Into the Godsgrave

A Close Look At Near-Finalised Components
5 months ago – Fri, Oct 31, 2025 at 09:55:25 AM

Hey there Adventurers,

I hope you’ve had a good month.

Today’s update comes with a total feast for the eyes as we show off near-finished samples of both the boxes for Into The Godsgrave, as well as a whole host of minis!

Let’s dive in:

What’s super exciting is that next time we go to SPIEL we should actually have a full version of the game available for the public to play! 

Lots to do before then, but we’re super excited about it.

Box Sample Showcase

The samples for each of the boxes arrived in the Warsaw office, ready for extensive testing - and by that we mean stacking them in a variety of different ways on a Kallax to mimic the real life process of finding somewhere for these guys to live. They’re big!
 

March of the Minis

Of course one of the biggest talking points at SPIEL was the sheer number of minis that make up the Godsgrave universe.

But in case you didn’t get to see them in-person, they've made it back to the Warsaw office, ready for a photoshoot just for you:

As a reminder, what you see here is the near-final result after approving minor changes proposed by the manufacturer, with Maalbog just needing a few more final tweaks.

Also keep in mind that for this mini photoshoot, we removed duplicate minis - but of course in your box, there are certain minis that come in sets of 2 or 3.

In any case. after seeing these sample minis, we’re now confirming with the manufacturer that we’re ready to start production!

First, they’ll send us a 'first proof,' as it is called, where they’ll have a first batch of minis produced in their final form, and after this comes the start of mass production!

With this in mind, we’re now looking at 1.5 - 2 months of the mould production process where they’ll create the dedicated moulds for mass plastic production. All going well, we’re estimating that we’ll kick off 2026 with final previews of how the minis will look in the final copy of the game!

A Few More App ‘Screenshots’

Development of the app continues, with a focus on the UI during your battle sequences.

Below are a couple of encounters featuring a Bandit Scout and a Bandit Scoundrel, but we’re sure you’ll make light work of these guys…

Coming Soon: A First Final Draft of the Rulebook!

In the next update, we hope to have a first draft of the rulebook ready for you to take a look at!

Although this might not be complete visually, with images and the fine touches missing, you’ll be able to familiarize yourself with the core rules of Into The Godsgrave.

It would be great to get your feedback on what you think is clear, and what could be written differently.

That’s all for now, see you soon!

Ben @ LDG

Minis, Screenshots + A Complete Class Video Playlist
6 months ago – Tue, Sep 30, 2025 at 08:19:35 AM

Hey there Adventurers,

I hope you’ve had a good September!

I know it might sound clichéd, but the team are REALLY excited about how Into The Godsgrave is progressing, and can’t wait until you get the game in your hands.

What’s been going on since the last update? 

Let’s find out:

Base Game DTP = Done

The entire base game has come out of the DTP phase (with the exception of the box and the rulebook.)

Cards, components, tiles, and more - it’s all been locked in, ready for manufacturing a first final sample of the game. 

This is a huge part of the process checked off, and as you hopefully saw in the last update (and see in this update) it’s looking fantastic, and we can’t wait to see what it’ll all look like in-person.

The base game rulebook is estimated to be finished around the middle of October, so the plan is to share this with you in the next update, with final proofreading to follow.

We received the latest feedback from our manufacturing partner with a focus on minis, and the final renders look incredible. 

Don’t forget - the base game alone contains 19 different TYPES of minis.

Signing off on these means we’re now able to start working on obtaining samples of the minis for the expansion content.

After approving some minor changes proposed by the manufacturer, all of the minis are now ready to hit production, with Maalbog being the only exception, the largest mini from The Ultimate Trial, which requires a small fix.

The plan is that we’ll be able to share them with you in the next update.

On that note, we may also have an early vac tray sample to share, as well as a few other components, such as the player dials - if we get these, we’ll share them with you too. 

With so much of the physical components checked off, there’ll be much more focus on the digital world of Into The Godsgrave in future updates.

Speaking of which...

The App

Work continues on creating a gorgeous looking app for a gorgeous looking game!

Of course, all of the above is Work In Progress, but as you can see, the UI and overall design are coming together really nicely.

