Game Launch? Check! Beer Drank? Check! Good times had? Check!
In the immortal words of the Bard: "that was a hell of a night."
Thanks to EVERYONE who came down to Snakes & Lagers last night to be part of the official game launch. Beer was drank, dice were rolled, backstabbing commenced (for the table I was at it came on the very first turn from a particularly feisty Juliet), and all in all it was very Shakespearean.Thanks also for the feedback you gave us. We really appreciated hearing what you loved about the game (the depth, the replayability, the awesome design) and what you thought could be improved (a rulebook that was easier to understand).We're happy to say that IDW is busy working on a new version of that slightly wonky rulebook. For those of you at the event you got to work off of some of the new cheat sheets they created(created by the amazing David Minken at Connect-More.ca, thanks David!) you could see how much they helped - we'll have a full set of those ready to go to Kickstarter backers soon.But if you have the game through non Kickstarter means, or are going to order it, give us a shout at muchado@killshakespeare.com and I can get you those files ASAP. While the game itself works amazingly well there are a FEW confusing bits in the rulebook that make the first turns a bit longer than they need to be.
But even with that minor challenge, I was amazed at how people tackled the game and kicked some Ricardian ass!Now if you're sad you missed the event, have no fear, TONIGHT (December 10th) at 6PM on SPACE's news journal show, Innerspace, you can see the whole thing and geek out as if you were right there WITH US!
Now of course I need to say a HUGE thank you to Aaron, Ben and Kayla at Snakes & Lagers. You guys were fantastic hosts and we couldn't have asked for a better venue to unveil the game. I also want to say thanks to Barry and the MacAuslan team for putting together the beer prize packs. And of course a big thank you to Doug and Matt from Paradise Comics who shocked everyone by DEBUTING VOLUME 4 of Kill Shakespeare at the event.
(I also want to nod towards John at 401 Games and George at the Silver Snail who generously allowed us to grab their stock to make sure we had enough games to meet demand.)
If you missed the event but NEED some Kill Shakespeare in your games cupboard and you don't see it at your local game or comic shop the Snakes folks can help you there too -- they send more games around Canada than anyone else. So you can buy your copy here: http://www.snakesandlattes.com/shop/What a great night -- we can't wait to do it all again!
You're Invited!
Alright you guys, it's time to come out and celebrate with us!
The K.S. Board Game is FINALLY out and has been delivered to almost all of our Kickstarter supporters as well as to game shops across North America. We're patting ourselves on the back and throwing a launch party with the help of the amazing people at Snakes & Lagers - 488 College St.
The whole thing goes down next Tuesday, December 9th from 5 PM until your brains explode from awesome gaming.
AND we want two of you, are dedicated fans to win the chance to play at the head table against Conor and our special MYSTERY GUEST (shhhh, it might be Ajay).
To do that you need to tell me WHAT GAME IS FESTE playing here in Issue #3 of The Tide of Blood?
This is a tough one, so keep an eye on our social media, twitter, Facebook and tumblr for more clues.
For all the details on the launch read on below!
Kill Shakespeare and Snakes & Lagers team up to launch KILL SHAKESPEARE BOARD GAME
Lucky fans will get chance to beat Kill Shakespeare co-creator Conor McCreery at his own game and meet SPACE TV’s Ajay Fry.
Toronto: Fans of both ‘Bardicide’ and brews will get a chance to combine their passions as Toronto’s #1 gaming bar, Snakes & Lagers hosts the official release party for Kill Shakespeare: The Board Game— based on the award winning Kill Shakespeare comic series.SPACE TV’s Ajay Fry will host the evening, and portions of the event will be shown on Hyperspace, SPACE’s flagship news program for all things in Geek culture. Kill Shakespeare co-creator Conor McCreery will also be at Snakes and two fans will get a chance to beat him (and Fry) at his own game by winning seats at the head table with Conor and Ajay.The evening begins at 5 p.m. on Tuesday December 9th at 488 College St. West. To help celebrate the launch Snakes & Lagers will offer special deals to gamers on a host of their craft beers.Kill Shakespeare: The Board Game is the first release from IDW Games. Designed by Tomas Vande Giste and Wolf Plancke, the creators of the cult classic strategy game Yedo, Kill Shakespeare is a semi-co-operative game in which you and up to three friends each play as one of Shakespeare’s legendary heroes: Hamlet, Juliet Falstaff, Othello or Viola. Together you must overthrow the oppressive duo of Richard III and Lady Macbeth.But, as in real life—only one of you can be the hero of the revolution—and the ultimate winner of the game. This forces each player to constantly balance their actions between what’s good for the rebellion, with their own desire to be crowned the new King or Queen of Illyria.“I’m looking forward to teaming up with two passionate gamers to take down Richard and Lady Macbeth, but of course I’m going to be forced to backstab them in the end,” says McCreery. “What else would you expect from a guy who always plays as Falstaff?”To get your chance to play at the head table follow @KillShakespeare and @SnakesandLagers and “like” the Kill Shakespeare and Snakes Facebook pages for contest information.For more information contact:Kill Shakespeare Snakes & LagersConor McCreery Aaron Zack416.844.4122 647.748.4004Muchado@killshakespeare.com aaron@snakesandlattes.com Kill Shakespeare (IDW Publishing) is an award-winning comic book series created by Conor McCreery & Anthony Del Col. The original series has spawned two sequels, a live stage show that has played everywhere from New York to Dubai, a board game, and is currently being developed for television and other mediums.Snakes & Lagers is the late-night playground for Toronto’s gaming aficionados. Located in the heart of Little Italy, Snakes & Lagers offers 19 craft beer taps, an internationally inspired menu and hundreds of games for your eating, drinking and playing pleasure.
