PM Opens to Backers in Europe and the Rest of the World!
about 2 years ago – Mon, May 02, 2022 at 12:43:53 AM

Current Delivery ETA (Air): May 2022

Current Delivery ETA (Ocean): July 2022

Dear backers,

We've got the updated ocean freight costs for Europe.  Details below. 

Pledge Manager Opens to European Bakers

All pledges for Europe (except for Norway and Switzerland, explained below) will go through ocean freight to our fulfillment partner ShipQuest and then be delivered to each backer.  The overall shipping costs (especially for the heavier tiers) are lower than our previous estimates (based on the air shipping before we gained enough quantity to justify the freight shipping and fulfillment hub service).  We are glad we can be EU-friendly and save some shipping fees for our European backers.

Norway is not included in ShipQuest's fulfillment service.  We will ship the game to Norwegian backers via our post office service.  The price isn't too crazy and you get to receive the games earlier (by air).  But you need to handle the customs though.

Switzerland is too expensive in ShipQuest's pricing, so we will ship the games via another shipping company by air to Switzerland backers.  It's cheaper than ShipQuest but you need to handle the customs. 

Currently, we cannot find a proper method to deliver the games to backers in Ukraine and Russia.  We will contact each backer to find a way to solve this.  Currently, you can ignore the email asking you to complete the PM.  We will send you emails when we have the solutions (probably in mid-May).  If there is no luck in solving the situation, we will refund your pledge if necessary. 

Pledge Manager Opens to the Rest of the World

We have set up the individual shipping costs for all the remaining regions where we have backers.  Your games will be shipped by air.  

If you can't find your country in the dropdown menu in the PM system, please send us a message and we will look into the situation.

Shipping Refunds for North American Backers

If you paid via Credit Card: We haven't charged credit cards so you will pay the correct shipping costs.

If you paid via PayPal: We have submitted a request to BackerKit to help us process the refund to those who paid extra.  We will update the progress when we have some news.

That's all for this update.  But we'd like to let you know that one of our colleagues was diagnosed positive for COVID19 last week.  Luckily, it's pretty mild and there is no sign of spread-out among the team.  The pandemic is surely not over yet.  We wish everyone safe and healthy.

Until the next update.

Smoox, Jerry, & Eros

Rules and Components Update
about 2 years ago – Thu, Apr 21, 2022 at 11:26:33 PM

Current Delivery ETA (Air): May 2022

Current Delivery ETA (Ocean): July 2022 

Dear backers,

We have some non-shipping updates for you as well!

Artwork & Components

As mentioned earlier, EmperorS4 has been working on the updated artwork and components.  Here is what the Geisha's Road package currently looks like with all the stretch goals: 

We shared some of these in a previous update, but thought it would be helpful to spell out many of the updates:

1) Item cards are now full-colored on one side with black backings (I know some of you didn't like the black, but as you'll see, this choice does help align the card colors with the action tiles)  

2) Geisha Standees now have a more rounded look for the colored portion and a corresponding symbol to help with easier differentiation 

 3) Geisha Row Cards are now Tiles with Geisha pictures and a base value of 1 or 2 points (per the previously considered rule changes) 

4) Guest Tokens also have the same rounded look and the drawings of the guests have been enlarged, their style softened, which should to better fit with the geisha 

5) Lantern cards are now Prestige Point tokens, which are smaller and no longer clutter the board, allowing players to put them directly onto the Geisha Row tiles for easier tracking.  For the Geisha's Destiny expansion (previously termed Geisha's Growth), tokens will flip to the other side (smaller number indicates what's on the opposite side).

  6) Scoring / tiebreaker markers are full-colored bleeds to the very edge

 In addition, we have streamlined the iconography on all the action tiles for Hanamikoji, Geisha's Road, and the Action Tiles Expansion.  Take a closer look at the what changed for Geisha's Road:

Key changes:

1) Clearer card colors - All face-up cards are white, while all the face-down cards are black.  For consistency, EmperorS4 also opted to change the actual color of the card backing to black - 

2) Colors to denote card ownership - blue arrows indicate the cards the opponent selects and keeps, while red arrows indicate those that you keep

3) Standard icons - downward arrows always indicate cards immediately played to your tableau and revealed, whereas red check marks are only over black card backs - those are face-down cards kept and revealed at the end of the round.

