Welcome to my March update covering everything I’ve been working on this past month.
The Catacombs & Castles 2E “big box” plus Black Box Kickstarter campaign finishes today (March 31st).
As of this writing, 11 stretch goals have been unlocked including a new solo / co-op mode for Catacombs 3E and Castles 2E one vs many mode (boss mode). This project update provides an overview of how the solo / co-op mode works. Four additional stretch goals were revealed.
You can always back the campaign for $9 CAD and upgrade your pledge later in our Pledge Manager.
The Carboard Herald published a preview video of the Black Box expansion.
Shipping Capacity Challenges Persist
The global logistics challenges persist including a shortage of shipping containers.
The following update comes from Apex Logistics in their March Week 13, 2021 update:
Market Update for Week 13
OCEAN FREIGHT
- Most carriers have extended rate for April 1
- Demand remains very strong for all [shipping] lanes
- Space to PSW – vessels are generally full for all origins with heavy roll over.
- Space PNW – extremely tight at all origins with heavy roll over
- Carriers further reduce the % of space release for IPI cargo and premiums required
- Space USEC – space is critical, Premium is required for booking release, and still no guarantee of space
- Delays – No improvement, still around 7-10 days at most of the origins
- Equipment Shortage – Remains critical in Vietnam, no change in China origins (except CMA still has issues)
- Blank Sailings – expect more blank sailings in coming weeks, massive blank sailing in Week 15 (wk of April 5th) reducing the overall capacity by 50,000 TEU
- Port of LA/LB is still very congested, wait time to berth around 8 days, with 26 ships anchored
- Port of OAK continues to be congested, wait time to berth around 7 days
- Port of Seattle/Tacoma high volume and vessels berthing timely, but bottleneck at inland rail (lack of flat cars)
- Port of NY – Waiting time to berth at Port of NJ/NY improved, however NYCT and S Kearny terminals are experiencing severe chassis shortages / availability constraints.
- Chicago ramps remain congested but are slowly improving
Cavern of Soloth
The next printing of the Cavern expansion is finished production and waiting to be shipped from the factory (no change from last month’s report).
Catacombs 3E
The next printing of Catacombs 3E (R3P2) (the retail version) is now finished production and waiting to be shipped from the factory.
Monster Pit
We developed a Tabletop Simulator (TTS) mod for Monster Pit Overworld this month. Some card decks are missing, but it’s possible to play the game. I’m hoping to release the mod next month so players can try it. The game is fully co-op, supports up to four players and also supports solo play. A fifth player can optionally control the Catacomb Lord instead of the AI.
Examples of the cards from the Inn decks:
Catacombs Conquest Event Horizon Expansion
I am continuing to work on a new expansion for Catacombs Conquest called Event Horizon. There is an unlisted Tabletop Simulator Mod where you can try the latest version of this expansion. I’m primarily interested in the game itself, not the implementation of the mod as support for flicking games in TTS is still a bit rough. Based on feedback from a player, I added the character’s name back onto the cards. Another player gave me detailed feedback on the rule sheet which was very much appreciated.
If you wish to look at the work in progress manual and cards, here are the Dropbox links:
Phantom Division
Phantom Division, designed by Mark Thomas and Pete Ruth, is expected to be released on Kickstarter or perhaps Gamefound this year.
This month we made more progress on the wall system for Phantom Division.
This is one of the trickiest aspects of the game as the walls need to integrate properly with the neoprene playmats and must be efficient to set up between missions.
The latest renders below give you some idea how these walls could look with the “warehouse” map. Note that these renders show “work in progress” and not a final design. We are still actively iterating on this design. We have to make sure the door frames can accommodate the doors.
Games I Have Been Playing In March, I played Tortuga 2199 a couple of times on TTS. I also played Dune Imperium a few more times. Get In Touch For any comments, questions, feedback, you can email me at aron@elzra.com, but please give me a chance to respond due to the high volume of messages I receive. Instagram Finally, just FYI, I periodically post photos and artwork of what I’m working on via Instagram. Thanks again for all of your support, Aron
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