It’s been a year of consolidation in the boardgame industry: Plaid Hat being absorbed by Z-Man, Asmodee buying up almost everyone else. Add to that list a number of games that are now being brought to market by new publishers, among them, Pirate Den.
Pirate Den, is a casual and fast-playing, pirate-themed bluffing game funded on Kickstarter last spring. Production delays and publisher changes (and publisher mergers) have delayed getting the game to backers, but that wait seems to be close to being resolved.
Crash Games, publishers of successful Kickstarter projects Dead Drop and the Yardmaster games, has acquired the rights to Pirate Den. In a comment posted on the original project site, Crash Games founder, Patrick Nickell says “Fulfilling the commitment of providing the original backers with their copy of Pirate Den [of which I am a backer] is at the top of my list.”
Nickell’s company has a track record for producing high quality, fast-playing games, and Pirate Den looks to fit right into Crash Games’ lineup. In fact, with Nickell’s experience, the game will have nicer and better components than originally anticipated. The best news is that Crash Games is planning on getting copies into the hands of all Pirate Den backers at no additional cost to them. And backers needn’t worry. In addition to getting a better quality game, it looks like all additionally promised rewards will be delivered by the original publisher, Gamesmith.
The last step in the production process, approving the pre-production copy, is only weeks away and then, assuming everything is OK, the presses will run, boxes will be packed, and the game will be on its way to gamers everywhere. However, Nickell still needs your help. If you were a backer of the game (or you know someone who was), please get to this form and sign up for updates so Crash Games can get a copy into your hands, as soon as possible, when the game ships later this year. For more information, check out the project’s comment page and read Nickell’s full statement.
