The End
10 months ago – Tue, Sep 12, 2023 at 04:35:11 AM

Hi there,

It’s been quite a while since I posted an update. It’s been a hectic time filled with activities mostly related to logistics and quality but we've finally come to a point where I think it’s time to officially close this project. The US, UK, Canada and Australia hubs are all done. The Asian hub is a bit special as it handles each shipment separately as they all require special handling. These are currently on the way, and I expect things to work out just fine. It might still take a few weeks until all of them are finally delivered.

The EU hub is basically done, although there was a hiccup where some orders were not processed at the fulfillment center for some unknown reason. This combined with low stocks of some parts has caused a frustrating delay. We’ve taken necessary actions and the last orders/replacements are being processed or will be processed shortly. I will still keep this as my focus area to make sure everything is sorted out.

At this point, over 95% of the games have been confirmed delivered and the last 5% is in the hands of the fulfilment centers. The requests for quality replacements are down to a trickle. Based on this, I’ve decided to make this the last update. 

Don’t panic if you have not received your copy. I will of course still respond to quality issues or other requests as usual (send an email to [email protected]). Note that this is the ONLY way to contact me regarding a missing game or a quality issue.  Posting a comment will NOT help.

I would like to thank everyone who has supported me and believed in this project. Without your trust, patience and funds, this would not have been possible. The community surrounding the project has been very understanding and supportive which has helped me a lot when things got though. You should not underestimate the power of a positive comment. 

Evaluation

Overall, I’m very happy with how this project turned out. There have for sure been some bumps along the way, but I think that is inevitable. The important thing is to learn from the mistakes and not repeat them.

The major things I’m taking with me is:

1. Manufacturing of the production proof copy took way longer than anticipated (especially the molds). This was in part due to Covid and the Energy lockdowns which affected the sub-suppliers of the manufacturer.  

In my upcoming project, the countermeasure is to submit the material for the proof at an earlier stage.  Although everything is not 100% done at this point, I’m in a way better situation.
 

2. The huge volume of boxes caused a logistical issue at the manufacturer. We basically filled their entire site, which meant they had to deliver the US boxes before they could pack the rest. This caused a chain reaction which ended up being a reason for the delay.

For the upcoming project, I’ve addressed this with the manufacturer to make sure there is ample space to handle the entire order at once.
 

3. The administrative work with import and shipping documents took a very long time, and in part because of the complex nature of the order. We had a HUGE number of SKUs (unique items with a separate part number), which was probably not a good thing for a first time project. 

The upcoming project will feature complete kits instead of a smorgasbord of items. Although this might be disappointing to some, it will help streamline the project and have every single order packed and ready at the manufacturer. That will make the admin work so much easier and the process of fulfillment will then simply be a matter of applying the address sticker to the box.
 

As you might have figured out, I'm going with the same manufacturer for my next project too. They have been very helpful and shown great skill, so I'm confident in continuing my cooperation with them.

There are two other interesting but lesser things I noticed in the process.

1. VAT.  With Kickstarter, VAT is charged separately and often together with shipping. This is confusing for a lot of EU people and causes unnecessary stress and frustration. 

VAT will be handled together with the pledge payment in the upcoming campaign so this should be less of an issue.
 

2. US credit cards in the pledge manager.  There were a lot of backers (US only for some reason) that did not add their credit card to the BackerKit site. This has caused severe delays for some customers and there are actually still customers who contact me and ask for their game. Since their shipping was not paid, I could not deliver it.

Since Gamefound handles the pledge manager as well as the campagin, this will probably be less of an issue in the upcoming campaign.
 

To sum it up, the project has been a very pleasant experience. Sure, it has been lots of work and very stressful at times. It has even been quite frustrating sometimes but I’ve got to learn a lot of new things. Marketing, print technology, import laws, logistics in general, project management, accounting, tax regulations and much more.  Apparently, it has not deterred me as I’m willingly taking another lap on this carousel. If you still have faith in what I do and are interested in more things related to League of Dungeoneers, check out the reprint and expansion campaign launching on Sept 26th.

 Reprint and Expansion 

Most of all, stay safe!

Michael

About quality issues and delivery addresses
12 months ago – Tue, Jul 18, 2023 at 09:54:27 AM

Hi,

This time around I don’t have any news to drop, but I would like to stress two points:

Quality issues

If you have any quality related issues with your game, send an email to [email protected] with ‘Quality issue’ in the topic. Posting issues on Facebook, in the Kickstarter comments or update comments will not result in automatic replacements. I simply have no chance to constantly scan these for potential issues.

