The upshot: Even with the delays explained below, as of this moment, we are still on track to fulfill before Hanukkah!
Plus, the games have reached the USA!
The other good news is that the PNP file went out as scheduled last month to backers. If you're having any trouble accessing that, please don't hesitate to get in touch.
On to the less exciting bits:
Originally we were told the Pocket Edition games should have reached Chicago on October 4th. From there, they would be sorted out for delivery, which should have meant receiving the games sometime this week.
Unfortunately, though the games have indeed made it to the USA (yay!), they were delayed in LA and have still not made it to Chicago. We're staying on top of the situation, but unfortunately this is just one of those things that can happen during busy shipping periods.
As of now, we are crossing our fingers that the games will be delivered safely by the end of the month. Thankfully that still gives us a good buffer for shipping the games your way.
Things are a little tighter with the holiday market season, but we're hopeful everything will be set on time.
Now that we've also paid the tariff bill, import fees, shipping, etc., we wanted to be transparent with how things shook out.
The total cost for creating the pocket edition games, shipping, tariffs, safety testing, and everything? About $5,000.
You may have noticed that's about $2,000 more than the Backerkit raised, without even counting the platform and payment fees deducted from the campaign total.
Thankfully, we got a tariff refund for last year's tariffs from the original game! We were really counting on that money coming through, and it was a huge help.
And we knew going into the campaign that we would be subsidizing a portion of the total cost from company funds.
Unfortunately, shipping and tariff totals did still exceed our expectations, which is how we ended up exceeding our raised funds by so much. We're hopeful that holiday market income will help offset that a little bit, but we wanted to share the reality for the sake of both transparency and setting clear expectations for any future campaigns (and we may have one planned 😉).
We'd also love your help spreading the word about a few things:
We'll be participating in Backerkit's upcoming Holiday Market!
As part of that, we'll actually be introducing a brand new Hanukkah character 🥳
While structured like a "campaign," this is actually a Ready to Ship event, so all the goodies exist already and are guaranteed to be fulfilled. Check out our prelaunch page here!
Irina will be at Kerstmarkt Holland again this year! If you're in the area or feel like taking a trip, make sure to stop by her booth and say hello.
If you know someone who'd enjoy our games and goodies, please make sure to send them our way. Feeling generous? Send them some goodies as a gift!
As always, we really appreciate your support, and your patience as we wait on the games to arrive. We hope to start sending them your way soon!
There we are: I received 128kgs worth of books earlier in the day! And I have to say, them books look gorgeous. This calls for some photos, doesn't it?
Now my work begins its final phase: bringing the books to you! Thankfully, most of you have already completed their surveys so I can get to it fairly quickly. I'll be spending the next days prepping packages, so you still have a bit of time to make any changes you need, but be quick about it! I'll send you advance notice before the surveys close, of course. Once the books are shipped, they'll take a few weeks to get to you, so most of you can expect to receive them by the end of November at the very latest... Except for the USA, because they have to go through my fulfillment partner there, so the delivery date will probably be closer to December.
Oh, there's an exception to this calendar if you're in the UK, particularly near London! I'll make an exceptional appearance at Dragonmeet on November 28 in London, along with my good friend Milouch. We'll have copies of our games in English to sell, and of course, you'll be able to pick up your order there, should you prefer it that way! If you do opt for a pick-up, please let me know in the comments below or in any other way you prefer, so I can cancel your shipping fees before closing up the survey.
That's it for now! I probably won't post another update once shipping starts, unless there's something big I forgot to mention. I can't wait for you to receive these beauties!!!
Best, Côme
*
Salut tout le monde !
Eh bien ça y est : j'ai reçu 128kgs de livres plus tôt dans l'après-midi ! Et je dois dire que ces bouquins sont magnifiques. Ça demande quelques photos, non ?
Et maintenant, j'entre dans la dernière phase du projet : vous envoyer les livres ! Heureusement, la plupart d'entre vous ont déjà complété leur formulaire, je vais donc pouvoir m'y mettre rapidement. Je vais passer les prochains jours à préparer vos paquets, vous avez donc encore un peu de temps pour procéder à tout changement nécessaire, mais ne tardez pas ! Je vous enverrai un dernier avertissement avant que les formulaires ferment, bien sûr. Une fois les livres expédiés, ils devraient mettre une ou deux semaines à vous parvenir, la plupart d'entre vous peuvent donc s'attendre à les recevoir autour d'Halloween !
Oh, une exception à ce calendrier si vous habitez en région parisienne ! Je serai ce dimanche au festival Wyrd à Pantin, et le 31 octobre à Malakoff pour le festival Frissons & Pions. Si vous comptez y être aussi et voulez profiter de l'événement pour récupérer vos jeux, aucun problème ! Faites-le moi savoir dans les commentaires ou de quelque manière que ce soit, et rendez-vous sur le stand du Rayon alternatif :) De mon côté, je vous ferai bien évidemment grâce des frais de port.