Choose Your Class

The mini-series we put together covering the different classes is now wrapped up, and all 4 episodes are available to watch on YouTube:

PART 1 - THE WARDEN

PART 2 - THE RELICTOR AND SMUGGLER

PART 3 - INFILTRATOR AND EXECUTOR

PART 4 - NOBLE AND TRICKSTER

Let us know in the comments who you’ve got your eye on for your campaign! 

That wraps up another update. See you in the next one.

Cheers,
Ben @ LDG

Finalising Components + Manufacturing Timelines
7 months ago – Thu, Aug 28, 2025 at 09:12:52 AM

Hey there Adventurers,

I hope you’re all doing well!

Apologies for this update being late on in the month - there’s plenty going on at Lucky Duck Games for me right now as I prepare for a much-needed holiday.

Nevertheless, I'm committed to bringing you an update every month, no matter what. 

So, Into The Godsgrave, where are we at? 

Let's dive in.
 

Additional Finished DTP Work

Oh boy, here we go - there’s a lot of work that’s almost ready to check off this month, and I’m excited for you to see as much of it as possible (without totally flooding this update, of course.)

What you see below is just a tiny sample of near-finalised DTP work that will probably only see minor changes between now and the game's arrival on your tables.

Base Game

To start things off, here's a preview of some of the prepared Map Tiles from the base game:

And here's a little look at some of the Plan Cards:
 

The next step for the base game will be moving on to the (many) punchboards, which most excitingly will involve the implementing of tokens and other smaller components.

Expansions

The team is already preparing Forgotten Song DTP content, which I’ll plan to share with you in the next update. 

However, you can take a sneak preview at a few of the Executor Cards now!

In addition, the Untold Stories expansion content will be next on the DTP to-do list, so anything ready there, I’ll also plan to share with you.

Class Packs

Both the Trickster and Noble Class Packs have passed through the DTP phase. You’ll get an idea of how they’ll look on your table in these pictures below! 

The Boxes

The team has been collaborating on the back of the box over the last few weeks, discussing everything from which components to showcase, their 3D visualisations, and of course the ‘blurb’ that will invite you Into The Godsgrave in just a few sentences.

We’re now awaiting input from our manufacturing partners regarding box sizes, as well as for them to implement the latest round of feedback regarding vac trays, miniature trays, and miniature modifications for the Base Game. 

After that, we’ll be almost ready to move on to the Forgotten Song and Untold Stories boxes.

Rulebooks

As I mentioned in the last update, rulebooks are some of the last things to go through the DTP phase, however, work has been continuing here too!

And make no mistake, the Base Game rulebook is BEEFY. The current version currently has 46 pages of content - just to give you an idea of the scope of work going on. That’s not just rules, but explanations of icons, appendixes, and more!

Proofreading is currently in progress for the Forgotten Song and Class Packs, and there are a few minor changes to make with the Base Game rulebook. Once we receive feedback from our proofreaders, we’ll be able to implement necessary changes and finalize these rulebooks.

The team is also currently working on the last rule elements from the Untold Stories Stretch Goal content, which we’ll plan to share upon completion.

A Look at App Development

Here’s a quick look at how app development has evolved over the last few week, with 4 screens showing off the refined user interface.

The team has completed the setup of the new UI (User Interface) environment, including a uniform framework for all panels. In addition, simple components like display text, enemy panels and story panels are already finding their way into the app. As you’ll see, these screens are all works in progress, but the app’s ‘final form’ is certainly coming together.

The app’s UI will be finalized once final visual assets are delivered across all boxes.

Of course, even before then, the team will be conducting both internal and then external app-enabled gameplay tests.

Localization

I don’t have much information to give you here but I have been told that we’re almost at the point where we can begin localizing certain components, with our French and Spanish translators getting involved!

In future updates, I plan to share sneak peeks at some of this content.

Class Pack Previews

In case you missed them, I’ve been creating a fortnightly series covering some of the classes you can be when you play Into The Godsgrave, speaking with the games Writer/Developer, Grzegorz Nowak, and Designer/Developer, Grzegorz Szczepański.

You can find the first 2 episodes here:

Keep your eyes peeled for the third episode coming out tomorrow.

