Summer '26 Newsletter

Hi, everyone!

Welcome to the Summer '26 edition of the Jupiter Club Newsletter! I've been sending these out exclusively to email subscribers. Since there's a lot of cool info in each issue, I decided to start posting them here on the website for everyone to read.

That said, Jupiter Club subscribers still get exclusive content and promotions, and it's the best way to stay up-to-date with everything going on here at JVS. So be sure to subscribe!

I'm excited to share what I've been working on these last few months here at JVS, and I'm pumped for the warm weather rolling in! 😎 Summer tends to bring out all the gumption I've been storing up over the winter, which is a good thing, what with having a full-time job, three kids, and a lifelong dream to chase.

In today's newsletter, I'll be sharing updates on Children of the Sun and Junicka Valley, taking a look at this year's events, reflecting on Lock & Spell three years down the road, and sharing details on our new YouTube channel!

-Sam

As most of you know, I've been working on Children of the Sun for a few years now. (I tend to work on everything for years!) During that time, the game has gone through countless revisions, including one canceled Kickstarter that sure taught me a lot. (Mostly not to rush things.)

I've spent a long time refining not only the game's mechanics, but also its visual identity. I always had an idea of how I wanted it to look, but could never quite settle on the right style. Over the last six months or so, I've finally found the look I've been chasing all along, and the result is something that feels really rich, yet illustratively simple. (Illustratively is a word, right?)

The style draws heavily from the Utopian Scholastic aesthetic, with bold colors, generous white space, and a strong sense of wonder. You could think of it as a fantasy mashup of Aztec/Mayan mythology with the vibes of 90s edutainment.

The 90s DK Eyewitness Books played a big part in building the look and feel of the aesthetic.

Now that's my kind of jam, so it's been tons of fun to work on. I've been getting a lot of joy from doing the artwork, which is a nice change of pace from all the other busy things I've got going on.

Check out the latest designs below!

Of course, designing the game is only half the challenge. The other half is actually making it! Manufacturing, fulfillment, and building an audience large enough to bring the project to life. This is where I often find myself asking, "Why the heck do I want to be a publisher?"

I wish I had an answer to that question. To be honest, I don't. But one thing I do know is that I do want to be a publisher. I want to build a company up from my bare hands. I want to have creative control over everything we make. And I want to ensure the culture is vibin' and the quality is relentlessly pursued. (Yes, that is a real statement, and I'll stand by it until the end. 😝)

In my last newsletter, I mentioned that the Kickstarter might launch in August. After taking a hard look at everything that still needs to be done, I've decided to move the launch date into the Fall. I still need to complete the artwork, send out review copies, and continue building awareness for the game. I want so badly to get Children of the Sun made, but if I hurry things it just won't happen. Heck, I might even delay it past the Fall if need be. No promises this time around! But hopefully I can get my nose to the grindstone and crank out all that needs done.

The good news is that I'm feeling very confident about the manufacturing and fulfillment side of things. I've got some great partners helping me produce and distribute the game. At this point, the biggest hurdle isn't actually making it. It's finding the people who will love it enough to back it. Board game publishing is no small endeavor, and I'm going to need the support of a lot of backers for the campaign to succeed. 

Which brings me to a... ahem... favor.

The Kickstarter pre-launch page is now live! 🥳 If you're interested in the game, please follow the page, and, most importantly, consider sharing it with friends, family, or fellow gamers. Every follower helps build momentum and shows Kickstarter that there's genuine interest in the project.

After years of work, and a few lesson-filled hurdles, the finish line is finally coming into view! Thanks for sticking with me along the way. So many of you have offered support, encouragement, and feedback. (A special shout-out to those early playtesters who sat down at my demo tables!)

I can't wait to bring it all together and finally get Children of the Sun into everyone's hands.

For as long as I've worked on Children of the Sun, it pales in comparison to the endless days and nights I've spent chiseling away at Junicka Valley. It's been over ten years now that this story has been a part of my life.

