Games are being delivered! We did it!
about 4 years ago – Thu, Oct 01, 2020 at 10:27:35 AM

Hey everyone,

For the past few days my phone has been blowing up with messages and pictures letting me know that people have started receiving their games. It's a pretty great feeling...

We also have a lot of evidence that cats are excited about exploring Brave New Worlds too, which is fantastic:

One of the scariest things in the world is pouring all your creative energy into a project and then putting it out there and waiting to see how people react to it. But so far it's just been incredibly rewarding.

So, let me just say a few words about how this project started. I've been thinking about how I could create an inspiring, informative space-themed game since early 2015, and over the course of 5 years this idea evolved a lot. At various times I had made prototypes for games involving marbles, magnets, nested gear systems, decks of cards with planet facts on them... in summary, a lot of crazy things that never quite worked. But eventually the basic structure of a game where you would go out and explore a solar system comprised of hidden tiles arranged at random came into focus. Once I'd settled on that basic premise, it took about another two years of development to get it to the point where I could send out prototypes to reviewers and consider launching a campaign.

So this is all just to say: it's been a really long journey. And I really couldn't have done this without your support. And now finally getting to see friends, family, and strangers I've never met (but who I prefer to think of as new friends!) start to enjoy this thing... it's just one of the greatest things ever.

So seriously, from the bottom of my heart: thank you! This goes down as one of the most rewarding things I've ever done, and I really hope this game and book will bring you a lot of joy. But along those lines...

A little error in the rulebook

So. One of the terrifying things about putting your work out there is that now you have hundreds of eyes looking at what you made and pointing out mistakes. And we have discovered a little one: In the components section of the rulebook I write that you should have 102 fuel tokens and 42 payload tokens, but in FACT the game only comes with 100 fuel tokens and 38 payload tokens. If you were confused about this, I'm sorry!

Why is this number smaller? Well... it's a little complicated. When I got my quote from Gameland to create Brave New Worlds, I'd agreed to having all components printed on 15 punchboards, a number I'd chosen based on early estimates of what the components would look like and how large they would be. But after the campaign concluded, I decided it would be SUPER helpful if every player also got a "What's Out There?" reference card explaining how the whole Solar System was laid out, i.e. how many Hazards, Worlds, and Empty Space tiles you could expect to find in each region and how many points you'd get for discovering them. Adding six new reference cards without adding an entire punchboard to the box (it's already *super* heavy!) required some changes to the punchboard designs, including rearranging how tiles and tokens were laid out (I wrote an update about that!) and making the scoreboard a little simpler. In order to make everything fit, I made a slight change to the number of tokens which were included... but I clearly must have forgotten to include that change in the rulebook. Future editions will definitely correct this, but for now know that having 38 instead of 42 payload tokens should in no way affect the gaming experience! And if it does... well, I'd actually be super interested to hear about it, so write to me and I can send you some extra tokens :)

Other than that... haha well, I haven't yet heard of any problems. But I'm SURE people will discover things that can be improved. And so let me say something about that:

This game is a living thing, and it can evolve!

As we start to play Brave New Worlds, we'll start to discover what's fun, what can be improved, what we like, what's annoying, etc etc. And I'm actually really excited to hear about that! You can always reach out to me with questions about design choices or clarifications on gameplay, and I'll always be excited to read and respond. But another great resource is a website called Board Game Geek, which is basically Wikipedia for board games but with a lot more interaction between people who actually love games. I totally encourage you to go there, make comments and suggestions, upload pictures, and trade ideas about what you think of Brave New Worlds. I've already read some comments about how maybe the two-player experience could be improved by tweaking the layout of the board, which is a great idea. (I've also had at least one backer reach out to me asking if there was a "drinking game" variation of Brave New Worlds... and I have my own ideas about how that might be done, but I'd love to hear your thoughts too!).

One of the cool things about about this game in particular is that its modularity allows for a lot of creativity in imagining different ways to play. So I'm really excited to see what the community has to say, and I'm always going to be open to suggestions.

When can I order another copy?

So, the pre-order link is still live! But I'm also working on a dedicated website which will connect directly to our logistics company and make the whole ordering process a little smoother. If you're interested in picking up another copy for a friend, then stay tuned - I'll be posting another update soon with details.

And that's it for now! Once again, I just have to reiterate: I'm so excited that games are out and being delivered, and so eternally grateful for your help in getting here. But the journey is not totally finished - reach out any time with questions, and we'll discover a universe full of Brave New Worlds together.

Sincerely,

Mickey

We're really close! Brave New Worlds is warehoused and 1-2 weeks away from being shipped out
about 4 years ago – Sun, Sep 13, 2020 at 01:47:03 PM

Hey everyone,

This is just another quick update about the status of where Brave New Worlds is at now, and how soon you can expect to receive your games. I have a few exciting bits of news to share:

The games have arrived in our US warehouse and are ready for distribution!

