Electrify designed by John D Clair and Ian Hutchison by AEG

The Revolution is Here!
about 1 month ago – Mon, Sep 28, 2026 at 04:47:56 PM

I have SO much exciting news for you, today!

First of all, we are sitting pretty at #2 on the BGG hotness list! We are very thankful (and a little surprised) to have acheived this. Getting the game in front of lots of eyes bodes well for the future.

Next up, we unlocked our next stretch goal! Possibly my favorite of our stretch goal, the game will now be upgraded with deluxified dual-layered player boards. I already talked about how great these are in the last update, so I will instead mention our next stretch goal: tuckboxes for the communal components.

In an effort to adhere to the environmentally concious theme of Electrify, we wanted to make an effort to reduce the amount of plastic in the game. We already offer cloth bags for the player components, and upgrading to tuckboxes for the rest will allow us to take out the remaining zip-bags so you can store your game plastic-free!

Finally, and most exciting, Electrify has been cleared for open beta on BoardGameArena!

We have been working hard to bring the BGA implementation of Electrify to the world on an expedited timeline so that backers can get hooked on the addictive engine building before they commit to a pledge.

Our very talented BGA developers have done an excellent job of addressing bug reports just as quickly as they can be submitted by our stellar early adopters who signed up to test the alpha. Now, anyone can play!

At the time of posting, over 700 games of Electrify have already been played! 176 bug reports have been submitted and addressed. Although there are always bumps in the road expected with a new BGA game, we are confident that we are going into beta strong.

I have seen a lot of repeat players online who have been loving the smoothness of the gameplay and the snappy engine building. Players appreciate having a deep and puzzly experience in a fraction of the expected time. If you play asynchronously on BGA, you can play through an entire game while only having to log on 8-12 times!

If you want to see how it plays, I put together a how-to video specific to the BGA experience.

Want to improve your skills as an innovator and unlock the full engine building potential of Electrify? Check out my "Tips to Flip the Score Marker" series of forum posts on the BoardGameGeek page that I will be posting throughout the course of the campaign.

Get out there and make me proud. I can't wait for players to start beating me on BGA!

– Ian

The Engine is Running!
about 1 month ago – Fri, Sep 25, 2026 at 10:44:34 AM

We have officially surpassed 1,000 backers! Our community of innovators is growing daily.

Not to mention, we have reached #4 on the BGG hotness list! You guys are amazing!

Electrify's hotness is due in part to the fun Contest we are putting on over on BGG. If you want to put your name in the hat for a chance to get your existing pledge FOR FREE, all you have to do is answer five questions about the game! Its a tough one, so study up! Just for those checking out the campaign, here is some insider knowledge on where to find the correct answers to maximize your chances of winning:

Question #1: Look closely at the images on the campaign page.

Question #2: Watch Kovray's fantastic how-to-play video.

Question #3: Look closely at the images on the campaign page.

Question #4: Look at the Newsletter Promo section of the campaign page. (And join the newsletter!)

Question #5: Look in the rulebook and on the campaign page.

Question #6: Read me and John D Clair's entertaining (co)designer diary.

So, what's next for the campaign?

We are close to unlocking the next (and maybe the coolest!) stretch goal: dual-layered player boards! One of the most requested features of those who played the prototype was to have more of a clear separation between the grid and the depots. What better way than to provide physically distinct compartments for your cubes?

Each energy type has its own division with a small passage to slide cubes up from the depot to the grid. There are also slots to place your research breakthrough cubes so they don't get jumbled when someone inevitably bumps the table!

Using the physical affordances of the dual layer boards to separate things means the thin lines of the original graphic design are no longer needed, allowing Javier Inkgolem's gorgeous art to shine through even more.

Stick around to see our later stretch goals as the campagin progresses. We have some great quality-of-life and bling upgrades to unlock along the way.

We are so thankful to all of the backers who are helping power this adventure. If you have a friend who's on the fence, remind them that their support now will make the game better for everyone later! Although all of the gameplay content will be available in retail, the best way to get the game is the campaign. Don't miss out on the awesome kickstarter alternate art box and the huge discount on the visionary bundle!

Want to unlock the full engine building potential of Electrify? Join the AEG discord! I will be hosting live learn-to-play sessions where you can play the game with me on BGA and ask all of your questions. Sign-ups will be available soon!

Have a great weekend. See you in the next update!

– Ian

Turning on the Lights!
about 1 month ago – Tue, Sep 22, 2026 at 07:36:49 PM

Welcome, Innovators!

After many years of hard work, Electrify is finally becoming a reality! The visionaries and early-movers of the gaming world banded together to reach our initial funding goal in just 20 minutes. We have already unlocked the first stretch goal, and it won’t be long until we hit the second! There is still a long way to go and much fun in store, so we encourage you to stick around.

If you are curious about the story of the game, I have posted a fun (Co) Designer Diary with commentary from both John Clair and myself available on the Electrify BGG forum. Believe it or not, John Clair had the original idea for the game back in 2018 (when I was still in high school)! Oh, and it might be a good idea to read it if you are looking for answers to the questions in the upcoming contest Electrify quiz! Study up!

The first two stretch goals each unlock a 20 card tech packs for the base game. There are four in total, the two of which that aren’t stretch goals available as add-ons.

Each Tech Pack adds new icons and mechanics to the game that ramp up the engine building possibilities! They are all independent mini expansions that can be used in any combination to discover new synergies. To celebrate the first day of the campaign and the community’s success in nearly unlocking both on the first day, I figure I will highlight the contents of the two stretch goal Tech Packs!

Automated Tech Pack:

“When I get this, I also get this” is the core idea at the heart of all great engine builders. Distilling this down to its most literal forms gives you the “Ongoing” icon introduced in this pack. So long as an ongoing card is charged, you get something every time you perform the triggering action. With the right engine, these cards can lead to game-changing combos that give you loads of actions and make you feel oh-so powerful.

Want to generate 8 solar energy cubes with one card? The new “Discard” multiplier ignores the number tracks and instead multiplies an icon by the number of cards you choose to discard. Activate powerful icons many times by thinning out your hand, great for engines with big hits of card draw.

Optimized Tech Pack:

Want to activate the same sector at maximum power 3 or even 4 times in one game? Get greater control over your sectors with a bunch of extra “Planning” icons. This pack is for true gamers who want to align the perfect combos and try wacky strategies.

The “Sectors” multiplier is inversely powerful to other multipliers, scaling based on how many sectors are to the right of it. These cards are great for sitting in the first column at the end of a chain of arrows. Combined with some planning icons, you can keep them to the left to generate constant hits of energy.

Looking to the Future

Over the rest of the campaign, I will provide spotlights on the other pieces of fantastic expansion content available in the campaign. In the meantime, if you want to playtest the Alpha version of the game on BGA (Including the two tech packs detailed above) be sure to join our discord!

Don’t forget to sign up for the AEG newsletter to get your hands on the free promos, including a crossover convention promo for JDC’s famous title, Space Base! (A very sought-after item for Space Base fans!)

Thank you for being a visionary. I am so excited for people to fall in love with the engine-builder’s engine builder like I have. Let’s light up the world!

– Ian