Evil Dead 2: The Official Board Game

Proofs Approved & Mass Production Underway
over 6 years ago – Thu, Dec 21, 2017 at 12:03:11 AM

Hi backers!

Here's the production update for December:

We've received physical proofs of all the figures and reviewed them here in the office. We talked over some issues and discovered one error: The Deadite based on JD Boucher has glasses and those glasses made his face look really bad (for a Deadite, to boot). The manufacturer adjusted the mold and now all figures are 100% approved and in production. Here's a collage!

The proofing of the print assets ran long. Our graphic designer has been working directly with the manufacturer's graphic design to make sure everything is perfect. This means accounting for all those pieces that are unique to this set or that, making sure everything that needs a back has one, and that all the counts are correct. This is what that looks like:

We're expecting to receive physical copies of all the print materials for us to proof in person. We want to confirm the utmost quality of printing and materials. The core and deluxe game materials are all approved digitally and are on their way to us, but we expect the holidays to slow down shipping. We've sent in the final set of revisions for the expansion materials and expect those to be confirmed by the manufacturer this evening.

Now here's a visual for what all of the above means for our calendar:

We've eaten into our buffer during this proofing process. "Print Proofing" gradients into "Mass Production" because those two phases overlap. Figures are well underway, print components for the core and deluxe games are just about to start, and print components for the expansions will begin soon. The proofing of some components did not delay the mass production of others.

Have a groovy set of holidays and stay safe out in the cold.

Team Space Goat

Happy American Thanksgiving!
over 6 years ago – Thu, Nov 23, 2017 at 12:01:46 AM

Hey Deadite Slayers!

This is your special holiday episode update. Happy Thanksgiving to our American backers and families!

Many backers have requested an opt out of painted figures, which is super easy to take care of. Just DM us through Kickstarter messages and we'll handle the rest. If you backed at "Base Painted", your order will be immediately switched over and that's that. If you backed at "Full Painted" for the extra $5, let us know if you'd like to instead swap in a set of 4 extra resin Deadite Dice or a set of 3 drawstring cloth bags (both $5 values). If you have any questions or concerns, just send us a message and we will respond promptly.

Next up, production calendar:

Mold creation is done! That's behind us and we're officially in the testing phase. The testing phase has expanded, but not due to molds. Print proofing is underway, but we're being detail-oriented throughout the process. Thanksgiving will not affect Space Goat's attention at all over the holiday.

The end of production is creeping up on Golden Week:, AKA Lunar New Year. While we expect it to take up only one week, there is a possibility it could pause production for up to two weeks. As mentioned in the last update, unpainted games will ship early and therefore won't be affected by Lunar New Year. If painting proofs (which will be added to the calendar as soon as we have a date for it) take longer than expected, it's likely that assembly on painted games will occur after Lunar New Year.

Just a quick reminder that the Evil Dead 2: Comic Book Omnibus & Art Book Kickstarter has 54 hours left. If you're planning on doing Black Friday shopping or if you're stuck in a cabin with your family and want to summon dark forces for some entertainment, I'd highly recommend it. If the only thing holding you back are those shipping costs and you're a board game backer, DM us and we can make something work—either bundling or finding an alternative option.

Have a groovy holiday and/or rest of your day! 

Team Space Goat

Updated Production Schedule & New Update Schedule
over 6 years ago – Fri, Nov 10, 2017 at 12:04:30 AM

Hey Deadite Slayers!

Good news ahead! We just got off a much anticipated Skype call with our manufacturer and we come bearing some groovy updates. Here's the new version of the production calendar:

We're just about done with making the molds. This weekend we're working on approving all the printed components with the manufacturer to begin print proofs next week alongside mold testing. We'll be getting photos of that process since it all happens in house for the manufacturer.

Something else you may have noticed: I initially estimated production days based on six-day weeks. The manufacturer confirmed that their timelines are based on calendar days. This shortens our production time by about a month!

We also got confirmation that games with unpainted figures can ship out before sets with painted. We're going through all the nitty gritty details of this option so we know what we're getting into with it, but we're currently pretty confident we can make it work.

Lastly, we're slowing down updates on Evil Dead 2 down to monthly. With everything running on course, you can look forward to monthly summaries of progress. If something requires immediate attention, such as a change in schedule for better or worse or any big announcements, we'll post as needed.

Have a groovy weekend, folks.