Here's what changed with the Action Tiles:  

Key changes:

1) Standardization with Geisha's Road - We attempted to keep the same conventions across the board, from Hanamikoji to Geisha's Road to the Action Tiles (see above 3 points).  

2) Improved Groupings - We also tried to make the groupings clearer to reduce the confusion between Competition (picking between 2 sets of 2 cards) and Gift 2 (picking any 2 out of 4 cards).

3) Numbered Actions - For easy identification in case you end up mixing and matching (which we will provide some informal guidelines on how to best do), all the actions tiles have been numbered based on the number of cards it operates on.  The symbol that indicates what mini-expansion the tile belongs to will now show up on the back.

Speaking of the back, in addition to the symbol, we also will print a code associated with that tile, which helps for quick and unique tile identification: 

The code is based on the nomenclature described in this previous BGG post and helps delineate between very similar but still different actions with the same name (e.g., Gift: Opponent Picks 1 card out of 4, Gift:  Opponent Picks 2 cards out of 4, and Gift: Opponent Picks 3 cards out of 4).  Example: The top left tile has the code GP2.3 (#2), which indicates it is part of mini-expansion set #2 and is a Gift action where the opponent Picks 2 out of 3 cards.

This way, when we make recommendations on sets, players can quickly pinpoint the exact combinations to use.  Furthermore, they can use the same system to reference what they played in discussions with others.  Given there are literally 1,587,600 unique asymmetric combinations[1] of action tiles across Hanamikoji, Geisha's Road, and the 7 Action Tile mini-expansions (though not all of them are recommended), this system may be invaluable to help folks track their plays, give feedback, or share recommendations.

Let us know what you guys think and if you have any suggestions!

Rules

As alluded to in a previous update, we are adding the hidden offer token as an additional expansion to Geisha's Road.  It will also be bundled together with the counteroffer token in the advanced game mode.  You can read about the details in Designer Diary #9.

We have also finalized the base rules, not only locking down the changes mentioned in Designer Diary #3, but also providing additional streamlining.  You can read more about the latest in Designer Diary #10.

Next update, we plan to share the rules for the expansions / promos.  We are also revising the rulebook and will share a version for your review when ready.

Until then,

Smoox, Jerry, & Eros

Footnotes:

[i]: While there are literally 9^8 = 43,046,721 asymmetric combinations of action tiles across Hanamikoji, Geisha's Road, and the 7 Action Tile mini-expansions, since some of the tiles are the same between the sets, we really only have 5x6x7x6 = 1260 unique combinations of mixed sets due to the fact there are 5 unique Action 1 tiles, 6 unique Action 2 tiles, 7 unique action 3 tiles, and 6 unique action 4 tiles.  Assuming the possibility for asymmetry, we would have 1260 x 1260 = 1,587,600 potential unique combinations.

North American Shipping Revisited (And Europe PM, Retailers)
about 2 years ago – Thu, Apr 21, 2022 at 07:51:50 PM

Dear backers,

Thanks for your feedback - we have another shipping update for you!

Our Cost Structure

First of all, let us share more on how our operations are set up, especially for those of you shocked by our shipping costs.  This is what our cost structure looks like compared to a typical US board game publisher's cost structure:

Many US publishers intend to distribute out of the US (their main market).  They build the cost of freight, packaging, and fulfillment to the US as part of their product cost, and separately bill their backers for the shipping from the distribution center to their final destination.  US customers tend to believe shipping is inexpensive - perhaps just the $10-15 for domestic delivery, when in reality, transportation and fulfillment costs are covered via product costs.  However, because EmperorS4 operates out of Taiwan and sells to numerous markets around the world, our product pricing is not inclusive of our packaging, freight, and distribution costs.  Our transportation costs are more transparent, and as a result, appear to be higher than the norm.

