Final Box Art, Expansion Rules, Soundtracks, and ORIGINS Eve!
almost 2 years ago – Wed, Jun 08, 2022 at 01:36:04 AM

Greetings Distillers!

Is it me or are the months starting to speed up? I swear I just sent an update to y'all a few days ago but here we are in JUNE! My entire month (well, couple of months!) has been completely pre-occupied by preparing for Origins Game Fair - wowzas is it a lot of work to get ready for a big convention like this. From the booth materials to the tax registration to the travel plans, it has been pretty crazy. But here's another month filled with some great updates that I hope will give you a bit more of a peek into the great progress we're making on Distilled! This month, we'll be talking about:

• Final Box Cover Art
• Rules for the Africa and Middle East Expansion
• A Soundtrack for Distilled
• Photos from Prepping for ORIGINS!

Judging a Game by its Cover...

 While the final art for the front of the box has been done for some time, the sides and back (as well as the expansion) were still being finalized. I've included the final versions below, so that you can see the general layout.

I really spent some time trying to envision the perfect box layout, and as always, I feel that Erik delivered 100%. I knew I didn't want to be lazy like some companies, and have the same thing on every side. I also knew that some gamers prefer to stack horizontally vs. how many of us store them vertically (like a book). Because of this, I wanted to make sure that a person's preference could be appeased. You'll see four distinct box sides on the right-handed picture above, specifically for this reason.

The back is especially challenging. You need to grab someone's attention, while also explaining a bit about the game and laying out some components (and don't even get me started on the different safety and legal marks necessary!). Rather than showing the entire game laid out, we decided that it would be good to highlight a handful of components, especially what the player would have right in front of them. We also wanted to make sure that if the box bottom was out on your table, that different characters could be seen on each side of that box. Finally, this is where we included every single documented playtester name on the side of the box as well, so that they can point to their name when playing the game, to demonstrate how they helped this come to reality! 

Oh, and did I mention that the front will have a UV gloss finish on the Distilled title? Classy.

 The Africa & Middle East Expansion was much of the same, in hopes of mimicking much of the base game's design and layout. You'll notice the box shape is different here. That is because this expansion isn't that big - it is roughly 5" x 7" in size, since it is delivering just over 100 new components to the game, with most of those being new cards. 

More Rules!

Two months ago, during the May update, I shared the base game's rulebook and beginner's guide with you. Those were pretty amazing feats by Erik, Richard, and Cody, as I really believe their work will make for an even better gaming experience due to their editing and layout of the rules. 

Fast-forward two months, and now I'm excited to share the Africa & Middle East Expansion rules with you! Remember, only you as a backer will get to experience this expansion so early - it won't be coming to retail until well-after all of our backers have had it for a bit! 

 A few things to note about the expansion:

• As you saw with the box, it is much smaller than the base game. So the rulebook only needed to be 8 pages (as compared to 24 for the base game)! 
• The rules introduce a new region, as well as a few new tricks up the cards' sleeves (ingredients in this expansion have some basic effects, while they do not in the base game, for instance).
• You'll see four new unique spirits introduced, as well as a number of new ingredients, items, upgrades,  distillery identities, awards, goals, and tasting flights!

So, if you're curious to read the rules for the Africa & Middle East Expansion, you can find them here.

The Sound of Whisky...

Do you remember when you helped us to nudge past the $340,000 stretch goal, which unlocked a custom soundtrack that was commissioned for Distilled? Well, I'm happy to report that it is FINISHED, and you'll all be getting a separate email inviting you to download the files for free (more on that later)! 

As a reminder, this was purely a thematic stretch goal, to complement Distilled's theme-forward approach.  Now, you might be of the type to not care about a little bit of music or sound effects for your gaming experience, but it is honestly one of my favorite parts about game night. Once I have the game setup, I pull up Tabletop Audio to create a custom playlist that matches the mood and theme of the game. These aren’t vocal ballads, but instead an artful mixture of subtle music and ambient sound effects (another great one is melodice.org, and pulls stuff from YouTube, so it is great if you want soundtracks and other recognizable and popular thematic music). I find that it really helps to create a rich, immersive experience that results in a memorable evening for years to come (bonus: this is also great work/study music!).

So, for this, I commissioned Tim, who runs Tabletop Audio and is a professional independent musician and composer living in Brooklyn (I think there’s something fun about an indie publisher and designer commissioning another indie to create something unique). I provided Tim with a number of different narrative sketches, using words, stories, descriptions, and images to communicate what I was picturing. Ultimately, Tim composed six different tracks, each meant to be representative of elements and regions of Distilled, while also being able to be applied to other games and themes. Because (in the future), these six tracks will be available for the world to access for free, while being labeled with the name “Distilled” to demonstrate that these are part of a curated set that you helped to bring to reality. 

Tim has composed six custom tracks for Distilled that total 60 minutes of audio goodness:

•  Distilled: Cooperage - meant to simulate what it might be like to be in a working cooperage, that crafts barrels for aging whisky. Overlayed with a nice acoustic guitar.
•  Distilled: Backwoods - a glimpse into a moonshine still operation in the Appalachian Mountains of America, accompanied by some nice guitar and banjo pickin'.
•  Distilled: Highlands - a chance to return to where it all began for whisky, in the highlands of Scotland, with an  orchestral ballad complimented by some bagpiping in the distance!
•  Distilled: Warehouse - One of my favorite parts of a distillery is the warehouse. The history and whisky sleeps amongst the barrels. You might even hear a cat's meow while sampling from the cask and enjoying the fiddle's contemplative tune. 
•  Distilled: Tranquility - a track meant to help you relax, perhaps over a sip or two of baijiu, while listening to music inspired by various regions in Asia around a crackling campfire.
•  Distilled: Tropical - a great way to enjoy a cool cocktail while listening to the sound of percussive island music and crashing waves.

Here's how it will work for you, as a backer, to download these files*: 

• If you've already paid for shipping and locked your order (that's 91% of you), you'll get an email from Backerkit and Paverson Games later today, with the title "New Digital Content for Distilled on BackerKit" 
• Once you click the link, it will take you to a portion of Backerkit that shows a downloadable zip file (it is around 500MB, so find a time and place that works to download this larger file!)
• Upon unzipping the file, you’ll see that there are is a README text file (covering much of what was written here), as well as six different tracks. There are also two other folders that contain elements of the full track, but split apart (Ambient only and Instrumental only). Tim does this for his Patreon supporters, and now you’ll have that flexibility too, in case you want to mess around with things yourself. 

