There's Room for One More!
over 5 years ago – Wed, Oct 10, 2018 at 11:15:04 PM

Hi,

Did it ever happen to you that you setup a 5-player game of Project L and another friend showed up just for you to tell them the table is already full? Well..., of course it didn't. AND IT NEVER WILL! :)

Let's play in 6!

The amount of enthusiasm to bring the 6th player into Project L was incredible! We've heard you loud and clear so we just had to start looking into it. After checking the components list in the Master pledge, we are sure it can be done!

The one thing we need to address in 6-player games is downtime, which is the next goal for the game development. At the moment, we have several ideas for a gameplay variant that solves it, and we also want to thank @Einar very much for pointing out more in one of the comments.

The final stretch goal

During the whole time, you have been burning through all the stretch goals at an incredible rate – it’s so great to have you on board of Project L, helping us produce the game in the best possible shape!

The cherry on top of Project L is a Spot UV finish as an upgrade for the collector’s edition box!

With the Spot UV finish unlocked, the collector’s edition box will retain the great tactile feeling of the puzzle tiles and will reflect light according to the angle you look at it, making the letter L in the middle box stand out and fade away gradually when you walk around.

We hope you like the upgraded box. Thank you a lot for all your comments, feedback, and support! We are so happy we have you on board.

Jan, Michal & The Project L Team

Behind the Shapes #2: Once upon a Tile...
over 5 years ago – Sun, Oct 07, 2018 at 11:58:56 PM

Hi,

Plenty of you have asked how exactly the puzzle tiles are constructed, and that’s what we’ll show you in this part of Behind the Shapes. We hope you’ll like this update, it’s a real juicy! It even has a cookbook inside – not even kidding (and it's a unique one)!

Once upon a tile, a very long time ago, there was Adam drawing shapes on paper with a marker, designing what will eventually become the puzzle tiles of Project L as you know them now.

The shape and design of the puzzles came a long way since that initial variant, the glimpses of which you could see in Behind the Shapes #1 (Update #3). As you know, Jaroslav (Project L’s product designer) discarded wood in favor of the premium black core. He also proposed adding extra layers to both sides of the black core to further enhance its durability and depth. It was then Pavel’s (the graphic designer) turn to breathe life into them.

And so he did! With an incredible print scheme and technology that perfectly match our aim to make the tiles beautiful, functional, sturdy, and exceptionally pleasing to touch. This was the beginning of what the tiles were to become.

Building triple-layer tiles – a step-by-step cookbook:

• Place the first layer with its Spot UV finish goes on top of the thick, premium blackboard and stir gently. ;)
  
• Cut out the grid from the top two layers so the pieces can fit inside.
  
• Add another layer at the bottom and make sure it has Spot UV finish on one side (the back of the tile that shows the big L) and print on the other side (this is the bottom of the recess for pieces).
  

If you follow these steps, you’ll end up with a durable tile the weight of which you can appreciate in your hand when you manipulate it. Best with pieces, bump-resistance included. Appreciate with all kinds of senses (although only touch and sight is 100% guaranteed). :)

Delicious? Certainly! Easy to make? Well...

At least we had a master plan with a scheme, materials, and technology. It was time for a proof of concept to see what exactly would turn out of it.

Pavel started right away with all the tools for the delicate operations! Gluing, cutting, trying, measuring,.. and he swears he did a master action at least once as well. We didn’t see him for a whole YEAR!!! (This may be heavily exaggerated – almost by a whole year..) But when we did see him again, he was cradling a beautiful puzzle tile. Concept proven!

Since the concept puzzle turned out so great, it was time to make much more of them for the whole game. After we received the premium blackboard and had the other two layers printed, we started according to the plan – by gluing the top layer to the blackboard. The blackboard gives the tiles their pleasing weight, sturdiness, and perfect width, while the Spot UV finish and the matt varnish on the outer layers provide unparalleled tactile feedback.

Bring out the big guns! Once the glue dried, it was time for carving out the recesses. Even though Pavel’s expertise with utility knives left us in awe (and also a little scared), we needed a 100% accurate and merciless tool. Ideally cutting-edge, with a LASER as the cutting edge. ;)

After several dozens of hours staring at the laser blasting unused parts of the puzzles to oblivion, we ended up with boards full of carved out grids. The next step was being incredibly careful while adding the third layer on the bottom, so it was lined up precisely with the first two layers. This worked out perfectly, and Jan even almost didn’t intoxicate himself from the glue fumes. (Did I say almost?) :) Umm.. let’s move on to the next part.. There's laser again!

Now that we had the raw tile-sandwich ready, we used the laser to carve out the actual tiles from the now triple layered boards. It was butter-smooth once a template out of pins to fit the raw boards inside was ready.

And voila! The triple-layer tiles were ready for a game.

That’s the end of the story of how a triple-layer tile was born and lived happily ever after! :) To be honest, it was a piece of work, but we really think it was worth it! Do you agree?

