3 NEW CARDS + OUR NEW GAME + LUNAR NEW YEAR
Hi friends.
Recently, we got lucky with great sales in :china: China – and, after celebrating with tea from Yunnan, we decided to say "thank you" by releasing this update (we also have a new game to show to you! it has a battle system like a digital board game, with multiple calculations each round, made seamlessly – read on for more details!).
Now, speaking of sales of Gremlins, Inc.:
:magic_sparkles: top 5 countries by copies sold, Q4 2024: China, Russia, USA, Japan, Ukraine
ːsteampunkː top 5 countries by revenue, Q4 2024: China, USA, Russia, Japan, Ukraine
It is only fitting, that this update is brought to you by a mixed dev team that's based in Japan (community & design), Russia (engineer), Ukraine (artist) and Lithuania (producer). Not to forget our translators who are based in Netherlands, Korea, China, Italy, Brazil, Spain, Poland, Czech Republic, Germany and France.
As you can see... gremlins are everywhere !! ːmaliceː
(as one gremlin famously wrote, "Workers Gremlins of the world, unite!")
Anyways, let's celebrate this update together, and thanks one more time to the Chinese players (and our partners at HeyBox) for giving us the positive motivation to come through with this update.
[h2]3 NEW CARDS[/h2]
Today we add not 1, not 2, not 4, but 3 new cards – how about that!
[h3]Heavenly Duties[/h3]
Special Rule:
The player of your choice gives you $200, ːscoreː2 or ːvotesː5. You make the choice.
This card may remind you of “A Deal with the Devil” and “Devil's Due”. The idea for this card came from one of the players, Paul. Thank you, Paul!
[h3]Brand Recognition[/h3]
Special Rule:
For each occasion where you have the highest $, ːscoreː, ːvotesː, ːmaliceː, income or bribes, you get ːscoreː1 and your income increases by 3.
The main feature of this card is that you can benefit from high malice as well as from high bribe value, which are usually only disadvantageous. However, you have to be "number one" – have the highest value among all players.
[h3]Hypnosis[/h3]
Special Rule:
A player of your choice skips turn(s): 1. You can play another card in this location in this turn.
This card is the only card that has the effect of playing another card and receiving some ːscoreː points at the same time. Therefore, it has the same cost as "The Decelerator", but it provides 2 less ːscoreː points. However, the effect of being able to play another card is a big advantage in the Inferno, where you have many powerful cards. Especially at the end of the session, when it can help you to secure the victory at once, combined with the effect of obstructing your opponents.
[h2]BALANCING[/h2]
Is it balancing, or is it re-balancing? And does a rage-quitting player make a sound, if only the AI bot can hear them? Yes, philosophy and games development go hand in hand...
[h3]The Politician's Abilities[/h3]
The Astral Plane Club
Breathing Tax
These changes should increase the win rate of the Politician character. When you play as the Politician, the timing of getting votes may be more important from now on.
[h3]Order of Characters[/h3]
It has been confirmed that in sessions of 4 or more players, the character that is late in the order, has a bit of an advantage; this change balances that.
[h3]Action Cards[/h3]
ːcardsː Full-House
ːcardsː Personal Search
ːcardsː Expensive Order
ːcardsː Honorary Escort
ːcardsː Dice-roller
[h3]Deck[/h3]
Change in the number of copies of cards in the deck
Thanks to all Pillars of Community for their input on new cards, characters and balancing.
You guys are amazing!
[h2]OTHER CHANGES[/h2]
[h2]LUNAR NEW YEAR TOURNAMENT[/h2]
Gremlins, Inc. had a Lunar New Year Tournament has every year, but this year we plan to make it more luxurious (more prizes, including enamel pins shipped to winners!) and on a larger scale (whole week!).
European and Asian servers will, as usual, offer different rules. We will release full details closer to the start of the tournament.
[h2]OUR NEW GAME[/h2]
We have developed Gremlins, Inc. during 2013-2016, and continued to create additional content in 2017-2018. The years of 2019-2022 are kind of blurry, because we spent them on Spire of Sorcery, a game that experienced several changes in design and direction and cost us dearly in mental health and budget.
But what doesn't kill us, comes back and tries to kill us again makes us stronger – in 2022, we've met Nikita Kulaga, the game designer behind the wildly successful Graveyard Keeper, and started to collaborate on a new game, which is now known as Sister of a Dragon.
