IMPORTANT: Review Your Information
almost 2 years ago – Fri, May 19, 2023 at 10:05:01 AM

Greetings! This is our FIRST mid-month update we have done. This means we're getting closer to fulfillment. This one is important -- it is critical you check to make sure your information is correct for shipping AND your final chance to add items to your pledge. I will still be sending an update on May 31 as per our usual end of month update which will include more -- this update stays simple and to the point.

IMPORTANT: Review Your Information

TL;DR - Check your email today/tomorrow, verify your pledge and info is correct!

Hive Pledge Manager is taking over for BackerKit. Hive is a full dashboard + professional upgrade that will help our company with ongoing support. The system and the team behind it helped me solve massive problems that emerged with spreadsheet export issues that emerged with BackerKit. The effort put into Hive was very important to a smooth fulfillment.

ALL BACKERS (This means you!) will get an email today/tomorrow from [email protected] with your new Hive Pledge Manager details. Be patient, because the registration link will be sent within ~1-5 hours after this update releases! If you didn't get the email (or want to do it early), you can recover username using your email at this link: hiveinteractive.net/pledgemanager. It will send access to the email on your order. If you have issues with anything you see, please create a support ticket on your pledge summary. Be sure to add [email protected] to your email contacts to avoid it going to your spam folder.

If you need to change your e-mail address, send me an email at [email protected] -- I need to verify your information and manually change it. I don't want people stealing orders, so this is how we can avoid that.

IF EVERYTHING LOOKS CORRECT, YOU DO NOT NEED TO DO ANYTHING! :D

- Some backers have had orders combined when the order was going to the same address. A few of you even backed under 2 different e-mails, which have been combined into one order under a single email. I tried to use my best judgment as to which to combine under. If this is you and you do not find your access using one email, try your alternate email.

- All addresses that have been sent to me via [email protected] have been updated in the system, BUT there were some translation issues for addresses with foreign script (Simplified Chinese in particular). In very limited cases, you may have given a correct street address with foreign characters, but double-check to be sure it is right. I will also review this again before sending the final orders.

I wanted to write a note to the backers that sent addresses -- we had about 2 dozen address change requests that came through via e-mail. Before this support ticket system, the only way I had to track if these were completed or not was to keepm the e-mail unread. Therefore, some of you didn't get a reply b/c I'd rather make sure your address got updated than tell you I'd take care of it and fail 😓 My apologies for the perceived delay in response, but you've been taken care of! Prompt and organized communication is one of the reasons I'm so excited for the support ticket system -- this will help a lot in the future if issues arise with package delivery, missing parts, etc! All future support requests will be directed to the support ticket system on Hive as a result. Make sure you look for that email (should be sent from [email protected], so add this in your contacts to avoid it going to your junk/promotions folder just in case).

IMPORTANT: 1 Week To Add Items To Your Pledge

Many backers have asked to add a Neoprene Playmat, Metal Coins, etc to your pledge, and others have asked to jump in at the last minute to get a game. We have less than 10% of remaining add-ons in stock of each type (others have been claimed), so I expect all of these to quickly sell out. We will not be immediately reprinting them, and will likely only re-print during a future Kickstarter. To avoid a logistical headache, I will be opening sales of Deliverance games and add-ons for ONE WEEK ONLY (ending Friday, May 26).

Because our pledge manager is closed, we have to do this in a different way so we can add items to your order. Here is how to purchase add-ons:

1) Choose your add-ons, add up prices (see below).

2) Send a payment for these add-ons WITH description including which addons you want via PayPal to [email protected]. 

3) I will manually add these items to your order.

Any payments that come through without a description of the item will be refunded 100% -- We have to lock in final quantities to send to our various fulfillment partners before they ship across the world!

Pricing list (post-KS prices, includes shipping):

• Deliverance Game: $114 (includes $15 USA shipping - email to inquire about shipping cost if you are from another country)
• Neoprene Playmat $51 (includes $6 shipping)
• Metal Coins $25 (includes $5 shipping)
• Acrylic Standees $25 (includes $5 shipping)
• Deliverance T-Shirts are not available to add to orders.

Refund Policy Update

Until now, we have given 90% refunds if people need them (less 10% fees due to Kickstarter/BackerKit/Processing fees incurred). At this point in the project, we can only issue a refund of 80% of your pledge due to fulfillment costs incurred. I don't expect anyone to want a refund now that you're only 3 months from getting your games, but I thought it was important to share.

