Critical Core

Hidden Stretch Goal at 2600 Backers: Exclusive Dice from Level Up Dice!
over 5 years ago – Mon, Apr 22, 2019 at 10:10:44 PM

We are ecstatic to announce a surprise stretch goal that has been in the works for some time now. Behind the scenes, we have been discussing with Level Up Dice, a premium dice manufacturer known internationally for their spectacular and unique sets of dice, about how to make the exclusive Critical Core dice set as incredible as possible. 

We were so honored with their response. To show their support for the mission of Critical Core, Level Up Dice offered to design and make a unique set of dice that will be an incredible and memorable tribute to our campaign.

Level Up Dice are making this brand new range of Glyphic dice in support of Critical Core! These blue sandstone dice combine the Critical Core font and Game to Grow’s leaf and gear symbols to create an incredible limited edition set of dice for supporters of the Critical Core Kickstarter campaign. 

Once this stretch goal is unlocked, this set of dice will become the official Critical Core dice offered to all backers at the $250 level and above. 

These dice are very exclusive, appearing in only this Kickstarter and will never be available for purchase. If you’d like to get a set, you’ll need to back the kickstarter at the Benefactor level or higher. 

Here is what Level Up Dice says about their Blue Sandstone:

Blue Sandstone is a man-made glass, produced in blue, purple and green colours. Blue Sandstone is said to increase "wealth wanting", and increases work efficiency, enterprise, and success, making our Blue Sandstone Dice the ideal dice for the rogue/thief of your party.

All of our semi-precious stones are hand crafted from the actual gemstone, so each dice will be as nature created the stone and be truly unique.

We recommend you do not roll your semi-precious stone dice on a surface harder than they (i.e. glass table) and suggest you roll them on a dice tray to prevent chipping your dice.

Natural Stone Disclaimer: Please note when ordering a set of our Semi-Precious Gemstone Dice, they are cut from natural stone and there will be variations on colours and no two will be the same. As such, each dice is very unique and may not be perfectly symmetrical, though their roll is as balanced as one would expect from acrylic dice. Our Semi-Precious Dice are hand-carved and there may be imperfections such as a slight size difference between the dice, asymmetrical faces of the dice, or the numbers may be off-centre. If the unique style of our Semi-Precious Gemstone Dice is not what you're after, we do offer our range of machine cut precision metal dice as an alternative.

We’re excited to unlock this goal, so make sure you share the Kickstarter across social media and with friends and family so we can make this happen!

https://twitter.com/CriticalCoreRPG/status/1119631816909119488

-Adam Johns, Game to Grow Executive Director

More Benefactor Pledge Levels? You got it!
over 5 years ago – Mon, Apr 22, 2019 at 10:10:43 PM

Well, no surprise. These amazing Level Up Dice have sold out the Benefactor level!

We’ve talked with Level Up, and they’ve offered to make more dice for us, so it looks like we can offer a few more at this exclusive level. 

We’re opening up more spots with the Last Minute Benefactor pledge level, but they are first come, first served, so if you’d like to make sure you get a set of these dice, claim your rewards before they are gone!

Also, make sure that you're sharing the project with everyone you know so that we can make sure to unlock these cool dice. Less than 100 backers left to unlock them!

-Adam Johns, Game to Grow Executive Director

April 2nd is World Autism Awareness Day!
over 5 years ago – Mon, Apr 22, 2019 at 08:01:59 PM

Because today is world autism awareness day, it is the perfect opportunity to share some of our key thoughts in the hopes that they will resonate with you, and that you might help to spread the positive message of inclusivity and neuro-diversity.

At Game to Grow, we prefer to show rather than tell, but today is a day to state our beliefs in no uncertain terms.

Presume Competence

Individuals on the spectrum have incredible capacities, and just because some individuals deal with social situations differently than many neuro-typical people does not make them in any way deficient. We strive to celebrate and understand differences, and presume competence.

Go Beyond Stereotypes

The autism constellation varies so much from person to person that researchers talk about ‘the autisms’ rather than one autism. Just because an individual has a diagnosis of autism does not mean we should make assumptions based on other autistic individuals we may have already known or on representations of autism in media. Everyone is unique and should be treated as individuals. 

No One Should be Forced to be “Normal”

Forcing what the neuro-majority considers ‘normal’ on persons with brains that work differently can often be disrespectful and even harmful. We believe that therapeutic support should, at its heart, build sense-of-self, self-esteem, and self-efficacy, allowing the participant to find their own authentic way of engaging and participating in community how they want to and because they want to. This way we can help individuals realize how they want to connect with others—or not—and let them do so on their own terms. 

Focus on Relationships

Studies(1) show that love-based, play-based, relationship-based interactions are an effective conduit for growing strengths, skills, and happiness. In our focus on helping autistic individuals build social skills and social capacity, we focus on the complete person, not just on discrete, isolated behaviors. 

