Here's what the immediate future of the project looks like: First, in about two weeks we'll be sending files off to the factory to begin the pre-press process. Right now all of the hard components have been approved and are in production. Our hope is to get all of the printed components approved by early September. Once that happens, the factory will put together a Pre-Production Copy (PPC) which we will then go over with a fine-tooth comb. After that we'll pass them some revised files and hopefully mass production on the printed components will begin by October. This puts us a little bit behind our originally projected schedule, but we won't be exactly sure about our fulfillment timeline until later this fall once every element of the game is in production. Given everything that has happened this year, I'm immensely proud of the team for keeping the project on course. And, as soon as we have a better sense of our timeline, we will let you all know.

Okay, time for show-and-tell!

Card Sleeves

In basically every update folks have asked us about card sleeves in the comments. This was always at tricky thing because from a production side it's one of the last things we are able to work on. Thankfully, we are now close enough to the end that I can reveal specifics. First, quantities. The card sleeve set for Oath will contain sleeves for every card that gets shuffled (basically everything but the tutorial cards).

This amounts to:

• 23 Land Cards (115x89mm)

• 209 Bridge Cards (57x89mm)

• 20 Relic Cards (57x57mm)

That's a lot of sleeves! It's also worth mentioning that because Oath has a couple of funny card sizes, this will probably be your best bet for finding sleeves for this game. In terms of quality, these will be gloss premium grade sleeves (100 microns).

We also wanted to make these sleeves special. We considered doing full art sleeves, but the sad truth is that the print quality on the card stock is always going to be higher than the quality of a print on a plastic sleeve, and we didn't want to diminish Kyle's amazing work. So, instead of just mimicking the card backs, the sleeves will instead have a printed frame in black and gold.

The full price for this pack of 252 sleeves is $30. We will likely be selling them directly from our store after the Kickstarter, though the price could go up a little bit. For sleeves like this, this is a really good deal. 

The Chronicle Journal

Over the past few weeks we've also been working on the Chronicle Journal. I don't have pictures of the sample yet, but I thought I'd share a few pictures of how the pages work. So basically every two-page spread in the journal looks like this:

We tried to keep the format open so it could be used in a wide number of ways. Players could freely draw pictures, comics, maps, or just use the blank space for writing. In addition, we provided hooks for recording the date of the game, the name of the session, the oath it was played under, and then also included space at the bottom for recording how the game was resolved.

In addition, we are using the end-papers of the book as space for players to record a timeline or list of kings and queens or any other metagame information they would like. Players can also fill in the chart in the bottom right corner to record the suits of the cards added to the deck each game so new players can quickly get a sense of the deck's composition.

If you'd like to learn more about the thought process behind the endpaper design, I wrote a little thread on twitter here.

Exciting Files Coming Soon

In a couple weeks we'll also be happy to share the final rulebook and playbook. One of our graphic designers, Pati Hyun has done a brilliant job with them. And, of course, much credit is owed to our editor Josh Yearsley and the many, many playtesters and readers who have helped make these books better.

Speaking of files which we're almost ready to show you all. Kyle completed the final art for the map awhile back. Currently it's waiting to go into final layout, after which we'll be sure to share it in all of its final glory. But since we'll be uploading the new map with our playtesting UI to the TTS mod soon, it only seems fair to share it here as well. 

 Please email us at support@ledergames.com for any questions or assistance.