video game tournament is now fully booked! If you would like to join in as an observer, send us a message via Kickstarter or email [email protected]. There will be 8 players total. The tournament will take place on the May 19th, 8PM CEST / 2 PM EDT / 11 AM PDT.
In the meantime we hosted an in-person tournament in Malaga, Spain, where we are based. Beside being great fun it gave us a chance to test the new Skill Card layout (we consider it green lighted!).
The Orcs (Martin) on their way to challenge the Elves (Axel)
Updated Skill Card layout
Iwona sporting the Boardquest: Tales of Liria unreleased swag
May is looking rather busy as, on top of the translation & adaptation work and video game development, we will be finalizing all game elements that still need rework, i.e. the Leveling Track, now renamed to Progress Board; the core game and miniature boxes. Everything is going as planned so far and we are on track to have the physical game assets locked in for production early June.
Folks, remember that the Pledge Manager is only open until June 1st: we need your details until then to streamline the shipment process. Let us know if you have not received a link from Backerkit or you need our support with filling out the survey.
Expect another update mid-May!
Cheers,
Behsaad & Iwona
Big review of the rulebook, online tournament announcement and more!
8 months ago
– Wed, Apr 10, 2024 at 04:28:30 AM
Hey folks, we're elated to share with you the latest updates of the project. Everything is progressing smoothly and we hope you're as hyped for the release as we are!
Rulebook and Storybook Review
Our rulebook and the first storybook, Defenders of Liria have gone through a visual and structural review. You can access them here:
The rulebook has been heavily enriched with tips and examples. You will find there sample game setups, example fort placement, and a visual guide of battle mechanics. We have brought the Solo Rules to the main rulebook, too: this allows us to keep all rules in one place for easy reference, and have the scenarios covered separately in their corresponding storybooks without repeating the introduction each time. All board game backers get their – well earned! – honorable mentions in the Special Thanks section. We will have the credits updated as per your preferred name indicated in the Backerkit survey once all responses are in (est. June 1st).
The Scourge of Liria campaign, as the latest addition the the game, has now been playtested and submitted for editing. It should be out by the end of April.
The books have been submitted for Spanish and German translations. We are only expecting minor updates to the text at this point (do let us know if you see a need for any potential improvements or clarifications). We're expecting the translated documents to be available by the end of May. The translation to German is handled by Behsaad personally (originally from Berlin!), so it's an opportunity for a final review round of the rules.
Game Elements Review
Most game elements – i.e. maps, boards, cards, and tokens – will be printed exactly as we presented them during the campaign. We have been keeping a small list of elements to revisit though, starting with the Skill Cards.
Revised Skill Cards
We adjusted the way the bonus information is displayed on the card and decided that the text must carry all information. There is a helper section that describes who the skill can be casted on, and who the skill belongs to. The latter may not seem too useful just now but once more heroes are added to each faction – additional heroes are planned for the future game expansions – there will be a need to clearly distinguish the skill owner.
These have already been test printed by Azao Games and are on their way from their press to our studio in Malaga. The TTS game version will be updated in the due course.
Video Game Tournament
All video game backers, save the date! Or better yet, sign-up now: our backer-only online tournament will take place on the May 19th, 8PM CEST / 2 PM EDT / 11 AM PDT. Use our Sign Up Page to claim your spot, or shoot us an email to [email protected]. All contestants will receive a preview multiplayer version of the game. The tournament winner will be awarded a Steam voucher and climb the ladder.
Video Game – Mods Implementation
The first mods are making it to the video game: starting with Clone Wars! Clone Wars allow you to recruit multiples of the same Unit type. Mods allow you to spice up the base rules and bend the Boardquest system to play the stories you imagined. You will be able to select multiple mods before starting a game.
Future Steps
Beside prepping the documents and translations, other work streams are also in motion: miniature development, other game elements & box visual and functional review, and the video game development. In the next update, we are hoping to share with you the first post-Kickstarter miniatures and the Scourge of Liria storybook. Stay tuned and thank you for your ongoing encouragement!
