Galen's Games

February Update: Tariffs, TTS Mods updated, Manufacturing Updates
11 months ago – Tue, Apr 15, 2025 at 11:13:58 AM

Tariffs:

As you are most likely aware, tariffs have jumped from 20%- since my last update less than a month ago - to 145% on Chinese goods coming into the US.  This is having a devastating effect on the entire board game industry and especially on smaller creators.  I have a friend with goods already on the water looking at $50,000 in tariffs.  I have another who is holding off on bringing freight in because the cost is $500,000!  For them and for me, when we achieved our funding goals there were no tariffs at all.

For me, if I were to have games coming into customs now, I would be looking at around $12 - $13,000 in tariff expenses.  Not as bad as some others, but this represents nearly 40% of the entire funds I received (after KS fees, dropped pledges, and Stripe fees, I got around $33,000). 
 

So what's the plan?

Non-US backers: No change at all.  I am using Spiral Galaxy based in the UK for all non-US fulfillment, including Canada.  Other than the VAT which you normally have to pay, you will incur no additional charges.  Thank you for backing.

US Backers:I need to reserve some flexibility in how I handle this.  I am committed to getting you your games.  The questions that arise when looking at different scenarios are when? and how much?

When? Games have not started full production yet.  There is a chance that the tariff issue resolves itself by the time I am ready to book freight.  If it hasn't, I may choose to delay US shipment to wait for the situation to resolve.  How long really depends on what's happening at that time and what is most likely to happen in the near future from that time.  I don't want to delay more than 2-4 weeks at most (as warehousing charges will began to factor in significantly).  In any case, I will keep you updated if this is the course I end up taking / having to take.  

How much? If the tariff situation does not resolve, I will have to pass on a portion of the tariff costs to you.  With the current rates, the games are costing nearly $2.50 more each because of tariffs.  In this scenario, I would charge US backers an additional $2 for each game, and $1 for each accessory.  I hope it does not come to that, but I also hope you find this reasonable.  

The actual amounts, as well as shipping costs, will be decided closer to the time that I've committed to bringing the games over.

How can I help?. Maybe you didn't actually ask that, but in case you did.  First and foremost, I would appreciate your patience while this all gets sorted out.  I feel horrible having to write this update and I've been an absolute wreck for a couple of weeks, constantly doing the ever changing math in my head.  Everyone in the game industry could benefit from some grace right now if you are willing to give it.  

Secondly, the best possible way to support me financially would be to back additional products in the pledge manager (hopefully a win-win).  

Okay, with that out of the way, fun stuff!

TTS Mods Updated!

TTS stands for Tabletop Simulator.  It's a program available on Steam that lets you play a massive number of board games on your computer.  I have recently updated all the TTS mods for the games and included the playmats to play on.  

Click on the Link and subscribe to add them to your list:

Dice Clash

Mint-Tin Monster Mash-Up

Heritage Farms

Verdant Arizona

If you want to try out these games but would prefer a teach (or just want to play with me), I'm happy to arrange a playtest in the Galen's Games Discord.  I'm currently looking at Sunday evenings and Tuesday afternoons (EST) as my most consistently open times.  

I'm also always looking for playtesters and you can get the scoop on what's coming next.  I'm currently testing out expansion material for Dice Clash and Mint Tin Monster Mash-Up as well as several other games that will be coming to Kickstarter in the future.

Print and Play:

Last time I announced the release of the Print-and-Play and hopefully everyone who backed at a level with the PnP as a reward has received it.  Anyone built one yet?  I would love to see your builds and hear your feedback!  Please tag @galensgames on Instagram if you share there.  

Manufacturing Updates:

Not much to add here.  I've been getting continuous updates and checks on the components as they produce them for the pre-production samples.  There have been a few errors caught and corrected along the way that have taken some time.  I've approved E-Proofs on almost everything at this point.  I still need to see and approve the following before samples get sent out to me:
 

• Mini Dice Trays
• Mint Tin Case
• Farmer Meeples and Boats for Heritage Farms
• Sticker sheet for Heritage Farms

I anticipate that will be wrapped up in the next week or so.  

Well, that's it for now.  As always, thank you for your support!

Galen.  

March 2025 Update: PnP delivering, French Translation complete, Surprise!, Survey Results, Timeline Updates...
12 months ago – Tue, Mar 18, 2025 at 08:49:10 AM

TLDR: PnPs complete; French Translation complete; Manufacturing deposit paid and E-proofs in process; dice screens added to Dice Clash; tariffs still not going to affect backers, but affecting future prices; survey results; GAMA recap.  

