DARK VENTURE: BATTLE of the ANCIENTS 2ND PRINTING!
Created by Rob Lemon
A tactical strategy and adventure game in a dark-fantasy future where players control asymmetric factions engaging in brutal conflict.
Latest Updates from Our Project:
Locking Backerkit Pledge Manager on HALLOWEEN!
5 months ago
– Tue, Oct 28, 2025 at 08:07:01 AM
Hey,
Hope you're doing well.
A short note to let you know that we plan to LOCK ALL PLEDGES and PRE-ORDERS on BACKERKIT THIS WEEK. Backerkit will send out a "48 Hour Notice" before locking you pledge and processing your payment. Everything should lock and process on or around OCTOBER 31st (spooky!).
As a reminder: Backerkit is our PLEDGE MANAGER, meaning, it is where you'll input your shipping information and confirm what your getting from the Battle of the Ancients 2nd Printing Kickstarter. Find your survey here: https://dv-bota-2e.backerkit.com/
Shipping for your pledge is charged through the Backerkit Pledge Manager, so please complete your survey so we can ship your pledge to you!
Also, you can add items to your pledge that you missed adding during the campaign. Once your order is locked, items can't be added.
Your address will remain unlocked until we are ready to ship (so if you happen to be moving before we ship, you'll be able to edit your address). I'll let you know when we're ready to lock addresses and ship out your pledge (this won't be for a while).
October 2025 Update: Production and MORE!
5 months ago
– Wed, Oct 22, 2025 at 08:16:00 AM
Hey!
Hope you are doing great. This month I have been working on the PRODUCTION of the game and expansions (specifically the new GHOSTS & ROBOTS expansion). Also, I have a bit of a SURPRISE toward the end of this update. Read on!
PRODUCTION: So, "What exactly is production?" you might ask. Or, maybe you wouldn’t ask because, honestly, it’s not the most glamorous part of making a game (or any printed or digital product, for that matter).
I’ll try to be concise: In the first stage of production, put simply, someone checks all the files to make sure that THE MILLIONS OF LITTLE THINGS that need to be aligned are aligned, that nothing important is going to be chopped off, and that everything that is supposed to be there (text, images, page numbers, borders, etc.) is there!
As part of this, the digital files representing every component of the game are put into “templates” that the people who run the printing and cutting machines at the factory understand. This is what I’m doing right now, the initial production. The people at the factory take these initial templates and reformat them into even more precise (often proprietary) templates for the specific machines that will print, cut, and glue the game parts.
Most of Battle of the Ancients has been run through this process already, however, there are quite a few minor updates to the components (for example, token sheets changed because we have included wood tokens, there are a few additional cards in the core game, the rule books have been updated, etc.), so in order to make sure that everything is 100% correct, we have to do it again.
That said, production is going well and I should be done soon!
SURPRISE: Okay, about the “surprise.” As the Kickstarter for the 2nd printing was coming to a close, I re-discovered an idea I had when developing the concept of Battle of the Ancients: VICTORY SIDE QUESTS. They’re directly related to the original Dark Venture, and could have added an interesting facet to the game, but there just wasn’t time to add them to the first printing. Immediately after the 2nd Printing Kickstarter I returned to the idea, wrote new prototype cards, printed them out, tested them…and they were awesome.
Here’s how they work: Victory Side Quest cards provide another way to earn Victory Points in a Victory game. They are optional, and if you do use them in a game: draw 4 VICTORY SIDE QUEST cards and place them near the map. They can be completed by a PLAYER or AUTO ENEMY on their turn for their faction to gain the amount of VICTORY POINTS noted on the card. At the beginning of your turn, if you don’t like a VSQ card, discard it to draw another. Simple as that.
The large Victory Side Quest rule card and a few sample side quest cards (don't want to spoil too many of them!)
