A lighthearted game of tomfoolery, scumbaggery, and hilarious backstabbery for 2-8 players!
Latest Updates from Our Project:
⚔️ Rulebook Update, Arthur Artwork Changes & What's Next
7 months ago
– Thu, Sep 11, 2025 at 12:12:11 PM
Greetings, noble backers and legendary conspirators!
Time for another update on the Excalibur front. We've got some rulebook refinements, artwork updates, and a few other things to share with you. Let's get into it!
📅 Timeline Check-In
Everything is still tracking as outlined in our last update:
Key Dates:
September-October 2025: Final sample approval and production setup
November-December 2025: Mass production
January 2026: Estimated freight departure from the factory to fulfillment centers
The changes are ability updates from our final rounds of testing, clarifications, and formatting improvements. We'd love to hear any questions you may have in the comments.
One notable change is that Lancelot now has a 'flip' mechanic - this keyword was introduced in our last update with the reveal of Black Knight's ability. 'Flip' means that the indicated chip is flipped like a coin toss. It lands as a faceup win or a facedown fail, then resolved accordingly.
Lancelot's Final Ability: "On reveal, all players must flip their played chips (like a coin toss). If the flip lands facedown, they trash their chip and lose its ability. (Also flip any Permanents in play.)"
Not only do flip abilities create exciting moments of anticipation, Lancelot's flip ability offers an interesting counter to Fisher King's permanent ability. These kinds of strategic interactions emerged during playtesting, adding depth to character combinations and more opportunities for tomfoolery and backstabbery!
Arthur Is All Grown Up
We're making a change to Arthur's artwork in the game. In the legends, Arthur is Mordred's father and Guinevere's husband. Arthur's chip originally featured artwork of him as a child, and it was the only character chip depicting an out-of-period timeframe. The chip art and rulesheet will now feature "King Arthur" with new grown-up artwork that fits the timeframe, crops better, and is more readable on the chip.
Don't worry though - young Arthur's artwork isn't disappearing! We wanted to address the mis-matching timeframe, but we also love the original art and couldn't bear to part with it. We're keeping young Arthur on the back of the box. He'll also appear on the inside of the box cover, giving this would-be king prominent placement as a featured art piece.
🏭 Speaking of What's Next... Brass: Pittsburgh
If you haven't heard yet, our next project after Excalibur is going to be something special for Brass fans. We're working on Brass: Pittsburgh!
From co-designer of Brass: Birmingham, Gavan Brown comes Brass: Pittsburgh - capturing the explosive industrial boom of America's Gilded Age in the late 19th-century Steel Belt located in the northeastern United States.
Players take on the role of a ruthless industrial titan as they build sprawling networks of railways, pipelines, steel mills, oil refineries, and more.
Having trouble? Email us at [email protected] with the specifics of what you need, and we'll help you out.
Missing your survey email? Check your spam folder first, then reach out to us if you still can't find it.
Failed Kickstarter payment? No problem - we have record that you tried to pledge. You should already be in the pledge manager and will be charged the full amount for your pledge, selected add-ons, and shipping.
We'll keep updating you as production moves forward. Next up should be sample approvals and more production photos as things start taking shape.
Thanks for your continued patience and support as we bring Excalibur to life!
🗡️ Community Characters Revealed! Timeline & Pledge Manager Status
7 months ago
– Fri, Aug 29, 2025 at 12:24:27 PM
Greetings, legendary backers and masters of mischief!
We're back! Today, based on your suggestions, we'll share the final abilities for the new chips!
But first, let's check in on our timeline...
📅 Production Timeline
Production is moving forward as planned! As of now, we are still on track to meet the estimated timeline from the campaign page. Here are the key milestones ahead:
Key Dates:
September-October 2025: Final sample approval and production setup
November-December 2025: Mass production
January 2026: Estimated freight departure from the factory to fulfillment centers
Everything is running smoothly. That being said, some delays are always possible. If anything that will adjust this timeline pops up, we will update you as soon as we know what that adjustment looks like.
Behind the Curtain - Current Production Notes:
The metal Excalibur sword is receiving some slight modifications, with samples forthcoming
Galatine and Arondight metal swords have been approved and will not require additional sampling
Wooden chip and token heat transfer film sampling is in progress
Community Chips: Final Abilities Revealed!
