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Deliverance: The Game of Spiritual Warfare

Created by Lowen Games

Good & evil clash in this epic tactical combat adventure about angels, demons, and the saints caught between!

Latest Updates from Our Project:

Deliverance Enters 2023 - Pics, Gameplay Report, News, & More!
about 1 year ago – Mon, Jan 02, 2023 at 03:47:12 AM

Welcome to the last day of the year (and happy New Year for those that read this update later)! We're back to discuss the updated timeline, share some factory pics on acrylic standees and [REDACTED], ask your feedback on our Kickstarter strategy moving forward, give a special playtest report, and more! Read on for details...


Timeline Update

Welcome back to another timeline update on the last day of the year! Some of this news is a bummer to write, but the reason we're there is just part of the process and means greater quality for everyone.

We're adding a month to the timeline, because the factory felt it was very important to send a final physical prototype with all the elements of the game for approval. While this means about a month's delay, I wholeheartedly agree. There is no better way to assess quality than to confirm it in person. 

There are important components we haven't seen yet (i.e.- inserts 1+2), as well as upgrades to existing components we haven't seen either (i.e.- the finished box cover/back with spot U/V finish). Then, we made some upgrades/size changes to components that we need to see as well (i.e.- the thicker campaign book or punch boards with adjusted minions and HP dials). Lastly, we made plenty of text adjustments to the game components after the first prototype from the manufacturer, so it is important to confirm those files all made it into the final version of the game.

The latest timeline estimate:

  •  October 2022 (Done): Game & Story development completes!
  •  October 2022 (Done): Some items approved for manufacturing (minis & coins)!
  •  November 2022 (Done): Final print files submitted to the manufacturer.
  •  NEW - December 2022 (In Progress): Factory produces final prototype for approval (Sent in Jan).
  •  January - March 2023: Deliverance gets printed (45 days to print, with a 3-week break for Chinese New Year)!
  •  March/April 2023: Deliverance begins freight shipping.
  •  May/June 2023: Deliverance arrives and is sorted at our shipping partners' warehouses around the world.
  •  May - July 2023: The final "Deliverance" from local warehouses to your homes begin!

Factory Pics!

I received a few pics from the factory of Acrylic Standees and *gasp* dice prototypes!

The adjustment on standees mainly related to angel standee sizes compared to the demons, and base sizes compared to the size of the map boards (they had to shrink a bit). The bosses were big, too -- I considered adjusting them, but we decided they were sized right. They looked very imposing, and that felt great when playing with them. In the words of Bob Ross, it was a "happy little accident." In addition, we increased the thickness of these from 2 to 3mm (50% thicker), which means they're going to be extremely sturdy in transit and during play (a welcome addition for those of you that have kids I'm sure).

Deliverance Acrylic Standee Sample
Top: Legion, Cruel Archer, Ba'al. Bottom: Sardius, Meddling Imp, Uriel.

The only thing that drove me crazy about the Acrylic Standees (and I expect is just how it goes with acrylic things) is getting the plastic film off each one before playing with them... My nails just weren't long or sharp enough 😂

Dice prototypes for Deliverance
Official dice prototypes -- these were approved!

The dice on the left and right are the final dice prototypes. The center model doesn't have the metallic black ink on it yet -- I wanted you to see the plastic color. They call it amber, but I think it looks amazing. The sides came out beautifully! For everyone that bought multiple sets of dice, congratulations! You're going to love them. If you want to add some dice to your order, send an e-mail to [email protected] and I'll get you sorted (Deluxe edition comes with 2 pairs, so you'll need 2 more pairs for a complete set).


Playtest Report

I have been working on Deliverance for about 6.5 years at this point, and before this Christmas, I had never played it with my parents. They supported me, but they don't play games (unless Wordle counts). They wanted to play, but I reasoned to myself that they should play the best version of the game... because what if they hated it 😞

Well, I had this really incredible prototype that everyone loved, and I decided that if the game is good enough for all my Kickstarter backers, it's time to show them! I brought it with me on our trip up to Bastrop, TX to see my folks.

I'm sharing this particular playtesting report with you all, because you might have casual or non-gamers in your life that are interested in the game's theme, but will be intimidated by its' size.

My wife tried Taolu, I played Shula, my mom chose to play Uriel, and my dad picked Michael the Archangel!

(The game looks so nice on the table, especially with that Neoprene Mat behind it, right?)

We played a Skirmish game on the lowest difficulty setting (Adventure), which I feel is important for most casual or non-gamers. I'll note that doesn't make it "easy" with new players though -- I find it can be very hard even on Adventure difficulty. As you grow in skill and become more efficient with your plays, increasing the difficulty level adds a whole new element of flavor to the game, changing enemy behavior and making them tougher. But what I find most compelling about higher difficulty levels is that it shrinks the margin for error -- Playing a game on the highest difficulty settings feels like the game is balanced on a knife's edge. Lower difficulty settings are still challenging, but there is more margin for error, so new players are able to recover easier and survive more often.

They were intimidated by the size of the game, but once I explained the game and took them through the first round of battle, they didn't need my help anymore. They would ask questions every so often to help them decide how to use their actions, but I didn't have to play their turns for them. They were in full command of their angels from round 2 and onward. They would later tell me that the gameplay felt intuitive, that each of the skills' text "made sense" after reading them, and that they loved that their actions were all listed on the character card in front of them.

