Clandestine Preorders

Production Update and Conjunction Reveal
21 days ago – Wed, Mar 11, 2026 at 07:07:32 AM

As the days grow longer and the shadows retreat, it feels like the perfect time to shed a bit more light on Clandestine's progress.  I'll share how production is progressing as well as reveal some of the Conjunction cards to you.  Let's dive right in.

Production Update

Last month I provided a more detailed timeline for the next few months and Panda completed samples of the wooden components, custom trays, neoprene mats, and winner's cowl.  I've reviewed all of those samples and provided feedback (no major adjustments needed, just a couple of tweaks to make things a bit better).  The trays look fantastic, but I'm waiting to reveal pictures of those to you until I have the full PPC (pre-production copy) so you can see how it all fits together.

This month I should receive the remaining samples and the complete PPC.  When I have that, I'll share plenty of photos to show how things are coming together and what will be making its way to your table in just a few short months.  Here's the remaining timeline for production & fulfillment.

• March: Remaining game component and add-on samples should make their way to me  
• April: Mass Production begins
• May: Mass Production copy reviewed / approved by me
• June: Games make their way to fulfillment centers via ship
• July: Fulfillment of Clandestine begins!

As I get more information about ships in the May/June timeframe, I'll be sure to share the details of those with you.

Conjunction Cards

After my last update, a backer, Matt, requested more details about the Conjunction cards. (Thank you, Matt!)  The Conjunction cards might have been my favorite aspect to design in Clandestine!  They're acquired when each society ascends to Level II and provide you with two things:

• A path to additional intrigue, providing access to your Conjunction secret (your society's most powerful secret) 
• A substantial benefit which falls into one of three types: A unique alchemy trade, a large one-time boon, or a powerful "mini-game" for the duration of the game.

In this update, I'm going to share two examples of each type.  There are ultimately 24 Conjunction cards providing plenty of variability in your plays of Clandestine.  3-6 Conjunctions are dealt out at the start of the game (one more than the player count) and the earlier you ascend to Level II, the better selection of Conjunctions you have available to you.

Let's take a look at samples of each Conjunction type.

Unique Alchemy Conjunctions

All players have the same trades available on their Tableau (albeit with different conversion rates).  By choosing an Alchemy Conjunction when you reach Level II, you now have access to a conversion unique to YOU which you can use each turn (or more often if you have Deep Alchemy tokens).  

With the Sacrifice, you can use an alchemy token to either:

• Move one of the Universal Followers from your Society Chambers to this card (temporarily weakening the strength in your chamber), adding one of three possible benefits to this card OR 
• Move three Universal Followers from this card to one of your chambers (simultaneously gaining all of the tokens from this card).

Used effectively, this Conjunction can both increase your coffers while also serving as a delayed "regroup" redistributing those temporarily "sacrificed" followers to another space a few turns later.

Got a desire to channel King Midas? Then the Golden Touch Conjunction is for you!  This Alchemy trade has no cost on the left - rather, you choose a row of relics in the Relic Map and return them all to the bottom of the deck. (If both a bright and dark relic went back to the deck, you then get two Gold.)   

After that, you get to replenish the map (as you would after completing the Discover action, sliding relics down if there are open spots and then refilling from the deck all of the remaining spots).  After that, you can then BUY a relic (spending gold instead of strength) to get any single relic on the map.  This conjunction both helps to cycle through the available relics while giving you an alternative path to acquire relics (beyond the Discover action) by spending Gold. 

Large One-Time Boon Conjunctions

The Heirlooms Conjunction (yes, named with a nod to Legacies), allows you to buff your relic hand with the next three Dark Relics from the deck.  Dark Relics can either help you ascend faster or can provide end game scoring when assigned to your chambers.  Acquiring three of them all at once can help you focus your gameplay as you begin Level II, rather than simply feel more powerful (but depleted) which can happen each time you Ascend since you're typically giving up so much from your hand to get to the next Level.

One of the most powerful aspects of deck builder games involves "thinning" your deck - generally by trashing your starting cards, thus getting more powerful cards into your hand faster.  The Shed Skin Conjunction serves a similar purpose in Clandestine - getting rid of your useful (but generally weak) level I cards so each time you draw a Secret going forward, you know it will be powerful.  If choosing this Conjunction, be sure you've taken enough advantage of your Society's Level I secrets before doing so, otherwise you risk actually hampering yourself.  