Key takeaway: Because of how we account for transportation costs, you cannot compare our transportation costs with US-based publishers, nor is the ratio of game price to shipping cost a reliable metric to determine reasonable shipping.

Example: Shipping ($12) for Geisha's Road ($22) is 55% of the product cost.  If we were a traditional US publisher, some transportation costs would be covered in the product cost; hence the pricing may be closer to $25 (+3), while shipping would be $9 (-3), which is only 36% of the product cost.  Either way, the total cost remains the same ($34), which is high given the shipping crisis, but not out of line with the market.

We should have made backers more aware of what our shipping costs represent earlier in the campaign.  It's an unfortunate lesson we have learned in our first Kickstarter.  We will be better about setting expectations in the future.

Shipping Cost Adjustment

Nevertheless, over the last few days, we at TBD Games and EmperorS4 met together to go through the North American shipping costs once more to see if there is any more opportunity to reduce costs.  We reexamined our assumptions, from the weight of the packaging, the change in volume on the pallets if we were to go with different shipping scenarios, to each of the costs quoted by our freight forwarders and distribution partners.

After challenging ourselves to do better in this difficult environment, we are able to revise the shipping costs in the Pledge Manager as follows:

We reduced shipping prices across the board.  We also looked at the shipment of more lightweight classes (below 10 oz) - e.g., action tiles only - and reduced shipping to $8 (for the US).  Finally, we reduced shipping at the high end (not shown in the above chart but reflected in PM) to make it more economical to order substantially more at once given we are in Taiwan. 

To get here, we did a few things:

1) We reassessed each specific weight class with compelling complaints.  We admit the light weight classes were overlooked since they were not one of the original pledge levels, and the way our quotation was structured caused their rates to be grouped with the higher weight class.  These rates seemed unreasonable, so we substantially reduced them, even if it was at a loss in this current shipping environment.

2) We revisited the weight class cutoff assumptions for air shipments and moved our most backed pledge level - the Everything Hanamikoji pledge - to air, which, given the ridiculousness of the current ocean rates, not only provides faster service, but also significant savings over the ocean for that weight class.  Even though this would substantially reduce our volumes via ocean (which we originally believed would result in higher costs), given the structure of our agreements with our partners, the adverse impact of this change was not as high as we originally expected.  Since this weight class was by far our largest, we are able to free up some of our subsidies here and spread more savings to the other weight classes too.

3) We decided to absorb even more of the shipping costs into our margin.  We did this to show goodwill to those within our largest Kickstarter backer base willing to stick with us even in these challenging times.  While most board games have a production cost of 15-20% of MSRP, our production costs, with all the stretch goals, account for over 27% of MSRP, yet we will only receive 76% of MSRP due to Kickstarter discounts.  On top of that, we are already budgeting to cover some shipping costs - now we plan to cover even more. 

Shipping Refunds

Just as before, for any backers who have already paid for shipping at the previous rates, we will be refunding you the difference.  The process varies by payment method but is automated:

If you paid via Credit Card: We have not yet charged credit cards and the charged amounts will be automatically adjusted to reflect the latest updated shipping rates.

If you paid via PayPal: We will refund you through BackerKit.  The PM will automatically calculate the refund given the difference in rates.  (There are some details we need to consult with the BackerKit professional, so please give us a few days to get things done correctly.)

Europe PM

Our apologies, but the Europe Pledge Manager has been delayed by about a week.  We have been hard at work to tackle issues with shipping, and we will carry our lessons learned to when we open the Pledge Manager for Europe.  Despite the costs, our plan is still to do ocean freight so that we will be able to cover the cost and hassle of managing VAT and customs fees for our backers.

Retailers / Group Orders

Since we're working on the new ocean freight quotes for the US and Europe, we need some more time to set up the proper metrics to calculate the shipping costs for bulk shipments.  Nevertheless, these larger orders will go through the ocean to our fulfillment partners and then deliver to you.

For retailers and group orders in other regions, your cartons will be delivered to you directly from Taiwan by Air (unless we encounter any unexpected restrictions in shipping to your country).

