July Update: PnP delays, Pledge Manager Updates, GenCon, Upcoming games.
about 1 month ago
– Mon, Jul 13, 2026 at 08:31:24 AM
July 2026 Updates:
Okay, let's get the bad stuff out of the way first. PnP delivery is delayed. The short story is that the assets are not all done and/or finalized so that I can put my wonderful PnP volunteers to work. My good friend, Hwa, has the lion's share of work at this stage and - without getting into details- he's had a very rough time over the last couple of months and finishing up this work has had to take a backseat to other pressing matters. That said, we are getting back on track!
So how does that affect the timeline?
At this point, only the PnP timeline is affected. I can clearly say that we won't be making the July-August delivery date for those. The plan is to have files finalized as soon as possible. As each individual project gets its final files, I will send them to the PnP assemblers to keep that end of the project moving as quickly as possible. I don't want to give a new estimated delivery date for the PnPs at this point, as that won't really be clear until I can get these files over to them. I appreciate your patience, and I sincerely apologize for the delays.
The rest of the project is still looking good for February delivery as long as I can get the finalized files in before the end of September. That shouldn't be an issue, but I will keep you updated!
Pledge Manager Updates:
First, apologies! I crafted and sent a message that was only meant for the Pledge over Time backers, but accidentally sent it to everyone. Thank you to everyone who reached out and everyone who has completed their pledge manager! We are currently at 86% complete, which is great! A couple of reminders:
- I won't be charging your cards for shipping, taxes, or any add-ons you added in the Pledge Manager until we get closer to the delivery date. Current plan is to charge around December. I'll give you plenty of notice.
- When the surveys first went out, the promo pack was not being added to backer's carts who pledged at the "Make your own Bundle" level. I have fixed this, and everyone who pledged at a physical level during the KS should see one of these in their carts for free. Let me know if you have any issues.
GenCon 2026
Come see Galen's Games at Booth # 2634.. Once again, I will be sharing space with my friends from AEGIS: Combining Robots. Double Exposure will be running demos of my Series 1 games all convention and I will have 2nd printings of those available for sale. As space allows, I will also be showing the Series 2 games and taking pre-orders. My friend, and Hard Drive designer, Stefan Barkow, will be working the booth with me.
Verdant Arizona now on BGA!
Verdant Arizona is now playable in Beta on BGA! Thanks to the efforts of Robin David, the designer. Check it out and let us know what you think!
Upcoming Games:
If you've been getting the newsletter, you've seen these announced. The 4 games for Series 3 are deep in development. Let me give you a quick tour!
Block Quilt
This is a 1-2 player strategy game of area control and pattern making designed by Kristina and Scot Eaton. For fans of Verdant Arizona and Heritage Farms who felt left out by the last Kickstarter, you’ll want to check this one out!
Gameplay is simple but the strategy is deep! There are 4 colors and 4 pattern types in the game. One color type or pattern starts out as blocked. On your turn, you will move your pawn to another space on the 8x6 grid that matches either the color or pattern of your current space. You then leave one of your buttons on the space that you moved from. If you move to a space that’s an exact match (pattern and color) then you get to choose a new pattern or color that is blocked. At the end of the game players will score public objectives based on the patterns that they’ve built with their buttons over the course of the game.
This is a perfect information game that mixes strategy and tactics. I was really impressed by this game when I was pitched it and I think it will be a big hit for my 2 player strategy duel fans!
The core gameplay is complete for this and we are currently just working on alternate scoring methods and the solo mode (which is shaping up to be excellent!). Art has been started as well!
Rettir
Rettir is a competitive 1-6 player dice drafting and push-your-luck game about sheep herding by Chris Williams. It was the winner of the GameCrafter’s Dice Mitigation Challenge in 2023. If you follow my Instagram, you've seen this one on the table more than a few times!
Thematically, the name refers to an Icelandic tradition of retrieving your sheep from the communal grazing lands. But in this game, you’re trying to walk away with more sheep than just yours!
Gameplay is simple and fast-paced. Choose any 3 available dice and roll them. Choose one of those dice and claim a herd card with a matching color. You can only claim a herd with a die that’s higher than any of the current dice on the card. Gain points equal to the number of dice on the herds you’ve claimed and return any herds and dice on them that have a 6. First to 24 wins!