After reviewing all your brilliant suggestions and extensive playtesting, we're thrilled to reveal the final abilities for our four community-designed characters, plus a sword chip update.
🏹 Robyn of Roxley
Final Ability:"Steal 1 chip. You must repeat this (if able) until you have 7 chips in hand. You may choose a new target for each steal."
Inspired by these Community Suggestions:
Toby Pokronny: "Keep 1 chip from any number of players, keep 1 and redistribute the others as you see fit."
Morae: "All players (including Robyn) reveal 1 chip from their hand... Robyn collects all the chips and redistributes it as she sees fit."
Several suggestions captured the core "steal from the rich/give to the poor" Robin Hood theme, though the unique "steal until 7 chips" mechanic was our own twist.
⚫ Black Knight
Final Ability:"On reveal, flip this chip twice (like a coin toss). If either flip lands faceup ✓, take 1 played chip from any player to your hand. They lose its ability. (Can take a Permanent.)"
Inspired by these Community Suggestions:
Jun: "On Reveal: You may swap this chip with another chip played by someone this round."
Jun: "On Reveal: Any other Gold Chip played this round gets ignored. You get to take one of those gold chips into your hand."
Jeffrey Dunford: "Think of it as a Chivalric Protection, as he may (or may not) reclaim your opponent's hands."
🎣 Fisher King
Final Ability:"Permanent: You may flip Fisher King anytime. On faceup ✓, effects saying 'steal' take 0 chips from you this round. On facedown ✗, trash Fisher King (no effect)."
What is a "permanent" chip, you may ask? On reveal, this chip remains near you as a face-up played chip. (It is not trashed.) While in play, you have this chip's ability!
Inspired by these Community Suggestions:
Jun: "Reveal and discard this chip from your hand to protect you from any actions of a player."
Lisa: "I like the idea of a protective chip, so if someone wanted to peek or steal, you can reveal the Fisher King to negate the effect."
Christian Garfee: "Allow to protect your chips from being peeked at or stolen this round."
👑 Queen Caelia
Final Ability:"Point to up to two players. They must trash any chips in their hands featuring male artwork (denoted with blue borders in this glossary)."
Inspired by these Community Suggestions:
Laurie Nelson: "On Reveal, all male chips in the round are discarded, unsolved."
Andrew Heller: "Discard All Played Male Chips/Take all played Male chips."
Sevy Carter: "On reveal, discard all males played."
🗡️ Squire Sword (formerly Toy Sword)
Final Ability: "This sword can't be played or trashed, but can be moved. You also win if you hold the Squire Sword and the player on your left wins, except in 2 and 3-player games."
Inspired by this Community Suggestion:
Jeremiah Fear "I feel a 3rd neutral sword chip would be cool."
Thank you to everyone who provided ideas for all the new chips! We had a blast reviewing them and playtesting, which resulted in some tweaks to other chips. We'll dive into those in future updates.
📦 BackerKit Pledge Manager: Now Live!
The pledge manager launched earlier this month! We hope this will be fairly straightforward, but we've done our best to anticipate some of your more common questions:
What If I Don't Get The Survey Email? First, double-check that your email address is correct in BackerKit. Also, check your Kickstarter pledge to see if you used an Apple ID private relay email address, as BackerKit emails are often blocked by these. If so, contact us to update your email address. Always check your spam/bulk/filtered folders to make sure the email didn't get sorted out of your main inbox. If you still haven't received your survey email, check in with us at [email protected].
What If Kickstarter Was Unable To Bill Me Successfully? We'll still have a record that you tried to pledge, so no need to stress. You will be added to the pledge manager and charged the full amount for your pledge, selected add-ons, and shipping. If you have any concerns or trouble accessing the pledge manager, email us at [email protected] - if your pledge failed, we can still manually add you to the pledge manager as if you were an original backer.
When Does This Need To Be Filled Out By? The closing date isn't locked down yet, but at a minimum, you will have a few weeks to fill it out. We will announce the exact closing date well in advance in a future update.
When Will My Card Be Charged For Shipping, Applicable Taxes, and Add-ons? Your card will be charged when we close the pledge manager. The closing date isn't locked down yet, but we will announce the exact date well in advance in a future update.
How do I change my pledge level? Check out this helpful BackerKit Article for instructions or email the Roxley support team at [email protected], noting your desired pledge level.
