blog: stuff I made

Bolted! games have been shipping to backers over the last couple of weeks! The non-US orders are (mostly) done and some folks have been reporting receiving them already!

@davidmalki.com My game arrived today!! It looks gorgeous 🙂 Hope you are well 🙂

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— Lar deSouza (@lartist.bsky.social) April 2, 2026 at 2:52 PM

My US inventory of games is now in-country, but still being staged at the fulfillment centers. It’s being distributed to regional warehouses, so the actual shipping to backers happens more efficiently. I hope the bulk of US shipping will start next week.

These are what the cartons (and games) look like!

bolted! games BOLTED! GAMES (pounding the table) B O L T E D ! G A M E S

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— david malki ! (@davidmalki.com) April 3, 2026 at 10:37 AM

I am also waiting on the bonus cards to be finished printing! I ended up needing many more of those than I had anticipated, so I decided to have the game factory print those too, for perfect matching with the base game cards.

Most people will be receiving two separate mailings: the game itself, and “anything else” (bonus cards and/or add-ons) which will be sent by me personally.

As of today, 86% of backers have completed their surveys so far! That’s pretty good, but it’s not everyone. I know YOU PERSONALLY have already completed YOURS though, so no worries!!

We have now moved OFF of Kickstarter and ONTO BackerKit for any new orders. You can bundle a game with basically anything else I sell on that there website, it’s pretty nuts!

My game Bolted! has under 48 hours left on Kickstarter, and I’ve written a “Designer Diary” about some of the game’s development process — parts of which which longtime readers may recognize!

I like sharing this kind of stuff, even though it might spotlight some of my more doofus choices and missteps, because I trust that some people will find the process interesting, and take heart at how a polished outcome can be the result of a long, winding, and setback-filled process.

Does that mean that the final result is definitionally awesome? Well, yes, of course.

This is mainly written for an audience new to the game and new to my work generally. I submitted it to BoardGameGeek for their blog of designer diaries (which will reach an audience that mostly has never heard of me).

I don’t actually know if they’ll publish it, but I wanted to make sure it was published SOMEWHERE, so while I wait to hear back from them, here it is!

Bolted! A Game of Creative Necromancy

When you combine different things, sometimes the result is a chemical reaction. Other times, it’s a surprising creative breakthrough.

I’m the author of the comic strip Wondermark, which is created collage-style out of vintage illustrations. So I’ve long been a champion of “creative re-combination.”

Making comics from collage has both freedoms and limitations. I get to hitch a ride on beautiful artwork from ages past, but I’m also constrained in storytelling (to a degree) by the images I can find.

It means the artwork itself is a creative collaborator. The gestures, expressions, and style of the artwork inform the stories that I tell with them…

[Read more]

While my card game Bolted! is being prepped at the factory, there’s a little window of time here for an additional round of pre-orders!

If you missed the first round of preorders earlier this year, Bolted! is available again for a limited time. Reserve your copy now:

Bolted! on Kickstarter

I spent a ton of time on the promo video and I had a lot of fun! I hope you like it.

A couple of things worth highlighting:

• Want this to be a holiday gift? The game won’t ship to backers until the spring, but all backers WILL get a downloadable certificate that you can wrap as a present, if you like!
• I’ll be doing livestreams all month long, playing the game with some of my creative friends! The first one already happened – with Ryan North, Gillian Goerz, and Pat Race – and you can watch it here:

Upcoming scheduled livestreams include:

• Wed Nov 26 • 5:15pm Pacific • Good As Hell Block Already happened!
  🐈‍⬛ Sara McHenry (Your McHenries, Hey Pais)
  🐎 Tom McHenry (Your McHenries, Horse Master)
  ⚙️ Jess Fink (Chester 5000 XYV)
  🍄 Eric Colossal (Rutabega the Adventure Chef)
  ↪ Watch the replay!
   
