Jitalla, friends! You may have noticed that the only product sold by Cabalian Games right now is, in fact, a book. And this is despite the banner on the store page claiming to "have you covered" if you are looking for a fun game about Cabalia. So what gives? Why is it called Cabalian Games when there are no games? And how long until there are games? Well, I'm glad you asked! Today's post will answer those very questions!
#1. Why is it called Cabalian Games when there are no games?
Believe it or not, I originally planned to create two separate businesses. Cabalian Tales would have been responsible for the book side of things, while Cabalian Games would have handled the board games.
Nothing says I can't do that later on, but as I found out the hard way... there's a lot of paperwork and details to keep track of when creating a business! It made little sense to double my workload when I could simply combine the two products into one venture.
I stayed with the name Cabalian Games because the board games about Cabalia came first in my life, long before I wrote my first novel.
As I've made clear elsewhere, the purpose of the novels is to explore and expand the world of the board games. Since the games are the core that everything else has developed around, it made the most sense to keep the label of Cabalian Games.
#2. How long until I can buy a board game from Cabalian Games?
I really wish I had a concrete answer for you all, but sadly, I don't know exactly when my first game will be available for purchase.
It's a pretty lousy answer, I know. The best I can do right now is to share why it's taking as long as it is and what my plans are for moving forward. So here it goes!
My most refined game is Cabalia: The Island of Intrigue. In it, players will assume the roles of powerful leaders of the five royal families of Cabalia, each attempting to fulfill a secret agenda to become the most powerful ruler in the land. The rules and mechanics of the game have been polished and finalized since 2022, but the artwork is still under development.
One of my goals is to provide a game that makes extensive use of quality art, which ultimately means I have nearly 70 illustrations to finalize and incorporate into the final product.
The bad news is that I'm not very good at drawing, so I need to rely on someone else to provide this artwork. The good news is that I've found a talented artist who is also a good friend of the family and excited to help bring Cabalia to life!
(A sneak peek at the game art)
Unfortunately, neither I nor my friend can work on this project as a full-time job, so the duties and cares of life have found a way to keep progress slow. But we are chipping away at it!
Once the artwork is finished, it will take additional time to select a manufacturer of the game components and upload everything to their specifications.
After that hurdle is cleared, it will take a while longer to print the games and stock up with my initial inventory.
I don't know through experience how long that process will take since this is my first game, but my best estimate for having everything done would be the beginning of 2026, so long as nothing goes wrong. (But, alas, I can already see Murphy's Law staring me down as I write this.)
There will be plenty of games to follow once this project is complete, which thankfully will require a lot less artwork. I expect future games will only take a year and a half to finish instead of three.
#3. Why does the store page say "we've got you covered" for games about Cabalia when there aren't any games available to buy?
Technically speaking, we're as well-stocked on games about Cabalia as any other store is at the moment, and we're the only one with a blog to keep you updated on the games' development progress, so... we've got you covered better than anyone else.
It also took a lot less time to finalize the website than the full selection of products it will offer one day, so the phrase is more to reserve space for the upcoming expansions.
I'll be sure to drop more updates as progress continues, but for right now I'll leave off with sitalla!
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