Project L: Square One

Important: Next Steps and Pledge Manager
8 months ago – Thu, May 02, 2024 at 11:25:10 AM

Dear backers! The campaign is over and many of you might ask “What now?” We are here to provide clarity on the matter. 

This is an important update so please read carefully!

What should backers do now? 

Nothing! We'll take care of everything. You don’t need to do anything until you receive an email with your personal invitation link, to the pledge manager, from BackerKit (our PM provider). You’ll get the link in two weeks or earlier, once Kickstarter has processed all pledges.

Please do not enter the pledge manager directly without your personal link. If you do, your pledge from Kickstarter won't be associated with the order you make in the pledge manager, and you will have to pay for your pledge again. 

About the pledge manager

For those who are not familiar with a "pledge manager," it is a tool used by crowdfunding campaign creators to manage and fulfill rewards for backers. It collects information from backers, tracks rewards, and allows for upgrading or adding copies to your pledges. We use BackerKit as the pledge manager for this project.

Here's what you need to know about the upcoming pledge manager:

1. In two weeks or earlier, every backer will receive a dedicated personal invitation link to enter the pledge manager, where you can add additional copies and/or upgrade your pledge.

2. You'll have a few weeks to finish your pledge. We will let you know the actual deadline and how to do that in the next update.

3. You will be able to change your shipping address until the production is completed. 

4. The pledge manager will charge the shipping costs when the production is finished and the games are ready to load on ships. 

That's all for now. We will provide more detailed information about the remaining next steps in future updates. 

Once again, thank you for your incredible support. Take care!

~Boardcubator team

Aaand That’s a Wrap! 🥂
8 months ago – Thu, May 02, 2024 at 10:40:17 AM

Hi everyone!

Every story has an ending; ours is a happy one! With 200% of the funding goal reached, Square One’s campaign ends on a high note. Our charming little yellow Square has big shoes to fill, but we are confident that once you dive into the game, you’ll cherish it as much as we do.

There are no words that can express the amount of gratitude we feel. Thank you for enabling us to continue doing what we love. You are the reason our games can exist. They are as much of your success as they are ours. From the bottom of our hearts: THANK YOU!

Now let's make a toast to Square One. Let it be a new staple in your gaming group! 

We are not planning on resting, though. We will polish the last little details, manufacture the game, and get Square One to your table as fast as possible. 

Besides that, there is another project brewing in our lab. Codenamed Project P, and if anything, this one will bring a lot of laughs. Stay tuned! 

Shortly, we’ll be in touch with another update containing crucial information for our backers. Don’t miss it!

Take care,

~ Michal, Jan, Marek, Petr, Patrik, Sisi, Natálie & Ferdinand

Fully Unlocked: The Philosophy of Our Product Design
8 months ago – Wed, May 01, 2024 at 09:29:45 AM

Hey everyone! 

I hope everyone is doing alright! We are 24 hours away from the end of the campaign. And we wanted to talk about one last thing! We've already looked at Square One’s base game, expansions, and solo mode. And now, it is time to look into the design of our products. 

You may have noticed there were no stretch goals or daily unlocks present in this campaign. We didn’t want to make you struggle for the premium content you deserved, and we could include it from the get-go. 

Thanks to our experience with Project L, we knew how to make the game tactile, smooth, and just addicting to play with. The materials, like the black core and the vibrant plastic used for pieces, were well-tested from Square One’s predecessor. 

But there were a couple of things that we could improve on to push the game to new heights. Let’s look at those:

The Handling

Project L was a nice game to handle, but there was one thing that always bugged us. If you wanted to remove the pieces from the puzzle, you probably did one of two things: 

• Flip the puzzle
• Try to take them one by one

Flipping the puzzle often ended up in pieces scattered around the table, sometimes even falling off. Taking them out, one at a time is tedious, and because of their low profile, it gets difficult at times. 

When we were in the prototyping phase, using paper versions of sequences, we noticed that people stacked the pieces on themselves and then slid the paper from underneath — effortlessly repositioning the pieces back to their supply. 

That made us think, and we began testing designs that would translate the simplicity of the paper prototype to the final product. We tried a couple of different versions.

One of them was a refresh of the old tic-tac-toe, where pieces are dropped in from above. But that didn’t work well in terms of space or the player’s comfort.

