Hey all you Sentinels fans!

Hey, folks. Things just got a little emotional in the playtester forum (the last deck of this print run was just completed), and I had to pop over here to say something important.

Thank you. Thank you all.

Adam and I had a dream about this game and these characters about a year and a half ago. In that short amount of time, we crafted a Multiverse, filled it with characters and locations, and then built a game around it. Paul saw the game and believed so much in our vision that he shouldered a TON of work to make us more than a couple of goofy guys with a game on index cards and actually make this dream a reality. A few months passed - we all worked our asses off. Paul had arrived like a hero punching through a brick wall - he came up with the name of the game itself (Adam and I were entirely stumped there!), made a giant business plan materialize as if it were nothing, and established an LLC with less difficulty than I have when I pay my bills. But then, it became grindstone times. I began writing card mechanics, backstories, and flavor text like there was no tomorrow, Adam slammed out 300 arts (as we call them around here) in 3 months, and Paul found a printer and started setting up all of the contacts and plans we’d need to make it to conventions and have a place to house the game. We sought traditional funding and sold off 10% of the company to raise the money to do the first print run, and then blew all that money on said print run. Only a few months later, we arrived at Gen Con exhausted, entirely broke (some things never change), and nervous as all hell. Sure, we were excited, and we knew we had a game that we loved, but we really had no clear expectations for that convention. Do well? That would be nice. Sell some of the giant pile of games we had transported to Indianapolis in the rental truck? Probably a good idea. Make enough money to put gas in the truck for the drive down? Certainly necessary.

Well, we did our set up, hung up our flimsy banners on their PVC pipe banner stands that Paul and I had made in my garage, and waited for the hall to open. Then, the miraculous happened. By the end of the first hour of the first day, we had people playing demos of our game in all three demo spots we’d set up. Three demos! AND THEY WERE HAVING FUN! AND THEN THEY BOUGHT THE GAME! People were buying Sentinels of the Multiverse because they loved it so much! I mean, we wouldn’t have gone to all this trouble if we didn’t think it would work, but it was still mind-blowing. We were SWAMPED every day as more and more people came to our tiny little booth in the back of that giant hall. We ran countless demos, sold stacks and stacks of games, and wore ourselves ragged every day. It. Was. AWESOME.

Now, here we are ten months later, and that game we were selling at Gen Con last year? It’s gone. We don’t have any more copies. They all sold. We have a few damaged copies left, sure, but those hardly count. We’ve successfully completed one major expansion, and in just 2 months, we’ll have another expansion AND a reprint of the core game. Friends, I’m not going to lie here, I’m in tears at my keyboard typing this, as I don’t ever take the time to sit back and realize what a huge deal this is. None of us do. The three of us spend all our time caught up in the minutia of making the day to day work. Packing and shipping, making card templates, coming up with new stuff, writing new characters, creating ads for magazines and websites, more packing and shipping, building office space and shelving in our warehouse - all good and excellent things. But I know that I, for one, have not sat down and really thought about what’s happening here for over a year.

So, why am I writing this huge ridiculous post? I’m really not sure. It just sort of hit me, and I needed to talk to someone, and I wanted all of you to know just how much this means to me. To us. To Greater Than Games. Christopher, Adam, and Paul are different people today than we were a year ago, and it’s because of YOU.

Thank you. Thank you for believing in our dream. Our Multiverse. For giving Adam the chance to hone his already impressive art skills and produce more excellent art. For giving Paul the opportunity to run a gaming company that has big plans and follows through with them. For giving me the opportunity to take these characters through more adventures and to expand on who they are. The characters of Sentinels of the Multiverse are all a big part of who we are now, and you made it possible for them to grow.

So, I say it again, because I can never say it enough. Thank you.

• Christopher Badell
  06/06/2012

Glad I could be the first to reply to this.

I’m not at all surprised the game did so well; the mechanics are solid and well-thought-out (even if some of the wordings are inconsistent), the characters are unique, varied, and MOSTLY balanced (Haka’s pretty Underpowered, but that’s 1/15), and the universe is creative and inviting. My friends and I play this every chance we get, and we never get bored of it for more than a day or two at a time.

So, thank YOU for making the brilliant masterpiece of a game that is Sentinels, and please never stop. Ever.

You’re welcome and THANK YOU.

(And thanks for giving me a chance to do this: http://dft.ba/-2MyA)

I know this sounds kind of trite, but I say “No Chris, thank you.” GtG has been nothing but awesome to us, and SotM has become our favorite game to play. Literally, a game night hasn’t passed without a game of SotM since I bought the original. With Rook City and Infernal Relics, it just keeps getting better and better. I love it; my friends love it; heck, even my mom loves it. When Infernal Relics hit kickstarter, I told my buddies, and within 24 hours, 3 of my friends ordered at the $105 level. Two of those people don’t even own any other board/card games, (soon) only SotM.