Last time I posted an update I mentioned that our container ship had docked in New York and was close to dropping off games in Florida. But I was a little overly optimistic with how long the process would take. This is the first time I've overseen a campaign like this, and to be brutally honest, while I did have tracking information for the container ship carrying our cargo, I wasn't completely clear on the precise chain of custody of which port the games would be dropped off at, how long they would stay there, or which route they would follow to get to Orlando, Florida.

But of course, that's why we hired experts! Quartermaster Logistics was keeping track of the whole operation, and informed me on September 8 that 500 copies of the game and 100 copies of the book arrived at their warehouse in Florida. So that's a great relief, and we're now in the final process of spot-checking addresses and finalizing numbers before pulling the trigger and sending off copies to all our backers.

EU backers: games are on their way to our European distributor "GamesQuest"!

More good news! Soon after receiving the primary shipment of games, QML shipped a few dozen to our partner in the EU for distribution. QML tells me the games should arrive at GamesQuest on September 21. Once they arrive, we'll be able to provide a better update of when games can be expected to ship out.

US backers: we expect (tentative, cross fingers, but almost definitely!) to start shipping out games the week of September 21st

Woo! And maybe it will be a little earlier! But this is what QML tells me. As soon as we start shipping for real, you can believe that I'll post here immediately.

And... that's it! But I do just want to put it out there that I'm grateful for everyone's patience as we figure things out and I fumble my way through a process I'm learning for the very first time. It's especially awkward for me when I'm just waiting for packages and containers to make their way through a complicated network, but I have to be better about providing updates even when there isn't much new news to report.

But now (and I probably sound like a broken record at this point) we are seriously, super close. There are crates of Brave New Worlds sitting in the hands of a distribution company just waiting to be mailed out. There will probably be some hiccups along the way, but I promise that we'll figure them out together. Oh, and one last thing...

Investigator-level backers: let's schedule some Zoom dates!

If you backed at the Investigator level, you better believe that I'll be reaching out to you soon so that we can schedule some face time and I can teach you how to play! Or we can just talk physics, space, the universe... it will be a great time :)

As soon as I have confirmation that games are actually on their way, I'll be reaching out directly to you so that we can schedule a video chat. But if you want to reach out to me first, go ahead! This is one of the things I've been looking forward to the most, getting to talk in real time to backers and nerd out about games and space. So I'm really pumped - hope you are too.

That's it! There's a bit of uncertainty still, but we are getting close. And if you do happen to receive your game, PLEASE message me with pictures - I really can't wait to see them :D

Stay safe everyone!

- Mickey

Last chance to update your shipping address! Quick update about your copy of Brave New Worlds
over 4 years ago – Tue, Aug 11, 2020 at 04:55:22 AM

Hey everyone,

We’re getting so close! This is going to be a very quick update. Last week I finally pulled the trigger on charging credit cards for shipping and any add-ons you may have purchased in BackerKit after the campaign concluded. This week I’m finally going to lock addresses so I can give my logistics partner the finalized list of places to ship copies of our game.

You should have just received an email from BackerKit asking you to confirm your shipping address. I recommend that everyone head on over and confirm that your shipping address is correct!  If you do nothing, then in 48 hours whatever address you first typed in a year ago will be locked, and that’s what we’ll be shipping too.

Please add a phone number to your address: especially international backers!

I’ve been told by my logistics partner that any backer living outside the US will actually REQUIRE a phone number in order to have their game delivered. If you live inside the US then it’s not strictly necessary, however due to the COVID-19 situation it will be helpful if we have a phone number to reach you at as well.

All backers: please make sure your email address in BackerKit is up to date!

This is another piece of information I’ll need to pass along to my logistics partner. If you’re seeing this update it means that I have your email through kickstarter, but please just check your info on BackerKit and make sure your email is current there too.

And… that’s it!  Our container ship is in New York City right now, and by the looks of it is a little less than a week away from docking in Florida.  I’ll keep you posted as we get closer!

- Mickey

Our game is sailing across the Pacific! Important update about timeline, shipping, and pics of the production version
over 4 years ago – Fri, Jul 24, 2020 at 12:41:00 PM

Hi everyone,

We're getting so close! It's been a really busy, really productive month, and I have a lot of new information to share. This is kind of an important update to read all the way through, because in addition to showing you pictures of the first-ever production version of the game, I'll talk about how shipping is going to work, when I'll be charging credit cards for pre-orders / shipping costs charged in BackerKit, and a few other important things. So without further ado...