*NOTE: if you are one of the 698 who haven't locked your order, you cannot access the above, and you currently will not be receiving any reward for Distilled, so make this a priority and be sure to do that here!

ANOTHER IMPORTANT NOTE: As a backer, you are receiving these files for free. Nobody else will get to download these (instead, they'll be able to stream them on Tabletop Audio in the future). Because of this, I ask that you not distribute them in any other way and keep them solely for your personal use.

So, I hope you enjoy this soundtrack, and be sure to keep an eye out for it on Tabletop Audio in the future!

Origins Prep & Travel

I know I sound like a broken record by now, but OMIGOSH ORIGINS IS HERE! Actually, it really is. I'm sending this update to you on Tuesday, June 7th, and I'll be arriving in Columbus, OH this afternoon! I'm really REALLY excited, but also really anxious. I've been spending most evenings and weekends preparing for this event over the past two months, and still don't know if I'm prepared. I think the only way that I'd feel 100% good is if all 8,060 of you could swing by my booth and give me a high-five. Can we make that happen, Distillers? ;)

 As I've covered already, there will be 28 different games of Distilled being played at Origins, throughout the week. They all sold out within a few days of going live, so I'm really excited to hear how those go. If you're playing one, be sure to snap some pics and put it on social media, or comment on here about how it went! I actually won't get to be running those game events, because I'm also running a booth!

Paverson Games got lucky with their booth placement, and we are neighbors with Mindclash and Thunderworks Games, two awesome publishing companies! I'm trying my best to make our lil' 10x10 booth look professional, but I know we have a long way to go. I tried mocking it up the other night with my tables, and my daughter took it over within 10 minutes, turning it into a newscast ;) 

 The booth isn't just about tablecloths and banners though. It is about the awesome people who are helping you throughout the con. I'll have a few heralds helping me at the booth, which I'm really excited about, as well as my brother coming up to help out, so this is truly a family affair now! To keep those people hydrated and energized, I've gotten snacks, drinks, and lots of cough drops stocked up for distribution. And remember, all Kickstarter backers get a t-shirt at cost, for only $10, so swing by to pick yours up at Origins before I run out! The booth materials continued to grow in my living room, and I was able to somehow pack the entire thing into a minivan I rented for the trip. 

Renting a minivan enabled me to pack all of the necessary equipment, but also allowed me to bring my family along for moral support! I'm actually from Ohio, so this was a great opportunity to leave a bit early and visit with relatives I haven't seen for 2.5 years, due to the pandemic. I was born in Dayton, OH and I grew up outside Columbus (in Granville, OH). While I'll be really busy at Origins, I'm  hoping to squeeze in some family reunion time at night, but we'll see how I'm feeling!

PS. I'll be posting photos and doing some live videos of Origins, all to the Paverson Games Facebook Page and to Distilled's Facebook group. Be sure to join ASAP to follow-along!

 And with that, it's the Last Call!  Although the progress chart may not look like much has changed, our 10 translation partners are nearing completion of their work, Erik is finalizing the neoprene playmat market and drink coaster designs, and we are also about to receive a white sample of our game any day now. So I think next month will be filled with lots of exciting updates! While we thought the Print 'n' Play of Distilled would ready, it's proving to be quite complex due to the number of cards, and we should have that ready next month for you instead. So, lots of exciting things bubbling up, and most importantly, ORIGINS starts tomorrow - please stop by to say hi at Booth 626!

Sláinte,

Dave Beck, Distilled Creator

Paverson Games

Prepping for ORIGINS and Say Nǐ hǎo to Whatz Games! 👋
almost 2 years ago – Wed, May 04, 2022 at 12:27:19 AM

May is probably one of my favorite months. It marks the end of another school year at my job, which usually gives way to a summer that is filled with research (i.e. designing new games!), family time, cons, and travel. I'm hoping to do all of these this summer, but I'm getting ahead of myself! You want to hear about DISTILLED! So let's get to it! In this update, I've got a few new things for you:

• and the Meeple's Choice Award goes to...
• (Short) Game Development Update 
• Prepping for ORIGINS 
• Introducing Whatz Games!

MEEPLE'S CHOICE!

Remember last month, when there was a contest over at Board Game Revolution to determine the best of the best for 2021? Some of you might have even voted (🙏). Regardless, I'm thrilled to announce that DISTILLED HAS WON BEST CAMPAIGN OF 2021!!! What fabulous news, and of course, this is largely thanks to all of you 8,000 backers for making July of 2021 one of the most memorable times of my life!

Not only did Distilled fare well, but we found ourselves amongst some amazing peers. How many of the below did you vote on, or do you own? I can't wait to play Ark Nova, which is currently sitting on the Gamenerdz hold queue for me!

Briefly, Distilled

Due to all the "business" you'll see below, there isn't as much to report for the actual game development of Distilled this month! As always, I have the latest progress chart at the end of this update, but with the files being with the translators until mid-May, things are on a bit of a pause right now. 

A few quick updates:

I've been extremely thankful of our translators, as we've had friends from Czechoslovakia, Germany, and Korea all point out grammatical/imagery errors in the rulebook that we had missed! They continue to chip away at the massive project that is Distilled, and I'm confident we'll start receiving those final print-ready files from them soon.

A week or so ago, I shared all print-ready English files with the factory, which allows them to start reviewing files for production. Due to their graphic designer being ill *and* there being lockdowns in China right now, some of that has been delayed, but I'm hopeful that they'll start reviewing things this week!

There are three final assets that still need to be completed. These are the Gametrayz insert, the neoprene playmat add-on, and the drink coasters in the Signature Blend. Bryce from Gametrayz is VERY close to finishing the insert, and we can't do much more until we have component samples in hand for him to measure with calipers and finalize the design. The playmat and coasters will be designed by Erik, and likely done after UW-Stout is finished in a few weeks, so I'm confident I'll be showing you some examples of those in the next update!

DISTILLED @ ORIGINS: JUNE 8-12 IN OHIO!

For me, 2022 is the year of toe-dipping, regarding Paverson Games' presence at cons. Spending A LOT of money on a con, to rent a booth, buy supplies, run events, organize volunteers/workers, travel, etc. is a daunting task. This is especially the case when YOU DON'T HAVE A GAME TO SELL YET! I mean, seriously, I won't likely be selling Distilled at cons until 2023, so most of the money that goes into a con will be purely for "promotion" this year. 

Because of that, I've decided to dip my toe in the water at Origins, to learn the best practices of convention-going for an indie game company. This is the only major con where I'll be having a booth this year. But that doesn't mean I'm not taking it seriously. 