C'est tout pour le moment ! Je ne posterai probablement pas d'autre billet une fois les expéditions commencées, sauf s'il y a quelque chose d'important dont j'ai oublié de vous faire part. J'ai hâte que vous teniez ces beautés en main !!!
As some of you have no doubt realized, I have officially begun fulfillment! I've sent out about two dozen packages yesterday and today, and have separated out and sorted all the local pickup and community donation copies.
I expect to continue slowly working my way through over the next couple of weeks, so keep an eye on your inboxes for tracking numbers. They'll be coming from PirateShip (USPS for domestic backers, Asendia for international), but I will also manually put the info in your Backer page when they go out, so you can check there as well if you don't see an email.
And speaking of checking on your Backerkit survey page, that is also where you should now be able to find the Print N Play files! Everyone who backed at the Print N Play or above level should have both an 8.5x11 "Letter" size and an A4 size file in their digital rewards.
As always, don't hesitate to reach out if you have any questions or need any assistance.
Apparently I had the order of operations backwards when it comes to shipping/locking/charging. So I'll be spending time today going through everyone's pledges and making sure that backers who I know are local pickup or who have donated their pledges to the "Community Copy" fund have that represented on their accounts so they don't get charged erroneously.
If you have a question about your delivery method, please feel free to reach out to me so we can confirm it together!
Let's start this message with an update on production: I've received both sorts of stickers (the A5 sheets and the exclusive ones) and they both look great! I can't wait to see where you plaster them :) Production on the books is still ongoing, but I'm told delivery should be in the first week of October. Expect pictures when it does!
I've decided to open up late pledges and surveys in the meantime, and they will stay open until shipping starts. I will not charge your credit cards until then, which leaves plenty of time to catch and correct mistakes! Make sure to double-check that anything you order is still there, that no extra copy of anything slipped by, and that everything is in the correct language. Drop me a line if it isn't.
I've also opened up a preorder store, so if you know anyone who's sad they missed out on the campaign, now you know where to send them ;)
Finally for this update, I've got another project incoming, and this time it's not a TTRPG! I'll start collecting funds in late October for FINDERS KEEPERS #1, the first issue of a print zine which features some of my collection of found photos, postcards, letters and the like along the years. You can read more about it here.
That's it for today! Expect a new update in October, and in the meantime, do write me if there's any problem with your survey or anything else!
Best, Côme
*
Bonjour tout le monde,
Commençons avec quelques nouvelles de la production : j'ai reçu les deux sortes de stickers du jeu (les planches en format A5 et les stickers exclusifs) et ils sont très beaux ! J'ai hâte de les voir collés partout :) La production du livre est toujours en cours, mais j'ai cru comprendre que la livraison aura lieu début octobre. Je vous enverrai des photos à ce moment-là !
En attendant, j'ai décidé d'ouvrir les formulaires et late pledgespour le jeu, et ils resteront ouverts jusqu'au début des envois. Je n'encaisserai aucun montant avant cela, ce qui laisse pas mal de temps pour corriger toute erreur potentielle ! Assurez-vous que tout ce que vous aviez commandé est bien là, que rien de plus n'a été ajouté par erreur, et que tout est dans la bonne langue. Écrivez-moi si ce n'est pas le cas.
J'ai aussi ouvert les précommandes pour le jeu : si vous connaissez quelqu'un qui est triste d'avoir manqué la campagne de financement, maintenant vous savez où l'envoyer :)
Enfin, je voulais vous parler d'un autre projet pour finir, et cette fois ce n'est pas du JdR ! Je commencerai à vous demander des sous fin octobre pour FINDERS KEEPERS #1, le premier numéro d'un zine imprimé qui présente une partie de ma collection de photos, cartes postales, lettres et autres trouvailles de trottoir. Vous pouvez en lire plus à ce sujet par ici.
C'est tout pour aujourd'hui ! Attendez-vous à un nouveau billet en octobre, et en attendant, n'hésitez pas à m'écrire s'il y a un souci avec votre commande ou tout autre chose !
You will need to be logged in to your Backerkit account to access the PNP file. Or, you will be prompted to enter the email associated with your pledge, which will then send a direct link your way.
You should also shortly receive an email with a direct download link.
If you still haven't filled out your survey, you will need to do so before you can download the PNP. But once you do, you'll have instant access to this reward!
We hope everyone celebrating had a wonderful Rosh Hashanah, and that those observing will have a meaningful Yom Kippur with an easy fast!
