YouTuber Joey Graceffa has launched a crowdfunding campaign to create an Escape the Night board game, which is based on his murder-mystery YouTube series of the same name.
The project is funding through Kickstarter and has since launch raised the $30,000 USD it was seeking. In support of the Escape the Night board game, Graceffa released a video on YouTube.
When asked by CBR via email about his feelings regarding the project being fully funded in under three hours, Graceffa said, " It’s so humbling and I am beyond grateful to my fans for always supporting me and Escape the Night. This universe is my pride and joy, so it’s incredible to see how much Escape the Night has impacted fans since I first created the idea back in 2016. The response so far has been incredible and I’m thrilled to continue expanding the universe with their support."
Graceffa then explained how he wanted the Escape the Night board game to further flesh out the series for fans. "I’ve already brought Escape the Night to fans with an immersive escape room experience last August, which was a dream in itself," he said. "A board game just made sense as the next step in the expansion of the universe, especially with everyone staying at home nowadays... My favorite aspect was adapting the classic Escape the Night character archetypes for the game. Fans already have their favorites that they identify with, so I’m excited for them to live vicariously through the game. I’m especially excited to see how our Kickstarter’s “Artifact Thieves” react to the premiere edition with the life-size artifact!
In terms of future Escape the Night projects, Graceffa said, "Right now the board game is my main focus, which I’ll be working on until it is officially released in December. The great thing about Escape the Night is that it’s not limited to any medium, so the opportunities for expansion are endless and I’m constantly brainstorming new ideas." He also noted that, while Season 5 of Escape the Night is delayed, he has "plans and ideas for the Escape the Night series in the future," though he did not provide any further information on them.
Graceffa also addressed the art of the cards, saying, "We worked with a large team of artists who created the artwork for each deck in the game – I’m obsessed with the incredible work they did!"
You can see the plot synopsis for the game, which is described as "a magically haunting adventure set within a 1920s estate where an Ancient Evil lines the halls," below:
Assemble your friends and travel back in time to play a thrilling adventure that is set within an evil house, where you confront and battle the wicked that lies within. Players will explore the house, room by room, locating the Society Against Evil’s markers, fighting formidable monsters, and deciphering clues in order to collect precious relics. Once all markers are cleared, players may claim the artifact. But watch out, as a mysterious man looms the halls trying to stop you from advancing. While sometimes working together, players will also vote at the end of each turn for two players to battle one another in a daunting death challenge. In the final round, an hourglass will be set for the remaining players to take action as fast as they can in order to collect all the remaining artifacts. As time rushes through the hourglass, do you have what it takes to defeat the evil and Escape the Night?
Created by Joey Graceffa, Escape the Night premiered in 2016 on YouTube Premium. The platform's longest running series, Escape the Night has run for four seasons.