Production Delay - Reprints
6 months ago – Mon, Oct 30, 2023 at 02:24:11 PM

Hey Everyone,

I have some unfortunate news for this update. While production was finishing up, I received a sample of one of the first copies assembled. When I unpacked it I immediately knew something was off. I had seen photos of the final box but seeing it in person under natural lighting conditions, I could tell the graphics were dark and faded.

Upon opening the box, there were several things that I loved. The box insert was much sturdier than the pre-production sample, the rulebook was great, and the dice and ship looked fantastic. However, I noticed that some of the cards and punchboard components looked faded. I spoke to some close friends and family who thought that the production copy looked okay. But when I showed them a comparison to my prototypes they understood my concern. 

(Additional Comparison pictures are below)

I met with my manufacturer project manager to discuss what happened and what our options were. We have been working to figure out what happened with the CMYK colors. Some of it might have been my misunderstanding of the CMYK process. This game has a lot of teal and turquoise, which are two of the hardest colors to get right in CMYK printing. However, a major part of it is due to a new printing technology that the manufacturer recently implemented into their workflow. During the inspection of the Pre-production sample, I expressed my concern about the print quality of the box and the cards. Both were dark and faded. It was explained to me that the pre-production samples always have color imperfections and that it would look like it should in the final production. I have printed the same files several times through other printers for prototypes and they always came out fine. So with that combined knowledge, I trusted that the final product would come out just fine as well. 

After taking some time to think about my options I decided that I couldn’t approve the box, punchboard, or cards. I knew I would regret it in the long run. Even if some people would have been fine with the current look, It’s not what I had envisioned for the final game and I couldn’t in good faith deliver a product to you that I did not feel was true to the original vision. I am taking measures to make sure we get the colors of the cards and box right this time. But it means being a little slower and diligent with the review process. 

At this point, I can't say how long the process will take. Then we will need to be scheduled back into their printing queue. That could be another 2 to 3 weeks, followed by another 25 to 30 days of production to reprint the boxes, cards, and punchboards.

I still have faith in the manufacturer’s ability to produce a beautiful product. They are a very reputable company and they were willing to make things right by paying for a large sum of the reprint costs. That leaves a fairly small amount that I still have to pay. I don’t want anyone to worry about additional costs. We were fortunate to have raised enough funds during the campaign to cover these additional expenses 

I was really excited about getting games into your hands before the holidays. But unfortunately with the reprint delay, it could be closer to a late January or February fulfillment now. I should have a more definitive timeline by the next update at the end of November.

I'm really sorry folks, this month was really disheartening for me. I feel like I let you down. I’m trying to look on the positive side. We are still moving forward. Even though we took a slight side-step, we will have a better game for it in the end!

Cheers, JF

Below are photos showing the difference between the production copy and the prototypes.

Pledge Manager Closing
7 months ago – Wed, Sep 27, 2023 at 12:58:02 PM

Hey Crew!

In 3 days the Pledge Manager will be closed. (September 30th). At this point, you will not be able to edit your orders or shipping addresses.  Funds will be collected for shipping and additional add-ons on October 2nd. Please double-check your addresses, orders, and payment info. 

If you still have not seen a pledge manager email or need to update your shipping address after the pledge manager closes reach out to me directly at [email protected].

Production Continues

Last month’s timeline is still on track to have games begin fulfillment by December. Production is close to being done. In fact, the latest estimate is that the manufacturer could be done with bulk assembly as early as October 13th. This past week, I began getting our fulfillment partners in touch with our manufacturer to start coordinating the handoff of games and begin booking freight.

Final Samples

I should be receiving the final production samples next week. I’m beyond excited and nervous. If everything is good. I will give them the go-ahead to finish bulk assembly and hopefully keep to our timeline.

Topping Things Off

With things winding down on production, I’m excited to start ramping up production on our next game, Toppings: A Game of Picky Pizza Eaters! If you have any interest in following along with my next journey be sure to sign up for our monthly newsletter on Toppings and other game projects, including future We’re Sinking content!

Cheers,

JF

Pledge Manager!
8 months ago – Mon, Aug 28, 2023 at 07:12:27 PM

Hey Crew! 

The time has finally come! Some of you may have already received an email asking you to complete your survey. A Smoke test has been sent out to  5% of backers so that we can make sure everything is working properly. The sooner I get the smoke test surveys back, the sooner I can launch the pledge manager for everyone. So keep an eye out over the next few days for an email with this subject line:

So What does this mean?

The Pledge Manager is where everyone will complete their order for the pledges they chose during the Kickstarter campaign. 

Add-Ons: If you didn't back at the All-In Pledge during the campaign, you will have an opportunity to adjust your order to include the Swords & Souls Expansion Pack or the Exclusive Box Sleeve. If you backed at the $1 Pledge level, you will still have the opportunity to purchase the base game and expansion. 

Shipping: The pledge manager is also where everyone will complete their orders by paying for their shipping. You may remember that shipping (and VAT for EU backers) was not collected during the campaign. This was to make sure we were locking in the most accurate shipping rates when we were closer to shipping out your games. I did my best to get the shipping as close to the original shipping chart as possible. However, some regions may have seen an increase by a few dollars.

Address Changes: This is the time to update your address if you recently moved or plan to move before the end of the year.

When is the Cut-Off?

Everyone will have until October 1st to lock in their orders so that we can begin preparing orders. If you do not complete your orders before the cut-off, we can not guarantee you will receive your games during the first wave of fulfillment.

What’s the latest Timeline?

