Box Art / Pictures & Production Updates
over 2 years ago – Thu, Oct 26, 2023 at 03:25:51 AM

We apologise for the delay in updates, but it's been a waiting game on our end for contractors to finish off the last details of the game before production. 

We are so close to the end, but like everything, we are limited by external timing factors beyond our control. As it's our first production in 20 years, we are having to establish new working chains and reliable networks to use. By the next Kickstarter it should be way more streamlined. 

Currently, we are looking at manufacturing being finished mid to late December, which means that backers and shops will have their pledges delivered early to mid January. The way the year is rocketing by this will come around in a flash. 

We wanted to show off some of the work that has been going on in the background, and what better way to start then by offering a glimpse at one of our longship booster artworks. I hope you like it as much as we do :)

Work has been ongoing with developing the photographs within the rulebook to give nice visual aids and inspiration to readers. Below are some examples of that photography. 

This weekend we will be shooting some live games of Fjord Serpents, so stay tuned for updates. 

PAX 2023 and General Updates
over 2 years ago – Sun, Oct 08, 2023 at 01:40:31 PM

We have just rounded up our 3-day marathon at PAX Melbourne, where we ran demo games of Fjord Serpents - Vikings at War over around 28 hours of gameplay in total and 100s of participants. 

PAX had a rough attendance of some 80,000 people over the 3 days, so it was completely crazy to be a part of. Obviously, the tabletop area is only a part of the area, but it was humming from start to finish with thousands of gamers playing TTGs everywhere. 

A big thank you to the StAB guys for recruiting us in their demo section, and to all of the backers and new friends we made. 

Here are some photos for your enjoyment: 

GENERAL UPDATES

Production

We are rapidly approaching the start of manufacturing for the Fjord Serpents - Vikings at War. Currently, we have a few delays with customs with important samples from China, and this needs to be sorted before we give the green light to start. 

Several smaller details are also in the works to polish off the product, including the box art for the ships boosters, finalisation of photos for the rulebook and a few other cosmetics. 

Currently, we estimate that late December, early January is our production goal. We will obviously keep you all updated and hope for calm seas. Just know we are doing our best with the time and limited time resources we have. 

CanCon 2023

We have confirmed our attendance at CanCon 2023, which runs 26 - 28th of January at Exhibition Park in Canberra Australia. This is the largest wargaming event in Australia. We will have a trade stall there and hope to have the actual game and booster sets there as well (not just demos).

Game Modes of Fjord Serpents - Vikings at War
over 2 years ago – Sat, Sep 09, 2023 at 04:15:41 PM

With the rulebook and testing nearing completion, we wanted to go over the 3 primary ways to play Fjord Serpents - Vikings at War. We will endeavour to work on a YouTube video to go through these more extensively.

1. MATCHED PLAY

Matched play games are competitive in nature and aim to be as balanced as possible for the players involved in them. They represent one-off situations that rival fleets finds themselves faced with, and are designed to be played in that way with no follow up narrative.

Each mission will have its own objective, which will represent 5 victory points. Players will also be able to select a strategic objective secretly before game, which represents the orders issued to a fleet before the battle starts. These consist of a major and several minor objectives worth up to 5 victory points.

* There will be 2 x strategic focus card decks within the boxed set release.

2. CAMPAIGN

Campaign, or narrative play is a more relaxed way to play Fjord Serpents - Vikings at War. It presents to you story arcs, which you and your opponent can enter and play through. Most arcs have a set beginning and an end, with a bunch of missions in between, and they play like a choose your own adventure novel. The outcomes of missions determine the overall progress of the campaign. The direction of this progress can also be influenced by the decisions of the players themselves.

As the campaign progresses Jarls and their fleets will level up and suffer ongoing penalties depending on their performances within each mission. This can leave your fleet looking quiet different at the end then when it started the campaign, and also makes these campaign arcs highly re-playable. You are unlikely to get the same results, and / or missions every time.

3. SOLO
 

A unique feature of Fjord Serpents - Vikings at War is the inclusion of solo play. This was included within the game to be used as a way for new players to learn the rules, and also to help the mental health of those that are unable to find an opponent but want to play anyway. This game was created during the pandemic, so the author initially spent many hours alone playing and testing the core rules of the game.

Each mission will give you all the rules that you need to play, as well as the limitations imposed upon fleet creation. These replace the general fleet creation rules. You will also find that the solo missions are designed to increase in complexity as you play through them, and we do recommend starting from the beginning and playing each of them in order. This will ensure you progress in knowledge and ability as the solo campaign progresses.

We hope you enjoyed this teaser of the game modes and sections of the rulebook. 

Manufacturer Test Models
over 2 years ago – Mon, Aug 28, 2023 at 04:07:41 PM

Just a quick one to show a brief video of some of the test models being printed by the manufacturer. 

I have a question for all backers:

What colour do you think would be best to have the boxed set models made in? 

White, grey, black, blue, red, something else? 

Reasons why? 

Or...do I do 50 / 50 in 2 colours, so that those that don't paint can pretty much pick up and play like a board game? If they exist? 

General Project Updates
over 2 years ago – Sun, Aug 06, 2023 at 05:05:41 PM

Greetings Backers, 

Although we have been a little quiet on here over the last couple of weeks, there has been plenty of progress and workings going on for Fjord Serpents - Vikings at War. Let's go through some general news...

Manufacturing

Most game components are secured and ready to print. 

We are waiting on production prototypes for the miniatures to give them the green light.

The final piece of the puzzle is the Rulebook, which is still being developed. It's a massive job, but we are finally getting to the last series of edits, pictorial additions, fillers and checks. Once we have the prototypes and rulebook finalised, then there will be nothing halting production. The manufacturer has stated that there would be a 45-day turnaround, which would put us ahead of schedule if we can get the final parts done in the next 2 months. But, keeping realistic, we will wait and see on that. 

Game Development

We have been developing the Solo / Matched Play and Campaign missions and scenarios and will endeavour to provide some examples to you through YouTube battle reports soon. 

We are currently working on the last chapter of the rulebook which will be more of a hobby space. There will be a series of project articles on making terrain, historical colours for miniatures and some other useful things for readers. We kind of want to go a little old-school and include these, as we find modern games are way to trimmed down and streamlined. Let's put some hobby into our book! 

Conventions

We have confirmed our attendance at PAX in Melbourne Australia this year, which will occur between the 6th and 8th of October at the MCEC. 

This is an absolutely huge event that we will be running demo games of Fjord Serpents - Vikings at War at, working with the chaps from StAB (who are showcasing a number of games over the weekend). 

If you wish to jump in on a demo, keep an eye on the PAX site so you can book one in, as it will be mental busy.

PAX Website