Added to that simple formula are Fences that protect herds from being stolen by dice until your next turn. A Sheepdog die that can hop Fences to steal herds, but they scare off a die when they do. Black Sheep dice that can steal herds by being the lowest number on the card. And Hay Bales that let you use a 2nd die on your turn.
All together, this makes for a great addition to the series by offering a larger player count, family friendly rules, and fast and fun gameplay. Chris and I have worked together closely on the development of this game and are excited for you to play it! Core gameplay and the solo mode are largely complete. I have selected an artist for the game as well.
When World's Collide:
When World’s Collide is a competitive 1-2 player tactical puzzle game designed by fellow Syracuse designer, Lachlan Kadick. I’ve had this one under consideration for a long time and am really happy to be working with him on it.
The theme is subject to change, but currently the concept is that the worlds of sci-fi and fantasy have crashed into one another and representatives from each faction battle over which of the 2 worlds will survive. Win by being the first to make a row, column, or diagonal with 6 of your tiles.
Gameplay is incredibly simple, but tactical. Players start on a simple 3x2 grid of the dual-sided tiles. On your turn, you will do 3 things:
1) Either move to an adjacent tile or activate one of your character’s unique abilities.
2) Place a new tile - your side up - at the end of a row, column or diagonal you currently occupy.
3) Jump to the new tile and flip every tile you pass over.
Within that simple structure is a lot of room for clever play. The asymmetric abilities combined with strategic blocking (you cannot jump over an opponent) create a tense, perfect information battle of the minds. This one plays very quickly and the variety of characters keeps it fresh play to play.
The core gameplay is solid for this one, we are just working on balancing character powers and developing the solo mode. I'm meeting with artist, John de Campos, about doing the art for this today. On the art side of things, I have an idea of having each side of the tiles double as a kind of puzzle that can be pieced together to see a larger piece of art, like a map.
Unnamed Mint Tin Boss Battler
I announced that I was working on this 1-4 player co-op boss battler a few updates ago, and a lot of you were very excited about it! While I don’t yet have a title (they always take me a while!), I’m trying to thematically capture the feeling of a small elite military squad taking on an overwhelming alien force with a big boss baddie as the primary target (think: Aliens). Towards this end, and especially since it’s a heavier game, I’m trying to strongly tie-in the theme to the mechanical elements. An example:
One of the enemy types is simply an egg. It is not particularly tough, but if it isn’t defeated by the end of your turn, it is replaced with a much tougher Hatchling. And a Hatchling can evolve into a super tough Drone. Once these make their way into your enemy deck, they continually cycle through, increasing the challenge.
In order to win the game, players have to reduce the Boss’ health to zero. They do this by locking in the 3 Boss Dice at the numbers required by the current challenge. In order to to lock in those dice, they both need to spend resources to alter the dice (hits to pip up or down, explosions to flip the dice) AND defeat the enemy guarding the die. Once a die is locked, its door is “open” and new enemies cycle in face-up. Once all 3 dice are locked, the Boss takes damage, current enemies are discarded, and the board is reset with 3 closed doors and a new challenge. Additionally, the story progresses and adds new challenges and a stronger Boss attack.
The central mechanic of the game involves rondels. Each player has 3 Rondels: 2 for your turn, and 1 for assisting the next player. Move your tracker to gain resources and activate abilities, but passing the starting point of any rondel will deplete your health by 1. Most of the resources are dice based, and different dice types are better at solving different problems. Team work will be absolutely required to make it out alive!
It is still early days, but I am very excited about this one. It also might have the best solo mode yet for you hardcore solo players! With the success of Mint Mechs, I feel confident in delivering a more involved mint tin experience for those that it appeals to.
What about submissions for future games?
At this point, I will try to re-open for submissions in October. Taking submissions takes up a lot of bandwidth and I am still just a a one-man show here. I'm looking forward to looking at new designs, I just need to make sure I have the time and attention space needed for it.
Well, that's all the news for now. I've got a pretty busy summer ahead, but I will be working on making sure we start the fall on track. As always, thank you for your support!
Galen.
