Credit card information and project status
over 1 year ago – Wed, Feb 15, 2023 at 04:00:22 AM

Hi Backers!

It’s been a while, so I thought I’d write an update. There are two subjects for the day and those are “Credit Card information” and “Status of the project”. Since the first one is currently the one we can affect, I will start with that.

Credit Card information

There are currently 290 backers that has not added their credit card to BackerKit.com. All those 290 have received an email from BackerKit yesterday/today.

If you are one of those, you need to add a credit card to BackerKit.com or you will not get your game.

•  The money collected on Kickstarter.com does not cover shipping so having paid for the game on Kickstarter is not enough.
• Kickstarter.com and BackerKit.com are 2 different companies. They do not share credit card information. Therefore, it’s not enough to have your card on Kickstarter. 

All these 290 backers have received emails regarding this before and it’s been mentioned before in the updates.  I have no other means of reaching you. If you are unsure if you are one of those, check you email (including the spambox or other sub-boxes). You can also log in to BackerKit.com using the same email you used when you pledged for the game and check.

When you have logged in, you will see this screen:

Click on 'League of Dungeoneers' and you'll get to the next screen. You will then come to this screen:

I'm always happy to help, but there is a lot on my table. Therefore, if you are uncertain if you've added your card, make sure to follow the instruction above. If you still have questions after this, then feel free to reach out to me. 

I’m not looking forward to telling people they've lost their pledge because of this, but if someone fails to add their card, it will happen.

Next attempt to charge these 290 backers will be done on Friday the 17th Feb. 

If you have added a card earlier, but it has not been charged, don't worry. It will be done through a batch command by the BackerKit admins. As long as the card is in there, you're safe.

Status of the project

The staff is back at Gameland and they are packaging our games like crazy. 50 glorious metric tonnes of LoD in total. We discovered a missing component (a sheet with tokens) in the review copies that left the factory early. These sheets have now all been printed and will be included in the boxes of course.

Once everything is packed, the game will go by boat to the respective hubs. Once I have an ETA for those boats, I will get back to you. There is no point in me speculating at this point, but I'm likely to have a good estimate within a week or so.

Meanwhile, here is a video of the game being packed! Yep, that's your game right there! :)

Stay safe and I'll get back to you soon!

//Michael

Previews coming!
over 1 year ago – Fri, Jan 27, 2023 at 12:29:00 AM

Good morning everyone,

I’m just writing to tell you that some boxes are now in the hands of YouTubers around the world. I know we are all eagerly waiting for the arrival of the game, and hopefully we will get a few videos to keep us busy while waiting.

First out to post a video was Rob Oren from Rob’s tabletop. He also made a 1-hour stream on character creation. Make sure to check him out! I've added a link at the bottom of this update.

Gameland is still on vacation, but I know they are ready to pack your boxes once they are back.

As you might have noticed, the process of charging US customers and some others has started, but it’s not a simple “1-click” thing, so it will go on for a few more days. If your card hasn’t been charged, don’t worry. We’ll get to it. The withdrawal will be from vonbraus.se so you know.

If you haven’t added your card to your pledge, now is the last chance to do so. We are on the final stretch here. No card, no game, no refund. As simple as that.

Rob’s first look:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pD3m8BydhsE

I’ll get back to you as soon as Gameland is back and starts working again.

//Michael

Production done!
over 1 year ago – Sat, Jan 14, 2023 at 06:37:30 AM

Hi there,

It’s been a while since the last update, but I thought I’d wait for some more details before posting. As you know, the Chinese New year is soon here. As a part of their celebration, Gameland is now closed for the holiday. Our initial plan was to have all games shipped before this, but unfortunately Covid had other plans. As most of you might have heard, China has struggled considerably over the last weeks, if not months.

As a result of this, Gameland has been down to less than half of its staff over the last weeks. All games and all extra components have been manufactured now and packaging has begun, but they did not manage to complete all packaging before the holidays. As soon as they are back, they will finish packaging and the new date for shipping from Ningbo is planned to February 17th.

