Thank You!
almost 2 years ago – Fri, May 06, 2022 at 07:08:26 PM

The campaign is nearly closed for Castles by the Sea and we wanted to thank all of you for your support. As we write this update, we're getting close to 2500 backers who've helped bring this game to life. We're also seeing a bunch of people upgrade their pledges at the last minute. We're grateful to all of you and we can't wait to get this game into your hands!

As the sun sets on this campaign, we'd also like to thank...

• Designers Michael Xuereb and Jon Benjamin, who created a delightful game and trusted us with it.
• Developer Hayden Dillard, who took Michael and Jon's design to new and exciting places during countless hours of playtesting and development.
• Artist Marby Kwong, whose gorgeous illustrations brought the magical world of Shorelings to life.
• And everyone who helped spread the word, from content creators to every backer who told a friend about this game.

What's Next?

When the campaign closes, you'll be charged for the Kickstarter portion of your pledge. Keep an eye on your spam folder for any messages from Kickstarter as they'll reach out to you if there's an issue charging your card. In the next few weeks, you'll get a notice from BackerKit when the pledge manager is open. That's where you'll fill in your address and have the chance to modify your pledge, add on other Brotherwise products, and pay for shipping.

We'll keep you updated through the next few months on the progress of printing and fulfillment. We generally won't reach out unless we have something pertinent to share, but feel free to reach out to us at [email protected] at any time.

Thank you again for believing in Brotherwise! We look forward to building sandcastles together in the not-too-distant future, and we'll make sure there's always a spot for you at our table.

Sincerely,

Chris and Johnny O'Neal

Brotherwise Games

The End is Near
almost 2 years ago – Wed, May 04, 2022 at 10:53:15 PM

We’re now entering the final 24 hours of our campaign for Castles by the Sea! It’s been exciting to see our numbers growing as we approach the end, and we’re hoping to see some $1 backers jump on board now that this campaign is 100% revealed.

In our short 16-day campaign, we’ve added a ton of value to this game:

• We’ve upgraded the number of Hazard cards from 3 to 6. You’ll play with 3 in each game, so that gives you 20 possible configurations!
• The base game now includes the original 24 player cards plus 3 variants for every card! That’s quadruple the depth and replayability!
• The Riptide expansion now includes variants for every card, doubling the variety of that experience!
• We’ve revealed the game’s satisfying Solo mode and an all-new Family mode, to help you get this game to the table more often.

Castles by the Sea started out as a gorgeous, clever, unique game. This Kickstarter has helped us take it to the next level, and we’re confident you’ll be delighted with the final result. But first, one last reveal...

The Meteor

Terculio muttered to himself as he moved about the observatory. “Today? Hmmm… Perhaps, perhaps.” Prognostication wasn’t an exact science. More of an art, really. Maybe even just a hobby. “No, no. Not today.” He climbed the steps and peered into the telescope’s eyepiece. In the distance, one of the Titan obelisks came into focus. From the obelisk hung an enormous net; the Fisher’s Mantle, the witches called it. It was not always there, but when it was, a meteor strike was a distinct possibility. “Oh!! Oh. Yes today. Yes, indeed!” He waddled back down the steps, his old joints creaking. An old tome was open on the desk. A quick cross-reference of past meteor strikes left him relieved. “Ahh, thank the Tides. Not today.” Outside the window, in the distance, a colossal white meteor crashed into the castle wall. Sand and Shorelings flew everywhere. “Okay, okay. Maybe yes today,” he sighed.

The Meteor is the least predictable of the Hazards, giving it a very fun push-your-luck element. Like any Hazard, you have some control over it. If the Meteor threatens a lane where you’ve placed a lot of your pieces, you can use your Hazard phase to move it. But when it does activate, there’s another moment of uncertainty. You’ll roll the custom “volleyball” die to see if the result is 1, 2, or 3. It then hits one of the three tiles in its lane.

So if other Hazards are a bigger threat to you, or if you’ve only built in one of a lane’s three tiles, you might just take your chances. This leads to a number of near misses and can reward more aggressive placements. Of course, there’s also the chance that it just happens to hit the one tile you built in. Such is life on the beach!

Final Push

We’ll use these last 24 hours to promote the campaign wherever we can. As always, if you can do anything to share this Kickstarter, we really appreciate it! The final backer count will help us determine the initial print run for retail, so bringing more people into this campaign will set up Castles by the Sea for long-term success. Here’s to a big final day!

