The Spirits are calling. Will you answer? Step into a world of whispered secrets, shifting alliances, and stunning art that pulls you straight in. Kindred Spirits isn't just a game... It's an experience. Which part are you looking forward to most?
As part of our Kindred Spirits Pocketopia campaign, we are including two social stretch goals to help improve the product that you receive once it is in production. We felt that this was a way that people could promote and share the project, whilst being rewarded for doing so.
Hello Neighbors, thanks for your patience this week! As promised, I ran the math on the pledge results.
Nearly all backers added at least 1 add-on (or qualified for one) per game (either the Rooftop Patios Expansion, the HOA Expansion, or both).
So, for anyone who paid for a second expansion per game, I have credited that back into your pledge manager to use toward your shipping costs.
I will end up eating a lot on this print since we are pushing into a larger sheet size for the added Friendly Neighbors expansion.
I know many reached out saying they would be willing to contribute more, and that is greatly appreciated - but completely voluntary.
You can do this in any of the following ways: - Tip Jar - Increase your pledge from 1 game to 2 - If you are in the USA or Canada, there are other games in our portfolio that you can access through the pledge manager as add-ons.
I want this to be the best game possible, and sometimes it takes a bit of sacrifice to get there, but I believe it is worth it!
Next steps: The Pledge Manager will start trickling out over the next few days (check your spam folders). Please fill it out upon receipt. Our goal is to have everyone do this by June 12th so I can move into production rapidly.
I'm here with our first post-campaign update. Expect to hear from me at the end of each month, every month, until fulfillment is all wrapped up. Let's hit the high notes, including an Encore Campaign?!
Manufacturing Update
I've submitted the art files to Boda and received some digital proofs. This is a key part of the process as I need to review the proofs before hitting print on our official product sample. Boda will print a few copies of the sample and send my way in 2-3 weeks. If I see some changes that need to be made, the time would be then to make them. I expect this process to be completed quickly and for me to sign off on full manufacturing by by end of June/early July.
Pledge Manager Update
I've started on the Pledge Manager and the process is going pretty smoothly so far. I will be making major headway on it next week. Expect the invitation to hit your inbox towards the end of June.
Convention Season
AdventureCon I will be attending AdventureCon in Arkansas next weekend! I will not be a vendor, but will have Headliner with me. Garden Club will be part of the "Hot Games" for people to check out. I will be running an event on Saturday with my pals from The Grove to show off all our titles. If you're attending, I'd love to see you there!
Origins Game Fair I will be a vendor at Origins in Columbus, OH, from June 17-21! This will be my first time at Origins, and you can find me at Booth 1714! I will be running demos of all our games, selling our inventory of Holiday Hills, Jingle Bell Roll, and Kraken Skulls, and taking pre-orders/late pledges for Headliner, Garden Club and Petal. Please come say hi. I plan to bring extra copies of Garden Club so in case people want to check out the game and play it in the hall, they will have the opportunity to do so.
Gen Con The CCG squad will be attending Gen Con in July/August! We will be in a 20x10 in Entrepreneurs Alley area, Booth 2753. This is our first time at Gen Con, and I'm so thrilled as well as (naturally) a bit nervous. It's the biggest show, and a dream come true to be there. It costs a lot of money to go, but it's so worth it to make a dream happen. I plan to have our large scale dice tower there for attendees to win prizes, a Sunday family event with a Christmas Tree, and hopefully some more surprises! I submitted a few events for our games, including Headliner, but I will be running demos at our booth all convention!
PAX Unplugged I will have a booth at PAXU in December in Philly! I will be including a "Pick Up at PAXU" option in the pledge manager in case you plan to attend that convention and want to save money on shipping.
More Headliner Content?!
I know some of the most fun part about games replayability. Jaedon (the designer) and Blake (artist) had some really fun ideas that we wish we had been able to unlock during the campaign, including the wooden guitar pics. I received approval to launch an Encore Campaign (thematic right?) that would run on Kickstarter in June for two weeks while I attend AdventureCon and Origins.
This follow-up campaign would allow us to engage with more backers on Kickstarter, and hopefully allow us to add more FREE content to Headliner for all of you. It would also allow us to print 2,000 units of Headliner, making it better for our business in general as the cost per unit goes down. This means it's easier to get Headliner in people's hands and support our friendly local game stores with retail options, etc. But just to be clear, we are fully funded and printing Headliner thanks to YOU in this BackerKit campaign!
The Encore Campaign stretch goals could potentially unlock in the Backer-Only promo:
6 new alternate art Headliner cards
4 new Musician cards
4 new Heartbreaker cards
6 new Roadie cards
1 new Venue card
3 new Perk cards
Wooden Guitar Pics
If we hit our initial funding goal of $1,000 on Kickstarter, then we'll automatically unlock 6 new alt Headliner cards and 4 new musicians! The rest of the content we'll be aiming to unlock throughout the rest of the campaign!
You will not be required to back anything in an "Encore" campaign, you would simply just get more free stuff with your pledge! 🤘 If you want to join the comment section, I will have a $1 pledge level that y'all can pledge at which will count towards a credit in the pledge manager. Let me know in the comments if you'll join us for this Encore Campaign!
Rulebook & Sample
I completed the rulebook design for the core game and mini-expansions! We're doing the final tweaks to it, and I will send y'all a link to preview it and our How to Play video when we launch the Encore Campaign.
That's all for now. I'll be back in touch around June 15 with an update on the rulebook, pledge manager, and Encore Campaign status.
Thank you all so much for following along while we participated in Pocketopia this year! While we are disappointed in the results of PRESSED, we are so thankful to have so many people support us during the lifecycle of the project.
