Update 28- Back from PAX with a lot to say
about 2 years ago – Sat, Dec 10, 2022 at 10:21:36 PM

[tl;dr- Updates galore! Production, pledge manager, holiday conundrums, playthrough series & refunds…. Oh my!]

Hello Seekers! Happy 2nd Friday! Thank you for your patience on this update, last week we were at PAX Unplugged having a great time, demoing the game, and getting very little sleep. If we ever have another planned update delay we will send a reminder and not expect you all to remember what we said from last month’s update 😊

This is our last update of 2022, so it’ll be a little longer as we look to the new year and get all our ducks in a row.

Alright, let’s dive right in!

///Production Update

Let’s get the big news out there first: WE HAVE OFFICIALLY SUBMITTED ALL FILES TO PRINT! *shoots confetti cannon* *does a backflip*

This was a HUGE undertaking. It means our game is now fully designed and content-locked. What happens next? We’ll go back and forth with Gameland, our manufacturer, to make final adjustments and test prints… you know, the kinds of critical steps to do before printing millions of cards (and more!).

Speaking of which! This month we received some sample images of the acrylic enemy standees. Take a look at this gorgeous Wyvern!

Just like the Seeker standees, each enemy standee will have its own custom stand. It's not too late to add these to your survey. In the add-on ($50) you’ll get 45 standees and bases (about $1.11 for each standee/stand set), or you can go for the upgrade kit ($76), which also includes all 45 enemy standees, plus the metal fate tokens, neoprene mats, Forteller narration etc. This is in addition to the 6 acrylic seeker standees and bases that you get in the base copy of the game.

We’ve also finalized our custom neoprene mat designs which are included in the premium collection or available as an add-on. These mats provide each player with a clear space for your Seeker sheet (which has your HP dial in it), your lantern card, your draw and discard piles, enemy focus tokens, and your standee (when not in battle). During the campaign we showed you Naz’s design, but here are the full set:

As you can see, each Seeker’s mat contains personal trinkets and equipment, their individual lantern design, and some more badass action poses. And for those curious, here’s a super rough mockup of how your game components will fit on the mat:

Lastly, our narration by Forteller is in casting! We are right on schedule, and hoping we’ll be able to start giving you all some samples in the coming months.

///Pledge Manager & Late Pledges Open a Bit Longer

Originally we had planned for our pre-order store to remain open until 12/31/22, at which point we would lock the surveys and charge cards for any additional purchases. We have decided to extend the pre-order store a little bit longer, for a few reasons:

1- Taxes. Gotta love ‘em. We’ve learned that we need to register for a VAT ID before we can collect & pay VAT… and this will take several months.

2- We heard a lot of requests at PAX Unplugged for some more time.

3- People spend a lot of money in December, and that’s not a fun time for an extra charge

With all that in mind, we are going to leave the pre-order store open until March 10, 2023. This does not change our production schedule at all, so don’t worry about that. This just gives you more time to decide if you need some extra goodies.

While we’re talking BackerKit, we also have a couple quick reminders for you:

-Apple ID: If your Kickstarter account uses an Apple ID your survey email won’t go through! We are working on identifying all those folks and contacting you but it would be a BIG help if you could proactively email [email protected] and let us know your name and what email you’d like us to switch your survey to.

-Premium Collection and Add-Ons: Remember that if you ordered the Premium Collection, the following add-ons are already included: Acrylic Enemy Standees for all enemies, 6 neoprene player mats, 50 metal fate tokens, custom card sleeves for each Seeker, and Audio narration by Forteller.

We have more than a few of you who backed the Premium Collection and also ordered at least one of these add-ons. You will not need any extras beyond what is included in the Premium Collection (for example: 50 fate tokens are the max you’ll need in the game). We are working to identify and contact everyone that this affects, but it would be a big help if you can quickly check your pledge and see if it applies to you. If the add-on was a mistake, please reach out to [email protected] so that we can get it removed. We will not remove an add-on without your consent, so if you don’t want 100 fate tokens, please tell us!

This seems like the perfect time for you to help us welcome Jake to the team! Jake comes from a long history in customer service, including for board game companies like Kolossal and Pandasaurus. They’re going to be helping us with getting your questions answered and your surveys filled out. Before this month, when you emailed [email protected] you usually heard from me, but now you can expect to hear from Jake. So if you have any questions or concerns, don’t hesitate to reach out! We think they’re absolutely fantastic, and we hope you do too.

