Almost $42K, Short Break in the Weekend, and More Stretch Goals!
over 2 years ago – Fri, Oct 29, 2021 at 10:57:12 PM

Dear backers,

THANK YOU! We’ve unlocked another stretch goal and the next one is around the corner!

The 7th Geisha Promo card will be added to the “Hanamikoji KS Goodies” which will be a gift for each copy of Hanamikoji pledged and available as an add-on for people who already owned Hanamikoji or who simply adore the art and want to collect multiple sets!

Upon reaching the $42,000 goal, the Collector’s Bookcase will have a new outfit! You will be able to choose the style you love when showcasing your Hanamikoji Bundle on the shelf, be it the black-and-gold-foiled bookcase or the beautifully illustrated book sleeve!

This weekend, the team will take a short break to release some tension from the past few days (but those are some AMAZING days!). We will refresh and recharge a bit and compose some FAQs to post on the campaign page. We will also do some playtests because here are some more stretch goals we really want to bring to life! :)

Have a fruitful weekend!

~Smoox, Jerry, & Eros

2 More Unlocks, Shipping Update, and Smoox & Jerry saying Hi!
over 2 years ago – Thu, Oct 28, 2021 at 04:50:29 PM

Dear backers!

THANK YOU for helping us unlock 2 more stretch goals since the last Update!

New Rules & Gold-Foiled Bookcase

The new rules variant allows you to play Geisha’s Road with the same components in a different way! The rules are the original concept that Eros designed for the 150BG.CON last year. 150BG means all games must be sold at 150 NTD ($5 USD) in the con, which are mostly hand-made prototype-ish games from indie designers (Read this article on Opinionated Gamers to know more). Eros’s game was very popular in the con and that’s the birth of Geisha’s Road. Now you will have a chance to compare the difference between Before and After. :)

Besides, the Collector’s Bookcase will be upgraded with a Gold-Foiled cover! The design isn’t final but the vibe is there. Hope you like it, too!

Shipping

Today we added a few more countries to the shipping table. If you have backed other board game projects in the past 1-2 years, you should be well informed that global logistics is a nightmare. We have adopted different routes for the delivery to different countries and the costs may vary a lot.

For example, shipping to Belgium is more expensive than to its neighboring countries, which sounds ridiculous, but that’s because shipping to some areas is still forbidden in our cheapest method (you know who to blame...) and the alternative will be through express mails.

The good news is, COVID is contained and the shipping conditions resume normal gradually. So the shipping costs may become more affordable in the later stage of this campaign or during the Pledge Manager stage. We will update the shipping status constantly to keep you posted. 

If you are still on the fence due to the shipping costs, our suggestion is, pledge for $1 at the Supporters level and adjust you pledge and ann-ons when the shipping is fixed in the Pledge Manager. :)

Smoox & Jerry Saying Hi!

We still feel a bit dizzy towards the end of Day 2 of the campaign. Partly because we are still recovering from the busy work before the campaign, and partly because of the overwhelming support from our backers!

Here is a 5-min video clip that Smoox and Jerry recorded 30 min before the campaign went live. (Luckily, we successfully finished the recording in one take…)

We had seen so many “Hi, there! I didn’t notice you are here!” style of KS video openings before. Finally, we have a chance to make a video for our own project! (Spoiler: We forgot to use that opening. PITY!)

Let us know what you think about this Update or leave your questions in the Comments. We're happy to answer!

THANK YOU!

~Smoox, Jerry, & Eros

Updated Shipping Costs, Geisha Promo Cards as an Add-on, Local Languages, and New Stretch Goals!
over 2 years ago – Thu, Oct 28, 2021 at 06:13:28 AM

Wow! Is this a dream?!

We have unlocked the 3rd stretch goal and have now almost reached the 4th!!

THANK YOU FOR THE OVERWHELMING SUPPORT!

After a good night's sleep and scrolling through all the comments, we really want to thank you again for all the positive vibes! At the same time, we also hear your suggestions and criticisms and we will work on resolving them to the best of our abilities.

Here are our updates:

Shipping

First of all, we have updated the shipping table with a few countries added in.

As we have mentioned on the campaign page, the shipping costs are our current best quotes estimates fewer subsidies.  Note some countries are still listed in COVID-restricted areas which require extra fees. But as the campaign progresses, these rates may change and will be reflected in our table accordingly.

If you are hesitant about the current shipping costs, we suggest that you can pledge for $1 at the Supporter level, and then adjust your pledge content and amount in the Pledge Manager after the campaign when shipping costs have been finalized.

Geisha Promo Cards as an Add-on

We know some of you are proud owners of 1 or even multiple (AMAZING!) copies of Hanamikoji.  Although we are releasing a new version of the game in this Kickstarter campaign, asking you to buy the same game (though with new cover art and slightly different graphic design) to be eligible for the KS promos can be frustrating. So we will make the Geisha Promo cards available as an add-on (price to be revealed soon).

Update on Local Languages

On our campaign page, we mentioned we will be providing French and German rules online but will not have printed versions available in the box.  This is because we are still in discussions with local publishing partners, and we want to respect their input before providing officially printed rules in their local language.  However, given some of you have requested printed rules, if we have critical mass for a certain language (e.g., 100+ pledges from Germany or 100+ pledges from France), then we can look to provide a printed copy of that language as a free add-on.

New Stretch Goals Revealed!

We are thrilled to see that we have unlocked the first few stretch goals on the first day of this campaign. I guess we need to “stretch” a little bit more now.

THANK YOU again for the support! Please share your passion for Hanamikoji with your gaming groups online and offline. We need your help to unlock more goodies!

See you in the next update (and comments)!

~Smoox, Jerry, & Eros

Thank you! We are Funded!
over 2 years ago – Thu, Oct 28, 2021 at 02:36:52 AM

Dear backers,

Thank you all for your incredible support!  With very limited advertising and mostly through word of mouth, we hit our funding target within the first 90 minutes!

As mentioned on the campaign page, we want to thank you for your support by including the previously released 4 Geisha promo cards into each copy of Hanamikoji.  In addition, the Guest expansion will now be included as a standard part of Geisha's Road!

Our first stretch goal to be unlocked at $14,000 will be the new 5th geisha promo card that Maisherly, the original artist for Hanamikoji, illustrated specifically for this campaign.  Once unlocked, this promo card will be included into each copy of Hanamikoji!

Finally, we have updated the page with a special message from Eros Lin from EmperorS4, who is currently in quarantine after his trip to Essen Spiel.  

It's getting late here in Taipei (2:50 am) so we'll sign off for the night and catch up with you all in the morning.  I know there are a lot of comments out there - we plan to get back to each and every one of you once we get some rest first.  A most heartfelt thank you from all of us here at TBD and EmperorS4!

~Smoox, Jerry, & Eros