Unboxing and opening the first-ever production version of Brave New Worlds

A few weeks ago I received a copy of the game from Gameland straight from their production line. And it's so beautiful. This is a heavy game (like, physically, if not strategically) and it's a great feeling to go from looking at blurry pictures attached to email threads to feeling the heft of the thing in your hands. And because I was excited, and I wanted to share that excitement with the world, I posted a live video of myself unboxing it on the Brave New Worlds Facebook page. Some of you probably caught that video, but in case you'd like to relive the excitement, you can watch it all over again here!

This was the first time I had ever opened the game in full, and lots of things could potentially have gone wrong. But as far as I can tell, everything looks really great - no missing pieces, tiles and booklets printed in gorgeous color, a box that looks super professional, a divider that holds all the pieces really nicely.

I was at work during that live unboxing, so I wasn't able to spend a ton of time punching out components and laying everything out. But back home at my apartment I finally could. Here's everything that's included in the box, laid out all pretty:

After taking that picture I realized I'd need to move to a bigger table if I actually wanted to set the game up. So I did! And it looks good!

So the summary is: the game looks gorgeous, feels great, and is real. So please, start getting hyped, because we're really close to finally getting to explore the Solar System together :)

Tracking information for the container ship carrying our games across the Pacific!

Not only is the game real, it's actually en route! About two weeks ago a container ship called the Hyundai Speed left port with our game on board. It's slated to pass through the Panama Canal on August 1st and arrive at our warehouse in Florida in mid-August. I actually googled the name of this ship, and this is really cool - you can actually track it's progress!

Our ship left Ningbo with our game on board on July 7, and then left from Busan en route to the Panama Canal on the 11th. We should expect the next update when it passes through the canal (I think).

The next steps: locking orders, charging cards, and locking addresses

Here's what happens next. You all made a pledge on Kickstarter for a certain reward level, and your credit cards were charged for that amount. But importantly, the pledge level did not include the cost of shipping. To collect shipping costs, and allow for backers to add on to their pledges after the campaign concluded, we're using a service called "BackerKit", but here's the important part: any money you pledged on BackerKit (for shipping or for add-ons) has not yet been charged to your credit card. I've said in past updates that I wanted to wait until I knew we were close to delivery before I charged my backers' cards, and guess what? We're finally close :)

So I'm going to finally pull the trigger and allow the charges to go through for shipping on Monday, August 3rd. I'll send another reminder about this deadline on Friday, July 31st. So when you get a chance, please hop over to BackerKit (you should have received an email from them earlier this week) and confirm that your credit card information is up-to-date. And remember: you've already paid for the game! But I still need to collect money for shipping so I can pay my warehouse for their services, and that (plus money for any add-ons you might have purchased) will be the only thing I'll be charging for on the 3rd.

After we charge credit cards, the next step will be to finalize shipping addresses. If you haven't moved over the past year, great! No need to update anything. But if you're no longer living where you were when the campaign concluded, no worries - right after charging credit cards I'll post another update asking you to confirm your shipping address, and you can update it then.

A note on EU / China / Canada / Australia - friendly shipping

If you live in one of the regions I listed above, you were promised customs-friendly shipping, meaning that you won't be expected to pay any import tax. And I want to assure you that we'll make that happen! But we're still figuring out the details. We have a small handful of backers from Canada and Australia and just under 30 from the EU. Getting the logistics right with small numbers is tough, but whatever happens we will make sure you aren't charged extra. In the absolute worst-case scenario where we had to ship overseas, I would just refund you the amount of import duty placed on your game. But I think it won't come to that. So give me a little time to work this out with my distribution partner, but rest assured we haven't forgotten about you and will make sure the shipping cost you're charged in BackerKit is the only extra fee you have to pay.

Wrapping it all up

So, to summarize:

• The game is finished and floating on the ocean, due in Florida in mid-August!
• I'll be charging credit cards for shipping on August 3rd
• You can finalize your address right after I've charged credit cards in early August
• Backers from the EU, China, Canada, and Australia won't need to pay import taxes, but details are to be determined
• Did I mention the game is beautiful?

And that's it. I will post more updates soon, especially as we get closer to actually mailing out individual games. That's also when I'll reach out to backers who pledged at the Investigator Level so I can Skype (or Zoom... wow, it's been a year!) into your game session and teach you the rules / talk about the universe. It's going to be a really exciting next month and a half, but there will also be hiccups. I'll keep you posted as they come, so that we can all start exploring together as soon as possible.

- Mickey

P.S. Have you seen Comet NEOWISE yet?

WE DID IT!!! First pics from China of a COMPLETED game! Here's how we got there, and what comes next
over 4 years ago – Fri, Jun 05, 2020 at 01:37:32 AM

It's been a crazy, long journey to get here, but I want to offer some exciting news: Brave New Worlds exists as a physical game!!! In... China... so I'm still working on that part, but it's real now, and that's a really great feeling. Let me tell you a little bit about how we got here.

