Dwarf board game

Dweeple
almost 5 years ago – Sat, Jul 20, 2019 at 02:38:55 AM

 It’s not not since our last update but we’ve just received the 2nd dwarf meeple (dweeple?) design from our artist, Lars Munck, and I wanted to share it with you. What do you think?

As you know, each copy of Dwarf will ship with twelve dweeples (it’s a thing now, I’m running with it) - two of each of the two designs in three different colours. This means that if you’re playing with one copy of the game, each player will have two different shaped meeples to use in their colour. With two copies of the game, you can play up to five players and we suggest each player chooses a unique shape and colour combination (e.g. - ‘I’ll play with the black pickaxe guys’).

Lee and the DDP Team.

Stolidly Marching On
almost 5 years ago – Fri, Jul 19, 2019 at 08:40:57 AM

 The rate at which we’re attracting new backers has, undoubtedly, slowed since the weekend. As I mentioned previously, though, that’s normal for a Kickstarter campaign and the very fact that we are still attracting new backers - and increasing the total raised - every day is still something we (and you) should be proud of.

After discussing how to contact us on Twitter, last time, it seems apposite to talk about how you can help raise awareness of the game, and our campaign, on Boardgamegeek. You may have already noticed that we have avatars and a badge suitable for use on BGG that you can find at the bottom of the campaign page. Of course, not everybody wants to change their avatars - they can be an important part of your online identity. I get that. That’s why the badge is there. It’s also why I’m very pleased to announce that one of our backers has designed a BGG microbadge for Dwarf. Everyone on BGG can display this proudly!

I introduced the Zanziar dwarfs to you in the last update and I thought I’d turn my attention, in this one, to one of the other races inhabiting the world - the sidhe. If you’re not familiar with Irish Gaelic or Celtic Mythology you may have some trouble pronouncing the word - so I’m here to help! It’s pronounced ‘she-the’, or just ‘she’. In fact, it’s part of the word ‘banshee’ that you may be more familiar with.

The sidhe are a complex faerie race in insular Celtic mythology; in Zanziar the sidhe are a very powerful race. They think that they’re a fair people - they choose to trade rather than simply to take. The other races don’t quite see it the same way, however. Most of these ‘trades’ are very one sided and could be seen as extortion. In Dwarf, this is represented by the sidhe taking your gold and replacing it with iron.

I’ll talk about one or two of the other races in future updates but I’ll leave it there for now. We’ve just tipped into the final week of the campaign and I think it’s going to be good. Thankyou for all your efforts in reaching out to people and telling them about the game on social media so far, we really appreciate it and hope you can keep it up for just a little longer.

Lee and the DDP team.

Community Spirit
almost 5 years ago – Tue, Jul 16, 2019 at 12:06:58 PM

We’ve had a good weekend. We kept attracting more backers over the weekend and the total amount raised is now over $4,000. With a bit of luck, our hard work and your help, we should hit the first stretch goal, at $4,500, soon. Please, keep talking about the game on social media and elsewhere. If you discuss the game on Twitter, mention us @DragonDawnProd and use the hashtag #Dwarf and we’ll retweet - maybe you can get some extra followers, too? Because one good turn deserves another and we’re all in this together.

Actually, doing something for one another is what being a dwarf in Zanziar is all about. You may already be familiar with the world of Zanziar from Perdition’s Mouth: Abyssal Rift - or from Zanziar itself. Perhaps you’ve even read the Zanziar world book? If you have, you’ll know that dwarfs live in an egalitarian society - a political system they call ‘collaborate states’. Individual wealth is banned and roles are chosen for young dwarfs when they come of age. You might think of it, essentially, as a Stalinist society.

Dwarf is a competitive game, though, right? Right. The ’collaborative states’ exist at the time of the events in Perdition’s Mouth: Abyssal Rift; Dwarf takes place around 500 years before then, when the states are just forming. This is why defending the mines earns you glory - medals of honour - but it’s still possible to acquire personal wealth. Of course, those others who are doing their bit for society might not think too highly of you but, well, what do you care? You probably don’t think too highly of the idea of the ‘collaborative states’, do you?

