July 1st, 2019. That was the day it all started. …ok, that is not entirely accurate. I had been designing games before that, but that was the day that Trapped Chest legally became a company. The day was chosen because July 1st is Canada Day, which is a statutory holiday, meaning that I would always have that day off from my normal job, allowing me to do something related to Trapped Chest.

I would like to say that I have a huge catalog of games that are flying off the shelves, but delays have hindered that. Losing 3 years to a pandemic set everything back. Even though I was able to design my games, lockdown prevented me from going to conventions, doing play tests and marketing my work. Now that it is over, I am still playing catch up.

All is not lost. Even though I was hindered, I was still hard at work doing design work and have a large number of board games and RPGs at the point where they are ready to start play testing …if I could get the time. The long term effect of the pandemic is that my day job has gotten a lot more hectic, as businesses are still trying to open back up after being backed into a corner, and because I make signs for a living I am the one everyone comes to and for the last year I have been absolutely swamped with work and I have never been so tired in my life.

Despite the slowdown, things are progressing. Last year I released The Nullam Project, which was well received by those who reviewed it and earlier this year The Bookmark Series got it’s first entry with The Rusty Pick Tavern (and there are still some left). Additionally, Media Override, another small RPG using the Key Powered System is basically ready to go, needing only the cover art before I can send it to print.

The big push forward came back in October when I signed a contract with klur_arts to create a ton of illustrations for my upcoming large format RPG. The job is still ongoing, with much of the smaller stuff already done. Assuming everything is ready by Q1 next year, I plan to setup a booth at the UK Games Expo to show off the game and launch a crowdfunding campaign.

So, what does the future bring? A lot. First of all, I believe that I need to setup a newsletter and start making more frequent content, but lets get into what I have planned.

On the RPG side of things, The Nullam Project has several supplements in the works including Lycora’s Tears (a mini campaign), Elysium Mission Logs (a book of short missions) and Rasker’s Hive (a free one shot). Media Override needs cover art, so I can get that released and have it for sale at UKGE next year (I want to enter the awards), and I do plan on making more products, using the Key Powered System, as well as setting up an SRD for it, which has not happened, because I keep getting busy with other things. And of course my large RPG, which will be getting a name as soon as the cover art is done, so I can make a title card.

Board games are also in the works. Essence of the Arcane has been sitting dormant for a while and I think it needs one final round of play tests before being finalized, though I have no idea when that is going to happen. Another small abstract game for 3 players called Three Merchants has been designed and needs to be play tested (it will find it’s way to TTS eventually), before setting up art and layout. Recently I started working on a pick up and deliver game called I’ll Take That!, which features an early 20th century archeology and museum theme. A recent trip to the British Museum helped me do research and gain motivation for that one. The World Betwixt and Between has been in development for a number of years. It is a deckbuilder, featuring open world exploration and questing, press your luck dungeon crawling and both PvE and PvP combat, set in a Dark Souls inspired world. This one is a long way off, as it is a massive table consuming game, features hundreds of cards and requiring nearly 100 miniatures. Most of the game is done, though solo play tests have thought me that some of the numbers need to be shifted around before pushing forward.

The next few months are going to be absolute chaos. There is so much to get done and I still need to figure out marketing for all this, which is the biggest headache ever. December will be when I have to make decisions and find out if I will be setup at UKGE, and that day is coming up very fast.

So many ideas, so little time.