For starters, I've scheduled 17 separate gaming sessions for Distilled*, of which the public can sign-up to play for free throughout the con (these will be played in the main game hall, amongst dozens (hundreds?!) of other games going on). If you're going to Origins this year, I hope you'll sign up to play Distilled, so you can get a sneak-peek of the game that will be arriving at your door in the future! Registration opens up for those games on May 21st, and it will be first-come, first-serve for all events (for Distilled, we'll be running games for up to 4 players each session). I've listed all of Distilled's session times below, to give all of you a sneak-peek (*note: these have NOT been approved yet, but I'm hopeful and confident that they will! I'll be sure to update in these comments if something changes).

But I'm not stopping there. For Origins, Paverson Games will have our very own booth on the expo hall floor, joined by a few hundred other amazing companies! I was very fortunate to get a booth in a space way beyond my price/fame range during the lottery. Paverson Games will be at booth #626, which will be around the corner from Wisconsin's own Thunderworks Games as well as directly across from one of my personal favorites, Mindclash Games! 

Of course, one doesn't simply just show up to a booth space. You have to do some thought and design into how the booth will look! After visiting the GAMA Expo and seeing the amazing booths and banners there, I've decided to invest in a few banners and tablecloths for Distilled, which arrived this past week. The banners are essentially giant aluminum frames with a lycra-type fabric that slips over it like a sock. The display is clean, and storage and transport equates to managable-sized duffle bags. 

I set them up in my living room this past weekend, to make sure everything worked and looked good. Boy am I lucky to have a vaulted ceiling in our living room, as I don't think the 10x10 banner would have fit otherwise! Special thanks to my son, the first official Paverson Games roadie, who helped me put them together :)

 I knew that I wanted the box design for the big banner, but wanted to mix it up a bit with the characters for either side of the smaller banners, and Erik helped create some simple and effective layouts. While I'll eventually want to have a "Paverson Games focused booth", it is Distilled that people will recognize right now, not Paverson Games. So it is my goal to gently introduce the Paverson Games identity over the next few years, as (hopefully!) more games are released under the title. 

 Finally, one might ask "but Dave, what the heck will you be doing at the booth?!?" Good question. While Distilled will be played in the main game hall, I'll have a copy or two of the game on hand to demo at the booth, and I'll also be doing a small amount of sales, in order to cut my teeth on the "point of sale" process that involves taking credit cards with a card swiper and handling cash with a cashbox. I want to be sure I've worked out kinks before I've got stacks of Distilled boxes to sell to all those "late to the party distillers" in 2023! 🤣

Since I won't have the physical game to sell, I'll be taking pre-orders for the non-KS version. I'll also have Distilled shot glasses for sale (if you are getting one with the Signature Blend or as an add-on, this is an early prototype of that). Finally, I've decided to have a short run of t-shirts made, and if you swing by the booth, I'll happily sell you a Distilled t-shirt at cost for just $10, as a thank you for being a Kickstarter backer! The shirts are black with two-color screen-printing on both the front and back (fancy!), and will look like the below design. And before anyone asks, while I'd love to just send them all over the world, this is going to be an in-person-only perk for our KS backers, so if you're not able to make Origins, perhaps we'll see each other at a future con!

So, if you can't tell, I'm really jazzed for Origins. I was born and raised in Ohio, so this con and location is particularly exciting for me. I'm actually renting a minivan to haul all the stuff, and driving my family down to see relatives earlier in the week. So it will be some vacation, work, and hopefully game playing, all wrapped into one! So, I really hope I get to meet some of you at Origins, so don't be shy - let's get a picture together!

Meet who's making Distilled in China!

On Monday, April 25th, I went to my local bank and wired $145,000 to China. This was simply just the deposit for manufacturing Distilled, and officially marks the first financial transaction between Paverson Games and Whatz Games, with whom we have signed a contract to manufacture Distilled! This was a very nervous, yet exciting moment for me, but I'm absolutely thrilled to be working with this company who has been communicating with me for over a year, sending me revised quotes, factory samples, and providing fantastic customer service. 

I thought it would be fun to introduce all of you to Whatz, so that you can picture how and where Distilled is being manufactured over the coming months. I've got some photos they've provided me with below, but wanted to first kick off with this awesome video from Whatz that is being publicly debuted here, as they will be featuring it on their redesigned website soon! Pro tip: be sure to have your sound on for this fun little ditty!

Whatz makes high quality games, and I've found their customer service so far to be the best out there. I'm excited to continue to provide you with updates about Whatz, which will hopefully include photos and videos they shoot for me about Distilled! Below are some professional shots they use for promotional use, but hopefully still paints a picture of how clean, professional, and BIG they are!

And with that, it's the last call! I'm very excited about next month, as we may just have a hot-out-of-the-oven, freshly-baked Print 'n' Play of Distilled ready for you! I've also asked Martin (our PnP guru) to do a little guest post as well. Cross your fingers for that, as well as some things from our Africa and Middle East expansion, artwork updates on the playmat and coasters from Erik, and final box art. But until then Distillers, I hope you have a wonderful rest of your May and I'll see you at Origins!

Sláinte,

Dave Beck, Distilled Creator 

Paverson Games

Now Loading... 🥃
about 2 years ago – Fri, Apr 08, 2022 at 05:20:57 AM

Happy April, Distillers!

And OHHHH WOOOOOWWWW is this a month! I'm so excited about a few big milestones to share with you! But first, the bulleted outline, for easy reading:

• NOW LOADING...
• GAMA (recap) and Origins in June for YOU!
• Rules of the Game
•  Still Unique, Thx to You! 
• Fool me once...

PS. please plan to make it to the end of the update, as I have a favor waiting there that I'd like to ask of you!

 DISTILLED IS 99.9% COMPLETE!* 

*While I'm tempted to say "100% Complete", we all know that there is always a few tiny tweaks one needs to make in that home stretch.

What a momentous month, March has been! Erik has been preparing dozens - no, hundreds - of files to get ready for our localization partners, as well as for manufacturing (and Richard, Cody, and I have been proofing each of those as well, often times multiple back-and-forths between Erik and us, to make sure things are perfect). 

I'm now happy to say that we are pretty much FINISHED with all the files for the Distilled base game, Africa & Middle East Expansion, and KS Mini-Expansion! This has truly been a feat of epic proportions, and I take my hat off to Erik - I'm guessing this has been the largest project he's ever worked on in his life, and he has been a CHAMP about it. To see how he takes it in stride, check out what he posted a few days ago on his social media account, comparing a web comic he drew in 2003 to what he's been up to for the past month or so. As he aptly put it 'The more things change, the more they stay the same.'

