A legendary strategic tabletop game from the creators of Here to Slay and Casting Shadows
Latest Updates from Our Project:
Meet Yeti and Death Worm (+a step-by-step guide on Pledge Customization)
11 days ago
– Wed, Oct 16, 2024 at 04:10:53 PM
Hello!
On Friday we announced in Update #11 that the Exclusive Edition Yeti + Death Worm Expansion (AKA Yeti or Not officially by popular vote!!) is now available as an add-on 🪱🧊If you are not sure how to add this Expansion to your pledge, I have a step-by-step guide later in of this update.Adding the Expansion to your pledge during this campaign will get you the Exclusive Edition with all the upgraded components (including wooden tokens, lenticular + non-lenticular versions of the Cryptid tarot cards, and an expanded vac tray to accommodate sleeved cards).
While we work away at development and play testing, I’d like to take this opportunity to introduce you to the 2 new Characters:
In the months following the Kickstarter, I’ll be sharing progress updates on the game mechanics and art 💖 We will also host a Twitch stream during those months so you can see how it plays live!
I’ve mentioned the Pledge Customization feature a few times since we launched the functionality, and I realize that since it’s new to us it may be new to some of you as well! There are a lot of items to select from there, including Twisted Cryptids card sleeves, Twisted Cryptids Yeti or Not Expansion, Here to Slay: Banner Quest,and the new Here to Slay Play Mats.
Here’s a step-by-step guide on how you can Customize your pledge while the campaign is live:
Step 1: Manage Your Pledge
Log in to your Kickstarter account, navigate to the Twisted Cryptids Kickstarter page, and click the purple Manage Your Pledge button on the right-side of the project!
Step 2: Change Your Pledge
If you’ve already backed Twisted Cryptids, you should be taken to a page with an overview of your pledge! Click the purple Change Your Pledge Button.
If you’re supporting the project for the first time, it took you long enough 🙄 I kid, thank you for coming along for the ride! You can skip this step and move on to Step 3.
Step 3: Select Your Tier
On this page, you’ll be able to view the Tier you’ve selected! If you’d like to change your tier, this is the spot to do so. Once you’ve made your decision, click the green Pledge $X button on the Tier you’d like to proceed!
Step 4: Configure Your Reward
Now you should see a page that lets you Configure Your Reward! Optional add-on items will be listed below your Tier overview.
To select an add-on, click the Green Add-On button
Now you should be able to adjust the quantity you’d like to add to your pledge! For most add-ons it will be 1, but for select add-ons like card sleeves, you will probably want multiple packs if they’re not already included in your Tier!
Once you have selected all of your preferred add-ons, click the green Continue button at the bottom of the page to review your changes!
Step 5: Confirm Changes
On this page you should see an overview of your Reward and any add-ons you selected, along with a cost breakdown! If everything looks correct, click the Green Confirm Changes button to save your new pledge.
And that’s all there is to it! You can change your pledge as many times as you want until the campaign ends, and your card won't be charged until its over :)
(As a note: I indicated in a previous update that you can pledge $1 and use the pledge customization options to select whichever items you want; I have since learned that pledging $1 does not open up the add-on options within Kickstarter, but I can confirm with confidence that you will be able to access these items in the BackerKit add-on store after the campaign ends. So if you are here just to pick up items from other games like Here to Slay or Casting Shadows, you'll have the opportunity to make all your selections when surveys go out 2 weeks after the campaign closes)
If you have any questions or run into issues changing your pledge, comment them below or email [email protected] and our team of Experts will be happy to help you out!
Lastly, we streamed a playthrough of Twisted Cryptids with the Cryptid Culture Expansion live on Twitch yesterday! A huge thank you to everyone who tuned in – we had a lot of fun bantering with each other (and you all) and answering some of your Twisted Cryptids questions. :D
If you couldn’t make it – fret not! We recorded the stream so you can rewatch it here:
It was a well played game between Chupacabra, Bigfoot, Jersey Devil, and Loveland Frog. Who won? You have to watch to find out. 😉
A few people have also requested to see the full Cryptid Culture Expansion Rules, which you can access by clicking the link below!
