Production update

Holiday certificates

The PDF linked above has 2 pages: full color and low-ink.

Designer diary

I don't actually know if they'll publish it, but I wanted to make sure it was published SOMEWHERE, so while I wait to hear back from them, I've posted it myself!


Bolted: A Game of Creative Necromancy

When you combine different things, sometimes the result is a chemical reaction. Other times, it’s a surprising creative breakthrough.

I’m the author of the comic strip Wondermark, which is created collage-style out of vintage illustrations. So I’ve long been a champion of “creative re-combination.”

Making comics from collage has both freedoms and limitations. I get to hitch a ride on beautiful artwork from ages past, but I’m also constrained in storytelling (to a degree) by the images I can find.

It means the artwork itself is a creative collaborator. The gestures, expressions, and style of the artwork inform the stories that I tell with them…

[Read more]

Kickstarter Timeline

Here is the edited version of Episode 2 of our Full Gameplay Series, featuring Sara McHenry, Tom McHenry, Jess Fink, and Eric Colossal:

I'm really enjoying sharing the game with my friends, and it's also great to give folks a better picture of how the game itself plays. Each episode is, of course, a complete game from start to finish.


Updated list of upcoming livestreams:

• Fri Dec 5 • 10:15am Pacific (NEW TIME) • Webcomics Weekly Block
  🐤 Dave Kellett (Sheldon, Drive)
  😈 Brad Guigar (Evil Inc, The Webcomics Handbook)
  📺 Kris Straub (Chainsawsuit, Local58)
   
• Mon Dec 8 • 3:15pm Pacific • Very Rude Block
  🥷 Christopher Hastings (Rude Tales of Magic, Dr. McNinja)
  🎨 Carly Monardo (Rude Tales of Magic, Birdgirl)
  🦢 Branson Reese (Rude Tales of Magic, Swan Boy)
   
• Tue Dec 9 • 6pm Pacific • Audio Heroes Block
  🪕 Molly Lewis (Mollylele)
  🎹 Seth Boyer (Skulltenders)
  🎤 Jordan Morris (Jordan Jesse Go, Youth Group)
   
• Fri Dec 12 • 1:15pm Pacific • Rad Artists Block
  🤼 Scott C. (Great Showdowns, Cabin Head and Tree Head)
  🪓 Shing Yin Khor (The Legend of Auntie Po)
  🐻 Cat Farris (My Boyfriend is a Bear)

Hello there, it's me, the creator of the game pictured above!

(My puzzle game about building Frankenstein-like creatures out of repurposed Victorian artwork, nbd)

I've got great news for all Bolted! backers and non-backers alike (some of each are getting this email)...

• NON-BACKERS: Now's your chance!! I've reopened preorders for Bolted! on Kickstarter. This will be your best chance to secure a copy of the game, before copies are shipped out to everyone in the spring.

💚 CHECK IT OUT ON KICKSTARTER 💚

• EXISTING BACKERS: Any success of the Kickstarter campaign will benefit your already-guaranteed copies of the game too, making production & fulfillment more efficient! You of course DO NOT need to back the new campaign, but I want to share the below with everyone anyway.

This time around, I was able to do a few things I wasn't able to before, such as a really sweet (SMOLDERINGLY INTENSE??) promo video that I'm quite proud of:



And, now that the game is totally finished and the rules finalized, a comprehensive how-to-play video too.

