Arrival of the White Sample
almost 3 years ago – Thu, Jun 17, 2021 at 11:36:42 PM

Hello fellow gamers!  

  We've accomplished a lot since our last update and I've even got a video to share with you this month!  Below we'll talk through where we are now and when you can likely expect Legacies to arrive.

Final Card and Cardboard Prep

 First, the important stuff - I've completed all updates to Legacies' print files and my graphic designer is packaging them up in the proper formats for the manufacturer this week.  We'll then enter the phase where GameLand will complete the manufacturing of both editions of Legacies (Standard and Deluxe) as well as the add-ons like the Neoprene Mat.  (You may recall the custom wood and metal components have already been manufactured and are ready to go.) 

White Sample

  The only other files that the manufacturer will need from us are the GameTrayz design files and - to finalize those, we needed a "white sample".  If you've backed a lot of Kickstarters you likely already know that a white sample is an "unprinted" version of the game which helps publishers verify all of the sizes of the components and how everything might fit together in the box.  This is a critical step for GameTrayz since the custom trays they're designing for the deluxe edition of Legacies require knowing the precise dimensions and thicknesses of all of the components.  

  Great news - the white sample arrived on Friday!  I even decided to try something new and filmed an "unboxing" video to share with you.  If you're interested in seeing a grown man struggle with packing tape and bubble wrap - start from the beginning.  If you want to jump straight to the actual white sample and an overview of its contents, you'll find that starting about 4 minutes in...

  It's a good thing we took this step because we noticed a couple of minor (but easy to correct) issues.  Additionally, when walking through the components with our GameTrayz designer today, we realized that the tri-layer player mats were 0.3 mm thicker than we originally anticipated.  That may not seem like a lot, but since there are 10 of them (and they'll be stacked in the box), we're going to have to increase the depth of the box slightly so everything will fit and still allow the box lid to go on completely.

  Ultimately, the measurements we were able to capture from this white sample will allow the GameTrayz team to fine tune the final details of their design so we can get that to the manufacturer shortly as well.  

Delivery Timing

  That's where we stand right now.  What does that mean for when Legacies will be in your hands?  Based on what I know from GameLand, I believe the games will be ready for freight shipping by early August.  The wildcard at this point will be the duration of the freight shipping.  Normally I would have expected games to start hitting doorsteps about 6-8 weeks after that depending on your location, but given the uncertainty in global freight shipping right now, there's a good chance it will spill into Q4.  If I could, I'd pick up the games from Gameland myself and hand deliver them to each of you so I could get them to your tables as fast as possible (plus, it would be great to meet all of you!).  Alas, I don't think that's practical.  I'll be reconnecting with Quartermaster Logistics shortly to firm up the details around freight shipping and will continue to keep you updated as I'm able to dial in that delivery date more precisely.

  In the meantime, enjoy the start of summer (or winter for my southern hemisphere friends) and we'll be in touch soon!

--Jason

From 250 to 25...
almost 3 years ago – Sat, May 08, 2021 at 12:42:08 AM

Hello Friends!

Just a couple of months ago my "to-do list" for getting all of the remaining Legacies files into Gameland's hands was over 250 items long.  I'm excited to say that right now it stands around 25 and it keeps getting smaller every day.   

What's done?

ART: All of the art is finished!  I'm truly awed with how beautiful all of the art for Legacies has turned out to be.  With the art finished, we've been diligently finalizing the graphic design - making sure everything is aligned appropriately and that none of the key elements overlap anything important.  This preparation is key to make sure the manufacturer is able to recreate  all of the components as desired.  I'll admit that I originally underestimated the amount of time this step would take, but we're making excellent progress and everything should be good-to-go from the factory's point of view soon.  

NEOPRENE MAT: The neoprene mat and alternate art overlays are virtually complete. Legacies looks incredible in the nighttime! My graphic designer and I need to finalize which icons to include in the perimeter and to add more squares to the left for the scoring tiles, but I am THRILLED with how it turned out!  Since it took a while for us to finalize this, if you were on the fence about the neoprene mat and want to add it to your order - please send me a private message through KS and I'll work with you to get it added.  I've already locked in quantities with the factory but should have enough buffer to field additional requests over the next couple of weeks.

NAMING: The successors have all been named.  After our last update many of you responded to our survey requesting names to go with some of our new Successors images.  I'm happy to report that I chose one of your suggestions for each of the Successor images I had shared - PLUS, I even renamed many of the other successors based on your suggestions as you had a ton of great name ideas!  If you're wondering if your suggestion made the cut, here are some of the names that are now gracing one of the Successor cards:

Voux, Antoinette, Pi, Miko, Jintro, Consuela, Sly, Ethel, Belle, Mauricio, Moystro, Starphire, Cassius, Abigail, Pandora, Cain, Yomino, Raynn, Rose, Kenny, Petra, Augustina, Cecilia, Rubix, Abe, Inara, C@L, Ruby, Amelia, Varsha, Flora, Stuart, Lazz, Shizuka, Johann, Cedric, Kragg, & Francis.

Keep in mind the successor images span the past, present, and future.  You should get a good sense from the names above which names generally correspond with which generation of images.

What's left?

Rulebook Images: Throughout all of the iterations of the rulebook we've had various icons, images, and examples.  Now that all imagery and art is final, we're making sure we don't have any "old" versions in the rulebook.

Card Alignment: With all of these reviews and tweaks of spelling, word choice, and image updates we're going through each card to make sure we didn't inadvertently overwrite, overlay, or omit any elements.

