How Will The TimeWatch Kickstarter Went

The Future Us Knew TimeWatch WOULD Be Successful…

…but apparently to avoid any paradox or chronal instability, we failed to tell our current selves exactly the extent to which that would be true. The GUMSHOE game of investigative time travel has had a great start on Kickstarter, raising close to $28K in funding over the first 48 hours. That’s unlocked ten stretch goals, including three mission hooks, with one from Kenneth Hite. Two campaign style expansions have been unlocked, Pulp Action TimeWatch and a Quantum Leap-style solo campaign, but there’s still lots to go.

What’s The Pitch?

You’re an elite TimeWatch agent from somewhere across time, working to prevent alternate histories and chronal disaster. You’ve got a time machine, high-powered weaponry, and a whole lot of history to save. Better get started.

That makes for a fun premise, but one of the things we’ve been surprised about is how flexible the concept is. Want to emulate your favorite TV show or time travel movie? The game should be able to handle it. That’s true from killer future cyborgs like the T-1000, to parallel universe jumping in the style of Sliders, to touring the future and past of alien planets as a tourist in a larger-than-expected time machine. Of particular note are the possibility of a Conspiracy campaign, where you never know who to trust and your own team could be infiltrated by aliens or the people who work for them, and the Horror Campaign, where time travel itself releases chronal monstrosities across time that you may have to deal with… even if it makes the problem worse in the process.

Want To See It?

We’ve added a $1 pledge level to the Kickstarter under the theory that some people will want to see the playtest rules before deciding whether the game is right for them. That will get you access to the Jurassic Edition, a 260-odd-page PDF copy of TimeWatch’s playtest documents. Grab it, argue about it, and play it if you’re at all curious.

What’s Next?

Revealed stretch goals include:

• A specially-commissioned TimeWatch theme from composer James Semple
• The above-mentioned Tourist-style campaign that captures the joy and the themes from your favorite time traveling TV show—jelly babies and robotic dog optional
• A Rebellion-style campaign where you’re the people trying to change history and make it a better place, while TimeWatch is cast in the role of the evil empire trying to stop you
• Hardcover rulebooks!
• Building an actual time machine (mind you, the amount to hit this stretch goal is a bit high)

Swing by, take a look, and say hi. Unless you already did last week. Sometimes, it’s a bit difficult to be sure.