Late Pledge Store - Village Attacks: Grim Dynasty Reborn

MP Update + Finalizing Discounts + Tabletopia and more
11 months ago – Wed, Jul 02, 2025 at 09:34:15 PM

Hi friends, 

I had hoped to have the pledge manager open by now, but the process has been more complicated than I realized. We are effectively setting up two distinct pledge manages; one for old backers and another for new. This has made an already complex process more of a challenge, but I'm working with Back Office by Naylor Games, and they are experts at this side of things. 

I hope to have the pledge manager up soon, but after being overly optimistic with my last prediction, I'm not going to make one this time. My hope is that the next update from me will include news that the PM is open.  

Discounts for Past Backers

Past backers of the prior Grim Dynasty campaign will get 50 percent off the Kickstarter price. We'll also take more off of the complete dice sets. 

Tabletopia Update

We mentioned this during the campaign, but Village Attacks is coming to Tabletopia! We've submitted all of the files necessary for the mod to be created, so the ball is currently in Tabletopia's court. I don't have an estimate on how long this setup will take, but I hope to have an update next month. 

For those not familiar, Tabletopia is boardgaming platform that lets you play a variety fo games online, for free. We'll have the core game available right away, and I'll look into whether we want to include any expansions after that once the game is live. 

Tactician Die, New Banshee Moulds, and Other Factory Happenings

Our manufacturing partners have been chugging away behind the scenes, and they're currently wrapping up mould creation / repair. For those that don't remember, a few of the moulds were damaged over the years, while one - holding the Banshee monster - was lost entirely. According to the factory, they've completed most of the mould work and are finalizing the banshee mould currently. The expect to be completely finished with this process within a few weeks. 

Unlike the print and play STL, the banshee will actually come in three pieces in the mould and then will be attached by hand. Here's a look at the new renders:

We have also been working on finalizing the tactician dice. Those of you who watched some of the preview of the expansion probably noticed the ugly, mustard yellow dice included with the prototype. The final product looks much better!

That's all for now. I expect the next update will come when the pledge manager is ready. 

June Update
about 1 year ago – Tue, Jun 03, 2025 at 11:00:36 AM

Hi friends,

We're still plugging along behind the scenes here, but I can confirm that after some back and forth on the logistics, the moulds are paid for and being manufactured / repaired. This process should be done in early July, and we're putting together all of the files for the cardboard and paper now. Once the moulds are finished we'll be ready to push the button on the actual manufacturing. 

Pledge Manager

The pledge manager is coming in about two weeks! You'll get the chance to pay shipping and get any add-ons. I'll have another update once its up and running. 

I've gotten mixed messages on whether the accessories I purchased and store in the UK will be taxed when coming into the U.S. since they were made in China. I'm assuming they are, and for the existing stock from the original Kickstarter, we're still planning on shipping those out within a few weeks of the pledge manager opening. I'll absorb any tariffs on those items, assuming we get hit with them. 

Speaking of Tariffs

The worst of the tariff nonsense is over (for now), but at 30+ percent, it's still a major burden for the games we're manufacturing in 2025. For now, we're not doing anything regarding the tariffs, but there is the possibility of asking U.S. backers to help subsidize some of these costs shortly before we start shipping. We expect to subsidize most of these expenses and are hoping for a trade deal before it's time to load the games on a boat, so fingers crossed. 

New Offering: Organized Play Packs

For those of you in the discord or who have asked elsewhere, you already know that I had hoped to work out a deal where we could make the organized play packs available alongside miniature sets from the publishers of Dark Rituals. We had some brief discussions with them that never went anywhere, and I don't expect the miniatures to be made available outside of purchasing the entire Dark Rituals board game. 

For those that don't know what I'm talking about, years ago Grimlord Games struck a deal with Dark Gate Games. Using the art from DG's Dark Rituals board game, Grimlord created an organized play pack including 10 new scenarios, five playable characters, and five town heroes. These heroes and monsters correspond with the characters in Dark Rituals, so you can use the DR miniatures when playing the organized play content. 

Since it seems unlikely we're going to get a set of miniatures for these packs, what I've decided to do is make them available in the pledge manager. You will of course need to use proxies of some kind, but the packs include everything else you need for the new scenarios, monsters, and heroes. (Some of the monster options are a lot of fun!)

I do expect to repurpose some of this content in the future with our own art in one way or another, and we will definitely not be printing any more of these packs in the future. So if you want one, this is your shot. 

May Update: Mould Manufacturing and Tariff Talk
about 1 year ago – Thu, May 01, 2025 at 11:57:47 AM

Hi friends,

It's been a tumultuous few months and I suspect most of you have heard enough about tariffs already, but I did want to give you an update on where stand - and tariffs obviously impact that. 

Because of the uncertainty, we're putting off opening the pledge manager for now. As frustrating as all of this is, I am hopeful that tariffs at an industry killing level will not be our reality for long. Given that I think this kind of tax increase is unsustainable, my guess is that things will smooth out sooner rather than later. For now, our plan is to wait on the pledge manager and see what happens. 

