The last week of campaign!

The last week of campaign!

Update 15 image

Update #15
Hi, there!
When I write this Update, we are really close to the 1.500.000 USD milestone! Thank you for the support, and we hope all the upcoming updates and unlocks will put smiles on your face and you will be happy to be part of this amazing campaign!
 
 
Sad to write dementi to info that spreads in the comments section 🙁
We noticed in the comments section that fans started a sort of campaign asking backers to vote for the On and On Westward scenario and telling them that if the scenario wins, Portal Games will add to the Book of Adventures additional Island tiles, additional Invention cards, additional Event cards, additional Player boards and more.
 
We appreciate the enthusiasm and positive energy, but we must very clearly say that this information is purely fan-driven and we cannot confirm it. Stretch goal with 3 scenarios added to the Book of Adventures is about adding 3 pages to the book with fan-made scenarios. It is not about producing tiles, cards, wooden pieces, or any other components that the particular fan scenario needs.
 
We appreciate fans, and we respect fans’ choices, and if On and On Westward wins, we will add more than the planned 3 pages to the book to fit 3 parts of this scenario. We want to be perfectly clear though – we will not produce additional 100 cards, additional Island tiles, character boards, and all other components the scenario needs. Please, acknowledge that when you vote. 
 
Veterans, we hear you!
There were questions in the comments section about group pledge for Veteran reward. Many of you who already have Robinson Crusoe and want to upgrade it asked for a chance to get it in the bundle, so you can order with friends and split shipping costs. We made it possible. Thank you for your support for the game for all those years.
 
Poll results about Z-Man Games edition upgrade
The votes were really divided. We don’t want to disappoint any of the groups, so we finally decided to create two separate Upgrade sets: one simple, just a plain board. The other much more extensive, with board, rulebook, and custom wooden pieces and stickers – all major items you asked for in the comments. Thank you for taking part in the Poll, we hope you are happy with the results! 🙂
 
Expect unexpected – surprise gift for backers!
In some campaigns, there is a pledge level with an autographed copy of the game. I don’t exactly have a chance to go to China and sign games for you, so we don’t have such a pledge here. 
 
But worry not! I figured out I can do something else!
 
I decided I will sign 250 appreciation letters for backers, send to our manufacturer and ask them to randomly add them to copies of the game. I hope it will be a nice surprise for you when you open the box and find an unexpected letter from me! 
 
 
 
Hello Kitty, come here, cutie, are you hungry? Are you lost? Want to join our party? Want a snack? 
 
Today we unlock Cat miniature (along with a dedicated card), another Companion animal that helps players in the game and, if added to the set, makes the game a little bit easier! In your games, you can use any of the Companion animals (Horse, Parrott, Cat) and combine them in any set you prefer. Each Companion makes the game a little bit easier. 
 
As they say, here in Poland, cats do their own thing. When Joanna was designing this new Companion for the game, she came up with the idea that we cannot control this animal very easily, and in each round, it provides a slightly different bonus to players, whenever they need it or not! In each round, it provides some good charm and luck and allows players to one reroll, but in each round, it is a reroll for a different action!
 
We hope you will invite this Cat to your camp and have some great adventures together. 
 
But hey, that’s not all! In this unlock, we are giving you an additional 10 Build Adventure cards! You can shuffle them to the base set of the game to increase the replayability of the game. 
 
IMPORTANT: These items will be added for free to Robinson Crusoe Collectors Edition of the game and won’t be part of the retail version of the game. Both items will fit into the box.
 
 
 
In today’s Beginners Corner, I’d like to describe to you another interesting part of the mechanism in Robinson Crusoe. And as always, we’ll start with books.
 
Books have chapters. The protagonist meets somebody in Chapter I, has an adventure in Chapter II, something terrible happens in Chapter III, and then 62 pages later in Chapter IV the character our hero met in Chapter I saves his life! Reading a book is experiencing the flow of events that matter, that has consequences, and step by step build the whole story arc.
 
It’s not that common in board games. In board games, you draw a card, something happens, and next round, you draw another card. There is no overarching story. They are not connected. Nothing builds up. (or at least, that was the state of the hobby back then in 2012 when I was designing Robinson).
 
I came with the idea to reflect this “Chapter concept”. I figured out how to make it, so the player has an adventure in – let’s call it Chapter I – and then, it will have some consequences and come back later, in future Chapters. Here is how it works:
 
When you roll dice and have an adventure, you may find a card with choice. It may say something like:
 
You find an old hut. You may ignore it or enter it and find some treasures. If you enter, draw 1 Treasure and shuffle this card into the event deck.
 
In the first chapter, you found an old hut. You may ignore it. 
or
In the first chapter, you found an old hut and you entered! You grab treasures. Get some old disease, too. It will hunt you down in the next chapters of the story. At some point, you will draw it from the Event deck and get sick. Your actions have future consequences. The story builds up.
 
It is an extremely simple mechanism but gives players so many options and builds the story strong and engaging. 
 
You find a nest of birds. You may grab eggs, but then…
You find a pile of wood. You can get them, but then…
You walked and got a bite from a snake. Nothing happens now, but then…
You see dark clouds on the horizon. Nothing happens yet, but then…
 
The story builds up…
 
***
 
Thank you for today!
Talk to you tomorrow!
Ignacy

Welcome to PORTAL GAMES

We are bookworms. Movie maniacs. Story addicts. We grew up reading Tolkien, Howard, Herbert, Dick, Lem… We were watching Willow, Blade Runner, Never Ending Story, Robin Hood…

And yet, we don’t write books… we don’t make movies. We don’t make those things, because we make games. We make games that tell stories.