The 4 Seasons, BGG contest, and a new Stretch Goal!
about 7 years ago – Thu, Feb 16, 2017 at 11:45:35 AM

Hello everyone! 

Hope you had a great weekend! 

With the help of Octo Studio Brazilian pledges, we unlocked the 13th Stretch Goal which will add bigger Ba Gua stones to the game! Thank you for the amazing love and support you have given to the game and ThunderGryph so far! 

14th Stretch Goal 

We really want this game to shine when you display it on the table, and as right now, we have been using only three colors for all of the game pieces. We want to push it further by upgrading the tools to be able to print at full color on all the game components.

With that, we are bringing new art into the game! 

• The basic dragon heads are improved 
• The 4P dragon heads are new and different 
• The damage ruler is improved 
• The big rock is improved 
• The portals now include colorblind-friendly symbols 

This Stretch Goal is not that far away, by reaching 200k together with the funding at Octo Studio, we will be upgrading the game as our minds imagined quality wise. But that is not the end, the mist is hiding something you all want, so go for it and it will be yours forever! 

New Add-on Contest 

This past days we felt really connected with everyone, and we were very glad to see you all joining the discussion, like a huge collaborative brainstorm, but just in the first few minutes, two of you got it right, and of top of that, at the exact same time, here are our Winners that will have the add-on unlocked for free in their pledges! 

The four Seasons 

“Life is a series of natural and spontaneous changes. Don't resist them - that only creates sorrow. Let reality be reality. Let things flow naturally forward in whatever way they like.” - Lao Tsu 

The Four Seasons expansion bring four new big tiles which are not only simple obstacles on the board, but represent seemingly simple bends on the basic rules that profoundly affect gameplay and strategy. 

Through brainstorming and playtesting, we have gathered a selection of the most immersive rules for each season that impact the game in a rich way. Everything will be released during the final days of the campaign, so use this spare time to give suggestions if you happen to have some! 

Each tile features a full colored art from Dox Lucchin - and might still feature surprises on the back.

The tiles come in a limited edition cotton bag and it is available as an add-on for 8€. Golden and Collector Bundles will get it for free. 

BGG Contest 

Today, together with boardgamegeek.com, we launched a contest to Win Tao Long! It is free to join and the first prize is a Golden Bundle! In addition, every participant will receive a Tao Long microbadge as a token of appreciation from us. 

 

Have a great week and talk to you soon! 

Sincerely yours,
Everybody here at ThunderGryph Games

Solo mode and Final Stretch Goals
about 7 years ago – Mon, Feb 13, 2017 at 08:39:23 AM

Hello there!

We Hope everyone is doing well! Yesterday you unlocked the most amazing and controversial Stretch Goal ever: The Pink Fluffy Bunny! He will be more than happy to hop inside all your boxes, a profound love will appear in your heart when you hold it, trust us.

As promised, here are the final two Stretch Goals! And here are the two winners of our contest:

16th Stretch Goal: Solo mode and rulebook extension

With this SG, we will be increasing the size of all the rulebooks we are printing to have even more extensive information about every scenario that has been unlocked plus introduce a new Solo Mode. 

The Solo game plays as follows:

• Choose which dragon you're playing with.
• It's always your turn, the regular way. Pick a pile and distribute. You may not rearrange the order of the stones in a pile.
• Every time a stone of the other dragon's color lands on a space, it executes that action, if possible. If it has multiple choices, decide its move based on these priorities:

1) The way where it deals more damage.
2) The way where it takes the least damage on the next turn.
3) The shortest way to be adjacently facing some part of your dragon.
4) If still tied for, the player decides which will be the move among those tied.

These priorities should be analyzed from the possible outcomes of the whole group of actions taken by the dragon on that same turn, and not one by one. Final considerations regarding this game mode:

• Wind and Thunder's extra moves are ignored, as it is always your turn.
• Take notes of how many moves you've taken and try to improve on later games.
• Try beginning with less segments. The biggest challenge is to win with as few turns as you can
• For more variations, the player may try the other dragon and other scenarios or modes, as well as shuffling the pieces and setting them randomly on the Ba Gua, making every game different from the other.

