News, news and more news, plus two new select titles.

Hello everyone! Hope all is well. We have a lot to chat about today, and I'm squeezing it all into one monster update. So buckle in!

Package Status

The last of the September packages went out over the weekend, and should be arriving this week. If you don't have yours in a week or so, then please let me know and I will look into it. The October, November and December packages are still on track to go out very soon. The postcards and cards arrive today, and the supplemental material is the last holdout (always!). These will all go out in one big catchup package in the next two weeks or so. We plan to have them 100% out the door before the end of the year, starting off 2018 fresh. We're going to talk about 2018 in a moment, but first let's talk some Patreon news.

Patreon Fee Changes

As you may have seen, Patreon updated it's fees (announced last week but effective next week) and they are tacking a fee on the buyer end. There was a lot of discussion about how this is better for the creator, but many of us disagree. I think keeping your community happy is the top goal, and if making more money was my top goal, I have take my own measures to step things up in terms of the quality or the quantity of the items that we offer. (Secret: we're doing that anyway) 

Patreon did this on their own and there's nothing we can do to stop it, but here's what I can do to sideline it. For those that don't want to support Patreon, we have a subscription offer through our website. 

http://www.buttonshygames.com/products/board-game-of-the-month-club-basic-subscription

Everyone that subscribes via this method will be receiving the same updates that we post here, but in the form of an email list. You;ll also get all of the same content. We're also looking at other services that offer subscriptions, and I'll post those as well, as we get them setup. All of that aside, we're going to do our best to make up for Patreon's downsides by putting something extra in each package next year, and cramming these full of awesome games.   

Two New Select Titles 

Speaking of awesome new games, we have two new limited games that will be released to the general public on 1/2/18. These are limited to 250 copies and each is hand numbered. As a Patron, you have early access, if you are interested. You also get a special rate on one or both. Here are the details:

Feat On The Ground - A two player, semi asymmetrical tile laying game about terraforming destroyed lands. This is a sequel to Ahead In The Clouds.

Jewelers Row - A 2-4 player gem puzzle game in the vein of your favorite iOS apps. Only here you are gnomes mining gems, and pinning fake ones on your neighbors.

Here are the pre-order links, and much more info on each game at our site:

http://www.buttonshygames.com/products/feat-on-the-ground-patreon-pre-order

http://www.buttonshygames.com/products/jewelers-row-patreon-pre-order

You can use your discount there, and if you want both games, I've setup a new discount code that will allow you to double up.   

$1 Patrons - use Patron1 to save $1 on one game. Use Patron1X2 to save $2 on both.  

$5 Patrons - use Patron5 to save $2 on one game. Use Patron5X2 to save $4 on both.  

$10 Patrons - use Patron10 to save $5 on one game. Use Patron10X2 to save $10 on both.  

$20 Patrons - you will get these in your next packages, unless you choose a different game.

2018 Plans 

We are wrapping up the last bit of our overall 2018 plans here, but here is what you can expect each month.   

Postcard Series - Timestamp

The postcard series for 2018 is a continuous two-player game called Timestamp by Nat Levan. The first module will go out in January and each subsequent month is another adventure in the series. It's designed so that each is a standalone expansion, so supporters that start in March can still join in without feeling lost. In the game, each player controls a group of scientists that are competing to make breakthroughs in Time Travel. Sometimes these things are good, and sometimes they are bad. A time machine is a powerful tool, and only time will tell how it works out. Unlike our previous postcard games, the game will play on top of the card, and we will be offering rules as a digital download and printout when possible. The game is also setup like an actual postcard and can be mailed on its own. All very meta and fitting.   

Banned Books 

In keeping with our themes of previous year, we have Banned Books, which is a solo game that was designed by me (Jason Tagmire). In the game you control a character from a famous banned book trying to work against the powers to reverse the ban. The base game will be 8 cards, which all patrons will receive, and then each month a new character will appear in the packages. As long as the art is completed in time, this will debut in the January package.

Roll & Write Adventures

Each package will contain a Roll & Write Adventure game by Robin Gibson. Robin is a designer and artist combo package that makes very creative and minimalist games. Everything has a tone and style that feels like Robin, and we just added his Roll & Write series to our lineup. You'll get a single copy of the game in the package, and a link to print more copies to your heart's / printer's content. They are all black and white and nice and easy on the ink. 

And then the rest...

We'll be continuing with the new tiny games, tiny expansions, Nanodaptions, Twin Stars scenarios, and everything else that we've been doing each month. The big difference in 2018 is instead of a lot of different games, we're focusing on a few series of similar games (with some new ones mixed in). This allows us to dive deeper into the design parameters, and work on longevity. I think a mistake or struggle in previous years was trying to do something all new, every single month, with an all new designer and artist. 

We hope you'll like the changes for 2018. It’s been a lot of work planning it all around here and we’re excited to ramp things up.