 So you might now be saying to yourself: Hurray! Distilled will be showing up at my door any moment! I'm afraid not, my wonderful backer. Nor will it be there tomorrow...or next week... or next month! Remember, our estimated fulfillment date is December of this year, and that is going to be a streeeetch in itself, thanks to the pandemic, supply chain issues, current lockdowns in China, and ocean freight issues (but we're gonna still try!). This even goes for things like the Print and Play (PnP), in which you'll get the files to print and make the game on your own. This also takes time, as Martin G. (who has graciously offered to be our PnP author) will need to set all of these files up for you!

But this does begin some major new pathways for Distilled's journey towards becoming real and on your table, as it now diverges into two very important parallel paths: localization and pre-production. This month, we'll talk about localization.

Localization allows for games produced for a certain country or language to be expanded into other  cultures, countries, and languages around the world. Since Distilled was lucky enough to be picked up by TEN different companies that focus on a specific language other than English, that means that we need to figure out how to have that produced for that language. It begins with a contract between the publisher (Paverson Games, aka me) and the licensing company from another country. These agreements were handled by Michael Raftopoulos of Meeple on Board Vanguard, in which he connected me with various licensing companies and helped to draft up a contract for both parties to sign. Michael essentially acts as my agent or rep when involving these foreign language publishing companies.

This contract essentially says that - after receiving all files from me via a custom Google Drive folder I've created (which I sent them last week!) - this company will agree to translate all words in the game (on cards, boards, boxes, rules, etc.) and have a graphic designer lay out the newly translated content as well. This process takes between 45 and 60 days total, and they will then send me the final translated files, and I will print them along with the rest of the languages (including English) in the same print run. They will pay for a set price per game, which usually equals the cost of printing and a bit extra, as they are essentially buying all copies of the game and the rights to worldwide distribution in that language.  

As an example, a company may want to have 1,000 base games printed. After receiving the files from them, I'll have those 1,000 games manufactured, and then they pick them up to distribute and sell however, and wherever, they please. 

As you can imagine, if 10 different languages request 1,000 games each, we're now printing 10,000 more base games! So, while it is quite expensive to print other languages (you have to pay for what is called "plate changes" to print the same components of your game in different languages, or just do a very small print run which can be even more costly), it allows you to increase the overall quantity of games printed, thus expanding the reach of your game, worldwide! 

For instance, without the help of our localization partners, we'd likely be printing between 10,000 and 15,000 games. But now, we are looking at printing up to 30,000 copies of Distilled!

At the same time as our licensing companies are working on translations, I'm also speaking with the factory - almost daily - to move the project along, which I'll talk about in more detail next month.

It's Convention Season (sorta)!

So, the advent of spring usually marks a time of year every gamer can appreciate - the beginning of convention season! Many of the biggest cons happen during the summer months, with a few great ones sprinkled throughout the year as well. I knew that Distilled needs to make a big splash when the time comes, so I've designated 2022 as the year to dip my toes into this world as an exhibitor, in preparation for the big con push in 2023. 

I started this training by traveling to Reno, NV for GAMA Expo (Game Manufacturers Association)  in March. I was lucky enough to be invited by Funagain Distribution (formerly Hit Point Sales) as a featured game at their booth. It was an opportunity to have Distilled on display for retailers and media from around the country (and world) to visit. I was able to connect with some of the fantastic folks who helped bring Distilled to the spotlight last year, such as Alex of BoardGameCo, Devon from Quackalope, ThinkerThemer, and I even got to share a delicious whisky with Nelson from Fantasy and some Flights and meet Grant Lyon (from Grant's Game Recs), who mentioned Distilled as the runner-up for Best Theme of the expo on his channel!

Funagain is a sort of "one-stop-shop" for Distilled, as they will help fulfill the Kickstarter in North America as well as help warehouse extra games for future retail supplies. Their new distribution arm acts as a rep or agent for indie publishers like me, in which they can sit at the same table as the bigger publishers and distributors, representing dozens of lil' indies like us at Paverson Games.

 Furthermore, it was an opportunity to personally connect with friends who I've made online over the past few years. Whether that be George of Oniro who made our Kickstarter video, Sam of B.A. Games and Chris of  Stone Age Distractions - both of whom I've met via various Facebook groups like Board Game Design Lab, or Susannah from Stonemaier Games - who I knew through the Nights Around a Table discord channel, it was so wonderful to meet these folks in person for the very first time! Full disclosure: GAMA had a masks-at-all-times policy, but we removed these just for pictures.

But the fun doesn't stop there, and in fact, I'm hoping to meet YOU in June at ORIGINS GAME FAIR in Columbus, Ohio from June 8th-12th! I'll have a booth for Distilled, we'll be running game events throughout the con, and I'll even have a bit of schwag for sale (and the Distilled retail version on pre-order for all those late-to-the-party folks!). I'd absolutely love it if you'd stop by to say hi and get a pic with me. Even more, if you are interested in potentially being a part of the Paverson Games exhibit and demo team, please reach out to me via a KS message, as while we are currently working with Double Exposure to recruit folks to help, I'd love nothing more than to have some fans helping out too!

You might ask, but Dave, how does that work exactly, and what is Double Exposure? And how are you able to have people helping you in the booth and running game events? Great questions! Over the past few months, I've been hearing more and more about Double Exposure's Envoy program, and decided to sign Paverson Games up for this service to help get the word out about Distilled at conventions and friendly local game stores. Double Exposure is the brainchild of Vincent Salzillo, and is a program that supports publishers in getting their game out into the public eye, through the help of hundreds of passionate gamers who are excited about pushing the industry forward and introducing it to others. I'm working with Double Exposure for both Origins and Gen Con (no booth at Gen Con).

The way it works is simple: people like you - who are passionate about games and like to introduce and teach new games to new players - are part of this large community who is called upon for major gaming events. They are called Heralds, and these individuals get to choose specific games to teach and demo, and in return get free con passes, money towards hotel rooms, and a free copy of the game they demo or run! It is a win-win for everyone, and I'm really excited to work with Double Exposure for Distilled. If this is something that sounds interesting to you, feel free to hop over to the "request more info" page. Heck, if you're fast on the draw, you could become one of the very first Heralds for Distilled!

It's a Whopping 24-pager! 

Here's one I'm really excited to share with you - our rulebook and beginner guide is complete, and ready to share in digital form! I've included links to view and download both documents at the end of this section.