Look For The May 31 Update!

As I shared before, we will update with more pics, timeline, manufacturing, and everything else that is relevant to the project on May 31. I appreciate you all for your belief, support, and prayers throughout this whole journey!

Kind regards,

Andrew Lowen & the Deliverance Team

I Got Deliverance Games! Videos & Pics 🔥
almost 2 years ago – Sun, Apr 30, 2023 at 01:05:11 PM

Hi everyone! This update will have some great content for those of you that love Deliverance, and for those hoping for delivery timelines to remain, I have good news on that front too!

You Need To See These Videos!!!

The most awesome content I have for you is summed up in these two videos below *and* the accompanying pictures. Timelines and other news is important, but it's going to be at the end of the update. On to the awesomeness! :D

This is the game you will get in the mail:

I have worked 7 years on this so that you can hold these in your hands. What began as a mission to make a game I wanted to play has grown into a passion project for you, my hardcore fans of Deliverance. It is a surreal feeling to hold these in my hands, but the mission is not complete until you have them in yours! 😇

How to play Deliverance in 15 minutes (+ solo rules!): 

I considered hard who to work with to make a great "How to Play" video. I asked you all in our various communities who your favorite people were, and you all gave a lot of ideas! In the end, I gave the challenge of making an amazing "How to Play" video to Frances and Anthony of Ant Lab Games. The content they make is incredible, and I love to watch it.

They don't normally make these sorts of videos, but they loved Deliverance and they are so good at what they do that I knew they would excel at it. I was concerned with the content being enough to actually help someone learn to play *and* to not be too long. I am so happy with the end result.

But they gave me more than I asked for! They are also talented photographers, and I gave them the opportunity to take photos of Deliverance for our future web store. I asked them to take pics that were interesting and attractive based on their vision of how the components should be laid out. My mind was exploded with the awesomeness. Enjoy!

 Deliverance is beautiful! 🤩

Timeline Update

We are 1 month closer to the production of Deliverance! Here is what our timeline looks like:

•  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 (Done): Factory produces final prototype for approval.
•  March 2023 (Done): Addresses & item order quantities locked.
•  March 2023 (Done): Addresses
•  April - May 2023 (In Progress): Deliverance gets printed!
•  May 2023: Deliverance finishes manufacturing & begins freight shipping (4-6 weeks for ocean freight).
•  June - July 2023: Deliverance arrives and is sorted at our shipping partners' warehouses around the world.
•  July - August 2023: The final "Deliverance" from local warehouses to your homes begins!

FAQ: How do I update my address?

We always post new updates on the final day of the month, BUT we are going to break that trend by giving you a mid-month update in May! This will be in addition to our normal update at the end of the month. This short update will give an opportunity for you to adjust your address and get set up on our new support ticket system! If anything goes wrong, we will address it in our new system, called Hive. Expect more details to emerge soon!

FAQ: How do I order Deliverance?

Many people have been discovering Deliverance and asking how to order the game. Pre-orders have been closed, but we are working on our web store and a way to get you all into our "second wave" shipping which will begin after Kickstarter fulfillment. Make sure to join our e-mail list at DeliveranceTheGame.com, because this notification will be sent out to our waiting list via e-mail!

Join us on Discord and BoardGameGeek!

Once we release Deliverance, I expect to have many questions arise about the game. The two best places to get answers and engage with both myself and our community are on our Discord Server and our BoardGameGeek forums (Be sure to hit that Subscribe button). 

Once Deliverance hits your table this summer, I'll be at both these places to answer your questions on all things Deliverance, from strategic gameplay advice to rules clarifications.

What's Next?

As a reminder, we're going to send a mid-month update so you all get your shipping squared away. We're working on our website and store, and we're in the middle of manufacturing all the games! May's update should tell you that the games are on a freight container bound for your region of the world. I hope to have updates on that for you all. Until then, if you want the most current info, or if you have any questions for me, join us on Discord, BGG, or our Facebook Group and ask away :D

Kind regards,

Andrew Lowen & the Deliverance team

Bonus: I reviewed a game!

Jack Dunbar of New Kingdom: Gardeners reached out to me last month and asked if I would consider reviewing his game. He thought I would enjoy it because of the theme and the fit with the ages of my kids, and I figured I would give it a shot. I enjoyed my experience making the review, and will certainly do more of this for games I like on our YouTube channel. If you are interested in learning about how I decided to rate this game, I discuss my bias in board games in this video. I did this without cost, as I believe reviews are actually "previews" when they're paid for, and payment removes the penchant for honesty in the review.

