LAST CALL TO UPDATE ADDRESSES FOR AIR SHIPMENTS
over 1 year ago – Sat, Nov 05, 2022 at 02:36:06 AM

 Pledges Shipped: 110 out of 3284

Current Delivery ETA (Air): Nov 2022

Current Delivery ETA (Ocean): Dec 2022 (to be confirmed)

Dear backers,

This is a quick, weekly update on our fulfillment progress and a call to action for those with address updates.  Pick and pack is going well and we are nearing completion.  We have a minor delay due to a shortage of boxes, which are being sourced and should cost us no more than a few days.  

However, this delay caused us to push the above dates out by a little bit.  Also in our fulfillment status tracker, we split out the next step by air and ocean.  There is a relatively minor impact to air, but given the shipping schedules for ocean, we anticipate missing the window in the coming week, and only able to get the shipment out the following week.

Given air shipments will soon be on their way, we are asking all backers who anticipate a move in the next 3 weeks (or have already moved) and have pledges by air to please email EmperorS4 ([email protected]) your new address by Monday, 11/8.  

If you are getting a shipment by ocean and anticipate a move before the first few weeks of December, you also of course can update us.  However, you'll have a little more time, as we can let our fulfillment partners know even after the vessel has departed.  We currently have less clarity on our ocean ETA, but after shipment, we'll give an ETA update and cutoff date for ocean pledge address updates.

REMINDER: What pledges for what regions are going out by air vs. ocean?

OCEAN - All pledges for Europe, Canada, and Mexico + all US pledges at and above Collector's Bundle in weight

AIR -  All pledges for all other regions + All US pledges that weigh less than Collector's Bundle (e.g., pledge 1kg and below, roughly at most 1 game and 2-3 promos)

If you are a US backer that got add-ons and aren't sure whether your pledge would go ocean or air, please email EmperorS4 ([email protected]) and our team will check it for you.

Best,

Jerry, Smoox, & Eros

Fulfillment Status Update
over 1 year ago – Sat, Oct 29, 2022 at 09:35:25 PM

Pledges Shipped: 110 out of 3284

Current Delivery ETA (Air): Nov 2022

Current Delivery ETA (Ocean): Dec 2022 (to be confirmed)

Dear backers,

Thank you for your continued patience with this campaign.  From now on, we are introducing the above graphic to bring transparency as to where we are currently in the fulfillment process.  We will provide more regular updates and guidance so you'll have a better idea what to expect. 

There have been a number of good questions in the comments section, and so we wanted to address them specifically.

What pledges for what regions are going out by air vs. ocean?

Since our latest guidance (Update #28), there have been further increases in air freight costs due to covid-related surcharges, and we have adjusted the plan as follows:

OCEAN - All pledges for Europe, Canada, and Mexico + all US pledges at and above Collector's Bundle in weight

AIR -  All pledges for all other regions + All US pledges that weigh less than Collector's Bundle

If you are a US backer that got add-ons and aren't sure whether your pledge would go ocean or air, please PM us if you'd like to know and we can check for you.

Where we are currently?

 We have shipped all 110 shipments for Taiwan backers.  This has been primarily handled by our team in Taiwan at the end of September before we left for Essen, and last week after we came back from Essen.  

However, given the scale, the other pledges are handled directly by our factory / fulfillment partner.  Previously, we thought they would be able to start the fulfillment process while we were at Essen for certain pledges in lieu of the metal pawns, but that is not the case.

As mentioned in our last update, we received all of our components only last week.  We just completed the validation of the packing lists (i.e., who ordered what and lives in what part of the world), which will help them determine what items to place on what pallets as part of their pick and pack process.

What to expect going forward?

 Pick and pack should complete by next week, followed by shipment preparation for both air and ocean the following week.  We will provide you a tracking number for air shipments.  For ocean, we should be able to provide you a tracker for the vessel (once booked).  We will check with our local distribution partner to see if they can get you a tracking number once they receive our shipment and have started their process.

We will let you know when we have completed pick and pack, shipping prep, and have started the shipment process for air.  We will also let you know when we have booked the vessel for ocean, when we loaded our inventory onto the vessel, when the vessel has started its journey, and its ETA to both North America and Europe.

What happened in the past?

