BackerKit Email
over 3 years ago – Wed, Jan 06, 2021 at 03:10:57 AM

Hello Creatures,

This is a very brief update today to give you a heads-up that it looks like BackerKit is taking longer than they usually do to get your surveys approved. It seems like a backlog from the holidays. I spoke with my rep who promised to get it to me this morning. So we'll begin the process today. I will extend the lockdown of the surveys by one day. 

Thanks for your patience and have a great day!

Helaina

Voting for BGG's Most Anticipated Games for 2021
over 3 years ago – Sun, Jan 03, 2021 at 12:08:58 AM

Hello Creatures, 

A couple of things for today's update. First of all, Happy New Year to all of our amazing backers. We're incredibly excited to be on this journey with you in 2021. Secondly, keep an eye out for a BackerKit email from us at the beginning of the week. The sooner you complete the survey, the sooner we'll have our numbers ready to go, the sooner we can get to printing the game. 

BGG's Most Anticipated Games for 2021

Finally, BoardGameGeek.com has a list of Most Anticipated Games for 2021. I know that Creature Comforts is on so many of your most anticipated lists. This link will take you to the listing (5th page, number 105). Your thumb will be counted as a nomination in this first phase. When the nomination phase is complete there will be a second phase where you will vote on the game in several categories. So far, we've been nominated in these categories: 

* Strategy
* Euro
* Thematic
* Economic
* Family
* Solitaire

So, please take some time before January 16th, when the nominations are closed to help us nominate the game and create some buzz. Voting will take place between January 17th and January 23rd. 

If you do not have a free BGG profile, you can sign up here. It's a great place to learn about games and what is going on in the game scene. I have really enjoyed my time on BGG.

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If you ever have any questions or want to talk to us about anything, please don't hesitate to contact us through a DM in Kickstarter. We're here for you!
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You are all amazing, and we are so lucky that you chose to be with us for Creature Comforts!
Until next time Creatures...
Helaina and the Creature Comforts Team

Next Steps and Languages Added
over 3 years ago – Fri, Dec 25, 2020 at 02:09:30 AM

Hello Creatures,

We hope that you are all doing well and we want you to know that you are always at the top of our minds. We have taken some time to get your BackerKit pledge managers together because we've been signing contracts as quickly as we can, so that we can offer Creature Comforts to you in as many languages as possible. 

BackerKit Pledge Manager

We're finding it difficult to connect with with people at BackerKit during this holiday season. So we've decided to send out your surveys during everyone's first week back at work after the holidays. You can expect your surveys to arrive the week of January 4th. At first, 5% of backers will receive their surveys. This is called a smoke test. If there are no issues with those 5% of backers, which we are sure that there won't be, we will send out the rest of them. This usually takes between 12 and 24 hours. Once we give BackerKit the okay, they will send the remaining surveys out to you.

The survey has a few questions about your pledge, including the language you want your games in, as well the number of games you want. It will also ask you if you'd like to add any add-ons, collect your address, and request your credit card information for shipping. You will have until January 19th to complete your survey. After this time your survey will be locked. If you think you will be moving or you might be moving before your game goes out but after the BackerKit closes, please don't worry. We will be locking addresses much, much later in the process.

BackerKit is a very easy interface to work with, and you will be guided through the process very easily. If any problems arise, please don't hesitate to contact us. 

Retailers

You will not be receiving a BackerKit survey. Instead you'll receive a SurveyMonkey questionnaire that will allow us to collect the data we need for your purchase. If you have not received your questionnaire by the end of the week of January 4th, please contact us and let us know.  You will have until January 19th to complete your survey.

Timeline

We are planning to keep as close to this timeline as possible. We do this so that there are no surprises. As you can see, the December shipping date that we gave you on the campaign padded the timeline, just in case we are once again effected by covid. This current timeline reflects a more true-to-reality timeline.

January 4th - BackerKit Smoke Test and Retailers get their surveys

January 5th - All other surveys go out

January 19th - Surveys close

February 2nd - Credit cards charged (if you typically have issues with these kinds of charges, it is best for you to make your credit card company aware of the charge on that date)

Throughout February - Translations begin

Early March - Files submitted to manufacturer for sample (All of February is the Chinese New Year celebrations and Chinese manufacturing is completely shut down)

Mid-March - Manufacturing begins

Late June - Manufacturing completes

July - Games sent to their various regions around the world

August - Fulfilment begins

Languages We Have Added 

When we began this journey, we knew we'd be adding the Spanish and French languages at some point. But we could not believe the interest from around the world. Because this game is going to be localized in Spain, France, Poland, Belgium and Netherlands, Germany, and China, we are able to offer Creature Comforts in Spanish, French, Polish, Dutch, German, Chinese, and English. How exciting is that? 

Currently there are no interested partners for Italy. I know several of you were really hoping for it, but we just don't have anyone to work with. We wish the news were different. We will still be sure to create a translation and digital download in Italian for you.

Happy Holidays From the KTBG Crew

As we wind down for the year, we want to take this opportunity to thank you once again for your amazing support for this very special game. Your enthusiasm has been palpable. We've loved every moment of engagement. Please enjoy your holiday and make sure to get to the game table.

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If you ever have any questions or want to talk to us about anything, please don't hesitate to contact us through a DM in Kickstarter. We're here for you!
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You are all amazing, and we are so lucky that you chose to be with us for Creature Comforts!
Until next time Creatures...
Helaina and the Creature Comforts Team

Next Steps
over 3 years ago – Sun, Dec 13, 2020 at 12:29:05 AM

Hello Creatures,

Well, we've taken a day off to decompress, but here we are again. Back at it. We are still in awe of the amazing support we have seen over the last 4 weeks. We appreciate you more than you know.

