Fulfillment update + Sneak Preview of new Here to Slay things to come!
almost 4 years ago – Fri, Mar 12, 2021 at 02:44:32 AM

Hello!

This update has some information for anyone still awaiting their pledges (thank you for your continued patience!), and it also includes a sneak peek of upcoming exciting Here to Slay stuff at the end! If you’ve already received your pledge, feel free to skip ahead to the fun section :D

Serious Part of the Update

We are approaching the finish line with this campaign, but the last few packages have been quite tricky for a number of reasons. I want to at least provide you the best explanation I have for what’s been going on, since it’s uncharacteristic for us to still have a handful of outstanding pledges nearly 8 months after the first packages started to be delivered.

You may remember an update from me saying we had fulfilled 99.5% of packages on time back in September. I wish that it could’ve been as simple as fulfilling another 0.5% in a couple of days and doing a little victory dance, but things have been...complicated.

As of March 15 2021, we will have officially shipped out all remaining pledges that we've received completed surveys for, including reshipments for any that we’ve confirmed as lost in transit. If you are waiting on a pledge and don’t have an email from us with tracking by the end of the day on March 15, please email us at [email protected] to make sure we get you sorted. We plan to continue watching all of these packages carefully. In the meantime, I want to provide some context for what’s been happening behind the scenes (and I apologize for not posting an update like this sooner!)

First of all, COVID has massively disrupted shipping and logistics around the world. We thought we had dodged the bullet when we received all the Here to Slay games at our warehouse last year, but that was only the start. We’ve seen the longest international shipping times ever (with some packages taking over 3 months to arrive after we’ve shipped them out), and there has also been a record-breaking number of packages lost in transit. As a result, we’ve had to send out significantly more replacement packages than we’ve ever had to do on a previous campaign, which then led to inventory challenges.

On top of that, for this campaign, we used 3 fulfillment partners around the world in addition to our own fulfillment center in the US. Because inventory was distributed all over, we found ourselves in a situation where the inventory we needed for some of those replacement packages was often split across 4 different countries. We had to figure out how to consolidate them and ship them out (and do so without creating any extra costs for our backers). And frankly, we did not do a very good job of communicating all of these challenges quickly and transparently. 

This Here to Slay campaign also had the highest number of late surveys we’ve ever received, leading us to scramble to figure out if we could actually fulfill every package while also taking care of all the shipments that had gone missing around the world. We ended up deciding to produce extra units of a number of key items just to make sure we were able to fulfill as many pledges as possible, regardless of when they came in.

If you’re one of the people still waiting for your package, I can only imagine how frustrating this must be. We know many backers have had trouble getting packages that were shipped out and that our team has not consistently provided you the service you expect over the last few months. We’ve added some new faces to our team and have a few people working hard to reach back out to backers who might need replacement packages sent so that we can get everyone their pledges as soon as possible. If you're one of the unlucky few that's still waiting, please know that we are doing everything we can at this point to try to get your package to you.

TLDR: With the dumpster fire that was 2020, some of our Here to Slay pledges were regrettably lost or delayed in international transit. We are continuing to work hard to get your pledges delivered ASAP! As always, thank you so much for your continued support.

There are also a few people who have not completed surveys. We will continue to fulfill any lingering pledges that come in, but we cannot guarantee that we will have all items available at this stage because of the challenges I outlined above. We will officially close the campaign on March 31, 2021, and any backers looking for late fulfillment after that point will need to contact us directly at [email protected].

Aforementioned Fun Section

On a lighter note, our team has been working on some very exciting Here to Slay things over the last several months, and I wanted to give you a sneak peek! These things will not be available until later this year on UnstableGames.com (hopefully September/October-ish?), but I’ll be sure to let you know when they come out :D

Not quite perfect :( But still trying our best <3
about 4 years ago – Mon, Sep 28, 2020 at 11:59:28 PM

Hello everyone,

First of all, I want to say one more thank you to everyone who has sent us kind words about Here to Slay. This was by far the biggest project we've ever tackled. Coordinating with 3 fulfillment partners in addition to our own warehouse in the US while producing and shipping out nearly half a million items around the world was no easy feat, especially in the middle of a global pandemic. We faced countless challenges, and our team worked tirelessly to rise to the occasion.

I really wanted with all of my being to be posting an update right now screaming at the top of my lungs that we have completed fulfillment and every single person who backed the project has Here to Slay. Instead, it is September 25, our "estimated delivery" window is almost over, and we are only 99.5% finished...damn does it hurt to be so close and still miss the mark.

Our team has been working so hard and trying to get things out the door as fast as possible, and when we discovered a few challenges, we tried so hard to work miracles to still hit the 100% mark before the end of September. We flew products back and forth around the world (sometimes multiple times) in an attempt to make everything work, but unfortunately we are falling just shy of our promises, and it is entirely our own fault.

To the over 38,000 backers who have received your packages, I hope you are loving your experience with Here to Slay so far!

To the approximately 194 backers who are still waiting, I want to at least give you some answers about why you aren't going to have every item in your pledge by the end of September as promised.

• We accidentally shipped 3 sets of oversized card sleeves and 1 set of standard card sleeves instead of 3 standard and 1 oversized to around 400 backers. After discovering this issue, we flew card sleeves from each of our fulfillment partners around the world back to our warehouse in the US to try to prevent any delays, but we lost a couple of weeks of fulfillment on a handful of orders as a result.
• We somehow lost a box of black dragon class dice, or it never existed in the first place. This one is still a strange mystery, and only the dragon gods know the truth now. We rush ordered more dragon class dice, but we unfortunately will not have these in our warehouse until near the end of October. For anyone affected by this issue (around 70 backers), we have shipped out the rest of your pledge so that you can at least enjoy the game and everything else you ordered, and we will get the dragon dice to you as soon as we possibly can.
• We missed 6 t-shirts from our shipment to our fulfillment partner in Australia. Similar to the dragon dice, we are rushing the required stock over, and in the meantime we have split the orders and shipped the remaining items so that you don't have to wait on a t-shirt to enjoy your game.