My dad started the game goofing off, which he usually does to mask when he's feeling uncomfortable 😆Looking back, I think he was inwardly convinced he was going to have to "suffer through" the game and wouldn't really enjoy it. However, during the first round, he started to really pay attention and engage. He was all over discussing his plans and ideas for how to defeat the forces of Darkness, and he didn't even touch his phone (which he loves)!

My mom chose an angel I didn't expect -- I figured she'd choose a female angel, but she chose the heavily armored beefcake fighter, Uriel! I always recommend they choose a character based solely on the art. I tell them not to even read the skills, because the way the angels LOOK is also the way they feel when playing them. And she was all about that fire boi 😆

We had a great time, then the moment of truth came. In Skirmish mode, you fight 2 battles. In a game where players are first learning, I always leave myself the option to end the game early, and after victory in the first battle is a good place if time constrains. My parents were so into it that they wanted to continue to battle 2 -- the epic showdown with the Fallen Prince and his minions!

As an aside, what I love about Deliverance is that it's fully co-op, but even as an expert in the game, I can't really "quarterback" a player's turn. I can suggest what I think they should do, but after figuring out the basics of moving, dealing damage, etc., players quickly recognize there are always several great options for how they play their turn. Depending on what another player does or any number of things, your plans for what you intended to do on your turn will often change. What you end up doing as a player with these "alpha gamer" tendencies (as I have and suppress) is adjust your decisions to support your team's weak points. It's an incredible feeling in a co-op game... I get a little frustrated in some co-op games when there's only ever one right move for each player (medic players in Pandemic know what I'm talking about... now go to Paris and remove those disease cubes already 😜).

By the end of the game, it was Michael the Archangel under the vigilant control of my dad that sent Daeva, Prince of Persia, to the abyss. My mom and my dad were both massive damage dealers, and my wife and I were the support team that held the Darkness at bay and kept our offense fueled and able to smash. Even still, we finished the boss fight with only 1 or 2 health remaining each -- I thought we were going to lose! 😨 My dad was defeated in battle and revived twice, returning with a vengeance each time!

We all had so much fun. There were some really great highs, and some really shocking moments where the cards surprised everyone. It was a battle that ramped up in intensity to a nail biting finish, and the morning after the dramatic conclusion of the game, we were all still talking about it. They loved how Bible verses were included in ways that actually mattered, but weren't required reading. Each time they used a Pray action, they would read the verse on the back of the Prayer card out loud and try to guess what the card did before drawing it (each Prayer card has a unique verse on the back that both serves as highly thematic flavor text *and* gives a hint as to what the front of the card does -- useful if you're trying to make a pivotal decision about using a Pray action or dealing damage).

My dad was surprised at how much he enjoyed the game, and my mom shared the same sentiment, though in a much more shocked and less reserved way 😂 We legitimately made memories for a lifetime and all immediately wanted to play again. However, it was midnight, and my kids were going to wake us all up at 7am, so we called game night.

I know many of you have family or friends you hope will enjoy Deliverance with you. I think you'll be pleasantly surprised, whether you're teaching this game for the first time at game night or are playing your 100th game on Infernal difficulty (which is just foolish -- don't ever try playing on Infernal difficulty unless you like losing in soul-crushing fashion).


Nebuchadnezzar & Ariel, Lion of God

This is a work in progress art that we revealed on our BoardGameGeek page earlier this month! Check out this forum post for full details and be sure to subscribe there, because I'll be sharing on BGG more often! This art is  very much a work in progress, but soooo cool that I wanted to share with you:

Ariel, Lion of God & her trusty winged lion, Nezzy!

In case you missed our full Nebuchadnezzar (aka Nezzy) reveal:

Nezzy! Click through to download a free Desktop background of this pic!

The original Nezzy reveal:

We are indeed working on an expansion!

Kickstarter Strategy Moving Forward

I've been considering a question that I'm sure many of you wonder about KS projects you back as well: Why should I back [insert Kickstarter here] now, when I could just buy it later?

I'm a publisher now, but I'm also an avid player of board games and backer of KS projects. I feel like a lot of board game campaigns fail to address that question in a truly satisfying way. I thought I'd share some insight into this and see what you all thought about our strategy moving forward.

As a first-time creator, I was burdened with the legitimate possibility that this project could not exist without everyone coming to support us. That is also certainly true of our next campaign, but the badge of "first timer" is gone. I understand that's a double-edged sword, as first timers are generally less likely to deliver than veterans due to experience, but wanting to see something exist does have an effect on the willingness of a backer to jump in to support when they're on the fence.

This brings me to what I *want* my reasons to be in the future. I believe you, as my backer, need to be rewarded for helping in this campaign as well as every future campaign we run. Before I share my idea, here's some quick info on what we're doing with the KS funds we raised:

We are printing 5,000 units of Deliverance (not counting our various add-ons which will be around 1500 each), which leaves us about 1800 units to sell after your Kickstarter orders are fulfilled. I believe we will sell through the entire stock within the 2023 year.

When I re-print Deliverance, we won't go to Kickstarter with that. We'll make a printing from the funds we raise from those 1800 unit sales. Here's where it gets interesting for you KS backers...

In addition to the higher price of this game in the future ($99) + limited availability of add-ons (~300 or less remaining of each), each future Kickstarter edition will feature a Deluxe edition of the game/expansions, including the one you backed already.

The next printing is going to cut down on component quality and quantity. We're going to lower the weight of the box and reduce the price point accordingly. With this plan, you're getting the best version of Deliverance that exists because you backed the Kickstarter. The only time this Deluxe edition gets re-printed is during a future Kickstarter, and the only time a Deluxe expansion is ever printed is during that KS event.