I'll also be doing a series of playthroughs with my creative friends over the next few weeks! Here is a video of the first one, from earlier this week:



Hopefully this gives you a good sense of the game! Here are some other sessions scheduled too (with more still to be announced -- keep an eye on my Bluesky for more updates):

• Mon Dec 1 • 12:15pm Pacific • Sickos Block
  🐶 KC Green (Gunshow, Greatures)
  ✒️ Mattie Lubchansky (Boys Weekend, Simplicity)
  💧Tom Harrison (Anime Sickos)
  ↪ Add event to your calendar
   
• Wed Dec 3 • 12:15pm Pacific • Webcomics Weekly Block
  🐤 Dave Kellett (Sheldon, Drive)
  😈 Brad Guigar (Evil Inc, The Webcomics Handbook)
  📺 Kris Straub (Chainsawsuit, Local58)
  ↪ Add event to your calendar
   
• Fri Dec 12 • 1:15pm Pacific • Rad Artists Block
  🤼 Scott C. (Great Showdowns, Cabin Head and Tree Head)
  🪓 Shing Yin Khor (The Legend of Auntie Po)
  🐻 Cat Farris (My Boyfriend is a Bear)
  ↪ Add event to your calendar

All livestreams will be at: twitch.tv/davidmalki

There's also a special bonus card available in this campaign for repeat backers (anyone who's ever backed one of my Kickstarter projects in the past). More details are on the Kickstarter page!

You've heard of Black Friday and Cyber Monday. Today, it's...Think Ya Should Check Out My Game Thursday

Thanks!!

Hooray! Bolted! is going to print!

Thank you very much to the playtesters who've done blind plays from the rulebook recently. I think it's in a really great place -- and that's been the last bottleneck with production.

If anyone wants to read through the rulebook, here it is on Google Drive! It's down to just final proofreading at this point, but feel free to comment on the doc if you spot something incredibly egregious.

(I will have a how-to-play video made before release as well, which will be linked from a QR code on the rulebook's back cover.)

Production schedule update

This means I can now speak with more confidence about the production schedule! "More confidence" is of course a relative term, but here's what I am forecasting.

Because of where we are in the year, at this point I won't be getting the finished games in hand before the end of 2025. The factory is too booked up (and cargo ships are too crowded) to get them finished & out the door before the upcoming holidays.

My updated plan is to export the games during the slower shipping window between [Western] New Year and Chinese New Year -- meaning, during the month of January.

This is the updated production schedule:

NOV 12: Preorders re-open for more backers
NOV 20: Final artwork & files submitted to factory
DEC 10: Samples & proofs confirmed
DEC 12: Preorder window closes; final production order submitted
~JAN 20: Games ship from factory (China)
FEB 28~MAR 31 (?): Shipping/fulfillment to backers! (Depending on how long the cargo takes to import and for me to receive the games)

Bonus cards update / Birth of a mini-expansion

The last major change during the rulebook revisions has been the elimination of a few cards (and one of the tool powers) that proved just a bit too complex / imbalanced to teach effectively to new players.

I still think they're fun cards, though, so I have decided to create a mini-expansion that will ship alongside the game!

I'm calling it the ELBOWPALOOZA EXPANSION, because I already made that logo earlier.



Every BackerKit backer will receive the mini-expansion for free. It's my little way of saying thanks for being patient and supportive during this whole process!

I do think these cards add a fun dimension to the game -- they were fun to playtest with, and I'd hate to see them go unused. But I think they make the most sense contextualized as "an optional addition" rather than part of the base game.

Putting this tool power on a separate card also changes how it's used (limiting it to 2 uses per player, per game) for better balance.

Removing the hybrid cards from the core lineup meant that a few slots in the base game got freed up. So this has resulted in a slight rearrangement of the bonus cards as well:

• The backer incentive body part bonus cards (Piranhamoose & Gax) have been called up to the big show -- they'll now be included in the base game. 
• The Centipede bonus card was also already promoted to the base game as well.
• Instead of those body part cards, backers who qualify for bonus cards will be getting these brand-new bonus Patron cards instead!

Because the body part cards are square, AND they all get shuffled together, it's REALLY DIFFICULT to make just a handful of extra cards that are 100% consistent with the main cards.

So, INSTEAD, the bonuses are becoming Patron cards, which are standard size playing cards (WAY easier to make in small numbers), AND there is no gameplay impact in case there end up being any tiny differences in the paper stock, etc. 