The Gameplay's the thing and it's FINALLY here!
The Board Games are FINALLY arriving.
It's been a LONG process (much longer than we ever expected and we're sorry about that), but we are starting to receive tweets and emails that you, our supporters, are receiving your copies of Kill Shakespeare: The Board Game.
Anthony and I had the privilege to see the game in Edmonton and New York, and we can tell you that it drew a LOT of attention from passer-by's. We even had one guy offer to buy the display copy for $200!
But we didn't want to leave it to total strangers to get a look at our new baby, so below are some pics of the game. I hope you'll agree that while it has taken some time to get ready, it looks like time well spent.
Also, the amazing folks at IDW want you to have the best game-playing experience possible. Once you get your game if you have ANY questions about how a rule works simply tweet @IDWGames or email Nate Murray: Nate@idwpublishing.com with that question and within 72 hours Nate will post a short video that will show you exactly how that part of the game works.
Yes, that's right, personalized rule explanations! That's pretty Bard-ass if I do say so myself.
(oh Conor, you're such a wit)
Now go swoon over some awesome game pictures!
New York - A Hell of a Town!
Well, what has quickly become the busiest convention of the year for us has just ended... The New York Comic-Con! Some reports indicate that the show is now bigger than San Diego in terms of attendance; I don't know if this is the case but I do know that it's a really big show.We had a great time in the city this year - meeting with fans, finding new readers, seeing the board game for the first time, and selling our new Sherlock Holmes vs. Harry Houdini series as well. We broke sales records and look forward to winding down the year with only a couple more.Here are some pics from the weekend:
Great unboxing video for our Kill Shakespeare board game
Board game specialist has just posed an unboxing video for our Kill Shakespeare board game, coming out this month! Take a look (and try to resist admitting that his assistants are the cutest of all-time!).
Board game at Gen Con this weekend!
If any of you are attending Gen Con this weekend we are not... But IDW Games is! And at the show they are demonstrating our board game for the attendees... Check out this picture of our fan Michel Villeneuve making us jealous!
Uncertain Life and Sure Death
As the Ides of March approaches I’m kind of pondering that whole: “my thoughts be bloody or nothing worth” dilemma that Hamlet wrestles with. I mean, on one hand, murder is awful, bad, and often really messy – even if you’ve already covered the bathroom floor with a tarp and have the hack-saw and bag of quicklime on the go.On the OTHER hand – when Shakespeare does it, murder is pretty awesome. I mean, heads get chopped off, poison is consumed, there is not one, but TWO mass stabbings, people, Shakespeare once offed two kids by BAKING THEM IN A PIE and then SERVING THAT PIE TO THEIR MOM (“Mmm, this is good! Is this veal?” “No, it’s your kids, BOOM!”).So that got me to thinking about OTHER people who love Shakespeare like we do, and especially love the peculiar joy that comes with snuffing out some punk’s all too brief candle.This led us to David Malki ! and Ryan North – two of the creative engines behind the most excellent Machine of Death series of books and games. (PLUG ALERT: You may also know Ryan from his Blockbuster To Be or Not To Be: That Is The Adventure Kickstarter campaign.)Since Machine was such a HUGE success we thought it likely that it’s blend of wit, wordplay and cold-bloodedly hilarious focus on mass murder might be popular with you guys too, so David ! kindly let us design a BONUS SET OF CARDS for Machine of Death that has an all-Shakespeare flavour. You can download the card set here – these print and play beauties are ready to seamlessly fit into any Machine of Death game.
DOWNLOAD THE CARDS HERE: http://alice.idwpublishing.com/_7NERTM4cugLoZRBonus points (and prizes!) go to the first five people to correctly post in the comment section what play each card represents (or tweet us @IDWGAMES or @KillShakespeare). And if you know anyone who plays Machine, send’em over here – the more crossover between fans of Bardicide and fans of murder in general, the better.(plus, it means more credible suspects to throw the cops off your trail).Murderously yours,Conor
Beware the Ides of March!
