NTYE at Gen Con!
over 9 years ago – Mon, Jul 27, 2015 at 02:55:35 AM

Hello, backers of No Thank You, Evil!—

Are you headed to Gen Con? Want to give the game you supported a try? Come on by the Monte Cook Games booth in the exhibit hall (we’re booth 1737)—we’ll be running short demos throughout the show! While you’re at it you can pick up one of these nifty stickers we’re giving away at the booth.

We’ll also be offering pre-orders of the Standard Edition of the game. If you know someone who missed the Kickstarter, please send them our way!

Look for Your BackerKit Survey Soon!

We’ve been working hard on the backer survey. Because some of the rewards are a bit complex, we’ve been diligent to make sure every I is dotted and T is crossed just so, to avoid any future issues getting your rewards to you. The survey will be managed through a system called BackerKit, and we’ve worked closely with their staff to ensure all the complex stuff is exactly right.

Keep your eye out for an invitation to the BackerKit survey—it’s critical that you fill it out to ensure we get you the right rewards and add-ons. Kickstarter does NOT provide us with critical information (such as your address), so this survey is absolutely necessary. Make sure the invitation email doesn’t go to your spam filter!

Early Access and Heroes of Storia

We’ve reached out separately to backers getting early rewards (particularly playtest access and children in illustrations). While we’re in active contact with all the BE A HERO OF STORIA! backers, we haven’t heard back from many of you who are entitled to playtest access. Check your email for a message from Zoa—if you haven’t received anything from her, please drop her a line at [email protected] and she’ll get you started toward receiving your early access materials!

New Artwork!

It seemed like we were showing off new artwork almost every day during the Kickstarter campaign! Development on the game continues, and although much of the artwork is already in from the artists, we’re still receiving new pieces. Here’s a fantastic one we got the other day from Tiffany Turrill, illustrating the Monster Museum, where your characters go to learn about the creatures of Storia.

If you’re headed for Gen Con, we hope to see you there. Either way, look for your survey soon!

--Charles

And There’s the Bell!
over 9 years ago – Thu, Jul 02, 2015 at 01:56:21 PM

Hello, backers of No Thank You, Evil!—

The Kickstarter campaign for No Thank You, Evil! has just come to an end. Thanks to you, and about 1500 or so folk like you, the game has not only funded successfully but nearly tripled the funding goal, allowing us to grow it into something really special.

Along the way, we’ve hit eleven stretch goals, adding content and new components to not just the Kickstarter Edition, but also the Standard Edition. Think about that for a moment: Your enthusiasm and support means that not only is your copy of No Thank You, Evil! a better game, but so is the version that will be sold in stores years from now. You made it happen!

So I’d like to thank you for that personally—for your support, and for helping to spread the word to let other parents and families know about it.

I’d also like to call out the hard work of the entire Monte Cook Games staff: Monte, Bruce, Tammie, and especially Shanna (who’s been working long, long hours leading the design of this game) and Bear (our Art Director, who’s kept these updates packed with great new art, and helped keep the Kickstarter plates spinning throughout). Each of them has put in a lot of long days not only to make this campaign a success and develop a great new game, but to keep all of our many other projects rolling as this was going on.

I’d also like to shout out to Cathy Wilkins and Michaels Startzman, our lead artists on this project, for keeping the pedal to the metal and turning out some really creative, fun imagery. Their work contributes hugely to the unique, whimsical vision of this game and really helped communicate it throughout the Kickstarter.

There are many other folk I could thank, but they’re starting to turn up the music on me, so I’ll keep it short: It’s really come down to you, our supporters. Thanks so much for making this happen.

The final count at closing was $111,750. In keeping with our final stretch goal, we’ll be donating No Thank You, Evil! to schools, libraries, and other organizations that serve underprivileged kids. And in keeping with the spirit of the stretch goal, we're going to round up that total to $112K, and donate 140 copies of the game.

You made all of this happen. Personally, and from the whole team here at MCG, thanks.

--Charles

Looking Ahead—and What to Expect
over 9 years ago – Mon, Jun 22, 2015 at 08:15:57 AM

Hello, backers of No Thank You, Evil!—

As I’m writing this, we’re about an hour from the conclusion of the Kickstarter Campaign. What a great campaign it’s been! Thanks so much for your support!

I want to talk a bit about what will happen over the weeks and months to come. But before you read that, please stop right now and read my last update—it talks about important steps you need to take before the campaign ends in about an hour.

Back? Super. Here’s what lies ahead:

1. When Things Wrap Up (8PM EDT tonight): As fun as this campaign has been, it’s also been brutally hectic, and this is one of the busiest times of the year for us anyway. We’re working hard on actually making No Thank You, Evil! as well as our other titles, and we’ll have to shift focus to those tasks to make sure nothing has fallen behind schedule. If you don’t hear from us for a few days, don’t panic. This is a project of many months, and there’s nothing going on that can’t wait a couple of days.

2. In the Next Few Weeks: Kickstarter will begin collecting pledges as soon as the campaign closes. They say it can take up to two weeks to complete this process, but in our experience it usually only takes a few days.

Once that process is complete, we’ll contact you to gather critical information needed to fulfill your rewards—name, address, email, and so on. (Important note: Kickstarter does NOT provide this to us—we have to get it from you! So please look out for this survey and respond quickly when you get it!) If you’ve chosen any add-ons, that’s where we’ll establish which ones you’re getting.

Backers at the NO THANK YOU, PATIENCE! reward level, and above, can expect to take part in our playtest. The first step will be to send you the Non-Disclosure Agreement, which you’ll need to execute and return. Expect that within two weeks. Your playtest copy of the game will be sent to you shortly thereafter. If you choose to report playtest results, we’ll need them fairly quickly to incorporate the feedback into the game, so plan to play the game in July if you intend to report results. We’ll have more specific instructions for you later.

