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! 

Hello, Boltonauts! Here is an update on the progress of our game!!

I will touch on THREE IMPORTANT THINGS and leave ONE THING DANGLING to BUILD SUSPENSE.

Also -- a reminder that I am sharing frequent WIP images and progress reports in my  Discord! If you are ever curious what the latest news is, feel free to check there, or ask any questions there.

1. THE TITLE

At the tail end of a previous update, I mentioned a change to the game's title. Turns out that was a FALSE ALARM. The existing title, Bolted, will remain unchanged, except for the addition of an exclamation mark.

As you can see from the rulebook cover above, the Doctor von Gravenstein character has become a sort of instigator/framing device for the "creature-crafting" activity that's central to the game. But I've decided he doesn't need to show up in the title.

Here is a sneak peek at the box cover, with something much closer to final artwork than the WIP version I shared during the campaign!



Most of these appendages are actual parts in the game! I took some creative liberties with how they all fit together, but I think the overall effect is pretty striking.

All the head characters in this game have this same sort of blank-eyed stare (otherwise they look alive/awake, which is unsettling).

But I've attached a poll to this update to get your opinion on whether or not that look is too weird for the box cover. The alternative might be to give him cute little glasses.

2. GAME CONTENTS & SCHEDULE UPDATE

As we close out the summer and stare ahead into the leaf-strewn fall, I'm eager to share some updated timelines with you, revising my earlier estimates.

I've spent the past several months polishing this game to a high sheen, in a process that's proven both exhilarating and exhausting. I've postponed other work and stayed up nights to make every part of this game as beautiful as I can.

Naïvely, I thought the game mechanics were pretty close to done when we started -- but the more I played and the more feedback I got, the more interesting ideas arose for improving the core experience, aiding replayability, and increasing strategy.

So the game has gotten better, in a way I'm very pleased with and proud of! A few new things that will be included in the final version:



These are crown tokens! They represent points!

In early iterations of the game, you scored points for placing body parts. Each part was marked with a point value.

This was OK, but it involved a ton of counting at the end. Some points were conditional ("on the left side", etc.) so it could get confusing when all you want to do at the end of the game is see who won.

Now, in the final version, you can only score points by completing rewards -- each reward card shows a particular pattern that a billionaire patron wants desperately to see:



When you claim a reward, you drop a crown token onto each part involved. ("The patron disdainfully throws a fistful of coins onto your friend.")

Now you've earned those points, but those specific cards have been marked as used -- they can't be used to claim another reward right away.

This introduces a strategic element to which cards you use to claim certain rewards, as well as how to manage your resources to "clean" or "grease" your parts so you can reuse them.

The scoring also becomes easier, because at the end, you just count up your tokens!

That's one example of how the game's evolved. Here is the breakdown of ALL components in the final game, compared to the estimates I listed in the original campaign:

• REMINDER CARDS (player aids) (4) - Not included in the original estimate; replaces Tool cards (8)
• BIG LIGHTNING SWITCH CARD (1) - Not included in the original estimate; now added.
• TORSO CARDS (15) - Was 18; number decreased to allow for the reminder cards on the press sheet.
• REWARD CARDS (19) - Increased from 18
• VOICES CARDS (12) - Increased from 10
• PARTS CARDS (118) - Increased from 90! Removing the Tool cards freed up room on the smaller press sheet, so why not fill it up again with more cards!
• RULEBOOK (20 pages) - Naturally we need this
• CROWN TOKENS (99) - New component type added to the game since our campaign
• PERSONAL LETTER FROM DOCTOR VON GRAVENSTEIN - We gotta include this, of course.

So! I may have gotten a little excited and enthusiastic and added more stuff to the game! But I think it's ALL WORTH IT.

OH RIGHT THE SCHEDULE

• Final address surveys have not yet gone out -- meaning, don't worry about any moves or shipping address updates. All that is yet to come.
  
  
• I still pledge to leave my pricing unchanged, regardless of any tariffs or duties that I may incur. The only additional thing you'll need to pay is the final shipping charge, once our surveys go out.
  
  
• For folks who pledged for limited rewards such as the collages: The time is nearly here! I will be in touch with you each directly to discuss the particulars of your rewards.
  
  
• I've left the post-pledge store closed since the campaign because I wanted to focus on fully finishing the game. Now that that's pretty close, I will probably reopen the store for late backers soon, so there'll be one final chance for folks to get in on the first (and probably only!) print run.

3. THE ARTWORK

One of the things I'm most pleased with is how lovely all the final colored art has turned out!



Preparing the 150+ pieces of art in this game has been a labor of love -- so interesting and fun that I often had a hard time narrowing down which specific pieces to include, from all the cool vintage source material that I collected.

(In case you missed it earlier, here's an example of how I've built each game card out of individual pieces of period artwork...)



It's been a ton of work, but it's been SO satisfying getting everything just right.

There were probably another 100 pieces of art that I worked (at least a little bit) on before ultimately discarding, as I wound through the process of refining the game's contents into the final set.

My goal was to create a set of cards that maximized variety, visual interest, and fun.



They are very striking in all their various combinations!

I'll end this update before it gets any longer with just ONE BRIEF TEASER:

I have made a hand puppet of Doctor von Gravenstein and you'll see him in a video soon!!!!

Until then... keep on boltin' (???)

• SATURDAY, AUGUST 2, 12:00 pm - 1:45 pm
• Booth #1939