Generally, we hope September is treating you all well!
The games have shipped from the manufacturer! I have a tracking number and everything, which says they should be in my hands by Monday. As I already have all the wallets and stickers, that means that I'll be able to begin assembly and then start mailing them out by the end of the month.
So what's this mean for you? It's time to lock the orders and charge for shipping. IMPORTANT: As part of entering the final shipping rates (which have only increased by a dollar on average due to all the oil price shenanigans) I added a LOCAL PICKUP option. My understanding is that you should be able to access it by choosing it in the "country" drop down of your delivery address. If you have trouble finding it just let me know and I'll get Backerkit's Customer Support to help us out.
That means you've got one more week to add anything to your order, check that your address is correct, and that your payment method is up to date. I'll lock orders and start running cards on September 20th, and then orders will start to go out shortly after that.
Together with Natasja (from Portent fame and blissfully also our graphic designer) we have been hard at work finalizing the layout of the cards, and today we want to walk you through a bunch of the changes we have made to make all information on the cards as easy to understand as possible, so lets dive in.
Old vs New
Lets start off with comparing the design of the cards that were in the Backerkit campaign and showcase how that same card looks now. We will be using Sonja as a Twilight card features all the changes we have made: That is a lot of little changes that overall make a ton of difference! Lets walk through these changes one-by-one and see why we have made them.
Power Icon
This change is rather straightforward. While we loved the design on the banner for each card type, we ultimately wanted a clearer way to indicate what the value in the banner was referring to, which is of course the card's Power. We went through a few iterations trying to preserve the original icons but ultimately had to cut them for clarity. The design of the fist-icon emphasizes that while the animals attack each other, these are non-lethal attacks and no one dies. Having an Icon that represents the game mechanic of Power also allows us to use that icon throughout the manual to make it extra clear what we mean.
Order & Ambush
For similar reasons as with the Power, we always wanted to have icons for the Order and Ambush effects on our cards: They make explaining them easier, help differentiate the effects better, and make referencing them in the rules clearer. While the old icons we had kinda worked, we really wanted a new design that was a better embodiment of their usage. We settled on the design of an open eye for Orders and a closed eye for Ambushes.
Firstly, this design strongly conveys how the effects are played: Orders are played openly and have an immediate effect, while Ambushes are placed closed and need to be activated in later turns. Secondly, during playtests we noticed that sometimes players struggled with this difference and thus chose to help reinforce this concept by having the icons act as little reminders.
With this change we also decided to outline the text to the left, rather than the center, and have the effect be the start of the sentence, rather than displayed as a title. This links the effect name and the effect text closer together and creates a more cohesive textbox.
Set Icon
Last but not least, we are introducing set icons in the bottom right of the page! Because both decks in Hare to the Throne are almost identical, we really wanted to have a way for the players to easily identify which card belongs to which deck, with this neat little icon as a result. The number within the icon still represents the amount of times a card is featured in the deck.
The inspiration of the icons came from two plants that in the Netherlands can only be found in the Biesbosch; the Kingcup and the Club-rush. While it's a small detail that maybe not many people will notice, we really loved how this came together and helps to differentiate the two sets. And who knows, maybe we will see these icons show up in some other places? ;)
We hoped you enjoyed getting a glimpse in the behind-the-scenes of the development of the cards. We are super happy with the progress we are making and as always will keep you posted.
The upshot: As of now, we are still on track to fulfill in November!
For more details, read on:
There was a slight manufacturing delay, but after last year, we had already worked in a bit of a buffer to account for that in our anticipated delivery timeline. And then this morning we were informed of another delay.
Now we're cutting it a bit closer, but nevertheless based on current information, we should still be able to fulfill rewards in November, meaning before Hanukkah!
Aside from the games themselves:
The cards are all printed ✅
The stickers are all printed ✅
The enamel pins are ready to go ✅
The upgraded 3D gold menorah turn trackers are printed, assembled, and packaged ✅
We are doing what we can to ensure everything else goes smoothly with the games, but unfortunately, quite a lot is out of our hands. Both the delays mentioned above have to do with the manufacturer, not anything on our end. We're disappointed, but we're reworking plans to ensure everything is set on our end when the games are ready.
Print & Play:
This part is in our hands, and we're happy to share it is almost ready to go! We are testing how the file prints, but it should be ready to send out next month.
PNP files will go out through the Backerkit pledge manager, which is a step we still need to figure out but have seen work many times, so hopefully it will be straightforward for all of us.
On that note: if you haven't completed your survey, you may not receive the PNP!
Surveys need to be complete in order for your rewards to be fulfilled, and to our understanding, that includes digital downloads. So please, please make sure to go fill out your survey if you haven't yet!
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