Their Kickstarter is live now, and if you want to know if I am backing the game, yes I am. I felt like it was a great fit for a filler game in between the big games, or before/after the main event, at game night. Hope you enjoy!

The good sort of delay, address confirmation, gameplay vid, and more!
almost 2 years ago – Fri, Mar 31, 2023 at 12:56:53 PM

Hi everyone! Welcome back to our end of month update. In this update, we prepared a new full playthrough vid on Nightmare difficulty for you, I'll deal with the question "which address should I use" and other questions about address corrections, give a manufacturing update, and more! Read on :)

New Gameplay Footage!

I had to send off my prototype to Ant Lab Games, because they're working on our "How to Play" video! But before I did, I recorded a full playthrough of a Deliverance game showcasing one of my personal favorite angels and play styles on a high difficulty -- Gabriel with a variation of his epic "Prayer" build. The difficulty level is called "Nightmare." While it's not the highest possible difficulty (Abyssal and Infernal are insanely hard), Nightmare is a lot of fun and really puts your skill to the test as a veteran gamer.  This vid took me a lot of time to edit together, but I thought you guys have waited so patiently for some recent gameplay content to chew on, so I hope you enjoy it!

I'll say that my camera's holding arm decided to betray me like the Leaning Tower of Pisa during recording which I eventually fix, but it produced some comedic results. Fast forward to 58:44 for a laugh -- it's absolutely the best part of the video.

Manufacturing News

I have some news here regarding the timeline which includes a delay. We *did* begin the mass manufacturing process in March, which was our goal. However, I had to amend some of the technical elements to ensure organization of the games and shipping/fulfillment goes smoothly. As a result, mass manufacturing began earlier this week (yay)!

Here is the process as described by our Longpack rep:

"We held a pre-production meeting this morning and the next step is system work, internal approval process and all that to set up mass printing, we expect to send the mass printing samples (3 units) in about 30-35 days from now (will send to test at this same stage), and plus 7 days to deliver them for your approval, after they are approved, we expect to finish the mass production in about 15-20 days, this should bring us to end of May."

They further added:

"As Deliverance is a large game that has so many items, I don't want to rush our factory too much, I hope this is ok for you and the backers."

My commentary:

Based on earlier timelines given by Longpack, the manufacturing process was estimated to take 45 days. This meant we would begin freight shipping in Early May, and would see final fulfillment begin after 4-6 weeks in most regions, barring customs delay. However, with the new timeline provided by the factory, Deliverance will begin its' freight journey across the ocean to fulfillment hubs at the end of May.

While this means we are delayed from the timeline I shared last week, I am glad that the explanation was to ensure these games are put together well. I much prefer a delay with quality assurance than finishing all games quickly -- In a rush, it's so easy to have parts go missing. As a backer of other KS games that have fallen victim to this, I much prefer getting a complete game to something missing an essential component.

Fulfillment News

The most important things you need to know in this section are: 

1. We have locked in our fulfillment partners! 

2. Funagain Fulfillment (not our partner) closed their doors earlier this month, resulting in a flood of creators asking our fulfillment partners for help.

What does this mean? 

First, you can expect your Deliverance game and add-ons to arrive from the following companies:

• Bridge Fulfillment (USA, Canada, Mexico, Puerto Rico)
• ShipQuest (UK, EU + Other European Countries)
• VFI Asia (China + other Asian Regional countries + Brazil + South Africa)
• Aetherworks (Australia + New Zealand)

Next, in regard to the closure of Funagain Fulfillment & Distribution, there are some ramifications we need to discuss together. While I haven't been officially told this yet from our 4 fulfillment partners, I expect to see a delay in final fulfillment due to the short-term bottleneck created -- Funagain used to fulfill a ton of clients, and now that they've closed their doors, many publishers have been forced to quickly adjust and work with our fulfillment partners (anyone that can warehouse or ship a box is probably slammed from this, really). As a result of this, I foresee the possibility of a few weeks' delay between the time our games arrive at their warehouses and when they actually begin shipping to backers. But hey, 3-4 months is a long time for these companies to hire and train folks to expedite fulfillment, right? Maybe... But I'm adding a range to our final fulfillment just in case!

