Party of 4: Fortunes Found in Dungeons Deep is a physical SOLO Hero-crafting, Dungeon-delving and Treasure-looting board game. Assemble a Party of wannabe Heroes, Train them to “not die too fast” and then Point them towards Fame and Fortune (or humiliating Defeat and Destitution)!
This post is for backers only. Please visit Kickstarter.com and log in to read.
We have had a fair number of parcels NOT arrive in their intended mailboxes. While most of this can be attributed to postal workers knowing a FANTASTIC game when they see it (and, thus, borrowing it indefinitely!), it still stands that my beautiful Backers must still get the copy they deserve (and so that I can have praise heaped upon me in great measure!).
I JUST dropped off a bunch of parcels to replace any games that were lost in the mail. If I sent you a parcel, then you ALSO should have received a Kickstarter Message from me.
If you HAVE NOT RECEIVED YOUR GAME...
AND...
you did NOT receive a Kickstarter Message from me TODAY...
then you are totally out of luck!
KIDDING!
This just means that I did not know you were still lacking the AMAZING GOODNESS that is Party of 4
OR (the more likely scenario)...
You told me and I somehow forgot OR you emailed me and it somehow got lost amongst the THOUSANDS of spam emails I get per minute OR you told me and I purposely did NOT send it to you out of spite (it happens!).
Whatever the reason,
IF YOU HAVE NOT RECEIVED YOUR GAME AND I DID NOT MESSAGE YOU TODAY, please email me at [email protected] or text me at +1 (714) 721-2464. I will send it out to you right away!
(and by "right away" he means sometime in the next 6-8 weeks)
Germany's Deutsche Post has been knocked off the Top Spot for "Worst National Postal Service in the World!!!" It has NOW been replaced by the UKs truly awful Royal Post. The United States Postal Service took the #2 spot while Deutsche Post came in a disappointing Third Place.
"I had high hopes for Deutsche Post," says Greatest Game Designer of All Time, Colossal Ken. "After all, they were truly ABYSMAL during our Magicka Mayhem campaign."
Australia was dropped from the competition due to allegations of cheating after SEVERAL Party of 4 games ACTUALLY MADE IT TO AUSTRALIA BEFORE GAMES MAILED ON THE SAME DAY REACHED AMERICAN DESTINATIONS THAT WERE PRACTICALLY WITHIN WALKING DISTANCE!!! Inappropriate use of Magic is suspected. An investigation is ongoing.
Poland Post also gets an Award that is NEW for 2023: "Postal Service that Hates its People the MOST!"
While the pictures tell a good story, my reason for choosing Poland Post for this award was when the Backer said, "I can't play the game because it is too wet and sticky." A truly HERCULEAN effort by Poland Post. BRAVO!
AND this is ON TOP of the fact that the game took TWO MONTHS to arrive!!!
I have had TONS of requests for a PDF version of the game (lots of whining about the text being WAY, WAY, WAY too small - too which I say, "You get what you pay for, bucko!").
I would very much like to do that. I just need to find the time. I am falling woefully behind on The Magnificent Emporium and Mistress Mandara is getting SUPER close to kicking my arse! ;-)
I also just got a SteamDeck, but I'm sure that has NOTHING to do with me having less free time. ;-)
That is all.
Ken
(P.S. Seriously. There is nothing else. )
(P.P.S. What?!? You don't believe me?)
(P.P.P.S. Okay. This is getting ridiculous. Done. End of story. Seriously. Don't end up like Ken. Go DO something MEANINGFUL with your life... or, at the very least, something NOT ridiculously stupid.)
THANK YOU to everyone that took the time to send me a pic of your Hidden Message Tapestry Card!
(and a hex upon all those that did NOT!)
Colossal, that's rude! It's not easy to take out a card, photograph it and then send it to me.
(especially when the envelope housing your wretched game was trampled upon, lit on fire and unceremoniously tossed into the rubbish bin the moment it was received!)
You have a point, but I prefer "not easy". You didn't really have to elaborate, did you?
(Yes. I did.)
Of course, if you still want to send me your Hidden Message Tapestry Card, I will add and send out an updated version at a later date! You can email a picture of the front (the pretty part) with the number on the back to [email protected] or via text to +1 (714) 721-2464.
It may not sound like it, but Colossal and I are BOTH deeply moved by your incredible contribution to making this game happen.
(speak for yourself)
I hope the Hidden Message Thank You speaks for itself!!!
Without further adieu...
Several things during the Party of 4 campaign turned out GREAT (when I thought they would flop HARD!), a few things stumbled (that shouldn't have) and there were even a few...
EMBARASSING Miscalculations, RIDICULOUSLY STUPID Missteps and COLOSSAL #FAILS!
(I think you FINALLY found the title for your memoir!)
Dear, gods! I hope he's not right!
After every challenging project, I like to perform a "postmortem". Basically, this is an analysis of what went well, what went poorly and ideas for making future campaigns AND future games more funner!
NORMALLY, this is a fairly informal process where I sit quietly in a dark, dank place and jot notes down into a notebook while I sob and drink to excess. THIS TIME, THOUGH, I was thinking...
(Great. Here we go again!)
That it might be fun to share my postmortem results with y'all.
If I receive enough interest, I will see about putting something together that would be both inciteful and entertaining. :) I'm thinking a series of short videos breaking down several aspects of the process. All I ask is that you don't make TOO MUCH fun of my dunderhead mistakes!
(Hahahaha! That's the ONLY thing they're interested in!!!)