Powerful "Mini-Game" Conjunctions

The Object of Desire provides an opportunity for you to acquire a relic from the Relic Map every other turn.  You lose access to your 4th Leader (the one you can unlock once you're at Level II) when choosing this conjunction, but knowing you can reserve and then acquire relics reliably helps you quickly get over the "loss" of that potential Leader.  

The Path of the Sword places you on a quest for Sword relics.  Each turn, you move the Universal Follower you've placed on the card (for tracking purposes) and - if it lands on a spot with the corresponding Sword relic type matching its position on the Relic Map - you get to collect that relic!  You'll notice the Conjunction pattern at the top of the card leans heavily into Swords reinforcing the value they have to you for the duration of the game.  

Wrap-Up

That's it for this update.  The next time I reach out, I'll share pictures of the pre-production copy, showing you all what you can expect when Clandestine makes its way to your tables this summer!  In the meantime, be sure to welcome spring, get outside and enjoy the weather, and of course - keep getting great games to your table!

Until next time...

Jason

Timeline + Secrets of the Garden Club
about 2 months ago – Mon, Feb 02, 2026 at 07:16:03 AM

As promised in this update I will share the final society's secrets - the Garden Club (appropriate for the middle of winter, right?).  More IMPORTANTLY, though, I have some updated dates from my manufacturer - Panda - after the initial back and forth reviews of Clandestine's design files.  Let's begin with the timeline.

Timeline

• February: Panda creating samples of game and add-on components
• March: Game component and add-on samples should make their way to me (just after Chinese new year).  
• April: Mass Production begins
• May: Mass Production copy reviewed / approved by me
• June: Games make their way to fulfillment centers via boat
• July: Fulfillment of Clandestine begins!

Based on those dates, I'll likely be locking addresses in the May/June timeframe, but will be sure to give you plenty of notice before I do.  I'm excited to finally have these more concrete dates to be able to share with you!

Now - onto the last society's secrets: The Garden Club...

Garden Club

The Garden Club is one of the most straightforward societies to play.  With their passion for money (and making lots of it), they'll provide the player with many opportunities to invest gold around the world of Clandestine - gaining returns on their investments every time those locations are used (by any player).  You can easily spot when the Garden Club is in the game as you see Gold tokens sprinkled around the city and the relic map. By placing early investments, the Garden Club can focus less on fundraising and more on other actions as gold will trickle in to their coffers at a fairly steady pace. Those that love to rake in the gold are likely to select the Garden Club as one of their go-to societies.  Let's dive into the secrets of the Garden Club.

Level I Secrets (12)

All of the Garden Club's Level I secrets involve a keyword unique to the Garden Club: Invest.  These secrets allow the Garden Club to place 1 Gold from their personal supply to a location in the game.  Five Sowing Seeds cards let them invest a gold on a public space.  Three Cross-Pollination cards allow them to invest on one of the four Relic Routes.  The four Sheltered Rosette cards let them invest a gold on one of their own Society Chambers.  That gold will remain in play for the rest of the game.  When ANY player takes an action on a space with gold on it, the Garden Club gets to collect that much gold from the bank.  For investments on Relic Routes, anytime a player acquires a relic from one of the two (or three - if expanded by the Mariner's Union) spaces on the route, the Garden Club similarly collects gold equal to the investment from the bank.

Astute readers of these updates will notice something interesting about the Garden Club's secrets.  While all players earn intrigue points for the secrets in their hand at the end of the game.  The Garden Club has a chance to earn bonus intrigue points for secrets in hand if they meet the requirement on the red banner.  It's further encouragement for the Garden Club to lean into their investments and diversify as much as possible.  

Level II Secrets (9)

The Garden Club's Level II secrets provide opportunities for larger investments (on Public Spaces, Relic Routes, or Society Chambers - depending on the Secret).  Like all other societies they have two secrets that allow them to acquire a Deep Alchemy token to repeat trades.  Finally, they have a Status Symbols card which provides gold for each Relic they've assigned to their society when they play it.

Level III Secrets (6)

At Level III, the Gold harvesting ramps up for the Garden Club - literally - with their "Harvest" secrets gaining 3x the gold they have invested on either public spaces, society chambers, or relic routes.  Their Prosperity Symbols secret garners them one gold for EVERY assigned relic in play (their own and their opponents') which could easily be 20+ gold late game in large player count games.

The Garden Club's investments can pay off in other ways with Mature Markets giving them 2 energy for every gold invested in public spaces and the Titan of Industry card giving them 2 intrigue for every gold invested in their own society chambers.

Level IV Secrets (3)

At Level IV, the Garden Club's secrets provide intrigue for the investments the player has made throughout the game allowing them to rapidly rack up points.

Conjunction Secret (1)

Finally, the Conjunction Secret for the Garden Club - when played - rewards their investments everywhere with an extra 5 intrigue payout if they've invested at least once in a public space, a society chamber, and a relic route.  Even if the Garden Club acquires their Conjunction Secret, but keeps it in their hand, it can be worth 7 Intrigue instead of 2 at game end as long as they've invested in at least 5 different locations throughout the game.

The expression "you've gotta' spend money to make money" certainly holds true for the Garden Club.  The more gold they're able to scatter around the board, the more rewards they'll be able to reap throughout the game and at game end.  

Does the Garden Club speak to you? Are you ready to cash in on every player's actions in your plays of Clandestine? Then the Garden Club is the society for you.

You've now seen details on all five society's secrets.  Which ones are you most excited to wield?

That's it for this update.  I'll continue to share details about the production progress through regular updates.  If there's more you'd like me to include or highlight in those updates, please let me know in the comments. I want to be sure these updates are useful and exciting for you.  You've been waiting patiently to get Clandestine in your hands and that day will be here before you know it.  In the meantime, I'll keep the information flowing with hints of intrigue throughout these updates.  

Take care and have a fantastic February.

--Jason 

The Twilight (Masks) of 2025
3 months ago – Tue, Dec 23, 2025 at 08:20:07 AM

Hello Friends--

As the days get about as short as they can be up here in the northern hemisphere, it's clear we're entering the twilight of 2025.  What better time to highlight the secrets of the Twilight Masks? (originally the "Weeping Masks" if you were watching closely during the campaign....)

For those just interested in the status of Clandestine production, Panda performed an initial review of the deluxe items and we've already made the requested modifications and put them back in their hands.  We expect the main paper/cardboard components to be reviewed and approved by their team over the next few weeks.  I still anticipate production being complete and games making their way across the water this coming spring.

Now - onto the secrets of the Twilight Masks...

The Twilight Masks were the most frequently chosen society in playtests when players were given the brief spiel on each.  Apparently "if you love causing chaos..." resonates with many gamers and - if that's you - the Twilight Masks will likely be your choice for your first playthrough of Clandestine.  The Twilight Masks are a high risk/reward choice as you are incentivized to amass Chaos throughout the game (which leads to potential alchemy limitations during the game and negative points at game end).  If, however, you manage to purge that Chaos - your society actually keeps those purged Chaos tokens in your play area as you'll earn 3 intrigue points at game end for every 2 Chaos you cleared.  Are your nerves steady enough to deal with the highs and lows of the Twilight Masks?

Level I Secrets (12)

Six of the Twilight Masks' initial secrets provide an opportunity to add a Chaos token to a public space - making that location 1 strength stronger for you (and 1 strength weaker for opponents) - with the Chaos token going to the Chaos track of any player triggering it.  Two of the Twilight Masks' initial secrets allow you to place a Chaos token on a relic (making it easier for you to acquire and harder for opponents).  Finally, four of the initial secrets allow you to both place a Chaos token on one of your society chambers (strengthening it) while also placing an alchemy token on one of your opponents' alchemy trades - preventing them from using that alchemy section until they purge the chaos from it.

Note: There is a relic - the Fragrant Pyramid - that specifically allows players to ignore any Chaos on their alchemy sections which - when assigned to one of their society chambers - allows them to have no fear of the Twilight Masks' Jackal Face secrets, while also allowing them to continue to use alchemy even if they have accumulated Chaos into their "no alchemy" section of their Chaos track.  If the Twilight Masks are in your game, keep an eye out for one of the Fragrant Pyramid relics to mitigate their ability to thwart your alchemical plans.

Level II Secrets (9)

When the Twilight Masks add their Level II secrets into their deck, their ability to sow Chaos expands significantly.  Most of their Level II secrets allow them to place two or more Chaos tokens in play while two of their secrets give them access to Deep Alchemy tokens.

Level III Secrets (6)

The Level III secrets allow the Twilight Masks to both start cashing in on Chaos while also doubling down on it.  Three secrets provide Energy or Gold based on the amount of Chaos purged by the Masks (and that on their Society Chambers).  

If you haven't yet leaned into Chaos (or really want to lean in further), the Show of Force secrets let you take a regroup action (up to 4 strength) and gain Chaos equal to the strength of the regroup.  This can be a great way to reposition your leaders and followers within your society for big actions (while also collecting Chaos to - hopefully - purge for intrigue points at game end).  

