by Glenn Dejaeger

Hi, I'm Glenn Dejaeger, and in this designer diary, I'd love to share the journey behind my new board game Kuldhara from its earliest ideas to its upcoming publication with Jolly Dutch. It's a tale of engine building, mysterious legends, energy management, and many, many playtests!

It All Began With Mechanisms

Strangely enough, the story of Kuldhara didn't begin with its ghost village theme. It started with mechanisms.

I've always been fascinated by engine-building games, and one that left a strong impression on me was Splendor. It's not the most thematic game, but it does one thing really well: give players the satisfying feeling of gradually becoming more efficient. I wanted to create my own take on that concept — something more puzzly, with a stronger thematic identity.

While commuting to work by train, I started imagining a system in which players would create clusters of adjacent gems, triggering effects and chain reactions. The basic idea was simple: place low-value gems, form clusters, and use their effects to create new, more valuable clusters. Over time, your "engine" would let you score more and more points, but spatial planning was key.

The first theme was space. Gems were found on planets across the galaxy, and players had to manage energy to travel, mine, and build. I added layers like spaceship upgrades and mining tools, but the system started to feel bloated. The upgrades weren't fun to balance, and the game lost its elegance, so I went back to basics and added a pattern-building puzzle instead. Now, players had to form specific shapes (amulets) using the gems. Completing an amulet let you lock in gems, which helped you build more complex ones later.

It was at this point I realized a theme was needed that fit this more grounded, mysterious, and puzzle-like gameplay.


Discovering the Theme of Kuldhara

Working with colleagues of Indian heritage led me to start exploring Indian folklore, and I stumbled upon the legend of Kuldhara, a real abandoned village in Rajasthan. The story goes that its inhabitants vanished overnight, leaving behind a curse on anyone who dares to settle there again. It was mysterious, evocative, and perfect for this game.

Suddenly, everything clicked. The gems weren't just valuable; they were sacred, stolen from the ruins. The amulets weren't just patterns; they were offerings to appease the spirits. The tension of working in a cursed village, needing to escape before nightfall, created a natural sense of urgency.

And so, the theme was born!


Core Mechanisms: Action Planning and Energy Management

One of the core mechanisms in Kuldhara is action planning through limited energy. Every action (mining, traveling, crafting) costs energy, and players must carefully budget it each round.

But there's a twist: energy costs are dynamic. Mining a gem costs more or less depending on its value, but traveling costs vary based on the time of day. Not only that, but gems have different sizes, and your camels have limited storage, so you must plan routes and actions with both energy and space in mind.

This made the planning incredibly satisfying. Every round feels like a small optimization puzzle!


The Ghost of Kadhan

In the narrative of the multiplayer game, players try to avoid the ghost of Kadhan by completing their actions before nightfall, but there's no direct interaction with the ghost; it's more of a looming presence, shaping the thematic atmosphere.

However in the solo mode, players compete directly against Kadhan, who acts as an automatic opponent racing to create more valuable amulets than you. It's tense and thematic, adding a new dimension to the game.


Playtesting: From "Upgrades" to "Evolution"

I started playtesting solo, then brought the game to my wife, my family, and later my colleagues during lunch breaks and evenings. Early feedback was encouraging, but one issue stood out: the upgrade system. It was too rigid and too easy to spot the "best" path.

So I removed it.

Instead of explicit upgrades, players now evolve naturally by crafting amulets and locking in gems. Their boards become more efficient based on their decisions, not a predefined "tech" tree. Balancing energy costs was the hardest part. Expensive gems needed to feel rewarding to make, while at the same time every action had to remain viable. It took many iterations to fine-tune that balance.


A Journey in Itself: Finding a Publisher

Publishing Kuldhara was its own long, winding road. I started pitching in 2019, meeting with publishers at SPIEL. Back then, the space theme didn't resonate, and the game fell between gateway and expert markets. I didn't get a deal, but the feedback I received was invaluable to making the game better.

Then the Covid pandemic hit. Playtesting slowed, conventions were canceled, and development moved to Tabletopia. I had some great conversations with Daniel from Second Gate Games, who helped steer the game's direction (though ultimately, a deal didn't materialize).

In 2023 at Zuiderspel, I finally found the right fit. I had a booth showcasing Kuldhara, and the team from Jolly Dutch played it multiple times. I gave them a prototype, and they tested it at their "Jolly Dutch Spellendag". Player feedback was positive, and they offered me a publishing contract.

Working with Jolly Dutch has been fantastic. It's a small, passionate team that welcomed me as a creative partner. They asked me to develop the solo mode, involved me in component decisions, artwork reviews, marketing plans, everything. It truly felt like co-creation, and I'm incredibly proud of the result.


Lessons Learned

Looking back, here are a few lessons I'd share with aspiring designers:

• Prototype lean: Use paper, pen, and old components. Don't invest in visuals until the mechanisms are solid.
• Pitch only when ready: That means the game should look clean, feel balanced, and be fun. Prepare a sell sheet, a pitch video, and a polished rulebook.
• Target your pitches: Research publishers. Use tools like the BoardGame Publisher Compendium. See whether your game fits their catalog. Start local if you can. Focus on publishers that align with your vision.
• Network first: Meet people at conventions. Be patient. The later you pitch, the better your chances.


What's Next?

The release of Kuldhara — currently available on pre-order through the Jolly Dutch webshop —is just the beginning. I'm already working on new games...but I'd also love to expand the world of Kuldhara in the future! There's so much more to explore: new types of amulets, haunting twists, even nighttime exploration...

For now, I hope players enjoy diving into the ruins, mining cursed gems, and building their own mysterious adventure in the ghost village of Kuldhara.

Thanks for reading!
~ Glenn