We're happy to report that the Steam store page of our new game is now open:
https://store.steampowered.com/app/2694810/Sister_of_a_Dragon/
In a nutshell, this is a turn-based tactics built around a hex-based matrix with passive and active tokens, which belong to one of 8 schools, and can transform and change levels. If this sounds similar to the multi-layered mechanics of Gremlins, Inc. – you're right on spot! With Sister of a Dragon, we develop another game where multiple systems combine for a special kind of gameplay.
We already started to publish developer diaries there, covering both the story, and the mechanics of the gameplay. In 2025, we aim to release the demo that showcases the game. We hope that you will like it! (and if not, no problems at all: we are masters of issuing permanent bans on complainers!).
On a serious note, though, we already play our new game every day, and we love the flexibility of the battle system. What's left is polishing and tying all the loose ends (a massive job that everybody hates, but which must be done). Come say "Hi", we promise to be nice.
[Team CO]
Recently, we got lucky with great sales in :china: China – and, after celebrating with tea from Yunnan, we decided to say "thank you" by releasing this update (we also have a new game to show to you! it has a battle system like a digital board game, with multiple calculations each round, made seamlessly – read on for more details!).
Now, speaking of sales of Gremlins, Inc.:
:magic_sparkles: top 5 countries by copies sold, Q4 2024: China, Russia, USA, Japan, Ukraine
ːsteampunkː top 5 countries by revenue, Q4 2024: China, USA, Russia, Japan, Ukraine
It is only fitting, that this update is brought to you by a mixed dev team that's based in Japan (community & design), Russia (engineer), Ukraine (artist) and Lithuania (producer). Not to forget our translators who are based in Netherlands, Korea, China, Italy, Brazil, Spain, Poland, Czech Republic, Germany and France.
As you can see... gremlins are everywhere !! ːmaliceː
(as one gremlin famously wrote, "Workers Gremlins of the world, unite!")
Anyways, let's celebrate this update together, and thanks one more time to the Chinese players (and our partners at HeyBox) for giving us the positive motivation to come through with this update.
[h2]3 NEW CARDS[/h2]
Today we add not 1, not 2, not 4, but 3 new cards – how about that!
[h3]Heavenly Duties[/h3]
Location
The Astral Plane
Cost
FREE
Move points
1
Type
Criminal
Get
ːmaliceː4
Special Rule:
The player of your choice gives you $200, ːscoreː2 or ːvotesː5. You make the choice.
"Devils who moved to the Astral Plane due to a zoning project in the Inferno, did not change their tricks – but changed the terminology. What was known as "racket and extortion" in the Inferno is now called "protective tariffs and duties" on the Astral Plane."
This card may remind you of “A Deal with the Devil” and “Devil's Due”. The idea for this card came from one of the players, Paul. Thank you, Paul!
[h3]Brand Recognition[/h3]
Location
The Office
Cost
$150
Move points
6
Type
Secret
Special Rule:
For each occasion where you have the highest $, ːscoreː, ːvotesː, ːmaliceː, income or bribes, you get ːscoreː1 and your income increases by 3.
"Whether you are the Chief Bastard or the Person of the Year, in the Clockwork Town the power of recognition is equally rewarding."
The main feature of this card is that you can benefit from high malice as well as from high bribe value, which are usually only disadvantageous. However, you have to be "number one" – have the highest value among all players.
[h3]Hypnosis[/h3]
Location
The Inferno
Cost
$250
Move points
4
Type
Regular
Get
ːscoreː2, ːmaliceː1
Special Rule:
A player of your choice skips turn(s): 1. You can play another card in this location in this turn.
"Gremlins are immune to hypnosis, but would freeze when shown something small and shiny – on the chance that it's a coin."
This card is the only card that has the effect of playing another card and receiving some ːscoreː points at the same time. Therefore, it has the same cost as "The Decelerator", but it provides 2 less ːscoreː points. However, the effect of being able to play another card is a big advantage in the Inferno, where you have many powerful cards. Especially at the end of the session, when it can help you to secure the victory at once, combined with the effect of obstructing your opponents.
[h2]BALANCING[/h2]
Is it balancing, or is it re-balancing? And does a rage-quitting player make a sound, if only the AI bot can hear them? Yes, philosophy and games development go hand in hand...
[h3]The Politician's Abilities[/h3]
The Astral Plane Club
Previously
Now
When resting in the Astral Plane, get 10 cards to choose from and lose ːmaliceː3.
When you have ːvotesː7 or more, you can move to the Astral Plane straight from the Bank.