A word from Pedro Latro, the game designer:

“I was there, lurking in the comments, listening to everything you all said. I appreciate the suggestions. Thanks for helping on expanding the boundaries of the game!"

17th Stretch Goal: The Tiger and the Phoenix!

In the legend, both the Sky Dragon and the Earth Dragon represent the Yin and Yang. These, however, are not the only forms the energies can assume. Different versions of the legend tell of two other beasts representing Yin in its struggle against the Sky Dragon, they are the Tiger and the Phoenix. 

One is the protector, lurking in the shadows. The other, the immortal, resurrecting from its ashes. Together, they shall outpower their rapturous foe and lead an era of introspection and inner peace.

When playing with the Tiger and the Phoenix, replace the Earth Dragon with the Tiger. It has one less segment than the dragons, but whenever it absorbs fire, the Phoenix is born around it, and every Spirit phase shall move both creatures. The bird, however, is born from fire, and from fire it shall vanish. Whenever the Phoenix takes damage, it loses stones from the fire meter, and if the meter becomes empty, it is gone. Until it is born again.

There may be those who think - "What about the Tortoise, the last of the Four Creatures in chinese mythology? Doesn't it get its place to be in the game?" Oh, young grasshopper. Haven't you seen it was there since the beginning? For the legend tells Fuxi - the first mythological Chinese leader - first saw the Ba Gua on the shell of a tortoise. It seems you have yet much to learn...

Are you on the Retail Early Bird and want to change to the Deluxe Edition while keeping your Early Bird status?

All you have to do is Manage your pledge and add 11€ or wait for our Pledge Manager to go live after the campaign to do it, there you will be able to change pledges and keeping your Early Bird.

By adding the funds now, you will help unlock the Stretch Goals!

Thank you very much for all your amazing support and passion towards this project!

Sincerely,
Everyone Here at ThunderGryph Games.

Are we there yet?
about 7 years ago – Sun, Feb 12, 2017 at 02:16:44 AM

Hello Everyone!

We are now entering into the last 24 hours of the campaign, It has been almost one month since we started this campaign but every day has been amazing for us, with so many people in the comments expressing their excitement for the game, we couldn't ask for a better way to start this year.

Since the campaign is almost over we wanted to update everyone on what we have been working in the past few days.

The Pearl

Legend tells of a red flaming pearl, often chased by dragons and battled for, with the winner taking custody of it until challenged once again.

The pearl is a symbol of natural purity, which must be protected to keep emanating its power. Also, as mentioned before, red is the color of life and humanity. And that is the pearl Tianlong and Dilong battle for.

This beautiful art piece is included in the Golden and Collectors Bundle.

Improved Art

 

 While we haven't finished with the 4 player dragons just yet, and some finishing touches are needed here and there, we are very happy with what we have accomplished, and not only that, but the fact that we now have markings in every portal to make them easier for colorblind people is great news.

Fluffy's Last Stand

Fluffy wanted to be the spotlight of the end of the campaign, and so he did everything he could to take it from the Tiger and the Phoenix.

Now, whenever Fluffy is defeated, madness take the best of him away and as a result he gets 1 extra turn for each damage taken that exceeds the necessary damage for defeating him. However, bear in mind that his turns are bunny turns, which means that they are doubled!

If after the extra turns the dragon is still undefeated, Fluffy falls, resigned and exhausted, and rests for an eternity.

If Fluffy manages to defeat the dragon after his rampage, he is the winner. Though humanity should have to take care of itself, as our dear bunny is too tired for ruling over the world and just wants to take a long, long nap.

Tabletopia Event and the Best SG Ever made!
over 7 years ago – Sun, Feb 05, 2017 at 05:06:05 AM

Hello everyone! 