• Mon Dec 1 • 12:15pm Pacific • Sickos Block Already happened!
  🐶 KC Green (Gunshow, Greatures)
  ✒️Mattie Lubchansky (Boys Weekend, Simplicity)
  💧Tom Harrison (Anime Sickos)
   
• Fri Dec 5 • 10:15am Pacific (NEW TIME) • Webcomics Weekly Block
  🐤 Dave Kellett (Sheldon, Drive)
  😈 Brad Guigar (Evil Inc, The Webcomics Handbook)
  📺 Kris Straub (Chainsawsuit, Local58)

UPDATED TO ADD:

• Mon Dec 8 • 3:15pm Pacific • Very Rude Block
  🥷 Christopher Hastings (Rude Tales of Magic, Dr. McNinja)
  🎨 Carly Monardo (Rude Tales of Magic, Birdgirl)
  🦢 Branson Reese (Rude Tales of Magic, Swan Boy)
   
• Tue Dec 9 • 6pm Pacific • Audio Heroes Block
  🪕 Molly Lewis (Mollylele)
  🎹 Seth Boyer (Skulltenders)
  🎤 Jordan Morris (Jordan Jesse Go, Youth Group)
  
• Wed Dec 10 • 1:15pm Pacific • Atlantic Coast Block 
  🤖 Jeph Jacques (Questsionable Content)
  🦒 Colleen AF Venable (Kiss Number 8, Katie the Catsitter)
  🐐 Jon Rosenberg (Goats, Scenes From a Multiverse)
   
• Thu Dec 11 • 12:15pm Pacific • Super Stylish Block
  👑 Dylan Meconis (Queen of the Sea)
  👻 Kaylee Rowena (Haunts)
  🏞️ Kendra P. (Fairmeadow)
   
• Fri Dec 12 • 1:15pm Pacific • Rad Artists Block
  🤼 Scott C. (Great Showdowns, Cabin Head and Tree Head)
  🪓 Shing Yin Khor (The Legend of Auntie Po)
  🐻 Cat Farris (My Boyfriend is a Bear)

All livestreams will be at: twitch.tv/davidmalki

More are still TBD! I’ll be posting schedule updates on Bluesky!

If you have backed any of my previous Kickstarter projects, be sure to send me a DM and I’ll include a bonus card with your pledge for free!

(If you backed Bolted! on BackerKit earlier this year, the same offer applies! We should already have your details on file from that one!)

Here is a video of me making a puppet! And then performing a little with that puppet!

Some of you may recognize this technique as a callback to another series of puppet videos I made, some years ago. (As demonstrated here)

It’s been a fun idea to revisit, and I plan to do it some more.

This is, of course, related to my Wondermark-themed card game, Bolted!

Which now has final box art:

If you were part of the game’s launch campaign back in the spring, you may have noticed I just posted a detailed backer update about the final printing and shipping schedule.

You can read it if you want LOTS OF DETAILS about the current status & progress of the game! But in summary:

• I’m sending off the final artwork to the printer VERY SHORTLY
• The games will be printed in December/January
• I expect to receive my copies in February/March!

The time it will take to approve the artwork proofs & samples also allows for a perfect li’l window for me to REOPEN PREORDERS.

So if you missed it the first time around, you will now have a BONUS CHANCE to reserve yourself a copy:

Bolted! is coming to Kickstarter!

My (silly but ambitious) goal in this prelaunch period is to gather the same number of “followers” on the prelaunch page, as we had total backers in the original campaign (436). That seems doable, right??

The plan is to launch mid-next week! That’s pretty soon!!

I’m assuming at least some of you reading this are OG Boltheads who jumped on the train early and have been patiently waiting for me to wrap it all up. I’m super grateful for your initial support!

And now that the manufacturing part of it all is in motion, I’m super pleased that the timing will allow for another chance to get it in front of folks for pre-orders.

Since I’m only likely to print this game once, I want to make sure anyone who’s interested will have a chance to grab a copy. So I’ll be talking much more about this in the days to come!!