What If I Have Trouble Filling Out My Survey? If you have technical difficulties, the instructions are not clear, or you can't find the specific combination of pledge items you would like, please message [email protected] with the specifics of what you need, and we'll be happy to follow up with you.
We had a blast at FallCon - so much in fact, we forgot to take pictures! Luckily, others were around to help us capture this awesome moment...
Flask won the Canadian Game Design Award! Gavan was running playtests at the con after it made the finals, and it ended up winning! Please join us in congratulating Adam and Gavan!
Excalibur demos went great. Robyn was running these and the booth. What a rockstar! Thanks to everyone who came by to check it out.
Also, FallCon wouldn't be FallCon without Paul Saxberg! Big thanks to Paul for helping run demos for Santorini and Riddle of the Sphinx all weekend.
🙏 Thank You Again
Your creativity in suggesting these character abilities has made Excalibur truly special.
The legend continues, and you're all part of it.
We'll be back in a couple of weeks with the latest news!
Pledge Manager Launch + Gen Con Recap!
8 months ago
– Thu, Aug 07, 2025 at 09:07:19 AM
Team Roxley has been working hard to prepare the pledge manager for this campaign, and the first surveys are ready! In the pledge manager, you'll have the chance to confirm your pledge level, address, and add-ons.
Today, a small percentage of backers will be sent surveys first as an initial "smoke test" of the pledge manager system. We'll also open the Pre-Order store for those who missed the campaign. Once we've verified everything is working as planned, the remainder will be sent soon thereafter.
We hope this pledge manager will be fairly straightforward, but we've done our best to anticipate some of your more common questions, which we'll answer below.
What If I Don't Get The Survey Email?
Firstly, these may still be sending into next week, so don't panic if you're not part of the initial smoke test!
For those who are concerned, the first step would be to double-check that your email address is correct in BackerKit. You should also check your Kickstarter pledge to see if you used an Apple ID private relay email address, as Backerkit emails are often blocked by these. If so, contact us to update your email address. And as always, check your spam/bulk/filtered folders to make sure that the email didn't get sorted out of your main inbox. If you don't hear from us by our next update, then you should check in with us at [email protected].
What If Kickstarter Was Unable To Bill Me Successfully?
We'll still have a record that you *tried* to pledge, so no need to stress. You will be added to the pledge manager and charged the full amount for your pledge, selected add-ons, and shipping. If you have any concerns or trouble accessing the pledge manager, drop us an email at [email protected]; if your pledge failed, we can still manually add you to the pledge manager as if you were an original backer.
When Does This Need To Be Filled Out By?
The closing date isn't locked down yet, but at a minimum, you will have a few weeks to fill it out. We will announce the exact closing date well in advance in a future update.
When will my card be charged for shipping, applicable taxes, and add-ons?
Your card will be charged when we close the pledge manager. The closing date isn't locked down yet, but we will announce the exact date well in advance in a future update.
What If I Have Trouble Filling Out My Survey?
If you have technical difficulties, the instructions are not clear, or you can't find the specific combination of pledge items you would like, please message [email protected] with the specifics of what you need, and we'll be happy to follow up with you.
It was great meeting everyone who came to see us at Gen Con this year! We had full demos of Exclaibur in open gaming and quick demos of Santorini, Riddle of the Sphinx, and Skyrise at the booth. A huge THANK YOU to our support team at the show, including Regan, who ran the Excalibur Demos, and the Love Thy Nerd team, who managed our booth: Ben, Kyle, Matt, Aiven, Ezra, and Lindsey.
We'll be back in ~2 weeks with the next update, where we will talk about the final abilities for all the new chips!
Quick Update - Pledge Manager Nearly Ready!
8 months ago
– Thu, Jul 24, 2025 at 09:12:57 AM
Greetings from Team Roxley!
We hope this update finds you well and filled with excitement for the progress of Excalibur. We just have a quick update for you today.
⭐️ Pledge Manager Launching Soon ⭐️
We know that many of you have been eagerly awaiting the launch of our pledge manager, and we should be launching it within the next week! The pledge manager will allow you to update your rewards, add any extras you desire, and provide us with the necessary information for shipping.
We appreciate your patience and are committed to ensuring a smooth and seamless experience for everyone.
We will be back next week to confirm the start of the smoke test and pledge manager FAQs.
