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Kleos by Azure Horizon Games

Created by Azure Horizon Games

A contest has arisen among the gods! Card play, tactical hex-based combat, and area control in a board game for 1-5 Greek Gods.

Latest Updates from Our Project:

⚡ Pledge Manager is Open! ⚡
over 3 years ago – Thu, Oct 15, 2020 at 12:18:43 AM

⚡ The Pledge Manager is Open! ⚡

The fated day has arrived!  Everyone should have received an e-mail from Backerkit asking for details necessary to fulfill your pledge.  Many thanks as well to those early testers who completed their surveys quickly and kept this moving forward.


Please note, completing the backer survey is necessary to finalize the details needed to deliver your copy of Kleos!  You will be asked to enter your address, cover any shipping costs, and feel free to consider any upgrades/additions/extra copies you would like to add to your pledge level.  Let me know if you have any questions along the way.  


One great thing about Backerkit is that you can always log back in and update your address if you move before the product ships.  Lastly, the community created set of 20 custom Manticore Meeples is also featured as an add on for $15 (shipping included) if you are interested.


⚡ Artwork ⚡

Here is the artwork for Eros and Circe, two new characters added to every copy of Kleos thanks to our Olympian Offering tier backers!  Eros is more commonly known by his Roman name Cupid, and is a very fun addition to the game allowing you to take control of other Minions by making them fall in love with the god you are playing.  In the artwork for Circe, the backer is actually the person being transformed, and wanted to be changed into a bear rather than the traditional pig.  I love it, and Enggar had a blast creating the art for both of these.  Enjoy!

Other Projects on Kickstarter ⚡

I wanted to take a moment to recommend a project that I'm backing called 30 Seconds to Live.  It is live on Kickstarter now and 2/3rds funded going into its final week.  I've had the pleasure of playing it many times.  It's a lot of fun and a unique take on the zombie genre - it's like playing through the best 5-10 minute action scene of your favorite zombie movie.  CLICK HERE to check it out!

⚡ Backer Survey & Surprise Announcement ⚡
over 3 years ago – Mon, Oct 12, 2020 at 07:44:52 AM

Hi everyone!  Hope all is well for you and yours.  Here is a quick update on backer surveys, as well as a HUGE announcement and surprise for you all. *cough cough Custom Box Insert cough cough*  😊 

Backer surveys sent to 5% of backers as a test run!

This is part of Backerkit's process to make sure there are no issues before everyone completes the survey.  If you did not receive the e-mail from Backerkit today, I expect everyone will receive it this week once a few responses to the initial wave are received (I will send another update when the next set of surveys are sent).

Please note, completing the backer survey is necessary to finalize the details needed to deliver your copy of Kleos!  As such, expect to see an e-mail from Backerkit to add shipping to your pledge, enter your address, and consider any upgrades/additions/extra copies to your pledge level.  Let me know if you have any questions along the way.  One great thing about Backerkit is that you can always log back in and update your address if you move before the product ships.  The community created set of 20 custom Manticore Meeples is also featured as an add on for $15 (shipping included) if you are interested.


⚡ Surprise!  Kleos will have a Custom Box Insert! ⚡

I was contacted during the middle of the campaign by Matt Healey, an insert designer who offered to create a custom box insert for Kleos.  I originally planned for this to be a high-end stretch goal since it does affect production and tooling costs, but Matt's generous offer to design it in exchange for a copy of the game, as well as the improvement it offered to the product by reducing setup time was too great to resist.  He was fantastic to work with, and he did an absolutely amazing job!  An explanation from Matt follows, along with diagrams to show how everything will fit together.  As Matt was sure to mention, it will fit sleeved cards as well.  😊 Enjoy!  Be sure to let us know what you think in the comments!

-Jim 

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I reached out to Jim when I saw this KS because it looked like a game that could use a custom insert. He agreed and so I worked with him to design the following. Please keep in mind that this design has not yet been approved by the manufacturer so there might be a few small changes (I think there will be at least one).

Overview:

Here is an image of the overall insert.

Cards:

Because I get asked this question after every insert description I post, I am going to put it is BOLD. The card slots will accommodate sleeves. Each of the decks are stored vertically.

Gods:

The god compartments contain all of the components for each player. The image below shows how each player stores their components. The mini and meeples go in first. Then the temple hex is placed on top of the mini in the hex. There is a small area on the left side of each temple hex compartment that allows the player to push down on the side and then easily lift the hex out. The player cards fit on top of the hex and the meeple and act as a lid. Once again, the compartment will accommodate sleeves.

Other Parts:

I took the same hex lift approach for the Helios and Day tokens on the left of the below image. The Strife hex will be stored vertically next to the compartment for the dice. As an aside, the very thin tabs that separate the hex from the dice is something that I think we will get manufacturer pushback on, so that might change. If it does, then the tabs will shrink horizontally in the below picture, or they will be pushed ‘down’ so they are not as tall, or a combination of both. The first player token fits over for of the gods. Finally, we had extra space so we created compartment for extra parts or tokens.

Player mat and main board

Finally, the player mats and the main board fit on top of everything.

Overall, I am quite happy with this insert as I think it will make setup and breakdown much easier.

I also want to say it was great working with Jim on this project and I hope everyone is happy with the game and the insert.