Print and Plays Done and Delivering:

Right after I post this update I will send out the Print and Play Files to all backers that are due to receive them.  You will receive a code and a Dropbox link where you can get the files for all 4 games.  

Huge thanks to Katie Andrews and Alexander Norback for getting these done!  Because they've been arranged by two different people, you will see two different approaches to the arrangements between the bundles.  Please take a look and let me know if there are any issues or questions.  I can't wait to see your builds!

French Translation Complete!

The French Translations of the rules and card text is complete!  Thank you, Marc Adda!  PnP backers, you will see a "French Translation" folder in each of the game folders.  The rulebooks will also be accessible on my website sometime this week.  

The Italian translation is still in the works, but I will add it to the PnP and rulebook folders and update you when it's done.  

Manufacturing and Timeline Updates:

Files are in to the manufacturer and E-Proofs are being created.  I paid a 30% deposit last week.  We are about 2 weeks behind where I hoped to be, but the overall delivery date of July 2025 is still possible.  With GenCon the first weekend of August, I have plenty of incentive to hit that target!  Much will depend on how many back-and-forths will happen with the E-proofs and product samples.  

Get Them Early Backers: Looks like you will get your Production Copies in late April or early May.  Thank you so much for your support!

Shipping and Credit Card Charges: My plan is to finalize and announce shipping costs by the first week of April.  I will give you a minimum of 30 days notice before charging the cards, but will set a tentative plan of doing that on May 5th.

About 10% of you still haven't completed your Backerkit Survey.  Please get that done soon!

Surprise!

How about some good news?  After thinking it over, I decided to add Dice Screens to Dice Clash!  These will be quad-fold cardstock and 2 will come in each copy.

I think this will add to the table presence and ease of play of the game.  Enjoy!

Tariffs:

Last time I updated, the tariffs on goods coming into the US form China was set at 10% and I said that I would not be passing that cost onto backers.  Now it is 20%.  I still won't be passing this cost onto the backers of this campaign, but this will be causing me to adjust my MSRP post-campaign and changing my strategy for future campaigns.  

The 4 games in this series are increasing their MSRP from $15 to $16.  Again, this will only affect games purchased after the campaign.  No additional charges for current backers, and late pledgers.  

Future campaigns will still feature discounted bundles, but they will have to increase in cost somewhere between $1 and $3.  This is assuming that the tariffs don't change further (hardly a safe assumption).  

Survey Results:

137 of you responded to my survey.  Thank you!   I will leave it open through the end of the week, if anyone else wants to add their input (see your KS messages).

Apologies for any confusion about the nature of the survey.  I was looking to see how you felt about how I ran the current campaign and to get feedback on what you would like to see in future campaigns.  

Here are the highlights of the survey:

• Nearly 88% of you rated the value of the KS offering as a 4-5 out of 5.
• 91% of you though the amount of updates and communication from me was "Just Right".  
• 70% of you "Liked" or "Loved" the way that Stretch Goals were handled during the campaign.  Of the remaining respondents, nearly all were "Neutral".
• 71% of you would prefer I treat Stretch Goals exactly like I did for this campaign, while 21% would want additional content unlocks, even if it increased the time until fulfillment.  There were some helpful comments and suggestions for this one, such as having the add-on renders ready ahead of time, having the add-ons available from the start and making the stretch goals price reductions or add them for free, and adding additional modes to games that increase player count without increasing components.  
• In ranking features you'd like to see for future campaigns, the bundles with discounts were far and away the most important to you.  
• In thinking about expanding beyond "2 player head-to-head games that you can learn in 5 minutes and play in 20", Pure Solo games and Cooperative Games were the most popular choices, while Heavier Games and Higher Player Counts were also quite popular.  Party Games were decidedly not this crowd's jam.
• Unsurprisingly, solo modes are either vital, or a major factor in backing for over half of you.
• In terms of future bundle themes, Fantasy and Cooperative were the top choices from my suggestions.  Surprisingly, slightly more of you would like additional Strategy Bundles over Battle Bundles (despite the Battle Bundle games outselling Strategy for this campaign).
• In making your own suggestions, Sci-Fi and Horror themes were very popular.  There were lots of neat singular suggestions as well that I liked.  A hiking themed one for example.  
• The comments (overall) were super kind!  Thank you.

So What Will I Do With This Info?

I'm planning on running another campaign this Fall with 4 Mint Tin Games and 2 Expansions for games from this series.  The feedback I received about how the campaign was run can be considered and implemented for sure.  Feedback about the games themselves, I won't be able to adjust for this campaign (already selected) but guides me as I sign, design, or develop future games.  Thank you!

