Adventurers,

Things are getting exciting at the Expedition Castle.

Last month, we saw several new features launching and new quests published (and winning prizes)

This month, we're launching the first expansion (August 17th) and going to GenCon! Read on for more:

The Expansion

Expedition: The Horror is coming along perfectly in time for its launch on August 17th. We've finalized all of the art with the artist, including this awesome logo. In an Expedition first, all of the enemy cards will have custom artwork on them!

What all will be available in the Kickstarter? Copies of the expansion, as well as base game + expansion bundles. They'll both be available with discounts, so it'll be a great chance to pick up a spare copy for a friend or birthday present! There will also be 6-packs of the expansion and base + expansion bundles.

Parents: Note that even though the expansion is horror / Cthulhu themed, it's still the same level of age appropriateness as the original game. Expedition is a game of imagination and storytelling, and it can be as fun - or as terrifying - as you and individual quests make it.

You can download a free beta copy of the expansion here. If you're considering backing the Kickstarter, backing and sharing on launch day (August 17th) would be a huge help! Kickstarters that are able to fund within 24 hours get a lot of extra attention that will help us unlock more awesome stretch goals :)

App updates

This month's app updates include:

• Improved setup rules for 1 and 2 player games
• Improved the appearance of icons in the app
• New server architecture for the quest creator, reducing load times by as much as 50%
• Fixed several bugs

Quest contest winners

As a reminder, July's categories:

• Best Mystery: Who dunnit? The suspense is killing us!
• Best Family-Friendly: The funnest quest with an "Everyone" rating takes the cake here.
• Best Romance: Whether it's a rom-com romp through the forest or a dramatic political romance, one thing's for sure: it's going to be an adventure!
• Grand Prize

Each winner will get a signed pre-release copy of the expansion. The Grand Prize winner also earns $100!

Without further ado:

• Best Mystery: Azure Agents Chapter 2 by GraphiteHelix. Why are the undead attacking Faeyvre, and how will you stop them?
• Best Family-Friendly: Fishin' with Dad by Cory Smith. A timeless father-son fishing tale, and a great parent-kid adventure :)
• Best Romance: This one's proven to be a challenge for quest writers! Nobody was able to claim the romance prize - so if you're looking for writing inspiration, this would be a great opportunity to try your hand at a new type of story.
• Grand Prize: Dark Gifts (Part 2 of the World Breaker series) - Greg Miller has done it again, with another literary and adventure masterpiece set in the World Breaker world. Congratulations, Greg!

Expansion quest contest

To celebrate the launch of Expedition: The Horror, we're holding a quest writing contest that's all about the new Persona mechanic. There'll be two $50 prizes: one for the best use of Persona in a quest, and one for the best Cthulhu or horror story. The contest starts now and ends two days before the Kickstarter - September 14th at midnight, EST. We can't wait to see what you write!

If you haven't checked out the expansion beta yet, the rules and cards are available here.

If you haven't tried the quest creator before - or haven't used it in a while - make sure to check out the quest writing tool. We've made a lot of upgrades to it in the past few months, including spellchecking, collaborative editing, and a "notes" section.

GenCon

Expedition will be at GenCon booth #2962!

Besides copies of the game and t-shirts, we'll also have unique, free promo cards available each day in limited quantities. We expect them to run out quickly, so make sure to swing by early in the day if you want them! Even if we run out, we'd love to meet you, our fellow adventurers, in person.

Adventure onwards,

Todd & Scott