The Alternative Tripitaka Sculpt
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We have some exciting news. We can see many reasons that backers want female Pilgrims and the Dragon Princess was very popular. Our problem is the original story has a fairly small band and it does not contain female leads. But, we have a wild idea. In Journey to the West, Tripitaka is described as an androgynous figure, so much so that when it was time to cast actors for the 70s Japanese TV show ‘Monkey’, they chose a woman to play the role. The beautiful and ever popular Masako Natsume played Tripitaka in the cult favorite before going on to film work and winning the 1983 Hochi Film Award for Best Actress.

With all male main characters, Journey to the West was certainly a product of its time. We think we can push the boundaries a little with an alternate sculpt of Tripitaka that is female. We’d like to think the 21st century is ready for a virtuous woman to be a Pilgrim and lead our band. We think this is a great way to honor Masako Natsume’s contribution to the Journey saga.



So how does the alternate Tripitaka fit into the game? Simple. She is just an alternate sculpt of the androgynous male Tripitaka and plays with the same card deck and same rules. You are free to choose whichever Tripitaka figure you want to use. Obviously, there will only be one Tripitaka in the band.

We expect her to be popular, but we would still like to give this as a gift. All backers that pledge before Monday 18, Nov 4:00pm EST and who are eligible for Collectors Upgrades at the end of the project will receive a free resin alternative Tripitaka miniature. We are adding her to the resin Add-On list now, for a $15 increase to your pledge.

We know it is a long way off, but if the pledge total reaches $300K, we will be able to produce this alternate sculpt in plastic. Any backers that met the pledge deadline above and are receiving Boxed Game Upgrade rewards at the end of the campaign will then receive a free plastic alternate Tripitaka. We did make good on the free plastic Xi Fung, we sincerely hope we can reach this total. At $300K, it will also be offered as a plastic Add-On for $5.

Just as with Captain Xi Fung, if we can make her in plastic, backers will only get one gift, either plastic or



Please note one slight difference with this Add-On. As this is intended as an alternate for the male Tripitaka, it is not supplied with new game cards. Use the original cards supplied in the boxed game.

Update #53 Nov 15, 2013
Soul Cleanser Zhilan
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Well, backers, you’ve taken another step on the journey. Thanks for your support.


Soul Cleanser Zhilan, a Dao Priest, has been unlocked. Once again, A.J. Manzanedo has created great art for this character. Zhilan is an Add-On, $5 for the plastic mini, $15 for the resin mini. As normal, she comes with full game cards for use in the game. Here is the full image:


You have seen the Soul Hunters, deadly killers that help out in a fight but at the cost of raising the Pilgrims’ Bad Karma. The Soul Cleansers are their counterpart. Also summoned by the Pilgrims to aid in battles, the Soul Cleansers are committed to the Cleansing Ritual and saving the Demons from their sins. Naturally Soul Cleansers never kill defeated Demons, and if the Cleansing Ritual is successful, they add to the Pilgrims’ Good Karma.

So it sounds like the Soul Cleansers are the better allies. Maybe not! Good karma is, well, good, but the Cleansing Ritual does not always succeed. A failure means the Demon recovers from the defeat, at full health, ready to fight again!

There are more Soul Cleansers to come. Once they are all unlocked, we will give more details of how they play and a comparison of their abilities.

Next up, the Nightmare Deck, how it affects game play, and a related bundle.

Update #54 Nov 15, 2013
The Nightmare Deck
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So we have reached $250K, amazing. Backers, we are so pleased with your support!



You have unlocked the KS Exclusive Nightmare Deck, which is included in all Boxed Game Upgrades.

We’ve already hinted at changing the game difficulty for increased replay value and we know many gamers like the option of a really tough challenge. The Nightmare Deck changes the Spawn Deck for Demons, spawning more demons with tougher demons coming more often. You could combine the KS Exclusive Fortune/Misfortune cards with this. The Nightmare Deck combined with the KS- Fortune/Misfortune cards will give you a really tough game.

Up next, Soul Cleanser Peng.

Update #55 Nov 16, 2013
The Nightmare Deck – Part 2
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Hi Backers! Hon Ho here. With a two-man team, it is very difficult to keep this website up to date and do some actual work. I was stuck travelling for business yesterday and Ray had to make this update without me but he did not have all the information. Here is more about the Nightmare Deck.


You know you have unlocked the KS Exclusive Nightmare Deck, and it will change the difficulty of the game.

Let’s talk about game play and balance in the core game for a moment. Like all “enemy spawning” games, there are rules for what happens when you have no more minis to bring into play and as with many other games, the existing Demons on the board will get tougher. The boxed game contains the right amount of miniatures to play the game without running out too often. To give you a hint, if you have allowed so many Demons to run loose on the board that you run out, you are probably going to lose. It’s time for the “out of minis” rule to power up the Demons so they can put you out of your misery.

So if you have the right number, why give you more minions in early stretch goals? They have many uses from spares for painting while you play, bulking out cross-over armies and actually playing with a larger number of minis if you want to defer the “out of minis” rule or develop your own Quests. But they will be very useful with the Nightmare Deck. Clearly, with faster spawning, you will need more demons and the extras we have given you as Kickstarter bonuses now tie up nicely with the Kickstarter Exclusive cards and you have a really good use for the extra minions! We can just hear you thinking, “This sounds good, but I wish they had given me some extra Boof Bullserkers. Those Bull Demon centaur things look sweet.” Check the front page! We’ve added the Boof Box Game Upgrade now.