Moving Forwards - The Timeline

I realised after some scanning that I hadn’t shared a timeline with you all in a while, so I thought now would be a good time to share where we’re at.

Right now, manufacturing has only commenced with the miniatures, with the bulk of manufacturing planning to commence once we’ve hit the end of the DTP phase.

The miniature manufacturing has, admittedly, taken longer than we anticipated, but this is in order to preserve the look and scale of the minis proposed in the initial campaign.

(The Ultimate Trial’s Maalbog, for example, definitely deserves to be as epic as we envisioned!)

The adjustments and corrections will continue over the coming weeks (after some delays on our manufacturer’s end) and, once finalized, we’ll be able to prepare the molds needed for mass production.

Similarly, only once components are checked off, they can be implemented within the app, as icons are corrected, and synced across 500+ cards, hex tiles, player boards and so on.

As you’ve seen, the DTP phase is ongoing, with the base game just about wrapping up. The expansion content is smaller in scale, so we plan to finish the remaining parts of this crucial stage around the middle of Q4.

Following that, we’ll need to:

1) Make final file checks
2) Order final digital samples
3) Check and fix digital samples
4) Order new samples OR approve virtually (depending on corrections)

It should be said that the scale of this game is a first for us in terms of manufacturing, and it’s rare for a game of this size to be approved from the first digital sample.

With all of the above in mind, we anticipate that manufacturing of the final product will commence at the beginning of Q1 2026, with shipping commencing immediately following production, which we estimate will be in April - accounting for the Chinese New Year in the middle.

We know that this news will come as a disappointment for those of you wanting to get Into The Godsgrave to the table sooner. Whatever way you approach it, a delay is a delay, and even though it is with our best intentions in mind - to not sacrifice any quality of the game we promised - we know delays suck, and for that, we're really sorry.

Our aim remains to deliver a game that is worth the wait, however, with miniatures that look the part, a polished app, and a tabletop experience that looks phenomenal, and plays even better.

It’s not news I wanted to deliver, and I’ll be in the comments - as always - to answer questions and concerns that you may have.

Cheers,
Ben @ LDG

Stretch Goal Development = DONE (Plus, a look at near finalised cards)
8 months ago – Mon, Jul 28, 2025 at 10:11:41 AM

Hey there Adventurers,

After last month’s chonky update, this one is going to be more to the point with important milestones being checked off. We’re marching on towards the end of this campaign!

Let’s dive in:

Manufacturing Updates

In the last update, I mentioned that mini production moulding was scheduled to begin after proposed changes from the factory. 

I was hoping to have something physical to share on this front, however the final sizes of the minis are still being configured with our production partner. We’re now waiting for a response on their end.

It’s important to note that these are NOT being redesigned - it’s just to ensure appropriate scale on the tabletop.

Game Development Continues

Stretch Goal development is now wrapped up! All physical components are now finalized from a development standpoint and can enter the DTP phase - more on that below.

The only thing still to write is the final scenario for The Forgotten Song expansion, which will wrap up writing across the entirety of Into The Godsgrave.

In the meantime, proofreading is already underway for the rest of the Godsgrave universe, with typo hunters reading through thousands upon thousands of words to ensure everything makes sense and is grammatically correct.

The Global Godsgrave

As part of the Into The Godsgrave campaign, we’re bringing the game to both a French and Spanish audience with fully localized versions of the game.

As soon as the aforementioned files have been finalized, they’ll be passed over to our localization teams. 

French is being handled by the French division of Lucky Duck Games, so moving forwards, I’ll have full visibility on translation progress. 

Spanish is being handled by an external partner, who will be working to the same timeline as the French team, however I won’t have quite the same visibility here. Nevertheless, I’ll do my best to keep you in the loop regarding translation progress.

The DTP Phase Continues…

I previously mentioned that for the DTP phase, we were finalising assets before sending them off to the factory. 

Here’s the progress on that front:

We’re in the middle of finalising assets for the base game. Cards are just about there, and you can see a few examples below.

These still require some tweaks and feedback, but what you see here is a very good representation of the final version. 

Since rulebooks are some of the last things to check off in the DTP phase, I don’t currently have any PDFs to share, however the rulebook for Stretch Goal content is underway, and Ultimate Trial rules are in the final stages of proofreading.

