Hey Wild Gardens Backers,

We're excited to announce that 83% of you have now completed your Backerkit! That's excellent since it lets us begin to inform our manufacturer how large our order is likely to be. If you haven't completed your Backerkit please do so as soon as possible! Having your orders confirmed quickly allows us to keep moving forward and feel confident we're ordering the correct amount.

Because so many of you have now completed your orders, we're going to move forward with our first wave of locking in pledges on September 6th. This means if you've completed your order then your credit card will be charged, and you'll no longer be able to make changes to your pledge. Please note this is not a full lock of the PM. If you haven't completed your order or would like to pre-order you'll still be able to do so. If you have any questions about this process, please don't hesitate to reach out via comment or email to [email protected]

We can't wait to tell you about the most fun thing we did this month, Gen Con 2023! The booth was BUMPIN'! It probably didn't hurt being next to the most popular plushies at the show, but also this really did feel like the busiest Gen Con our team has ever attended. After spending all of 5 minutes at the show it's easy to see why -- there was just SO MUCH STUFF TO SEE. From Artist Alley, to live podcasts, to demo areas, and oh yea, a TON of games -- and that was just in the exhibit hall!

Luckily, we were prepared this year, with our team of trusty booth staff members. A special thanks to Jessy, Joel, Paul, Ryan, Michelle, Lyss, and AJ for crushing it in the booth this year! This year, our booth featured Keystone:North America and Wild Gardens, running quick demos on booth for visitors. While we were happy with the reception and sales of Keystone, it was amazing to see how much interest (and pre-orders) there was for Wild Gardens!

We also had some VERY popular pins, postcards, and free copies of the new Brotherwise Games Turn Order magazine available in the booth. When we heard about the magazine from Brotherwise, we were pumped to be featured alongside our fellow indie publishers and we were really happy with how it turned out!

Another amazing thing that we got to do this year is host the BIPOC Lounge. This was the second year we've been hosting and it was the best one yet! First of all, thank you. To all the volunteers who made this possible, to the visitors that showed once again how valuable this space is, to the vendors that made the lounge look amazing, and to Gen Con for partnering with us once again on an incredibly successful space for the BIPOC community.

We doubled the attendance at this year's show which was easy to tell, as the lounge was essentially filled all weekend long. Attendees were greeted with refreshments, comfy spaces to relax and connect, brand-new conference rooms for professional meetings, a gigantic library of games to try out, and of course, plenty of space for gaming.

We had such an amazing time hosting the BIPOC Lounge, meeting so many creators and gaming enthusiasts, and providing a space for networking and mentoring. That final note really means the world to us. We had a number of conversations with people just looking for advice on how to get into and be successful within this industry. Being able to support new underrepresented voices is what this is all about and that energy really carries us long after the show ends. It's something that we made a core value of our company at its inception and we're glad to see that company value coming to life in tangible ways.

If you want to learn more about our special events, please check out our Rose Gauntlet Foundation web page!

We hope you enjoy seeing our favorite parts of the show and, as always, thank you for being part of our community. There's so much excitement surrounding Wild Gardens and it would have never come to life without you. We're excited to be wrapping up this stage of the project and preparing to move into the next! 

The Wild Gardens Team

The wait for Gen Con 2023 is almost over! We've got a ton of exciting things happening at the show this year and wanted to give everyone a quick update.

Awww yea, it's our first ever Rose Gauntlet Booth at Gen Con! 

Swing by exhibit booth #364 to meet our team, get a firsthand look at our games, and snag some awesome swag.

Here's the lowdown on what we have in store:

We're excited to announce we have once again partnered with Gen Con to host the BIPOC Lounge -- a lounge area for Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) professionals and attendees!

The BIPOC Lounge is a dedicated space for BIPOC attendees to connect, relax, network, and utilize for career-focused endeavors, with the intention to build, assist, and provide resources for the growth of the community. This space was created to follow through on our goals of spotlighting underrepresented voices, supplementing convention experiences, and supporting new opportunities for those seeking to enter or move further into the tabletop industry.

Last year was a big success and with Gen Con's support we're thrilled to be expanding the space at this year's show!

For those interested in participating, the BIPOC Lounge is located in rooms #240 and #241 will be open:

We can't wait to see you there!

