Post-BFIG: New Pledge Levels, More Nobility Slots
about 8 years ago – Fri, Sep 23, 2016 at 08:43:00 AM

This Saturday I was in Cambridge at the Boston Festival of Indie Games, demoing No Honor Among Thieves for an astonishingly large number of people who stopped by the booth. I didn't have time to take many pictures, so I unfortunately can't show you how swamped we were for most of my time there, but it got to the point where both of us at the booth were talking to separate groups while a demo game was running without oversight between us. It was nuts. Thanks to everyone who came by to play the game or talk to us, and special thanks to my brother Nathan, who helped me run the booth (he's also the one who composed the music for the Kickstarter video--he's been a great help all throughout this campaign).

In the wake of Boston FIG, I've got some news on the pledge levels front.

NEW PLEDGE LEVEL: GUILDER

Before going off to PAX a couple weeks ago, I posted a picture of the heavy ceramic tokens (custom poker chips, essentially) that I was going to be handing out in lieu of business cards at conventions. One side says "Honor Among Thieves," the other side says "No Honor Among Thieves," and both sides have www.nohonoramongthieves.com on them so faintly that you can't really see the letters unless you look closely (if you click that link it'll take you right back to the main campaign page--just a heads up).

Several people subsequently contacted me and asked if they could buy those tokens, since they knew they weren't going to run into me at a convention to get them for free. Before leaving for Boston, I said sure, I'll put up however many are left after BFIG for sale on the Kickstarter page.

The bad news is, we ran out of the tokens in Boston, to my immense surprise (and delight, since that means a lot of people stopped by to see the game). The good news is, I've put in another order at my supplier for twice as many, since they turned out to be really popular. This second batch has a slightly brighter No Honor side, so that the words are a little more legible.

There are a couple of ways to get one of the No Honor Among Thieves Guilder tokens. The first and least expensive is to run into me at a convention at some point in the future. The second is to pledge at the new $4 GUILDER level. The third is to add $4 to a different pledge level and then message me saying you want a guilder token. Either way it's with shipping included, so you don't need to worry about that. International shipping is also included, since the difference between them is something like $0.60 and I didn't want to bother with that.

If you add $4 to your pledge and forget to message me...I'll probably message you, because adding $4 to any of the pledge levels makes it an uneven number that will catch my attention.

The Guilder can be shipped to anywhere on the USPS list of international delivery locations. If you're not in the USA, please check that list before pledging for a guilder, or I may not be able to fulfill your order (I'll refund your money if that happens).

If you want multiple tokens after the first, each additional one is $3. Just add that onto your pledge and let me know. Guilder tokens will be shipped to backers as soon as possible after the campaign ends.

NEW NOBILITY SLOTS

On the first day of the campaign the three slots for the NOBILITY pledge level, which I hadn't really thought anyone would pledge for since they were so expensive, were claimed within six hours. Shortly afterward, I got a couple messages from people expressing disappointment that they hadn't been able to get there fast enough to get one.

Here's the thing: I actually have 10 Objective mats in the game that don't have final art yet, and which I could have conceivably put in this pledge level. I just wasn't sure how many people I wanted to deal with to get their faces on cards and mats--the only limit is my time, really. Since it was as popular as it was, I started considering opening a few more slots for it, to give other backers a chance at this option that vanished so quickly into the campaign. I talked it over with the generous people who'd backed at that level already, and they're all fine with opening it up to a couple more pledges, so immediately after posting this update I'm going to go add two more slots to the pledge level.  I'm not going to open up any more after this.

That did get me thinking about what other stuff I could let people pledge for, however. I've decided to add some new ones in, based on feedback from backers who've been messaging me with suggestions.

NEW PLEDGE LEVEL: GALLOWS BAIT ($99)

For $99, you could be one of three unlucky souls to be planted in the Graveyard with your name on a headstone.

NEW PLEDGE LEVEL: PRISONER ($499)

Back at the new PRISONER level to be immortalized on the art for the Jail, where those thieves just barely lucky enough to keep out of the graveyard spend their days.

NEW PLEDGE LEVEL: NOUVEAU RICHE ($899)

This is a big one. There's only one available, and it's $899, but that pledge will let you work with me to design a custom Objective to be included in every copy of the game. There are some limits, even here--I reserve the right to veto anything super objectionable, and anything that's dramatically off-theme, but as long as you're not trying to put crude jokes or spaceships into my serious low-fantasy heist game I'll work with you to incorporate whatever you like.

That's all for now. Thanks again for supporting the game.

Cheers,

Adam

Adding the Necromancer's Crypt and Intrigue Pack. Also: Podcast!
about 8 years ago – Tue, Sep 20, 2016 at 01:46:42 PM

Hello again, friend. Some news for you.

Here's the short version: based on the results of the stretch goal survey, I'm giving you some free stuff; also, the game was featured on a podcast where a pair of very nice British gents were very enthusiastic about it. And then at the bottom of the update I do another social media encouragement thing.

I also planned on having a video of a demo game that I filmed with a couple friends over the weekend, but I ran into some technical difficulties. That should be up tomorrow, so there's something for you to look forward to.

Details below.

Necromancer Games

A couple of days have gone by now, enough that I have some good data for what people want to see in a new stretch goal.

The Necromancer's Crypt is in the lead, followed closely in the polls by the Intrigue Pack. They're so close that I feel sort of bad doing one and not the other.

So I looked into what it might take to do both. Never let it be said that I didn't put the work in for you.

To make a long story short, I'm adding the Necromancer's Crypt to the game right now as a promo Objective for everyone who's backing the Kickstarter. This is regardless of whether we hit any stretch goals or not. The Intrigue Pack, meanwhile, has been added in as the $32,000 stretch goal. The Outsider Pack and the Exchange Pack will be saved for later.

Necromancer's Crypt (Stage II Objective)

The Crypt is always defended by The Keeper, in addition to two open defense slots.

Reward: 9 Coins, and you may retrieve a Character from the Graveyard. Treat this reward as though it were a draw from the Treasure deck for purposes of determining who gets it and whether or not it is lost during the Moment of Truth phase.

Thanks to everyone who filled out the survey, and good luck trying to steal the souls of your friends back from this new Objective. Hopefully whoever's helping you do it doesn't betray you at the last minute and damn the character you're trying to rescue to an eternity of torment, but when there's gold on the line who can say what thieves will do?

Polyhedron Podcast

Steve and Andy of Polyhedron Collider spent quite a while on their most recent podcast talking about how much they enjoyed No Honor Among Thieves. Their enthusiasm for the game really is infectious, and I urge you to give it a listen.

The Final Week

One last note. We're heading into the final week of the campaign now, sitting at 75% funded. Now is the time for that final push to the goal. I've mentioned this in another update--only the one, because I always feel awkward asking people this--but the way every Kickstarter campaign gets funded is through word of mouth, and that means that if you share the game with your friends, it has a better chance of succeeding. Maybe send the link to a friend you think might be interested in the project. Or share it on Facebook, or Twitter, or Google+. Anything helps, really.

Don't feel like you have to. But if you can, if you know someone who might enjoy a game of tense heists and tenser alliances, just let them know that the opportunity is there. Whatever you do, it will be enough. You are the greatest resource the campaign has to offer, and making this thing with what you've given me thus far really is a privilege.

And now, while you're distracted by that moving sentiment, my associate is making off with your wallet.

Thanks,

Adam

Legends of Tabletop: A Two Hour Interview
about 8 years ago – Mon, Sep 19, 2016 at 01:15:16 AM

Hello again!

Quick update here: yesterday night I did a livestreamed interview with the Legends of Tabletop podcast, which was supposed to be about an hour and ended up being two. It was great fun talking with John, and I honestly didn't realize that so much time had passed until he pointed it out to me. The conversation ranged from sci-fi and fantasy literature (which I know a lot about) to sports (which I know nothing about) to the development of No Honor Among Thieves (which I know everything about).

You can find the interview on the Legends of Tabletop site here, or listen to it on YouTube via the embed below. You can also watch it on YouTube, if you want to see mine and John's faces swapping back and forth as Google Hangouts detects each of us starting to speak over one another and then stopping and awkwardly making "No, you talk first" gestures.

 If you wanted to hear about the long process of developing the game, this is the place for it. I'm also writing up a designer diary that goes through a lot of the decisions I made along the way while working on No Honor Among Thieves, since I've been getting a lot of comments about how much the mechanics and the theme work together in the game and I thought that would be an interesting thing to talk about. So look for that in the coming days.

Cheers,

Adam

Polyhedron Review, Stonemmaier Post, New Stretch Goals and Boston FIG
about 8 years ago – Fri, Sep 09, 2016 at 01:49:01 PM

Polyhedron Collider Review

The gang at Polyhedron Collider live-tweeted a game of No Honor Among Thieves last week, and have posted their full review today. PC is a UK outfit that I sent the game to shortly before launching the campaign, and they had a great time scheming and double-crossing one another. Read the full review here.

Stonemaier Games Guest Post

A month before launching my Kickstarter campaign, I had the opportunity to pitch my game company to investors and entrepreneurs at a shark tank-like event in my town called Road Pitch. I didn't get any investment, but I did learn some lessons that I thought might help anyone else looking to try and walk that path after me, so I wrote up my experiences into a guest post for Stonemaier Games. Jamey at Stonemaier has a long and exhaustive series of Kickstarter Lessons posts that I studied extensively before launching the campaign for No Honor Among Thieves, and I couldn't be happier to contribute to that collection. Read the full post here.

New Stretch Goals

Based on feedback from backers, I've added an array of smaller, one-card stretch goals to the track for after we fund.

Will you get to meet all four of the Legendary Thieves promo cards? And if you do, will you want to employ them in your crew? Each one is exceptionally gifted, true, but that sort of ability comes with its own baggage and its own agendas...

Each Legendary Thief stretch goal we reach will be included in the Kickstarter version of the game, and will be available after the campaign for purchase in a promo pack.

Boston Festival of Indie Games

I'm going to be in Boston on Saturday at the Boston Festival of Indie Games, demoing my game in the Tabletop Showcase area and handing out No Honor tokens. If you're at the Festival, look for the giant banner with the game's logo on it.

Speaking of the tokens, a couple of people who know they won't be able to meet up with me at a convention to get one for free have asked if they could buy them from me. If that signifies a more general interest, I was thinking that if I have any left after the Festival I might put them up as a cheap add-on that you can get shipped to you as soon as the campaign ends. Let me know if that's something that might interest you in the comments.

Final Note

George of GJJ Games interviewed me for his Behind the Meeples series on his website. Check it out here.

Cheers,

Adam