Layout complete! Let's head to print!
about 2 months ago
– Fri, May 31, 2024 at 08:19:51 PM
Hiya,
Sam here with a monthly update on where things are at.
As expected, we are done with the book layout. I’ve included a few sample pages below for those who want to see but overall, I’m feeling very happy with it. It compliments the existing material while still providing some newness. A refresh as it were:
Shoutout to Jean Verne for the hard work on this.
What’s next?
- Sending these off to the printer, getting proofs and deciding on the final cover strategy.
- Reviewing those proofs and if they look good, we print!
- Then I’ll order shipping supplies and the other CoM books for those who ordered a bundle.
- With all those in place, I’ll close surveys & collect shipping on July 1st.
Right now, that all feels really solid and will set me up for success. Things are a bit different in my life since I kicked this project off…I got a new job during the production of this (a dream job at that), that requires a bit more travel and my partner & I are about to have another kind (July 26th!).
I planned for this, deliberately leaving a big window between packing & actual shipping, to give us time to settle into what Junior #2 needs. Once I get a better sense of that, I can set a good packing schedule. October still feels realistic and you’ll stay informed if anything major changes.
Outside of that, I’m very slowly trying to break ground on an enhanced version of the token system, with more of a collect tokens to make moves kind of feel. Hoping to roll something out before EOY but it’s always on the back burner these days.
That’s all for now!
Sam
May Update - CLEAR Playbook Designs! Outstanding Surveys!
4 months ago
– Wed, Apr 10, 2024 at 09:38:28 AM
This post is for backers only. Please visit Kickstarter.com and log in to read.
Backerkit Surveys drop today!
5 months ago
– Fri, Mar 08, 2024 at 01:49:10 PM
Hi all,
Sam here with your monthly Henshin! Guest Stars Expansion update.
As promised in our last update, Backerkit surveys have gone out to your emails (the email associated with Kickstarter). In the survey, you should see all of your rewards, physical add-ons you added during the course of the campaign and any questions for those in the Make Me a Connection or Make a Monster tiers.
You'll have the opportunity here to add other items if you want and provide your shipping address. I'll be leaving surveys open until the end of June so please fill them out before then!
You'll also see a remaining balance for shipping, which was not paid during the campaign. Please note that any add-ons of physical books will add a few dollars to your overall shipping so keep that in mind as you finalize things. You will be charged for shipping at the beginning of July, as we get closer to actual fulfillment.
For the people in the Make Me a Connection & Make a Monster tier, if you could please fill out your surveys by the beginning of April, that would be great in helping us stay on track with incorporating that creative content into the book.
For those of you with PDF add-ons, fulfillment will be handled through the Backerkit file management system closer to October.
Feel free to reach out here or at [email protected] with any questions or concerns.
Outside of all this operational work, we've started work on the modules, module artwork and playbook for Clear! I'm hoping to have some sketches to share in the next few weeks but until then.
Let's Henshin!,
Sam
Thanks for an amazing campaign!
6 months ago
– Fri, Feb 09, 2024 at 08:43:55 AM
Hi all!
First of all, thanks for an amazing campaign!
Over the course of our 30 days together, we saw so much activity and excitement for the Guest Stars Expansion and just Henshin! in general. One thing I love about this campaign, is it is a great chance for people to get introduced to the game in general which is always a special thing.
So now that we're funded, what happens next?
- Kickstarter should have already charged your card. If you are experiencing any issues with that, please work with them directly to resolve that over the next two weeks. If there are any outstanding backers at the end of the two weeks, I'll contact you directly about what you want to do.
- On March 8th, you'll start to receive surveys through Backerkitthat will collect your address information, give you a sense of what shipping will be (you won't be charged for shipping until June) and ask for reward specific information for those who signed up to be a Connection or contribute a Monster idea. I'll send another update out when those go out.
Speaking of Backerkit, I've also created a pre-order store that you can access here:
This page will give you the opportunity to add another copy of the Guest Stars Expansion if you want it or discounted copies of the other CoM physical games.
This will be up until March 8th and will close down when Surveys go out so we can more accurately capture shipping info based on what you have in your cart!
And that's all for now. I'll be posting monthly updates with progress on the campaign as we make it, to give you a sneak peak on module art, how Clear is coming along and all the other production goodies!
Until then, let's Henshin!,
Sam
Let's open up the rest of the stretch goals!
6 months ago
– Mon, Jan 29, 2024 at 09:10:38 AM
Hey, hi, hello folks,
Sam here from Cave of Monsters Games, coming to you in our third week of funding for the Henshin! Guest Stars Expansion Kickstarter.
We’ve met our goal! Thank you to those folks who have already backed the campaign and to those of you who have shared the link. We couldn’t have done this without you and I’m grateful that we’ve got some time left, to make this the best print run it could be.
So to that end, I am releasing all of our stretch goals today, so you can see everything I’d like to do, to make this Expansion the best that it can be!
If we hit 12k before February 8th, I’ll add another color to the Expansion...Clear!
I’ve always wanted to create a Bulk & Skull type playbook…a character who is more of a menace than an actual enemy, whose goals are to undermine the Squad in some way. But in doing so, they grow much closer to them and realize their own power…for better or worse. I feel like it could be played a ton of different ways, like as a strict parent, a lost god being tormenting the mentor or just a school bully.
If we hit 12k, I’ve already got Zachary Sterling onboard to do the art for this and you’ll get to see the exclusive design process!
Now, for our last goal, I’ve got another addition planned but it’s for something outside of the book itself. If we hit 16k, I will include an enamel pin set of the Henshin! Helmets to all physical orders!
These helmets are featured in the original book, as part of the layout and have been used in most CoM funding. It’s our flag really and I think it would be fun to bring the helmets to life in a way, as a way to celebrate CoM and the mission to make weird things.
Now that everything is out on the floor, where does that leave us? Well, we’ve 10 days left to go and are the following amounts away from hitting each goal:
-
$1,199 or 25 Backers, from Unlocking Marcostatsu’s Module, Taste Makers.
-
$3,199 or 70 backers, from Adding Clear to the book, as a 7th Guest Star.
-
$7,199 or 160 backers, from Adding a Pin Set to each Physical Order.
I feel confident that we can hit it but only with your help in either pledging now or sharing with people who you know would like it.
I hope that you can understand from this data that every backer we gain has a real impact, especially when we have some big tiers still open. For those curious…
- Our CoM bundle, which features Henshin!, Rider Konchu and 3 Minutes, alongside the Expansion, is our most popular physical tier, clocking in at 31 backers. It’s a great deal and it shows!
- We’ve also filled out 25 of our 30 Make Me a Connection! tier, 4 of our 6 Make a Monster! tiers and our Make a Module! Spot is still open. Still lots of opportunities to participate!
- And just because I made two covers to see which would be more popular, Navy vs Multi-Colored has 4 pledges more than Gray vs Brown, in the close race of 28 vs 24. It’s great to use the art this way and give people what they want.
I really want to make this the best possible version of the book it can be. Henshin! is such a fun game that really allows players a ton of freedom to do with it what they want.
Adding more opportunities for variety, with new stories to tell, is a blast. I hope that comes through in this email and I hope you’ll consider pledging if you haven’t already.
Best,
Sam