We're pumped to see our very own Lindsey Rode as a panelist for the Gen Con Panel Crowdfunding Do's an Don'ts! The in-depth discussion will cover how to prepare for a strong launch, common mistakes to avoid, important do's and don'ts to consider, and will include a live Q&A from the industry expert panelists.

Details are below. Hope to see you there!

Day/Time: Saturday, August 5th at from 12:00 PM - 1:30 PM EDT
Location: Crowne Plaza : Grand Ctrl Stn D
Ticket RSVP Page: https://www.gencon.com/events/230623

Moderator: Jason Furie, Senior Community Manager at BackerKit

Panelists:

If you're attending Gen Con please stop by to say hi and check out a fancy production copy of Wild Gardens!!!

The Rose Gauntlet Team

Dear Wild Gardens Backers,

We hope this update finds you well and filled with excitement as we bring you some fantastic news! We're thrilled to announce that the Wild Gardens Pledge Manager is now open, allowing you to confirm and customize your pledges. This marks an important milestone in the fulfillment process, bringing us one step closer to delivering the enchanting world of Wild Gardens to your doorstep.

The Pledge Manager is your personalized portal, where you can review and finalize your pledge details. It allows you to select any additional add-ons, update your shipping address, and make any necessary adjustments. To access the Pledge Manager, simply follow the instructions provided in the email we sent to you. If you encounter any issues or have questions, please don't hesitate to reach out to our dedicated support team at [email protected]. They'll be more than happy to assist you throughout the process.

Now, onto the exciting part! We couldn't contain our joy in revealing a delightful surprise that will surely warm your hearts: the adorable Little One plushie! This endearing companion captures the essence of Wild Gardens and is the perfect embodiment of the magical creatures that inhabit this extraordinary realm. Crafted with meticulous attention to detail, the Little One plushie stands at 4 inches tall, 8 inches long, and 4 inches wide, making it an enchanting addition to any collection (and even bigger than we thought it was going to be!).

With its soft feel, gentle expression, and petite size, the Little One plushie is a delightful reminder of the wonders that await you in the Wild Gardens. Whether you choose to place it on your shelf as a decorative piece or carry it with you on your own adventures, this charming creature will bring joy and warmth to your heart. You can add the Little One Plushie to your order in the Pledge Manager via the Add-Ons page. 

Thank you once again for your unwavering support, patience, and enthusiasm throughout this incredible journey. We're immensely grateful to have you as a part of the Wild Gardens community. Together, we will bring this wondrous world to life.

The Rose Gauntlet Team

The Wild Gardens Pledge Manager is almost here! 

Next week, you’ll receive an email from us with a special link to your BackerKit survey. Please respond to your survey in a timely fashion since we need this information to fulfill your rewards.

You don’t need to create a BackerKit account to fill out your survey. When you receive the email with the survey, click the survey link to respond. Answer the questions about your reward preferences, provide shipping information, and purchase add-on items if you like. You don’t have access to this survey link yet, but it will be available soon via email!

After you respond to your survey, you can go back later and change your responses at any time before we close the surveys and get our final counts. We'll alert everyone when the surveys are closing and do an update letting everyone know, so don't worry about missing it. 

If you need to review your information or pledge status, you can return to your survey by clicking the link in your survey email or requesting your survey link under "Lost your survey?" on our BackerKit project page at https://wildgardens.backerkit.com.

If you used your Facebook credentials to log in to your Kickstarter account, the BackerKit survey is sent to the email address you use for your Facebook account. If you have another email address that you prefer to use, please contact support at https://wildgardens.backerkit.com/faq.

The Wild Gardens Team

Dear Backers, 

Today we have a very small update for you. We know that everyone has been excited to see which content creators would be featured in the Media Expansion Pack and it's time to show them off! Without further ado here are the personalities you'll see out and about in the world of Wild Gardens.

Let us know if your favorite board game personality made the list. And don't forget to make sure the Media Expansion is part of your order so you can add these cards and the exclusive solo campaign featuring all these crazy characters to your game! 

The Wild Gardens Team

Dear Backers,

We have the results of our recipe card vote! Here are the winners:

Thank you so much for your valuable votes and contribution towards shaping the direction of the community expansion pack. Now that the ingredients and recipe cards have been finalized for this expansion, it's a perfect time to delve deeper into what is featured in these packs. 

