Hello Travellers!
We’re coming to you with our second update and oh boy, it’s a big one! So buckle in and let’s get straight to it!

Fast-forward just over two months from revealing Route East to the world (and now 13 months from the birth of the idea) our prototypes have arrived! Whilst this may seem very ‘sudden’ – they’ve been a long time coming and the ‘route’ here (excuse the pun) hasn’t been easy.

Even at the prototype stage (where things going wrong is sort of fine), it was paramount to us that we printed a prototype that was as close to finished as possible. We now have 8 prototypes that will be doing the rounds for our final phase of playtesting. We’re looking for groups of 4 or 5 to playtest – if you’re interested please email us at [email protected] or drop us a message on Insta or Twitter.

Let’s speed it up! 

Shortly after version 7 (ish) of the game popped out of the old ink-jet, we decided that we needed to speed it up a little. No-one likes a game that drags on.
We’re now at the 1 hour mark for a 2-3 player game, and 90 minutes for a 4-5. This is down about 30%.

To change the timing of a game, you’ve got to mess with the mechanics – and when you’ve got a fun game that works nicely, but is just a little too long, that’s a daunting prospect. The approach we’ve taken though is to throw certain actions into the game to allow players to move along the map faster (a few more freight trains and some supercharged fuel that gives you an extra move). It’s proven successful, but we’re still fine tuning.

Prototypes!

For the last month, we’ve been getting our files print-ready. That’s not just double checking, but also resizing every piece of artwork (that’s 315 single artwork files in case you were interested) to fit the specifications of our prototype makers. While these are ‘just’ prototypes, they need to be as close to finished as possible so our playtesting can be thorough and accurate.

Days before Christmas final files were sent over, and by Boxing Day, we had photographs of the prototype for review! A few days later, they arrived. This was the first time we saw the artwork properly printed, without lines on it and without the red ink slowly depleting. The final prints are truly stunning and really do the game and all its hand-drawn elements justice – all thanks to our brilliant illustrator Yulia.

The Kickstarter count-down has (almost!) begun

So what’s next for Route East? Well, in the first two weeks of January we will be finalising our Kickstarter page. This isn’t a quick job and our entire team will be working on this to get it over the line. Once this is finished and submitted, we’ll be nailing down a launch date.

This is most likely going to be early March – which really isn’t too far away. Good news is that we were so impressed with our prototypes that we’re most likely going to be using the same company to produce the actual game, which means we’re halfway there from a manufacturing front; something that will certainly speed up delivery for our supporters.

Please, please spread the word!

We adore this stunning game, based on a true story and an epic adventure four years ago. Everyone we have played with so far has loved it too, and we want as many people to learn about these fantastic destinations, race to Shanghai, and get into some heated fuel-stealing arguments along the way as well!

We need your support to do this so please spread the word to friends and family. Ask people to sign up to our newsletter where we’ll be doing regular updates, and follow our channels for the very very latest.

Instagram: @LostVentureGames
Twitter: https://twitter.com/lostventurehq 
BGG: https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/349071/route-east 

More updates are coming soon!
Jonny, George, Petra, and the Route East Team