GAMA 2025

I had an amazing time attending my first GAMA!  For those that don't know, GAMA is an industry focused trade show that takes place in Louisville, KY.  I had the opportunity to meet with tons of other designers and publishers, attend seminars, and take meetings with retailers, distributors, licensors, fulfillment specialists, and many others.  Many retailers will be picking up the Mint Tin games!  I also connected with some additional distributors and interested licensors (for publishing in other languages).  

I had a great time hanging with Eric of Talon Strikes Studios (we split a booth) and ending my trip with a bourbon tour and tastings!

That's it for now.  I'll be back with the next update in April unless there's something urgent to share sooner.  Appreciate your support!

Galen.

February Update
about 1 year ago – Thu, Feb 20, 2025 at 05:34:28 AM

Hi Everyone!  I'm back with all the updates I have for February 2025.

PNP Progress:

Unfortunately, Javier has had to drop out from the project for personal reasons.  Luckily I have two amazing volunteers from the PnP community to pick up where he left off.  Alexander Norback is finishing up Verdant Arizona and putting together Heritage Farms.  He has some awesome PnP resources you can check out at pnpbuddy.com.  Katie Andrews is assembling the PnP's for Dice Clash and Mint Tin Monster Mash Up.  Katie is the game designer for Next Two You Games and knows a thing or two about crafting Mint Tin Games!   We are about 90 % of the way done with all 4 PnP's.  I'm pretty confident that I will be announcing their release next month.

Manufacturing:

HJM is back up and running post Chinese New Year!  I'm still waiting on a firmer production schedule estimate, but we are moving ahead.  I wish I had more that I could share right now.  

Dice Clash Playmat Update:

A little spoiler here, but I am currently developing some expansion content for Dice Clash that will be available as part of my next campaign this Fall.  I was going over it with Hwa Siang, the artist, and he noted that the current playmat wouldn't be able to incorporate the expansion mechanic.  So, he redesigned it so that it will! 

I'll certainly have more to share about the expansion, but maybe you have some guesses based on the re-design?  Also, no other game expansion plans require adjustments of the other playmats (at least for now).

GAMA 2025:

Galen's Games is heading to GAMA!  This is the board game industry's trade show that takes place the last week of February.  I'll be showing off Super Snipers, the Mint Tin Series, and playtesting upcoming games and my other designs.  I'll also be meeting with retailers, distributors, and others to make connections to keep expanding the reach of these games.  If you'll be there, come visit me at Booth 1468.

Tarrifs:

As many of you are probably aware, there's been a 10% tariff applied to all imported goods from China.  This will directly impact Galen's Games, but luckily not too badly.  While I haven't set shipping prices yet, I wanted to let you know that I will not be passing on the cost of this tariff to you for this campaign.  For future releases, prices will most likely have to be raised in response to this.  

Other News:

I'm not quite ready to do the full announcement yet, but I have my 2025 lineup of Mint Tin Games chosen and in development.  I'm really excited about this new lineup, as well as the opportunity to offer expansion content for the games you've backed.  Stay tuned!

Repugnant!

John de Campos is the artist for Mint Tin Monster Mash Up and he's got a campaign that's currently live on Kickstarter.  If you like things weird and gross, check this one out!

That's all for now.  I'm off to GAMA in a couple of days, where I hope it will be warmer!  I expect to continue to work on the manufacturing end of this campaign while I am there.  Talk to you next month!

Thank you!  

Galen.
 

January 2025 Updates. Meet our PnP Designer!
about 1 year ago – Mon, Jan 20, 2025 at 10:14:56 AM

Happy New Year!

I hope that 2025 finds you well.  I've got a number of updates to share with you.  Here we go...

Dice Clash Battlemat finished!

Hwa Siang did a killer job on this one!  I love the small details, and the extra help of having the icons key available for each player.  With this, the art assets are 100% complete!

Translations:

These have been held up a bit as we get through the final edits of the rules documents (more on that later).  All games will have digital French and Italian Translations.  The French translation of Verdant Arizona is complete.  All Translations will be able to be found here as they come in.  

Print and Plays:

Everyone, I'd like to introduce you to Javier, who is taking care of creating the Print and Play files for the games.  I asked Javier to tell a bit about himself and how he's handling this project:

I'm originally from Argentina, living in Scotland for work. I'm a video game developer by day, PnP enthusiast in the evening, and ninja turtle at night. I've been doing Print and Play projects for a few years now, and I particularly enjoy offering to template other people's games into printing formats that allow an end user to get a really good, easy print to craft later, and feel like they have something that looks "almost as good", for a fraction of the cost (but a lot more effort!).  The main reason I started this path was to enable people from the UK and Europe (as well as other places that are not the US) to get games from Game Crafter without having to pay $$$ for shipping!

