Long-overdue update! Telly Time news, new shipping estimate, and photos of proof copy!
almost 6 years ago – Thu, Apr 26, 2018 at 09:41:10 PM

Hi Networks backer! I've been on the road for the past few weeks, but there's a lot to go over here; I've been quite busy!

Telly Time pre-orders closing soon

I'll have updates about The Networks: Executives later in this post, but I want to lead with this: I am closing pre-orders for Telly Time on both BackerKit and Celery on Monday, May 7 at noon EDT. If you've been on the fence about pre-ordering, now's the time!

This means that if you're a Kickstarter backer or BackerKit pre-orderer, I will lock your order and charge your credit card on May 7, as we did for people who pledged for the base game a few months ago. Telly Time will still ship with the rest of your rewards in a few months (see below). If you have any special requirements or concerns, please message me with them. Thanks!

Pick up Telly Time at UKGE or Origins

I should have copies of Telly Time for sale and pre-order pickup at UK Games Expo and Origins, barring any logistical issues. If you'd like to pick up a copy of the game at the show, please fill out the form here so I can have a copy set aside for you. I can't guarantee that I'll have a spare copy for pre-order customers who don't fill out the form.

At UKGE, I'll be in Hall 2, stand F2. I should be able to announce my Origins booth in a few weeks.

New shipping estimate for Executives

So now we get to the one bummer for this update. We've been moving at a slower pace than I'd been hoping for, so it looks like The Networks: Executives is going to deliver to backers one month late, in August instead of July.

It's not one single delay that's caused this, but a bunch of accumulated small delays. The December holidays threw us off a bit, the proofing process has taken a bit longer than expected to root out color and versioning issues, and of course, I've been stress testing all the different character combos all this time (because asymmetric games can never have enough testing!). 

But honestly, I'd rather go slowly and make sure everything is as close to perfect as possible than try to rush things. And since this is a fairly complex project (the most complex Kickstarter campaign I've ever run), I'd rather take my time and do it right.

So I appreciate everyone's patience! The game is now at the And now, the fun part.

Proof photos!

Here are photos of the pre-production copy proofs I received! Note that this is a pre-production proof, so there are some things that will differ slightly from the final manufactured version.

Here's the Executives box on the right, with the base game box on the left for comparison. Note that the finalized Executives box will have spot-UV coating (i.e. shiny TV screens), like the base game.

What's in the box? This is already-punched: player boards (split into tops and bottoms), a bunch of cards, and a bunch of tokens. Note that the insert and bag situation are still TBD; it won't be a single huge bag as pictured here.

Wondering if it'll all fit in the box? This is the base game, Executives, On the Air, and Telly Time all in the base game box (without an insert). Note that this is with unsleeved cards. With sleeved cards, you may need to keep the Executives box around.

Player boards! The one on the left, Gorilla, is from the "More Executives" stretch goal expansion. Note the fit of the jigsaw cut; this is with the final die-cut we'll be using.

 A close-up of one of the puzzle piece joins. Most fit perfectly, but some may take a little breaking in, like this one.

 Cards! These are all Pilot Season shows.

 Here are some later shows.

Bits! We have new 100/200 Viewer tokens for the new Networks, Sponsorship tokens for the "Telethon" executive, an "any timeslot" token for the "Flix" executive, and a bunch of Genre tokens for the "Procrastinator" executive. Note that you'll get Genre tokens for Telly Time, and an additional future expansion...

Here's the contents of the More Executives stretch goal expansion! 

And here it is, in action! (I lost.)

So lots of stuff in motion right now! I'll send another message in a few weeks, when I close and lock pre-orders for Telly Time.

Thanks for reading!

More about Telly Time, detailed pre-order instructions, and alternative pre-orders opened for locked-down backers!
about 6 years ago – Wed, Mar 21, 2018 at 10:17:54 PM

Hi Networks backer!

I'm very glad that I was finally able to share Telly Time with you! But of course, I've been telling people at two different conventions in the past week about it, and I've neglected to explain it online. 

So I took some time to write up a blog post about Telly Time - what it contains, what it does, and how it works with Executives. Here it is.

How to pre-order Telly Time

If you're a little confused about how to actually do the pre-order, here's a step-by-step guide. Thanks to Chris and Morten for figuring this out!

First, when you log into BackerKit, you'll see a "View Confirmation" box at the top-right of the screen. Click it.

