Proof and Printing Update
about 5 years ago – Wed, Feb 20, 2019 at 12:36:01 AM

 Hello Everyone, 

Thanks for your patience, we've got a fantastic update for you tonight! 

Proofs

We've gotten our final round of proofs back from the factory and the improvements are really noticeable, we are thrilled to share some new pictures of the latest changes. At the bottom of this update you'll see a video showing off the spot UV dials on the digital proof cover. These mixed with the other spot UV additions really took the box to the next level and we are really pleased with how well this turned out. We'd like to stress how immensely thankful we are for your patience while we've worked with the factory to prepare a product that we can be incredibly proud of. 

Changes

Mentioned above are the spot UV updates but we've made quite a few changes that I want to disclose here (almost entirely cosmetic, of course). I'd initially designed the playmat so the picks were facing the opposite way in the supply. The goal was trying to help players understand that the spacial orientation of the picks was relevant to the placement. This didn't seem to work as intended and having them match the rule reminders and rule book orientation has helped immensely in blind play testing feedback. There is a small keyword change needed on this playmat that we will confirm with a photo proof as it's simply an artifact from the development process.

The insert was plain and a bit underwhelming when it first arrived, so we decided that the amazing art piece of the two guitarists by Jennifer Hrabota-Lesser should replace that. We also had some oddly omitted letters on a couple of genre cards and we changed the layout which was a solid fix. The scorepad has been increased in size and the newest set of picks look and feel quite nice, they have a matte finish and play well, I'll post a riff sometime soon using some of these. 

Printing

Our factory reps are returning from New York Toy Fair and our project is ready to print as soon as we confirm the small wording change on the playmat. Printing should take roughly 30 days at the most, so we will update you with photos as the games head towards fulfillment. We're currently considering putting all of the"backer only" lanyards inside your game boxes to help ensure they arrive consistently. We are going to print a handful of extra lanyards for replacement/lost in transit issues but this will greatly reduce the risk of the clasp scratching other items in your shipping box. This isn't a final choice but I'm leaning towards it for simplicity's sake at the various fulfillment outlets. Backerkit locked this week and cards should see charges no later than Friday, if you have any issues just shoot me a message. 

Thanks again for your amazing support and consistent patience while we get everything sorted to send you the best game possible. We are incredibly happy to start printing and shipping Re-Chord. Be on the lookout for "Blume" by Stevo Torres, being published by Yanaguana Games and coming to Kickstarter early this Spring. Have a wonderful week and thanks again for everything.

Spot UV Video

Backerkit Closure Extended until February 15th
about 5 years ago – Fri, Feb 01, 2019 at 12:56:04 AM

Extended Backerkit Timeline

Hello everyone! We've decided to extend the Backerkit closure one last time and I wanted to fill everyone in on why. 

First, we've had a handful of folks contact us and say they'd love to back the campaign before the 31st but due to the government shutdown or delayed tax return schedules they'd be unable to unless we gave them a couple more weeks to recover from the holiday season. Second, The Chinese New Year gives us a bit of time to finalize our SKU counts for each backer. Feel free to add a T-Shirt or another copy of Re-Chord for a friend, it will ship out with your pledge. 

Third, I want to give all of our backers a fair warning that the backerkit will be closing in TWO WEEKS. This means cards will charge, shipping addresses will lock, and no further pre-orders will be offered via backerkit. You'll be the first to receive Re-Chord and we wont be sending retail copies out to anyone that wasn't a retail pledge until all of our backers have had their copies sent out. 

It's the Final Countdown

This is the home stretch, we really appreciate you all being patient with us while we assure the quality is up to the standard we desired. Please feel free to message me directly if you need a new backerkit link or reminder email, there is still a small percentage of you who didn't fill out your surveys, on the off chance you are reading this, please do it before February 15th! Thanks again and look for another update next week on the 8th, with new proof photos and a final one week reminder about backerkit.

PAX South and Production Update
about 5 years ago – Wed, Jan 23, 2019 at 10:44:14 PM

PAX South

We had a wonderful weekend at PAX South showing off Re-Chord and our upcoming project Blume. Thanks to everyone who came by the booth and played a game or chatted with us for a while! We got incredibly positive feedback about Blume and you should look for its kickstarter launch early this spring. If you want to follow along with the progress and potential timelines you can subscribe to the Blume BGG page here.

Production Update

We've gotten word back from the factory that our pick supplier is still working on a solution for my quality concerns, the solution will be in place shortly after the Chinese New Year. In the meantime, the factory is sending me an updated proof that addresses some of the other concerns I'd expressed. This new proof is set to arrive by the end of the week, I'll likely share pictures in the comments of this update as soon as I get it. 

