A Flood of Activity

Published: Thu, 03/09/17

Hey !

Oh gosh! Oh my, where to begin? These past few months sure have been exciting, haven't they? Action-packed, one might say. It's kind of funny to look back to two months ago when I was talking about lazily playing video games in my spare time.

Spare time. Hahaha!

Right, so, Gloomhaven started shipping to backers in late January, and thus began a wild ride of terror and excitement that I would never be able to fully do justice to with words. Suffice it to say that it was the best of times and the worst of times.

The best because everyone seems to be absolutely loving the game. It has been soaring up the rankings on Board Game Geek at a speed and magnitude that I would never have anticipated, currently poised at #37 as I write this. More rewarding, however, is the fervent fan community that has developed, eager to answer others' questions and discuss strategies at all hours.

The worst because we did end up running into some fulfillment issues and retail shortages that resulted in box damage, late deliveries, and an almost insurmountable amount of emails to fight through. There was a week or two where I was certain I would just die of stress, leaving someone else to clean up the mess. We powered through, though, and as Winter turned into Spring, the future of Cephalofair Games is starting to look sunny again.

Which brings me to some big announcements. The question on everyone's lips (or at least the lips of people who don't already have Gloomhaven) seems to be, "When will the game be available again?" You see, I apparently didn't print enough the first time around. I printed as many as I could, but we ended up with only about 2000 copies going into retail distribution, and we had about ten times that many orders. A lot of people ended up being disappointed, and we immediately started working toward getting a reprint going.

For various reasons, I decided the best way to fund such a venture would be through another Kickstarter, but that avenue presented its own unique challenges. For one, I am gearing up for the Kickstarter of my next project, Founders of Gloomhaven. And for another, a Kickstarter, in general, should be for a new product, not something you just want to reprint.

Typically with reprint Kickstarters, creators add a bunch of new stretch goals and add-ons to justify going back to Kickstarter, but I didn't want to do that with Gloomhaven because I am happy with how it is. Sure, we'll need to fix some errors, reinforce the box, and solve the issues with the tracking HP and EXP on the character mats, but the last thing I want to do is add more stuff to the box. There's enough in there already.

So the obvious answer to me was to combine the reprint with the Founders of Gloomhaven Kickstarter. They are very different games, but they are set in the same world, so the combination makes enough sense to me. The Kickstarter and the stretch goals will be mainly focused on Founders of Gloomhaven, but there will be a separate pledge level to order the second printing of Gloomhaven.

This is sort of new territory here, and I'm a little scared. Due to the popularity of Gloomhaven and the fact that Founders is very much more of a niche Euro product, I fully expect Gloomhaven pledges to eclipse Founders pledges, leading to a project that is focused on something that only amounts to a small percentage of the pledges. It might be a little weird at first, but with a little ingenuity, I am hoping to be able to combine the two disparate products into a single, coherent Kickstarter project.

By now, you may have a lot of questions. Luckily, I have become well-versed in answering questions these last couple months, so present to you now the Gloomhaven/Founders of Gloomhaven combination Kickstarter FAQ:

Do I have to buy Founders of Gloomhaven in order to buy Gloomhaven?

Oh heavens, no. That would be silly. I don't want to force people to buy a game that they don't want. That sounds like a terrible business practice.

What versions of Gloomhaven will be available?

Due to the timing of the reprint, I don't think I can make standee-only copies available this time around. I need to focus on making a single big-box product, so that will be the retail version with minis, but it will also include the cypher key for the glyphs found in the game. I will also make available options to get separate packs of just character minis and separate packs of just character standees, as well.

What will be changed in the new Glomhaven printing?

As I said above, we will be fixing errors in the rule book, scenario book and cards for the new printing. I will make a list of all of those changes available on BGG after they happen. We will also be reinforcing the box to reduce shipping damage and we will be making custom dials to track HP and EXP instead of using tokens on those poorly cut tracks.

Can I get updated books/dials for my current copy of Gloomhaven?

Like I said, I can let you know what the changes are, but it is just not logistically viable to give or even sell new books to everyone who would want them. I can, however, help you with the dials. Or rather, Meeple Realty can. We are working with them to offer everyone an opportunity to buy official Gloomhaven HP/EXP dials for their current game. They will very soon be offering a wood option, and a cardboard version exactly like what will be in the second printing will be available in the future.

Will the solo scenarios be available to purchase through the Kickstarter?

No, but progress is being made to make these available on the Board Game Geek Store for anyone who doesn't want to print the stuff out themselves. I'm not sure when it will be available, though. We're still working out the details.

Okay, enough stalling. When can I get my hands on the new version?

Right, I guess this would be the most important question. It depends on how quickly we can get enough of the art and graphic design done for Founders to get sent off to reviewers, but I am optimistic that we should be able to launch the Kickstarter in early April, aiming for April 6 specifically (4 weeks!). We will ideally begin proofing the Gloomhaven second printing files next week, with the goal of actually starting the print run in the middle of the Kickstarter. This would allow us to have it ready for release by Gen Con in mid-August. We'll need some more time to finish up everything with Founders, though, so I expect that to be out in more of a September/October time frame, ideally in time for Spiel.

Gosh, this letter has gone on way too long. I hope it was comprehensive enough to cover all the major points of the big news. Like I said, the future is looking good! As busy as ever, but good. Maybe some day I'll find some time to continue work on an expansion.

Well, I'll be back in a about a month to let you know when the Kickstarter goes live. Until then!