GameTrayz: Our tray design is nearly final, but there's enough uncertainty and uniqueness with component sizes that we've asked the factory to provide a "white sample" so we can physically measure everything together.  Nothing would be more frustrating than to realize we didn't account for a certain thickness variation or other element which prevented fitting all of Legacies' components snugly into the GameTrayz in the deluxe edition.  They anticipate shipping the white sample out to us late next week.

Box Bottom: We have a rough layout of the box bottom which we can begin updating shortly now that all of the images have been updated and finalized for CMYK printing.

Anything else fun to tell us about, Jason?

Not terribly "fun", but we are working through our necessary VAT and EORI registrations to be able to ship to those regions that need it in order to minimize delays and/or surprises when it comes to shipping logistics.

Other than that, I've had yet another birthday (as we all do each year)... AND am happy to report that I'm fully vaccinated.  That means I'm looking ahead to the second half of 2021 when I can meet up with many of you at gaming events and conventions as they start to resume!  Where are you planning to head as many of those cherished events start to return - bringing us back together over the gaming table?

That's it for this update.  More to come as that to-do list works its way down to (and ultimately hits) zero! 

--Jason

Dotting Is and Crossing Ts
about 3 years ago – Sun, Apr 04, 2021 at 05:14:15 PM

Hello Friends!

We're fine tuning the details before putting the last pieces (cards and punchboard) in the hands of the manufacturer.  I'm not going to lie - this might be the least exciting part of the process, but it's an important one.  We're going through each detail on all of the paper products to make sure they're accurate and look good - almost literally the "dotting of the Is and crossing of the Ts".  This is the stuff that - when done well, you don't notice it at all; but if done wrong, it sticks out like a sore thumb.  

Logistics

We've also been working through some of the items necessary for smooth logistics - like getting all of the paperwork in order to be able to ship Legacies to our friends in various parts of the globe.

Art

The last pieces of art are nearly complete.  We have an extremely diverse group of successor images now to round out those which you saw during the campaign or that were part of our immortalization pledges.  Here's a sampling of new successor portraits from the future.

We've also made some tweaks to the art on the box to better reflect the passage of time and the alternate nighttime art for the neoprene mat is taking its final shape.  

Naming Successors

I want to continue to involve all of you amazing backers in shaping Legacies and have one last "ask" for the game itself before Legacies is officially printed.  I originally had names for the successors before the Kickstarter even launched (or the art was drawn), but now that I have actual images, some of them may benefit from names that weren't on my original list.  If you'd like to help name some of the successors, head to this survey and give me your best name for any (or all) of the images in this subset.  You may find YOUR suggestion matched with the face when the game lands in your hands!

I look forward to providing a more exciting update in the weeks ahead.    In the meantime, take care and stay safe.  We're nearly back at the tables together!

--Jason

Pledge Manager Extended One Week (Now Closing March 7th)
about 3 years ago – Sun, Feb 28, 2021 at 03:54:03 AM

Hello friends!  

This is a very short update.  A handful of you have reached out to see if we could push the pledge manager close date out just a bit since the massive Frosthaven pledge manager is also scheduled to close on March 1st.  

We are in fact able to accommodate that request so we'll close the pledge manager OFFICIALLY at end-of-day on March 7th.  

For those who have submitted their pledge and want to make changes (but are unable to in BackerKit), please feel free to reach out to me directly through the Kickstarter Message feature and I can assist.

The factory has returned from Chinese New Year and is ready to start working on all of the custom components (wood pieces and metal coins) this week.  I know I'm personally thrilled to see the pictures they'll share of hundreds of thousands of freshly minted coins and bars from the Bank of Legacies!!!

In the meantime, enjoy the changing weather wherever you are and know that we're yet another step closer to getting Legacies to your table!

All my best,

Jason

Pledge Manager Closing Soon
about 3 years ago – Sun, Feb 14, 2021 at 03:45:42 AM

Hello Friends!  

We've got a relatively short update this month.  The factory is still out for Chinese New Year, but when they return next month they'll begin production of all of Legacies' custom components (wood & coins).  We had a very productive conversation with GameTrayz earlier this week about the latest changes we've agreed to with the factory so they have everything they need to finalize the tray design which we expect to see in the coming weeks.

All of the heirloom art is complete and we just have a few remaining art assets to finish.  (The last art to be finalized will be that for the add-on neoprene mat and "nighttime" overlays.)

Your feedback on the rulebook was FANTASTIC!  Thank you to everyone who took a look at the rulebook we posted in the last update and provided suggestions and corrections.  

The most important thing I wanted to share with this update is that the Pledge Manager will be closing at the end of February.  If you were on the fence about any add-ons or were a $1 backer that wanted to upgrade your pledge, you have about two weeks left to do so.  

For those of you who want to get a taste of the gameplay before you receive your physical copy, remember that we have a Legacies mod available for anyone to play on Tabletop Simulator.

Legacies got a great shoutout on a recent episode of BoardGameCo when ThinkerThemer joined the conversation and called out Legacies as their #3 anticipated Kickstarter arriving in 2021.  Thank you Amy, Maggie, and Alex!!!

Finally, I'm working on the player aid and a gameplay aid design at the moment.  If you have any suggestions or requests for the types of things you like to see featured on player aids, please feel free to share you ideas in the comments!

That's it for this month.  We hope you're staying sane and staying safe.  Expect another update soon when the pledge manager is closing.  Thanks and enjoy your weekend!

--Jason