As part of this phase, the team has almost finished finalizing the wording and terminology across cards, instructions, stretch goals, and add-ons as mentioned in the previous update.

With the current rate of progress, DTP across all fronts should be finished by the end of August. 

For the next update, I should also have finished Class Pack DTPs to share with you, so you can see what these exciting classes will look like on the table.

If I have any additional assets to share with you, I obviously will.

Again, following finalisation of all of the above, files will be sent across to localization teams and work will begin on creating translated versions. 

Keep in mind that this process will be a lot quicker, since the overall layout of text-heavy components like cards and the rulebook will already have been finalized.

Designing The Box

The team is currently checking the wording on all text on boxes - from the stuff you notice, to all the blurb at the bottom of the box many of us probably don’t even read.

In addition, the box graphics are in progress - a fine art of creating the perfect ‘game in progress’ to capture the feeling of Into The Godsgrave to anyone who picks the box up.

(Again, once the final design has been confirmed, I can share this with you.)

App Development Continues

With all this progress on finalising the physical components, progress on the app will start to ramp up.

Currently the app is going through some initial fixes, with new features being added in, as well as UX and UI polishing. This new build should be ready to try out in the next month for additional playthrough testing with our team.

Following initial testing, it’ll be time to implement the remaining scenarios, overseen by Grzegorz Nowak and Wojciech Grajkowski. 

Meet The Team - And The Classes!

I recently jumped on a call with Grzegorz Nowak and Grzegorz Szczepański to discuss in more detail the various classes you can become on your adventure.

Remember, there are up to 7 classes to choose from, depending on your Pledge Level:

Warden
Smuggler
Infiltrator 
Relictor
Executor (Forgotten Song)
Noble (Class Pack)
Trickster (Class Pack)

To help you start getting a better feel for each class - and maybe even help you choose your class depending on your playstyle, I’ve edited our call into short, but sweet, segments.

Check out the first one here, covering the Warden:

 Gen Con

A little warning in advance that for the 31st July - 3rd August, I’ll be heading to Gen Con to join the US Lucky Duck Games team, where I’ll be demoing some of the latest games and chatting about what’s in the pipeline for us.

While this is an awesome thing, it does mean I’ll be less active online for the duration, so apologies in advance if it takes me a little longer to get back to you.

Hopefully I’ll get to meet some of you there!

That’s all for now. Any questions or comments, let me know.

Thanks guys,
Ben @ Lucky Duck Games

DTPs, Decks & Other Developments
9 months ago – Mon, Jun 30, 2025 at 09:36:17 AM

Hey there backers,

Thanks for your patience waiting for this update. It’s been a very busy month for us, and there’s plenty that I can share with you.

So let’s get to it:

What’s happened since the last update?

Manufacturing is scheduled to begin soon. One of the first parts of that is the mini production moulding phase, where we’re just waiting on proposed changes from the manufacturer before moving forwards.

Additionally, we’re also in the DTP phase (Desktop Publishing) where we finalise all assets before sending them off to the factory. This is where we’ll lock in the final designs of cards for each class.

Here’s a little look at some of the assets that have already been ‘DTP’d…’

Meet The Noble

"Do you know who I am…?”

Here’s a reminder of the Noble class background:

Nobles do not often join mercenary companies, and when they do, it is for very different reasons. In these cases, most often, they serve as the team's leader or spokesman. They are charismatic and self-confident, but also trained in combat. 

Mechanically, the Noble class is based on Renown Tokens, the number of which determines the level of Renown - the higher the Renown, the more powerful cards effects may be activated. Many Noble cards are also focused on helping other nearby heroes - this is why this character works great in larger teams.

Meet The Trickster

“I’m counting on you…”

Here’s a reminder of the Trickster class background:

Surviving on the streets is not an easy task. It requires a lot of cunning and common sense. Tricksters are truly children of the city, preferring to use their sharp tongues and skillful fingers instead of brute force. They earn coins by playing dice and cards, cheating the gullible people and, occasionally, stealing. Their innate cleverness, however, earns them a rank amongst mercenary groups, where the Trickster plays a supporting role as a flexible jack of all trades.