Production Completion (October) Unfortunately, the added time it took to revise and approve the changes for the pre-production game, extended our timeline a little further. However, production on the plastic components has been complete for several months and we are in the middle of production on the rest of the game now. The manufacturer is anticipating completion by early October, and I'm excited to say that we are still on track to deliver the majority of games to backers before the end of the year.

US & EU Freight Shipping (November) We will begin the long journey across the ocean as soon as production is complete and we are given the green light for pick-up from the manufacturer. Right now the estimated freight delivery should take 35-45 days to reach our fulfillment warehouse in Georgia and Ireland.

Final Fulfillment (November-January) Once the games reach the fulfillment centers, your orders will be assembled, packaged, and shipped out to you!

• Asia, Pacific Islands & Oceana
  We are working with a fulfillment company in China to fulfill your orders. You could begin receiving your orders as early as November.
• USA, Canada, & Central America
  Our fulfillment center in Georgia will be shipping out orders in early December and may arrive in time for the Holidays, but I do anticipate final deliveries to continue into January.
• Europe
  Our fulfillment provider will be packaging your orders from our center in Ireland and plans to begin delivering games in December and through January.

Please keep in mind that there are still several variables out of my control at this point.

• Quality Control: I will be doing an inspection of the final mass-produced game to make sure it meets the standards we’re expecting.
  
• Failing Certifications: We need to get the game certified in certain countries in order for them to pass customs. I’ve been told it’s unlikely it will fail but I’m still hanging on to that possibility.
  
• Freight Delays: Even though the shipping lanes have been much more reliable than they had in the past few years and even months. We are entering the holiday season and any back-ups in the canals or ports could cause significant shifts in the delivery timelines.
  
• Fulfillment Schedule: If any of the above causes a great enough shift in delivery to our fulfillment centers, we may need to reschedule our window for them to begin fulfillment.
  

But don't let those variables sink your spirits! This marks the beginning of the end of our long journey! And I can’t wait to share We’re Sinking with you all and hear your stories of survival and betrayal on the high seas!

Cheers,

JF

Pre-Production Overview Video and Production Update
9 months ago – Mon, Jul 31, 2023 at 04:59:58 PM

Hey Crew!

We have some BIG milestone updates this month! So without further ado, let's get right into it!

Card and Cardboard Production

With the final artwork submitted, the manufacturer built a digitally printed proof (Pre-Production) copy of the base game and the Swords & Souls Expansion. Here’s an overview video on both. 

After thoroughly reviewing the digital proof copy, there are a few things I needed to touch up on the files. To make sure they are printing properly. I should be done with those files before the end of the day and sending them to the manufacturer for one last check before we dive into the final leg of mass production.

Plastic Production - DONE!

The Ship, Sails, Dice, and Dial Fasteners have been in production for the past two months and excitingly just wrapped up!

Pledge Manager

I’m sorry that I continue to push the Pledge Manager back. With all the art files out of the way. The Pledge Manager and reaching out to Retail backers are my top priorities. As mentioned before, we had been slightly adjusting the box size while tweaking the box insert. The final box size is approx 11.75” x 11.75” x 3.25”. Now that we have approved and moved forward with the final size and the manufacturer has printed and assembled all the components we have our final weight. I can start to fill in the missing information we needed to provide our fulfillment partners in order to generate shipping quotes. I am waiting on those quotes now and expect them back by next week. I will need to do a few stress tests to make sure the Pledge Manager is running properly before I do the mass send-out. Once the Pledge Manager opens it will remain open for at least 30 days for folks to complete their shipping.

Next month I plan to dedicate time to prepping the pledge manager for launch and providing you all with an updated timeline for fulfillment.

Cheers,

JF

Origins Recap, Final Insert and More
10 months ago – Fri, Jun 30, 2023 at 12:19:33 PM

Hey Crew!

I just got back from the Origins Game Fair this week. It was a blast getting to meet so many backers and play games with you all!

I have to give a huge shout-out and thank you to everyone who helped set up and tear down our booth, and demoed games all week long. Including my brother, who drove 8 hours there and back with a van loaded to the brim with booth supplies. I seriously couldn’t have done it without you all!

With Origins out of the way, I needed a little time to recoup this week, but I’m ready to get back into the swing of things.

Final Insert

The final box insert has been received and approved. A few extra things were changed since the last update. We decided to give a little extra room to the cards with sleeves. Since we noticed that they were rubbing against the box. You can see in the video that the cards fit with and without sleeves. We also added some notches and now the game board now sits snugly on top of the insert.  One thing that happened because of these changes was that the size of the box changed by a few millimeters. This means I will need to re-render the box cover, bottom, and box sleeve.

Storage Diagram

In the last update, I asked if you all thought I should include a storage diagram for the game and the response was a unanimous “YES”. So I have spent some time adding a diagram to the side of the box. This will be on the opposite side which has the card section diagram.

Card Production

I'm still in the process of providing our manufacturer with revised cards. Turns out that the card files I provided them had some color errors that need to be corrected. I'm in the middle of tediously re-exporting every card in the game. I hope to be done with this by the end of the weekend so they can begin assembling the pre-production copy.

Pledge Manager

I’m sad to say the pledge manager will be delayed by at least a few more weeks. Once I receive the pre-production copy of the game, I’ll be able to get the accurate weight of the game and we will be able to accurately provide weight for our shipping estimates. We are very close.

What's Next?

I hope to have the Pledge Manager and the Pre-Production copy to review with you all by next month's update.

Cheers,

Joseph