All Games Are on the Water
8 months ago – Thu, Aug 24, 2023 at 07:49:17 PM

We'll keep this update short and sweet: All of the games have left the factory and are on their way to the PSI warehouse. They should arrive in the next few weeks. We remain on target to begin fulfillment by the end of September. (I do have one wary eye on the Panama Canal, which is having traffic issues due to drought conditions -- so keep some fingers crossed.)

We're in the no-news-is-good-news phase, and fortunately there's not much else to say. Gen Con was a lot of fun as always. Lots of folks had a chance to try the game out, and everyone had a great time. Getting close, folks!

Timeline Update + Locking Orders/Charging Cards + Gen Con
9 months ago – Tue, Jul 25, 2023 at 05:36:58 PM

Timeline Update

I know this update is overdue. Apologies for the relative silence. We had another situation come up, and I wanted to make sure we knew how it was going to impact things before I posted. And that situation was ... wait for it ... a typhoon! Yes, an actual typhoon hit the factory. Of course, when I heard the news, I freaked out a bit. Fortunately, the disruption was not too bad. So, the upshot is that there is no change to the timeline, i.e., we still expect fulfillment to start by the end of September. Truth be told, we said "end of September" last time to give ourselves some cushion, and it looks like we needed it. Let's all hope for no more suprises as we get this thing to the finish line.

Locking Orders/Charging Cards

Many of you are asking when we are going to lock orders in BackerKit and run the credit cards. We had held this open longer than usual because it is being fulfilled from PSI, and we wanted folks to have an opportunity to tweak their order in light of the delays we've experienced. We're also going to be demoing the game at Gen Con and wanted to give folks there an opportunity to order as part of the campaign rather than waiting for it to hit retail. So we'll be locking orders on Monday, August 7. That will come with a 48-hour notice email from BackerKit that we will be charging the credit cards on Wednesday, August 9. (That might not get done until the 10th, so be patient if your card doesn't get charged right away.)

Gen Con

As for Gen Con, it should be another great show. If you're going, we are in Booth 1635, right smack in the middle of things. We will not have any copies of Tales To Amaze for sale at the show. However, we will be running non-stop demos at the booth if you want to come by and give it a try or just see how it looks. We are also getting a number of events added to play a full game. Those should show up in the event catalog in the next few days. We'll also have a bunch of other Unmatched sets for sale, along with Thunder Road: Vendetta and our other games. In any case, if you're going to be there, please stop by and say hello.

Production Update: Slight Slip
11 months ago – Thu, Jun 15, 2023 at 04:07:42 PM

Hello, everybody. At this stage, the most important thing for us to do is keep you up to date on how production is going. In short, it's going fine. However, there are always little adjustments than need to be made, and sometimes those little things can add up to a shift in the timeline. And that's where we are now. We now expect fulfillment to begin by the end of September. We're optimistic that we won't have any further production delays, and the logistics side of things has been fairly consistent lately, so we have a high degree of confidence in the revised date.

One of the things we've had to go a few rounds on is the insert. It's a lot trickier than our standard Unmatched sets. But Panda have an amazing team, who help design the final form. Here's a couple of photos of the insert from the test sample. (We're making a few tweaks to this layout.)

Reminder, if you added any other sets to your order in BackerKit, those will ship with Unmatched Adventures: Tales To Amaze. BackerKit surveys are still open, so you can go in and update your order as desired. On a related note, we just put the latest Marvel set, Brains and Brawn, up on our webstore. So, if you want to get that set now, rather than waiting for fulfillment, you can remove it from your survey in BackerKit and order it from the webstore now.

Two final things to mention in closing: We have confirmed we will have demo copies at Gen Con for folks to give the game a try. And, in case you missed it, we just launched our latest campaign for Crossbows & Catapults, the 1983 game of kinetic mayhem -- we'd love for you to check it out.

BackerKit Pledge Manager Open -- All Surveys Going Out -- Detailed Instructions Here -- Brains and Brawn Added!
12 months ago – Fri, May 05, 2023 at 09:57:17 AM

Lots to cover, so please read carefully. Our smoke test went like butter, so we are opening up the full pledge manager and sending out surveys to all backers. It can take a couple of days for all the surveys to go out, so don't be worried if you don't get yours straight away. That said, if you don't get an email, make sure you check your spam folder, as they can sometimes end up there.

Detailed instructions to follow, but before we jump in, one important update:

Brains and Brawn Add-On Available: We got good news in the logistics department. The upcoming Marvel Brains and Brawn set is already on a boat. Accordingly, it should reach the warehouse in advance of UMA, which means we can include it as an add-on for folks to add to their final order. If you order the set, it will include 3 foil promo cards from the set. (We haven't revealed the specific cards yet.) If you already did your survey as part of the smoke test, you can go back and update your order to include it if you wish.