Then, world-class product designer Jaroslav Juřica (who also played a huge role in designing Project L) suggested that we should open one of the sides of the tiles and just tilt the pieces out. 

It proved to be a technological challenge, but thanks to our partners at Panda GM, we were able to implement his idea. Creating ultimate form of our sequences, which allows for easy removal of the tiles and ensures no more pieces are flying around! 

Sizing

Some might say that size doesn’t matter. We beg to disagree. The size of the sequences and pieces, ties directly into the handling aspect and gaming comfort. 

As mentioned before the pieces in Project L were too low, which made them difficult to move around. We wanted to change that with Square One, so we fiddled around with many different heights and shapes. To find a cube, that is easy to place, not too sharp or too big and clunky. 

The height wasn’t the only aspect we had to look at. The width of the piece was also really important. If the pieces were too wide, they would unnecessarily enlarge the sequences. Making the game take all of the real estate on your table. Shaving just a millimeter off each side of the piece size reduced the overall necessary play area by dozens of square centimeters.

Ultimately, we are happy with these candy-like pieces we’ve chosen. (They are not edible though). 

Printing

The UV print was a well-tested way to ensure the sequence requirements were readable and the colors were bright. 

There was one thing that bugged us though. Not only us but also a lot of players mentioned this — The Project L puzzles didn’t have any sort of identifier that you could use to make sure you’ve got all of your puzzles (other than comparing the rewards with our puzzle chart).

We wanted to change that, but placing a random number on the sequence was a no-go. So in classic Boardcubator fashion, we looked for the most elegant solution. The result is a seemingly invisible marking in the right corner of each sequence. It doesn’t disturb the design at all, yet when needed, it's right there!

Thank you for reading and for your continued support. We are excited to cross the finish line tomorrow with you by our side! 

Till then, take care!

~Michal, Jan, Petr, Patrik, Natálie, Marek, Sisi & Ferdinand

Last 48 Hours
8 months ago – Tue, Apr 30, 2024 at 07:40:41 AM

Hey folks! 

As we are nearing the end of this awesome adventure. We just wanted to take a moment to express our gratitude. 

Kickstarter likes to remind you —“Remember, there is a human behind this project” — but we also have to remember that behind the backer number, there are real people. And without you, we wouldn’t be able to get here. So from the bottom of our hearts THANK YOU!

Thanks to your trust in our studio, we were able to raise our funding goal in less than 24 hours and even surpass it by 150%. Moreover, each one of you is now a part of more than 2000 players, who will be enjoying Square One all over the world. We can’t wait to get the games to you and see you share new memories with your fellow players! 

Speaking of sharing, you’ve already done a lot for us, but it would be awesome if you considered sharing Square One with your friends and family. Who knows? It might become their new favorite game :) 

(author’s note: I might sound biased, but it is one of my favorite games) 

For now, take care! 

~Michal, Petr, Jan, Patrik, Sisi, Natálie, Marek & Ferdinand

Solo Gaming With Square One!
8 months ago – Sun, Apr 28, 2024 at 08:37:06 AM

Hi everyone! 

Have you ever set up for a game night only to have everyone cancel at the last minute? If the backup crew can't make it either, don't worry—Square One has you covered!

It features a solo mode where you'll go head-to-head with an AI opponent. The setup and player's gameplay mirror the multiplayer experience, so you can dive right in without any extra learning curve.

The AI is designed to be simple, streamlined, and easy to maintain. It prioritizes sequences with the highest rewards and aims to perform combos as frequently as possible. It comes in three levels of difficulty:

• Easy Mode: The AI performs one action per turn, either taking or resolving a sequence.
• Normal Mode: The AI uses one move per turn but can auto-resolve its sequences without using action points, making it a faster and stronger competitor.
• Hard Mode: The AI gains two action points per turn, enhancing its ability to perform combos and really challenge the player to a hard duel. 

Curious to see how it plays out? Paul Grogan of Gaming Rules! successfully tackled the AI on his channel. Watch his engaging playthrough of Square One's solo mode right here: 

Enjoy your game nights, solo style!

Have a great rest of the weekend! 

~ Michal, Jan, Sisi, Marek, Patrik, Naty, Petr & Ferdinand