project-image

Call of Kilforth: A Fantasy Quest Game

Created by Tristan Hall

Return to Kilforth in the brand new game! Explore the beautiful southern seas with all new heroes and all new sagas to tell

Latest Updates from Our Project:

Call of Kilforth, February 2023 – Printing + Artbook + AireCon + Videos!
about 1 year ago – Tue, Feb 14, 2023 at 08:42:21 AM

Hello there,

The factories are open again after Chinese New Year, our files have been submitted, and we've had plenty of feedback, and spotted a couple of typos, so all revisions have been re-submitted and we are done! We're just waiting for the Pre-Production Copies of the games to be manufactured and sent out to us for approval. In the meantime...

"Art of Kilforth" Artbook Kickstarter!

We're incredibly excited to announce that our Art of Kilforth Artbook Kickstarter is happening very soon: launching tomorrow, Wednesday, the 15th of February 2023 (aiming for 12 noon GMT), so be sure to sign up at the link below! And here are some notes below with answers to recent frequently asked questions we've had:

  • Yes, this beautiful artbook is printing now, so we can deliver it alongside your copies of Call of Kilforth in just a few months' time,
  • It's a lovingly curated compilation of over 200 images across all of the Kilforth games and expansions,
  • Yes, Gloom of Kilforth Promo Packs 1 and 2 + the Dark Call alternative art expansion will all be up for grabs, albeit everything in the campaign will only be offered in quantities limited by available stocks,
  • And yes, we'll be offering a couple of promo cards with the Artbook that can be included in any of the 3 Kilforth games too, so be sure to click the link and sign up for launch:

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/tristanhall/art-of-kilforth-artbook-and-gloom-of-kilforth-reprints

Exclusive Video Previews!

And whilst you're waiting for the launch, why not let the legendary @rickyroyalbod give you an overview of the upcoming Art of Kilforth Artbook:

 Or have the lovely Mark Monk give you a sneak peak:

AireCon UK, 9th March 2023!

To those of you coming to AireCon, Harrogate in March, be sure to stop by our stand and say hello. We're delighted to be supporting the event, and hopefully getting a chance to play some games too...

Canje plays the Gloom!

Here you can watch one of our friendliest veteran players talk you through a play-through of Gloom of Kilforth:

Canje Teaches Gloom of Kilforth

And if you want to follow up with a deep dive into the rules, be sure to check this out too:

Most Anticipated Games of 2023?

What are your Most Anticipated Games of 2023? And – like in this list from The Meeple Marathon – does Call Of Kilforth feature in your faves?

Ricky plays 1815, Scum of the Earth!

Possibly our most gorgeous Historic Epic Battle System game yet is now readily available to buy in stores (whilst stocks last), and here is Ricky Royal to show you just how Epic the system is, including a particularly nail-biting finish...

And that's all for now, I hope you have a ruddy wonderful week. Personally, I'm off for another piracy adventure a-crest the crashing waves of Kilforth's Blood Seas. I'm sure I'll see you there soon...

Cheers!

Tristan xx

Call of Kilforth, January 2023 – Off to Print!
about 1 year ago – Wed, Jan 11, 2023 at 09:43:35 AM

Hello there,

What a smashing start to 2023... :D

Files of to the printers!

All the files have been submitted to the printers and I've approved all the digital proofs so it's in the hands of the printers now. They will of course be shutting down for Chinese New Year, but production will hopefully begin shortly afterwards. This should still leave us on track for delivery in Q2 and as always we'll keep you posted on developments.

Development Notes!

Some of you may remember the ship dice we hinted at experimenting with in a previous update – these were removed from the final game. The dice were supposed to simulate rolling hits in ship combat but they added too much additional complexity to an already complex game but not nearly enough fun, so we totally revamped how the ships work by using the new Galleon cards and Ship/Power tokens instead. Also, the new Fated Doubloon tokens offer a method of playing all 3 Kilforth games entirely without dice if you're the type of player who feels like the dice sometimes hate you. That said, the land of Kilforth is still horribly dangerous, and just because you don't have dice, doesn't mean the game will go easy on you! The play-testers have been having a lot of fun playing the game with all the new stuff, some even say it's the best Kilforth game yet but of course we'll leave that to you to decide when it lands. And don't forget that the rulebook is available to peruse whilst you wait:

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1XVTZti0b7PFKLSyLLRpbI-jqIbg-G8od/view?usp=share_link

Art of Kilforth Artbook!

