The crowdfunding campaign may be over, but in many ways, it feels like the real work has only just begun.
First of all...
thank you.
Once again.
Your support didn't simply fund a game—it gave me the opportunity to dedicate myself to making the best version of Silent Læke I possibly can.
So I thought it was the perfect moment to give you a proper production update.
What's already done
A surprising amount, actually.
Dusk's Embrace v2
The Quick Tour has already received its first post-campaign revision, incorporating several refinements and clarifications. Physical copies will be available for purchase soon on the Newborn Games website.
As a reminder:
Followers who were following the campaign before launch receive the PDF for free.
Killer, Homecoming King and Homecoming Queen backers receive both the PDF and the physical edition.
Those physical copies will ship together with the rest of your rewards, although if you meet Newborn Games at conventions before then, you're welcome to pick up your copy in person.
Design work completed
Although not yet manufactured, the following items have already been fully designed:
Coffee & Shadows deck (including the box)
SLHS Phys. Ed. T-Shirt
In Loving Memory T-Shirt
Homecoming King jacket
Homecoming Queen jacket
Patches
Stickers
The next step is transforming these designs into physical products.
I'm currently waiting for production proofs of the t-shirts before giving the green light.
The main priority: the Corebook
Everything else revolves around this. The physical game comes first.
Always.
Silent Læke's core rulebook is divided into two major parts, spanning six thematic chapters we call Books.
Part I — To Everyone Who Conquers
(For Players and Directors alike.)
1. Book of Dusk
The town, its atmosphere and its history.
2. Book of Faces
Character preparation.
3. Book of Threads
The complete rules.
4. Book of Whispers
Places, People and Stuff.
Part II — By Demons Be Driven
(For the Director's eyes only.)
5. Book of Mirrors
Beautiful secrets.
Dark secrets.
Your deepest fears.
6. Book of Echoes
The mysterious side of Silent Læke.
Consequences.
How everything comes together behind the curtain.
Current progress
1. Book of Dusk
Written
Proofread
Sensitive Read
2. Book of Faces
Written
Proofread
Sensitive Read
3. Book of Threads
Around one-third complete
4. Book of Whispers
First draft completed
5. Book of Mirrors
First draft completed
6. Book of Echoes
First draft completed
Development Roadmap
The current goal looks like this:
July
Finish Book of Threads.
August
Finish Book of Whispers.
September
Finish Book of Mirrors.
October
Finish Book of Echoes.
November
Editing, proofreading and layout.
Current Target
If everything goes according to plan...
I'd love to deliver the digital Corebook in December 2026.
That gives all of you time to read it, play it and send feedback before it goes to print.
Current schedule:
Digital Corebook
December 2026
Printing
February–March 2027
Fulfilment
April 2027
Naturally, publishing is full of surprises, so these dates may shift slightly—but this is the roadmap I'm working toward every single day.
What about Solo Mode and Campaign Mode?
They're still happening.
Nothing has changed.
However, I've made one important decision:
I don't want these modes to delay the Corebook.
The Corebook is my absolute priority.
Whether Solo Mode and Campaign Mode end up inside the printed Corebook or as separate digital supplements will depend on how development progresses over the coming months. If including them in the Corebook risks delaying the physical release, I'd rather publish them as standalone PDFs first.
Either way...
you're getting them.
Later on, I'll probably ask the community what you prefer through a poll before making that final decision.
Original Soundtrack
The soundtrack is also moving forward.
The plan is for it to combine carefully curated licensed music with several original pieces composed and performed by yours truly—and perhaps a guest musician or two.
Like the additional game modes, though...
the soundtrack will never delay the Corebook.
The game comes first.
Everything else builds around it.
King's Sheriff Car & Queen's Secret Diary
These are passion projects.
They're smaller, handcrafted pieces that I'll develop alongside the main production.
They shouldn't affect the overall schedule.
Looking ahead
The crowdfunding campaign lasted only a few weeks.
The journey to bring Silent Læke to life will take many more months.
That's the nature of making tabletop games.
Every page.
Every illustration.