To me, as a backer, a Deluxe edition of a game makes me want to back now -- I want highest quality components, and I want to feel like my investment in another company allowed them to make something special.

In addition to that, other cornerstones of my answer to "why back now" in future KS campaigns are:

  • Get it first
  • Get it at the best price
  • Help bring it to life
  • Limited exclusive components (I wish I did this with the metal Initiative token in hindsight)
  • My sincere appreciation for your support

I'd love to know in the comments: What reasons make you want to back a game now versus later?


Factory Update

I am separating this out from the rest of the timeline update, because I think it's worth sharing for those concerned about manufacturing in China. I'll try to avoid speaking out of turn, making political statements, or sharing things that aren't necessary because I perceive it's a sensitive issue. I hope you find it valuable and worthwhile. I'm just going to share facts as I understand them from working with our manufacturers. This isn't on the news as far as I know, but between my manufacturing team as well as an employee of mine that lives in China, here is what I know:

As many of you know, we're manufacturing with Longpack Games in China. They recently had some very dramatic civilian protests against a long series of severe lockdowns, and instead of quell the riots with violence, the government elected to relax restrictions in a dramatic shift of policy. Due to the lengthy lockdown followed by sudden opening, they have been hit pretty hard by COVID (and certainly other sicknesses). As a result, over 300 MILLION people in China have been hit by COVID, which is a number that is currently ~3 weeks old. It's like the wild west out there right now.

I asked how the team was doing, wishing them well, and here was Rebecca's response (Rebecca is our Longpack rep):

"Thank you so much for your kind words, the past 10 days or so have been rough for the most of us in the headoffice as well as the workers in our factories, but we are recovering well, things are gradually getting back to normal.

I'm in Shanghai, my family is in a different city in Zhejiang province, they are safe at the moment, many thanks for asking :)"

How does this matter to this Kickstarter, and why am I including it in the update? It is my belief that both the civilian unrest as well as the recent bouts of sickness have been quietly impacting our timeline. I have noticed a general delay in the last month or so on their internal team getting art assets proofed or physical components developed or other prototype elements returned for proofing. I am sure the entirety of their production line is experiencing similar delays, but I do see consistent progress. I am most proud of our contact, Rebecca, who had worked hard even from her apartment and on weekends to get things done and communicate in a timely manner.

Pray for China! 🙏


Next Update

In our next update, I hope to have a "final unboxing video" of the version of Deliverance that is going to show up at your doorstep. In addition to that, we're going to reveal the final alternative stretch goal art of Michael and Sardius. I'll be sharing updates to the timeline, and probably a few lore tidbits as well. Chinese New Year is approaching, but you can be sure the next update is going to be interesting anyway 😁

Thank you for your support, and especially for your prayers. Our team needs every bit of prayer we can get!

Kind regards,

Andrew Lowen and the Deliverance team

Big News About Manufacturing
over 1 year ago – Sat, Dec 03, 2022 at 04:24:30 AM

We have officially delivered all game files to our manufacturer, but not all news is positive. This update will give you some insight into the manufacturing of Deliverance! Read on for more details!


Manufacturing Files Submitted For Printing!

We worked so hard to get these files done, and I am proud to say that I was able to submit our final print files the day before Thanksgiving (Nov 23). The target was to have mass manufacturing begin by December 1, which would have a completion date of January 15 (~45 days). This would allow us to hit an important benchmark of getting games out of China before their 3-week "Chinese New Year" holiday celebration that begins February 1 (the country's factories and shipping shuts down during that time).


It looked like we were making good time on that! However, after reviewing our files, my account manger at Longpack Games said their team was concerned about mass printing without first delivering a second sample game to approve. They said there were many changes to the files between samples, and that additional features like Spot U/V, the thicker campaign book, and both Inserts 1 and 2 should be reviewed for approval. I wholeheartedly agree with this, as quality control is an important element of this process. We don't want to get all the way to the finish line and fall on our faces, right?


This is probably the biggest news in regard to delivery -- I am not confident that we can get our games onto ships in time to "beat" Chinese New Year delays. It is possible we might, but it isn't guaranteed anymore. If manufacturing doesn't complete before then, the timeline will be delayed by about a month. That means games would be delivered around April-May instead of our projected March-April timeframe. Though it's not certain, my new updated timeline estimate (below) is a reflection of this.


Updated timeline estimate (Using proper years because time machines probably don't exist):

  •  October 2022 (Done): Game & Story development completes!
  •  October 2022 (Done): Some items approved for manufacturing (minis & coins)!
  •  November 2022 (Done): Final print files submitted to the manufacturer.
  •  December 2022 / January 2023: Deliverance gets printed!
  •  February 2023: Deliverance begins freight shipping (on boats *after* Chinese New Year)
  •  April 2023: Deliverance arrives and is sorted at our shipping partners' warehouses around the world
  •  April/May 2023: The final "Deliverance" from local warehouses to your homes begin!

Currently, we have begun manufacturing the plastic and metal parts of the game. We've paid 50% down on the manufacturing order, so all the parts that can be printed are currently being printed to save time and give us our best chance at beating CNY.


I know delays are not the news that anyone *wants* to read, however I believe it is right to be as transparent as I can with you. My momma taught me it is best to be truthful, and running the fulfillment of our first Kickstarter campaign has taught me to estimate conservatively!


Now, let's get into some positive and fun news!


The final rulebook is available for viewing!

We have tested this a LOT. I can confidently say that you will be able to learn the game from the rulebook without any major issues!