I gotta say, this thing not only reads well, but it looks fantastic! Erik has done an amazing job, and I really believe it is going to be one of the best looking rulebooks coming from a first-time indie publisher. Our rules and dev team of Cody and Richard were phenomenal with their eye for detail, and Blake's flavor text scattered throughout really allows the theme to soak into the pages.

I've done a few mockup shots below, to show off Erik's amazing work.

 The front of the rulebook reflects the game box, but we wanted to have the back serve as a quick reference guide for players at the table. This includes an icon glossary, sequence of a round, endgame scoring, and an index of common rules and sections in the rulebook.

 It was Erik's idea to have the setup page look as if it was on a wood table with whisky glasses - a perfect touch in my opinion! 

  The rulebook is TWENTY FOUR PAGES - there is a LOT to pack into this sucker, regarding information and visuals, but I think Erik has done a great job of breaking things up with imagery and visual examples from the game.

  We also wanted to be sure to teach players about the 15 amazing spirits from all around the world, that you can make in the game. So, working with Blake, we created the "Spirits of Distilled" spread, which will teach you the pronunciation and a brief fact or two about each spirit, divided by regions!

 As mentioned earlier, we also have the separate 12-page beginner's guide, that we've named First Taste, and will be found in every box of Distilled. This is meant to hold the hands of new players, especially if they don't usually play medium-weight strategy games (but they most likely enjoy a good whisky!). Designed by Cody, Richard, and I, it is a curated first-round experience, meant to be narrated by a more seasoned player (or someone who has already read all of the rules). After participating in this guided walkthrough in round 1, players are let loose to play the rest of the game on their own. 

•  View or Download the Distilled Rulebook (PDF Preview) 
•  View or Download the Distilled First Taste Beginner Guide (PDF preview) 

 Still Going... 

Remember when we passed $360,000 raised in the campaign, and unlocked this big stretch goal?

Well, the time has come to show you what we've come up with, and boy am I excited! Each player will get a different looking distillery player board (visually different, but all are identical for gameplay). It will have a unique color that will pair with that player's scoring token (see below) and also a unique still design! Heck, there might even be a distillery cat or dog living in your ol' abandoned distillery, if you're lucky ;)

 We deliberately chose different styles of stills that would both represent various cultures, regions, and methods for distillation, throughout the history of crafting spirits. We hope that you'll enjoy these fun, thematic additions towards making this a unique, top-shelf experience for you and your friends!

Distilled - Flask Edition!

Yeah, yeah, we haven't delivered the actual game you've backed yet, but who cares!?! Let's cram all 665 components into a 6 oz. flask and dump it on Kickstarter! 🤣 

 While I created this as a joke for April Fool's Day this year, I actually did get a number of people saying "ummm I'd totally buy that!". While I love the idea of a travel size Distilled, half-inch tall cards would be a recipe for disaster, I think (especially if they accidentally become soaked in whisky!). I posted this on social media, but for those who may not have seen it, I wanted to include this here 😁

A Favor...

Okay, you've made it to the end - huzzah! I have one teensy-weensy favor to ask of you! This will just take 3 minutes of your time, and help you to contribute your board game opinions to some of the "Bests" of 2021. Boardgame Revolution's annual Golden Meeple Award survey is open, and you get to have a voice by casting your votes! You might even see an opp to vote for the Best Crowdfunding Campaign or write-in for the Best New Creator ;)

And with that, another update comes to an end. I'm hoping to do some more fun reveals next month, including some things from our Africa and Middle East expansion, final box art, and potentially a behind-the-scenes look at the manufacturing process. But until then Distillers, I hope you have a wonderful rest of your April!

Sláinte,

Making Progress (and Making Jokes with Dr Inkwell!)
about 2 years ago – Mon, Mar 07, 2022 at 09:52:49 PM

Happy March, Distillers!

Another month, another update! We've been busy and I've got a lot of pictures to show. We're SOOOOO close to being done with everything and shipping it off to localizers and the factory! So, here's a  breakdown of what we'll be covering in this update:

• Game & Component updates
•  бу́дьмо! 
• Con Report and Preview!
•  The Still Column with Dr Inkwell! 

 Game & Component Updates

Let's cut right to the chase with some slightly bad news: we're behind.  While all gameplay and writing is finished, Erik (our sole artist and graphic designer for the project!) is doing his darndest to work through the large quantity of content we've unlocked in this campaign. With over 200 custom illustrations, hundreds of different cards, tokens, and boards, and a 24-page rulebook to boot, we have a LOT of content! We all have full time careers of our own as well, so we're trying to do as much as we can every night and most of the weekends to get this finished. 

The good news, Erik is very confident that he'll be finished between mid and late March, no matter what. That's how close he is - we simply have the rulebooks (which is A LOT!) and the boxes left, so we truly are almost there! I'm also happy to report that we've built that padding into our schedule, and we really aren't that behind. I'm still hopeful we can make Q4 fulfillment for y'all this year, if things stay on track. And remember, don't get to excited - after we finish, we also have to have the game translated before hitting the PRINT button at the factory, so we are still looking at a month or so into the future (but the good news is that I can be working with the factory on white samples and digital proofs during that time!). 

Now on to some more good news - we've making some wonderful headway in samples evaluation with the factory. I realized that these past few months are the perfect time to work with them on finalizing all things "non-paper" such as metal and wood components. Below, I've got some updates on a few of those, and a peek into my process in working with the factory.

Custom Scoring Tokens for each player

These are exciting, as you all helped us unlock these! This is what you move around the scoreboard during the game, representing both the overall color and still that is custom illustrated on your own player board (I might show the player boards next month - they look AMAZING!)! While the shapes I designed and the illustrations Erik created are working wonderfully, the colors were a bit more garish than we expected. When working with actual paint, you can't use RGB or CMYK - you're using instead an international code called Pantone. While we thought we had the right Pantones when we sent them, we've since realized they are meant to be more muted, so the factory will be sending us a new set with the new Pantones we picked out, based on the player colors we've chosen. In order to do this, I created a diagram for the factory, of which I've adopted a visual communication process in most of what I'm doing with them now, both due to the language difference and the nature of it being a visual-based experience in games (to give credit, their English is quite good!). 

I ended up doing some of the same thing with the round marker, which is meant to be a nice-sized wooden barrel, representing time and age. I've been using some sort of barrel for awhile now, but wanted something slightly bigger. In the below picture, you'll see the two to the right that were originally sent from the factory, and after some back and forth, we settled on both the shape and the stain I was looking for, with the end result being the bottom middle image. 