Revised Timeline Update

Based on the above information (Manufacturing + Fulfillment sections), here is what our new timeline looks like:

• 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 (Done): Factory produces final prototype for approval.
• March 2023 (Done): Addresses & item order quantities locked.
• March 2023 (Done): Addresses
• April - May 2023: Deliverance gets printed! 
• May 2023: Deliverance finishes manufacturing & begins freight shipping (4-6 weeks for ocean freight).
• June - July 2023: Deliverance arrives and is sorted at our shipping partners' warehouses around the world.
• July - August 2023: The final "Deliverance" from local warehouses to your homes begins!

Address Changes FAQs

We locked addresses earlier this month, but many of you had questions on this that I wanted to answer here. 

The 3 most common questions I received are:

1. I'm moving soon , but not sure what my new address will be yet. When is the latest I can send that to you?

2. I need to know when you're shipping the game to me, because I change addresses during in the summer. When are you expected to ship?

3. I need to change my address, but I missed the "address lock" date. How can I change my address?

The answers:

1. I expect that date based on our timeline to be June 1. You need to send me your address by the time the games are moving across the ocean. I will make an update of addresses and send the final data sheets to my fulfillment partners once the boats reach port. After that, the likelihood of you missing a package increase if you try to change your address. 

2. Based on our updated timeline above, we're going to ship games to you starting July or August. Make sure you give me your preferred address in the worst case scenario (Aug) to avoid missing a shipment!

3. We can help you change your address now if you need help, even though it is "locked" in BackerKit. If you know your addrerss right now, send me your backer # or email used along with your new address to [email protected] 

One more thing on this front -- We have partnered with Hive Interactive to develop a really great support ticket system for our company that will streamline address corrections, reports about missing/damaged parts, and more. This goes live in April!

What's Next?

This update was full of news, and while it contained some awesome eye candy in the playthrough video, I expect the next few updates to be proportionately more about where we're at in the process. Timeline from manufacturing and forward is largely outside of my direct control. As a result, you can consider me your expert tour guide during this process. I will do my best to answer questions and keep you all informed on the latest news.

That said, I do have some other excellent plans, like a website and additional video content! We're planning on creating videos related to tactics and strategy, so you veterans can level up your Deliverance skills and newbies can learn to come back from the brink of crushing defeat. Be sure to subscribe to our YouTube Channel if you want to get the inside scoop!

In the meantime, we're on Facebook and Discord chatting, playing games on Tabletop Simulator, and working hard on future Deliverance content -- We are already working on an expansion, and while it won't be out for a while, expect teasers and requests for your feedback as we get closer to finishing Deliverance fulfillment!

Until next time, Insiders!

Andrew Lowen & the Deliverance team

Strategic depth, game balance, TheoNerds, & more!
almost 2 years ago – Tue, Feb 28, 2023 at 09:40:18 AM

Welcome back to another awesome update for Deliverance. Get the most recent updates on progress, insight into game balance, dive deep into strategy, watch some great videos, and more! Read on, Insider! 😇

Timeline Update

The big news for everyone this update is that files are submitted to Longpack. Chinese New Year has ended, which means factories are back online and the printing press is getting ready for Deliverance printed components! The only addition to this timeline update is that t-shirts get locked in in March. We're locking quantities of shirts mid-March, and will not be taking additional orders until we figure out how much stock we have remaining after retail release in June. This is your last chance to guarantee you get shirts (send an email to [email protected] if you want to add a shirt or have another issue you need help with)! 

All in all, we progressed a month, and that means we're a month closer to games arriving!

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 (Done): Factory produces final prototype for approval.
•  March - April 2023: Deliverance gets printed (45 days to print)! Shirt quantity locked + shirts get ordered! 
•  April 2023: Deliverance finishes manufacturing & begins freight shipping (4-6 weeks for ocean freight).
•  May 2023: Deliverance arrives and is sorted at our shipping partners' warehouses around the world.
•  June 2023: The final "Deliverance" from local warehouses to your homes begins!

Important - FILL OUT YOUR PLEDGE!

If you backed the Kickstarter, make sure you have filled out your pledge manager at https://deliverancegame.backerkit.com. We currently have 292 non-responsive backers, including folks at All In or Angel Investor tier, that have not responded. If you do not fill out your pledge manager, you will not receive your rewards!

In addition, if you have not yet done so, please pay your outstanding shipping charges. We currently have 40 pledges that have an unpaid balance due to a pay error with the credit card on file. If you do not pay for shipping, you will not receive your rewards!

We will continue to send email reminders and attempt to contact these backers. However, things get more complicated if you fill this out after we ship products, and you may be responsible for additional charges if you wait too long!

