A servant-focused expansion for the award-winning thematic Euro
+ 2nd printings of the sold out Obsession base game & Wessex expansion
Latest Updates from Our Project:
Production Update, One More Special Thank You, and Other Stuff
about 4 years ago
– Sun, May 03, 2020 at 11:17:59 PM
Production Update
Now that the presses are rolling, a firmer fulfillment date has emerged, and I am a little disappointed: June 22nd looks to be the date that over 22 tons of games find their way onto various container ships. One word describes the reality on the ground at the manufacturing plant: backlog. The shutdown due to Covid19 is behind us, but an extra two months of projects are competing for production time. One good thing I now realize, however, is that Quartermaster Logistics is more likely to be at full capacity in June. So there is that.
More to come!
Thank You
For your patience, I will now reveal the final bonus tile that you will find in your Upstairs, Downstairs expansion: the Housekeeper's Room. Those of you intrepid gamers who scoured the Upstairs, Downstairs rulebook when I posted it on BGG will have noticed this beautiful tile lurking on the back page.
Why is this tile special? Well, of all the Upstairs, Downstairs servants, the least versatile was the Head Housemaid. Her screening function is excellent, yes, but she had so much more potential. The Housekeeper's Room functions like the Brushing Room in that the tile grants a new ability: the Head Housekeeper may stand in for either the housekeeper or lady’s maid, even if one is available (in doing so, her native screening ability is not active). There are two copies of this tile, elevating it to full SERVICE tile status.
(Of course, she can't cook worth a lick, and Mrs. Puggins has warned her to stay clear!)
You might ask where I found room for these extra tiles. I had some leftover space after the Kickstarter (thus the Renovated Kitchen was resurrected), but I also chose not to offer low VP value Suites Tiles (something I contemplated to go along with the low VP value Monument Tiles for reduced impact on Courtship); this is just so much more useful than a second Lionheart or Queen's Suite.
Video Series Complete
I didn't want to do separate posts for the last two installments of the quarantine video series featuring all of the new stuff. I wrapped it up last week, and it features a rollicking finish!
Season 3
Season 4 and Final Scoring
At 3 1/2 hours, it is about 10 minutes shorter than Ben Hur. LOL.
Helping Hand
Kevin Whitmore from the Game Bistro has compiled an excellent Gentry Roster here. It is something I should have done long ago. He will update the roster to include Upstairs, Downstairs and Promotional gentry as soon as I get off my rear end and get him the info. Thank you, Kevin!
Dan Hallagan, Kayenta Games
Quarantine Video #2 and the Upstairs, Downstairs Rulebook Download
about 4 years ago
– Wed, Apr 15, 2020 at 11:40:09 PM
I am not going to do an update for Season 3 and 4 of this E X T E N D E D (!) playthrough, so please subscribe to my Youtube channel if you want to be notified of the completion of this Ben Hur-like marathon. The last two seasons will be up within the week.
I had believed that a slow, methodical playthrough that ignored common sense conventions about video length would permit me to be brilliant and error-free. Neither of these things have come to pass. But there is good fun to be had...and great detail for anyone looking to see the subtleties of the new servants in action.
Upstairs, Downstairs Rulebook
The final UD rulebook is RIGHT HERE for your reading pleasure. It covers a lot of diverse ground (thus it expanded from the 8-page Kickstarter 1st draft to 12 pages). I could have easily gone to 16 pages (all rulebooks must have pages in a multiple of 4) to provide more examples for the new game modes, but decided against that. I have to be less wordy.
Enjoy! Next update will be when production is firmly underway such that I can make a reliable fulfillment prediction.
Dan Hallagan, Kayenta Games
Quarantine Videos and More!
about 4 years ago
– Sun, Apr 12, 2020 at 02:52:13 AM
This week, I watched Ben Hur. Amazing production in the chariot races! Ben Hur is 3 hours and 42 minutes long. The two-player playthrough video series I've just started will be longer. LOL.
I figured I would do a long, meandering video series because...well, now's the time! The goal with this playthrough is to show off as much of the new components as possible, all while going into ridiculous depth on strategy and tactics.
We all have a little extra video time on our hands...
Production Update
We are well into production of manufactured components, and just about to begin print production. As expected, there is quite a backlog, but we are very close to being next in line. I won't offer a prediction on fulfillment dates just yet (until I know we're printing).
You Need Some Optimism
about 4 years ago
– Sat, Mar 14, 2020 at 02:42:06 AM
We can learn something about the course of the Covid-19 virus from the Chinese experience. While many of us are in the midst of panic, China has, in large part, moved past that. The Panda factories are at 80% and expect to be at 100% by the end of the month, their employees are safe and virus-free. I am reviewing final digital proofs for your anticipated copy of Obsession; production will begin in a matter of days.
As part of my day job, I am in hospitals all the time. The risk is low, and the level of care is remarkable. When you're cracking open your copy of Obsession (which will have ZERO little Covids living there), these events will be in the rear view mirror.
Address Lockdown
I have had a few questions about when I will lock addresses. Typically, I will wait until the last possible moment before locking them down, which will be the day I am required to submit my final list to Quartermaster Logistics. With the delays, I anticipate that will be in mid-May now. If you want to change your address, email me and I will send you instructions.
Obsession Glossary
For those of you who want to review the Glossary, please take a look at this 28 page monster (if interested, you will want to download the file—look to the toolbar on the right side). There will be a quiz next week.
Thanks!
Dan Hallagan, Kayenta Games
One More Covid-19 (coronavirus) Update
about 4 years ago
– Mon, Mar 02, 2020 at 12:11:41 AM
It is certainly easy to get caught up in the always measured and rational world of social media news and opinion about Covid-19 (*ahem*), so I am perhaps over-communicating on this topic. I think it is useful because I am graced with inside information, if you will. In a recent conversation with Panda:
Not a single employee or any of their family members from our factory or our partner factory networks contracted the virus. Every day more employees make it back to the factory and we are at around 50% production staff and grow daily. Hopefully in a month this will be a memory of the past.
I am sure challenges remain, but it is not the apocalypse. In our corner of the problem, the news is—most importantly—good for our partners in China and their families, and it is also good for the future of Obsession and Upstairs, Downstairs.
Obsession Rulebook
In the meantime, I'll post the production version of the Obsession rulebook here (if interested, you will want to download the file—look to the toolbar on the right side). It was redesigned with one goal in mind: any rules that ended up in the Glossary the first time around (resulting in my inadvertently hiding a few key rules) have been extracted and are properly presented in the rulebook. The consequence is that the rulebook is now 16 pages (up from 12).
Note that the QR Code still takes you to older instructional videos ; my new computer has arrived (the necessary solution to my problem), and I will be creating a variety of instructional videos for that QR Code in the coming weeks. Also, for anyone observing that there should be 95 gentry cards, 94 is the correct count; the 95th card is a surprise that must wait for you all to discover on your own.
