Brass: Birmingham and Brass: Lancashire Deluxe Editions are STILL available for purchase on the Roxley website:
https://roxley.com/products/brass-birmingham-deluxe-edition
https://roxley.com/products/brass-lancashire-deluxe-edition
Latest Updates from Our Project:
Status Report - 2017.12.04 - Translated Rulebook Previews & Manufacturing Continues
about 7 years ago
– Mon, Dec 04, 2017 at 12:31:30 AM
TL;DR - Translated rulebooks ready for public scrutiny. Manufacturing continues with no major challenges.
Rulebook Translation Credits
First a huge thanks to our lead translators. All of these folks worked extremely hard to execute these translations efficiently.
Rulebook Lead Translators:
Alexandre Limoges - French
Ketty Galleguillos - Spanish
Daniel Danzer - German
Andrea Mondani & Guido Marzucchi - Italian
Also, a big thanks to the volunteers who provided us with amazing feedback & criticism. Some of our biggest volunteer critic contributors were: Raphaël Biolluz, Marielle Dessel, Andréa Trépanier, Marco Ghitti, Marco Paccagnella, Raffaele Mesiti, Nicolas De les Essarts, Christophe Fergeau, Xabier Pérez, Daniel Gómez, and many others!
Manufacturing is going well. No major hurdles to report. We are still waiting on physical proofs. The previous schedule stated we'd have physical proofs by now. We have will continue to receive component proofs until early January. We will be sharing photos as we receive samples.
As always, if you have any comments or questions, please email [email protected]
Keep rollin' sixes,
Gavan Brown & Team Roxley
Status Report - 2017.11.19 - Iron Clays Proof & Final Production Schedule
about 7 years ago
– Mon, Nov 20, 2017 at 12:47:02 AM
TL;DR - Manufacturing has begun. Vac tray is currently being designed. Iron Clays proof preview below. Production timeline finalized: games to be freighted in February and ready for fulfillment in Late March.
New Timeline - Fulfillment begins late March 2018
As I alluded to in the previous update, there was a high probability for a delay. I've now received a final schedule from the manufacturer. All sights are aimed at beginning freight before Chinese New Year 2018. Freight takes about 6 weeks, after which point fulfillment will begin.
It is extremely important for us to get Brass right, so we've done whatever possible to ensure the quality of this production is representative of how amazing this game is. But as everyone knows, quality takes time. Whether it was spending massive amounts of time on the game's art, playtesting Birmingham and our new 2 player mode, hiring Chad Michael to design the Iron Clays, spending endless time choosing colors for the iron clays, or endlessly editing the rulebook, we have worked extremely hard from the start to increase the probability we get this right.
Again, our team is very thankful for all of the supportive comments we've received and for your continued belief in us.
Iron Clays Proofs
Below is an image taken of our latest set of Iron Clays proofs. I apologize for the mobile phone quality.
The Color Palette - Our intention with this color palette was the following:
Color blindness compatible
Each chip is attractive by itself, or in combination with any other chip. We also wanted to create a palette that looks nice all together.
Explore various levels of contrast - Not all chips have the exact same level of contrast. This is purposeful. The teal 5 chip looks amazing from the side and top with its slightly more subtle contrast. The navy 20 chip brings out the details in the ornate patterns.
Distinguishable in a stack. The original renderings of the Iron Clays showed their core colors all quite light and the fill colors quite a bit darker. After we ran our first test, we soon realized that this made the chips not easily distinguishable from the side. The 5 looked too close to the 20 for example. Our finalized color palette ensures that the chips are distinguishable from not only the top, but also the sides.
Compatible with Brass. As the 1s,5s,10s,and 20s will be included in Brass, we wanted to ensure that they were colors that were compatible with the Brass color palettes.
Final color palette changes (not pictured) - We will be making the second color of the red chips slightly darker so they match the contrast of the 20s. We will also be swapping the 1s to white, and the 10s to red. Because there are so many 1s compared to the rest of the colors, we felt that it made sense to make the 1s neutral. Note: some shapes may still change slightly if required by manufacturer.
The Drop - In the center of each Iron Clay there is a little drop. This drop does not affect their usability at all. The intention of this drop is that if your chips see heavy use over the years, the denomination area will likely remain unaffected. It also creates a slight shadow creating some depth. We experimented with various 3D possibilities, and this one ensures maximum usability while not affecting production.
Note: 100 denomination not included in Brass
Every day I'm shuffling? Iron Clays contain calcium carbonate, also known as lime stone. This material creates a slightly less slippery surface than most ABS chips that you may have played with in the past. Iron Clays strike a good balance: slippery enough to shuffle, but not so slippery that they will topple over if you bump a stack of them accidentally. Shuffling Iron Clays is extremely rewarding. You may want to keep a stack at your desk as a fidget toy. ;)
My new favorite pass time: shuffling Iron Clays
The Sound - will need to be experienced in real life. The sound was what originally attracted us to this poker chip manufacturer.
The Specs - Iron Clays are 39mm in diameter and around 10 grams in weight, which is congruent with official casino chips. We love the size and weight of these chips.
