League of Dungeoneers

Update on the pre-production box
about 2 years ago – Mon, Aug 22, 2022 at 05:56:34 PM

Hi there,

It is once again time for an update. My plan was that this update would be about me having received the pre-production box. That’s unfortunately not the case. So, what’s the current situation?

Well, about 95% of the box is completed. All the books, cards and tiles are printed and the cardboard box is finished too. However, there are two issues. The first one is the knife tools for the standees. The sheets of standees are printed already, but the tools are not finished yet. This is simply a matter of time and they should be done during next week. The other issue is the tray which should hold all components. To make a good tray you need all components finished, and we are missing the wax samples for the doors and coins. These are being manufactured in a separate factory in an area which is currently in lockdown due to Covid. So even though for instance the coins samples are done, they cannot be shipped until the restrictions are lifted.

This is of course VERY frustrating and since I don’t want to waste time just waiting, we (Me and Gameland) have decided to manufacture the tray based on the 3D-files of the doors and coins. That would allow them to finish the box and ship it to me for approval of all cardboard and paper parts. Once the restrictions are lifted, we will then have to be open to make small adjustments to the tray if need be.

I’m in daily contact with the project leader over at Gameland and we will do everything in my/our power to get the box shipped ASAP.

We are currently about 4 weeks behind schedule which currently shifts the delivery month from December to January. Whether we are able to catch up either in production or in shipping is to early to tell, but I will leave no stone unturned in that effort. I will of course keep you posted on the progress.

With that being said, I want to end on a positive note. The images I’ve seen so far looks really promising and I’m confident that we will get a product of high quality. Though I want to save it all for the unboxing I can’t help but share one of them. The image below show some of the cards for the game (but not in the box intended for the game). Another slightly positive aspect of the delay is that the shop will remain open for a little longer too for those who has missed the campaign.

I’ll keep you posted as soon as I have any more news regarding the box. Have a nice weekend!

//Michael

Small update
about 2 years ago – Tue, Aug 02, 2022 at 12:35:40 AM

Hi!

I hope everything is fine with all of you. I know I have been silent for a while, and that you are longing for some news. I got some requests the other day for an update as well. The reason for my silence has partly been that I’ve been on vacation and thereby tried to distance myself a bit from the project and enjoy the sun, and partly because there simply hasn’t been anything new to update you on.

I do however have a small piece of news today…Gameland has confirmed that they are shipping the pre-series box to me this week! 

Once the box is here its time to prepare the next steps. I expect to get the final weights as soon as the box is ready to ship which will allow me to finalize the shipping calculations together with ShipQuest. I think its reasonable to have this done within 2 weeks of me getting the weights. In the meantime, the shop will remain open for late pledges and last minute changes if you need to change something.

If everything in the box looks OK, then we can prepare for serial production and finally shipping!

I have a plan to make an unboxing video once I get my hand on the game, and it will be posted on my YouTube channel as soon as possible. After that I will make a series of short videos going through different aspects of the game. The rulebook might seem a bit daunting to some at first, so these videos will help ease you into it. My idea is that if you watch these videos, you will be able to get straight into the game once you get your box. Time will tell if I’m as pedagogical as I wish to be to accomplish this :)

 You can find my channel here (I recommend you to subscribe to make sure you don't miss any of the videos):

League of Dungeoneers

That’s all for now. Things will start to speed up now and you’ll hear from me again once I get the box!

//Michael

Project update!
over 2 years ago – Sun, Jul 03, 2022 at 01:56:41 PM

Hey there,

It’s been a while, and I think its time for an update. For me, the project has entered a pretty calm period. All material has been submitted to the manufacturer and there is really not much I can do now except wait. It is not easy I can tell you…I feel like a kid waiting for Christmas!

The digital preparation for printing has taken longer than expected and the first physical prints started this week with some of the simpler objects. Printing everything is expected to take 2 weeks, followed by one week of transportation before I get my hands on it.

What does that mean then? Well, production was planned to start at the end of July. Since I won’t get the box until then, I’d say we are about 2 weeks behind schedule. We will do our best to catch up once production starts. One thing that we’ve decided on is for Gameland to send the red wax samples of the 3D components ahead of the box to me. These are used as masters when creating the molds. That way I can (hopefully) approve these earlier and production of the molds can start earlier.

Then we have the question about shipping and payment. Though we have theoretical weights for the boxes, Gameland wants a physical copy of the game to guarantee the weight. The reason for this is that we are pretty close to 10 kg, and any miscalculation could have us end up on the wrong side of that number. That also means I won’t be able to get quotes until the physical copy is done. Based on that, I’m planning to have the store open until end of July. If you've already placed your order and you want to change it somehow, send me a message. As said before I won’t charge you until the shipping is in place. I know some of you find that frustrating as it might feel good to pay now to get it over with, but please have patience.

