Header
Three factors are affecting the Pledge Program.
Surveys
If you haven’t read the April update, please start there if you want the details of our recent surveys. These surveys were intended to give us a review of the games our customers wanted us to prioritize from our out-of-print catalog as well as the new designs and design proposals, and lead to a new leaner, faster path from selection to publication for boxed games. We’re in the process of getting the survey selections prioritized in terms of games that are going through graphics updates for new printings or are headed to development for design tweaks and test reviews, or, in the case of new game designs, how far along they are in the design work.
Pledge Program
The games listed in the Pledge Program are being leaned out to only those that are within two years of publication. This means they must be finished with design work and the steps of development we complete before playtesting begins. Previously, this was essentially the “A list.”
For reprint updates, this is usually soon after selection if the game is receiving only a graphics update. If more extensive updating is determined, e.g. some design tweaks or additional scenarios or optional rules are being added that need testing, then we have to get through those design and pre-test development steps before the game enters the Pledge Program.
So, what happened to all the “B list” games? They are still present in design and development queues, waiting for their turns with their respective designers and developers.
The GOSS series is fully intact. Over the Rhine is set to enter playtesting as soon as Doug finishes the post-testing development work on the Campaigns in Europe expansion kit. Expect to see him at CSW Expo and WBC this summer with Over the Rhine in test play. On the design side, Joe is working on the North Africa trio starting with the Tobruk Battles design; because this involves some tweaks to the GOSS design to simulate the differences in desert warfare, more time is going into the next design (and it cannot move forward until Doug finishes Over the Rhine).
War in Europe is still forthcoming. We are having a design update conference in Q2 2025 to determine what the design update will involve. From there, we will likely have some “show and tell” presentations and discussions with attendees at the summer and fall game conventions to gather feedback. Thus, the design update is likely to get started in 2026 with full play tests starting in 2027.
Once we have the new Decision Games website launched, I’ll post individual game updates more frequently in the News area of the Pledge Program and review the status/progress of games in the design and pre-test development stages.
Website Updates
The Decision Games website update has been going on for a year and is nearly ready. I am disappointed in the delays. I stepped in to help resolve a show-stopper issue over the past two months, so we are down to the final tweaks. This and the survey update were written for the new website, so this may be one of the first things you are reading here.
We also recently moved the Vassal modules to a new home on third party servers; this will be much easier for users to access and download outside of our previous shop and site areas.
Send you feedback and questions about the Pledge Program to Doc at doccummins@decisiongames.com.