The Gardens - Take a Walk in the Park!

Update #5 - Nice dice!
over 2 years ago – Mon, Aug 30, 2021 at 10:46:31 AM

Hi everyone! It's been a great weekend so far with well over 500 backers now having joined the campaign! Thanks so much to everyone for backing our project. We love these games and can't wait for you to play them :)

Another stretch goal reached!

Wow - we are really moving through these stretch goals!! Thank you for your help! We passed the grand total of $37,000AUD allowing us to make the score board with two layers of cardboard! Now the Scoring Tiles used in each game won't be bumped or knocked out of place - they will be snugly nestled within their special wells within the score board. So nice!

Next...

Once we get to $41,000 the 6-sided die in "A Walk in the Park" will have engraved designs on each of its faces, not silkscreen printed ones! This will make the dice nicer to feel and use and last longer as well :) We are so excited to be able to use these extra funds to make the games even better!!

Another terrific review!

If you would like to read Steph Hodge's (from boardgamegeek) recent review of The Gardens, you can seek it out by clicking here.

She says, "The Gardens checks all the boxes I enjoy in a game. I love drafting cards and card placement onto my own personal player board. The ease of play is nice because there is still a puzzle to figure out. I had a great time playing and I look forward to checking out the final product and the advanced rules."

Lovely words but check out her amazing photos, too!

Speak soon! Hopefully everyone is getting the chance to enjoy some lovely outdoors this weekend :)

- The Grail Games Team

Update #4 - Taking it to the next level!
over 2 years ago – Sat, Aug 28, 2021 at 11:52:52 PM

Hello once again to our amazing backers! As we close in on the 500-backer mark, we wanted to let you all know that we hit another stretch goal today! Thank you!

A landmark event!

When playing The Gardens with its advanced rules, Landmark cards are added to the game. There are 12 Landmark cards - each representing a famous location that can actually be seen in or around Sydney's Royal Botanic Garden. Each game, 6 of these Landmark cards are used and offer players an extra goal to shoot for. The first player to "see" these locations by placing a drafted card upon their printed locations on their player boards will receive the matching card. This card offers the player bonus points or a special ability to be used for the rest of the game!

The Landmark board that we have just unlocked gives you a place to hold these cards while they await collection. This makes it easier to see what Landmarks are still available to race for. We have more plans to make this board even fancier, so stay tuned :)

The next level...

And our next stretch goal is really exciting! If we hit it, the scoreboard will now be made of two layers, creating "wells" for the 7 Scoring Tiles in use for each game to "click" snugly into! Luxury!

The Landmark meeples!

Speaking of the Landmarks, don't forget that if you pledge at the Botanist level, you will not only receive the roll-and-write sister game, "A Walk in the Park," but you will also receive the 12 landmarks seen in the game - as wooden pieces! With these, players who earn the Landmarks also receive these KS-exclusive* wooden pieces to physically place on their player boards, giving the game a wonderful 3D look.

Below are some  sneak-peek images of these pieces as they are still being designed (the shapes/colours/etc are not final). What would you hope to see first in the game - the Opera House? Mrs Macquarie's Chair? Or simply, the garden's famous Duck Pond?

Thanks again, everyone! We are so excited by the campaign, your support, and the upcoming production and release of these games. Stay tuned for more news, and have a great weekend :)

- The Grail Games Team

*After the campaign, any wooden landmarks that are left over after fulfilling to our backers will be available for a fee from us directly (via our online store or at conventions.)

Update #3 - Chugging along!
over 2 years ago – Sat, Aug 28, 2021 at 02:25:37 AM

Just as the tourist train zips through Sydney's Royal Botanic Garden, the support keeps coming in for The Gardens on Kickstarter! Thanks to everyone for you fabulous and continued support today :D

Another stretch goal fell!

We reached the $32,000AUD mark and now each of the 16 player boards in The Gardens will be upgraded to 1.5mm thick! And we'll see what else we can do with these boards by the end of the campaign :D

And up next...

We hope to add a Landmark Board to The Gardens. If we reach $34,000AUD a new 1.5mm thick board will be added that allows the 6 Landmark cards used in a game to be easily displayed  - it will also make it clearer when a Landmark has been "seen" by another player as the card will be taken from the board. It helps to keep the game neater and smoother to play!

