Eleven Update #9. Playmat is here!

Hi there!
 
The new day is bringing new add-ons in the campaign – playmat and card sleeve sets. Let me tell you all about it!
Neoprene playmat
 
A lot of gamers, including us at Portal Games, love using dedicated playmats with our games. That is why we really wanted to offer it as an add-on in this campaign. During the last couple of days, our graphic designer has been working relentlessly with the development team to put all the game components which are usually placed at the center of the table onto a single space – a playmat.
 
A neoprene playmat for Eleven will contain the Transfer Area of the game organizing the Player, Staff, and Sponsor card display. It will also house additional card decks including Tactic cards, Board Meeting cards, and the League table. Its soft surface makes it easier to pick up the cards, and slide the new ones in place. The playmat will come with stitched edges for added durability and its approximate dimensions are 65 x 50 cm (25’’ x 19”),
 
Card sleeve sets
 
Today we also included 2 new add-ons containing Clear Card Sleeve sets. To make it simple we created the sets corresponding to the most popular pledges – Base Game and Gameplay All-In. Each of these sets will suffice to sleeve all the cards from the corresponding pledges, including all the Stretch Goals and the Unique set up bonus set, which is added for free for those backers who followed the campaign before its launch.
 
Your ideas
 
Yesterday we asked for your ideas for the new Infrastructure tiles in the Stretch Goal and we were SUPER impressed with your feedback! Our development team is closely watching the comments section, and analyzes the possibilities. We will publish the final list of new Infrastructure tiles (and new Staff member cards which we asked about on the 6th day of the campaign) by the end of the project. Stay tuned!
 
Unique set up decks in the group pledges
 
We noticed that many of you asked if the Unique set up decks (a bonus for those backers who followed the campaign before its launch) would be multiplied in the group pledges. The answer is yes. Even when you order a regular pledge several times and were eligible to get the bonus, you would get the bonus as many times as there are base games in your pledge. This means 6 copies of the Unique set up deck in the Group Pledge for Eleven Base Game (or Group Pledge for Eleven Gameplay All-In).
 
Today’s Stretch Goal is 12 Action pawns (3 per player) and a central game board with a summary of all the available actions
 
This component upgrade is especially helpful to track how many more Tuesday to Thursday actions you still have in the round and it replaces the need to track the rounds by the first player. In addition, we are adding a central action board with all the action spaces and a helpful summary of each action.
 
This component upgrade is a Gamefound Exclusive Stretch Goal for Eleven. It won’t be a part of the retail version of the game. All Stretch Goals will fit into the box.
 
Now it’s time for the designer of Eleven, Thomas Jansen:
Players
 
What’s your all time favorite player? 
 
For me, it was Dennis Bergkamp. From the moment he played at Ajax Amsterdam as a teenager, I liked his play style. He was a smart player, very technical. After Ajax, he only got better. Together with Thierry Henry he was the best at Arsenal. 
 
For the national team of the Netherlands he did some marvellous things too. He made everything seem so easy. One of the best examples is from the World cup of 1998, quarter-final. This is the goal I will never forget. 
 
 
At the start of a game of Eleven, you don’t have any heroes, like Bergkamp. But I bet you will soon have your favorites as soon as you build up your team. You start Eleven with a youngster and a veteran. 
 
Youngsters are players of which you don’t know how they will develop. You can train them, like any other player. You flip the card and see what will become of them. They often get a little better, sometimes they get worse. If you’re lucky, they become like Bergkamp. You can earn victory points for youngsters for getting them in the team, or even better, score a goal. Sell a youngster to earn 5 euros. As an action, you can always get a youngster from the youngsters deck.
 
Veteran players are players on their way back. They are experienced and often are able to help other players improve. But you never know when the decline sets in. You can’t train a veteran. At a certain point, often after a positive event, you must flip the card… You’ve got to be honest here. His career will be practically over by then.
 
Of course, you will watch the transfer market. There are 5 open ‘normal’ player cards on the market. You can only contract the outer 3 of them. Unless you have some great staff member, like a scout, with a big network. They often are able to contact those other two players as well. Pretty handy, because you want to be faster than your friends.
 
 
You have to keep your team fit. For every player you want in the team, you need 1 fitness resource every round.
 
There are 3 kinds of players: Defenders, midfielders and forwards. Players always have a strength value of 1 to 4. A lot of the players have abilities too. Don’t be fooled. A player with a strength of 1, can have a very strong ability or action which in some cases makes him stronger than a strength 4 player. 
 
There are many different abilities or actions which are so thematic. Some players automatically score a goal when you have 3 or more fans in the stands. Others give a strength bonus to an adjacent player on the pitch.
 
Besides abilities, there are some penalties too. There is a strength 4 defender who scores an own goal once in a while. I can’t help it. I really like it when he does. Even if he is on my own team. He’s just a nice guy. Luckily it gets better when you train him. 
 
This Gamefound campaign page, just as our Robinson Crusoe Gamefound campaign page, would not be possible without our super talented graphic designer – Kopik. His real name is Mateusz, but he is Kopik to all of us at Portal Games.
 
Name: Kopik
Favourite club: Liverpool FC
League: Barclays Premier League
More about it: Kopik works at Portal Games as a graphic designer. He is responsible for all the visuals related to the campaign, and the graphic design of the game. He is supporting LFC with his wife, who implemented her loyalty to the club inside their house. There is going to be a fantastic season in BPL – hope the Jurgen Klopp’s team can handle Cristiano Ronaldo, Kevin de Bruyne, or Romelu Lukaku, and get back to the top 🙂
 
Until tomorrow!
Joanna Wareluk from Portal Games team

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