All right, now that we have talked about those things, I want to give you some goodies to. Below is the front page of one of the standees sheets provided with the game. As you can see its filled to the brim. This is just one sheet out of eight (!).  They might appear somewhat dark,  but once printed, they are not. A large portion of the black surrounding is the bleed, which will be cut away. And please remember that these standees have both a front and a backside!

I can’t know for sure of course, but I’m inclined to say that this is the most comprehensive and most beautiful set of standees available on the market. It’s just stunning! Great work by Kev and Diego.

I know there will be a lot of you out there who will play the game with their miniatures collection, and so will I. Then it’s easy to think that those standees are nice, but I won’t use them. However, they can fill the gaps in your miniature collection, but more importantly, you have everything you need to play the game in the box. That means you can bring the game with you when travelling and still be able to play! That’s one thing I’ll be doing for sure.

I’m going on vacation from my daytime job (and to a degree from LoD) now and with the lull in production, there will probably not be an update in a few weeks. If you have any questions, feel free to post them on the KS page or message me on Kickstarter and I’ll answer as soon as I can.

//M

Final reminder!
over 2 years ago – Mon, Jun 20, 2022 at 03:56:04 AM

On Wednesday 2022-06-22, 18:00 GMT+2 I will lock the orders in BackerKit. From that point on you will not be able to alter your order.

I will then export the data and send to ShipQuest for a final quotation on shipping. There are still 81 backers who have not added their address to BackerKit. If you don't add your address before the above stated deadline, I will not be able to send you your game. As stated before, I will not issue refunds if you fail to fill out your address, and I will not be able to send you your game at a later date.  

Apart from the reminders in the last updates, I have also had BackerKit send you a reminder, and I have personally sent you an e-mail. This information is also posted in the BGG forum and sent out via the newsletter.

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On another note, I got information from Gameland that they are now done with the pre-processing and they will print the pre-production sample this week. I'll post pictures as soon as I have some! I would seem the arrival of this sample will align perfectly with my vacation ;)

Stay safe!

//Michael

Material submitted for pre-series production!
over 2 years ago – Tue, Jun 07, 2022 at 01:26:39 AM

Hey there,

The moment has finally come! All files needed to print the pre-series box of the game has been submitted to the manufacturer, and they will start with the box straight away tomorrow. Well, the standee sheets will be sent from the artists during the week, but that does not affect the time plan. A year with more or less my entire spare time spent on the game is at an end. It’s both a relief and a weird feeling at the same time.

This does not in any way mean that my work is over. It’s merely a shift of focus. I will now intensify my work with the logistic and financial aspect of the project. There are VAT registrations to be done, details regarding shipping to sort out and accounting work to be done to satisfy the authorities. By the time the pre-series box arrives I hope to have advanced my positions in all those areas. Then there will probably (but hopefully not) be slight alterations that has to be done based on the pre-series before I push the button to start mass production.

That leads us to next subject: the surveys. As you all know the shipping has not been charged or even added to your order yet. With the specifications 100% done, I can say that the price indications on the Kickstarter page are still valid with a probable slight increase. I have also decided for what I think is the best way forward. This is my plan:

1- Around mid-june I will lock the orders. That means you won’t be able to alter your orders.

2- I will submit the locked orders to ShipQuest to get quotes on the shipping.

3- I will add the shipping to BackerKit and update your orders.

4- I will leave the orders uncharged for a while to allow you to review the shipping cost. If you feel you   cannot afford it, I’ll arrange a refund. There will be a deadline for this, communicated at a later stage.

5- I will charge you the amount indicated on your BackerKit page after the deadline.

As we all know, there are few plans that survives the encounter with reality, but I think this is the currently best-known approach. As you realise by now, it’s important that you have submitted your address and credit card information if you have chosen more stuff than you had during the KS or have to pay VAT before we start with step 1 (i.e. finished the survey). Most of you have, and I will send a reminder to those who hasn’t. If you know that haven’t, you have about 2 weeks to do this. If you are unsure, log into BackerKit. Easiest is probably to follow the link you got in the mail that invited you to do the survey. The page you’ll come to should look like this:

If you click the button in the red circle, you’ll come to a screen detailing your order, your submitted address and possibly your credit card information. It also contains this part:

The blue square with the thumbs up is what you are looking for. This means you are all set and everything’s OK.

Once I have the pre-series box in my hands I will get back to you with more information.

BR

Michael