View the Deliverance Rulebook PDF

Here is a link to the Deliverance Rulebook PDF on Dropbox! 


I am very hopeful that our team of reviewers and the fans on our Discord community caught all the typos and minor bugs for this printing, but I am not so bold as to expect perfection 😆 If you find something that is an essential fix, I can still change it for the next week or two (until the sample is approved).


Insert 3 has more storage space!

Our insert for the miniatures looks quite nice. The angels are all contained snugly, and the extra storage space has been vastly improved!

Our minis tray filled with the metal coins, minis, and more!

The new rectangular storage spaces give you options to make life easier when putting the game away - If you've ever been annoyed that you found a token on the ground, but already packed a game away, I thought about you when designing this. These spaces aren't essential to store anything except the health dials. For backers that purchased the Metal Coins add-on, you have dedicated space to place everything so it all fits in a single box. The acrylic stands will probably come in that square in the top right corner, but can be stored by attaching them to your standee bases in the main insert tray.


The dice saga continues!

Many of you have followed our dice saga closely. It feels like the one component that we have publicly struggled with the most as of late, so I feel it necessary to continue the drama with a neat, warm, and fuzzy conclusion.


To sum up what you DO know, we worked hard to get the dice right. It took a few tries and a lot of community feedback, and everyone loved the design in the end!

The final dice faces!

Now to share the next saga of the dice, when the molds were first shared with me, I actually LOVED one of them, and was disappointed at the color of the other. Have we come so far only to barely fail at the end?

The latest dice sample (hand cut sample)

No -- we were rescued from that unappealing plastic color of the gold marble dice! Enter Rebecca, our awesome Longpack account manager.

Updated plastic color -- glowing amber.

The gold didn't look... gold. I think the black marbled dice is great, but the gold was missing its' glow. We adjusted to a "glowing amber" color, which does a better job at looking gold than gold does. It also is going to fit beautifully with the gold borders around the angels and is now a show piece on the board! I also requested them to give me metallic black ink on the amber dice, but I think I'm fine with the clarity of true black as well. I'm looking forward to receiving these samples soon to see in person (and to take fancy pics with my iPhone for you all).


So while we don't have the true conclusion to this saga to show yet (aka the final dice pics), it is well in hand. Thank you all for your feedback to get us here!


More surprises - Part 3 of 4

If you're wondering where "Parts 1 and 2" are of this surprise, you'll have to go to our Facebook group to get the scoop! The surprise relates to Nebuchadnezzar, the Winged Lion. He is our first reveal of the Deliverance expansion!

Here is part 3 of 4... the portrait of Nezzy, also known as the fiercest company mascot ever.

Click through for a free wallpaper of Nezzy!

One question still remains... Is he a playable character, or is he an animal companion to an angel? Stay tuned to our "Part 4" big reveal scheduled for release tomorrow in our Facebook group :D


On the horizon...

I expect to have an unboxing of the *final* Deliverance board game in my hands for the next update. We'll do a Deliverance unboxing video! Then I'm going to send it off to a "How To Play" video expert so we can get a fancy and clear visual rulebook explainer vid on our website + YouTube for your convenience.


This December, in addition to getting the game manufacturing humming along, I will get final logistics estimates from all of our vendors. In particular, I have to decide between Bridge, Funagain, and Quartermaster Logistics for shipping, warehousing, and all that. I will also be working to get final estimates from our international shipping partners: VFI (Asia), Aetherworks (AUS/NZ), Happyshops (EU), and ShipQuest (UK).


The Deliverance Expansion

The Deliverance expansion is planned to hit Kickstarter between 12-18 months from now. I understand it isn't a "normal" thing to publicize an expansion so early, but I really enjoyed our community's feedback during the development of Deliverance. You all made Deliverance so much better, and I would love to continue asking for your input as an important part of our game development process. Part of that is sharing new art, new characters, lore, playing expansion content using our Tabletop Simulator mod, and asking you questions that actually influence our decisions the whole way through.


The primary places we'll be sharing information is via e-mail (join our newsletter here), in our Facebook Group, and on our Discord community. I'd also like to do more with BoardGameGeek and Reddit, but I feel stretched so thin as it is I find it hard to add more to my plate!


Thank you all for following along and encouraging me. Also, special shout out to Lee, our #1 troll. Ridiculous ❤️


Kind regards,


Andrew Lowen & the Deliverance Team

Factory Prototype Unboxing & Final Playtesting Results + LOTS Of Pictures!
over 1 year ago – Tue, Nov 01, 2022 at 12:52:58 AM

This update is the biggest I have ever written! We received our factory prototype, took it to a convention, and nearly 50 people played 24 games of Deliverance with all the fancy new components! LOTS OF PICTURES INSIDE! Read on for more...


Deliverance Prototype Unboxing

If you missed it, earlier this month I posted our factory prototype's unboxing on our YouTube channel! It is time stamped for maximum convenience. The only things to note are:


1) The Neoprene Mat should have a little league field on it -- the video has an older version of the mat, but it's still pretty close :D

2) The plastic inserts weren't ready for the prototype. More details and pics on those below!

Timeline Update

We're currently making final adjustments and preparation for the prototype files to be submitted to the manufacturer. We need 1 more set of samples delivered for some of the items below (dice, acrylic standees, and plastic inserts). We plan to submit files for a final prototype in November!


