Calico and Cascadia publisher’s next board game is about an animal-run newspaper
Squirrel away those stories.
The next board game from the studio behind Calico and Cascadia, Flatout Games, is about a newspaper run by animals.
Fit to Print sees one to six players becoming editors of various local newspapers for a fictional town called Thistleville. The upcoming board game takes place in a world where charming anthropomorphic woodland animals – such as badgers, foxes, squirrels and hares – live and work together. As editors for competing newspapers, the players will need to make sure that everything is in place to ensure that their latest issue can roll out on time. As well as keeping up with the time restrictions, players will want to have the hottest stories laid out in a perfect spreadsheet ready for their hungry readers.
Taking place over the course of three days, or rounds, Fit to Print has players progressing through different phases, each one crucial to creating the best possible newspaper. Each round will begin with players deciding whether to take certain tiles – both text and imagery – onto their desk or whether to put them back into the pool. Players can decide to keep as many tiles as they’d like on their desk, as long as they think that they can form a newspaper layout with them.
Once players have enough tiles, they must say “layout” in order to progress the game to its next phase. During the layout phase, players will need to arrange their chosen tiles onto their separate front-page board, being sure to follow certain rules when doing so. For example, tiles of the same type may not touch on the board. In order to score the most points possible, players will want to lay their tiles in a way that reduces white space and balances the general mood between happy and sad: as indicated by the various icons.
Players will score points in different ways, such as the size of the articles, where photos are in relation to articles and whether they’ve followed their personal objectives. In order to keep their newspaper business afloat, players will also need to make sure they’re getting enough ad revenue into their front-pages to break even. Whichever player finishes their layout first will get a fastest finishing token, which will gain them even more points. Whoever has the most points by the end of three rounds is the winner.
Fit to Print was designed by Peter McPherson, the creator behind family board game Tiny Towns, which has players becoming the mayor of a forest town and in charge of its various constructions.
Besides Calico and Cascadia, Flatout Games is also responsible for releasing Verdant, a board game wherein players are houseplant enthusiasts who want to create the most attractive display of plant life.
The Kickstarter campaign for Fit to Print is live until December 10th, with a pledge of $29 (£26) getting backers a copy of the game in October 2023. Alternatively, a print-and-play version of the game is available for a pledge of $5 (£5).