I first saw Damask at the UK Games Expo 2021, the first in person convention after Covid lockdowns had swept the world, and there was a real sense of joy at being able to see old friends again after so long. Radical 8 Games wasn’t initially supposed to be at the Designer-Publisher Speed Dating event, we were looking to focus on developing in-house designs, but a great group of publishers I’d met over the years persuaded me to come along. I’m so glad we did.
Damask immediately stood out to us as a really exciting publishing proposition. It ticked a lot of Radical 8 Games’ boxes- interesting and rarely seen theme, elegant & streamlined design, and the capacity to look beautiful. One thing I always think of when it comes to games is ‘what will this look like on the table’, and Barbara Burfoot, the designer, had created a wonderful prototype which made this easy to visualise. Interestingly, when discussing the games with the fellow publishers in the pub after, we skipped very quickly over Damask. I must admit I put this down to other publishers having a nose for it and not wanting to give it away, or just my own paranoia.
The rest of the weekend was spent 100% focused on Die of the Dead, selling out, and even playtesting the expansion. Plus Blood on the Clocktower every evening in the Ibis Styles (if you ever go to the Expo check this out, it’s an amazing convention staple now and everyone is so friendly). But the following week, whilst holidaying in Devon (after an exhausting drive down on the Monday after driving back to York from the UKGE), I got in touch with Barbara. And arranged for the prototype to be sent to us for development and possible publication. How much needed to be changed? Not much, but that’s for a future entry.
If you’re interested in Damask, please check out our Gamefound Page here: https://gamefound.com/projects/draft/ic2bvhn5ukdlxfvumwwom4pzj8s?refcode=q0S4ahDQeE-Yt48v5NiOFw If you follow us on Gamefound we’ll also give you a free Damask promo pack to say thanks!