Now, onto the particulars. This update has all of the information you need to complete your survey. It's a lot of information, and it can be a bit complicated in places, so please read carefully. And refer back to this update (or point other folks to this page) if there are questions.

In short, your BackerKit experience has two parts. First, you complete a short survey. Then, you finalize your order, including shipping and payment information. This second half is just like shopping at a regular webstore like Amazon. Items included in your Kickstarter pledge level are already in your "cart", and the money you pledged in Kickstarter is already in your "account". You'll "shop" for additional items and "spend"  your money.

If you have any problems completing your survey in BackerKit, please contact their support staff. They have excellent support and should be able to answer all of your questions. Please do not contact us via email or Kickstarter message with problems in BackerKit. It's not that we don't care about your problems. Rather, it's important that we have one channel for dealing with pledge manager issues so we don't miss anything. Rest assured, if BackerKit can't handle whatever issue you're having, they will, in turn, contact us, and we'll step in at that point. Look for the "Need help?" link on your survey.

Your items and funds from Kickstarter will already be in BackerKit. BackerKit imports all of the data from Kickstarter. If you backed at the main pledge level on Kickstarter, that copy of Unmatched Adventures: Tales To Amaze will already be in your cart in BackerKit. Likewise, the money you pledged in Kickstarter will already be in your account in BackerKit. If you are not adding anything beyond what's already included in your pledge level and you included all of the necessary funds in your Kickstarter pledge, you can just check out. You will see the shipping charges added at that time if applicable.

You can upgrade your pledge level. If you backed at the "This Just In" level, you can upgrade your pledge to "Tonight's Top Story". If you do not upgrade your pledge level, you will not get any items, including add-ons. You must upgrade to "Tonight's Top Story" if you want to receive any items. You can upgrade your pledge level at three stages of the survey. The easiest way is on the very first screen of your survey, where you'll see a small link to "switch your pledge level".

You can also do it any time after the first screen by clicking on the link under your pledge level at the top of the screen. This takes you to a pop-up with your pledge information with another link to "switch pledge levels".

Or you can even do it on the blank add-ons screen.

You can add items to your order if you want to. If you want to get add-ons, you need to add them in BackerKit in the Add-Ons page. This is where you can add other Unmatched sets (including foil promos where indicated). You can also use this screen to order multiple copies of the game. Each copy comes with the doom/alien minis and foil card promo pack.

We will lock down the surveys around June 30. You will get notification from BackerKit when the date approaches. Until we lock down the surveys, you can continue to go back in and make changes to your order, such as adding or removing items, changing your payment method, or updating your address.

We will run the credit cards after we lock down surveys. This will likely be within 48 hours after we lock down the surveys. These charges will only be for anything you added on and for shipping charges (if applicable). If you want us to run your credit card sooner for some reason, please contact BackerKit customer service, and they will be able to do that manually.

You can change your address up until we are ready to ship. Don't worry if you end up moving from your current shipping address. You can continue to go back into your survey and update your shipping address right up until the game is ready to ship.

We're really pleased with how production has been coming along. We're almost there. Until then, stay amazing!

Pledge Manager Status: "Smoke Test" Launched
about 1 year ago – Mon, May 01, 2023 at 11:25:02 AM

We have set up the pledge manager in BackerKit and are ready to start sending out surveys so you can complete your order. As we've done with our prior campaigns, we are starting with a "smoke test". The survey first goes out to around 5% of the backers. This will let us identify any problems before we open it to the rest of the backers. If nothing crops up over the next week, we'll launch the full pledge manager to all backers next Monday.

If you are part of the smoke test and receive an email to complete your survey, please complete it as soon as possible and preferably before Friday. This is your actual survey, so please completely it accurately. You'll be able to update or modify your survey until we lock it down (tentatively scheduled for June 30). But this lets us identify and fix any problems before we send the surveys out to the rest of the backers. If you get a survey and have any questions or problems, BackerKit has world-class customer service, so don't hesitate to contact them with any issue you might have. (See the "Need Help?" link in the bottom right of the survey?)

Once we confirm the smoke test is a success, we will also open the pre-order store for late pledges when we launch the full pledge manager. So, if you missed the campaign, you'll be able to hop in then.

In the meantime, we just got back from the GAMA trade show, where we demoed the game for retailers across the country. Everyone who played said they had a great time. And if you missed it, be sure to check out the livestream from the Dice Tower's Spring Spectacular, especially Tom's hilarious Mad Max homage.