We're soon going to run a crowdfunding campaign for the Art of Kilforth Artbook. If you pledge for the Artbook (and/or any extras) we'll be able to ship these items out to you along with your Call of Kilforth pledge. It's going to be a 104 page hardbound A4 sized beauty filled with over 200 eye-wateringly gorgeous images that transport you into the world of Kilforth, and it will not be available in stores. So stay tuned here for the launch and more details... 

The Ballad of the Dark Elf Priest

I wanted to share this Gloom of Kilforth play session report from BGGer Ghenipus with you because it conjures the terrific sagas that the world of Kilforth can deliver, whilst also being extremely creative and funny:

https://boardgamegeek.com/thread/2734689/article/41452507

In other news, the Tryb Solo review of 1815, Scum of the Earth from the charming Marek Weihberg is right here, and it's aces!

If you haven't dipped your toe into the waters of our Historic Epic Battle System games there is no better time than now to jump in whilst all three HEBS games are still in stock.

And that's all for now, have a brilliant 2023, and we'll catch up with you again soon!

Cheers,

Tristan xx

Call of Kilforth, December 2022 – Rules, Artbook, Dark Call, Split Shipping Options!
over 1 year ago – Sun, Dec 11, 2022 at 01:30:43 AM

Hello there,

It's a big one this month, so grab yourself a nice, warm winter beverage and pop your feet up...

Rulebook!

The rulebook for Call of Kilforth is here:

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1Fu8V04X70zrs2USD9NmYGD3bgmCOpqon/view?usp=share_link

I've been over all 3 Kilforth game rulebooks with a fine-toothed comb and tried to pare back any extraneous language in a continuing effort to make things as clear and concise as possible. I believe that the Call of Kilforth rulebook benefits enormously from this. As noted on page 2, unless you want to refresh your memory on everything (or compare to previous rulebooks), veteran players will want to skip straight to pages 26-27 for all the new stuff.

Split Shipping Options!

Depending on your hub's location, if you ordered any of the following items (or would like to order any of the following items) and would like to pay the extra shipping to have them sent out to you within the next few weeks, we have re-stocked many of these titles at most of our hubs and should now be able to arrange this for you via PayPal only:

  •  Shadows of Kilforth
     
  • SoK Pimp My Shadows
     
  • SoK Adventures Expansion
     
  •  Gloom of Kilforth
     
  • GoK Pimp My Gloom
     
  • GoK Encounters Expansion
     
  •  Veilwraith
     
  • Veilwraith Absolution Expansion
     
  • Veiled Wraith Alt Art Pack
     
  • Veilwraith Playmat
     
  •  1815, Scum of the Earth
     
  • 1815, Scum of the Earth Playmat
     
  •  1565, St Elmo's Pay
     
  • 1565, St Elmo's Pay Playmat
     
  • 1565, St Elmo's Pay Promo Pack
     
  •  1066, Tears to Many Mothers
     
  • 1066 Playmat
     
  • 1066 Solo Resource Dial

Simply email us at [email protected] to arrange this. You will be given a paypal link, and you simply pop the relevant shipping amount into that link. It's a bit of a logistical challenge at this end so please bear with us whilst we get through this and be patient with our responses, etc.

Deluxe or Pimp

We've listened to you all, so thanks for your comments. We're sensitive to people's opinions and thoughts on the topic. Many people are happy with the Pimp My brand and many would prefer the Deluxe brand. We've already printed a run of expansions called Pimp My Shadows and Pimp My Gloom, so those will keep the same name for this print run and delivery, but moving forward we will update both of these expansions to the Deluxe brand in future print runs, including Deluxe Call, which is going to print now. As has been pointed out numerous times, those deluxe components will likely be mixed into your base games straight away in any case.

Playmats!

The first of the double-sided Call of Kilforth world playmats have landed at HoN HQ - check em out...