///Holiday Conundrums 

If you’re not following us on social media, first of all- do it! But specifically, for the next 2 weeks we are going to be doing some Holiday Conundrums on Mondays, with the winning sketch debuting on Friday. This past week was all about singing carols and the winner was Grandma Got Run Over by a Wyvern!

 If you want to be part of these votes, check our social media (Twitter, Instagram, Facebook) on Monday! Voting goes until the end of the day Tuesday, and winning sketches are posted on Friday.

///Kinfire Playthrough Series

If you’ve been following our social media (or are in our Discord), you already know we’re behind on our Kinfire Playthrough series due to some very frustrating crashes. What you DON’T know (because we haven’t told anyone yet) is that we are going to be giving you an EXTRA episode! Once our editor started putting everything back together, we realized that we had a solid 7th episode there, and we figured that would be the perfect little gift to our community.

Don’t know what the Kinfire Playthrough Series is? We asked 8 familiar faces from the interwebs to learn the game in front of a camera, and cut this down to 6 7 entertaining episodes of 20 minutes each. Check out Episodes 1-5 here. You can still get your in-depth previews and reviews from the folks we all love like Rahdo Runs Through, Our Family Plays Games, Brother’s Murph, Before You Play and more. It’s a bit of an experiment and we hope you’ll tell us what you think!

If you’re not part of our mailing list, you can always join it to make sure to get notified when the episodes go live.

///Refund Policy

When you launch a Kickstarter campaign, the last thing you think about are backers asking to refund. And as a new publisher, we are still catching up to industry standards in areas like this. We’ve spent some time discussing a refund policy that gives backers flexibility without putting us in a bad situation as a company, and came to a policy that is fairly consistent with what we’ve seen:

“Refunds will be offered until 1 month prior to pledges being shipped. Any refund request received 2 weeks after the campaign has ended will be subject to a 10% cancellation fee due to Kickstarter fees (5%), payment processing fees (3-5%), and customer support.”

What this means is that up to 1 month before pledges are shipped (around the time we’ll be charging shipping) you can request a refund. We will refund 90% of your pledge. The reason is that when Kickstarter collects pledges (generally 2 weeks after the campaign ends), we are charged non-refundable fees from Kickstarter and credit card companies. If you do need a refund, please contact us at [email protected].

—

That’s all for this month! I’ll end the update as I always do with my cry of “fill out your survey!” We are up to 76% of surveys complete, which is a big increase from last month. I think my nagging is helping 😊

We hope you have a wonderful holiday season, and we’ll be back on Friday, January 6th with another update!

Jovially,

Risa Petrone
Community Manager

QUICK REMINDER - December update coming Dec 9
about 2 years ago – Tue, Dec 06, 2022 at 03:23:18 AM

Hey Everyone!

Quick reminder that we will publish the December update on the 2nd Friday this month (Dec 9). We were at PAX Unplugged this weekend and are looking forward to sharing the update soon!

Update 26- Surveys and Sales Tax
about 2 years ago – Mon, Nov 07, 2022 at 11:36:30 AM

[tl;dr- Common issues when filling out the pledge manager, sales tax information, production update, Kinfire episode 5]

Happy Friday, Seekers! I hope you all had an outstanding October and are ready to fall right into November. This month’s update has a lot of crucial information, so please take the time to read through.

*Please note: Next month we will be attending PAX Unplugged, so our monthly update will be on the second Friday, December 9th, instead. If you're attending PAX Unplugged, come see us at Booth 3226!

///Pledge Manager

Fill out your surveys! We’re at 67% of backers having completed their backerkit surveys. If you don’t fill it out, it’s very hard for you to get your game!

We’ve identified a handful of common issues people are experiencing when filling out their survey, so check out this quick FAQ in case anything pertains to you.

Q: I lost my survey link/email or never received it

A: First try going to https://kinfire.backerkit.com/ to get the survey re-sent. If that doesn’t work, reach out to [email protected] with the email used for the campaign and we can get you your survey link.

Q; I ordered multiple copies of the game during the campaign and they’re not showing up in the pledge manager

A: If you go to add the copies to your cart, you may see a balance due thanks to the increased cost of the base game in Backerkit. Please reach out to [email protected] and we can sort it out for you.

Q: I accidentally selected an add-on that I don’t want/need

A: We’re seeing this mostly with the card sleeves, since they got added to the premium collection as a stretch goal so late in the campaign. Remember that if you ordered the premium collection, the following add-ons are already included: Acrylic Enemy Standees for all enemies, 6 neoprene player mats, 50 metal fate tokens, custom card sleeves for each Seeker, and Audio narration by Forteller.

