Upstairs, Downstairs: an Obsession Expansion

Stretch Goal #2
over 6 years ago – Thu, Sep 19, 2019 at 12:28:56 AM

:)

Another one falls! 

There has been a very vocal group of 'small card haters' who have battled in Victorian London back alleys against the noble 'small card lovers.' Tom Vasel is their leader and is purported to be a dead-eye with a pepperbox. The 'small card lovers' are led by Maricel Edwards, who counts yours truly in her ranks (we'll get those bouncers and bug hunters!)

Upstairs, Downstairs will supply you with LARGE courtship cards.

These cards are actually the same size as the Objective Cards. The small courtship cards will be in the 2nd printing of Obsession, so no worries for our side. However, these Upstairs, Downstairs beauties will feature TWENTY theme cards to allow either the John Weber Dual Courtship or any other variant your mischievous hearts might desire.

Also, this stretch goal supplies four revised monument tiles (Essentials, Estate, Prestige, and Sporting) with reduced VP values for less courtship impact. This is an important option. I intentionally designed powerful monuments that can dramatically swing a courtship—and a game (Victorian Fate!). These monuments reduce the impact on courtship while still supplying the reputation each turn, a more strategic option. Also, they feature strongly in Tableau Obsession (more on that one later).

Enjoy! (I will unlock the stretch goal a little later when I get home.)

Dan Hallagan, Kayenta Games

FUNDED!
over 6 years ago – Wed, Sep 18, 2019 at 06:29:52 AM

Wow. It is humbling and rewarding to see this project so well received. Thank you, all!

When you get a text "Happy Birthday," that's nice (and sometimes accompanied by a hilarious GIF), but it's not the same as a thoughtful present. So instead of just saying thank you, I want to give a gift and, at the same time, clean up my shipping mess.

All shipping that has been tacked onto your pledges is less than the shipping in the table at the bottom of the KS page (reproduced here).

For all geographies (except ROTW), those shipping fees will stand as the only shipping fees you will pay.  There will be no shipping collected in the Pledge Manager (unless you have chosen to relocate to the Aland Islands). This is flat rate discounted shipping and an immediate average savings of from $5 to $15 for all backers except Alanders. 

That's a thank you!

For those in ROTW, message me and I will do right by you. However, with some ROTW shipping fees in triple digits, I have to handle those one and a time offline. For bulk buys, rates are negotiated separately as always.

Thank you from Kayenta Games! Some of you Alanders might want to pack your backs and head home (except for the $1 project watchers).

Dan Hallagan, Kayenta Games

Note: Rest of Asia includes Japan, South Korea, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, Taiwan, Thailand, and Vietnam.

Note: I plan on revising the top stretch goal.

Stretch Goal #1
over 6 years ago – Tue, Sep 17, 2019 at 10:54:05 PM

Sorry, I am late with this update; life intervened.

Congratulations on Stretch Goal #1! It is nice to get the 310gsm blackcore, linen-embossed cards into all the games. That is for ALL cards, large and small. A luxurious touch that will match the 310gsm blackcore cards in the original printing, all the better to enjoy every pock and pore of this curmudgeon:

You also get to enjoy some milestones! These can be added to any game or used as an alternative to Objective Cards, if you want a change. And guess what? As an added bonus, the talented Mariya Meshcheryakova, a valued consultant, has volunteered to develop another half dozen or so to add to these four:

A doffing of the top hat to you, Mariya!

Onward and upward. Large Courtship cards await!

Dan Hallagan, Kayenta Games

Thank You and 'Upgrade' Clarity
over 6 years ago – Tue, Sep 17, 2019 at 08:27:12 AM

Thank you all for a great 1st day so far. It appears the stretch goals will need to be expanded!

I want to offer clarity on the differences between the 1st and 2nd printing of Obsession. After listening to owners of the 1st edition on areas for improvement, I identified several useful enhancements. None of these impact gameplay.

Anything that impacts gameplay was added to the Upstairs, Downstairs expansion so that no one would be forced to purchase a 2nd edition for essential components. For example, the change in the Servants' Hall and Barn tiles and the change in the Extended Play Round Track. 1st edition owners will want those, and they get them in the Upstairs, Downstairs, expansion (although they can ignore those changes and continue playing as they have always enjoyed). 

I stand fully behind the 1st edition to play as well as the 2nd edition. 

The reason for the Loyalty Bundle is that when a significant number of people contacted me about wanting the new tile sorting system and two-side player boards (conveniences),  I explored what the cost would be for a special upgrade pack. That cost was fairly high (and required a purchase of 1500 from the manufacturer). So I thought that I would let the 2nd edition serve as the "upgrade pack" by pricing it very close to that number (since I am mass producing the 2nd edition, I don't have to estimate "upgrade" quantities).

I hope that clears the air. My goal is to make sure that those 1st edition owners who felt strongly about the Builders' Market sorting fiddliness (and there were a lot of those folks, justifiably so) had a reasonable option.

There is the issue of the bonus tiles/stretch goal tiles (Morning Room, Retiring Room, Hybrid Rooms) being exclusive to 2nd edition, and that I recognize (it doesn't change gameplay, but it is an interesting and desirable addition). I commit here and now to, if needed, create an upgrade pack for those tiles if the market demands. I have a track record of following through on such promises.

Thanks for listening!

Dan Hallagan, Kayenta Games

Say Hello to the Aland Islands
over 6 years ago – Mon, Sep 16, 2019 at 09:00:32 PM

Sorry, I don't mean to be that developer who sends out endless updates, but I have a workaround for the shipping issue. I cannot edit existing countries (and they loaded all the main ones), but I was able to add the Aland Islands at $0.

All Hail the Aland Islands!!! 

If anyone wants no $$$ towards their shipping costs, you now are from the Aland Islands. Just make that change.

And anyone who wants to follow the project for $1, you, too, are from the Aland Islands.

Thanks!

Dan