Enlighten The Faithful
over 7 years ago – Fri, Aug 19, 2016 at 12:25:33 PM

Greetings Lovecraft lovers!

We just passed $140K, which means everyone now gets a cuddly Hound of Tindalos to play with! We’re currently edging closer to the Byakhee, and then we’re not too far off from a whole slew of goodies at $150k - most notably the entire Beasts From Beyond expansion!

The funding curve is looking solid as we head into the last 48 hours, and we greatly appreciate all of you continuing to spread the word of the campaign. We’re confident that after the 48 hour notifications are sent out that we’ll see us reach the $150k stretch goal - but we’re going to knock on some eldritch wood, just in case.

We also appreciate how active the comments have been on the campaign. Many of you have chimed in about things you’d like to see in the game, possible add-ons, and such, and although we can’t comment on every one of them, we are always reading! Because a few of you have brought up extra stretch goals, add-ons, and a pledge manager, we’ll take some time to address those here.

1) Add-ons. There have been a lot of suggestions for things to add to individual pledges, and even those who have brought up instances of other campaigns that have had a bunch of add-ons. First off, add-ons are logistically sticky. If we create some sort of product that has to be produced along with the game, we aren’t fully able to predict how popular that add-on will be, and therefore may not be able to rely on economies of scale to help reduce costs. We could sell a ton of them, or we could be left sending out only a handful. This would be the case with suggested items like alternate sculpts of the cultists which was suggested “would be easy.” Unfortunately, sculpts and minis are definitely not cheap, and without planning them out carefully through pledges and stretch goals, it could result in an unfortunate situation on our end. The playmat add-on made sense for us because we can have them produced locally and we can achieve a production discount much more easily because of the nature of the product.

2) Extra Stretch Goals. First off, we are very happy with how funding has gone for this project, and we are in striking range of being able to put absolutely everything we dreamed we could into the game. You’re all going to be getting so much cool stuff! But, of course, there will always be that desire for more. With that said, once we reach $150k and unlock the expansion, we don’t really have anything major planned beyond that. There comes a point in a campaign when you have to realize you’ve reached your goals and scrambling to put more in at the last minute can have diminishing returns. All the content you’ve seen so far has been carefully considered, not only from a gameplay perspective, but also a production perspective. We’re going to be creating a slew of monster minis, and that’s going to take some time. We don’t want to overload production with more right now because we’d rather be able to focus on making this version of the game the absolute best it can be. If we have some major benefactors swoop in at the last minute and push us into the stratosphere or something, we might throw a couple of small things in, but we definitely want to keep expectations real.

3) Pledge Manager. Many have asked if backers will be able to pledge late for the game and get all the goodies after the fact through pledge manager (BackerKit). This late “pre-order” system was implemented on Kickstarter to allow those who could not afford to back at the time a chance to get in later, or those that discovered the project late to get in on the action. We definitely support those things, but it has also created an unfortunate atmosphere on Kickstarter that can hurt a campaign while it is live. Because of the nature of this product (and its expense to manufacture because of the minis), backers who have pledged below the CULTIST ($59 level) will be able to increase their pledge for the base game in BackerKit and receive the Kickstarter promotionals (Azathoth, the Cult cards, Ghoul). However, the Beasts From Beyond expansion will not be free and will require an additional payment. Those who pledged at the CULTIST level and above during the live campaign will still receive the expansion for free. In other words, back now if you want the best value.

Whew, that was a lot to cover, but we felt it was important to talk openly about these things as we near the end of the campaign. We want to show you more on how the solo game works, but since this one has ran a bit long we will shoot a short video tonight and have that for you all in the morning! We think you’ll find the solo system very cool.

Thanks again for all the enthusiasm and support. We love you all and can’t wait to hasten doom for humanity together.

Gen Con, Cults, a Playmat, and More!
over 7 years ago – Thu, Aug 18, 2016 at 01:07:22 PM

Greetings Lovecraft lovers!

We are officially back from Gen Con, and it was an awesome time! We even unlocked the Shoggoth monster for all backers today! You all can take a look at the new stretch goal image and let your imagination go wild as to the next Monster in the lineup.

At the show the demo tables were always packed full of enthusiastic gamers, and quite a few of you who are already backing stopped by to check things out and to share the love. We really appreciate it. Here are a couple of shots of Richard Launius being awesome in our demo room. He loved every minute of every demo!

Something Special for Your Table

The demo table in our main booth garnered quite the attention, both at the show and here on Kickstarter when we shared a picture of it. Because so many of you thought it was cool, we thought we’d create an add-on for anyone who’d like to bring some of that experience to their own game table!

This 3 foot x 3 foot vinyl playmat can be added to any pledge for $39, and shipping is included. All you have to do is up any pledge by $39 and we’ll clarify your order after the campaign has concluded. Please note that anyone pledging at the ELDER GOD level will receive this playmat automatically as part of their pledge! So now you can get all the things for $199!