That does not mean we're at a standstill, as behind the scenes we're moving forward with getting the game ready to print. We're finalizing the order for some mould repairs and replacing one that was previously lost; I expect all of the moulds to be ready to go within around 30 days. We're also polishing up some graphic design issues as well in addition to some final changes to the Grim Dynasty rulebook. 

One minor thing we're working on are the Tactician dice that come with Grim Dynasty. Those of you that watched any of the Youtube playthroughs might have noticed the prototypes had ugly, mustard-yellow dice included. The final version was intended to a marbled, golden look. The first mockups from the factory were not exactly what I was looking for:

Still a little mustard-y for me. Thankfully, the factory is working on a new set with material that will have brighter, more metallic sheen. I'll hopefully be able to show those off next time!

I appreciate your patience as we bring this project to life. The tariff issues are frustrating, but I'm confident they can't last forever. In future updates, we'll have a look at the next iteration of dice, the finalized rulebook, and hopefully some test prints from the moulds. 

A Heartfelt Thank You and Tabletopia News!
about 1 year ago – Fri, Apr 04, 2025 at 01:37:32 PM

Hi friends! Thank you for the amazing support.

I've taken a few days to take a breather after the campaign and also absorb the gut punch that is the tariff news. The new tariffs, which are higher than many predicted, will impact the entire industry. We're going to take a look at things as they (hopefully) settle, but I priced in some uncertainty since we had some vague warnings about what was coming on 4/2 since before our campaign launched. If they increase again before we ship, we'll have to look at our options, but fingers crossed, this is the worst of it!

For now, the work begins on getting the pledge manager ready. I don't have a firm date for that yet, but I hope to have it and pre-orders up soon. Right now, we're doing some graphic design cleanup on the packaging and getting digital files ready. I anticipate the factory will start with the mould repairs next week and then do the tooling for the plastic packaging after that. 

I'm going through the Grim Dynasty Reborn rulebook again as we found some issues over the course of the campaign, I'll provide that once it's ready and will also send an update once I know the factory is working on the moulds. In other news, we'll soon have a new way to play Village Attacks!  

Village Attacks is Coming to Tabletopia

The nice folks at Tabletopia have reached out about a digital conversion, and we've agree to add the Core Game to their list of available titles. We're just now starting this process and haven't been given a timeline on how long it might take, but I believe a lot of the assets should be ready since the game is already on TableTop Simulator. I hope to have a better timeline for this development next time as well, but I can confirm the game will be available with a free account. 

Speaking of TableTop Simulator, if you own it on the Steam Store, you can play Village Attacks online right now. It includes most of the legacy expansions as well as Grim Dynasty content. You can find the TTS mod here. 

that's it for now!

Home Stretch Update and a Look At The Wretched Journey
about 1 year ago – Mon, Mar 31, 2025 at 10:55:41 AM

Hi friends, 

We’re glad you enjoyed yesterday’s update about the Dragon Clan! Today we have already entered the last 48 hours of the campaign and it’s exciting to see more and more people joining!

Thank you all for your support in this journey reviving Village Attacks and bringing to life the
Grim Dynasty expansion. We are really happy that we will finally bring this to your tables, and
we  appreciate the support, especially from the old backers of Grimlord Games who
joined us.

Right now, we don’t have plans to bring the game to retail so you are all part of something
very special and exclusive!

As we enter the final 24 hours, we would love your help spreading the word, making this as big a success as possible. The better the campaign does, the bigger the game print run will be, dropping the costs per copy. We want to stress as much as possible that by pledging here you already help us a ton, but spread the word is invaluable as well! You can help by sharing the campaign to your friends, any Facebook groups, Boardgamegeek or online communities you are part of.

Thanks again for being part of the rebirth of Village Attacks and the Grim Dynasty expansion!

Add-On Review: The Wretched Journey Offers Monsters - And Heroes

The Wretched Journey is unique among Village Attacks expansions, as it comes with four unique and incredible miniatures that can be used in two distinct ways: as playable monsters or legendary heroes. 

The four monsters from Chinese folklore include:

• Ao Lie - Dragon Prince of the West Sea
• Sha Wujing - Spirit of the Deep Sands
• Sun Wukong - Great Sage Equal of Heaven
• Zhu Bajie - Marshal of Heavenly Navies

take for example Ao Lie, who has a number of abilities that can manipulate peasants and traps across the castle. It starts with Thunderous Roar, allowing it to stun a peasant or hunter at long range. As you gain experience, you can add Royal Decree that lets you collect experience when traps eliminate villagers, potentially sharing those experience points with allies if you choose. Reign of Terror allows you to move villagers around the castle each time you enter a room. One of the things I really enjoy about this expansion is that the new monsters bring much more to the table than just dealing damage. 

In addition to a playable monster, you can also use Ao Lie and the other three characters as Legendary Heroes. These super-powered versions of Town Heroes are not just hard to kill, they also come with their own set of powers that are controlled by a single roll of the die each turn.

These rolls not only control how the Legendary Heroes move, but they also unleash unique powers. Depending on the roll, Ao Lie can deal damage, spawn villagers, and remove dice from the monsters' next roll. They are by far the toughest single test you can face in Village Attacks.

That's it this time!