I'm confident that this is the final quality tweak for the factory, and I'd like to think the same should be true for the pick supplier. We expect to print very quickly after the holiday and will ship the majority of the games to our storage space in Texas. We greatly appreciate the patience and support of you, our incredible backers. I've seen a number of campaigns with delays and I'd like to personally thank you all for being the most civil and supportive crowd we could've ever asked for. 

Timelines

I want to clarify our plans for Blume as they relate to Re-Chord. We intend to launch Blume only after Re-Chord is on it's way to Backers. Once the Chinese New Year break is over we will be able to create a more solidified timeline and ensure that we show you the same goodwill you've shown us. Once again Andrew, Stevo, and I would like to thank you all for your amazing support. Stay tuned to this post for pictures of the new proof items in the next few days and have a wonderful week.

Production and Timeline Update
over 5 years ago – Thu, Dec 13, 2018 at 10:12:51 PM

Hello Everyone,

We are back from PAX Unplugged and we had a fantastic time in Philly. I'd like to thank Andrew and Stevo for essentially doing all of the real work while I was in meetings and events. I did my usual convention thing, walking around chatting and I really enjoyed getting to meet a few of you as well! Everyone be sure to congratulate Stevo Torres on becoming a part of the Yanaguana Games team! Stevo is leading our art direction from now on, and we are incredibly glad to have him on board. (He's the artist and designer behind the beautiful upcoming game "Blume".)

Production Timeline Update

We are thrilled with most of the production proof and are happy to report there are no major errors. The cards look fantastic and seeing many of your creations in print was truly a special moment for us. We've sent a list of changes to the factory that include some things we'd like to see done better. 

I'm slightly frustrated with the guitar picks as we've worked for months to get these samples to look right but the finish on them is not currently acceptable to me, so we are having that addressed by the pick manufacturer. We noticed that the face down pick on the playmat seemed to disappear in the background so we've added an outline to help it stand out. We also added some quality upgrades that we are going to pay for like Spot UV printing on certain areas of the box and higher quality lanyards. 

The text atop the amplifier is included on a more final printing of the wrap we've viewed, this one had it excluded for other reasons. Once we receive digital proofs of these changes we will approve the printing process and check a production proof. We expect to have the digital proofs before the year's end. 

 We are really thrilled to see everything together! We've increased the size of the scorepad for the next round of proofing and are very excited to be close to production. We'd like to thank all of you for being awesome and patient while we get everything sorted to make Re-Chord the best possible quality.

We've also had a handful of folks contact us with concerns about closing the Backerkit and charging cards during December and we hear you, the Holidays are tight enough. We've decided to hold off closing the Backerkit until Friday, January 11th 2019. You have until the 11th to update addresses, tell friends where to order their copy, and add on any goodies you'd like. On the 11th we will be closing the Backerkit and locking everything in for shipping. 

Have a wonderful Holiday, we'll update you right after the new year with more accurate timelines and new proofs photos. Thank you again for your support, you rock. 

Re-Chord Proofs and PAX Unplugged
over 5 years ago – Mon, Nov 19, 2018 at 08:27:34 PM

The Big Move

Hey everyone, we are thrilled to share an update with you this week. For those of you who are unaware, I moved from Rhode Island to Minnesota last weekend. This update is one of the first things I've done with our newly installed internet! Rhode Island wasn't cold enough for us so we've decided to chill in the Twin Cities... Andrew actually flew up from Texas and drove a truck across the snow-covered northern U.S. to help our family move. We couldn't have done it without him and we are so lucky to have our Yanaugana family. Send Andrew your thanks for us, he deserves it! 

New Photos from the Factory

While we were on the road we got an update from the factory with some really fantastic news and some photos of the sample components. The current timeline should allow for us to have a production proof WITH US AT PAX UNPLUGGED! Andrew and I are working hard to ensure that copy makes it to Philly in time along with another surprise you'll hear a bit about below. For now, enjoy another shot from the factory.

 Pax Unplugged 

Re-Chord proofs won't be the only new thing to show off at PAX. Those of you who haven't seen the teaser artwork for Yanaguana's next game "Blume" by designer Stevo Torres are in for a treat. I'm very happy to share that we will have a very early prototype copy available to play at PAX Unplugged. The development cycle for this game has been one of the most engaging processes we've ever been a part of and we can't wait to share the amazing experience with you in Philidelphia in a couple of weeks. 

Backerkit will be closing in the next two weeks so be sure to update your addresses and finalize your orders. Thanks again for your continued support, we are really excited to get the presses rolling.