In Distilled, you need to obtain the knowledge of how to make a certain spirit, before you can just simply craft it. This often is accomplished through obtaining a cube from the market in tiers of Bronze ($2), Silver ($4), and Gold ($6). As each tier increases in price, it also grows in prestige and difficulty to make. While I showed you an image of the metal cubes (that some of you have added-on to your order) we'd received in last month's post, the "bronze" cube just didn't sit well with me. It looked a bit too much like copper, and in the wrong light, could even be mistaken for gold. So, I asked the factory to send a darker cube for that bronze metal version. What they sent was far too dark (top cube), so I've since mocked up a happy medium (bottom cube) and they are working on that now. 

For the main retail game, those same recipe cubes will simply be made of wood, but I still want them to exude a sense of "luxury", and not just "yellow, grey, and brown". So I've asked the factory to look into some metallic paints, of which I'm happy with what they've returned - a sort of glittery sparkle! But just as with the "bronze" color for the metal, it is a bit off with the wood too. This time, it almost looks like a tarnished gold, which is cool, but again would be confusing to the players! In this, I've colored a version in photoshop,and also included the illustrations that will be in the game in many places, so that they can achieve something close to that color. 

Last but not least (well, actually it is sorta least, as it has no gameplay significance - just fun at the table!) is the shot glasses. The initial sample they sent felt quite cheap (left). I sent a picture back of a sample that had a thicker bottom, denoting a higher quality (less breakable) glass. They've since found that, and I'm happy to report we are moving forward with a good quality Distilled shot glass for all the Signature Backers in the group!

#WeStandWithUkraine 

What is happening over in Ukraine right now is absolutely terrible. It hurts my heart to see such an imbalance of power and true example of "bullying" that is occuring. On February 24th, I decided to post something to our social media community, to demonstrate our stance on the issue, and to show support for Ukraine. 

The statement I wrote to accompany the image we posted was: "Paverson Games condemns all acts of violence, and is horrified by what is happening in Ukraine. We stand in support of our Ukrainian partner, Geekach Games, who was one of the first to believe in Distilled. Join us in raising a glass of honey-pepper Horilka* and exclaiming бу́дьмо!  which means 'let us be'. Let us be strong. Let us be with Geekach. Let us be with Ukraine."

These events overseas are especially troubling to see, as one of the first companies who believed in Distilled was Geekach, as they signed a localization contract to bring the game to the Ukrainian people! While we don't know what will happen with that agreement in the coming months, we will be continuing to show our support for both Geekach and the Ukrainian people. 

*for those curious, Horilka is a national drink of Ukraine, and has been compared to vodka, but has far more complexity (and sometimes has honey and pepper flavors with it!). 

Cons, Cons and more Cons!

Another month, another con! I was glad to have two local, smaller conventions for the months of January and February. A con that is near and dear to my heart is Con of the North. While it is nowhere as big as most any con that is nationally known, this was where it all began for Distilled. Back in February of 2019, this was the very first public venue for Distilled, in which I set-up in an open gaming room and asked for playtesters. One of those was Marika, who you'll actually see in *both* pictures below! Marika is a demonstration of why I love to write these updates and create game experiences like this one - players who stick with you throughout the process, providing support and feedback along the way. Thank you Marika, as well as all of you other distillers out there, whether you're a new, returning, or master distiller!

GAMA EXPO!

I'm also thrilled to announce that Distilled (and I!) will be at GAMA Expo this year, in Reno, NV from March 14-18! This is very exciting, as GAMA is a bit different than your typical con. This is specifically for retailers in the industry, to check out and pre-order games that might be released in the coming year. GAMA is put on by the Game Manufacturers Association, who also puts on Origins (which we plan to be at as well!). Paverson Games will be working with Hit Point Sales (which is part of Funagain Logistics and Distribution) and will be demoing Distilled at their booth (#139) and also giving the media a first look on Tuesday. Erik and I have been working hard to have a version of the game that is nearly identical to what you'd find in the box (all except the Gametrayz!), so that the media and retail attendees can get a true glimpse at what they'd be getting - which is A LOT! 

Fun fact: to create an identical version of Distilled - all except Gametrayz insert - it ended up costing over $400 in prototyping supplies and manufacturing in working with The Game Crafter. This is due to the hundreds of components, cards, and boards, plus the dual-layered recipe clipboards and custom, unique player boards! It's ridiculously expensive, but I really do believe it is worth it for everyone to see exactly what they'll be getting later this year!

 THE STILL COLUMN with Dr Inkwell

To finish things off this month, we have another amazing guest. Today, it is Blake Tucker (aka Dr Inkwell from Boozephreaks), who has been Distilled's spirits consultant throughout our process. I've asked Blake to bring us up to speed about what he's been up to, as well as a bit more about himself. Blake, take it a away!

Blake: On our recent Facebook livestream, I realized my guest post should be (in)appropriately punnily named, hence THE STILL COLUMN.  I’m Blake Tucker and I’m excited to be your flavor-text-, pun-filled-, dad-joking-, historic-storytelling-, bon-vivant spirit-expert fun-fact generator! plays EDM version of circus music

As a bartender, I love sharing my passion about the history, culture, and formulation of spirits with others. Someone once wrote, “there is an inherent sense of artistry in drink because of its frivolity — you don't need to have a Bellini, but it's a damn good feeling when do.” Voila, my mantra. Alcohol should be a means to socialize, share with others, and celebrate our traditions. That’s why I go by Dr Inkwell: I don’t want you to drink more, I want you to drink well.

As a board gamer, I love welcoming new people, enjoying each other’s company, and discovering something new. My favorite games are Viticulture (I love hosting with an accompanying wine tasting), Time’s Up (how many belly laughs have come from terrible charades?!), and the West Kingdom series (Paladins makes me feel like John Nash, equations sprouting out of my head and spinning off into infinity). When I found Dave was working on a distillation board game, I was very intrigued. Was this going to be a vessel to educate as well as entertain? LET ME AT IT!

Luckily, Dave was welcoming to my advice, suggestions, and stories. As the pandemic wore on and I got more chances to play, we struck up a friendship and he welcomed me to the design table. I thought to myself, Could Dave have an inner bartender himself?!

As the Official Fun Fact Education Nerd (OFFEN), I was super excited to hint at the reasons behind why humans make spirits the way we do. There are so many beguiling mysteries to be revealed in baijiu production, fascinating reasons behind cask-aging, thought-provoking reasons for spirit production methods, and more. I wouldn’t be able to bore tell players the complete history, but I could hopefully ignite their imaginations and curiosity to seek more information. It’s something I like to do OFFEN.

