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We have not been able to find many proverbs from Chartagon, but they undoubtly existed, just like they do in society today. However, the Clerk documented a short phrase that was scribbled on one of the sills within the Storm Post lighthouse: “hunger is meaning“.

We believe this inscription was made by the Lighthouse keeper’s Daughter, but it’s meaning is here ambigous. It could either mean that they were really starving, and fighting to survive. This was not uncommon, and it is easy to imagine parents telling their children to keep their spirit up. Hunger is meaning. In the case of the Daughter, it is also possible that she was starving for company and was longing for someone (i.e. the Constructor). This proverb hints at how human drives and motivation stems from basic instincts, and that higher order meaning can emerge from the need to satisfy basic needs. In that sense, all meaning can be seen as a kind of hunger.

The second proverb was found in a drawing of the Queen’s upper floor library entrance, where one can read above the large double doors: “no one is normal but some are different“. Our interpretation is that it urges us to think about who we are and what we can do. Human characteristics differ in so many ways, so no there is no such thing as “normal”. Everybody has something that distinguish her from everybody else. On the other hand, we also have many similarities with each other in most dimensions. If one person deviates in many dimensions (mental or physical strength, temperament, beliefs, etc) from the closest people, that person may be regarded as or feel different. These people can do extraordinary things, and define the boundary for what “normal” is. Notice that the proverb is neither positively nor negatively valenced, and in the library context, we think it promts for reflection: who are you that enter, what information will you seek and for what purpose, and who are you when you leave?

The third proverb was found in at least thee transcript of the Queen’s audiences. Most of these text are lost, but sections where the Queen or someone said “you have not done your best if you have not asked for help” (or fragments of this sentence) has been found several times. The interpretation is easy: asking for help is something positive, and asking for help is a human superpower.

It is quite counterintuitive, but Chartagon has some specimens of reptiles and amphibians. However, the long cold autumns and winters, make their hybernation very long, and they are only active during very short periods of the Chartagonian summer. They have only been observed and studied at the mainland, and we have no reference to these beautiful animals from the islands. They live mostly in forest habitats, but some species can also have small populations in the plain habitats. The study of reptiles and amphibians have been focused on their potential use in medicine and anesthesia. Rumors say that the Queen has a green house garden with different spieces and habitats, but we have not found any proof or details about such a building yet.

“Mirorale” was a popular beverage in Chartagon which was served both as a regular dinner thirst quencher and as a luxury drink during solemn occations.

Mirorale was produced by putting a special type of onion, “Annealyn”, in water and letting the roots grow for a couple of weeks. The roots are covered with a net of symbiotic fungus, which together with (friendly) bacteria started a fermentation process. This process made the water turn white, as if someone poured milk into the water, and sometimes Mirorale have been refered to as Mirorale-milk, “Mirorale -gomaen”, when the drink was of extra high high quality. The fermentation process could be stopped at various timepoints to add other ingredients, such as sweetener or flavour. If done correctly, the beverage could be botteled and aged for decades. However, it is not known whether Mirorale was also used for alcoholic beverages. In addition to drinking, Mirorale was also used in cooking and baking.

Unfortunately, we have not found an substitute for Annealyn onion that could be used today, but the taste should be similar to Kefir or Kombucha.

Happy new year everybody! To be honest, 2021 was not the best of years for us. But we have not backed a single step. Actually, we have advanced and our visions and goals are now more concrete.

For example, development of Chartagon was finished, and we made an online version for competitions. This allows us to have online tournaments, and people can try and practice the basic rules to decide whether they want to purchase the full board game.

Another example is the Storm Post, the first game in the Chartagon series. It has been designed and tested since 2011 but was finished during 2021. It is more or less ready to be manufactured now. Storm Post is a really cosy family game, which is really easy to learn and enjoy. It encourages eating snacks together, so we can almost guarantee a good experience 🙂

We have also applied to arrange at GothCon 2022 in Gothenburg, Sweden in April, and I think we need to have at least one release party before then. This is a step toward a Kickstarter project or some other crowdfunding project. We’ve found a possible manufacturer in Hero Time, so we might have found a solid path forward. Remember: publishing the game is only the first step, and we are already looking beyond that.

All in all, 2022 has potential, and we just need to continue unlocking it!

All our enthusiasm in October about having a release in 2021 was killed in November by an unfortunate series of events. TGC mistakenly did not include the final rule book that we needed to proof, and sending a replacement took a very long time due to covid-19 transports. When it finally arrived it looked good, but it was too late to order and recieve a larger order before Christmas. So we decided to postphone the release and consider other options than TGC.

Perhaps it all turns out to the better. We’ve been in contact with other game manufacturers, and there seem to be some options. We’re now also thinking about a Kickstarter project, depending on what the game manufacturers can provide. As usual we don’t talk a lot about the plans, but we can at least say that we dropped one plan because a third party failed and adopted another plan. Adaption is key not only for survival, but also for evolution. Long live the plans!

Today we found some scraps and pieces that may contain information about the Queen’s capital. Preliminary analyses suggest an archipelago or, more probable, a river delta giving shelter from the ocean. Navigating into and out from the harbour required an intricate system of navigation aids, and it seems like there was at least five small light house stations involved. These small stations, with three or four houses each, were served by families living for different periods of time at each station. Communications with the city was regular, and there was something like a ferry line transporting supplies and guests several times a week.

Information about the the city itself is still scarce. It can not have had more than 10 000-15 000 habitants, but we know that there was a palace and a lot of administrative and academic buildings.

We are preparing for release party this autumn!!! Hopefully we will receive enough boxes from TheGameCrafter to finally launch Chartagon and Storm Post during November! We had a small misfortune in our last order, but TheGameCrafter’s excellent customer service solved it very rapidly. So we are enthusiastic 😀

The last weeks we’ve been working on the backdrop for the sales table, and today we’re working with the finishing touches… looking forward to see it in use!

It’s been a while. Progress has moved unseen in the shadows. Now, we are about to unleash a major, major upgrade to the Chartagon world. If things turn out as planned, there will be a Chartagon event where we present the board game to the world! Though everything has been delayed due to the pandemic, we think it’s been worth the wait…

Right now, we just wait for the right moment to unbox the package with Chartagon, Storm Post and Traces that just arrived. Yes, we’ve updated all three games this time! Chartagon and Storm Post is hopefully perfectly done, and we look forward to polish Traces during the autumn.

See you soon!