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:
WE DID IT, THANK YOU!
9 months ago
– Thu, Jul 10, 2025 at 08:08:01 PM
Hello!
We did it! I’d like to personally thank YOU. Without your input and backing, this printing of Battle of the Ancients would not be happening. Thanks for helping us to exceed our funding and add some great new things to the game!
We’ve decided to leave late pledges on Kickstarter open for a couple more weeks so that anyone who missed the campaign (or didn’t know about it!) can still pledge. You got the best deal, for sure, but we didn’t want to close the door on anyone who found out about the game late.
Soon, we will open the PLEDGE MANAGER where we’ve been working to add a few special extras, more on that later!
Hope you have a great weekend, the world outside our bunkers can be a dangerous place. There are sarkags and orpal wanderers skulking around behind every crumbling castle and dilapidated factory. I hope you stay safe.
Thanks again!
Rob
12 HOURS TO GO!
9 months ago
– Thu, Jul 10, 2025 at 08:03:45 AM
Hello!
We're close to the end, THERE ARE 12 HOURS LEFT IN THE CAMPAIGN! A reminder: If you pledge today you’ll get the absolute lowest "campaign price".
Please, tell friends about this campaign. We don’t have the huge marketing budgets that the big game companies have, so it can be difficult for us to get the word out to the board gamers (and content creators!) out there who might want to play something a little different!
After a bit of looking around, I’m sure you'd discover for yourself: THERE IS SO MUCH IN JUST THE CORE BOX OF THIS GAME! Three ways to play, all with SOLO modes (side note: a lot of time and energy was put into making the solo game a lot of fun)! AND there are quite a few cool (and premium) components in the game:
Now all faction units are premium printed WOOD TOKENS!!
Includes PLASTIC walls, fences, and a cool FALLEN STAR model!
Includes BUILDING CLIPS that make your maps 3D!
Includes a double-sided CORE MAP BOARD, heavy durable FACTION DASHBOARDS, custom etched Action, Attack, and Defense DICE!
Not to mention what you get in the expansions: Adventures, new factions, a Merchant, new maps!
This game took years of work: Drawing, painting, writing (I had a lot of help from several editors along the way), designing the game, testing it (also, with a lot of help), making the graphics, logos, packaging, sculpting 3D items, typesetting the books, putting it on Tabletopia digitally, answering questions and gathering feedback online every day, making this Kickstarter: I did that! This game is, by far, the largest and most complicated project I have ever worked on in my life. I'm very proud of it (if you can't tell, ha!).
Okay, enough “hard sell” let’s get to the fun stuff.
Since the last update, we've added some cool things to the game. We also have something completely OUT OF THE BLUE: A cross-over with the amazing dark fantasy, eye melting, solo-able, old-school-RPG-flavored game from GOBLINKO, DUNGEON DEGENERATES! More on that below!
Firstly, we have a new ADD-ON: NEOPRENE CORE GAME and EXPANSIONS MAPS - 3x LARGE (16” x 16”) and 2x SMALLER (8” x 8”) maps. The MAIN MAP from the core game is double sided with the UNDERGROUND MAP on the underside. These maps will be SWEET 2mm neoprene with clean, stitched edges. They'll all be shipped in a tube so there are no creases!
As far as new STRETCH GOALS, we hit several big ones: First off, THE BUILDING CLIPS! I designed these "clips" in 2021, tested them thoroughly, then offered them as a 3D model in 2023 (HERE) now they will be molded in plastic and included in the game (and the 2nd Printing Update Kit).
WHAT ARE BUILDING CLIPS?THE CLIPS MAKE THE BUILDINGS 3D! Some scenarios in the core game (and several new Victory game setups in Ghosts & Robots) include building "punch-outs", the second and third floors of buildings and towers. Before now, they'd be placed near the map, if your unit entered a stairwell and "went up," you'd move them to the punch-out.