Something Special for Your Cults

We are going to save this one for tomorrow’s update, but while at Gen Con, we all finalized an idea we’ve been discussing and working on for the campaign and the game for a few months. This will be a set of special Cult cards that will provide even more variable player powers and flavor for your nefarious plans in and around Arkham! And the best part - they’ll be Kickstarter promotionals, not available in the retail version of the game! More on that tomorrow, so stay tuned.

International Shipping

There have been a few comments on the campaign page about the cost of international shipping, and possible ways to reduce that. We have worked very hard to provide a fair cost for shipping both for backers and for us as a company. This is not the first campaign where we’ve had to discuss this issue; the Dice Hate Me Games campaign for Bottom of the 9th: Clubhouse Edition was the first one where we outlined exactly why our costs are what they are, and why you might find lower costs from other Kickstarter campaigns. The text below is from that post by me (Chris); it’s a bit long, but it will shed some light on why things are the way they are.

“We all know that international shipping for these games is not ideal. I truly wish it was a different case! But, in reality, it's not.

First, we do not make a profit from the shipping costs; in fact, we are actually subsidizing some of the costs. In more clear terms, we are eating those costs in shipping, packaging, and labor. What you need to understand is that many other companies are eating those costs, too - at a much more significant rate, and, sometimes, to the detriment of their bottom line.

We are a company. We have employees, we have overhead, and we have real costs that we need to address, just like other board game publishing entities. There are two separate things happening when you see lower shipping rates, and they differ depending on if it's a Kickstarter campaign or an online retailer.

1) Kickstarter campaigns. When you encounter lower international rates on a campaign - particularly if they are US-based - you are seeing a project owner willing to subsidize a large portion of the real costs associated with shipping. I've mentioned several times on BGG, and on our podcast, that shipping is the silent killer for many Kickstarter projects. Most underestimate how much it truly costs to ship items overseas and it can come back to bite them on the backend. Many of those project owners are being truly earnest in their willingness to help out international backers, and that's great. But that does not necessarily equal a solid, long-term business strategy. What I'd like to stress here is the word business. We have to be ever-vigilant in maintaining our bottom line, which is what keeps us in business and keeps us working as a company to make great games. All of our Kickstarter backers are helping to make that a reality, and it's truly awesome, but if we were to ignore our bottom line then we would be disingenuous to those backers - in other words, we could be introducing a situation where we could not truly fulfill those pledges. You've all seen it happen in horror stories on the BGG forums. Thankfully, those are few and far between, but it's a reality that exists for more than a few campaigns.

Now, many of you will no doubt throw out lower shipping rates from successful and experienced Kickstarter project owners, but many of them are operating with a business model that does not take into consideration the long-term effects of subsidizing shipping costs. In other words, they are Kickstarter-centric, operating only to produce the number of games for which are pledged, plus a few more for the distribution channels. Also, quite a few of those project owners do not deal with the overhead or logistics of a company our size. That’s not a bad thing, it’s just not necessarily a business model that will work to sustain a publishing entity in the long run.

2) Online Retailers. Most online retailers ship in HUGE quantities. This means that they can get a bulk discount from their shipping representatives, and much more easily subsidize shipping costs; I use the term subsidize here because they are all still eating some of those costs. Amazon is able to subsidize two-day shipping because of their Prime member subscriptions. But they are also able to subsidize shipping because they are shipping items in the millions each day, so the overall profit margins for discounts and the shipping subsidies don’t eat into their bottom line as much. This is the same for many online retailers, outside of Amazon. Since they are shipping hundreds, or even thousands, of items a day, the subsidies of shipping are minimized by the bulk. At Greater Than Games, we have a warehouse and a warehouse manager - and we need to pay for both of those - but we cannot operate at the same bulk efficiency as some online sources.

All of this is to say that we know international shipping is a hassle for our backers, and it’s expensive. But at least we’re honestly telling all of you that it’s expensive, and to treat the subject otherwise is both dishonest and harmful to our company. We all want to continue to make awesome games! And if we cut corners for shipping then we simply won’t be able to do what we love to do - and what all of you love to see from us - in the future.

I hope this makes everything more clear. We love all of our supporters, domestic and international alike, so please take all of this to heart.”

That’s it for today’s update, but we’ll be back tomorrow with even more awesomeness!

Sanity check.
over 7 years ago – Wed, Aug 17, 2016 at 08:51:13 PM

Hello Cultists!

Darrell here, checking in after just arriving back home from GenCon. Chris and Richard are both still en route home- but I just wanted to steal the 'KickStarter' microphone to announce we are alive! It also appears the campaign is starting to get that post-GenCon kick in the pants, so hopefully tomorrow we'll be giving you a cuddly Shoggoth to call your very own. I'm going to name mine 'Bitey'.

The demos went AMAZINGLY well. We also shot a new gameplay video for everyone to watch, which we will post later this week. Speaking of later this week, we will also have some new reviews hitting the internets and tomorrow will have a BIG add-on to announce for you, one that we are REALLY excited about.

Oh, would you look at that, a mystical power draws my cursor to click on 'Add Image'.