A new screen will load that summarizes your pledge. Look in the bottom-left for a button that says "Edit Add-Ons". If you see it, click it. You'll be able to pre-order Telly Time, and anything else from the project that you'd like! (If you don't see it, keep reading...)

Help, I don't have an "Edit Add-Ons" button!

A bunch of you were not able to pre-order Telly Time on BackerKit because your pledges never got unlocked. It turns out that waiting a few hours did not resolve the issue, so I've set up an alternative location (a service called Celery) in which you can make a pre-order. 

You'll have to re-enter your credit card number into Celery. But the good news is that Celery is a trusted solution that a bunch of other game publishers use. And like BackerKit, I will not actually charge cards until we're close to delivery. 

I hope this isn't too much of a pain in the neck. I realize I'm asking some of you to enter credit cards in 3 different places, which is very far from ideal! But I really appreciate your patience as I look for ways to make sure everyone can have a shot at pre-ordering Telly Time.

Here's the alternative pre-order link again. Thanks again for all your patience!

Base game on its way, pre-orders for Telly Time are open, and UnPub 8!
about 6 years ago – Wed, Mar 21, 2018 at 07:20:37 PM

Hi Networks backer!

I'm very happy to hear of backers receiving their copies of The Networks base game. If you haven't received your copy yet, it will arrive soon!

The Executives is in prepress now at the printer. We're still expecting to start fulfillment in June.

So, now onto the big news: pre-orders are now open for Telly Time, my new mini-expansion for The Networks! It is $15 USD, plus $3 shipping ($2 in the US). Note that shipping will be much higher for harder-to-reach spots in the world.

To pre-order, simply go to BackerKit, navigate to the "Add-Ons" page, and add Telly Time to your order. I've unlocked all pledges for the base game, so even if you already had your order locked previously, you will be able to pre-order in BackerKit. As per standard pledge manager procedure, your card will not be charged until a few weeks before everything else ships.

UnPub 8

Oh hey, if you'll be at Unpub 8 in Baltimore this weekend, head over to table D3 on Friday from 3 pm to 7 pm to give Telly Time a try! It'll be my last bit of stress testing for the expansion before I give the okay to send the game to the printer.

Thanks everyone for your enthusiasm about Telly Time! It's come together really quickly, and I'm very happy with the result.

Your copy of The Networks will look like this very soon!
about 6 years ago – Wed, Mar 07, 2018 at 10:17:07 PM

Remember our $80k, $90k, and $100k stretch goals? The proofs for the custom scoring tokens, turn order tokens, and season marker came in, and I think they look wonderful!

Here's how they might look in the middle of a game...

If you're going to be at Granite Game Summit this weekend, you'll be able to check out these fine bits in person yourself!

What do you think? Do they meet your expectations?

Networks: Executives graphic design almost done, base games almost at the warehouse, and Bad Medicine on Kickstarter!
about 6 years ago – Tue, Mar 06, 2018 at 12:22:20 AM

Hi Networks backer! Some big news in this update, unlike last time. :)

First, after several playtests to make sure everything is as balanced as I can make it and that the rulebook is as clear as possible, Heiko and I are done with graphic design for Networks: Executives! We may make some tweaks here and there during the prepress process, but the rules are locked and graphic design is complete.

Once the prepress is done and any final tweaks made, I'll update the PNP with the final graphic design elements.

Meanwhile, the base games are almost all at their fulfillment centers! Backers in Australia, New Zealand, and Asia should start getting their games in the next 2 weeks. US and UK will likely get fulfilled in 2-3 weeks, and Canada in 3-4 weeks. Again, this is for the base games. Expansion fulfillment should happen around June, as scheduled.

 

As my work for Executives winds down and we start to play the waiting game during the manufacturing process, I've posted another game on Kickstarter. This is for a second edition and expansion for my first self-published game, Bad Medicine. It's quite different than The Networks in that it's a party game instead of a strategy game, but it's got a similar kind of biting wit (or so people tell me).

So please take a look at it! I'd also recommend you watch the campaign video. It's the most epic campaign video I've ever done, and it features my Brand Ambassador, Clucky the Angry Chicken. 

(Perhaps someday Clucky will endorse The Networks, and that will be a frightening day.)

 

 Finally, for those of you in the New England area of the United States, I'll be at Granite Game Summit this week! It's my first time at that convention, but I'm really excited to go there. I'll have a "Designer Table" at 5 pm on Friday, showing Bad Medicine: Second Opinion. But I will also have my copy of Networks: Executives and Telly Time on me, so come grab me for a game of that!