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.  

This Just In: Dog Might Component Collector

Straight from the box:  Component Collector in storage mode.

Once the recent cold snap lifted (I refuse to use the term 'Polar Vortex' ... oh damn, I just did), our USPS mail delivery resumed.  

I came home from work yesterday to find a greatly anticipated package on my doorstep:  Dog Might Games delivered my Component Collector Kickstarter pledge!  (And there was much rejoicing).

This was an interesting campaign.  Each backer was able to pick their wood species and tile layout from a long list of options.  My particular setup is a Bolivian Rosewood (BoRo) kit.  I chose one dragon sculpt to show, three Square tiles, two 'L' tiles, and two Counter tiles.  The tiles stack in a base that doubles as a personal rolling tray or another larger token tile, and once stored a leather strap keeps things together.

All of it is magnetized and smartly indexed to create a grid that clacks together with a satisfying 'schnock!' sound.  Once together, no small amount of table shenanigans will knock the tiles around.

3/4 View. 

Unpacked and gridded together.  I intentionally took this and the next picture partially in/out of the sun, so you can get an idea of the luster of the BoRo.  It's yummy.  I lucked out and get quite a bit of figure/character in my pieces.

Deployed with some Shadows of Brimstone bits.  For scale, most of these tokens are a little larger than a U.S. dime,and the dice are 'standardish' sized poly dice (also from Dog Might; their Bone Box from a previous campaign is shown above).

So far, I've just played around with these staged photos, but for token-heavy games like Shadows of Brimstone I'm looking forward to adding some sanity to our table.  I probably won't use the counter tiles all that much, but the dials simply lift out and the remaining recess will hold things fine.

Two CoCo tiles magnetically locked to the Dog Might Kingdom Death gear grids that I had done as a commission a few months ago.  I can continue to chain tiles to this "dashboard" as I see fit.  Super happy that we added the magnets, Konas.

Dog Might Games Wooden Dice

Yucatan Rosewood poly set in the photo booth.

It seems like a long time ago now, but I posted early in the blog about why I like wooden things.  There's really no substitute for one of our most basic resources.

Recently, I was lucky enough to be invited to take a "first peek" at some new gaming accessories from the Viking Warlords at Dog Might Games.  At the time, I was sworn to silence on the pending offerings, but now that the project is public I'm free to type away to my heart's content.

What's pictured are some cnc-carved wooden dice in Yucatan Rosewood with a green inlay.  My set were among the very first runs (I don't want to say 'prototypes' as the fit and finish on my set are very much production quality) and I'm proud to support the project.

They roll very well, though the YuRo is a little lighter (less dense) than an equivalently sized plastic set so the feel in the hand is a little different.  These will be mostly for display, but the D10s may get some use with Kingdom Death.  The D10s and D8 are my favorites with some great inlay work and nice sharp corners. 

After playing for years with plastic, the texture of wood is a welcome change.

DMG is now running production and will drop new dice to the page on Fridays.  Each set is unique, and there are a very wide variety of woods, inlays, weights/densities, and price points. 

On the windowsill, natural light.