That is a 3x3' playmat for Fate of the Elder Gods, inspired from the table we used (and loved) at GenCon. The art above isn't final, it is just a quick build to show you what we have in mind, and we will post the final art once we have it.

Any who, there you are. This is what happens when Darrell takes over the campaign, I spoil things. Look for more to come from Chris this week, which i promise will have better grammar. :)

Iä! Iä! Cthulhu fhtagn!
-Darrell

Something Wicked This Way Comes
over 7 years ago – Tue, Aug 16, 2016 at 02:22:50 PM

Greetings Lovecraft lovers!

Woohoo! We just unlocked Yig! Thank you all so much for making that happen.

So, you all know we’ve been alluding to our big plans for a Monster expansion if we unlocked enough stretch goals, so with a week left in the campaign it’s time to spill the beans. We’ve been testing Monsters since way before the campaign started, and our ultimate goal is to produce these Beasts From Beyond in a special expansion box that would be offered in retail for $29.95.

If we continue to spread the word about all the awesomeness that every backer can get when they pledge for Fate of the Elder Gods, we can provide the Beasts From Beyond expansion for free to every Kickstarter backer! You’ve all already unlocked the Mi-Go and Shoggoth for Monsters, as well as Ghatanothoa and Yig for extra Elder Gods, but as you can see from our Stretch Goal graphic there are still many more to come! This expansion would include those Monsters and Elder Gods you’ve unlocked, along with those Monsters and extra Elder Gods that are coming up. But you’ll also receive a whole slew of extra Spells (summoning Monsters, placing Curses, and all sorts of cool stuff), as well as Tarot-card-sized Monster cards detailing the amazing advantages you can receive by harnessing the power of these beasts for the betterment of your Cults!

We have full confidence that we can unlock the full Beasts From Beyond expansion if we just keep spreading the word of this campaign far and wide. You can do your part by telling everyone you know, and posting excitement and experience on every social media site you can think of. In particular, if those of you out there who have demoed the game at Gen Con and beyond could post a rating and comments on BoardGameGeek, that would be super helpful. Let’s show everyone how fun Fate can be to play!

Monster Mash
over 7 years ago – Tue, Aug 16, 2016 at 01:41:20 PM

Iä Iä my fellow Cultists!

Darrell here, yep evidently having Yog-Sothoth back me up on posting spoilers has proved to be a wise move. So with that, I decided to post our Beasts from Beyond line-up now as opposed to tomorrow. Tomorrow we'll still focus on the solo player rules and a few other goodies.

So we'll do this in order of stretch goal, and i'll show you the sketches done by the VERY talented Jorge Ramos. These sketches will be handed over to Chad Hoverter (our sculptor) and he will add in some of his signature flair to these, so the final sculpts may vary slightly from these sketches.

Mi-Go. There will be 5 Mi-Go total, as you know already, Ghatanothoa will be controlling these, unless of course you summon them from the Monster Deck. Mi-Go have a great ability of helping you gain control of a location as well as dropping little gifts when they move on to a new location.

Shoggoth. Shoggoth is probably one of my favorite beasties in Fate of the Elder Gods. It rotates around the board eating Investigators or making them run for their very lives to the next location. Fun right?!

Dark Young. The Dark Young loves to destroy weary Cultists. Order it on a location, and then test fate (roll dice) to see if your opponents Cultists were able to escape, or if they become a lunchable.

Goat Spawn. Probably one of the most terrifying takes on the Goat Spawn here, the entire head-mouth... Jorge must have insane dreams. Lucky. The Goat Spawn disperses Investigators to other locations and even to other lodges. No one witnesses a Goat Spawn without having a curse placed upon them.

Hound of Tindalos. Meet Cuddles. Cuddles enjoys being a lap dog, so much so that he will run to another Cult's lodge and sit on their summon track! This is adorable of course, but it will block them from advancing on it until they accept a curse or give Cuddles a treat at The Ceremony. Cuddles is a good dog... beast... thing.

Byakhee. If you want to travel to exotic lands/locations, there is no better way to travel than within the clutches of the Byakhee. You don't have to ask me though, ask the other Cult who i just cleared out of the Museum... they seemed to be screaming first class all the way!

Hunting Horror. Are those pesky Investigators ignoring your lodge's 'No Solicitors' sign? Then guard your lodge with your very own Hunting Horror, it won't let a single living soul into your lodge! Downside is, it won't let a single living soul into your lodge.

Deep One. Deep Ones always show up in groups (3 in total, to be exact)- great for getting a party started, and controlling a location; however they quickly get hungry and will snack on the nearest Investigator or Cultist. Deep Ones though are loved by the Ancient Ones they serve, and they will not harm them or the locations they inhabit.

So there you have it, 8 Monster Miniatures/Sketches and a bit about what each of them do. We'll talk more about how to summon these companions in a later update when we break down everything in the Beasts from Beyond expansion- cause we know you all will totally be unlocking that, right? Keep spreading the good word and we'll have that secured in no time!

Spoilery yours,
Darrell