But alas, I've already written at length about the book's history before, so this time around, let's look ahead.

I've taken an admittedly quiet approach to releasing Junicka Valley: Book One. So far, I've really only made it available through my website and at events. That's not because I don't believe in the book, but rather I'm trying to approach this whole publishing thing strategically. My main goal is to slowly build a readership as I work toward Book Two. If I go all in on promotion right now, I'll not only lose sight of my Children of the Sun campaign, but I'll also end up building an audience for a series whose next volume is still a ways off. So I'm playing the long game with Junicka Valley, and that's fine by me. By the time Book Three hits the shelves, it'll be a success!

Junicka Valley is going to play a huge part of the future of JVS, particularly as I start to build Callisto. 

For those who don't know, Callisto is the storytelling imprint of Jupiter Valley Studios. It'll focus on fiction, nonfiction, poetry, art, comics, and interactive print. 

I'd love for Callisto to stand shoulder to shoulder with the tabletop side of JVS. I know that'll be an uphill battle. Getting into the book industry isn't easy. But I like a good challenge, and I've got enough drive to take it head on. As much as I love making games, deep down, telling stories really scratches an existential itch for me, and I couldn't imagine running a creative business that doesn't go there.

All that said, I'm committed to seeing Junicka Valley through to the end. Because gosh dang, it's a wild ride, and it deserves to be read.

For now, how about a fun sneak peek at these handmade crocheted oranges my wife made? They'll be joining us at conventions and events throughout the year!

Why oranges, you ask?

...you'll have to read the book to find out.

Check out Junicka Valley: Book One on the JVS Shop!

It’s been three years since the release of Lock & Spell, and I’m still really proud of how the game turned out. It's a fun solo experience that plays pretty quick and has just the right balance of luck vs strategy.

It was the first product ever released by Jupiter Valley Studios, and in many ways it set the tone for everything that followed. Especially in terms of style. I seem to have hit my stride with that monochrome background/colorful foreground vibe, which all started with Lock & Spell's design.

The game itself was well received, which played a big role in giving me the confidence to keep building JVS forward. (That Dice Tower review had me giddy like a schoolgirl.)

I still find myself coming back to it from time to time just to play a round. I love the tension you get when going for a difficult hand, and the joy when you draw exactly what you need. Plus it's a solo game, which admittedly makes it a hard sell, but is a cool niche that I'm happy to fill. (There's a great BGG community for solo gamers, if you're ever interested!)

I'm really proud of the thematic element of getting your fortune told when you win, and I'd love to recreate that "winning prize" mechanic in future games.

All that said, one thing I’ve noticed over the years is that the gameplay tends to resonate best with players who enjoy traditional card games, so I think the magical spellcasting theme isn't as on point as it should be. I also think the game would really shine as a multiplayer experience, which is why I've been cooking up a remake in the back of my mind. 

At first, I was going to re-theme the game with pirates, but I decided to go all in with the card game aesthetic and give it a traditional, yet somewhat psychedelic, old-west casino setting. I came up with the rather wonderful name of Lucky Rambler, and in my free-time started building multiplayer rules to the game.

(I have no free-time, BTW.)

I've got a basic ruleset built, and it's still in the very early stages of playtesting, but I think the game is going to turn out really well. I'd like Lucky Rambler to come out once I sell through all my Lock & Spell stock, which I expect to happen in a few years.

So, Lucky Rambler is still a ways off. (You know I love to daydream!) In the meantime, Lock & Spell is very much here to stay. It's my bread and butter at conventions! The style really draws people in, and the gameplay is easy to explain. If you haven’t tried it yet, now is a great time!

Check out the Lock & Spell: Stranger Fates bundle on the JVS Shop.

One of the best parts of Lock & Spell is the fortune you get told at the end, which is how, I think, I'll end this article.