⚔️ THANK YOU For a LEGENDARY Finish! + Details for What Comes Next
9 months ago
– Fri, Jun 27, 2025 at 01:09:29 PM
TL;DR: THANK YOU from Team Roxley plus What Comes Next
Greetings, brave knights and professional backstabbers!
What a thrill ride this campaign has been for our whole team. With over $489k raised and 7,450 legendary backers, Excalibur has become a truly special addition to the Roxley family!
THANK YOU to each and every one of you for supporting the campaign, and an even bigger thank you to those of you who encouraged our team with positive notes in the comments. Making board games is hard, and running a Kickstarter is even harder. Your positivity and constructive comments throughout this campaign are what inspire us to continually push forward to the finish line.
You all make it possible for us to make cool games that we hope you play for years to come, and we are so grateful for your continued trust and support.
Your Ideas Brought to Life! Thanks to YOU, Excalibur now includes:
🗡️ Toy Sword - Inspired by Jeremiah Fear's suggestion, this clever third blade adds even more deduction and bluffing opportunities. "Useless... but it is a sword. Can't be played" - the ultimate misdirection tool!
⚫ The Black Knight - Suggested by Jeremy Wilhm with thematic inspiration from Coryatt, blending Arthurian legend with a delightful Monty Python nod.
🏹 Robyn of Roxley - Born from Rick's Robin Hood suggestion and perfectly aligned with our own team member, Robyn!
👑 Queen Caelia - The Fairy Queen inspired by Richard Johnson's Tom a Lincoln.
🎣 The Fisher King - Our final addition, the wounded king of legend, awaits his chosen hero.
Character Abilities Still Being Designed! You can still share your ability ideas in the comments! Our next step is playtesting our favorite suggestions to see which ones create the most delightful chaos at the table. As we land on the winning abilities, we'll announce them in future updates.
The campaign has been conquered. The new characters have been discussed. The comments have been commented... and we are all so grateful to all of you for helping us make this campaign happen.
So what comes next?
Before the realm of Excalibur can be built, Team Roxley will take a few days off to catch up on sleep, visit with our families, and recover our energy, so we can be bright and fresh when we return to work next week. In the meantime:
Kickstarter Payment Processing
By now, Kickstarter should have billed your pledge to the credit card associated with your Kickstarter account. If there are any issues, they will automatically try to resolve them for several days; this process takes care of itself in most cases, but you can try to reach their support department if necessary at [email protected] if you have something special that needs to be asked or addressed.
NOTE: Team Roxley does not have access to the Kickstarter payment and support portal during this time. We'll be happy to support you with any issues you have, but we can't do anything for most cases until Kickstarter has finished this process and exports the final backer data to us.
The Pledge Manager
Over the next few weeks, we will be finalizing and testing the pledge manager. (Once we have this set up, we can start assisting backers with any issues Kickstarter could not resolve.) When this is finished, you'll be automatically sent a survey link; in that survey, you must provide your shipping address and confirm your shipping charge and any taxes that apply. You'll also have the option to confirm or upgrade your pledge, add additional copies of Excalibur, and add even more games! Roxley will use a reputable and secure pledge management platform for this.
Note: As stated throughout the campaign and in the FAQ, backers who pledged only $1 will not receive a survey link. However, you can still purchase Excalibur as a Pre-order when that option becomes available.
Ongoing Updates
As with our other Kickstarter projects, we want to keep our supporters up to date with all the news, bts peeks, and more, so we will continue publishing updates until the games have been fulfilled. Even if sometimes there's no real news to report, we still want to stay in touch; it's what we would prefer in your shoes.
Those of you who follow our social media channels already know we post regular images of our games and components; Excalibur will be added to the mix, so you'll be able to catch regular glimpses of additional content from the game by following us on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter. For all the news about our upcoming projects, you can sign up for our newsletter at roxley.com, follow us on Kickstarter, and subscribe to our YouTube channel.
If you are reading this after the campaign and missed out, check out the top of the campaign page for a button to late pledge here on Kickstarter while we prepare the BackerKit PreOrder. The button will redirect to whatever the current place is to order your copy of Excalibur.
🗡️ The Legend Continues
This campaign has been a true adventure from that incredible 32-minute funding to the final character reveals. You've helped create not just a game, but a legend filled with community spirit, creative collaboration, and delightful backstabbery.
The Round Table is set. The characters await. The legend of Excalibur begins with you.