A Look Back
about 2 years ago – Wed, May 04, 2022 at 01:03:08 AM

After another great day of funding, we’re getting very close to $100,000! It’s amazing to see more than 1,700 backers supporting this project, and we’re especially grateful to all the folks we've seen spreading the word about this campaign on Twitter and Instagram.

As we race toward the end of this campaign, we thought we’d take a step back and learn about how it started!

Making Castles by the Sea

Brotherwise asked Jon Benjamin a few questions about his design process with Michael Xuereb. Here's what he had to say:

Tell us how you first started working on Castles by the Sea.

"Castles by the Sea was our first design together. We brainstormed a lot of themes before settling on building sandcastles. The theme is something most people relate to and conjures warm memories of time spent with loved ones. Max in particular often builds sandcastles on the beach with his two children."

What were some of your goals as you collaborated on this design?

"A key design goal was to capture the aesthetic, because we knew that there was a massive opportunity for table presence. Given the wide appeal of the theme we wanted to craft the gameplay to satisfy a wide range of gaming audiences, which is why the core rules are simple and modularity allows for more complex play.”

How did gameplay evolve over the course of design?

“Most of the big changes during our development centered around how blocks are placed and how hazards function. The hazards, in particular, were tricky because we wanted them to produce excitement and tension but not feel overly random or punishing."

How do you feel about the final product?

"We’ve found enormous strength in working together; our varied skill sets and intuitions synergize well, resulting in compelling designs. We’re extremely proud of where Castles by the Sea has ended up. It’s a wonderfully thematic game that draws people to the table when they see it being played. While fairly simple, it has depth, and for a short game delivers a lot of thought and fun.”

Thanks, Jon! For our part, we can say that when he and Max first showed us this game, we knew it was something special. We review multiple games submitted to Brotherwise every week, and this one really stood out as fresh, elegant, and tactile. When paired with the beautiful artwork of Marby Kwong, all these elements combined to create a truly memorable game.

The Thief and the Tunnel

“The reef will provide,” Lufio thought bitterly as he crept out of the tunnel. It was practically the motto of the Coral Kingdom, known for its peace-loving people and relaxed way of life. But peace requires prosperity, and lately something was wrong with the coral. This year’s harvest was bleached and brittle, so Lufio had turned to another source of income. His nimble fingers, trained by years of foraging, were now picking the lock on a Shell Folk vault. With a satisfying click, he was in. And now-- “INTRUDER!” Lufio looked over his shoulder to see the Captain charging toward him. Grabbing as many sand dollars as he could stuff into his cloak, the thief rolled between the older Shoreling’s legs and sprinted toward the tunnel…

Today’s new variants are all about making mischief! The Thief is an expert at infiltration, earning you a sand dollar for every enemy structure in the same tile. Like every figure, it must be placed on a sand block you just built, and like the Archer it must be placed next to a “cover” sand block or structure. But it ignores the blocking zones of enemy structures. Most often, this means you’ll be able to sneak it right next to a Tower.

The Tunnel is a more complex variant of the Door, which must be placed such that only one "door" is showing. When you place both of your Tunnels, they’re connected: a Hazard that affects one tile will affect both. If your enemy has built a lot of pieces in one tile, you can use a Tunnel to connect it to your busiest tile. If they send a Terror your way, the collapsing Tunnel will devastate both players! This can promote more peaceful play …or the opposite, depending on your play group.

That's all for today! Check back tomorrow to see the doom that awaits these Shorelings...

A Rising Tide
about 2 years ago – Mon, May 02, 2022 at 08:42:13 PM

We are now entering the final three days of this Kickstarter campaign! Throughout this campaign, we’ve been wowed by this community’s willingness to spread the word about Castles by the Sea. Today, we have a request for you. But first, our daily reveal!

The Fisherman & the Harbor Gate

Santi cast the line again, muttering a verse to himself. “Sand and sea. Currents free. Hook a fish. Tides to me.” It was the same chant his father had used, and Santi’s grandfather as well. It was probably just a bit of doggerel, but Crab Riders are a superstitious lot. So Santi said the words, and he’d probably teach his daughter to say the words. He was pier fishing today, while old Gassel repainted his dinghy. Behind him, a group of workers were directing a juvenile coconut crab to drop a new gate into the harbor entrance. The new gate could be opened and closed to moderate the tidal flow into the crab pens in the back cove. There was a sudden shout and Santi turned to see the crab sidling sidewise down the pier, the enormous gate swinging dangerously from its claws. The crab's handlers were in disarray, trying to get it back under control. Santi winced as the new gate crashed against the harbor wall, tearing away carefully stacked stone and packed sand. There was an ugly tumbling, crashing sound, and Santi watched as a wall of water raced across the harbor toward the crab pens. “Tides to me,” he whispered helplessly as the water tore the pens apart.