We now have just five days left on our Kickstarter campaign. And yes, the campaign ends on Saturday, March 15th, otherwise known to Shakespeare fans as... The Ides of March! This is your last opportunity to pre-order your copy of the game at a discount and, in the process, allow us to add extra features to the game!
Click here to check out the Kickstarter page and pledge your support!
Kickstarter: We're funded! But there is more to be revealed!
Late yesterday afternoon we received a great piece of news - our Kill Shakespeare board game Kickstarter campaign has hit the funding goal of $25,000. THANKS SO MUCH to all of you that pre-ordered copies of the game, art, or anything else. We're extremely excited and happy about this - but we have plans for more!The campaign runs until March 15th - yes, the Ides of March! - and we will be announcing some really cool stretch goals. The next goal up is a Board Upgrade, which will upgrade the board to a 3mm thickness. That's almost twice as thick as a lot of what's in the market right now. You'll feel the difference instantly. Once we hit $40,000 this becomes unlocked for all games.And then we have more goodies to unlock beyond that so keep spreading the word!
Again, THANK YOU SO MUCH for helping us get to this point!
Pre-Order a Copy of our Board Game on Kickstarter!
Today is a big day. Launching just a few hours ago was a Kickstarter campaign for pre-sales and purchase of additional items and features for our forthcoming Kill Shakespeare Board Game.IDW Games, with Nate Murray and Jerry Bennington running point, has done a strong job putting the game together and now this campaign is the next step. Games will be retailing for about $60 upon release but the first 250 people that purchase the game online can get it at a price of $40. Also included are other features such as original art from the game, a collector's edition carrying game, dice, etc.You can check out the Kickstarter campaign here.Spread the word - let everyone know! This isn't a game just for those that have read the books but any game fan, comics fan or Shakespeare fan.A few hours in and we've already made it to over 20% of our funding goal of $25K but beyond that we have a lot more, including special surprise rewards. So keep checking back and promoting the game and the campaign.We'll post updates as the next 25 days go on.
Fifth and Final Board Game Character Revealed! Something New Coming Next Week!
After posting character teaser posters for Hamlet, Juliet, Falstaff and Viola (Captain Cesario), today we are happy to release the fifth playable character in our upcoming board game, Othello. How could we not put the Moor in our game? He's a fan favourite (as artist Andy Belanger likes to say, he's the Incredible Hulk of our story) and should be a fun choice to play as in the game.Here's the poster featuring art by artist J.K. Woodward.
In addition to these five characters, Lady Macbeth and Richard are also key players in the game (characters you'll be fighting against) and we're also going to work in at least a dozen other throughout missions, events, etc.
Come back next week to find out more about a new development for the board game - we'll probably announce it mid-week or so.
A New Character Boards Our Game!
We've had quite a bit of fun in the last couple of weeks showing off the character Wanted poster teases for our upcoming board game. The social media reaction to Hamlet, Juliet and Falstaff have been very strong. But today we introduce a completely new character to the Kill Shakespeare world!This is the poster (artwork by JK Woodward) for the pirate Captain Cessario (aka Viola)!
When we began to collaborate on the board game with IDW Games, Pandasaurus Games and designers Thomas Vande Ginste and Wolf Plancke, we immediately wanted to add to the experience by introducing a new character into our world. One of the most popular female characters in Shakespeare's oeuvre has been Viola from Twelfth Night and we've wanted to play with her traits so here she is!When the game is released we'll tell you more about the back story that we created for her but it's an interesting one, and something that people will be talking about quite a bit (and yes, it involves the famous trope of cross-dressing)!We're going to have another big announcement for the board game starting in just over a week so pay attention to this spot or our Twitter, Facebook or Tumblr pages.
Find This Fool (in our board game)!
After posting teaser Wanted Posters of Hamlet and Juliet, we're now onto our third character reveal for our board game coming out in June of this year. And today's prey is... Falstaff!As per usual, the game designers have thoroughly enjoyed putting the fat comedic sidekick into the story and we're looking forward to drafting up some of the missions for him as well.
Once again, look for the game's release in June of this year by IDW Games and Pandasaurus Games!
Enter the Radical (into our board game)!
Last week we revealed that the first playable character in the upcoming Kill Shakespeare board game is Hamlet (of course). And this week we reveal our second playable character - Juliet!Yes, it's pretty much as obvious as Hamlet is but why mess with a good thing? We've gotten great feedback over the last few years on our interpretation of Juliet and we look forward to new audiences experiencing the great Prodigal leader when the game is released in May/June of this year.
