Dog Might Games: Custom Kingdom Death Gear Grids

Looking back through my posts, I realized I never actually uploaded these pictures.  Let's fix that!

Very early in our KDM career, I knew that the stock cardboard grids that come stock in the game were a pain.  If you look away for a SECOND, the gear cards spin and dance and rearrange themselves.  

I wanted a solution.

But I was picky.  There were some acrylic and laser cut ply options on the market, and 3D printable files around, but I wanted something a little more ... deserving ... of the great title that KDM is.

At PAX Unplugged 2017, I stopped in at the Dog Might Games booth and struck up a conversation with someone that I would later know as Zoey.  

I had a particular request - Gear Grid for Kingdom Death.  She politely pointed me at some of the other card and table organizers they had in stock, and I kept shaking my head.  We had an otherwise great chat, and Mrs. Zoxe found a prototype dice box for sale from their PAX stock.  And, after a return trip or two we caught up with Konas, one of the founders at DMG.

I wrote up my idea, did some sketches in MS Paint, and sat down with real cards and took some dimensions.  They were receptive to the idea of a custom commission, but wary because a) the cost would be spendy and b) they were really (super mega) busy.  I think maybe I had to convince them that I was serious. :)

We traded emails back and forth over the coming months, and this past September, they were able to work me into production.  

KDM Gear Card being measured; yes, I broke out the calipers.

With so much BoRo at risk, they cut a prototype and shipped it to me.  I loved it, and brought it back to them at GenCon 2018 with final tweaks.

Unboxing.

All four player stations in a big row.

The first words from the KDM manual included as an engraving:  "Once upon a time there was a place of carved stone faces."  (Harder to read in the glare than it is in person).

Side view showing magnets for future Component Collector integration.  Each pocket is sized to take a single 2x2 gear card and is angled a bit for easier readability.

And they felted the back.  Super cool.

This was a super splurge on my part but they came out wonderfully.  And you might think that it's a lot to spend for a single game title (you'd be right), but they do have uses beyond KDM.  One or two on the table make a wonderful collection point for tokens in almost any game.

I didn't post these pictures initially because I didn't know if DMG was interested in building more, considering all the other projects they have going at once.  Konas later said they'd build more if people are interested, and for my part I don't claim any particular ownership over "my" design.  It was a great collaboration, and if DMG can put a few more on the street, it's fine by me!

Dog Might was fantastic to work with.  I've gotten to know the gang a lot better through their forum and am happy to see their business continue to grow.  Since that first PAX, we've added several other DMG pieces to our table and I'm happy with them all.  But the real showcase are my Gear Grids.