Here is our updated timeline estimate:


  •  October 2022 (Done): Game & Story development completes!
  •  October 2022 (Done): Some items approved for manufacturing (minis & coins)!
  •  November 2022: Final print files submitted to the manufacturer.
  •  November/December 2022: Deliverance gets printed!
  •  January 2022: Deliverance begins freight shipping (on boats before Chinese New Year)
  •  March 2022: Deliverance arrives and is sorted at our shipping partners' warehouses around the world
  •  March/April 2022: Deliverance is... delivered!

As always, plans could change based on factors outside of our control. We're also going through this as a professional publisher for the first time, and despite our diligent planning and expert manufacturing & fulfillment partners' guidance, we realize it's possible we're missing something! As always, we promise to keep you all informed at every step (in our Facebook and Discord communities and in our end of month KS updates)!


Feedback On The Prototype & Changes Incoming

At LTN Con, an amazing thing happened -- My artists and graphic designers who have been with me from the beginning got to meet each other for the first time. We played Deliverance a lot and took a critical look at all of the components in the game. After playing about a dozen games each and analyzing components until 3am every night, and after compiling and reviewing all of your feedback on our components through Kickstarter, our FB Group, Email, and Discord Server, we compared notes and settled on the changes you'll read about below.


Check out some of the pics that came from the convention of Deliverance!

Adam Glass (our original graphic designer) is standing in the center, and the hunky bald dude to his left is Dan Maynard (our concept artist).
Angels came to kick butt and chew bubblegum... and they're all out of gum.
We had 2 tables constantly running Deliverance for the entire convention. Many demons were slain.
The factory minis really do look this good. They're even more incredible in person!
Added another pic of our minis from a home game -- I think this game is so beautiful on the tabletop!
Uriel and his angels battling against Og, King of Bashan! The metal Courage Tokens are extremely satisfying to use!
A great pic with Dan, Adam, Roosevelt (one of the coolest fans ever), and Dave (the winner of our Deliverance contest)!

We did a ton there, and I would be remiss if I failed to share our video interview that aired on LTN Radio!

And last, I did a talk about all the times I almost messed Deliverance up -- If you're a hardcore fan, you'll want to give this a listen. Sadly, they didn't get the video of this, but the audio captured well! (For those that wonder why I stop talking about half way through, I'm crying about something important to me. Real men cry 😆)

Paper Component Feedback

The paper components are beautiful. The only major physical change to the paper components we're going to make relates to the Campaign book. It was spiralbound which felt amazing when using it for play, but the actual paper was too thin for my liking. We're upgrading the thickness so it feels more sturdy.


Next, the art and that textured linen finish made the feel of the components awesome. This is probably going to be one of the prettiest games you own in regard to the beauty. I feel like the art makes it look so great on the table!

Demon cards laid out on the Neoprene Mat. This was the start of a 4-player Skirmish game of Deliverance. Notice the Demon Talent cards? Players are engaging Heroic Difficulty!

Also, I was very pleased with the legibility of our mini-sized cards -- The prototype was the first time I got to see them as they were meant to be, as all of our past prototypes used a different size. These are half the size (2.5" x 1.75") of a Poker-sized card (2.5" x 3.5"), which was a concern for some in regard to legibility. Here's a quick comparison with various Deliverance cards against a mini-sized card from one of my favorite games (Lord of the Rings: Journeys in Middle-Earth):

Vertical Prayer card on the left, Demon Talent card on the right. LOTR: JiME card in the middle for text size reference.

Prayer cards (on the left) are held in your hand, so the text can be slightly smaller, but not too small! Demon Talent cards (on the right) are laid on the table next to a demon's card, and will be ~2-3 feet from your eyes, so the text is larger.


One other thing that drives me crazy about using Mini-sized cards in a game like LOTR: Journeys (remember, I have played nearly 100 games of this) is shuffling mini-sized cards. Originally, it was a reason I was hesitant to use this size for our cards. I became very comfortable with these, because you don't have to do a lot of shuffling of the decks. The quantity of cards you have and the way you use the cards in the game allow for that. Instead of constantly using and shuffling cards, you leverage the Action selection system on your Angel + Talent cards. You do have many other areas you can showcase skill through card play, but the payoff for skillful card play (aka you surviving to the next round because that card saved your tail) really emerges at the higher difficulty levels.


Behold! Another New Dice Design!

I must deliver what the Insiders want! You guys were so helpful (and matter of fact) in your feedback that we had to go back and refine our dice even further. We learned a LOT from this process about dice, and I thought I'd share some of that insight with you, but FIRST, our dice:

By popular demand, the dice have been updated to be more awesome.

The colors of the dice are adjusted to be the following:

      1) Marbled gold plastic with metallic black ink

      2) Marbled black plastic with metallic gold ink


Here's a render I asked my 3D artist to cook up for us -- We tried to give you an idea of what they will look like!

3D render - final components subject to increased awesomeness.

After spending time playing with the fancy dice prototypes at LTN Con, we realized they needed to change. The "WHY" is as important as the end result -- I hope you enjoy the insight!


First, we originally thought the beauty of the dice would rest in the design alone. That's what makes them "unique" after all, right? Well, we tried to do too much, and we were wrong. In addition, the manufacturer increased and decreased the size of some of the dice sides so they would fit -- that resulted in some pips being big and others being small (caused by their engineers adjusting the formatting/size of files we gave them to fit the dice shape).

Prototype sample dice.

There are several important elements of dice. Readability and functionality are #1 and 2. Beauty is very important, but you can't sacrifice readability or functionality for beauty! What we realized is the design needed to start with the placement of the pips and the negative space surrounding them. The pips are 2.5mm squares, the negative space *between* pips is 2mm, and the negative space around the outside edges of the pips is also at least 2mm at the thinnest point. We went back to the drawing board with the dice design, and focused on giving enough negative space around the dice pips that the dice would clearly show the result.