2022 People's Choice Top 200 Solo Games

I'm absolutely delighted to announce that Gloom of Kilforth placed in the Top 100 again - right above flippin' Star Wars! Thanks so much to everyone who voted:

https://boardgamegeek.com/geeklist/306154/2022-peoples-choice-top-200-solo-games-1-200?itemid=9339319#9339319

Video!

Check out this awesome Gloom play-through from the brilliant Canje Studios AKA Derrick Daniel:

1815, Scum of the Earth

We've just completed fulfilment of our latest game 1815, Scum of the Earth, which has received brilliant feedback from our backers:

https://1815-scum.backerkit.com/hosted_preorders

This means we're nearly ready to launch our next Kickstarter, so stay tuned for that.

Kilforth Artbook + Dark Call

We've been super busy developing multiple projects behind the scenes, and out of all of this, two new Kilforth items will also be made available soon:

Art of Kilforth Artbook – a 100 page hard backed book featuring nearly 200 incredible images from all our Kilforth games and expansions

Dark Call Alternative art expansion (consists of 12 promo cards with racier art)

We're hoping to be able to print these alongside Call of Kilforth so keep your eyes peeled for updates on these too.

 Some Thoughts

So, how's everyone been since lockdown? I need to know because I feel like we all had a collective system shock roll with that pandemic, and we're only just recovering now. I've been trying to get out and appreciate going out more, going to a few gigs, (Perturbator, John Williams) because, you know, it's good to be out! But now that the weather has dropped to -5 in the north of England, we're battening down the hatches and cosying up for Christmas at Hall or Nothing HQ.

I'm also back into my old D&D campaign group after a couple of decades – I've been playing a Scottish half-elf, which bamboozled the group, who said that dwarves should have Scots accents, not elves. But then The Dragon Prince cartoon came out on Netflix where the elves are Scots, so I was kind of validated. :D

And, of course, I've been designing games. I remember reading an interview with Peter Jackson talking about making the Hobbit movies after the Lord of the Rings movies, and he brought up the issue of having to almost compete with his younger self. I'm not comparing myself in any way to Mr Jackson but I had a strong sense of what he was on about whilst designing Call of Kilforth. What new elements could I bring to it whilst making it true and compatible with the originals? How do you prevent it from despoiling the original work, like The Last Jedi? How did 27 year old me come up with 30,000 flippin' words of flavour text for Gloom of Kilforth alone? Why on earth did I decide to use over 300 illustrations for each game? How do I make the rulebook even more accessible for newcomers and returning veterans?

Much of it involves failing quickly at the design stage. The fate dice system I designed didn't work, it just added too much overhead and complexity, especially as there is already so much going on in the game. Whereas the new ship tokens do work because they're much simpler and, most importantly, more fun. Now you get to load up your cannons and conquer the southern archipelago of Kilforth, by blasting enemy ships to smithereens, or trading with friendly NPC ships, or even blasting friendly ships to smithereens! And now, because not everyone else was raised on chucking dice in the 80s and 90s, there is a new diceless gameplay option for Kilforth that should appeal to a) euro-friendly gamers, and b) people for whom the dice have a personal vendetta.

Between designing games and fulfilling Kickstarters, we've been busier than we've ever been. We've undergone the same insane shipping nightmares as every other games company in the world right now, but we still managed to successfully deliver 1815, Scum of the Earth and we even delivered Veilwraith during the pandemic itself. We're desperate to launch Kreel Manor next, we just need to line up a few more ducks first. And that launch will also pave the way for a certain horror game that we do not talk about, so make sure you're subscribed to our website as unusual things will be happening with that game.

And now, Call of Kilforth is off to print – I'm unbelievably excited about the new art and game elements, and to see what backers all think when it lands next year. I cannot believe it's already been 7 years since we launched Gloom of Kilforth and now we have 9 successful Kickstarters under our belt - it's been absolutely amazing, and it still is amazing. As a game designer as well as publisher, it's a daunting challenge every day, as well as a terrific privilege. I hope you all have an amazing Christmas, and as I said, keep your eyes peeled for our latest Kickstarter launch.

And that's all for now, have a bloomin' brilliant holiday, and let's catch up in the New Year.

Cheers!