And I don’t see OFFENs enough. The aforementioned wine-making game is an example of so many decisions made that reflect the process, and the game is so beautiful because of it. But if you don’t know about winemaking, you may just miss those details. So I was super excited that Dave wanted to spend time and budget to do that: make you appreciate spirits!

But little did I know about the evils Dave had in store for me. 80 CHARACTERS INCLUDING SPACES? What kind of monster are you, Dave? GOOD HEAVENS, MAN, DO YOU DO FIREBALL SHOTS TOO?

For example, on the Juniper Berries Premium Card, I had too many things to say. Should I point out that juniper is not really a fruit, it’s serving that way because we need to provide well-designed strategy and gameplay? Seems like a bit of a wasted opportunity. Okay, then maybe I should talk about how juniper is actually a tiny cone, like a pine cone? Hmm, but that’s not the most compelling story here. The cool fact is that juniper was often packed into the long nose cones of the hawk-like doctor’s masks at the time of the bubonic plague to ward off the “bad air” that was wrongly thought to be the method of transmission, and is directly linked to its use in genever which led to the creation of gin. Okay, how do I do that with only 80 characters?! (see Cody’s post about concision). Making the compromises I made with “Juniper was thought to be the wonder drug against the bubonic plague” still makes me want to revise. But hopefully it’s enough to get players to learn more.

Of course, my favorites are ones that can lead players to taking direct action. On the Ancient Grains Premium Card from the expansion, I hope that “American craft distillers make small batch whiskeys from quinoa, millet, and oats!” will lead you to find some of those products. Both Koval and Corsair distilleries make some of my favorite experimental whiskeys and it’s a delight when I find new tinkerer distillers doing the same. Getting you to sample just one unusual whiskey would be almost as good as introducing it to you personally. Go explore, boldly!

Then when Dave asked me to also work on what he alarmingly dubbed PROJECT FLAVORTOWN, I was excited to add a dash of humor to the mix as well (much as people like to make fun of him, Fieri is actually amusingly self-aware and does good things). In my youth I worked on some pretty killer projects and with my interests being what they are, working on Distilled would be yet another. So how could I make this a fun highlight to the game, while keeping the grounded, factual path I’d already forged?

On the Cinnamon flavor card, I thought about what I might write in my tasting journal. Since the taste of cinnamon is something that needs no explanation, I thought this was a great opportunity to break for the funny. I do sometimes leave my tasting journals lying around, and get nervous about how other people might take in my notes. THAT’S IT! Use the unexpected turn of marrying the whiskey-lover with the basicness of a PSL. “I would write pumpkin spice, but then if anyone were to steal this journal I would be ashamed.”

I never expected Horse Blanket to be one of the flavor cards. So when it won the Kickstarter competition, I was at a bit of a loss… A LOSS?! THAT’S IT! My beloved mother would joke when playing a game and losing, that players would be listed in the “also ran” category used in horse racing. Perfect! For the record, it means lost by A LOT. I would expect a spirit with the taste of horse blanket also to lose. By a lot. Oh memories! I “also ran” in a game of Risk against her far too many times. Aw, Dear Ruthless Mother, we miss you! <3

When you play, take the time to read your flavor cards aloud and hopefully your table will get a chuckle, guffaw, or a groan from these cards, though I would settle for a sly smile when I make a reference to British surrealist comedy or a story about toys. Working with Dave and team has been a joy and we want playing the game to be that as well. Thank you, Dave, for asking me to be a part of it. I’m honored to be captured in a distillery upgrade card in the expansion, with a game mechanic that might take you on a road rockin’ trip to Flavortown!

After adding facts and flavor, Dave asked if I could also write something longer about each of the spirits in the game. I thought to myself, is this finally a chance to fully explain things? NOPE! 300 character limit this time! Haha. I’ve tried to squeeze as much info into that section of the rulebook to help players understand something of about the origin (and pronunciation) of spirits---you might even say I tried to distill it down. :D

I also convinced Dave we needed to call out the cultural, geographical, and agricultural uniqueness about these products that most countries are now recognizing, in the form of the PDO (Protected Designation of Origin). So I added a call out at the start of the section explaining that international trade is helping keep these categories separated, unique, and special. This is an important part of preserving each nation’s and culture’s traditions making sure we carry diversity and specificity forward into the future. Want to learn more yet?

I also want to take a moment to acknowledge Dave. Since my youth, I’ve aspired to find ideals that resemble Star Trek: spaces of inclusivity, diversity, and acceptance are the final frontier. I was lucky to find Micaya and the San Francisco Hip Hop Dancefest community in my thirties, so I dove in, learned to dance, and joined as the official photographer. Distilled is also one of those spaces: room for all spirits-making traditions around the world, and even a Cultural Consultant on staff to ensure thoughtfulness and sensitivity are lenses we look through. Inspirational people are more rare as you age and when you find them, hold onto them! I look forward to Dave’s next projects and hope I can help.

Should you want to engage with me directly, I would be pleased to offer you live or virtual cocktail classes, spirit tastings, or deep dives. I have an ennui-breaking Zoom setup with three camera angles that will bury memories of those bad meetings we’ve all had the last couple of years. I have accounts on YouTube, Instagram, and TikTok. And of course, I absolutely love being behind the bar (or camera) in person if you’d like to engage that way, Number One.

Live long, prosper, and drink well!

-Blake

PS And also play lots of board games. With your mother, when possible.

Wow, what a great entry from Blake - as you can see, I've had such a fantastic time working with him, and sincerely believe that the work he has done to bring a more authentic foundation - with a touch of humor - to Distilled will do nothing but improve your overall experience with the game.

So, with that, another update comes and goes! See below for how close we're getting, and I can't wait to post some pictures next month from our time at the GAMA EXPO!

Dave Beck

Paverson Games

February Distilled Update: METALLIC EDITION 🤘
about 2 years ago – Wed, Feb 02, 2022 at 02:02:44 AM

Happy February, Distillers!

Another month, another update! January has been craaaaaazy, filled with attending our first in-person con and lots and lots of proofing! I'm really excited to share some pictures with you in this update, as it is a sneak peek into some of the cool stuff you'll be getting when Distilled arrives at your door. So, here's a vague and perhaps not helpful breakdown of what we'll be covering in this update:

• Proofing & Art Updates
• Totally Metallic
• Con Report!
• 乾杯 (Kanpai)!

Cross-eyed from Proofing Awesome Cards & Tokens!