Each expansion pack showcases a unique theme while maintaining an equal amount of gameplay content. This means that every pack will include 18 new cards that can be seamlessly integrated into your game. Within each pack, you'll discover 8 fresh ingredients, 8 new recipes, 8 new guests, and a special card that grants you access to download a brand-new solo scenario.

Let's begin by exploring the variety of ingredients and recipes. Every pack features 8 double-sided recipe cards that introduce new forgeable ingredients and recipes, expanding your existing deck. These additions create fresh combinations of ingredient tokens, allowing you to cook an even wider array of diverse and mouthwatering meals to earn points.

The "meat" of the expansion lies within the eight new guest cards. Each guest card in the game possesses a completely unique ability, offering an abundance of strategic possibilities to score points. These new guest cards, exclusive to each expansion pack, introduce innovative ways to acquire resources, construct your cooking/serving engine, and present exciting opportunities to increase your endgame score. By incorporating these guests into your game, players can explore new strategies and combinations that diverge from those in the original box.

Lastly, each expansion pack includes a download for a new solo scenario, exclusively tailored to that specific expansion. This scenario embodies the thematic essence of the expansion, incorporating many of the new ingredients, recipes, and guests found within the pack. Our team had an absolute blast crafting these solo scenarios, which immerse players in absurd and often hilarious situations. For instance, in the Team expansion's solo scenario, you'll interact with numerous Rose Gauntlet team members, resulting in delightful and entertaining gameplay moments.

We hope this overview provides you with a clearer understanding of the features awaiting you in each expansion pack. Should you have any questions or require further information about the expansion packs, please don't hesitate to leave a comment!

The Wild Gardens Team

 

Dear backers,

We want to thank you all for your amazing recipe submissions for our Wild Gardens community expansion. We received so many delicious ideas, it was a tough decision to choose our favorites. But after much deliberation, we have finally narrowed it down to our two top picks for each category. Remember if you don't see your favorite recipe listed it could be because it's already featured in the game! 

The options are:

Unfortunately, we were not able to fix the polls so that voting can happen for each category. If you want to give a shout out to your 2nd and 3rd favorite recipe, please comment on this update. We'll do our best to add those shout outs to our tally when choosing the final recipes!

In other updates: we're still working on getting the Pledge Manager ready to open and that will likely take another week or two at least. We'll also be back next week to reveal all the content creators that are featured in our Media Expansion Pack and to talk about the expansion packs in more detail.

Thanks so much for continuing to follow this project and be involved in our discussions!

The Wild Gardens Team

*Please keep in mind that the recipe names or their categories could change in the future due issues that come up in playtesting or final development, but we don't anticipate that happening.  

Dear Backers, 

We started designing Wild Gardens at PAXU in 2021 and it's incredible to see it become a reality 2 years later. By not only hitting our funding goal but exceeding it we'll be able to make this beautiful game into something that players can enjoy for years to come.
 
Wild Gardens is a game that was created as a response to all the things that we missed during quarantine. It's a love letter to the friends and the sense of community we were excited to get back too. Through Wild Garden's playtesting and campaign, we've gotten to chat with old friends and meet many new ones. We're excited to see this community continue to grow and we hope you made some new connections with others. 

For the next few days our team is going to take some time off to celebrate. We'll be back next week with the vote for recipe cards and more info on when to expect the Pledge Manager. In the meantime, we invite you to celebrate with us by playing good games with your friends and eating some great meals. 

Love, 

Lindsey and Isaac

Dear Backers,

We're excited to announce that the Wild Gardens Rulebook is ready to be revealed! Please keep in mind that the game is still in playtesting and the rulebook is currently a work in progress. This means that rules, cards, and tokens may change in the final version of the game. You can read the rulebook here!

A Quick Note of Gratitude for the Final 48 hours

As we come to the close of our BackerKit campaign, we wanted to take a moment to thank everyone responsible for helping us get to where we are today with Wild Gardens. From the creators who inspired us, to the team who pulled everything together, to our fans and backers making this project possible -- thank you, thank you, thank you.

The support and encouragement from our backers have been outstanding and we can't wait to deliver this new world to your tables. If you know anyone who may be interested in the game, please share the project with them so we can continue to build an amazing community around Wild Gardens! 

The Wild Gardens Team