Every line of text.
Every proof.
Every correction.
Every decision.
I'm looking forward to sharing that journey with you.
And now...
it's time for me to get back to work.
Thank you once again for believing in Silent Læke.
This isn't a major overhaul, but rather a collection of refinements, clarifications and improvements based on feedback, observations and my own post-campaign review.
As always, the goal is simple:
make the game clearer, smoother and stronger.
👕 T-Shirts Coming Soon
The next item on my immediate to-do list is preparing the t-shirt fulfillment.
That means the SLHS Phys. Ed. T-Shirts and In Loving Memory T-Shirts should begin moving toward production and shipping very soon.
If you haven't completed your survey yet, please do so as soon as possible so I can collect all the information needed to proceed.
In particular, please make sure your t-shirt size is correctly submitted.
❓ Updated FAQ
I've also expanded the FAQ section in the survey to clarify some of the questions that have come up since the campaign ended, including:
physical stretch goals
t-shirt fulfillment
shipping timelines
and other common points of confusion
That said...
you're never bothering me by asking questions.
If something is unclear, simply ask.
Leave a comment, start a discussion, send a message.
I'll always do my best to answer.
Thank you once again for helping bring Silent Læke to life.
Now let's start making good on all those promises.
A new interview about Silent Læke is now available online!
I recently had the pleasure of sitting down with João Ricardo on Table Talks for a conversation about the game, its inspirations, and the ideas behind its design.
We discussed topics such as:
What Silent Læke actually is;
The influence of Twin Peaks and other works that shaped the project;
The concept of Melancholic Horror and Beautiful Darkness;
Why the game uses cards instead of dice;
Mystery design and replayability;
Nostalgia, memory, loss, and why those themes sit at the heart of the game;
The crowdfunding campaign and what we learned from it.
One of the ideas that came up during the conversation is something that has become increasingly central to my vision of Silent Læke:
"Sooner or later, everything becomes a memory."
The interview goes beyond mechanics and explores the emotional and artistic side of the project, so if you're curious about what makes Silent Læke tick beneath the surface, this is probably the deepest conversation I've had publicly about the game so far.
A huge thank you to João Ricardo for the invitation and for creating such a welcoming space for the discussion.
As always, thank you for supporting Silent Læke and helping us bring this strange little town to life.
Before all HOPE is gone,
- A Máquina do RPG
P.S. If you watch the interview, let me know which topic you found most interesting. Was it the mystery? The cards? The nostalgia? Or perhaps the idea that some things are only beautiful because they're gone? 😉
Diana from Alea. Possibly selling games. Definitely causing trouble.
We had our booth set up throughout the event, showcasing our games, meeting players, chatting with friends, and introducing new people to the strange worlds we love creating.
Uuuh! Looks so dusky!
Some of our Killers who attended the convention were already able to collect their physical copies of Dusk's Embrace, one of the rewards included in the pledge level.
Other Killers, the King and the Queen will have the opportunity to do the same at future conventions where we'll be present, namely Rolisboa and Rolinvicta.
Naturally, any Killer, King or Queen unable to attend will still receive their physical copy together with the rest of their physical rewards during fulfillment.
For everyone else, physical copies of Dusk's Embrace will be available for purchase whenever Newborn Games is attending an event.
But perhaps the highlight of the event took place on May 26th.
Thanks to our friends at Alea, promoters of immersive narrative gaming experiences, we hosted a public liveplay of Silent Læke.
In this special session, the players stepped into the roles of Alyss "The Owl Lady" and Vance "The Crime Lord", investigating the mystery at the heart of Silent Læke while a curious audience watched events unfold.
The session was a success, generated plenty of interest, and reminded us once again how unique it is to watch Silent Læke come alive around a table.
What's Next?
Over the coming weeks we'll continue sharing regular progress reports.
Some upcoming topics include:
Solo and Campaign Modes production poll
Production reports and milestones
T-shirt manufacturing
Varsity jacket manufacturing
Late Pledge progress
Ongoing fulfillment updates
As always, thank you for helping us bring Silent Læke to life.