I’m glad you’re appreciative of our support, and I’m glad you’re appreciative of how things have turned out for you, but it’s all due to how awesome a game you guys have made. Keep up the fantastically, superbly awesome work

Thank you Chris, and please pass on the thanks to Paul and Adam from all of us. You three are an absolute inspiration and I can safely say that I am up for whatever in this multiverse you guys want to do next. I am greatly looking forward to Infernal Relics, and everything else that is to come out of >Games in the future.

Much like the others, it’s you we should thank.

Thank you, Christopher. Thank you, Adam. Thank you, Paul.

My friend introduced the game to me about a month before Rook City came out, and I was enthralled almost immediately. I had ordered my own copy and pre-ordered RC that night. I’ve played with friends and family. I’ve played on my own on occasion. The way that each game is a story of its own and the characters seem to evolve every time I play just has this amazing effect on me.

I’ve gotten a lot of joy out of this game. Something about it just resonated with me so much. The game, as well as the story of how it came to be, has inspired me to try walking down a similar path to the one you three did.

Again, thank you. For making such an amazing game. Such amazing characters. Such an amazing experience. For sticking to making something that you enjoy and want to make. For doing what you’re passionate about. For inspiring me.

I’m looking forward to the future of the game and GtG. I’ll be supporting you the whole way.

That’s another thing I meant to bring up. I’ve never found a game that everyone I play with enjoys AND I enjoy playing it solo. I still PREFER to play with friends, but it’s a blast, even solo!

I’ll add my thanks to the pile. You’ve created a perfect blend of mechanics and theme that I plan to play for years to come. Please accept my money.

You said it to me before, I’ll parrot it back at you all again

“So, thank you. You’re awesome. Keep up the good work.”

Now shut up and take my money sirs.

We think you guys are pretty great too!

Thanks all around.

Can I say both: “no, thank you” and “you’re welcome” =)

Keep on keeping on! Both the creators and the community have come together to make something amazing thrive and grow.

Yup, I agree with everything said so far.

My game group and I thorough enjoyed this game. In fact, it is the game that hits the table most often nowadays. We had to bar it from the table to prevent a potential burn-out.

Thank you, GtG.

You’re very welcome, Christopher. I’ll continue the trend: Thanks to you, Adam, and Paul (and everyone who has supported you three over the past year) for being willing to do this. It’s provided a lot of people with fun entertainment and wonderful memories. Best wishes for continued success!

Pretty much anything I could say at this point would be parroting what someone else has said. You guys have done a phenomenal job, not just at creating a game, but at creating a community and a culture. That doesn’t happen on its own (usually). No one would care about this post if just the game were good; it’s the heart of your company that makes people care. Keep up the good work.

Congratulations on finding a largely untapped market (not a lot of comic superhero themed board/card games around that aren’t minis-based or actual RPGs) and crushing it. That’s the American Dream right there. Nice to see it still pays off occasionally.

And hey – we get this awesome game to play, so it’s completely win-win!

I second everything that was said before me.

Who knew a simple coin flip would lead me to buying such an incredible game? I went off and bought the game without even hearing about until a walked inside the store that day. Had just started playing Champions Online so I was on a big super hero kick at the time, so when I saw Sentinels of the Multiverse sitting there it made me really interested. As I continued to browse around I kept thinking about it and how good it could be. Before my buddies and myself were about to leave I decided to flip a good ol’ trusty quarter (which I borrowed from a friend since I don’t usually carry change on me) and the rest became history. So I really appreciate all the hard work you guys put into it and I hope there will be a expansion in the company that would become a comic book industy aswell.

Agree with all of the above posts. Thank you guys for making this game and being such a great company to work with. I was so upset with myself last year for not getting to your booth sooner(I did not get there until the end of Sunday when my game budget had already been depleted). Luckily I found a copy locally and have been playing it ever since. No game in my collection has seen the # of plays SOTM has received. I teach everyone and you know what? I can’t wait to teach even more.

You guys are great! And I feel extremely fortunate that I have been able to play this game from it’s start. Thank you for all you do and keep it up!!! I know I cannot wait to see what else you have planned.

I just have to chime in and agree with the above posters as well. I await with bated breath the enhanced edition and the new expansion in August, as well as projects Gold, Silver, and Tungsten.