February: Final Checks & Game Adjustments!

Because Chinese New Year meant that no progress could be made on the manufacturing front, we leveraged the time as our last opportunity to make changes to the printed components of Deliverance. Our goal was to test every physical component of the prototype by playing it A LOT. Without exaggeration, it was the easiest thing in the world to do, because Deliverance is our family's favorite thing on the game shelf. 

More specifically, here's what we did to ensure everything was ready for print:

1) Play Skirmish games with a variety of angel characters at high difficulty levels (Nightmare+).

2) Play through a full 14-mission campaign with the physical components.

Our intent was to ensure everything worked well and the story flowed smoothly. After about 20 physical games, we only found a couple icon errors and a few typos. We also figured out Herod (one of the bosses of Deliverance) was tuned well for solo and 3-4 angel games, but too difficult for 2-player games due to the amount of damage he shielded from himself and consistently shelled out against the angels with his talent cards.

We also refined a few elements of the Deliverance Campaign story. I won't spoil anything here, but my intent with written narrative is to show rather than tell players what is happening. I think readers will absolutely love how the story before and after missions shares insight into what angels see, hear, and think about their situation. At the same time, they will also appreciate how the story avoids forcing reader conclusions about what is happening between angels and the humans around them. The story's primary focus is on the spiritual realm, but what happens there is often driven by the happenings of the physical realm, and players will feel that in the Campaign's story (and in Skirmish games through emergent storytelling, too)! I just look forward to everyone experiencing it for themselves!

Strategic & Tactical Depth

Speaking of experience, I long for the day that you all read the rulebook and experience how the game works, so that we can talk strategy and tactics! There is a lot of depth to this game that even a hundred plays wouldn't uncover. The layers of strategy go far beyond "Skill X is the best one to use" or "Max out your Strength stat for Y character." I thought I'd share some of my reflections and musings on the strategic depth of Deliverance for you all!

The first thing to understand about Deliverance strategy is that "strategic depth" and "complexity" are not the same thing. There is no complicated rule compendium in Deliverance (and you won't need one either). There aren't "broken" strategies you should avoid if you want to play fair. Deliverance challenges you to find ways to survive, even when it looks hopeless. Deliverance uses a straightforward 32 page rulebook with large images, a simple range/movement/damage system, and text on cards and in skills that clearly explain themselves without needing to reference the rules (once you understand range/movement/damage). Deliverance is easy to understand (as many thousands of playtests have ensured). The game allows veteran players to start with a difficulty level suited to their skill, and challenges novice players with appropriate levels of difficulty to help them along. Deliverance is an extremely dynamic tactical skirmish/adventure game due to the unpredictable nature of its' demon + talent systems and scaling difficulty. Do I exaggerate or am I right, veteran Tabletop Simulator players?

Deliverance is quick to learn and has very rewarding gameplay. The strategic depth of the game is far beyond what you'll experience after your first time playing. First-time players often ask why moving to one space or another matters when both options allow them to fight the same demon -- One space might put you in range of an archer shot, and the other might be safe. One space might put you far away from a saint, where the other space allows you to efficiently reach the saint next round and stay engaged in battle. There are many examples of strategic depth in all areas of Deliverance (beyond positioning and combat), but I thought it was a good example! Finding a clever combination of actions to get yourself out of an extremely sticky situation feels very rewarding as a player.

Your difficulty setting has a huge bearing on game strategy. Demons already work together in interesting ways, but in higher difficulties, enemies have more health AND their behaviors change. You might not be able to destroy that front line demon in a single round like you could at low difficulty, because it has more health. Sometimes, the foe that you would normally worry about least starts causing the greatest problems due to its' new Talent cards. Other times, the foe you would target first becomes impossible to deal with until certain conditions are met. You can't really solve this by planning as a group before a game begins -- you must dynamically adjust your strategy as a team during battle! This is probably my personal favorite element of Deliverance: Games are never predictable, plans are often forced to change, and mysteries are often unveiled as you're playing through games (Both in scripted Campaign missions and dynamically generated Skirmish games).