What's Next For Us

Creatures, now is the long anticipated wait. In 11 months, we'll have Creature Comforts at your doorsteps. But before that can happen, we've got lots of work to do. We are already at work polishing up the loose ends of the game. We will then put our order in to the manufacturer. Once a deposit is made  to the manufacturer, they will create and send us the sample. We anticipate receiving the sample within the next 3 months. Please note that we are making this game in China, and China takes a 1 month vacation in January/February. We highly doubt we will be able to get the sample before then. When we do eventually get it and everything checks out, we will go to print immediately. This means we'll begin manufacturing in March. The manufacturing process takes 45 days. It will then take 1 month to get the games from China to your region (if it is not Asia, that is). From there it will be another 3-4 weeks for your game to get to your doorstep. Keep in mind that there are always hiccups along the way. Sometimes a component in the sample just isn't right and has to be remade, or there is a storm on the ocean when your games are on the ship; there are so many reasons for delays. One thing is for sure, no matter how much work goes into it, we are going to make it our priority to get this game to you as fast as we can.

What's Next For You

Over the next two weeks Kickstarter will be charging your credit cards. Please make your credit card company aware that Kickstarter will be charging you specifically for Creature Comforts. Some companies are on high alert for fraud, and don't accept Kickstarter charges automatically. In early January you'll receive your BackerKit email. BackerKit is the pledge manager we use to collect your order, your address, and your payment for shipping and anything else you want to add on. Please look out for it, as sometimes these emails end up in "other" email folders. We'll likely close ordering up in February, and charge your credit cards for add-ons and shipping soon after that. Again, you'll have to make sure that your credit card company knows that it will be charged by Strip from BackerKit (actually Stripe uses the campaign name). We will remind you when this happens. Your addresses will be locked when we send the games from China to your region. We'll also give you a heads-up about this as well. These deadlines are hard deadlines, and we will stick by them so that we can make sure everything goes smoothly on our end.

Credit Card Issues

Creatures, I have received many questions from backers whose cards are being declined. Please be sure to contact your credit card company as well ask Kickstarter if you are having issues. Unfortunately we don't do the credit card processing ourselves. So we can't actually do anything about it. If that fails, you can always pick up your pledge in BackerKit when we send out  the surveys.

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 If you ever have any questions or want to talk to us about anything, please don't hesitate to contact us through a DM in Kickstarter. We're here for you!
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 You are all amazing, and we are so lucky that you chose to be with us for Creature Comforts!
 Until next time Creatures...
 Helaina and the Creature Comforts Team

The Wild Ride Has Come to a Close
over 3 years ago – Fri, Dec 11, 2020 at 02:48:50 AM

Hello Creatures,

We're still reeling. What just happened? Did we really just end with $528,208CA pledged, 2200% funded, and 8,933 backers? This has been a wild ride. Where to begin? Let's start with you, our amazing backers. You have made this campaign an absolute dream for all of us at KTBG. This is no joke. I have dreamed of this day since our very first Kickstarter campaign, Foodfighters, 5 short years ago. Everything about this campaign has run so smoothly. From the first few hours of funding, to the amazing Comments section with over 4500 comments, to the incredible way you have all treated one another. I have truly loved interacting with you over the last 3 and a half weeks. I am really going to miss it.

 
Now to Thank the Team

About a year and a half ago, Roberta Taylor, designer of Creature Comforts, showed me a game that I fell in love with. The rest of the team played it and we were all smitten. And yes, this is exactly the right word to describe how we felt about it. We signed it right away. We played it over and over and over again. Because we loved it. And we still love it. Possibly even more every time we play it. Thank you Roberta for trusting us with this gem. We really couldn't imagine it in anyone else's hands. We just fit together so well.

Speaking of fitting together well, there was no doubt that Shawna JC Tenney had to do the art for this amazing game. The art on this game is unlike any I have ever seen. You are incredibly talented. You knocked it out of the park on each and every aspect of this game. Thank you for being so easy to work with. We can't wait to do it again.

To Jon Mietling, the incredible artist that created our KS video. Your video really made this game come to life in a way we could have never imagined. Thank you for just getting us ... every time. It is an absolute pleasure to work with you.
 

To Sean Jacquemain, our Communications Director, who ran our in-house marketing and promotion, and literally thanked each and every one of you personally for being here on the campaign with us... your dedication to making this work has been incredible. We could not do any of this without you. We are so happy to have you on our team and can't wait to celebrate this success with you.

And finally, to Josh Cappel, the Creative Director for KTBG, the backbone of this and every incredible campaign we run. From your game development and art direction for this game, to your KS page layout and design, to your quick work and creativity, you are an absolute star. You are incredibly talented and we are so grateful to have you on our team. None of this would have been possible without your touch. I am honoured to work with you, and to spend my life with you (Josh and I are married, if you didn't know). 

While I write this I am reflecting on this very wild year we have experienced. It was definitely a difficult one for many of us. But getting to know all of you through this campaign has completely changed my perspective on 2020. This campaign has cultivated an incredible community of KS backers who really do want to support and uplift one another. Thank you for making this happen! I am honoured to have you with us on this journey. Now, if you'll excuse me, I need to go to sleep.

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If you ever have any questions or want to talk to us about anything, please don't hesitate to contact us through a DM in Kickstarter. We're here for you!
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You are all amazing, and we are so lucky that you chose to be with us for Creature Comforts!
Until next time Creatures...
Helaina and the Creature Comforts Team