Here's a timeline of what happened and where things got off track:

• Per Update #29 (8/19), the metal pawns were delayed due to supplier logistics issues and we expected them to arrive in September
• Per Update #30 (9/9), EmperorS4 had started to prepare the shipments for some pledges that did not include metal pawns or bookcases, mostly to backers in Taiwan
• Around that time (early Sept), we had spoken with our fulfillment partners and assumed we would be able to do the same for other the regions
• Per Update #31 (9/29), shipping to some Asia backers (i.e., Taiwan) has begun
• End of Sept: EmperorS4 and TBD teams leave for Europe to attend the Essen Spiel Convention
• End of Sept: The factory let EmperorS4 know they wanted to wait until all components arrived before they started the fulfillment process (e.g., layout for pick and pack) for efficiency reasons
• End of Sept: At the same time, the metal pawns that were expected to arrive still did not show up yet.  This meant fulfillment for other regions could not start at all given the factory's stance.
• Unfortunately, given travels and the hectic work around preparing for Essen, there was a breakdown in communications and that was never made clear to backers.  We are very sorry about that.
• 10/16: EmperorS4 and TBD teams arrive back in Taiwan and with priority to rest and recover from jetlag
• 10/18: Metal pawns finally arrive in Taiwan
• 10/19 ~ 10/20: EmperorS4 team works to get all Taiwan pledges out the door
• 10/24 ~ 10/27: EmperorS4 team works with the factory on the layout for pick and pack and validating the packing lists.
• 10/28: Pick and pack has started and will continue through next week

We hope this was illuminating and helpful to understand where we are in the process.  As this is our first campaign and logistics and operations have been challenging during the pandemic, we have a lot of learnings, which will be applied to future campaigns.  We cannot promise things will go perfectly in the future, but we will be be more transparent and regular in our communications.  For those that still support and believe in us, thank you.

Best,

Jerry, Smoox, & Eros

Back from Essen SPIEL, Metal Pawns Finally Arrived, and Shipping Resumes
over 1 year ago – Thu, Oct 20, 2022 at 08:47:28 AM

Dear backers,

We are sorry for the belated Update. Both TBD and EmperorS4 teams were exhibiting in Essen SPIEL in Germany during October 6-9 and only got back to Taiwan at the end of last week. After some rest, we are back to our working pace now.

We're sorry for the lack of updates about the air shipping for Asian backers and the fulfillment for backers in other regions. Before we left for Germany we were informed by the manufacturer, which is also our fulfillment partner for all the air shipping, that they will begin shipping parcels to backers in Asia.  As a result, we set that expectation with all of you and posted pictures of our progress in Update #31.  And in fact, we were able to get some shipments out to backers in Taiwan before we left.

However, due to some miscommunication and unexpected stock at the customs, our fulfillment partner didn't receive the metal pawns from the supplier in time, which resulted in some delay and the air shipping for the rest of Asia will begin this week (already happening). 

We were too busy to monitor the fulfillment process when we were traveling and exhibiting in Europe and were surprised to learn that the air shipping actually takes place this week. We are truly sorry for the delay. Now the metal pawns and the bookcases (the previous issue causing the delay) are all produced and assembled, Asian backers should receive the packages in batches in the near future.

We will update you with the booking of the ocean freight for the US and Europe pallets when we have the boat information.

Best,

Smoox, Jerry, & Eros

Bookcase is in, Shipping has begun, Essen Pre-Order is closing soon!
over 1 year ago – Fri, Sep 30, 2022 at 08:09:56 AM

Dear backers,

Good news! The production of the Collector's Bookcase is complete! Here are some photos:

While the factory is busy assembling the bookcase and the games, the AIR SHIPPING to Asian backers has begun!

The process was a bit slow because we just finished the biggest board game convention in Taiwan last weekend and the whole team is focusing on the final preparation of Essen SPIEL happening in Germany next week.

So, after we settled down from the last-minute preparation, the team staying in Taiwan will switch the focus to fulfillment to deliver the games to you as quickly as possible.

That being said, the Essen PRE-ORDERS for the new games from TBD (Pre-order page) and EmperorS4 (Pre-order page) are about to close. Be sure to check out what we have to offer this year, and place your pre-order to get some sweet discounts. ;)

If you are going to Essen next week, we would love to meet you at the TBD booth (4-G112) as well as the EmperorS4 booth (4-F100)!

Look forward to seeing you in Essen!

Smoox, Jerry, & Eros

Collector's Bookcase Re-scheduled for Production, Shipping via AIR Happening Soon!
over 1 year ago – Sat, Sep 10, 2022 at 04:55:50 AM

Current Delivery ETA:

• Non-Everything EmperorS4 Pledges (without metal pawns) via AIR:  September 2022
• All EmperorS4 Pledges (and pledges with metal pawns) via AIR: October 2022
• All OCEAN Pledges: October 2022

Dear backers,

Here are some photos of the completed products:

And here is the photo showing the production copies of the games and stretch goals except for the bookcase:

The re-design of the Collector's bookcase (see Update #29) is done. But August-September is one of the busiest seasons for the printing factories in Taiwan (you have no idea how many moon cake gift boxes they have to make...), so the re-scheduled production is a bit delayed. The factory reported that the production and packaging (putting Hanamikoji and Geisha's Road into the bookcase) will be completed before the end of September. 

Meanwhile, the EmperorS4 team has started to work on the preparation of the shipments via AIR for the pledges WITHOUT the bookcase and metal pawns. You can expect to see some packages being shipped out before the end of September.  

Sorry for not (yet) telling you "your pledges have been shipped," but the day is coming very close!

Thanks for your patience!

Smoox, Jerry, & Eros