Until tomorrow,
<3
Ramy
Over 90% to our final Stretch Goal upgrade 👀👽
12 days ago
– Tue, Oct 15, 2024 at 05:15:04 PM
Hello :)
Thanks to everyone who tuned into the Cryptid Culture live playthrough stream earlier today! If you missed it, we'll be sharing out a video (and the Cryptid Culture rules) in an update later this week.
Last night (/this morning for some of you), we officially hit our $1.75M Stretch Goal, which means we will be expanding the Wilderness Board by 20% to accommodate the upgraded tokens, mini-expansions, and mayhem that will ensue at each Site!
This upgrade applies to all versions of the Wilderness board you'll find in this project, including:
The Wilderness Board included in the Kickstarter Edition Game
The Nostalgic Wilderness Board Previous Backer Gift (available as an add-on if this is your first time supporting one of our Kickstarters)
The Wilderness Board that comes with the Wilderness Craft Kit add-on (and, in case you missed previous answers on this, we will be including stickers for the unlocked Mini-Expansion meeples in the set as well!)
We are quickly approaching our final Stretch Goal – the $2M Alien-Invasion Mini-Expansion 👽 (and we're exactly 92.4% of the way there as I'm writing this update!!!) Unlocking this goal means we will include this Mini-Expansion (along with the Unicorn Frenzy and Field Trip Mini-Expansions) in the Kickstarter Edition Game – that’s a base game, expansion, and THREE mini-expansions all in one box 🤯 I also want to clarify one more time: this will NOT be a print-and-play reward. If we unlock this Stretch Goal, you will get the actual UFO meeple and cards. The print-and-play will be available later for anyone who misses the campaign.
Social Stretch Goal Progress
You all have seriously blown us away with your response to the Social Stretch Goal challenges we presented you with! So far, we've unlocked 23/25 of the Social Stretch Goal objectives – earning you Wallpapers, Coloring Book Pages, Cryptid Playlists, and 3 Print 'n Play Cryptids.
With just one week left on the project, please share the project to get the word out about Twisted Cryptids to help us hit our final goals ($2M in funding and 30,000 backers) to unlock the final two rewards!
Before I wrap things up, I want to say thank you again for all of your support on this project ❤️ It's been such a joy unlocking all the upgrades and revealing surprises as the campaign has unfolded. (Heck, I've even surprised myself multiple times). While we won't be able to fulfill every single request that comes through, we have done our best to read and consider every comment, suggestion, and piece of feedback to make this the best game (and Kickstarter) we possibly can. And for things we ultimately decide we can't do this time around, we will log them away to plan for next time if we can.
See you tomorrow!
<3
Ramy
Here to Slay Fans….you’ll want to sit down for this one ⚔️
13 days ago
– Mon, Oct 14, 2024 at 02:53:40 PM
Hi everyone :)
We are pausing from Twisted Cryptids for a second to bring you an update about Here to Slay ⚔️
Keeping secrets is really hard.
If you tuned into the first Twisted Cryptids playthrough stream (and stayed until the Q&A at the end), you may have heard a question asking if there will be more content coming soon for Here to Slay. We didn’t share anything explicitly, but answered vaguely in a nudge nudge, wink wink sort of way, because we have been planning to share some news during this campaign but weren't quite ready to spoil the surprise.
(Note: there are two Here to Slay announcements in this update, so make sure you read until the end)
I’d like to start by sharing something special we’ve had in the works for about two years now – HERE TO SLAY: BANNER QUEST!
This epic new Here to Slay Expansion introduces new effects and mechanics, and a new way to win the game! Claim Banners by strategically building your Party… but remain ever vigilant, because another player might seize a Banner from your grasp at any moment!
The first player to end their turn with 3+ Banners in their Party (or SLAY 3 Monsters)wins the game 🏆
Throughout the game, you’ll claim Banner cards that will give you an edge over your opponents. Each Banner card lists an effect that you can use on each of your turns as long as that Banner card is in your Party.
Your Banner cards cannot be stolen, destroyed, attacked, or returned to your hand, but they can be seized by another player.