If the add-on was a mistake, please reach out to [email protected] so that we can get it removed. Otherwise, your order will be locked on December 31, 2022.

/// UPDATE ON SALES TAXES (U.S. Backers)

“NOTHING IS CERTAIN EXCEPT DEATH AND TAXES” ammarite? Actually, we were quite uncertain about sales taxes because it’s a very complex topic.

Imagine that each country, state, city, and district within a city could require slightly different things from you… and that they can change these requirements at any time, without notifying you. Welcome to sales taxes.

TL;DR ON TAXES FOR KINFIRE BACKERS - We’ve updated the sales tax policy on Backerkit. In most cases, U.S. backers will see sales tax estimates removed because we determined that collecting tax wasn’t necessary.

Q: What territories will be charged sales tax?

A: California, Illinois, Missori, Minnesota, and Florida.

Q: Why am I charged sales tax if some other crowdfunded campaign didn’t charge me sales tax?

A: This could be for a variety of reasons:

• Most likely, the other campaign had different circumstances than we do.
   
  • Generally there are two things that can trigger sales tax:
     
    • Economic Nexus: Triggered when a seller sells at a certain sales volume within a state or district. For example, most (but not all) states require collecting sales if you sell over $100k or 200 separate sales transactions.
    
    
  
  

-OR-

• Physical Nexus: Triggered by a variety of conditions, including having employees based in a state.
   
• Less likely, the other campaign is dealing with sales taxes differently than we do.     
  • Some campaigns might not realize that they should charge sales tax.
  • Some campaigns may have baked the sales tax into the reward tiers.
  
  

The above is not tax advice, and may not be up-to-date if you’re reading this long after we published this Kickstarter Update.

Q: Can sales tax policy change in the future?

A: Great question! Laws and circumstances may change over time, so we are likely to update the sales tax policy over time. But we’ve done our analysis and are locking the policy in for Kickstarter backers and pre-orders through Backerkit. This means you don’t need to worry about changes in 2022.

Q: Will I get a refund on any sales tax that was charged?
A: You have not been charged for any sales tax yet so there is nothing to refund. If you saw a sales tax number when you completed your Backerkit survey (thanks BTW), it was only an estimate for what will be charged when the preorder store closes on 12/31/2022. With the tax update that we’re applying this week, we are removing the sales tax for all states except CA, IL, MO, MN, and FL.

At any time you experience a billing error, you can reach us at [email protected].

As a reminder, shipping will be charged separately a month before fulfillment (~Summer 2023).

///Production Update

We are progressing quite nicely on the production front and are still on track to get manufacturing begun before the Lunar New Year. All of our cards have been checked over with a fine-toothed comb, we’re putting the finishing touches on the back of the box, we’ve got the upgrade kit sizing finalized.

Here’s a quick peek at the first couple punchboards:

Each quest will have its own punchboard, so you won’t have to spend a lot of time punching out a bunch of tokens before you start playing, but you still get that satisfying moment once a game.

And we have a surprise! One addition to the game that we didn’t expect but are SUPER thrilled about is new card trays for each quest folio.

There’s nothing worse than opening a box and finding the cards have gone everywhere (okay, there are worse things, but not for this example, okay?). And we found that when the cards were put loosely into the quest folios that not only did they get shuffled around, but they bulked up and made it hard to close. So now each folio will have its own organizer so setup time is decreased and everything tucks away neatly when it's time to put it away. This was an unexpected but very welcome addition to the game.

///Kinfire Playthrough Episode 5

The wait is finally over! The Kinfire Playthrough episode 5 is here! Felicia Day, B. Dave Walters, Angeless, and Brandon Chen begin the battle of Quest 3 in dire straits, but you can see them really getting the hang of their characters as they handle their card decks.

We have one more episode to go after this! We are planning to do a watch party of all 6 episodes in our Discord so be sure to join us to get information on when that will be happening.

—

That’s all for this month’s update! I hope you have fun plans for the weekend (I’ll be attending my cousin’s wedding tonight and may or may not be bringing some card games…)

Festively,

Risa Petrone

Community Manager

Update 25- Pledge Manager is now open!
about 2 years ago – Tue, Oct 18, 2022 at 01:48:34 AM

[tl;dr: Instructions for pledge manager, which closes on December 31, 2022]

Seekers! Double update this month! Keeping this one short, let’s dive in.

