Western Legends Stories

October Overview- Updates, Inserts, and Timelines
about 1 year ago – Thu, Oct 16, 2025 at 11:48:22 AM

Howdy, partners!

We're rolling into the Third Thursday Update for October, and we've got the latest from the frontier! The team has been relentlessly focused on two major components this past month: finalizing the card/rulebook files and tackling the monumental task of insert design.

Graphic Design & Final Card Approval

Hervé, the game's designer, has been tirelessly reviewing every single card, sending us daily feedback. We are diligently making modifications and preparing the files for the factory as they receive updates.

This phase of editing and refinement has been the largest hurdle, as we significantly underestimated the time needed for a game with a word count nearly eight times that of any other game in our catalog. We appreciate your continued patience as we push for perfection to ensure the final product is as clear and enjoyable as possible, avoiding inconsistencies we've learned from in the past.

Once we have the final English cards approved, we will update the Tabletop Simulator (TTS) module and share the rulebook with you. We've been holding off on uploading these because the files are constantly changing, and we want to share the approved, final text with you.

Box and Insert Design

The other main focus has been the insert design. There is a LOT of content in Western Legends Stories, and designing an efficient way to store it all, one that protects the components and makes setup easy, has been a major challenge.

Box Size Increase: The box size is being increased to better accommodate all the stories and additional cards.

Insert Layout: We're currently building off older design concepts, combining the best elements of each to create a final insert that will give all the episodes and components their own dedicated sections.

Here’s a picture from the production team of an earlier design. The cards are all stacked as one thing here, but as you’ll see in the 2nd picture, we’re building a layout for all the episodes and other components to have their own sections.

Neither of these designs are what's being used, they’re just what we’re building off of, combining the best of both worlds, to make the final insert.

Our production team is working on a new insert now with the increased box size, and we hope to have a layout to share with you soon.

Production Timeline

We want to stress that this timeline is subject to change as we complete the final edits and move into manufacturing. We are committed to doing this right instead of doing it fast, and our estimates for the sheer scope of this scenario/adventure game were off. We sincerely apologize for these updated delays.

Here is the current production projection:

Edits and Corrections (English Edition): Expected to be completed by mid-November. We are aiming for earlier, but we are planning around potential workflow interruptions like the Essen trade show.

Miniatures (Both Editions): Production is expected to be complete in late November. Production on these has already begun to get a head start.

French Translation: Translation will begin in late November and is expected to extend until February. This is a long process due to the HUGE amount of text and the overlap with the holiday season. The French editions will require an extra month or two to incorporate all the final English edits.

Printed Components (English Edition): Printing (cards, boards, box) is expected to be complete in January.

Assembly (English Edition): Projected to be done in early February. Our goal is to beat the Chinese New Year holiday.

Shipping Containers: Containers will begin shipping out in February.

Asia Backers: Orders will begin in February, stretching into March.

EU and US Backers: Expected to receive items in April/May.

UK and Canada Backers: Expected to receive items in May/June.

Australia Backers: Delivery is estimated between May and July, depending on container availability.

We appreciate your patience and understanding as we navigate the final stages of a project that turned out to be much larger than originally estimated.

Thank you all for your incredible support! We're doing everything we can to get Western Legends Stories on your tables.

If you have any questions, feel free to drop them below, or let us know what part of the game you're most excited to get on your table!

If you have issues with your order please submit a ticket here: https://backer.publishing-technology-solutions.com/en

-Kolossal Games

 

September Third Thursday Update
about 1 year ago – Thu, Sep 18, 2025 at 01:01:59 PM

Howdy partners,

It's been a busy few weeks as we finish up the last few components for Western Legends Stories. The cards finally reached a great state last month, which has allowed us to focus on the remaining elements on our to-do list. The game is roughly 90% cards, and the extensive work on the text meant that some other components were on the back burner for longer than we expected.

Our graphic design team has been adding the final touches and giving a facelift to a few other components. One of my favorite examples that we received yesterday is the new look for the Envelopes. These are used to store game elements that you'll reveal once you reach specific parts of the game. Our graphic designer decided to give them a complete redesign.

Other recent additions include custom artwork for the "Under Construction" side of each building. While we had some art in the original plan, our team went through and created a unique design for each building to make them look better on the board. Please forgive the cut lines.

Next Steps

Our current plan is to package all the files together for final approval by the end of tomorrow. We'll send the files to Hervé for his review, as well as to a few beta testers who are familiar with the game but haven't been staring at it for weeks on end like us. While they review, we'll take another look at the insert. The factory's mockups were close, but they still need some improvements to ensure everything fits perfectly.

Once the files are approved by Hervé and our team, we will begin printing all the cards and punchboards. The minis were already submitted to the factory, and we're just waiting on them to send us photos and samples. We'll be sure to share those with you as soon as they come in.

Thank you again for your support and understanding. We apologize for the delays, but we know you'll appreciate these changes once the game is on your table.

-Kolossal Games

August Overview- A Look Back and Where We Are
about 1 year ago – Thu, Aug 21, 2025 at 09:53:22 AM

Howdy partners,

With August now upon us, we wanted to take a moment to provide a deeper look into the progress on Western Legends Stories as we approach the originally estimated fulfillment time. We know we're running behind, and we sincerely apologize for the delay. We believe that a bit of transparency about what's been happening behind the scenes will help explain why we've had to push back the timeline.