Next, the colors - While beautiful, our concept artist Dan pointed out that they weren't accomplishing what we intended. The intent was to have one dice that featured the "angel" side and the other featuring the "demon" side. We tried using the colors of white (angel) and purple (demon) for the dice, but they both used gold ink -- The serious issue of the gold ink being hard to read on white dice arose, and using purple ink on white just didn't feel great. Purple, while it was a color that we specifically use in the demon palette, paled in comparison to the amount of black which you can see on all the borders of the demon cards. Angels, by contrast use gold in their borders and on their cards, too! Black and gold have some of the greatest contrast among colors, so I knew it would work there. All this considered, I realized we could bump the beauty of the game by 1% more and embrace this in our dice.


The final product considers the beauty of the swirled marble into the shape design. While the shape of the design is simpler overall, it communicates progression (subtle increase in complexity from 1-6). It also has a subtle community led improvement of the pip rotation being diamond on odd numbers, and square on even numbers. Lastly, it isn't too far from what folks that love dice are used to -- You will not have to learn any new symbols to use these in this game or other games for those that ordered a bunch extra. Hopefully those on the fence about the dice will be pleased!


As a reminder, each Deluxe version of the game comes with 2 sets (2 black/gold and 2 gold/black). A full 4-player "set" would be 2 additional dice sets which are available. If you wanted to add more to your pledge, the Pledge Manager is locked, but I can help you with this. If that's you, e-mail [email protected] with your requested change, and I can get you taken care of.


Acrylic Standee Update

The Acrylic Standees look really nice, but the prototype sample I received had a few issues. First (sort of my bad), I gave the manufacturer the front + back artworks, and they chose to use the "back" art for the standees. That meant that the more pleasing side looked backwards (lol). That's an easy fix.


Next, most of the standees (angels and minions) felt a bit too large overall. This was due to the additional ~12mm height granted to them by the slightly larger art, slightly adjusted positioning, and the 5mm of acrylic glass "negative" space. For the angels in particular, we used their full wing spread, which was pretty significant for Sardius and Azrael! To adjust for this, we reduced the size of most standees by about ~15%, and slightly adjusted the art position of the Abomination (dude felt as imposing as a lifted F350 truck. We had to reduce him to an F250 😆).

Acrylic minion standees compared to their cardboard counterparts.

One positive change that came from this is that the Prince standees (aka the bosses) were also large, which felt right in comparison to all the other standees (and angel minis). So, we kept the Princes beefy!


Lastly, one of our standees (out of 52) didn't make it. Sardius got broken in half in transit. That's not going to work, is it? 😨

Sardius? Sardius?! Saaaaaaardiussssss!!!!! (and backwards gigantic Taolu 😆 + pretty 48mm metal coin for scale)

So in addition to the height adjustments (making them a bit more compact), we also are increasing their thickness from 2mm to either 2.8 or 3mm thick (40-50% thicker). I want them to survive transit and also survive my kids playing with them! This increase in thickness meant that we needed new bases for the acrylic standees, so everyone that purchases a set of Acrylic Standees (including "All-In" backers) get these upgraded bases included free in their pledge.


Lastly, in regard to acrylic standees, some of them looked clear (which was beautiful) and others came cloudy. If you watch the Prototype Unboxing video above, I wonder about this. Thankfully, it turns out I am a buffoon, failing to realize the film is a protective layer that you peel off (to keep them from scratching during transit).


The Plastic Inserts

Lots more pics, but I wanted to show you where we're currently at with all the inserts! Here is how it currently breaks down:

All 3 inserts laid out for you. Base insert + a removable token insert + top + miniature insert shown!
The removable token insert and how it will work. Having this is going to make setup much faster!
The base insert. Contains all paper components with room for sleeves.
Token insert fits flush in the box, and the Intercessor card will keep the standees from sliding around. Standees will fit with bases on as well.
Mini tray fits on top of this. The area with tokens and plastic stands can be used for other things too.
The final "invisible box" image containing the rulebook + the punchboards. Pro tip: Keep the punch boards after using them, and place them below the bottom insert to keep the box contents flush with the top lid!
We will keep the contents flush with the top lid so it will not be damaged in transit.

Hopefully you appreciate the level of try-hard-ness that we brought to this insert. A big thanks to our insert designer, Matt R. Healey, for helping us through this!


A Big Announcement!

More Deliverance incoming...

That's right. We're officially working on an expansion!


And that doesn't look like an angel, does it?


Meet Nebuchadnezzar, the Winged Lion (Nezzy for short). I don't want to spoil too much, but he's got a beautiful angelic companion that we'll share in the coming months :D


The expansion is going to KS somewhere between 12-18 months from now. 


An important point you may be wondering is that the first game hasn't even been released -- why share the expansion so early? 


Why Being An Insider Matters

We want to keep development of the expansion open to our Insiders (that's what we call our fans), so that we can get your help as our Deliverance Insiders. You make our games better, and so why would we develop the next expansion without your insight? 