Conventions and events are at the heart of running an indie publishing company, and despite not really being a people person, they really are one of my favorite things to do at JVS. I love setting up a table and showing the world what I've got. Plus, me and my crew are really starting to get a good rhythm down. (My crew being me, my wife, and my 7-year-old daughter. 😎)

This year I'm really pushing towards building up that in-person presence. JVS as a company needs to be forward-facing if it's going to succeed, and now more than ever I've got to build up a fanbase to make this thing happen. (I'm looking at you, Children of the Sun!)

So with all that said, below are the events we have lined up for the year ahead. (And one that's already passed!)

Geek Meet Indy

Back in May, we attended Geek Meet Indy. It was a great event to start the year! The show was primarily focused on comics and vintage toys, but board games and books fit in just fine. In fact, we were neighbors to another local game designer, Radish Games!

Outside of meeting a lot of great people, my favorite part of Geek Meet was hands down all the comic books. I always love adding a few to my collection. (I snagged some Swamp Thing and Conan the Barbarian!)

I'm definitely looking forward to attending again next year.

InConJunction — July 10th–12th

Coming up next is InConJunction. It'll be my first time attending, and I'm stoked! It should be a great opportunity to put Junicka Valley in front of a sci-fi and fantasy crowd, and I'm looking forward to meeting fellow writers and creators.

Gen Con

While I'm not exhibiting at Gen Con just yet, I will be attending and have some fun things planned. The coolest part is that I hosted some ticketed Children of the Sun events, and they already sold out! (I should have hosted more!)

That said, I'll also be wandering the halls and looking to set up some free-play games. So if you're attending, please reach out. I'd love to meet up and show you the game.

Who's Yer Con — September 4th–6th

In September we've got the awesome local Indy convention, Who's Yer Con. I attended last year and loved it. This time around, I'm eager to ramp things up. It'll be much closer to the Kickstarter launch, and since it's a board game event, it's the perfect place to spread the word.

If you're in Indiana and have never attended, I highly recommend checking it out. There are lots of great local artists, designers, authors, and vendors, not to mention plenty of organized games to play.

Tabletop Central — September 12th–13th

Tabletop Central is a favorite for me and my family. We attended last year and had a ton of fun. It's super well organized and very family-friendly. Plus, it's held in the beautiful Champaign-Urbana area of Illinois, home to the awesome board game design group CUDO Plays.

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Those are the main events I have lined up for the year ahead. It's a pretty good list, but I'm still on the lookout for more. I'll be reaching out to some friendly local game stores to see if I can set up some popup demos.

Can't wait to see you guys out there!

✨Da-da-dun-daaa!✨

The Jupiter Valley Studios YouTube channel is now live!

It's a dang miracle I got the thing up and running in the first place. It's no exaggeration to say I'm not much of a marketing guy. So when I approached the channel with a marketing mindset, it went as bad as you'd expect.

I shot the intro video three times! The first take was extra goofy and fun, but the quality of the shoot was dreadful. We had no idea what we were doing, and the outcome was mostly unusable. (It looked like some sort of high school AV project.)

The second time around was shot much better, but I forgot to act human. I just sat there in front of a black backdrop reading from my script. You could even see my eyes scanning it like a bad newscaster glued to the teleprompter.

Gah! That one was useless too. So I said screw it and just sat in my backyard talked naturally. Turns out when I act like myself, things go pretty okay. (Albeit with a hefty dose of dorkiness.)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gtYDX1rePuY

It was a nice lesson to learn before I start making more videos. I've got lots of cool content planned for the months ahead, including a vlog following my journey hand-making the Children of the Sun demo copies.

I'm somewhat looking forward to putting my goofy self in the public eye, and I'm sure it'll be fun for you all to see. So be sure to subscribe to the channel to be notified of every new video! 

We've got a lot going on here at JVS, and I'm excited to see where this year leads us. I really enjoy sharing the journey with everyone! These newsletters are a nice outlet for me, and I'm grateful to all my readers.

You can find JVS on Instagram and Facebook. I've also been getting active on Discord lately, so if you're on there, let's chat!

Thanks for reading! See you later!

-Sam