If you’re one of our BE A HERO OF STORIA! backers, we’ll contact you for imagery very soon—probably within a week or so. Please gather up (or take) a suitable photograph of your child ASAP and have it ready for us. We’ll need to assign it to the illustrator pretty quickly.

3. Later in the Year: After that, things quiet down a bit. You may not hear much from us for several months. (We love to share, so expect a few updates.) If you’re a BE A HERO OF STORIA! backer, you’ll receive your art print in the early autumn. If you’re getting Postcards from Storia, expect them in the November/December timeframe. Retailers, your point-of-purchase materials will go out at the very end of the year, or perhaps in early January.

4. When the Game Ships!: No Thank You, Evil! will ship in February. In the weeks beforehand, we’ll contact you again to ensure we have your correct shipping information. If you’re an overseas backer or want upgraded shipping, you’ll pay for it at that time. Our donated copies will go out sometime shortly after that point, and we’ll send backers an update on that process.

It’s been a great campaign, and we really appreciate your support! Thanks again for making No Thank You, Evil! a reality!

--Charles

IMPORTANT INFO for the End of the Campaign
over 9 years ago – Mon, Jun 22, 2015 at 08:14:23 AM

Hello, backers of No Thank You, Evil!—

Before I get to the meat of things, let me say Thanks! for sending us over yet another stretch goal. Just as I was about to post this, we topped $108,000, so Monte Cook Games is now committed to donating 50 copies of No Thank You, Evil! to schools, libraries, and organizations that serve at-risk or underprivileged children. This is a stretch goal we’d been contemplating for a long time, so we’re really pleased to make it happen. And remember—if we hit $110,000, we’ll double it to 100 copies (and add another 20 for each $1000 thereafter). There are still a couple of hours left to make this happen!

This incredible Kickstarter campaign is ending soon, so we've put together a short checklist for you to look over before we bring this wild ride to its conclusion. We want everyone to be happy, and we don't want any unpleasant surprises for you or for us. To avoid any delays or problems in getting your rewards, please take a look at all of these points to ensure you're all set:

1. Double Check Your Pledge.
 Go right now to the Kickstarter page and look at the backer level you've chosen as it is shown in the Rewards section of the text. (We recommend you go there, rather than the backer levels along the right, because the latter were locked down by Kickstarter at the beginning of the campaign and don’t reflect the changes we made as the campaign grew.) Make sure you have the backer level you want. If you have selected add-ons, double-check your math one more time to make sure the total of all your add-ons, plus your backer level, equals the amount of your pledge. You must do this to ensure that you can get everything you want. Please keep in mind that we can't issue refunds.

2. Credit Card. 
Please make sure your credit card information is current and correct. Failures in processing may cause delays or prevent you from getting your stuff.

3. Last Minute Reward Add-Ons. Once the Kickstarter campaign is over, new backers will not be able to join. Backers won't be able modify your pledge using Kickstarter for any reason. Opportunities exclusive to the Kickstarter will no longer be available.

We hope to make some add-ons available for a limited time, through our pledge management system. We can’t guarantee it, though, so if there’s something you want, now’s the time to be sure you get it.

4. Additional Updates. The Kickstarter campaign is ending, but we’re doing business together for some time—No Thank You, Evil! won’t ship for months! We don’t have an automatic, foolproof way to reach you with important news about your rewards, so please make sure our updates don’t get overlooked or sent to your spam filter.

5. How Do You Spell Your Name? This is going to sound silly and condescending—sorry—but it’s a real issue, and there’s no other choice but to confront it head-on. You’d be surprised how many people misspell or omit critical information when they provide it to us. This creates problems with shipping and sending rewards. When you provide information—your name, address, and so on—please pay close attention to all the details! If you live overseas, and your name or address includes special or accented characters, if at all possible please instead use the closest standard alphabetical character. Accented characters are often garbled as the intarwebs try to convert them into American text; an "É" may come through the system written as "$%^", rendering your address undeliverable. Sometimes we can suss out the correct spelling, but often not.

It’s been a great campaign, and we really appreciate your support! Thanks for backing No Thank You, Evil! and making it a reality!

--Charles

The Last Day—and Another Stretch Goal!
over 9 years ago – Mon, Jun 22, 2015 at 08:11:44 AM

Hello, backers of No Thank You, Evil!—

You’ve done it again—you’ve taken us over another stretch goal in record time! The Equipment Deck is now officially a part of your Kickstarter Edition of No Thank You, Evil!

There are many more features we could conceivably add to this game, but the truth is you’ve all given us so much and blown us away with your support, we think the best thing we can do at this point is to give back.

If you’ve followed us on social media or the blog at the Monte Cook Games web site, you may be aware that one of our playtest groups was at the Shanti Bhavan Children’s Project  in rural India. We’ve worked with them, and with one or two other groups of children in developing countries, and while it’s been great to see their reactions and get their feedback, it also drives home another point: Many, many children might not have good access to creative, intellectually challenging games of the sort that includes No Thank You, Evil!

So our next set of stretch goals isn’t aimed at us, or at No Thank You, Evil! itself. Instead, it’s aimed at our kids, our communities, and our world.

If we make it to $108,000 before this campaign closes in a little over four hours, we’ll donate 50 copies of the Standard Edition to schools, libraries, and organizations that serve at-risk and underprivileged kids. If we make it to $110,000, we’ll double that to 100 copies. And we’ll add another 20 copies for each $1000 beyond that.

We really appreciate all you’ve done to support No Thank You, Evil! and make the game as awesome as it’s going to be. Now let’s give it a little more push to help it reach children who don’t often have access to these sorts of activities.

Thanks for supporting No Thank You, Evil!

--Charles