We take your feedback seriously! In fact, some of the biggest improvements to the game have come from our Insider members sharing wisdom in our communities. A few of the community member-led changes that shaped the Deliverance that you see before you:


  • Highly detailed angel minis
  • Angel designs & talent skills
  • Demon designs & talent skills
  • Campaign missions & tuning difficulty
  • The neoprene mat's existence & the little league field on it (Right Rafael?)
  • The "Angel Investor / Archangel Investor" tier pledges
  • The courage token shape
  • Acrylic standees
  • The dice (have you been following the recent dice saga?)
  • Theological implications (and helping me avoid making mistakes here)

Also, early on in the development of Deliverance, some of the most critical changes were made that caused the game to be what it is today. Did you know we used to roll dice for attacks and you could miss? Removing this combat dice roll and changing to deterministic combat (meaning, your attacks always succeed) as a result of Insider feedback was one of the best improvements ever made to Deliverance. Turns of both angels and demons were quick and exciting, everyone stopped forgetting who was supposed to act next, and the game just became all around smoother! The strategy in Deliverance became more about strategic moves, positioning, and gained a lot of depth because a single dice roll wouldn't ruin all your plans (nor would it ruin your demonic opponent's plans 😱)!


Also, did you know all the angels used to act in a row, followed by the demons? Similar to LOTR LCG or Marvel Champions, you would all act before the demons. The demons had to be of such high health to just survive an angel turn, and of those that did, their damage had to be super high to threaten the angels. That meant games were incredibly swingy and there was a very high learning curve. In addition, the down time was super high. Based on Insider feedback, we adjusted the order to have angels and demons alternate turns, and it changed everything. Now, demons could actually survive and attack back! Between this and the change that had players choosing the first angel to act with other angels acting in clockwise order, Deliverance developed a completely unique initiative system among games.


One More Feedback Request

For our dedicated readers, regardless of your backing level, I need your help!


Please take a few minutes to fill out this form (click here).


It is a Google form that will help me do better overall!


Thank you all for your help and your feedback since we started this journey. We're getting close. Deliverance is coming...!


Kind regards,


Andrew Lowen & the Deliverance Team

The final prototype printing!
over 1 year ago – Sun, Oct 02, 2022 at 07:22:13 PM

Hi all! September has been an exciting month in regard to progress on Deliverance! More prototype images included, better dice pics, and status update inside! 😇


Prototype progress (this is a huge deal)

The files for the final Deliverance prototype were submitted to the manufacturer earlier this month, and all the components were printed at the factory and shipped to us today (they were literally shipped while I was writing this update)! They will arrive October 4, in plenty of time for LTN Con later this month (more on that later)!


We did a LOT of work to make the game more awesome and ready for mass production, including our artist Dan doing some custom backgrounds for our minions so they would look smooth after the die cut (check out that pic!). We transferred a ton of Photoshop files to InDesign, so they could export at a very high quality for printing. We largely wrapped up all the play testing on our Campaign, and completed the Campaign story. 

Deliverance Token Sheet Sample
One of our Deliverance Token Sheets! Herod and Cultro rarely follow instructions.

We did a lot so we could have the game in hand and on time for LTN Con. I had more than a few nights of work that ended at 4am, and several members of our team did too. One of my graphic artists, Adam Glass, worked right up until his wife went into labor (congratulations Adam and Cassie)! We did all this to make sure the final prototype was ready to be printed in time.


I was very intent on making sure we get a prototype to show off at next month's LTN Con (near Louisville, KY if you wanna join), and it looks like we sent our files in early enough to make it happen! We're going to have a set of production minis, a brand new fancy production quality game to play, and every single add-on (neoprene mats, acrylic standees, metal coins, & the metal initiative tokens). We're going to have 2 games going on at the same time (my old prototype + the fancy new factory prototype), and I'll be giving a talk there about making Deliverance and the ways I almost messed it up 😆 It should be fun!!!

Deliverance Physical Prototype Box
The physical prototype box cover of Deliverance! The final version will be way cooler (down below)

I love giving free stuff to our fans!

In regard to LTN Con, tickets are still available for sale if you want to get an early play in of Deliverance! 


If you were a part of our Discord Server or Facebook Group, you would have seen that we ran a big "LTN Con-test" where we actually gave away a grand prize of a free ticket, hotel stay, and $300 in travel credit to one of our Insider fans + a few free tickets to other fans!


In regard to the LTN Con-test, I want to include you all that read this, too! If you let me know that you'd like to attend in this Kickstarter update, I will select one person at random from the folks that would like to join and give them a free ticket to LTN Con ($100 value)! Just say something in the comments if you'd like to be considered! You'd have to figure out travel & stay, but a free ticket will be waiting for you!


Timeline & Fulfillment Update

Here is where we currently stand in regard to the Deliverance timeline:


Pre-Production & Manufacturing Prep: October

Mass Manufacturing: Nov & Dec

Freight: Dec & Jan (Possibly through Feb for some regions)

Final Fulfillment: Feb & March!


We're still tracking for a Q1 fulfillment date!


One thing that could see delaying our printing is the fine tuning of file prep -- I have a really amazing team for this, but a lot depends on how the paper components of the prototype turn out after manufacturing. I definitely don't want to rush the wrap-up of the files!


In anticipation of shortening our critical path as much as possible, we are updating all the elements we know could use a little polish (like the box cover below). We are also getting a head-start printing the metal, neoprene, and plastic components (dice, minis, and health dial rivets). These take longer than the paper components, and that will give us time to refine things. I am awaiting an update on these fine details from our manufacturer to be certain, but the outlook looks good!


Presently, we just finished with the final production prototype. Every element was completed, and though we recognized some items will need adjustments (like the box cover or rulebook), we made it happen!