Thank you for your support and understanding in this challenging environment.  We will continue to do our best to address the issues you raise.

Best,

Smoox, Jerry, & Eros

PM Opens to US and Canada Backers!
about 2 years ago – Fri, Apr 15, 2022 at 04:35:20 PM

Current Delivery ETA (Air): May 2022

Current Delivery ETA (Ocean): July 2022

Dear backers,

As suggested, from now on we'll list our current estimated time to delivery at the very top of our updates from now on.  Most of the world will receive their reward via air shipped directly from Taiwan, though depending on their pledge, backers in Europe, US, and Canada may get theirs via ocean freight to save costs and avoid additional customs fees (Europe only).  As we get closer to fulfillment, we'll be able to give clearer guidance on timing given your pledge level.

Shipping Updated - US PM now open!

Our major update is again on North American shipping, which has delayed the opening of our Pledge Manager until now!  We plan to keep the Pledge Manager open for the next month, up until mid-May.  After hours of meetings, discussions, and calculations, we have finalized the shipping costs for the US and Canada backers in the Pledge Manager.  We will offer the following: 

Due to the stretch goals, Geisha's Road includes several promos that has significantly added to its weight, hence the extra cost above and beyond Hanamikoji despite being originally listed at the same rate.

Shipping Refunds

For Canadian backers who have already paid for shipping at the previous rates, we will be refunding you the difference.  The process varies by payment method but is automated:

If you paid via Credit Card: We have not yet charged credit cards and the charge amounts will be automatically adjusted to reflect the latest updated shipping rates.

If you paid via Paypal: We will refund you through BackerKit.  The PM will automatically calculate the refund given the difference in rates.

While no one wants to see higher costs, we have tried our best to control costs by revamping our fulfillment plans, optimizing for costs even at the risk of higher operational complexity.  Thank you for being understanding and continuing to support our campaign despite these challenging circumstances.

Thanks!

Smoox, Jerry, & Eros

US and Canada Shipping and PM Updates
about 2 years ago – Fri, Apr 15, 2022 at 01:55:50 PM

Backers,

We wanted to send out a quick update to address many of the issues we see in the comments section.

Shipping Costs

Thank you all for your many comments about the shipping costs and apologies for the unexpectedly high pricing for our Canadian backers.  These are unduly high and we are working on rectifying this.

Originally when we looked into the issue and realized there were some issues with the way we entered the shipping costs and how Backerkit was calculating with its algorithm by weight.  We're working on fixing those, though in some cases they are still significantly higher than what we were originally quoted, which we alluded to in our last update.  We apologize for this oversight and we also double-checked PM for other markets to confirm that Asia, Australia, and New Zealand were not affected.

However, as we revisited this issue and pondered the feedback as a full team, we realized there were also some opportunities here we were not taking advantage of.  One of them is that consolidation shipment for North America requires us to pay for picking and packing costs, and we can save on those costs by handling some of those operations in Taiwan first at a lower cost.  Another is that for certain weight classes, it is cheaper (and faster) to send to the US by air freight than by ocean given the current market conditions.  Finally, where prices are still unreasonably high, EmperorS4 has indicated they are willing to cut into their own margins to cover some of the shipping out of pocket.  We are working on these fixes now.

Canadian Backers Who have Submitted Their Pledge Managers

Thanks for the prompt action!  We will contact you and help you edit your PM with the updated shipping costs. Sorry for the inconvenience!

US Pledge Manager Not Open Yet - Another 48 Hours

As a result of this, we held off on opening up the Pledge Manager for the US for now.  We'll need a little time to calculate all the updated pricing, validate the logistical and operational details of having a mixed fulfillment model, and then look to get this open within 48 hours.  

Thank you for being patient with us.  While shipping costs will inevitably be a little higher than what was quoted during the campaign, through the measures we have taken and system fixes, I think we will be able to offer numbers that are significantly more reasonable than what you may have seen earlier.

Thank you for your understanding while we work this out!

Smoox, Jerry, & Eros