And to the other forumites I just want to say, don’t sell yourselves short as well. As a fanbase we do what we can for the sake of the game. I find it a shame that I can’t meet the group in Indianapolis, living away from the area, but you should feel proud of yourselves because Chris, Adam, and Paul did not get this far on their own. You supported them, some from day one. So feel proud, because you are an important element of their success.

Exactly this. All of this. We need to have a SotM con just so I can high-five and fist-bump each and every last one of you.

that is amazing

I feel so good about supporting the kickstarter now (I’m a new player)!

If you make it in East Kansas or West Missouri and i’ll totally attend, maybe even the southern part of Nebraska. Now if you were to do that and it takes place somewhere you could always offer to carpool there… I’ll even toss gas money at you.

Sounds like a fun weekend… When is it?

I’ve chaired a con before, worked my behind off at plenty of others, and my summer looks clear next year.

Just sayin’.

Going to GenCon?

Going to GenCon?

Alas, no. This year we’re doing a lot of work on the house and yard, which is eating up all our travel and entertainment fund.
The next expansion ought to have an “Old House” environment. It will need several copies of a card that goes something like:

“Contractor discovers ‘something interesting’. Lose 1 HP, destroy 1 on-going, discard 1 card, and do not use 1 power this turn.”

What sort of con? How big? In what geographic locations would you be willing to attend/chair in the future?

Dude, thank you for selling me on the game at PAX, winning out over dozens of other really well made and beautifully illustrated games I ALMOST bought.

Thanks for the thanks, but I’m pretty sure we’re even at the very least. You guys made a game so fun that my wife, daughter and I regularly lay on the floor with your cards between us, having multiple family fun game nights of face-to-face interaction and enjoyment. That’s a pretty big deal in today’s world. Not to mention the fact that making all the accessories for your game has acted as a needed creative outlet for me, which I’d been missing since I stopped making WoW vids. The whole thing has felt like a super fun, semi-open sourced, community-based creative effort and you fellas have been wonderful. Please keep it up, because I’m not ready for it to end yet.

I know I’ve just recently joined this community and got my copy of the core game but already it has become a classic among my friends and I. This is an amazing game beyond the great art, story, and mechanics but because I get to actually work with my friends instead of work against them. Thank you for making this game that is contributing to the close bond that I share with my friends and my brother. I don’t even leave the game on a shelf anymore it stays in the car just in case we have to feed our addiction at that very moment. Everyone I’ve introduced the game to loves it and wants to play more. We are all very excited to August as we will get both Rook City and Infernal Relics as part of our pledge level for the kickstarter. Hell I’ve found myself on multiple occasions discussing strategies with my friends and brother on how to best handle a certain villain in a certain environment. I’m just a player, a new one at that, and I can see how my thoughts are being consumed by this. I can only imagine as the creators how much of your thought processes are taken up. But I’m rambling. I just want to sincerely thank you to you, Adam and Paul but also to this community that is open, knowledgeable and a joy to follow and be a part of.

SotMCon in East Kansas?

YES PLEASE

Gardner, if at all possible =3

One last wish: that you are able to actually make a living off of this sometime. Hopefully soon.

Christopher, you guys deserve all the thanks. You all do a lot of hard work for us, and we’re so thankful. This game has actually gotten me into tabletop gaming, a world I thought I’d never have the desire to go. I’ve made the best purchases of my life on SotM. It’s really something special. I’m glad I was there at the start (Gen Con), and I’ll be here until the end, hopefully.

This has become one of my favorite games as well and like Spiff I’ve also been creative, making templates for the cards that I’ve probably spent weeks making and fine tuning. And because the decks are all seperate it allows for many additions to the game as well as custom additions. This game is pretty much the only one I’ve been playing each week with my gaming group and each expansion adds even more fun and variety.

Thank YOU Chris. It’s all been said but I still wanted to add my thanks (and congratulations!) to you, Adam, and Paul for creating such an intensely enjoyable game experience!! My family/friends and I have had a blast these past 5 months playing this game and wondering about the stories and comics behind it all. Needless to say, I am really looking forward to the web comic and expansion coming out later this year!!!

I put this game on my wishlist for Christmas when The Escapist mentioned it in an article. The folks were kind enough to have it under the tree for me come Christmas day, and within the week I was informed that the store I worked at for four years (my first and only job) was closing and I was going to be laid off. I was crushed. I called up two good friends and told them I just needed to do something fun and wanted to play my new game. We got together, ordered some pizza, and attempted to thwart Baron Blade’s ambitions of moon manipulation in Megalopolis with the powerhouse team of Tempest, Bunker, and Fanatic.

We won, and my spirits were lifted. I shook off the shock of losing my job, and had a new one within two weeks.

