July 23rd, 2019
Innsmouth 32, Innsmouth 32 Updates, Meet The Cast
It’s Monster Monday in old Innsmouth, where we reveal one of the monsters found within our game and give you a little blurb about them. We start with the Elders of the Abyss. In Lovecraft’s Shadow Over Innsmouth, it is noted that the Innsmouth fishing industry went through a boom time. Fish everywhere! It is noted:
“As for business—the abundance of fish was certainly almost uncanny…”
Perhaps, beneath the waves, there was something driving those fish towards old Innsmouth Bay? Like the Elders of the Abyss, maybe?!?
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July 20th, 2019
Innsmouth 32, Innsmouth 32 Updates, Meet The Cast
“Lawrence heard there was a new Lovecraft inspired board game on kickstarter this week.
He thought it would be just another Lovecraftian game and didn’t check it out. Lawrence was wrong.”
Innsmouth 32 Kickstarter Link:
But who is this Lawrence? And what does he have to do with our story anyways?!?
In Lovecraft’s original weird tale, there is a mention of Cousin Lawrence, who is in the “permanent seclusion of a sanitarium at Canton”. There is, of course, more to his sad story, but I don’t want to give away the ending of Lovecraft’s story…
Suffice it to say, he’s come back home to Innsmouth…
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July 15th, 2019
Innsmouth 32, Innsmouth 32 Updates, Kickstarter
Are You Ready To Go Back To Innsmouth?
Our Innsmouth 32 kickstarter launches tomorrow, Tuesday, July 16 at 12 pm EST.
The big news is that we have added a First Day Backer pledge, which includes a discounted price for pledges within the first 24 hours of our campaign. We wanted to make sure we had a special reward opportunity for all who backed us the first time. The Early Bird pledge level returns, but this is limited to the first 32 backers who are lucky enough to grab it! We will also offer bundles that include Pittsburgh 68 and/or Roswell 51 at a special bundle price.
The live link will be posted on our homepage as soon as we launch.
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Our links are listed in the page header above.
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June 30th, 2019
Innsmouth 32, Innsmouth 32 Updates, Kickstarter
Just when you thought it was safe to go back in the water…
The official date of our INNSMOUTH 32 kickstarter reboot is July 16. This date is a bit apropos, as it is mentioned in Lovecraft’s original weird tale:
“It was I who fled frantically out of Innsmouth in the early morning hours of July 16, 1927, and whose frightened appeals for government inquiry and action brought on the whole reported episode. I was willing enough to stay mute while the affair was fresh and uncertain; but now that it is an old story, with public interest and curiosity gone, I have an odd craving to whisper about those few frightful hours in that ill-rumoured and evilly shadowed seaport of death …”
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(Our links are listed in page header on top.)
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April 14th, 2018
Innsmouth 32, Shuffling Horrors
It was 10 p.m. on Saturday night at Gary Con X… My final event of the con was nigh – Shuffling Horror: Pittsburgh 68. Eight players took their seats for what was an unexpectedly fast-paced and extremely brutal game – all were dead or zombified within an hour. One player, entirely new to Shuffling Horror, asked if the game always played this fast and deadly. I explained it was a very unusual session in both aspects – especially given the number of players. He immediately asked if we could play again.
“We could. or if folks want, we can playtest the next Shuffling Horror game I’m working on…”
“Anyone up for some Lovecraft?”
All players stuck around to see what horrors awaited in this next Shuffling Horror release. Inspired by Shadow Over Innsmouth, one of H.P. Lovecraft’s most famous tales, this game pits gangsters, scholars, and students against cultists and Deep Ones. Before we began, I explained two new game mechanics: Mythos points and Insanity points (wouldn’t be very HPL without a healthy heaping of both). These rules are pretty straightforward. Since all players were already familiar with the base rules of the system, the movie deck was shuffled and the first reel began.
This game session played fast, but its ending was the complete opposite of our prior game – almost everyone survived! As Director, I never had enough monsters to pose a huge threat. Despite this being a “low show” monster movie, the Innsmouth vibe crept in on so many different levels. From the archetypal characters, the weird artifacts they unearthed, and the plot devices triggered along the way, all elements did their job evoking the horror of that infamous, creeped-out, fishing village. It was a game heavy on character, memorable moments, and not a few B-movie laughs.
Some of the movie’s highlights were…
The immediate appearance of a terrifying Shoggoth; knowing the harm this creature could inflict, the Aged Scholar went after it with powerful Mythos points. It was a high price to his strength, but the group was safe from its horror for now…
The Bookworm, armed with a Flashlight, explored the Old Schooner for clues and lore…
The Necronomicon appeared twice. First in the possession of the town’s Shop Clerk, who read its dark pages to gain mythos at the expense of his sanity. The book was later taken by the Aged Scholar to reinforce his own mythos power…
A gang of vile villagers tried to put an end to the town’s Shop Keep (who betrayed them). He escaped their clutches several times. Due to his uncanny ability to avoid harm (and the Bob Denver placeholder card art), this character was named “Gilligan”…
As the Deep Ones emerged, the Gangster with the Tommy Gun riddled the wharf with bullets…
The Goon grabbed the Harpoon and put some big time hurt on cultists and Deep Ones. Later in the movie, the Goon was knocked-out and taken away by the cultists. The Professor of Languages (who had fallen in love with the Goon) led the search party’s efforts through town to find him before it was too late. It was decided her name was “Adrian”, as we could all hear the Goon crying out that name (a la Rocky Balboa) when the two were reunited …
The Old Captain, the Doctor, and the Store Clerk tried to flee town but got “Lost In The Marsh”. They luckily found their way out before the Deep Ones came a-creeping…
The Socialite revealed she packed a Pocket Pistol (as she drew that item card from the screen). She later volunteered to be the bait and lure the monsters into a deadly trap via a plot device card called “Take The Bait”.
In the last minutes of the movie, the High Priest of the Esoteric Order appeared. His wrath was heaped upon poor Gilligan – whose luck finally ran out. A fitting end, as he was the only townie sympathetic to the survivors’ plight.
After the game, we had a jam session on what the players liked and what needed tweaking. For me, I was thoroughly pleased the game evoked the spirit of Lovecraft’s weird tale (even though the players were never truly in danger of being wiped out). Now, this game did NOT deliver on the insanity front, but this had to do with the lack of certain cards appearing and some very lucky die rolls. Innsmouth 32 will certainly bring on the insanity “when the cards are right”.
A perfect end to my Gary Con X experience.
More playtesting to do on I32!
Join the GameWick Games facebook page for updates on the upcoming Kickstarter and release plans.
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