Stoneshore: May 2024 update
May 2024 update from Stoneshore
Hey, it’s been a while! 2024 has been a whirlwind, and I’ve had to prioritise other things than game design for the past few months. However, from June the schedule for my day job is changing, which gives me time to pick back up some of my projects, and potentially make a new thing or two.
I believe this is also my first email sent from Buttondown, after migrating my mailing list (again!) at the start of this year. So if things look a little different, that’ll be why.
Here’s my ambitions for Stoneshore for the next year:
Release Wandering Swords 0.9e. This will be a significant update to the game with balance adjustments, new material, and a refreshed design. Once extensive playtesting has been completed for this, I’ll be moving towards a full release. Thanks for your patience on this one! Get in touch if you’d like an advance copy of 0.9e for playtest and promotion purposes.
Release Perimeter Breach Detected. This is a sci-fi horror game built on the framework of Bar the Windows, Bolt the Doors. You’re a rag-tag band of survivors stranded on a hellish planet, trying to fight off alien monsters. The rules are already written, so I’ll be working primarily on playtesting and balancing the rules, and rulebook design and illustration. I’m hoping for a Halloween release for this one, but as I’m getting married in October (!!!) this may wait a little longer!
Explore print options for games. I’d like to work towards an updated print edition of Bar the Windows, Bolt the Doors. If you’ve got experience printing/publishing games and would like to collaborate, drop me a line at stoneshore.trpg@gmail.com.
Spotlight
In this section I feature games I’ve played or which have captured my attention recently. If you’ve got a game you think I’d like, let me know!
I really enjoyed playing the boardgame Escape the Dark Castle recently. I’d seen this floating around and wasn’t entirely sure I’d like it, but our friends had a copy and we sat down with it earlier this year. Our band of sorry prisoners died horribly, and a great time was had. It’s a very streamlined dungeon crawl experience with an intentionally ugly retro aesthetic which grew on me the more I played. I enjoyed how a story emerges from the series of cards you draw, and it’s clearly got a lot of replayability. Pick it up if you get a chance!
I also just received the long-anticipated revised edition of Mothership which I kickstarted back in 2021 - it was worth the wait! The team have put together a fantastic bundle, and it was a great choice to package the set up in a bespoke box. I’m looking forward to reading through the rules in depth, and I may add writing up an adventure for this system to my list of ambitions.
Thanks for reading as always, and I look forward to jumping back on the game design horse and sharing new work with you later this year.
-Nathaniel