Developing a super-awesome plastic insert

So, in my last update I mentioned toward the very end that I was leaving out "some maybe-boring details about the final component, a little plastic insert I'm trying to make happen which will hold all of the components". I didn't want to give too much away about that because when I posted the update, it didn't exist yet. But it does now...

Brave New Worlds is kind of a massive game: over a hundred tiles make up the playing surface, and then there are hundreds more little budget tokens, and then there are dozens of plastic spacecraft, reference cards for every player, a 120-page companion book... and the thought of having to store all that stuff in little plastic baggies after every play-through, or WORSE just lumped together floating free in the box, struck me as a potentially terrible aspect of the whole playing experience. So I've always envisioned an organizer that would make it easier to store components of the game after every play-through.

So I actually made up drawings and a 3D render of what I *thought* the plastic insert should look like and sent it over to Gameland. Here's that first sketch of what I envisioned: 

So, the benefit of this design is that it gives separate compartments for tiles in different regions, which I thought would be helpful in making setup go a little faster. But there's also a huge drawback in that I hadn't designed any space for the reference cards, the "What's out there?" cards, the scoreboard, or the companion book. If this were the final design, all of those components would have just floated freely in the box...

But luckily, it turns out Gameland is really good at what they do. And so when I sent them my sketch, they basically said "hmmm... we can do better." And so they did. Here's what they came up with for a plastic insert, laid out in a few images: 

Can we just take a second to admire how clever every element of this design is?

• It securely holds every single plastic and cardboard component of the game besides the rulebook (which can be laid on top)
• It's three-dimensional, allowing components of different sizes to be stacked precisely so that they can squeeze into a very tight space
• It has gaps for fingers built into key locations to make it easier to lift components out of the box
• It uses the walls of the box itself to provide that little extra amount of room necessary to squeeze in the square "What's out there?" cards at lower left

So, okay... maybe I'm getting a bit too excited about a little molded piece of plastic. But it's really elegant, really functional, and just looks cool. And after having spent so long designing nearly every single element of Brave New Worlds myself, it was so refreshing to rely on someone else to make something and then discover how amazing it turned out.

So that was it! The final component! After I gave the okay they set about doing the full print run. And a week later they showed me pictures of the completed game:

 They've already begun packing games in crates and holding them at the factory, and they even sent me a few pictures of that process as well:

So we're closer than ever to getting Brave New Worlds on tabletops around the world. Here's what comes next.

The way forward

I've signed a contract with Quartermaster Logistics to handle distribution, and I'm hopeful that by next week will have pallets of Brave New Worlds on a container ship headed towards their warehouse. The vast majority of games will be shipped to their warehouse in Orlando, Florida from which they'll be delivered to all of our US backers. For our backers who live outside the US, QML and I will need to decide whether it's more efficient to send pallets to the respective destination countries or to ship from Florida. Either way, we'll honor our customs-friendly shipping label, it's just a matter of finalizing the details.

I also want to make a comment about shipping. When you pledged on Kickstarter for your copy of Brave New Worlds, your pledge covered the cost of the game and the book but not of shipping. So I had all my backers fill out surveys on Backerkit and input their credit card information so that they could be charged for shipping when it came time to deliver games. But importantly, none of your credit cards have actually been charged for shipping yet! My plan has been to wait until we're very close to actually being able to deliver games, and at that point I'd be ready to charge your card.

So now we're getting close, but since the games are still in China I'm not *quite* ready to charge cards yet - I want to be able to give a good estimate of when you can expect a game on your doorstep with a minimum of uncertainty. It's also been over a year since the conclusion of the campaign, and I'm sure some people's addresses and banking information have changed. So first off, a promise: before I even think about charging credit cards for shipping, I will send out one more survey link which will confirm your credit card info and shipping address.  So if you've moved somewhere or gotten a new credit since the campaign funded, don't stress - you'll have a chance to update this information before we ship.

But... we're also living in kind of crazy times. The reason I organized this kickstarter the way I did, with money from pledges going toward the base game and money for shipping being collected later, was because I wanted to keep the goal as small as possible and give our game the highest possible chance of success. But the downside is that now, during a global pandemic where much of the global economy has shut down, I have to awkwardly remind people that I'll be charging your cards for a little more money...

So here's what I want to do. If you're a backer of this game and your job is secure, and you're not worried about being able to financially weather this pandemic, then everything I've said so far needs no correction - the surveys will be sent out soon, you'll update your info, and your credit card will be charged shortly thereafter. But if the idea of getting surprised with another bill for shipping gives you anxiety, then no worries - send me a personal message through Kickstarter and I'll cover your shipping costs. No details or explanation necessary, just let me know that you'd like me to cover shipping for you and I'll cover it.

Okay... I think that's it :) Thanks as always for the support. My next update should be filled with some more specific information about dates, surveys, etc., but for now let's just revel in the fact that somewhere in the world Brave New Worlds exists, and it's beautiful.

- Mickey