I've worked with many other recognized creators to bring their games to PnP and I'm really happy to be helping Galen's Games do the same!


About this PnP project:

The idea will be to provide a single PDF file for game contents that is formatted for universal printing (both A4 and US Letter in the same file), by using the method I've been delivering for other games, which resembles the Button Shy Games format. No matter what paper size you use, all you will need to do is print without any scaling and things will be properly scaled and aligned (for two sided printing). Alternatively, you will also be able to just print invidiual pages and cut everything up and sleeve it if that is your preference.

We will also be providing the labels for the front and back of the tins, so you can just buy spare tins from any online retailer and give these awesome games the proper home!

Progress and Timelines:

So far we are on track with the timelines I set out in the Kickstarter.  Final proofreads have been completed for all the rulebooks (thank you, Jeremy) and the graphic designers are working on getting the changes done.  We are looking good to have everything manufacturing-ready at the end of January.

Many of you probably already know that Chinese New Year is a month long celebration in China.  The games are being manufactured by HJM in China and there will be nothing happening on their end for the entire month of February.  We will be using that month to wrap up the Print and Plays and Translations, both of which require some of the same preparation as we need for the Manufacturer.

I am waiting to hear back from the manufacturer on a timeline, but I'm hoping to be able to be looking at pre-production copies in March.  This is one of several areas where delays are possible depending on what issues arise (if any) with the pre-production copies.

We will look to deliver the PnP's and have the translations complete in March, as planned.

I will look to have shipping costs nailed down shortly after full production begins.  So, April or May most likely.

Backerkit Pledge Manager:

87% of you have completed your surveys so far!  That's a great number but it leaves about 120 people who haven't yet.  It's not a rush at this time, but a reminder to get it done when you can.

Other News:

I'll be at GAMA February 23rd through February 28th at Booth #1468.  Stop by to say hello and check out the games if you'll be around.

I've been very busy taking pitch meetings and playing games in search for future members of the Galen's Games Mint Tin Series!  I haven't made decisions yet, but I will be excited to share more when the time comes.  

I've been designing a new mint tin game called Mint Mechs. Here's a quick highlights video I did for its entry in the Cardoard Edison Contest:

There's a high probability that this makes it in as one of the next games.  What do you think?!

Lastly, it's not Mint Tin related, but my game, Super Snipers, recently made Tom Vasel's list of Top 10 Different Games of 2024. It was a huge honor and has given me a boost of online and retail sales.  It is available as an add-on to this campaign if you're interested.  It's #7 at 2:30 in the video:

That's it for now.  I will plan on updating again in February.  Thank you!

Galen

PnP and Shipping Questions
over 1 year ago – Thu, Dec 12, 2024 at 07:26:15 PM

I'll keep this brief.  There have been a couple recurring questions since opening up the Pledge Manager:

PNP's:

When will the PnP be delivered?. 

I'm in the process of sending back my final edits to the graphic designers for the rulebooks.  Once I get them back, I will get some proofreads to make sure I haven't missed anything.  Once those are all set, I will be able to send them to both be arranged as PnP's and translated into Italian and French.  When this is all completed, you will receive the files through Backerkit via an email.  My hope is to deliver them before the end of March.  I will keep you updated.

Shipping:

How much will it be to get a single game shipped?

The shipping estimates on the KS page are subsidized and based on quotes I received from my fulfillment partners Quarter Master Logistics in the US and Spiral Galaxy in the UK. Because the campaign was focused on the 2 and 4 game bundles, I only provided estimates for those numbers and for the bundles on offer.  For single games, my intention is not to exceed the $5-$8 range for the US, UK, CA and EU areas.  All other areas, I will try to keep to a similar ratio based on the 2 game estimates.

Why is shipping being charged later?

Charging shipping closer to the fulfillment date provides me with a couple of important advantages:

• I can get more accurate quotes from the fulfillment company.
• I have additional time to determine what the shipping rates will be for the various add-ons.
• I have additional time to consider other regional fulfillment centers and shipping options to get the best rates for my non-US, UK, and EU backers.

All that said, it is my intention to deliver at the prices I quoted for the Kickstarter (cheaper if I can, slightly higher if I have to) and to keep the increase due to add-ons to a minimum.  

When will you charge the credit cards? Shipping?

The current estimate is that I will have the shipping costs set around the same time that I will look to charge the credit cards, in May or June, in anticipation of a July delivery.  I will keep you updated if it will be sooner or later.  

Thank you!  Feel free to ask questions in the comments here.

Galen