Level IV Secrets (3)

The Level IV secrets for the Twilight Masks provide a great chance to gain Intrigue based on locations where you've amassed Chaos throughout the game.  Whether in your scoring area, on public or opponent areas, or even on your own Chaos track, these cards give the Twilight Masks a significant opportunity to collect Intrigue tokens. Well-timed use of these secrets can truly tip the scales in your favor.

Conjunction Secret (1)

The Twilight Masks' most powerful secret - unlocked by assigning relics around their society to match the pattern provided by their Conjunction - provides Intrigue points for EVERY Chaos token in play.  If you're timid about the "risk/reward" playstyle needed for the Twilight Masks, their Conjunction secret should help reinforce that leaning into the Chaos is certainly the way to go if you want to find yourself the most intriguing.  

What do you think? Are you like so many of Clandestine's playtesters... all too eager to cause Chaos for your fellow players? Can you master the tightrope walking from "tons of Chaos" to "purging Chaos" necessary to emerge victorious? 

Stay tuned for continued updates as our production progress moves from file review to actual material and print reviews.  In one of our next updates, we'll take you through the final society's set of secrets - the Garden Club.  In the meantime, enjoy the last few days of 2025 and may your 2026 get off to a fantastic start!

Talk to you soon...

--Jason 

Marching Forward + Blue Army Secrets
5 months ago – Sat, Nov 08, 2025 at 11:09:05 AM

Hello Friends--

As promised in our last update, we've finalized our remaining contract with our manufacturer - Panda - and are beginning to send files their way for review.  As I have more concrete details on the manufacturing timeline and where we'll fall in their queue, I'll fine-tune the timelines, but with the contract signed I feel confident stating that Clandestine will be making its way to you in the spring (or for our friends in the southern hemisphere - the fall).

In the meantime, I'll continue to share details about each society's secrets - this time, delving deep into the secrets of the Blue Army!

The Blue Army is one of the more straightforward societies to play and can really set the pace of the game as they have the ability to regularly manipulate the public track - working towards strong core actions needed to ascend.

Level I Secrets (12)

Six of the Blue Army's initial secrets draw followers from adjacent spaces to your space for more powerful actions.  The other six allow the Blue Army to recruit new followers directly into the city - permanently increasing the number of followers in the game.

Note that all of their secrets' top effects only influence public spaces (such is the way with the Blue Army - the least subtle of them all...).

Level II Secrets (9)

When the Blue Army adds their Level II secrets into their deck, their lure on the public becomes more powerful. Now they can use them to lure more followers from even farther away with 6 of their secrets.  Four of them even have the ability to draw universal followers from public spaces into their society's chambers.  

Two of their secrets give them access to Deep Alchemy tokens and - one of them - actually lets them move two leaders from up to 2 spaces away.

The Blue Army acts like a magnet - drawing pawns (and therefore strength) to a singular location which they can put to powerful use.

Level III Secrets (6)

The Level III secrets allow the Blue Army to start cashing in on groups of followers in public.  As a society focused on rallying the public, their level III secrets reward earlier efforts to increase the number of followers in the city with gold, energy, and intrigue!  

Level IV Secrets (3)

The Level IV secrets for the Blue Army provide access to intrigue for large masses of followers.  Whether it's public followers, universal followers, or both types - look for clumps of followers to turn these secrets into instant intrigue points!

Conjunction Secret (1)

The Blue Army's most powerful secret - unlocked by assigning relics around their society to match the pattern provided by their Conjunction - provides intrigue points for every public follower in play.  Astute followers of Clandestine will note that this card likely pays out less in two-player games than five-player games and that's by design.  With the smaller public track in two-player games, the Blue Army's lower level secrets tend to be more powerful since followers aren't often far apart.  The Declaration of Independence evens the playing field by scaling the Blue Army's advantage in lower player counts with the more expansive board (and higher amount of public followers) in higher player counts.  

What do you think? Does the Blue Army sing to you? Control of the masses and the ability to set the pace of the game? If so, be sure to make it one of the first societies you choose when Clandestine makes its way to your table. 

I'll continue to share more society secrets in my next update and expect to have more precise dates to share once I know where we fall in Panda's queue and how quickly we're able to get through our pre-press reviews.  In the meantime, feel free to share your thoughts and questions in the comments.

Until next time...

--Jason

Secrets of the Mariner's Union
6 months ago – Tue, Sep 30, 2025 at 06:37:25 AM

Hello Friends...