Let's Change Perceptions

Recent research(2) demonstrates that the inflexibility of social norms contributes to the ‘disabling’ aspects of the autistic experience. By increasing our acceptance of individual differences, we can improve the long-term outcomes of many autistic individuals. We share this information with those around us so that together we can create a more welcoming and accepting world in which everyone is included.

Wishing you the very best,

Virginia, Adam, and Adam, The Critical Core Team

(1) http://www.icdl.com/research

(2) Sasson, N. J., & Morrison, K. E. (2017). First impressions of adults with autism improve with diagnostic disclosure and increased autism knowledge of peers. Autism, 1362361317729526.

Stretch Goals Revealed -- Seven Days Left!
over 5 years ago – Mon, Apr 22, 2019 at 08:01:14 PM

It's hard to believe that it's been a month since Critical Core launched on Kickstarter! We're overwhelmed and honored by your support and comments, and we're already getting started on development!

With only seven days left, we're excited to announce a new batch of stretch goals, all designed to help you use Critical Core to maximum effectiveness. Please help us share, spread the word, and SMASH through these stretch goals in these last few days!

Here's what we have in store for you:

$180,000 - Dice Bag - No-one wants a bunch of dice and game pieces rolling around in the box, so thanks to all of your support we're including a simple lightweight drawstring dice bag in every Critical Core Starter Set.

$190,000 - Intro to Critical Core for Therapists and Educators Video Series -Virginia Spielmann and Game to Grow host a series of YouTube videos specifically for therapists and teachers who want to start using Critical Core in an intentional way to build social skills with youth.

$200,000 - GM Screen - Our first big addition to the Starter Set, and one that is sorely needed. On the outside, our lightweight GM screen is distraction free, but on the inside we're packing in a ton of useful information for new facilitators. Random name generators? No way. We've got tools, tips, and reminders for new game masters and experienced facilitators to help make the game more enriching.. 

$200,000 - GM Board - An erasable whiteboard panel to help GM's keep track of initiative, hit points, and other game data. We use these everyday in our practice to make up character names, draw maps, track player suggestions, and collaboratively world build with players. Although it's a basic tool, we wouldn't run groups without it!

$210,000 - The World of Critical Core Poster - By popular demand, a beautifully illustrated map that ties together the adventures of Critical Core into a single world. Complete with cities, forests, mountains and deserts, this piece of art will also be flexible enough for you to  set your own homebrew adventures, and will form the foundation of Critical Core's lore and world-building.

$220,000 - Abilities and Item Game Cards - To complement the current set of game cards, we've always wanted to offer a set of abilities, items, and individual spell cards. If we can smash this target we'll be able to include a new set of cards to increase the tactile experience of Critical Core. In our groups we print out these details on paper, but these game cards with original sketch artwork take it to a whole new level. New players often struggle to know how to use their character’s abilities, and these game cards are a helpful reminder. Like all of Critical Core, these cards will be based on the 5th edition OpenSRD rules, and usable outside of Critical Core.

Instead of individual rewards, we want to make sure that EVERY Critical Core Starter Set benefits from these stretch goals, but we can only do it with your help. Let's push this over the edge! Seven days to go!

New Stretch Goal Revealed! A digital adventure module co-designed with Shanna Germain of Monte Cook Games and No Thank You, Evil!!
over 5 years ago – Tue, Apr 02, 2019 at 08:43:02 AM

We are so excited to be announcing an adventure module stretch goal to be co-designed with a guest collaborator. This digital adventure will be co-designed by Shanna Germain, co-owner of Monte Cook Games and designer of No Thank You, Evil!

Shanna co-founded Monte Cook Games in 2012, developer of popular role-playing games including Numenera, The Strange, The Cypher System Rulebook, and No Thank You, Evil! 

No Thank You, Evil! is an award-winning game designed by Shanna Germain for kids as young as 5, which has helped expand access to tabletop role-playing games to younger audiences. We are excited to have Shanna collaborate on this adventure because the module structure and facilitator's guide included in Critical Core are intended to be largely cross-compatible with other role-playing games, including No Thank You, Evil!, so groups already playing No Thank You, Evil! will be able to get even more out of their game by incorporating the contents of Critical Core. Be sure to check out No Thank You, Evil! at www.nothankyouevil.com. 

Shanna is also the author of myriad short stories, novels, essays, poems, and games, including Predation, and The Poison Eater. Her upcoming work includes We are all Mad Here, Tomorrow's Bones, and Indelible Gods. 

We have many more exciting stretch goals on their way! Keep sharing, keep telling your friends about Critical Core!

-Adam Davis, Game to Grow Executive Director