Sunday, December 20, 2015

Current state of KWG

Hail and well met,

This has been an exciting and busy week for Knight Watch Games.  We have received several more orders for our terrain, mostly through our ETSY shop.   So far we have made the following items:2 wagons, a fountain, several dungeon, graveyard and tavern kits and the prototype portal. The response we are getting from customers has been overwhelmingly positive.  

A good example of this can be found on our ETSY shop:

Reviewed by Paladin2 on April 20, 2013
Game Terrain - Bedroom Accessory Kit

The craftsmanship was amazing! The details was wonderfully done. If you are looking to enhance your game play, this is the shop to go to. Thank you for your great artistry.

It makes us feel proud and excited to know our work is being enjoyed by our customers.  Our very first customer to buy terrain from us is still coming back to buy additional pieces:


Reviewed by txnyteacher on December 5, 2015

This is a awesome set for gaming. Everything was well made and painted. The shipping was super fast. I can't wait till Brenda opens up the shop again. My third purchase from this shop with more planned.


It was also with great pride that we provided Desmond Blackstone with a portal that played a dominate role in his 6th year anniversary game.  His group has been adventuring together for six years and they are still going strong.  Impressive.  His blog can be read here: BlackstoneBureau
Desmond took some awesome pictures of his game in progress. I want to share some of them here:



















Looks awesome doesn't it?

Knight Watch Games is currently working on our customization room/chamber system.  We are also finishing the 2nd edition of the portal so that you can swap out the inserts in an easier way. 

We are going to see Star Wars: The Force Awakens tonight with our whole family. I'm pretty sure our after-movie party will be spent playing X-Wing miniatures with Poe Dameron against the First Order TIE pilots.

Tuesday, December 15, 2015

'Tis the Season...

It's the holiday season...and Santa Claus is bringing you an ugly sweater. Or a tie.  Or cologne.  Or something else that a you don't really want. Why?  Because, your a gamer. And as much as they love you, your relatives aren't gamers and don't have a clue what to buy for one.





You could try to explain it.  Go ahead, describe a dungeon crawl and watch their faces distort into confusion. Attempt to provide a visual example by pulling out your phone and googling "Beholder" and watch their body language change, communicating the non-verbal message "Nevermind". Can you blame them?




I recall the first time I saw my husband's personal belongings.  We were just back from our honeymoon and combining our two households. While he was stationed in Georgia, everything had been placed in long-term storage for three years.  He was excited to see his stuff again and was talking it up a little. Peering into the dank storage unit, I watched him begin to unwrap his possessions.  He chose a few items and carefully passed them to me for placement in the U-Haul. Swords, armor, and chain mail came out first.  "Cool", I thought to myself. 

Next, D&D miniatures were unveiled, followed by a few dusty terrain pieces, and rolled up play mats.  Noticing my puzzled look, he tossed a book my way. It was the original Monster Manual.  "Oh, I know this game", I replied sheepishly.  "My brother used to play in our kitchen with his friends."

"And this is Sergeant Will Killmany", he announced with a big grin, introducing me to his 6 foot mannequin in full SWAT gear. "Because he WILL kill many.  I joined in the laughter, but thought, "What the hell have I gotten myself into?"



Fun is what I got myself into.  We are a gamer couple now and it is said that the couple that plays together stays together. 

My first Christmas present from Paraic was an airsoft gun.  The next was a beautiful set of mini pewter dice and a shoulder bag with the message, "Jesus Saves and takes half damage".  The point is, only gamers know what to buy for gamers.  

If you don't have a gift-giving gamer in your life, you'll be shopping for yourself this Christmas.  A fellow geek, Wayne Brekke of Worlds of Waynecraft, came up with a idea for a gamer gift that keeps on giving.  It is a monthly subscription called the Dungeon Crate and was specifically designed for tabletop and roleplaying gamers.



The monthly crate will be launching soon.  You can head over to the website and sign up to be kept in the loop.  According to Wayne, "A typical box will have about 6 items in it (give or take a few freebies). Items may include: dice, dice bags, T-shirt, brushes for mini painting, game tokens, coins, miniatures, mini flats, terrain pieces, 3D furnishings for dungeon tiles, RPG jewelry, crafting and art supplies, fantasy art, and whatever else we can get our hands on."

Paraic and I are particularly excited about the Dungeon Crate.  Last week, we became the first official supplier for the project.  Do yourself a favor...buy yourself a Dungeon Crate subscription this holiday season.  It will be like Christmas all year long.

From the two of us, we wish you all a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year.  




Friday, December 11, 2015

The "Blackstone Portal" project

Knight Watch Games recently received a custom order to build a portal that housed a demonic entity.

We enthusiastically agreed, thinking it a simple endeavor. $35 in the bank...or so we thought.


Paraic started thinking of how to have the normal portal transform to house the demonic attacking monster and his solution, while creative, took a lot more work that he thought....

The runes say "Blackstone Portal" in honor of the customer.

The placid inviting portal....a wary adventurer approaches...


The demon attacks !

I'm pretty sure this is a one-way door.


The two inserts are secured to the portal with magnets.  While the workmanship is amateurish, the final effect is not bad.  

We will be offering this same design in our Online shop...but I think the price will be a little higher than $35.  What would you pay?







Sunday, December 6, 2015

Faulty doppelgangers.

Brenda and I have been working hard to perfect the Knight Watch Game website and online store. While researching the current game terrain community, we discovered several websites that are paying us the highest compliments.

By compliments, I really mean they are taking our product designs and copying them.  Not only do they copy the design of the terrain, they practically cut/paste the items description from our online catalog.

We are honored to be copied, and admit we have done something similar in regards to Bruce Hirst's creations, and some other designers over the years.  However, a glaring difference gnaws at me... neither Bruce Hirst, nor the other designers, are trying to make a living from their original creations. They were either building the terrain to display the capabilities of their molds (Bruce), or they were making items to use around their personal gaming tables.

It is reassuring to us that when we see these copied items, we notice that the workmanship and attention to detail is sub-par.  Our Knight Watch Games products are high quality and meticulously painted.  Our competition has a way to go before offering terrain superior to ours.



We are currently perfecting the design of a modular kit that allows for buildings and rooms to change appearance easily. Coupled with our accessory kits, the customer has an infinite number of chambers and structures to use during gaming sessions.  Keep an eye on the store for pictures of the final product.

It's now the holiday season and we at Knight Watch Games wish you the best.