Tristan xx

Call of Kilforth, November 2022 – Minis, Playmats, Hall or Nothing Games Restocks
over 1 year ago – Thu, Nov 03, 2022 at 05:09:15 AM

Hello there,

Split Shipping Options Coming Soon!

If you ordered any of the below items (or would like to order any of the following items) and would like to pay the extra shipping to have them sent out to you earlier, we have re-stocked many of these titles at most of our hubs and we will try to arrange this for you from next month, and via PayPal only. If you're interested, you will be given a paypal link and shipping cost, and you simply pop the relevant shipping amount into that link. It's a bit of a logistical challenge at this end to organise though, so please bear with us whilst we complete the fulfilment of our latest game (1815, Scum of the Earth) first. We will have more info on this in the next update, but here's the list of restocked items in the meantime...

  • Shadows of Kilforth
  • SoK New Tales Expansion
  • SoK Pimp My Shadows (same as Deluxe Upgrades, but called Pimp My Shadows instead)
  • SoK Adventures Expansion
  • SoK World Playmat
  • Gloom of Kilforth
  • GoK Promo Pack 1
  • GoK Pimp My Gloom (same as Deluxe Upgrades, but called Pimp My Gloom instead)
  • GoK Encounters Expansion
  • Veilwraith
  • Veilwraith Absolution Expansion
  • Veiled Wraith Alt Art Pack
  • Veilwraith Playmat
  • 1815, Scum of the Earth
  • HEBS Weather Deck Expansion
  • 1815, Scum of the Earth Playmat
  • 1815, Give Me Night Prussia Expansion
  • 1565, St Elmo's Pay
  • 1565, St Elmo's Pay Playmat
  • 1565, St Elmo's Pay Promo Pack
  • 1066, Tears to Many Mothers
  • 1066 Playmat
  • 1066 Solo Resource Dial

Miniature Highlights!

The mini pack samples have arrived and a huge thanks so much goes out to the amazing Marco Lai for beautifying these bad boys and girls with his magnificent paintistry:

Gloom/Call Double-Sided World Playmats

The files have been submitted for our absolutely stunning, super deluxe, double-sided world playmats, with stitched edges for added protection! The good new is that we've ordered extra world playmats this time because so many of you asked about our Shadows world playmat after we'd already sold out last time around. So if you want to add a world playmat (or any miniatures boxes) to your pledge, don't delay, simply email [email protected] and we'll sort it out for you...

We asked why you backed – You said...

In case you thought we didn't read your survey comments, we did, and they made us laugh, cry, and, occasionally, straight up worry...

  • "Gloom of Kilforth is my #1 game and I like supporting Hall or Nothing Games"
  • "I trust Hall or Nothing productions with my tabletop entertainment."
  • "Because of Visuals, the Dynamic Duo Francesca and Tristan, 100% solo option but also possibility to include more player, It is f--ing Gloomy Hall or Nothing :-)"
  •  "I've backed all of your projects so far. Never been disappointed." 
  • "The game system is very solid and Tristan cares for his community and supports his games."
  • "Tristan owns part of my soul. He keeps it in a jam jar."
  • "Tristan.  I'm hoping that he'll marry my daughter someday so I can call him son, even if he's older and more handsome than me.  That way I'll get to play games with my daughter and new best friend/son Tristan.  Who knew that inventing amazing board games would lead to a meeting and marrying a backer's daughter?  I'm really doubting you're ever going to read this..."

"Pimp My Gloom" or "Deluxe Upgrades"?

The discussion has been raised again several times about the name change of the deluxe components expansion from its pre-existing name "Pimp My Gloom(/Shadows/Call)" to "Deluxe Upgrades". It's a bit of a logistical pain in the bum to change it all up, and now there's evidence to suggest that many of the people who complained about the name change never actually backed the game anyway. Therefore we put the question to you, the community, since you guys came up with the expansions in the first place...

Responses in the comments below please: if you would prefer your expansion to be called "Deluxe Upgrades" simply type Deluxe Upgrades in the comments, if you prefer "Pimp My Call" simply type Pimp My Call in the comments instead (no need to type Pimp My Shadows/Pimp My Gloom, etc.). :)

Veilwraith Playthrough

Veilwraith has just opened the 2022 People's Choice Top 200 Solo Games – see what all the fuss is about and watch Go Wild Board Games play through the Veilwraith base game's 5 Vignettes:

Hall or Nothing Restock!