We will have more projects launching in the future, so make sure you’re following us here and on socials to stay updated!
Thank you all for getting us to this point and making this project a reality! as a gift, we officially have the final art for all the new cards in Primary Potions Tertiary Twist!
Take a look.
A fully illustrated rulebook and tuckbox will also be provided and everything will fit into the original Primary Potions box!
As prices rise and global trade changes, our previous manufacturer has pulled of our budget range and we are currently looking for a new manufacturer.
Do not fret as we will vet them to the harshest degree and make sure you receive high quality goods built for regular play with no additional cost to you.
This does mean our timeline may be thrown off a little bit. we are unsure of when things will be able to ship but we appreciate your patience and will continue to update everyone on the goings on with Tertiary Twist.
Thank you for supporting us as we create this wonderful game. We couldn't have done this without you!
Thank you all, Aaron Salmonowicz AS_Intended Games
We had a very eventful last few days with the campaign! We're now in the final day before the campaign wraps up tomorrow. I'm thrilled and humbled by your support thus far, but we still have a few more songs on our setlist before we walk off stage!
🎸 A New Headliner Joins the Band Soon
Thanks to everyone for voting on the new Headliner color and "van". It was a tie between Black and Blue, so I spoke with the designer and the team to make the final choice on the player color being Black. This is also because of the cool idea to bring some inspiration from School of Rock into the game. Here is a look at the art sketch and wooden school bus that we can add to the backer-exclusive promo. You'll get this and other bonuses for FREE if you back Headliner before the campaign ends tomorrow!
At 350 backers, we'll unlock Ned Schneebly! Adding this Headliner to the Backer-only promo that all backers will receive for free.
I did a bit of reworking of the quote from my manufacturer, and we will be able to add this card and meeple with 350 backers instead of the original 400! I know this will be a fun addition for everyone, and it will allow us to have another SKU we can sell at conventions in the future to promote the game.
🤘 Poster Giveaway Winner
We hit another 50-backer milestone, which means another backer wins a custom poster!
Congrats to backer "Elizabeth R"!
If you read this, please leave a comment letting me know which poster you'd like. Also, I will DM you to make sure you see it :)
We'll unlock another poster winner once we hit 350 backers AND 400 backers AND 50 likes for Headliner on the BGG Origins Preview (check the achievement below).
📋 BGG Origins Preview - Help us spread the word
We are over halfway to our goal of 50 likes for Headliner! This helps us show off the game to more people attending the convention. I've added the community achievement below, but you can click here to give Headliner and our other games a "like" on BoardGameGeek's website. Once we hit 50, I'll do another poster giveaway.
THANK YOU all so much again. I can't express my gratitude enough, and we'll be working hard to make sure Headliner gets to you as soon as possible. Let's close out the final 24 hours strong!
Once we hit 350 backers, we'll add a new Headliner and van meeple 🤘 Go to our community achievements and vote in the poll for the player color and van shape you'd like to be added.
Goal: 350 backers reached! — We did it! This project reached this goal!
We'll hold a giveaway for a Headliner Tour Poster! One lucky rock star will receive the tour poster with their pledge for free! We will hold a raffle for every 50-backer milestone we hit from here til the end of the campaign.
Goal: 350 backers reached! — We did it! This project reached this goal!
WOW! What a final 24 hours it's been. We hit the 350 backer mark and the $14,000 mark! I'm so grateful to have y'all in the band. You are the real show stoppers 😎.
New Headliner Card is Added to the Backer Promo!
Thanks to all of you, we hit this awesome stretch goal!! Blake was able to whip up the art for Ned Schneebly, and we've added a phenomenal new card to add to the game. ALL BACKERS will get this for FREE included in the Backer Promo.
🤘 Poster Giveaway Winner(s)
We hit another 50-backer milestone, which means another backer wins a custom poster!
Congrats to backer "Ronny Cox"!
Also congrats to Drew for being our most engaged backer during the campaign! You have also won a free poster that will be added to your pledge!
If you read this, please leave a comment letting me know which poster you'd like. Also, I will DM you to make sure you see it :)
We'll unlock another poster winner if we hit 400 backers AND/OR 50 likes for Headliner on the BGG Origins Preview (check the achievement below). Let's do this in the final 2 hours!
📋 BGG Origins Preview - Help us spread the word
We only need 16 more likes for Headliner on BGG's Origins Preview to do another Poster Giveaway! This helps us show off the game to more people attending the convention. I've added the community achievement below, but you can click here to "like" our games on BoardGameGeek's website.
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Updates Going Forward
I will have some other cool announcements next week after the campaign closes. If you're familiar with me from past campaigns, you know that I am very transparent and communicative throughout the entire process. I want y'all to know how much your trust in me and in Chris Couch Games means. I do not take your decision to spend money with us lightly. I will honor your pledge by providing a quality product, supporting the board game community, and doing everything possible to get you the game swiftly.
Here's what you can expect from me going forward:
You will receive updates at the end of the month, every month, until fulfillment is complete.
I will keep you up to date on manufacturing process and give y'all as much behind the scenes as possible, basically a backstage pass.
I will be finalizing the rulebook design soon. My computer crashed last week, so I have to buy a new one (time for an upgrade), and it's slowed me down a bit. I will also be filming a how to play video that you can expect in June.
That's all for now! Let's finish the campaign strong, and don't forget to Kick Back and Play!
We'll hold a giveaway for a Headliner Tour Poster! One lucky rock star will receive the tour poster with their pledge for free! We will hold a raffle for every 50-backer milestone we hit from here til the end of the campaign.
