Laruna: Age of Kingdoms

Pledge Manager Info!
about 6 years ago – Sat, Apr 28, 2018 at 12:55:31 AM

Hey everyone,

At this very moment, 5% of you have a Backerkit survey in your email! If you got a Backerkit survey, we'd appreciate it if you could fill it out ASAP so we can confirm everything is working and send the survey out to everyone else! 

Don't worry if you didn't get a survey yet! 

The current plan is to send the survey out to everyone else at the beginning of next week.

A couple of notes on the Pledge Manager:

1) Larua Map Playermat Add-On: As we mentioned in the comments, we were able to confirm we can make this oft-requested add-on a reality! This full size 24x36 inch mat adds a unique feel to gameplay and compliments the mood of 'Leaders around a map' that we want to impart on players. You can find this Add-On in your survey!

2) Updating your Pledge: If you wish to upgrade your pledge (such as from the Base Game to All-In), be sure to use the "Upgrade My Pledge" button in the top right of your survey! If you use the "Add-on" button, you will be charged for and receive a whole second copy of that pledge level, rather than adjusting your current pledge to the new one. If you have any questions about the survey, just let us know!

3) Shipping Update: We heard back from our manufacturer, and Laruna: Age of Kingdoms is so packed with stuff (especially from all the Stretch Goals!) that it's approaching 4kg! That's a big box of awesome, but that also mean it's gonna take some muscle to move it around the world.

The cost of shipping has risen from our estimates by $5 to account for the extra weight. Not too bad, considering how big it turned out to be! Backers in the "Rest of the World" category, you should note that your shipping cost did not go up, and will remain at $40.

4) If you are interested in getting the Dreamscape: Laruna RPG but did not add the funds for it to your initial pledge, we advise you to do so soon so that we can set aside the right number of books from our stock.

5) Late Pledges: If you have a friend that missed out on the campaign, you can now send them to the KS page where they can late pledge for their copy!

That's it for now! Be sure to contact us if you have any questions. We'll be back with another update early next week once the rest of you have your surveys!

Behold! An Update!
about 6 years ago – Sat, Apr 14, 2018 at 02:08:27 AM

Rulers of Laruna,

We have a long(ish) update today that lays out some of what we've been doing since the last update. 

Before we dive in, be aware we try to only send out updates when we have something interesting/important to say. While traditional wisdom encourages creators to update, update, update, we feel people who frequent kickstarter tend to get assaulted with needless updates which take focus off of the important details. Updates should be informative and enjoyable, not trivial and annoying. We generally like communicating with the community so we try to stay in touch via comments and social media thus reserving updates for when there's significant info to relay.

Speaking of that . . .

Pledge Manager

The Pledge Manager will be open by the end of next week. We needed to address some issues with the manufacturer and assess the shipping situation so that is all getting sorted out now. Once we open it up, we'll get into the details of shipping charges, extra addons, and all that good stuff.

So what have you guys been doing, anyway?

It’s been busy! Let’s dive in to some of the details of what’s been going on. Attending GAMA tradeshow and speaking to several people about our options has opened up some nifty new paths for LAOK. We’ve been able to supply all the resources and assets to some engineers and get a good look at what our product size/weight will look like (it’s a big baby). We’ve also gotten a chance to discuss different layout options based on player feedback and final playtesting. Finally we’ve also gotten a chance to explain what issues we’ve encountered in previous projects and have received some clever solutions and solid assurances that these issues can and will be avoided for LAOK, which is always a plus.  

Final Testing  

While all of this back and forth with the manufacturers goes on, it has given us time to address what we call “last looks”. We’ve been able to playtest a bunch more, get new players to do the same, and compile all of the things that we want to make final adjustments for to improve the game in any way possible. Some fancy improvements are getting implemented for the final version because of this scrutiny and we feel it will ensure the game is even better by the time it reaches your tables. So here are the key feedback points that we addressed to make the game better.  

Feedback:

1 - Territory is hard to Value/Assess  

2 - Space on the game table is limited  

Improvements:

Map readjustment/graphic redesign: An improved world map split into two halves to allow a 2-3 player game to take up less table space. We've also started the process of putting more important game information directly on the map to avoid players having to reference multiple components. This makes all territories and their yields more visible and easier to assess.   

Modular Kingdom Mats: By splitting the Kingdom Mat into 2 parts, players are able to keep their information organized in the way that best suits them and their play space. This also allowed us to add more information to the mats, making it easier for players to track their progress.  