January has been a MONTH, let me tell you! The Paverson Games team has been in full crunch mode this month, reviewing the proofs of ALL the cards that Erik has been posting to our Google Drive folder. While we had an original deadline of February 1st (TODAY!?!), we're now shooting for a mid-February target. All writing, testing, balancing, and organizing has been done - now it is in Erik's hands to finish the final components before we can send it to our 10 different localization licensing companies to translate the game (at the same time, I'll start working with the factory on digital proofs and white samples, more on that in another future update). Please send Erik good vibes this month while he's finishing everything up - we're almost there!

While I walked people through the below process on last week's Whisk(e)y Wednesday on Facebook, I thought I'd also briefly share how this proofing process goes for those interested. Believe it or not, it isn't as easy as just looking at a card and saying "yup, that looks good". I mean, I GUESS you could do that, but we are really striving for near 100% perfection with grammar, culturally appropriate terms, and game mechanics and point values. After all, 8,000 of you believed in us to make this happen, so if we didn't take this really seriously you'd be right to have some major concerns!

For the past three months, we have been working on a spreadsheet that includes every component in the game in which there is any presence of text or other copy-editing needed. This includes cards, tokens, boards, and rulebooks, to name a few. First, Richard and I made sure it was added to the spreadsheet with the proper text we'd been using in-game for the last few months. Then, Cody (as rules editor) would review that text to make sure it is consistent amongst the larger system of the game or revise as necessary. Then, Blake would add flavor text to be included on the card, if it was one that had that option. After all three of these phases were done, the checkboxes would go green, and it was then passed to Erik for him to "copy 'n' paste" over to the component (but trust me, it isn't that easy, as he laid out a few months ago in his guest post). 

Once Erik has a set of cards or components ready for review, he passes it back to us, in the form of a PDF uploaded to a Google Drive folder. Then, Richard, Cody, or I download each PDF, comb through it and compare it to the spreadsheet, and make comments where things need to be fixed. We each save a version and pass it on to the next person on the line for further proofing. After this PDF has had six eyes on it, it gets passed back to Erik for a second round of revisions and proofing. In many cases, we have had to do 2-3 rounds of proofs to make sure we catch every little thing across the hundreds of unique cards and components!

Finally, once something is "error free", we set it aside as finished, and then we make sure it is checked off of the MASTER PROGRESS SHEET (which is a more complex version of the public barrel progress graphic at the end of this update every month). Believe me, once all boxes are checked green on this 400-row spreadsheet, I will be a very very happy designer!

But seriously, the result is worth it. I'm thrilled to say that we are now 100% finished with the 400+ cards in the base game and the expansion, and we've also made a nice dent into the tokens with finishing all Signature Recipe Labels, Spirit Labels, coin tokens, and Spirit Awards! I thought it would be fun to show a few of these below, in their final form. As you can see, Erik has also been busy in January with illustrations as well!

Who's Ready for some METAL!?!

While much of what you read about above was going on in January, I was also communicating with the factory about components that didn't necessarily need to go through heavy proofing or language translation. Since I knew that the factory would have their hands full once all proofing was done, I wanted to get a few things off of our plate ahead of time. This mainly included non-paper products, many of which aren't even in the base game (but instead just for your KS backers!), including:

• Metal First Player Token (which every single backer gets as a thank-you!)
• Barrel-shaped Wooden Round Tracker (found in every game)
• Drink Coasters (Signature Blend Pledge Reward)
• Metal Coins (Signature Blend Pledge Reward or Add-on)
• Distilled Shot Glass (Signature Blend Pledge Reward or Add-on)
• Metal Recipe Cubes (Add-on)

With anything metal, the factory needs to make a mold that would then be used to cast the thousands of copies of each component. For things like coasters, wooden barrels, and shot glasses, they will usually partner with another factory to obtain those. While I won't be showing pictures of every one of these below, we're making great headway in each area, and am confident we'll have high-quality, deluxe components for you! So today, it is all about the metal.

First up, the First Player Token. This is in the running for one of my favorite game pieces of all time now, as this turned out beautifully. Erik's design was transformed by the factory into solid 4mm thick metal. I specifically chose this size so that it could sit over a Glencairn glass, resembling challenge coins you'll often see on whisky YouTube channels and in other organizations. With the "D" on one side and our favorite saying on the other, I hope some will be inspired to carry this around with them or flash it at a convention - good health (and good in-game luck!) to all of you who carry this beauty!

But it doesn't stop there. They also did an amazing job with turning Erik's awesome coin designs into metal versions as well, really capturing the three-dimensional quality of the designs. What you see below is just the first pass on these metal coins, as I've asked them to push the depth a bit more, so that we see a bit more contrast between the polished raised portions and the (hopefully) darker lower portions. Remember, anyone who went with the Signature Pledge will be getting 55 of these for FREE! 

Which is your favorite coin?

Finally, if you went for the metal hat-trick by getting the metal recipe cube add-on, this next one is for you. The main game comes with 37 metallic-painted wooden cubes. But for those that want to take it to the next level, we offered metal recipe cubes as an add-on. The satin/frosted look of these is fantastic, and they weigh a hefty amount, since they're solid metal. As you can see below, they make those cheap plastic Terraforming Mars cubes look like the flakey, poorly manufactured and cheap cubes that they truly are! 🤣

So, I hope after seeing some of those, you're getting as excited as I am about bringing Distilled to the table, especially since every single one of our Original or Signature Blend backers will have at least one of the above deluxe options!

Report from Midwinter Gaming Con

In mid-January, Distilled finally got to return to the real world. For nearly two years, it has been confined to online platforms or quarantined in people's houses for playtesting, until Midwinter Gaming Convention in Milwaukee! I was accompanied by my friend, Houston Taylor (pictured above, teaching new players), and we got a chance to introduce Distilled to about 20 new fans, some of which were our awesome backers and others who pre-ordered the retail version on the spot after playing! We got a chance to test out our "First Taste" that Cody talked about last month, and allowed players to catch a glimpse of what the game would be like at their own table.

We have another local con in a few weeks, at Con of the North, and all nine of our game sessions are sold out for the weekend! If you live nearby, I hope you'll try to get on the waitlist or stop by and say hi to Houston or I, and even stay awhile to watch the game!

Distilled is Big in Japan!

Last but not least, I wanted to officially welcome ふるりん本舗 (Fruhling-Honpo) to Distilled, as they will be licensing the game in Japanese! With 焼酎 (Shōchū) being one of the main drinks in the game, we can't wait for others to learn about the wonderful drink of Japan! This is our 10th international language in addition to English for Distilled!

And another update comes to a close. I'm hopeful that by next month, I'll have even more good news, more art, and some photos from Con of the North to share as well. Until then everyone - 

Sláinte,

- Dave