Shadow & Rune

Shadow and Rune is a 1–4 player tactical deckbuilding game set in a dark world, where humanity clings to survival in the shadows. As a Rune Warden, chosen by the gods, you may be the one to restore order, if the darkness does not claim you first.

Face off against your enemies in tactical combat on a 4x5 battle board.

Spawn Minions and use powerful weapons to defeat your enemies.

Play as one of four classes in the campaign — Druid, Paladin, Necromancer, or Mage — each with unique starting decks, minion specialties, and runewords.

Earn gold and spend it in the market to add powerful new cards to your deck.

Explore randomized map tiles and choose your path through branching routes filled with danger, treasure, and discovery.

In solo and co-op mode, enemy minions use a fully automated system to spawn, move, and attack — keeping every battle tense and unpredictable.

The story unfolds through a deck of numbered cards and a campaign book.

With hundreds of cards, discover unique Minions and Items that unlock new strategies, synergies, and combo potential.

• Tactical Combat Meets Deckbuilding: Shadow & Rune blends grid-based tactical combat with deckbuilding strategy.
• Multiple Game Modes: Play competitive battles, solo campaign, or the full co-op campaign. Whether alone or with friends, Shadow & Rune has you covered.
• Variety & Replayability: 400 cards (up to 700 with Gameplay tier). Randomized encounters & maps each playthrough. Unique classes & runewords for new synergies. Branching story with lasting choices. Hundreds of hours of gameplay.
• Unique Minion Mechanics: Each minion has its own attack pattern and ability, adding a layer of positional tactics and unique choices.
• Strategic Depth, Easy to Learn: Rules are intuitive for new players, but minion and item card interactions create deep decisions. 
• Minimal Setup and Takedown: Enjoy a deep campaign without long setup or cleanup. Everything is neatly labeled and stored in the box, ready when you need it.
• Dark, Gritty Art & Theme: Hand-drawn art by Paul Yates brings the game’s grim world to life — a bold, striking style for any collection.
• Kickstarter Exclusive: All backers get 2 exclusive Legendary Minions FREE.

With around 400 cards in the Base Game pledge and around 700 cards in the Gameplay and All-In pledges, it’s no surprise that many backers are curious about card quality, sleeving, and storage. Here’s how we’re ensuring premium card production and storage designed to accommodate sleeved cards.

Premium Cards

All cards are standard poker size, measuring 2.5" × 3.5" (63 × 88 mm). They are printed on 310gsm black core paper with a linen finish, giving them durability and a premium feel.

Sleeving & Storage Insert

The insert is being designed to fully support sleeved cards, up to 100 microns in thickness. This ensures that players who prefer to sleeve their cards for extra protection can do so without worry and every card will still fit securely in the insert. Importantly, the insert is being tailored to hold sleeved cards across all pledge levels, including those with larger card counts. Since this is still a work in progress, we are refining the layout with our manufacturer to make sure the final design accommodates everything safely and efficiently.

Prototype Unboxing Video

Here’s an unboxing video of the Shadow & Rune prototype to give you a feel for the box insert layout and the cards. Please keep in mind that this is only a prototype — it does not represent the finished product.

The video does not include several final components, such as the player boards, the full card sets, or many of the additional items included in the higher pledge tiers. This is a sneak peek to show you how the game is shaping up, rather than the complete picture.

We’ve chosen not to include stretch goals in this campaign. Shadow and Rune is a complete game from day one, and every backer will receive the components included in the pledge level they choose. For a full breakdown of what’s included in each pledge level, see the Pledge Comparisons section earlier on this page.

This approach keeps manufacturing, shipping, and fulfillment simple and reliable. Most importantly, it allows us to stay fully focused on delivering a high-quality game on time, on budget, and exactly as promised.

One question we get a lot is: “Will there be future expansions with more Minions, Items, Campaigns, and Mechanics?”  

The answer is absolutely. 100%. Yes!  

Shadow and Rune has been designed from the ground up to be backwards compatible, so future expansions can seamlessly mix with your existing cards. You’ll be able to create unique loadouts for competitive battles or build new encounters for solo and co-op play.  

That said, our first priority is delivering the core game through Kickstarter. If the campaign is successful, we’d love to keep investing in this world and releasing more content over time.  

We know expansions and long-term replayability are a big plus for many backers, and we’re excited to grow Shadow and Rune into a game that can keep surprising you for years to come.

Friendly Shipping

Friendly shipping means you don't have to pay additional customs charges and fees when your game is delivered. We are able to ship friendly to the following locations: 

Customs Friendly shipping will be available to the USA, Canada, EU, UK, China, and Australia. We have partnered with companies in each region that have solid logistics and Kickstarter fulfillment experience.

We unfortunately cannot ship to the following countries: Afghanistan, Belarus, Brazil, Congo, Eritrea, Guinea-Bissau, Haiti, Iran, Iraq, Israel, Ivory Coast, Liberia, Libya, Myanmar, North Korea, Russia, Somalia, Sudan, Syria, and Ukraine.

Taxes & VAT

USA & CANADA: Your games will be shipped from within the USA & Canada. There will be no taxes or duties charged at the time of delivery.

EU & UK: After the campaign, during the pledge manager, you will be charged VAT based on your country or residence. This usually amounts to an additional fee between 17–27% of your total pledge, plus shipping. To make your final pledge more affordable, we are heavily subsidizing shipping costs to the EU & UK. Your games will be shipped from within the EU & UK, and there will be no taxes or duties charged at the time of delivery.

Asia, Australia & New Zealand: Your games will be shipped from Asia & Australia, and no GST or VAT will be collected. There will be no taxes or duties charged at the time of delivery.

We want to be upfront about tariffs so there are no surprises.

• Only US backers are affected. All other regions are unaffected and will not see additional costs.
• Any tariff charges will be passed on at cost, with no mark-up.
• These charges will be collected during the shipping/payment phase in the pledge manager.
• The tariff rate is currently 30% on goods imported from China, applied to the manufacturing cost. This could change up or down before fulfillment, and we’ll adjust accordingly.

At the current 30% rate, the estimated tariff cost is:

• Base Pledge: ~$3 USD (in addition to shipping)
• Gameplay Pledge: ~$4 USD (in addition to shipping)
• Gameplay Pledge: ~$5 USD (in addition to shipping)

We know tariffs are unpredictable, but our commitment is to minimize costs for US backers and keep the process as transparent as possible. If major policy changes occur, we’ll communicate and adapt, always with your best interest in mind.

We’re a very small team. I’ve had amazing help from playtesters, and I’ve collaborated with a talented artist, Paul Yates, as well as others on the trailer, voiceovers, and Kickstarter video. But at its core, Shadow and Rune is a solo project I’ve been building from the ground up.

A little about me: I live in the United States but grew up in western Canada. I’ve always loved board games, video games, and movies, and Shadow and Rune is deeply inspired by the games I grew up playing, like Diablo and Baldur’s Gate. Creating this game has been a dream project — a chance to bring together my love of strategy, storytelling, and worldbuilding into something I can share with others.