I imagine that there MAY even be an opportunity for you to offer up some feedback, as well (since, TECHNICALLY, I'm supposed to be interested in your opinion or whatever).
ALL game were dropped into the postal receptacle EONS ago. HOWEVER, I am still receiving a smattering of reports (often in the forms of HIGH PRAISE and CEASELESS ADORATION!) of game JUST NOW ARRIVING in mailboxes. The ones that seem to still be trickling in at this late date are the United Kingdom and Germany.
Colossal Ken denies any involvement in the extreme animus that the British Mail Carriers have towards Party of 4 (as it relates to SLOW delivery from the recent strike and some TRULY EPIC damage to a few packages! Yikes! SOMEBODY has it out for us!).
IF YOU HAVE NOT RECEIVED YOUR GAME by about January 15th or so, feel free to Message, Email ([email protected]) or Text me (+1 (714) 721-2464) so I can send you out another copy. The global estimate for lost mail is something like 2-3% and the cost of Postal Tracking for ALL games is more expensive than simply replacing the 2-3% lost in transit.
(you're welcome)
The Hidden Message Thank You Tapestry ate up a TON of my time! As such, I have been terribly remise in responding to other Messages and Comments. I will endeavor to get back on that! Seems to be mostly questions about Rules and gameplay and such. I have NO idea why people think that *I* would know anything about such things. Geesh!
Thanks again! I look forward to taking your money... err, I mean... crafting another truly magnificent game for you again in the near future! ;-)
NOTE: If you HAVE your Tapestry Piece AND you have NOT sent it to me yet then, 1) SHAME ON YOU!, and 2) Please send me a picture of the pretty part of the card AND also include the handwritten number on the back. You can text me at +1 (714) 721-2464 or email me at [email protected].
I have received a BUNCH of Hidden Message Tapestry Images!
Yay!
(he's mostly happy because it makes it look like he has actual friends that like to email and text him...)
I have NOT received ENOUGH Hidden Message Tapestry Images to ACTUALLY REVEAL the Message!
Boo!
I am just now getting reports of games arriving on distant shores (did any of you know that Australia was an actual place? I thought it was a joke address like Atlantis or the Dark Side of the Moon or... Canada!).
Learn something new every day...
(Yeah, like the fact that the minions are REALLY bad at taking pictures...)
Hey! Be nice, Colossal!
As such, I am expecting to see more Hidden Message pieces filtering in. There is also a distinct possibility that some games will be holiday gifts (POOR SAPS!!!). In which case, we may not see those pieces until the end of this year or early next year. Still other games may have been immediately discarded as hazardous waste (probably smart).
Hopefully, we will have enough to REVEAL THE HIDDEN MESSAGE!
(Hey. If we don't get enough images to reveal the message then there will be a lot of sad and disappointed people... which can also be fun... FOR ME!)
P.S. If you want to find your card, the grid is 33 x 33. It counts from the TOP of Row 1 DOWN before moving to ROW 2. I will likely create a number overlay to more clearly show this when we have more pieces collected. Example: Top Left is #1. Bottom Right is 1,089 (3 more than I actually need!). Top of Row 2 is 34. Top of Row 3 is 67. Top of Row 4 is 100. Etc. Etc. Etc. And, yes, this isn't PERFECT. Some of the cards got discombobulated when I was signing them so they are a tad bit out of order. Get over it! :)
Hey, Part (of 4) People!
Summary of Update:
The day you have all been waiting for!
(more like dreading!)
Party of 4: Fortunes Found in Dungeons Deep has been remanded to the good graces of United States Postal Service. Your game is now speeding its way towards you and is being handled with the utmost care.
(By "speeding" he means "slogging". And by "being handled with the utmost care" he means "being thrashed mercilessly in transit" which is probably better than it deserves.)
Though I cannot pass up a perfect opportunity to take a swipe at ANY Earth-based postal service, I must ALSO say that they - so far - have done a stellar job!
I even have some WONDERFUL examples provided to us by our very own Paul:
All insults aside, I am very thankful to ALL the Postal Workers that made this game possible. In fact, I dropped this sign off along with the last batch games:
(you're such a sap)
I'm not exactly sure what the result of my Thank You letter will be. It might be that they feel appreciated for a time. Maybe they will take pity on me and overlook any future postage mistakes. OR maybe they will find me faster so they can lock me up for the rest of my life for ROUNDING DOWN on one or two postage calculations. We'll see.
We have received TONS of pictures of the Tapestry Pieces! Keep 'em coming! I will add them in increments over the next couple weeks (some of the packages will take a few weeks to reach some of the more remote, less-civilized and backward regions of the world... like the United Kingdom).
Hey, I don't make the rules!
The instructions are RIGHT ON THE CARD so I won't bore you by repeating them here.
Unless you to immediately discard this game, 'gift' it to your mortal enemy or only use the chits to fix wobbly furniture, you will need to the Adventurer's Manual.
Here they are:
Full Color Version:
https://www.dropbox.com/s/nxt3yi7jkagxuxw/Party%20of%204%20-%20Fortunes%20Found%20in%20Dungeons%20Deep%20-%20Adventurer%27s%20Manual%20-%20v0.9b.pdf?dl=0
Low(ish) Ink Version for Printing:
https://www.dropbox.com/s/nxt3yi7jkagxuxw/Party%20of%204%20-%20Fortunes%20Found%20in%20Dungeons%20Deep%20-%20Adventurer%27s%20Manual%20-%20v0.9b.pdf?dl=0
Some highlights from the Adventurer's Manual:
