From the game by Christophe Boelinger, edited by Ludically

Rise And Fall Online

Rise & Fall is a full control strategic game. Each player controls a civilization trying to expand and progress in a fantasy world. This world displays a unique landscape where glaciers live on islands and huge cliffs are common barriers and challenges to overcome.

In this gorgeous land each player starts with a small tribe including a village, a citizen and a ship and will grow to a full civilization with more of the pre-mentioned units but also temples, merchants and the precious highlanders, the only ones able to pass those astonishing cliffs.

Rise & Fall is a very immersive and addictive game, easy to understand, with no luck or randomness involved. The initial creation of the world by itself is a real pleasure and each game brings a different map to the table.

The new players will enjoy the game for its “easy access” aspect. Since all the actions you can do are displayed on the six cards of a player’s deck, this makes the game really accessible right from the start.

The more exigent strategist players will love the game for its full control aspect and the fact that the learning curve seems to be a constant line of progression.

Project's Story

Once upon the time

On April 1st, 2020, my alarm rang like any other day, but life had just flipped upside down. The day before, I lost my job due to the COVID-19 pandemic, half the screen on my phone was cracked, and I suddenly found myself stuck at home with my daughters. Determined to make the best of it, I pulled out my old Dungeon Twister box, thinking it might be time to introduce my kids to one of my favorite classics. Even if my daughter was well below the recommended age. Why not give it a shot?

Back in the day, I had developed a small PDA app to act as a chess-style timer for Dungeon Twister, mainly to keep things moving for a friend affected by acute analysis paralysis syndrome. I later ported it to Android, but when I tried installing it on my wife’s phone, I realized it was no longer available. Since I had used the official Dungeon Twister logo, I decided to send an email to Asmodee Digital before republishing. One hour later, I found myself on the phone with Christophe Boelinger, the original creator of the game, who had music composed specifically for the timer. Inspired by Christophe’s music and the original artwork he shared, I spent the following months revamping the app and took my first steps into this journey.

The rise

A few months later, I met Christophe in person and he had created a brand new physical board game prototype: Rise and Fall. We played three games back to back until late in the night. At the time, I was also taking AI courses and looking for a meaningful project, this felt like the perfect match! I began programming a small digital prototype of the game so that I could test out my new AI skills.

Meanwhile, Christophe and Stéphane from Ludically were planning a Kickstarter campaign for the physical board game in 2022. They were excited about having a working digital version to support the launch. I drafted a licensing agreement, called on friends and former colleagues, and got to work. Huge thanks go to Renaud Ott, Christophe Bolinhas, and Giuseppe Acoccella. Without them, none of this would have been possible. After a year of late-night coding sessions, just before the Kickstarter launched, I secured an exclusive digital license and delivered a fully playable alpha version of the game with final graphics.

The fall

The physical board game campaign was a mixed success. On one hand, it raised over €273,000 from more than 2,000 backers, and the game received glowing reviews from top board game influencers. On the other hand, the digital version had under 500 users and raised around €2,000, far below my hopes and expectations.

At the Cannes Festival in 2023, I demoed the physical game and shared QR codes for the digital version. Sadly, it led to only a handful of new players. Unlike the Kickstarter, which was powered by a professional agency, live events didn’t get the online exposure we had hoped for. With Ludically under new ownership and their promotional efforts scaled back, the online game did not gain the traction it truly deserved.

At the time, I was searching for investors, applying for a loan to start a game studio, planning to put my main job on the side, and trying to recruit collaborators. But with no funding and doing 90 percent of the work alone, I hit a wall. None of it was working out, and I was burning out.

So I pulled the plug. I canceled the loan, walked away from potential partnerships, and focused on my new full-time job. The project went on ice, save for a few cost-saving measures to keep it online.

Keep on rising

At the end of 2023, I couldn’t stand to see all this effort go to waste. I rebooted the project but on my own terms. My family and job now come first. With a revised license and a downsized scope, I focused entirely on a Windows PC version via Steam. Thanks to the amazing Barry Doublet, a professional sound designer, and original music from Christophe Boelinger, the game now features a rich audio experience.

The game is now on Steam. I owe my thanks to Original Score for hosting and providing the legal infrastructure to support the project.My current priorities are enhancing competitive features, building the community, and getting the game into players’ hands. Looking ahead, key features like a proper tutorial, AI opponents, UX and UI improvements, localization, mobile support, and maybe even VR will follow once Early Access gains more traction.

If you’re reading this from the beginning, thank you so much for your attention, you’re awesome! Rise and Fall is one of the most underrated board games out there and truly deserves to be a hit.My complimentary fan-made project, built by players, for players will hopefully help the game become the hit it deserves to be. Want to help shape the future of Rise & Fall Online? Join our Discord and Let’s build something great together.

Sylvain.