Pledge Manager Details -- and a Surprise!
over 6 years ago – Wed, Aug 02, 2017 at 10:45:16 PM

NEWS

Hello everyone! We've got a lot of information to share, including a fun surprise below. We apologize in advance for the lengthy update but we hope you'll appreciate the information. 

We were thrilled with the last few days of the campaign. We had lots of backers jump on board and we finished strong. To show our appreciation, we worked with our manufacturer and made some upgrades. Now, in the spirit of full disclosure: we've probably totally over-engineered this bag. It's going to be a little heavier as a result, though we doubt you'd notice. That said, we think you'll be happy. We are upgrading the stitching, doubling the thickness of the padding, and increasing the strength of the bag's base--all to better protect your games. These changes increase our costs, but we're happy to absorb them. Thanks for your support!

NEW BAGS

Let's check out the new bags! Please forgive the potato quality of the photos. These were taken at the factory and the bags are currently on an airplane somewhere over the Pacific Ocean on their way to our home. We'll take better pics when we get them in the next two or three days. 

The "Oxblood" color combo was the first one selected by our backers. This bag will have a black interior liner.

The second color selected by our backers was the "Kickstarter." This bag will also have a black interior liner.

Finally, the surprise: we asked the factory to make samples of the "Kickstarter" and a third new color, the "Logo," before you had finished voting. We didn't know which way the vote was going to go, so it made sense to make both. Well, here's the "Logo" and we really like it:

Our manufacturer has very graciously allowed us to offer this 4th color combo as part of our order! This bag will have a light grey interior liner. 

Along with the Navy / Light Grey bag shown throughout the campaign, you've now got four color choices when you make your selections during the pledge manager! All bags will be the same quality. The colors are the only difference. 

PLEDGE MANAGER

Speaking of the pledge manager, we've partnered with BackerKit for this part of the process. 

Kickstarter will transfer funds to our account sometime tomorrow. Once that happens we can import your information into BackerKit. Most of you already know the drill: Backerkit will send you an email and you'll be asked to take the survey. Once we hit around 90% completion on the survey we will place the order with the factory. IMPORTANT: If you don't take the survey, we cannot guarantee you'll get the color(s) you want! 

Oh wait, there's another surprise! When you're completing the survey from BackerKit you will have the opportunity to upgrade to the DOUBLE-UP level if you're not already there. Everyone at the DOUBLE-UP level will be able to select a 3rd bag in the color of their choice for only $74. It's kind of a big deal, and only possible due to some economies of scale when shipping multiple bags. 

If you made it this far, congratulations! Again, sorry for the lengthy update. All our best, 

Adam & Belinda

Let's Make Some Bags!
over 6 years ago – Thu, Jul 20, 2017 at 08:42:29 PM

We are so grateful for your support! We smashed our funding goal and can't wait to begin production. Here are the next steps:

1) Kickstarter will process your payment immediately and deposit those funds in our account in about two weeks. 

2) The new red and black bags will be finished at the factory next week. We'll send out an update with pictures so you can see how they look. 

3) The pledge management process will begin shortly thereafter, during which you'll confirm your address and pick bag colors. 

4) We will confirm quantities and place the order with the factory, and then production begins. 

We've enjoyed this campaign so much and have loved our interactions with you. The Kickstarter community is fantastic! We look forward to getting the Board Game Garage into your hands as soon as possible. Meanwhile, if you have questions please feel free to reach out at any time. Thanks so much,

- Adam & Belinda

The new color is...Oxblood!
almost 7 years ago – Mon, Jul 17, 2017 at 07:52:06 PM

Thanks for voting! Every color combination was the favorite of at least 50 backers, but at the end of the survey the "Oxblood" combination (dark red with black trim and zippers and a white logo) was selected over 2nd place "Kickstarter" (black, neon green, and white) and 3rd place "Logo" (closely matching the colors of our logo). Sadly, "Ogre" and "Wild Child" were held back by lots of 4th and 5th place votes. Belinda and I had a side bet going that the Kickstarter combo would be the winner and Wild Child would be second, but we were wrong. Just goes to show everyone has different tastes when it comes to colors! (Imgur links to the survey results at the bottom of the page for those who like to geek out over numbers.)

The good news is that we're getting close to unlocking the third color anyways, so we have asked our manufacturer to go ahead and make samples in Oxblood (red/black), Kickstarter (black/green), and Logo (dark grey/blue). Once we hit $80k we'll do another quick vote between Kickstarter and Logo to choose the third and final color. 

The samples will be ready before the pledge manager goes out so you'll get to see actual pictures of the new bags before making your final selection(s). Backers who choose the DOUBLE-UP! reward will be able to choose two different colored bags if they want.

As for the logo, 56.83% of you said shrink it a little bit, so we'll do that, too.

Whew! That's it for now. Thanks so much for your support! 

- Adam & Belinda

Link to the survey results: http://imgur.com/gallery/3beQ3

The Final Color - Survey Results
almost 7 years ago – Mon, Jul 17, 2017 at 03:58:32 PM

The survey has closed and the vote for the final color combination is complete. The "Kickstarter" colors (black/green/white) won a close race. A link to the survey result is provided below.

Samples of the new colors are in production right now. You will be able to see them prior to making your final selections through the pledge manager. Speaking of the pledge manager, we've had a few questions about late pledges and add-on bags after the campaign. We'll do our best to make that feature available to you. 

Just 72 hours left! Thanks for your continued support! 

- Adam & Belinda

Link to the survey results:  http://i.imgur.com/UfGWXeo.jpg

Time to choose a new bag color!
almost 7 years ago – Mon, Jul 10, 2017 at 07:42:51 PM

We're stoked! Stretch Goal #2 is unlocked which means you get to help us select a new bag color! Here's how it will work:

Over the next 24 hours, we want you to send us your ideas. Send an email to [email protected] and include a description (or even better, a picture) of the color(s) you want to see for the main fabric as well as the zippers and trim. Based on your responses, we will select the top 4 or 5 and put them in a survey that all backers will vote on tomorrow. The color with the highest number of votes will be our second color. We'll repeat this process if we get to $80k and unlock Stretch Goal #3. 

Zipper and trim colors have to be the same (i.e., if you want black zippers the trim will be black, too). Due to minimum order quantity restrictions with our manufacturer, the main body fabric can only be one color. 

To follow-up on the fabric question from the previous update, we spoke with our manufacturer as well as our close friends in the bag-making industry and feel confident that the fabric we've chosen is the best combination of value and durability. For comparison, most hiking backpacks top out around 600D or less (see here, here, here, here, and here for examples)--and they are designed to withstand far more abuse than anything we'll encounter as we carry our games to game night. Furthermore, switching to a 1000D Cordura raises the manufacturing cost over 30%, and we don't feel like it adds enough value to make the change. A lot of time went into choosing the fabric and we think you'll be very happy with it. Hope this helps!

- Adam & Belinda