Deliverance is hard to quarterback or "alpha game." There are often multiple critical threats in the game at a time, like a particular Darkness card crippling angels, a demon that is low health but also about to deal big damage, or oppressed saints that need protecting. I'll try to explain as best as I can, because this is the best feeling ever -- One "alpha gamer" player's feedback (or in some cases, their incessant demands) may influence you, but your choices will influence their decisions, too! They might want you to smack that low health demon, but how you do that, or even if you decide to prioritize other things, may be the better move for you, and they won't even whine about it! Your decisions, or  and their results often cause that alpha gamer to re-evaluate their planned strategy. In the aforementioned example, you may let the alpha gamer deal the killing blow later during their turn, while you stave off an attack on the saint that only you can effectively reach. As a self-confessed "alpha gamer" myself, I constantly find even brand new Deliverance players regularly ignoring my advice and doing things their own way! It often forces me to change my plans, which I love! Efficiency and good choices as a player (not just as a group) is important even at low difficulty.

The next thing that impacts strategy are your Talents and Treasures. In Skirmish, you don't get to choose the same cards from game to game -- you make a choice between two options. Sometimes, you may have wanted to deal tons of damage using a particular skill, but the Treasure you're getting causes another to be superior. You may want to play the support angel, but you become the angel with the highest damage output due to your Talent and Treasure card options. In both Skirmish and Campaign games, the things your angel does best, or even your favored play style, are revealed over the course of the game, which makes you adapt your play. You could play the same angel 10 games in a row and have a different build every single time. You may choose a different Talent or Treasure than you expected, because the situation calls for it. You may find (as I do) that the build you thought you were going to use in the Campaign is re-evaluated and totally changed multiple times along the way!

The Darkness deck makes *every* decision meaningful. Many skirmish games focus on dice-driven combat, but for all that rolling seem to still lack meaningful options -- In most cases, you just avoid damage where possible and press your highest damage buttons over and over! However, in Deliverance, you must be purposeful in battle due to the threat of the Darkness cards entering play. If you choose to focus on battle alone, you will lose the game. Even at the lowest difficulty setting, you will lose the game if you focus on combat and ignore the Darkness deck. Angels have a limited number of actions to use per round, and the way you use each of them matters. The Pray action (and Prayer cards) provide a very interesting alternative to combat. Every angel finds value from the Pray action, because you gain resources and draw a Prayer card with each use, but it also serves to keep the Darkness at bay!

Battlefield tactics and thoughtful strategy delight players of Deliverance. You might want to rush out to attack foes in round 1, but those demons aren't weak, and the oppressed saints need protecting to stave off that Darkness! Your movement and positioning matters, which bears fruit over the course of a few rounds. Protecting a saint 1 round too late may have dire consequences in your game. However, there is no single choice that wins or loses you the game in Deliverance. Your game may come down to a lucky (or unlucky) dice roll, but you will always be able to identify ways you could have avoided that situation by acting differently on your earlier turns! It's no fun when a few unlucky dice rolls ruin an otherwise well-played game. Even when the dice aren't in your favor, you can still win!

Videos Incoming

We are working to produce an official "How to Play" video through our awesome friends at Ant Lab Games. I love how Frances and Anthony do a great job explaining and filming their games -- they are among the highest quality videos I have seen in this industry. Though they typically do reviews and other content related to board games, I knew they would do an amazing job on our official How To Play video. I asked, and they accepted! This video will be filmed in March. Look forward to that and some other Deliverance content coming from them in a future updates!

 Here's the content they put together at the time of our Kickstarter that convinced me of their capability (It's also a pretty great playthrough video if you haven't seen it):

One other video series I'd like to put together is related to strategy and tactics, but I thought I'd ask you as my Insiders and backers about this -- Would you find it useful if I put together videos showing general strategic tips or videos dedicated to specific angels? And while we're on this topic, what other sorts of content would you like to see coming from me as the creator of Deliverance?
 

Around The Board!

And speaking of the "creator of Deliverance," I was featured on a recent YouTube channel called Around The Board, where I was able to share a bit about the game AND get into a bunch of other things I don't usually talk about in regard to Deliverance.

 I thought the show would be great for more Deliverance content to share with you all! This was a really good time, and might be perfect to listen as you go about your day. I especially love how these folks edited the video together!

Acrylic Standee Base Adjustment

I requested one adjustment with the Acrylic Standee bases -- I am adding a bit of diameter and thickness to them, because the bases at 2mm thick and 25mm diameter are a bit too small to consistently survive forceful connections to the standee. I know we can put them on gently, but I'm not trying to be careful (because I know you guys might do the same), so I wanted these upgraded stands to be durable. I requested an adjustment that increases the width of the base by 6mm to 31mm diameter (24% increase) and a thickness increase from 2mm to 2.8mm (40% increase), which will still fit the Deliverance board and add that extra durability that I feel they needed for the long haul.