Pledge Manager & Development Updates
8 months ago
– Fri, Mar 29, 2024 at 12:46:22 AM
Pledge Manager is Open
Hello folks, we have now started sending out surveys through our Pledge Manager, Backerkit. Only 5% of you would have received the invitation so far. This is a commonplace smoke test to check that everything has been setup correctly. The rest of you should get your survey link within the next couple of days.
We will be asking you to use Backerkit to finalize your pledge: choose the language version of the game and submit your shipping details and fee.
Backerkit is open for everyone who pledged at least $1: you will be able to upgrade your pledge to the premium edition of the board game and the discounted SUPERSAVER option. The video game, the mini pack, and additional game copies are available as add-ons.
We've applied a flat shipping fee of 20 EUR to all orders of 4 game boxes or more, regardless of your location. If you've been planning on a collective purchase this might be the time!
Please send us an email to [email protected] if you have any questions about the Pledge Manager.
The Pledge Manager will close on June 1st.
Production Updates
On the game development end, a number of work streams have been put in motion:
– Rulebook review & visual updates
– Scourge of Liria Storybook development & testing
– Game elements review & visual updates
– Game box art update
– Miniature development. We have amplified the team to 4 (incredible) sculptors to parallelize the work. All minis will be developed in supervision of Pedro from Yedharo Models.
We can't wait to share the results of this work with you. The revised Rulebook should come out in the next two weeks and for all the video game backers there will be an invite to our first backer-only online tournament! Get ready by playing the demo version of Boardquest on Steam.
Behsaad & Iwona
Psst... Remember about our open call for Game Mods! We're awaiting your submissions until April 10th.
Thank you!
8 months ago
– Wed, Mar 13, 2024 at 06:02:04 AM
After 3 weeks of a steady campaign we reached 170% of funding! Thank you to this fantastic community for believing in us until the end of the campaign. Thank you to our family and friends that jumped to support us on day 1. We cherished every pledge and message or comment you wrote. Boardquest is becoming a reality thanks to you.
We'll open the Pledge Manager in about 2 weeks time for you to complete your order and provide the shipping details. You will be able to add additional copies of the game or upgrade your pledge. For the $1 backers, you will get access to the Premium version of the board game, the video game, and the miniatures pack. The bundles, discounts and other game editions will not be available at this point. The Pledge Manager will be open until end of June in case you need to make any adjustments to the provided information.
Going forward you can expect monthly updates about the project development. Our immediate plan is to take a week off to recharge our batteries. Next, Iwona will be doing the final review of the rulebook and a card update while Behsaad focuses on completing the Demon Scourge storybook. This should be done before the end of April, so that there is plenty of time in May and June to translate all materials to Spanish and German. In the meantime Pedro will kick off another workstream: sculpting the outstanding minis. In 1-2 months all video game backers should receive a link to our early access multiplayer version and an invite to participate in our online tournaments. You will get regular updates as we roll out these deliverables and announcements.
As to final thoughts, Kickstarter has been a success for us. On a personal level, it's challenging to put your creation out there: we did it, and we have succeeded, a rare victory for indie projects. We reached our funding goal within 48 hours and then almost doubled the collected amount by maintaining a steady daily growth. We loved the interactions with our backers (you can still write us anytime!).
Boardquest has always been a long-term project for us and we are committed to seeing it through. The first print of Boardquest is due November this year. Next year we plan to work on producing our first expansion – already fully drafted – that will introduce Undead and Dwarves to the game, add a unit per faction, new items, monster, summons, and snow-covered terrain tiles.
We are yet to see where this journey takes us, but we do hope all of you will tag along.
Behsaad & Iwona
Solo Mode Explained
9 months ago
– Fri, Mar 08, 2024 at 03:05:52 PM
Boardquest has been designed with Solo Mode in mind from the very beginning. Since its first version in late 2022 the Solo Mode went through many iterations and playtests to arrive where it is today. We’ll be dedicating some time post-campaign to additionally flesh out the scenarios and, as already committed, finish the second campaign book, The Scourge of Liria.
Solo Mode Overview
So, how do you play Boardquest solo? The Solo Mode follows a story campaign. Players immerse themselves in the world of Liria: as they go through different chapters they experience the history of the continent first-hand and learn about the faction dynamics. Every scenario is a mini (but epic!) adventure that can be played on its own, repeated, or even skipped.