I got some pictures from my contact over at Gameland showing off the massive piles of stuff to package.

As soon as I know more, I will make another update. Don't forget to check out the YouTube tutorials in the meantime!

//Michael

US Shipping part 2
almost 2 years ago – Sat, Dec 17, 2022 at 01:34:59 AM

Hi there,

This update is for US backers.

So, I’m finally back with information on the US shipping. Like I said previously, I’ve evaluated a number of different solutions during these weeks (4 different suppliers to be exact). In the end, I decided to go with ShipQuest and their new sub-supplier which I think has both reasonable prices and good service. By the time you read this, the shipping has been added to your pledges.

Compared to the 75€ I talked about previously, we are now much better off (averaging 47€). That said, it’s still very expensive. The reasons behind that can mostly be found in the current situation of the world with skyrocketing fuel prices, lack of corrugated cardboard etc. In all honesty though, I think these prices are here to stay.

Someone previously compared this game to Frosthaven and the fact that its both heavier and has better shipping prices. First off, let me just say that I’m honoured to be compared to such a popular game. But the comparison is not really fair. Frosthaven sold 88000 copies…I sold 4400. With such volumes comes huge discounts in manufacturing and I promise you they could include the shipping in the price of the game and still make a good profit. I don’t have that margin. Furthermore, with those volumes, they have a huge leverage when it comes to negotiating with fulfilment companies. I don’t have that power.

A more apple to apple comparison would be the latest reprint of Dungeon Universalis (Great game if you ask me!). That game weighs in at 9,8 kg and sold 3800 copies. (LoD weighs 13kg). Their shipping to the US is 45€ though they are using another supplier. I think that gives a bit of credibility to the shipping of LoD.

Just like I did with the other backers, I’m offering a limited refund if you are not interested in paying the shipping. You have until Sunday 18/12 to consider this. After that, I will have a strict no-refund policy.

However, I don’t feel comfortable charging during Christmas (we all have a huge negative cashflow these days) so I’m not charging you until end of January (25th). If you are in need of an earlier charge, please let me know via PM on the KS page and I’ll arrange it. Otherwise, you don't have do to anything, except make sure you have added a creditcard to the pledge in BackerKit and that you have money on the card on 25/1 2023.

Stay safe and have a nice day!

Michael

State of the project
almost 2 years ago – Sun, Dec 11, 2022 at 03:36:59 AM

(This update is aimed primarily for the US backers but could of course be an interesting read for the rest of you as well.)

Hi there,

I’ve been quite for a while, so I thought I’d go ahead and shed some light on what is happening in the project. As you know, I ran into some issue with the fulfilment in the US. What happened was that the sub-supplier (basically the warehouse and the ones who does the pick and pack) was bought by another company. That company in turn have a really bad track record when it comes to delivering games without breaking them. So, that’s why we hit the break. The other option we had at that point was quite expensive as you might remember.

The weeks after that has been spent looking for new suitable sub-supplier, both on my own and via ShipQuest who are my supplier when it comes to fulfilment. It has taken longer than I wish, and we are not done yet, but I’m feeling confident that we will end up with reasonable pricing and good quality service. It will probably take another 2 weeks before I have anything to present though, but in the end, quality and pricing comes first.

So, what will be the effect of this delay? When it comes to fulfilment, there will actually be no effect at all. The deadline for shipping from China still stands as we have decided to start production (more on that in a separate newsletter). What about me charging the shipping then? Well, obviously I will give you time to prepare your accounts just like I did with the non-US customers, meaning that I will probably be charging your accounts closer to the end of January. If you take this as an early heads-up, you have almost 2 months to at least mentally prepare for an expense somewhere around there. I will of course offer the same limited refund option that the non-US customers had.

If you are a US retailer and need to be charged now or before the end of the year for business reasons, please reach out to me via the direct message service over at the KS page and we will figure it out. Non-retailers will also have the opportunity for early charging, but please refrain from requesting it until we have the final pricing.

That’s all for now. All the best and stay safe!

//Michael