Apistocracy pre-order store

18 hours to go and we just unlocked another stretch goal!
5 months ago – Wed, May 22, 2024 at 12:38:54 PM

We just unlocked our Queen Victoria meeple stretch goal!

Her Majesty, Queen Victoria (the meeple), will be making an appearance at the Apistocracy social season. The meeple will replace the Queen Victoria punchboard standee and will preside over the hive of events. 

We are hours away from the end of the campaign and another stretch goal has been revealed. The next stretch goal will be ornamental gold foil accents added to the player calling cards. Victorian flair will be at your fingertips as you attend the events of the season.

Week 4 Bonus Character Vote & New Stretch Goals
5 months ago – Sun, May 19, 2024 at 06:36:20 AM

It is our last weekly vote for a bonus character illustration!

This week's categories are:

A. A favorite pet of Queen Victoria.

B. A surprise person from the board game community.

You may vote either in the comments below or on my Instagram story for your favorite category! I will announce the winning category in a post on Instagram tomorrow.

New stretch goals announced!

We are nearing the end of the Kickstarter campaign and I could not be more pleased with the support everyone has shown. We are very close to the $57K stretch goal so I revealed another stretch goal! Our Queen Victoria as a full color wooden meeple to replace the punchboard standee.

Thank you so much for helping Apistocracy become a reality! I look forward to seeing all of you in the Apistocracy ballrooms, parlors, card rooms and tea rooms this season!

Cheers,

Heather

A Stretch Goal Unlocked, Week 3 Bonus Character Winner & Geekway to the West
5 months ago – Wed, May 15, 2024 at 06:40:58 AM

A stretch goal has been unlocked! 

A week ago I shared that I would unlock the next stretch goal early if we reached 50K within the week. I really wanted this new content in the game and I am so happy for the support you all have shown that made it possible!  Being an artist myself, I have an affection for the gallery actions. The additional goal and bonus tokens allow you to optimize the gallery action further in the advanced play mode when you build out your character.

The week 3 bonus character illustration winning category is: Game Designer

Introducing: Lord Gabe - based on board game designer Gabe Barrett. Gabe is the founder of the Board Game Design Lab and the designer of many game titles including the Hunted series, RoboMon and most recently his monthly series of solo games that are available on Gamefound.

Early in my journey to learn board game design I discovered, like numerous designers before me, a multifaceted teacher in board game designer Gabe Barrett. The books he wrote, the podcast he hosted and the game design community he founded have been instrumental in my growth as a designer.

I have only met Gabe in person once, at ProtoATL 2023, where he was a key speaker. However, I recently had the opportunity for him to playtest the Apistocracy solo mode and soon thereafter he began helping with the solo mode development. I am excited to be partnering with Gabe to make Apistocracy shine for solo players. I am also pleased Lord Gabe will be joining the Apistocracy social season! 

I am headed to Geekway to the West this weekend!

I will be at Geekway to the West this weekend where I have an Apistocracy demo table! If you will also be attending and would like to play, you may sign up on Tabletop Events!

I am feeling sentimental because I ran my first Apistocracy playtests that were outside of my local design group two years ago at Geekway. It seemed only fitting to mark the final week of my Kickstarter campaign by returning to where I first shared Apistocracy with a new audience. So many playtests, iterations and conventions have happened since then but Geekway will forever hold a special place in my heart and on my calendar.

Cheers,

Heather 

Mother's Day Greeting & The Week 3 Bonus Character Vote
5 months ago – Sun, May 12, 2024 at 09:09:39 AM

Happy Mother's Day!

The mothers and the other women that make a positive impact in a child's life are deserving of celebration today. If you have filled that role, then know that you are amazing! If there are people who have filled that role for you, then let them know the impact they have made in your life!

Vote for the Week 3 Bonus Character!

It is time for the Instagram poll to vote for this weeks bonus character illustration. You may vote for your choice on the @apistocracy Instagram story. Or, you may vote for your choice in the comments below. The choices are:

A. Board Game Designer (not me, but a colleague of mine)

B. Board Game Podcaster

I will unveil the winning illustration in an Instagram post tomorrow! I will also share it in my next update.

Cheers!

Heather

Advanced Play Mode & This Week's Bonus Character
5 months ago – Fri, May 10, 2024 at 08:56:35 AM

The advanced play mode for Apistocracy allows players the agency to build their own asymmetric host goal and power combo. 

In order to explain my game design decision making process It is useful to know what type of gamer I am.  I am an omni-gamer. Or nearly so… there are a few game genres I have yet to play because of lack of opportunity rather than a desire to try them. (i.e. campaign games) 

That being said, when I began with the goal to design Apistocracy I wanted to first make a medium-weight game that I would be able to play with my casual gaming friends, and perhaps even, through theme, convince some non-gamer friends to play. At the same time, I also wanted to play with my crunchier gaming friends and fellow designers in a way that facilitated replayability and advanced strategy. I knew early on that an advanced play mode would be necessary to achieve these ends. It is part of the reason I chose to include duel-layer player mats in the base game.

Once  I was satisfied that the base game fulfilled the initial medium-weight objective I turned my focus toward developing the advanced play mode and It has been one of the most exciting development stages so far. Building out your own character goal and power combo provides new and engaging decisions. It was important to me to make sure that while building your character power you are able to pivot during the season when you have more information as to how the season (and other players) are playing out. I wanted to share about my process and show some of the prototype components that make up the Apistocracy advanced play mode. 

When I heard Rahdo and a few other’s feedback that they would like this additional type of game play it reinforced that the advanced play mode I had been developing would be valued by more than just myself and my crunchier gaming friends! I hope it also appeals to several of you.

Lastly, there is additional advanced play content available to be unlocked as the next stretch goal. It’s all to do with the gallery. Being an artist myself, I have a fondness for the gallery and I very much want to include this additional game content. Therefore, I will unlock this content early if the campaign reaches $50k in the next week (by Friday May 17th)

On a side note, the photo above was taken at the Victoria and Albert Museum in London on my recent trip. It is of an architectural model of The Crystal Palace where in 1851 (the same year as our Apistocracy social season) The Great Exhibition of the Works of Industry of All Nations had its grand opening. 

This week's bonus character illustration category is: Board Game Reviewer

The Week 2 Instagram and Kickstarter poll results are in and the Board Game Reviewer category was the winner! Introducing our week 2 bonus character illustration:

Lady Tara - based on board game reviewer @tarastabletop on Instagram.

Meeting others in the board game community from my hometown is always a joy. So when I discovered, after becoming acquainted with Tara on Instagram, that she also lives in Austin, Texas I was so pleased. Soon after we learned of our hometown connection she playtested Apistocracy at Emerald Tavern Games (a local game cafe where I spend a great deal of my time.) Then recently, when I received the review prototypes from my manufacturer, I was excited to get one in her hands and hear her thoughts. Now, as a result of this week’s poll, a friendly bit of Austin is coming to Apistocracy’s London, England in the personage of Lady Tara. Welcome Lady Tara to the Victorian social season!

Who will you meet in the Apistocracy ballroom this season?

Many new acquaintances will be made this Apistocracy social season! I am apparently destined to meet Lord Percy, Baron of Kildare. Which esteemed acquaintance is in your future?