Insert Adjustment

We added a new corner locking mechanism into the design of the removable insert. Now, you won't accidentally remove the insert before you intended! I love this insert SO much. It dramatically cuts down on set-up time -- so much so that I am certain that folks building custom inserts will still want to use this. Now, it's ready for mass production!

TheoNerds Quest

I have recently been delighted by the quest system on Theonerds.net. It is a gamified system meant to help you with your daily habits as a Christian, and it has been helping me get more reading in. Also, it rewards other things that matter, and has helped me recognize value in more than just daily Bible reading.

If you're interested in developing stronger habits that encourage your walk with God as a Christian, I highly encourage you to visit Theonerds.net/quest. Also, as a reminder, I am never paid to endorse a service. In every case, I am sharing something I think is awesome.

What's Next?

I am turning my sights to logistics. In March, I will finalize plans with our logistics partners in preparation for freight shipping to our fulfillment centers around the world. I find this part of the process most daunting, because I have never personally been through it before. I am confident in my logistics people, though! I will keep you posted when I have more to share, but I expect next month might be a bit dry as far as action goes!

Until then, why not spend some time on the Deliverance Discord asking questions or playing games on Tabletop Simulator with us?

Kind regards,

Andrew Lowen & the Deliverance Team

Inserts, components, shirts, epic art, and a personal reflection about humility
about 2 years ago – Tue, Jan 31, 2023 at 02:51:17 PM

We received the final factory prototype! In this update, you're going to see the final inserts and prototype components, you'll get a detailed look at the acrylic standees, the final stretch goal alternate art is revealed, and more! Trust me, it's worth the click 😇

Timeline Update

Welcome to the first timeline update of the year!

After a great conversation with shipping and freight companies, we have refined numbers for some of our timeline elements. It turns out that the time to freight games across the ocean, including customs, has reduced to 4-6 weeks' time. Our expectation was 8 weeks, so this is going to save us a bit of time. I'm going to use 6 weeks to be on the safe side, but that's a little win for us. Otherwise, the timeline is very similar to last update (which means we're all a month closer to getting games)!

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 (Done): Factory produces final prototype for approval.
•  February - March 2023: Deliverance gets printed (45 days to print)!
•  March - April 2023: Deliverance finishes manufacturing & begins freight shipping (4-6 weeks for ocean freight).
•  May 2023: Deliverance arrives and is sorted at our shipping partners' warehouses around the world.
•  May - June 2023: The final "Deliverance" from local warehouses to your homes begin!

The Final Prototype in 5 Minutes

Spend 5 minutes and watch this, and you'll be glad you did! It covers the full prototype game, which is the version you will receive in the mail. The inserts and the acrylic standees are featured, questions related to card sleeves are answered, and more! Those that subscribe to our YouTube channel got to see this vid early :D

Prototype Writeup

The good, the bad, and the ugly... (This write-up is mostly good, but will serve well for the folks that can't listen to the sound from the video above)!

Card storage: First of all, the inserts arrived and they were better than I could have hoped. I was initially concerned that we wouldn't be able to fit all the cards in the card trays if they were sleeved, but I was pleasantly surprised to find they all fit well! For those wondering, you're going to need 460 "mini" sleeves (for 41x63mm cards) for Deliverance. We also have 4 reference cards that use sleeves for 70x120mm cards. Side note - I didn't really design these inserts to factor in expansions, but I am confident that 3rd party companies that do foam or wooden inserts have plenty of room for future customization.

Standee storage: The standees all fit within the appropriate slots in the first tray. These are secured by the "solo Intercessor" card + Darkness Board + Campaign Book, which will ensure that no matter how they're stored, they won't spill everywhere. In addition, these slots fit the acrylic standees + bases as well for those that backed the "all in" or upgraded to the acrylic standee add-on!

Board storage: My personal favorite part of the insert is how the character and map boards are put away. This is where the genius of our insert designer, Matt Healey, is most easily observed. Smaller boards are secured in place by larger boards (watch the video above to see it in action). The depth allows for a balanced box regardless of if you store it horizontally on its base or vertically on its side -- it won't easily tip over due to the smart balancing of weight. The insert also allows for easy access to the various elements without making a mess on the table. Lastly, the storage allows the spiral binding of the campaign book to have ample room so it's not damaged in storage. 