There are two types of Banner cards you can collect:
Class Banner Cards: You’ll find 10 Class Banner cards in this expansion, one corresponding to each of the 10 classes in the Here to Slay base game and expansion Packs. To claim a Class Banner card, you must be the first player to reach 3 of that class in your Party (including your Party Leader). Note: If you play Banner Quest with the Base Game but aren't using the other Expansions, you can easily remove the Warrior, Druid, Berserker, and Necromancer Banners, cards, and tokens.
Hunter’s Trophy Banner Card: There is only 1 Hunter’s Trophy Banner card in this expansion. To claim the Hunter’s Trophy Banner card, you must be the first player to SLAY a Monster card.
After that, each time a player SLAYS a Monster card, they seize the Hunter’s Trophy Banner card.
Certain cards in the Banner Quest Expansion allow you to change the class of a Hero card, giving you the upper hand to Slay Monsters or collect Class Banners!
(Don’t worry, you don’t have to keep track of it all in your head! We included double-sided class tokens in the Expansion that you can use to easily denote the current class of a Hero card.)
Here to Slay: Banner Quest is available for you to add to your pledge for $15 (and will also be available in the BackerKit add-on store after the campaign ends).
To help manage your cards, we designed a special Play Mat with slots for your Party Leader, Heroes, Banners, and slain Monsters so that everything is nice and organized!
This is the longest Play Mat we’ve ever designed, at 22.7” x 11” (576 x 280mm) 😳
—-------
Ok so everything above that line we have been planning for a while. The rest of this update is a new development in response to one of the most burning questions we’ve received throughout this campaign about Here to Slay Play Mats.
The original set of Party Leader Play Mats that we included in the 2020 Kickstarter were exclusive, which has made it challenging for fans of the game who missed the project to get a complete set.
With the introduction of Here to Slay: Banner Quest, we saw an opportunity to revisit our Party Leader Play Mats and introduce a new remastered set of all 10 Party Leaders. We wanted to make sure these Play Mats were compatible with the newest expansion, which requires 3 additional tarot-sized card slots, while staying true to the style of the original Here to Slay Play Mats. Each of these features new Party Leader artwork, and they will come with a matching promo card of that Party Leader featuring the same artwork.
You can see the in-progress artwork for these in the image below:
I know some of you are going to feel conflicted about whether to get the whole set if you already have some of the Play Mats or just fill in missing gaps in your collection- so we are giving you a few of options here:
You can get the 6 base game Play Mats together for $50, and each set of 2 expansion Play Mats for $20.
We put together a special bundle for the Kickstarter to allow you to get all 10 for $60 to make it a little easier if you want to get the full set of new matching Play Mats (and their corresponding promo cards).
Since the Banner Quest Play Mat is not Party Leader-specific, you can get that one for $10 if you just want one Play Mat for yourself.
For now, we made the Banner Quest Expansion + the bundle of all 10 HTS Play Mats available as add-ons if you want to manage your pledge directly in Kickstarter. To limit the chaos, we are just putting in just those two options for now- if you want any of the options I mentioned above, including the Banner Quest Play Mat, you’ll be able to get those in the add-on store in BackerKit after the project closes.
These items will also be available later through our website, but ordering them through this Kickstarter guarantees you early access to all the goodies 😋
We get requests for a new Here to Slay expansion more than we do for any other game in our roster (and, based on the number of questions we’ve gotten on this campaign about Here to Slay Play Mats, I know there are a lot of fans out there in the audience). I hope this update adds a little bit of joy to your day :)
I’ll be back to Twisted Cryptids updates again tomorrow.
<3
Ramy
Learn More about Cryptid CULTure 😈
14 days ago
– Sun, Oct 13, 2024 at 09:59:25 AM
Hello >:)
Since nearly 95% of backers have included the Cryptid Culture expansion in their pledge (🤯), I wanted to share out an update going through the rules of Cryptid Culture today in advance of a live playthrough we will be hosting this week featuring the expansion :)
Also, in case you missed Friday's update, there’s now another Exclusive Edition Expansion underway featuring Yeti & Death Worm :) We will share an update like this one in the future diving into gameplay and previewing artwork when it is further along. The Yeti & Death Worm Expansion is not included in any tiers, but it is available to add on if you manage your pledge directly on Kickstarter, and it will also be available in the BackerKit add-on store.