Speaking of the box cover, check out the latest iteration here:

Deliverance Game Box Cover
The Deliverance Box Cover

The cover would probably make more sense if we turned it into 3D, but it looks good, right? We'll have a few adjustments left to make based on feedback we received (and we'd love to get yours in the comments too). Some requested the box face have the player/time/age counts, so we plan to add that to the lower right corner.


Also, some Insiders wonder why we feature 4 different sides. The reason we have 3 sides featuring Michael, the Archangel is for retailer display options -- people know the cover art, and retailers need a variety of display options. I was recommended to swap the left and right sides by a retailer, so we'll do that.


The current left and bottom sides are fun options for shelf displays for you. Since games are stored in a way that dominantly features 1 side when on display, we had fun with it.


For those folks that want a cool banner graphic to use for social media, I thought you might like this:

Angels Box Graphic Banner
Click to download this banner image from Dropbox.

New Dice Prototype Pics!

The dice prototypes are ready! I have thoughts, and a few changes we'll make to the pip sizes (I think making them all small like the 5 and 6) and possibly adjusting the 6 art slightly after on seeing them in person, but what do you think?

Dice 1
Dice 2

Acrylic Standees Update: Single sided it is.

So I got word back from the manufacturer on double-sided standees. It turns out that they are prohibitively expensive. Believe it or not, the manufacturer told me the cost would be about 5x what single-sided Acrylic Standees cost! From what I understand, the cost to get the positioning of the art on both sides to correct is very expensive.


I don't have pics of the updated standees yet, but we do have them coming in the mail with the sample box, so next month's update will have them (along with several posts on Discord and Facebook if you want to see them sooner)!


We updated the art files to be brighter, which will help the detailed art on the acrylic standees to really pop. I'm looking forward to seeing these in person!


Conclusion + a cool thing + a life update

I keep telling myself things will slow down soon, but I keep finding more to cram into my crazy schedule. 

Adulthood Funny Meme
lol :D

I prefer not to bore you with *all* the things, but one thing I'm pretty proud of is an achievement by my brother-in-law Ryan (We use his likeness for Gabriel in Deliverance). I have been helping teach adults and kids at his new Brazilian Jiu Jitsu gym (I'm a BJJ black belt myself). He's managed to build to over 80 students in just 2 months. It's very inspiring to see someone I love so much finally pursue their passion. It took him 12 years to build up to it, but he finally quit his job and is now doing what he loves (and I am honored to help mop the mats and yell at kids to quiet down for him)! 😆


Lastly, I'd like to give a shout out to a new thing I found that really seems to hit home with fans of Deliverance. It is a board game called The Unseen, and once I read a bit about it, I instantly bought it.

Comes with awesome minis too.

It's a co-op game for 1-6 players about Spiritual Warfare that asks, "What if you were pulled into the unseen realm and had to fight?" While our games are different in the delivery, they both explore the theme of spiritual warfare through a fantasy lens consistent with Biblical lore, so I wanted to share it with you!


Until next month! Looks like you'll get the next update on spoooooky Halloween! 👻


Kind regards,


Andrew Lowen & the Deliverance Team

Pledge Manager Closing + Charge Date + Acrylic Standee pics & FAQ
over 1 year ago – Wed, Sep 07, 2022 at 03:02:47 AM

Hi all, I am sending a short update outside of our normal updates because our BackerKit Pledge Manager system is closing today, meaning you will no longer be able to add/change/update info on your own.


Pledge Manager Closing Imminently

I am going to keep the pledge manager open for the rest of the day for you, and possibly slightly longer if I get more issues that need resolving (lots of messages are coming in now).


But the only *guaranteed* way to be sure you're going to get everything you wanted to your CORRECT ADDRESS is to check your pledge manager link.


Visit https://deliverancegame.backerkit.com and log in to adjust your info if you need to do that.


If you need help, send an e-mail to [email protected].


Card charge date... Moving to the 15th for your convenience?


The current date set to charge cards is the 9th, but I can delay this charge until the 15th if people want that -- I did get a few requests for this, so I will plan to delay until the 15th unless I get push-back in the comments below. I am listening and always try to respond to every comment.


Acrylic Standees

I'm just getting the samples in for Acrylic Standees, and I wanted to show you a few of the limited pics from the factory and answer some questions before we lock the PM.

Spoiler tags added for secret campaign stuff!
Gotta teach my factory team to avoid getting that mirror effect when taking pics :D

The initial pics are flat, which prompted a few good questions from backers. I have some thoughts for you on them + answers to a few of these questions.


1. The standee colors are too dark. It could be a trick of the light, which I do think is partially to blame as was on the first pic I received of the Neoprene Mat, but I still think we could adjust some values to get them to brighten up.


2. Folks have been asking me if they are double-sided or single-sided. Currently, they are single-sided and transparent. Some of the backers thought the awesomeness would increase if we went double-sided, so I brought it up to the factory. I am interested to know your opinion on this.


3. What will they look like if you look at them from the other side? They will be full color and you can see them through the glass, but if they were single-sided, the name and minion number would appear backwards.


4. Folks asked if I could get pics of them standing up. I think the right way to do this is to take pics with them surrounded by awesome Deliverance components after I receive the sample! I really want to see them on the Neoprene Mat! I think I can do this by the normal "end of month" update, which I will still give in addition to this one.


Concluding remarks :D

That is all for now! Hope I didn't shoot myself in the foot by posting this on Kickstarter Tuesday lol. Lots of updates and launches are surely happening today!


Oh one more thing -- thank you all for the amazing feedback you have provided on our rulebook!


Kind regards,


Andrew Lowen & the Deliverance team