The Haptics - As described before, Iron Clays are not overly slippery. They feel very slightly porous. When you rub your finger over the face of them, you can subtly feel the lines where the ornate patterned core meets the fill.
We are extremely happy with how the Iron Clays have turned out. Illustrating them after the end of the project was extremely stressful but absolutely worth it in the end. For the past few months I have been touching and fiddling with them beside me all day, and I remain happy... and shuffling. We hope you enjoy them as much as we do.
Translationed Rulebooks
We are just doing a final review on the Italian and German translations. We will release all translated rulebooks in our next update, soliciting your feedback.
As always, if you have any comments or questions, please email [email protected]
Keep rollin' sixes,
Gavan Brown & Team Roxley
Status Report - 2017.11.05 - The Waiting Game
about 7 years ago
– Mon, Nov 06, 2017 at 12:22:24 AM
TL;DR - The factory is still reviewing our print files. We have not yet received an updated production timeline. We have received a second round of Iron Clays samples (no photos yet as we have requested a third proof).
Manufacturing Timeline
The above graphic is not updated this week, as we have not yet received an updated timeline on the manufacturer. Files are still going through final review. We have made some adjustments to the rulebook based on the community feedback we received after the last update. The final rulebooks have now been submitted for proofing.
Our entire team has been working incredibly hard. Everything has been progressing efficiently and effectively with very few roadblocks. But there have been so many deliverables and variables in this project that it has caused us to deliver the files to the manufacturer later than we had hoped. As a result, I'm hypothesizing that there will be some delay on the final fulfillment date.
We have taken more care in the preparation of the files than we ever have for any other game we've ever done. As I've said previously, Brass is my most favorite game experience so I want to minimize the probability for error, and maximize quality.
I don't know for sure if a delay is imminent until our manufacturer provides an updated production schedule hopefully by the weekend. I will relay this information in our next update.
Please know that we are doing everything humanly possible to ensure that the game is delivered to you in as timely fashion as possible without sacrificing quality. Thank you to all of you for your amazing patience and support.
Iron Clays
We received a second set of samples of the Iron Clays which were created on the test mold. They look and feel fantastic. We absolutely love them.
We still need to make tweaks to the colors. We have requested a 3rd set of proofs adjusting the colors on a few of the denominations. Because we are still playing with colors. I've decided to wait until the next update before providing a photo.
I am extremely relieved that our design worked well for the test mold. The factory is now creating the actual final molds. Yay!
Translated Rulebooks
The initial draft of the graphical translated rulebooks are now complete! Our editors are going through them now to provide final feedback. That feedback will then be passed on to our localisation designer for correction.
We will have download links for them in our next update!
Vac Tray
A few people have asked why there is a delay on the vac tray design. This is because the design of the vac tray is bound the height of the box. The height of the box is determined by the design of the poker chip tray, combined with how many tile sheets / boards rest above it.
The factory is currently creating white samples for us. These are essentially a bunch of components with nothing printed on them. We will use these to design the vac tray.
Characters
Orin Bishop of Team Roxley has researched and written a biography for each of the industrialists to be featured in the game. Here's our last one!
Robert Owen
(14 May 1771 – 17 November 1858)
Falling in love with Caroline Dale, daughter to the owner of the New Lanark mill co-founded by Richard Arkwright, Owen convinced his business partners to purchase the mill. He ran it with great success, but displeased his partners with egalitarian activities such as paying wages to his workers over a four month period in which the mills were closed during the War of 1812. An avid scholar, Owen became critical of prevailing religious thought on human self-determinism, and he developed his own philosophy that one’s circumstances are largely the result of external forces, and that therefore education and philanthropy should be paramount in society. He undertook a variety of social reform projects such as lobbying for workers and children’s rights and for an 8-hour work day, and temporarily left Britain to found a socialist commune in America called New Harmony. The experiment was an economic failure that bankrupted Owen, but it did produce one of the first public libraries and a free school open to both boys and girls, and his philosophies are deeply woven into socialist movements within the United States.
As always, if you have any comments or questions, please email [email protected]
Keep rollin' sixes,
Gavan Brown & Team Roxley
Status Report - 2017.10.18 - Rulebook Preview!
about 7 years ago
– Thu, Oct 19, 2017 at 01:45:10 AM
TL;DR - Rulebooks can be previewed below. Rulebook text-only translations complete. Survey lockdown is complete. We are waiting on manufacturing proofs.
Rulebooks
While it is generally the least used part of a board game, a solid rulebook is the most important part of the development of a boardgame.
Over 50 people have contributed to these rulebooks so far by the way of writing, editing, translation, design, and artwork. It has been an amazing collaborative effort and we are very thankful for everyone's work.
A huge thank you to all of our contributors to these rulebooks! You are all amazing!