Cryptid Culture and adds Jersey Devil and Lizard Person to the lineup along with a brand new game element, Cults 😈 Let's take a deep dive, shall we?
Like all the other Cryptids in the game, the characters in this Expansion come equipped with their own unique Cryptid Powers. You can activate these abilities once per round by discarding a card from your hand.
The most exciting new feature of Cryptid Culture is in the name of the game... CULTS! When you play with this Expansion, you'll choose from one of 6 Cults. As your Cult's Influence grows by recruiting humans, you'll get access to powerful Rituals.
Your Cult options are: Attraction, Hunger, Whispers, Might, Mystery, and Passage, and each comes with handy Cult Information Guide and 2 tokens.
Choose wisely! Once you’ve selected your Cult, you’re stuck with them FOREVER (or at least for the rest of the game 😅)
Once you’ve picked out your base of loyal followers – you’ll take their Cult Information Guide and 2 Cult tokens.
Your Cult Information Guide tells you everything you need to know about your Cult. It tracks your Influence and outlines the Rituals your Cult may perform to help you.
Your two Cult tokens are used to track: 1. the location of your Cult in The Wilderness, and 2. your Cult’s current level of Influence on your Cult Information Guide.
Your Cult can’t recruit new members standing still - they need to move! This Expansion gives you an additional Action you may take on your turn to move your Cult through The Wilderness:
Direct: Discard any number of Action cards, then move your Cult that many times. Each time you move your Cult it must be to an adjacent Site.
As a quick reminder, you get one Action per turn, and you take three turns per round. If you choose to Direct as your Action on one of your turns, you won’t be able to play an Action card from your hand or activate your Cryptid Power. But once you have unlocked the third Ritual, your Cult will be doing the work for you!
Though your Cult might move around looking for new members, you’re the one who is really going to convert those basic Humans. How? Simple: you’ll Cultivate them at the end of your turn.
Cultivate: You may Cultivate to increase your Influence by 1 if there are 3 Humans of the same Flavor on the Site of one of your Hiding Spots. When you Cultivate, remove one of those Humans, and place them back in the Rest Area.
But I must note, you may only Cultivate if your current Influence is lower than the number of Events in the Current Event pile. Be patient; building a Cult takes time!
Cryptid Culture introduces 4 NEW Hidden Traits that you’ll shuffle into the Hidden Trait deck when playing with this Expansion! Your Cryptids can now be Exhausted, Harmonious, Simple, or Shady.
The newness doesn’t end at Cryptids and Cults – this Expansion includes 21 Action cards you will shuffle into the Action deck, some of which include a brand new Function unique to Cryptid Culture: Rummage.
To Rummage, discard any number of Action cards from your hand, then draw the same number of cards from the Action deck. (This isn’t the trash you want… You want different trash.)
Hunters, Hikers, and Researchers aren’t the only ones moving around The Wilderness at the Dawn of each new day! This Expansion comes with 6 new Event cards that you will shuffle into the Event deck before the start of the game. These Events will impact the positioning of Cults around The Wilderness and Attract larger groups of Humans.
With new Cryptids comes new Encounters the Humans may experience! Like all other Cryptids, both Jersey Devil and Lizard Person come with 9 Sighting cards each: 2 Hoaxes, 2 Decoys, 2 Silhouettes, and 3 Real Deals. Below are some of the Sightings you'll find in this Expansion :)
And that's Cryptid Culture in a nutshell! I recognize this was a lot of information at once, especially since you don't have the game in your hands yet – if you’re more of a visual learner (or just want to see this Expansion in action), join us for a playthrough of Twisted Cryptids with the Cryptid Culture Expansion LIVE on Twitch Tuesday, October 15th @ 1PM CST (11AM PST/2PM EST). We'll be hosting it on Jesse's Twitch channel.
If you’re unable to make it, we will upload video footage of the playthrough to our Youtube channel and share it in a Kickstarter update after the stream has ended!
I hope to see you there!
If you missed the first live playthrough of the base game, which included a Q&A session about the game at the end, here's the full video:
