The Artemis Odyssey is Coming
almost 3 years ago – Sat, Jul 17, 2021 at 08:37:52 AM

If you are not a subscriber to the Guild e-newsletter, you missed our news about The Artemis Odyssey, a sequel to The Artemis Project:

     The Artemis Odyssey begins many generations after the events of The Artemis Project. Using the alien relics found deep in the oceans of Europa as a technological springboard, humankind has become quickly capable of reaching out to the distant stars...and to the mysterious orbiting planets.

     Build powerful starships to cross the vast emptiness of interstellar space, land on uninhabited planets to find valuable resources. Establish your presence with colonies, factories, mighty terraformers. With luck you may even unearth more alien tech.

     Your exploration is accomplished through a clever system of hidden planning on a shared board. When the planning board is full, it is resolved in sequence…with all players benefiting from each others’ plans! By anticipating what your opponents want to do next, where they want to go, and how they want to score, you’ll be able to squeeze the most out of your efforts, and ensure that your faction builds the greatest star-spanning network of them all!

Coming soon to Kickstarter

Yesterday we ran a survey, and in a landslide vote, subscribers chose this as the KS project image we'll use for The Artemis Odyssey.

I hope you'll jump on to this new chapter in the Artemis story when we launch (7 Sep), and if you are not yet subscribed to the Guild newsletter, you can do so by visiting grandgamersguild.com and signing up at the top of the page. (We also appreciate your follows on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram, but as those platforms continue to limit our reach, the newsletter is the best way to stay up to date on Guild news.) Have a great weekend!

Playfully,

Marc

Gorinto is live on Kickstarter
about 4 years ago – Wed, Feb 12, 2020 at 07:10:34 PM

12 Feb 2349

When we first got to Europa, it was all about the work. When I say we worked 'half days', I meant it. At least 12 hours, usually more. But now that the colonies are more established, and with my ascension to Stewardship, I have more leisure time.  I've come across a captivating game called Gorinto.

It's this abstract game where you gather tiles that represent elements, moving them around to gather other tiles. It's quick and clever and stimulates my brain in interesting ways. I can play it by myself, but I really like the partnership version.

Apparently it was created on this thing called Kickstarter over 300 years ago. So it's not exactly Chess or Go, but that's still a pretty long time. Anyway, it feels good to have this new pastime and I look forward to getting better. First few games I've really had it handed to me.

*****

Colonists, all work and no play makes Europa a boring planet. While you wait for the TAP expansion--yes, I just said that--we just launched our next game on Kickstarter: Gorinto. It's very different from anything we've done before. Taking a turn from our previous projects is kind of what we do. And just like The Artemis Project, we can't bring Gorinto to life without your help.

Gorinto, an abstract(ish) engine-builder, is like Azul and Kingdom Builder had a baby. While the core mechanic is the same every turn--move a tile from the Path (perimeter) onto the Mountain (main board), and gather surrounding tiles--how you go about implementing your tactics will vary from game to game. Gorinto plays 1-4 in 30-45 minutes, and will feature both solo and partner play.

Our campaign is live and you can back Gorinto now. Thank you for checking it out. I am very grateful for your continued support.

Playfully,

The GuildMaster

You know you've made it when...
over 4 years ago – Tue, Jan 07, 2020 at 02:05:56 AM

6 Jan 2349

Diary, Europa never ceases to surprise us. Just when we think we've bested this icy rock, new challenges emerge.

Some crews returned from an away mission the other day to report of a formation of extraordinary height.

While it quickly became the subject of both lewd jokes as well as intended feats of bravery, there's an undercurrent that suggests more.

This...D'Ice Tower will give the colony that controls it some unique tactical advantages. The Stewards and Commanders in our colony have already begun planning to take control. No doubt the other colonies are doing the same.

Hopefully we can be there first.

*****

Colonists, it's been a while. Hopefully you've been challenging the icy tundras of Europa, outsmarting your competitors to enjoy the fruits of what this planet has to offer. I'm excited to report that the adventure is far from over.

Have we made it?

