Final Artwork Complete - Spearpoint 1943 + Updates

It's been a while between posts, but I have been incredibly busy with game design. I can finally breathe a little...

This weekend, I completed final card artwork on all of the cards for Frontline General: Spearpoint 1943, my new WWII squad-level combined arms card game, which is available for preorder direct at $24 + shipping. The artwork is for 175 cards total (86 of them unique) and includes 50 German Unit Cards, 50 US Unit Cards, 50 Command Cards, and 25 Damage Cards.

I printed an update to my prototype on photo paper last night as I listened to some music in the Drum & Base genre (I find it helpful to listen to repetitive beats when I'm doing repetitive work like trimming out or sleeving cards). I had previously finished and printed the 100 Unit Cards and only needed to print the Damage and Command Cards, so it took less time than I expected and my Dahle rotary trimmer made quick work of the new cards. Once I finished sleeving the final Command Card, after months of extensive work on the game and testing, I finally had a sense of completion.

What's next for Spearpoint 1943?

• I'm currently preparing a small 15-copy Print-On-Demand run through superiorpod.com which will be ordered this week to support a pre-release tournament at the upcoming Williamsburg Muster Convention in Williamsburg, VA. I'll then send some of the POD copies off to reviewers and podcasters to generate some pre-release reviews and some buzz about the game and with luck, more preorders. Other POD copies will go to some external playtesters who are ready and waiting to do final testing.
  
  
• I'll be previewing the artwork and game rules in the upcoming Issue 14 of Frontline General News. 5 pages of the article are already written but a few more are required. The extensive preview will cover the game in-depth, and will be supplemented by Design Notes and a video walkthrough of gameplay.
  
  
• I'm having our printer look at all of the card artwork files to let me know what I did wrong before production.
  
  
• I'm considering running a contest through http://www.boardgamegeek.com/ to generate more pre-release exposure for the game.
  
  
• I'm working with Mark Mahaffey to finish the box back artwork in the coming weeks.
  
  
• Scenario development and testing continues. I've written 4 of the 8 scenarios that will be freely available for download from our website upon release. The game doesn't depend on scenarios- in fact- standard games will probably be more commonly played- but scenarios really enhance the game for those seeking objective-based games with a little more story. Issue 14 of FG News will go into this more deeply, comparing the various ways to play.
  
  
• I'm re-vamping our brochures, banner ads, magazine ads, and convention marketing material / signage based on the completed artwork.