It’s been way too long since we last published an update here, and there has been a LOT going on since then. In the meantime, we hope that most of you have been able to follow the game development in the other fora where we publish updates, and that you are all in good health and staying safe.
Keep yourself updated!
First and foremost, if you would like day-to-day updates about development, the places to go are Aegir Games’ Discord Server where there are daily discussions and play testing of the game. And the Europa Universalis: TPOP Facebook Group where you can find all the official information and some memes. There is also a collection of Kickstarter Updates with in-depth information about the game development over the past year – these come out about once a month.
In development for two and a half years
We have come such a long way, and the game has been improved beyond what we thought we could achieve, thanks to the community! These pictures below are a compilation from our 2019 album, with Dávid Turczi, UKGE, ARCON, PDXCon, Essen Spiel and the end of the Kickstarter campaign. A detailed look at 2020 follows below.
Turczi in action, with the dev team
Promoting the upcoming Kickstarter campaign at UKGE '19
At Arcon gaming festival in Oslo
Busy Designer at PDXCon
Silence before the Storm: Kiwihans & Eivind getting ready for Essen '19
Even demo-ing
Look at those dreamy eyes (Eivind)
Martin is very tired.
Party of course, but still working, drinking and writing a Kickstarter Update
Post Kickstarter Timeline – From November to October
- November 2019 the support (you guys!) for the Kickstarter totally exceeded all our expectations, with the campaign raising more than $550K
After some intensive game development, Christmas and working up the Pledge Manager:
- February 2020 we put up the first public draft of the Solo Rules, designed by Dávid Turczi and developed by us. We also got the first tray design drafts from Gametrayz, as well as metal coin add-on designs!
- March 2020 we won 2nd place in BGG’s Most Anticipated Games of 2020 in the Historical and Wargame categories. We revealed Panda Game Manufacturing as our manufacturer. They were chosen due to their experience, catalogue and proven quality, both humane and in component materials. Also illustrations from our favourite illustrators Olly Lawson and Joeri Lefévre
- April 2020 we got the first miniature and dice samples, gorgeous stuff that just got better and better.
- May and June 2020, wood token samples, metal coins and and a white sample that included the double-layered player mats arrived at the office. June also saw a host of new Event cards being published for wider testing, including Age III and several new playable realms.
- July 2020 the new and long awaited iteration of the General Rules and Solo Rules. That took a lot of hard work.
- August 2020 we got the final trays! Ah they are so beautiful, everything fits so neatly, and for a game with this scope it is so practical with truly functional trays. You can see some videos below in the appropriate section.
- September 2020 we got the definitive miniatures, which look fantastic, and we released the 1618 map, which got a lot of love.
- October 2020 I’m writing this to you, we are finishing Age 4 events, Milestones and Missions, we’re readying files to make a complete Pre Production Copy – the last step before mass production.
Main Rules and Solo Rules
Take a look at the updated drafts for both the Main Rules, and Solo/Bot Rules. There are so many improvements, in no small part thanks to the community play testing of the TTS module over Discord and BGG. We have also been striving to make sections intuitive, and less ambiguous.
The whole document has gone through a language clean-up to make it easier to read. Significant changes, include: Alliances, Royal Marriages, Casus Belli, Peace Negotiations and the Holy Roman Empire.
As the rules are still a draft, expect the file to be updated several times, as we get more feedback and finish more gameplay examples.
Solo/Bot Rules have seen some major revisions to the Diplomacy, Defend and Military Action. New bots should be coming very soon, with guidelines for how bots handle new Events we’ve added.
Panda Manufacturing
Very happy to announce that the game will be produced by the renowned and well regarded Panda Game Manufacturing. Known throughout the board gaming community for their quality and high standards.
I’m sure many of you have at least one of their games on your shelf, like Wingspan, Pandemic, Twilight Imperium IV, Feudum, or Pax Pamir.
Custom Trays
… as you might have guessed from the video above. And for those who enjoy good storage solutions as much as us – you can grab some popcorn and click play on the second video a bit further down, where you can see us unboxing the “white sample” box, and putting some authentic game pieces into the trays to see how everything fits. [Spoiler alert!] They fit really neatly, and we are just making minor adjustments to the width of some of the wells in the trays.
Remember to check the video below!