Wrong address?

We’ve had some issues with address changes not working correctly. If you get a notification about your delivery, and it’s to the wrong address, immediately reach out to the transportation company and ask to have the delivery address changed. If this doesn't work out, please let me know and I'll sort it one way or another.

Last but not least...

I just want to point out that I’m slightly behind on answering emails due to me being busy packing down my apartment for the coming move and taking some much needed rest. I’m hoping to be back on track before Friday.

Take care!

Michael

Posponed expansion and reprint campaign
12 months ago – Tue, Jul 11, 2023 at 10:45:13 AM

As you might be aware of, my plan has been to launch the 2nd LoD campaign on August 8th 2023. I have however decided to postpone the campaign slightly to September 26th.

I know some people will be disappointed, but when I look at the current state of the project, it’s the most logical decision. So, why have I decided to postpone?

The delivery of the first campaign is progressing slowly, and even if most games will be delivered by August 8th, it will be with the shortest possible margin.

• Pushing people to decide on an expansion with such short notice would not be fair.
• I’m moving from my apartment to a house on August 2nd, which requires quite a bit of preparation and work. That’s not a really good combination with the launch of a campaign. (Nope, I did not buy it with LoD money…I still haven’t collected a dime in salary ;) ).
• There are a few things related to my day time job that makes a late August/Early September release difficult. I need to have the day off on launch, and that’s just not possible during that period.
• There are some things I’d like to incorporate that would be difficult with the time remaining. These alone are worth waiting for.

Although this is of course a bit sad, there are some nice upsides to this. The amount of extra time makes it likely that I will be able to order the production proofs AHEAD of the campaign. That would significantly speed up the process from campaign to production.

More players will get the chance to make an informed decision whether to back the expansion instead of just going on FOMO. It will also give me some time to further polish the rulebook, which is something that has been requested. Work is already ongoing here based on feedback from players.

In the end, the actual delivery of the game will probably not be postponed with the same amount of time as the launch. And while you are waiting, I will keep on posting updates on what to come.

I'm certain that this is the best way forward and I hope you will share my view at some point. Next update will once again be on the coming features of expansion.

//Michael

Yet another shipping update
almost 1 year ago – Fri, Jul 07, 2023 at 03:12:51 AM

Hi,

I hope this update finds you well. Fulfilment is progressing and we are basically done with 3 out of 6 hubs. There might still be some packages from the Canadian and UK hub that has not reached its customers, but those should arrive any day now.

The EU hub is all set, and the update I got today was that they will start fulfilment “at any moment”. A fixed day for this would of course be preferable, but I’m confident we’ll start seeing dispatch notes any day now. At the Australian hub we are waiting in line, but with GamesQuests help we’ve requested to be moved up in line. The Asian hub is making the final preparations to start the shipping.

All backers from Norway should have received an email regarding their shipping as well.

Quality issues

Most quality issues in the USA have been handled, and I ordered some replacements to be sent out in the UK yesterday. So far there has only been one report from Canada. Broken boxes and trays are a little more complex and takes a bit longer than other parts, but they will be handled too.

If you have any quality issues with your game, please send an email to [email protected] with the text “Quality issue” in the header and I’ll sort it as fast as possible.

Stay safe!

//Michael

Update!
about 1 year ago – Thu, Jun 15, 2023 at 11:17:04 AM

Hi!

I hope you are all doing great. It’s been a while and it’s time for another update! As usual we will start with the logistics overview:

This overview is still an overview though, and I would like to add some details as well.

As you can see, we are making progress and I’m certain we will start seeing games showing up all around the world very soon!

US

There are some backers in the US that are still waiting for their game. Some of them because their shipping was not paid, and some more mysterious instances where we have to investigate each and every case to see what has happened. If you have sent an email to [email protected] about a missing order, you can rest assured that I’ve initiated an investigation.

Quality replacements

Most of those who have reported a quality issue with smaller components have been sent replacements. Boxes and trays will be handled last as these have to be flown in.

There have been some reports about the spine of the book. Just to clarify, the spine of the book is NOT meant to be glued to the cover. This is what allows the book to stay open.

What about the reprint and the expansion then?

Well, more information will start to trickle out regarding this from now on. You might see ads on Facebook soon as well as updates on the Gamefound page. I’m really happy with how the expansion prototype turned out and now it’s just a matter of making minor adjustments. I’m certain we will have a 100% finished product even before the campaign launches.

As I’ve said before though, the vast majority of games will be delivered before this go live.

Alright, that's all for now. Stay safe!

//Michael