Matt Healey
Insert Designer

⚡ Kleos Backerkit Survey Coming Soon! ⚡
over 3 years ago – Wed, Sep 30, 2020 at 08:07:57 AM

Hello Kleos backers!

Work is progressing nicely on Kleos following the campaign.  Speaking of which, keep an eye on your e-mail, I expect the backer surveys to be sent via Backerkit within the next week.  This will provide the shipping information necessary to ship your copy of Kleos, and I'll also ask a couple of questions to help make future campaigns even better.


The pledge manager will open at that time as well.  Many backers have asked if they can upgrade their pledge or add additional copies - both can be done through the pledge manager (Backerkit), along with covering shipping and selecting any add-ons you might be interested in.


Another exciting update, the first round of Kickstarter artwork is complete (9 images), and Enggar is working on the final batch now.  Here are a couple of previews.  More will be shared through Mythic Mondays on the Azure Horizon Games Facebook page, in the Kleos Board Game Facebook group, and of course in future updates.  We are also play-testing all of the new cards in our Thursday night TTS games.


Morpheus - God of dreams and our community created addition to Kleos.  Morpheus whispers dreams into people's ears as they sleep, and also appears in dreams in a human form.

Prometheus - The Titan who stole fire back for humanity.  One of the four new characters added to Kleos thanks to backers in the Olympian Offering pledge tier.  

Work is progressing nicely finalizing the rulebook and other graphic design elements as well.  The team at Irrgardless are plugging away and doing an amazing job!


Thanks again, I hope you and yours are well, and let me know if you have any questions in the comments!

-Jim ⚡⚡⚡

⚡ Next Steps for Kleos! ⚡
over 3 years ago – Sun, Aug 30, 2020 at 09:38:22 PM

Hey everyone!  First off, thank you all again for your support making Kleos a reality!  More than that, the first Kickstarter is a crazy and challenging experience for any creator, but your engagement and excitement made this such a fun and incredible experience.  

As an extra 'thank you' to this wonderful community, Andromeda will be included in the game even though we fell just shy of the $25k stretch goal.  This has been a challenging year for the world, a lot of interest was expressed in upgrading through the pledge manager, and we were so close!  Plus...she is too awesome to not be included.  😃 

Now of course, it's time to look at next steps.  We have ~20 new images being created for our Olympian & Divine Offering backers.  The first batch of 10 was sent to Enggar during the middle of the campaign and should be ready in early September.  If you are in the Divine Offering tier and we have not finalized art direction as yet, expect to hear from me very soon so the next batch of artwork is ready for Enggar as soon as this one is finished.  I'll be sharing the artwork in updates and on Facebook as they become available. 

We have had ~10 games playtesting the new cards from the Kickstarter campaign.  Prometheus in particular has been a "glory hog" (get it?), showing up and making a difference in several games!  They are nearly all ready, with only Arachne remaining to be tested.  The Cetus and Andromeda are my favorites so far.  Which are you most excited for?

Aside from that, there are some small graphical changes being made based on feedback during the campaign, particularly to the card frames and Divine Deck card backs.  I'll be posting these in the Kleos Board Game Facebook group for feedback.  Feel free to join our community agora if you would like to participate!

While the artwork is being completed, I'm also hard at work approving the other layouts, sculpts, & finer details for manufacturing.   A surprise for you all and a small hint, I am working on something to make game setup and storage a little more organized. 😉

Feel free to reach out if you have any other questions!  I plan to provide updates on a monthly basis through Kickstarter and much more frequently in the Kleos FB group.

All my best,

-Jim ⚡⚡⚡

Final 2 Hours & Divine Offering Content!
over 3 years ago – Thu, Aug 13, 2020 at 10:27:46 AM

⚡ FINAL HOURS ON KICKSTARTER ⚡

Hey everyone!  We have come such a long way in the last 23 days!  

It has been an amazing ride, and here we are closing in on the final stretch goal!  We only need 14 backers to get there, with just over 2 hours to go!  I think it will be close.  Lets get there!

Many thanks to everyone who offered their support in any way to get us to this point, whether as a backer of any level, or even just by sharing and telling their friends.  I am going to keep this brief, but had a couple of quick updates.  : )  

As far as new additions to the game, 2 additional dice, a marble design upgrade for all dice, and 8 new Epic Minions (Prometheus, Arachne, and the Cetus as examples) have been added to every copy of Kleos so far as part of the campaign.   Also, lets not forget the awesome set of Manticore Meeples as an add on selected by the community!

Speaking of content, the Divine Offering tier sold out!!!! Thanks to our Divine Offering backers, a pack of 15 alternate art cards will be included with ALL COPIES of the Kleos Kickstarter print run, in addition to the 4 new characters added by our Olympian offering tier backers!  Many thanks to the backers at these tiers who gave us all some additional and special content.  : )

Lastly, cheers!  Wherever this ends up, it has been an absolute blast chatting and interacting with you all over the course of this campaign.  You all made this possible, and I cannot wait to get Kleos onto your gaming tables!  If you would like to stay involved and even join us for a weekly game on TTS, feel free to join the Kleos Facebook Group as well.  We have an active community and will keep the fun going even after the campaign ends today.  -Jim  ⚡⚡⚡