A Special Update - We are Upgrading our PNP!
about 2 years ago
– Fri, Oct 21, 2022 at 07:52:53 AM
Hi Everyone! Today we have some AWESOME NEWS for all of our backers that we teased at the end of the campaign.
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We are going to upgrade the PRINT AND PLAY (PNP) copy to include a Flip & Write version.
We can't take credit for this idea though. During our campaign, the fabulous Dave and Ilka Luza (@theHappyLuza on Twitter) created their own version of the Flip & Write and streamed it live on Twitch. Not only was it free publicity for us but seeing how easy it was to pick up the game and play quickly inspired us to want to bring that to all of the backers. I mean look at this (from the livestream)!!
As you can tell, the main feature of the Flip & Write will be that players will be drawing the shapes on their player sheet instead of placing physical tiles. This version will save folks lots of time if they just want to get to playing Junk Drawer as quickly as possible by not having to print and cut out the physical tiles.
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**FOR CLARITY** We are NOT changing the physical game at all!
- We are ADDING the Flip & Write version to the Digital PNP.
TRUST US when we say that cutting out 84 polyominos for a playable, physical copy is no quick task. Below is just a fraction of the pieces we cut for our Reviewer Prototype copies.
The key differences to the Flip & Write PNP version will be:
- Updated Rules to reflect the Flip & Write mechanics.
- Updated Player Board to a Player Sheet, that players will be able to print out for playing.
- Instead of printing and cutting physical Item Tiles, players will draw the Items when playing the game.
**Hint** As fans of Roll/Flip-and-Write games, we recommend printing a few sheets and laminating them for easy reuse.
"So when do I get my PNP files?!?"
I'm glad you asked... We will not be sending the PNP files to backers until the files are completely ready for printing, including review from the manufacturer. We just want to make sure that there won't be any significant revisions between the PNP files and the physical copy of the game.
"So WHEN do I get my PNP files?!?"
We hope by the end of the year, but possibly early 2023 (still months before backers receive their physical copies).
Having a more active Kickstarter for our second game was fantastic but we did come out with a few tweaks and revisions we needed to make, which has taken a few extra weeks than anticipated to coordinate between a handful of folks. But we are finalizing our files and negotiations with Manufacturers, and expect to be finished with those within the next few weeks. Then we will be able to submit our initial payment to the Manufacturer and have them review our digital files for compatibility with their equipment.
We hope that you are excited about the addition of a streamlined Print-and-Play version of Junk Drawer... one that will be much simpler to prepare, so that it can hit the table faster.
That's all for this update, hope you are staying healthy and happy while playing lots of games!
David and Travis
Winsmith Games
Pledge Manager Status Update and Quick Clarification on Timing of Charges
about 2 years ago
– Sat, Oct 08, 2022 at 12:03:26 AM
Hi Everyone!
We wanted to provide you with a quick status update on our pledge manager status and then provide a little more clarity on add-on charges in BackerKit. To date, we have 82% of our surveys completed, which is amazing! If you have not already completed your pledge, please do so. You should have received an email with the link but if you haven't please reach out to us via email or Kickstarter and we can provide the link.
Here are just a few stats on our backers. The one that sticks out to us is the number of countries that we're shipping to, 23! Although we didn't get a lot of International Backers for this campaign, having 23 unique countries represented is awesome and definitely more than we had with our first campaign!
Timing of Charges in BackerKit
We wanted to post a quick clarification about the timing of the credit card charges in BackerKit for anyone who added anything above your initial pledge.
If you did not add anything to your pledge...
You can disregard the rest of this update. The credit card you entered will be charged the shipping costs when we get close to shipping the games.
For those backers that did add something to your pledge...
The add-ons you purchased have not been charged to your credit card yet and won't be until we close the pledge manager (a few months away). This is because the extras aren't considered final until all pledges are locked and we don't want to lock down pledges until further along in the process. So don't be alarmed when you see the credit card charge for those add-ons a few months from now, you have not been double charged. But if you do have any questions, don't hesitate to reach out to us!
That's all for this quick update. We are working hard to finish the graphic design tweaks and get the files ready for the manufacturer. We will keep you posted on those updates as well as when the Print and Play will be ready!
Much Love,
David and Travis
BackerKit Smoke Test Complete, Rest of Surveys Going Out Today (+ Pledge Manager Guide)
about 2 years ago
– Mon, Sep 26, 2022 at 05:43:11 PM
Thank you all to everyone who helped us work out a few kinks with the pledge manager during the smoke test last week. Everything went well and we are ready to send out the rest of the backer surveys. Here is a quick guide of what to expect from the pledge manager.
This is what a backer at the $35 level will see when you first click on the Pledge Manager.
From here, you will be asked a few pledge questions, including one to confirm that shipping will be charged later and one to ask you to join our monthly newsletter. (Please do! Our monthly newsletter is how you can follow other exciting Winsmith news and see games that we are working on.)
You will then see the Add-Ons page, which will allow you to add on additional copies of the game or a copy of our first game, 10 Gallon Tank. If you don't want to add anything, you will see the total on the right side along with the amount pledged and those should equal $0. If you add things on, those totals will be shown there as well.
Next you will be asked for your shipping address so that we have that when the time comes to process the shipping charges.
Finally, you will be asked for your credit card information. This is necessary if you added any items, but more importantly, in order to process the shipping without having to come back to you later and send another survey. This is very important and will make it easy when it comes time to ship the games to you.
That's it! It should be quick and easy for you to enter everything, but if you do run into issues, please reach out and let us know. Thank you all so much and we are looking forward to getting all these admin things out of the way and getting the games into production!
Sincerely,
David and Travis
Winsmith Games
Backer Survey Smoke Test TODAY
about 2 years ago
– Wed, Sep 21, 2022 at 03:13:46 AM
Hi Everyone!
Our backer surveys have been created and we are ready to send them. To make sure that we don't have any glaring issues with the questions or the process, we will be performing a Smoke Test later today. What that means is that we will send out REAL backer surveys to 5% of our backers within each pledge level. So...
If you receive the survey:
Please consider this your formal backer survey and complete it as you normally would. This will count as your backer response and you won't have to do it again (unless you want to make changes).
If you don't receive a survey:
Don't fret! It just means that if there are any issues with the survey, we'll resolve them before it gets to you! We will keep everyone posted on when the full set of surveys go out.
That's it for today's update! We will post again when the rest of the backer surveys go out to everyone.
Much Love,
David and Travis
Quick Status Update - Funding Received and Upcoming Backer Surveys
about 2 years ago
– Sun, Sep 11, 2022 at 10:08:37 PM
Happy Sunday!
Just wanted to send along a quick update to keep you all informed. We successfully received the Kickstarter funding this past week and are now working to finalize the initial backer surveys as well as make some revisions to the game files from feedback we've received.
For the surveys, we have chosen to use BackerKit as our pledge manager, so once those are finalized, we will send them to BackerKit for approval and then they will be sent out. You will be able to review your pledge, add on additional copies of Junk Drawer or a copy of our first game, 10 Gallon Tank, and then confirm your information.
As a reminder, you will not be charged shipping at this time.
We will continue to communicate with you as much as possible regarding these costs so that you know what to expect and when the additional shipping charges will take place.
That's it, short and sweet. Have a great rest of your weekend and can't wait to provide more updates on our progress!
David and Travis