• Backerkit surveys have started to go out, you should be getting yours very soon. If you haven’t received emails from Incredible Dream Studios ([email protected]) by the end of the week, please reach out to [email protected].
• The last day to add or upgrade your pledge will be December 31, 2022. If you upgrade your pledge you’ll be charged on December 31, 2022.
• Shipping rates will be finalized and charged separately in summer 2023, when we are closer to fulfillment. We will give you many warnings to lock in your address. If you fill out your survey now, you will be asked to provide payment information for shipping. However, you won’t be charged for shipping until we post our final shipping rates. 
• We are offering the board game for $119 ($30 off discount) in the pledge manager for late pledges and pledge level upgrades. The upgrade kit can be purchased as an add on for $76.
• If you pledged extra during the campaign for multiple copies of the board game and/or premium collection, your cart might not reflect this yet so please reach out to [email protected] if you have any questions or problems.
• If you pledged at the Board Game level or higher, keep an eye out for an email from Incredible Dream Studios ([email protected]) in addition to your BackerKit survey.
  

We’ll be back on Friday November 4th (the day after my birthday!) with our next update. In the meantime, go fill out your pledge manager! And if you want to follow what we’re up to in-between updates, you can join our Discord or follow our social media. We’re so excited to be moving into this new stage of development, and we’re glad you’re along for the ride.

(And because I can't do an update without some art, I've got some of that for you too. The Seekers are getting ready for Halloween! Keep an eye on our socials to see their full costumes...)

Until next month,

Risa Petrone

Community Manager

Update 24- Pledge Manager Now Opening on Monday October 17th
over 2 years ago – Fri, Oct 07, 2022 at 09:28:36 PM

TL;DR:

• Email surveys will start going out on Monday October 17th
• Don’t panic if you don’t get yours exactly on that day
• Click the link in the email to fill out your survey, enter your mailing address, and add any add-ons you didn’t add before
• Deadline for late pledges and add-ons is December 31, 2022
•  Shipping and taxes will be charged ~1 month before fulfillment (est. Summer 2023). Mailing addresses will be locked then too.
   

Happy Friday, Seekers! We can hardly believe it’s been over 2 weeks since the campaign ended. We’ve been hard at work ever since, getting everything ready. We’ll have more info on the production process in our next update, this one we want to focus on your BackerKit surveys. For those who are new to crowdfunding, the short version is that Kickstarter is where we raise the funds, and BackerKit helps us handle organizing the nearly 2,500 of you who pledged for this game in terms of shipping and fulfillment (you’ll also hear this called the “pledge manager”).

Soon, you’ll receive an email from us with a unique link to your BackerKit survey. We’ll be getting this process started on Monday October 17th (that’s a week later than we initially quoted when the Kickstarter ended). Some may receive the email sooner than others, so don’t panic if someone you know gets it before you. BackerKit sends them out in waves. We highly recommend starring/saving the email, as it’s the easiest way to get back to your survey.

It’s very important to respond to your survey as quickly as possible since we need this information to fulfill your rewards. Answer the questions about your reward preferences, provide shipping information, and purchase add-on items if you like. You do not need to create a BackerKit account to fill out your survey. When you receive the email with the survey, just click the survey link to respond.

If you used your Facebook credentials to log in to your Kickstarter account, the BackerKit survey is sent to the email address you use for your Facebook account. If you have another email address that you prefer to use, please contact us at [email protected].

If you signed in with Apple through Kickstarter, your email address might be a private relay email address. If you don’t receive your survey, we can help locate it and update your email address, please contact us at [email protected] with your Backer ID # found on your Kickstarter confirmation. You can learn more about your email hiding for your Apple ID here.

After you respond to your survey, you can go back later and change your responses at any time before we close the surveys and get our final counts. We expect to close the survey for add-ons by December 31, 2022.

Shipping fees for this project will be calculated at a later date once we have the best estimates. We plan to enter & charge backers for shipping and taxes one month before fulfillment when we have better estimates of what it will cost. We will alert backers when shipping costs are finalized & before we charge your cards in your BackerKit survey.Don’t worry, we will keep you informed all along the way.

If you need to review your information or pledge status, you can return to your survey by clicking the link in your survey email or requesting your survey link under “Lost your survey?” on our BackerKit project page at https://kinfire.backerkit.com/

(Okay, I said I would focus this update on BackerKit surveys, but I have one quick thing I need to show you. Check out some of our updated art for each Seeker’s Lantern card! These are still WIPs, but wanted to show you some of the cool things we’ve added.)

Have an awesome weekend, Seekers!

Risa Petrone

Community Manager