January Preview - Plus a look at all our 2019 plans

Hello everyone! Another super focused update here, and two days of updates in a row. What is this? A preview of 2019? 

Well, we won't be doing daily updates, but we have set some things in place to have lots more than we've been posting recently. Looking back at this year we had some major milestones.

• Feb - Quit my job to do Button Shy almost full time (took on a part time job)
• May - Sprawlopolis exploded and changed Button Shy forever
• May - Quit the part time job in order to complete Sprawlopolis
• August - Started fulfilling Sprawlopolis, stopped everything else
• September - Still fulfilling Sprawlopolis...
• October - Still fulfilling...
• November - Still... but we got a new space and stopped working out of my house. Added Kevin Kulp to the assembly team.
• December - Had a killer Pax Unplugged (and met lots of you!). Added Matthew Mitchell to the support team.

And during all this time, the BGOTMC had grown and grown (thanks everyone!) and our packages were later and later (sorry everyone!). I've talked to a lot of you in person or online, and the consensus is that you know it's coming eventually and that's ok, but there are two problems that we want to fix. 

1) For a new supporter, the wait for "eventually" can be a real long time. So we are working on cutting that down. After the 2019 welcome packages arrive in January, we're assembling all of them and getting them out the door the day we get a new supporter. And if we can get our schedule in order so that packages go out the month they are due, it'll cut it down even more. Having Kevin on board makes that happen a little better. There's still and always the issue of waiting for one silly item in the packages, but I'm trying to make sure that is as controlled as possible. 

2) Patrons shouldn't be the last to get Kickstarter games. In fact, it should be the opposite. Somehow that ended up being the case a few times. The vanilla $10 level is a fast way to knock out 50% of the backers in almost no time, so we always start with it and move towards the more and more complex levels. With the Patron level being a little bit of custom pledge, each needs to be looked at and handled on a 1x1 basis. We can fix this by making better surveys and working on the surveys in the downtime before the product arrives. With some help on hand, I think this will be much easier to accomplish.

Now that we've got the issues out of the way, let's look at what's in store for January and the rest of 2019. 

The 2019 Postcard Game Series - Chain Mail ($5+ Patrons)

It's hard to even call this a postcard game. We're sort of combining what we did with Time Stamp and Banned Books. Instead of a postcard game and 9 card, expandable game, Chain Mail is a card game that has a new postcard map, and new expansion cards each month. In Chain Mail you are a party of adventures thrusted into the underworld of Earthshine, a thriving planet until it was broken by a massive meteor. With the impact, a chasm appeared showing a previously unknown underworld... in which you will be exploring. 

Players will control asymmetric characters in an interchangeable world. After you receive a few months of Chain Mail you can randomize maps , enemies and goals to play an all new adventure.

(Early prototype image)

Chain Mail is a cooperative game for 1-4 players. Designed by Jason Greeno and Jason Tagmire, with art by Marty Cobb.

In January you will receive a starter pack of 4 characters and resource cards, plus the monthly map, enemy and scenario card. 

The 2019 Roll and Write Series - Tempus Quest ($5+ Patrons)

It's hard to even call this a roll & write game. Because there are no dice! This is part of the Tempus System, created by Chris Anderson. The Tempus System Games work similarly to roll and right games where players roll dice and use the results to fill in a sheet. Instead of dice you will use the date and time you start playing to randomize the setup and your actions. This results in a very fresh and new experience, and one that's even more portable than a traditional roll and write (assuming you have a phone, or maybe even a watch, haha).

(Early prototype image)

In Tempus Quest, we are brought back to our Pocket Universe (Universal Rule, Twin Stars, Liberation, etc), and following the adventures of a new crew. Expect to see them in action throughout the year, but for now, here's them during some downtime. 

We brought on Robin Gibson for illustrations and layout to keep this in a similar space as his 2018 series Legends of Dsyx. 

Tempus Quest is a pen and paper game for 1 player. Designed by Chris Anderson, with art by Robin Gibson.

In January you will receive Episode 1: Not Alone In Space. 

Expansions and Micro Games ($10+ Patrons)

Each month we're keeping up with the maddening shchedule of either: a game of up to 9 cards, or one or more small expansions to existing  Button Shy Games. To be more specific we are planning for 4 months of original games, 4 months of expansions (looking at Sprawlopolis, Liberation, Supertall and more), and 4 months with both a faction for Anthelion (our January 2019 Wallet  Game) and a tiny standalone expandable mech game by James O' Connor. It's jam-packed, mostly booked and looking awesome. 

In January you will receive SLASHR, a 3-7 player fast playing, freewheeling horror movie emulator captured in 9 cards. This was part of 9th Level Games' Tragedies of Middle School book and is being offered as a physical game for the very first time. Designed by Chris O'Neill.

Wallet Games ($20+ Patrons)

And yes, the wallet games will continue each month. At $20 you get one free and at any other level you'll get a discount on each of them based on your reward level. In 2019 you will see Anthelion: Conclave of Power, Antinomy, Handsome, Seasons of Rice, Tussie Mussie, Penny Rails and more. 

In January the featured wallet game here will be The Maiden In The Forest. Designed by Todd Sanders. 

Long ago, a maiden mage was trapped in an enchanted forest ring.  Through her cunning, and with the help of four magic objects, she  attempts to escape her fate.

The Maiden in the Forest is an 18-card solitaire game using only cards. The rules are contained within the 18 cards. The object of the game is to rotate, then turn over, each of the  twelve tree cards from their blooming to dormant side. If you can do  this before the end of the twelve clock cycles of day and night, you win your freedom.

This is a game that's been around the PNP circuit for a while, but we're giving it the full wallet treatment. If you are interested in The Maiden In The Forest and you are not at the $20 level, you can pre-order it here: https://buttonshygames.com/products/the-maiden-in-the-forest 

Remember to use your special Patron codes to get your discount - if you don't know them see this post: https://www.patreon.com/posts/important-links-17210335 

That's everything! All members that are here before 12/31/18 will get the items above and kickoff a killer new year with us. We appreciate every one of your contributions to keeping this going and we're honored to be able to do this another year. Thanks everyone!