Cloak & Dagger Redux
over 2 years ago – Sat, Jul 09, 2022 at 02:12:23 PM

Hello Gamers!

Thank you so much for becoming a backer! You have no idea how much I appreciate it. We look forward to continuing this journey, with more content, more features, and more improvements along the way. All of which we will happily provide in future updates. 

And without further ado, here is today's unlock:

Dagger & Cloak is basically the opposite of Cloak & Dagger — it will give hidden positive influence to players at the start of the game, and will be included in future versions of Map Pack 2. Mathematically, these two have almost the same impact on how players should adapt their strategy. But as another backer pointed out a few days ago, the psychological pressure of dealing with negatives and the excitement of revealing a hidden positive are quite different.

When I first started working on these tiles, I planned on just using the positive variant, but a few groups of testers were strongly in favor of the negative influences. But now we have 2 Map Packs, why not do both? Only the players can determine which set is more suitable for their game group, so I want to provide the choice to you.

Additionally, since the 2 sets have different colored backs, you can actually use both at the same time. This greatly increases the variance in hidden information, which can be used for bluffing. It may not be for everyone, but some groups do enjoy the tension.

btw, what should we call this combined version? Cloak Cloak Dagger Dagger? or Cloak Dagger Dagger Cloak? so many combinations…

And that is today's update. Don’t forget to leave any suggestions or feedback you have in the Kickstarter comments section — I read and respond to everything, so feel free to chime in. Thank you again for your support! The campaign is still young and it is going to be an awesome ride.

Best Regards,
David Liu
Producer @ Moaideas Game Design

New Mini Expansion by Mark Gerrits
over 2 years ago – Wed, Jul 06, 2022 at 11:54:28 PM

We had an amazing first day! Pledges are coming in rapidly, and we're ecstatic that you are supporting us and trusting in us! We have raised $26,000 USD and gained 480 backers in a single day, it's amazing! Thank you for becoming a backer. We really appreciate your support!

Today's unlock is the Cloak & Dagger mini-expansion! This is not a KS exclusive, as it will be included in all future versions of Map Pack 1. This optional variant consists of 6 tiles that give hidden negative influence to players at the start of the game, and can be used with any map. This is a great way to add an extra layer of strategy and tension to your games!

I want to share a story behind this unlock. The first prototype for Mini Express submitted to us by Mark Gerrits had a mechanic that did something similar to this unlock. But in the original form, it introduced too much randomness to the game, so it was removed in favor of letting all players have perfect open information throughout the game.

However, we discovered that some players prefer a bit of fuzziness in their games, and we've decided to reintroduce a dash of hidden information to spice up your negotiations.

Before drafting the starting shares, each player will be given one tile that only they know about. This will lower your influence in the two companies indicated on the tile by one at the end of the game, so you will have to adjust your strategy to account for it. By adding in this optional mini expansion, you can make the game more exciting and challenging for everyone involved!

What do you think about today's unlock? Please let me know your thoughts in the comments below. I'll see you tomorrow with another component upgrade!

Best Regards,
David Liu
Producer @ Moaideas Game Design

Livestream Tonight & Daily Unlocks!
over 2 years ago – Tue, Jul 05, 2022 at 02:42:07 PM

Hello Gamers!

Your support has blown us away! Pledges are still coming in and we are so grateful! Thank you!

Starting today, we will be revealing new campaign unlocks every Monday through Friday. These unlocks will include a variety of component upgrades and extra game content, so be sure to check back often and let us know what you think of them!

I want to keep you backers engaged and excited throughout the campaign by discussing our progress, instead of talking about how much money we still need for the next goal on every post. With this method, we can have less anxiety and focus on the fun stuff!

Today we are unlocking custom wood starting station tokens! There will be four colors for the four companies, and you can use this to make the starting locations stand out on the board. These tokens are KS exclusive to the Map Pack Collector’s Box set, which also includes all other unlocked wood components.

Livestream Tonight

Join us tonight at 6PM PST for a livestream playthrough of the Taiwan Map with GloryHoundd and DrGloryHogg! Dan from The GameBoyGeek helped set up this stream on his channel, and we are excited to work with them for this playthrough of the Taiwan map. Check YouTube to find out what hour it is in your time zone, and be sure to tune in and watch them play!

We're excited to show you the new Expansion Maps! Stay tuned for upcoming livestreams to get all the details on how they work. You won't want to miss them!

That's all for today. I'm excited to share more new game content with you all tomorrow. Please leave any suggestions or feedback in the comments section. Thank you so much for backing this campaign. It's only the beginning of this new journey, and I'm so excited to have you all with me.

Best Regards,
David Liu
Producer @ Moaideas Game Design

We Are Funded!
over 2 years ago – Tue, Jul 05, 2022 at 10:38:24 AM

Hello Gamers!

Thank you so much for your support! We are thrilled to have reached our funding goal in just 2 Hours and we are now able to move forward with the production of the Map Pack expansions.

With your help, we are able to add even more content and stretch goals to the campaign, making the expansions even better. Upon funding, we will be unlocking thicker cardboard for all tiles and map boards, as well as a Matte + Spot UV coating for the box cover.

Why is this an unlock instead of the spec? Good question. Since the thickness of the cardboard was a stretch goal in the original Kickstarter campaign of the base game, backers of the Map Packs may be wondering if the thickness will be the same. We want to reassure backers that the expansion will also have boards of the same thickness by listing this feature with other unlocks.

We are truly grateful for all of our amazing backers, and we could not be able to do it without you. Please help us spread the word about Mini Express to your friends, and thank you again for your support!

Best Regards,
David Liu
Producer @ Moaideas Game Design