I’ve decided to add these new VICTORY SIDE QUESTS, 30 mini-cards (with the side quests) and one large “rules reference” card, to the Ghosts & Robots expansion. I’m adding them to Ghosts & Robots because, while they are not necessary to the game, they are a nice “quality of life” addition. There are other “quality of life” additions in Ghosts & Robots (like the “Terrain and Resource Reference” cards, and “Map Rule” cards, for example), so it makes sense to add Victory Side Quests into G&R too. I hope you enjoy playing with them in your games ;)
That’s it for now, back to production! Thanks for reading, stay safe.
Rob
September 2025 Update: Writing, Editing, Designing, Details!
6 months ago
– Tue, Sep 23, 2025 at 07:32:20 AM
Hello!
Hope you are doing great! I’ll try to make this short (no promises) as I need to get back to work: This month I’ve been finalizing components, testing, editing, and working out manufacturing details. More on that below!
A Battle of the Ancients VICTORY GAME in progress, GHOSTS vs. ROBOTS! Components pictured are prototypes and could change.
Firstly, here are some of the GAMEPLAY RELATED things I’ve been working on this month:
1. GHOSTS AND ROBOT AUTO-ENEMY DECKS - These decks are tricky, as both of these factions require a lot of player decisions (for the Ghosts, POSSESSING and controlling other players units can be key; for the Robots, deciding when unit upgrades and tech are utilized can be very important). I’d like the AE to make decisions that a player might make, and they should be somewhat difficult…but beatable. This requires a lot of testing and retesting!
(What is an AUTO-ENEMY DECK, you might ask? Each faction has a unique AUTO-ENEMY deck, specific to that faction, that contains a series of rules to control that faction in a game. Great for SOLO games and if you'd like to add an additional challenge. Cards are numbered, mostly 1-7 cards per deck. Complete everything you can on a card then flip it, read the next card, continue until the deck is flipped and the Auto-Enemy turn is over.)
2. MAP RULE CARDS - This past month, I've written/designed 2 double-sided Map Rules cards for each available map (including the smaller EGG KING’S CASTLE map that attaches onto the right side of the core game MAIN MAP), that's 10 Map Rules cards total. These (optional) cards include various rules that add enemies, treasure, and special events to Victory Games.
I can’t overstate how much variety these cards provide to Victory Games! They also list unique placements for ITEM and ACTION card draw tokens (in the upper right corner of each card). Changing these cards to "double-sided" allowed me to flesh them out, add more “things that can happen" on each map. This small deck took a lot of work, but adds a lot of value!
3. Cleaning up the Ghosts & Robots rule book, initial editing - I’ve pulled the G&R rule book together and have begun to typeset and edit it (for content and volume). It looks great so far. The next step will be to finalize my edits and have it reviewed by both our RULES EDITOR and CONTENT EDITOR.
In addition to working on "game design," I have been preparing for manufacturing and have started production. I’m pulling the final order numbers together to send to the factory (the final number of games, expansions, and add-ons we will need to manufacture) and I'm laying out the digital files for printing. I’d like to put in our factory order in a month or so, please review and finish your Backerkit survey as soon as possible!
ALSO: HEAR YE, HEAR YE! WE HAVE A FEW COPIES OF DARK VENTURE 2ND EDITION LEFT! - After sending out the copies of Dark Venture: Adventure Card Game 2E to backers who ordered them during the campaign (if you ordered, please complete your survey and we will send your copy out if we haven't already!). I have recounted our stock and we still have a few copies of DARK VENTURE 2nd EDITION and EXPANSIONS available! (We're sold out of the Dark Venture 2E CORE GAME in the EU/UK, but still have a few EXPANSIONS).
Check out the GILDED SKULL GAMES SHOP if you're interested in picking up a copy of the core Dark Venture 2E game or an expansion:
DARK VENTURE: Adventure Card Game (2nd Edition) - A game in mid-play.
That’s it for now. I'd like to reiterate: please, when you have a sec, complete your BACKERKIT SURVEY: the faster they are completed, the more quickly we can determine the exact number of games we’ll need to manufacture.
Thank you, have a great fall, speak to you soon!
Stay safe,
Rob
To Those Who Ordered DARK VENTURE 2E - LOCKING DOWN
7 months ago
– Sat, Aug 23, 2025 at 09:43:48 AM
Hello!
