Passion and dedication over a strategy card game

In 2022 I ran a Kickstarter for the card Game: Temerity. It successfully funded and 86 copies were produced. I did this with very little funding. The game was enjoyed by many, including Richard Garfield, and many others, some of which who later played it on Table Top Simulator as I was unable to provide them copies of the game.

I have since expanded the game to give players a choice of 4 different factions, rather than 1, although they will still play from a single deck.

The game is a result of 7 years of studying, researching and experimenting. I have spent most of my life trying to understand the way people think, how thought emerges and now more recently how to package emotions, fun, and depth into a very tidy and simple scoring game.

I am a single father of a 8 year old boy, raising him with the support of my mother. I initially had great jobs, before needing to commit time to my son, however as time went on I was losing the ability to return to those fields and would constantly run into problems with companies going bust, injuries and funding cuts, which meant I spent many years reapplying for jobs and living off Universal Credit.

Despite difficult times and really wanting to have a job, I always put my card game at the top of my priorities. I believe games should be good, help expand thought and not be financially demanding. That is why I set out to make a game which is snappy and has just 52 cards.

When I sold my car in 2022, I did it because I am genuinely that passionate. The video I was able to get from that can be seen below.

I really wish to make this game happen. It is pretty obvious to anyone who knows me that I think differently. I naturally think in textures/shapes and it makes thinking about factors interacting in a card game quite effortless. I suffer however in many other ways and try extremely hard to compensate for my weaknesses. I am here to bring a game that will challenge some of the best designs out there, it is designed to invoke thought, build a close connection between players quickly, and allow people to appreciate the beauty of their own mind. People sometimes forget or don't fully appreciate just how complex the human mind is, it has a great natural ability to problem solve and read between the lines.

This game is there to excite and invoke enjoyment. This game does not forget that we are emotional beings either, who think within contexts, who find it hard to disassociate ourselves from our own actions. It is purposely designed to bring out who we are and those natural patterns within ourselves.

I truly wish I can have clean and crisp art. This will be possible without a huge amount of funds, as the game has just 5 unique cards. My funding goal is based on the cost of hiring an artist and printing some prototypes. I do wish to get another video made, run events, and have someone else write the rulebook as I struggle to make it clear enough. There are a number of costs to going back to Kickstarter but without good art I cannot pursue alternative paths and even begin to avoid some of those costs, which are things like producing another video, submitting my game to youtube channels, promotion and so on. It is unfortunately a competitive market and without money I will just be ignored by many.

Currently I struggle to eat consistently due to low funds and having recently had my Universal Credit claim closed due to not accepting a message, which hopefully will be reinstated soon, it reminds me how far I am from being able to do this myself. I really need help to make this possible.

Everyday I wake up wishing I can crack on and get rolling, but each day I am looking at my bank balance wondering if I made a mistake, as I gave up a lot of my time to put this game together.