HOW IT WORKS
Most board games come in a box. This one comes in the post.
You don't buy a game and finish it in an evening. You buy a year — and the game arrives one envelope at a time, building itself on your table until the kingdom is complete.
THE SHORT VERSION
Three steps, and then the postman
There is no app, no account to manage, and no recurring charge. You pay once and everything after that arrives by itself.
1
You choose an edition and a start month
Six envelopes or twelve. Then pick the month you'd like the first one to land — this month, a birthday, next December. Nothing ships until the month you choose, which is what makes it work as a gift.
2
An envelope arrives on the same Friday every month
Wax-sealed, hand-addressed, and thick enough that you'll know what it is before you read the front. Inside: illustrated cards, terrain, punch-out tokens, a rules insert, and the next chapter of the story.
3
The game changes, permanently
Each envelope alters what came before. New regions join the map. Characters gain histories. Rules you learned in month three stop being true in month seven. The game you own in December is not the game you opened in January.
INSIDE ONE ENVELOPE
What a mail day looks like
A single month of King of Calaban. Every illustration commissioned from a human artist and credited by name on the card it appears on.
- Twenty-five illustrated cards — events, treasures, characters and magic, printed both sides on linen-finish stock
- Terrain tiles that extend the map you've already built
- Punch-out tokens — coins, counters, city markers
- A rules insert that changes how the game is played from this month on
- A chapter of the story, written in-world, two to four pages
THE TWELVE-MONTH ARC
How a kingdom gets built
Calaban was ruined by orcs before you arrived. Over a year you explore it, survive it, and rebuild it — and somebody at your table ends up crowned.
Envelopes 1–3 · The shipwreck
You wash up on a ruined coast with nothing. Learn the map, meet the first characters, survive your first fighting events.
Envelopes 4–6 · The wilds
The map grows outward. Treasure and magic decks open up. You start collecting followers, and losing some.
Envelopes 7–9 · The city
Calaban itself comes into play. Resources become trade. What you hoarded early starts to matter.
Envelopes 10–12 · The crown
Victory points, the final events, and the last envelope — which contains the ending, and only ever arrives once.
HONESTLY
Who this is for — and who it isn't
You'll love it if
- You like a game you can leave set up and return to
- You have people to play with — 1 to 7, and it plays solo
- You'd rather wait for something good than download something now
- You care that a human drew the art
Give it a miss if
- You want to play tonight
- You want everything in one box on day one
- You don't have anywhere to leave a growing map
- You'd resent a game that changes its own rules
AS A GIFT
Twelve times better than a box
Choose any start month at checkout and we'll hold the first envelope until then. They open something in January, and again in February, and again eleven more times — and every one of them has your handwriting on it, because you tell us what to write on the first.
SEE THE KING'S CRATE · $349PRACTICAL QUESTIONS
The things people actually ask
Is this a subscription?
No. You pay once for the whole campaign. There is no recurring charge, nothing to cancel, and no card kept on file.
What if I miss a month, or go away?
Nothing breaks. Envelopes keep arriving and wait for you. The game has no clock.
Can I start partway through the year?
Yes. Envelope one always arrives first, whichever month you begin.
What if an envelope is lost or damaged?
I reprint and resend it, no questions and no charge.
Do I need any previous game?
No. Every campaign is self-contained and comes with its own rules.
Is the art AI-generated?
No. Every illustration is commissioned from a human artist and credited by name on the card. That is permanent.