Now, you can slide several clips onto the building punch-outs, then place them onto the map to make the boards three dimensional! Explore, hide, and conduct nefarious business IN 3D!
NEW MAP RULE CARDS: You unlocked a set of these for Ghosts & Robots earlier, now there will be 2 for each map! These cards, when used in a game, add specific rules to map spaces (and variety to games).
A DEGENERATE INVASION! Lastly, somehow, weird and horrific creatures have besieged the DARKGRANGE from the WÜRSTREICH! We’re collaborating with GOBLINKO and Sean Äaberg on this small crossover: TWO characters from the GOBLINKO game DUNGEON DEGENERATES will appear in the Ghosts & Robots expansion, a GHOST and a CONSTRUCT (almost a robot)! They can be shuffled into the ITEM DECK and will appear when drawn as (1) a new faction unit and (2) an enemy that players can move around to kill things!
That’s it for now, only 12 hours to go! As I said at the beginning: let your friends know about us, I’m sure they’ll be happy you did!
Thank you for your support.
Stay safe!
Rob
FINAL STRETCH and EXCEEDING GOALS!
9 months ago
– Mon, Jul 07, 2025 at 10:16:55 AM
Hello!
I can’t believe we are here already. It’s been a fun ride, but we are getting very close to the end, only 3 DAYS TO GO!! This KICKSTARTER CAMPAIGN ends on Thursday, July 10 2025 at 11:00 PM (Eastern).
After the campaign, based on your pledges, we will decide how many games are being manufactured. As I’ve said before, we are a small company and we only print what we need (and a few more, ONLY IF WE CAN). Pledging now is the best way to get the items you want at the absolute lowest pledge price…because you are literally making it happen!
If we offer late pledges, the pricing will be higher. Any extra copies that we manufacture will be available in our store, at “retail price” which is significantly more.
That said, since the last update, we’ve met some great stretch goals that will assuredly make the GAME AND EXPANSIONS THAT MUCH BETTER (and there may still be a few more)!
Firstly, there is a NEW C4Labs Hex Dice Tray Design: The GHOST ANCIENT NAWEH! Now you can choose your favorite design from two available: Either the MIGHTY ROBOT ANCIENT #GIGABOT or the GHOST ANCIENT #NAWEH. Which Battle of the Ancients new expansion team are YOU on?! (ha!)
Next, Expansion Victory Game Setups were added: There will be new Victory Game setups for the Forgone Castle (Kings & Heroes) and Egg Kings Castle (Beasts & Eggmen) maps. In an earlier stretch goal, we added new Victory Game setups to the Core Game. All of these new setups will be included in an EXPANDED section of NEW VICTORY GAME SETUPS in the Ghosts & Robots Expansion.
Ghosts & Robots will be the go-to place for new VICTORY GAME SETUPS: Want to play on the Forgone King’s Castle Map attached to the Ghosts and Robots map? There’ll be a setup for that. What about the Egg Kings Castle, the Main Map, and Ghosts & Robots? There’ll be a setup for that too! What about a mini-battle in only the cramped quarters of the Egg King’s Castle (2 Floors and the towers)? There’ll be a setup for that!
The plan is to have a variety of Victory Game setups in various map combinations (utilizing the new Map Rule cards and Random Map Space decks that were unlocked in this campaign too. IT’S ALL COMING TOGETHER!) All we need now is some way to lift the 2nd and 3rd floors of the building up, to make the map buildings 3D…hmmm…
(HINT: Check out the newest stretch goal!)
Also, an Epic Adventure will be added to Ghosts & Robots: The Core Game, Kings & Heroes, and Beasts & Eggmen expansions all have an ADVENTURE GAME mode: choose a faction, place your units and EVENT TOKENS around the map. Then, move your units onto the EVENTS to activate them: read an entry from the book. Continue your adventure by placing more EVENT TOKENS, and the narrative grows!
