Moonshine Empire

Survey Stragglers and Manufacturing update
about 3 years ago – Wed, Mar 03, 2021 at 12:16:16 PM

Hello Backers!!!

We are in the home stretch and wanted to make sure we remind everyone to get their surveys updated as soon as possible. We still have around 5% of our backers who have yet to fill our their survey.

With that out of the way,  on to the fun stuff.

We have been working closely with our manufacturing team and now that we are on the other side of the Chinese New Year we are starting to get a clearer picture of the finish line.  We confirmed this week that everything should be completely manufactured by the middle of April.  Hooray!! Here are a few images of some of the final punch board samples they sent us.

If you look closely you should notice two things.

We decided to forgo the stretch goal unlock of the jug shaped moonshine tokens and left them circles. While we thought this would add table presence we didn't realize that we would be sacrificing playability (the jugs getting stuck in vehicles) and durability (the top cork section became too thin).  Secondly, We are including 2 extra swamp tiles!  With our designer's expert level tetris skills we were able to move things around in a way that freed up this extra space and thought it would be best used for more tiles!

Last but definitely not least, because we love this darn game and want it to last forever while you play the heck out of it, we decided to add linen finish to ALL of the cards.  That's right!  Linen Finish will now be included on: Money Cards, Auction Cards, Customer Cards, Challenge Cards, Character Cards, and Solo Mode Cards!!

Thank you so much for all the kind words you send our way with each update.  We are working hard to make sure this game is everything you were hoping when you made your pledge.  Stay tuned for more updates.

Thanks,

More than just a game box insert!
about 3 years ago – Wed, Jan 20, 2021 at 01:48:57 AM

Welcome to 2021! As we all are doing our best to recover from the 2020 hangover. Manufacturing has been under way. We are currently drawing closer to the Chinese New Year which is one of the holidays that caused the delay we discussed in the last update. We should have more info next month on this front.

Now for the fun part of the update: We are ready to finally share what we have eluded to a couple times, the game box insert. With the overwhelming love and support we received during our campaign we were able to include this great plastic insert that organizes all of the game pieces + it doubles as an in-game table tray while playing the game.

As you can see from the pictures below we have gone through numerus iterations in order to make sure it will not only be useful for storage but also gameplay.  Our initial designs were great for 3D printing but did not do a great job of keeping all of the parts from bounding around when the box is carried on its side. Many of our original designs were also very expensive and not mass production friendly. From here we were able to tweak our design and reorient everything in order to maximize the space and manufacturability. With guidance and design help from Long Pack Games we were able to create the following which we couldn't be more happy with.

The insert has imbedded images of the various components and the top tray is removable, which allows all the "in-game" components to stay organized on your table. We were also able to include a recessed lid that snaps in place to make sure the pieces do not co-mingle.

We also made sure to think of all of you wonderful "Card Sleevers" out there, and we included enough room to accomodate 132 beautifully sleeved cards as well!  (For those who are curious, the cards are Standard American Board Game / Bridge Sized cards - 57mm x 89mm)

Your amazing support helped us unlock this rad insert, and we are so glad that we are able to include it in every copy of Moonshine Empire!  We feel that it will be a great addition to the game, and will make setup/clean-up faster and more fun! 

We are also anxiously awaiting our new game table from Wyrmwood (We were lucky enough to be be backer #70 on their most recent Kickstarter), and will be sure to include some update photos of Moonshine Empire on our beautiful new table in the next update.

Thanks again to you all, you guys rock, stay safe, have fun, and play games!

-Barrel Aged Games

Need a last minute Christmas gift idea...!?! How about Moonshine!!
over 3 years ago – Fri, Dec 25, 2020 at 05:45:19 PM

Merry Christmas fellow Shiners!

Forgot to get a loved one a gift? We have all been there. A friend or family member calls you up in the days surrounding Christmas and says they have something they need to drop off. You start to panic because you have forgotten to give them a gift this year. Depending on where you live, it might be extra tough to get out to a store on short notice. Well, we have you covered. Here is a last minute gift idea if you need one...

There is still a little time left for a Late Pledge of Moonshine Empire!!!

Just add a copy of moonshine empire to your order in Backerkit and then print out this image and stick it in an envelope and viola! 

And speaking of presents, here is a sneak peek of an awesome new update we will be sharing with you in early January: 

 Happy Holidays everyone. Hold your family close and play as many board games as possible. Even though this has been a crazy year you can rest assured knowing you made the team at Barrel Aged Games' dreams come true!

Moonshine Empire manufacturing update and production sample units!
over 3 years ago – Sat, Dec 12, 2020 at 11:25:32 PM

Happy Holidays Backers,

We are hard at work with our manufacturer finalzing all of our parts so we can hit the go button on mass production. Which leads me to the only bad news we have had to deliver so far. Production and release is delayed. Given the couple changes we made to make sure this is the best game possible we have found ourself in the middle of a holiday hurricane that is going to slow down the manufacturing of the parts. This starts with one part Covid which is effecting plastic supplies. From here you add a dash of holiday slowdowns and finish off with the Chinese New year. All of that being said, we are looking closer to the May time frame for Delivery. With that out of the way, lets talk about some fun stuff.

We have production sample units! We showed off our new design last update which means we can show you the actual prototype pieces straight from our manufacturer Long Pack. We couldn't be more excited about how they look and feel! The new addition of the pegs makes moving these pieces around the board to deliver that shine better than ever. (Everyone knows the feeling of your mini-family falling out of your mini-car in the game of LIFE)... that is why we are so excited about this new solution.  

Secondly we wanted to show you our first premium upgrade. When you helped us unlock the moonshine crates in the campaign, the plan was going to be to include a carboard crate that is assembled and stored in the box. After playing around with a number of different cardboard crate designs trying to find the perfect solution we decided it wouldn't be good enough for this game. So, without further ado, you will not be receiving flimsy cardboard crates... but 4 awesome plastic crates that match the color of your team's shiner meeples. 

That is everything for now. Thank you so much for your understanding with the delay. We are continuing to make progress and are confident this will be the best darn moonshine game we've ever made! Keep an eye on your inboxes for one more update before the end of the year!

New Upgrade to Moonshiner and Vehicle Designs!
over 3 years ago – Wed, Nov 04, 2020 at 01:17:39 AM

Hello Fellow Moonshiners!

So this is an update that we have been working on for quite some time, and we are very excited to finally be able to share it with you guys!  

During the play testing and design phase of Moonshine Empire, many times with new players we noticed how the Moonshiners could  fall out of the Vehicles while moving them around the board.  Since we are board gamers first and foremost, we knew we could find an elegant solution!  We tried a bunch of different design solutions until we finally landed on this, and we could not be happier with the outcome!  

We added a "post" to the vehicles, and slot to the shiners.  Now, the shiners stay in the vehicles even when you pick them up, plop them down, and move them around the board!  On top of this you have the added bonus of quickly recognizing how many shiners can fit into a vehicle by noting the number of posts in that vehicle. It is such a simple addition but adds so much to the gameplay!

The Shiners now stay in the vehicles with ease, but can still be removed one handed with little effort! Overall we are quite happy with how this turned out, and are very glad to be including this update/upgrade in every copy of Moonshine Empire!

Stay tuned for another awesome in-game design update and a few more fun surprises we have up our sleeve. Rest assured that we are working hard to make sure this game is a great experience that we hope will make it to your game table for years to come!

-Barrel Aged Games