In addition to these known issues, there are also a number of other possible things that have happened. If you think you received something in error, were missing items in your order, received something damaged, or are afraid your package was lost and haven't heard from us, please don't hesitate to contact us at [email protected].

One more note to add insult to injury: the "official" release date for Here to Slay in retail was scheduled for October 4, which would've ensured that our backers who filled out their surveys had their games in hand before the game became available to the public. Unfortunately, we have been getting reports of the game showing up on shelves in Target and Barnes & Nobles stores and on a couple of websites. While luckily over 99% of backers already have the game in hand, that number is not 100%, and we don't take that lightly. It seems that the retailers were too excited about the release and started shipping the games out to stores early. 

We are trying to figure out if there is anything we can do to fix the error, and we appreciate everyone who has sent in reports of finding the games on shelves where they aren't supposed to be. Rest assured that we are taking this situation extremely seriously, and we will be taking multiple additional measures in the future to make sure the actual release dates of products in the future are respected. To anyone who saw the game on shelf and has not yet received it, I wish there were something I could do to take that back. The good news is that the retail version doesn't have all of the exclusive items that came with the Kickstarter Exclusive edition, so your version of the game will still be extra special.

This update feels very bittersweet to me. I wish we could've been perfect and wish we hadn't disappointed anyone, but I also feel so incredibly proud of our team and so grateful to everyone who made this project the success that it was.

I hope you and your loved ones are staying safe and healthy.

<3

A Short Fulfillment Status Update (+2v2 rules!)
over 4 years ago – Tue, Aug 18, 2020 at 12:10:27 AM

Hello :)

Fulfillment is very much still in progress, but I wanted to take a moment today to drop in and give you all an update on where we currently stand. 

We've officially shipped over 60% of orders- we're well past the halfway point and still going strong!

I'll send another update when fulfillment is complete, but for now I just wanted to quickly let you know that things are going smoothly and our timeline is still on track. If you don't have your package in your hands already, you should within the coming weeks! :D

2v2 rules

I know that many of you have been asking for the 2v2 rules for Here to Slay that were promised as part of this campaign (especially now that packages have started to arrive). If you would like to download the current version of the 2v2 rules, you can click here to access them. Please test them out and let them know what you think!

That is all for now :)

<3

We started shipping Here to Slay!
over 4 years ago – Sun, Jul 26, 2020 at 01:22:08 AM

I come to you today with a short but exciting update, which is that...

We officially started fulfillment for Here to Slay!!

:D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D

Last week, we received the last of the incoming inventory into our warehouse here in the US and were able to begin packing and shipping orders. It shouldn't be long before Here to Slay starts appearing on doorsteps all over the world!

(Please note: with nearly 40,000 backers on this project, it's going to be a number of weeks until we've completed fulfillment, so please don't worry if you don't receive anything within the next few weeks- we are trying to start with packages that have the longest ship times and work our way towards packages with lower ship times to ensure that everyone gets their packages before the end of September as promised)

Here are some photos to give you a sneak peek into the current state of our warehouse, where things are already in full swing:

If you live in Europe, Australia, New Zealand, or Asia, your package will be shipping from one of our fulfillment partners. For everyone else, we will be shipping directly from our warehouse. Either way, though, everything is currently on schedule and our team is working extremely hard to make sure we stay that way!

That's all I have for today. More info will come as fulfillment progresses, but I hope you're all as excited as I am that we've crossed this next project milestone and are that much closer to having these games in your hands!

ADDRESS LOCKDOWN IN 48 HOURS!
over 4 years ago – Sat, Jun 27, 2020 at 01:19:25 AM

Hello :D

It has been quite a while since our last update (omg pls don't kill me), but I'm very excited to be able to come to you today to let you know that everything for Here to Slay is OFFICIALLY out of production and on its way to us to start fulfillment!!!

That means that it's time to lock down your addresses so we can start processing orders in preparation for the arrival of all these games! In order to give our warehouse staff the necessary time to get all of your orders ready, we'll be locking in shipment addresses on June 28th. As a result, you should soon receive an email from BackerKit giving you 48 hours to confirm where you'd like us to ship your rewards. (Yay rewards!)

Additionally, we still have around 1,400 backers who have not yet filled out their surveys. Remember, if you don't give us your address, we won't know where to ship your stuff! It's important to note that on-time delivery can't be ensured without having your address by the end of the 48 hour lockdown period, so make sure you double-check that your information is complete and up to date.

If you want to do that, you can quickly access your survey through the following steps:

• Go to our BackerKit survey page.
• Input the email address you use to log in to Kickstarter.
• You will receive an email from BackerKit to access your survey. From there, just follow the link to finalize your information!

Note: If you know you're going to be changing your address but aren't sure what it is just yet, don't worry. You can still reach out to [email protected] after the lockdown date and give them your address directly any time before the packages start to go out in July. They'll make sure it gets updated for you.

... And now with all of the technical stuff out of the way, I know that I am long overdue in sharing updates on the production of the game, so please enjoy the following dump of pre-production sample photos to get you excited for your packages coming in September!!

It's always a fun (and slightly surreal) experience watching something you worked on for so long come to life, and Here to Slay has been no exception to that. I hope that you all are as excited to get your hands on this game as we are to get it to you! 

(Oh, and by the way, in case you are interested, we have a megasale running on TeeTurtle.com right now- everything on the site is on sale, so if you've been waiting to stock up on shirts or plushies or pins or anything else, feel free to head over and check it out :D)

That's all <3