We will be delivering two Solo Campaigns with the game box, totaling about 15-20 hours of gameplay. As a more experienced Solo player you will squeeze additional content out of the books if you like to challenge yourself with replays at higher difficulty settings.
The core rules of the PvP mode still apply in the Solo Mode, with a few small adjustments.
The Solo Mode builds upon the base game rules – without requiring any additional components
Automa
The Automa rules for the Solo Mode are easy to learn and execute, yet flexible enough to provide varied and captivating scenarios. The characters controlled by the Automa have their Attack Preference, Initiative Value, and Focus Rules. Together they define the characters’ behavior, movement, and who or what they attack or defend. For example, the Automa might be defined to attack the closest enemy – or a specific one, to conquer the closest fort, defend position, or guard an ally. The Automa is fully controlled by the game rules. No game master is required.
For more information, you can study the Automa rules for The Defenders of Liria campaign published on our website.
Sample round
Here’s a quick overview of how to set up and play our scenarios.
The setup phase consists of the following:
Construct the scenario map. Place the map pieces according to the depiction for the scenario. The map pieces are numbered to make this step easier.
Populate the scenario map. Place all friendly and enemy characters as depicted on the map, including their level – use the Upgrade tokens, or the Leveling Tracks – and equip them with items, as depicted in the storybook.
Prepare the item cards. Place the treasure chests on the map and set aside the preselected item cards.
Choose your difficulty level. Buy items and upgrades based on the available gold.
Assemble your heroes’ skill decks. Choose advanced skills to include in your heroes skill decks.
Assemble the enemy heroes' skill decks. Shuffle the cards and put them face down next to the hero boards.
Read all special rules of the scenario and prepare accordingly.
Sample Scenario Setup – Defenders of Liria, Scenario #2
A scenario round goes as follows:
Move all player characters in any desired order.
Move all enemy characters based on their initiative and their specific rules. Characters with a lower initiative value move before characters with a higher initiative value. When it is an enemy hero's turn draw the top card from their skill deck and use it as described in the scenario skill Automa for that hero.
Repeat steps 1-2 until either a win or lose condition is reached, as per scenario.
Winning and losing conditions are specific to each scenario. Sometimes you’ll win by defeating the enemy hero. Other times you win by fending off enemies until their heros' skill deck is empty. Sometimes you will lose if you fail to defend an important ally.
Beyond the Solo Mode
You might decide to create your own scenarios, too! Because of the modular terrain and our extendable game system the possibilities for custom scenarios are truly endless. We are so excited about Solo Mode because it will unlock endless ways to be creative and experience adventures in the world of Liria. Each expansion will push the system further: think of new map pieces, units, heroes, monsters, abilities, and items! We can’t wait to share more details with you all.
Our future plan (out of scope for this year) is to publish a tool in our video game for players to create their own board game scenarios and share them with the Boardquest community online for easy print and play.
As always, we’d like to thank this community for your ongoing support. As a backer of our Kickstarter campaign you will get exclusive information about the game development and the possibility to provide feedback for any upcoming expansion. Stay tuned for the updates after the campaign!
Creator‘s Corner
We’d like to use this opportunity to bring your attention to a campaign by a fellow creator from Berlin – already on its finish line! The Catacombs of Candarlin is a fantasy gamebook that follows the tradition of gamebooks like Lone Wolf, Fighting Fantasy and Fabled Lands. This interactive book uses modern game mechanics to create the most varied and enjoyable game experience possible. In the story you investigate rumors and carry out research to thwart the murderous plans of your opponents. Available in English and German. The rules of the game are intentionally kept simple so you can start playing quickly. All you need is two six-sided dice (2d6) and a pencil.
Another project from a German creator – Heroes of Xhandar – is now open to Late Pledge on Gamefound. Heroes of Xhandar is a trick-taking duel game, designed for 2 players but playable with up to 5. It's a fast-paced, 30 minute game, light on rules yet brimming with tactical decisions. Set in the fantasy world of Xhandar, your goal is to find shards of knowledge - the shattered remnants of magical crystals. The game is available in German in English.