It's time again to delve into the secrets of one of Clandestine's societies.  What I won't keep secret, though, is the fact that I'm days away from handing the files off to Panda to begin manufacturing!  They're providing me with an updated quote while my graphic designer and I clean up the solo mode and credits pages of the rulebook.  I'm thrilled with how everything has come together and can't wait to see all of our digital work start to come to reality in the physical world.

While that transpires, ....actually... BEFORE, I dive into the Mariner's Union's secrets, I wanted to show you the updates we've made to the Clandestine Box top!  

Clandestine's Box Top

We had to deepen the box to accompany the great custom trays that will hold all of your components snugly inside and when we did so, we realized we had a great opportunity to showcase more of the great art from Clandestine's three artists (Meredith Dillman - characters; Joan Belda - society & city paths; James Churchill - relics) on the sides.  

What do you think of this updated version? If you store your games horizontally or vertically, which side are you most excited to display?

Secrets of the Mariner's Union

OK, NOW, here's a peek inside the world of the Mariner's Union  - a society obsessed with the arcane and eclectic world of Clandestine's relics.

The main area where each society's uniqueness and asymmetry comes through in Clandestine is in their deck of secrets.  While each society has their own society path leaning into their society's strengths (e.g. the Mariner's Union have a 2nd Discover space since they lean heavily into relics), the individual secret cards are where each society truly comes to life. 

Secrets can ultimately be used in 1 of 4 ways:

• Played (1 per turn) for your society's ability on top OR
• Played (1 per turn) to augment your action or gain resources with the more common "OR" action on the bottom OR
• Discarded as part of the Ascend action to spend the required matching relic strength OR
• Held in your hand until the end of the game to score the point value in the upper left of the card

Let's dive into the secrets of the Mariners' Union!  The Mariner's Union are one of the more straightforward societies to play as they are laser focused on acquiring all of the relics they can get their hands on and capitalizing on any and all use of the Relic Map.

Level I Secrets (12)

Five of the Mariner's Union secrets affect the Relic Map directly.  Three of them add an extra space above one of the routes for the rest of the game where relics can be obtained by the Mariner's Union for one extra strength (or for three extra strength by their opponents).  Two of their secrets permanently reduce the costs for the Mariner's Union to obtain relics further from the city.

Three of their secrets are best used when the Mariner's Union has amassed a large hand of secrets. (They have a relic hand limit which is two larger than all other societies.) 

Finally, four of their Level I secrets allow them to acquire specific suits of relics without paying any of the additional costs normally levied when using the Discover action.

Level II Secrets (9)

When the Mariner's Union adds their Level II secrets into their deck, they gain a path to Deep Alchemy tokens, as well as some powerful cards which - when played alongside the Relic Map - give the Mariner's Union a boon when any opponent takes the Discover action.

Additionally, there are secrets which again reward the Mariner's Union for having a lot of relics in their hand as well as some that allow the Mariner's Union the ability to assign a card to their society for free.

If it's not obvious yet, the Mariner's Union has MANY ways to benefit when they lean into relics and the Discover action.

Level III Secrets (6)

The Level III secrets unlock even more powerful potential payouts when opponents use the Discover action.  Two secrets allow the Mariner's Union a fast path to a random relic (potentially finding one that isn't available on the Relic Map or will get them to that next ascension faster).  There are also two secrets with large payouts of Gold and/or Intrigue Points based on relics in their hand or relics assigned to their society.

Level IV Secrets (3)

The Level IV secrets for the Mariner's Union continue to center around relics.  One gives the player a fast path to add 3 relics (out of 5) from the deck into their hand.  One allows the player to assign (or reassign) up to 3 relics around their society allowing you to achieve your conjunction if you have yet to (or) to maximize your assigned relics to improve end game scoring.  The last one provides a path to a big payout of Gold or Energy based on the current relic map (which can be substantial - especially if you increased the spaces around it with your Level I Shared Discovery secrets.)

Conjunction Secret (1)

The Mariner's Union's most powerful secret - unlocked by assigning relics around their society to match the pattern provided by their Conjunction - fittingly allows them to cash in on their quest to acquire relics.  They earn intrigue for every Relic assigned to their Society AND each Relic in their hand.  

Intrigued? Does the thirst for ancient, mysterious relics drive you? Will the Mariner's Union be your society of choice on your first play of Clandestine?

In my next update, expect to hear that contracts have been signed and files are fully in Panda's hands. Along with that I'll continue unveiling the secrets buried in the other society's decks.  Who's next? The Twilight Masks? Garden Club? Blue Army?  If you've got a preference, let me know in the comments. 

Until next time...

--Jason