Realm Runner Studios is the business behind Achroma, a relative newcomer to the tabletop gaming scene based right here in Poole.

The game sees players collecting, trading and doing battle with a deck of illustrated playing cards, each representing a character or location in an evolving fantasy realm.

But while the cards might be new, Achroma is far from it.

Dan Renton

“Jack and Rachel Constantine, our founders, had been writing about the Achroma universe for around 18 years”, said Dan Renton, Brand Manager at Realm Runner Studios.

“Being brand new parents, they started creating stories for their kids, and it all blossomed out of that.

“Fast forward a number of years and Jack really wanted to launch a card game, inspired by games like Pokémon and Magic the Gathering.”

And so it was that the couple began to assemble a team.

Rachel and Jack Constantine

First came Matt Vince, an old school friend whose colourful illustrations are a nod to Japanese filmmakers Studio Ghibli and lend an eye-catching visual identity to the game.

He was joined by Operations Manager Chris Hillman – who the team often joke ‘sees the Matrix everywhere’ – to help nail down the rules and mechanics.

Dan himself hails from a background in graphic design and marketing, and immediately recognised the potential in Achroma.

“Jack handed me some prototypes and said the one thing he really wanted to maintain was the quality.

“He didn’t want these cards to be disposable in that someone would tear open a pack, think ‘oh, I’ve already got this one’, and chuck it.

“That’s what really struck me early on.”

With a promising product and lofty ambitions, the founding team of five took to crowdfunding platform Kickstarter to help get the project off the ground and onto shelves.

But their pitch struggled to connect with tabletop audiences.

“It was brutal”, said Dan.

“We were picked apart to some degree by some very experienced gamers.

“We had quite a high funding goal and didn’t have the experience or the knowledge or the contacts.

“But we went away from it, we licked our wounds.

“Putting the egos aside we thought, ‘what did we learn from this?’

“I think it further reinforced the fact that – although we liked the idea of tournaments and things – that casual, family friendly niche was where we really wanted to be.”

Where other games in the genre have players juggling all kinds of numbers and calculations, Achroma is designed around the single currency of ‘shards’.

Some players choose to follow the light side – Chroma – working to collect enough shards to win.

Others are drawn to the darker path – Achrom – and instead try to foil their opponents’ plans by reducing their shards to zero.

It’s this simple but effective dynamic which Dan says has made Achroma a more accessible and inclusive alternative to many of its competitors.

“As we started to build a community around the game, it quickly became apparent that we had a really diverse player base – couples, LGBTQ+, people of different ethnicities and all different ages.

“It was so nice to see because tabletop games, in my experience, have always been very straight white male dominated.

“People say, ‘it’s the only geeky game that my girlfriend will play with me’.

“That wasn’t because we went out of our way to tick some boxes – it’s just happened organically.”

Despite the disappointing Kickstarter, there was clearly a market for Achroma, and so the team decided to move forward self-funded.

Those early days were spent picking and packing in someone’s kitchen or the corner of a shared warehouse space.

It was also during this time that they partnered up with Dayfold Print in Verwood, who produce the boxes for Achroma, and Epic Print in Dorchester, who manufacture the cards.

“Epic have been great at managing different requests and short timeframes”, said Dan.

“Being small, indie and agile is great because we can react very quickly to things, but I’m sure it gives our suppliers a headache!

“It also feels good to partner with other local businesses, because we can pop over and chat with these guys about various projects and get feedback.

“And it keeps our carbon footprint down, shipping stuff around.”

Achroma soon found its audience, and with a much clearer idea of their product, the team launched a second Kickstarter campaign in February 2023.

This time, they met their £10,000 funding goal in just three hours, with backers pledging a grand total of £32,614 to help Realm Runner Studios expand their vision for the game.

“It was nice to go back and succeed at it”, said Dan.

“And I think it’s a testament to the team for having that tenacity and grit to get back up and have another go.”

So, what’s next for Achroma?

“We’re starting to roll out in the US, and we’ve had some glowing reviews recently from really credible publications like Tabletop Gaming Magazine.”

“It’s growing quite rapidly, but we try not to let our current limitations stand in the way of the ambition.

“Everyone pulls out all the stops – late nights, weekends when we need to.

“It sounds clichéd, but I think that’s why we’re all so attached.

“We’ve all put so much into it, and at its heart it’s a husband and wife and their friends.

“That lends a bit of authenticity, I think, to what we’re doing – it’s us chatting with the players, it’s us on the stands at the exhibitions.

“It’s definitely a challenge to maintain that transparency and visibility as we grow, but it’s something we’re really keen on and committed to.”

Realm Runner Studios also opened the Achroma shop and café at Poole Quay in November 2022, which recently underwent a rebrand to become Five Realms Gaming Lounge – but more on that to come.

• realmrunnerstudios.com

For feel-good business news from across the border, check out our new sister site, Hampshire Biz News.