Territory Cards are now tiles! This change allows us to move territory yields directly on to the kingdom mat so working them and assessing their contribution is easy and seamless. Combining this with listing the yields on the map also helped clear a significant amount of table space!   

Redesigned Unit Cards: Another huge space saver, the re-design allows units to take up much less space and has their representation on the table grow only when necessary. It also provides a clearer, neater way to keep track of actions, health, Command expenditure and duplicate units.

We've included some sneak previews of some of these changes at the bottom of the update. Keep in mind that these components are still a work-in-progress and are still awaiting their finishing touches.

Command/Balance Changes

As mentioned in one of the threads on BGG, we've changed the way recruiting units works slightly. We've lowered their resource costs across the board and given them all a specific Command cost. This Command cost scales with the relative strength of the unit, so weak units like the Militia cost no Command, while the strongest units of the game cost 3. 

We found that the larger resource costs for units allowed heavily economic Kingdoms to 'double dip'--not only were they able to ply their resources towards gaining Favor, but in some cases it was actually easier for them to recruit units than a player who tried to focus on their war effort.

Now, a player who is focuses on gaining extra command with their worker placement gains an immediate martial advantage over those who focus on just their resources.

We coupled this command change with a few changes to the player mats to make it easier to gain more Command and Garrison. Since the resource costs of units have been greatly reduced, we also introduced a couple of new ways for a kingdom to spend their resources. 

The changed components still need to go through an extra pass to really polish them, but here are some work-in-progress images!

This update needs some pics!

Things are coming along great and we're super excited to share this experience with you. We are pouring some real passion into LAOK and can't wait for you to see its final form!

Thanks as always for your support, your feedback, and your general awesomeness!

Final Hours!
about 6 years ago – Sun, Mar 11, 2018 at 03:58:21 PM

Hey everyone! 

We've had an awesome week which included the Arga'Sheel First Player Miniature Unlock and the new Kingdom Flags!

Coming up next is a new Kreesh--Septon, the Spirit King. And of course, remember that new Kreesh not only add new events to the game, but also adds a new solo scenario!

The final few days should give us a chance at unlocking the last stretch goals, so keep up the good work and lets see what we can accomplish together. 

Retailers: Remember to adjust your pledge levels prior to campaign end so we can ensure your account is handled correctly. Be sure to let us know if you have any questions that need answering so we can help you in any way we can.

Thank you again for your support as we look forward to a strong finish together!

Victory is Ours!
about 6 years ago – Sun, Mar 04, 2018 at 06:24:34 AM

Wow! 

Appropriately enough, this campaign has felt like a great game of Laruna: Age of Kingdoms! A strong, exciting start, a strategic sustained middle, and a frenzied end!

It's not just your pledge that made this work--it was your Kicktraq clicking, it was telling your friends, and sharing on social media. A big thank you to everyone who backed the project, provided us with support, challenged us with questions and buoyed us with praise. Extra thanks to Will McD, Jeremy Schaub, Russonc, maxb and everyone else who consistently chipped in on the comments section--you helped turn our campaign page into a community!

While this is a time to celebrate, it's also time to answer the question of 'what's next?'

We'll need some time for Kickstarter to finish processing payments and to get the pledge manager set up. We'll also be going to the GAMA Trade Show to take some meetings which will help move the process forward. So while you'll see us in the comments and on BGG for some casual chatting, it'll be a couple of weeks before our next big update, wherein we'll lay out the specifics of our plans.

We did it! 

It's a glorious day in the kingdom, and everything is, indeed, A-OK!

The World of Laruna!
about 6 years ago – Tue, Feb 20, 2018 at 01:30:46 AM

Since it's been a topic of conversation, we thought we'd explain a bit about the Dreamscape: Laruna RPG book. Everything in Laruna: Age of Kingdoms comes straight out of the RPG, from the world map to the different leaders to the different Kingdoms. 

While you don't need to be familiar with Dreamscape: Laruna to play or enjoy L:AOK, we think the extra information and art of the RPG can help make the stories you create while playing L:AOK that much more vibrant. And, of course, if you play tabletop RPGs, it's a pretty fun one to bring to your table!

Many backers ask where a certain name came from, why a symbol on the map exits or what a Kreesh actually is. Generally, they just want more information about the board game's world, and in this case you have a hefty resource to answer all those questions and needs. Here's a sample of content from the book so you can see what we mean.

You can click on all of the below images to see them at a more readable size!

 

 

 

 

As asked for, here's an updated Summoner image with a correct explanation of what the Leader actually does! 

And don't worry, the fun doesn't stop at the Summoner! Once it's unlocked, we have more Stretch Goals to reveal!