The much anticipated Legacy game of designer, Rob Daviau, is finally headed to the presses. And this time it’s for real.
The prolific designer took to his Twitter account last Wednesday to share the milestone:
For those of you who picked Jan 20, 2016 as the day I delivered Seafall to the publisher, please collect your prize. Pencils down!
— Rob Daviau, Gamer (@robdaviaugamer) January 21, 2016
Announced initially at the end of 2013, with release plans in Essen 2014, the follow-up to the popular Risk: Legacy was met with setback after setback, leading to a three year delay. Daviau often attributed the delays to his own inexperience, realizing he may have underestimated the amount of work and playtesting it would take to build a Legacy game from scratch.
Seafall is finally setting sail in 2016
Seafall’s spiritual predecessor, Risk: Legacy, was published by Hasbro in 2011. It was a first in the industry, revolutionizing the hobby; challenging the belief that games had to be kept in mint condition. Initially met with skepticism, Risk: Legacy eventually crept up board game rankings as its popularity grew. Daviau then announced Seafall two years later to everyone’s rejoicing. But three years after that initial announcement and with little to no news, there were rumors that the game had gone vaporware. The eventual release of Pandemic: Legacy in 2015, under a considerably shorter development time, only fanned the flames of the rumor mill further.
Daviau believes they may have jumped the gun announcing Seafall way too early in 2013
With Daviau’s recent announcement, fans can now rest assured that it is only a matter of time (and publication logistics) before they can get their hands on Seafall. Daviau has partnered with Plaid Hat Games, publisher of popular games like Dead of Winter, Mice and Mystics, and Summoner Wars, to bring Seafall to stores.
The game is targeted to be released by GenCon 2016, but with the tight timelines (and the approaching Chinese New Year which puts all printing factories in China on holiday), it’s more likely to be an Essen 2016, or early 2017 release.
Seafall underwent extensive playtesting. Pictured here are designer, Rob Daviau (center), and Isaac Vega (left) and Colby Dauch (right) of Plaid Hat Games
One of the hundreds (no kidding) of prototypes that Rob Daviau made from scratch during the playtesting of Seafall. Daviau is a purist who believes in hands-on playtesting.
A mock-up box of Seafall during the 2015 GAMA Trade Show. If all goes well, we should have these on our shelves by the end of 2016 as well.
Seafall is a boardgame that utilizes the Legacy system popularized in Risk: Legacy and Pandemic: Legacy, both designed by Rob Daviau. The game sees players taking on the role of fledging nations in the Age of Exploration. Starting with a blank board, players set out to explore and literally build the map from scratch throughout their campaign. With the inventive exploration mechanic, no two games will ever be the same, as each map develops differently from the other. Seafall takes the sandbox elements further as players decide whether they develop a nation of erstwhile explorers, wealthy merchants or bloodthirsty war mongers, with Daviau promising that the game will be able to support all these strategies and more. Just like all Legacy games, there will be sealed packets that will be opened at certain points, with players deciding the shape of the world and the games rules permanently.
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