The Trickster’s approach to many situations is “Maybe I’ll get lucky…” If that sounds like your kind of playstyle, then the Trickster might be for you! 

When you see Luck on a Trickster’s card, it means: 

Whenever you play or trigger this card, you can make a Luck check to gain additional benefit”. (See the Avoiding Attention card below as an example!) 

The Trickster takes 6 Luck tokens at the start of the game - 4 with successes on their reverse side, and 2 with bust. To perform a Luck check, you’ll flip your tokens one by one, and as long as you don’t flip 2 bust tokens (and go bust!) you’ll be able to continue flipping tokens.

If you don’t go bust, you receive additional benefits from playing or triggering the card. The number of success Luck tokens flipped is important for the strength of the effect.

However, if you bust, flipping both bust tokens, you don’t receive any benefits from the Luck keyword. Additionally, if the card says “if you bust (...)”, you have to apply a negative effect! 

Will luck be on your side? Only time will tell…

Want to learn a little more about the Trickster and the Noble? Let us know in the comments if you’d like an interview with the designers, who can further explain the mechanics of each class, and why you might want to choose them as you answer the call to adventure.

A Sneak Peek At A Redesigned Component

What’s this? A new player dial design for The Untold Stories Stretch Goal box.

Following design feedback and suggestions from Grzegorz Szczepański and Grzegorz Nowak, this new version was created by Natalia Rachowska, who also happens to be working on the UX/UI for the app, with art direction from Jakub Fajtanowski.

The team went through two iterations before settling on the version you see here, in the end opting for smaller icons for wounds and health, but they’re much clearer now. 

The overall shape was also refined to be a bit more elegant compared to the one shown during the campaign. (Pictured below for reference!)

What Else Has Been DTP’d?

Take a look below at a few other assets that have been finalised! 

Player Boards

See those pink lines? They show the cut lines where the printer will cut out the final printed board, ensuring the design is properly trimmed to the correct size and shape.

POV: You’re playing Into The Godsgrave as The Trickster.

The Final  ̶B̶o̶s̶s̶  Box

Here’s something that doesn’t get talked about enough in the world of board game manufacturing - the fine art of fitting everything in the box.

When a game includes as many components as Into The Godsgrave, a good storage solution can’t be an afterthought. That’s why the team is investing time now ensuring that everything has a dedicated place in the box. And more importantly, that it’s as simple as possible to grab everything you need from the box and start playing.

Here’s a little more info on what this chonky box has to deal with:

• The box needs to be able to accommodate 380 SLEEVED cards.
• The box needs to be able to store 30 double-sided location hex tiles.
• The box needs to be able to hold 33 minis PLUS bosses.

In short, there’s a lot of junk in this trunk - in a good way.

The final box design is still under review, but once we have physical or digital samples, we’ll be sure to share them with you.

Getting More ‘Physical’ Things To Share

I know a few of you have mentioned your desire to see more ‘physical’ stuff, but this is the final step before a lot of that becomes reality.

Moving forwards, I’m hopeful that with every update will come new things to share, such as photos and videos from the factory, and up-close looks at miniatures, cards, the box, and so on.

Thanks for your patience in advance of all this.

What’s Next?

To give you an idea of what the team is working on right now, here’s a little list of what the top priorities are right now, and what you can expect to be checked off by this time next month:

1. The team are in the final stages of wording and terminology unification across cards, instructions, stretch goals, and add-ons. In other words, this will ensure consistency and clarity throughout the entire game, making the game easier to learn (and teach!)
    
2. We’re currently working on finalising the DTPs for the rulebooks for the Ultimate Trial and Stretch Goal content, meaning that Expansion Content Development is almost done! In the next update, we’ll hopefully be able to share these PDFs with you following proofreading and any last-minute testing and checks.
    
3. We’re approaching a key implementation phase of app development, with the implementation of text and scenarios, followed by extensive app-integrated playtesting. (As you saw in my previous update, Grzegorz Nowak has been doing the job of the app with the most recent rounds of playtesting!) 

That’s all for this update. Thanks again for your patience, and stay tuned for more updates coming your way soon.

Cheers,
Ben @ Lucky Duck Games