Both of today’s reveals show off some of the aggressive play that’s possible with the Riptide Expansion. The Riptide’s tide mechanic creates a situation where the board is constantly growing and shrinking. As open beach starts to get filled up with castles, players will find themselves building below the high tide mark, looking for ways to sneak in extra points before the waters rise again. The Fisherman can disrupt this calculus, raising the tide between Hazard steps and catching other kingdoms unaware.

The Harbor Gate ramps up the danger even further, but in less predictable ways. The turn you place the Gate, you’ll complete the Hazard step twice. That means running all the Hazards an extra time, letting you move and activate a Hazard to target an opponent, but it also means rolling the Tide die an extra time. This can result in an onrush of water that wipes out everything below the high tide mark, or it can result in the tide turning around, potentially saving you from a tight spot.

Be Our Heroes

This week is our last chance to bring a bunch of people into the campaign, so we’d appreciate your help spreading the word! If you’re active on social media, here are a couple of images (square and vertical) you can use to show off Castles by the Sea. Click or tap on the images for higher-res versions:

If you post, tag us (@brotherwisegames on Instagram and @bwisegames on Twitter) so we can thank you personally for helping us. For an indie game studio like Brotherwise, Kickstarter campaigns are a big part of how we’re able to stay in business. We’re grateful to every backer, and especially to folks who help out with word of mouth.

Thank you for everything, and here’s hoping for a big final week!

Building Together
about 2 years ago – Mon, May 02, 2022 at 06:15:45 PM

Hello, sandcastle architects! We took a break from updates yesterday, so this one will cover two daily reveals: new player cards and a new play mode.

The Sorceress and Outpost

Javiel ducked his head against the rain and pulled his cloak tighter. “What are we doing here, Tess? There hasn’t been a Giant seen here in a fortnight. And the Terror hunts in the west cove this time of year.” The older woman laughed. She’d been part of the Shellguard for longer than Javiel had been alive. “We’re the tip of the urchin’s spine, lad. The outposts keep the kingdom safe, not because we watch when danger’s present, but because we watch when it isn’t.” The boy snorted, but to his credit, stopped complaining. The rain lightened a bit and Tess noticed something in the sand just outside the palisade. “What is that?” Javiel asked. Tess watched as the sand seemed to gather itself into a great pillar… a pillar that was moving towards them. “What in the seven tides is this?” She whispered. There was someone on top of the pillar. Lightning flashed in the distance and she could just make out red claws and a shock of long white hair. “Oh no,” Tess hissed. “Not her.”

Like the Duelist, the Sorceress is one of the pieces in the game that directly removes other pieces. Unlike the Duelist, she is indiscriminate in her effect. The Sorceress uses her eldritch powers to destroy all the figures adjacent to her pillar, friend or foe. Playing against the Sorceress requires aggressive play. Build your figures next to your opponent’s and she’ll have no choice but to take out her own figures if she wants to attack yours.

The Outpost plays like an Anti-Wizard. Whereas the Wizard hates to be bothered by Hazards and loses points when threatened, the Outpost is worth more points the more Hazards are threatening it. This leads to some very interesting play as you try to maximize the Outpost’s points without getting it wiped off the map by the very Hazards it’s watching out for!

Family Mode

Castles by the Sea was designed for hobby board gamers, but the cute look and highly tactile components make it look very approachable. So what happens when kids or non-gamers see this game and want to play?

One of the first reviewers to play Castles by the Sea was Britta from boardgameswithb. She designs Family Mode versions of complex board games, to help other parents share board games with their kids. We’ve been working with her to develop a version of Castles by the Sea that make it as approachable as possible.

Family mode is a cooperative experience, similar to Solo mode but balanced for team play. Everything is public information, so everyone can talk through options and decisions. While it was designed for parents and kids, it’s also a great choice for casual adult players or anyone who enjoys co-op play. Our company motto is Games That Bring Everyone to the Table and Family mode is a great way to share this hobby with an even wider audience!