A Massive Undertaking

When we launched this campaign, we were confident in the game's state. Hervé, the designer, had been refining it for years, and our playtesting sessions went smoothly. With the campaign's massive success and your incredible enthusiasm, Hervé proposed adding a New Adventure pack to thank all our backers. This new, two-episode story, now titled Winter 1871, was an exciting addition that introduced a whole new storyline and tweaked the gameplay in excellent ways.

However, this is where our initial timeline began to shift. The original game text was in French and translated for our English-speaking team to refine. When Hervé began making extensive revisions to the core game after the campaign, we realized we needed to re-translate everything to ensure consistency. We also brought in a professional editor to polish the text and ensure that the narrative and world-building truly shined.

What followed was a meticulous process of editing, translating, and graphic design implementation that took much longer than we had anticipated. To put the scope of this project into perspective, the entire original Western Legends series, including the core game, three expansions, and all stretch goals, that spanned over 5 years contains roughly 63,000 words.

Western Legends Stories surpasses that with just over 66,500 words, and that's just from this one campaign. Each card's structure, art, and icons mean that every single change had to be applied by hand, which is a significant effort for our graphic design team.

The Road to Production

The good news is, we are nearing the finish line on the English version. The most recent batch of files was in excellent shape, requiring only minor corrections. Our goal is to submit the English cards, punchboards, and other printed materials for production in late August or early September. We're confident that all this extra time and attention to detail will result in a truly exceptional game.

The French edition will follow a separate timeline. We chose to wait to hand over the files for translation until the English version was fully finalized. This was to avoid any confusion or inconsistencies that could have arisen from working with a constantly changing English version. We'll be sending the final files to our translation team this month while also sending files to the factory. We expect French copies will be fulfilled in early 2026, while the English copies will leave the factory later this year.

What We've Been Up To

November 2024: The campaign ended, and Hervé began making revisions to the game to get it to a state he was happy with. We also introduced the Winter 1871 adventure pack.

December 2024: With the holidays and the scope of the new revisions, we spent this month and January translating the updated game files from French to English. Herve began building and playtesting Winter 1871.

January 2025: The pledge manager closed, and we finalized your orders and collected payments. We also held a poll to decide on the final version of the Stagecoach miniature. 

February 2025: The translation process finished. We brought in a professional editor to refine the game's text. Kolossal received an early version Winter 1871 at the end of February.

March 2025: Our development team completed their work and handed off the project to our graphics team, who began implementing the changes. 

April-May 2025: Our editor worked on all the card and scenario text, with our graphics team diligently applying the corrections. We also addressed the issue of US tariffs and outlined our plan to handle them closer to the shipping date. 

June 2025: The first round of edits was completed by our graphic design team. Herve, our editor, and our team started a second review of the files to ensure everything was perfect. We also began preparing the minis and punchboards for production to get a head start.

What's Next

While we've been focused on getting the files perfect, some side projects had to be temporarily put on hold. We apologize for our previous statements about updating the Tabletop Simulator (TTS) module sooner. We'll be updating TTS with the new and final files soon, and we'll also be offering an exclusive preview and offer for an upcoming original Western Legends project to all WLS backers.

We know delivering a game late is not ideal, and it pains us to start this new chapter on a sour note. Western Legends is the cornerstone of Kolossal Games, and we want this foundation to be as solid as possible. The love and time we've poured into this game will be evident when you have it on your table, and we're confident you'll appreciate the improvements. We’ve learned valuable lessons from this process that we will apply to future expansions and projects.

Thank you again for your patience and support. We can’t wait to get Western Legends Stories into your hands.

-The Kolossal Games Team

Third Thursday Update- July
over 1 year ago – Thu, Jul 17, 2025 at 10:24:57 AM

Howdy partners,

Get ready for some exciting news from the frontier! We're wrangling all the final files and getting 'em ready for the printing presses. As we mentioned last month, our graphic design team has wrapped up the first round of edits, and now our development team is meticulously reviewing every card and scenario to ensure everything is absolutely perfect before it heads to print.

Meanwhile, our talented artists are busy crafting brand-new art for the "New Adventures" pack, bringing even more thrilling tales to life! And the miniatures? They're officially in production! We've sent them off to the factory to begin the mold-making and fine-tuning process, and we're eagerly awaiting those first samples. You'll be the first to see pictures as soon as they head our way!

We know you're champing at the bit to get your hands on Western Legends Stories, and we appreciate your continued patience as we ensure every detail is polished to perfection. We're working hard to make this the most immersive and exciting Western Legends experience yet!

-The Kolossal Games Team

Third Thursday Update June- First Round of Edits Complete
over 1 year ago – Thu, Jun 19, 2025 at 01:54:32 PM

Hello everyone,

Graphic Design & Editing Update

Great news! The first round of edits for Western Legends Stories has been completed by our graphic design team – and they definitely earned it! We underestimated the time needed for these edits in our initial timeline, and we apologize for the delay. With a word count nearly eight times that of any other game in our catalog, it was a massive undertaking.

Herve, Kolossal, and our editor are now diving into a second review of the files. We just received these updated files on Tuesday and will be meticulously going over them for the rest of this week and next to ensure everything is perfect and nothing was missed.

Digital Content & Production

With these new files in hand, we're finally planning to update the digital Tabletop Simulator (TTS) module! We'll be sharing updated versions of the game's content for you to enjoy while you wait for your physical copies.

While all of this is going on, we're preparing the minis and punchboards for production. We have a few minor edits to make, but production on these components will begin soon. This will allow the factory to get a head start and be ready to move quickly once the cards are finalized and produced.

We'll share more updates as soon as we receive test samples and other exciting developments from the printers.

—The Kolossal Games Team