Team Space Goat

Early Domestic Rewards Arriving & Omnibus Kickstarter
over 6 years ago – Wed, Oct 25, 2017 at 01:48:46 AM

Hey Backers,

Some of you have expressed concern over the launch of the Evil Dead 2 Omnibus and Art Book Kickstarter campaign. The community of Kickstarter is built on trust, so we wanted to talk through these concerns.

As a production company and comic book publisher, we cannot stop making our other products while one product is delayed. Board games are an important aspect of our business, but so too are our comic books and graphic novels, our merchandise and apparel, and the commercial and custom art services we provide.

We discussed in great depth within our office, with our licensor, with trusted advisers, and—most importantly—you, our backers, and ran a poll to determine the timing of this Kickstarter. We decided to move forward with production and release of these books, which have been on our publishing schedule for over a year. The files for these books have long since been assembled and are ready to go. Not only was it important for us to honor the 30th anniversary of Evil Dead 2 by launching and promoting the book in 2017, it was also a contractual obligation we have with our licensor.

I can say with absolute certainty that no one was more upset than us by the news that Evil Dead 2: The Official Board Game would be significantly delayed. We’ve renegotiated the launch date of The Howling: The Official Board Game with the licensor, which was slated and marketed to launch in late Autumn. This campaign will not launch before Evil Dead 2 board games ship, but this is not an option for all of our contracts and commitments.

The softcover Omnibus and Art Book had already been solicited with our distributors and so we had committed to printing these books on schedule regardless of the hardcover campaign. Keeping the rest of our business operating while Evil Dead 2: The Official Board Game is in production is vital to us seeing this game and our future library of products thrive.

We’re constantly overwhelmed by the positivity and support we receive from our backers. I had the personal pleasure of meeting a couple at a local showing of the Evil Dead Musical just last weekend. We’ll keep striving to bring you the best Evil Dead 2 grooviness we can.

And here’s how we’re doing it:

Early domestic rewards have been shipped out! The guys at Gamerati, our domestic order fulfillment center, were wonderful to work with in getting these packages shipped. An amusing side note: The delivery pick-up guy was also a backer of the game, so he got an impromptu tour of the warehouse. If you’re reading this now, that’s such a cool coincidence!

The above pictures were actually taken last week, but I missed including them in previous updates. In fact, some backers have already begun receiving their rewards! Here are just a few of the pictures we’ve seen posted up on Facebook and Twitter so far. Be sure to tag us when your rewards arrive; we’d love to see them come in!

Lastly, a few updates ago we provided a couple of coupons to use on our online store as a small token of gratitude to you all for backing this campaign and for your patience while the game is produced. These MerchGoat.com coupons are deaditehunter and applehead and both are still active and stackable; they’ll get you 30% off your order and free shipping over $100 respectively. I recommend the coloring book: It’s got dot-to-dot deadites, a crossword where the only word is “groovy”, and a bunch of rad lineart from the comics and game cards. Or spread those coupon codes on the dark web so anybody can use them, thus inciting chaos into the world. 

When the going gets good, the good get groovy,

Taylor, on behalf of Team Space Goat

PS. As promised, here’s the updated calendar graphic:

Manufacturing: Ever Onwards!
over 6 years ago – Thu, Oct 19, 2017 at 11:45:07 PM

Hey Backers,

There was some confusion with the last update! "Giant Pause Button" was a pretty poor choice of words for the title of the update and it very understandably caused some frustration. To be totally clear: Golden Week is a very common and well-known holiday in China (there's another one in January/February) during which an accounted for stasis in production occurred, resulting in not having as much to report as usual in the update.

Here's a handy visual of the production road ahead:

Please note all dates are estimates based on a count of days given for each stage. Weeks are counted as six days, excluding Sunday, based on the Chinese work week. Figure painting has been estimated at its maximum time of 30 days (plus a week for Lunar New Year). Shipping has not been included in this graphic in order to keep the focus on the dates of production alone.

We're also happy to announce the Kickstarter for the Evil Dead 2 Omnibus, Art Book, and a ton of neat collectibles—like props designed by Tom Sullivan.

 

This campaign does not affect any aspect of Evil Dead 2 production. I'm personally pretty hands off that campaign, all content is 100% done and has been for months (we were really hoping the board game would've shipped by now), and it's printed by a different company. I hope you'll check it out and share it with your fellow Deadite-hunting, boomstick-wielding friends.

Getting groovier by the day,

Taylor, on behalf of Team Space Goat