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BINGHAMTON – Do you remember that ‘Rise of the Half Moon’ Google Doodle game from a few years ago, where you match phases of the moon?
Well, Graphic Designer Sam Reis of Binghamton does. To Google, it was a fun educational tool, but to Reis it was something with a lot more potential.
Reis wanted to play the game with their friends, not just against the game’s computer. They wanted to expand it, adding different special effects and events throughout the game's cards while growing the board and updating the gameplay.
“I was like, okay, you know, why don't I try to make this as a board game?” Reis said.
“And that was October [2024], and we had our annual Friendsgiving meetup. And I'm like, I'm going to do it.”
Reis decided to continue developing the game and pursue selling it professionally after receiving a lot of positive feedback in-person and on Reddit after that party.
The first iteration had 108 cards and a 12x7 board, and slowly grew into its own as Reis incorporated feedback from friends, convention-goers, and professional designers.
Now the game has up to four players, a changeable three-board playing area for replay variety, increased accessibility, and special ‘luminary’ cards which introduce new behaviors that shake up the game.
In the process of developing the game, Reis won the Board Game Design Contest at the Great Escape on the Lake Convention this past summer.
The game is now called “Phase.” It centers around earning tokens for building as many correct moon phase pairs and sequences in strategic locations as you can with cards based on each phase of the moon.
The project is in its final week of a successful Kickstarter, having already raised nearly $10,000 after setting a $7,500 goal.
The Kickstarter offers the base game, or an expansion to bring the game up to six players, and a deluxe edition with foiled cards and extra goodies based on the amount you pay.
Designed Locally, Produced Locally
The box, cards, and booklets are being printed and assembled right here at Superior POD in Vestal, and Reis is 3D printing the tokens and containers at home – a big shift from many board game producers who have outsourced their production for cheaper costs.
However, the board game might not make it into your local board game store anytime soon.
Reis plans on only producing enough to satisfy the orders made on Kickstarter, and the increased expense of producing locally means limited profit and limited availability.
Extras are set to be sold at conventions and potentially on the SER Design website, but the Kickstarter may be the only opportunity to buy it.
“The MSRP of a game is generally five to eight times the cost of production,” Reis said. “I'm not charging that for my board game.”
Backers from ten different countries around the world have already purchased the game.
Reis said the Kickstarter ends on November 11, and that it has a rush option to get it here before Christmas.
The base game is $45, and the 6-player expansion costs $75. The deluxe edition with extra goodies and foil cards costs $85, and the largest set available contains an extra expansion for $110.
At the end of the Kickstarter campaign, Reis said at least three people who cannot afford the game will receive it as a gift, thanks to the generosity of funding that other backers have given.
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