Breathing Tax
Previously
Now
While you are the Governor, bribe of every player increases by 5.
(this ability is removed)
These changes should increase the win rate of the Politician character. When you play as the Politician, the timing of getting votes may be more important from now on.
[h3]Order of Characters[/h3]
Previously
Now
Engineer
Engineer
Politician
Politician
Manager
Manager
Pauper :orange_box:
Collector :the_red_box:
Gambler
Gambler
Damned
Damned
Banker
Banker
Thief :locked:
Merchant :the_green_box:
Secret Agent
Secret Agent
Merchant :the_green_box:
Thief :locked:
Prosecutor
Prosecutor
Collector :the_red_box:
Pauper :orange_box:
It has been confirmed that in sessions of 4 or more players, the character that is late in the order, has a bit of an advantage; this change balances that.
[h3]Action Cards[/h3]
ːcardsː Full-House
Previously
Now
Cost: FREE
Cost: $50
ːcardsː Personal Search
Previously
Now
Look at the cards of any player of your choice. Swap 1 of their card(s) with the same number of cards from your hand. The player pays you $100 for each secret or criminal card discovered.
Look at the cards of any player of your choice. The player pays you $100 for each secret or criminal card discovered.
ːcardsː Expensive Order
Previously
Now
Choose any player (including you). That player gets ːscoreː1 and chooses to pay for it (-$150, -ːmaliceː2) or steal it (+ːmaliceː5).
Choose any player (including you) who must pay $150. That player gets ːscoreː1, loses ːmaliceː3. If they cannot pay, they get ːmaliceː3 instead.
ːcardsː Honorary Escort
Previously
Now
Cost: $150
Cost: $100
ːcardsː Dice-roller
Previously
Now
Cost: $50
Cost: $20
Roll the dice. Get $100 for each card in your hand that has the same number of move points as the number on the dice.
Roll the dice. Get $50 for each card in your hand that has the same number of move points as the number on the dice.
[h3]Deck[/h3]
Change in the number of copies of cards in the deck
Card
Previously
Now
ːcardsː Personal Search
1
2
ːcardsː An Inspection
3
2
Thanks to all Pillars of Community for their input on new cards, characters and balancing.
You guys are amazing!
[h2]OTHER CHANGES[/h2]
- Fixed several card descriptions (where rules were not clear enough).
- Fixed a problem where card updates were not reflected in several single-player challenges.
- Fixed several other bugs.
- Increased sales in China.
- Ordered more Japanese and Chinese teas for the office.
[h2]LUNAR NEW YEAR TOURNAMENT[/h2]
Gremlins, Inc. had a Lunar New Year Tournament has every year, but this year we plan to make it more luxurious (more prizes, including enamel pins shipped to winners!) and on a larger scale (whole week!).
Tournament starts
Tournament ends
January 27, 2025 – 12:00 GMT
February 3, 2025 – 12:00 GMT
European and Asian servers will, as usual, offer different rules. We will release full details closer to the start of the tournament.
[h2]OUR NEW GAME[/h2]
We have developed Gremlins, Inc. during 2013-2016, and continued to create additional content in 2017-2018. The years of 2019-2022 are kind of blurry, because we spent them on Spire of Sorcery, a game that experienced several changes in design and direction and cost us dearly in mental health and budget.
But what doesn't kill us, comes back and tries to kill us again makes us stronger – in 2022, we've met Nikita Kulaga, the game designer behind the wildly successful Graveyard Keeper, and started to collaborate on a new game, which is now known as Sister of a Dragon.
We're happy to report that the Steam store page of our new game is now open:
https://store.steampowered.com/app/2694810/Sister_of_a_Dragon/
In a nutshell, this is a turn-based tactics built around a hex-based matrix with passive and active tokens, which belong to one of 8 schools, and can transform and change levels. If this sounds similar to the multi-layered mechanics of Gremlins, Inc. – you're right on spot! With Sister of a Dragon, we develop another game where multiple systems combine for a special kind of gameplay.
We already started to publish developer diaries there, covering both the story, and the mechanics of the gameplay. In 2025, we aim to release the demo that showcases the game. We hope that you will like it! (and if not, no problems at all: we are masters of issuing permanent bans on complainers!).
On a serious note, though, we already play our new game every day, and we love the flexibility of the battle system. What's left is polishing and tying all the loose ends (a massive job that everybody hates, but which must be done). Come say "Hi", we promise to be nice.
[Team CO]