Token storage: Included in the box is a removable token tray with a lid. The various slots are designed to hold each token type after they're removed from the punch boards. It really speeds up the game setup time, and keeps the play area very clean as you can set it on the table during a game. Currently, the lid does not secure to the token tray (as in, if your toddler grabs it and turns it over, the lid wouldn't hold). My plan is to ask for an adjustment so the lid snaps into a secure position on the token tray. This minor adjustment won't take too long, won't require a sample approval, and doesn't delay the other components, so my expectation is that this won't delay the manufacturing timeline either. Parents with kids rejoice.

Miniature storage: Each mini sits comfortably in their own slot. This is going to be great for our Angel Investor backers and others that are receiving a custom-painted miniature set, as the minis will transport well in these! The mini tray secures all the other items, and because it sits on top of the box, it keeps all the heavy cardboard away from the front of the box (which is how boxes stored horizontally can tip over).

Miscellaneous storage: Slots on the top tray have a flexible use, but I used them to store dice, health dials, and the metal coins + initiative token add-on. I really like how the extra storage space here allows for quick storage of components that you might have missed while putting the game away.

Deliverance Shirts

Remember the Deliverance shirts? The original shirt story is forever cemented in my mind, because I wanted to refuse but you all demanded them!

What originally happened was this -- Back before we launched on KS, I thought it would be cool if some of my most hardcore fans had Deliverance shirts at conventions. I designed the original "Michael" shirt and sought out the highest quality fabric for the design. After all, its purpose wasn't to actually make money, but more of a marketing thing (plus our fans really wanted them). So, we took a pre-order and sold well over 100 shirts. Wow! Fast-forward to the Kickstarter, and newer Deliverance fans heard how awesome the Deliverance shirts were -- our original shirts were so comfy and durable that fans wore them many times, prompting the shirts to be added to the Kickstarter and the final designs to be voted on by the fans.

Here were those designs:

Fast forward to today, and we have over 550 shirts ordered (nearly 200 of each design). I never intended to become a t-shirt company, and while it is clear that fans absolutely love these, I only intend to print as many shirts as we have demand for them. There will be no re-print of these, so now is your last chance to get them!

Here are the final designs up close:

Original Michael

Free (uses the "Free Action" icon from the game)

Halos (Each playable angel is represented)

If you want to order a shirt, you can still do that for the next few weeks. I need all orders to be in by the end of February at the very latest, because I am going to place the order on March 1! A single shirt is $24, and the bundle of 3 shirts is $60. Send an email to [email protected] and we can help you add shirts to your order.

Beyond all other things, these shirts have helped out with the dramatic shifts in shipping costs -- I really appreciate everyone for wanting to support us through ordering these! I'm very excited to see you all wearing these at conventions!!

The Final Stretch Goal: Alternate Character Art

Enjoy the final alternate art pieces for Michael, the Archangel and Sardius, Stonespeaker. Since these are alternate art pieces, we chose to go for a high-fantasy style. They aren't covered in eyeballs, but I think you'll agree these art pieces are still pure angelic awesomeness 🔥 

Michael, the Archangel

Sardius, Stonespeaker

All backers of the game will receive an additional Michael and Sardius character card with these alternate art pieces. 

Deliverance humbles me.

I have something to say after making the entire journey from initial concept in June 2016 to the finished prototype in the video above. I hope that those that do not share my faith can appreciate this for what it is -- I surely don't mean to offend, but it's something I need to share. 

My hands might have crafted the game, but there is no doubt in my mind that God was the architect and deserves credit for this game. I challenged God to make a game that was innovative, highly replayable, ultra fun, and didn't force me to compromise in faith. He chose to produce that using my hands. Every time I open the box I marvel and wonder how I could have ever made such a thing... Hopefully you will understand when you play it... I think the gravity of what is made here is beyond me and far exceeds my skill as a game designer. 

Don't get me wrong -- I had to struggle hard through failure after failure to improve this game with the help of many others for 6.5 years, but we're here now:

As it is written,

"It is the glory of God to conceal a matter, but the glory of kings is to search out a matter." - Proverbs 25:2

God deserves ALL the glory for this one.

Until next time (see y'all Feb 28 for our next update)!

Kind regards,

Andrew

P.S. - A recommendation: Argentum's Song!

I have a Deliverance fan that intrigued me with a book he released called Argentum's Song. I haven't yet read it, but it is next on my list! I thought I'd let everyone know about it here if you're looking for an awesome allegorical fantasy book to read!

You can find it at  https://www.ferusbooks.com!