Thanks to 740 people and organizations who backed Rise Up: The Game of People and Power on Kickstarter, we’re proud to report that our board game about building movements will be available to the public by April 2017!
When we launched our Kickstarter, we set a goal of raising $35,000 over the course of a month. We raised $56,180—60% more than our original aim! We’ll be using the additional funds to create an extra downloadable expansion pack with the theme Dystopian Futures, make a booklet that defines and gives historical examples to terms and strategies used in the game, upgrade the player pawns to unique player pieces, and add a layer of lamination to the game’s components.
While we put the finishing touches on the game, you can pre-order Rise Up in our store. If you’d like to give the game as a holiday gift, we’ll send you a card for the holidays that you can give as a gift to tell someone they’re getting Rise Up.
We’re super happy with the press coverage Rise Up received over the course of the campaign. Here are some of the best articles and stories about Rise Up:
- “This Board Game Is Designed For Activists To Practice Building Movements” in Fast Company
- “New Board Game Is for Activists Who Want to Beat the System” in Next City
- “Clever Kickstarter board game teaches activists the skills they need for victory” in Mashable
- “The Secret History of Leftist Board Games” by our own Brian Van Slyke in Truthout
- “New Social Movement Board Game Pits Activists Against The System” in Shareable
- “Look out for a board game about organizing protests” in KillScreen
We’re also grateful to our movement partners who invited us to guest blog about Rise Up on their websites. Thanks Jobs with Justice and Dr. Pop!
Above all, we owe thanks to all our backers, the friends and ally organizations who test played and offered feedback on Rise Up, everyone who shared about Rise Up on social media. In a Kickstarter campaign, every little bit of support counts, and we couldn’t have done it without you.
Image courtesy of Molly McLeod: http://www.mollymcleod.com/
Just days after we completed the Kickstarter, we watched as our country elected Donald Trump to the presidency. All of us at TESA were by the rising tide of hateful ideas that has fuelled his rise to the presidency. (Read TESA’s full statement on the election here.)
At the same time, we draw hope from the fact that activists and people of conscience are clearly looking for new tools to help them organize and unite our communities in opposition to Donald Trump and what he stands for. We see this energy in the enthusiasm for Rise Up, and in the countless calls to action, the local meetings being convened in our own communities, the pieces of critical social movement self-reflection, and the appeals to donate that have come forth since November 8th. We’re more committed than ever to delivering a board game that strengthens movements and lets activists imagine a way to build a better world.