Explorers of Icy Lands, ❄️
The last day of the Festivities marked the anniversary of the launch of the last Great Expedition. Progress on the study of artifacts collected at the Valley of the Ancients allowed the City’s inhabitants to produce individual hydroponic growing boxes
May the 4th
⥉ The new opportunities offered by certain artifacts are at the heart of the discussions within the Council. In particular, the prospects for market gardening and the possibility of hydroponics which would ensure greater food autonomy for the city. It is possible that this will bring about changes within the Guilds themselves.
Eltanix (Nourriciers ⥉)
Exactly one year ago today (May the Fourth), we launched the campaign for I C E — and to celebrate, we believe we have an exciting update for you.
First of all, we want to thank all of you who responded to our last update! Your encouraging messages and wishes to see our new company grow and succeed really moved us. We really appreciate each and every one of you! 😊 😊
Just to make it crystal clear again — there were TWO main reasons why I C E wasn’t shipping on the month initially given on the KS campaign:
The FIRST reason was “mea culpa” — we were naive with how long it would take to finalize development, and simply got the date very VERY wrong, and we wanted to change the expectations of backers to what the “true” date should have been: closer to the end of this year.
The SECOND reason had to do with our retail distribution deals not getting finalized on time. This is why we brought up splitting the production of the KS and retail copies. Doing this means the game won’t be delayed even further than that new “end of year” projection.
We are aware of your concerns for our company, and we promise we do not take this decision lightly — but we calculated that waiting until possibly next year to finally deliver games AND launch our next campaign would be way too long of a wait, and would have hurt us much more in the long run.
So what does that mean? Yes, you guessed it — we were able to finally sign off on production with Panda Games Manufacturing!! 🥳 🥳 🥳
That means that if all goes well, then backers can get their copies by our adjusted estimate (end of the year), if not even sooner. Better (more accurate) estimates to come in the following months.
GIVEAWAYS!!!
We mentioned it in our last update about giving away 3 pledges of I C E, and we’ve decided to simply give them away without any type of contest needed.
To participate in this Giveaway, you’ll need to make sure you’ve joined one of our social networks below (if you haven’t already), and you’ll be asked a question about the game and to tag some friends who may be interested:
One copy will be awarded to a single person in each of these 3 followings of ours:
TWITTER / DISCORD (we’re combining entries from both places and will award one pledge).
The Giveaways will be launched next week, so look out for them!
Yes — we’re aware that some of you might not be a part of ANY social media, and might not be too happy about this, as you’ve been actively avoiding them. We totally get that — but it’s important that we raise awareness of our company now more than ever. We need our next campaign to be as successful as possible!
Might we suggest at least joining Discord? It’s unlike most of the other networks, it’s a great place to discuss boardgames and other interests, and it’s also where we’ll be holding official playtest sessions for our next game. Speaking of….
NEXT CAMPAIGN!! GIVE IT A NAME!
Now that we know I C E will most-likely ship later this year, we can plan for the next campaign (probably launching December, though that date is subject to change).
And to celebrate, we have our first sneak peek look at the game from our amazing artist, Léonard Dupond!
During our development, we’ve been discussing the game internally using the codename “City Council.” While it’s technically appropriate (as it focuses on the various guilds that make up the City Council of The City), it may not be the most exciting name for a game. 😝
So that’s where we’d like for YOU all to help us in naming our next game! For that, you’ll need to know a little more about it:
The game takes place in the past of the world of I C E, and is about the Founders of the City — the various guilds who come together to build the foundations of where all the inhabitants will live. Each player will have their own secret objectives in this tile-laying game (the tiles will be exactly half of an I C E hexagon) — and the way tiles are laid to build The City will determine which guild holds dominance, and ultimately how points are scored to win the game.
Let us know your thoughts in the comments! We’ll pick our favorite by the next update. (Or if we’re undecided from more than one choice, we’ll make a poll to have backers choose).
Now go do something Star Wars-ey to celebrate today, and we’ll see you next month!
