Thwarted is a "Take that" style super villain game.Your goal is to capture as many heroes as possible and score the most Infamy Points.
This post is for backers only. Please visit Kickstarter.com and log in to read.
This post is for backers only. Please visit Kickstarter.com and log in to read.
This post is for backers only. Please visit Kickstarter.com and log in to read.
We want to thank all of you for being patient as we move towards fulfilling the game to all of our backers. This has been a challenge to get this game into backers hands and all of it has been outside of our control. No one wants this game out into your hands more then we do.
To give some background on this project to understand where we are.
We completed all files and testing on September 17, 2016. We uploaded all files to the manufacturer on September 28, 2017. After 2 months of failed promises and no eproof we were left with no choice but to find a new manufacturer. We started looking for new quotes and due to the holidays receiving responses from new factories seemed to slow to a crawl.
The original factory promised we would have an eproof by Dec 15th to look at and approve. On Dec 16th we emailed again requesting a time frame of when we should get the eproof. We were told that we would get it by Dec 23rd. By the 26th we still did not receive it. After a heated email of where is the proof we finally got a response on Dec 30th that pretty much confirmed they had no idea what they were doing. They thought this project was going to print in March.
Having zero confidence in this manufacturer I moved forward with a new factory that was quick to respond and work closely to ensure that the game would move forward. The factory stated they would work quickly to get an eproof ready but it might not happen before the Chinese New Year where there would be a 2 week break.
We were able to receive and approve the eproof 3 days after the new year and confirm we would have samples in time for GAMA Trade Show. Once we reviewed the samples we realized some manufacturing changes would be needed to make sure the project was correct and to spec. We received the production proof of the game and realized there were mistakes on the deluxe editions that needed to be corrected but the base game, promo pack, and power pack expansion were ok to move forward.
Then there was almost 3 weeks of no responses from the factory of what was going on. Finally when they did respond they had increased our production cost by 30%. This led to another series of discussions with the owner of the factory to correct this. We met in person at Origins to work out the issues. Once we were able to resolve the issues we could move forward. During this time we were assured that the factory could then fulfill this project for us saving time and money.
As the game was manufactured most of the components were done but then China started a major environmental crackdown shutting down factories. Evidently the supplier for the box material was shut down for some time adding another delay. We finally received the final production copy of the game and approved the game for production. Then we got hit by a hurricane.
At this point I can understand the frustration all of you have for not receiving this game yet. Every day I do not have the games in my hands I feel the same way. The games have been made, packaged and sealed in cellophane.
What no one can really plan on is how badly a hurricane could effect you. Our entire home was flooded and we lost every singe electronic in the house. Save for a couple of ipads and an old laptop we lost almost every effective way to surf the internet at high speeds and without the hindrance of mobile sites. I personally do not want this to seem like we are making excuses but we have to address how bad the past two months have been. We are trying to give context for lack of communication and the lack of games in hand.
Since the hurricane our home owners insurance has been a pain in the butt to deal with. We still have not received new computers to work on. I lost almost $15,000 of product including some new prototypes. Our home was unlivable for 2 weeks. No power and simply trashed. Rebuilding and making my home safe for my family was top priority. The other issue was having to deal with my insurance company who is still dragging their feet to even reimburse expenses that are covered under out policy.
In October we got a diagnosis for my son Damian that he has Muscular Dystrophy. It has been a long ordeal with finally getting the diagnosis for my son. It took 11 months and 8 doctors to finally come up with why he walked on his tip toes all the time. He needed surgery to fix it but we needed to know why first. After getting the diagnosis we tried to schedule an appointment with his Ortho doctor to fix Damian's legs, and his doctor died over the weekend in a freak farm accident. We had to scramble to find a new surgeon quickly to do the surgery. He was finally able to get his surgery 2 weeks ago. You can get more detail of that here: https://www.gofundme.com/helpdamianrun
We canceled all conventions in September and one in October that we could to adjust to what has been going on in our personal and professional lives. We also canceled the scheduled kickstarters for All Hail Caesar and Rocket Cats in Space and moved them to next year. In October we were told that the final assembly was completed and that fulfillment would be commencing soon. Unfortunately there was another delay. The factory shut downs in China continued and there was some massive supply chain issues that arose from this. The games were made and sealed but they had no boxes to put them into to ship out. Before I left for Metatopia I demanded to know the status of fulfillment and was told that boxes have come in but their partner that does fulfillment does not have bubble wrap mailers.
12 days ago the team flew out to Board Game Geek Con and had meetings to discuss what other options we could do to get this project fulfilled. Our factory dropped the ball and we have no faith that these will ever be fulfilled by the factory in a timely manner. Tomorrow I have a scheduled call with our frieght forwarder for our sea shipment. He stated that he might have two options that might work to get these fulfilled from China and that the game will be in your hands quicker then if we waited to get the sea shipment in and fulfill it ourselves.
Right now we are looking at all options and I need these games in the hands of you backers. Save for Thanksgiving and Christmas there are no other events that are going to divert away from finding logistical solutions to get the games into backers hands, hopefully before the new year.
We are deeply sorry for the lack of communication but we wanted solid answers of what we were going to do and what our factory could do. We had a not so nice conversation with the factory in person at Pax Unplugged to get a first hand communication of what is going on. We were suppose to have 150 units of the game delivered for Pax and BGG and it never came.
Please understand that we do not like this delay and we want these games in your hands, just as much as we want them in our own. We are going to work harder to better communicate with our backers. One issue is the mobile app for Kickstarter is difficult at times to use and post updates on an iphone. This is not acceptable for you backers and we accept that and can only work to make it right and move forward with trying to correct any issues we have currently.
The fastest way to get a response is through email at [email protected] or through our facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/VileGeniusGames/
Hopefully after Thanksgiving we will have a better update for everyone.
Thank you for your continued patience,
Mark
Hello Minions,
Sorry about the radio silence but Hurricane Irma had a major impact on operations at Vile Genius Games. The good news is that the game has been fully assembled and has been sent to the fulfillment center to get shipped out. We are sorry for any delays of course but cannot wait to get this first round of fulfillment completed.
Communication is still a bit spotty as we await our new computers to be made and shipped to us. Sorry for the inconvenience, but the light is at the end of the tunnel.
Mark