With still two weeks to go and with a total funding from Octo of 10'000$ you just unlocked our 14th Stretch Goal! This will bring improved art into the game. We will share with you the creative process behind it during the campaign. This new art will keep the mysteryous vibe the old had but with more details and colors. 

Now to the important part! We know how much you wanted it... and it's finally here! 

15th Stretch Goal THE PINK FLUFFY BUNNY 

Yes, it is real! Its name is Fluffy. It's tired of those damn dragons baffling around the world and just wants to teach them a lesson. Also, it likes the idea of governing humanity for an entire era. Some say Renaissance and the 70s were governed by it. But that's just speculation. 

Fluffy always plays two turns in a row, but when it loses 4 water stones, it's over. (Or is it?) 

By reaching 222'000€ in total funding we will include the Wooden Fluffy in all your game boxes. This is a KS exclusive, so this is the only way to obtain it! 

Tabletopia Update and Live Event 

 

With more than 90 hours of playtime on Tabletopia, we felt that it was time to update it with the new unlocked tiles in the Stretch Goals. Feel free to try them starting tomorrow!

If you still don't know how to play, you can join the Tabletopia "Learn & Play Event" tomorrow, January 21st at 1:00 PM (EST) / 6:00 PM (UTC) where Gon will be playing some games together with you all and the tabletopia team. 

4 Players Mode 

Many of you have requested a complete explanation of the 4 players game so Pedro Latro went and sent us this: 

" Tao Long is, essentially, no doubt a 2 player game. When developing the game, though, we have played around with the rules, and so we decided to try the game in doubles, with two Sky dragons and two Earth dragons. 

On it, the following rules apply: 

• The setup is the same, with the extra dragons mirroring their doubles horizontally. 
• Turns alternate from team to team (one player at a time). The first player is the leftmost Sky Dragon, followed by the leftmost Earth Dragon, followed by the other Sky Dragon and finally the last Earth Dragon. Turns continue in this order, regardless of position on the board. 
• Each double share the same fire and water meters. Whenever the water meter depletes, both lose a segment. 
• Even if both enemy dragons are within reach of a ranged attack, damage happens only once, with the highest number reached on the Distance Ruler counting towards it. There is no friendly fire. 
• For Monk mode, whenever a Focus happens, both dragons of the color must perform the action, starting from the one whose turn is nearest (that includes the active player's turn). 

The game dynamics require more coordination, and, with novice players, might generate fairly chaotic results. I would recommend players to get to know the base game before venturing in this wilderness, but there always are those who enjoy the mess. "

Thank you for all your support!
We will reach out to you early next week, to uncover more surprises!

Sincerely yours,
Everybody here at ThunderGryph Games

5'000 Backers! Tao Long White Samples and a new Add-on
over 7 years ago – Sun, Feb 05, 2017 at 05:06:03 AM

This is just unbelievable! 

When we started this campaign three weeks ago, we never imagined to have more than 5’000 backers, we are thankful to all of you for this amazing result.  

We are very close to unlocking our 14th stretch goal, and with that, two final stretch goals will be revealed on Thursday!  

Thank you message and White Samples  

Gonzalo goes over the first blank samples for Tao Long. We are still working in our pre-production phase, we will keep you updated about this in a two week basis when the campaign ends.  

New Add-on: The Red Cloth  

Each trigram, the symbols on the Ba Gua, is composed by either Yin or Yang in each of the three levels. Sky - the whitest - is on its top, representing the spiritual level. Earth - the darkest - lies at its bottom, the material level. And in between them, connecting both levels and also originated from their union, there is the Human - the red.  

The Red Cloth represents this level. On it, everything that carries meaning and action takes part - that is, life itself. And representing the movement of change within it, the game.  

This new, gorgeous add-on will decorate your table and be the perfect companion of the game in those game nights.  

We wish you an amazing day, we will see you during the next update.  

Sincerely yours,  
Everybody here at ThunderGryph Games