The plastics are supposed to be the best in town, sturdy stuff that you can give as heirlooms to your descendants. The player tray is designed to hold all tokens and pieces of one player color, so no sorting of any kind will be needed prior to setup (provided you put them back where they belong after each game of course!).
Here are some still images for you to enjoy the details.
- White samples of the three boards, a punch board, and a player mat.
- Look at how each well is designed to let you scoop those tokens out easily.
- Average Spanish hand for measure. This one has all the tokens, pieces, and minis in it. Notice the little slit in the top right corner, where you can keep your Mission cards at hand while playing.
- All designed with great precision by Bryce at Game Trayz, to ease the job of organising your game.
- White samples of the three boards, a punch board, and a player mat.
- Look at how each well is designed to let you scoop those tokens out easily.
Look at how each well is designed to let you scoop those tokens out easily.
On top, next to the common resource tray, there will be space for the player mats, reference sheets, the rules and scenario booklet. The box will be a little bit thicker than the sample we got. The latest estimated dimensions for the box are 305 x 380 x 127 mm, meaning that it should just fit nicely into a Kallax shelf. As you understand, this is going to be a meaty and heavy game in every sense. Take a look into GameTrayz to know the guy behind this design.
And now to the promised video made in-house:
Miniatures
We recently got new a new batch of sample miniatures – this time the real deal, showcasing a full set of all of the player colours. These 3.5 cm miniatures have retained the detailed look of the master sculpts, and with the PVC 100 material they are sturdy, yet slightly flexible, for a maximum lifespan. The colours match perfectly with the wooden tokens as you can see below.
Sturdy and durable plastics, ensuring longevity.
The miniatures make the armies stand out so you can find them with quick gaze at the board, and the different stances and postures also make them easy to tell apart from each other. Please excuse our photograpy skills, but we hope you get an impression.
This is an older version of the map that we printed some time ago by the way. You can see the newest one in the section below.
Just as intended, the miniatures visually stand out on the board
Of course we also had to try putting them into their respective slots in the trays, along with all the wooden pieces and tokens that go in them too.
Take a moment to appreciate the lids of the trays. They will make sure that no matter how you flip the game box and trays, everything is going to stay in place (disclaimer: they do have a limit, and would probably not survive a 360º backflip from the top of a 4 floor building).
The miniatures fit perfectly as you can see. In those tailor made compartments, they will stay protected even if you decide to paint them. And you will always know exactly where they are when you need them.
Metal Coins Add-on
These samples show both clean versions of different metal colors, and coins with a test wash applied. We already know we want a far lighter wash on the X-coin, and we are awaiting some new color samples to make sure we end up with the optimal result. How cool are those designs? Wait, I know, very cool. Aurum Potestas Est.
We have the metal coins almost ready, and we think they are beautiful! These have been shown in our social media and newsletter, so if you’re not in there, you know you’re missing out. Sign-up to the newsletter!
They were designed by Andrew Forster (who has also designed the coins for Venice, a game co-designed by our good friend, and EU:TPOP solo mode designer, Dávid Turczi).
So, pre-order them in our webshop, (yes, one set is enough, but what about you get 20 sets?) Be the coolest kid in the neighbourhood!)
The 1618 Map – A Different Game Experience
We are happy to present the map that is coming on the reverse side of the game board, but be aware, this is not just another map, it will provide an altogether different game experience.
- In 1618, Major Powers here are MAJOR.
- A Religiously divided Europe provides new challenges from the outset.
- Grandiosity and despair from the very beginning, with crumbling, old giants, and new, dynamic pretenders. Perfect for asymmetric scenarios.
Full Deluxe Edition reverse side map with Eastern Europe.
Wood Tokens
We received wooden samples directly from the manufacturer. These are very close to what the final pieces will be like. But these have been hand painted, and the final mass produced tokens will actually have an even better finish and print. We still think these look rather stunning to be honest!
We also received a white sample of cardboard components, to make sure they function as intended and that they fit with the other components, and the trays in the box.
And of course we had to try them in action, and play around like the silly, hairless monkeys that we are.
Printed tokens are coming to town!
+60 points for your wildest dreams
Space for EVERYTHING, double layered, in place, it gives me the feelings.
See? Almost a 90º tilt and they don't fall!
Toulouse a province – I will make that joke every time.
Illustrations Galore
We are very happy with our card illustrations made by Olly Lawson and Joeri Lefévre (check their respective instagrams!). But an image is worth a thousand words, so I’ll leave you with the gallery already.
