September 2025 Studio Update

It seemed like we had a lull, and things were quiet, and then, just like those landmines in Helldivers 2 that I keep stepping on (great game but I'm not very good at it), everything has exploded into a flurry of activity.

First up, I need to announce that Ryan has left the business. This is a truly sad event, as he's been with me almost since the beginning for The Grinning Frog and been instrumental in helping the business grow from one person with an idea, into a real business. He now has a job closer to home and I wish him the very best for his future.

Ben will be now taking over from Ryan with regards to the post and other associated tasks and he will be working in the business full-time.

Whilst that was happening, we were busy with several things:

Current Campaign

We don't have one! I've literally never written that before and it looks very odd on the screen! But fear not, cast your eyes downwards...

Next Campaign

Coming Monday 29 September is Star Marshal.

Inspired by our collective love for gritty, real sci-fi (Judge Dredd, The Expanse, Blade Runner, Strontium Dog etc) we have created a game that sees you don the marshal's hat and bring the law to the outer planets. Designed to be an ongoing series of games, the first campaign comes with the rules and the first adventure.

We are deliberately keeping the campaign slim, streamlined and wallet friendly.

The campaign link is:

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/thegrinningfrog/star-marshal

Pending Campaigns

• The Oracle Issue 51 This will have a short Kickstarter campaign at the beginning of October and be fulfilled digitally prior to the end of the month. The theme? Witches and Witch Hunters.

• Edit 1 October: The Link is: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/the-oracle-rpg/witches-and-witch-hunters

• Zilight: Pax Roman This is the 2025 release of Zilight and it will be hitting Kickstarter in November/December. We have some nifty plans and the drafting, and testing is well underway.

Fulfilment

• Rage at the Moon Our first interactive fiction book with a troubled print run. Finally the printed copies were correct (third time's a charm and all that) and we have posted all of those out. A limited number of extra copies were printed and will be in the webstore next week.

• Sinners The first game by Benjamin, has arrived in the office. We've fulfilled the digital tiers and posted all the base game copies out that didn't have the expansion with them. The expansion has been held up by a different printer, and will be with us mid-October. We are simply waiting for that to post the rest of the copies out. The base game will be in the webstore next week.

• Final Quest 2 This goes to the printer next week so given recent luck we have our fingers crossed for a smooth production! We have fulfilled the digital elements of the base game, the expansion and the side-quests that were a Kickstarter exclusive. Digital copies of the base game, and the expansion, will be in the webstore next week.

• The Oracle Issue 50 We've had some really good feedback on this issue and it went to backers earlier this month.

• Starship Scavengers: The Case of the Asteroid Blues The Kickstarter campaign did fabulously well and we are well on with the many different aspects of production. (So much so that we could give Final Quest 2 backers some extra content.) Various pieces are with the editor, or being made. We are striving to hit early fulfilment despite all the content that was unlocked during the campaign!

• Starship Sonatas Vol 2 This is being edited and will be released with the rest of the Asteroid Blues content later this year.

• Monthly Pocket Game Club We released the fourth game in PnP format and are due to start posting out the first batch of physical games next week hopefully. We also have the Patreon page almost finished so that folks who missed the Kickstarter can join the fun.

I should say, we've also had content, suggestions and contributions from different backers which is fantastic, and various of those ideas have been put into operation (and others have been filed for future reference).

Also, tariffs have turned out to not be a problem. No US customers have had to pay any extra and we know how to post without it being a problem. It did cause some delays earlier in the month that but that's all clear now.

In Summary

So, we had a lull, and that has so now ended! We are also pretty much on schedule across the board (slight slippage due to external factors). With a couple of campaigns scheduled for the rest of the year, I'm delighted to say that 2025 has been a great year for The Grinning Frog for which I say thank you to everyone.

Without your support and backing none of this would be possible and I always keep that very firmly in mind.

Until next time, keep gaming.

Stephen