I was flattered to receive a few months ago a request to contribute a promo card to The Dice Tower Kickstarter. Just like the Blues Brothers, we got the band back together, and here's what we've got!

Let me say this big & bold: YOU WILL BE ABLE TO GET THIS CARD LATER. However, we are big fans of The Dice Tower and all they do for the industry, and we encourage you to support The Dice Tower Kickstarter.

And speaking of more content...

The first Artemis expansion has begun playtesting! The team has been digging in for a while, and Daniel brought a prototype to Boardgame Basecamp.

This is the first public play of the expansion, and we'll keep honing until it sings. If you want to keep up on development, sign up for our e-newsletter at the top of our web page, and follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.

WIN FREE GAMES!

Have you rated The Artemis Project on BGG yet? If not, there's nothing more important you can do for us right now. The more activity we can get on the page, the higher we'll rise. Visit The Artemis Project on BGG and provide us a rating and a comment. On 1 Feb we'll randomly select from the comments and 1 lucky winner will receive a copy of both Endangered as well as the new version of Stroop! Both are on their way and will be at your FLGS in a few months.

What's next?

The next game we're publishing is Gorinto!

In true Guild fashion, it could not be more of a left turn from our previous games. Gorinto is an abstract(ish) engine-builder where players take turns selecting element tiles from the Path (perimeter) and moving them onto the Mountain (game board). Each element collects other elements in a unique pattern. The elements collected each turn will allow you to collect more elements over the turns and rounds. We launch on Wed 12 Feb, and hope you'll check it out. Help us out by RSVPing to this Board Games Launching on Kickstarter event.

Phew...that was a lot, but it was all good stuff--at least I think so. Happy New Year, Colonists!

Playfully,

The GuildMaster

PS--Europa was discovered on Jan 8 1610. In honor of that event, on Jan 8 we're having a sale at grandgamersguild.com: $16.10 discount on purchases greater than $25. If you know someone who missed The Artemis Project or you just really want to grab Shikoku or some of our earlier titles...now's your chance!

A very small update
almost 5 years ago – Thu, Jun 20, 2019 at 03:14:20 AM

To say that The Artemis Project was a hit at Origins would be an understatement. We sold all 47 copies we brought by Saturday morning, and it got a fair amount of chatter on social media as a favorite game. (Shikoku knocked it out of the park as well, but you're not here for that.) What you are here for...

Shipping update

One Backer in Hong Kong posted that he received his copy, and I just got word that the games should arrive at US fulfillment by Monday. If that's so, then US and Canadian fulfillment will begin shortly thereafter. 🤞 Overall it seems to be going faster than we could have hoped. I'll let you know more as I do. At this time, we will no longer be accepting address changes.

Snowcat & Colonial Embassy

But the real reason for this update is because when I returned from Origins, there was a very special package from China...

My pictures are terrible, but overall I'm very pleased with the results, and I expect you will be too. I'll upload these, and a few more, to BGG. I can't wait until people start painting these up. I'm not a painter, but if there's anyone out there who wants to help a GuildMaster out...

One more thing

We just launched the Kickstarter for Endeavor: Age of Expansion.

It's doing really well, and we're very excited about the experience that EAoX brings to the table. Give it a look; we'd love to count you as Backers over there.

Colonists, our journey is almost at an end. Thank you for your unwavering support of this Guild mission. You'll have your games soon!

Playfully,

The GuildMaster

A favor
almost 5 years ago – Sat, Jun 08, 2019 at 02:52:54 AM

Hey there Colonists! UKGE was a successful event, and we sold most (but not all) of the Retail editions that were air freighted over. Origins is just a week away, and as mentioned, I'm bringing a limited supply of Retail editions for sale. Ideally I'll sell out, but one way to make that happen is to get more visibility, and the way to do that is to get your thumbs on the Origins Game Fair Preview.

We've gained a lot of ground in very little time--we've only been up on the Preview for a few days. If everyone reading this would click through and thumb, we'd rocket to the top. And if you're feeling especially kind, spare a thumb for Shikoku as well.

We'll see you at Origins--visit us at booth #331--and thank you so much for your continued support.

Best,

The GuildMaster