Riot scene by Geng Gendall I mentioned in the last Kickstarter update that we'd been working on a new plan. Well the new plan is coming together and it looks something like this... The boxed game is now being separated into 4 separate products. - Broken Contract Rule Book (~MSRP $15) This is a 32 page book with an overview of the setting, all the rules to the game, character creation rules, a generic scenario, guidance on how to create your own scenarios, and 2 blank character cards. The inside cover will fold out into a generic mining area "game board" and a rules reference card. - Initiative and Equipment Card Deck (~MSRP $5-$8) This will be a 40-80 card deck that includes 26 Initiative Cards and an assortment of Equipment Cards. - Broken Contract - Deep Underground Miniature Set (~MSRP ~$40-$50) Currently this will be a set of 8 white metal miniatures - 3 Prods and 5 Breakers. The set will cover the characters needed to play Broken Contract - Deep Unde

Current incarnation of the Character Stat Card by Sam Alcarez. With the Kickstarter demonstrating that we need to start smaller, we're working towards getting the rule book together to fund separately. If you've downloaded the Alpha Rules then you know that it currently stands at about 27 pages. That means we still have 5 pages to play with if we want to release it as a 32 page book. Some of that space will be given over to diagrams, but rather than filling it with a bunch of pre-generated Characters, I figure most people would like the option to create their own to get up and playing. With that in mind, I unearthed an old rough draft of some Character Creation rules I had written earlier in the year and started fleshing it out to work with the current character card prototype. This is the current rough draft. I understand that the Skills aren't explained yet, but let me know if this seems pretty clear. It wouldn't take much to have Sam create a blank character ca

Nells Turnbull by Geng Gendall      Most working the FeSky mine signed up for it directly or had their contracts sold to FeSky after failing to fulfill their original contract. Nells is Tracted because his only other choice was execution. He won’t say what he did to merit the death or contract choice, but nobody is given that option for minor transgressions. Slightly built, agile and clever Nells has wormed out a place among the other miners through lies, manipulation and connections that let him get rare specialty items through illicit means.      Nobody would go so far as to call him a friend or say that they trust him, but he has a knack for uncovering secrets and using them to get more freedom of movement and chances to slack off. Though he is despised, the other residents tolerate Nells because of his ability to get contraband into the mine for the right price. The prods see him as a useful tool. He is willing to curry favor by informing on his fellows with very limited pro

Restraint Drone by Geng Gendall Early this week, after much discussion with my co-conspirators and friends, I decided to cancel the existing Kickstarter for Broken Contract - Deep Underground. This was done with a heavy heart, but it was clear that the boxed game format wasn't going to fund and we needed to explore other options. Manufacturing a board game, with all of its components - dice, rules, board, figures, etc, is very expensive. When doing short runs of 300 or 500 copies, your printing costs are huge. Its when you scale up to 1000 or more copies that prices begin to come down per unit, but then you have to have the money to cover more copies than you need. Plus, then you have to have somewhere to store all of those copies.Ultimately, the premium packaged board game is what I wanted for Broken Contract, but the needs to make that happen were just too great, so we needed a new plan. We've all talked it over and we've decided to keep pursuing the game, but with

Micha Donnelly by Geng Gendall Micha Donnelly      Working in the fields for AgriCorp was a hard life, but the opportunity to live among growing plants and in the relative open suited Micha Donnelly. Over the months she found a love for the work, for the field hounds used to control vermin and for one of her fellow tracted workers. Life was hard but the small pleasures and joys made it a tolerable one.      Then came a day that would end that life. A Prod named Campbell provoked one of the hounds and was bitten. In a rage he began to mercilessly kick the animal. Micha was nearby and a violent rage overcame her. She began beating Campbell with her hoe. He was knocked to the ground and badly injured as she laid into him. The other prods surrounded Micha and beat her into submission with shock batons. She was put in the box, but the dog had escaped to the care of the kennel masters.      Not caring if she was a good worker or not, AgriCorp chose to activate a clause which let them

Nells by Geng Gendall. Pay close attention to both windows. Yesterday on reddit someone asked if Broken Contract was strictly campaign driven so I wanted to address that since others might be wondering. The scenarios contained in Broken Contract - Deep Underground follow a story arc with named characters recommended. In 'Worked to Death', a miner who succumbs to illness on the job sparks the others to lash out in an unplanned clash. They are outnumbered by the Prods who will quickly rough them up. This is a fast and dirty scenario intended to teach the players the basic mechanics to the game to prepare them for a proper confrontation. The true opening to the narrative though is 'It's Time'. In this scenario the Breakers have discussed a rough plan and are just waiting for the right moment to overtake the guards. This scenario is the spark of the revolt and runs the players through the paces of the game in 45-90 minutes. As a "prison break" of sort

The first 24 hours are just about behind us and we're off to a good start but we've got a long way to go. Everyone involved is working in their free time to produce more art and graphic design work to show you that this game project is a work of passion that we want to succeed. Remember, if you're on the fence about backing this Kickstarter, you can always just pledge $1 to have access to all of the Kickstarter Updates. Or if you're worried it won't fund, you have nothing to lose by pledging for exactly what you want. Here are some first draft Equipment Cards by Sam Alcarez. The borders and art are looking great if I do say so myself. These are used in conjunction with the Character Stat Card to keep track of your gear. If this is looking cool please pledge to the Kickstarter. You can find it here: Broken Contract - Deep Underground Kickstarter Thanks! -Nick

Workers of the World Unite! Happy Labor Day! The Broken Contract - Deep Underground Kickstarter has been launched. If you can pledge, please do. If you can't pledge, I understand, but if you think its a cool project, please share it on your favorite game forum, social media outlet, or among your friends. This project has taken myself, Sam Alcarez, Geng Gendall, Robert Ferrick, and a bunch of others over a year to put together. Its a fun game but it pulls from a lot of real world themes having to do with worker struggles. There will be plenty of Add On models over the next 4 weeks, and what other gaming Kickstarter offers root beer as a reward?  (Of course, with  Broken Contract art on it). Finally, all of the printing is being done at Salsedo Press here in Chicago, the worker owned and operated print shop. The figures are slated to be manufactured in Missouri, and the dice are manufactured in Germany and Denmark and sourced from Chessex in Fort Wayne, IN. The root beer is go