DEAR CUBYRIANS,

The Mad Vizier, displaying his typical benevolence and insight into the needs of his people, decreed that a New Year should arrive to replace the previous one. It has done so. Likewise, he commanded the winter to cease, and citizens will note that in some places on certain days it has gotten marginally warmer. A parade will be held in two months time to celebrate the Vizier's total victory over time and the seasons.

Tabletop Gaming Live

Cubyria's first appearance this year will be this weekend, 14-15 February at Tabletop Gaming Live, at Doncaster Racecourse, South Yorkshire. We'll be offering our usual demos, and James will take part in a panel discussion called "So You Want to Make a Game?" at 12:45 Sunday. This is the first time he's been asked to speak publicly as a game designer and he's thrilled. He decided for this particular appearance not to dress up as the Mad Vizier.

As always, if you're at the event, stop by and say hi!

Superfans / Court Alchemists

In a special ceremony that occurred in the Vizier's mind, the Superfans were renamed the 'Court Alchemists,' because it fit the theme and sounded cooler. In case you missed it, the Court Alchemists are a corps of dedicated fans who were given the complete game in digital form, to print themselves and add to our marketing efforts by playing and demoing the game wherever they choose. They are really stepping up!

And the inimitable Geoff created this video, which has helped guide the direction of our final Kickstarter video (click to view; I can't send video in the newsletter...):

If you'd like to be a Court Alchemist, fill out the form here and we'll get back to you! Or if you're merely curious, follow our discussions on Discord.

Dungeon Alchemist

A lot of alchemists around here...

We're proud to announce that we were generously offered a free commercial license from Dungeon Alchemist to create graphics for Cubyria!

Dungeon Alchemist is a software package for RPG players to create custom game maps. We discovered it by chance and knew immediately that it was the perfect design tool for the Room floors and game board. We reached out to them last year and have now redrawn all the graphics in the game. The old versions were cobbled together in Photoshop from a bunch of map-making clip art, and Dungeon Alchemist is an incredible upgrade. The Mad Vizier is mesmerized by the software and can often be found sketching out new room floors when he really ought to be doing other things...

Servants' Bath, old and new

Kitchen, old and new

Sunrise Balcony, old and new

Dungeon, old and new

The Brilliant Mechanism

Finally, after many iterations, our amazing Chief Engineer Keith has perfected the mechanism that will allow our flat room pieces to be snapped together into 3d shapes.

This has been a long, long journey.... we thought we'd cracked the problem in November, only to realize that we'd overlooked a fatal flaw - while that version connected beautifully, the pieces couldn't be disconnected without breaking them. We suddenly had visions of hundreds of emails from customers saying, "Uh, I accidentally connected the wrong pieces, now what do I do?"

So back to the drawing board... and finally, we've made it. The tests are perfect.

I'm not going include any pictures yet, because we think it may be patentable too! But in any case it's a major hurdle, finally crossed for good, and it unlocks the promise of the whole project - that we can get this game into your hands for a reasonable price. That whooshing sound you hear is my planet-spanning sigh of relief.

That's all we've got for now, but with the game design locked and the physical components nearly so, we'll soon be shifting into a heavy marketing phase. Watch this space!

Be well, and spread the word if you'd like to see Cubyria on your shelves. Find us on Facebook, Instagram, Reddit, Bluesky, Discord, and YouTube.

Until next time,

James

The Mad Vizier of Cubyria

THE NEWS FROM CUBYRIA

The Vizier's august presence recently graced a global forum where the world's elite joined to discuss economic policy. He caused a great stir with his address, which was entitled, "Just give us all your sh*t." "I want it," he said, 65 times over the course of his 2 1/2 hour speech. "Your land. Resources. Money. Whatever. If it's valuable, we should have it. Give it over." At present writing the Vizier's secretaries are cataloging the proceeds of this remarkable statement, which include a white whale in a tank from the Satrap of Mu and 8 sacks of turnips from an unspecified member of the Pangean royal family.

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CRIME DOCKET: Sergeant Stinson Gatz of the Cubyrian city constabulary reports that there has been a rash of thefts recently by criminal gangs who invite their victims onto boats for enjoyable afternoons trawling the bay of Cubyria for Marlin and Swordfish. During these outings they ask their victims for sensitive personal information such as where they bury their gold and which passwords they use when traversing the city. This practice is known as "Fishing."

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FASHION TRENDS: Desdemona Mercutio from the Cubyrian Society of Haberdashers splutters: 'Good gracious!... Did you see that dress? In this season? I wouldn't be caught dead in that. What on earth was she thinking?'

Component of the Month

The Sunrise Balcony. Does it always face East? Well, this is Cubyria, so I guess wherever you place it, that direction is East. If the Western Balcony faces the same way, just tell the Vizier this balcony is for for viewing the sunrise on the other side of the planet.