Again, great artwork by J.K. Woodward!
First Character of Board Game Revealed!
Though I haven't been posting many updates in the last couple weeks it's because things have been pretty busy on this end, with some big announcements coming in the future.The item that is public knowledge, of course, is our upcoming board game, slated for release in late-May of this year. We're excited about it and the progress has been a blast to be a part of.IDW has just released the first character teaser for the game (created by artist J.K. Woodward), which is right here:
Surprised? Not really, I'm guessing. Hamlet is our main character in our story so it would be inevitable that he would be featured as a character in the game.Over the next few weeks we'll be revealing more characters so stay tuned to this site, our Twitter account, or our Facebook page (and we should also have a Tumblr page up in the next week or two as well).
Sneak peak at gameplay!
I hope that everyone had a fantastic holiday season and a great New Year's celebration! Here's to an amazing 2014!We will have a few interesting new items in the first half of this year but perhaps the most exciting one will be the Kill Shakespeare board game in May/June of this year. We will be putting together an pre-purchase awareness campaign next month but before that we're deeply immersed in the nuts and bolts of game creation. The early art by JK Woodward has been amazing and Conor and I are currently scripting some of the cards and missions for the game.However, the folks at IDW have been even luckier as two weeks ago they were able to do a very, very early play-test of the game. It's still quite rough with no art, set missions or some details missing but Jerry, Nate and Ted were able to get a feel for the game mechanics involved.Here are a couple photos from the very early play test. As mentioned, I'm so jealous!(Thanks to Nate Murray from IDW for sending the photos!)
Board Game Enlists Two Murderously Talented Artists
It was announced yesterday by IDW Games that award-winning artists J.K. Woodward and Dave Dorman have signed on to serve as artists for the KILL SHAKESPEARE BOARD GAME. We're excited to work with these talents on the design of the characters and worlds as we move forward with the game. We're currently in the design process of the game and have enjoyed working with everyone thus far - IDW Games, Pandasaurus Games, designers Thomas Vande Ginste and Wolf Plancke. It's going to be a really fun game and experience!
You can read the IDW Games press release here.
It's Official: Kill Shakespeare board game to be released in 2014!
We are proud to announce that we have signed a deal with the newly-formed IDW Games and Pandasaurus Games to develop a Kill Shakespeare board game, which is slated for release in late-spring 2014!
IDW approached us a few months ago with the idea of our title being one of the first board games under their new division, which will feature games based on some of their best-selling properties. We immediately jumped at the opportunity - a good number of our fans have been suggesting this to us over the last little while and the timing is going to work out perfectly for us.There are still many details to be worked out but we will keep you updated over the next 6-8 months as we further develop the game and may be looking for people to give us suggestions and feedback on what we can do. So stay tuned!The official press release: IDW Opens New Division: Introducing IDW Games! IDW Publishing Partners With Pandasaurus Games To Launch IDW Games San Diego, CA (October5, 2013) – As IDW Publishing looks forward to celebrating its 15th year as a leader in the comic-book industry, they are proud to announce a partnership with board-game giant, Pandasaurus Games, for the launch of a new division, IDW Games. “We’re well known for diversity at IDW, in the world of entertainment and comics,” said CEO &PublisherTedAdams.“With all of the great properties we publish, it seemed natural that a lot of them would make fantastic games. We’ve found the perfect partner in Pandasaurus Games to help us make that happen.” “We at Pandasaurus Games are thrilled to be working with the talented team at IDW to develop incredible games built on the amazing worlds of their comics. The wealth of creative talent that IDW has worked with is unmatched.More than that, their comic books create living breathing worlds that drip theme and beg readers to dive into headfirst. We can't wait to help bring these worlds to life for gamers everywhere. Pandasaurus and IDW are committed to working hand in hand with world class designers and artists to build original experiences from the ground up based on the living worlds created in the pages of IDW comics," said PandasaurusPresident/Founder Nathan McNair. IDW Games will specialize in high-quality big-box games developed around several of IDW’s key properties, beginning in the late spring of 2014 with Kill Shakespeare and 30 Days of Night. Readers and gamers alike will now be given the chance to battle the Bard or the vampires of Barrow, Alaska in these tabletop games developed by the same game designers that brought us the critically acclaimed fan-favorite,Yedo. “We're incredibly excited to move into tabletop gaming and give fans a way to spend even more time with their favorite titles. This is a very strong pair of games to launch right out of the gate, and over the next few months we'll be making more major announcements that should have the gaming community buzzing,” said IDW New Business Development Director Jerry Bennington. IDW is home to many exciting titles so look forward to the release of more details in the coming months, including new game announcements that are sure to excite both fans of IDW titles and tabletop gaming.