We do have plans to make this board even nicer with a later stretch goal - but we'll see how we go. We know that you guys are supporting us which makes us wanting to reach further even more!

If you missed today's live stream with Meeple University (much fun was had), you can watch it here: 

Next week our plans are: 

• To present a video play-through of the new solo rules of the game.
• Present a video play-through of the "A Walk in the Park" roll-and-write game
• Highlight the Landmark wooden pieces as we finish their designs,
• and present an update rule book with all the content unlocked so far included!

Have a great day and thanks again for your support!

- The Grail Games Team

Update #2 - Another terrific day!
over 2 years ago – Thu, Aug 26, 2021 at 11:41:50 PM

Wow - hello again to our supporters and backers! The Gardens' second day was another filled with sunshine and blue skies :D Thanks so much for your continued support - we cannot wait to get the games to you.

Another stretch goal fell!

We reached the $29,000AUD mark and now every copy of A Walk in the Park will have 200 score sheets, not just 150! That's 50 more plays! If you would like this roll-and-write game with your pledge, be sure to pledge at the Botanist level. The rule book for the game is available via our campaign page and we are going to post a play-through video next week.

And another stretch goal is coming up!

Next, if we hit $32,000AUD in funding, we will make all 16 player boards in the base game 1.5mm thick cardboard. This will make the game nicer to play and it will last longer as well :)

Live stream tomorrow!

Depending on where you live, David from Grail Games will be live streaming with Meeple University tomorrow morning as we play The Gardens remotely with each other on Tabletopia. The video will be available after the event but it will be cool if you can join us :) It will be on at 10am at GMT +10, Friday August 27.

Finally, a new FAQ:

A few people from non-English speaking countries have asked about how much text is in the game. We have long had plans to make the game language-free but the new art files were not ready in time for the Kickstarter. Once they are ready we can show them - know that the game will be playable in all languages (except for the rule book).

Thanks again! We will speak again soon!

- The Grail Games Team

Update #1 - What an amazing first day in the park!
over 2 years ago – Thu, Aug 26, 2021 at 06:42:41 AM

Wow - thanks so much to all our backers!! It has been an absolutely amazing first day for The Gardens Kickstarter campaign!! We now have xxx backers and have not only met our funding goal, but shot past it!

This means two things:

• We will be producing The Gardens and A Walk in the Park and sending them to your homes! (Hooray!)
• And, we have already knocked over three of our stretch goals! (Double hooray!)

Stretch goals are hit when the funds raised are beyond what is required to print the games - and these bonus funds will allow to make the games even better! We have lots in store - hopefully we will be able to unlock quite a few of them! Some stretch goals will be for improvements to The Gardens, and some for A Walk in the Park. Some stretch goals will improve ALL copies of the game, and some will be special treats just for our backers :) 

Scoring tiles

The first thing we were really hoping to unlock were the 10 extra scoring tiles - you can see many of our video previewers mention these, and they are also available to try in the Tabletopia game if you get the chance. And we did it! Thank you!

These 10 extra tiles can be mixed with the basic 7 tiles to create different ways to score each game. Our suggestion is: once you have played with the basic scoring tiles a couple of times, add in one or more of the advanced tiles to make each game feel totally different. Goals will change, players' focuses will change, but the game itself does not - it's pretty cool!

Solo mode

Secondly, I am so glad to say that you will now be able to play The Gardens solo! This requires an extra scoring tile and some rules changes but it feels very much like the multiplayer game and is easy to implement. We will be releasing rules (and a play through video) of the solo game soon - once we are sure we are happy with the variant's development!

Thicker cards

We also met the third stretch goal! Now we can increase the thickness of all the cards in the game. Thicker cards means a nicer feel and a longer-lasting game! The cards will be 310gsm and produced with the best quality card stock our factory uses.

Up next..!

Our next goal comes up at the $29,000AUD mark! 50 more score sheets will be added to every copy of A Walk in the Park - that's enough for 25 more 2-player games, over 12 more 4-player games (or enough for 50 solo games)!

Hopefully we can reach that goal soon :)

Thanks everyone once again and we hope you will stick with us and enjoy the sights and smells of Sydney's Royal Botanic Gardens! We have lots more in store and lots to show - stay tuned for more regular updates as we continue the campaign. Thanks for being here, supporting us from day 1!

- David and the Grail Games Team