Throughout two expansions worth of new characters, those three heroes are still our respective favorites. M’kk Dall’ton will always be remembered as a hero that not only bested the beardiest of big bads for me, but also made the worst day ever end on a note of happiness with my friends. I play Sentinels with no less than three people at least two times a week. Usually more.

Thank you. I hope to tell the three of you that in person someday. If you’re ever close to the Topeka area, I’ll be sure to round up my Sentinels group and show you the support you have in the Kansas capital.

Dammit!!! I’ve only been a SotM owner for a month but I had to create an account just to tell you that your creation has brought me hours of joy and to thank you for that.

I also wrote SotM a love letter at BGG: “My 6 Point Progression to Total Fanboyism: An Honest Review of my SotM Experience by a Late Adopter”

I haven’t been this rabid in quite some time. Thanks for your creativity, for your originality, for believing it could work and for taking a risk.

Thank you Christopher, Paul and Adam for creating such a fantastic game. You guys are geniuses, to create a game which stands at the top of my card game ranks and bring such a marvelous community and in such little time is just mind blowing. Thank you guys so much and please keep coming out with more expansion and let your imaginations run wild. I can’t wait to see what you guys have up your sleeves next time!

A satisfied customer and supporter.

On an unrelated note, may I ask where the username Dryden comes from? I’m just curious because I used to live on Dryden Rd.

Oh it’s from an animated series named Escaflowne, but yeah I also heard that befor from someone living in Canada. Really interesting

I’m a BGGer at heart, and usually post my thoughts there, but I am more involved here since the play tester option somehow ended up on my kickstarter pledge.

I learned about Sentinels from a post by Frank Branham. I heard about him from stumbling across pictures of his Battle Beyond Space prototype and he just happened to live in the greater Atlanta area. He wasn’t highly impressed by it but one of the people he gamed with, Richard Launius, did and that was all it took for me. I’ve enjoyed many of Richard’s games and have enjoyed playing games with him at his game days or Atlanta gamefest, although you never know if you played the game by the rules as written.

So, long convoluted story short, I only bought Sentinels through a chain of bizarre coincidences and the fact that I respect a designer who liked it. It makes me sad thinking of what minor events could have transpired for me to miss it. But I didn’t and now I’m willing to pay to playtest this game because I enjoy it that much and have that much faith in it. I’ve even written reviews for both it and Rook City on BGG.

I have since moved to California and I’m introducing it around as nobody seemed to have heard of it in NorCal. If you ever need assistance in West Coast promotion let me now. I hate being a fanboy with any game, but I am with Sentinels.

My hat is off to all of you.

Welcome to the club!

Northern CA, eh? Which part, if you don’t mind me asking? I used to live in San Mateo for a short time.

Sacramento, but I originally grew up the tiny town of Lodi. San Mateo was the city we went through on our way to San Francisco. ;D

I currently work in San Mateo, live in the East Bay.

I’m no stranger to board games, since I work at (and practically live in) a board game store most of the time. What I can say is that this game is, honestly, truly awesome. You guys have put so much of yourselves into this game and it shows. I’m going to jump on the bandwagon here and say that we should be thanking YOU, not the other way around.

I cannot wait to see what’s in store for us next!

@Dryden

Escaflowne is awesome! I originally watched a fansubbed version in the late '90s and am sad that I can’t find that version anywhere (the official subtitles on the American released version seem weird to me now )

Oh man yeah it was an awesome series. I’m waiting on the remake for Berserk. I think the first movie might be out there some where in the web but it looks awesome.

Yup, I’m the same way with Ranma 1/2, Escaflowne, Berserk, El-Hazard, Rurouni Kenshin, and probably half a dozen others. Kenshin in particular bothered me when they translated Hitokiri as “Manslayer”; drove me nuts. I managed to find a copy of the fansubs burned to DVDs.

Me too! A friend of mine has the manga, and he’s read a good chunk of it, so we’re curious how much further the remake will go. The original ended at such a dark point in the story, we’re curious to see where the new one will go. Do you know, are they totally rebooting, or picking up where they left off?

I wish someday they’d finish Kenshin (fill in the gaps between end of TV series and finale), but they went so far afield with the whole Christian champion guy (not in the manga) that I dunno if they’d ever be able to bring it back and do Enishi right, but they did a good job with the OAVs and finale.

It’s a total reboot starting back from the Golden Age Arc. I read the manga as well and from online forms I found that this new Beserk will follow the manga a lot more than the classic animated series did. Look for the trailer online you can easily find it since it showed in theaters in Japan earlier this year.

Thanks again Chris, Adam and Paul for sharing your dreams with all of us and making such an awesome game.