In an EPIC ADVENTURE, the GHOSTS & ROBOTS map allows us to link everything together: Explore ALL THE MAPS using the setups from ALL THE ADVENTURE BOOKS (and new events in Ghosts & Robots) in a table-filling EPIC ADVENTURE!
Lastly, a new Hero, BRUKE, was added to the Core game and Upgrade Kit: As mentioned in the last update (with the unlocking of the Hero Erstos), heroes are powerful single-unit-factions (meaning that a player can choose to play as a Hero, a single unit, as their Faction in a game).
This hero, BRUKE, is known as a “DYRETRENER” or “dyre-trener” roughly translated as “beast trainer” or “beast speaker,” but more commonly known as WEREWOLF! There are rumors (in the Kings & Heroes expansion Adventure...) of a soldier who can transform into an animal. These stories likely lead back to Bruke or one of his "tribe". He usually travels with a Sarkag Wolf companion, and his unearthly howl terrifies even the bravest of warriors! He will be added to the CORE GAME and the 2ND PRINTING UPGRADE KIT.
That's it for now and, as I said, the campaign is only running until THURSDAY EVENING July 10 2025 at 11:00 PM (Eastern)!
Stay Safe!
Thank you,
Rob
PS: As a BONUS, I’d like to bring your attention to WYRD SCIENCE! From their site: “Wyrd Science covers tabletop games, their culture and how they influence and are influenced by the world around us.” It’s a great read! Check it out HERE, https://wyrd.science/
EPIC UPDATE: New ADD-ONS and MANY STRETCH GOALS MET!
9 months ago
– Mon, Jun 30, 2025 at 09:13:20 AM
Hello!
I hope you had a great weekend. I’ll try to keep this concise (not a chance!), but there’s a lot to go over. I didn’t want to bombard you with multiple updates, so everything is packed into this single EPIC UPDATE!! We have some great NEW ADD-ONS to the campaign and we’ve hit 6 NEW STRETCH GOALS. Read on for more information!
NEW ADD-ON: The 2ND PRINTING UPDATE KIT - After much discussion and suggestions from the community, we decided to make a few BALANCE CHANGES to several factions and rules in the 2ND PRINTING of the game.
Specifically, in VICTORY GAMES, we noted that with some very simple changes, factions that are more difficult to get up and running in the early game could have more of a fighting chance. There will be updates to the FACTION GUIDE, the CORE RULES, and the dashboards of the Dhargon, Orpal, and Varpen. Also, there will be an addition to the VICTORY POINTS FOR ALL FACTIONS cards: Making FENCES and WALLS will now earn VP.
We decided to offer a 2ND PRINTING UPGRADE PACK with these updated components and a few “quality of life” changes to other components, most significantly the BEAST TOKENS in the core game, creatures that come into play after playing ITEM CARDS or in the ADVENTURE, will be revised (so that it’s less likely they’ll be mixed into the BEAST FACTION tokens).
If you already have a copy of the 1ST PRINTING, this add-on will bring your game up to date with the 2ND PRINTING. It is NOT REQUIRED to play the new Ghosts & Robots expansion.
NEW ADD-ON: EPIC LARGE RULE BOOKS - We absolutely love the small form factor of the rule books as they appear in the core game and expansions. They are easy to pass around the table and don’t take up a lot of space in the box, while still containing a TON of info and gameplay! However, some backers have asked us for larger books.
We specked out a quote for big books with more durable pages that are spiral-bound (for ease of flipping and reference). We are really happy with these definitive, premium versions of the rule books. All CORE rule books are compiled in one book (about 120 pages), all EXPANSION rule books are compiled in a second book (over 100 pages), both are packaged together for one low price!
You can grab these new items in the ADD-ONS section of your PLEDGE.
Now, the STRETCH GOALS we have met so far. What are they? Read on!
Random Map Space Decks: These two decks, one of the letters A-P, the other with numbers 1-16, are used to randomly palace tokens (item and action card draw tokens, units, etc.): Draw a letter then draw a number to pick a map location! Easy as that. New VICTORY GAME SETUPS will include them. Since we began testing these, we don’t know how we ever lived without them!