In the next part of Behind the Shape, we’ll turn the spotlight towards the acrylic pieces. Trust me, it is much more of a thriller! ;)

Jan, Michal & The Project L Team

Inside the Puzzle #2: Ghost Piece
over 5 years ago – Sat, Oct 06, 2018 at 04:01:16 PM

Hi

Plenty of you have asked why the expansion is called Ghost Piece. The answer is simple — in the world of Tetris, the ghost piece is a word for a marker representing where a piece will land when drop it down. It basically puts you in more control of your pieces, and that’s exactly what the Ghost Piece expansion is about! But no more words and let's get straight into it!

The expansion comes with a plenty of new unique puzzles you can challenge! Currently 22, and we’re still unlocking more. ;) So what’s new with the puzzles besides enhanced replayability, new challenges, more variety, and all that “boring” stuff?

Have you wondered what does the “+” symbol mean? Well, it’s a completely new reward mechanics the expansion includes — the Upgrade Reward!

“+” (Upgrade Reward) — When you solve the puzzle, instead of getting a new piece, you instantly upgrade one of those you already have by one level per each “+” shown in the reward! This may get you a specific high-level piece right when you need it. Or you may even exploit it to get yourself really fast to one of the level-5 Ghost Pieces.

Ghost Pieces — These are huge Level 5 pieces that will fill your puzzles in no time, and they also come with their own special action — the Ghost Piece Action!

Ghost Piece Action — Imagine you can—for just 1 regular action on your turn—split the piece in multiple parts and place these parts on your puzzles at the same time (max 1 piece per puzzle)! Sounds like a Master Action hidden in a single piece? Then you’ve just got what the Ghost Piece Action is!

However, since the ghost pieces are so large, you have to choose the puzzles you take very carefully because they will not fit everywhere. You’ll need to plan in advance if you want to use their full potential!

So what do you think? Are you ready to master Project L? Then stay tuned for the next part as the Ambassador Pack special mechanics sneak peek is coming!

Jan & the Project L team

Group Pledges Are Here!
over 5 years ago – Thu, Oct 04, 2018 at 11:09:42 PM

Hi,

We were just amazed how many of you have asked for group pledges. We checked the numbers and prepared Group Pledge options for you that we hope you will like.

You will now be able to upgrade your Initiate (or Master) pledge to a ‘Group Pledge’ of 5 or 10 copies later in the PM.

If you are interested in getting more copies, please send an Email to us at [email protected].

Now to the shipping rates, we heard you loud and clear and worked on improving the shipping rates.

We have also clarified that backers outside of EU and US are limited to at most one additional copy or using the group pledge option (i.e. pledge for 1, 2, 5 or 10 copies of the game). Shipping in these cases was heavily discounted.

You can adjust your pledge amount now, or wait until the Pledge Manager is open (probably right after Essen Spiel ‘18) 

See you next time. ‘Behind the Shapes #2’ is coming very soon!

Jan & the Project L team 

Inside the Puzzle #1: High Five!
over 5 years ago – Tue, Oct 02, 2018 at 10:31:53 PM

Hi,

We're very happy that you have enjoyed the first Behind the Shape update that will be all about the technology and component design! Now we'd like to share with you the first update from the Inside the Puzzle series, in which we're going to share with you the finer details of the gameplay and the game mechanics!

Many of you have been wondering whether the stretch goals we're unlocking are part of a larger, mysterious puzzle. And you were right to think they are! :) At this point, they basically opened a way to a brand new line of Project L upgrades — the Gameplay Upgrades!

And the first major gameplay upgrade is that Project L now has enough components for 5-player games! Plenty of you mentioned this in comments and messages so I think we can shout High Five!

But the fun doesn't stop here. Thanks to the additional puzzles and pieces, we will be able to unlock more game variants that will further tweak the gameplay for a wholly different experience! Without more words, here's one of them standing right on the next stretch-goal level.

We're going to present more about Gameplay Upgrades in following updates of this series! And until then, as plenty of you already requested, a sneak peek of the Ghost Piece expansion & Ambassador Pack mechanics is coming in the next part! So stay tuned!

Brief Recap Of Unlocked Content

Many of you proposed a graphic summary of already unlocked content which is a really useful note (thanks!). Pavel (the graphic designer) is already working on a fancy pictures which we will add soon to the campaign page. For those who would like to know the status of the content right here and right now, here's a list of all components added to the game so far, all thanks to your support!

In Project L (Base Game), there are now:

• 20 extra basic pieces (total 60)
• 10 extra advanced pieces (60)
• 4 new black puzzles (20)
• 1 new white puzzle (29)

On top of that, the Master pledge has the following unlocked content for the Ghost Piece Kickstarter exclusive expansion:

• 15 extra ghost pieces (total 30)
• 4 new black puzzles (12)
• 1 new white puzzle (9)

I hope you are as excited as we are about where Project L is going. Thank you for being on this wonderful journey with us!

Jan & the Project L team