And if you are missing any of our line of gorgeously award-winning games you can order most of them now, here but hurry as stock is selling fast! :

https://hallornothingproductions.co.uk/shop

Cheers!

Tristan xx

Call of Kilforth, October 2022 – Timeline Update + Tabletop Gaming Live + Bonus Content!
over 1 year ago – Sun, Oct 09, 2022 at 01:15:36 AM

Hello there,

Timeline Distortion!

Let's rip this plaster off immediately: we are not going to make delivery of the game in January 2023. To have the game ready before Chinese New Year we would need to have all the files already submitted, and that hasn't happened yet. There are tons of reasons why projects get delayed these days, but let's just lay this one squarely on me. Call of Kilforth is an epic mammoth of a game, just as Gloom and Shadows were beforehand. I want Call to be as stunning and beautiful as its predecessors, and to that end, I'm taking more time for it to grow and bloom and for it to be ready when it's ready, and we are now aiming to fulfil Call of Kilforth in Quarter 2 of 2023.

Free Additional Call of Kilforth Content!

Many of you have backed our games before, so you'll be familiar with this habit of mine, but for those of you who are new to Hall or Nothing we often like to spruce our games up as we go through development. You know, to make them as cool as possible. So, one of the benefits of delaying the game's delivery is that I've added the following content to Call of Kilforth at no extra cost to you:

  • 4 new Sagas to Call of Kilforth – that's 12 new game-changing cards which add huge variety and replayability to the base game
  • 4 extra Ship cards
  • 4 extra Outpost cards
  • 20 Call of Kilforth divider cards
  • 8 Event cards added to the Encounter deck, to boost the Encounters from 72 to a total of 80 cards in the base game alone

Basically, this is a small box expansion's worth of content – you can consider these as sort of Kickstarter Stretch Goals, only without all the 'will they/won't they include them' nail-biting that goes with all of that. :)

 Call of Kilforth Event Cards

Speaking of Event cards – in Call of Kilforth, Events now give you a few adventure choices instead of simply requiring a single test, just to increase the immersion and player agency, for example...

Play-Testers?

If you're interested in play-testing Call of Kilforth in its final stages you can email me for an NDA here: [email protected]. If you know how to set up the files on Tabletop Simulator/Tabletopia even better! :D

Play-testing with the Call of Kilforth minis on the Shadows world playmat using the new Explore mode variant – you start with only the City in play and discover the world as you head out on your adventures...

Tabletop Gaming Live

Thanks so much to everyone who came to support us at our booth at Tabletop Gaming Live in Manchester – Francesca and I had a brilliant time meeting you. We got these photos whilst setting up but were kicking ourselves afterwards when it got too busy to take any photos with actual people at the stand! Nevertheless, we managed to sell out our stock (Veilwraith was crazy popular!), which was great, but I'll never get tired of meeting fans in person, signing copies of games (that still feels weird, but great!), and also meeting new people who've never heard of us and blethering about my games to them until their eyes water. :D

1815, Scum of the Earth is Landing!

All of our Historic Epic Battle System games 1815, Scum of the Earth + 1565, St. Elmo's Pay + 1066, Tears to Many Mothers + the latest printing of Veilwraith are arriving at our worldwide hubs and shipping out throughout October! Don't forget, you can still late pledge for 1815, Scum of the Earth, Veilwraith, and/or any of our history games via BackerKit here:

https://1815-scum.backerkit.com/hosted_preorders

People Choice Top Solo Games 2022- Starting Now!

If you haven't already, be sure to mosey on over to the 1 Player Guild on BGG and have your say by submitting your top 20 favourite solo games of the year:

https://boardgamegeek.com/thread/2937260/people-choice-top-solo-games-2022-starting-now
 

And that's all for now, I hope everyone has a fantastic and safe weekend – we're not doing Essen this year, but if you're going, have a brilliant time and post tonnes of pics on social so that we can all live vicariously through you and ogle the new games (and feel well jelly!)...

Ciao for now!

Tristan xx