This is a short note to all those who ordered the Dark Venture: Adventure Card Game 2E (DV2E All-IN) add-on during the Battle of the Ancients campaign. If you didn't order this add-on during the campaign, you can safely stop reading and delete this ;)
If you did order DV2E All-IN or the DV2E Core Game, we will be locking your pledge/order on Backerkit soon. Once we do, you will have about 48 hours (I believe) to make changes. When your order has been locked, we will process it, then we will begin shipping out your copies of DV2E. You will receive the other items in your pledge/order (from the "Battle of the Ancients Second Printing" campaign) at the same time as everyone else, if everything goes smoothly, early next year.
Your address will remain open so that if you need to make changes between now and when BOTA 2E is shipped, you can.
Please message me if you have any questions.
Thanks!
Rob
P.S. If you didn't order these add-ons during the campaign and kept reading anyway, I have a small piece of info for you: We plan to lock ALL "Battle of the Ancients Second Printing" pledges/orders on Backerkit on OCTOBER 31st 2025 as we need to get final numbers for manufacturing! If you need to make changes to your order, you'll need to do it before then. This is a bit of an early warning, we will send out a specific reminder closer to Oct. 31st. Thank you!
August 2025 Update: BACKERKIT Pledge Manager Surveys Start TODAY!
8 months ago
– Tue, Aug 12, 2025 at 10:15:38 AM
Hello!
Hope you are doing well. Behind the scenes I've been working hard on Battle of the Ancients, I have a lot to talk about, I'll try to keep it short! Firstly, our pledge manager surveys are starting to go out today (5% of backers to start, then everybody else soon after). Next, I have been writing NEW content and we have been testing NEW expansion components! Read on!
FIRSTLY, the PLEDGE MANAGER (BACKERKIT): We have built the PLEDGE MANAGER, it has been reviewed and approved, so we are running a SMOKE TEST, sending survey emails to a small number of backers (5%) LATER TODAY! Once we know everything is working as planned, we will send out survey emails to everyone who pledged (likely later this week)!
WHAT IS A PLEDGE MANAGER? The pledge manager helps us manage your order and fulfillment (shipping), and can help you to manage your pledge (to review your order, add items, etc.). We are using BACKERKIT as our post-campaign pledge manager. You will receive an email from BACKERKIT with a link that will lead to your pledge, your shipping costs (based on the EXACT WEIGHT of your order) and any taxes on your order (based on your location*).
Also of note, if you know anyone who might be interested in the game who missed the KICKSTARTER, send them a link to our PRE-ORDER STORE on BACKERKIT, will open TODAY (August 12th 2025), CLICK HERE TO CHECK IT OUT!
NEXT, MAKING & TESTING NEW CONTENT: Over the past month, I have been heavily focused on writing and testing all the new SETUPS and MAP RULES in various combinations, and things are looking (and playing) great!
The new VICTORY GAME SETUPS add a lot of variety to the game: There are setups for single maps (including a HERO "battle-royal", and a mid-game "Ancient + Faction" setup), 2 maps, and the EPIC setup with 3 maps.
The new optional MAP RULE CARDS, if you choose to add them to your game, also add variety: events to activate, items to discover, and extra enemies to fight on every map. Choose a new VICTORY GAME setup, pick a RULE CARD for your map, and start playing!
Speaking of which, I have to get back to writing and testing so we can get things finished (and edited) as soon as possible, so that's it for now! Keep an eye out for your BACKERKIT SURVEY EMAIL this week and early next week. Stay safe!
Thank you,
Rob
P.S. If you don't get a BACKERKIT SURVEY EMAIL in the next week or so, check to make sure your email filter hasn't stopped it from getting to you. If that's not the case, MESSAGE ME THROUGH KICKSTARTER and we'll sort it out.
* A NOTE ON TAXES: I probably don't need to tell you, but: We estimated taxes during the campaign, so any taxes you see added to your pledge are based on your specific location (state and/or country). We are not profiting on your taxes(!!), our tax agent in the UK/EU and our accountant in the US makes sure that all the taxes that you pay go right back to your government!