Rulebook Writing & Editing: Simon Rourke, Gavan Brown, Matt Tolman, Michael Van Biesbrouck, Orin Bishop, Ricky Patel, Daniel Danzer
Rulebook Feedback & Criticism: Adam Allett, Dan Le, Dave Thomas, David Goldfarb, David Werner, Gimo Barrera, Graeme Edgeler, Jeff Lee, Jered Biard, John Merlino, Jørgen Grøndal, Mark Nichols, Mikolaj Sobocinski, Sam Lambert
Historical Advisor: Judith Bennett
Rulebook Lead Translators: Alexandre Limoges (French), Ketty Galleguillos (Spanish), Daniel Danzer (German), Andrea Mondani & Guido Marzucchi (Italian)
Rulebook Translation Feedback & Criticism: Raphaël Biolluz, Marielle Dessel, Andréa Trépanier, Marco Ghitti, Marco Paccagnella, Raffaele Mesiti, Nicolas De les Essarts, Christophe Fergeau, Xabier Pérez, and Daniel Gómez
Do you spot an error?
We will not be making any fundamental changes to the rulebooks like moving sections. However, if you do see a typo or grammar error, feel free to fill out a correction form. Please do NOT email or write corrections in the comments as we will not be able to parse them well.
Note: money tiles depicted in the rulebook are for the retail version. The deluxe edition will feature 70 iron clays instead of the tile money depicted.
This rulebook has been exported as a .pdf with spreads.
We are still in prepress for the main game as a few of the tilesheets and other bits needed to be adjusted. We hope to start receiving digital proofs in the next week.
Next update
We have now nearly wrapped up the current list of deliverables. In the next bi-weekly update we will introduce a new set of production goals and timelines that revolve around manufacturing and fulfillment.
Characters
Each update we will feature the profile of another one of the Characters featured on the Brass turn order tiles. Beautifully painted by Damien Mammolitti. Orin Bishop of Team Roxley has researched and written a biography for each of the industrialists to be featured in the game. You can see them all by looking at the rulebook above!
Sir Henry Bessemer (19 January 1813 – 15 March 1898)
Like Isambard Kingdom Brunel's father, Bessemer's father Anthony was forced to flee France during the French Revolution. Anthony had become a member of the Académie des sciences at 26 for his improvements on the optical microscope, and made his fortune in Britain with a process for making gold chains. Bessemer's first innovation mirrored his father's affinity for gold. After carefully analyzing bronze powder from Nuremberg, used in the manufacture of gold paint, he reverse engineered the process and created a series of six steam-powered machines that could manufacture the powder. He later developed a cheap system of creating steel by blowing air through molten pig iron to burn off impurities. The goal was initially to reduce the cost of military ordnance, but this technique of affordable steel revolutionized structural engineering and made bridges and railroad tracks, previously reliant on wrought and cast iron, much safer. Bessemer pioneered over 100 inventions in the fields of metalworking and glass, including a steamship cabin on gimbals intended to stay level to prevent seasickness which was sadly lost at sea, and he gained considerable commercial success leveraging his innovations.
As always, if you have any comments or questions, please email [email protected]
Keep rollin' sixes,
Gavan Brown & Team Roxley
Status Report - 2017.10.04 - Survey Lockdown In 24 Hours!
about 7 years ago
– Thu, Oct 05, 2017 at 01:15:18 AM
TL;DR - Survey lockdown happening Oct 5. You have 24 hours to make any final changes to your survey. We are done the rulebook graphical layouts and are currently reviewing them internally and will provide a downloadable preview to them in our next bi-weekly update. There is a Chinese holiday this week, proofing begins next Monday.
Survey Lockdown
Survey Lockdown is happening tomorrow October 5. You have 24 hours to make any final adjustments to your survey.
Payment Date
We had originally planned to process payments for outstanding BackerKit balances immediately after lock down. However, we have been advised by BackerKit not to process payments until closer to fulfillment. This will ensure that if you move to a different country or something between now and fulfillment, there is less probability we have to unwind things.
Immediate Payment Requests
If you would like us to process payment for your BackerKit balance immediately, please fill out this form.
Unless you require your payment to be processed immediately, we recommend not submitting a request.
Rulebook Previews
I have spent a LOT of time in recent weeks working on laying out the rulebooks. I'm very happy with with where they have arrived. We are currently performing a final review on them internally. We will send out a download link for backers to preview in our next update.
Characters
Each update we will feature the profile of another one of the Characters featured on the Brass turn order tiles. Beautifully painted by Damien Mammolitti.
From Wikipedia:
"
Sir Richard Arkwright (22 December 1732 – 3 August 1792) was an English inventor and a leading entrepreneur during the early Industrial Revolution. Although his patents were eventually overturned, he is credited with inventing the spinning frame, which following the transition to water power was renamed the water frame. He also patented a rotary carding engine that transformed raw cotton into cotton lap.
Arkwright's achievement was to combine power, machinery, semi-skilled labour and the new raw material of cotton to create mass-produced yarn. His skills of organization made him, more than anyone else, the creator of the modern factory system, especially in his mill at Cromford, Derbyshire, now preserved as part of the Derwent Valley Mills World Heritage Site. Later in his life Arkwright was known as the "father of the modern industrial factory system."
"
As always, if you have any comments or questions, please email [email protected]