Patron cards are also more modular -- they don't change the balance of body parts in the deck. So I think, if gameplay will always be altered when you throw in extra cards, adding Patron cards is a smoother and less disruptive change.

You, the backer, don't need to do anything different! This is all just FYI, so you know what to expect. These bonus cards will also be available à la carte as add-ons, for those interested.

Reopening preorders

• The game is now done! When I first ran this campaign, I thought the game was pretty close to done. Now, it's totally done, and I think it's way better than it began. Folks who were on the fence at first might now be more interested in the finished product.
  
  
• A lot of folks missed it the first time around! I've now been talking about this project and posting updates for the better part of a year. In all that time, it hasn't been available to anyone who heard about after April. I want to invite those folks in before I hit the final big red PRINT button.
  
  This last point is particularly important because...
  
  
• Manufacturing is bonkers right now. I've already guaranteed you that I won't change my pricing due to any tariffs or anything -- because it's just too impossible to predict, the way things are changing week to week. I'd rather just assure you a predictable product at a fixed price, and deal with any upheaval on my own end.
  
  But for that reason, I THINK this will PROBABLY be the ONLY print run of this game. That's a tough thing to say after I've put so much time into it! But it's NOT likely to be a product that I stock forever and ever, or go back to print multiple times on. THEREFORE, I want EVERYONE who might want a copy to secure that copy NOW!
  
  That's great for them, of course -- but on MY end, if I can get more preorders now, I can increase the size of my print run.
  
  I can't do anything to control tariffs or how they might INCREASE my manufacturing cost, but if I can increase my print run, it will DECREASE my unit cost. That is the only leverage I have to try and mitigate the effect of tariffs and other price increases.
  
  As gamers, we know: you strategize to press for advantage with whatever options you have.

So! I am going to open preorders again, next week. I am going to do this on Kickstarter.

What the upcoming Kickstarter campaign means for you:

• You don't have to do anything. You are already guaranteed your copy. You will have the chance to add your add-ons in the BackerKit pledge manager, later on. You don't need to do anything about the Kickstarter at all!
  
  
• I will be SELLING the mini-expansion as part of the Kickstarter offering. You, the OG backers, will ALREADY be getting that guy for free! Again, that's my way of saying "Thanks for being patient -- here's a little extra for your trouble!"
  
  
• If you DO want to help support the project overall, you can feel free to give the Kickstarter campaign a "Follow" to help boost our first-day visibility. But again -- you DON'T have to pledge and you DON'T need to pay anything extra. You DON'T even have to do the thing I just said one second ago. It's ONLY if you want to put a little extra oomph in our gas tank. The more lightning hits the lightning rod, the more creatures the Doctor can craft, etc.

• The Kickstarter campaign WON'T do anything to delay the printing, and you'll STILL be the first ones getting your copies once they're made! The printing is already on its own schedule. It just so happens that we can fit a Kickstarter campaign neatly into the existing timeline. Remember, this is a puzzle game.

• You will always be my most precious babies and favorite children! I CAN choose my favorite child, and it's YOU!!

• Now's your chance, dude!!!!!!!!!!!

FAIR WARNING: I'm going to be making a lot of noise about this Kickstarter to hopefully end this whole project with a HUGE bang. So please bear with me over the next month or so, as I try my best to invite more people in!!

If you have any questions about this, please feel free to leave a comment below, or shoot me a note privately in any of the many places I can be found.

Finally -- that puppet video I promised last time

I rewarded myself for finishing all the game's artwork by spending some quality arts & crafts time in the studio! Here is my video of a Doctor von Gravenstein puppet:



I'm going to use him in further promos as the game gets closer to release! Super fun to make. I developed this technique some years ago for other projects, and it's been neat to return to it with a new character:



I think it looks....lively

I'm going to ping my mailing list again with news about the Kickstarter very soon. As backers, you are part of that list by default, so I beg pardon in advance for the extra noise. 

Thanks everyone!