Another huge bit of news for 2016 as reported in the HatchetHerald
I am looking forward to checking this one out, GoTJ is going to be insane this year!!
For those of you who don’t know, I have been an avid gamer since I was in elementary school and have played everything from Dungeons & Dragons to Pokemon and everything in-between. Since my childhood I have been directly involved in the creation of several games including the Pendulum Roleplaying Game (which you can still find online), Morton’s List and Quest for Shangri-La all of which I am very proud of and consider to be a part of my life’s work. To me there is no greater joy on this planet than gaming and creating games and that is why it has been my immense privilege and joy to have been able to spend the last several months creating this card game for our Juggalo family.
Before I get into what the card game is I wanted to give props to my friend Louis Simpson who I met while doing EMS and is a now a close friend of mine, because it was his idea of doing this card game in the first place. Together we have put our collective 50+ years of gaming experience to the test (along with valued insight from our nerdy crew) to devise the dopest game we could conceive. I also want to thank the motherfuckin’ Don Mega of all artists to ever grace the planet who has more than enthusiastically joined us as the 3rd member of our creative team…. none other than Tom Wood!!! His artwork, which is featured to the right (and is the box cover), speaks for itself! He is working his magic daily to bring everything to life with straight up master pieces of art that have been flipping our wigs into the stratosphere on spiraling trails of twinkling stardust and flame! When I tell you we have the best team to make this the dopest game ever…I do not boast.
OK, so what is it and how do you play? Into the Echoside is what has become commonly known in the gaming industry as a deck building game. Over the past four years or so these games have become very popular in the gaming world and are extremely fun and addictive to play. In a nutshell, everyone who is playing starts off with a small deck of cards that provide various resources. Then through the course of the game, players will obtain more and more powerful cards to add to their deck making it stronger so they can achieve the highest level of power necessary to win the game. Into the Echoside is a Juggalo version of a deck building game where players delve into the deepest levels of the Nethervoid, gain allies from some of the most notable characters in the Juggalo universe and fight creatures of infinite evil to aid them in their quest to halt the evil that threatens to consume the mortal realm!
Into the Echoside features game play and a theme that is unique to any other deck building game. It includes everything you need to play including a game board, 12-sided die, rulebook and over 220 cards that pay homage to everything Juggalos love. There are 6 different types of cards in the game (Dark Carnival, Psychopathic, Underground, Item, Fiend and Epic) each one representing a person, character, song or thing from the Juggalo world. There are such cards as Juggalos, Moon Glorious, Vera Lee, Mr. White Suit, The Riddle Box, Rude Boy, DJ Clay, Psychopathic Rydas, Whitney Peyton, Kottonmouth Kings, Boondox, Jamie Madrox, Black Eyed Children, Murder Cloak, Chuck the Chainsaw, Cartoon Nightmares, Mr. Rotten Treats and Boogie Man just to name a very very few! Players will have the opportunity to wield the powers bestowed upon them by some of their favorite artists and characters!
Each game takes less than an hour to play, is meant for 2-4 players of ages 13 and up and will retail for around $40-$45. The game will be released at the Gathering of the Juggalos this year making it available for the first time on July 20, 2016. There will also be a promo pack of 3 cards (Wizard of the Hood, Hatchetman and Inner City Posse) that you can only obtain if you purchase the game during its presale (details to come at a later date) or if you purchase the game at the Gathering itself! If you want to check out the developing website dedicated to the game you can check it out herewww.intotheechoside.com
In closing I want to add that we have been playtesting this game for a while now and I can say with extreme confidence that I am very happy with the play of the game. It is so engaging that whenever I do play test it, I quickly forget about everything else and am just trying to formulate my strategies so I can win. I am so proud of this game and it has been so rewarding to be able to be a part of a such a talented team who are creating something so uniquely entertaining for our family. This has been one of my most personally rewarding projects I have ever worked on at Psychopathic Records.
Also for those attending the Gathering this year, we will have a demonstration tent set up for those who wish to playtest Into the Echoside and learn firsthand how to play. Tournaments for the game will also be included in the Dark Carnival Games Con (DCG CON) that will be taking place toward the later part of this year to find out who will be the best of the best. This is a good time indeed for Juggalo gamers but even if you don’t consider yourself a gamer, give this one a try when you have the chance. You may just be surprised at how addictive this game can be. So until the Gathering the only question that remains is….
Do you dare delve into the deepest levels of the Nethervoid?