Dwarfs in Zanziar are also technologically very advanced. If we’ve used the word Stalinist to understand one aspect of their society then we may as well use another Earth word to help us comprehend a second. Look at that mining scene on the box cover. Yes, orcs are running into the tunnel but look at the fella in the centre - with his goggles. Look at that drilling machine, over his other shoulder. All looks a little steampunk to me.

So that, in a nutshell, is the world in which Dwarf takes place - short, hairy, Stalinist steampunks.

Of course, you don’t need to know all that to play or enjoy the game, but I thought some of you may like to know a little more about the world.

Speaking of knowing a little more - I’ve added a couple of FAQ’s to the page - concerning colour-blind components and what sort of discount you’re getting by backing the project now (in addition, of course, to being part of the process and getting the game before anyone else). If there are any other questions you’d like to ask then please let me know in the comments.

Lee and the DDP team.

A Century of Backers
almost 5 years ago – Sat, Jul 13, 2019 at 11:37:23 PM

Just after I posted the last update, our one-hundredth backer joined the campaign. That’s quite a milestone and something worthy of a mini-celebration. Progress since then has continued steadily. It’s normal for momentum to fall on the third day of a Kickstarter campaign, with pledge totals levelling off from the second day through to the final day. So far, though, we’ve avoided that - we’re still steadily attracting new backers.

That could well be because of your efforts in telling people about the game. If you’ve been sharing the campaign on social media - thankyou. Please, keep on doing it. If you haven’t yet, then please do.

In the meantime, we’ve been doing our bit, too. Not only on social media but reaching out to other media outlets, as well, and we’re delighted to share with you, today, a podcast interview with the designer of Dwarf, Lee Broderick. Albert Hernandez, host of the 1 Player Podcast, caught up with Lee a few days before the campaign began but the show has only been unleashed on the world today. In it, you can hear him talk about how the game came into being, why the AI opponents in Dwarf have funny, unpronounceable, names and even discuss small islands, for some reason.

If you’re looking for something to listen to over the weekend, then you can find it at the link below.

Lee and the DDP team.

You did it!
almost 5 years ago – Thu, Jul 11, 2019 at 11:51:28 PM

Earlier today, we passed the funding threshold. This was well within the 48 hour mark and we’re really proud of that fact - you should be too, because you made it happen. Whatever happens now, Dwarf will definitely be going into production and shipping to you next year.

It doesn’t stop here, though. We’ve still got 14 days left of the campaign and there’s so much more we want to achieve. You’ve helped us get this far and you can help us get further - we have a series of stretch goals linked to funding that will all improve the aesthetics or component quality in some way, shape or form. The first of these is for unique art for all of the Forge cards. Let’s talk about them for a bit, shall we?

There are eight different items you can forge in the game. Each of them has a unique resource requirement to forge. In the Forge Sword example, above, if you place your worker on the card then in the resolution phase you can return three steel to the supply and then take one item. Items form an important part of the game - not only are they one of the three resources which are scored for calculating victory (the others being steel and gold), they are also one of two ways to trigger the end of the game (the round in which a player forges four items or the round in which the Mountain runs out of cards) and they act as the final tie-breaker.

Since all these Forge actions have a unique resource requirement (Forging Armour, for example, requires 2 steel and 1 gold), we think it would be great if each card had unique art representing the Item you’re forging. We’re sure you’d like that, too. So, how do you help us make it happen? Simple - tell everyone about the game. If you’re on social media, post the Kickstarter campaign there and tell your friends why you’re backing. If you have a gaming group, tell them about the game. We’re doing what we can to promote the campaign and make Dwarf everything it deserves to be but word of mouth remains the most effective form of marketing and you’re in the best place to help us with that.

Lee and the DDP Team.