And last, a new bundle. We have seen backers comment about getting two copies of Journey: Wrath of Demons and home brewing crazy Quests. We love the idea of you making your own Quests and we hope to see many ideas posted to the Journey forums when they go up, but two games is a lot of duplication. Here’s an optional bundle that would take you part way there, the Double Nightmare Bundle $40:

15 Nightmare Cards
20 Fortune/Misfortune Cards
4 Berrok Bull Warriors
3 Bharhaz Bull Archers
2 Boof Bullserkers
1 Borrack Bull General


So with an extra copy of the cards and even more minions, you can go crazy customizing brutal decks. But don’t forget, the Double Nightmare Bundle duplicates cards and minis you already have, so it is only for the most hardcore players that are looking to create their own monstrous Quests or fight wave after wave of Demons in an endless Defend the Buddha scenario.

So, 1500 backers, $250K and our last week. We still have plenty in store for this last leg of the journey. Please tag along with us!

Update #56 Nov 16, 2013
Soul Cleanser Peng
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Your support is astounding. The last few days have been just amazing, with many new backers joining us. What a great time to unlock this stretch goal.


You have unlocked Soul Cleanser Peng and we are adding him to the Add-On list, for $18 in resin, $6 in plastic. Peng is optional and unique, so you need at most 1 for game play. He can be used independently of Zhilan, so you do not need to get them as a pair. As you might have guessed, he is one of the large miniatures, using a 2 square base. The miniature is impressive, think of him being solid like Cho Hakai and about 70mm tall. If you look at this wonderful art by A.J. Manzanedo, you already get some idea of his presence and ferocity.


But Soul Cleanser Peng is actually a very gentle creature. Most of the time, this panda spirit hides in bamboo thickets, eating his favorite food. The Pilgrims encountered him when he was defending a rural village from an overwhelming Demon attack. As a nature spirit, abominable Demons are quick to rouse his anger and he fights to restore balance in the world by defeating these evil creatures. But his peaceful nature returns just as quickly and he performs his own Cleanse Ritual on the enemies he defeats to remove their sins and give them peace. No-one understands his Cleanse Ritual or where he learned to do it. Once the Pilgrims aided Peng to protect his villagers, he committed to helping the Pilgrims in their ongoing quest to rid the world from Demons once and for all.

We promised more information on the Soul Cleansers when they were all unlocked, which would be now. There are only 2 Soul Cleansers as part of this Kickstarter, so you don’t have to wait any longer.

The Soul Cleansers are allies, summoned through skill cards. Each Pilgrim can only summon one Soul Cleanser at a time, like the Soul Hunters. But as clerics and killers, the Soul Cleansers and Soul Hunters are enemies. You can play with them all in one Quest, but you cannot summon a Hunter and a Cleanser to the game board at the same time. Soul Cleansers are activated immediately after the Pilgrim that summoned them and are controlled by that player.



Soul Cleansers never kill their defeated enemies, and must attempt the Cleanse Ritual. They get a boost to their cleanse ability to help them succeed in this attempt. The Good Karma generated as a result is given to the Pilgrim that summoned them. This is a fantastic benefit for the Pilgrim but the Soul Cleansers are not too powerful. Because they have relatively weak attacks, they are very unlikely to defeat Boss Demons, the first step before starting their powerful Cleanse Ritual.

For those of you that read update #50, you will remember that we said we were working on a plastic character bundle for the Soul Hunters and Cleansers. These characters are unique so we cannot generate the same discounts as you see for bundles which repeat miniature content, like the rank and file models of large armies. This bundle is all five Soul Hunters and Cleansers, with their cards, for $22. Some of you will get Captain Xi Fung for free, so we have a 4 character bundle, for $18.

Do not forget these characters are optional. They are not part of the core game and you can play without them. If you just want to get your favorites (we know, Peng right!), getting a few works perfectly well.

Up next, Boof Minions as a Boxed Game Upgrade, so that you have a full set of extra minions for Nightmare games.


We have been getting extremely positive comments here and around the web on our concept art, thank you all.

There is no space to show it all on the Front Page, so we have created a small Facebook album with some of our favorite pieces. We hope you like them. We will rotate the art in this album so you will see something different from time to time, a “picture of the day” kind of thing. There is a banner on the front page to make it easy for you to take a peek in the future. Have fun!

The Art of Journey

We have more rules updates written, covering the Demons, Quests, and how some of the Boss Demons play. And finally, we will start revealing details of the Expansion Pack!

Bioptic wrote:
And a whopping $4 discount on buying all 5 hunters/cleansers in plastic!

Update #57 Nov 17, 2013
Journey’s First Expansion
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Expansion Video

We hoped you like the concept art for the first full expansion for Journey: Wrath of the Demons.

As our Pilgrims cross a desolate and craggy mountain pass, they unknowingly stray into the land of the White Bone Demons. At first, the band meets a few skeletal warriors, possessed bones of a long dead army, risen to serve their Queen. After battling against the more corrupted White Bone Demon forms, the Pilgrims find that their Cleanse Ritual is not so effective against these Demon-possessed skeletons. Finally, the narrow path takes them to the Forbidden White Cave, where the Pilgrims confront Yara, Queen of the White Bone Demon Clan, who realises that this is no ordinary group of mortals. If Yara can eat the flesh of Tripitaka, she can gain immortality, regenerate her flesh and regain her beauty. As she launches her minions into a pitched battle, the fast moving White Bone Demons scuttle across the battlefield and Yara herself joins the fray.

Will Yara’s poisoned attack will be the end of our four travelers? There is more at stake than just the Pilgrims lives. If they can defeat Yara and the White Bone Demon Clan, Tripitaka will recover the second piece of the lost Sutras and will be one step closer to restoring the seal on the Underworld.