Watchtower gaming announces plans to launch Studium | No Exit on Kickstarter, featuring tile-based gameplay, stunning artwork, and beautifully crafted miniatures. 

Hoping to crowdfund the upcoming tabletop board game Studium | No Exit, Watchtower Gaming LLC. has starting the pre-launch phase of their campaign on Kickstarter and Backerkit.

“This has been a five year labor of love that I hope the world will finally get to experience,” says Mack Wheeler, founder of Watchtower Gaming. “We have a small but passionate team that has been working tirelessly to make sure that this was as ready as it could be. As an independent game developer, I’m just really thankful for having the freedom and space to make the game that we’re passionate about without the restraints of or expectations of a big publishing company. We’ve made something that we’re really proud of that is ready for crowdfunding and we couldn’t be more excited to launch this thing.”

Mack goes on to explain that he was driven to create the Studium series after assessing the landscape of Gothic Horror Fantasy tabletop games. “Right around the time Mansions of Madness was releasing their second edition, it occurred to me that tabletop was becoming heavily saturated with Gothic Horror. It makes sense because when you roll a dice or draw a card, there’s built in suspense. Everything had a steampunk or contemporary aesthetic though, which pushed me to ask: where are our gothic horror fantasy settings? I wanted to create a board game that could fit the big-box mold that fantasy hits like Gloomhaven established, but offer an entirely novel gothic horror fantasy setting.”

One feature of the Studium | No Exit board game that is immediately apparent and sets it apparent from its peers is a contrasting art style. Mack says that this is very much intentional. “I’m aware that the dichotomy in art style is front and center in the marketing. At the core of the game is a contrast between comfort, empowerment, and hope, set against a landscape of fear, oppression, and nihilism. Through the course of play, the art is less jarring because the game transitions out of one art style and into another much more smoothly alongside the gameplay. As a long time fan of tabletop, I am certain that went players sit down and go through the game, the differences in art will feel much more like a fluid transition. This allows the really incredible artwork to set or adjust the mood as you play through the game.”

Its clear that the Watchtower team wants to make this an immersive experience that encourages long-form campaign gameplay. “The whole team is really motivated by a drive to build an immersive world. We sow little details into every design so that players can connect the threads that elude to a larger living and breathing world. We also have a lead writer who comes from a television background which I love. He and I approach each journey that we ask the player to embark on like an episode of a television show where the player-characters get to take on the lead role. It builds in these satisfying arcs for each play session that make returning to the world an exciting prospect!”

Studium | No Exit’s Kickstarter per-launch page is live now and the Watchtower Gaming team is looking at a mid-to-late June launch for their crowdfunding campaign. CEO and Founder of Watchtower Gaming, Mack Wheeler, says that he is eager to connect with anyone who is interested in learning more about the game and its upcoming campaign.

About Watchtower Gaming

Watchtower Gaming LLC. is a small, independent game development group that is focused on launching the Studium tabletop role-playing games: a series of mature tabletop board games that captivates players with its gothic academia setting, rich world-building, and evolving campaign gameplay. Their current title in early development, Studium: No Exit, will debut as a crowdfunding exclusive before a later retail release. More on Watchtower Gaming’s forthcoming Studium: No Exit release can be found at watchtowergaming.com.