Galen's Games

January 2025 Updates. Meet our PnP Designer!
over 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

Pledge Manager opening Soon
over 1 year ago – Tue, Dec 10, 2024 at 01:28:38 PM

Backerkit "Smoke Test"

Just a quick update to let you know that a small percentage of you will soon be receiving invites to teh Backerkit Pledge manager as part of their "Smoke Test".  This is a chance to make sure that everything is working properly before making it more widely available (which will be soon).

Pax Unplugged!

I had an amazing time at Pax Unplugged!  Thanks so much to my team of Lach and Guy for running Mint Tin demos over the weekend!  Lots of late pledges at the con.  Verdant Arizona was the standout favorite, with Dice Clash close behind.

Progress:

Now that I'm back from Pax Unplugged, I have some updated rules and player mat art to proofread.  Manufacturer is sending me templates and the pledge manger is opening up soon.  We are well on track!

That's all for now.  I'll keep you updated!

Galen

Late Pledges Open, Pledge Manager opening soon!
over 1 year ago – Tue, Nov 26, 2024 at 08:34:36 AM

Late Pledge Store Open in Backerkit!

If you missed the campaign but still want the games when they deliver to backers (or know anyone who does), you can Late Pledge.  If you are a campaign backer, hold tight, the Pledge Manager will be opening in December.  You can access the store through this link, or from the link at the top of the Kickstarter page.

If you're wondering why they open in this order, the simple answer is that it is a lot simpler to set up the Pre-Order / Late Pledge store than it is to create the full Pledge Manager.  And I want to be collecting Late Pledges in time for Pax Unplugged.

Pledge Manager:

Work on the pledge manager is going very well.  I've recently got my feedback after submitting for review and have a few things to follow up on before making it live.  I'd estimate I'm somewhere around 85% complete.  This process is a lot easier the second time around!  

When I've completed my remaining to-do's, Backerkit will conduct a "smoke test", which sends the Pledge Manager surveys to about 5% of the backers across pledge levels to make sure everything looks and works right.  As I said, I plan on doing this in December, sometime after returning from Pax Unplugged.

When you get your invite, you will confirm your pledge level and then be given an opportunity to add any additional add-ons.  The money that was collected from Kickstarter will already be credited there.  You will be charged for any additional items at a later date closer to fulfillment. I will give you plenty of heads up on when that date will be.

I will also be waiting to add shipping charges until a date closer to fulfillment.  This allows me more time to work out costs.  My plan is to stick with the estimates on the Kickstarter page as closely as possible (which are all subsidized based on initial quotes).  

If you are in Canada, the UK, or EU, I will be collecting VAT on the purchase and shipping through the Pledge Manager.  This allows it to be pre-paid and arrive to you DDP (Delivered Duties Paid).

Errored Credit Cards:

There are still about 21 of you that Kickstarter was unable to collect funds from.  Please double-check your emails to see if Kickstarter has been trying to get ahold of you.  You have 1 week from today to fix your information and get into the Pledge Manager.  

Pax Unplugged:

I'm getting ready for Pax Unplugged in Philadelphia next week.  Come visit at Booth 3909 and get a demo of the Mint Tin games or Super Snipers.  Or just say hello!

Game to check out:

My friend, Derya, has a really cool Print and Play that he just released.  I've gotten to playtest this one and can attest that it's fun and very simple to teach:

To all my US backers, I hope you have an amazing and filling Thanksgiving (or survive it as well as possible).  Thanks everyone!

Galen

We Did It!
over 1 year ago – Tue, Nov 19, 2024 at 01:09:32 PM

We Did It!

Thank you!  What an amazing campaign for such tiny games!  This is my second time on Kickstarter as a publisher and I couldn't be happier with how it has gone. My first campaign was for Super Snipers (a game many of you picked up, thank you) and this campaign has more than doubled its money and backer numbers!  That's very validating for an Indie publisher, and it means that I can keep doing stuff like this!

Huge thanks to everyone who helped to make this happen!  The designers: Chris, Robin, Jonathan, Ryan (and me!).  The artists: Hwa, Jonathan and John.  And all the designers and playtesters out there who helped me refine these games to the point they've reached today.

What's Next?

Well, I'm going to take a breather.  Then, I will get to work on getting the Pledge Manager together to open up next month.  I will be using Backerkit, so keep an eye out for your email invitation from them.  Shipping will be charged there and you will have the opportunity to add any additional add-ons there as well.  

The updates to the rulebooks have been sent to the graphic designers and those and the art files will start getting prepped for the manufacturer.  They will also be sent to our guy preparing the Print and Plays and our two volunteer translators so that they are available digitally in French and Italian as well.  

The remaining art for the Playmats should be ready in the coming weeks.  As should the final design for the Mini Dice Trays (I will run them by you all first!)

I will keep you updated on timelines.  Thank you all so much!

With a heart full of gratitude,

Galen