Terrain and Resource Cards for each Map: These reference cards will help to resolve any disputes about where a specific resource can be GATHERED or where there are movement bonuses (on roads) and penalties (in water).
Map Rule Cards: These cards, when used in a game, add specific rules to map spaces, adding variety to games. That cave looks like the den of an animal…it is! That lab has a strange machine on the 2nd Floor...now that machine will DO THINGS to your units! This shack looks like someone lives here…did someone just come home? These cards will add additional objectives, bonuses, and strategic possibilities to your games.
New Hero ERSTOS added to the Core game and Upgrade Kit: Heroes are powerful single-unit-factions (meaning that a player can choose to play as a Hero, a single unit, as their Faction in a game). They are powerful, beginning the game with a unique special ability, and they increase in power as other special abilities are unlocked as you play! This hero, ERSTOS, is the leader of the Highwaymen: Rogues, scoundrels, and…protectors of the peace (?!). Take a good look at her, then take a look at The Forgone King (king of Darkgrange), could there be a... “familial” resemblance?
Move Reward Bag added to Ghosts & Robots: We are adding a new EPIC GAME MODE to the Ghosts & Robots Expansion where all the maps from the Core game and expansions can be linked together to create a GIGANTIC, EPIC map! Each faction has a unique means to travel the giant map more quickly (Varpen can mutate wings, the Dhargon have a river raft, the Orpal can create special “Transport Portals”, the Eggmen have bicycles, etc.), but now all factions can also complete simple objectives (“Offerings to the Ancients”) to draw bonus movement tokens from this bag.
New VICTORY GAME SETUPS for the Main and Underground Maps (Core Game) added to Ghosts & Robots: VICTORY GAMES have a specific setup, units are placed based on their BASIC SETUPS on the faction dashboards. Now, there will be additional Victory Game setups (for all factions) in the Ghosts & Robots rule book!
That was a lot! Please let me know if you have any questions about the ADD-ONS or STRETCH GOALS in the comments, below. We hope to continue to add new components and game options, more to come.
Stay safe,
Rob
MORE STRETCH GOALS, MORE TOKENS!
9 months ago
– Mon, Jun 23, 2025 at 02:28:04 PM
Hello!
Despite the post-apocalyptic hellscape outside our bunkers, I hope you are having a great start to your week!
Since last we spoke, we’ve hit two stretch goals!
(1) A thicker GHOST faction dashboard screen - The GHOST faction moves their units on a magnetic Ether Dimension Board, behind a screen (that also acts as their dashboard). The screen blocks other players from seeing their unit movements. Meeting this stretch goal means that the screen will be made from a thick board, like the dashboards of the other factions.
(2) Wood tokens in the Expansions - Like the CORE GAME, all unit tokens in the expansions (Kings & Heroes, Beasts & Eggmen, and Ghosts & Robots) will be replaced by premium wood tokens. The cardboard tokens are nice, but the premium wood tokens are AWESOME!
FOR PEOPLE WHO HAVE THE 1ST PRINTING: If you already own a copy of the game (the FIRST PRINTING), there is now an ADD-ON for 1ST PRINTING PREMIUM WOOD TOKENS at a discounted price. This pack includes tokens for the CORE GAME and the first 2 expansions (“Kings & Heroes” and “Beasts & Eggmen”). ONLY ORDER THIS ADD-ON IF YOU HAVE A COPY OF THE 1ST PRINTING OF THE GAME ALREADY!
I repeat - Only add this to your pledge if you have a copy of the 1st Printing of the game!
More to come soon!
Stay safe,
Rob
P.S. A note for people who have the first printing of the core game (and expansions), who do not have the wood tokens, and who have no intention of getting the wood tokens: To be consistent, we will include cardboard tokens for the GHOSTS and ROBOT units in that expansion.
