Shem Phillips has dropped his next big design quietly into his own webshop, and if you missed the Kickstarter you can finally get hold of it. Secret Societies, the long-teased mystery project from Garphill Games, is now available exclusively at garphill.com. It is a 2-5 player euro where rival shadow cabals bid against each other to "own" the nations of the world.
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Set up your group for freeIf the name does not ring bells, Phillips is the New Zealand designer behind two of the most quietly successful euro trilogies of the last decade. His North Sea series (Shipwrights, Raiders, Explorers, 2014-2016) put him on the map, and his West Kingdom run with co-designer S J Macdonald (Architects, Paladins, Viscounts, 2018-2020) is comfortably inside BGG's top 100, with Paladins of the West Kingdom currently sitting around the #64 spot and a strong fan rating to match. Macdonald is back as co-designer for Secret Societies.
The Kickstarter campaign for the game wrapped in October 2025 with NZ$211,243 raised against a NZ$23,000 goal, around 9.2 times funded, and threw in a Lycan Society faction expansion as a backer bonus. Garphill skipped a traditional retail run for the title, meaning the only way to grab a copy outside of the campaign is direct from the publisher. It is a deliberate Garphill move that has worked for previous web-exclusive titles.
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See how it worksA quick warning for UK backers: Garphill ships from New Zealand, so factor in postage and a wait. If you fancy a Phillips marathon when it lands, find a euro game night near you.
Sources: Garphill Games | Kickstarter | BGG Designer
